> Pawns
>  by Corah Il Cappo
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

> The Opening Move
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

The day was drawing to a close. Celestia's sun had begun to sink below the horizon, painting the sky a brilliant red. Beneath the crimson sky stretched a sea of golden sand, its dunes appearing like waves in the fading daylight. It was just another beautiful sunset over the Gelding Expanse. However, the charm of the scene was lost on Celestia as she glided over the desert. 

Her student, Estella, had gone missing earlier that day. Estella was her brightest pupil, a unicorn who had devoted her life to learning the art of magic from the Princess. She may not have been an Alicorn, but she showed tremendous skill, mastering the basic level spells with ease. Celestia had suggested she be sent to Magic College in Canterlot, but Estella insisted that she be trained by Celestia herself. The young mare was brash, headstrong, and unstable, but beneath her attitude, there was untapped potential.  It was this inner skill that Celestia saw shining through her. With the right amount of training, and perhaps a bit of attitude adjustment, she felt she could turn Estella into something great. 

But all that had changed this morning, when Estella went missing. Canterlot had been searched, but she was no where to be found. The rest of the day had been a nonstop sweep of Equestria, scanning every nook and cranny where she might be hidden, but to no avail. The only place that had not been checked yet was the Gelding Expanse. For any normal pony, such a mission was suicide. The desert sands easily confused travelers, causing them to lose their way among the dunes. Once they had been disoriented, the lost ponies would quickly succumb to hunger and thirst. Those who managed to survive scarcity of food and water faced blazing temperatures during the day, which dropped to below zero at night. It was as if the terrain yearned for the death of those who walked it.  But Celestia was determined to get her prize pupil back, no matter the cost. 

Celestia gave her massive wings a gentle flap. There was only one good thing about this wasteland; it provided a good updraft. Her eyes scanned the ground below, trying to spot a sign of Estella. At this point, she was looking for anything to break the monotonous stretch of amber sand. The past three hours of searching had yielded nothing, and the Princesses eyes were beginning to grow weary. She spotted a flash of movement out of the corner of her eye as she sped through the cloudless air. There, standing amid the dunes, was a single pony. It had stopped moving, and seemed to be staring up at her as she flew past. Celestia decided that this was worth investigating, and began a slow, steady descent  to the earth below.

The Princess beat her wings, kicking up a small cloud of dust as she touched down. Now that she had closed the distance, she took a better look at the pony she had spotted. The broad shoulders and short muzzle made it clear that it was a male. His coat and wings were an earthy brown,  complimenting a long, flowing mane of rusty red ether. Celestia also spied an image of two sand dunes upon his flank. Her gaze were drawn to his head, where she noticed that the top of his skull was graced with a horn. This was no ordinary pony; he was an alicorn. Not only that, he was an alicorn she knew. Celestia looked into his eyes. They appeared empty, unmoving, and devoid of emotion...they looked dead. Her scrutiny was suddenly interrupted as the alicorn spoke.

“Why hello there Celestia.” He said in a calm monotone. “What brings you to my humble domain?”

“Cut the smalltalk, Sand Shrine.” Celestia replied curtly, “I have business to discuss.”

“Please, I insist, I'd be a terrible host to simply rush into business like that. If there were any water in this wasteland I'd get you a drink. Of course, there is none. Never was, never will be.”

“Shut up.” Celestia spat, “I'm not in the mood to hear you complain.”

“My apologies, Princess.” Sand Shrine's voice dripped with spite as he spoke her title. “How may I be of service?”

“A student of mine went missing this morning. Her name was Estella. I presume you've heard of her?”

“Your students are no business of mine. Besides, I haven't been to Canterlot in ages. Not since I was banished to this desert in the north.”

“You weren't banished, Shrine.” The Princess swallowed her inner rage at his refusal to cooperate. “I ceded the entire northern area of Equestria from my rule and granted it to you.”

“You ceded me a burning wasteland!” Sand shouted, “You gave me the land that was dry and barren, while keeping the cream of the crop for yourself!”

“I gave you the desert as a reward! I didn't have to give you anything!”

“Give me nothing? You seem to forget what I did in the war. While you and Luna were busy rallying troops in Canterlot, I went into the Expanse alone. I had driven every last Draconequus from the desert within a month. You yourself asked me if I needed any soldiers to aid me, and what did I say?”

“I...I don't remember.”

“Don't you dare lie to me! You know exactly what I said!”

Celestia sighed. She did know. The scene was etched into her mind as clear as day.

“You said, 'Keep the soldiers. Canterlot needs them more than I do.'” Celestia said quietly.

“I was willing to sacrifice for the greater good, and what did I get in return?” Sand continued, his voice and temper flaring. “I got the same desert that I spent months trying to clean. All I wanted afterwards was to go home. I expected a hero's welcome when I returned to Canterlot. Instead, I was ignored. Nopony knew me. Oh, they knew the names of Celestia and Luna, but Sand Shrine?”

He snorted with contempt, then went on.

“I knew were I wasn't wanted, and asked for my own section of Equestria, nothing too large, just my own small kingdom, and what did I get? I got an ocean of burning sand. But life in Canterlot went on. I hear you took up a new hobby. Teaching magic to a new protégé , wasn't it?”

“Tell me where Estella is.” Celestia's voice was low as she took a step towards Sand. He merely stared back at her through unwavering eyes. “Tell me where Estella is, now.”

Still no answer.

There was a sudden flash of light as Celestia's horn lit up. Sand Shrine was nearly blinded by the glare, and staggered backwards, holding a hoof in front of his face to shield his eyes. He shut his eyes tight, yet still the shafts of brilliant sunlight burned his pupils. The blaze finally subsided, and Sand opened his eyelids. For a moment, all he could see were spots, but these were quick to fade. He felt a searing heat at the base of his neck.

Sand Shrine looked down, and saw a sword of sunlight pointed at his throat. Unlike the average pony blade forged from iron, steel, or bronze, this one was made from light itself. It pulsed and ebbed as the princess held it in place, almost as if it had a life and mind of its own. He could feel beads of sweat beginning to form on his face, not out of fear, but from the intense heat that the blade gave off. His eyes narrowed as he gazed in silent awe at the power of the weapon. 

Celestia's horn glowed as she leveled her blade at Shrine's jugular. She searched his eyes, trying desperately to pick out an emotion, but there was none. It was as if she were staring into the cold, lifeless eyes of a corpse. She did her best to swallow her disgust and keep her voice calm yet firm.

“Where is my student.” Celestia spoke through clenched teeth. She inched the sword closer to her opponent, bringing the edge to rest against the alicorn's flesh. “Tell me, or I swear I will kill you where you stand.”

“Ah yes.” Sand Shrine said in an unimpressed tone, “Daybreak. The legendary sword of the Solar Princess. Rumor has it that Daybreak burns hot enough to cauterize any wound it leaves, and is sharp enough to cleave through a draconequus in a single swipe. Now you would turn that sort of raw power on me? And what have I done to deserve such treatment? You act like I...”

“Shut up!” Celestia screamed, her blade flaring with her temper, “Tell me where Estella is, or I'll slash your head clean off!”

Sand only stared back. 

“Talk!” The princess pulled her sword back and prepared to strike. However, just before she swung, her adversary spoke up.

“You want her?” Sand Shrine said as his horn lit up with an amber gleam. “You can have her.”

The sand on his left began to churn at his command. From beneath the surface of the desert, he dragged the body of an unfortunate pony. Celestia recognized it well. It was Estella. Around her mouth was a ring of dried blood, and the same reddish brown crust could be seen dotting other sections of her face. Her mane was a tangled mess of black hair, and was saturated with fine white sand. Estella's sunny yellow coat was the same way, filthy and splattered with crimson blood. Embedded in the  unicorn's spine were numerous shards of glass, which had ripped and torn through the flesh, leaving wide, jagged gashes in their wake.

Celestia knelt down beside the corpse of her student, hot tears streaming down her cheeks. Estella had shown such potential. She could have been one of the next great spellcasters. worthy of recording in the history books, but now... Now she would never have the chance. Sand Shrine had taken that chance away from her. What had Estella ever done to him anyways? She had no quarrel with him, in fact, they had never even met! Shrine had simply killed her. Without any provocation, he had murdered an innocent mare. 

“You coward.” The princess whispered, wiping the salty tears from her face with the back of her foreleg. “You're nothing but a coward and a demon, and you know it! You didn't dare come after me, so you went after my student! That was the biggest mistake you could have made Sand Shrine, because now I'm here, and now I'm going to end you for this!”

Before Shrine could speak another word, Celestia had whipped her blade around, striking a powerful blow to the desert alicorn's neck. The attack was perfectly fluid. She had used it countless times when facing Discord's draconequus army. It was a simple maneuver, but an effective one. Daybreak would easily cut through the flesh, muscle, and bone, then finally sever the spinal cord, killing the target instantly. 

As the sword arced towards him, Sand Shrine still remained calm and unmoving. His horn began to glow, and this same glare spread over his entire body. His spell was cast within the split seconds it took for Daybreak to collide with him. When the blade struck, the alicorn merely dissolved into dust. Celestia looked on in shock as her weapon passed through the loose sand, and her enemy faded into the desert. Her eyes began to dart about, scanning for any sign of movement. From behind her, she heard the unmistakable sound of sand shifting.

“You made a mistake coming here Princess.” Sand Shrine said as his body began to reform. “You're on my turf now. As much as I hate it, the desert is my special talent.”

Celestia turned her sword over and lashed out again, this time putting much more force behind her strike. However, her foe was prepared. He leapt backwards, deftly dodging the blow. The princess followed up with another wild sweep, and again the desert alicorn avoided the blade. Sand Shrine ducked beneath another wild slash, levitated a clump of sand with his magic, and hurled it into the face of his opposition. Celestia staggered back, coughing and spluttering as the dust burned her eyes. With his adversary blinded, Shrine spun around and delivered a powerful buck with his hind legs. His hooves struck Celestia in the chest and sent her sprawling.

The princess rolled across the sand, sliding to a stop at the base of a massive dune. With a groan, she lifted her head. She coughed, and her mouth was filled with the metallic taste of blood. Celestia spat out the crimson liquid, ignoring the thin stream of it that still dribbled from her lips, and rose to her hooves. She refocused her vision on her enemy just in time to dodge the tendril of sand he had launched at her. The solar alicorn spread her wings, took a few quick steps forward, and launched herself into the air. She flew in a straight path towards her opponent, Daybreak trailing close behind her. As she rapidly closed the distance, Shrine fired off two more blasts of sand, which hurtled like missiles towards the incoming alicorn. Celestia rolled upwards to avoid them, striking with her sword as she rocketed past. 

Sand Shrine easily sidestepped the slash, magically grabbed two clumps of dust, gave his wings a quick flap, and took off after Celestia. She had always been a much better flier than he was, but he was able to keep pace with her. The two alicorns began to circle one another in midair, soaring higher and higher with each rotation. As he climbed, Shrine formed part of the sand he carried into a long, thin sheet. He began to heat the sand with a second spell, then watched happily as the grains began to melt together into glass. It was such a simple little spell, yet it had always been a favorite of his. On its own, sand didn't make much of a weapon. But as glass it could cut, stab, rend, impale...The possibilities were endless.

Sand Shrine took aim for the princesses wing, hoping he could perhaps sever it and end their aerial duel, and let his projectile fly. Celestia had seen it coming from a mile away, and easily ducked beneath the whistling shard of glass. The solar alicorn's horn began to shine gold, as she readied a spell to strike back with. Now was not the time to attack however. She needed to time this spell perfectly. She heard a now familiar shrieking noise, and turned to see a second glass dagger hurtling towards her. There was no time to dodge, so Celestia quickly whipped her sword around, cleanly cutting through the translucent blade. With her head still turned, the solar alicorn cast a simple fire spell, launching a bolt of flame at her trailing enemy. 

Sand Shrine quickly drew all the sand he was carrying in front of him to dissipate the flames. It managed to absorb the force of the spell, but the heat had caused his payload to meld into glass. With a sharp punch from his front hoof, the massive chunk of glass shattered, cracking into thousands of tiny, diamond-like shards that glistened in the sunset. He took off after Celestia, who had begun to create a large gap between them. He quickly closed the distance, but was thrown off when the princess suddenly pulled into a steep climb. He made an abrupt turn, then shot straight upwards, surrounded by a cloud of crystalline projectiles. The desert alicorn began to fire the glass darts like bullets, but his foe was far to agile. 

Celestia had become a cream colored blur,  dodging with incredible speed as she climbed ever higher into the skies. A loud whistling in the wind caught her ears, and she saw a swarm of tiny glittering shards sailing in her direction. She rolled to the side, avoiding the drove of glass with ease. Now it was her time to act. The princess pulled her wings in close against her body, and began to fall like a rock. Her pursuer skidded to a midair stop, then began to dive after her, launching a torrent of glass missiles as he came.

The ground approached rapidly as Celestia sped earthward. Although her descent only took a few moments, to her it felt like hours. Her mind was running on overdrive as she analyzed her situation. Sand Shrine was a much weaker flier than she, and judging by how roughly he took his turns, did not stop well. However, he had put his full effort into the chase, and now sped towards her with his arsenal of glass. Meanwhile, she had been preparing two spells, one to defend, and one to attack. The sand was now only a few hundred feet away, and closing fast. It was time. With a blinding flash and an earsplitting crack, Celestia vanished. She reappeared a split second later, hovering about a thousand feet above the desert. 

Sand Shrine attempted to pull up, but by now it was too late. The princesses teleportation spell had caught him off guard, and now he was paying the price. Shrine hit the ground hard, kicking up a small cloud of sand where he crashed. He skidded and rolled over the desert, every impact sharply rattling his body. At last, he rolled to a stop, landing square on his back looking up at the sky. Amid the brilliant reds and pinks of the sunset floated a single white speck. Celestia.

The solar alicorn wasn't finished yet. Now that the dust had settled, she could see where the murderer had landed. Her eyes narrowed, and her horn flared up with a great golden glare, as she launched her second spell. From the tip of her horn came a concentrated beam of pure white sunlight, which shot earthward, and collided with the sand below in an explosion of light and dust. Celestia smiled at her handiwork. There was no way he could have survived that. The sunbolt was one of her strongest spells, and Sand Shrine had just taken it full force. She had done it. She had avenged Estella. 

The princess' thoughts were cut short as she felt a sharp tug on her hind leg. She turned, and saw a thick tendril of sand wrapping itself around her hoof. Before she had time to react, the tentacle had clamped down and began to drag her downwards at an incredible speed. Celestia thrashed violently, trying to break the viselike grip of the sand, but to no avail. She slammed wings first into the desert, with a loud thud. Celestia swore that she heard an audible crack as he left wing was crushed beneath her body, sending shockwaves of terrific pain screaming through her veins. Her vision blurred and her ears rang as she slowly rolled over onto her stomach. She felt something warm beginning to trickle across her back. She glanced over her shoulder, and what she saw made her cringe. Her wing had been horribly mangled in the crash, with half of it now dangling limply. Blood had begun to spill from the wound, dripping onto her spine and running in thin ribbons down her flank. She grit her teeth, rose to her hooves, and cast her blade once more. 

Only a few feet away from where Celestia now stood, Sand Shrine's body began to reform from the dust below. His lips were curved into a smile, yet his eyes were devoid of pleasure. The desert alicorn's horn ignited, and he cast a spell to bring his own sword into existence. His sword was a long, cylindrical shaft of glass, which tapered off into a sharpened point. The weapon glowed with a rust red aura, much like the ether of its wielder's mane. It's name was Negrev. The very name of the blade was enough to send chills down the spine of anypony who had lived through the war with the draconequus. Celestia had, and she remembered it well. She had long tried to suppress those memories, but they persisted nonetheless.

