//------------------------------//
// Setting the Board 
// Story: Pawns 
// by Corah Il Cappo 
//------------------------------//

Sand Shrine trudged across the desert beneath the silvery light of the moon. He could fly, but flight had never been his favorite mode of travel. Instead, he plodded slowly over the dunes, his horn glowing a pale amber. He shut his eyes, and began to weave his favorite spell of all. He was no longer seeing through the eyes of his body. Instead, he saw through the deserts eyes. Every grain of sand was another eye for him, allowing him to survey the thousands of miles of the Gelding Expanse in a few short moments. Of course, to see that much at the same time was incredibly taxing on the mind, and thus, he could not keep up the spell for long. At any rate, he didn't need to. His destination was only three miles away, hardly difficult for an alicorn to cross. 

With a single, mighty flap of his wings, Sand Shrine lifted off into the night sky. He loathed the feeling. The sand was the source of his power, his special talent, and being so far away from it made him uneasy. His strongest magic stemmed from the desert, and without it, he felt weak. Weakness was something he could not, would not, tolerate in himself. In others, perhaps, but in himself? Never. Celestia had been weak, and he had cast her down with ease. Her weakness had been his strength. That was something he took pride in. A grim smile formed upon his lips as he savored the memories. He slowly spiraled back down to the ground, landed, and cast his desert sight spell again. He had reached his destination.

There was a myriad of legends that the ponies told about the Gelding Expanse, and most, if not all of them ended in death. The part that horrified everypony was just how true these legends were. Ponies who ventured into the desert faced harsh odds, and very rarely survived. They were left to die out in the desert, buried beneath the ever shifting sands. Those who braved the cruel terrain were typically confronted by the disturbing sight of pony corpses rotting in the boiling sun. Oftentimes, they would pause to bury these bodies, if only out of respect for their fellow travelers. It was one of these mass desert graves that Sand Shrine searched for, and he now stood atop his mark.

As he had said to Celestia, his goal was to conquer all of Equestria. It was an ambitious endeavor, but not a difficult one. However, it was a task he could not accomplish alone. In the Expanse, he was in his element. Here, he was a god. But once he was out of the desert, he was weak. The thought made him feel the same way he did while flying, which was awful. He might be able to take one or two cities on his own, but the expanse of his empire would be its downfall. As he drew himself further and further from his homeland, his control would wane. Luna, or less likely, Celestia, would seize such an opportunity in a heartbeat. He could not afford to give them that chance. What he needed was a group of ponies who could occupy and control the territories they captured. He needed an army. 

Unlike the royal siblings however, Shrine did not have a guard he could summon. That was a major disadvantage to living in this hellhole. However, the desert was his domain, as was everything in it. Every grain of sand, every plant, every oasis, and every corpse in the desert was under his control. Now it was time for him to exercise that control. Sand Shrine's horn ignited with a rust-like sheen, which slowly spread itself over every inch of his flesh, causing him to shine like a candle in the darkness. The glow reached his hooves, paused for a brief moment, and then continued its expansion over the sand. The circle of light continued to grow, decreasing in intensity as it moved further and further from its caster. The magic however, did not die out with the glow. A band of magic had formed around Sand Shrine, and nearly fifty feet of desert had been covered by his spell. The alicorn took a deep breath, then launched into his spells final phase. A burst of blindingly bright light suddenly burst from his horn, and the illumination was sent rippling throughout the circle, like a pebble tossed in a pool of water. Then, as quickly as the light appeared, it vanished, leaving the desert in the dark once more.

Sand Shrine exhaled as the spell died off. All that was left now, was to wait for the effects. Silence hung heavily in the air, as if the earth itself were standing in awe of his power. A cool breeze began to blow, whispering softly in the dim light of the moon. It seemed restless, as though it too wished to see what this spell had wrought. The impatient wind would not be kept waiting any longer. A hoof suddenly shot up through the sand on the alicorn's left side, followed almost instantly by the head and torso of a pony. He was an earthpony, as Shrine could tell by the lack of a horn or wings. His coat was a rich, emerald shade of green, complimenting a short black mane. The pony dug himself out of the desert, and instinctively began to cough. He spat out large clumps of sand, each one intermingled with his blood. He choked as he tried to take a breath, but finally managed to force some air into his lungs for the first time in years. Shrine gazed on as this scene repeated itself all around him. His army was coming together quite nicely.

Sand Shrine lifted the newly resurrected earthpony from the ground with his telekinesis, and took a look into the pony's eyes. It was there he saw the defining feature of his spell. The pony's were entirely black. In the dark of the night, it almost appeared that his eye sockets were empty, but the reflection of the moon against the glossy surface gave them away. While the wounds of the pony's past life had been repaired, leaving its flesh intact, something deeper had been left untouched. The pony's memory, emotions, and capacity for logic had been removed. These ponies were nothing more than empty shells, mindless drones devoted only to their master, Sand Shrine. They would be perfect for his conquest of Equestria. 

