Fight For Equestria
Fight For Equestria
Screams and wails rang through the air as yet another day came to see the distinguished state of a once great country. Many bodies lay limp and drenched in crimson, scattered throughout the streets of Canterlot and clumped together on the battlefield that the city watched over. Equestria’s army was now no more than a handful of ponies and the collateral damage that they suffered was near-irreparable, but still they fought. Every soldier and every pony who even for a second thought that maybe living under a new ruler would be more merciful than the state of chaos that became their daily life was quickly proven wrong by the conquering king.
Beneath the bare hooves of the few ponies that still had it in them to raise their swords the dry, prickly grass crackled like the crisp leaves of autumn. They felt the unrelenting burn of the hanging, glowering sun but they knew that their king didn’t have the time to tidy the daytime away, nor had he the few moments necessary to call out the moon for he was out there with them, sword in hoof and war cry at the ready.
“Your highness, behind you!” cried an aged unicorn, forcing out a shaky beam of ethereal azure and charring the pony who had mistaken King Equinox for a common soldier.
“Thank you,” mumbled the king of Equestria, taking a moment to rest against his sword before slicing it through the air and ending the life of yet another crystal pony.
“Are you okay, your highness?” he asked, heaving every breath as his dry skin begged for sweat to come.
“I’ll be fine, Starswirl, be careful!” demanded the king, voice wheezy. “Where is Queen Carina?”
“She’s over there,” Starswirl pointed over the hill behind them, “and she’s with your daughter.”
“I just hope that they don’t need to come out here again,” he muttered, shaking his head slowly before giving an ear-shattering roar and leaping back onto his hooves with his sword at the ready.
Starswirl watched as his king slashed through the crystal ponies and though a part of him was still disgusted by the sight of their blood pouring out onto the now ruby red ground, he smiled at the ray of hope that still shone brightly for Equestria. Chuckling, Starswirl took a deep breath and pulled himself back up, blasting away a commander that had decided to participate in the war personally. Just as he was about to release a freezing spell upon the agile ponies however, he felt a refreshing breeze that grew stronger with every passing moment tugging at his robe and he knelt down, making way for the often dangerous and relentless pegasus.
Commander Hurricane, well known for the weather phenomenon that had just blown away at least a third of the wave sent from the crystal empire, shot through the skies and broke through the speed barriers that Starswirl had once told her about, causing even more damage to the campsite of their enemies and injuring many of their ponies. On her way back, Commander Hurricane stuck her tongue out at the ponies that had been manning the catapults as they watched their long-range weapons fall apart under the pressure of the sound waves.
From a lightning-filled cloud, Commander Hurricane zapped many ponies that tried to creep into Canterlot and when the last bolt had been fired she looked back, noticing the little pink maned body that hid behind the hill, in front of where her queen was resting. Groaning, she shot down and greeted Private Pansy with a howl.
“What do you think you’re doing here private!” she screamed, her wings stretched out and her feathers erect.
Private Pansy gave a shriek of terror before curling up into a ball and slowly rolling back and forth on the ground, peaking at her commander every now and then. Commander Hurricane rolled her eyes and gave an exasperated sigh before clearing her throat and continuing.
“All right, if you don’t want to fight then at least take care of Queen Carina and Princess Platinum, they’re over there behind the tree.”
Private Pansy gave a slight nod before clutching her knees even tighter, much to the annoyance of the commander who took to the skies again, grabbing yet another cloud with which to attack the crystal ponies. Just like she usually does, Commander Hurricane almost gave Starswirl a heart attack when she shocked the pony who had snuck up on the master of spells, and in return Starswirl blessed the cloud with a few more rounds of lightning. Taking his eyes off of the airborne pony, Starswirl watched as the crystal empire sent in a new wave of troops. Letting his
head drop with a moan, he looked back at their army and wondered why they were still alive.
With audible effort, Starswirl’s personal student, Clover the Clever, maneuvered around the battlefield with magical grace, disappearing and reappearing in flashes of blinding violet, sneaking up on their enemies the way only a unicorn can. With a grin, Starswirl ran towards the oncoming wave and unleashed a whip upon them, throwing soldiers and slapping them with the unfathomably fast movements of his magic. Meanwhile, Clover brought what little medical aid and nourishment that she could to the few that continued their efforts. All the while, King Equinox, Commander Hurricane, Starswirl the Bearded, Clover the Clever and every other pony in Canterlot could hear their fellow ponies’ cries as they were slaughtered by the crystal empire.