“You see princess,” Shrine said in his cold monotone. “The desert and I are one in the same. You cannot kill the desert, and you cannot kill me.”

“And you can't kill the sun.” Celestia replied curtly. Without another word, she attacked, swinging her blade in a downward arc, fully intent on splitting his skull. Before she could however, her sword was blocked by that of her enemy. She was shocked. No weapon had ever been able to resist Daybreak. Her sword was sunlight, it should have cleaved right through the fragile glass blade. When she looked down at their two swords however, it struck her. The aura of magic around Negrev protected it from damage. The princess cursed under her breath as she disengaged and struck again. 

Sand Shrine sidestepped the swipe, countering with a lunge from his own blade. The princess deflected the thrust, took a quick leap back, and launched three blasts of fire from her horn in rapid succession. Her enemy raised a pillar of sand in defense, effectively dissipating her flames. With her foe distracted, Celestia slipped in and charged Shrine from the side, aiming a stab towards his exposed flank. One again, her blow was parried. She began to whirl Daybreak around her head, repeatedly slashing at her opponent with lightning speed, yet the desert alicorn dodged and deflected every attack with ease. 

Now it was Sand Shrine's turn to wait. His horn glowed with magic as he engaged in a deadly dance with Celestia's blade, ducking, dodging, and sidestepping each vicious strike. He occasionally threw in a quick feign or a jab with Negrev, if only to fuel the princess' rage. He wanted her to keep going. He wanted her to lash out in rage. The more of her anger she poured into her assault, the more intense it became. But her intensity was to be her downfall. Despite the fact that her fury made her blows stronger and faster, she was losing form. Her attacks were becoming sloppy and predictable. A poorly aimed high slash swept past his face, narrowly missing him. Now it was his time to strike.

At his command, three tendrils of sand rose up around Celestia. She instinctively whipped her blade through the nearest one, but was struck from behind by the other two. She struggled and writhed, but the sand squeezed around her like a python. With his enemy incapacitated, Sand Shrine made his move. He lunged for the princess, blade ready and primed for a quick thrust through the chest. 

Celestia only had a split second to react. She cast her fire spell again, but rather than launch it at the charging Alicorn, she cast it back towards herself, wreathing herself in flames. The sand that had surrounded her began to melt into glass, making it far more brittle than it had been. With a powerful kick, she shattered her bonds, just as the blade reached her. Celestia attempted to cast her teleportation spell, but it was too late. 

Negrev bit into the flesh of Celestia's shoulder, driving through the skin and muscles like a hot knife through butter. It struck her collarbone, and the glass ground against it like a drill, as if it were attempting to bore a hole straight through the bone. The princess let out a blood curdling shriek, twisted her shoulder from the blade, and fell back upon the sand, panting heavily. Her eyes fluttered, and she fought to maintain consciousness. The edges of her vision had already begun to go black, making it difficult for her to see. 

Sand Shrine planted a hoof on the princess' chest, and pointed his blade down at her.

“Estella was the first to fall.” He whispered, “You'll be the second. After you will be your sister.”

He paused, savoring the look of sheer horror that now covered Celestia's face. 

“But you won't be the only ones. Oh no. My ambitions are far larger than that. You made the desert my domain Princess, and now I'm going to expand its borders. Inch by inch, city by city, Equestria itself will fall. Her soil and grass shall be smothered beneath the desert sand, until all that remains of them is a distant memory. The entire kingdom will become one massive desert. Everypony will know what it felt like to be trapped here. They'll finally know the meaning of...”

His overly dramatic monologue was interrupted by a loud crack and a flash of light. Celestia had teleported out from beneath his hoof, and now appeared on a dune several hundred yards away. He considered chasing after her, but decided against it. He had more important matters to attend to now. Instead, Shrine simply watched as she teleported again, this time out of his sight. As the princess disappeared into the sea of dunes, the sun finally dipped below the horizon, plunging the desert into night.

*****

Back in Canterlot, Luna stood upon the palace balcony, her deep blue coat and ethereal mane silhouetted against the rising moon. Tonight, the moon was in its crescent phase, her personal favorite. The silvery sliver reached its peak in the heavens, and there it froze. Her horn began to glow with a soft pearly shine, and a moment later, the twinkling stars appeared, dotting the black night with a speckled luminescence. Luna smiled in the dim light, taking in the beauty of the scene. It truly was a shame that everypony was asleep. They were missing such a lovely show.

Luna's horn began to blaze as she put the finishing touches on her night. Just as the dawn was colored with brilliant reds, yellows, and pinks, the night was a symphony of rich blacks and blues. Like an artist at her easel, Luna began to paint the sky with massive sweeps of magic, leaving the horizon dyed with a veritable rainbow of dark hues. With one final stroke, her masterpiece was complete. The silvery light around her horn faded, and she sighed as she admired her work. She could just stare at the scene all night long...

An earsplitting crack suddenly jolted Luna from her thoughts. She knew the sound well, but it still shocked her every time. Her sister had returned from her mission.

“Welcome back Celestia.” Luna said without turning around, “Thou didst not set the sun at the appointed time. Dost thou care to explain?”

There was a weak groan, followed by a muffled thump. Luna turned, and saw her sister sprawled out on the floor, barely conscious. The solar princess' wounds had finally stopped bleeding, but the brownish red dried blood still stained her coat, most heavily on her shoulder and back. Her body was completely still, save for the occasional twitch.

“Celestia!” Luna exclaimed, as she raced to her sisters side. “What happened? Art thou alright?”

Celestia let out a dry cough, then replied. “I've been better.”

“Who hath done this to thee?” Luna said through clenched teeth. 

“Sand Shrine.” Celestia's eyes closed, and she finally passed out. 

Luna lifted her sister to her shoulder, and carried the unconscious alicorn into her bedroom. She laid Celestia on her bed, quickly exited the room, and headed for the balcony. Now was not the time for her to shed tears over her sisters condition. Now was the time for planning. She leapt from the balcony and glided to the garden below, landing in her special corner just outside the maze. She had come here often, usually when she wanted to get some thinking done. It wasn't anything special really. Only a table and chair set, not even a fancy one. Instead, they were both simple, made from aromatic pine wood. Atop the table sat a chess board, its various metal pieces scattered over the squares. 

Luna reset the board, and stared at the pieces. Sand Shrine had made the opening move. Now it was her turn to counter... .
> Setting the Board
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

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.”
> The Game Begins
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Today was going to be terrible. Sir Craven had already made up his mind. He had been forced to wake up in the middle of the night, hop on a train, and get shipped off to some filthy border town. He sighed, and took a look at his reflection in the window. Grey coat, chocolate colored mane, hazel eyes...He didn't look too bad, despite having just rolled out of bed. He turned his attention back to the interior of the train car, and began to tune back into reality. He gradually became aware of a faint buzzing noise, then recalled the other annoyance that was making his morning so awful. The pony beside him at not stopped talking the entire ride.

She was a unicorn, and a fairly young one at that. Perched atop her head was a white fedora, which almost hid her short black mane. Her coat was bright turquoise, a sharp contrast to her dark mane, and a cutie mark of a feather and ink scribble rested on her flank. Her eyes were blue, and still contained the elusive spark of youth. Just in front of her was a pad of paper, quill, and bottle of ink, all suspended in midair with telekinetic magic.

“Sir Craven?” She said, poking him with her quill to get his attention, “I have a few more questions for you, if you don't mind.”

“Fine.” Craven sighed, futilely rub the sleep from his eyes, “What did you need Miss...Inkblot was it?”

“Inkwell. You were close.” The unicorn replied as she dipped her quill into the ink, then set it to the paper. “I've noticed most of the other Generals are unicorns, but you're an earthpony, so what...”

“You want to know what made me so special, right?” 

Inkwell nodded in response.

“The truth is, nothing makes me special. There are generals of all kinds. I just happen to be one of the only earthponies in this car.”

“I noticed you have a horseshoe with wings for a cutie mark.” The unicorn mused as she rapidly scrawled on her notepad. “Care to explain how you got it?”

“I'm light on my hooves, and I run fast.” Craven bluntly replied.

“Now, you said you were in the Solar Guard?” There was more scribbling as Inkwell spoke. “Have you met Celestia before? And if so, what was she like?”

“Listen...Inkspell?”

“Inkwell.”

“Right.” The general sighed, rubbing his forehead with his hooves, “Look, I'm tired. Do you really need me to answer all your questions right this second?”

“Well, I suppose I could wait.” She fidgeted as she spoke, “But I must interview you later! This could be the biggest story in years, and the Canterlot Tribune needs to be the first to have it!”

“I promise I'll give you the full story when we get to Damarescus.” Craven said, leaning back in his seat. He closed his eyes, and began to drift off into sleep.

The squealing of metal on metal suddenly jolted him into consciousness again. The train ground to a halt, and the ponies within began to file out. The general huffed, rose to his hooves and exited the car, with Inkwell following close behind. The city of Damarescus lay before them in all its splendor. The town had a sort of rustic charm to it, unlike the cosmopolitan and sterile Canterlot. The buildings were made from adobe bricks, and were fortified with wooden beams. Nearly every building lining the main road was a storefront of some sort, and each had its wares proudly displayed for potential customers to see. Intricately woven cloth awnings dangled above the cobblestone pathway, blocking out the blazing heat of the sun above. The enclosed main street eventually gave way to a wide open town square. Craven couldn't help but notice that the stones here had been arranged in a specific pattern of colors. Upon closer inspection, he noticed that it was the cutie mark of Celestia emblazoned on the pavement. On any normal day, the square would be bustling with ponies. Today however, the entire town had been silenced. 

The residents of Damarescus had barricaded themselves in their homes in preparation for the upcoming battle. The only ponies who occupied the town square were the Damarescus Militia. There weren't many of them, maybe a few hundred at best, but that was all they would need. The Lunar and Solar Guard, under the command of Luna herself had just arrived. It appeared that they had arrived just in time, as the pegasi had already begun to fight one another in a swirling melee in the sky. Unicorns on the ground fired off bolts of magical energy at the airborne attackers, attempting to aid their comrades. 

The clanging of iron against iron filled the air as the pegasi dueled. Their metal tipped wings hacked and slashed at one another as they circled. In the high speed aerial combat, it took very little to score a kill. A quick cut to a wing, a kick to the spine, or a punch to the chest was all it took to shatter bones, and send the opposition hurtling to the ground below. In the midst of the whirling dogfight, two pegasi sized each other up. One was of the Damarescus Militia, the other was of Sand Shrine's invaders. With a burst of speed, they broke from their turns and flew headlong towards each other. At the last second, the invader rolled left, narrowly avoiding the razor sharp blades on his enemies wingtips. He hurled his weight sideways, crushing his foe's wing against his body. There was an audible snap, and within seconds the militiaman had fallen, slamming into the cobblestone just a few feet in front of Inkwell, who jumped back in both fear and disgust.

“Remember that interview I promised?” Craven said, looking down at the mangled corpse.

“Of course.” Inkwell replied, her paper and quill at the ready.

“It's gonna have to wait.”

Craven strode to the center of the square, where a small squad of Earthponies stood, watching the sky battle unfold. One of them, a crimson earhpony with a white and red streaked mane, bore the marking of an officer on his armor. The general gave him a tap on the shoulder to catch his attention, and the stallion turned to face him.

“Yes?”

“You're the commander of the militia, yes?” Craven eyed the pony with a disapproving glance. 

“Commanding officer Red Glare at your service!” The officer saluted and flashed his new commander a smile. Craven did not return the gesture. 

“Commander Glare, do you head the entire militia yourself?”

“Nah, just the earthponies. We gotta unicorn and pegasus general too.”

“And where are the other two?”

“The unicorn general, Elegance, is at the southern wall, observing the enemy, and the pegasus general, Dream Sickle, is...” He paused for a moment, scanning the skies above. “Actually, I'm not sure where she is.”

“You mean to tell me that those ponies are in battle without a leader?” Craven raised an eyebrow.

“She's probably around here somewhere.” Red Glare commented, trotting about the town square in search of the general. He noticed a pair of dark orange hooves sticking out from beneath a bale of hay. The sound of soft snoring could be heard as he poked, and prodded the legs. A second later, the rest of the pony emerged from the hay bale. She shook some of the loose straw from her white and orange striped mane, yawned, and smiled at the general.

“Hey there!” She said, giving her wings a flap and landing beside her superior. “My name's Dream Sickle! What brings you to...”

“No time for smalltalk.” Craven cut her off, then pointed to the aerial battle above, “Are those your soldiers?”

“Yep! They're doing great aren't they?”

“No, they're not. They're in a state of mass panic up there, since nopony is leading them.”

“Oh!” Dream playfully slapped her own forehead, “I'm supposed to be up there with them! Duh!” Without another word, she took off into the sky and joined her troops in combat.

Craven rubbed his temples at the incompetence that surrounded him. These ponies were supposed to be the town militia? He sighed. Thank the goddesses that the professionals had shown up. Otherwise, this city would have been doomed from the start. He sighed, something he had been doing a lot of lately, and followed behind Red Glare. Perhaps this “Elegance” would be somewhat more intelligent.

Inkwell strode close behind the two earthponies, her eyes whipping back and forth between her notebook and her surroundings, as she hastily scribbled down descriptions of everything she could take in. Her special talent had always been writing. To her, words were everything, and everything was words. Her notebook was filled with snippets of her interview with Craven, descriptions of the town square and the streets of Damarescus, complete with some messy sketches of them, and a brief play by play of the aerial battle. With her help, the Canterlot Tribune would have the story of the century! She'd be famous for a story like this!

By this time, the trio had reached the wall, which, in reality wasn't much of a wall at all. Rather than a thick, stone barrier like that of Canterlot, Damarescus was surrounded by a barricade of cedar and rope. On the inside of the “wall” ran a wooden walkway, which was reached by climbing a rather rickety staircase. Craven took notice of the dry wood the wall was made from, and reasoned that a single stray fire spell could send it up in flames. This did not bode well for them. They reached the top of the steps, and all three ponies gasped at what they saw.

Standing on the balcony, face set and staring into the desert, was Princess Luna. The princess did not regard them, but instead continued to speak with the white coated blonde maned unicorn at her side. His cutie mark appeared to be a silver chalice, indicating high class. Craven reasoned that this must be Sir Elegance, though at this point he could care less for the unicorn. He simply stared in awe at the imposing dark alicorn who stood only a few feet from him. The general suddenly remembered his manners, and knelt down before the princess.

“My liege...” Craven stammered, as the motioned for Glare and Inkwell to bow. They hastily followed suit as Luna cast her steely gaze over them.

“Rise.” The alicorn commanded, turning her eyes back to the desert that lay before her. “And save thy breath General. Look ye yonder, and behold thy enemy.”

Craven did as he was commanded, and stared into the ocean of sand. He could see an assembly of ponies gathering in the distance. There weren't many of them, even counting the line of reinforcements that trailed behind them. His troops could easily take them. What concerned him however, was the alicorn the ponies rallied behind. The combined might of his entire army would be wasted trying to fight an alicorn. They were Equestria's gods. For a pony to fight one would be suicidal. 

Craven turned to the princess who stood by his side. “Well Princess Luna, what are my orders?”

“Simple.” Luna replied, her stare never wavering, “Ye can plainly see that thy enemy is outnumbered. Launcheth thy attack.”

“But Princess, they're lead by an alicorn. You of all ponies should know that it would be futile to fight him. I certainly can't face him, and no amount of soldiers would be able to take him down. We'll have to wait for him to come to us. Maybe we can whittle his forces down before they reach the walls, then focus our attack on him alone. Maybe with sheer numbers we can overwhelm him.”

“Thou speaketh the truth. That alicorn goes by the name of Sand Shrine, and he would cut thee down without mercy nor regret. But thou hast forgotten to whom you speaketh. Thou shalt not need to engage Sand Shrine, for I shall take that task for myself. I shall gamble myself to draw him away from thee and thy army. Without it's leader, our enemies shall fall into utter chaos. For a soldier of thy caliber, they shall be as lambs before the wolf.”

