> Games Ponies Shouldn't Play
>  by DagaYemar
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

> Game Start
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

A great rumbling shook the chamber as a spire on the far side of the city gave way and crashed to the ground. Cries and screams, too far distant to make out clearly, nevertheless filled the air with a dull murmur. Smoke, thin this far away from the raging battle, was temporarily displaced as a squad raced by overhead. The light of the fires spread all over the once great capitol was slowly but surely overtaking that of the setting sun. Far below, panicked civilians fled through the streets or took to the skies, trying desperately to avoid getting in the way of the equally panicked army.

In the highest tower, the Great and Powerful General Trixie the Griffon, Commander of the Griffon armies, Defender of the Great Kingdoms, fifth in line to the Granite Throne, wondered where everything had gone wrong.

“WHERE ARE THOSE REINFORCMENTS?!” the General demanded, slamming her taloned fists down on the oaken table. Maps and field reports scattered before her wrath. 

“They’ve been attacked on the border.” A nervous page answered, trying and failing to deliver his message without singling himself out.

The General grabbed up a goblet and threw it with all her might at the nearest wall with enough force to shatter the golden cup into pieces. “By who?! Is it the ponies? The elks? The tapirs? No force should have been in a position to do all this!”

“My lord…” one of her lieutenants stated, faltering under her glare. “My lord, the situation is hopeless. We should begin the evacuation.”

Trixie gaped at the lieutenant, her rage temporarily banished by the absurdity of the suggestion. “Abandon the capitol? The Pride of the Griffon Kingdoms? You want me to flee and leave my own ancestral home to these invaders?!”

The lieutenant looked like she wished she had never spoken, but seeing as she was doomed anyway, bravely pressed on. “The forces against us outnumber our own two to one. We have no choice, my lord. We must save as many lives as possible!”

This time the General’s fury was truly terrible to behold. With a roar she slammed her talons onto the center of the table, which buckled and gave way beneath her wrath, splitting down the middle. Papers launched through the air and flitted like fat snowflakes around her aides and advisors, all of whom were too startled by the event to respond. For a delicate moment the scene held, the great and powerful leader surrounded by a fluttering storm detailing her failure.

Then in a flash the General was in motion, her grand wings carrying her across the room. She crashed through the closed shutters and came to a halt on the edge of the balcony, gripping the rails tightly. Far below, the streets were a chaos of fire and dust as her own soldiers abandoned their posts and fled before her eyes. There was only one possibility, one explanation for how everything could have gone so very, very wrong.

The General drew in a great breath and screamed, the sound containing all her fury, despair, shame, and rage in a single word that echoed across the fallen city.

“BETRAYAL!!!!”

…


My little pony, My little pony
Ahh ahh ahh ahh
My little pony
Friendship never meant that much to me
My little pony
But you’re all here and now I can see
Stormy weather; Lots to share
A musical bond; With love and care
Teaching laughter; it’s an easy feat,
And magic makes it all complete!
You have my little ponies
How’d I ever make so many true friends?


…

Several hours earlier…

“So what is this game called?” Carrot Top asked, trotting over to the table and inspecting the box with interest.

“It’s called Diplomacy.” Cheerilee said, popping off the cover and pulling out the board.

Cheerilee had been cleaning up her basement earlier that day and discovered the game nestled between boxes of worn clothing and stacks of dusty books. She’d remembered getting the game as a present many years ago, but had never actually gotten around to playing it. Deciding on a whim that it was high time to give it a try, she had invited her friends to meet for dinner and a game night. The box had suggested giving players plenty space to spread out in, so they’d moved after dinner to the library, which was much bigger than the schoolteacher’s house.

“You all are going to play Diplomacy?” Twilight Sparkle asked, pausing in her shelving to eye the six visitors.

Trixie nodded and beckoned to the unicorn. “You can join us if you like. There is an alternate way for a seventh player to play. It’ll be fun!”

Twilight paused and seemed to be on the brink of saying something, but then shook her head and turned back to her books. “No thanks.”

“If you’re sure…” Trixie said, her tone implying that there was plenty of room at the table if she changed her mind.

“And thanks again for letting us use the library!” Lyra put in. Twilight gave a noncommittal sound and waved at them over her back, but they had already turned back to the table.

The game board was now fully spread out and the friends looked on with interest. The map included the whole continent, each nation split up into larger, simpler territories than in real life. Pale colors differentiated the various nations apart from each other and a bright orange symbol marked which territories were more important.

Raindrops dug through the supplies left in the box and grunted in surprise. “I don’t see any dice in here…”

“That’s the fun part of this game.” Cheerilee said, smiling as she reached past Raindrops and started pulling out notepads and pencils. “There aren’t any! In Diplomacy, we each have to talk with each other to make plans and plot strategies. There is no chance, only cunning.”

“It’s actually a very fascinating game.” Trixie put in, eyeing the board with barely contained anticipation. “It was very popular with the nobles in the Night Court. I’ve heard it called one of the best ways to practice politics outside of politics.”

“Have you ever played it before?” Ditzy asked, flying over to the table from the small kitchen area and placing a huge bowl of popcorn next to the board.

Trixie looked sheepish for a moment. “No… though I have wanted to try. Princess Luna had a copy of the game, but she told me that I wasn’t ready to play it the one time I asked…”

“So how does the game work?” Lyra asked, picking up her notebook.

Cheerilee picked up the rules and flipped through them. “I read through this earlier and it’s remarkably simple. The goal is to control more than half of the territories with supply centers. Each nation starts with three units. In each round we talk to each other and try to work out whether we want out pieces to move, attach, support, or do nothing. We write our orders down in these books and read them out at the same time.”

“We don’t take turns?” Carrot Top asked, furrowing her brow. “Sounds like it could get complicated that way.”

Cheerilee tilted her head and compressed her lips. “It is, actually. Most of this rulebook is just explaining about what would happen in different situations. I think I’ve got most of it, but we can just reference the book whenever it gets confusing…”

“It’s not all that complex.” Twilight interrupted. Her shelving had brought her closer to the table and she continued to talk without stopping her work. “One unit is chosen to attack and other units can be chosen to support the first unit. Similarly, units can be chosen to support a nation doing nothing. The attack succeeds if it outnumbers the defenders.”

She paused, a book floating halfway to its shelf, and seemed to forget where she was for a minute. “Well, with the exception of air forces anyway. Flying units will always lose one on one whether attacking or defending. But they can support a unit from two spaces over rather than needing to be adjacent, so it balances out. Really, the hardest part is determining where the losing units get displaced to, but once you get the hang of it…”

“You sound like you know a lot about the game.” Cheerilee said, setting the rules down and coming around the table.

Twilight blinked and seemed to come back to herself, returning to her stack of books with nervous twitch. “I used to play it with my family. Very infrequently. Mostly on holidays.”

“Do you want to be our rules-keeper?”

The stack of books tumbled to the floor as Twilight spun around, startled. “I-I'm not sure… I don’t want to get in your way…”

“Don’t worry about that!” Trixie exclaimed, using her magic to pile the dropped books against the wall. “It sounds like you know plenty about the game. We could really use your help!”

The others offered their encouragement as well, and Twilight stepped warily over to the table. “Well, if you really don’t mind…”

“The more the merrier!” Lyra said cheerfully, making room for her to sit closer to the board. “What do we do first, Game Master?”

“Well, you start by picking nations.” Twilight said, levitating a small bag out of the box. “Just pick a tile at random and it will tell you what you start with.”

Cheerilee reached in first and removed a light brown card from the bag. “The Naqah Caliphate…” she read. “The camels? That means these ones here are mine.”

“You need to decide which body of water your navy in Ard starts in.” Twilight put in, passing the bag telekinetically to the next pony as she explained. “Not many players start with it in the Sea of Tranquility, since it can’t leave, but it sometimes has uses…”

“The Elkheim Clans.” Carrot Top read, eyes skimming the green tile in her hoof.

“Lucky, I was hoping to be the barbarians!” Raindrops said jokingly, nudging Carrot Top playfully in the shoulder as she picked her tile from the bag. “And I’ve got… the Tapir Empire. Looks like you and me are on opposite sides of the board.”

“And I’ve got… the Griffon Kingdoms!” Trixie said dramatically, striking a pose as if she were on a stage. “This could be very interesting…”

“Only two left.” Twilight said, offering the bag to Lyra and Ditzy. The green unicorn reached into the bag first, pulling out a yellow tile.

“The Buffalo Tribes.” She read, and then placed her hoof on their area on the board. “Yeah, I think I can work with this.”

“Which means I must be…” Ditzy pulled the last, bright blue tile out of the bag, “the Principality of Equestira. Right into the middle, huh? Looks like I might have hard time in the beginning.”

“Not always. Equestria may be surrounded, but that just gives it more negotiating power.” Twilight placed the bag back in the box and pulled out the last item, a small fifteen minute hourglass. “You all get twice as long in the first round to talk, so I’ll turn this a second time before calling time. Is everypony ready to start?”

There was a round of affirmatives, but still Twilight paused. “And… are you sure you want to play this?”

“Of course.” Trixie said, already planning out her first few moves in her head. “After all, it’s just a game.”

“Right. Just a game…” Twilight whispered. She flipped the hourglass over and slammed it down on the table. “And start!”

> Summer 01
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

No one moved for the first few minutes as everypony watched Twilight setting out pieces onto the game board. Each piece was color coded to their respective nations and had a hoof, sail, or wing stamps on it depending on what type of unit it was. Lyra immediately noticed that she was at a bit of a disadvantage from the others. Whereas each of the others had a mix of different units, Lyra’s all started as armies.

I might have to start very aggressively. I’ve got one of the largest areas to defend. Lyra mused. Fortunately there seems to be a lot of ‘supply center’ territories around me. I wonder if I should strike out for those along the coast or hold the ones nearby first…

Lyra looked up, along with everyone else at the table, when Trixie cleared her throat. “Well, I think I know who I want to speak with first!” So saying, she hooked Ditzy around the shoulder and walked her off to a quiet corner of the library.

“Guess it’s time to pair off and do the diplomacy part.” Cheerilee said brightly. She nodded her head in Lyra’s direction and the two of them wandered off towards the little kitchen area to get some privacy.

“Any plans yet?” Cheerilee asked as soon as they were far enough away, whispering conspiratorially. 

“Not completely…” Lyra responded. Each of them had gotten a paper copy of the game board along with their notebooks, and she gestured to her nation on it. “The Buffalo lands are just a big horseshoe at the start, with this entire unclaimed bit in the middle. It seems like a better idea to try and hold this area for a bit before moving out.”

Cheerilee nodded as Lyra finished talking, starting intently at the proffered map. “Makes sense. But there is the slight issue of this territory here.” She tapped her hoof on one of her own.

Lyra leaned over and checked where she was pointing. “Naqah?”

“I start with an army in that space and there’s only two ways it can go.” Cheerilee explained. “I’d rather not take Pte from you this early in the game, so that means moving into Samak. Are you all right with me going that way?”

Lyra thought for a moment, working her way through the next few turns. “You want to take the West Dune Sea?”

“It’s a much better use of the unit than not moving it at all. Besides, if I can get a navy out there in a few turns I can completely control the western oceans. I don’t have any plans do anything with the army after that. It can just sit there and keep Raindrops from sailing north.”

Yeah, but that locks her down with me. Lyra thought. She pretended to be studying the map to give her some time to think. Plus it’s just a little worrying having that unit wandering around at my back. Although… the West Dune Sea is further away than Naqah. If I can form a wall of armies while she’s busy…

“Alright.” Lyra said, setting aside her map. “You can go ahead and take it.”

“Thank you!” Cheerilee said, giving her a quick hug. Lyra hugged her back, but a tiny worm of unease coiled in her belly. It wasn’t really a deception, but it was still there. And she felt that it was just the first of many…

…

“You want to form a team?” Ditzy said in surprise.

“Keep your voice down.” Trixie admonished, waving her hoof to calm her down. “It’s the best way to win one of these games. And the two of us are in the perfect position to pull it off.”

“How so…?” Ditzy asked warily.

Trixie gestured to her map for emphasis. “We have the most free supply centers near us. None of the others can stop us from doubling our forces in the next few turns. You take those ones in the east and I’ll focus on these already around me.”

The offer was very tempting. Ditzy mused over it before coming to the inevitable question. “So what do you get out of it? I can’t stop you from getting those places either; why bring it up at all?”

“So that we can come to a cease-fire, of course.” Trixie said. “We’ll both have our hooves full dealing with the others and this way we can have a border we don’t have to patrol.”

Ditzy thought hard about it, but in the end it wasn’t a very hard decision. “I like it. You’ve got a deal.”

“Great!” Trixie said, and spread her map on the floor between them to plot on. “Alright, the fastest way for you to get over there is…”

…

Carrot Top twisted her player card nervously between her hooves a couple times. She’d discovered the back of the card went into further detail about the capabilities of each unit and she wanted to make sure she had everything right before committing to any hard planning.

“Each turn, a unit can move into an empty space, attack a space with an enemy in it, do nothing and defend the space they’re in, or support another unit’s action. An attacking unit must outnumber a defending unit or else the attack fails and nothing happens. A unit must be adjacent to both the unit it’s supporting and any space that unit is moving into, except for the air force which can support a unit from one space away…”

“But the air force will lose in a one-on-one fight, unlike the army or navy, so it balances out.” Raindrops said.

Carrot Top started and nearly dropped her card, then blushed in embarrassment at her reaction. “I didn’t realize I was speaking out loud.”

“Not the whole time, but I got the gist of it.” Raindrops shot a quick glance at the other two pairs. “Looks like the two of us have been left out, for now. You know what you want to do yet?”

“Not really.” Carrot Top sighed. “Something tells me I’m not going to be very good at this game. I mean, where do I even start? There’s only one supply center near the Elks and both Cheerilee and Ditzy will probably be going for it too.”

“Pferdreich isn’t actually very important.” Twilight said absently, keeping most of her attention on the hourglass as the sands ticked away. “It’s just slightly too hard for anypony to protect very easily. Besides, the Elks have a bigger problem in the early game that they need to focus on…”

“Huh?” Carrot Top asked, shooting a questioning look at Raindrops. The two of them had almost forgotten the unicorn was still at the table with them.

Twilight blinked and shook her head. “I probably shouldn’t say any more. I’m supposed to be the impartial judge.” She left the table and returned to shelving books, levitating the hourglass after her so she could keep track of it.

Raindrops open her mouth to say something, but changed her mind when she saw Lyra and Cheerilee breaking off from their talk. “Oh, I’ll be right back. I want to talk to Lyra while I’ve got a chance. Excuse me.”

“It’s alright.” Carrot Top said, giving her a wave as her friend left the table. She turned her attention back to the game board with a frown. “Another problem, huh…”

…

“Lyra!” Raindrops said, catching her friend before she could get to the table. “Got a sec?”

“Sure. We probably should go over some things.” Lyra motioned to the side and they leaned against a book shelf to talk.

“I was thinking that I wanted to go up the west coast here, and take these two territories.” Raindrops said, pointing out the West Dune Sea and Alpaclan on her map. “Is that Ok by you? Only, you’ve got more armies in the area and could shut me out easily if you wanted to. I’d rather not waste the turns if you were going that way.”

Lyra was quiet for a while, staring at the board intently like she was mulling over something. “…Are you sure you want to head out that way? You could reach these three on the Cavallia peninsula pretty easily.”

“Yeah, but then I’d be split up on two different sides of the board.” Raindrops said. “It doesn’t take an expert at this game to see that divided your forces like that is a bad idea.”

“Good point.” Lyra muttered. “And you know… if you hold the West Dune Sea, you can control any unit going along that ocean for the rest of the game…”

“Hey, you’re right! That’s a very good plan. Are you sure you don’t want to do it?”

Lyra was already shaking her head. “The only supply center I own on the coast is Tatanka, and it would take me far too long to get over to the west ocean. I’ve got no use for the ocean route.”

“Nice!” Raindrops said, bumping hooves with her. “So I’ll head up that way. Thanks for the idea!”

“No problem.” Lyra smiled. If the smile was a little too wide, Raindrops didn’t notice.

…

“So how are you doing?” Cheerilee asked, sitting down at the table next to Carrot Top.

The farmer glanced at the teacher and smiled. “Doing my best. How about you?”

“I think I’ve got a strategy going.” Cheerilee confided. “Though I can’t really put it into place for a few turns. How about you? You’re going for Pferdreich, I expect.”

“Possibly…” Carrot Top said, tapping idly at the map as she thought. “But I don’t think I can keep it. Do you want to take it?”

Cheerilee frowned. “Uh… sure, if you don’t want to go for it. Are you sure? There isn’t anywhere else for you to go, is there?”

“It’s not that. I just might have my hands full…” Carrot Top looked up. “Do you think you could do me a favor? Sometime later in the game, could I take it from you for a couple of turns? Just in case…”

“I suppose that’s alright, if you mean I can get it first. I could really use the help right now.” Cheerilee said, giving her friend an appraising look. Huh, looks like she’s getting into this game better than I am! Who’d have thought?

…

“Halfway point!” Twilight called.

Ditzy looked up and blinked rapidly. “Already? Wow, the time sure flies, doesn’t it? We haven’t even talked to anypony else yet.”

“Well, we had a good talk. You’d better go do your thing with the others.” Trixie said, walking the grey pegasus back out into the main room. She waved at Cheerilee to join her. “Hey, can we talk for a minute?”

She jumped straight to the point as soon as the schoolteacher had joined her. “I was just wondering, have you really never played this game before? Not even when you first got it?”

“No, I could never find enough ponies who wanted to play.” Cheerilee tilted her head questioningly. “But I’ve got a good grasp of the basics, so it shouldn’t be a problem. Why, is that important somehow?”

“No, just…” Trixie shrugged. “I have heard that the Naqah Caliphate have it the hardest. Surrounded on three sides and with their pieces split by the Crescent Sea. I just wanted to see if you wanted any help handling the situation.”