Much to their Dismay, by the time the day should have ended, their sixty-odd pony army had dwindled down to ten ponies. Despite his unending efforts, King Equinox was unable to prevent both Queen Carina and Princess Platinum from walking out onto the battlefield. With them came Chancellor Puddinghead and her right hand pony, Smart Cookie. The crazy chancellor was -- against every pony’s will -- told to fire the only cannon they had at the enemies and bringing a shocked, mouth agape expression to everyone’s faces, she did so with elegant expertise. They had given up on any morals they had and agreed to meet each other in hell when all of this was over, but for now they were fighting for their country, for their fellow ponies and the for the lives that they have come to call their own.
The ten of them stayed close to one another and moved as a small unit with Private Pansy looking out for any ponies who dared to attack from behind, but Smart Cookie was the one who took them out with her infallible eyesight and archery skills. Slowly but surely, they were killing their opponents and they thought for a brief moment that victory was plausible, but King Emerald had something else in mind. His power was even greater than Starswirl’s when it came to magic, and greater than King Equinox when it came to physical strength, but they stood their ground and pushed back even as they watched their opposing king step onto the battlefield.
It soon became obvious that the ten of them weren’t going to give up when they were together, but King Emerald had one last trick up his sleeve, and he knew that it would work. His horn lit up and in a flash, he was gone. Commander Hurricane’s storm died down in the blink of an eye, the sun’s murderous heat diminished until it was as if it were only a tiny ember, and a dreadful silence descended upon them as yet another wave charged towards them. They circled around them then stopped, dropping their weapons to their sides and watching the huddled group of ponies that stared every-which way in confusion and fear for some master plan that they had failed to foresee.
As they tried their best to decipher their behaviour, King Emerald materialised in the middle of their cluster and just as he had planned, they scattered, separating themselves from the ones that kept them alive. In an instant the new, energetic and unwounded soldiers attacked. Queen Carina flew to the skies and she held as many ponies as she could in place with her comparatively feeble magic. Princess Platinum immobilised as many she could by strapping them to each other with her rope-like glow. Smart Cookie jumped on Private Pansy’s back and rained arrows down upon the crystal soldiers, Chancellor Puddinghead wreaked chaos with her cannon that shot anything that she could find, and Commander Hurricane showed them all just how fitting her name was. The pegasi fought from the skies, the unicorns tricked their opponents with their magic and the earth ponies pushed back as hard as they could, but in the midst of all the discordance, King Emerald had disappeared once more.
“We need to assume position!” howled King Equinox, his magic waning and his knees buckling.
“We can’t!” replied Commander Hurricane as she sucked up as many of them as she could. “We’ll just have to take care of ourselves!”
“Princess Platinum, look out!”
Starswirl’s warning reached the ears of the heiress and she reeled around to find herself staring into the fiery green eyes of the invading king. Her horn stopped glowing, her eyes shrank and her shoulders dropped as her heart pounded against her chest. Chuckling, King Emerald’s smirk grew wider as he prepared his own magic and held the Princess by her neck. King Equinox was perturbed by his friend’s concerned shriek and he turned to see the sight of his daughter at death’s door. King Equinox heard the stretched out drone of his breath leaving his lungs as he tried to move his hooves and even the wind that blew past him seemed to stop. A bead of sweat rolled down the side of his face as he stared at King Emerald, choking and lifting his daughter into the air with a deadly blast of magic being prepared. His eyes darted around and he prayed for something to appear, something to help them, but all he saw were his friends and fellow fighters moving towards King Emerald, their eyes full of fear and their lips parted in protest.
Taking a deep breath, King Equinox charged his horn and with a burst of light, he appeared by his daughter’s side. He swung his hoof through the air again and again, occasionally striking King Emerald. Princess Platinum fell to her knees, massaging her throat and coughing on the mouthfuls of fresh air that rushed in while the others ran to her side, their hooves on her shoulder and their eyes locked on their king. With a cackle, King Emerald knocked King Equinox onto his knees and they shared a collective gasp of terror, but their king quickly retaliated and begged them to help. Sadly, only Starswirl made it to the king’s side through the herd of crystal ponies and the two of them could barely keep themselves alive.
Off in the distance, at the border of the battlefield and the forest, two ponies from the crystal empire stood with their bows at the ready. One of them let his arrow fly and even Commander Hurricane’s reflexes were only enough to deflect it so that it just hit Smart Cookie in the shoulder. Disturbed by her hissing at the pain, Private Pansy lifted her higher and she fired at them, to no avail. Smart Cookie couldn’t pull the arrows as far back as she needed to with her injured shoulder and her accuracy suffered because of it. Right when she thought that she had it under control, the second crystal archer took his shot, and he didn’t miss. Without a grotesque thud, both Smart Cookie and Private Pansy fell to the ground, bound together by the wooden shaft of the arrow through their throats.