Luna spread her massive wings and prepared to take off. “Thou shalt receive a signal from me once Sand Shrine hath been diverted. Then, thou art to attack full force. Understood?”

“Yes princess.” Craven was vaguely aware of a loud scratching noise from behind him. He turned his head to see Inkwell hastily scrawling on her notepad, trying to copy the princess' speech. The general ignored her, and bid Luna good luck as she lifted into the air and glided towards the enemy lines. The unicorn who has been by her side now turned to Craven.

“You must be General Craven.” The unicorn said, taking a step towards his superior.

“I am.” Craven replied. “And you're Sir Elegance I presume?”

“That I am. My orders general?”

“You heard the princess. Gather your unicorns for an offensive. I'm putting you in charge of this attack, seeing as you're the only one around here intelligent enough to handle such a responsibility.” Craven turned an eye to the sky, and watched as Dream Sickle cleaved straight through a pegasus with her bladed wings. Sand Shrines airborne battalion had begun to falter. The sky would soon be theirs. “Once we've taken out the rest of the pegasi, I'll send them in to assist you.”

“What about the earthponies?” Elegance questioned.

“They'll be divided between myself and commander Glare. I'll keep my troops within the city walls, ready to reinforce you if needed.”

“I'd be willing to leave some of my unicorns behind as well.”

“Thank you commander.” Craven said, giving the unicorn a reassuring nod.

Elegance fired off a blinding beam of light from his horn. The shaft of illumination shot high into the sky, and even in broad daylight was plainly visible. Ponies from all over the square suddenly dropped what they had been doing and raced to the wall to answer the summons of their commander. Craven couldn't help but smile. Unicorn magic made the job a great deal simpler.

“Alright everypony.” Elegance shouted, casting his gaze over the gathering crowd. “When we get the signal from Princess Luna, we're going to throw open the gates and charge. We're taking no prisoners. Show them no mercy.”

There was a flash as Elegance called his blade. A second later, a long, glowing saber hovered in front of him. It appeared to be made of silver, just like the chalice he bore as a cutie mark. It was lightly curved, and razor sharp. A pale white aura pulsed over the weapon, causing it to shimmer and gleam without the aid of the sunlight. The unicorn smiled, and whispered the name of his blade. “Sterling.”

The commander levitated Sterling above his head, and was answered with the multicolored flashes of unicorn blades being summoned below. He gave his blade a whirl, as the crowd of warrior ponies cheered. They were prepared. Now, all they had to do was wait.

*****

The distance between Luna and her enemies was fairly short. At the speed she was traveling, she closed the gap in only a few seconds. Of course, Sand Shrine and his soldiers were quick to react. A torrent of magical projectiles and sand missiles began to scream through the air around her as she deftly dodged each attack. The princess quickly wrapped herself in a thin bubble of magical energy to protect herself in case of a lucky shot, and then prepped an attack spell as she dove towards Sand Shrine.

Luna flew downwards so quickly that it appeared that it was her intent to ram the other alicorn. Of course, she had something far better planned. As she closed, a glass shard suddenly shattered her defensive spell, and another followed closely behind. The princess rolled to avoid the crystalline dagger, then unleashed an arcing blast of lightning from her horn. Her foe dodged the bolt, but wasn't quick enough to dodge the high speed punch she threw at him as she pulled out of her dive. 

Sand Shrine staggered back from the blow, but shook it off with ease. He watched as Luna soared over his troops, raining down bolts of electricity and slaying ponies as she flew. If the alicorn felt any pain over the death of his soldiers, he certainly didn't show it. Instead, he turned calmly to an dirt brown earthpony who stood at his side. 

“Terra Cotta.” The alicorn stated the pony's name with his characteristic monotone.

“Yes my God-King?” Terra Cotta knelt in reverence. It was a pointless gesture really. A simple nod would have sufficed. Shrine did enjoy the title of “God-King” though. It carried such a powerful weight behind it. 

“I'm going to deal with an unexpected guest.” Sand Shrine said as he spread his wings. “Until I return, you're in command. Remember, your job is to divert and distract. Casualties are not an issue.”

“Yes my liege.” 

With a single flap, Shrine launched himself skyward and began to pursue his prey. Luna was flying low and incredibly fast, not exactly the best strategy for aerial combat. That didn't seem to be her goal anyways. It seemed as though she wanted to single him out a duel. He would play along with it for now. The pieces had already fallen into place, and they had landed precisely where he had anticipated. This battle was already won. Check and Mate.

Luna touched down on the loose sand, and skidded to a stop. She turned to face her opponent, firing off a swarm of lighting bolts as he barreled towards her. The desert alicorn easily dove beneath her barrage, obscuring himself in a thick cloud of dust as he landed. Luna's eyes stung as the sand whipped around her. She coughed and choked on the filthy air, as more and more of the desert covering found its way into her mouth. She prepared to spit out the grit, but was suddenly struck in the stomach with incredible force. With the air knocked out of her, Luna attempted to draw a breath, only to suck in more sand. She squinted into the sandstorm around her, trying to locate her enemy, only to take another blow, this time to the back of the head. She fell to the ground, her ears ringing. 

As suddenly as it was summoned, the sandstorm lifted. Sand Shrine stood, surrounded by a hail of glass shards, all of which were aimed for Luna. The princess began to stand, only for a tendril of sand to wrap itself around her neck and throw her to the ground again. The desert alicorn trotted closer, staring down at her. 

“This is a rather pleasant surprise.” Sand Shrine said, tightening his grip around her throat, “I didn't expect Celestia to send her lap dog after me so soon.”

“Insolent fool.” Luna spat, glaring up at her enemy. “Thou art speaking to an alicorn of royal blood, not some miserable cur.”

“Go ahead and keep pretending.” The glass shards rustled as Shrine inched them closer to the princess. “You and I both know that you're nothing compared to her. She is the sun, and you are the moon. The sun is the source of all light in the world. All that the moon can do is reflect the light that the sun puts out.”

The shards were practically touching Luna now. She tried to force herself away from them, but to no avail. She was trapped where she lay, forced to hear what the desert alicorn had to say.

“You're nothing but a reflection Luna. A mere shadow of your sister, destined to be forever out shined by her. Celestia survived when she fought me, but I know you've seen her condition. That's what you came here for, no? To seek revenge for what I did to your sister?” Sand Shrine let out a dry and emotionless laugh, “Celestia was more powerful than you will ever be, and I crushed her with ease. In fact, if it weren't for her teleportation spell, she would be dead. Yet, you, who Celestia could have crushed on a whim, think that you can defeat me?”

Luna hung her head. Sand Shrine knew he had struck something within her, as he had expected he would. Everypony, even the alicorns, had some sense of inferiority. All it took was the right words to bring it to the surface. As much as he would have loved to continue with his verbal beating, he had a war to wage. It was time to end this. Shrine plunged every single one of his glass daggers into Luna's flesh. It would take a few seconds for her to die. He had aimed the shots for her lungs, which should cause massive internal bleeding. She would drown in her own blood. At least, that's what should have happened. His blades seemed to pass directly through Luna. It was as if they had been thrown through thin air. Whatever this was, it was not Luna.

A sudden crack of thunder from behind caused Sand Shrine to whirl around. The skies above him had been blanketed with a thick layer of black storm clouds. He did not react. He simply stared intently into the gathering darkness. Lighting began to rain down, striking the area around him at random. Shrine quickly wove his spell, and his flesh faded into sand. The streaks of electricity stuck only the desert, completely missing their intended target. The storm subsided, and the alicorn reassembled himself. He snorted contemptuously, then prepared another hail of shards. He scanned the clouds above, and caught a glimpse of movement within them. His shards shot forth into the blackness, yet struck nothing. Something was not right here.

Suddenly, a glint of silvery light appeared in the corner of Sand Shrine's left eye. He leapt back, as a blast of lightning streaked past him. The alicorn attempted to face his attacker, only to be met with a second bolt. This time, he could not dodge. He had no time to dissolve into sand. The electricity struck him directly in the chest, and coursed through his body. Shrine was pushed backwards, pain flooding his nerves. Then, as soon as it had began, it ceased. Luna, the real Luna, stood only a few feet away from him, horn glowing brightly.

“Thou hast always been simple to fool.” She spoke in a voice that rose above the thunderous storm she had summoned. “That storm I hath summoned serves as a beacon to my waiting forces in Damarescus. They shall be upon thine army within the moment.”

Sand Shrine gave a dry laugh in response. The sound of laughter without emotion churned Luna's stomach. It was unnatural. It was wrong. It was an abomination.

“You've always struggled with the game of chess.” The desert alicorn replied without raising his voice. “More specifically, the concept of a gambit. However, I excelled at it. Where I gave up a pawn, I took a knight. Where I gave up a rook, I took your queen. You see only what's presented to you. You lack foresight, the key element of chess. I presented to you only part of my force. I've gambled a pawn, and placed you in check.”

His horn ignited, and Negrev instantly flashed into existence.

“Your move.”

*****

Inkwell had climbed atop the wall, watching in awe as the gates were thrown open, and the ponies within began to rush out. She worked her quill furiously across the page, trying to annotate the scene that was unfolding before her.

“Force headed by commanders Red Glare and Sir Elegance. Earthpony and Unicorn respectively. Commander Dream Sickle, pegasus, following closely. Earthponies lead the charge.” She glanced up, then turned her attention back to her notes. “Enemy group does not counterattack. Victory seems inevitable.”
> A Pawn in Jeapordy
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Red Glare easily pulled ahead to the front of Luna's forces. The enemy unicorns had begun to lay down a barrage of spells, showering their attackers in a rain of fire, earth, water, and lightning. Ponies were slain by the volley, but the charge went on undeterred. Sand Shrine's army did not return the charge. Instead, they held their ground, patiently awaiting the collision of the two armies. Within a few seconds, they got what they were waiting for.

The two armies slammed against each other with a sickening crunch of wood, iron, and bone. Ponies here and there were trampled, skewered, beheaded, and cut in two as the two forces collided. Red Glare had zeroed in on an enemy unicorn and hurled himself upon his enemy. With his earthpony strength, he easily overpowered his foe, wrestling him to the ground. With a blow to the windpipe, the unicorn was dead. Red rolled off of his downed enemy, and scanned for another target. 

The target, however, decided to come to him instead. A bright yellow, ethereal blade swept past Red's face, nearly taking his head off with a clean swipe. He ducked beneath the sword as it slashed again, then quickly rose and charged towards the blade's wielder. He quickly closed the distance between himself and this unicorn, then planted a hoof in his opponent's stomach, doubling him over. Glare then reared up, and delivered a crushing, double hoofed blow to the unicorn's spine. He heard an audible snap as his enemy fell to the sand below. 

Before Red Glare could celebrate downing two enemy unicorns, he was struck across the jaw with by an attacking earthpony. Red staggered backwards, only for his assailant to whip about, then give Red a swift buck, sending him sprawling. Glare made an attempt to stand, only for his foe to dive upon his chest, pin him to the ground, and press a foreleg against his throat. Red struggled, but it was useless, all of his limbs were unable to move. He kicked his back legs furiously, but to no avail. His lungs were screaming for air, and his mouth was opened wide, trying desperately to suck in oxygen. He choked as his attacker pressed down harder on his windpipe. The edges of his vision began to blur, and his eyes fluttered as he began to lose consciousness.

Suddenly, the earthpony attacker let out an earsplitting shriek as a brilliant silver blade pierced his chest. In a split second, the sword was torn upwards by an unseen force, ripping through the ponies chest, and then through the skull. Red Glare rolled out from beneath the halved corpse, choking and spluttering as he was finally able to breathe. He looked up to see Elegance standing above him, with Sterling floating only a few feet away. 

“Getting yourself killed already Red?” The unicorn said as he continued to plod forwards. An earthpony rushed towards him, head lowered and battle shout raised. Elegance swiftly whipped his blade about, severing both of his attackers legs. His enemy skidded to a halt about a foot in front of him, where he was promptly beheaded. The blood from the wound splattered against Elegance's pure white coat. He cringed at the sight. He absolutely loathed the filth and grit of war. With a simple spell, Elegance cast the crimson splotches off his coat and onto the sand below. Much better.

Elegance snapped out of his thoughts to see an enemy blade closing on him. He managed to parry the incoming assault then lashed at his assailant with Sterling. His blow struck only air, as his enemy easily dodged, retracted his sword, then retaliated with a viscous downward slash. Elegance managed to deflect it, but was knocked to the ground by the sheer force of the attack. His foe pulled his blade back, and prepared to finish what he had started. Before he could however, Red Glare rushed the attacking unicorn, slamming into his opponent's chest head first. A cacophony of cracks reached his ears as his enemies ribcage shattered. The unicorn fell to the sand, gurgling softly as he choked on his own blood.

“Getting yourself killed already Elegance?” Red taunted as his fellow commander rose and dusted himself off. 

“Not another word.” The unicorn stated, casting his blade again.

Elegance and Red Glare raced back into the swirling melee of ponies, cutting their way through the center with hoof and blade. They fought as a team, perfectly in sync with one another. Together, they were nearly invincible. Red Glare bucked an enemy back, where he was instantly impaled on Sterling. The blade ripped the pony in two, then whistled through the air to slash the throat of another. An earthpony managed to dodge the whirling blade, and attempted to strike Elegance. Before he got the chance however, Red Glare pounded him into the ground, shattering his skull.

Elegance paused during a lull in the combat, and surveyed the battlefield. Sand Shrine's army was in full retreat. Luna's forces had swept them aside with minimal losses. It seemed so simple. Almost too simple. These ponies hadn't even put up a good fight, they had just stood there and been cut down like beasts to the slaughter. Something about this didn't feel right. Elegance couldn't put his hoof on it, but something was amiss here. He wanted to pursue this train of thought further, but was distracted by an enemy unicorn assaulting him with a hail of fire spells. Elegance quickly shielded himself with a bubble of magical energy, then sent Sterling on a collision course with his enemies chest. It sliced through the flesh like a hot knife through butter.

Elegance once again gazed out over the battlefield. Victory was near. Their enemy was routing. Yet somehow it all felt hollow. He sighed and rushed back into the fray. He was only a soldier. It wasn't his place to question.

*****

“You remember Negrev, don't you Luna?” The desert alicorn said, leveling his glass blade at her. 

Luna shuddered. She remembered that blade well, even though she had tried for nearly a century to forget it. The last she had seen of it was during the second siege of Canterlot, when the alicorns had returned to retake their capitol from Discord and his Draconequus army. She and Sand Shrine had been tasked with retaking the outer courtyard, and they had been vastly outnumbered. The fighting was intense, but Shrine seemed to enjoy it. His voice had risen to an incomprehensible screech, and his eyes had glossed over, as though he were in some sort of sick euphoria. His blade snicker-snacked back and forth, splattering blood and gore over both the courtyard and himself. It was horrifying to watch, and every second of it had been etched into Luna's memory with remarkable clarity. 

“I remember it.” Luna replied, “And thou certainly must remember my blade.”

Luna's horn glowed softly as she brought her blade into existence. In stark contrast to her opponent's blade, which was straight and narrow, hers was curved, more like a sickle than a sword. While Celestia's blade had been pure sunlight, Luna's was pure black, as dark as the sky on a moonless night. It seemed as though her blade hungered for light, sucking it in from the area around her. Yet, despite all its darkness, her sword actually gave off a soft pale white light. Just like the moon itself.

“Ah yes.” Sand Shrine sounded bored by the sight, “I remember your blade. Penumbra. Truly a work of great blade craft. Its unfortunate that you won't get the chance to use it tonight.”