“I think I know what I’m doing.” Cheerilee said warily. “What kind of help do you mean?”

Trixie tapped her chin thoughtfully. “Well, I could draw attention away from you, if you want. There’s not much I can do about Lyra right now, but know that Ditzy won’t be looking in your direction. And if I draw away the Elks…”

“… I could expand to the north without opposition.” Cheerilee finished, looking at her friend in a new light. “That seems a little underhanded, though.”

“Not really, it’s just how the game goes. You gotta take advantage while your opponents are looking somewhere else. So, what do you think?”

Cheerilee tapped her chin thoughtfully. “Well, you’re going to be doing all the work for now. I suppose you’ll want something in return down the line?”

“Just to see you and me in the end game!” Trixie said cheerfully, putting an arm companionably around her shoulders.

And to know that you’ll look threatening to the Elks. Trixie thought to herself. This is just like how I thought the game would go. At this rate, I’ll know just where everypony will be going! It’s almost too easy…


…

“What are you writing?” Ditzy asked, sitting down at the table next to Carrot Top.

Carrot Top looked up and smiled, although she did cover her notebook slightly. “Just writing out my orders so I don’t forget. Have you started that yet?”

“No, but I probably should.” They were quiet for a few minutes as they wrote, needing their mouths to hold their pencils. Ditzy blew her pencil out of her mouth with a sigh when she was done. “Well, that’s that. With any luck, right?”

“I think there’s more than luck here.” Carrot Top mumbled around her pencil, still carefully studying her orders for anything she’d missed. “It’s all very deliberate. If anything goes wrong, you only have yourself to blame.”

Ditzy blinked in surprise. “I… hadn’t thought about that, but you’re right!”

“It’s probably like that on purpose.” Raindrops said, sitting down at the table and breaking out her own notebook. “After all, without pressure, every game would probably be very similar. Especially if you know what you’re doing.”

“Too true.” Ditzy agreed, and then paused and looked at her friend thoughtfully. “So, does that mean you’re confident in your moves?”

“Pretty sure, yeah.” Raindrops said. “There doesn’t seem to be any better way for the tapirs to start, far as I can tell.”

“It’s not really as simple for the ponies, apparently.” Ditzy said with a sigh. “Guess we’ll see how it turns out.”

…

“Oh, Trixie, hold up a bit!” Lyra said, stopping the other unicorn as she was approaching the table. “You seem to know what you’re doing. I just wanted to get your opinion on something.”

Trixie blinked but smiled at the complement. “Sure! What do you need?”

“I was just wondering if you think I should go on the offensive this early in the game.” Lyra asked. “It just seems like a better idea for me to sit tight and let the others duke it out first. What do you think?”

“Well…” Trixie considered the idea. “That may seem like a good idea, but you aren’t going to win if you don’t take any territories. After all, you can’t have any more units than supply centers. If you let everypony get them first, you'll find yourself outnumbered before you can do anything.”

“That is what I was thinking, but…”

“Look, why don’t you head east at first?” Trixie suggested, a hint of a smile in her tone. “Cabelleria and Garanha are right next to you. You can take those two, no problem.”

“That’s a good point.” Lyra conceded. “Plus I can always turn back if it gets too difficult.”

“If that’s what you want.” Trixie said with a dramatic sigh, shaking her head slowly. “But with those you can make more armies, and then it would take Ditzy and I working together to stop you from just continuing on. It’s a pretty good start if you ask me.”

“Only one minute left!” Twilight called out. “Write down your moves and bring them to me!”

“Look, I have to finish writing. Just think about it, Ok?” Trixie smiled one last time before hurrying to the table.

Lyra watched her go with a frown. “But you and Ditzy are working together, aren’t you?” she asked softly. "You two certainly talked for a long time..." She sucked in a breath and lifted her notebook and pencil with magic, quickly making some adjustments right before Twilight called time.

…

“Alright, I’ve sorted it all out.” Twilight said, fluffing the stack of papers torn from notebooks before her into a neater pile. She was starting to get into the mood of being the rules-keeper. “I’ll move the pieces now.”

The group huddled around the table and watched as Twilight moved the tiles around with her magic. “The tapirs are moving their two navies into the Alpaca Sea and the Azure reaches, and their army is taking Alpaclan.” Twilight levitated a purple flag from the game box and placed it on Alpaclan, marking its supply center for the tapirs.

“The buffalo armies are marching north into the South Dune Sea, west into the North Dune Sea, and east into Caballeria.” A yellow flag was placed on the board.

“This is going well so far!” Lyra said, shooting a grin at Raindrops.

“The camel’s army moves down into Samak.” Twilight continued. “And their northern army goes into the Western Badlands. Their navy slips south into Heyuktan.”

“The navy units don’t have to go out into the ocean to move first?” Carrot Top asked.

“Not if they are just moving along the shore.” Twilight explained, moving on to the next nation. “The ponies send their navy into the Sea of Tranquility unopposed. Their army moves down into Konikticut and their air force takes their place in Hyasanguia.

“The griffon’s navy also hugs the coastline and moves into Viljujsk, and their air force takes Konja.” Trixie smiled as a red flag was planted on the map. “But this is where the first conflict happens. Both the griffon’s air force in Haupstadt and the elk’s air force in Hirvi tried moving into Elnais.”

“So what happens?” Ditzy asked.

“Well, since neither had support, neither of them gets to move. But the elk’s other units still go, the navy heading out into the Iceflow Sea and the army heading into Dadyr.” Twilight quickly moved the last few pieces and sat back. “And… that’s it. The first turn is over.”

“Interesting…” Cheerilee mused. “And no one puts down any new units yet, right?”

“Right.” Twilight confirmed. “You only put down new units every other turn. Now, from this point on you only get fifteen minutes to plan. The second turn starts… now!”

> Winter 01
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

She couldn’t have figured out my plan already. Trixie thought, as the others broke off from the table and spread out to talk with each other. She should also be starting her negotiations, but the placement of pieces on the board nagged at her. She chewed the end of her pencil thoughtfully and studied the armies laid out on the map.

Moving into Viljujsk was supposed to be one of the best bluffs in the game. It should look like I’m going straight for Gryphos, so how… no, it’s probably just a coincidence we clashed. After all, there aren’t all that many places for her air force to go. Yes, a coincidence is all. Nothing to worry about…

Trixie looked up and saw that the object of her musings was sitting by herself, staring intently at her personal map. Trixie stood up and trotted over.

“I hope there are no hard feelings about Elnais.” She said brightly. “Just wanted to move south. You were probably doing the same?”

Carrot Top looked up from her map and nodded quickly. “Um… yeah, I was.”

“That’s what I thought.” Trixie continued after a moment, when it became apparent Carrot Top wasn’t going to elaborate further. “So… Cheerilee looks like she’s heading north. You worried she might take Elgland from you?”

“I… actually hadn’t thought of that.” Carrot Top said, blinking and looking back to her map worriedly. “Do you really think she would? All her other pieces are too far away to support holding it if she does take it.”

Trixie shrugged, mentally heaving a sigh of relief. Yes, it must have just been a lucky move on her part before. “You never know. After all, she can make new armies to support it this turn. You might want to send some units over there to defend it. Tell you what; you can go to Elnais. I’ll find another way to move on Equestria.”

“Alright.” Carrot Top said, but Trixie was already turning away. The unicorn gave herself a mental pat on the back for handling that one so well. As far as she was concerned, Hirvi was as good as hers for the taking. And she’ll never see it coming.

It never occurred to either pony to look up as they talked.

…

Did Trixie just say that she was going to attack me? Ditzy thought, looking down at her friend in surprise. She and Raindrops had decided to fly up to the ceiling to get some privacy to talk in, but neither had been expecting a conversation to break out right beneath them.

“Sounds like Trixie is a natural at this game.” Raindrops said in a low voice, breaking into Ditzy’s reverie. “Must be all that training for the Night Court she had.”

Ditzy shook her head and put aside what she’d just heard for later. “Perhaps, but we were talking about the peninsula.”

Raindrops nodded and returned to their interrupted topic. “It’s obvious you’re going for it with your full force, but I just want to take this one on the end. Do you think you could just let me have it?”

“I don’t know… that one is in a very good position to stop the Buffalo’s advance, if Lyra comes straight up the coast.”

“Perhaps, but it will still take you three turns to even reach that space. And by then Lyra would be already fighting with you. I can reach it now and then you’d have me helping you defend it. I could attack her armies from the sea anywhere along the coast; that’d keep her busy and off our backs.”

“That actually sounds like a great idea!” Ditzy said with a wide smile. “So you go there, and I’ll…”

…

“I thought you said you had no interest in the West Dune Sea?” Cheerilee asked. Lyra squirmed a little under her scrutiny like a naughty school-filly caught sneaking a peek at her neighbor’s test sheet.

“I’m not! I’m just a little worried about all the other armies gathering there.” The mint unicorn gestured at her map. “Both you and Raindrops are moving around right behind my territories. Who wouldn’t be worried about that with how spread out I am?”

“I don’t think you’re as defenseless as you make it sound…” Cheerilee said under her breath, and then sighed. “It doesn’t really matter anyway. The two of you have two units around the spot and I’ve only got one. I know when I’m beat. I’ll have to go somewhere else…”

“No!” Lyra said hurriedly, scanning the map quickly. I have to keep her focused away from Pte. “How about if I supported your move into WDS? With the two of you over there, I could never hold it, but you…”

“You would do that for me?”

“Well, of course!” Lyra said, pulling out her card and skimming the rules on actions. “And there’s nothing against it in the rules. In fact, it looks like the game’s specifically set up for players to do this for each other.”

Cheerilee clapped her hooves. “Then it sounds like a plan! This way we’ll both get what we want. You aren’t going to leave me high and dry, are you?”

“I’m writing it right now.” Lyra replied, levitating her notebook out with her magic and writing it in where they could both see. She’d only gotten one line down, however, when they were joined by a jasmine pegasus dropping down from above. 

“Hey, can I borrow Lyra for a second?” Raindrops asked Cheerilee.

“Of course.” Cheerilee replied. She gave Lyra and conspiratorial wink and wandered away to give them some privacy.

“This is about the West Dune Sea.” Lyra guessed.

“Well, yeah!” Raindrops said, crossing her arms. “You said you weren’t going for it.”

“And I’m not! I’m just trying to protect myself.” This is starting to feel very familiar…

“And how do I know I can trust you? You have just as many units as I do over there!”

“Then just have one support the other. At worst, nothing will happen and nopony gets the spot. But if it will put your mind at ease…” Lyra held up her notebook in both hooves and wrote something down in it. She turned the book so Raindrops could see. “How’s that?”

Raindrops frowned at what was written there and slowly nodded. “Alright… but you have to promise not to change it.”

“I won’t touch it again until the next turn.” Lyra promised, floating the notebook over to the table and setting it aside.

Raindrops let out a breath she’d been holding in. “Thanks. Sorry for putting you on the spot like that.”

“It’s alright.” Lyra said, trying to put her best face on it. But inside, she was worried. Surprisingly, her friend hadn’t noticed she’d been covering the other order she’d already written under her hooves. But she’d learn soon enough…

…

“It’s all going just as I said it would.” Trixie said confidently, looking down at her map with satisfaction. “I’m a little surprised that Cheerilee let you have the Sea of Tranquility so easily, but now that you do have it you’ve got a huge advantage. You should…”

“Um, Trixie? Maybe we should talk about your plans.” Ditzy interrupted. She gave the unicorn an inquiring look. Trixie in turn blinked at her quizzically and leaned back.

“My moves? I’ve got them all worked out already. What’s wrong?”

“Well… it’s just…” Ditzy tried to find a way to ask about what she’d overheard that didn’t sound like an accusation. “All my units are moving southward, and I’m almost defenseless from above…”

“Aha!” Trixie said, completely misreading Ditzy’s implications. She relaxed muscled she hadn’t been aware she’d tensed. “You’re worried about the Elks attacking you from behind. Don’t worry, I’ve seen to it that…”

“No, that’s not what I meant.” Ditzy said sharply. Ok, maybe subtle isn’t going to cut it. “I’m worried about leaving myself open to you.”

“What? Me?” Trixie said in mock innocence. “I have no intention of attacking you!”

Dinky was a sweetheart, but even still Ditzy had been a mom long enough for the innocent trick to have lost its effect on her. She looked at her friend with all her motherly disapproval.

“Well, I mean… not right away…”

The look now implied that the mother was aware of what had become of the neighbor’s flower bed and there was a disturbing lack of cookies in the foreseeable future.

“Alright!” Trixie said rather louder than needed, throwing her arms up in the air in defeat. “I might have been trying to lead you away so I could march in from above. But believe me; it wouldn’t have happened until the end of the game! I really do need your help. I’m sorry!”

Ditzy sniffed and nodded curtly. “It’s fine, I forgive you. That’s just how the game goes, right?”

“Right.” Trixie said, relieved.

“Right. Now,” Ditzy picked up the map from where it had dropped to the floor. “I think the best moves for you are…”

…

Carrot Top leaned down to get a closer look at the game board, continuing to compare it to the paper map in her hooves. I didn’t know that the navy units could move from coast to coast! If I had, I wouldn’t have sent it out to sea last turn… but then it would have been as blocked as my air force. But I think it’s still going to work…

“Hard at work again, I see!” Cheerilee said cheerfully, sitting down next to the farmer. “You’re putting a lot more thought into your moves than the others. Don’t you want to talk it out with somepony?”

“Should I?” she asked. It wasn’t meant to be rude; she actually wasn’t sure what she should talk about with the others. Maybe I should have been talking to Trixie this whole time. This is what I get for jumping to conclusions. Oh, I have no idea what I’m doing…

“Well, not if you don’t want to, I suppose.” Cheerilee said, unaware of her friend’s indecision. “Each pony has her own way of playing. And yours is working pretty well. Do what you want, and let me know if you need anything.”

“Thanks.” Carrot Top started, but froze as her eyes fell on the hourglass. Oh no! The time’s almost up! There’s no time to come up with another plan, I’m just going to have to try it. But I’m still not sure if…

“Actually…” Carrot Top said, pulling Cheerilee’s attention to her map. “Do you think I could quickly get your opinion on something?”

…

“Alright, time to go.” Twilight said several minutes later. It had taken her longer than last turn to compile the moves and the others followed her words a little more closely than before. “Things are going to get a little complicated, so I’ll try and make it as clear as I can.

“First of all, the tapir’s navy lands in Cavallia and takes the supply center. Raindrops’s other navy supports her army moving into the West Dune Sea. Unfortunately, Cheerilee’s army is also moving into the West Dune Sea.”

“But my two beat her one, right?” Raindrops asked expectantly.

Twilight hesitated. “Well, if she’d been attacking alone, yes. But the buffalo army in the North Dune Sea is supporting her move, so it’s two on two. Neither army takes the space.”

Raindrops’ eyes widened and she shot Lyra a stunned look. Lyra shrugged sheepishly.

“But the buffalo’s other armies move into the East Dune Sea and Garanha unopposed.” Twilight continued, pulling two yellow flags from the box and placing them on Lyra’s new territories. And then, to everypony’s surprise, she picked up the flag from Caballeria and put it away.

“Wait! Why did I lose that one?” Lyra asked.

“No, you just didn’t…” Twilight’s eyes widened and she slapped her forehead with her hoof. “Oh no, I forgot!”

“What? What it is?” Trixie asked, concerned.

Twilight sighed. “I forgot that this is your first time playing this game, so you probably didn’t know that you only can claim a territory if you hold it during the Winter turns, not the Summer ones. When my family played, we liked to put down the flag whenever we entered a new space. It became a home rule because my brother and I liked putting flags all over the map. I’m sorry; I should have remembered that wasn’t one of the real rules.”

“It’s alright.” Cheerilee said soothingly. “At least we caught it early, so it didn’t hurt the game much. We’ll know from now on; no harm done.”

“Yeah. And I still get a new territory anyway.” Lyra put it, looking at the bright side.

Twilight took a steadying breath and nodded, picking up the papers to continue. “Thanks… anyway, both Cheerilee and Ditzy’s navies tried to move into Caballeria, so neither of them gets to move. But the camel’s army does take Pferdreich safely, so you do get one new territory.

“The pony army takes Semental and their air force moves into Caneighda. Trixie’s navy moves into the Griffon Sea and her air force takes Hippopotamia. Unfortunately leaving Konja to do so…”

Trixie smiled in understanding as her flag was removed from the second territory to be placed on the first.

“But then her other air force tried to move into Hivri and was stopped by the elk’s air force.”

Trixie’s smile slipped. “You mean Carrot Top didn’t move it?” she asked, like she couldn’t quite believe the inevitable answer.

“That’s not all… she attacked you right back, and her navy in the Iceflow Sea supported the attack. You’ve been pushed out of Haupstadt. You have to move your air force into one of the nearby open territories.”

Trixie’s jaw couldn’t have dropped faster if it had been attached to lead weights. “That not right! The Iceflow Sea doesn’t border Haupstadt! That move is illegal!”

“But…” Carrot Top said hesitantly. “I looked really, really close and I think it does.”

“No! That’s a corner!” Trixie insisted. “You can’t attack on a corner!”

“Actually, it’s widely debated whether it is or not.” Twilight said, trying to be helpful. “It was meant to be a corner, but the original board was drawn a little off so there is a very tiny line instead. Game experts have been debating for centuries whether it counts or not, but…”

“It looks like a corner to me.” Raindrops said, squinting her eyes at the offending spot.

“No, wait. I think I see it.” Lyra put in, spinning the board a little to get a better angle. “You gotta look at it like this…”

It eventually took Twilight producing a magnifying glass and everypony getting a turn with it to settle the issue, but even Trixie had to admit that the very small line was clearly there. Glumly, she pushed her dislodged unit into Genosse.

“I’m impressed, though. Not many novices at this game can figure out the Modige-Sverd opening. And the elk’s army moves from Dadyr into Hjort. A bit of an anti-climactic way to end the turn, but…” Twilight’s chuckle petered out when no one join in on her attempt at lightening the mood. She swallowed and moved on.

