Fifteen mostly silent minutes later, the seven of them gathered around the table once more.
“Ok, guess I’ll get started?” Spike said hesitantly, testing the air.
“Yeah, let’s go!” Rainbow shouted, practically slamming her hooves down on the table, “I know I’ve got it this time!”
Applejack placed a restraining arm around her friend’s wings and pushed her back down into her seat. “Whoa there! Let the little guy do his thing at his own pace, ok?”
Rainbow Dash grunted and settled down reluctantly. The dragon coughed into his claws and shuffled the papers, waiting for everypony to calm down before diving into it.
“I’ll start with Rarity, I guess. All of her air forces move west this turn, going into Kaunas, Latigo, and Coronetto, while her army leaves Gryphos for Ternej. Her other army attacks and takes Hirvi, with the support of the navy in the Iceflow Sea. Applejack, you need to move your army to a new space.”
“Don’t worry, ah planned for this.” Applejack said, pushing the piece into Elnias. “Ah’m not gonna let you keep that, Rarity.”
The fashionista sniffed and said nothing.
“And this time, I won’t be putting down any flags.” Spike said, “Sorry guys, I can’t believe I skipped over the part where you don’t claim territories in Summer turns.”
There was a round of consolidating remarks about how it wasn’t his fault, but they quickly subsided as their attention focused back to the board.
Spike picked up the sheaf of papers again. “Anyway, Rarity’s last navy doesn’t move this time. Applejack’s other units are all retreating north, with her air force going to Breidas and her two armies going to Pferdreich and Elkheim. Her navy doesn’t go anywhere and holds the West Dune Sea.”
“Biding your time?” Twilight asked. The farmer nodded affirmative, and there was no denying the spark of determination in her eye.
“Fluttershy’s actually moving this turn,” Spike continued, “sending her navy out into the Sea of Naqah and one of her armies into Paardveld. Pinkie’s navy moved out of her way, heading up into the North Pellagic Sea. She also moved her navy into the Alpaca Sea with support from the air force in Yana, her army into Ayani, this navy into the Zebrican Sea, and this other Navy abandons Cavallia for the Gulf of Hippopotamia. But I should probably get to Rainbow Dash’s moves at this point.
“Rainbow tried to attack Konikticut with her army in Anojo, with support of her two air forces in Rocinante and the Azure Reaches. But Pinkie attacked the Azure Reaches with her last navy and the support of the air force in the Sea of Neighrobi, cutting it off from supporting this turn and displacing it.”
“Yar, har har har!” Pinkie chortled, striking a pose on her back legs with one hoof raised triumphantly into the air. Her hat had been joined with an eye patch, which had been pulled out of the chimney Twilight had been certain she’d cleaned out just the other day. “Beware my pirate armada!”
“Right…” Spike said slowly before decided to ignore the outburst. “Meanwhile, Twilight’s navy attacked Rocinante with support from Hyasanguia, cutting off support there too. That means that even though Twilight’s army in Konikticut was defending alone, Rainbow’s attack is also alone and therefore fails. Plus you have to move those two pieces.”
Rainbow grumbled and started to push her piece into the Sea of Tranquility, but Spike held up a hand to stop her.
“You can’t actually go into the space the attack came from,” he explained.
“But… but the only other place it can go is…” Rainbow gritted her teeth and placed the unit in tiny Yegua. After a moment of thought she also pushed her other air force into Pinkie’s Cavallia, nearly knocking over the purple flag. “This is bogus! I know I had it right this time…”
“Rainbow’s first army moves into the East Dune Sea,” Spike continued, rushing to get the last of the orders out, “and her last two units both move east into Garanha and Caballeria. And Twilight’s other pieces don’t move, so that’s it.”
“Then let’s get started!” Twilight said, eager to get going. She hooked Applejack by the foreleg and pulled her away from the table. “Come on, you and I need to talk.”
…
“What do you need, Sugarcube?” Applejack asked as soon as they were a safe distance away from the others. She already had an inkling, but it would do to confirm her suspicions. “This is about Rarity, isn’t it?”
“She’s poised to sweep down on both of us, if we don’t do anything about it.” Twilight pulled out her map, which she’d marked with the latest developments, and indicated the wide open stretch of her northern borders.
“You don’t have to tell me twice.” AJ said, shooting a quick glance over her shoulder at the unicorn, “Ah plan to shove her pieces all the way back where they came from. There’s no way ah’m lettin’ her get away with betrayin’ me like she did without a fight!”