In the space it took Luna to blink, Sand Shrine had crossed the distance between them, and made a thrust with his blade. Luna had barely managed to parry before her enemy struck again, aiming a solid stab to her stomach. Again, she deflected his blade, only for Shrine to push her back with a wave of telepathic force. She staggered back, ignited her horn, and fired off a bolt of lighting towards her enemy. The desert alicorn slipped past the bolt with ease, and sent a writhing tendril of send flying towards Luna to counter. She tried to dodge, but the sand followed her every move, then struck her in the chest with unparalleled force, sending her sprawling.

Luna leapt back to her hooves, instinctively blocking another thrust from Negrev. She parried again, but Shrine was quick to react, and delivered a swift punch to her stomach. Shrine stabbed again, this time at point blank range. Luna's eyes widened as the glass blade closed on her chest. Thinking quickly, she gave her wings a mighty flap, sending her both backwards and upwards, just out of range of her enemies sword. 

Sand Shrine raised a hoof full of sand from the desert, then began to meld the individual grains together into glass. Within seconds, he had formed a small glass dagger. He took aim at the tip of Luna's wing, and let fly. The knife tumbled through the air end over end, then clipped Luna's wing as it shot by. The lunar alicorn let out an earsplitting scream as she fell, just before slamming into the sand and kicking up a small cloud of dust. She opened her eyes just in time to see Negrev descending upon her, and she instinctively rolled to the side. The blade embedded itself in the ground beside her, and Luna attempted to rise again, only to be clouted across the cheek, and sent skidding across the desert.

Luna rose to her hooves, and spat out a mouthful of blood. The sticky red fluid had begun to seep out from the wound on her wing, and was now dribbling down across her back. She gritted her teeth, and prepared herself as Sand Shrine slowly strode towards her. His gait seemed so cool, so calculated. It was downright disturbing how calm he was in battle. The desert alicorn aimed another stab, this time for her left eye, but Luna was ready. She blocked the incoming thrust with a simple parry, then whipped Penumbra about and delivered a swift slash to her enemies neck. The black blade easily cut through the alicorn's throat, cleaving his head clean off.

Within seconds however, Sand Shrine's face had already reformed itself. He stared back at Luna with an emotionless smile. Her stomach churned at the sight, and she lashed her blade again full force. Shrine deflected the blow with ease, then countered by ramming a pillar of hardened sand into her gut, knocking the wind out of her. Luna staggered back and tried to catch her breath, when she was suddenly caught in a whistling mass of flying dust. She choked and spluttered, squinting to see her enemy through the haze. 

Sand Shrine rose up, flying higher and higher until he was free of the cloud he had created. His enemy however was trapped in the choking sandstorm, blinded and frozen for the time being. His horn ignited, and he instantly melded the miasma into a storm of flechettes, which glistened in the sunlight, casting their gleam all about the desert. Below him, Luna had managed to catch her breath, and now stared upwards into a drove of daggers. She managed to cast a shielding spell as the glass blades began to rain down on her. The lunar alicorn fell back under the volley of shards, and was struck in the foreleg with one of the blades. 

Luna let out a cry of pain as the knife burrowed into her flesh. She fought the urge to tear the blade out as her foe dove on her from above, his blade primed for the kill. Luna struck back, and Penumbra and Negrev met and exchanged a series of lightning fast blows before each returned to its wielder. Luna stood there panting, dripping with a vile mixture of sweat and blood. Sand Shrine however remained cool and composed, pointing the tip of his blade into the desert sand.

“Its over now.” The desert alicorn said in his dry monotone. “You've failed Luna.”

“Lies.” Luna huffed, “So long as I draw breath, I shall do battle with thee.”

“It doesn't matter what you do Luna. The board was set, the pieces all fell into place. The game is over.” Shrine replied. “That hail of glass I hit you with wasn't just an attack. The reflection of the sun off of the individual shards was meant as a signal to my own troops. Damarescus has been outflanked, and will fall in a matter of minutes. You could have saved it, but your desire for revenge blinded you. You rushed off to avenge your sister, leaving your army and city vulnerable.”

Luna was dumbfounded. She didn't speak, only stared at the ground in shame.

“In the face of superior strategy, everypony falls. Even the gods.”

Luna snarled, pulled her blade back, and lashed out once more, her attack fueled no longer by her desire for revenge, but raw rage.

*****

Hidden in the shadow of the wall of the city of Damarescus, on the opposite side from where the battle was taking place, a rather large task force of Sand Shrine's army lay in wait. Leading this clandestine operation was none other than Nightshade, who stood by the wall twitching impatiently. They stood awaiting their leader's signal, and were soon rewarded by a bright sparkling on the horizon. That was the signal. Nightshade breathed a sigh of relief, and quickly cast Belladonna. It was her time to shine now.

Nightshade's horn ignited with a bright green glow, as she wove a powerful spell into the sand at her hooves. At her command, the desert on which she stood began to swell with grass, eventually sprouting short, thick vines that wavered about like writhing snakes. The vines quickly began to grow, at a rate too rapid to be natural, then suddenly shot up to the top of the wall, where it latched on and held firm. The creepers tightened, and dangled down like ropes for the army to use. Nightshade took hold of the vine with her teeth, as did several of the other soldiers. Her horn lit up again, retracting the vines, and pulling both her, and her comrades, to the top of the wall.

Nightshade landed atop the barricade, right between two earthpony sentries. Before either could react, she had swept Belladonna about her in a wide arc, slicing through them both with ease. The soldier's blood splattered against her sides, leaving warm crimson stains on her normally green coat. A devilish grin danced across her lips as she watched her enemies writhe and moan on the wooden boards. Normally, she would have leapt at the chance to prolong their suffering, but for now, stealth was of the essence, so she whipped her blade around again, this time killing her enemies.

After a few moments, Nightshade had moved most of her forces from the ground to the wall. About a hundred ponies had gathered for the assault, and were now beginning to make their way through the town of Damarescus. They slowly and silently made their way through the empty streets, half expecting to encounter a sentry around every turn. They did not. In fact, the city seemed deserted. They were completely unprepared for a strike to the rear. As Nightshade and her comrades reached the town square, they finally could see their enemies. The invaders issued a loud cry, then charged their unwary foes.

The ponies in the court were mostly pegasi, who had just landed after completing their aerial combat. A few earthponies and unicorns were in the mix as well, but it seemed that they were in the minority. A pegasus lifted into the air, and flew like an arrow bound for Nightshade's skull. The unicorn however, was well prepared for the attack. She ducked low, and arced her blade above her head as her foe sailed over her. With this single, well placed strike, she slit her opponent's belly, spilling a grotesque mixture blood and entrails onto the sand below. She leapt forward, and thrust Belladonna's jagged tip into the spine of a now retreating earthpony. With a quick corkscrew motion of her sword, she cut him down, landing squarely upon his corpse. 

Another pegasus charged for Nightshade, closing the gap between them in seconds. He slashed at her throat with the tips of his wings, missing his by only a few centimeters. Nightshade's horn ignited as she leapt back from her attacker, then she swung her hoof at him, casting a spell as she did so. Her hoof was suddenly wreathed in magic, and the spell began to transform her limb into a vine, studded all over with thick thorns. Her newly formed vine punched through her enemies chest, exiting out the other side. With a sweeping motion, Nightshade whipped her foreleg about, hurling the pony she had hooked back through his own ranks. He skittered across the ground, just before landing in a bloody heap amid his own comrades. 

The bloody corpse landed at the feet of Sir Craven, who nearly vomited at the sight. He took several steps away from the body, retching with every step. His breathing had grown short and rapid, and his eyes darted about the battlefield, watching with horror as his soldiers were cut down. Craven scanned his enemies, and caught a glimpse of some sort of demon in the middle. She appeared to be a pony, perhaps a unicorn of some sort, yet her back, hooves, and mane were all a writhing, deep green mass of tentacles. It seemed to be some hell spawned fusion of unicorn and squid, flailing its tendrils about the battlefield, skewing ponies and splattering their blood about the courtyard like paint upon a canvas.

Craven turned to his subordinate, Dream Sickle. She seemed to be much more composed than he, as she jammed both of her wingblades into the neck of an attacker, then whirled around to slash open the stomach of another. 

“General Sickle.” He stated plainly, swallowing hard to hide his disgust.

“Yeah?” She replied, tossing an enemy to the ground with a well placed punch.

“I need you to assume command of the troops for a moment.” He turned his back on her, “I'll be back shortly.”

With that, Craven dashed for the frontal barricade, his hooves flying over the pavement with uncanny speed. In only a minute, he had reached the wall, and dashed up the ramp to the battlements, where Inkwell stood, still jotting down notes on the unfolding battle. She was entirely engrossed in her work, and didn't even notice the general's approach until he tapped her on the shoulder.

“Craven?” She said, snapping out of her fantasy world. “What are you doing here?”

“Come on!” He shouted, giving her a forceful shove. “Somehow they managed to slip into the city. We've gotta get out of here!”

Inkwell hurriedly tossed her belongings into her saddlebag and raced off after the now fleeing general. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Nightshade and her troops slaughtering their reserves. 

“What about them?” Inkwell said, her eyes watching in horror as Nightshade impaled another pony upon a thorned vine.

“Not our problem.” Craven replied, as he and the journalist made a mad dash for the city railway station. 

They reached the station with ease, and quickly clamored into a docked train. Without slowing his pace, Craven dashed through the cars, diving into the engine and hitting the floor hard. He leapt to his hooves, and began fanatically hurling coal into the still burning engine, listening with an impatient ear as the steam began to build. He stared at the steam gauge, tapping it frantically with his hoof as the needle slowly turned. Finally, enough steam had been collected to power the rig, and Craven slammed the throttle forward. The train lurched forward with an earsplitting screech of iron on iron. The iron horse began to slowly chug forward, puffing clouds of smoke and steam from its stack.

Dream Sickle looked to the station as the train pulled away. They were trapped. Prisoners in their own city. There was nothing she could do now but grit her teeth and fight on. The enemy general, a unicorn who was utilizing some wild form of nature magic, was already racing towards the train station. Sickle made up her mind that she would never reach her destination. She gave her wings a flap, and sent herself hurtling downrange like a bullet. In a split second, she collided with her enemy, tackling her to the ground. The unicorn's spell was interrupted, and the vines she had conjured withered. Sickle aimed a punch for her enemies skull, but was thrown back with a sudden wave of force. 

With a flap of the wings to stabilize her, Dream landed on her hooves, just in time to duck beneath a slash from Belladonna. She closed the distance between the two of them in a moment, and thrust for her foe with both of her wingtips, only for Nightshade to easily sidestep the assault. The unicorn's horn lit up once more, as a cluster of thorns burrowed out of the flesh of her foreleg. With a flick of her leg, she hurled the drove of flechettes into her enemy, who deftly dodged all of them. Again, Sickle slashed with her wings, and again her foe avoided it. The two began a deadly dance of wings and blade, with each striking out and dodging the attacks of the other. They continued in this way for a short time, until Nightshade conjured another swarm of vines. With these, she was able to overwhelm her enemy, and ensnare her in a tangle of the thorny tendrils. 

Dream Sickle struggled against her bonds, but they only dug further into her flesh. Nightshade leaned close to her, leveling her blade at her downed enemy. 

“Oh, I would love to have some more fun with you.” The unicorn whispered, her eyes gleaming, “I think it would be fun to sever your wings, then hurl you from the battlements and watch you try to fly.”

Nightshade smiled as she drank in the look of sheer terror from Dream.

“Of course, your friends there decided that they should high-tail it out of here. That's something I can't let happen. I'm sure they would like nothing more than to warn all of Equestria of what happened here. That wouldn't be any fun now would it? They'd ruin the surprise!” The unicorn let out a childish giggle, “Well, I've wasted enough time talking. Ta ta!”

With that, Nightshade began to dash along the railroad tracks, determined to follow them to hell and back if need be.

*****

Sand Shrine and Luna had lifted into the air again, and had begun an intense skyward duel. Their blades clashed with one another as they tumbled and rolled through the air, ceasing only to fire off an attacking spell, or to block an incoming blow. They had strayed far from their original field of combat, and now soared over the battle outside of Damarescus. 

Shrine gave Luna a forceful push, leaving him free to move for just one moment. That was all the time he needed to cast his spell. In that split second, he managed to form the desert below him into a sea of writhing tendrils of sand, all of which were edged with a thin blade of razor sharp glass. These desert tentacles thrashed around violently, slicing both Luna's and his own soldiers. He no longer cared who died to take this city. After all, he had resurrected the dead once already, he could easily do it again. 

Luna charged him, Penumbra whistling through the air before her, only to have her foe block her blade without even looking up. He was somehow controlling his blade with one spell, and slaughtering the troops below with another. It was an incredible, if terrifying, display of magic. He wove another spell and cast it upon the desert below. This time, the ground became loose and shaky, destabilizing the sand. Ponies all over began to slip into the churning sea of slit, drowning and choking beneath the desert waves.

Both armies were devastated by these blows, but Sand Shrine's army would not retreat. Other than Terra Cotta, who had already been slain by Shrine's reckless spell casting, only his reanimated dead remained. They would remain until they all lay dead once more. Luna's forces however were not so lucky. They realized what they were up against. They could see that they were facing down an alicorn. They knew they faced a god. At this realization, the few ponies who remained instinctively retreated, racing back to their city, unaware that it had already been overrun.

Luna disengaged her blade, surrounded herself with a crackling aura of lightning, and made a last ditch effort to ram her opponent. Sand Shrine looked up from his assault on the ground troops just in time to see Luna's attempt at a charge. His horn ignited, and his hoof was suddenly surrounded in a thick bubble of telepathic force. It was a simple spell, but one he knew to be effective. He threw a punch against her barrier, and watched as it began to compress beneath the raw force of his attack. It seemed to move in slow motion, as the shield condensed, then suddenly dissipated as Shrine's punch broke through it. The shockwave of telepathic force rapidly expanded, colliding with Luna and sending her flying. 

As she soared through the air, Luna's eyes slipped closed, as her mind fell into unconsciousness. Her body however, continued onwards, sailing ever closer to the horizon with no sign of stopping.
> Pawns and Queens
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Elegance, Red Glare, and whatever remained of Luna's once powerful army fled from the battlefield, which had now become a sea of writhing, bladed tendrils of sand. They raced back towards the gates of their city at a mad pace, furiously flying over the desert sand, trying to escape the god who hovered just over their heads. As they approached, the gates swung open, as if to greet them. They all knew that the wooden walls would offer them little protection from the desert alicorn, but it was at least better than being out in the open.

As they dashed towards their city, Elegance was shocked to see that their gates had been flung open to them, as if someone within was expecting them. One look to the face of his comrade told him that their thoughts were the same. Something was horribly wrong here, but neither of them could put their hoof on it. Despite this fact, both pressed on towards Damarescus. Whatever danger they faced inside would be nothing compared to the ominous black specter that darkened the skies about them. To face an army alone would be a valiant last stand. To face a god would be a meaningless suicide. Their minds made up, the two generals charged in through the open gates, hooves and blades prepared for a fight. Inside however, there was no army facing them. Only one unicorn stood in their path. Nightshade.

"Good afternoon Gentlecolts." She said, her muscles giving a nervous twitch. "Sorry to be the bearer of bad news here, but your city is already done for. I would advise you both to surrender right now." Another twitch.

Red Glare stepped forward, gritting his teeth. "I'd rather die than surrender."

"You said it, not me." Nightshade let out a chuckle, as she cast her blade. She stood in place, her spasmodic twitching becoming even more prominent as the earthpony charged her. Her body was practically shivering with excitement as she aimed a slash towards his throat. Belladonna closed in fast, prepared to rend both flesh and bone to sever her foe's head, but the strike never connected. In the split second before blade met flesh, a brilliant shaft of silvery magic deflected her attack, allowing the earthpony to deliver his unimpeded. Red Glare struck out with his hoof, cracking his foe square in the chest.