However, just like Luna and Celestia's armies, these drones would be useless without a commander. They could possess all the numbers they wanted, but they would never be a match for a superior general. Shrine could always use another of these husks to lead, but that would be useless. His officers would need to have something that his soldiers lacked, free will. They would need to lead their own men, without taking orders directly from Sand Shrine. For him to command each pony individually would be an impossible task. Of course, ponies who would serve a desert god of their own volition were few and far between. However, he had a group that just might be up to the challenge.

While the vast majority of ponies who ventured into the Gelding Expanse died, there was a small group that was able to brave the harsh terrain. In fact, they thrived in it. They were nomadic, living in collapsible shelters and scouring the desert for the few resources it could provide. There were very few of them, perhaps a few hundred. Compared to the thousands of dead that Shrine could raise in a single night, that number was nearly insignificant. But these desert ponies were a special breed. They faced starvation, thirst, and death on a daily basis; the battlefield would seem like a vacation compared to the living hell they called home. In addition, they would be conquering every town from here to Canterlot, and were sure to come across plenty of loot. Simpler ponies were always swayed by talk of money.

For now however, Sand Shrine still had an army to raise. His first spell had yielded him around a hundred soldiers. A fair amount, but far from an intimidating force. That was something he could fix with ease. He closed his eyes, cast his desert sight spell, and scanned the area for more graves... .

*****

Back in the royal palace at Canterlot, Luna was preparing her own battalions. She had summoned up the Royal Guard, both the Lunar and Solar divisions, and was preparing them for deployment. She had spent the past four hours pouring over the maps and charts of the Gelding Expanse, checking the towns and cities that lined its border. Sand Shrine had always favored decisive victories, and had always seemed to enjoy hitting his enemies where their defenses were weakest. He had been renowned for his tactics in the Draconequus war, especially in his ability to break sieges. However, Luna had done her research, and had already determined her foe's next move. That was the central principle of chess. In order to defeat one's opponent, one's opponent must first be understood. 

On the border between the Expanse and Equestria proper sat an old military base called Damarescus. It had been erected during the Draconequus war, meant to serve as a checkpoint between the Expanse and the rest of Equestria. Of course, Sand Shrine had rarely used any supporting troops, so the base had never seen much use. Nowadays, it was lightly garrisoned, but never fully filled. If there was a weak point along their borders, it was Staliongrad. That was something Luna sought to fix. 

Her troops had already begun gearing up for battle. They donned armor, gilded iron for the Solar Guard, and deep blue for the Lunar Guard. The earthponies attached their gauntlets, iron gloves designed to reinforce their already solid hooves. The pegasi did not need armor; instead, their wings were tipped with shards of iron, allowing them remarkable speed and dexterity in both aerial and grounded combat. Unicorns needed only armor. They carried with them a full arsenal of spells, plus their ethereal blades for armament. 

The battalions had begun to trek to the local train station. Damarescus was connected to Equestria by rail, allowing for quick transportation of troops there and back. Her soldiers could probably reach the city by midday tomorrow, more than enough time to prepare for Shrine's assault. She would follow her warriors into the city, and lead them from the front. She would destroy Sand Shrine's attack where it began, swiftly killing the rebellion before it could get off the ground. 

This alicorn had nearly murdered her sister, and likely would have done so if given the chance. Luna cringed at the thought. She and Sand Shrine had never been enemies, in fact, they had been quite the opposite in the old days. When Discord and his forces had laid siege to Canterlot, Shrine had suicidally  thrown himself into the fray so that the rest of the alicorns could escape. Against all odds, he had survived the battle, and went on to retake the Gelding Expanse singlehandedly. When the time came to face Discord and take back Canterlot, Luna and Shrine had fought side by side against hordes of draconequi, and from that point on, the two of them were fast friends. 

Sand Shrine and Luna had always been fond of chess. While the two of them had both been quite good, Luna had never managed to come out on top. She had come quite close several times, but the best she had ever managed was a draw. Now that he had gone rogue, she tried not to remember that. She could not let doubt overtake her. She had to face her foe with a spirit of confidence. Shrine may be older, stronger, and smarter than she, but she had an advantage over him. Luna had an army.

Granted, her army was far from perfect, but it was still far larger than anything that her enemy could scrounge up. That was assuming he could pull together anything at all. The Gelding Expanse was not known for being heavily populated. She would be able to easily overrun his defenses, overwhelm him in combat, and take revenge on Shrine for what he did to Celestia. 

