Chapter 02 : Chess pieces

If there was one thing that Spitfire really, truly hated, it had to be council meetings. Sure, Spitfire hated many things ; laziness, cold coffee, and unicorns, to name a few. But those meetings, spent discussing and planning the army's next moves filled Spitfire with a terrible, gnawing boredom. The yellow mare was made for the field, for the fight, she felt most alive when rushing through the air, piercing the sky with her fellow pegasi. It was what she was meant to do. Spitfire didn't enroll in the army to fight for her princess's honor and glory, or to defend her personal beliefs, she wasn't really interested in any of that. But if there was one thing that Spitfire respected, it was power. Pure, raw power, a power that Twilight Sparkle possessed. And that drew Spitfire in. The truth was, she lived for the rush of adrenaline she felt when crushing her enemies into dust and blood, and she happened to have quite the talent for it, so much so she became the sergeant of the aerial army of the Princess, the "Wings of Dusk", soon after their creation. Not only that, she was the right hand mare of their commander : Rainbow Dash.

"Ah, shit," cursed Spitfire, hurrying through the castle's corridors. She was late for the meeting, a meeting she didn't even wanted to go to, but she unfortunately didn't have much choice ; just thinking about the princess's disappointed, cold stare made her hurry down the halls. Spitfire didn't fear much, she had always been confident and brave, but that freezing, dead stare, absolutely frightened her. That was what true mightiness was. Finally, Spitfire arrived at the large doors of the council chamber, and entered.

"Princess," she greeted, bowing to the ground.

"Sergeant Spitfire," responded Twilight in her usual, calm tone. "Please, take a seat, and let's begin."

Spitfire obliged, and sat next to her commander, who gave her a reprimanding look. The yellow pegasus remembered when she first saw Rainbow Dash ; she was younger then, and full of life, full of hope, full of... everything that she did not have anymore. Her beautiful, rainbow mane was cut quite short, standing in wild spikes, and her once shimmering pink eyes had turned cloudy. It was as if all joy had been sucked out of her. Never had a rainbow appeared so dull and grey, Spitfire thought. An earth pony cleared his throat, ready to talk ; he was a tall, muscular yet slender white earth pony, with a bright yellow mane with golden highlights, just like the shimmer in his eyes. He was dressed in military clothing ; Golden Shield, the commander of the earth army of Twilight.

"I believe we need to talk about Manehattan," he said. "The Fallen One's armies, and the Crystal armies have started to regroup there, and our troops have failed to take the city back. I think we should do a big strike."

"Yes, the situation is troubling," agreed another pony, the leader of the Dusk Unicorns, a white, elegant unicorn called Fleur de Lys. Spitfire rolled her eyes at her. "But is it truly wise to send more than a few platoons ? We cannot afford to take big risks, and while we do need to keep the enemie's armies from advancing more into the country, I am not sure a grand battle would be efficient, considering the losses we would suffer."

That was exactly what Spitfire didn't want to hear ; endlessly long arguments about who was right, who wasn't, what to do or not, how to do it, when... Spitfire only awaited the orders. Whatever they needed her to do, she would. She wanted to fight, not wait for what seemed like forever for the council to agree on something. Twilight stared at Rainbow Dash, but the blue pegasus didn't say a word, simply observing the situation, looking bored.

"We should strike them now, before they have time to finish assembling their troops, and before they march onto us," argued Golden, clearly annoyed at Fleur's attitude. At least, Spitfire wasn't the only one that was.

"Rushed decisions are not rational ones," simply replied Fleur, making her opinion quite clear. "We would also be endangering Canterlot, and without my Dusk Unicorns, how will the Princess be protected ? I suggest that..."

"Are you suggesting i'm not strong enough to protect myself ?"