Nightshade went sprawling from the sheer force of the kick, tumbling along the ground until she skidded to a stop. Her breath had become short and rapid, and she could taste the distinctly metallic flavor of blood running from her mouth. She lifted her head to see that the unicorn, Elegance, had cast his own blade to counter hers. Now it was two against one. Behind their two generals, the soldiers began to rally. Unicorns cast their blades and began to weave spells, while earthponies furiously stamped their hooves in anticipation of one last charge. Any other pony would have turned white with terror staring down as many ponies as there were, but not Nightshade. Instead, she did the unthinkable. She curved her lips into a sickening grin, even as crimson blood trickled from the sides of her mouth and in between her teeth. The purple unicorn rose to her hooves, and bared both blade and teeth at her enemies as she waited for them to make their move. She didn't need to wait long, as her foes instinctively charged her.

Nightshade parried a flurry of stabs and slashes from her attackers, stepping backwards with each blow. Her enemies began to form a semi-circle around her, and inched ever closet with every attack she deflected or dodged. There was no way she could defeat them all at once. Luckily for her, she didn't need too. Nightshade unleashed a wave of telepathic force from her horn, catching her assailants off guard. Once they had been momentarily distracted, she turned tail and fled. Her hooves clattered over the cobblestones, and the roar of hoofbeats from her enemies was closing fast as she darted into the town square. Red Glare and Elegance were hot on her heels, and quickly followed suit.

As they entered the square however, they quickly realized that they had made a devastating error. They saw their quarry now standing at the forefront of a large squadron of Sand Shrine's rebels. The tables were turned as Nightshade and her soldiers prepared to counterattack, and Luna's forces trembled in terror as their enemies began to close in on them. Before the two armies collided however, they were both stilled by a sudden, earsplitting voice that cut in on their combat.

"Enough." The single word was delivered with such power and such volume that it drowned out the sounds of battle entirely. Many of the ponies clamped their hooves over their ears, as they sought relief from the resounding echoes of the voice. As the voice faded away, it left utter silence in its wake. The heavy noise of flapping wings filled the void, as Sand Shrine himself lowered into the square. His hooves touched down on the pavement with a quiet clip clop, and he surveyed the two armies that surrounded him. Shrine's own ponies knelt before him. The air suddenly felt warmer and drier in the alicorn's presence. In addition to this, there was a feeling of pressure that radiated out from him, as though his mere existence commanded respect and awe.

"This battle is over." Shrine's voice resonated over the court, assailing the ears of everypony in Damarescus. "Damarescus has fallen, as has Princess Luna. Those few of you who survived the battle today are free to live the rest of your lives in peace here, so long as you recognize me as your new God and sovereign ruler. If you simpletons understand my words, then bow before me."

Very few of Luna's soldiers did as they were commanded. If Sand Shrine was angered by their insubordination, he didn't show it. Instead, he merely singled one of them out, and motioned for him to step forward. The pony he had selected was general Elegance. The general didn't move.

"Come forth unicorn." Shrine said, his voice booming in the ears of the commander. Still Elegance refused to budge. Since he would not respond to verbal commands, the alicorn opted to use force. His horn lit up, and Elegance found himself surrounded by an amber glow. The unicorn was dragged, against his will, towards the god.

Unicorns were taught from a young age how to protect themselves from the telepathy of their fellow spellcasters. It was such a simple, yet important enchantment for them to learn. But somehow the alicorn had managed to deactivate this enchantment, and in a matter of seconds no less. It was as if Shrine was simply outside the rules of conventional magic. Elegance shuddered at the thought, but restrained himself from showing fear. He needed to remain strong. All eyes were on him, and if he gave in now, so would his soldiers.

"You refuse to bow before your new god, unicorn?" Shrine stated, his voice lower than usual. "Why? Are you so dull that you cannot recognize the futility of resistance?"

Elegance swallowed hard. "No. I don't bow because you aren't my god."

"You have no alternative. All others are either dead or dying."

"You can destroy our cities, you can crush our armies, and you can kill our gods, but we have something that you can never take away." The unicorn said boldly, "We always have hope. And as long as there is hope we-"

Elegance was suddenly silenced as Negrev flashed into existence, then thrust through his eye in the time it took the onlooking crowd to blink. The blade shattered through the back of the unicorn's skull, effectively driving its way through the general's head. Elegance's body slumped down, then slid to the ground as Sand Shrine removed his blade. The crowd wanted to cry out in shock, to mourn the death of their leader, but fear kept them silent. All were silent, save for one.

"As long as there is hope we will continue to fight." Red Glare stepped forward, completing his friend's dying words. "We'll never give up, we'll fight till our-"

Negrev shot across the court, and its glass tip slashed across Red Glare's jugular. The motion was so swift and so fluid that most of the crowd didn't see it happen. They simply saw a flash of motion, and then a spray of red from Glare's neck. The earthpony was killed instantly, and joined his fellow general on the cobblestones, his blood starting to pool about his corpse.

"Now, are there any further objections? If there are, you are free to join these two. If there are no more complaints, then bow." The alicorn spoke this last word with such force that he sent shivers through the ponies surrounding him. Luna's soldiers eyed their fallen leaders, and began to see just how futile it was to resist. This being had thrown down both of their goddesses, and bore not a scratch from the endeavor. For them to fight him anymore would be worthless. The soldiers knelt down where they stood, their set as stone faces now bathed with tears.

The earth beneath the warriors feet began to tremble and shake, as the tiles of their court began to crack. Celestia's insignia, much like the goddess herself, lay shattered into bits at the hooves of Sand Shrine. The shards of stone began to skitter about, rearranging themselves into a new mural. They now formed the distinctive outline of two sand dunes, Sand Shrine's cutie mark.

*****

Luna awoke with a resounding crash. Her eyes shot open as her body slammed against a massive stone mountain. She slumped down against the cliff face, her deep blue coat covered with dried blood. The alicorn let out a cough, and slowly rose to her hooves again. Her battered legs shuddered beneath her own weight, and she very nearly collapsed, but Luna locked her knees, gritted her teeth, and held firm. Now that she had regained consciousness, she scanned the area in which she had landed.

Luna squinted as she gazed out over the horizon. She could see the outline of Damarescus out there, many miles away from where she stood. She had failed. The city she had been sent to protect had fallen. Hundreds of ponies had died defending it, and for what? All they had managed to do was delay the inevitable. She had been outmatched, and out thought by her opponent, and he had done it all without breaking a sweat. Perhaps Shrine had been right. All she was, was a reflection of her sisters power, and Sand Shrine had cast her down with ease. If he had already destroyed Celestia, what chance did Luna stand?

Luna pushed these thoughts from her head. This was no time for self pity. There was still a war to win, and feeling sorry for herself wouldn't bring her any closer to victory. She spread her wings, as pain seared through every inch of her body for doing so. With a deep breath, she leapt from the mountain and glided to the rocky desert sand below. Only a mile ahead, she could see train tracks crisscrossing the land, like a black iron snake amid yellowed grass. The plume of smoke in the distance indicated that a train was currently on its way, likely containing the survivors from the battle. The iron horse chugged along the tracks at a steady pace, but as it approached Luna it let out a squeal of metal on metal and began to slow.

She entered into the last car, and her jaw dropped. Every row was empty. She threw open the door to the next car, and was met by the same sight. The entire train was empty. Had none survived the battle? No, that was impossible. She had seen ponies who were alive and well retreating from the battle. There was no way that Shrine could have killed all of them... Was there? There was only one last car to check, and that was the engine.

Luna threw open the door to the engine, and found Inkwell and Craven standing within, both filthy with sweat and soot. At the sight of their princess, both ponies instinctively kowtowed in reverence.

"My princess," Craven said, his face still directed towards the floor. "What happened to you? We saw you fighting with Sand Shrine, and then..."

"Silence!" Luna cut him off, her voice at a volume that could shatter eardrums. "My fight with Shrine did not go as planned. However, that is irrelevant. I had tasked ye with the defense of Damarescus, and now look ye yonder! Damarescus burns, and thou hast abandoned her in her darkest hour!" The alicorn paused for a moment, then went on. "Where are the rest of the survivors?"

"I don't know my liege." Craven replied, "Inkshell and I..."

"Its Inkwell." The jounalist butted in.

"Right, what she said. Inkwell and I got on the train alone. The battle had taken a turn for the worse, and so we..."

Before he could complete his thought, Craven was suddenly swept off his feet and hurled through the air. He flew threw the open engine doors, and came to a crashing halt against one of the train car's many navy blue cushioned benches. The earthpony coughed as the wind was knocked out of him on impact. He tried to take a breath, but he was suddenly caught again in Luna's magical grip and lifted from the seat.

"Coward!" Craven felt the alicorn's voice rattle his skeleton, "Thou saw that thy comrades were in the direst of peril, and thou chose to abandon them in their darkest hour? Who art thou that ye should live, and thy brethren should be slain? And Moreover, my orders to thee were to hold Damarescus at any cost, even unto death, and ye have had the feeble minded gall to retreat? I ought to have thee drawn and quartered for thy insolence."

"Please...don't..." The general choked as the magic squeezed around him. "It's...my...talent."

"What didst thou say?" Luna suddenly released him from her grasp, letting the earthpony fall upon the steel floor like a ragdoll.

"It's..." Craven gasped for air, "My talent. Cowardice is my special talent."

"How didst thou earn thy mark for such a despicable art? I hast never heard of such a thing in my immortal existence."

"Then consider me the first. When I was a filly, I ran away from every fight. Whether it was to stick up for myself or for somepony else, I still ran. You do anything enough, and its bound to become your talent. Its how I got this cutie mark." Craven pointed a hoof towards his flank, where the mark of a horseshoe with wings rested.

"Thou art a waste of equine resources." Luna spat, turning her back on the disgraced general. In front of her, looking more like a timid rabbit than a unicorn, stood Inkwell. "As for thee, I did not expect ye to stay and fight. Thou art only a scribe, and would be a fool to fight."

Luna observed that the pony to whom she spoke was trembling at the sound of her voice, and decided to tone it down. "However, even the most rudimentary of combat spells can be refined into powerful magic, provided thou art properly trained. Come, present unto me thy blade! Then I shall instruct thee in the proper technique!"

Inkwell only stared back. The princess could see the confusion in the young mare's eyes, and so she rephrased her request. "Inkwell, cast thy blade."

"My princess," Inkwell replied, shaking nervously, "I...I can't cast my blade."

"Thou cannot cast thy blade?" Luna furrowed her brow, "How can this be? Thou art a combat scribe, art ye not?"

"My princess, I don't know anything about blades, or fighting, or magic. I'm just a reporter from the Canterlot Tribune."

"Then of what use art thou to me?" The goddess stated, turning her back to Inkwell and gazing out the window. "Sand Shrine won't settle for Damarescus. He won't stop until all of Equestria lies broken, bloodied, and subjugated to him. This was our single, shining opportunity to snuff out Shrine's rebellion where it began, and we hath failed. Unless we can make it back to Canterlot and receive reinforcement before Shrine can mobilize his army once more, Equestria is doomed."

*****

Back in Damarescus, Sand Shrine's army had kept itself busy looting what little treasure the town contained. Ponies were forcibly dragged from their homes, robbed, and often savagely beaten. Those ponies that had served in the military were herded together and forced into the city hall. The government complex was then sealed several times over with defensive spells, and garrisoned with whatever ponies Sand Shrine felt he could spare. The soldiers had become prisoners within their hometown.

The resurrected ponies had been hard at work stripping the city of all references to the "Old Older" as Shrine had called it. The local shrine to the goddesses had been set ablaze and left to burn. The Equestrian flag that once flew over the city had been torn down, replaced by a white handkerchief of surrender. Anything and everything that referenced the reign of Luna and Celestia was gathered up and systematically destroyed. Books, paintings, pamphlets, trinkets, and charms were gathered up in the center of town and burned. No artifact was to be left unscathed. History had not been kind to Sand Shrine, and so he had chose to eliminate it. Eventually he would reshape history to suit himself. It would take some time, but he had all time in the world. He was an immortal after all.

Shrine had left one soldier out of prison, the pegasus general Dream Sickle. She had remained in the thorny tangle of vines that Nightshade had woven around her. She hadn't had anything to eat or drink for the remainder of the day, and her lack of sustenance was beginning to take its toll on her. Her eyes slipped closed, and Sickle thought that she would never again open them. Though she had no idea how much time had passed, it seemed to Dream that she had only shut her eyes for a few seconds before an icy splash of water to the face caused them to open again. She coughed and spluttered, and looked up to see Sand Shrine standing above her.

The alicorn summoned his blade, and used it to cut the vines that bound his captive. As Dream sat up, Sand Shrine thrust a canteen to her lips, allowing her to drink to satisfaction. Once she had finished, he handed off the water skin to a nearby drone, then turned his attention back to Dream.

"You might be wondering why I spared you." He said in a hushed tone. "I have a mission for you. During my battle with Luna, I struck her with a rather powerful blow, and sent her spiraling off into the desert in that direction." Shrine pointed with his hoof. "I want you to fly after her and, assuming she is not yet dead, deliver a message. Tell her that my next target is Dodge Junction, and that I will be marching on it within the week. If you refuse to do this, then you will meet the same end as Glare and Elegance. Either you may face the elements, or you may face me. Its your choice."

Without another word, Dream Sickle took off into the now smoke choked sky, and flew until she faded into the horizon.
> Castling
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Nightshade strode alongside the train tracks as she pursued her quarry. The steel girders were impossible to make out in the pitch black night, so she had lit her horn with a soft purple glow to illuminate her path. The darkness was a good sign. She cast her eyes skyward, and saw no trace of the moon, nor the stars. The heavens had been dyed an inky black from which no light shone forth. It was painfully obvious that Luna was unable to lift either of them tonight. She had been weakened, if not killed outright in her fight with Sand Shrine, and assuming the former, would be a much easier target for Nightshade. If it was the latter, than her job would be over before it even began.

Nightshade had mentally gone over all three of the soldiers she had seen leaving Damarescus. There was the earthpony and the unicorn who had fled from the battle on the train, along with Luna, who Sand Shrine had sent flying. The two along the rails would be easy to find. She would simply follow the tracks until she caught up with their train car. Then, the fun would begin. Nightshade felt giddy as her mind turned over the various methods and means by which her enemies could be slain. There was simple butchering with her blade, as well as many of her various spells at her disposal of course, but there was no pleasure to be reaped from such easy work. Perhaps she could sever the unicorn's horn, and use that in some way. Ah well. She would cross that bridge when she came to it.

The unicorn again turned her eyes to the sky, as a silvery moon ascended to its predetermined position in the heavens. While she appreciated the light, the implications of the illumination were grim. Luna was alive. However, she was weak. Only the thinnest sliver of the moon had been brought out tonight, and none of the stars dared to pierce the darkness. Even if she was alive, she wouldn't be in fighting condition. It was all too perfect. Nightshade's lips curled into a grim smile. To kill an alicorn was to kill a god. Perhaps she would become a god slayer this night.

*****

"Confounded new technology." Luna cursed under her breath. The engine of the train had overheated, and now needed to cool off before they could continue on. She had suggested that they start walking, but the others were...opposed to the idea to say the least.

Luna sat beside the stopped train upon the desert sand, staring up at the night sky. Normally the night was comforting to her. Normally she would paint the sky with a veritable rainbow of blacks, navy blues, and subdued greens. Normally she would spend hours dreaming as she gazed upon her handiwork, perfectly content with her latest masterpiece. Of course, Equestria was not normally at war. No matter. Nopony ever took the time to enjoy the night she wove, so why waste effort? A simple crescent was all she raised tonight, for reasons of both fatigue and apathy. Luna glumly surveyed the threadbare sky. It was so empty, so minimal. She sorely wished that she had the energy to do more, but knew deep down that she needed to conserve what little strength she had left.

