Session 39.0 Ardashir (Minor SPOILERS for season finale. I haven't seen it myself. Nor have I watched any of the previews. But I HAVE been spoiled due to images. And I don't want to be spoiled more. So no commentary please. So read at your own risk.)
"Uh, your majesty," one of the drones dared to approach Queen Chrysalis, holding something small that shone with a dull metallic gleam. Gulping, he held it out towards her. "Did... you want to keep this?"
Chrysalis looked down and saw a small metal figure in the drone's claws. One of her favorite character from the games -- No! My espionage! -- played with that fool Shining Armor and Cadence. She smirked to think of all the ways she'd abused both the game and their idiot hospitality to amuse herself with them.
The smile faded from her chitinous lips as she thought about other things. How she'd angered Cadence -- and sometimes amused everypony else -- by having her half-succubus mage-thief shapeshift into a duplicate of Cadence's character and seduce every stallion in the inn or tavern or whatever. The time her character saved everyone by energy draining to death the wizard who'd captured them. The horrified looks on their faces when she told them afterwards what it felt like to actually do that to somepony still made her laugh.
Fighting alongside them, negotiating with enemies and patrons, scheming how to steal a fortune, daydreaming how she would break Thorax's neck every time she caught a glimpse of him, so many pleasant memories...
She frowned as a new thought hit her: Do I really have to do this? Could I live in peace with them, forever? Do I even want to? I could always forget my plans and...
Live like some stupid cattle? What the TARTARUS am I thinking?
Chrysalis yanked the small figuring up before her eyes and slowly and patiently destroyed it and every single memory connected to it.
"It was nothing," she snapped at the cowering drone. "Never mention that, ever again."
Session 39.1 Mtangalion
Sunset Shimmer sighed, covering her face with a palm. "NO, Dash. You can't enter the CrystalCon World of Horsecraft costume contest like that."
Rainbow Dash tossed her suitcase in the general direction of their hotel suite's closet, pouting. "Aw, come on!" She spun around, displaying her pony ears and mane and wings. "This would be perfect!"
Sunset smirked. "You can't enter the costume contest because that *isn't* a costume!"
Twilight smiled and tapped Rainbow on the shoulder as she walked past. "Feet on the floor, Dash."
Rainbow looked down, then laughed nervously, dropping six inches.
Pinkie Pie came bouncing into the hotel suite after Twilight. "Well, I think it's great that we can walk around ponied up in front of everypony... whoops, I mean every human! ... and fit right in!"
Sunset grinned. "Well, yes, there is that." She focused, sprouting glowing pony ears and a longer mane... AND a pair of wings like Dash's.
Fluttershy gasped, finding the courage to display her own ears and wings for once, even giving Sunset a quick hug. "Sunset, that's amazing! You finally did it! I know you worked really hard on that."
"Well, yeah..." Sunset blushed. "I knew they had to be in there somewhere."
Rarity rushed right over. "Congratulations, darling! Now, if only I could get my telekinesis working again, instead of just these diamond shield things..."
Applejack entered the room last, carrying most of the rest of their luggage without breaking a sweat. "Hey, y'all. Look who Ah found."
Gilda knocked on the half-open door, then strolled on in, turning sideways to squeeze her big griffon wings and tail through. "Hey. Welcome to Griffonstone." She reached into her leather jacket and and held out a fan of paper slips, grinning. "Employee-discount CrystalCon tickets. Did I come through, or what?"
"Thanks, Gilda! You sure did!" Dash's face lit up. "Ooh! What if I double-ponied-up to super crystal guardian mode?"
Sunset frowned, hands on her hips. "Still not a costume, and... seriously? You're going to call it that?"
"Double pony-up?" Gilda started to ask.
But Pinkie was already bouncing in place again. "Ooh, Twilight, you should triple-pony-up and evolve into your ultimate awesome super raven goddess form, now that you know it's not evil and all that Midnight Sparkle stuff was just in your head!"
Twilight groaned. "Pinkie! I'm not a PonyMon!"
Rarity made her way over to their confused friend. "You must excuse us, Gilda. We had quite the adventure at summer camp. I'm not even sure where to begin explaining. What about you, darling? I thought that surely you'd bring Gerold with you."
