//------------------------------// // A Long Game // Story: Games We Play // by GJT_Productions //------------------------------// A call echoes through the streets of Canterlot, causing all who hear it to scamper and swerve out of the way of the caller: "MAKE WAY FOR THE ROYAL ESCORT!" The royal escort in question consisted of a box of four Guards surrounding Princess Luna, all walking the streets of Canterlot in the late afternoon toward a specific occasion Luna had been invited to - one of the scarce few to date, in fact. Two of the guards were the recently assigned Upper Classes Meadow Song and Caramel, and the latter had spent, at Luna's request, the duration of the escort duty telling the Princess what he knew of his now-famous neighbor - Rarity, new bearer of the Element of Generosity. It was in this conversation that Luna first learned of Rarity's younger sister - who she would much later help in dealing with her own big sister problems. "Now, what of you, Guard Meadow Song? Surely you have many fascinating stories about the new bearer of the Honesty Element for us to hear?" Princess Luna asks of Meadow Song as Caramel exhausts his stories about Rarity. "I'm sorry, Your Majesty, but I don't have a lot of stories about Applejack." Meadow Song replies with a slight blush. "I grew up in Canterlot - Caramel and I were one year behind Princess Cadance and Lieutenant Captain Shining Armor at Canterlot Academy - and only married into the Apples. I'm still kind of considered something of an outsider, particularly considering I'm part of the Guard." "Well, we are still interested in what you can tell us about." Luna states with a modest smile. "Very well, Your Majesty. Applejack is the middle of three siblings. She has an older brother named Big Macintosh, or 'Big Mac' as he's usually called - strong, silent type. She also has a younger sister named Apple Bloom, about the same age as Rarity's younger sister Caramel was talking about... I think they're both at the same school too..." "Yes, Ponyville Schoolhouse." Caramel interrupts. "The teacher there is another Canterlot transplant - same class as Princess Cadance and Lieutenant Captain Shining Armor - named Cheerilee. Valedictorian of her class, and not bad to look at either. For an Earth pony, that is." "Yes yes, Caramel. Now where was I...?" Meadow Song asks. "You can tell us more later. We seemed to have arrived at our destination." Princess Luna states. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- The destination in question was a large, elegant hall owned by Fancypants, where he taught and played chess with other upper-class ponies on a weekly basis. With Princess Celestia's discrete approval, Princess Luna had signed up to join the chess club, in part to meet the very important Fancypants for the first time (scheduling made it tough to meet him any other way) and as a test for how the Canterlot upper crust would react to having Luna among them. The royal caller announces Luna's arrival as the doors open for the night princess and her escort, and immediately all eyes go upon the group. Caramel and Meadow Song, making the front edge of the square, smartly step aside to let a meekly smiling Luna pass them. Luna can see both Fancypants and his escort, Fleur Dis Lee, on the stage at the other end of the hall, but she is more focused on the crowd gathered in the hall... which is responding in a manner both puzzling and discouraging. The princess sees an array of faces ranging from cold stares to mortification to outright revulsion - a few of the closer ponies seem to be backing away with disgusted looks on their faces. "Guard, do we reek of something? Be honest. I know bathing everyday is a relatively new habit for us, but we did take a shower before we left the castle." Luna asks as she looks back at her escort, a dismayed look on her face. "I think, Your Majesty, that what you reek of is not something that can be rid of by showers or perfume." one of the other escorts, a unicorn, explains to Princess Luna - the most sensitive way of explaining the problem isn't body odor but the odor of her reputation. "Oh, we see." Luna quietly replies, both her ears and expression drooping in serious disappointment. She is considering just turning around and forgetting about the whole thing when the attention of everypony in the hall is drawn to the rapping hooves of Fancypants. "Now now, everypony. The princess is here to learn and enjoy the game just as you are, and I expect no less than the utmost tolerance and cooperation from you all. If you cannot abide by that, I do not want you in my club. You know where the doors are if you want to leave, otherwise there shall be no more of this nonsense from you lot. Is this clear?!" Fancypants loudly speaks to the crowd from his post on the stage, an irritated look on his face. Only a very few ponies actually walked out of the chess club after Fancypants' rebuke of the crowd's attitude - most just switched to the cold stare and then went back to their previous conversations, turning the atmosphere from hostile to merely cold. Both Luna and her escort were glad to see Fancypants, accompanied by Fleur Dis Lee, come down from the stage and work their way through the crowd to where they were currently located. Both Fancypants and Fleur stop to bow before Luna, her Guard escort arrayed in a semi-circle behind her. "Arise. Thine chivalry and decency clothes better than the fanciest of pants." Luna speaks, apparently improvising the line on the spot. "But the honor is all ours, Princess of the Night." Fancypants replies, not above giving a little flattery himself. "Yes yes, we though have indeed heard much positive of both of you. And now seeing face to face we can tell the similarity to Twilight Sparkle's brother of blood is more than just coat deep." Luna continues on. "Well Your Majesty, let's just say that you aren't the first pony to notice the similarities between myself and Shining Armor. Even though I was born in Trottingham across the sea, I suspect his bloodline and mine were well mixed together at some point in the past." Fancypants explains. "And your escort! She reminds us of our sister in her youth, even though her bloodline is not royal!" "Fleur? Yes, you're not the first to make that connection either. Nopony knows why exactly she looks like that, the closest we've ever gotten is some mumbo-jumbo about bloodlines and the old unicorn kingdom neither of us could make sense of." Luna's face assumes a thoughtful puzzlement, but the moon princess does not respond verbally. It seems she's just as confused about it as Fleur and Fancypants are. "In any case Your Majesty," Fancypants starts again, trying to change the subject as quickly as possible, "you're here to play, correct?" "Indeed. We have heard chess is still played, but some things have changed in the thousand years we have been gone." "That is correct, Your Highness. And the best way to explain the differences is to demonstrate them. So shall we begin?" Fancypants asks with a modest smile. "Yes, we shall." Luna replies, her face assuming a determined spryness that wouldn't have been out of place on Rainbow Dash's face. