//------------------------------// // Charlie Vs. Foxtrot Part 3: Zugzwang Vs. Twister // Story: Wonderful Mechanical: Keen Eye and the Wonderbolt Saboteur. // by Monocrome_Monogatari //------------------------------// Next up was Twister from Squad Foxtrot and Zugzwang from Squad Charlie. Twister was a small, green, wiry looking stallion with blue hair and a wild look in his eyes. He was hopping from one hoof to another in excitement. “What’s with the jumping bean?” I asked. “Twister is…Twister” Swift said, shuddering. “Meaning?” “I don’t think I CAN explain him.” “He’s one of the few ponies banned from my lab.” Rivet said. “He ignores this when he wants to visit.” Okay, now I’m scared. Rivet is patient. He’s dealt with ME after all. It takes real skill to get that reaction. I don’t know whether to be frightened or jealous. “THE LATTER!” Twister yelled out into space. I’m…I’m going to ignore that. Pulling my eyes away from the pony shaped nightmare, I looked at his opponent on the opposite side of the arena. “So prim-and-proper-poise there is Zugzwang?” Zugzwang was a grey stallion, the kind of grey that reminded you of old stone statues, and his posture had a dignity and stiffness befitting that comparison. His mane was neatly trimmed and slicked back, one half black and one half white. His cutie mark was a chess board mid play, and from the looks of it nearing checkmate. “Weird name huh?” Swift asked. “I take it you don’t play chess then.” I said. “I played against him once.” Rivet said. “I didn’t know you played, Rivet.” I said. “Not anymore, not after him…” “I take it he’s good then. What’s a chess pro doing in the Wonderbolts? I wouldn’t expect his skill set to be useful here…” “You’d be surprised.” Swift said. “He’s Squad Charlie’s captain. According to rumors, he’s the reason that Squad Charlie is what it is.” “Hmm? What rumors?” “He was apparently the son of Canterlot nobility, a chess prodigy primed from birth for greatness. When he left the chess world to try out for the Wonderbolts, his parents apparently disowned him." "This is probably an exaggeration" Swift continued "but, when the Wonderbolts tested for Squad Charlie, the 5 that got in didn’t get in because they were the best, but because Zugzwang willed it. He’s only an average flyer, but he had a knack for figuring out strategies for the tests. He fed good info to the ponies he liked, and bad info to the ones he disliked.” “Hmm…” I rolled the story around my head. “Yeah, probably an exaggeration. No chessmaster would be that direct.” So it’ll be a battle between the incomprehensible and the comprehensive… BZZZT As the buzzer sounded, both parties calmly walked to the…chessboard in the middle of the arena… When did the chessboard get there? “Well?” Twister said, now wearing a top-hat and a monocle. “What say you for a game, old chap?” Zugzwang gave a long suffering sigh. “I take it you want yet another rematch, my dear Twister?” “Very much so, ZigZag!” Twister said, his faux-posh accent getting deeper and his nose up in the air, eyes closed. “My Mega-Chess-A-Tron strategy was perfect. There is no way you didn’t cheat, you cur!” “Very well.” He said. “But, if you will excuse me, you forgot something important.” He turned the board so that the black pieces were facing him. “I admit it’s a bad habit, but I always go second.” Silver facehoofed as the audience grew more and more perplexed, not only at Twister’s antics but at Zugzwang for going along with them. “Hmmmm” Twister brought a hoof to his chin as he contemplated the board, tounge sticking out in concentration. After a good 30 seconds of pondering, he moved said hoof to the center of the board and… …dropped 5 dice. “YAHTZEE!” Twister yelled, as he flipped the board, sending the mat and the pieces directly to Zugzwang’s face. He reflexively struck it away, but as they fell to the floor, Twister had already disappeared from his line of sight. “B-8 to D-7!” Twister struck Zugzwang in the back, sending him stumbling forward. By the time he turned around and put up a guard, Twister had already disappeared. “A-1 to A-6!” Twister shot out from his side, his blow barely parried. When he turned to follow up – “H-16 to J-27!” Twister was already kicking at him from above. Every time Twister made a pass he would make an impossible looking turn towards a blind spot of Zugzwang’s, before yelling out nonsensical chess notation and performing a hit and run swoop. “…Why is he yelling that out?” I asked. “Um…maybe it’s psychological warfare?” Rivet reached. “It’s…it’s best not to ask.” Swift said. “A-1 to Z-26!” “B-6 to J-9!” “D-666 to W-420!” “M-00 to N-999!” “N-64 to PS-2!” Every blow was either barely parried or taken straight on, as Zugzwang was desperately herded around the pit by Twister’s relentless and violent peek-a-boo. “A-1 to V-8!” Before he could turn to the attack, Twister had shot to the ground and gave him a full force buck, sending him flying to the wall. Before he made contact, he flapped his wings and flipped