Gilda scratched the back of her neck. "Well... he's got griffon stuff to do, I've got human stuff to do... We're gonna meet up again in a month and, well, see what happens! You know how it is."
"Ah don't think any of us rightly do know," said Applejack sympathetically. "Except Flash maybe, and he still hasn't come back from over there. Ya know you can always talk to us if ya need to, right? Yer mixed up in this Equestria business too now, same as us."
Gilda hesitated, twitching her wings. "You guys... Heh." She smiled. "You're alright."
Rainbow Dash clapped Gilda on the shoulder, then dug in her pocket for change. "Who wants a soda from the machine down the hall?" She flung their door open, and nearly barged right into a bipedal wolf wearing a vest and a choker with a big plastic gemstone. "Ahhh! Stay back! I'm warning you..."
The "wolf" backpedaled in a hurry, raising big fluffy paws. "Calm down! Is only..." She turned around quickly, so they wouldn't see her taking her mask off, then faced them again, just a ordinary girl in a fursuit with pale skin and soft gray hair. "A costume, see?" She tilted her head to one side. "Huh. You were really scared?!" The strange girl beamed at them. "Alisa will take that as a compliment."
Rainbow stared. "Wow, you made a whole fancy costume like this, when it's still just a rumor that there's gonna be playable Diamond Dogs?"
Gilda suddenly developed a remarkably catty expression. She covered her mouth, but her snickers still made Rainbow's pony ears twitch. "You... Wait a minute. You're a tester for CrystalSoft!"
"Ya only just now remember that?" drawled AJ.
Rainbow grabbed Gilda, wings fully spread. "Oh my gosh! How long have you known what the new World of Horsecraft expansion races are and NOT TOLD US?!"
"Dashie, Dashie," said Gilda smugly. "You know I'd be so fired if I leaked stuff. Just wait a couple hours, and they'll announce everything."
Alisa poked Rainbow's right wing, eyes wide. "How are you moving those? Alisa doesn't see any strings."
Rainbow gulped, freezing in place.
"No, don't tell Alisa. She'll have lots of fun figuring it out!" She waved bye, wolf mask already back in place, and went prowling off down the hall.
Sunset Shimmer shrugged. "Well, I suppose it's too late to ditch our 'costumes' now."
Session 39.2 BrutalityInc
Continued from Session 38.10
King Metamorphosis worried about what his father is planning, this time.
In the Changelings' world, each hive have their own laws, but there are no laws governing the entirety of the Summer Court; only conventions and precedents set by their father or his Firstborns. While he had never explicitly forbid contact with other races, save for the Others, it was expected that no one break the masquerade.
Knowledge was power, and it was to be guarded well. Even the slightest knowledge – knowledge that could expose weaknesses, flaws that could exploited – could be all that makes or breaks the greatest beings, and cast him or her down to nothing from the epitomes of power. If you are an unknown to your enemies, real or potential, no one can possibly hope to stop you.
And none are more an adherent to that philosophy than the Changeling Emperor Blackthorn, father of the Changeling Kings and progenitor of the other great branch of Changeling-kind, as Changeling Empress Blackrose is to her Changeling Queens and their changeling subjects in the Spring Court. A schemer with many inscrutable plans and designs that could span centuries, millennia, he is not for one to leave anything to chance, or stand for anyone, or anything, that could throw a spanner into his works.
Even Metamorphosis understood the logic behind his father, and his kind's, obsession with secrecy and the masquerade, and went along with upholding it. So imagine Metamorphosis' surprise when his father suddenly wanted him to make contact with the Equestrians.
It had been so unthinkable. After all these ages, why now?
Metamorphosis remembered when he told him...
===
In a Las Pegasus hotel's restaurant, a father and son were having a conversation in a private booth, far from any prying ears.
"So, Metamorphosis, I recall that you have desires for our people to connect with other races." Blackthorn said casually, drifting from the topic of their previous discussion. This time, he was wearing the form of an earth-pony, wearing a more modern blue ballroom suit.
The impeccably dressed maroon unicorn in front of him almost dropped his wine glass and gaped in shock. Experience gained from centuries of mixing among the high societies of the classist Equestrian gentry and the cut-throat Summer Court was the only thing that allowed him to rein in those unconscious impulses.
"We... understand that you desire us to maintain minimum contact in order to ensure other races do not jeopardize our interests." Metamorphosis replied cautiously, evenly, maintaining his composure.