Twilight's voice had cut Fleur's like a knife, slashing through the air and pointing at the unicorn's throat. Twilight had turned to her, plunging her eyes into Fleur's. For a few seconds, the unicorn was quiet, her lips opening but with no sound coming out of her month, as if she didn't dare to even breathe. The aura was getting more threatening by the second, the room now seeming stifly and small. Fleur audibly gulped, and finally gave an unsure answer ;

"Of course not, Your Grace. I would never dare to imply such a thing."

Twilight lowered her eyebrows, and the air in the room instantly felt less tense. Spitfire was a little disappointed though ; she would've liked to see Fleur be put in her place, for once. She was getting tired of the unicorn acting like she was better than anyone else, especially when her troops were the lowest in numbers. But the Princess seemed fond of this unicorn order she had founded, and she wouldn't want their talent wasted in the earth army. Finally, Rainbow Dash, that had been comfortably sitting in a laid back position, advanced herself in her chair.

"I agree with Golden, Twilight."

Since the Fall, Spitfire had never heard anyone else than Rainbow Dash call the princess by her name. No one was allowed to, but Rainbow Dash wasn't anypony. She was the princess's friend, at least the closest thing she could consider a friend. She was the only one of the Elements that had stayed completely loyal to her friend, the other one running away with Celestia, and Rarity, well... She barely left her room at the castle, and it was best not to mention her to the Princess.

"And why is that ?" responded Twilight. "Fleur is right, partly. Our troops are very precious, especially the unicorns. We can't just send them into a battle that big. It would only lead to a chaotic, unorganized fight, and the losses would be too important. I don't care who dies or doesn't, really ; but we need troops to protect ourselves. We can't just send them all to die and have mediocre results." If the risk of loosing the battle to Celestia wasn't that big, Twilight wouldn't have cared sending all of Equestria to die.

"We don't have to send the unicorns. My pegasi and some of Golden's troops will suffice."

Spitfire smirked. That's it, that's what she liked. This unbreakable, self-confidence that her commander had, the risks she was willing to take. What some pony saw as foolish, and arrogance, Spitfire saw as faith in her power. Rainbow Dash knew exactly who she was, what she was able to do, and that was powerful. She lead her troops with a superiority that was unmatched.

"What ?" scoffed Fleur. "Commander Dash, you cannot be..."

"I am serious," interrupted Dash. "It can be done in a day. We pegasi will transport Golden's troops beyond the mountains and let them hide. We'll strike first, coming down from the sky, taking out their observers, as swiftly as possible, to avoid being spotted. Once it's done, Golden's soldiers will be free to move, and we'll rain on them. A pegasus rainfall is never expected. This will work. And there will be no need for your unicorns."

The room was silent for a moment. Golden Shield didn't seem to disapprove of the plan, actually looking quite pleased, probably happy to have someone backing him up, for once. Fleur had a look of disbelief plastered on her face ; did Rainbow Dash really called her useless ? And Twilight, as always, was impossible to read through, the princess's thoughts and feelings were an unsolvable enigma. She looked like a chess player, staring at the game, thinking and planning her next move. Equestria was the game, and the ponies the chess pieces. Spitfire only hoped for the game to be entertaining.

"Let's discuss the details of that. We'll strike in a week."

Spitfire smiled. A week? That would make the attack happen on the anniversary of the Ponyville massacre. Her princess really was something.

***

Misty Breeze was looking at the crimson sky, her mind clouded by a number of worrying thoughts. The pegasus felt uneasy, and while she knew that an attack was highly unlikely, given the date, she couldn't help but feel a creeping senation of dread crawling on her back. She looked around her ; she was completely alone, at the top of the building. Other ponies were posted in the other side of the city, but even then, Breeze didn't feel safe. Something definitely felt wrong.

At the other side of the city, near the port, stood tall the building where Celestia and Cadance were. Cadance had insisted to follow her aunt into Equestria, leaving the Crystal Empire into the hooves of her husband. Both Alicorns were sitting in a room, accompnied by two armed soldiers. Even late at night, the princesses were deep into a discussion, avoiding sleeping in fear of an attack. They rarely slept those days. Deep down, Celestia hoped Twilight had enough sleep at night. After all, those moonless nights could be very long and lonely. Oh, how she missed her sister...