“Well, that’s it. Everypony got a new nation, so it’s time to put the new units on the board. The next turn starts as soon as you’re done.”

> Summer 02
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

“Don’t think I don’t know what you’re doing!” Trixie hissed. Everypony else had broken off from the table, leaving just the two of them alone with the board spread out between them.

Carrot Top blinked and leaned a little back from her friend’s intense stare. “Um… what?”

“I have to admit.” Trixie continued, waving a hoof through the air in a dismissive gesture. “I did not expect this level of competition from you, but I accept your challenge!”

“I don’t know what…?”

“Just remember, I’m watching you now. The next time we meet, it will be on the fields of battle!” Trixie held a hoof up to her eyes and then swiveled her fetlock one-eighty degrees to point at Carrot Top. The show mare backed slowly from the table, never taking her eyes from her target.

Carrot Top watched her go with her mouth hanging slightly open. “But… I only did that because I thought you were already coming after me…”

For the third turn in a row Carrot Top found herself alone at the table, but for the first time she realized how lonely her seat really was.

…

“So, it seems Lyra played both of us.” Cheerilee said.

Raindrops nodded. “She’s the one who aimed me at the West Dune Sea.”

“And I was the one who pointed the move out to her in the first place.” Cheerilee sighed, tapping her shin thoughtfully. “I’m not really sure what her long term plan was, but clearly she didn’t want either of us to get the space.”

“If she really wanted to keep us from getting it, why did she move all her units away last turn?”

“I’m not sure…”

“We could just ask her what she was thinking.” Raindrops suggested.

Cheerilee considered the thought, but a slow grin crossed her features. “Perhaps… or we could get back at her instead. For pitting us against each other like that. She does seem to be very nervous about us just talking together.”

The two of them looked sideways at Lyra, who kept shooting worried glances in their direction.

Raindrops’ grin soon matched Cheerilee’s own. “I could get behind that. But there’s still the problem of which of us gets the Dune Sea.”

Cheerilee thought for a moment, and then walked over to where she’d left her bag next to the door.

…

“I just know that they’re talking about me.” Lyra muttered again, trying to watch the other pair from the corner of her eye.

Ditzy blew a breath out through the side of her mouth and nodded dourly. “Probably. Why did you do it anyway?”

“I don’t know! It seemed like a good idea at the time.” Lyra said. “Raindrops said she wanted to go north and Cheerilee told me she was going south. I just didn’t want to two of them marching through me to get at each other.” She almost flinched as the two mares in question looked back at her and smiled.

“Well, at least now you know that won’t be going though you to get at each other…”

“That’s not funny, Ditzy! I really think I’m in trouble here!” She turned to keep the school teacher in view as Cheerilee walked over to the door and picked something from her bag. “Is she… flipping a silver bit? What’s that about?”

“Look, we should really get back to our own plans.” Ditzy interrupted, trying to pull her friend’s attention back on topic. “You won’t be heading any further in my direction anymore, I take it?”

“I think I’ve got enough on my plate.” Lyra sighed. 

“Do you need any help with them?”

Lyra considered the offer. “I can’t immediately think of a way that doesn’t make you the same target I am. I’ve got one or two ideas left, but… personally, I kinda just want to get this game over with. It’s a lot more taxing than I thought it would be.

“I mean, look at the board! We’ve been playing for an hour already and we’ve each only got about four or five territories. And the game won’t end until one of us gets sixteen? I can tell right now that can’t happen quickly. How is one pony supposed to take more than ten without everypony else teaming up to take them down?”

Ditzy thought hard about the points her friend brought up, but was saved from answering when Trixie sudden interposed herself between the two of them. “Excuse me, Lyra, but I need to borrow Ditzy for a while. It’s a matter of life or death!”

“It’s alright; we’ll continue this in a bit.” Ditzy said reassuringly, allowing herself to be pulled away.

Trixie looked back at the mint unicorn for a moment. “What were you… no never mind. I need your help getting Carrot Top out of my nation.”

“How?” Ditzy asked.

Trixie opened and closed her mouth a couple of times like a fish. “But… you’ve got all those air forces! I need you to move them up and support my attack on Haupstadt!”

“I don’t know if you’ve noticed, but I’m also a bit surrounded right now.” Ditzy gestured back at the map. “Cheerilee’s got a pair of armies aimed right at me. I’ve got to focus on that for the time being.”

“Look, I’ll talk to Cheerilee for you!” Trixie said desperately, getting down onto her knees. “I don’t have enough units to do this on my own. Please?!”

“Well…”

“Pleeeeeaase?!”

“Ok, Ok! Just get up!” Ditzy said, embarrassed. She pulled her friend off the floor. “There’s nothing I can do this turn, but I’ll try to get closer. And you definitely owe me!”

“Thanks!” Trixie said quickly, already scanning the room to find her next target. Ditzy sighed as her friend ran off, already thinking about who she needed to speak with next.

…

“Cheerilee?” Carrot Top asked, “Do you have a minute?”

“For you, I’ve got five.” Cheerilee replied, patting the floor next to where she was sitting. “I’m glad you finally decided to have a strategy session with somepony. The way you handled Trixie was pretty well done.”

Carrot Top face fell slightly. “Don’t remind me. Look, I just wanted to say that I didn’t want to start anything yet. I’m going to be completely swamped holding Trixie off for a while.”

Cheerilee grinned, cocking her head to the side. “You thought I was going to attack you?”

“Not really.” Carrot Top said, pulling out her map for emphasis. “I’m just covering my bases. You’re going to be spending the next few turns around here anyway…”

Cheerilee blinked at where her friend was pointing and leaned back a little in surprise. “You saw what I was planning?”

Carrot Top paused and then looked down at the map, which she’d only been casually holding in her hooves. “Saw wha…” she started, but froze as a loud cry interrupted the general stillness of the library.

“WAIT!!!!”

Trixie landed from her leap with her hoof outstretched as if to physically hold the two of them apart. She suddenly seemed to realize the way the two of them were looking up at her, as if she’d suddenly lost her wits. A quick glance around the library revealed the rest of her friends watching her in much the same way. She swallowed and pointedly ignored the others, trying to piece together some of her dignity.

“I mean, I need to talk with Cheerilee. Right now. Before the time is up.” Blushing enough to turn a deep purple, she all but dragged the school teacher away to the opposite end of the library. Carrot Top watched them go with a sinking feeling in the pit of her stomach.

“Jeez, I wonder what that was about.” Lyra said, taking the spot Cheerilee had so recently vacated.

“I… have no idea…”

“You sure you don’t?” Lyra said coyly, nudging her in the shoulder. “I bet you could handle both of them in a pinch if you had to, eh?”

“Why does everypony keep saying that?” Carrot Top muttered. “It was just one move. I’m still stuck up in this corner with nowhere to go.”

Lyra frowned. “You think you’re stuck? I’m squished between two players who have good cause to wipe me from the board.”

“Yeah, but you can still spread out!” Carrot Top retorted, shoving her map forward like a shield. “I’ve got nothing but the edge of the map on all sides on me up here!”

“Well, yeah, but I don’t…” Lyra’s voice trailed off as something on the map arrested her attention. “Actually, now that you mention it… I never thought of that! But I’d have to… sorry CT, but I’ve got to make some last minute changes. Where did I leave my notebook…”

Carrot Top gaped at her friend as she scampered off in search of her papers. Slowly, she turned her map back towards herself and studied it to make certain it hadn’t randomly translated itself into a font of limitless winning instructions. “But… what did I say…?”

…

“You want me to attack Carrot Top?” Cheerilee asked. She wasn’t really all that surprised, but the intensity of Trixie’s expression as she asked was a little intimidating.

“Not right away, but I need you to get up there as soon as you can.” The blue unicorn clarified. “Threaten her a little; get her to send some units to defend against you. Anything to take some of the heat off of my fight.”

Cheerilee tilted her head back and pretended to hold herself aloft. “And what if it helps me to have the two of you fighting it out?”

Trixie gritted her teeth in frustration. “Look, I’m coming to you on bended knee here. I need to get my territory back! What do I need to do to get your help?”

“I don’t know…” Cheerilee mused, drawing out the time. There’s only a minute or two left in the turn. If she hasn’t had the time to write any moves down yet… “After all, I’ve got a lot of other angles to work on right now. I’ve got Lyra on the ropes, and as for Ditzy…”

“NO!” Trixie interrupted, then pulled back and sucked in a breath through her teeth. “How about if I owed you a favor? Anything you need, at any point in the game, I’ll do for you. All you have to do is move on Carrot Top instead of anypony else. OK?”

Cheerilee considered it.  I suppose this is the real currency of the game. It’s not all that out of my way, if I alter my plans just a little. I don’t know how I can hold Trixie to her favor, but if she really does mean it…

“Alright, I’ll do it.” Cheerilee said. “But only one unit! I’m not going to engage myself fully in this, but placed right, one unit is all you’ll need.”

“Thank you!” Trixie sighed, and then seemed to realize just how little time she had left. “I haven’t written anything yet! Gotta run!”

The school teacher watched her run back to the table with mixed feelings. Looks like she’s falling apart faster than I would have expected. In fact… she’s getting a little too upset about this. I’ve seen her handle much worse than this. Is she faking it for some reason? What would she gain by making me think she’s losing it?

Confused, Cheerilee opened her notebook and crossed out one of the lines written within. One way or the other, the next few turns would reveal much.

…

“There’s not a lot of time left.” Twilight said, holding up the hourglass as evidence.

“I understand,” Ditzy responded. “There’s just something I need to know. How do these games usually end?”

…

Twilight shuffled the pages together and cleared her throat. “Here we go. I’ll start with the griffons. Their air force in Hippopotamia moves into Konja, and this time I won’t put down a flag until next turn, if it is still there. The other air force supports their navy’s attack on Haupstadt. Unfortunately, the elk’s army, with the support of their navy, was also moving into Haupstadt. So neither unit gets to move.”

“But wait,” Trixie interrupted. “How was her army moving into that space? She’s got an air force there.”

“Actually, her air force moved into Kaunas this turn.”

“WHAT!?” Trixie exclaimed, watching the piece invade deeper into her territory.

“Her other army tried to move into Breidas,” Twilight continued, “but the camel’s army also tried to go that way, so they’re both stopped. Cheerilee’s army in Paardveld tried to move into Pferdreich, but since that unit couldn’t move this one gets stopped too. Fortunately, her last army makes it into the West Dune Sea unopposed.

“The camel’s navy succeeds in moving into the Sea of Tranquility, as the pony’s navy retreats into Broncordia with the support of the Canterlot air force. Ditzy’s other two units move into Latigo and Palomino. As for the tapirs, their three navies enter the Azure Reaches, Zaldia, and the Horse Steppes. That’s two new territories, if she can keep them. Her air force moves into the Sea of Neighrobi and her army stays put.

“That leaves the buffalo. Their army in Garanha moves into Caballeria with support from the air force in Tatanka. The North Dune Sea army goes north to Pte and the East Dune Sea army holds its spot. And lastly, the army in Ptehinchala invades the recently vacated Killa.”

The table was unusually quiet as the last piece was moved. They held it for a moment before Raindrops broke the silence. “Is that it?” she asked lightly.

“Um… yes. You can start the next round now.” Twilight answered.

“Very well.” Raindrops said softly, and looked up from the board to lock eyes with Lyra. “Then let’s get started.”

> Winter 02
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

“Lyra, can I speak with you for a moment?” Raindrops asked, still using that overly calm tone of voice. Lyra swallowed and nodded, following the pegasus away from the table. The rest of the ponies watched the pair of them, momentarily fascinated by the tension in the air.

As soon as they were a distance from the table Raindrops turned to the musician, and with an intense look on her face, said, “OK, they’re all still looking. Keep acting nervous.”

Luckily Lyra had her back to the table at the moment, so the expression of surprise that crossed her face remained hidden. “Wait. So you’re not mad at me?”

“Not really.” Raindrops said. “I left myself open and you took advantage of it. I probably would have done the same thing if our positions were reversed. But I was thinking that now you owe me, and it might make the others think twice about attacking me for a few turns if they believe I’m furious right now.”

Lyra started to breathe a sigh of relief, but remembered herself and cringed a little instead. “Well, good. I was worried for a minute that you’d let a simple game go to your head-”

“Of course, I’m not going to let you keep that space.”

Lyra paused, and then a thin smile settled on her face. “Do you really think you can get it back that easily?”

“I’ve got two units and you’ve only got one. It seems like a foregone conclusion.”

“Did you forget about my air force in Tatanka?”

Raindrops smile slipped for a second. “That only works if I don’t attack Tatanka myself.”

“Yes, but you’d have to give up on getting Killa back this turn. And then I’ll have surrounded your navy on all sides, and split your forces in two.” Lyra bowed her head slightly and started backing away, still speaking softly enough for only the two of them to hear. “I’m the one holding all the cards here. Let’s not forget it.”

She backed away, maintaining eye contact with the pegasus without letting the others at the table see what she was doing, and Raindrops let her go. For the life of her, she couldn’t think of anything to say.

…

“I would give almost anything to hear what they’re talking about.” Ditzy said, watching Raindrops and Lyra having their showdown.

“Me too.” Cheerilee agreed, turning her attention back to the ponies sharing the table with her. “Anyway it looks like the game will be taking a new turn soon, eh Trixie?”

The showmare didn’t respond immediately, acting unusually quiet. Then she looked up with determination. “Ditzy, Cheerilee, could you give CT and I some space? We need to have a talk.”

Cheerilee blinked and looked about to say something, but Ditzy laid a hoof on her shoulder and pulled her back. “Of course.”

Trixie waited for the two of them to get up and walk away before turning to look her friend in the eye. Carrot Top tilted her head questioningly, clearly unsure about how this was going to go down. Trixie sighed, took a moment to gather her thoughts, and reached out to tap the game board between them.

“I’ve been thinking of how to stop you from taking any more of my territories,” She began, indicating the green air force smack dab in the middle of her country, “but that last move was just… genius. I have no idea which of my supply centers you’re going to attack this turn. The only way for me to defend them both is to retreat all of my own air forces, and that means giving up on gaining any new territories. It would also leave only my navy to stand against the rest of your pieces and you’ll be able to push it away easily.”

Carrot Top tried to interject, but Trixie held up her hoof quickly. “Let me say my piece. There’s no way I can beat your armies back in the game. Nopony else’s unit are near enough to do anything to help either. I’ve though up a half dozen different ways to try and trick you into messing up, but I don’t think any of them would work. Your playing has just been too perfect.”

Again Carrot Top tried to speak, but Trixie quickly moved on.

“So there’s only one thing I can think of to try and not get knocked out.” She breathed in and out slowly, and then leaned forward in earnest. “Carrot Top, please don’t eliminate me from the game.”

The farmer blinked. Whatever she had been expecting, that wasn’t it. “Trixie, I…”

“We’ve only been play for less than an hour,” Trixie interrupted, wanting to get it all out. “And all I haven’t been able to do much of anything so far. I’ve wanted to play this game for a long time and I don’t know when I’ll get a chance to play again and I don’t want to stop playing so soon-”

“Trixie!” Carrot Top said forcefully, clapping once to grab her friend’s attention. “Of course I won’t attack you!”

Trixie froze mid ramble with her mouth hanging open. “You… won’t?”

“Of course!” Carrot Top repeated. She came around the table and wrapped Trixie in a quick hug. “We’re friends, remember? If it’s that important for you, I’ll hold off attacking. The important thing is that we’re having fun, right?”

“Yeah,” Trixie laughed quietly, her relief evident in her voice. “…but only for one turn, OK? I don’t want to feel like you’re going easy on me!”

“Alright!” Carrot Top chuckled.

…

“And now I’m dying to hear what they’re talking about!” Ditzy said, watching the two of them share a hug at the table. “I thought Trixie was going crazy trying to fight off Carrot, what did she say to get on her good side like that so quickly?”

“Maybe it wasn’t her.” Cheerilee pondered out loud. “Carrot Top’s suprising good at this; maybe she’s the one who patched things up.”

Ditzy blew out a breath slowly. “Listen, I’ve been doing some thinking, and I’ve-”

“Hold that thought!” Cheerilee said suddenly, a bright light shining in her eyes for a second. “I’ve just thought of something. I’ve got to talk to Trixie right away. I’m sorry, Ditzy, I’ll be right back…”

She left quickly, leaving the grey mare alone in the middle of the room staring after her. Biting her lip and looking around, she spotted Lyra walking dejectedly away from Raindrops. Hmm… maybe I’ll have better luck with her…

“Looks like you got your Hearthswarming cancelled.” She said meeting her halfway back to the table.

Lyra looked up and spared a glance back over her shoulder. “Raindrops’s getting caught up in the game real hard. I’ve got a mental game set up that will keep her occupied for a bit, but I’m not convinced it will last very long. I don’t know… I’m not really having as much fun as I first thought.”

“I know what you mean.” Ditzy tilted her head to indicate the other three. “Cheerilee is enjoying herself, but I don’t know about the other two. I think somepony needs to win this thing and win it fast.”

“Hah!” Lyra snorted. “That’s a lot easier said than done. You’ve only got four units and unless I missed my guess, that’s going to drop soon.”

Ditzy leaned in conspiratorially. “Yes, but I think I’ve got a plan. See, I was talking to Twilight…”

…

“You know, Cheerilee, this idea of yours is pretty devious.”

“Call it that favor you owe me. Can you do it?”

“Of course! Who do you think you’re talking too? It’s only a little modification and the illusion-craft is foals play!”

“Well, do it now, while nopony is watching. We might just get a leg up on the others with this.”

“Just let me remember where I stashed the things…”

…

“I know everpony thinks I’m suddenly some well of military genius, but I don’t actually know where that’s coming from!”

“So…” Raindrops said slowly, “does that mean you don’t know what I should do about the buffalo?”

