Rook Takes Queen

by Undome Tinwe

Tell/Castling

If Tartarus had doors, Flurry was sure Cozy would have slammed hers open as she entered.

As it was, Flurry could hear her stomping from quite a distance before the pegasus finally stormed into her room, positively fuming.

"Trouble in paradise?" Flurry asked, glancing up from her novel.

"Don't," Cozy warned, her wings flaring out. "I'm about to execute someone, and I'm not sure who, so you don't want to make me mad right now."

"Oh dear." Flurry put down the book. "That bad, huh?"

"I just found out that Smoke's been stealing from our coffers to add to his own hoard." Cozy shook her head. "But he does a good job managing our funds most of the time, and he's too well-connected for me to just kill without someone trying to start a rebellion over it."

"Executing your own staff does tend to get them in a revolutionary mood," Flurry quipped. At Cozy's glare, she quickly added, "There's other ways to deal with a problem, though."

"I miss when I was still a conqueror and I could basically get rid of anyone who annoyed me without having to worry about politics." Cozy shook her head. "Why does keeping a reign of terror going have to be so complicated?"

"Try being a ruler who cares about being beloved," Flurry retorted.

After a moment of consideration, Cozy calmed down. "Yeah, okay, that's a lot worse. I remember when I tried to do that." She sighed. "I still need to figure out what to do with Smoke."

"Well, whether you rule through fear or love, it's important that your subjects know they can't just take advantage of you," Flurry said. "You need to find some way of making an example of him without risking destabilization."

"I guess I could give him some lesser punishment," Cozy considered. "He's still young and small enough that beatings would still hurt, and it's been a while since we've had a public whipping. Could be good to remind everyone not to mess with me."

"If he's as connected as you say, there's still the risk of retaliation." An idea occurred to Flurry, and she grinned. "You know, there's a trick that Aunt Celestia used to use with her nobles, when she thought they were hoarding their wealth. She'd give them special titles that came with responsibilities that made them spend their own money, like administering some forests or hosting charity events."

An answering grin spread out across Cozy's muzzle. "Everyone will see it draining their funds, but since it's a reward, he won't be able to say no!"

"And if you make the position something that requires him to spend money on his connections, they won't see the problem with it either." Flurry's wings flapped excitedly at the thought. "Some sort of Royal Entertainer, maybe? To throw parties and the like?"

"I can figure out the details of something like that," Cozy replied. "Might brighten up this place a bit too. It's the perfect solution." Her own wings began to flutter excitedly. "Man, I could hug you right now."

"You could," Flurry said with a nod. "It's a privilege that not many ponies have, but I'm at your mercy."

"For a hostage, you sure are helpful," Cozy quipped. "I should've gotten myself a pretty princess political prisoner a long time ago. It sucks that I can't trust you because of the whole secret plan thing, since you'd be a great advisor otherwise."

"It's a shame, yes," Flurry agreed.

"Which is why I still need to figure out how to break you," Cozy continued casually. "Maybe then I'll be able to get some good advice before I send you back home."

"If you told me more about how this realm works, I could provide valuable insight," Flurry offered.

"I'm sure you'd love that." Cozy rolled her eyes. "Is that your plan, to learn everything you can about this realm so you can conquer it later? Or do you just want to figure out how to take down those cell walls so you can escape?"

"I'm not one for leading armies," Flurry replied. "But I do have my reasons for wanting to learn as much as I can about Tartarus. It's important to understand the stakes in a game."

"Yeah, well, maybe explain that to your parents," Cozy said.

Flurry raised an eyebrow. "Have the talks been progressing well, then?"

"They really don't want to give up any land." A frustrated groan escaped from between Cozy's lips.

"At the end of the day, I'm just a pony." A familiar serenity entered Flurry's voice as she spoke. "Even if lots of ponies love me, the Empire has to do what's best for herself, even if it means sacrificing a princess to hold on to her power."

That got a raised eyebrow from Cozy. "You really think your parents would just let you die?"

"They won't let me die, but that doesn't mean they'll give in to your demands unless they absolutely have to."

"Eventually they'll realize that they can't rescue you." Cozy finally sat down. "Well, at least that gives us more time together while they figure out that you can't be saved."

"I'm glad you enjoy my presence so much," Flurry said, smiling.

"It's just nice to have someone to talk to who gets me." Glancing at the ceiling, Cozy idly kicked her legs back and forth. "I don't think I've ever had that before."

A nod from Flurry. "We're more alike than not, which isn't something I can say about many ponies."

Suddenly, Cozy's legs stopped moving as she turned her gaze on Flurry. "We are, aren't we?" Her eyes narrowed for a moment before a casual mask returned to her face. "Gotta say, I knew we were going to have fun when you first showed up, but this has really been something else."

"It has," Flurry replied.

"Anyways, I should probably get going." Cozy stood up abruptly. "You've given me some good ideas and I need to go make Smoke pay for what he did. Revenge waits for nopony!" With a cheery wave, she made her exit, stopping to give Flurry a smile. "Have a nice day, Little Snowstorm."

After she left, Flurry tried to pick up where she left off in her novel, but she couldn't stop thinking about Cozy's smile. They were in their endgame now; she could feel it in her very soul, and there were no more cards for her to play.

All she could do now was wait and see what happened next.

Comments

[hmaf43]

what cards? this is as bad as calling lelouch's ridiculous plan a master plan.

[AMENDOkat]

"Well, whether you rule through fear or love, it's important that your subjects know they can't just take advantage of you,"

Mareavelli, N. (1532). The Princess.