"The last platoons should arrive in a few days, they have left the Empire," said Cadance, repressing a yawn. "After that, we'll be free to move in Equestria. Have you decided the next course of action, my aunt ?"

Celestia was rubbing her chin, looking quite troubled, the lack of sleep having dug dark circles beneath her drowsy eyes.

"The next logical step would be to take Fillydelphia, to assert our influence more over the country," explained the white Alicorn. "Baltimare being close to it, we could also take it, and maybe enroll citizens supporting our cause."

"Still, invading from the East puts us at a disadvantage to reach Canterlot. We would be facing the mountain... Unless we take the route from Ponyville, but..."

"I don't know if it's a wise idea to cross Ponyville," sighed Celestia. "We would be too exposed. Reaching Canterlot from behind may not be the easiest thing to do, but at the end, we'll be less likely to be revealed. If we are as efficient in continuing our invasion as we have been so far, ending this awful war will only be a matter of months."

Cadance hoped her aunt was right. When Celestia took shelter in the Crystal Empire, the princess of love didn't hesitate in taking her and the escapees in. She didn't hesitate in aiding her aunt build and train an army, she didn't hesitate in providing her with arms, in sending recruiters for the Celestial Army and spies in Equestria, she always did as her heart told. But it had been six, very long years, and she longed for the former safety of her country. Cadance missed her husband, she missed her people, she missed her life. She missed hapiness.

Celestia also felt the weight of the war, and everyday was harder to go through than the last. Every news about her former student she received from her spies broke her heart a little bit more, every death at the hands of the tyrant shattered Celestia more. When she looked at the sky, she found that it was not the sun she missed most, but the moon. During her sister's life, she had never appreciated this beautiful orb enough, its glowing glory illuminating the stars, sublimating Equestria with its beauty. She missed the nightsky, the shining stars, the quietness. She missed Luna. She missed...

"What was that ?" said Cadance.

The two Alicorns stood still. Everything around them was silent, and the guards in the room were starting to notice it aswell. No sound, not at all. It was night, but there were still supposed to be observers posted around the city, and surely, that would make sound... Celestia started to walk towards the door, but the guards stood in front of it, now looking worried.

"Princess," whispered the soldier. "I think you should stay inside."

"We should barricade ourselves, just in case," agreed Cadance. "My aunt, you are already weakened, we can't risk your safety. Come, let us find a safe place."

Celestia simply ignored their advice, and she opened the door. The streets were empty, the air felt heavy, and no sound could be heard. Cadance and the guards followed ; the soldiers took out their firearms, and positioned themselves around their ruler. Celestia looked at the sky ; a star ? A star seemed to be shining in the dark, crimson sky. But no stars had shone since the last few years, and suddenly, Celestia understood.

"Pegasi !"

Cadance ran back into the building, but Celestia ran into the street. Where were the observers ? She galloped and galloped, repressing a scream when she found a mutilated corpse bleeding out on the ground. Celestia kneeled ; it was an earth pony, from her own army. She didn't know his name, and couldn't even recognize his battered face. The street was now getting busier and busier, soldiers quickly rushing out of the buildings, arming themselves and pointing at the skies. Pegasi were falling from the firmament, like a rainfall. Celestia let out an enraged cry.

"Twilight !"

The Alicorn got up, and in a rage, soared in the sky. She could see the pegasi now landing on the city, her former citizens cutting through her loyal army. How dare they ? How could Twilight dare to send those ponies that Celestia once ruled over and cared for, provided for, loved, to murder their own kind ? How could someone so sweet turn this rotten ? In a pained scream, Celestia rushed towards the pegasi shooting fire from the sky. They didn't even see what was coming to them, as the Alicorn slashed through them, a spear appearing in front of her. Her magic was not what it once was, but she was not yet useless. She would protect those she had left, Celestia swore to herself as she slayed the winged soldiers, an angel of death piercing the sky.

