I. A King's Gambit.

“How dreadful...to be caught up in a game and have no idea of the rules.”
― Caroline Stevermer

“Come on Chance!” voices yelled.

“You got this dude!”

Chancellor sat at the table with his head resting on his hooves. The grey and black unicorn wore a small grin on his face. His opponent didn’t look as pleased with the situation. Blueblood squirmed in his seat as he struggled to find a viable move. Chancellor had to admit he was a good opponent; despite of the Prince’s rather lacking personality. He’d even lost to the Prince the year before. But now the game was different and Chancellor knew exactly who he was dealing with…

“Knight to F3, check,” Chancellor smiled.

The prince growled, “King to G2.”

“Knight takes queen,” Chance smiled, telekinetically moving the piece, “Check again.”

“King to G1.”

Chance’s grin grew wider, “Knight to F3 again, check again.”

The prince gasped before scowling and flipping the board sending pieces everywhere, “I will not continue to sit here and have you make a mockery of me!”

Chance reeled back and let out a slight laugh.

Blueblood turned, “You will regret this you, you-”

Chance grinned, “Yeah? Yeah? Come on, use your words!”

“You, you plebian! You surf! Now get out of my sight!”

“Uh, this is the school library. I’m not inclined to go anywhere. You may be a prince but this is a public university. In other words,” he grinned, “You have no power here.”

The prince huffed before standing up and storming out of the room, crushing one of the scattered pieces in the process.

Chance frowned, “Well then…”

The crowd watching cheered. Chance got a few pats on the back as ponies congratulated him.

“Dude, you beat him!” one pony said.

“Not really,” Chance grinned.

“But he flipped the board!” a mare added.

“My goal wasn’t to beat him. My goal was to play him to a stalemate. He won our first game last year. This time I ignored obvious avenues for advancement and played moves less likely to be accounted for.”

“So you weren’t trying to win?”

“I could’ve,” he grinned, “I just didn’t want to. That reaction back there was worth any victory I could’ve gotten. I mean… I could always beat him again.”

Another stallion trotted up, “Alright alright everyone, let’s give him some space.”

Ponies let out groans of disappointment but dispersed anyway among the stacks of books. Chancellor looked up at the blue and gold stallion who grinned back.

“Don’t let that all go to your head now,” Fire Bolt, “We don’t need another Prince Blueballs running around campus.”

Chancellor smiled, “You couldn’t have let me enjoy ten more seconds of that?”

“No. You only played him to a draw so you don’t get a full round of applause,” he grinned.

Chancellor rolled his eyes and began picking up the pieces and his board and began replacing them into his case.

“So are you saying that because I held back and extorted that wonderful reaction from him that I don’t get a round of applause?” he said levitating the broken bishop and repairing it before replacing it into the case as well as the board.

“Fine,” Fire Bolt rolled his eyes, “Maybe I did cut you a bit short there.”

He grinned, “Damn right you did.”

He closed up the case and placed it into a nearby saddle bag that he hefted onto his back.

“So now what’re you going to do?” Bolt asked.

“I don’t know. I had planned for that match to go on longer than it did.”

“Got any club meetings or some shit like that tonight?”

“Not tonight; tomorrow though. Wednesdays kinda suck like that.”

“Yeah, I hear you,” Bolt frowned. Outside, a clock tower rang, marking the hour. It was 3:00. Fire Bolt turned, “Oh shit! I’m gonna be late to practice! Uh, I’ll catch you later alright?”

Chancellor rolled his eyes, “Yeah, yeah, get moving and maybe I’ll forgive you for interrupting me.”

“Eh fuck off you bugger,” Bolt laughed as he ran off. Chancellor glanced around the now quiet library before sighing and hefting his saddle bags and walking out.

Canterlot University was big school. Ponies off all kinds trotted around the campus studying all kinds of subjects from Exercise Science to Engineering to Magic. Chancellor himself was majoring in Applied Magic with a minor in Physics.

He trotted out of the library and into the afternoon sun of the open courtyard. It was bustling with activity as ponies shuffled to and fro from classes to dorms to labs to wherever else they had to be. Some were simply outside enjoying a good book under a tree while others tossed a Frisbee around the open field.

He trotted up a hill to where the dorms were situated. Far above most of the city, they gave a beautiful unobstructed view of Canterlot and the valley below. He entered the tower and trotted up to the suite, unlocked the door and made his way inside.

Inside was a small living space set up with a hallway leading to both the bathrooms and the two bedrooms where Chancellor and Fire Bolt both slept. He entered his dorm room, which was decorated with a variety of trophies and ribbons from various tournaments as well as posters of chess tournaments he’d attended. He removed his case and placed it on a stack of others like it that was resting in a corner in the room.

He dropped this saddle bags on the floor and hopped onto his bed. After a few minutes he realized that he was incredibly bored sitting in the dorm. He sighed and stood up, grabbed his bags and trotted out of the room. After leaving a note telling Fire Bolt his plans he trotted out of the dorm and was soon off campus…

≪≪♜♞♝♛♚♝♞♜≫≫

“Fuck, fuck, fuck!” Chance growled as he trotted through the rain. His cutie mark may have been something smart but he couldn’t believe he’d been stupid enough to leave without bothering to check the weather schedule. His bags would be water logged by now, he was sure of it.