What he said was true, but in such a way that he hoped would be acceptable to his father, while maintaining plausible deniability of saying anything that could undermine his position. Words matter in the Courts of the Changelings regardless of the Seasons, after all.
While it is true that he had always wanted to connect – or in case of Changeling Kings like him, re-connect – with the rest of the world and interact in a less belligerent manner, he had wisely kept such thoughts to himself. It was taboo; saying such things in the Summer Court wasn't just a sign of weakness, but outright treason, at least in the eyes of the other Changeling Kings.
Many of those short-sighted, scheming, conniving and ambitious bastards hated him enough as it is; he didn't want to give them a legitimate excuse go to war against his hive and try to kill him. Father knows how many Changeling Kings he had out-witted and offed in the last two centuries. Even in the presence of his father, he refused to lower his guard.
And yet, his father seemed to see through it perfectly.
"Now, now, Metamorphosis... You're not in the presence of your brothers. You're in the presence of me." His father told him, almost reassuringly, "Do you truly think you'll be reprimanded for something that I know for a very long time? It wasn't truly a question, but feel free to answer it."
"... Yes, father, I had such... opinions." Metamorphosis said finally, having judged, correctly, that it wasn't a test of his loyalty and character. Quietly, he was both relieved, and wondering if he is truly this transparent.
"You seemed surprised..." The flawlessly disguised progenitor smirked, taking a sip of vintage wine from his crystal glass goblet before continuing, "But there are few things in the Summer Court that escape my notice. Of all your brothers, you are the only one who did everything possible to maintain your connections with your mortal past. Not even the rest of your associates in the Tetrarchy bothered with such things, having long ago casted them aside. How else could you alone, of all your brothers, had ruled over your hive and subjects with compassion?"
The disguised Changeling King looked down, his expression neutral. Even so, Blackthorn could sense the melancholy in his changeling heart, "It's... what my mother would had wanted."
His father nodded, "And I tolerated it because when the situation requires it, you never let it stop you from doing what is necessary. And because of this, I can entrust you to run my errands more than any one of your brothers, to never twist it to advance your interests ahead of mine or the Court as a whole. This Includes the task that I am about to have you perform."
Metamorphosis was no fool. From the way the conversation was going, there was only one thing, one task, that he could had meant.
"You wish me to make official contact with the other races, and break the masquerade?" Metamorphosis asked.
"With the Equestrians, specifically." His father clarified, "They are the most open-minded and welcoming of the mortal races, as are their immortal rulers. Why else do you think the Others of the Spring Court, apart from the conniving one, would approach them first when they undid their masquerade?"
Metamorphosis nodded. It was the perfect choice; it was the only choice.
"And the other Kings...?" Metamorphosis dared to ask.
"They will not interfere." Blackthorn assured, "I will not allow it."
"Then it shall be done."
And yet... a question nagged him.
"If it is my place to ask, father." He began carefully. At the lack of any rebuke, he continued, "May I inquire as to why we are taking such... an unprecedented chance?"
There was an audible crack, and Metamorphosis saw fracture lines had suddenly appeared on his father's crystal glass, near the rim. His father had stopped smiling, too. For a brief moment, the ancient being's seemingly immovable composure seem to slip, ever so slightly.
What Metamorphosis sensed behind it terrified him to the core.
"Let's just say." Blackthorn said in a low, even voice, before taking another sip of wine, "Our hooves had been forced."
===
Metamorphosis shuddered what powerful beings – and what those beings did – could had made his father change a course he had maintained for literally ages. One thing he's certain is that he doesn't want to know what his father's full response would be.
Another thing he was certain of is that, one way or another, he can turn this to his advantage. He would find new openings and opportunities this development can offer for new plans.
Like the games he's playing with Princess Twilight and her friends.
On the surface, it appeared to be just ordinary reverie between newly-made friends, with rounds of Xiangqi and Go (Both normal and Changeling variant, for the latter) between them. And for most part, it really is for both King Metamorphosis and Princess Twilight. They had discovered common interests, shared stories, and talked occasionally about their personal matters (At least, for Metamorphosis, as little as he is willing to indulge without giving too much away).
But as with all things, looks can be deceiving.
