Brazen sighed before taking a big gulp of hot coffee. She had a lot of reading to get through, and, as the library didn’t close, Brazen would be there all night studying. She wondered if Crystal ponies even needed to sleep.
She had a large stack of books to her left, some of them magical tomes and some of them acting as translators of sorts, helping her transcribe the ancient language into one she was a bit more familiar with. She did this on some of the several feet of parchment she had brought along with her, scribbling notes and incantations and potion recipes and enchantments.
It was grueling work, mostly due to the convoluted method of which Brazen had to read most of the text. Some sentences required a half of a page in order to properly translate. Still, Brazen scribbled away, undisturbed for most of the time. Occasionally, she’d leave her seat in order to get a drink or snack, but she was never gone for longer than five minutes. Back at Celestia’s school, Twilight had been a veritable tyrant in regards to the study group, and Brazen was suddenly thanking her for it. Twilight’s study methods were hammered into Brazen’s head, and now she had the ability to do work that would normally take her all day in the span of a few hours.
As Brazen copied over the spells and formulas, altering them slightly to suit her needs, she felt as if someone was watching her. Every time she would look up, though, there was nobody to be found. From what Brazen could tell, the entirety of the third floor, where she was studying, was deserted. Still, she couldn’t shake the feeling.
She worked despite the growing paranoia she was experiencing. With every line she transcribed, the unease in her gut grew. An hour passed, and still nothing debunking nor legitimizing her slight panic had arrived.
Another hour, and Brazen had nearly convinced herself that there was nothing to be afraid of. She had gotten up several times for new books, and still there was nobody there. Brazen sighed, trying to eliminate what remained of her fear before buckling down and getting what she came for.
A soft hand grasped Brazen’s shoulder, the gesture sending a spike of panic through the necromancer, even though it was nothing if not gentle. Brazen, in her fit of fear, completely forgot her specialized, untrackable teleportation spell, and simply sat there for several moments before the owner of the hand decided to speak.
“Hey, there. How are you?” she asked. Brazen slowly turned around, and her heart fell into a pit in her stomach when she saw who was talking to her. Her dress was a beautiful, elegant purple, the silk draping down her tall, thin figure. She had on a small smile, though it was clear that she wasn’t as happy as she appeared. She seemed to be trying to flatten her wings against her back, apparently deciding that her long horn was more than intimidating enough. Standing behind the Princess of Love, adorning full crystal armor, was her husband, Shining Armor. He, as opposed to his wife, made no attempt to conceal his displeasure.
“Uh…” groaned Brazen, trying to think of how to eliminate any and all evidence of her work. “I’m… I’m fine, Princess Cadenza.” Cadance laughed slightly forcefully.
“Oh, there’s no need for that,” said Cadance. “Cadance is fine. I don’t think I caught your name, though.”
Every single fiber of Brazen’s being screamed at her to lie.
“Brazen Gruff. Nice to meet you?” said Brazen. As soon as she said it, she wanted to kick herself directly in the face.
“So… I’ve been watching you work for the past few hours,” said Cadance. “Must be some project, hm?”
A school project would be the absolute perfect excuse to why Brazen was digging through dark magic books. She could very easily manufacture some bogus story about a homework assignment regarding the negative effects that necromancy has on the caster. However, as she was legendarily bad under pressure, her brain didn’t pick up on that lead until after she had already opened her mouth.
“Not exactly,” said Brazen. “Just… reading.”
“You see, that’s what I’ve been trying to tell Shining Armor,” said Cadance, gesturing to her clearly guarded husband. “But he can’t quite see that. He thinks you must be up to something.” Brazen regained some of her brain’s higher function, and didn’t immediately make things worse for herself.
“Why would he think something like that?” asked Brazen, bringing her cup to her lips. She had finished the coffee ages ago, but she took a “sip” anyway.
“Maybe it’s because you’ve got several books on dark necromancy and love curses on your table,” said Shining Armor. “Books which are illegal to have anywhere but here, by the way.”
“It’s a good thing I’m here, then,” said Brazen, regaining some of her sharp wit. “Last time I checked, it’s not against the law to read books in a public library. And if these books are so terrible, why even have them?”
“Old Empire laws that I’ve been having issues working around,” said Cadance. “But, you’re right. We can’t fault you for reading.” Brazen relaxed slightly. “However… I admit that I am curious as to why an honest, hard-working, good samaritan of the Crystal Empire needs those kinds of books.”
“With all due respect, your highness,” said Brazen, leaning back slightly. “I admit that I’m curious as to why you think that’s any of your business.” Shining Armor was about to open his mouth, but was stopped just in time by a small wave from his wife. The Princess of the Empire strode around the table and deposited herself in a chair across from Brazen.
“I think you’re misunderstanding what I’m trying to do,” said Cadance. “I don’t mean to be hostile. I’d just like a nice, friendly conversation.
“Got a chess board?” asked Brazen suddenly.
“I beg your pardon?”
“Well, you want to have a nice, friendly conversation,” Gruff explained. “Right now, we’re basically strangers. The friendliest thing I’m capable of doing is a game of chess. It’ll lighten the atmosphere a bit, don’t you think?” Cadance bit her tongue slightly, clearly contemplating the suggestion. Finally, she decided that there was no harm, and sent Shining out for a board. He returned a short second later with a solid oak box and a gleaming crystal chess board, the light spaces a soft lavender and the dark spaces a violet as deep as Brazen. Shining set the board down, popped open the box, and set the pieces, one by one. The pieces were of an indeterminate material, but Brazen guessed that they were made from exquisite ebony and ivory.