On the ground, terror was filling the streets. The platoons couldn't organize themselves and were fighting in a desorganized panic, desperately trying to escape the ruthless assault of the pegasi. Surprise attacks were their specialty, and their savagery in battle was almost legendary. The Wings of Dusk, the tyrant's elite pegasi force. A bunch of blood-thirsty demons, thought Applejack.

Applejack was actively hunting the pegasi that had landed, galloping and throwing her hooves in their faces, violently biting and scratching every enemy she came across, roaring as she teared through their flesh. The smell, the taste of blood, it all made her more unhinged, and with each new hit, came the thrill of the fight that had kept her alive for this long. In the crowd of ponies, in the mess of the fight, AJ's crazed eyes were searching, searching for someone. A blue fur. A rainbow mane. As she bashed a pegasus's head to the ground, crushing its bones under her blood soaked hooves, she called and screamed a name.

"Rainbow ! You sick fuck, show yourself ! I ain't afraid, come at me, you fuckin' flyin' shit !"

Applejack pulled out a dagger, and threw herself at another pony, hurling insults at it. Closely following AJ was her squad, covering her back. The army couldn't afford to loose a soldier like her, but her way of fighting more than often put her in deadly situations, and her squad was there for her when it came to that. And it was coming to that. The pegasi had either landed, or were shooting from the sky. But the city had been breached, and now came the earth army. Hundreds of ponies were coming for blood, for their princess, and they had no time to prepare themselves. They had to resist, or it was all Equestria that was doomed.

Misty Breeze was in the sky, taking on the pegasi, launching herself onto them, flying as fast as she possibly could to crush them onto themselves. She felt the danger before it came, and had managed to take cover when the first pegasi arrived to take out the observers, but she hadn't managed to come back to her squad. She searched for them, but in the mess of the battle, she didn't have much time to find them, so Misty kept on fighting, hoping that her friends had made it. For a moment, she thought she saw Derpy, from afar, hidden behind a wall with her trusted firearm, but Misty was soon jumped on by an enemy. But she knew her friend, and Derpy wasn't the army's most efficient sniper for no reason. Higher in the sky, three pegasi were looking at the scene, one snickering.

"That one's made quite a chaos," sneered Spitfire. "I'd love to take her on myself."

"We're not to leave the commander," replied the pegasus besides her, Soarin. "If you misbehave again, like you did last time, I'll..."

"She'll be more useful fighting that protecting me," finally said Dash, eyeing the ground with disdain. "Go on."

Spitfire didn't even wait for the end of the sentence, and plunged towards Breeze, grabbing her by the throat, choking her as she flew away. Misty struggled, trying to free herself from the merciless grip of the yellow pony. The celestial fighter tried to scream, but her voice was choked in her throat, and she could feel her head starting to spin. Spitfire grinned at her an awful, toothy smile, licking her lips with excitement as she could feel her victim's already slipping away.

"Not that strong, eh ?" mocked Spitfire. "I'm disappointed, I..."

A shot. A scream of pain. Spitfire and Breeze fell from the sky, and crashed on the ground, the yellow pegasus finally releasing the pressure on Breeze's throat. Spitfire yelled as she pressed her hoof against her right wing ; a clean, precise shot had destroyed it. The bones of her wing revealed themselves through the blood and the teared away muscles and flesh, feathers stained red falling besides them. Breeze quickly got up, ignoring the pain, and saw a grey pegasus approaching, and pressed her hoof againt Spitfire's now mangled appendice, basking in the sound of the bones crushing and Spitfire's screams of agony. Breeze grimaced in disgust.

"Thank you," said Breeze, "But you didn't have to do that."

