Prompt: Diamond Tiara is victorious.
The city of Ponyville! … Is not under attack, making it a perfect day for fathers and daughters to enjoy a lovely picnic in the park, go to the water park, invite their neighbours over for a barbecue, or perhaps even take a pleasant hike through the Whitetail Woods. Unfortunately for Diamond Tiara, her father is a workaholic. To him, ‘nice, sunny day’ equals ‘routine business inspection around the town’. And because Diamond Tiara was grounded for an accident that wasn’t her fault – her father should have looked before stepping onto a roller skate at the bottom of that stairs – she had no choice but to accompany him around the town.
His store was the first shop. Barnyard Bargains was an everything-you-need store, with the lowest prices you’d ever find around town. Of course, this was just one chain store out of many branches all over Equestria, but with Filthy Rich living in Ponyville, this was the main branch. He always spoke fondly of it, as if it was the straight-A achieving child he never had. To Diamond, it was a dusty old relic of a forgotten age. Would it kill to add a little colour or maybe some flowers?
Of course, waiting for one hour in a store of boring old junk whilst her father did an inventory check and other business-type things with his employee in the back wasn’t all the suffering Diamond Tiara had to put up with that day. Not by a long shot. After his inspection of his store was done, Filthy Rich wanted to check in on all of his partners around the town.
Sofas and Quills, Priceless Antiques, Do It Yourself Supplies, Home Gardening, The Pottery Shop… These were just a few of the partnerships Diamond Tiara’s father had forged over the years, and not a single one of these stores had anything fun to offer. No toys, no games, no flashy jewellery or pretty dresses, and the owners were all boring old stallions, too.
“Daddyyyyyy, can we go yeeeeeet?” Diamond Tiara whined, finally at the edge of her patience. “My hooves are tired!”
“Just one more stop, Diamond,” Filthy Rich said as he turned down a familiar narrow pathway, bringing a groan from Diamond’s throat.
“But Sweet Apple Acres is boring! They only have trees and dirt and pigs there!”
“Sweet Apple Acres was our company’s very first partner in trading, and Granny Smith is an old friend of mine whom I haven’t visited for a while. I just want to drop in to say ‘hi’ and then we can go.”
Diamond groaned. “Which means you’ll be there talking for hours,” she grumbled.
“Besides, they have a filly around your age.”
“Apple Bloom’s a dork. I can’t be seen playing with somepony like that!”
“Well then I guess you’ll just have to wait patiently,” Filthy Rich said simply. The two continued to walk until they arrived at the farmhouse, where Granny Smith and some old stallion Diamond didn’t recognise were rocking back-and-forth on the porch together and laughing over something.
“Oh, good evenin’, Filthy!” Granny Smith shouted as she waved to her guests.
“It’s ‘Rich’, Granny,” Filthy Rich replied.
“And that’s ‘Smith’ to you! Ah’m nopony’s grandma yet! … Oh, wait, ah guess ah am. But ah’ve still got as much life in me as any o’ you youngins!”
“It’s also afternoon,” Diamond Tiara muttered.
Granny Smith turned to the filly, who flinched and took a cautious step back. “Why, if it isn’t lil’ Vanessa!”
“Diamond,” Diamond Tiara corrected.
“How old are ye now-a-days?”
“Eight. Nine in three weeks.”
“How time flies… Oh! Where’re my manners? This here’s my old friend Apple Strudel!”
The stallion beside Granny Smith raised a shaky forehoof and waved to the two guests. “Hello there! Jolly nice to meet ya!”
“Likewise,” Filthy Rich said. “Gra- Smith, would you mind if we stepped inside to talk for a while?”
“Is it that time again? Ah suppose ah can spare a few minutes, if ya don’t mind waiting,” Granny Smith replied, turning to Apple Strudel.
“Not at all! Take all the time you need,” Apple Strudel said.