Through these games, and their conversations, he had learned much about the three mares before him, and not just their personal histories or achievements; no Royal Changeling worth their skills would not have already acquire such mundane information. Not that they're that well-guarded to begin with, what with their publicity as national heroines.
No... The information he gathered in person were more valuable. Through these games and conversation, he can learn in person their capabilities, potential or otherwise; the breadth of their knowledge, the limits of their skills, their preferences and interests, their lines of thinking, their personality quirks, their mental and emotional stabilities, their cognitive biases...
Now, at least he recognizes that this was more than a simple diplomacy for his father and the rest of the Court; this is an intelligence-gathering operation. In a single afternoon he had learnt more about their strengths and weaknesses than he and other Changeling Kings had in the last few years, backed by entire hives' worth of resources and infiltrators.
If they ever had to work together, this information could easily be used to help optimize their joint operative capabilities to their maximum potential. And if they had to work against each other – something that King Metamorphosis sincerely don't want to happen, but not foolish enough to discount – this information could be used to undermine and defeat them, with sufficiently ruthless and thorough planning.
Knowledge is truly powerful, indeed.
Perhaps, they too are secretly scrutinizing him as he is with them (One doesn't survive long in the Summer Court without a healthy dose of paranoia), but they likely didn't go as far and deep in analysing him as he is trying to do. He has already painting a clear picture of the three mares before him:
Princess Twilight was obviously intelligent, and extremely knowledgeable; when driven by her curiosity, she could rapidly assimilate new knowledge and apply it with what she knows. She maintains a healthy relationship with her friends, serving as an effective leader with her intelligence and wisdom, allowing her band to be a rather effective team that could overcome many obstacles.
But from his conversations and gameplay with her, it's evident her mindset is rather rigid, and her wisdom leaves something to be desired. She is compelled to order and preference for familiarity, likely a result of a sheltered learning environment and obsessive-compulsive personality. Much of the knowledge she learnt is theoretical, and when it comes to application, she is overly cautious, preferring slow, steady construction of a solid ground-work before moving on the greater works. She is also very dependent on her friends when it comes to solutions to more practical matters.
In essence, she can easily master what she learnt far better than any normal ponies, but initial exposure for anything apart from magic, of which she's indisputably the best, would be initially confounded by her obsessive need to account for every detail before application, or her inability to cope with the information if it severely conflicts with her ingrained worldview. Put her in a situation where she can't call upon her friends, or confronted with an outside context problem...
Starlight Glimmer's villainous past had significantly coloured her personality, and stifled her maximum potential. She lacked creativity; her strategies when playing Xiangqi or Go are too stiff, by the book, and inflexible, preferring to grand plans that leaves no room for error or unpredictable changes, something which could easily happen, both in game and in real life. Put her in a situation with changing circumstances, like he had done during Xiangqi, she might not be able to cope very well.
It speaks of some-pony who is unused to solving problems on under constrained circumstances, or never needed to. Make sense, given her magical prowess: she is indeed powerful, certainly not to Princess Twilight's level, but is exemplary for most ponies. Preliminary intelligence reports show she possessed versatile ability to wield various spells, from mind control, transfiguration, teleportation, to even – if he heard correctly – time travel. Although due to her creative sterility, much of it requires building on what is already known; she couldn't be expected to invent or create new magic like Starswirl and Princess Twilight had. But the main point remains: she's used to simply magic her way through her problems instead of taking time and effort to SOLVE it properly.
Add to that her difficulty in making friends, what with her slow progress with ‘friendship lessons' noted in her conversation, and he realized she's likely to be a poor leader or team-player as well (Not surprising, given her previous forte as a domineering cult leader and principle zealot). Put her in a situation where she couldn't use magic, or constantly changing circumstances, compounding her inability to communicate or efficiently coordinate with any potential ally...
Make no mistake, however; she has much potential. Her guilt and fear of relapsing to villainy must be what's holding her back. If she can get past it, she has the ability to become much more effective.
And then there's Trixie Lulamoon.
King Metamorphosis more or less painted her as the most skilled player out of the three ponies, and possibly the most dangerous mare in the room were it not for Twilight's knowledge or Starlight's potential. Having already possess prior experience of the games is one thing, but what was more important was one simple fact...
"So, I take it that your father, the Changeling Emperor, was the Prince from Hearts and Hooves Day, yes?"