“I actually had a better idea,” Twilight interrupted, once again drawing her friend’s attention to her map. “Thanks to her attack, her own Haupstadt is empty. You could attack into it from below while she’s expecting you to just defend. Then you’ll have her navy surrounded.”
Applejack frowned. Ah won’t get my space back this turn, but ah wouldn’t lose any pieces for it. Still… “But that means ah can’t defend Elkheim with my air force. Ah’ll need it to support the attack, just in case. And even still she’d got more than enough air forces of her own to stop me.”
“That’s only if she’s expecting the attack,” Twilight said, her gaze slipping off her friend as she visualized the moves ahead unfolding before her. “I can use my air force to disrupt some of her support this turn. Then we can start attacking her from either side. Classic pincer formation. All the historical battle commanders swear by it. Two-pronged attacks, divide and conquer… there’s no way it can fail…”
“Unless Rarity changes your moves again.” Applejack grumbled.
Twilight’s attention snapped back to the here and now. “Do you still think it was her?”
“Who else could it have been? She’s the only one who profits from stoppin’ Rainbow from stompin’ her way through you.”
“Possibly, but how? I told you last turn that I didn’t sense any magic being used. And I think I would have noticed something like that.”
“Ah’m not sure how she did it, but ah know it was her! Ah just have to figure it out…” Applejack muttered, going over the events of that turn once again in her mind. What did ah miss…?
“Well, for now, temporary truce until the griffons are dealt with?” Twilight asked, holding out her hoof.
“Sure thing, until she goes down.” Applejack replied, bumping her hoof solidly back.
Twilight levitated her quill, dipped it in a pot of ink, and wrote Air Force in Hyasanguia attacks Latigo into her notebook. Applejack gave it a cursory glance to be sure everything was in order, but her mind had already returned to the problem of Rarity. Ah’m sure it was her that pulled that dirty trick. Not sure how, but ah’ll find out. Watch out, Rarity, ah’ll be watchin’ you like a hawk from now on!
…
“Um… Rainbow? What are you doing up here?”
“Nothing!” Rainbow Dash said quickly, lifting off the top of the stairs and flying to the center of the room. “Just gathering my thoughts, making plans, you know. So what’s up?”
Fluttershy glanced down at Twilight and Applejack, who were standing almost directly below the landing, but said nothing. She reluctantly flew up to where Rainbow was waiting.
“Well… I think that we need to stop-”
“Actually, I’m glad you're here.” Rainbow interrupted, “I’m stuck right now and I just need a few more units to break through. So can I borrow one of your territories for a while? I’ll send my army up from the Dune Sea and take Ard.”
“You… want me to give you my space?” Fluttershy asked, startled enough to temporarily forget why she’d come over.
Rainbow nodded energetically and clapped her hooves together in supplication. “I only need it for a round or two. Just long enough to overwhelm Twilight’s defenses. Then you can have it back, I promise. Please?!” She flew so close that they were practically touching, her eyes big and pleading.
Fluttershy instinctively flew backwards a little and rubbed her shoulders self-consciously. “Well… if you really need it… I suppose that’s fine…”
“Yes! It’ll take me two turns to get my army up there, and another turn before I can place my unit for it. Another two turns or so to crush her armies, call it six turns total. Just to be even… maybe longer if needed…”
“I don’t mean to interrupt,” Fluttershy said softly, trying to attract Rainbow’s attention. “But I really think we should do something about Pinkie Pie.”
Dash blinked and looked down at the board spread out beneath them. “Pinkie? She’s no threat. All her units are spread out on the ocean. None of those spots are worth any points."
“Yes… but they do reach a lot of other-”
“Though you are right, she does have a piece next to my Ptehinchala! I’ll have to defend it with my army and send my air force to take Ard. Good eye, Fluttershy!”
“Oh, but that’s not what I…!” the yellow pegasus started, but Rainbow had already zoomed off to another part of the library. Fluttershy flapped uncertainly in the middle of the room for a little while before looking around for somepony else who would listen to her.
…
The salty sea air cut sharply over the hard wood deck, billowing the sails out full before tapering off. The view of the shoreline appeared and disappeared behind the rail as the galleon rocked gently in the deep waves. Skilled tapirs, bedecked with bandanas and stripped shirts with ripped sleeves, swung from ropes and scrubbed the poop deck and did… other sailing stuff. Like swash buckles. And walking the planks.