Carrot Top sighed and dropped back against the back of her chair. “I don’t know, the spaces we started with are important right? We can’t put down new units anywhere else. I think it’s in your best interest to get it back.”

Raindrops nodded, judging from the mood that the topic should be changed. “That’s about what I was thinking too. So, was there anything else you wanted to talk about?”

Carrot Top threw back her head and turned to glare down at the game board, but said nothing.

Raindrops tilted her head slightly. “Is there something you want me to do for you?”

After a few moments, the farmer nodded softly and tapped a spot on the map. “Here, right here. I don’t know why she’s left it so open, but if you can take it this whole side of the board changes. And the two of us would gain a ton for breathing room.”

“You might be onto something there.” Raindrops mused, rubbing her chin in thought. “It might take me a while to get over there, though. I don’t have a unit in the area just yet.”

“Take your time. If she hasn’t done anything yet, she’ll probably keep ignoring it.” Carrot Top said in a cool tone, but inside she was furious with herself. Why did I tell her that? Now she’ll just believe I’m a secret general even more! Unless… am I a secret general? Oh Luna, I am, aren’t I?

Maybe… maybe I should accept it…

…

“So what are you two talking about? You’ve spent nearly the entire round together.” Trixie asked.

Lyra and Ditzy shared a glance together before the musician responded. “Just hashing out some ideas. We haven’t had much of a chance to talk to each other since the game began.”

“Mind if I borrow Ditzy for a while? The turn’s about to end and I’ve got to confirm something while there’s still time.”

“Sure.” Ditzy nodded to one of the bookcases lining the walls and the two of them leaned against it casually. “This is about Carrot Top, right?”

“I’m not sure I can protect all of my territories this turn. Is there any way I could convince you to send anything up north this turn?”

Ditzy shook her head and chuckled. “I don’t know if you’ve noticed, but I’m not in the best of situations myself.”

Trixie chewed her bottom lip pensively. “This is about the camels.”

“They’re lined up to take Broncordia from me and this time there’s no way to stop it.” Ditzy pulled out her map and gestured with her wing. “Three units, line up in a row against my two. It’s a coin flip figuring out which unit is going to lead the attack, but my money’s on the army in Pferdreich. She’ll want to keep the other two defending the coastline.”

“So what do you plan to do?” Trixie asked.

“I’m going to save the unit, at least.” Ditzy confided. “If I attack the sea space with the support of my air force, I can disrupt her navy and push it out of my way. I’ll lose my territory, but I’ll at least still be able to fight back. It all falls apart if that’s the unit getting supported instead of lending support, but like I said I think that’s not what she’s going to do.”

“Well, I wish you luck.” Trixie said, pushing the map down and gesturing at the back at the table. “You’d better go write down your moves. I’ve already finished mine.”

“Right.” Ditzy said, walking off to find a place to write on.

Trixie watched her go for a few seconds before tilting her head a little to the side and whispered, “Did you hear all that?”

“Perfectly.” Cheerilee’s voice said softly, from around the area of Trixie’s ear where an earring might be worn. Trixie smiled with undisguised pleasure at her success and, after making one last check to be sure the tiny invisibility spell was still working, walked back to the rest of the group.

…

“This is the second Winter turn,” Twilight began, once everypony had been seated and turned in their orders. “So this is for the new units. There’s a few… unexpected moves, so let’s get started.

“First, the elk’s moved their army from Hjort to the Western Badlands. Neither their other army nor their navy units moved, but surprisingly their air force went south into Latigo instead of one of the undefended griffon spaces.”

Carrot Top caught Trixie’s eye and the two of them shared a slight nod.

“The griffons, meanwhile,” Twilight continued, “tried to send their navy into the Iceflow Sea, but since the elk’s navy didn’t move they get stopped. Their first air force moved up into Saiuliai and the second stays put in Konja, claiming it. Trixie gets one new unit this turn.

“Now here’s the tricky part, so try to keep up. The pony's navy attacks the Sea of Tranquility with the support from their air force in Canterlot. However, the camel’s navy is attacking right back into Broncordia, with the support of the army in Paardveld and the one in Pferdreich. Three against two, so the ponies lose.”

“So I’ve got to move the navy somewhere else?” Ditzy asked, reaching over to do just that.

Twilight grimaced and held out her arm to stop her. “Normally yes, but this is a special situation here. See, the navy can’t go out into the Sea because that’s where the attack is coming from. Because it’s a navy it can’t go any further inland; your only options are to go along the coast. Paardveld is occupied, so you can’t go there.”

“So that only leaves the Everfree.” Raindrops observed. “Which is a territory no piece can go into.”

Ditzy frowned. “So what happens to my unit?”

“In this case…” Twilight used her magic to pick up the piece and placed it back into the game box. “The unit is crushed and taken off the map. It’s one of the only ways to destroy a unit in this game. Anyway, Cheerilee gains control of Broncordia and her other piece stays put in the West Dune Sea, so that’s two new spaces for her.”

“And I know just which two units I need.” Cheerilee said, already pulling them out of the box.

“Don’t get ahead of yourself.” Twilight warned, pulling a yellow buffalo flag out of the box. “The buffalo’s army in Pte moved up and took your Naqah, do your only getting one new piece this turn.”

Cheerilee sucked in a started breath and shot a glance at Lyra, who shrugged self-consciously. 

“The tapir’s navy in the Azure Reaches attacked the intruder in Killa with the support of their air force,” Twilight continued, “but the buffalo retreated on their own back into Ptesan. Their air force also moved out into the abandoned Azure Reaches. Their other armies moved up into Heyuktan and stayed put in Caballeria, gaining them two new supply centers this round.

“The tapir also get a new territory this turn, as their navy in the Horse Steppes holds and claims the space. But her other navy moved back into Cavallia to protect it, leaving Zaldia to be taken and claimed by Ditzy.”

“So does that mean I still have four supply centers?” Ditzy asked.

Twilight nodded. “Yep. Even though your number of territories stayed the same, since you lost a unit you’ll get to place a new one this turn. And finally the ponies air force moved out into the Gulf of Hippopotamia. And that’s it.”

The seven ponies looked down at the board in silence, already planning out their next moves with this new knowledge. They had each finally gotten used to the mechanics of the game and now, they could begin to play in earnest.

> Ye Olde Year of 03
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

The young griffon page scrambled through the stone hallways, desperately trying to keep a hold of a hefty stack of scrolls. Finally, she spotted her destination up ahead and skidded to a halt before the granite doors. Shuffling the scrolls into one arm, she rapped on the door and let herself in before the first echoes had vanished, knowing that the information she was carrying was of upmost importance. “General! I’ve got the finished reports of our enemies’ movements for your perusal!”

General Trixie of the Griffon Kingdoms didn’t immediately turn around, spending a few more precious moments admiring the mid-Summer sunlight bathing the balcony. She could feel that it was the solstice, even without looking at the calendar lying under a veritable mountain of maps on her desk. I will give those lowly ponies one thing. They certainly are good at keeping accurate time.

“Well? Read them to me.”

“Uh… read them to you?”

“Yes, yes.” Trixie turned around and frowned at her. “Read them to me. I wish to visualize the battlefield without the tedium of leafing through those reports to get it.”

“R-right! Of course…” the page stammered, slipping the stack of scrolls into the curve of her wings so that she had a claw free to pick the topmost one up. Trixie settled down next to her desk as the page started reading.

“The field reports from our own units are all promising. We continue to do battle with the Elks on the western front, though there is no change in battle lines. You were right about those flying ships they sent south trying to interfere, and our aerial teams stationed in Konja managed to beat them back successfully!”

“And what of the troops that were sent on the special mission?” Trixie asked.

“Um… ah, they’re progressing!” the page said, finding the appropriate report. “They’re making their way on foot, as per your instructions to avoid detection, so it will probably take them several months yet to reach their destination. The latest report pins their location somewhere in Ternej.”

General Trixie pushed stacks aside with casual indifference to their fate, clearing room on her table for a large map of the known world. She started making marks on it with a quill. “So all is going according to plan. I suppose I can’t hope that our enemies aren’t faring the same…”

“Erm, actually…” the page cleared her throat and shuffled several reports to the front. “It appears that the battles between our forces and those of the elks are the only ones waged this year so far.”

Trixie froze in her work and look up, showing surprise for the first time. “What?”

The page swallowed and tried to sound professional. “Our intelligence isn’t as complete as it could be, but from what we can tell the buffalo tribes and the tapir fleets have just been staying put, save for some general troop movements to the east. And the ponies appear to be shoring up their defenses everywhere. Mostly along the eastern-most borders of Equestria, though one report says they’ve abandoned the oceans to the east in favor of returning to land.”

“That makes no sense.” Trixie muttered, returning her gaze to the map. “Our allies in the Naqah Caliphate should have taken advantage of their superior forces and crushed them.”

The page now looked miserable as she pulled her last report out from the bottom. “Well… um… it seems like… they haven’t moved an inch. They’re all staying put where they are.”

“What? But that makes no sense?!” the General exclaimed. “We practically claw-delivered the destruction of the pony naval fleet to them! They agreed to take our intelligence and use it to draw all the Equestrian forces into one place and crush them!”

The General just barely bit back adding, So that our forces could sweep in amid the open north and drive them both into the Sea. There was no reason to divulge private strategy to the simple help, after all.

The page, meanwhile, didn’t seem to notice the near slip. “Perhaps the situation is more dire than they told us. I mean, err, there must be some reason why they didn’t press their advantage. Right?”

Yes, they’re keeping secrets from us. Trixie thought, contemplating the new information. Her focus stayed on the updated map in front of her. Most of the information wasn’t new, and indeed some of it had been anticipated months ago, but the problem of the camels bothered her. It didn’t make any tactical sense for them not to have attacked.

Are they really in league with the ponies behind our backs? They could be preparing for a combined offensive of the north, which would be nothing but advantageous for us if they could spear through the cervid’s homelands. But then why not include us in the assault? Something is amiss…

Aloud she said, “That’s all for now. You can leave the reports on the end of the table; I need to think about what to do from here.”

“Of course!” the page said, relief causing her to calm down noticeably. She placed the stack carefully down where it would not disturb the general’s latest work and rushed quickly from the room. She barely had time in her haste to remember to catch the door before it boomed closed and disrupted her commander’s thought process. 

The General’s attention however had turned to the open window again and her thoughts had spiraled inwards. It was the middle of the third year since formal war had been declared and so far the world had changed drastically. And yet it was already starting to feel routine.

As she sat contemplating troop movements and diplomatic treatises, the armies of the world were finishing gathering the summer’s first crops and preparing their equipment for the days ahead. Soon the troops would be on the march again and over the course of the fall battle lines would be drawn, cities would topple, and the shape of the world would change once again. As the year grew late, the battles would grow fiercer, each nation more desperate than the last to claim one more prize.

And then the winter would come, driven down from the north on the breath of Windego and Yeti and Yuki-Uma and other creatures of the cold. And no magic, not the unicorn might of the ponies or the runes of the cursed elks or even the flame spirits of the camels could hold them back. Each nation would spend the winter months trapped in whatever cities they’d managed to claim with nothing better to do with their time than train new soldiers to brave the battlefields come the spring.

“But this year will be different from the last.” Trixie promised, staring determinedly out the window at the western lands beyond. “This year will be known as the turning point, when the mighty Griffon Kingdoms stopped playing around and took back what’s rightfully ours. And I know just how to start…”

…

Admiral Peal stood on the deck of his ship and glared out at the Azure Reaches. One didn’t need to be a dream-walker to divine his mood, and his crew had long ago learned to avoid him when he was in one of his tempers. They moved about the ship with shoulders hunched and snouts curled, trying their best to stay away from his side of the ship unless absolutely necessary. 

“One year…” Peal growled, adjusting his stance against a particularly tall swell automatically. The rising sun burned into his eyes as he stared east, but he didn’t look away. “One year we’ve been circling Killa and what has it been for? Sosa!”

This last name he shouted and his first mate quickly scrambled over. Sosa was a capable one for a member of the low class, able to run the ship with the tight discipline Peal required, and his breastplate and conical hat were somehow always shiny. Peal had no doubt that the tapir would earn his Harmonic name before the tour was up. Even if he had to recommend the sailor himself.

“What’s wrong Admiral?” Sosa asked, coming to attention and flicking a glance over the rail. “Have you spotted anything the lookout hasn’t?”

“Nothing.” Peal rumbled, like a storm cloud gathering just on the horizon. “I’ve spotted nothing. I’ve continued to spot nothing every single day since we were ordered out of the Reaches! Tell me Sosa, do you still believe that the buffalo are out there?”

Sosa blinked and carefully selected his words. “Admiral, I’m sure that the Baku know what is best. And the defense of our capital is of the highest importance. They are amassing to strike-”

“But strike they haven’t!” Peal roared, causing all activity on the ship to pause and stare up at their captain. He shot them all a dark glare to get them scurrying back to work, and then continued in a more controlled tone. “Seventeen times we’ve circled this island, defending it from an assault that has never come. Why? We were poised to strike any port along the continent’s entire southern coast out in the Reaches, but we gave all that up to repel the buffalo invaders in our homeland. So why aren’t there buffalo invaders in our homeland?”

“Perhaps they were scared off?” Sosa suggested, clearly not happy to be having this conversation. Admiral Peal had always spoken his mind in the past, but this was bordering on treason.

“Or perhaps they never intended to invade at all…” Peal grumbled, returning his gaze to the sea. The Baku spend too much time in their own heads; they have forgotten how the real world works…

“Admiral!” A cry came up from the lower deck. “The dreamer is talking!”

Peal’s face paled slightly. For a half second he thought that the Baku were going to punish him for his treasonous thoughts. You never know if they were listening… but he shoved his doubts aside and hurried to the foredeck.

Most of his crew had stopped what they were doing and were clustered around the dreamers’ box, but they made room as Peal and Sosa approached. The one who had called out, a deckhand named Torres, was scribbling down numbers into a notebook chained to the wall of the box. “She just started, sir. Coordinates, it sounds like…”

Peal grunted and leaned into the small box. Inside, the dreamer floating in a bright aura almost a foot above her bed. Dreamer Leaves was their ship’s connection to the dream lands. She slept in this little box all day, every day, sustained by her power and delivering any messages the Baku needed. Right now she was talking numbers in her sleep but stopped as Peal approached, somehow divining he was near.

“The buffalo forces at sea move away to the south east…” she spoke, her voice accompanied by a sound of rustling under her words. That sound of the wind blowing through trees was the sign that she was speaking with her power, and was the origin of her Harmonic name Leaves. “They gather in their sands to the north on the border still. Maintain course to the north, for they may try to cross the channel…”

Peal turned away with disgust, ignoring the rest of her words. Of course they are still camped on the north; they are ALWAYS camped on the north. We should be fighting the forces at sea. Why can’t the Baku see that?

He paused and went over what Leaves had said first. They were moving south east, away from everything, except…

“All hands, get ready to head out to the deep seas!” he cried, stamping away and waving to get them moving. “We are making for the Reaches! And pray you all can get this tub moving fast enough to catch them!”

“Sir!” Sosa shouted, hurrying to catch up to him as he stormed about. “You can’t defy the Baku! They’ve ordered us to the north!”

“It’s a fool’s bluff, Sosa. The real fight is happening now, while we sit on the sidelines and miss out!” Peal’s ears rang softly with the sound of distant thunder, each one seeming to underlie his words. He took the sign of his own Harmonic power appearing as confirmation that he was guessing right. “The Baku need to be reminded that you can’t win a war by sitting around. We make for the Azure Reaches!”

…

“Wait out here,” Princess Ditzy Doo informed her guards just outside of the great hall, “It is customary for the leaders to discuss in private during these meetings.”

“Yes majesty!”  her guards said in unison, and Storm Stepper puffed her chest out just a little further. It was her first time traveling with the Princess, as she wanted to not make a fool of herself.

Princess Ditzy nodded to them and turned to the doors. “The meeting should only last a few hours, so relax out here.”

The Princess disappeared into the great hall and the doors closed on her with a deafening boom. The other guards set about clustering together by the side of the hall, but Stepper was still too new to all this. She gawked around like a tourist for a few minutes before wandering closer to the log building. It was a truly impressive building and the trees that made up its walls must have lived for hundreds of years to have grown so tall. Or possibly grown with runes, the pegasus amended, thinking back to her briefing on Elkheim. 

The two elk warriors standing on either side of the doors to the great hall noticed her getting closer, and one leaned over to the other and spoke in heavily-accented Equestrian. “It looks a little lost. Should we help it find its mother?”

“Hey!” Stepper snapped in embarrassment as the two elks laughed at her. “I could take both of you on right now!” She caught herself and remembered where she was. “But… uh, I won’t. Because this is a diplomatic mission, and that would look bad on the Princess.”

“We saw your Princess.” The other elk snorted, grinning good naturally. “She doesn’t look too mighty to me. Not like the Jarlmärr.”

Despite her rising annoyance at their casual tone to her, Stepper couldn’t deny she was curious. “I’ve heard a lot about your… Yarl-Mare.”

“Jarlmärr!” the elk on the left corrected. “And what was it you’ve heard? They say no mortal creature can stand before her in battle and survive.”

“They say that her spear, Gungnir, never misses its target once thrown,” said the one on the right, picking up the story before passing it smoothly over.

“They say she hung on the World Tree for nine days, impaled on her own spear, to gain the great knowledge behind the Runes.”

“They say twin ravens perch on her shoulder and whisper the secrets of her enemies into her waiting ears.”

“They say she consumes naut but mead or wine, and no elk has ever bested her in drink.”

“They say that from her throne, Hlidskjalf, she can perceive all that passed throughout the whole world.”

“They say that no mind can match hers in a contest of tactics, and that her words ring with the wisdom of the heavens.”

“And every word,” The elk said, leaning in to the awestruck pegasus, “is true!”

…

This throne is so itchy! Jarlmärr Carrot Top thought bitterly, scratching her back with the butt end of her spear.  Would it kill them to let me have a pillow or two? And I think one of these annoying birds has made another mess down my back. This was a new cape!

