Friendship Harder: Collected Microfiction

by KwirkyJ


Go [Slice of Life]

Princess Celestia crunched the ice with a pestle. If any of the chunks were too large, it would only be herself to blame, and she was okay with that. She upturned the bowl, dumping the granules into the glass, and then added in the liquid. A smile was permitted as the slush rose just slightly over the brim, spilling down the frosted sides.

She took a sip, and it was good.

Thankfully, she had managed to allocate a time for quiet on this particular evening, where she would be undisturbed for several precious hours. Only a crisis threatening the very foundations of Equestria would trouble her.

There were some muffled pops from beyond her chambers. The fireworks from the revelers. Such qualified as the opposite of trouble.

Her beverage refilled, she lay herself down once again upon the cushion and took in the Go board upon the table. It had been a gift, three hundred years ago, from a Quilinese ambassador, thanking her for a deed she could not now even remember. The black and white beads were each intricately carved with entire mosaics fit on a surface smaller than a single Equestrian Bit.

Her opponent was crafty, seeming to have thought of everything. Celestia considered her strategy carefully, taking all the time she needed. She listened, sipped, and thought. There were the occasional soft pops and cheers from outside which perked her ears.

Her ponies loved and trusted her, she knew. As much as she did love and trust them, she thought. Some years, it was easier to express it properly to one another. Other years, it was most difficult indeed.

Foregoing magic, Celestia reached out and placed a white dot on the board.

She looked at it, nodded, and took another long sip from her drink.

She rose and stretched her spine and wings. She trod to the balcony, looking out at the many lights in Canterlot night below.

Then she turned back and settled down on the opposite cushion. She examined the board, sipped from her drink, and thought.