"I know, it just felt satisfying."

Derpy Hooves. The army's deadliest sniper. Quickly following her were the rest of AJ's team, who was smiling with pride as she approached the wounded pegasus. Applejack kneeled close to Spitfire, plunging her eyes into hers.

"Well look who it is," she mocked. "Rainbow's very own pet dog. What should we do with her ? Send her body parts to her princess ?

Spitfire was violently shaking, crying and hurling at the sight of her terrible wound. She sniffled and sobbed, trying desperately to pull herself together, but the pain and the sight of her wing was too much to bear. Spitfire couldn't even think anymore, all she felt was suffering. AJ smiled widely at this horrible diplay. She turned to her soldiers.

"Take her in a safe space and watch her," commanded Applejack. "We need her alive. I'll find Rainbow... Alone."

Snow and Breeze immediatly started to drag Spitfire to a secure building, while Derpy and Bon Bon followed them, weapons out, ready to defend themselves. But Deep didn't follow. He wasn't the type of pony to wait for the battle to pass, sheltered in a safe space. No, he had waited for this, he had waited for a chance to fight again, to release all the anger that had built up in him. He could feel the butterflies in his stomach as he awaited with excitement to cross the path of an unlucky enemy soldier.

Applejack was frantically looking around her, searching. She knew that Rainbow had seend Spitfire getting shot, and she knew that the commander would react. After all, Spitire was a prized asset of the Wings of Dusk. She knew she would come to her... AJ walked. She didn't trot or gallop, she calmly walked, trying to find an isolated spot through the corpses and agitation. She didn't even notice the rumbling around her anymore. It was war, and she was used to war. She knew the snipers had her back, she knew she wouldn't be attacked. So, she waited. AJ sat on the ruins of what probably used to be a lovely house, now turned to ashes and broken bricks. Applejack lit up a cigarette. She closed her eyes as she exhaled the smoke.

"Been a while, Dash."

Rainbow Dash was standing in front of her, not less than 5 meters away from her. The differences between the two ponies was shocking. Applejack was soaked in blood, her fur tinted in a bloody, crimson shade. Her mane was messy and tangled, lacking hair in some spots. She had no uniform on her, just her weapons. But Rainbow Dash was almost elegant, in her deep violet uniform, sporting her medals. She stood tall and impressive, her shadow menacingly looming over AJ.

"How you feelin', partner ?" asked AJ in a mocking tone, taking another breath of her cigarette. "Feelin' good, murderin' your own people ? Bein' a tyrant's boot licker ?"

"I prefer you on the battlefield," replied Dash in a cold tone. "You talk less."

"Yeah, well I preferred you when you had morals."

in a second, the mares threw themselves on each other in a shattering shock. AJ spit her cigarette at Rainbow, and headbutted her in the throat. Rainbow let out a pained cough but soon caught herself, backing away and averted another hit. The pegasus could've easily just flown away and dropped on her former friend, breaking her bones in pieces, but she did not. She didn't even deploy her wings. Rainbow still respected Applejack as a fighter, a partner... A friend. She wanted a fair fight. Or else, it wouldn't be worth it. It wouldn't even matter. Nothing would.

The winged mare rushed at the orange pony, but Applejack turned away and released her hind legs into those of the pegasus which fell hard on the dusty, dirt ground. The winged soldier got up quickly, then kicked her hoof with all her might towards AJ's face. AJ spit some blood on the ground, but before she could get up, Dash continued to pound the ground, each time aiming for the head of the orange pony. Applejack got hit a few times before rolling on the ground, avoiding a deadly strike from her opponent. She rolled up on herself, and with a powerful thrust of her front legs made a recovery. She now was staring in Rainbow's eyes. AJ used to love gazing at those bright, pink orbs. But all shimmer had disappeared from her dull, sunken eyes, replaced by darkness and anger. AJ chuckled.