What Luna did not realize however, is that her enemies army had already been assembled.

*****

Sand Shrine had been flying from grave site to grave site, reanimating the dead within them, and adding them to his ever swelling battalion. His numbers had grown significantly since the original hundred had been raised. Now, his forces bordered on two thousand. It was not an impressive army by any standard, but it was large enough for his tastes. Something too big would become bulky, burdensome, and hard to transport. The rule of the desert was to travel light. Get bogged down, and you would surely die. The ponies he was seeking out now knew that better than anypony. 

Sand Shrine's desert eyes spell made them easy to track. They had stopped for the night several miles from his location. The alicorn swallowed the lump in his throat and again took off into the sky. This time however, he was not alone. On either side of him flew a small squadron of pegasi, the feathers of their wings rustling gently in the wind. It was comforting to have these drones. At least now he had a force of guards keeping watch over him while he was out of his element. It wasn't much, but it would have to suffice.

Within a few brief moments, Shrine could see the outskirts of the desert ponies camp. The ground was dotted here and there with fabric tents of all shapes and sizes. These shelters had been arranged in a rough circle around a blazing fire, which sent great clouds of ash and smoke billowing into the air. As the alicorn and his soldiers drew nearer, they began to see ponies milling about between the dwellings, all unaware of Shrine's presence. He brought himself in for a landing just outside the campsite, kicking up a small cloud of dust as he touched down.

Sand Shrine ordered his pegasi to halt and wait for the rest of his battalion to arrive. He had gotten a bit ahead, and now the earthponies and unicorns lagged behind. They would catch up sooner or later. For now, they would not be needed. Shrine slowly strode into the tent city, carrying himself with a regal air. A few ponies knelt before him, others shrank back into the shadows, and still others merely eyed him with glares of contempt. He was unconcerned by all of those. He had somepony he was here to find. 

Shrine spotted his target seated beside the fire, reclined against a mound of sand. She was a unicorn, with a light purple coat and forest green mane. Upon her flank was the cutie mark of a flower, which appeared to be dripping a bright green substance from its petals. She was far from imposing, and was in fact rather small in stature. Sand Shrine however knew better. This unicorn was the leader of this band of nomads, as unlikely as it seemed.

The mare leapt to her hooves as the alicorn approached, and instinctively cast her blade. Sand Shrine watched the weapon appear, then hover only a few inches away from him. Through the light purple aura that surrounded it, Shrine could see that her blade was a slab of wood, wrapped all over in a tangle of thorny vines. Both edges of the wooden sword were serrated, and even the tip of the weapon appeared rough and jagged. The saber looked as if it was alive, and every inch of the blade seemed to crawl and writhe of its own accord. Upon the center of the weapon rested a cluster of three, trumpet shaped, pale pink flowers, as if trying to add a touch of feminine beauty to the blade. 

“What are you doing here?” The unicorn spat, locking eyes with the towering alicorn.

“Disperse your sword, Nightshade.” Shrine replied, glaring down at the pony. “I came here with a proposition for you.”

Nightshade did not comply. She kept her blade out and at the ready. If this was some sort of trap, she would not be caught off guard.

“I'm not interested.”

That wasn't the correct answer. Shrine chose to let it slide this time.

“What if I told you there was a large amount of bits in this for you?”

Nightshade chuckled, dispersed her blade, and went back to sitting by the fire.

“Look at you, a god, resorting to bribes!” Her laugher died down as she continued. “What kind of deal are we talking about here?”

“There's a war coming Nightshade.” He issued a command to his soldiers, and a small squadron of pegasi swooped in and landed beside him. “I have an army at the ready. I just need ponies to lead it. That's where you and the rest of the nomads come in.”

“So you're asking me to lead an army?” The unicorn seemed to contemplate this for a moment, then shook her head, “There aren't enough bits in Equestria to get me to do that.”

“Then what if I pay you with Equestria herself?”

Nightshade froze. 

“What are you saying?”

“That's what I need you for.” Sand Shrine's voice was as cold and monotone as ever. “I intend to lead my army out and conquer Equestria. But, in order to do that, my army will need commanders. Should you join the invasion, I promise that both you, and your people will be granted territory in Equestria proper.”

Nightshade's eyes took on a far off look. She began to turn the offer over in her mind, weighing the pros and cons of such a decision. Her thoughts were interrupted by a final comment from the alicorn.

“If you do not join me, then I will kill everyone in this village.” 

Suddenly the pros outweighed the cons. It seemed her mind had just been made up for her. Nightshade sighed, then rose to her hooves.

“Alright. I'm in. What do you want me to do first?”

“Get the nomads ready for battle. We march on Damarescus at dawn.”