Granny Smith climbed out of her chair and escorted Filthy Rich inside. “Always ‘business, business, business’ with you. Y’all need ta learn t’ take things easy once in a while. Also, don’t call me ‘Smith’! Ah ain’t a stallion now, y’hear?”
And so Diamond Tiara was left alone outside, with the creepy old stallion before her rocking back-and-forth, staring down at the little filly with a wrinkly smile.
“Granny Smith! Guess what ah-” Diamond Tiara turned around to find the youngest Apple, Apple Bloom, running towards the porch. She came to a skidding halt just before Diamond Tiara, causing a cloud of dust to attack the pink filly’s coat. “Huh? Where’s Granny Smith?”
Diamond Tiara backed up whilst coughing heavily, dusting herself off before casting a glare at the other filly. “She’s inside with my daddy,” she said through gritted teeth.
“Oh… Well, ah can show her later. Hey, y’all wanna play hide-an’-seek while we wait?”
“No thanks,” Diamond Tiara replied in a dismissive tone. “I just got my mane and my coat groomed and they’ll get dirty if I play with the likes of you.”
Apple Bloom narrowed her eyes. “Ya don’t have ta be so mean about it,” she mumbled as she turned to leave.
Diamond Tiara huffed and also turned around, only to find the old stallion now standing directly behind her. With a yelp, Diamond Tiara took a few steps backwards, breathing heavily from the shock she just suffered.
“No need t’be shy! Go on an’ have fun with yer friend. Ah’ll let yer father know where y’are,” Apple Strudel said with a smile.
“She’s not my friend! We’re just in the same class, that’s all.”
“Well knowin’ Granny Smith, those two’ll be in there yammerin’ for a while. Y’should go an’ play, if’n y’don’t plan on bein’ bored for an hour or two.”
Diamond Tiara huffed. “No thank you. I’d rather be bored out of my skull than let myself be seen with the likes of her, or let my precious coat get all dirty from playing around in the mud.”
“Aah. One o’ those, eh? ‘Fraid of a lil’ dirt?” Diamond Tiara furrowed her brow and turn a light shade of red as the stallion guffawed loudly. “Well, how ‘bout y’come play with yer Uncle Strudel, then? Ah promise there’ll be no dirt.”
“You’re not my uncle,” Diamond Tiara said. “And old ponies are boring. All they do is tell dumb stories and sleep.”
Apple Strudel laughed even harder in response. “Not afraid ta speak yer mind, huh? Well, don’t you worry! This ol’ stallion still has some fun left in ‘im from his youth!”
Diamond Tiara sighed. “Well, I guess it’s better than just standing around doing nothing.”
“There ya go! Well then, let’s go find a nice spot to sit an’ play.”
Diamond Tiara raised an eyebrow. “‘Sit’? What are playing?”
“Chess,” Diamond Tiara deadpanned, looking through her pieces to the stallion on the other side of the board. “Really?”
“Ever played before?” the stallion asked. “Ah’m somethin’ of an expert myself.”
“Of course I haven’t played before. I’m not a hundred years old!”
“Now now. Chess is a game that’s fun for all ages!” Apple Strudel said, though from Diamond Tiara’s pouting expression it didn’t seem to be convincing her. “Why not jus’ give it a chance, eh?”
“Ugh. Fine. But I can’t even see the board like this.”
Apple Strudel put a hoof to his chin and hummed in thought. The filly’s head was just about poking over the edge of the table. “Maybe ah should go an’ see if Granny Smith has any cushions y’can sit on.”
“That’s better!”
Diamond Tiara groaned from embarrassment at having to sit on a makeshift booster seat. “So how do we play?”
“It’s simple as apple punch!” Apple Strudel said. “The main goal is t’ take yer opponent’s king! The king is the piece with the large crown on its head!”
Diamond Tiara looked over her white pieces and picked up the largest one. “You mean this one?”
“Eeyup! The king can only move one space at a time, but can move in any direction! If it’s taken, y’lose, so protect it!”
“What are the small ones in the front?” Diamond Tiara asked.