Luna slowly rose to her hooves and sighed. Sand Shrine had easily bested her at Damarescus due to poor strategy on her part and now she had a choice to make. She could continue to sit around and feel sorry for herself, or she could get off her flank and set to work on formulating a plan of attack. Moping around might be easier to do, but it would do nothing for her in the long run. So instead, she took a deep breath, closed her eyes, and began to think.

Damarescus had been doomed from the start due to lack of planning. Luna had failed to take account of the fact that Shrine's forces had already reached the city and attacked it. If the pegasi had already been in the skies upon arrival, she should have had no reason not to assume that earthponies and unicorns had been able to reach the city as well. It was a simple mistake, but, as she had now seen first hand, simple mistakes could lead to complex problems. It was the simple error of overconfidence that had lost her the battle. She had underestimated Sand Shrine's ability to raise troops, as well as overestimated her own ability to lead and strategize. She had also failed to take into account the fact that she had such traitorous cowards as Craven amid her ranks, though that was something she could not have prepared for.

With these factors known, Luna began to envision the board in her mind. She had come in strong with a force of pawns, plus a knight, a bishop, and a rook. Shrine had countered by giving up several pawns, but eliminating her knight and rook. He had then slipped behind her with his queen, and taken her back line by storm. Finally, the king himself had left his position, and in doing so, placed her in check. Now, it was time for her to make her move. She had lost a good number of pieces in the opening moves, but she wasn't out of the game just yet. She would need to find a way to pick off his pieces one at a time, until she could force him into a battle where the odds were in her favor.

However, Luna would first need pieces with which to do this. She examined Inkwell and Craven, who were currently fast asleep beside a small fire they had started outside the train. With these two, she had two pawns, plus herself, the queen. In other words, she had next to nothing to work with. The alicorn sighed, realizing that in order to get the pieces she needed, she would have to return to Canterlot and call for reinforcements. This meant that she would need to race Sand Shrine through the Saddleback mountains, and beat him to Equestria proper. This, in turn, meant that a direct engagement with her adversary would need to wait. Rather, she would focus her efforts into delaying his progress wherever possible, slowing him down and assuring that he was always one step behind her.

Luna's mind screamed at her to start flying, to get a head start on her enemies, but her body cried out for rest and respite. She may have been a goddess, but she had taken a vicious beating. What use was it to set off for Canterlot if she collapsed along the journey? A short respite would do her well. She had to keep her strength up. She had to fight on. She had to win.

*****

Dream Sickle was exhausted. Her wings felt like wet clay, her eyelids drooped, and her hooves dangled weakly beneath her. She barely managed to stay aloft as she glided lazily above the desert. She needed rest badly, but knew she could get none. She had to keep going, though how far she could go now was rather limited. Every movement of her muscles was a tedious strain. Slowly but surely, she began to descend.

Down, down, down Sickle spiraled, sinking towards the black sand below. She landed with a less than graceful thud, falling flat on her face as she hit the desert. Her eyes fluttered, but just before they closed, she caught a glimpse of a light just ahead. She had to reach that light. Finding anypony out in this wasteland would be a miracle, and if the light meant ponies, she had to at least try to reach it.

Dream gave one last heave, and pushed herself up to her hooves. She took a few wobbly, staggering steps forward, then collapsed again. With an exhausted groan, she rose again, and began to trudge forward, her entire body screaming for her to stop. Every step felt like a mile, every second like an hour, and every breath felt like a gasp as she dragged her aching body onward. The light grew brighter as she neared it, until she had to squint to keep it from burning her eyes. Through her half closed eyes, Dream could see that what she was approaching was a campfire. In the firelight, she could see the deep blue outline of Princess Luna.

"Oh! Hello Princess!" Dream muttered, her speech slurred with exhaustion. "I've got a message for you! Gimme a sec..."

Dream Sickle promptly collapsed on the sand, fast asleep. Luna gently prodded the sleeping pony, but she didn't budge. The princess decided she ought to let the pony rest. The poor girl had done her duty, and deserved a bit of rest. Luna took a seat upon the sand and stared into the flames. There was something comforting about the fire. Its warmth reminded her of the fireplace back home in Canterlot, beside which she would often curl up with an old tome or novel to pass the time. Unfortunately, the fire also provided a beacon, shining through the blackness of night and sending a clear signal to anypony within a half mile radius.

*****

Somepony was watching them. That somepony was Nightshade. She knew that she stood no chance against an Alicorn. Nopony did. However, Luna had been weakened from a day of combat, and was likely near death already. Although her foe was a goddess, she was a goddess on her knees. All that was left was to deliver the final blow, and cut her down. This would be an easy battle, more like euthanasia than a duel. Nightshade shuddered with giddy anticipation. Belladonna appeared by her side, its wooden tip dragging across the sand. Where the blade met the desert, a thin streak of bright green grass began to grow. Nightshade strode coolly towards the light, her stride never faltering.

By now her enemy had seen her, and had risen to her hooves in preparation. The alicorn's blade flashed into existence, glimmering brightly amid the darkness of the night. Nightshade quickened her pace, her hooves pounding the sand as she closed in on her quarry. The unicorn dove in with a wild slash of her sword, but found that her foe was much too quick. Luna sidestepped the attack with ease, and countered with a sharp, cleaving motion of her own blade. The weapon struck only air, however, as Nighshade ducked beneath the blow, returning it with a vicious thrust. Again her blow failed to connect, as her opponent leapt backwards to avoid it.

"Who art thou?" Luna said, leveling Penumbra at her attacker.

"The name's Nightshade, your majesty." The unicorn practically spat out the princess' title.

"Thou art a fool to come here. Dost thou not know that ye stand face to face with a goddess?"

"I know who I'm facing. I'm just not afraid."

"They say that pride goeth before destruction." Luna readied herself to strike, bringing the blade back to her chest.

"I'm not the one boasting about my godhood."

"Tis not boasting, child." The alicorn spoke, "I merely spake the truth."

Nightshade snapped. Her blade flew forward in an upward arc, obviously aiming to slit the goddess' throat. In the blink of an eye, Luna had countered. The alicorn easily evaded the strike with a single step back, then returned the favor with a quick bolt of lightning to the chest. Her foe fell to the sand as the electricity coursed through her. Luna merely stood by and watched. What had this pony been thinking? Surely she didn't think that she could go toe to toe with a lunar goddess. Did she? The princess watched as the unicorn convulsed, utterly confused by her foe's motive.

Suddenly, the unicorn's head jerked up, and she flashed Luna that infamously twisted smile. She made another swift slash with her blade, this time hacking at the princess' forelegs. Again, the alicorn leapt back in defense, but this time Nightshade was ready. Just as her foe dodged, Nightshade's horn ignited a pale indigo glow. She stomped a hoof against the desert sand, sending a swarm of viper-like vines slithering in her enemies direction. They closed in on their target in seconds, and immediately set to work ensnaring the hooves of the goddess. Luna was quick to react, flapping her wings and lifting off in a fraction of second. The vines began to snap under the strain, each breaking loose with an audible pop. However, as each one snapped, another quickly took its place. The tendrils that had remained on the ground now shot up like rockets, whipping and writhing about like a hideous drove of worms.

Luna strained to keep aloft as more and more of the branches wrapped around her body. The confounded vines had already overtaken her hooves, and had worked their way up to her torso. They showed no signs of stopping as they tightened their grip and began to entangle her wings. Slowly but surely, the green tendrils worked their way over every inch of her body and began to drag her back down towards the earth. She watched her enemy cast another spell, this time upon her own body. The flesh on the unicorn's foreleg began to tear and rend as a multitude of sharp, cruelly curved thorns began to sprout from beneath her skin.

Nightshade giggled with sadistic joy as she watched a thick, purple liquid seep from the freshly grown thorns. Her snickers turned into peals of laughter as she plunged these spines into Luna's back. The alicorn let out a scream of pain, which was quickly drowned out by her attacker's screeching. Nightshade struck at her again and again, each time sinking the thorns deeper into her enemy. She prepared one last strike, and plunged her hoof down at her enemies spine. This time, however, something blocked her. A thick barrier of magic had formed around the princess, protecting her from any further damage.

Luna struggled beneath the writhing tendrils that surrounded her. The area around her began to spark and crackle, as streaks of lightning began to flash from her horn. The bolts ignited the vines, and the air began to fill with thick, choking smoke. With one last mighty push, Luna lit up the night with a brilliant flash of electricity. The remaining vines withered as the alicorn once again rose to her hooves. Her flesh was wreathed in cracks of bright lightning, which flitted about her body like sparks around a campfire. Her face was framed by the heavy smoke, further adding to the aspect of terror that Luna now exuded.

"Dost thou not understand?" She spoke, striding towards Nightshade. Her every step seemed to shake the earth, and was accompanied by the rumble of thunder. "I am a goddess. I hath existed for a millennium and three score. In mine eyes, thy elders are but children. I hath seen this fragile earth at its birth, and hath seen the equine race develop under the auspice of my royal brethren. And ye, a sole, insignificant unicorn...dare to seeketh combat with me?"

Luna's voice had risen to ear shattering levels. For the first time, she could tell Nightshade was afraid.

"Thou art a fool, unicorn. Thy pride hath led you to the edge of the precipice." The princess cast Penumbra, and leveled the blade at her shocked enemy. "And now I shall hurl thee into the abyss."

Luna attacked with a wild slash. Her blade struck against something soft, and rent it in two. What she had cut however, was not her foe. Instead, she had cleaved straight through a massive tangle of briars and vines that had sprung up around her enemy. The alicorn incinerated the flimsy barrier with a quick lightning spell, and saw that Nightshade had turned tail and fled. The unicorn was racing away at a full gallop, but Luna knew she was faster. With a mighty flap of her wings, she lifted herself from the earth, prepared to pursue...and promptly crashed down with a muffled, "whump". The princess shook the sand from her mane and tried again, but this time she didn't even make it off the ground.

Suddenly, Luna's mind went back to the thorn covered hoof Nightshade had struck her with. She remembered how it had oozed some sort of thick violet liquid...poison. Her body was numb now; filled all over with the pins and needles feeling she got when she lost circulation in a leg or a wing. She felt no fear at the prospect of death. Instead, she felt only rage. She recalled the death of Vitae, the alicorn of life who had died before her. He had gone out in a blaze of glory during the Draconequus war as he was swarmed over by hundreds of foes. They had torn him to shreds, but he had died honorably. Would she now die alone and poisoned by an enemy who was far below her in strength and skill?

No. Luna's mind screamed the word over and over again. She could not, she would not die tonight. With her last ounce of strength, she dragged herself over the the sleeping pegasus, Dream Sickle. Her legs had begun to fail her, so instead, she used her mouth. The alicon bit Dream's shoulder, instantly waking her from her slumber.

Dream Sickle awoke with a startled yelp and leapt to her hooves in fright. Her eyes, still groggy from lack of sleep, frantically scanned the desert. Finally, it dawned on her that the princess, who now seemed to be struggling to breathe, had been trying to wake her.

"Yes princess?" The pegasus rubbed her eyes, "Whatcha need?"

"Get..." Luna gasped out, fighting to keep her body from succumbing to the toxin, "Train..."

"You want me to get you on the train?" Sickle said with a yawn, "Well, okie dokie princess."

Dream Sickle clamped her teeth down on Luna's ethereal mane. It tasted like sand. Then again, almost everything was covered in the accursed grit, so she shouldn't have been surprised. She strained and struggled, but finally pulled the reeling goddess into the train car. Once she had laid her down on the floor, Dream staggered forward until she reached the engine room. She reached for the throttle, and promptly fell asleep again. Luckily for her, she managed to fall on the lever, and the engine began to chug out black smoke. Within seconds, the train was again rolling down the tracks.

*****

Sand Shine had left Damarescus to his soldiers. Now, it was time for him to move on. Dodge Junction was his next stop. It was a sleepy little town that had sprung up as a safe haven for traders and railway passengers. Dodge Junction was an easy target. It would crumble under his forces in a single day, just as Damarescus had. 

Although he hated flight, Sand Shrine spread his wings and lifted off into the night sky. He set a course for his next target. In the sky behind him, the sun began to rise, casting a red glow over the desert.

"Soon the sand will be stained with red once more." The alicorn whispered as he sped off toward his goal.
> Gambit
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

The world went silent. Luna felt as though she were awake, but she saw only blackness. There was nothing she could see. Nothing she could hear. Nothing she could feel. Her body was afloat in an endless sea of emptiness. Was this what it was like to be dead? To drift listlessly through the inky darkness? It was certainly much different than she had expected. Perhaps this was just the beginning of her journey into the afterlife. Maybe it was like passing though a long tunnel, where the end would be her eternal reward...or punishment. Luna tried to reflect on her life, attempting to recall the good and the bad she had done. Her head swam as she tried to dig through her memories. Try as she might, Luna could not bring anything to recollection.

So this was death. An abyss stretching as far as the eye could see. As much as Luna hated to admit it, she felt rather comfortable this way. Sure, she had died in an embarrassing way, but who cared? Sure, she had lost the war against Sand Shrine, but what did it matter now? Now there was no stress, no pain, no worry. All there was now was peace, quiet, and relaxation. Maybe being dead wasn't so bad after all...

Suddenly, Luna felt a piercing pain invade her cheek. The pain felt real. She was still alive. Again the pain rippled through her face. The princess felt the blood circulating through her veins. She felt the air passing through her nose and into her lungs. She felt strength begin to radiate through her body, and tried her best to focus it. Another shock of pain. Although it hurt, this pain felt almost comforting. It let her know that there was still life left in her. Where there is life, there is pain, and vice versa. She focused her returning strength into her eyelids, and with a bit of effort, forced them to open. She now saw that she was sprawled out on the wooden floor of the train, with her three comrades crowding around her.

"See!" Dream Sickle shouted as she placed an arm around Craven and shook him. "I told you it would work! I told you!"

"What...What did you do to me?" Luna stammered, trying to catch her breath.

"I slapped you!" The pegasus chuckled, "I knew if I whacked you enough times you'd eventually come to!"

Well, that explained the pain. Luna drew a deep breath and closed her eyes. Her wounds from the previous day and night still stung, sending little shudders of pain rippling through her body. However, the pain only strengthened her resolve. She released her breath, opened her eyes, and stood up. Logic dictated that the pain should have forced her to lie down, but she openly and brazenly defied it. Now was the time for action, not for rest.

"Sickle." Luna said, her voice lower than usual. "Before ye fell into slumber, thou hadst mentioned a message for me."

"Oh! Right! Of course, Princess!" Dream slapped her own forehead, "Ugh, I can be such a ditz sometimes!"

"That can be seen plainly."

"I was supposed to tell you that Sand Shrine is headed for Dodge Junction next. I think he wants you to meet him there or something."

"Your assumption is correct." Luna looked out the window at the desert whizzing by, "This line shalt take us to Dodge Junction, and there I shalt face Sand Shrine once more."

"No offense Princess, but the last time you fought Shrine you kinda got taken out...badly."

"This is true. But thou art not seeing things through the eyes of a goddess. Sand Shrine may have won the battle but by my word he shall not win the war."

*****

Several miles behind them, a very disgruntled Nightshade was plodding along beside the train tracks. She had come so close. She had brought a goddess to her knees, she should be proud. However, she had failed to strike the final blow. She had dragged her enemy to the chopping block, raised the axe, and then missed on the downward swing. Part of her would have preferred that the goddess strike her dead than to live with the tantalizing knowledge of how close she had come. Nightshade could feel her blood simmering beneath her skin, both from rage and from the desert heat. A cold sweat sprang up and drenched her flesh as a realization dawned upon her. Sand Shrine had expected her to be his right hoof general. Now she had set off on a wild, blood crazed, quest to slay an alicorn. Shrine would have her head on a platter for this if he found out. That is, if he ever found out. Nightshade smirked. She was miles away from Damarescus by now. There was no way that Shrine could-

"Nightshade." The single word fell upon her ears with the force of a hurricane. The unicorn whipped around to see her superior standing only a few yards away. She swallowed the heavy lump in her throat and smiled at him.