"You know, sugarcube, i've always thought i'd be happy to finally make you taste my hooves. But for some stupid reason, all I feel is numbness."

"I don't feel anything towards you," coldly claimed Dash. "You're just another traitor to me."

"Yeah, keep tellin' yourself that. We both know the truth."

Rainbow Dash let out an enraged growl, took a knife out of her jacket and stood on her hind legs, in a fighting position, ready to take on AJ. The orange pony did the same, smiling from ear to ear. The fight was just beginning. The two mares began to circle around each other, tightening the circle with each turn and decreasing the distance between them. The air felt tighter and more tense as they got closer and closer to one another. When they were close enough, they stopped spinning, and there was a moment of hesitation during which the two fighters did not take their eyes off each other. Everything they had ever done in this war, it had led to this moment. Six years of waiting, of expecting, of anticipating. It was finally time.

Applejack shifted back, then charged, the knife upturned in her hoof, and she tried to stab it at her neck. Rainbow reacted quickly enough to dodge the attack, turning her torso away from her enemy, and striking back at AJ's face, cutting through her cheek. Rainbow swung the knife around in her hoof and attempted to drive her blade into the orange pony's chest. Applejack managed to avoid the killing blow, but wasn't fast enough. Rainbow striked again, this time, succeeding in plunging the knife in AJ's flank. Applejack quickly stepped back. Rainbow's knife fell on the ground, and AJ quickly pressed her hoof against the open wound.

"You know nothing about what i've been living for six years, Applejack. You don't know me anymore."

"But I do. I know you're a coward, choosing to avoid seein' the truth for what it really is ; Twilight's been usin' you, an' she'll keep on killin' eveyone until no pony lives in Equestria ! And you're helpin' her ! If i'm a traitor, then you're a fuckin' monster."

Applejack dropped her knife, and in a scream of anger, AJ stood on all fours, then charged the pegasus. Applejack swung her hind legs forward, hitting the fighter in the pelvis and causing her to stumble. Ignoring the pain in her flank, she tackled the pegasus to the ground, and began repeatedly punching her in the face, screaming with all her might. Blood was flowing, covering AJ's face with red. Rainbow was struggling, trying to get the blod thirsty pony off of her, and she finally succeeded, hitting Applejack where she had stabbed her. Applejack cried out in pain and released her grip.

The two mares staggered apart, Applejack dragging herself on the ground, breathing heavily. Rainbow's face was completely battered and swollen. The adrenaline was starting to run out in their veins, and they both couldn't fight the pain anymore. Then, Rainbow Dash looked around her. Corpses, piles of corpses everywhere, of her troops. Too concentrated on her fight, she wasn't able to lead them, and the Celestial Army had taken the upper hand. Golden's earth troops were retreating. Spitfire was gone. They had lost, and it was her fault. She felt a hoof on her shoulder ; Soarin.

"Commander," he whispered. "We should go."

"And abandon the battlefield ? We can't..."

"We lost, commander."

Rainbow Dash sighed. Limping, she started to walk away from the fight. AJ coughed. Soarin pointed his firearm at her.

"Shall I finish her ?"

"No," firmly said Dash. "She's mine. When the time comes..." she looked at AJ one last time, before flying away. "She'll be mine to kill."

The pegasi disappeared in the sky. AJ looked around her. Smoke was coming out from the buildings, and the wind was carrying the fresh scent of the cadavers and the blood. Trembling, Applejack reached towards her pack of cigarettes, and lit one up, ignoring the tears rolling down her blood soaked cheeks. She was alone. Utterly, and completely alone. She let out a chuckle.

"Until next time, sugarcube."

Author's Note

I am incredibly sorry for how long this chapter took to come out, I have been very busy with work and life in general. I'm happy to be back to writing, though.
Thank you for reading this chapter. As always ; english isn't my first language, so do tell me if there are any mistakes I can fix, i'll gladly take any advice. Hope you enjoyed your read !