“Those’re yer pawns! They move one space forward, or two on the first move, and can only take diagonally!”
“‘Diagonally’?” Apple Strudel took two of his pieces and demonstrated a diagonal motion for the filly. “Ooooh.” Diamond looked at the two pieces in the corners of her side of the board. “These?”
“Rooks, more commonly known as castles! They can move any number of spaces up, down, left or right.”
“If they’re castles, why are they in the corners? Shouldn’t they be in front of my pieces?”
“Don’t worry ‘bout that. The pieces next t’em are yer knights.”
Diamond Tiara raised an eyebrow and lifted the two ‘knight’ pieces. “These? They look like lances. I thought the knight was the pony holding the lance, not the lance itself.”
“The knight can move only in an L-shape, an’ can jump over pieces! Like so…” Apple Strudel demonstrated the various movement patterns available to the knight piece with his own. “Follow?”
Diamond nodded and moved onto the next piece. “And this?”
“That’s yer bishop.”
“Okay, now you’re just making up words!”
“The bishop can move any number o’ spaces, but only diagonally.”
“So like the opposite of a rook?” Diamond asked, receiving a nod. There was just one more piece left… Almost as big as the king, and the top was decorated with a tiara that vaguely resembled her own. “Hey, this one has good tastes.”
“Ah, that’d be yer queen. Most powerful piece in the game that one. Can move any number o’ spaces, in any direction. Don’t let yer opponent nab that too quickly now!”
“Huh. This is pretty easy to understand,” Diamond Tiara said. “Okay, so who goes first?”
“That’d be white.” Apple Strudel watched as Diamond moved the pawn in front of her queen out one space. ‘It’s her fist time, so maybe ah should go easy on ‘er. Then again, mah teacher always said goin’ easy never helps anypony t’learn. Y’gotta let ‘em make a few mistakes here-an’-there.’ Apple Strudel moved out his left knight to begin. ‘Ah’ll see how she reacts to a piece or two taken first. Don’t wanna get her all riled up over a simple game.’
The game continued for several more moves. Apple Strudel noticed that Diamond copied many of his own movements at first, but slowly started to make her own moves, some of which were pretty good. “This isn’t so hard,” Diamond Tiara said as she made another move.
‘Hey now, she’s got the hang o’ this already. Is it really her first time?’ Apple Strudel made another move and waited to see how Diamond Tiara would react. He was once again pleasantly surprised by the move that she made. It was better than her had expected from a beginner.
“Ah suppose now’s a good time t’ teach ya about ‘castlin’’,” Apple Strudel said.
“What? You mean there’s more to learn?”
“Castlin’ ain’t too difficult t’understand. Look at the way my king and castle are spaced apart, with nothin’ between ‘em. In this kind of situation, ah can take mah castle an’ mah king…” Apple Strudel picked up the two pieces and move them, positioning the king behind two unmoved pawns and the castle to his right of the king. “Y’see? This’s ‘castlin’’.”
“Huh. Guess that explains why it’s a ‘castle’.” Diamond Tiara picked up her knight and moved it to the edge of the board, confusing her opponent.
‘That wasn’t a smart move. Guess her ‘beginner’s luck’ is wearin’ off.’ Apple Strudel prepared to punish her mistake by grabbing his bishop, but gasped as he realised something. He looked over the rest of the board, the position of Diamond’s pieces and his own. ‘No, wait! It’s a trap! If ah react t’this with my bishop, ah’ll be leavin’ myself open to an attack from the right! But if ah leave it, it’ll only become a problem later.’
“This is easy. There are only so many different good moves you can make.”
Apple Strudel’s jaw dropped. ‘T-That’s true, but that doesn’t jus’ apply t’ this turn. T’ truly outplay yer opponent, ya gotta think about all possible ways the game could play out many moves ahead, through branchin’ pathways! A beginner shouldn’t be able to think any further than two or three moves ahead, let alone a little filly.’
“Hey, hurry up.”