"Hello Sand Shrine." She replied, trotting to where her god stood. "What brings you to this neck of the Expanse?"

"Don't patronize me you pathetic whelp. I can see what you're doing."

"Is that so?"

"Yes. I can see that you are in the process of hunting down Luna, a quarry you are ill equipped to bring down."

"Alright, you caught me." Nightshade chuckled, "I'm putting in some overtime work to kill your mortal enemy. Remind me again why you're upset?"

"I never said I was upset." Sand Shrine replied in his typical monotone, "I am however disappointed."

"Because she's not dead, right?"

"Precisely."

"Well she will be. I just ran into a little bit of trouble."

"A little bit?" Shrine said, raising an eyebrow. "She nearly had your head, and she was already exhausted from her battle with me. You don't understand what you are dealing with Nightshade. This isn't an earthpony or a unicorn that will keel over with a single blade stroke. Alicorns can absorb more damage than you could possibly dish out, and then return it with twice the speed and power that you did. You're no longer fighting mortals here Nightshade."

"Yeah, yeah." The unicorn replied nonchalantly, "I can handle it."

"No you can't. You're being arrogant. You cannot face Luna alone."

"Does that mean you're coming with me?"

"No." The alicorn's horn began to glow. "But I will give you a little gift."

Sand Shrine extended a hoof and the desert sand began to churn at his command. A large, circular section of the desert began to sink, as though the sand was falling into an unseen hole. Soon, a massive cavity had been opened amid the sand. Nightshade stood beside the edge of this aperture, staring down into complete blackness. She could see nothing, but could hear a faint thumping noise coming from within. The din grew louder and louder until the unicorn could clearly make out the sound of approaching hoofbeats.

A small squadron of reanimated dead came galloping from the cave. They stopped abruptly, frozen perfectly in formation.

"I'm placing these under your command Nightshade." Sand Shrine said, "Your mind is now linked with theirs. They will respond to any command you give them. Be it mental or verbal. Use them wisely."

"I will. I will." Nightshade replied, waving a hoof at him, "Go on now, get going! You've got a city to level, don't you?"

"That I do." Shrine spread his wings. "But it won't take long. I expect to have the attack underway by sunset, just in time for Luna to catch up to me. Now if you'll excuse me, I must be off."

And with that, Sand Shine gave a single flap of his massive wings and lifted off into the desert sky.

"Not if I can reach her first." Nightshade mused.

*****

Luna sat in the moving boxcar mentally preparing herself for combat. With her magic, she had woven together a small, ethereal chessboard, and stared at it intently, moving pieces on occasion. She had noticed that Shrine was slow to react to her replication technique. If he hadn't tried to stab it, he might never have known that it was an illusion. That was something she could easily exploit. Perhaps if she swarmed him with copies of herself she could tire him out until he was a more manageable opponent. Of course, her Lunar Apparition spell required heavy concentration, and would require her to remain hidden from sight, something that was difficult to do in these barren lands. Plus, Sand Shrine wasn't stupid. He would realize they were only replicas and conserve his energy accordingly. No, that strategy would never work.

Luna reset the board.

There had to be a weakness in Shrine's strategy. He thought he was unbeatable, but Luna knew that there must be some flaw to his battle plan. There was always a flaw to exploit. Perhaps that was the answer all along. The old saying about pride coming before the fall could prove devastatingly accurate. Perhaps Luna could goad him into a battle that seemed like an easy win on the surface, using herself as bait. When he clamped down on her, her trap would in turn clamp down on him. Then, she could overwhelm him with superior numbers. He would fall in the same manner as Vitae had before him, swarmed over by hundreds of the enemy. Of course, for that, she would need an army. Dodge Junction did not have the horsepower she would need for a plan like that, and she had no time to return to Equestria Proper for reinforcements.

Luna reset the board.

The strength of Sand Shrine's strategy rested on his formlessness. He was able to switch seamlessly between flesh and sand, making him nearly impossible to hit with any attack. That was what Luna needed to overcome. But how does one damage sand? It shifts and deforms under pressure, then reforms with ease. The only time when sand was hard was when it was glass, but Luna knew no fire magic. That was the domain of her sister and Sand Shrine himself. She could theoretically heat the sand with lightning, but spells of that caliber were difficult to focus for any period of time. Besides, glass was simply a weapon Shrine would turn against her if she created it. Negrev itself was made of the stuff.

Luna reset the board...

*****

"Sheriff! You better get out here!"

The earthpony galloped into the hard packed dirt streets. Although known to most as simply "Sheriff", his real name was Bronze Badge. He was a plain pony, with a light copper coat, a weather forged face, and a mane dyed silver by age. His eyes were a steely blue, almost grey, and appeared somewhat glossed over. His name had been called by his nephew, a white skinned, black maned pony named Shard. Shard stood in the middle of the street, at the forefront of a small gathering of ponies, staring up into the sky. Bronze followed his nephew's gaze, and saw a massive, swirling dust cloud was rumbling towards the town.

"We've all seen sandstorms before, Shard." The sheriff retorted, "We'll do what we always do when a storm like this rolls in. Everypony get-"

"Uncle Badge?" Shard's voice was quiet, almost a whisper. "Look closer."

Bronze rolled his eyes, but turned them back to the incoming cloud. Within the rolling dust storm, he could make out figures. Grim silhouettes that appeared to be marching to an unheard beat. His jaw went slack at the sight.

"Gods..." Bronze said in disbelief. "Go. Go gather the town guard." The sheriff motioned with his hoof, never taking his eyes away from the sky.

"Anything else uncle?"

"Pick a goddess and pray. We're going to need all the help we can get."

*****

Sand Shrine gazed on the tiny town in the distance. It was a quiet little western train stop, full of rickety wooden structures with flat tin rooftops. Unlike Damarescus, it had no wall. There was nowhere for the inhabitants to hide here. It was almost too easy. In the streets below, he could see a small smattering of ponies, no more than a few hundred strong, mustering against his forces. They were outnumbered, but Shine knew better than to underestimate them. Great things came in small packages. On occasion, this maxim applied to the army, as smaller, more specialized groups of soldiers seemed to operate better than any big, bulky army. Would the old saying hold true today? Maybe, maybe not. Better to be safe than sorry.

Shrine himself was positioned several miles away from Dodge Junction. He stood square in the center of the train tracks, awaiting the arrival of his favorite princess. Here, he would remain. Luna hungered for a rematch with him, that much was obvious. However, she also sought to defend her subjects from harm. Shrine wished to force a choice upon her. Would she attempt to regain her dignity by fighting him, or would she leave Shrine behind to defend Dodge Junction? The presence of the other survivors would also be a factor. None of them were strong enough to stand on their own against an above average unicorn, much less an alicorn. Would Luna abandon them to die at his hooves? Or worse, Nightshade's hooves, provided she was still trailing their carriage.

No matter her choice, Luna would lose. If she stood her ground and dueled Sand Shrine, then the citizens of Dodge Junction would see that she had abandoned them in their hour of need. If she left and saved the city, then those who had survived Damarescus would be mercilessly butchered because of her choice. Neither option benefitted Luna, but both would benefit Sand Shrine. That was the beauty of a properly executed gambit. The illusion of choice.

Turning back to where his troops had gathered, Sand Shrine surveyed the battlefield. Dodge Junction was situated on the edge of the Saddleback mountain range, at the mouth of a narrow canyon that ran the length of the range. It was within this canyon that the railways tracks had been laid. A small avalanche was all that was needed to render the tracks useless, and as this was the only rail to the Gelding Expanse, it would delay any reinforcements from Canterlot. He had positioned his earthponies on the ground in an obvious position, a flat, sandy plain just in front of the town. They would serve as the bait in his trap. In the rocky, crag covered mountains just to the left of the plain was where he had concealed his unicorns and pegasi. Once the ponies in Dodge Junction took that bait and attacked the earthponies, the earthponies would feign a retreat in the direction of the mountains. When the citizen-soldiers inevitably followed, the trap would be sprung. The pegasi would swoop down into the midst of the melee; sowing chaos with a lightning strike, while the unicorns would rain spells down like a storm of arrows. The town guard would be slaughtered in the ensuing battle.

With a wave of his hoof, Shrine lifted the sandstorm he had used to cover his army's advance. He turned his back on Dodge Junction, and cast his desert sight spell. Luna and her cohorts were not far. The pieces were in place.

"Take your turn princess." He murmured. "Check."

*****

Inkwell sat in the train cab pouring over the notes she had collected. Dream Sickle had given her a splendid interview about the pegasus battle at Damarescus, and had allowed her to gain a firsthand account of Nightshade's attack on the city. The details had been gruesome, but she had been grateful for them. The Canterlot Tribune needed the full story. She might be trapped in the middle of a war between gods, but she couldn't afford to give up on journalism now. Equestria had a right to know! She might be the only pony with the notes on the Battle of Damarescus, and it would be a great shame to deprive the papers...nay, the histories of something so important!

Suddenly, Inkwell was jolted from her thoughts as the train took a sharp right. This would have been fine, had there actually been a right turn in the track, but there was not. The train let out an earsplitting squeal, as though it were pained by the loss of the tracks, and began to grind to a halt. The car began to lean, and in an instant the entire cabin had fallen flat on its side. The open windows were spattered by sand and pebbles, much of which poured down into the car.

The passengers slowly began to pick themselves up after the crash. Inkwell groaned, shaking her head as she stood.

"Is everyone alright?" She said, smoothing her fallen fedora and placing in back upon her head.

"Yea." Luna replied, massaging the bruised wing she had shielded herself with.

"I'm fine." Craven chimed in, as he removed himself from the corner in which he had hidden.

"Everything's A-Okay here!" Dream Sickle laughed, picking herself up off of the ground. "Let's do that again!"

"Merciful goddesses, no!" Craven shuddered at the thought.

Luna flashed her blade into existence, and proceeded to neatly cut a doorway through which she and her cohorts could exit. Once they stepped outside however, their blood ran cold. Only feet away from them stood Sand Shrine, baring Negrev at the princess.

"Take a look around Luna." He said, motioning towards the town of Dodge Junction, where a brawl between earthpony armies was already brewing. "Which will it be, Princess. The civilians, or me?"
> Check
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Luna stood upon the precipice of a great choice. She could
fight Sand Shrine here and now, facing him in the rematch she
so desired. Or, she could beat a hasty withdraw from him, and
attempt to aid the woefully outmatched militia of Dodge
Junction. Neither option was particularly beneficial. If she
did battle with Sand Shrine, then the militia stood no chance
against the reanimated army of Sand Shrine. But, if she fled
from Shrine and aided the Dodge Junction militia, then her
foe would cut down the few survivors from the battle of
Damarescus. As much as she despised Craven, she wouldn't dare
doom him to a death at the desert god's cruel hooves.

Another startling realization racked Luna. If she fled to
defend Dodge Junction, then she would leave Sand Shrine a
clear shot to the mountain pass that the railway ran through.
That must have been what he was after all along. If he
managed to sever that crucial line, he would effectively dash
any hope of reinforcements from Equestria proper. That must
have been what he was after all along. Now that she
understood what his intentions were however, she could
counter them.

Keeping him away from the canyon was by far Luna's highest
priority. If she lost the ability to draw on reserves from
Canterlot, Ponyville, and Stalliongrad, she would certainly
lose the war. She could not, and would not let that happen.
Second, was keeping the Damarescus survivors alive. If those
few ponies were slain, then all those who sacrificed
themselves in defense of the city had died in vain. She had
seen many good ponies give up their lives so that these few
could live. She would not allow their blood to have been
spilt in vain. Lastly, was preventing the fall of Dodge
Junction. This objective was practically the last thing on
Luna's mind. If the city fell, then Sand Shrine gained
nothing but empty land and casualties. While the deaths of
the civilians would surely be tragic, they were nothing
compared to the tragedy of an Equestria under Shrine.

With her board set and her objectives firmly entrenched in
her mind, Luna cast Penumbra. She leveled the sickle sword at
her fellow god, and uttered one simple word. The one word she
knew could rack her foe's cool calculated exterior.

"Check."

The lunar goddess shot forward like a bullet from a gun, her
blade pulled back and ready to strike. Shrine leapt back to
avoid the slash, and countered by sending a pillar of
hardened sand towards Luna's chest. With surprising agility,
Luna managed to clear the approaching column with a single
flap of her wings. Her hooves gingerly touched the tip of the
stone, where she sprung up again, gathering momentum as she
charged towards her foe. She loosed a bolt of lightning from
her horn, but her enemy had seen it coming. The desert
alicorn rolled to the side, narrowly avoiding the silver
streak, but was caught off guard when Penumbra suddenly
slashed his torso. Shrine managed to dissolve into dust just
before the blade slit him in two. He reformed himself beside
his adversary, and delivered a fierce strike with the back of
his hoof, sending Luna sprawling.

As the gods of night and desert dueled in front of her,
Inkwell cowered in the overturned railway car, trying her
best not to attract attention. She watched the two alicorns
duel through a broken window, and was awed by what she saw.
They were nearly too fast for her eyes to follow. They were
like two blurs duking it out both on land and in midair.
However, when they slowed down enough for her to see, what
she saw was brutal. Spells that could reduce a normal pony to
ash were slung as if they were child's play. Blades were
swung with such grace and precision that the weapons were
like natural extensions of their wielder's minds. Powerful
hoof strikes were dealt back and forth between the two,
leaving heavy bruises in their wake.

It was then that Inkwell's mind began to clear. This was the
first time she had witnessed two alicorns fighting up close.
In fact, this was the first battle between such powerful
beings in over a century. She had yet another great
opportunity for a story staring her in the face, and she
wasn't even taking notes! She levitated her notepad and quill
to her side, and pressed the feather to the paper. Inkwell
cringed. She was out of ink.

*****

Two armies, one of the living, the other of the dead,
crashed against one another a mere eight miles from where the
two gods fought. Ponies of every shape and size lashed out at
one another with hoof, wing, and spell, spilling each others
blood upon the golden desert below. At the forefront of his
town militia was sheriff Bronze Badge, who was more than
pulling his weight in the battle. An enemy unicorn thrust his
ethereal blade at the sheriff, but he was far to slow. Badge
easily sidestepped the stab, and countered with a swift punch
to the unicorn's jaw. The cracking of bone felt good beneath
his hoof, and he swung again, this time with a jab. His
enemies face practically caved in from the sheer force of the
blow. Badge was honored by a light dusting of blood on his
hoof as his enemy fell.

The sheriff surveyed the field around him. It was horribly
evident that his side was not winning. The mangled corpses of
his comrades, many of whom had been his friends and
neighbors, littered the sand like fallen leaves in autumn. He
should have been discouraged. He should have felt like it was
time for him to throw in the towel, lie down in the dust, and
die. He didn't. Bronze Badge had lived his life out here on
the outer rim of civilized equine society. Out here, you had
to be strong to survive. He wasn't going to give up so
easily. They would have to kill him before he'd stop
fighting.

With a vicious war cry, he rushed back into the fray,
tackling an earthpony and pinning him down. With one hoof, he
held his foe still, and with the other he rained a torrent of
blows down upon his foe until he was nothing more than a
bloody pulp. He leapt up, and charged the next pony in line.
This time, he simply lowered his head, and turned his body
into a battering ram. The shattering of his enemy's ribcage
greeted his ears a split second later. As his target fell,
the sheriff showed no mercy, trampling him beneath his
hooves. Bronze Badge fought like a pony possessed, punching,
kicking, even biting anypony who dared to get close to
him.

