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// Chapter 1 
// Story: Endgame Gambit 
// by NopeNopeNope 
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My name is Quills. I am the sole survivor of what many now know as the endgame gambit. I was asked by the three princesses to provide an eyewitness account to the events that lead up to the event that changed Equestria forever. I hope that after reading this story, ponies will be warned to never make these same mistakes again.
o0o
Before I start my story, I should probably include a narrative the start of the war and a basic account of the main players. in this chapter of the Equestria legacy .This is necessary, because, up until just a short time ago, any information related to the war was strictly classified. First, I will tell you how it all began.
o0o
The time was 1376. Equestria was prosperous and peaceful, as was normal for the small country. Many ponies detested the very idea of having guards. They reasoned, “Why do we need them? They are unnecessary, and their training and equipment takes up taxpayers bits.” Nevertheless, Celestia and Luna refused to do so much as lower the guard presence. This was a fortunate decision on their part, and it may very well have saved Equestria.
Two months after the summer solstice, the longest day of the year, a patrolling squad went missing. They were never heard from again. This was the first act of the horrible chain of events that occurred over the next year. It was also a red flag that was, unfortunately, ignored. After all, the conditions down where they went missing are very dangerous. Why make assumptions that might cause mass hysteria?
We, the ones gifted with hindsight, see the foolishness of that decision. Unfortunately, they didn’t have hindsight. They didn’t know the consequences of our actions. When, one month later, we had lost a number of squads and had sightings of the creatures, the princesses decided to act. Nebulae, the most secretive, led the war efforts. We began to boost our patrols, and we gave them orders to attack on sight. They were slaughtered.
We did not have enough good materials to fight whatever those things were. We were a nation that was against technology, but then, the one thing that we hated, was the only thing that could save us. The princesses began to funnel bits into programs to develop tech. Fortunately, we had several such programs already, and they were able to produce several weapons in record time.
These included projectile weapons that were attached to the hoof and were activated using electromagical pulses. These pulses were harnessed from the brain, and they created a very minor magic that could be used to levitate objects and pull the hoof-guns trigger. Nebulae began to vie for attachments for the hoof gun. Soon, the scientists presented the stasis field and the pulse rope.
The stasis beam was used to immobilize enemies, by tying them up using pure magical energy. The stasis field put the target into a coma, shutting down their body. It was especially useful on infected patients. The patients would be frozen at a certain point in the stages of infection, to be treated later.
Unfortunately, the weapons weren’t in high supply, and thus, only a handful of squads were granted these weapons. One of the squads that did receive these was the squad of the late Sergeant Maelstrom, known for his last great heroic act. Maelstrom was an alicorn. One of the last seven alicorns, although only two were known to the general public.
Maelstrom grew up in Canterlot. Much of his early childhood, meaning the first one hundred years of his life, are shrouded in mystery, due to his recent death and the Princess’ denial of the existence of more than two alicorns. Whatever the case, he dropped into the history books under a different name, Midnight. As Midnight, he was the general who defeated the dark cult of Nightmare when they rose up in 1023.
That is not the focus of my narrative, however. About five years ago, he became the commander of the black operations division of the Equestrian Guard. He and his troops were quickly flung into combat at the start of the war. They lost forty-two percent of all active personnel before they were given the hoof guns. After that, they began to give as good as they got. It wasn’t enough.
Although the mainstream of the Equestrian population remained blissfully ignorant of these horrible events, the creatures, who became known as ponyspawn, had already overrun the southern border of Equestria. Several towns, including Stalliongrad, Los Haygas, and several others were lost.
Nebulae, without consulting Celestia or Luna, commenced the construction of a weapon to end all wars. The code name of the construction, placement, and use of this weapon was Endgame Gambit. This weapon was the final hope of Equestria, and it did it’s job. It did its job far too well.


(Sorry y'all, but I suck at writing long chapters. However, hopefully, I can write short chapters at a fair pace.)