And in the center of the rocking deck, reclining on her opulent deck chair, the Pirate Queen looked down at the figure before her. “And why have ye come before me?”
The ambassador of the far north, Rarity the Griffon, seemed momentarily flustered. “Ye?”
“All pirates talk like that, silly!” the Pirate Queen explained, leaning back and crossing her forelegs behind her head. “Now what favors have you come to ask of me?”
Rarity ran a tongue slowly over her beak and decided to press on. “Yes, well, I seem to have over-played my hand a little early. Applejack has been glaring daggers at me all the last turn and Twilight hasn’t been treating me any better, for some reason. I haven’t done anything to her that I can see, but there you have it. And I’m thinking that I need to have a few new allies at this stage of the game.”
“So ye have come to join my armada!” Pinkie declared cheerfully. A tapir ambled over and presented her with a bowl of green grapes. “Thank you, Hummingbird of the South. Those look tasty!”
“Er… right.” Rarity said, looking like she was starting to regret her choice of companion. “I didn’t come over here to work under… um, ‘ye’. I was just thinking that since the two of us have the most pieces, we work together to eliminate the others before going head to head.”
“I don’t know… the Pirate Queen doesn’t think she needs the help of Northerners like ye-self.”
“Look Pinkie, you mentioned favors earlier. What will it take to keep you out of the Cavallia peninsula?”
“Nothing at all,” she said, picking a grape from the bowl and eating it with relish. “The Pirate Queen strikes where she wants, whenever she wants-”
“I can get my hooves on those fancy chocolates from Canterlot you like so much.”
“And we have a deal!” the Pirate Queen shouted, leaning forward to offer the bowl to her guest. “Grape?”
…
“Where did the grapes come from?” Applejack wondered out loud, but quickly shook her head and dismissed it as Pinkie being Pinkie. That’s not important right now. Ah knew the two of them were plottin' behind my back. Why else would her navy be headin’ north at just this moment? They must’a been planin' against me from the start!
“Um, Applejack?” Fluttershy asked uncertainly, almost biting back her question when she saw the farmer was deep in thought. “I’m sorry to bother you with this, but I need to talk with somepony about what Pinkie’s doing.”
“Ah’m lookin' at the problem right now!” AJ said, still not taking her eyes off the two traitors.
Fluttershy sighed in relief. “Oh good, I’m glad I’m not the only one who saw it. With where she’s placed her units, she’s poised to strike-”
“Right at my unprotected Elgland!”
Fluttershy paused. “Um… what?”
Applejack produced her map and studied it thoroughly. “Or perhaps she’ll join forces with Rarity and force me out of Elkheim. Either way ah can’t defend against it; all my pieces are too far away this turn…”
“Um… that’s not what I mean…”
Applejack’s eyes widened as a sudden thought struck her. “Maybe ah could take over another country and place new units in those spots. It’d be a lot faster than movin’ all the way up there myself. Say… can I borrow Naqah from you for a couple turns?”
Fluttershy tried one last time to get her point across. “No, listen. Pinkie can attack anywhere she wants! The ocean spaces reach a lot more territories each than the land ones do and she’s almost circled the whole map. Her air forces can support any of her navies. If we don’t get out there right now, she’ll win!”
For the first time Applejack seemed to focus her attention fully on her friend, putting down her map and turning to look Fluttershy in the eye. “Look, ah know that she’s in a good spot,” she said, not unkindly, “but there’s nothin’ ah can do about it right now. If ah can’t do somethin’ about Rarity, ah won’t be around long enough to worry about what Pinkie’s doin’. Although if it helps, ah can take a spot from her right now. She’s left Alpaclan all alone.”
Fluttershy sighed in relief. “Thanks. I’m glad somepony is finally listening to me.”
“Ah won’t be able to hold it, of course.” she continued, turning back to see that her targets had split up. “Just long enough to get the unit, and after ah can go back up the coast and hold Naqah to keep it. Gotta go, ah just had another thought.”
If Pinkie can strike anywhere, maybe ah can get her to strike where ah want her to…
As she trotted off, she failed to see the look of concern on Fluttershy’s face.
…
“And is that all ye want?” the Pirate Queen asked. She looked down at her newest guest, Applejack the warrior, champion of the Elks, and giggled brightly.
Applejack paused. “What is it?”
“Just thinking you look silly with antlers!” the Pirate Queen laughed. She held one bracelet bedecked forelimb up and flipped her little tapir nose.