Apple Strudel hesitated for a moment before releasing his piece. “Alright, ah’ll concede this game,” he said, picking his pieces up and placing them back into their starting positions. Truth-be-told, ah was holdin’ back ta make sure y’understood how ta play. Now that we’ve warmed up, how ‘bout a real game?”
Diamond sighed. “Fine. But just one more. This is so boring.”
‘This time, ah won’t hold back,’ Apple Strudel thought to himself as the Diamond made her first move. ‘Ah wanna see if that really was just luck, or if she’s got some kinda gift at this game.’
A few moves were exchanged between them. Diamond Tiara seemed to know what she was doing, even if her moves were now taking a little longer than earlier to make. Diamond Tiara moved her queen out earlier than Apple Strudel was expecting and he responded quickly by going on the offence.
“Are you still going?” Diamond asked. “You can’t win now. I’ve beat you.”
“Game ain’t over yet,” Apple Strudel responded as the two exchanged one more move, then another, and then a third… and that was it. Apple Strudel was only in ‘check’, but no matter how he moved, Diamond’s next move would easily finish him off. ‘Impossible! What’s even more amazing is that she’s right! This game ended three moves back, but ah never even saw it! This filly did, though…’ “… OHOHOHOHOH! Ah guess you got me again! Very good game, er…”
“Diamond Tiara,” Diamond said.
“N-No, not that… There appears t’ be somethin’ on yer flank.”
Diamond Tiara raised an eyebrow and looked behind herself, and then gasped. Decorating her pink flank was a glorious image of a diamond-coloured tiara, much like the one adorned on her head. “M-My cutie mark! I got my cutie mark!”
Apple Strudel applauded the filly’s accomplishment. “Congratulations! Ah bet yer real happy right now, huh?” Diamond Tiara answered his question by squealing like a fangirl visiting the backstage of her favourite idol’s concert and running circles around the table, cheering ‘YES!’ over and over again. ‘An’ what a talent it is, too. Her first time playin’, an’ she not only understood this game easier than any beginner, but she beat me, even though I’ve won several tournaments back in the day! This filly… she could become the next ‘Queen of Chess’!’
“DADDY!” Diamond Tiara charged towards her approaching father, running circles around him much like she did the table before. “Daddy, look! I got my cutie mark! I got my cutie mark!”
Filthy Rich smiled brighter than he had all day. Stopping Diamond with a hoof so that he could get a good look, Filthy Rich leaned and said, “That’s incredible! Oh, I bet you must be so happy right now! Daddy’s big girl is growing up so fast!” Diamond Tiara took a step back after her father began to pet her head. “But what is your talent, Sweetie?”
“Isn’t it obvious?” Diamond asked, with Apple Strudel smiling proudly behind her. “Clearly it shows I’m gonna be a star!” Apple Strudel’s face fell quickly. “I mean, I’ve always thought about becoming a model like Fleur Dis Lee, but now I know that that’s what I’m gonna become!”
‘N-No. That’s not right,’ Apple Strudel thought. ‘You got it while playin’ chess, so obviously-’
“Oh, I’m so proud of you!” Filthy Rich said as she hugged his daughter closely. “You know what? I’m going to overlook the roller skate incident and let you go show off your new cutie mark to your friend Silver Spoon!”
“Really?! Oh, thank you, Daddy! You’re the best!” Diamond Tiara cheered as she hugged her father.
“By the way, what were you doing out here with Mr. Strudel.”
“Oh, just playing some boring game.”
Filthy Rich rose to his hooves and looked over the chess board. “Ah, that takes me back. So, you’re into chess now, huh?”
Diamond gagged and shook her head. “Puh-lease! That game’s so lame! I’m never playing it again!”
Apple Strudel’s jaw hung open as he watched the happy father and daughter leave, wanting to call out to them but failing to find the words to do so. Finally, when the two were out of sight, the old stallion hung his head in defeat. “P-Please don’t let such wonderful talent go to waste …”