//------------------------------//
// The Opening 
// Story: Second Chance 
// by Subject 19 
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Matthew, Luna, Celestia, and the bearers of the Elements of Harmony were seated around a circular table. Celestia’s letter made no mention as to why the other five bearers were there, as was Matthew’s request. They were all clearly anxious to figure out why the princess had summoned them, aside from Twilight, who was already aware of why her friends were there.
“Thank you all for coming out here on such short notice,” Matthew calmly began. “The princesses have given me permission to form an army for Equestria. I’m already getting ponies trained by the Royal Guard as we speak. Now I’m sure you’re all wondering what this has to do with you.” The gray pony got five slow nods in response. “You’re here because I want you to be my chief officers. We are nearing war with Prance. You’ve saved this kingdom countless times from evil and simply put, I believe that your experience could greatly help this army when we eventually go to war.”
The five ponies just looked at each other, unsure of what to say. After what seemed like an hour of silence, Rainbow Dash spoke up. “Not that we don’t think your offer is cool and all, but I think we’re gonna have to turn down your offer.”
Matthew allowed a frown form on his muzzle. “And I don’t suppose there’s anything I can say to make any of you reconsider?”
“I’m afraid not, darling,” Rarity said as politely as she possibly could.
“Then by no means will I try and force you to do this. You’ve already given so much to protect this kingdom; I will not make you feel like you have to give any more.”
“Is that all you wanted to see us about then?” the white unicorn asked.
“That’s all,” Matthew sighed. “You’re free to leave now.”
The five element bearers got up, thanked the princesses for having them at the castle, then left out the door. For a minute no pony said anything. Luna was the first to break the silence. “Well so much for that part of the plan. I hope this isn’t too much of a problem for you.”
“It won’t be,” the stallion reassured. “However, now I’ll need to find somepony to be a chief officer. Other than that though, there should be no other problems.”
Two months passed and the Armed Forces of Equestria was officially formed. Additionally, Matthew was publicly given the rank of Commander of the Armed Forces. However, tensions between Prance and Equestria only continued to get worse. Now the two countries were on the very brink of total war and Matthew had no doubt in his mind that within a week, Prance would make the first move. In preparation, Matthew ordered a large amount of forces to be positioned near the border of Equestria and Prance.
Matthew was in his new office located inside the castle, directly across the hall from the throne room. Suddenly, Captain Spitfire rushed into the gray stallion’s office, a look of nervousness on her face. “What is it, Captain?” Matthew asked.
“Commander, Prance has attacked us,” Spitfire informed. “We didn’t even see it coming. They came down the Crystal Mountains and overwhelmed our soldiers stationed nearby.”
Matthew’s eyes widened, realizing that now Prance’s forces were only about a day away from the town of Ponyville. “I want two infantry divisions sent to Ponyville immediately,” he ordered. “Hopefully that will be enough to slow them down a bit so we can reorganize our forces and adjust our strategy.” Spitfire nodded her head and quickly left the office. After thinking over the recent information he had received, Matthew got up out of his chair and headed to the throne room to inform Celestia and Luna what was happening.
“Your highnesses, Prance has attacked us,” Matthew told them. “They managed to travel through the Crystal Mountains and overwhelmed our forces. I have sent two infantry divisions to Ponyville to hopefully defend it from an attack. However, I’m not sure if the divisions will be able to get there before the enemy.”
“And why not?” Celestia demanded, not at all happy to hear this.
“Our closest division is about a day and a half away. Based on the information I have, I’d say the Prench army is a day away at most,” Matthew explained. “I’m afraid we will most likely lose Ponyville. We need to get the Elements of Harmony out of there yesterday. Under no circumstances can you tell them what’s going on. If they find out their town is in danger, they will take it upon themselves to protect it. Now if you’ll excuse me, I need to figure out how to retaliate against these Prench bastards.”
“Wait!” Luna shouted just before Matthew reached the door. The gray unicorn turned around to face the night princess, waiting for her to explain herself. “I want to talk with you in private,” she requested, earning no more than a nod from Matthew and a raised eyebrow from her sister.
Luna got up from her throne and Matthew followed her out to her room. Once in said room, Luna closed the door behind them using her magic. Luna’s room consisted of a midnight colored bed and night themed decoration. Matthew noticed a chess set sitting on one of the nearby tables, all the pieces in their starting positions.
“So what is it you want?” Matthew impatiently questioned.
“I was wondering if you’d be up for a little friendly game of chess,” Luna replied, ignoring his tone.
Matthew smirked at the princess. “Alright, I think I have the time for a quick match.” The two sat down at the table, Matthew taking the black side while Luna took the white. “Celestia doesn’t come off as the type of pony who’s used accepting losses,” he commented as they started their game.
Luna giggled at the comment. “No, she’s not. But then again I think she’s just really concerned about Ponyville right now. Aren’t you?”
“No,” Matthew bluntly stated. “War is a lot like chess, there are three parts to it. You have an opening, where both sides move their forces into position and get ready to strategically attack one another. Then there’s the middle game. The opponents have formed their front lines and are now ready to begin fighting for keeps. This is the most important part, because every move you make could mean the difference between victory and defeat. Finally, you have the endgame. One side has a clear advantage over the other. The winning side goes in an all out offensive to take out their leadership, and consequently, win the game. Right now we’re only in the opening, once we have the Elements of Harmony, we’ll be ready to launch a retaliation to take back the land we’ve lost.”
“What do you need the elements for?”
“Blitzkrieg,” he said. “We will overwhelm our enemy with raw power. I believe that if those six are given the right push, they will help me end what Prance started.”
The two ponies continued to play their game of chess, which Matthew was currently winning. He had annihilated Luna’s Rooks and Knights, and taken numerous pawns. Within the next five minutes, Matthew had Luna in checkmate.
“That was a good game,” Matthew said as he got up from the table.
“I’m not sure I would call it a ‘good game’,” Luna replied, annoyed by the fact that she had been so easily defeated. At the end of the game, Matthew had taken almost every single one of her pieces, while Luna had only managed to take six of Matthew’s, which were mostly pawns.
“Relax, I’m the Commander of the Armed Forces because of my very keen tactical mind,” the gray stallion reminded. “Now I’m afraid I have to make sure that we haven’t lost too much more land from the Prench.” With that, Matthew left Luna’s room and headed straight to his office. When he sat down behind his desk, the dark colored unicorn let out a soft chuckle. “War never changes.”