For a brief moment, everyone stopped fighting against the crystal ponies as they glanced over at the bodies of their comrades. They tipped their heads and bit down on their lips as the soldiers slashed at them with swords and spears. After mumbling a word of thanks and goodbye, their resolve came back to them, and they kept fighting with a newfound energy bred from their fear. Commander Hurricane threw lightning at the ones who shot down her fellow pegasus and she started a powerful storm in an attempt to get rid of some of the crystal ponies. A few gave drowned out cries as they were whisked away by the mighty winds, but there was a single pony who stood far enough so that all he felt was a gentle breeze blowing through his mane. He had with him a large net, a sword and a plan. The soldier ran into the storm and was picked up by the strong gales, but instead of screaming he smirked. He opened the net and when he was close enough, he called out to Commander Hurricane who only had enough time to turn around and catch a glimpse of his armour before she was caught in the net and sucked in by her own storm.
When the thundering hurricane had stopped, the commander fell from the skies with her wings entangled and a hilt sticking out of her chest.
Chancellor Puddinghead, fighting to avenge the death of Smart Cookie, fired her cannon inexorably at the crystal empire, but when she had run out of things to use as ammunition they took their chance to attack. A quick slash of a sword was all it took and another one of them had died. Clover the Clever tried to help her, but her magic was growing weaker and needed more time to recharge. Before she was able to strike again, she found herself at hoof’s length from the soldiers, much too close for her own comfort, and stared into the eyes of her reflection in the sword that killed her.
Moments earlier they had ten ponies, but now there were only five and they barely had the strength to breath. King Equinox kept King Emerald occupied for as long as he could in the hopes that he would then be unable to harm Princess Platinum anymore, but he soon realised that the seemingly ever-growing army that King Emerald had on his side were just as much a threat as the king himself was.
Archers, soldiers, commanders and many other ranks of their army tried to overpower Starswirl the Bearded, but even in his fatigue and old age he was able to fend them off. He stood behind Princess Platinum with Queen Carina above them who protected them as best as she could, but soon he started to wonder if they would ever see the sunset again. The crystal ponies bled just as much as their ponies did, and their bodies became the new ground upon which the stood, but Starswirl knew that they couldn’t keep this up forever.
There came a cry from behind him and King Equinox turned around to see a soldier pulling a stained sword out of his daughter’s stomach. Though his heart was still beating, King Equinox’s body went limp and a simple nudge from King Emerald threw him to the ground. He watched as his daughter dropped onto the bloody grass. He couldn’t feel his hooves, nor could he move them and the resolve that he had found when Smart Cookie died was quickly lost. Both Starswirl and Queen Carina were subdued by the soldiers who, at King Emerald’s command, spared them their lives.
“There was once hundreds of thousands of ponies in your armies,” whispered King Emerald, holding his head next to Equinox’s ears. “Now there are only four of you...”
Starswirl and Carina dropped to their knees, their hooves behind their heads and their lips sealed as she stared at Equinox, begging him to get up.
“Don’t even think about it,” mumbled King Emerald, gesturing towards the ponies that approached them with spears at the ready. “You move a muscle and we’ll end your life in an instant.”
Starswirl’s hat fell to the ground as he lowered his head in defeat and the bells sang a cheery tune for Equinox, but as he stared at the countless bodies of his ponies, the fiery determination to protect his country seeped out of him. King Emerald’s grin grew wider as Equinox closed his eyes and let a tear leak out, cleaning a single blade of grass of the crimson that rained down upon the once beautiful field for weeks. Taking a deep breath, he parted his lips and opened his eyes, watching his wife crying next to his friend with spear heads under their chins.
“Check-”
“-Mate!” cried Celestia, sliding her bishop onto a black square and watching Luna’s glee turn into frustration.
“How did I lose again?” she demanded, slamming a hoof on the board and shaking the pieces. “I was so sure that I’d be able to beat you this time!”
“A thousand years was plenty of time for me to practice,” answered Celestia as she hummed a tune and pointed her hoof at an irate Luna.
“I can’t believe I’ve lost to you five times now!”
Luna sat with her hooves folded and her brows furrowed as she glared at the pieces, thinking through all of the steps and trying to remember where it all went wrong. Chuckling at her sister’s displeasure, Celestia resumed her seat and waved a hoof in front of Luna’s eyes, grabbing her attention.
“Would you like to play again, dear sister?” she asked with a mischievous intonation.
“Yes!” replied Luna, readying her pieces with precision and determination. “This time, King Equinox won’t lose!”
Celestia raised an eyebrow at her sister before shrugging it off and putting her pieces back onto the board, resetting the game.