Slowly, his militia began to rally behind him. They too
began to realize that all hope of winning this battle was
gone. They were ponies with nothing left to live for, and no
where to run, and that made a dangerous combination. They now
had nothing to lose. They fought harder, without fear of
death, for they realized that their death was inevitable.
Amazingly, they began to push back their opponents. Filled
with newfound zeal, they surged forth with battle shout
uplifted. Though they would die this day, they were
determined not to die in vain.

*****

Despite Luna's best efforts, Sand Shrine was driving her
back. Every spell, every strike, and every swing of the sword
pushed her nearer and nearer to the mountain pass she was
trying to defend. She had risen into the air in an attempt to
bait her foe into the sky, but he was having none of it. As
soon as she had taken off, a tendril of sand seized her rear
leg, and with a vicious yank, slammed her into the desert
once more. Luna spat out a mouthful of the grit, and lunged
for her enemy, blade barred. She repeatedly hacked at her
adversary with Penumbra, only to have each strike batted away
with relative ease. Again and again she slashed, but to no
avail. In fact, Sand Shrine hadn't even broken a sweat!
Instead, he simply stood his ground, shifting his weight when
needed, as he blocked each oncoming blow. His eyes did not
look intense, or filled with a bloodlust. He merely seemed
bored by the droll onslaught of sweeping blade strikes that
currently assailed him.

The look in Sand Shrine's eyes changed the instant he saw an
opening. A sloppy attack from Luna was all he needed. With a
sudden burst of speed, he shot forward, Negrev hovering just
ahead of him. He thrust the glass blade at Luna's midsection,
leaving her with no time to dodge. Instead of dodging
however, his enemy reared up on her hind legs, and with a
wide sweep of her hoof, sent a thin, razor-like steak of
lightning hurtling towards him. Unable to dodge, Shrine
quickly dissolved into dust, allowing the lightning to pass
through him without harm. He quickly reformed himself at
Luna's side, and delivered a powerful backhoofed blow to her
snout.

Luna was sent hurtling backwards, and braced for an imminent
collision with the mountains. However, it was not the
mountains that she struck. Instead, Sand Shrine had swiftly
raced in front of her, and had slammed down on her chest with
both hooves, slamming her straight down and into the desert.
The princess bounced and skittered over the sand, before
coming to a stop amid the miniature dune she had kicked up.
Without so much as a grunt or a moan, Luna leapt back to her
hooves, spat out some blood, and faced down her foe once
more. Already the desert alicorn was boring down upon her,
his blade barred and ready to strike. As the inevitable
thrust from Negrev came, however, Luna performed an evasive
roll, and lashed out at his leg with Penumbra.

Sand Shrine saw the blade coming, but by that point it was
far too late. All he could do at that point was make a poor
attempt to dodge as he began to dissolve into sand. A searing
pain ripped through his left wing, and he tumbled into the
desert, fading into it as he struck the earth. This time his
reformation was slow and labored. He slowly came back
together, save for the tip of his wing. Once he had regained
his normal form, a chunky stream of blood mixed with dust
began to fall from it. His breath began to grow short and
rapid, and his eyes began to take on a new, harsher
tone.

Luna recognized that glare well. It was the same look his
eyes had borne during the Draconeqqus wars. It was a look of
sheer rage and anger. Those were the eyes that had driven
sharp shards of glass through the temples of enemies. They
were the eyes that had impaled Draconeqqui upon Negrev and
let the blood dribble down into them. They were the eyes that
had slit throats, burned Draconeqqui alive, and rent flesh
and bone asunder. Something had just snapped within her foe.
Something had finally broken that cool, calculated demeanor.
Now Luna wished it hadn't.

*****

Nightshade had left her soldiers in the dust. She could still
see the train tracks far beneath her, and far behind her she
could see the soldiers that her boss had loaned her. She was
now far above the tracks, leaping and swinging between tree
branches, which her magic was weaving as she went. It was far
faster than merely walking along the tracks. Now she was
getting somewhere! Using the momentum of each swing to propel
her, Nightshade was whipping along through her magic born
foliage like a bullet. Faster and faster she swung, doing her
best to never let her hooves touch the branches for more than
a split second, as any longer would cause her to slow down.
Instead, she leapt, swung, and dove through the branches,
looking less like a pony and more like nymph. She was no
longer just a unicorn harnessing nature, she was a force of
nature herself.

In the distance, Nightshade could make out a small black
dot. Assuming that out here in the desert, anything out of
the ordinary was worth checking out. Besides, it ran roughly
parallel to the train tracks, and thus, was likely close to
her intended quarry. Taking careful aim for that tiny dot in
the distance, she launched herself with a quick flick of a
vine, and sent herself sailing. As she flew, that black dot
began to grow larger, and take on a more definite shape. Now
she was entirely sure that it was a train, albeit an
overturned one. Her momentum began to fade, and as it did her
horn ignited. From on Nightshade's right, a thin sapling
sprang forth from beneath the sand. She wrapped both hooves
around the very tip-top of the tree, and allowed it to bend
beneath her weight. As it snapped back, she leapt up, and
allowed the tree to hurl her skyward. She began to free fall,
diving directly towards that train like a heat-seeking
missile. As she approached, she cast yet another spell, and
caused a much sturdier oak tree to burst into existence. As
Nightshade gripped the top of the tree, it didn't bend, as
the sapling had, but held firm, stopping her instantly. Or
rather, it would have, if her momentum hadn't kept her going.
Thus, she used a second spell, turning her arms into vines as
she had done in Damarescus. This allowed her to easily slide
to the ground, where she realized she had landing amid a
clash of gods.

From behind the overturned train, Nightshade spied two
ponies. One was an earthpony, and the other a unicorn. She
instinctively recognized them as the two survivors from
Damarescus. She began to shiver and shake with excitement as
she strode toward them, casting her blade and dragging it
along the sand behind her. The earthpony's ears perked up at
the grinding, grating noise, and Nightshade absolutely drank
in the look of terror upon his face. The unicorn turned as
well, and her blue face went white. Nightshade brandished her
blade, and flashed them that infamously twisted smile.

"Run." She said, twitching spasmodically, "Run! Make it more
interesting! Run!"

They didn't need to be told twice. Both Inkwell and Craven
bolted from their hiding spot, not caring where they were
bolting too. All they knew was that sticking behind to face
Nightshade was a bad idea. Craven didn't care where he was
going. He made a bee line for the canyon ahead, hoping that
within it he might find refuge from this monster. Inkwell
followed closely behind, her heart racing and pumping pure
adrenalin through her veins. She had never been so afraid,
nor had she ever run so fast in her life. She only prayed
that she would be safe within the stone walls of the canyon.

*****

Sheriff Bronze Badge and his ragtag team of soldiers had
finally begun to push back against the invaders. They had
slain countless earthponies, and now were just on the cusp of
victory. That was, until they heard the sound that kick
victory beyond their grasp. The sound of swiftly beating
pegasus wings filled the desert air, as a veritable swarm of
pegasi screamed down at them. The Dodge Junction militia was
suddenly slammed by the aerial assault, and they broke on
impact. What had once been an unafraid and valiant platoon
soon dissolved into a frenzied mix of earthponies and
pegasi.

Badge stood in shock, as he watched his army crumble around
him. Ponies he had known for years, ponies who had voted for
him to be sheriff of this little town, they all lay dead at
his hooves. He wanted to cry, but found his eyes were dry.
Instead, he felt only a deep rage filling him. With a scream,
Badge charged the nearest pegasi, and proceeded to bludgeon
him into a bloody pulp. He made an attempt to attack another
of the winged assailants, but was interrupted by yet another
horrifying sound.

The sound of approaching hoofbeats.

Bronze Badge turned, and saw a group of unicorns racing down
the rocky hill slope, hurling spells and brandishing blades.
The sheriff did the only thing he could do at this point. He
closed his eyes and waited for the collision.

*****

Luna was being forced backwards fast. Sand Shrine, now
thoroughly enraged, was lashing out with everything he had.
Blows from his hooves, thrusts with Negrev, and razor sharp
daggers of sand all assailed Luna in rapid succession. She
was barely able to keep pace with him, and every near miss
simply forced her back, ever closer to the canyon she sought
to protect. The raw power he was exerting was overwhelming. A
swift slash was aimed for her stomach, nearly slitting her
belly open as she leapt back, only to have her foe rush her,
and deliver a powerful kick to her chest. Luna doubled over,
and was kicked again, this time directly in the jaw. She fell
backwards, but was lifted back up with a telekinetic yank. As
she was pulled in, another strike from Negrev closed on her
with blinding speed. With no time to dodge, Luna could only
take the strike head on as the glass blade pierced her chest.
As it did, she began to fade away, like a ghost dissipating
in the sunlight.

Shrine didn't flinch. He had already accounted for this. The
tell-tale flapping of wings sounded behind him, as the
princess attempted to swoop in for the kill. Without even
turning back, Sand Shrine executed an evasive roll, allowing
both Luna and Penumbra to pass over him harmlessly. In the
same motion he sent out a whip-like tendril of sand, and
snagged his enemies rear leg. He then spun her about, and
hurled her straight forward and into the Canyon wall. 

Now Shrine saw his moment to strike. His horn ignited, and
sent a deep amber glow down to his front hooves. The desert
god slammed his forelegs down upon the sand, and sent a small
wave rippling through the earth. This tiny ripple gained in
size as it traveled, until it had become a massive tsunami
of sand and debris. The instant before it collided with the
canyon wall, he cast a second spell, one that hardened the
loose sand into a cohesive wall of rock. This stone wave then
crashed against the canyon wall, sending powerful shockwaves
ripping through it. The wall shuddered, and then began to
collapse, sending massive boulders tumbling down upon the
tracks below. 

*****

Nightshade watched as the stones began to fall within the
canyon, the same place that Inkwell and Craven had been
rushing to for cover. She cackled as she closed in on them,
Belladonna trailing behind her. Suddenly, a realization
dawned on her. Hadn't there been three ponies that survived
Damarescus? Nightshade didn't get much time to think,
and she was suddenly kicked in the spine and slammed into the
ground.

"Its time for a rematch!" Dream Sickle said, gracefully
leaping off of her downed opponent, "And now that I got that
nap in, I'm ready to rake you out!"

Nightshade spat out a mouthful of sand, then instantly lunged
at her foe with Belladonna. Dream deftly dodged, and
countered with the iron tips of her wings. Sweeping them low,
and trying to slash her enemies legs. The unicorn was too
quick however, and leapt over the strike, bringing her blade
around with a vicious circular strike. Beating her wings,
Sickle flipped backwards through the air like an acrobat,
landing squarely behind her adversary, where she quickly
accelerated and rammed the purple unicorn, tackling her to
the desert floor. The two of then skidded over the sand,
striking out at one another with their hooves. Dream
bludgeoned her enemy repeatedly, only to be kicked in the
chest and thrown off. 

Dream hit the sand back first, and rolled back to her hooves
instantly. She looked up, and saw a storm of dagger-like
thorns hurtling her way. She dove to the side to avoid them,
and managed to avoid the assault, save for a small scrape on
her thigh. She rushed the unicorn again, her wingblades
barred for the kill. 

Nightshade swiftly conjured a swarm of vines from the sand
around her, and they seemed to lock onto the pegasus and
surround her in a writhing shroud. They wrapped themselves
around her wings, then her legs, then her neck, pinning her
to the ground. 

As she struggled, Dream began to feel weak. Her heart raced,
her breath grew rapid and shallow, and it felt as though her
chest were going to burst. It dawned on her that the thorns
she had dodged must have been poisoned, and that scratch she
had received must have delivered her dose of the toxin. She
angrily cursed under her breath, as her eyes began to close.

Having downed the pegasus, Nightshade realized she was now
free to do as she pleased with the other two ponies. Oh, how
she had longed for some alone time with them. She glanced
over her shoulder, and saw that her soldiers had finally
begun to catch up. The two ponies she had been pursuing had
turned tail and fled, and were now running straight towards
her army. She smiled wickedly, and gave them the silent order
to capture them alive. 

Inkwell and Craven soon realized their mistake. They had
attempted to escape one pony by running into a whole army of
them. Of course, death by this army would likely be better
than anything Nightshade could dream up. They made a mad dash
for the fallen train, hoping they could perhaps barricade the
doors and keep out the army of drones, but it was too late.
Craven found a unicorn's blade at his neck, while Inkwell was
tackled by an earthpony. 

Nightshade sauntered over to them, giggling with sadistic
glee. She had an idea of perhaps cutting the unicorn open and
forcing the earthpony to eat some of her entrails. Oh, what a
sight that would be! She cast Belladonna, savoring the
whimpers of her prey as she inched it closer and closer to
her flesh.

Then suddenly, with a brilliant flash, they were gone.
Nightshade stood completely baffled as her blade now pointed
towards one of her underlings. With a rage filled scream, she
thrust the wooden sword through the drones chest, and twisted
it like a corkscrew. How could they just vanish? How?

*****

The answer seemed unknown, even to Craven and Inkwell. They
now stood atop the fallen debris in the canyon beside a
figure in a white robe. His face was obscured, so neither one
of them could make it out. All they could see we're his feet,
which were huge, birdlike talons, each claw sharpened to a
razor tip. His hands too were clawed, rather grotesquely, as
they looked much like his taloned toes, only smaller and
thinner. In those claws, he clutched a spear, one with an
elongated steel head obviously intended for slashing rather
than stabbing.

"Wait here." He said in a gruff sounding voice, just before
vanishing again.

"Craven?" Inkwell stated, her jaw still slack.

"Yeah?"

"Would now be a bad time for that interview?"

Craven buried his face in his hooves and sighed.

"Maybe once we know what in the gods name is going on here."

"Fair enough."

*****

Luna lay in a crumpled heap at the base of the canyon. She
could hardly move, much less stand. Her head ached, and she
could have sworn she broke a few ribs. Above her stood Sand
Shrine, who had now regained his cool composure. He cast
Negrev, and held it above her.

"It's over Luna." He spoke just above a whisper. "Checkmate."

Shrine thrust the blade, aiming for Luna's eye. Before it
connected however, a clawed hand caught the blade, holding it
by the tip. Sand Shrine looked up, and stared into the
shrouded face of his assailant. Negrev dissipated in the
stranger's palm, without the consent of its wielder. 

"Who are you?" Shrine said, holding his ground.

"I am called Al-Naqura." The being stated, as he removed his
robes. Shrine's eyes lit up as he removed them, and Luna
audibly gasped. There before them stood a Draconequus. "But
In your tongue, my name is Order."

"But...how?" Shrine said, for the first time at a loss for
words. "Your kind are extinct! They were hunted down and
slain one by one in the Draconequus War! There were no
survivors!"

"None but myself." Order said, pointing his spear at the
alicorn. "It is my domain to ensure that all things work
together, and follow the natural order. What you are doing
right now, with this war of conquest, does not fall into this
order. I have made a point of not interfering to bring about
the natural order, but you have forced my hand."

Shrine thrust his blade for the draconequus' neck, but his
strike struck only air. He whirled around, and saw that Order
now stood behind him.

"Do not resist me." Order said, standing up to his full
height. He towered over Sand Shrine, and leveled his spear at
him. The alicorn struck again, only for the spear to deflect
his glass blade. Before Shrine could even react, he had been
clouded about the face with the blunt end of the spear. He
turned to strike again, only to take a blow to the back of
the skull. Then a punch in the stomach, then the ribs, and
then his leg. A flurry of strikes rained down on Shrine, as
he was battered about by a foe who was far to fast to be
seen. Finally, he got his bearings long enough to aim a slash
at Order, only to find he had vanished, and had taken Luna
with him. 

Shrine stood there, alone, enraged, and in pain. He decided
that for now, he would enjoy part of his victory, and watch
as Dodge Junction burned.