She thinks outside the box.
That question almost made him stumble – although he didn't show it outwardly. A cautious eye would had noted how he seemed to suddenly pause for a second, whilst moving a Xiangqi piece, before continuing. No doubt, she would had noticed.
She smirked; yes, definitely noticed, and the possibilities over why she might had asked said question, besides the sensitivity/boldness of such a topic, has further derailed his train of thought, and affected his ability to see through her stratagems and plot an appropriate response. Most likely her plan all along; and that's what made her so dangerous.
As her irreverence to both him and her friend Princess Twilight shown, she has no respect for authority or rules that exists; and if anything, she seems to delight in trying to bend the rules or take those on high down a peg.
In effect, this means she also has no respect for any established ways of thinking.
She was unorthodox; almost like the uprooted, drifting life that she lived which would had spawned it. Her experience as a stage magician makes her far better at reading people than both Princess Twilight and Starlight, allowing her to easily assess what work and what doesn't and plan accordingly. The constant requirement for unpredictability and improvisation in her business make her highly adaptable to the changing circumstances. In the game, she doesn't constrain herself to merely attacks on the board; all avenues of attack were acceptable for her; banter as distractions, cheap shots as feints; whatever achieve results are valid, and this unscrupulous trickster would use every trick in the book, dirty or otherwise, to succeed.
That might explain why, where Starlight lost her match with him, and where he and Princess Twilight played to a draw, she was the one who was winning the match against him at 2 to 1. And the only reason she lost one to begin with is because she was caught cheating and gracefully conceded as recompense – a cheat that he didn't even noticed initially.
She was neither as powerful or as knowledgeable as Starlight or Princess Twilight, but she was adaptable, flexible, original, and capable of achieving greater outcomes with significantly less resources. Her only flaws were her own pride, which could blind her to her own genuine mistakes – but that was something which all three mares possess at varying levels – and her impulsiveness, which sometimes inhibit her ability to plan on long term.
Too bad she is content with just being a stage magician; he can just imagine what she could accomplish if she applied such skills for a greater purpose. She should had been born a changeling, or perhaps the leader of her own group of Elements of Harmony. Maybe she is, in another life...
"To answer your question, lady Lulamoon; yes, that is correct. Although until recently, few had known that the story itself is even real." King Metamorphosis replied. Meanwhile, he moved his Cannon piece horizontally from file 8 to file 5, countering Trixie moving her own Cannon piece from file 2 to file 5 "Although with the Others are revealing themselves, I suppose it's inevitable that it wouldn't be long for some-pony with your intuition to discern this fact."
"It wasn't that difficult for Trixie to figure out." Trixie muttered dismissively, even as she advanced her Horse piece by one move from file 2 to file 3, which he countered by advancing one of his own Horse, moving from file 8 to file 7. "Though to be honest, all Trixie did was asking Starlight about the rumors concerning this Empress Blackrose, who is apparently the Mother of all Changeling Queens, and is also apparently the Hearts and Hooves Day Princess. With that in mind, the moment Princess Twilight told us about you being a Changeling King, it doesn't take long to realize who else your father could be. Trixie didn't really believe it until now; it just seems so... extraordinary."
The mere mention of the Changeling Empress of the Spring Court is enough to send a chill down his carapace. He reminded himself to inform them later of the... antagonism between the two great branches/Courts of Changelings, existing on an instinctive level. He didn't let it distract him from his turn, moving a Chariot to file 8 from file 9 to counter Trixie's own Chariot advance.
"A lot of things about the Changelings are extraordinary, and enigmatic." Princess Twilight noted, interrupting their thoughts, "I'm happy we are finally getting to know more about them than ever before, and extend a hoof in friendship."
"That being said, I do have a few more questions concerning that. Namely, if he's your father, does that make Empress Blackrose your mother?" Starlight asked from the side-lines, watching the Xiangqi match with a bag of popcorn.
Now he definitely stumbled, eyes showing genuine shock and dropping the other Chariot piece he was holding. Trixie looked surprised; evidently, she hasn't expected such a response from her opponent.