She focused on the Princess from the pony lands before her. “I’m sorry, I was distracted for a moment. What was it you just said?”

Princess Ditzy Doo sipped lightly from the horn of mead provided for her and used her magic to place it back on its holder on the table between them. “I was just complementing you on your victories in the north. It’s no mean feat holding back the forces of the Griffon Kingdom for so long.”

“Indeed…” Carrot Top returned warily, drinking deep from her own horn. But you’ve never had any problems with the griffons, have you? They throw everything they have at my borders and leave yours alone. No, the Griffon Kingdom is not the problem you’ve traveled this far to discuss.

“Unlike the other nations, our two haven’t been very successful in expanding these last few years.” Ditzy continued. “And of course you’ve heard that I’ve recently lost Broncordia to the camels…”

Ah, here we go. “And you want me to reclaim your territory for you?” Carrot Top asked sharply, cutting in to the Princess’s practiced speech like a knife into butter.

To her credit, Princess Ditzy only blinked once before slipping smoothly back into the conversation. “Right to the point, I see. Yes, I’d like some assistance driving the camels off my shores.”

“I only possess one band of warriors in that part of the world.” Carrot Top said, confident that the Princess already knew of their whereabouts, else her request would have made little sense. She uncurled two of the six legs folded under her on the throne and pushed herself up on them, towering above her guest for emphasis. Her remaining two legs she crossed over her chest, holding her spear crocked into an elbow.

“Even a surprise attack would not be enough to take the camel’s armies,” the Jarlmärr continued, “And it is impossible to divert anything from the fighting in the east. Tell me why I should consider fighting a battle on two fronts?”

“Because the Caliphate is about to collapse.” Princess Ditzy explained, not ruffling so much as a feather at the display of physical intimidation. “They’ve expanded too far to support themselves without the land they’ve taken. Deprive them of Broncordia, and their armies will be forced to either retreat or starve.”

The Jarlmärr slipped down on her seat, dangling a pair of legs over the edge of the throne idly. It could work; the camels had indeed over extended themselves. In fact, if this plan worked out the way is sounded, one of the Elk’s ancient enemies could be swept from the map entirely. But…

Carrot Top took another draught and winced a little. I know the healers say that it’s better for my heart, but I wish they wouldn’t water down my mead quite so much. The raven on her right nipped her lightly on the ear and she lifted the horn up so it could drink.

“But what do I get out of it?” she asked the alicorn. “It seems to me that all the spoils go to Equestria, when more valuable looting could be found in the south.”

Ditzy Doo’s shimmering hair waved in a breeze that Carrot Top swore didn’t exist as the alicorn sipped from her drink once more. “I only have an interest in reclaiming what’s mine. With the support lines cut, Pferdreich should be the first of their claimed lands to be abandoned in their retreat. I offer you that land uncontested, and any other you can take on the eastern coast. The interests of Equestria lay to the south, not the north.”

The Jarlmärr considered the plan from all angles, but nothing seemed amiss. It was a very attractive idea. Her warriors were pillagers at heart, and this long siege to the east with no end in sight wore on the soul. The prospect of fresh prizes, even ones far in the future… and perhaps most importantly, the tickle in the back of her mind which let her know when a plan rang false was silent. The Princess seemed to mean exactly what she said, to the word.

She lifted her horn of mead out towards her guest and after a moment the alicorn levitated her own up as well. They clashed the containers together and drank deep, sealing the pact.

…

Tidir sat cross legged in her hut, deep in meditation. Thin trails of incense hung in the air around her and a thick aroma wafted from the iron pot bubbling over the fire. Broad leaves lay draped over the windows, letting in only the barest hints of sunlight. Tidir concentrated on her breathing, allowing herself to become one with the world around her. Occasionally, she would mutter a phrase or two under her breath, but otherwise the only sound was a continuous humming from deep in her throat.

She was waiting to see if a glimpse of the future would share itself today, but so far her mind was maddeningly silent on the subjects of portents. Instead of a clear picture, an event that had only occurred twice in the zebra’s long life, all that was filling her mind was a sense of great importance. The same feeling she’d been picking up every day for the last three moons. But now a sense of danger undercut the feeling and it was this feeling the shaman tried to focus upon.

“Tidir! Tidir!” a bright voice cried, shattering the stillness of the hut. A young zebra bounded into the room, blinking several times to adjust his eyes to the darkness before bouncing over to her side. “Tidir, you must come see!”

“Ameqran, have you forgot?” Tidir said, uncoiling from her seat, “You must not barge so into my hut!”

Ameqran gazed up at her with wide innocent eyes that could not quite banish his excitement. “I’m sorry, Tidir, but it’s so amazing!”

The shaman smiled warmly at her favorite grand-nephew and ruffled a hoof through his mane. “Do not worry, child, you have caused no error. But tell me, what has you in such a furor?”

“Strangers, Tidir!” Ameqran shouted, nearly bounding with excitement. “They flew down from the sky over the ocean! Everypony is gathering on the beach to watch them land! You have to come see them; they’ve got paint all over their faces!”

Tidir felt a thrill of premonition run down her spine, but she kept it from her face as she sidled up to her grand-nephew. “These visitors sound very strange indeed. Let us be good hosts and see what they need.”

The two of them left her hut and Ameqran ran ahead, unable to stand still for even a minute with all this excitement going on. Tidir let him to run off, following after him at a more sedate pace and allowing her eye to fall over the village and gauge the feel.

The village was very crowded, as news of her omens had spread far. Zebra from all over the land had traveled to convene and Tidir had met with many shamans who had sensed the same as herself, if not as strongly. But the village was quiet despite this. From the sound of it, most of the village and nearly all the visitors had gone down the worn path leading to the shoreline. Tidir set off in that direction and it wasn’t long before those left in the village noticed she was about. They called out to her as she passed but made no move to stop her progress.

“Tidir, who are they?”

“What do they want, Tidir?”

“Should we prepare to fight?”

“Tidir, why have they come here?”

“Tidir!”

“Tidir!”

The elderly shaman waved each question down and returned them with words of calm, saying everything was fine and that she was going to get to the bottom of it. But deep down she felt cold, deep in the pit of her stomach in a way she’d never thought she’d feel again.

Presently she made her way down the worn path and onto the beach and here were the missing villagers, crowded in a great clump where the trees gave away into sand. They recognized her as well and shouted their questions, but softly, as if afraid to break a fragile and tense situation. Tidir sensed the crowd was worried and nervous, a dangerous combination if left unchecked. The crowd parted to let her through to the front, and what she saw caused her to freeze in place and stare along with the rest.

A large group of creatures were milling about the beach. They were of great size and covered with puffy, brownish fur. They indeed had paint on their faces, straight lines of red or white on their cheeks and foreheads. They had small black horns poking out the sides of their brows and some of them wore headdresses of grass and feathers. About half of them were lying on the beach and panting in an exhausted fashion.

And above them… more of the creatures were still arriving. They were indeed coming down from the sky, flapping great multicolored wings as they landed. Tidir squinted, grateful that old age hadn’t robbed her of her eyesight, and saw that the wings were made of solid bands of light. A bar of light, strangely square-ish and transparent, floated straight out from a creature’s shoulders and about five bars floated unattached behind it. It was less a wing than a primitive drawing of a wing; a stick figure drawn in light. The “wings” faded away as the creatures landed, dropping to the ground and drinking gratefully from a skin of water another one would quickly hand over.

Tidir straightened up and walked down the beach purposefully, and the whispers behind her died away as the zebra waited to see what happened. One of the creatures, much larger than the rest, saw her coming and set off to meet her halfway between the two groups. This one had a larger headdress than the others and auras still floated around its body. A spectral collection of bars floated several inches over the ones painted on its face, and several auras hovered around its neck in a slow circle.

“Hello. Thank you for not immediately attacking us when we are so tired.” The creature said, surprising Tidir once more by speaking passably in her language. The creature noticed her shock and grinned. “The spirits have prepared me for our meeting and I have practiced your tongue over the long trip. My name is Chief Stonebrow, and we buffalo have traveled a long way to ask for your help.”

The shaman looked the… buffalo up and down and nodded back toward her village. “Well met, Stonebrow, welcome to my home. You must be tired from how far you had to roam. I’ve some wine in my hut from a private stock; let us partake of it while we privately talk.”

The chieftain tilted his head at her odd way of talking, as if wondering if he understood her correctly after all, but quickly thanked her for her hospitality. As she led the large stranger back through the staring zebra she felt the cool certainty of what was about to come. She didn’t need visions or omens for it, though she now understood what they had meant. No, this was something she hoped would never happen again. She looked over her friends and family as she led this stranger to her home and despaired over the future she knew was inevitable.

The zebra were going to war.

…

Spear-Leader Gerhild ducked behind a ruined wall and checked to see how much of her platoon had made cover. There were still eleven of her griffons left, mostly grouped up in the remains of an amphitheater on the other side of the road. Gerhild had never been to this small town near to border where Haupstadt met Hivri before the war began, but she wished she had. The remains of several museums and public speaking areas marked this city as having been a place of art and it must have once been magnificent.

Glancing up through the rubble, Gerhild saw the cursed Elkheimer longship was still floating above them. It must have seen her platoon running for cover. Warriors lined the sides of the ship and she could see several of them were already leaping from the deck onto nearby rooftops. Large flat stones were set regularly into the longship’s sides, each one glowing with a white glyph carved into its surface. The cervid’s rune magic, the word for flight holding the ship aloft in the air.

It was these runes Gerhild focused upon and she spun to her troops, holding aloft her spear. “We’ve been spotted! Aim for the rocks and drop that boat from the sky!”

Her well-trained soldiers abandoned their hiding immediately, standing and throwing their spears in a smooth practiced motion. The spear’s forge-wrought magic activated, allowing the weapons to fly farther than a plain spear would have and heating the sharp ends to a red burn. The spears pelted the side of the ship above them as her soldiers readied new weapons from the stash they carried with them.

Gerhild was raising her own weapon to throw when an Elk warrior leapt clean over the wall she was crouched behind. The berserker saw her and spun around, bringing a two-headed battle axe down in a one armed chop meant to sever her arm at the shoulder. Unable to react in time, Gerhild was saved by her armor. The spell-forged metal absorbed the force of the impact and deadened the blow to barely more than a light punch.

The elk was so taken off guard by the abrupt halt of its attack that Gerhild was able to get her spear turned around and thrust at his chest before he reacted. The spell-forged metal tip glowed hot as it cut through the elk’s tunic like wet paper and left a burning trail of fire across his chest. The elk howled in pain and retreated back over the wall, leaping with such height that a fresher recruit might have confused with the ability to fly. But Gerhild was a veteran of this battlefront, two years in, and she knew that it was no magic. The cervids where just that physically gifted.

Looking up, she saw that her soldiers had dislodged several of the longship’s flight runes and the ship was listing to one side. The cervids were trying to turn it to the north, but Gerhild knew the damage was too much for them to make a safe landing at sea.

But her momentary victory washed away as she saw figures ascend from the failing ship’s deck. “Runecasters!” she cried, signaling her men to fall back with speed.

The cervids coming at them now swooped through the air for real, stones with the rune for flight synched tight on their belts. The runecasters dropped more rocks upon her fleeing platoon from above, each one bearing the glowing red glyph of fire carved into it. These rocks exploded when they hit the ground, obscuring her view of her soldiers. Gerhild wished them well and focused on her own escape, flying low over the ground to a collapsed clock tower.

As she waited for the bombing to stop, Gerhild’s thoughts randomly went to her brother. Be safe, brother. And hurry back from your special mission, she thought as fire rained down all around her, we need all the help out here that we can get!

…

The roads were lined with cheering griffons, raining praise and torn up paper confetti on them like they were heroes. Gerfried led his travel-weary platoon down the center of the street as if in a dream, staring at the happy faces around him in amazement. This wasn’t the reception he’d been expecting when he was ordered over a year ago to make his way to distant Gryphos and convince them to do their part for the Kingdoms.

Up ahead the road terminated in a paved center square upon which a large platform had been erected. Several griffons with the air of aristocrats stood on the platform and bore the praise of the crowds with apparent ease. A band, an actual brass band, stood next to the stage and played an acceptable rendition of the Griffon national anthem. A large, slightly obese griffon with a long mustache trailing over the ends of his beak stood in front of the other aristocrats and watched them approach with an air of command that easily marked him as the local highest authority.

Gerfried signaled his men to hold at military rest and continued on his own, climbing the steps of the platform amongst the cheers of the thronging crowd. Immediately the stout griffon clasped him about the claw and shook vigorously. If anything, the crowd cheered even louder.

“Welcome, welcome! May the Granite Throne stand evermore!” the griffon shouted, finally releasing Gerfried’s claw and half turning to address his subjects. “As the baron of this humble town and speaking for my fellow barons who could not make it today, we wish to welcome you to Gryphos! And we want to thank you for your service in keeping our homes and our kingdom safe from the vile races of the world!”

The baron turned back to the soldier but continued to speak in a carrying voice. “But let it not be said that Gryphos did not do its part for the cause! These fine boys and girls have volunteered to travel with you back to the battlefront. We thank them for their bravery!”

Gerfried turned as well and observed a double line of young griffons standing by the side of the platform. They were trying to stand at attention, but they kept shooting interested glances at his men and their armor and weapons. There were also only eighteen, maybe a score of them in all. Gerfried turned back to the baron with a frown.

“You must be tired from your heroic journey!” the baron continued. “You can rest the night in our hospitality before returning with our blessings-”

Gerfried decided he’d let this go on long enough. “Oh, we won’t be leaving that soon.”

The baron froze and turned a wide-eyed stare at him. Clearly the aristocrat was unused to being interrupted. “But you must want to get back to the battle as soon as possible.”

“And that’s why we must finish our business as soon as possible.” Gerfried continued, watching the baron squirm. Avoiding your responsibility as a griffon, thrusting twenty untrained children on us and trying to send us away… “We have to discuss shipping routes for food and raw materials. And we must set up a system to gather ore from the nearby mines, and of course a tax to support the upkeep of our soldiers…”

“A tax…” the baron sputtered, visibly deflating with each word. The crowd, oblivious to their leader’s mounting horror, continued to cheer their approval.

“And get in touch with these other barons who couldn’t make it.” He continued, turning a smile only a griffon could on the baron. The baron, sensing a superior carnivore, deflated further still under that grin. “Twenty soldiers is a good start, but we need every griffon of fighting age. All for the Granite Throne, after all.”

Gerfried’s thoughts ran to his sister, as they’d done many times over the trip, and he once again wished her good fortune. Just hold on a little longer, Gerhild. I’ll bring you all the reinforcements you need!

…

Cheer Ali, Grand Vizier of the Caliph, sat on a lush cushion in her private chambers and frowned down at a crystal ball lying in her lap. Through the mist trapped within the sphere lay a face that if any camel outside of this room knew about, she’d have to kill them immediately. The Caliph thought that her inside knowledge was a gift from the Almighty, and she was content to let him think like that for now. As such she’d sent away all her servants and personally made sure her chambers were empty before taking the ball from its hidden cabinet.

“We overestimated the tenacity of the buffalo tribes.” She explained patiently, as if to a particularly slow child. “Many of our fighters had to return to the holy cities of Ard to defend them and were unable to return to the battle in time to provide support.”

“I don’t care about your holy cities.” The face of a high ranking griffon in the swirling depths spat, and Cheer Ali’s hooves twitched in her lap. “You agreed to attack Equestria first, so that the Kingdom could sweep them from behind. How am I supposed to take their nation by surprise if you do nothing to attract their attention?”

A warm breeze briefly disturbed the cloths hanging over the open windows and circled the round room. The smoke trailing up from a candle on the table next to her curled about lazily, but she waved her hoof through it impatiently with barely a thought. “I have devoted more than half of my nation to this plan of yours, but it is proving more trouble than it’s worth. My armies are in position, but where are yours?”

The griffon tilted its head evasively, but the magic of her crystal ball tracked it perfectly. “My part of the plan isn’t the problem right now. It’s you who are not carrying out your part of the deal.”

“I have fed you information from my spies in the elks and the ponies.” Cheer Ali countered. The breeze blew into the room again, harder this time, disturbing scrolls of papers on her table. “Information you have used to keep from losing even more of your land. This arrangement grows more one-sided with every passing day.”

The griffon sputtered and said something angrily, but the wind had finally caught Cheer Ali’s attention. It was blowing strong enough to flutter the cloth hangings over the rooms two exits, and seemed to be getting stronger. What was more, there wasn’t even a hint of desert sand blowing in on it. The wind was… pure.

“Silence. I have more pressing matters.” She addressed her contact.

“What? You can’t just-” the griffon started, but Cheer Ali past a hoof over the crystal and the image faded away. For a few moments the marid trapped within formed, its amethyst eyes glaring up at her from the creature’s cobra-like shape made of mist, but then it dissolved once more into a small amount of water. The water sloshed a little at the bottom of the ball, ready to be called forth the next time it was needed.

Cheer Ali stood with her back to the table and addressed the room. “Who is there? Surely you know the penalty for disturbing the Grand Vizier when she is at rest.”

Her only answer for the span of a few heartbeats was the growing howl of the wind, and then a deep voice echoed about the room. “The Caliph has become displeased with your service, Cheer Ali. Accept your death with the honor of your station.”

The Vizier spat as the swirling wind ramped up in the small room. So, an assassin has been sent to kill me. The fool… 

Elementals were unable to speak, so the djinn’s master must be nearby. However, the wind successfully hid the source of the voice just as easily as it kept her trapped within this room. The wind was moving so fast as to be visible, and everything not heavy enough was picked up and spun around the room, dashing repeatedly against the walls. If she didn’t act soon, the djinn would gather enough strength to do the same with her.

Cheer Ali sent her will out to the candle, still sitting in the center of this miniature cyclone, and the tiny flame flared up several feet into the air. Her efreeti clawed out of the candle, taking its usual form of a sand lizard comprised completely of flame. The efreeti opened its mouth and steam and smoke bellowed out, but the winds just greedily sucked it up.