his body upright, stabilizing himself. As he landed perfectly on all four hooves, he turned and took fighting stance, wearing a self-satisfied smirk toward Twister. “Pawn to D-8. Promotion to queen.” It was at that moment that I noticed the pattern. He had been parrying hits that would take him away from the wall, and purposely taking the ones that would bring him closer to it. With the last hit, he used the force of Twister’s buck to propel himself toward the wall. Despite not throwing a single punch... The entire fight so far had been part of his plan. “Don’t know why he looks so confident when he’s cornered.” Swift said. “Tell me, Swift, do you know what the word ‘zugzwang’ means?” I asked “You already know I don’t.” he said, irked. “It means ‘compulsion to move’. It’s a situation where a player has to make a move when they would rather pass, due to being in a bad position. His parents probably gave him that name to say ‘This is a pony who can face hardship.’” “What does that have to do with the fight?” “You said that Zugzwang was an average flyer, correct? Against a flyer like Twister, the odds were against him from the start. In other words, Zugzwang was in zugzwang the second he stepped on the board. So he made a strategy where he embraced that. Tell me, why hasn’t Twister moved since Zugzwang cornered himself?” “Huh?” Swift looked back down at the battlefield. Twister was uncharacteristically still, staring Zugzwang down. “Why is he…Oh!” “That’s right.” I nodded. “By creating distance between them and standing near a wall, Zugzwang has shut down Twister’s ability to attack from surprise angles. He can see every angle of approach.” Still, he started parrying with the second blow. He must have made up the plan right after the first hit, or maybe he made it the moment he saw the chessboard… And in order for it to work, he would have to guess where the move would send him ahead of time… How many steps ahead is this guy thinking? “Well, Twister?” Zugzwang said. “It’s your move. It’s only fair that I warn you. You’re in check, to be checkmate in one move.” “Check?” Twister giggled. “But Ziggy, I thought you knew…” Without any surprise angles, Twister shot directly at him. “WE’RE PLAYING CHECKERS!” In less than a second, the gap between them had closed. Zugzwang threw a punch, and missed, as Twister flew inches above it. There was one angle that Zugzwang hadn’t covered. There was just enough space behind his back for Twister to fit in, and he took it, making an impossibly tight turn around him, like jumping a checker piece. “…and that’s Checkmate.” Before Twister could make his strike, Zugzwang jumped to his front hooves and bucked back with all his strength-- BAM Slamming Twister’s head against the arena wall, knocking him out instantly. He knew that Twister liked attacking from impossible angles, so he gave him only one impossible angle to attack from. Twister flew straight into his target. “Oh dear…” Zugzwang checked Twister’s vitals and, satisfied he was still breathing, hoisted his limp body on his shoulder. “Silver, sir, would you happen to have a pen and paper? I want to tell Twister ‘good game’, but …I doubt he would appreciate the sentiment right now.” “There should be some in the infirmary.” “How convenient, I was planning on carrying him there already.” Silver’s eyebrow rose. “You really want to do that?” “It’s no trouble. After all, I put him in this state, it’s only fair for me to see him out of it. Besides, I have a few scrapes to look at myself.” He started inching toward the exit. “Do you mind lending me a hand, Tradewind?” “Well with everypony looking it’s not like I have much choice. It’s help or look like a jerk.” Tradewind grumbled. “Hmm? What was that?” "Nevermind…” And with that, Squad Charlie finally got a point on the board, and the standings were 2-1. “Phew…” I leaned back, stretching my stiff back. “It’s nice to finally see a fight that wasn’t so brutal or one sided. I was starting to feel guilty for enjoying this.” Swift looked at me strangely “You mean that concussion wasn’t brutal to you?” “To be honest, that sort of injury is more nostalgic than anything else.” “Don’t ask.” Rivet said. I checked in with both of my assistants for any signs of strangeness. Still nothing. “So that was Charlie’s captain… Have we seen Foxtrot’s captain yet?” I asked. “No, not yet” Swift said. “But there’s only two fighters left, so you’ll be seeing Dash in action soon.” Dash? Could it be? The world wouldn’t be that cruel, would it? “Er…” I began “Hey Swift, when you say ‘Dash’, you wouldn’t happen to mean R—“ “Rainbow Dash!” Silver called. “Yes! Finally!” Out came That Mare with That blue coat, That rainbow mane, That lightning bolt cutie mark, That scratchy voice, That self-assured swagger… That Mare “Impatient?” Silver smirked. “Remember, no one’s going to give you a free pass.” Her grin widened at that. “Just watch me!” She actually made it in. Celestia Damn it… “Looks like I’m paying out another bet…” I mutter to myself.