"No... My apologies, I should had clarified this earlier." To his credit, Metamophosis rallied quickly, moving a Horse forward from file 8 to 7 on the board, "You would recall that the Changeling Queen of Neighpon, Supia, is the result of a relationship between the Changeling Empress with Shogun Uma Akuno. All Changeling Queens of the Spring Court are descended from these relationships with mortals of other races by the Changeling Empress over the ages; and similarly, so it is that the way Changeling Kings of the Summer Court, me included, are descended from our father the Changeling Emperor."
"Is that so?" Starlight asked, "You don't suppose...?"
"If there are any... meetings, between them that could had resulted in children, my father had not deigned to let the rest of the Summer Court know." He shuddered internally at the prospects of what kind of Royal Changeling(s) that could be produced from THAT sort of union – would their power transcend even their parents? "It is believed that after the events that resulted in their transformation into progenitors of the Changelings, they have yet to truly reconcile... It's a sensitive topic in the hives."
"Sorry..." Starlight muttered, then nodded, "And I suppose that makes sense..."
Trixie blew a whistle, whilst moving her own Horse piece "Your mother must be quite remarkable, to catch the attention of a god. How long has it been? Is she even a pony?"
More sensitive questions, all of them distractions to throw him off his game. Yes, they're definitely prying him now, and normally he would ignore them, but for the sake of building trust, however, he would deign to share some of his past history; it's not that they or anyone could take advantage of it even if they want to.
"Yes, she was remarkable." King Metamorphosis recalled. As he did, his expression became sombre, "I was born two hundred years ago." That makes him one of the youngest Kings in the Summer Court was left out, "In a village long since abandoned and left to ruin." Which could mean any abandoned settlement between the Crystal Mountains and the Badlands, "I was raised as a pony, but when I reached maturity, my True Nature manifested itself. Then I found my way to my True Parent, like all Changeling Kings before me, during which I met more of my own kind." It was quite a harrowing story in itself, but that would be left to another time, if ever. "And once I proved my worth, I fully became a King, and founded my own hive. But even so, I never forgotten my mortal mother's love and kindness, and I cherished her memory to this day."
Starlight and Trixie looked at each other with uncertain looks. For her part, Princess Twilight was glaring at them for their tactlessness towards their guest.
"Trixie apologizes; she must had raised some painful memories." Trixie replied, whilst advancing her horse from her 8th file to 7th file.
"It's alright. I understand that you're merely curious."
"Trixie doesn't mean to offend..." Trixie muttered. Then, she grinned, "That said, it has served a very good distraction!"
She moved her Chariot piece across the board, seven points forward – straight into the palace on Metamorphosis' side – almost right next to his Marshal!
Son of the Curser!
Now the full extent of Trixie's play is revealed; while she bantered and talked, she moved her pieces in such a way during the opening that when he moved to counter her, it had opened a hole in his formation of pieces, allowing for a Chariot that he was too distracted to notice to go deep into his lines.
Deceptive play on the board and deception in real life. Done together, he didn't see it coming. Yes, it's indisputable – she's the most dangerous player in the room, as of this moment.
"Pardon if I may sound a bit harsh, your majesty, but for a hive king of a race who excels in deception and secrecy, you seemed to be easily distracted and caught unawares by hidden moves..."
"Trixie!" Princess Twilight admonished.
"What? He should had been able to see it coming..." Trixie defended.
Metamorphosis frowned. He would not let her banter get to him, but she is correct; and now he was in a disadvantaged position, and he saw three possible moves that Trixie could make next to exploit the offensive – moving her Soldier in the 3rd file one point forward, or her Cannon in the 8th file by two points, or her other Chariot in file 6 by five points.
Experience tells him that while her penetration of his ranks was clever, it was also a premature move – her penetrating Chariot is isolated, and apt to face retaliation. Trixie was making a gamble for a quick, decisive victory. And she very well could win – but only if he himself make the wrong counterattack.
He looked ahead and considered the three options: if he moved his Mook in the 3rd file forward, followed by either moving his Chariot on file 6 to file 7, or move his Horse back horizontally from file 7 to file 5. But then Trixie could then put him in a passive position by advancing her Chariot forward, followed by driving her Cannon to the river bank to contain his Chariot and Horse. He would probably have to sacrifice an advancing Mook to compensate, and move one of his Advisors forward to cover his Marshal, but then Trixie could simply counter it by making a few moves with a Soldier, her other Cannon and Chariot to take out several of his exposed pieces, giving her a material advantage, followed by moves that would put her in an advantageous position and eliminate her few remaining weak points, allowing her to advance briskly with impunity.