The deep voice laughed. “It’s too late. My servant has already filled the room with his winds and has become too powerful for you to stop now!”

But her assassin had made a mistake this time. Her efreeti had heated the djinn’s wind quickly and for a few precious moments the wind had lifted up, leaving the air at the bottom of the room relatively still. Cheer Ali had dropped to her knees, pretending to be hiding from the gale, and so clearly heard where the voice came from this time. With a flash, the camel pulled a dagger out of a hidden fold in her robe and threw it through the doorway to her right.

The blade flashed through the hanging over the door and struck something with a satisfying thud. There was a cry of pain and the winds in the room slowed down, as the djinn controlling them debated rushing to its master. That was all the opening her efreeti needed. It opened it mouth once more, but this time it began sucking in air at a furious pace. It was like the previous storm but in reverse, with all the air in the room rushing in towards the fiery monster in the center.

Within moments the enemy’s djinn was revealed, an almost see-through songbird trying mightily to remain aloft near the ceiling. But Cheer Ali’s efreeti had the djinn’s measure now, and every bit of air it swallowed fed its fire and made it stronger. It grew in size until it was as large as the table it lay upon and still it sucked in air, until the songbird could remain aloft no longer and got drawn down. Her efreeti snapped its jaws down on the air elemental and swallowed it, adding its power to its own. There was another cry of pain from the door, this one of anguish instead of physical pain.

“And now for the master.” Cheer Ali said dispassionately, flicking a hoof at the room the assassin was hiding in. Her efreeti darted off the table and into the next room with lizard-like speed and soon the bright light of fire filled the open doorway. The former Vizier ignored the resulting sounds and set about collecting her most important possessions. Successful or not, the assassin had ended her role in this nation.

The Caliph's rule is about to end. Cheer Ali thought as she packed. He drove his armies too far and made too many enemies. Nothing can save the Naqah anymore. I believe it’s time I found employ in another’s court…

…

The rolling darkness of the dreamscape flashed with random colors and images; the intrusions of other dreams. Trying to make sense of the images could drive a tapir mad, so Raindrops did her best to ignore them. Instead she focused on the massive presence of the Baku, who had summoned her with little warning.

“<sound of peal of thunder> was right…” the Baku said, although said was probably the wrong word. They projected their intentions when they wanted to talk and half of their speech was images or impressions instead of words. The Baku themselves took the form of a brilliantly bright ball of white light, something that should have been painful to look at directly but in here didn’t bother Raindrops in the least.

Raindrops herself still looked like the tapir she was, but she stood in a little shower of water droplets. These droplets appeared from nothing several feet above her head and the ground rippled where they landed, as if it were temporarily a surface of water. This physical representation of her Harmonic name surrounded her at all times in the dream lands.

“Admiral Peal has met only token resistance in the Azure Reaches.” Raindrops reported. She didn’t worry about making a mistake without her reports; since the meeting was technically in her head, everything she knew could be pulled up from her memory perfectly. “The buffalo have abandoned all pretenses at hitting us from both sides and made a bee-line for Zebrica. The Admiral thinks he can prevent them from returning if he just pushes out a little farther…”

“<BAKU> know very well what <sound of peal of thunder> is thinking…” the Baku interrupted, “<BAKU> are with many of our <children, siblings, FAMILY> at once… <sound of drops of rain> is the expert on <fighting, pain, WAR>… what is it that <BAKU> should do?...”

Raindrops winced, knowing that the next part would be difficult. “I believe we need to take the western-most tip of the continent, the far west part of the Dune Sea. It has resources we desperately need…”

The blackness of the dreamscape vanished, replaced by scenes of desert sands and oasis’s. Raindrops gulped as the scenes passed over the parts she’d hoped they’d not, panoramas of Naqah tent villages and training outposts. Brief bubbles of camel’s dreams flitted around them, glimpses into various hopes and fears.

“<dry ocean, broken land> belongs to the <humped wanderers> here…” the Baku projected.

“Yes, but we outnumber them two to one. We can drive them from the area with ease.” She said, trying her hardest to keep from thinking about how fragile the Naqah Caliphate was right now. Without supply lines, depriving them of their homes… sending them out, battered and broken, into the desert… it’s a death sentence. They’d never make it to their own nation alive.

Of course, the Baku heard the whole thought.

“<BAKU> do not like <endings, emptiness, DEATH>…” they thought, their displeasure manifesting as a real weight that brought Raindrops to her knees. “<BAKU> liberate, is our way…”

“I am the expert on war.” Raindrops tried, “You chose me for the role; you need to listen to my advice-”

“<BAKU> do not like <endings, emptiness, DEATH>…” the Baku repeated.

Raindrops gulped. Truth be told, the Baku scared her deep down into her bones. Supposedly, they were the combined minds of over a thousand tapir monks in perpetual meditation somewhere in a hidden temple, but she sometimes wondered how much of that was true anymore. The Baku didn’t seem like beings that lived in the real world, if they ever had. Certain concepts randomly had a hard time getting though to them.

“Listen,” Raindrops said, trying a different tact, “The camels can’t hold that land against anyone. If not us, the buffalo will take it and use its resources themselves.”

"<stampeding tribe> are our true <foe, adversary, ENEMY>…” the Baku thought.

“Yes, and we can circle around them if we take this spot from the camels.” Raindrops explained, now sweating with the effort of making her point. “The buffalo can’t protect themselves from two sides; if nothing else we can clear them out from Ptehinchala. Then we’d be safe!”

There was silence for an indeterminate amount of time, besides the pitter patter of rain and a low-key hum emanating from the Baku, and then the weight upon Raindrops’s shoulders vanished all at once.

“<children, siblings, FAMILY> must be safe. Attack the <dry ocean, broken land>…” the Baku intoned.

Raindrops sighed and rose up into a more comfortable position. She knew that the Baku had already sent the orders along to the necessary commanders. “Thank you. But we need to talk about the trouble in Cavallia. I don’t think we can hold it anymore, but if they go…”

…

The desert winds howled with the bite of winter, even as far south as this. The rest of the tribe huddled in their tents for warmth, but Chieftain Heartstrings had trudged out alone into the dunes to commune with the spirits in peace. Now, up close with the campfire she’d gathered and eyes half lidded, she chanted the mystic phrases that let her see events on far.

The smoke from the fire curled and danced like a living thing, its whorls imparting wisdom in a language only the great Chieftains like herself knew. Chieftain Heartstrings had no more control over what the smoke showed than she did over the sun in the sky, but the glimpses were enough.

She saw the war between the griffons and the cervids continued unchanged. She saw the ponies drive the tapir from the shores to the east and claim it as their own. She saw the camels, stretched far too thin, losing ground all around them and driven back into the desert and the sea. 

And most satisfying of all she saw her fellow buffalo, the chieftains and braves who followed her counsel from afar. She saw them strike out east, towards the ponies and their newly concurred land. She saw them strike out north, battling the desperate remnants of the camels. She saw them amassed in the west and south, waiting for when the spirits were with them and the time was right. She saw brave Chief Stonebrow, brokering a new piece with the far off zebra that would turn the tide in their favor.

She saw all of this, as winter’s heart bore down on the world from the north and all nations buckled down against it. For now surviving the cold was paramount, and soon Chieftain Heartstrings would return to her braves. They would wait out the winter together, and grow stronger for it. And plan for the coming spring. But for now there was nothing but the fire and the spirits and the biting wind.

Heartstrings lifted her head to the wind and grinned into the night sky. “All is going according to plan.”

> Year of 04
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

“Another turn down.” Twilight said, tapping the stack of papers on end to straighten them. “And you’ve all been playing for about two hours now. Anypony getting tired? Need a break?”

“No, we should get going.” Raindrops said, tapping her hoof distractedly on the tabletop.

Twilight frowned. “You sure? I know you’re not supposed to stop, but since this is your first time, we could-”

“It’s fine, read the results.” Trixie interrupted, her eyes fixed on the board before her.

Lyra nodded intently. “We’re good to go. Tell us what happened this time.”

Twilight frowned and looked around the table, but nopony was meeting her eye. The tension in the air was thick enough to feel and hung over the table like an oppressive, living thing. The librarian bit her lip and considered her options, but ultimately she knew that there was nothing for it but to press forward and hope for the best.

“Very well, I’ll start in the north. The stalemate in Haupstadt continues with yet another two on two clash, although Trixie moves her army from Poronajsk to Kaunas this turn, so that might change. The griffons also moved their army into Ternej and their air force into Hippopotamia, probably to try and block Carrot Top’s piece. Unfortunately, Carrot Top once again went around her and slipped into the now unprotected Konja.

“The elks also moved out of the Western Badlands into Hjort, while the camel’s army took their place in the Badlands. Ditzy’s air force supported her attack into Pferdreich, but Cheerilee wisely chose to move into Ard instead, repulsing Lyra’s attack there. Still, that means the ponies are now in control of Pferdreich.”

Cheerilee shot Ditzy a glum look, but she wasn’t really surprised. A spike had been driven between her pieces and she was clearly paying for it.

“Cheerile also tried to take back Naqah,” Twilight continued, “but the buffalo stayed in place and blocked that move as well. There was another clash in Killa between the buffalo and tapirs, this time three on three. Raindrops moved her army into the South Dune Sea and her navy south to the Zebrican Sea.”

Oddly, it was Carrot Top who grumbled in disappointment at this news, frowning at the pieces as the unicorn moved them into their new positions. Everypony else at the table jerked to attention and started scanning the board with, if anything, more attention than before.

Twilight missed this exchange, flipping to the next page in her stack and frowning. “Lyra’s air force here moved up into Saddle Arabia for some reason. Her remaining armies travel into Caballeria and Semental, taking it from the ponies. Meanwhile Ditzy’s last moves are into Palomino and Latigo. And that wraps it up-”

“Alright, good.” Trixie said dismissively, pushing up from the table with a determined gleam in her eye. “Cheerilee, we need to talk. Come on.”

“CT, a quick word?” Ditzy asked, nodding towards the area by the stairs. The two of them trotted off, already whispering fiercely. Raindrops was engrossed in writing something in her notebook, paying little attention to what the others were doing at the moment.

Lyra slipped up next to Twilight as she was still blinking at how fast the others had vacated the table. “Can you clarify something for me? I was looking in the book and it said that navy units can ‘ferry’ other pieces to move them several spaces in a turn. Can air forces do the same thing?”

“Um, well not really.” Twilight said, pausing for just long enough to flip over the timer. “That’s a trait unique to the navy piece to balance how they can’t go inland. But the air forces are able to…”

…

“I call this council to take back the board to order!” Trixie said dramatically, speaking as loudly as she dared less prying ears pick up what they shouldn’t.

“Hardly seems like it needs that much flair.” Raindrops said mildly, arching an eyebrow. “There’s only the three of us.”

Trixie smiled and tapped the side of her ear thoughtfully. “Cheerilee’s in on it too. She’s distracting Carrot Top for us so she doesn’t get suspicious, but don’t worry. She’s keeping informed.”

“Is that the same earring?” Ditzy asked, leaning in closer for a better look. “From the Gala? It is, isn’t it? That’s so clever!”

Raindrops frowned and played back what she’d just heard. “Wait a minute, why is she distracting Carrot Top?”

“So that she doesn’t hear us planning to bring her down, of course.” Trixie said, picking up her map and fanning it out. “Now I was thinking…”

“Carrot Top isn’t the problem!” Raindrops interrupted. “I thought we were joining forces to counter Lyra!”

Trixie scrunched up her nose. “No, no, see, you have to admit that she’s been all but unstoppable. Her knowledge of this game’s inner workings is uncanny! She may not be ahead right now, but if we leave her alone I just know she’ll find some chink in our armor and strike! Ditzy, you’ll back me up on this!”

But Ditzy was already shaking her head. “I’m sorry, but I agree with Raindrops on this one. Lyra’s got twice the land Carrot does and she’s actively attacking the two of us.”

“Besides, what am I supposed to do about her?” Raindrops asked. “The entire continent is separating our forces. If you really want to work together, then I say we should focus on Lyra first.”

“Seconded!” Ditzy put in.

The blue pony pouted but knew when she was outvoted. “Fine, first Lyra, then Carrot Top. But what am I supposed to do about her?”

“What did you expect us to do about…” Raindrops put a hoof to the center of her head and paused for a few moments to reel her emotions in. “We’re just going around in circles. Do either of you have a plan or are we just wasting our time?”

Ditzy pushed her map forward so the others could see. “The way I see it, we just have to close in on her from all sides. There are some natural bottlenecks on the map here, here, and here. Her units are all mostly armies, so if we can just push back her pieces they’ll block themselves.”

Raindrops nodded thoughtfully. “That could actually work, although it looks like I’ll be doing most of the heavy lifting. I could take any of these countries on the coast here, cut down her numbers a little…”

Ditzy was already shaking her head. “It won’t work. If she loses territories she’ll lose pieces, and she’ll probably just drop these mostly useless ones in the middle here which aren’t doing much. We need those units to get in the way of her more mobile ones, so at this stage taking her land is actually a bad thing. First we clump her units together, then we cut them in half by attacking all at the same time.”

“So Ditzy and I need to spend a couple turns sweeping her off the Cavallia Peninsula.” Trixie said, making a scything motion across the small map. “Just hold her in place and keep her contained until we get there.”

“What about if Lyra goes north?” Raindrops asked, pointing out how spread apart the camels were. “It defeats the whole purpose is she takes advantage of all this chaos. She’ll just plain outnumber us at that point.”

“Cheerilee will hold.” Trixie stated, but without as much conviction as she could have. She eyed the board worriedly and tried to think through all the moves at their disposal.

“I could help her out; swing around the Sea and strike from above.” Ditzy offered. “But then I’ll be fighting through her troops. And she can’t get me out of Pferdreich with her remaining forces, so she’s already losing pieces this round. It might be easier if I just took these spots and held them myself, rather than let the buffalo take them.”

Trixie bit her lip and thought hard, but it didn’t take her very long to decide. “All right, support her if you can. But if it looks like Lyra might take control, do what you have to do.”

…

When Trixie had first approached her with the two-way earrings, Cheerilee had seized upon how useful they could be. Indeed, they had already proven their worth several times. It wasn’t really cheating, after all. And come to think of it, wasn’t spying a normal part of politics already?

But when Trixie had run up to her and said she needed to hold Carrot Top’s attention for a while, a tiny seed of worry had sprung up in her mind. If asked, she wouldn’t have been able to pinpoint any one thing which had started it. Mostly it was that even though she would be able to hear what went on at their meeting, it wasn’t the same as having a say in their meeting.

So when she’d decided on a whim to let Carrot Top wear the earring instead, it was with fewer doubts than she might have had. Hey, if nothing else, she just might wind up with a new ally, right when she needed one most. 

And, as it turned out, her hunch had proven to be well founded after all.

“Ditzy just said she was going to take all your territories!” Carrot Top said in a hushed voice, struggling against the urge to press a hoof to her ear and give away their game. “And Trixie’s agreeing with her!”

Et tu, Trixie? The schoolteacher thought, smiling hard enough to crack her molars. If they really think I’m just going to roll over and let them walk all over me, they’ve got another thing coming.

“And now they’re back to my air force in Konja.” Carrot Top continued, leaning forward to express how serious she was taking the news. “I think they are right; that piece is caught cold with no way out. I’m not sure there’s anything we can do about this!”

“I tell you what we’re not going to do.” Cheerilee said softly, continuing to pretend they were just having a pleasant conversation. “Panic. There’s still plenty of moves left. And if I’m going to lose my territories, it won’t be to somepony stabbing me in the back. I believe I still owe you a favor from earlier?”

Carrot Top turned to her and thought back, quickly realizing what she meant. This time her smile was more genuine.

…

Lyra sat at the table, waiting for the other’s little meeting to come to an end. They’re talking about me. Of course they’re talking about me. Even the other two are taking about me. Do they really think I can’t see the glances they keep shooting my way? And if they’re all talking about me, there can only be one possible thing they’re talking about.

The three ponies she had her eye on all nodded together at one final point, gathered up their various maps and other papers, and split off into three different directions. As if on cue, Cheerilee and Carrot Top bumped hooves and separated as well. Lyra took as deep breath and mentally prepared herself.

Show time.

Trixie nodded in Cheerilee’s direction. Raindrops and Lyra locked eyes for a moment and it was the musician who looked away first. Ditzy went over to the popcorn bowl to see if there was anything left in it. Cheerilee tapped the side of her head as if realizing something and turned back to the table, where she’d left her notebook. Carrot Top hooked an arm around Twilight’s shoulder and whispered a question into her ear. Ditzy, Trixie, and Raindrops all noticed, but only one of them was close enough to overhear Twilight’s quiet reply. Cheerilee bent down to recover her notebook and slipped a folded piece of paper into the waiting hoof of the pony standing next to her with the same motion. Despite taking pains to keep the note-passing secret, they were seen. Ditzy tipped a wink in the direction of the two unicorns playing the game. One of them understood the message, while the other thought the wink was for her and got the wrong message. One of the earth ponies opened her notebook at the wrong moment and Raindrops managed to read the first thing written there. Trixie walked over to the now empty popcorn bowl and levitated it into the kitchen area to be cleaned in the sink. As she did, she slipped the piece of paper that had been hidden under the bowl up to her eyes, read it quickly, and then crumpled it into a ball and tossed it into the trash. She didn’t notice when one of the others fished the paper ball out of the trash, but Carrot Top did.

In as little as thirty seconds everypony had settled down with another partner and were talking and plotting again. Only thirty seconds, but more was accomplished in those seconds than in the entire round so far.

…

“It was a good match, but I think I’ve finally gotten the upperhoof on you.” Trixie said, grinning from ear to ear. Perhaps it was unsportsmanlike to gloat, but is just felt so good to finally be on the verge of victory!