“Pinkie, please, ah need you to focus!” Applejack said, trying to keep the desperation from her voice. “Ah promised you double fritters if you help me hold Rarity off my territories. With the two of us combined, we can keep her from takin’ Elkheim from me!”
“But I just made a deal with the griffon nation. To go back on my word… what kind of a pirate do ye take me for?”
“Look, ah can throw in a barrel of cider ah’ve been agin’,” Applejack said desperately. “It’s all yours as long as ah don’t lose any more spaces to her!”
The Pirate Queen smiled and rubbed her chin, pretending to think the offer over. She still has cider left over!!! And for such a small favor! This is the best game ever!!!!!
“Of course we will accept your request!” she said out loud, leaning forward conspiratorially. “The noble pirates of the South Seas are always for hire, if the price is right. We will hold off those scurvy curs for ye, don’t ye fret!”
Applejack sighed. “Good. Ah’d better start writing my moves; the turns almost up.”
The noble elk warrior, at least to the Pirate Queen’s eyes, bowed before clambering down the ladder and onto the dingy that would bring her back to the shore. The Pirate Queen’s attention was already on another approaching rowboat, bearing the next dignitary come to beg her favors. She reclined further back in her recliner and watched as the figure lifted off and flew the remaining distance to the deck of her vessel.
Princess Twilight Sparkle, immortal ruler of the Pony realms, alighted before her and said, “Pinkie, we need to talk.”
“Of course!” the Pirate Queen said grandly, gesturing around herself at her underlings working to keep her ship in order. “And what can my illustrious crew do for ye?”
“I know that you’re cheating. You’ve got an extra piece on the board that you shouldn’t have.”
“Aw, caught already?” Pinkie sighed, setting aside the half eaten bowl of grapes and climbing down from the table. “I was hoping to last longer than one turn.”
“It’s obvious to anypony who’s watching the board. I didn’t think you’d actually cheat like this.”
“Actually, it’s in the rules.” Pinkie stretched over and snatched the rulebook from where Spike had left it on the table, flipping it open to the page she had randomly glimpsed earlier. “See, it’s called the Flying Dutchmare maneuver. A player can place an extra unit on the map and as long as nopony catches it, any moves it makes are legal. Although now that you’ve caught me, I’d better take it off.”
Twilight held her hoof out before Pinkie could go for the board. “Now hold on. You can keep the unit if you have a new territory to support it, right?”
“Well, yah!”
“Then nopony has to know about this.” Twilight said, leaning forward to look Pinkie directly in the eye. “Here’s what we’re going to do. You can keep that navy if you use it to help me take this spot right here. I’ll keep quiet, and you can take some other country to keep it, so the others don’t have to know. You’ve got plenty of options.”
“Uh, sure.” Pinkie said, cocking her head to the side and looking at Twilight quizzically. “Are you alright, Twilight? You’re looking a little… sparkly.”
Twilight blinked and stepped back quickly. “No! No, I’m feeling fine. Just… do what I said. I gotta go write down my moves before we’re out of time.”
…
“Oh, Twilight! I need to talk to you about-” Fluttershy started, but Twilight ran past fast enough to whip her hair into her face. By the time she’d brushed it back into a semblance of order, the alicorn had already holed herself up at the other end of the library and was writing furiously in her notebook.
Fluttershy bit her lip and looked around the room. Rainbow Dash and Rarity were having a discussion by the kitchenette. It didn’t seem to be going very well; the two of them were frowning pretty hard. She’d already tried Applejack, and Pinkie had disappeared somewhere. Time was running out and she didn’t know what else to do.
“One minute!” Spike said, looking closely at his hourglass.
Oh no, I’m out of time. Why won’t anypony listen to me? I know what needs to be done, but they just won’t listen! What can I do to make them listen?!
Suddenly she froze. Pulling out her map, she stared at it as an idea burned it’s way though her mind. Almost in a trance, she pulled out her notebook and wrote three lines down slowly and deliberately. Then, before she could think better of it, she ripped the page out and shoved it into a surprised Spike’s arms. And then she fled to the other side of the table and didn’t make another move until Spike was ready to begin.
…
“Alright, let’s start with Rarity,” Spike began, sifting through the papers in his claws. “Her navy in the Iceflow Sea tried to attack Elkheim with the support of her army, but Applejack’s army got support from Pinkie’s navy in the North Pellagic, so the attack fails. Rarity’s other navy goes east into the Wingover Sea, her army moves west into Ternej, and her air force in Latigo goes up into the East Skyshaper Peaks.