If he move his Cannon from the 5th file to the 6th, a passive defence, he would weaken his own formation even further, giving Trixie an incentive to push forward, possibly starting with that Soldier on the 5th file, forcing him to strengthen his defence by moving his Advisor on the 6th file forward, or his Cannon on the same file by five points to meet Trixie's advancing Soldier. For either scenario, Trixie could just counter his Advisor with her Chariot, moving it to the 7th file, or her Chariot on the 8th file to the 5th against his Cannon. A series of moves involving advancing her Horse and Chariot, and moving her Cannon horizontally, would exasperate the crisis in his formation, leaving him utterly defenceless and giving Trixie total initiative.
This leaves him with the last option...
He moved his Cannon on file 2 forward by two points, a flexible manoeuvre, with both offensive and defensive options.
Trixie countered it by moving her Soldier on file 7 forward, which he then countered by moving his Cannon to file 8. To maintain the initiative, Trixie played tough, making a few moves which culminate in driving her Horse forward from file 7 to 8 to block the Chariot. A pity; if she had played file 7 to 6 with her Horse, he saw that he would be in a good position to re-ploy his forces in the next few turns to tighten his formation and make a counter-attack earlier.
Later, Metamorphosis pushed one of his Chariots in file 8 forward, which had his desired effect; Trixie moved her Elephant on file 7 to file 9, right to the edge for her defence. Just as planned; now her formation is weakened. He moved his 8th file Chariot forward by another point, beginning his counter-attack: Trixie's countermove with her Soldier on file 3 is countered with him moving his Cannon five points forward. Her attempts to counter it with her own Cannon on file 8 to file 3 is countered by his Chariot from file 8 to 7, then a move by Trixie of her Cannon in file 3 to 4 is countered in turn by him advancing his Chariot forward by three points.
And thus, Trixie found her deceptive play foiled, not only with no advantage gained, but also finding her own position hanging precariously, with her metaphorical backyard ‘on fire' with Metamorphosis' invading pieces.
"As you can see, lady Lulamoon, one should never underestimate a Changeling." King Metamorphosis replied with a small grin.
Trixie looked from the board to him... then grinned back, excited about the challenge she found herself facing.
Yes, for good or ill, they will learn much from each other today.
Session 39.3 Alex Warlorn
Pinkie Pie (thanks to the Cloud Walking Spell) and Rainbow Dash sat in Rainbow's cloud house reading through some back issues of Power Ponies that Rainbow Dash had found, and apparently Spike didn't want them.
The art was full of black shadows and too much shading. The Power Ponies were over muscled, the normal ponies were inherently unattractive, and the bad guys were just plain ugly. The story arc was much the same.
The alien police force Radiance got her power bracelet from turned out to be corrupt to the core, with Radiance having to spent more time with defending herself from assassination attempts from not wanting to 'play ball' with alien conquerers not understanding why she wasn't 'on the take. One alien having had their ears cut off by members of Radiance's own group for their father not giving them stuff for free, with none punished.
Saddle Rager had apparently kill several innocent civilians in her last rampage, which happen every time somepony stepped on a flower.
Fillisecond was certifiably insane and dangerous psychotic and barely kept in check by her teammates.
Mistress Mare-velous beat the tar out of bad guys and clearly got a thrill out of it, and Alfalfis were all worse flank holes, and she'd apparently been the result of a love affair. And they kidnapped foals to increase their numbers.
Zapp tried to conquer the world for some reason after listening to one of her enemies, and apparently wasn't brainwashed.
Masked Matterhorn ... that was better left unsaid. Her being a complete and utter bigot to anything that didn't have hooves was the LEAST nasty thing.
Oh, and they killed off Hum Drum.
"Remember when these comics books were places that ponies wanted to escape TO? Not FROM?" Pinkie Pie asked.
Rainbow Dash shuddered and nodded. Happy they HADN'T paid for the Enchanted Comics addition for these!
Session 39.4 Alex Warlorn
AJ looked at the new dog whistle she'd won in that fairgrounds game. Winona was acting a little unruly lately, so she figure the dog whistle would be a good idea.
'This dog whistle is guaranteed get your pet canine to listen to you as instructed or your money back.'