Carrot Top nodded and offered up her hoof. “Indeed. Gotta say, though, I lasted a lot longer than I thought I was going to.”

Trixie firmly shook the extended hoof, still beaming. “Even though I’m getting Haupstadt back, the war is far from over. You can always move your navy into the Griffon Sea after I leave it. I’ll have a devil of a time getting you out of there!”

The farmer frowned and tilted her head to the side. “What do you mean? Your navy can’t move this turn.”

The smile froze on Trixie’s face, but she pressed on bravely. “Um… yes it can. It’s going to attack Haupstadt with the support of Kaunas and Siauliai. That’s three against two.”

But CT was already shaking her head. “That’s not how Twilight explained it to me. Since the piece attacking Haupstadt is a navy, the only territories that can support it are ones along the coast. Kaunas and the Griffon Sea can’t support each other because they’re too far away and neither piece is an air force. Your attack can still work if your navy attacks my navy instead of supporting, but that means it’s your army has to be the one that takes Haupstadt.”

Trixie blinked. Her eyes flicked down to her map, back up to Carrot Top’s, then back to her map again. She frowned. Blinked a couple more times. Then she finished processing what she’d heard and it hit her like a ton of bricks.

Oh. Oh! OH NO! MERDE!!!!

Fortunately, she managed to keep her inner panic off her face. “If you excuse me, I just remembered something I forgot to tell Ditzy.”

Carrot Top nodded her understanding, but Trixie had already turned away and was rushing to the grey pegasus. Out of the corner of her eye she saw that there was about five minutes or so left in the timer. Should be enough time for this. How could I overlook something like this! How can she keep seeing these tiny details before I can?!?

At the moment, Ditzy was deep in conversation with Cheerilee. Trixie overheard something about Lyra moving an army into Pte before tugging the pegasus to the side with her magic. “Excuse us, I only need her for a moment!”

Cheerilee arched an eyebrow and looked at Ditzy, who shrugged before allowing herself to be pulled away to a private corner. As soon as they were gone, the schoolteacher looked down at her notebook and bit her lip. She had the look of a pony who was running out of options, but neither Trixie or Ditzy saw.

“What’s this about-” Ditzy started, but Trixie cut in before she could finish.

“I need my army to attack Haupstadt!”

Ditzy frowned for a few seconds and then seemed to understand what she was talking about all at once. “The one in Kaunas?! But doesn’t that mean that…”

“Yes,” Trixie sighed, pulling out her map again and studying it intently, “Carrot’s air force is going to escape.”

The elk unit in question sat in Konja, threatening to take it from Trixie. But four other territories surrounded that one; Markovo, Hippopotamia, Latigo, and Kaunas, all of which were or were about to be occupied. The plan had been to send any one of those armies into Konja and crush the unit like Ditzy’s navy had been in the Everfree, but if a hole appeared in their net…

“It’s going to escape into Kaunas right after I leave it.” Trixie said flatly. No matter how she looked at the board, she had to take Haupstadt this turn or lose the opportunity.

“We can still push her air force out of the space, so she doesn’t get the supply center.” Ditzy said consolingly, running her hoof over the other three spaces. “This army here needs to take this turn to get to Markovo, but you’ve got a piece in Hippopotamia. That should be enough, with my support.”

Trixie was already shaking her head. “No good. That piece is an air force. If she attacked your army in Latigo it would disrupt your support, even if she doesn’t get to move. Then it would be her air force against mine, neither would get to move, and she’d take control of the space. It needs to be an army that knocks her out, since armies beat air forces one on one.” Trixie took a deep breath and let it out. “You’re going to have to take it.”

“But that means you still lose! How is that any better for you?”

“At least the elks won’t have it!” Trixie snapped, but reeled in her disappointment before she could say anything else she might regret. After all, it’s not like it’s Ditzy’s fault this is happening. “Since I’m gaining one this turn, I’ll have the same number of territories and won’t lose any of my armies. For all we know, she might decide to get rid of that piece anyway when she loses Haupstadt. Besides, I know I can trust you with Konja for me. You can let me take it back afterward and everything will be as it should by the next winter turn.”

“Sounds like that’s the best we can do right now.” Ditzy agreed. The two of them pulled out their notebooks and fixed their orders, sealing Carrot Top’s fate on this side of the map for the rest of the game.

…

“So you’re still going to try, even though we both know I outnumber you?”

Lyra shrugged. “On paper you might, but there’s no guarantee that's what your pieces are doing this turn. You could be lying…”

Raindrops gave her such a look at that that Lyra barked a short laugh and started over. “Alright, you probably aren’t lying about going for Killa with everything, but you never know. No offense, but I think I’ll bank on the off chance you make a mistake. It’s not like I’ve got much better to do with those right now.”

“Don’t count on it.” Raindrops replied dryly, but the musician was already walking off with a wave of her hoof. Raindrops clucked her tongue against her cheek thoughtfully and lazily looked over at the timer. A little over a minute or two left. Just enough time to write my orders.

She pulled out her notebook and placed the pencil between her teeth. Her first couple of moves were easy, with her talk with Lyra fresh in her mind. Navy in Azure Reaches moves into Killa. Air force in Yana supports navy’s move into Killa. Air force in Sargasso Sea support’s navy’s move into Killa.

She paused and double-checked her map to make sure she got this next one right, and turned back to her book. Army in South Dune Sea attacks Ptehinchala. There, that will disrupt her attack. Geez, though… it takes a while to write these out when you’ve got so many units. Now, which one’s next? Ah, right… still not sure why she moved that one, but I’m not going to turn down a free prize like that…

She wrote Navy in Zebrican Sea moves into Zebrica into her book, and then paused again to check her map once more. Readjusting her grip on the pencil, she turned back and wrote Navy-

“Hey, quick question!” Cheerilee said, slipping down onto the chair next to Raindrops and tapping her on the shoulder to get her attention.

Raindrops mumbled around the pencil. “A little busy right now. Can’t this wait?”

“Not really.” Cheeriee’s eyes flashed towards the open book for just a moment. “I just thought you’d like to know that Trixie and Ditzy weren’t being on the level with you.”

Raindrops grunting in a tell-me-something-I-didn’t-know way and bent back over her paper. Navy in A-

“I’ve seen Ditzy meeting with Lyra when they thought nopony was paying attention.” Cheerilee cut in, leaning forward a bit for emphasis. “Haven’t you wondered how she keeps getting the better of you?”

The weather pony sat up a little straighter and arched an eyebrow for her to continue. She had her full attention.

“You’re being played. I heard the whole thing over the earrings. Just stay where you are and don’t attack back for several turns? That’s what you’ve been doing all game. You should ask yourself why they don’t want you to take all those pieces you’ve got and use them.”

“I think I’m more interested in why you’re telling me this.” Raindrops mumbled. “Aren’t you on our side in this?”

Cheerilee shook her head with a small smile. “Earrings, remember? When they agreed to let Ditzy take me apart, all bets were off. Just don’t feel like watching you go down like I did.”

“I’ll keep it in mind.” Raindrops said, returning to her notes yet again. Navy in Apacl-

“That’s not all.” Cheerilee said in a sing-song tone.

Raindrops spit out the pencil in irritation and rounded on her. “Come on, I’m trying to write! Can’t we talk about this later?”

“I thought you’d want to know that somepony else is trying to sabotage you as well.”

“Oh yeah?” Raindrops challenged. “Who?”

“Time’s up for the round!” Twilight called out.

Raindrops’s mouth dropped like a lead weight. She looked over at Twilight, down to her paper, and back up to her friends face with a look of stunned disbelief.

“Pencils down, and pass your papers forward.” Cheerilee shrugged apologetically. 

…

Several minutes later, they were all gathered around the table once more.

“I’ll make this quick.” Twilight said, trying for a light tone and quickly noticing how out of place it was at such a serious table. “Trixie has finally won back Haupstadt, sending her army from Kaunas to take it. Her other army enters Markovo and her air force supports Ditzy’s army in an attack on Konja, surprisingly. Carrot Top’s piece there had tried to attack the army, but is forced out to the only open spot instead, Kaunas.

“But that wasn’t the only time players supported each other this turn. On the other side of map Ditzy tried to hold Pferdreich with the support of her piece in Trottingham, but it didn’t work. Both of Cheerilee’s units supported Carrot Top’s army when it attacked and the elk’s take the supply center.”

That means Carrot Top gained a territory to replace the one she lost! Trixie thought with disbelief. She doesn’t lose any pieces even without Haupstadt! How? How could she possibly have found a way to survive that trap!

“Ditzy, there’s a lot of places for that army to be displaced. Where do you want it to go?” Twilight asked.

Ditzy thought about it for a few moments, and then pushed it up into Breidas, deep in the elk lands. The others all sucked in a breath at the aggressive move before turning back to the librarian expectantly.

Twilight shuffled out another page and continued. “Lyra attacked Killa again with her three pieces, but the tapir army in the South Dune Sea attacked and disrupted her support. This allowed Raindrops’s navy here to move in with her other pieces help. Let’s see… Cheerilee’s last army moves into the West Dune Sea unopposed. Raindrops started to write an order for her navy in Alpaclan, but since she didn’t finish it doesn’t move anywhere.”

There was a dry brittle crack and Twilight was jolted out of her groove, uttering a little surprised cry. Raindrops had had her hoof pressed so hard on her supplies that she’d snapped her pencil clear in two. The pegasus’s eyes never ceased glaring at Cheerilee, who was studiously ignoring her.

Realizing that she was the only one who reacted to that, Twilight swallowed her nerves and decided to press on. “Well, um… there’s not a whole lot else. The tapir’s last navy makes landfall in Zebrica, but Lyra’s air force slips around behind it and takes the Zebrican Sea. Lyra’s army in Naqah stays in place and the one in Heyuktan rushes to defend Pte, even though Cheerilee went west. She also tried to hold Semental, but Ditzy pushed her out with her last two units. And finally Lyra’s other army marched right up into Rocinante. And that’s it. Lyra, you have to…”

But the mint unicorn was already pushing her displaced unit into Caneighda. She also plucked one of her pieces off the board at the same time Ditzy planted the two she’d won. The other four had already paired up and left the table, so the two of them started talking right there at the table.

Twilight was left completely alone, still holding the last round’s papers in her magic. She looked around, but now that she’d covered all their moves nopony was paying attention to her anymore. They were all completely focused on the game.

“Um… alright then. Go.” She said, flipping over the timer, but she might as well have been silent. Nopony was listening.

> Year of 05
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

“I suppose we should start with Trixie,” Twilight said, nervously flipping through the orders held in her magic. She glanced up for an unwitting moment, but quickly ducked behind the papers. Those six intensely staring faces were… intimidating.

“Yet again, Hivri and Haupstadt attack each other and prolong the stalemate, but this time they used only two apiece. Carrot’s air force in Kaunas tried to go into Poronajsk, but Trixie’s army gets there first to protect the space. Her air force over here moves down to Genosse and her other one stays put in Hippopotamia

“Ditzy’s army, with the support of Coronetto, pushed into Caneighda, but Lyra had already left for Latigo. Meanwhile, The buffalo’s other army attacks Hyasanguia and takes it uncontested.”

Ditzy grit her teeth in frustration and one of her eyes drifted to the mint unicorn. Lyra studiously ignored her until she focused her attention back to the game.

“Meanwhile,” Twilight continued, “Lyra’s air force goes up into the Cerulean Sea, while her navy departs the coast for the Azure Reaches. Her two inland units split up and went to Ayani and Heyuktan, while the one in Pte stays where it is. Raindrops’s navy left Zebrica for the Zebrican Sea, and her navy in Killa chose to defend this turn, supported by her two air forces.”

“Last time I do that.” Raindrops grumbled under her breath. It’s clear by now that she’s been playing me for hours. Time to take the offensive back!

“It’s not all bad news,” Twilight said, “Since Raindrop’s other two units dislodged Cheerilee from the West Dune Sea. And lastly, the largest fight this game happened over in Pferdreich. Cheerilee and Carrot Top combined their units to defend it, but Ditzy used four pieces to overwhelm them and take the territory. And that's it. The fifth winter turn starts now.”

…

Ditzy was intent on writing something on a scrap of paper, so she didn’t immediately notice when Carrot Top came around the table and sidled up to her. The farmer burned with curiosity about what she was doing, but restrained the urge to peek. There was no way she’d be able to conceal doing it, after all.

“Just a moment,” Ditzy said, finishing up and folding the paper deliberately in half. She turned in her seat to give CT her full attention. “I expected to be talking to you this round, but not quite so soon.”

“Why put it off?” Carrot said with a shrug, trying to play off her nerves, “It’s best to just get it over with quickly.”

Ditzy nodded, but didn’t add anything. She simply sat and waited, inviting the earth pony to fill the silence herself.

Carrot Top screwed her mouth up as if she tasted something terrible and got right to the point. ”You’ve got me dead to rights with that last move.”

A smile cracked the mailmare’s façade. “I wasn’t expecting Cheers to throw in with you, but yeah. Totally overwhelmed you there.”

“Plus you’ve got a piece right next to Elkheim,” she continued.

“So I do.” Ditzy said. She pulled out another bit of paper and started to write again.

The uncomfortable silence stretched for several moments before Carrot groaned in frustration. “So what do you want?!”

Ditzy arched and eyebrow. “What makes you think there’s something I want?”

“Because you send all four of your units at Pferdreich!” Carrot Top burst out. “You put two new units down last winter turn, but you didn’t put either of them in Hyasanguia, despite Lyra’s two units already sitting on your borders. She even took Hyasanguia from you this turn, but you sent all your units in the other direction.

“And why take Pferdreich, of all places? You have a clear line right between my forces thanks to your unit in Breidas. It would have made a lot more sense to get behind my army while my attention is split between defending the south and fighting off Trixie. Instead, you’ve placed yourself tenuously between two players who’ve proven they’re willing to work together. You can’t have done that without a purpose!”

Ditzy belatedly remembered to pick her jaw up off the floor when Carrot’s stream of reasoning finally ran dry, and chuckled ruefully to herself. “I keep forgetting how good you are at spotting these things…”

Carrot sighed and passed a hoof over her eyes. “Look, I’m sorry I blew up a little there, but you’re not making this easy on me. So if you don’t have an offer, and as long as you know that my nation is going to be a tough nut to crack than you thought, then my job is done.”

She turned to leave, but Ditzy stopped her short with a tap on her shoulder. “I never said that we couldn’t make a deal. In fact, I wasn’t planning on attacking north at all. You can even have Pferdreich back, if you want it.”

Carrot Top didn’t bother to hide her suspicion. “What’s the catch?”

“You just have to do one thing for me, and I promise to leave you alone.”

Ditzy slid the second piece of paper across the table and Carrot picked it up. She glanced over it warily, then once more with much more intensity. There wasn’t much written on it, but it still took her a third once over to make completely sure she wasn’t reading it wrong.

She looked up incredulously. “This? This is all you want?”

Ditzy nodded. “That’s all.”

“And if I do this, you’ll leave me alone for the rest of the game?”

“I promise.”

“Why.” Carrot Top asked flatly.

Ditzy grinned and shook her head. “That’s going to have to be a surprise for now. Do we have a deal?”

Carrot bit her lip, but for the moment there was nothing she could do. “Alright, fine. I’ll do it.”

The two of them shook hooves to seal the deal and Ditzy left the table. Carrot Top stayed where she was and turned her attention to the board, where a number of new moves were already flashing through her mind. This could explain a few things… no, this could explain a LOT of things. But when did she have the time to set it up? If I’m right, then this game is about to change.

She took up the paper with Ditzy’s request and ripped it into confetti, making sure to gather each little piece.

…

Twilight had mostly given up on getting anymore shelving done today, simply picking an interesting book and settling at the head of the table. Despite herself she found she was frequently pricking an ear in the others’ direction, picking up snippets of whispered conversation here and there.

They’re picking up on it quickly, she thought to herself, having caught about half of Carrot Top and Ditzy’s talk just now. Even I’m not sure how this is going to go anymore. I almost don’t believe that this is their first time playing. However, it’s hard to imagine this is going to end well. I mean, if…

Her train of thought was derailed as she noticed somepony walking up to her with a familiar expression on her face. Ah. I was wondering who’d be the first.

“How are you holding up?” Raindrops asked, shooting an interested look at her book for a moment. “Got a second?”

“I’m doing alright, and sure. What do you need?” Twilight replied politely.

Raindrops tilted her head back, thinking of how she wanted to approach this. “Well, I was just wondering what the rules of this game say about what the rules-keeper can do.”

“Technically, the game isn’t supposed to have a pony doing my job,” Twilight clarified. “You all are supposed to read your own orders. Which makes me just a helpful spectator, I suppose.”

“So you could help the players, if you wanted to?” Raindrops asked, honestly curious.

“Well yes, technically. But I think it would be best for me to remain an impartial judge.”

“Doesn’t stop you from commenting on your orders when you read them.” Raindrops pointed out. Twilight blushed, unable to deny that fact. “Now, I’ve noticed that Cheerilee usually gets her orders to you a little bit before the round ends. Sometimes Lyra does, too. It would be a big help to have even a quick look at them, if there were time.”

Twilight leaned back a little and regarded the pegasus with a calculating eye. “But why would I do that?”

Raindrops was silent for a little bit, weighing her words. Then she said softly, “Did you know about the big storm scheduled for the end of the week?”

Twilight nodded cautiously. “It’s going to be a big one, I hear.”

“Lots of lightning, heavy winds, and rain falling so hard it might as well be hail.” Raindrops continued in that same still voice. “Big tree like this might get damaged, if you’re not careful. It would be a shame if, say, a stray bolt weren’t properly contained. Or if some tree branch were to smash through you bedroom window. Lot of things can happen in a storm that size.”

Twilight nodded and did her best to hide her sudden smile. Heh, is she trying for Night Court or Mafiosa? Shame, I was hoping she’d go the other route. A few extra bits would've been nice right about now…

Apparently she hadn’t hid her smile well enough, because Raindrops blushed a little bit. “What’s so funny?”