“Her second air force tried to go into Haupstadt, but Applejack attacked there from Elnias with the support of the air force in Breidas. The territory is taken by the elks.”
“What? Applejack!” Rarity whined.
“Turnabout is fair play!” Applejack returned, planting a green flag in Rarity’s territory.
“Applejack also took another space this turn,” Spike continued, “When her navy moved down the coast and took Alpaclan unopposed. Her last army moved up from Pferdreich into Hjort. Moving on to the next big mess, both Rarity’s last air force and Rainbow’s tried to go into Zaldia, and repel each other.”
Rarity smiled smugly, regaining some of her composure. “A perfect defense! I knew you’d try to take it from me.”
“Yes…” Spike said hesitantly, “but Twilight attacked Cavallia and since her unit is an army, Rainbow’s air force gets displaced to any empty space. And since you weren’t able to move into Zaldia this turn…”
“I get to take it anyway!” Rainbow Dash crowed, moving her piece triumphantly into the space. “It’s about time I got some good luck this game!”
Spike coughed into his fist. “Don’t get too far ahead of yourself. Your other attack was to send your army in Garanha into Rocinante with support from all three of your other units, and that worked because Twilight didn’t stay there to defend it. Her navy attacked Caballeria with support from Pinkie’s navy the Azure Reaches. She takes it and displaces your air force.”
Rainbow grumbled and pushed the unit into Heyuktan.
“Twilight also attacked Anojo from Konikticut with support from her air force, so your other army gets displaced too. The only open space is your vacated Garanha. Your last piece blocked Pinkie’s attack on Ptehinchala, so neither unit moves.
“Moving on to Pinkie’s moves, two of her navies travel into the Sea of Naqah and Cerulean Sea, and her air force moves into the vacated Zebrican Sea. Her other navy lands in Hippopotamia and takes it unopposed.”
Pinkie shrugged innocently at the dark glare Rarity shot her way. “Hey, you only said to stay out of Cavallia!”
“Wait, I thought Fluttershy had her navy in the Sea of Naqah.” Twilight interrupted, studying the board. “Where did she go?”
“Right!” Spike said, brightening up and avoiding everypony’s eye contact. “I was saving that for last because it was so unexpected. All of Fluttershy’s units moved this turn into unprotected territories. Those spaces were… um… Pte, Broncordia, and West Dune Sea. So Rainbow Dash, Twilght, and Applejack each lose a unit this turn, and Fluttershy’s forces double.”
The table exploded.
“WHAT!?!” Rainbow shouted, taking to the air in her agitation, “Fluttershy, how could you?”
“You knew ah was in trouble and you do this?” Applejack spat. Her mouth instantly twisted as her mind caught what she just said and she blinked in surprise with herself.
“What did I do?” Twilight demanded.
“And you all have the nerve to call my playing dirty, when you act like this.” Rarity sniffed, turning her nose up from the table.
“Oh, like you’re one to talk!" Applejack shouted, forgetting her brief moment of clarity. "Twilight’s moves changed again, and ah-”
“Stop!” Fluttershy shouted shrilly. Everypony was so startled by her unexpected outburst that they all froze and stared at her stupidly.
Fluttershy tried to hold back tears as she quickly spoke into the stillness. “None of you were paying any attention to me! I tried to tell you about important things and I just keep getting brushed aside and you were all starting to take advantage of me and I just thought that if I, if I could just get your attention… maybe… I’m sorry!” Breaking into tears, the yellow pegasus charged up the stares before any of them could move and disappeared into the second floor.
“Fluttershy! Wait!” Applejack called out, racing up the stairs after her. The others were quick behind, but as Spike stepped onto the first step he felt a hoof on his shoulder holding him back.
“Spike, are there any other moves or is that it?” Twilight asked.
“What are you talking about?” Spike asked, “We should be cheering up Fluttershy with the others, not talking about the game!”
Twilight blinked and shook her head, reaching up to brush a long strand of hair that had somehow gotten into her eyes. “You’re right; I don’t know what I was thinking.”
Twilight ran up the stairs after her friends, but now Spike hesitated. After a moment, he reached over to a nearby end table and picked up a quill, ink pot, and a blank scroll. Then, arms full, he dashed up to the others.