"Okay ya mutt, listen up." Applejack blew the whistle, heard nothing of course, and Winona kept chasing her tail. "Dangit! I shouldda know it would be that simple, huh, what's on the back? 'Warning: Will not work on stupid canines.' HEY! What horseapples is that? Winona ain't dumb! I bet this thing doesn't even whistle!"
-
'Master upset. No clue why. Come here tail! Me catch you! Me hope big red dog return feelings of wuv soon!'
-
Inside Rarity's house however, Alisa the diamond wolf ... hear the faint whistle... her eyes became pin pricks, and she stood at attention.
"I am listening oh Great Apple."
-
"Winona, roll over... play ball?" Applejack sighed at the lack of reaction from her pet, she knew she trained her better than this! "Fetch the stick!"
-
"As you command oh Great Apple." Waving her arms in a scissor like motions, Alisa ran towards a wall, bumped her nose since she wasn't an Earth Pony and thus not strong enough to break through it, and just went through the window.
-
Applejack sighed. "Oh well, Ah guess there's no substitute to trainin' yer pet. An Apple knows there's no short cuts."
Still with pink prick eyes, Alisa approached Applejack and got to her knees and held up a familiar tuning fork shaped piece of work. "I fetched the stick oh Great Apple."
"Huh?! Alisa?! What the heck? Is this another of your games?"
"What games would you like me to play oh Great Apple?"
"STARLIGHT!" Applejack snapped.
"HEY! Give that back! It lots of happy, I mean bad memories connected to it!" Starlight shouted having teleported to the diamond wolf.
"Starlight! You used that mind control magic AGAIN!?!?!?"
"I SWEAR ON EQUALITY, I MEAN CELESTIA, NO!"
"ALISA! The room was mess! What is going... on?" Rarity came running, with Sweetie Belle right behind.
"Starlight brain-zapped Alisa."
"NO I DIDN'T! Why are you assuming me?! When Discord and Twilight have done it a lot more than me!"
"It is true. Equal Pony did not submit this humble servant, it was the Great Apple." Alisa said.
"HUH!? What did Ah.... yer kiddin'!" AJ looked at the dog's whistle.
"Applejack what is what?!"
"Ah got this here whistle for Winona! But it says it don't work on stupid dogs! That's stupid! Winona's not stupid!"
'HA! Me caught you tail! OW!'
"Wait... so a dog whistle put Alisa in a trace?" Sweetie Belle asked.
"So it seems..." Rarity said waving a hoof in front of Alisa. "What a golden opportunity! I could order her to have a safe word to end her costume games any time I said it, that way I can sure I'm not sharing my feelings with the wrong creature." Rarity then breathed in deep. "BUT! I could never do that! Not when she's vulnerable like this, and not when she showed so much trust in me before, I never could!"
"Okay, I will." Sweetie Belle said. "Applejack, please give Alisa a safe word Rarity can use."
"Applejack, please do not do as I sister just-"
"Alisa! Listen up! Whenever Rarity say 'Rutabaga Flowers Are Better Than Apples', you stop with the costume game, and take off whatever costume yer wearin', got it?"
"I shall do as you command oh Great Apple."
"APPLEJACK!"
"Sorry Rarity, but she imitated one my family when they came for a visit, she crossed a line when we sharing personal stuff." Applejack then blew the whistle.
Alisa's pupils returned to normal. "Apple Pony Not Do That Again!"
"Cross my heart, hope to fly, stick a cupcake in my eye."
Sweetie then snatched the whistle out from around Applejack's neck.
"You're not either!" Rarity said.
"But I haven't one time yet, so I can't do it again."
"Maybe you should sit in with Starlight on Twilight's lessons on, 'why brainwashing ponies is bad.' "
"Ain't that like a fox teaching a chicken-hawk?"
"For Twilight darling it is simply a thing, for Starlight... it is a problem. And Alisa I... where did she?" Rarity sighed. "'Rutabaga Flowers Are Better Than Apples'."
Nearby, Cherry Fizz stopped in his tracks and undid the costume, and Alisa stepped out.
"Alisa! Impersonating a guard?! You want to get arrested?"
"... Sorry."
"Uh! Who wants to play Grabby Grabby Griffins?! I hid a copy in my room!" Sweetie said.