Twilight mentally admonished herself and shook her head. “Nothing, it’s just you reminded me of my brother for a bit there. And you know… I might not remember to place turned in papers face down this turn. I can be surprisingly forgetful sometimes.”

Raindrops nodded sagely, but couldn’t suppress a little triumphant smile creeping over her features. “Your brother plays a little aggressively?”

“That’s nothing,” Twilight confided, “One time, my mom offered me a whole tray of cookies to leave the West Dune Sea alone…”

…

“Are you sure you don’t need any help dealing with her?” Trixie asked.

Ditzy waved away the offer. “No, I’ve got a plan. Between my air force in Canterlot and the two out here in the peninsula, I’ve got more than enough to push her out of my territory.”

“But Lyra has two units for you to worry about.” Trixie pointed out. She tapped her chin thoughtfully. “You know… maybe I can send my army down there to help you? I can have this one down in the East Skyshaper peaks this turn, and then we can team up.”

Ditzy smiled and placed her hooves on both of her friend’s shoulders, turning her to face her directly. “Trixie, I trust you with a lot of things. I trust you with the safety of the town. I trust you with my home. I trust you with my life. I trust you with my child’s life. But I just don’t trust you with the East Skyshaper Peaks.”

Trixie put on the saddest face she could, all big eyes and trembling lips, but Ditzy was a mother and therefore long immune to the trick. Trixie scowled and tried to cover for it. “Wouldn’t have worked anyway, I suppose. But if Carrot’s air force flees down that way, you’ll have the two of them running around at your back. What are you going to do about that?”

“I’ve got a plan,” she repeated, shrugging. “And we’re running out of time in the round. How did you want to handle getting your Konja back?”

Ditzy picked up her map and pointed out spots as she spoke. “I can attack Latigo with support from Coronetto, while the one in Caneighda can attack Hyasanguia with support from Canterlot. Even if she used one to support the other this round, that’ll disrupt it. Easy pickings.”

The unicorn nodded in agreement. “Yes, that’ll work for now. And then I can just send my air force in after you.”

“On the subject of air forces, what are you planning with Carrot Top’s?” Ditzy inquired. “It could take Markovo if you don’t do something.”

“Not if I send my army there first,” Trixie said with a grin, tapping Ditzy’s map. “And I can replace it with my air force from Genosse if she anticipates the move. Let her take Genosse instead, it doesn’t have a supply center…” Trixie trailed off and unconsciously lifted a hoof to her ear for a second before catching herself and lowering it. 

Ditzy blinked and leaned in conspiratorially. “That Cheerilee? What’s happening?”

Trixie motioned for her to be quiet for a bit, and then frowned. "She says she overheard Raindrops talking to Twilight about something. She says she’ll tell us what if… huh. She wants you to leave Pferdreich!”

The unicorn shot a startled look over her shoulder, but Cheerilee was obstinately looking the other way and she couldn’t see her expression. She scowled and started to say something harsh into her earring, but Ditzy stayed her with a touch.

“It’s all right. Tell her I’ll do it. I want to know what she’s found out.”

…

“So all you have to do it let me have Naqah back and I’ll tell you.” Cheerilee said sweetly.

Lyra debated her options, looking back to her map several times, but whatever tidbit the schoolteacher had dug up was almost certainly worth the price. “Oh, all right. I’ll do it.”

She pulled out her paper and wrote down an order on it where they could both see. Cheerilee checked it to make sure it was good and frowned thoughtfully.

“You’re sending your army to Heyuktan? I thought you’d just defend Pte instead. What are you doing with the piece that was already there?”

Lyra shook her head and snapped her notebook closed. “The payment was one piece of info for another, not anything else. Besides, it’s an air force. It can’t stop your army without help. Now what did you overhear?”

Cheerilee pursed her lips but let the subject slide. She glanced around and leaned in closer, dropping her voice to a whisper. “Twilight is going to let Raindrops see the moves of anypony who turns in their orders early.”

“What?” Lyra said, unable to keep the surprise from her voice. “Why would she possibly do that?”

“Apparently, because Raindrops threatened to destroy the library if she didn’t.”

Lyra didn’t have any quick response to that, simply staring in shook for a little while. “But… that doesn’t sound like something she’d do! She’s better than that!”

Cheerilee shrugged, but there was also a look of concern in her eye. “I don’t know what to tell you. That’s most of what I heard. I mean, look at Twilight. She doesn’t look all that upset, so maybe I didn’t hear the full story. I was just thinking that we should all play it safe and wait for the last possible moment to turn in our orders.”

Lyra frowned in thought and looked hard at the other unicorn. As she did, Cheerilee noted that her eyes strayed towards the hourglass for the span of a second before snapping back. Interesting. That’s the third time she’s checked the time since we’ve been talking.

The musician suddenly stood up and casually walked back to the table. “I’m not liking what this game is doing to us.”

Cheerilee cocked her head to the side and followed. “What do you mean?”

Lyra gestured vaguely around the room as they reached the table. Carrot Top and Raindrops were deep in whispered conversation by the staircase, but the two of them were doing their best to keep from coming into close contact with the other. Trixie sat on the other side of the room, writing something in her notebook and shooting distrusting glances up at the others every few seconds. Ditzy as also by herself, hovering in the air by one of the bookcases. The grey pegasus flinched noticeably when Twilight passed under her and kept one eye on her until she walked away.

“Everypony is getting jumpy and suspicious. Does this even feel like a game anymore? I’m just afraid one of us is going to take it too seriously and say something they’re going to regret.”

“I’m sure it’s not all that bad,” Cheerilee said, politely taking a look around the room as indicated. She also noted out of the corner of her eye that Lyra slipped a folder paper out from under the game board as she did so. “We’re all just intent on the game. Aren’t you having fun?”

“Not as much as I could be,” Lyra sigh, glancing down into the paper and tucking it into her notebook, “But I can hold until the end at least.”

“That’s good.” Cheerilee pulled Lyra into a hug which the mint unicorn returned after a startled second.

“Thanks for the warning. I’ve still got something to do while there’s time, so see you at the table in a few minutes.” Lyra spun around and headed for the relative privacy of the kitchen area, already writing something down in her notebook with her magic.

Cheerilee watched her go until she was sure it was safe and then held up the folded piece of paper she had stolen during the hug. She flipped it open and studied what was written there. It didn’t take her too long, as it was only five words, but their meaning eluded her. She couldn’t make any outward reaction to her confusion, though, lest she give away that the paper wasn’t hers.

Trixie however, standing directly behind her in the safety of her invisibility spell while taking care of maintaining the illusion of herself in the corner, had no such problems. She twisted her head in confusion and stared after Lyra in open distrust. What in the wide world is Plan Buck-All is go supposed to mean?

…

Twilight shot an apologetic look at Raindrops and shook her head to clear her mind of distractions. “Alright, time to get underway. Sorry it took so long this time, there was a lot to go though.”

“Just get going with it.” Raindrops grumbled, glaring around the table and anypony unlucky enough to catch her eye. For some reason, all of the others had waited until the very end of the round to turn in anything. It had turned into a tense game of chicken, of which the weather pony had lost. With twenty seconds to spare Raindrops had scowled and scratched out a few lines, turning them in literally seconds before the rest. 

“Right,” Twilight said, unruffled, “Then let’s start down south. Raindrops’s air force finally leaves the Sargasso Sea, making out for the Sea of Neighrobi while her navy squats on the West Dune Sea, claiming it. Her army scoots into Aplaclan with the support of her other air force, but Lyra’s army didn’t attempt to take it. Instead, it went down into Intiq.”

“Attacking me again?” Raindrops growled archly, “Or is this another bluff?” Lyra shrugged noncommittally and turned back to the board.

Twilight clucked her tongue against her cheek before continuing. “Finishing up the tapir’s turn, their last navy entered the Azure Reaches unopposed.”

Carrot Top frowned. “Didn’t Lyra have a piece there? Where did it go?”

Twilight flipped to another page. “Looks like it landed in Cavallia, claiming the supply center.”

“Oh, bad luck there. But there was nothing you could do.” Trixie said, only half gloating as she laid a consoling hoof on Ditzy’s wing. Ditzy oddly didn’t react badly, merely smiling softly and gesturing for the librarian to go on.

“Cheerilee sent her army into her capitol and reclaimed it,” Twilight said, “And Lyra’s army seemed to beat a retreat from it, traveling to Heyuktan. However, her air force that had been there went north and stole Ard, so the camels don’t gain anything this round.”

The smile that had been growing on Cheerilee’s face died away.

“Ditzy’s piece in Pferdreich made a surprising move and left it for Heststed, rather than staying and gaining control of the space. Both Carrot Top’s and Cheerilee’s army made an attempt for the spot, but Cheerilee’s attack was supported from Paardveld. This would have ended two to one in the camel’s favor… but Ditzy’s army in Broncordia attacked Paardveld, cutting off its support action. This means it was one on one, so no one moves and the elks retain Pferdreich.”

Cheerilee was in full frown now, eyes boggling at the board as she tried to figure out where she’d gone wrong. The rest of the table sent grudgingly admiring looks Carrot’s way. She shrugged sheepishly under their silent praise.

“Further north,” Twilight continued, “The pony army in Breidas broke for Elnias, rather than go for the unprotected Elkheim. And the stalemate on the Hivri-Haupstadt border continues with all four pieces defending their respected spaces.

“Lyra’s piece in Hyasanguia stays put and tries to take it from the ponies. Meanwhile, Ditzy’s army next to it in Caneighda… sits still as well, letting Lyra’s piece do its thing.”

There was a general intake of breath as almost every pony at the table gasped at the same time.

“Ditzy’s air force on the other side, in canterlot, chose to travel north towards Xenophon.”

“Wait a minute, why would you let her do that?” Trixie asked the pegasus sitting next to her. Ditzy just continued to smile.

“At the same time, Ditzy’s army in Konja attacked and claimed Markovo, with support from Carrot Top’s air force in Kaunus.”

Trixie spun a confused look of horror at the scorekeeper. “WHAT?!”

“Trixie had tried to move her own army into Markovo, but with the added support she was outnumbered and her piece couldn’t move. This means that her air force, which had been trying to move behind it into Poronajsk, doesn’t get to move either. At the same time Lyra’s air force attacked Gryphos from the ocean, stealing it from the griffons.”

“No!” Trixie shouted, pushing up from the table in her agitation. “This can’t be happening!”

“Lyra’s last piece,” Twilight pressed on mercilessly, at least in the eyes of the stricken blue unicorn, “moved north and claimed Konja from Ditzy… with the support of Ditzy’s own air force in Coronetto.”

“BETRAYAL!!!!” Trixie screamed.

“And that’s it for the round!” Twilight said, speaking loud enough to override Trixie’s sudden tantrum. “And at the end of the tally Raindrops gained one territory, Cheerilee lost one, Ditzy and Trixie both lost two, and Lyra gained a whooping four! Choose which pieces to add or take off, and we’ll start the next round in a minute.”

“It can’t end like this!” Trixie screeched.

Lyra and Ditzy, meanwhile, broke into huge grins and reached across the table to hoofbump. “Go Plan Buck-All!”

…

And so it was that the tide of the war fell irreversibly in the favor of the proud Buffalo Tribe. The might of Equestria drove forward with abandon, sacrificing themselves in suicidal attacks that tied up the forces for the Griffon Kingdoms and blocking them at every turn. And right at the pony’s backs came the buffalo, an inevitable wave that laid claim to every country the ponies cleared. In the heart of their own lands the ponies surrendered to the invading buffalo without a fight, simply allowing them to take as they pleased.

A valiant attempt was made by the seafaring tapirs to stem the tide, but by then it was too late. The Tribes had far too many supply centers, gained from the ponies and the griffons, and their armies outnumbered the brave tapirs in all encounters. The camels, far too weak to offer much resistance, collapsed from the inside out as a single force of pony fliers led the buffalo from victory to victory over the Caliphate. Far north, the elks tightened their ranks and held their ground, putting up such a front that the war simply passed them over without even once encroaching on their territory.

And so, after seven years and with more than half of the world under their control, the buffalo won the war.

> Game End
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

“Wow, it’s already so late!” Cheerilee said, craning back her neck to get a good look at the moon in the night sky. “Hard to believe we’ve been playing for more than four hours. It just flew by!”

“We must have just been concentrating too much to notice,” Raindrops said, closing the door to the library behind the six of them. Inside, Twilight was already turning off the lights as she turned in for the night.

Trixie stamped her hoof petulantly. “I still can’t believe the two of you turned on me like that! How long were you working together behind my back?”

“Since the middle of the second year,” Ditzy admitted, laughing a little at still referring to the turns as ‘years’. “I asked Twilight how Diplomacy usually ends and she told me that it’s nearly impossible for a single player to win on their own. Usually two or three nations team up together and combine to create the number needed to win.”

“And when Ditzy approached me with the idea,” Lyra continued, “I leapt on it. Because…”

Lyra stopped walking and the others politely waited for her to gather her thoughts. When Lyra spoke again, it was in a soft tone unlike her usually bubbly self. “I didn’t like what the game was doing to each of us. We were becoming far too comfortable with doing anything to gain an advantage. There were threats and blackmail and… it was just an ugly atmosphere. I felt like I was walking on eggshells the whole time. It felt awful.”

Cheerilee was first over to give the unicorn a hug, but she wasn’t the last. “Don’t worry about it, the game’s over. And we’re all still friends.”

“Well said!” Ditzy said.

Raindrops smiled ruefully. “Closer than I would have liked, to be honest.”

Cheerilee laughed at that. “Indeed. No wonder it’s known as the little Night Court. It was turning us into something ugly.”

“I don’t think that was it at all.” Carrot Top said thoughtfully. The others all turned their attention to her and waited.

“Ditzy said it just now, most ponies can only win if they work together with somepony else. But this game simply makes it too easy to get tricked, so most ponies would naturally be suspicious of anypony trying to help them. And it’s too easy for these tricks to be discovered with the game board out there for all to see. In order to win, the most important thing you need is to swallow your suspicion and believe somepony. The game teaches us that the only way to win is to trust.”

The six of them were silent for several moments, just absorbing that thought. Then Cheerilee smiled widely and bowed her head. “I think you’re exactly right.”

Raindrops nudged the farmer in the shoulder, grinning. “You’ve been pretty insightful all around tonight. Maybe you’ve found a new calling?”

Carrot Top paled at the thought. “Oh Luna, NO! I haven’t had a night this stressful since I faced down Grogar!”

There was a round of amicable laughter and Cheerilee held up her hoof. “Despite everything, this was fun! Want to do it again next week?”

“Sure,” Trixie said immediately, “But next time, let’s play something else. Like, anything else!”

> Appendix A
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

While the story is over, there was one part of its creation that I wanted to share. Between my two stories I had twelve separate players I needed to balance, and to help myself not go crazy I gave each pony a different play-style to use in the game. Here is the list of styles used in this story:

Cheerilee was playing as The Chess Master. The Chess Master is the stereotypical Diplomacy player most people think about when you talk about Diplomacy. This player prefers to sit in the shadows, offering deals and opportunities to whomever is unwise enough to listen. By forging alliances and secret plans, the Chess Master can maneuver their own allies into compromising positions, often while making the wounded party think it was their own idea. A cunning strategist, the Chess Master starts the game with a plan and does everything in their power to stick to it.

Trixie Lulamoon was playing as The Obvious Chess Master. The Obvious Chess Master is similar to the Chess Master in all but one way, they aren't very good at hiding it. Anyone who's played with a manipulative player before will know that this person has many sneaky tricks up their sleeve, and a good player can use this to their advantage. Surrendering the benefit of secrecy, this player makes overt attempts to control other players... and usually gets them to do what they want anyway. Want another player to head south? The Obvious Chess Master will make a big show of trying to trick them north, and act all "disappointed" when their opponent goes south instead. Extremely hard to pull off effectively for an entire game, but if a situation isn't going in your favor, a quick dip into reverse-psychology turns it around more often than not!

Carrot Top was playing as The Brilliant Recluse. The Brilliant Recluse does all the right moves at exactly the right times, and doesn't need to use diplomacy at all to do so. Probably the hardest play style to use, this player uses nothing but the information provided by the board to accomplish their goals. After all, you can learn every possible move the other players are going to make if you study their previous moves. The cost is surrendered all political power, but sometimes this player can gain a reputation for knowing exactly how to solve any problem. Other players often bargain with the Brilliant Recluse for answers to the many issues.

Ditzy Doo was playing as Everyone's Friend. Everyone's Friend doesn't want to get on anyone's bad side, often joining in with whatever play is offered them and can be trusted to follow through with it. Need an ally to take down a stronger player? Everyone's Friend is there for you. Want someone to see what the quiet player is keeping from everyone else? Everyone's Friend is up to the task. Getting a coalition together to further some purpose? Everyone's friend is in, no matter what you're doing. This player is so helpful that almost no other player wants to take them down, often no matter how powerful this player becomes.

Lyra Heartstrings was playing as The Juggler. The Juggler does whatever is best for the immediate future, trusting that enough good moves in the short term will equal a strong victory in the long term. Often this player will have three or four entirely separate plans going at the same time, each one never planned more than two moves ahead and perfectly capable of being abandoned at a moment's notice. The juggler rolls with the punches and the unexpected twists this game can create and it is often extremely hard to judge what they're going to do next. This makes them the single best bluffers in the whole game; not even they know what's going to happen. After all, how do you counter a plan that doesn't exist?

Raindrops was playing as The Sleeping Giant. The Sleeping Giant is a slow player, taking their time while the other players scramble around with their little plans. Usually played by one of the nations in a corner, this player relies on the implied threat that no one else wants them to become an active player. No one is willing to be the first to try and take something from this player, because every piece that this player has is waiting to crush the first person who tries. The Sleeping Giant often gets to do whatever they want, and it usually takes quite a few turns before even the bravest of players tries to tell them otherwise. 

And these aren't all the different possible players there could be. Check out my other story to see a list of six more!