Brazen took the black side, leaving Cadance with the first move. Studying Brazen more than the game, she sent her A1 pawn forward two spaces. Brazen, also focusing intensely on her opponent rather than her moves, mindlessly sent her D7 pawn forward two spaces.
“So, Ms. Gruff,” said Cadance. She moved her knight from B1 to C3. “Where are you from?”
“Canterlot,” said Brazen, moving that same pawn forward. “Lived there most my life, until a couple years back. Decided I was fed up with the living, so I went down and built myself a little house just outside Appleloosa.”
“Interesting. Quite a drastic change, hm?” noted Cadence. She moved rook from A1 to A3. “What do you do there?”
“I’m a mortician. Dealing with the dead is easier and more fun than dealing with the living.” Brazen captured the white knight. “When I’m not poking at the dead, I’m trying to find ways to bring them back.”
“You are aware that necromancy on ponykind is against the law, aren’t you?” asked Cadance.
“That’s why I’m just trying,” snorted Brazen.
The game continued, although it can be argued that the mental chess match was more interesting than the physical one. Brazen was on the defensive the entire time, with Cadance hammering away at her psyche with apparently innocent questions. Where’re you from? When’s your birthday? What do you think of the Empire? Every question sent Brazen into another mini fit of panic. She was so disoriented by the apparently friendly and good-natured personality of someone who could easily ruin everything that her gameplay was suffering. She made several sloppy mistakes, one of which resulting in the loss of her queen. She recovered quickly, and her pawn was soon only a few spaces from the other side of the board.
“Why bother with these books?” asked Cadance. “Why do you want to know about raising the dead or charming people’s hearts? Those two don’t go together.”
“Promotion,” said Brazen. She moved her C5 knight to B3.
“I’m afraid I don’t follow.”
“In regards to chess, I mean,” Gruff elaborated. “The rule of promotion. If you manage to get your pawn all the way to eighth rank, past enemy forces…”
“It can become a queen,” nodded Cadance, advancing her pawn forward. Brazen shook her head, as if Cadance had never said anything more foolish in her entire life.
“It doesn’t get to become a queen. Promotion is the wrong word to use,” said Brazen. “You throw the pawn away in order to regain something more important. Most times, it’s the queen. You know, most people don’t think of it that way. The pawn, who was the underdog for the entire game, did something amazing, and we throw him out for something better. It’s cruel, but nobody really sees it that way. They see it as strategy.” Cadance nodded, but she didn’t really understand the situation any more. If anything, Brazen added even more mystery.
“What’s your point?” asked Cadance.
“My point is that these books are strategy,” said Brazen. “I’ve lost my queen, and I need to get her back. Who cares if I have to throw away a pawn in the process?” Brazen moved her pawn forward onto the last square, B1, then removed it and replaced it with her queen.
“Checkmate.” She tipped over Cadance’s king, used her horn to roll up her notes, and teleported away, all before Cadance or Shining Armor could say a single word to oppose.
“Check,” said Twilight, lowering her bishop gently down on the square. She was deathly nervous, scared beyond words. This could be either the beginning of something beautiful, or the end of it all.
“I can feel your tension, darling, you really do need to calm down,” said Rarity, using her rook to capture Twilight’s bishop. “They’ll love you. I’m sure of it. Dinner will go off without a hitch.”
“I’m not worried about tonight,” said Twilight. She held her hand over her knight, contemplating both her move and her statement. “That’s a lie. I’m really worried about tonight.”
“You know, honestly, I should be the one who’s scared,” said Rarity. “Even if they somehow don’t like you, what are they going to say? ‘Rarity, you’re 24 years old, a grown mare, and you’re not allowed to date a princess’?” Twilight decided against the knight and instead moved her pawn forward.
“Still, I want them to like me,” said Twilight. “I’m glad Spike is here. If they don’t like me, at least the food will be good.”
“They will like you, and the food will be inconsequential,” said Rarity. She pushed her rook forward, sitting it three spaces to the left of Twilight’s black king. “I believe that is mate, darling.”
“Not quite,” Twilight castled, and her rook was now opposite of Rarity’s king, which had nowhere to go. “That’s mate. Good game.”
“No need to try to make me feel better, love,” said Rarity, a small smile on her face. “I know that I’m dreadful.”
“Thanks, Rares,” sighed Twilight. “Chess really helps clear my head. I think I know what to do now.”
As if it were timed, the two heard the loud ringing of the doorbell, signaling the arrival of Rarity’s family. The two decided to greet them together, and rose hand-in-hand. Twilight tried to remember a few things that Rarity told her. Hondo and Cookie might already know. They were fairly laid back, so expect some jokes. Keep things simple. Keep things honest.
Twilight was quaking in her boots as she opened the door. Rarity’s parents, Hondo Flanks and Cookie Crumble, both had small, tearful smiles, and Sweetie Belle was grinning madly at the pair. Before Twilight could say a single word, Cookie wrapped her arms around the princess in a warm, motherly hug.
Twilight couldn’t help herself. She squeezed Rarity’s mother, and laughed happily at the tears that were streaming down her face.