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- ABOUT 15 MINUTES LATER... From a high balcony, an earth pony stallion is seen peeking his head out from behind a support column, observing the various games of chess being played in the hall. The unicorn players moved pieces with magic, while the pegasi and earth ponies either did careful nudging with hooves or operated a grabber, usually elaborately decorated with jewels and gold, to move the pieces. The stallion focuses his attention on the stage, where Fancypants with Fleur Dis Lee beside him is pointing out various things on the chessboard to Princess Luna. He grins evily, and the quiet click of an activated device sounds next to him. "Now then, Your Majesty, the idea behind the 'en passant' capture..." Fancypants was saying as he sat beside the chessboard. Princess Luna's snout suddenly crinkles in disgust, and she sniffs the air for a few seconds, looking around to locate the source of the stink. "...Something wrong?" Fancypants asks when he notices Luna's behavior. "Pray tell, is there something burning around here?" Luna asks of the upper class stallion, a concerned look on her face. "Burning? What...?" Fancypants begins to say before interrupted by a surprised yelp from Fleur. Whispy smoke, rapidly growing thicker and blacker, is seen rising up around the edges of the chessboard, pouring out from the join of the board itself to its supporting pedestal. Fancypants and Luna recoil back in shock, and Fleur quickly smashes the whole setup away, marble chess pieces flying every which way as the elaborately decorated board and pedestal fly down into the crowd. Just before impact, a small explosive device blows the chessboard apart, sending dangerous metallic shrapnel flying among the surprised crowd. There is barely time for anypony to register what just happened when a second bang is heard, and sparks rain down on the gathered crowd from the ceiling above. In slow motion horror, one of the chandeliers dangling from the vaulted ceiling breaks away and comes down with a mighty crash as ponies scramble to get out from the area of impact. Nopony is crushed underneath the fixture, but some ponies can't escape the flying shards of crystal produced by its impact. Princess Luna, Fancypants and Fleur Dis Lee are watching the unfolding disaster from the stage when a mighty shout pierces through the unleashed panic in the hall. Near the door, two charging earth pony stallions knock down the two unicorn guards that had been part of Luna's escort and break for an escape. Meadow Song and Caramel, being sterner earth ponies, are able to resist a similar ramming and immediately pull the criminals to the ground, the stallions rolling and tumbling near the exit door to the hall. Fleur Dis Lee gives a brief glance over to Fancypants and Luna before making a leap off the stage and quickly taking off in full gallop, passing the shattered chandelier and heading to help the guards. "Where's she going?!" Luna exclaims to Fancypants over the sounds of the confusion and struggle. "Warrant officer in the Guard, she's had full Academy training. Necessity because she sometimes body doubles for your sister." Fancypants shouts back. All Luna can do in response is give a disbelieving look at Fancypants, who in turn meekly smiles back. The hall is a cacophony of shouts, worried exclamations and cries for help from those that were injured in the attack. Meanwhile, Fleur has reached the scene of the conflict and downs the stallion pinning Meadow Song with a skull-splitting hoof smash on the top of his head. Before the other attacker can react, Fleur knocks him off balance, which allows Caramel to recover from his own pinning and the two now-recovered unicorn guards to yank the attacker down and pin him. The unicorn mare then delivers the finishing blow with a hoof to the second attacker's face that knocks him cold as well. "And not even a bit of magic!" a breathless Luna comments as she watches Fleur's performance. With the brawl at an end, the guards can now turn toward securing the two attackers and helping those injured in the attack. "Oh Celestia, when will this madness end?" Fancypants worriedly exclaims as he watches more guards and concerned bystanders from outside rush into the building to render assistance... -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- THE FOLLOWING MORNING... Captain of the Guard Gibraltar was fit to be tied as he raged in the meeting room to concerned Princesses Celestia and Cadance. Lieutenant Captain Fidelitas watches beside the princesses, while Lieutenant Captain Aten simply looks on with furtive half-interest only. "These Agents of Chaos aren't just brash and recklessly dangerous, but quite determined to make a mockery of my entire command!" Gibraltar roars out. "Look what I found on my desk this morning when I came in!" A note goes flying across the table for Celestia and Cadance to read. Although rendered in plaintext, it was not hoofwritten but instead typed in the same font used for recording Guard Archive documentation, making it impossible to determine who wrote the note. The note read as follows: "Your confidence is very amusing, Captain, for we are playing a much longer game than you are. We are everywhere, in every corner of your society. You will never be able to find us all. The shining one will fall, and the chaotic one will rise. We are the Agents of Chaos, and we will triumph over peace and harmony to resurrect the chaotic one. - Agent 1 'Snake in the Grass'" ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- As Princess Celestia read the note, two names flashed in her mind, neither of which she dare utter even underneath her own breath. One was the name of the dark secret of the Canterlot statue gardens, the other the name of the one she had to yield to in order to keep that dark secret intact. This was war, but not one that could be won by using the Elements of Harmony. This one had to be fought behind the scenes, in the dark alleys of Canterlot and the hallways of her own castle. An enemy within, both fearless and destructive to the extreme - this was an enemy you couldn't conquer by shooting rainbows of friendship at. It had to be the long, dirty, grim method of vigilance and determination... and hoping you could stop them from summoning apocalypse.