He ducked under a canopy and sat on a nearby bench. The crack of lightning briefly illuminated the city. He sighed; he was still at least a good 20 minute’s trot from campus, let alone his dorm. Chance checked his bags and groaned. Sure enough, they were holding water better than the kitchen sponge back at the dorm, his things almost floating among the rain.

He sighed again. The dorm. A warm bed, a hot meal, not wet… He groaned, not looking forward to the trot home and leaned back, his head smacking into a glass window.

“Ow! Fuck,” he said rubbing his head and turning. He was in front of an old antique shop. The creaking of an old sign above his head confirmed his observation.

He glanced at the weather around him. He wasn’t in too much of a hurry to get anywhere, especially in this weather.

Using his magic, he dug into his water logged bag and retrieved a pocket watch and glanced at the time. He sighed.

“Well I’ve got nothing better to do,” he muttered to himself.

The ringing of a bell gave away his presence as he entered the shop. It was dimly lit, even for the storm with the only light coming from a few candles suspended in the air by a simple levitation spell. An old earth pony sat at the counter reading a book who simply grunted at his presence.

The smell of rain was replaced the scent of old books, aged wood, and melted and dried wax. The sounds of the storm outside began to be replaced the sound of water dripping off his mane and coat and onto the hardwood floor.

Various trinkets and devices were on the shelves. Things from old oaken walking sticks, some antique guns, a few old gear based devices, old books and paintings were all over the shop. A creep factor was added to the shop when he came along a few skulls of several different species ranging from dragon to diamond dog.

He reached the end of isle and turned the corner and saw it.

At the end of the shelf was a board. It was checkered and appeared to be made of platinum and oxidized copper but it wasn’t the board or the material that appeared to construct it that caught his attention. Each of the pieces appeared to be intricately sculpted of the two component metals that made up the board. The copper side pieces appeared to be based on the changeling horde, with the pawns being changeling drones sporting fierce looks that were accompanied by bejeweled eyes. Rooks were a pair armored changelings sporting what looked like chitin halberds. Knights were changeling workers in flight baring emerald fangs. Bishops were armored changelings sporting small shields and Xiphoses. The queen was a taller armored changeling that sported an elongated horn that looked like it had a rather disturbing grin on its face. But the king was the oddest looking piece. It was still sculpted out of oxidized copper and done in a similar style but its entire being was hidden behind armor and a cloak leaving its identity a mystery.

But it was the other side of the board that really caught Chancellor’s attention. The pieces were just as intricately sculpted only out of platinum instead of copper. The pawns were ancient guard soldiers sporting equestrian xiphoses. They had bejeweled ruby eyes hidden just behind the rim of their helmets. The rooks were armored guard soldiers that sported equestrian halberds that were purposefully aimed at the opposing army. Their eyes were also ruby red. The Knights were armored pegasi guard ponies in flight that appeared to be wearing wing blades on their outspread wings. The bishops were armored guards that held bows and quivers with arrows knocked and pointed at the changeling army. The king was just as enigmatic as the changeling king only done in the style of the equestrian guards. However the piece that stood out the most to Chancellor was the queen.

She was an armored alicorn mare that was the most intricately decorated piece on the board. She sported a shield held on one hoof and a spear in the other aimed directly at the changeling queen. She had an equestrian xiphoses strapped to her belt. She also had a cape that seemed to be frozen in time, flowing behind her. Her helmet sported a crest running down to her neck. But above all, the thing that stood out the most was her eyes which unlike the other pieces appeared to be yellow diamonds.

Chancellor gasped. He had to have it. He looked it over for any sign of damage. Other than its apparent age it appeared to be in perfect condition with the oxidation of the copper pieces just adding to the aesthetics for him. He blew a layer of dust off the edge of the board. An inscription on the side, written in an old language stood out.

τὸ πεπρωμένον φυγεῖν ἀδύνατον

He grinned, “Somehow, you’re coming home with me.”

He left the board and trotted up to the old stallion at the counter.

“Hi, uh, how much for the-”

“Fifty bits,” he said in a gruff and scratchy voice.

“Uh, do you even know what I’m asking about?” Chancellor asked perplexed.

“The chess set,” he replied without looking up from his book, “Fifty bits.”

“Uh, uh are you sure about that?”

The pony looked up and glared at him with yellow irises, “Look kid, do you want the set or not?”

“Uh, yeah but I thought it would be more expensive than that.”

“Son, it’s my shop and my rules. I say fifty bits so that’s what it is.”

“Al-alright.”

Chancellor frantically looked through his bag for his wallet. He cracked it open and produced the desired currency and placed it on the counter. The pony swiped it off the counter to some unseen container behind him and leaned down and produced an old polished oak box and cracked it open. Inside were spaces filled with feathers and straw cut out to fit the board and each of the pieces.

The pony looked up at Chance, “Now be careful with the black queen son. She doesn’t like to be roughly handled.”

“Excuse me?”

“And do keep this in mind...” the pony said closing the box with a loud bang and pushing over to Chancellor, “Don’t be an idiot. She doesn’t like to lose.”

“I’m sorry, but, uh, what are you talking about?” Chance asked.

“You should get going,” he responded, ignoring the question.

Chancellor frowned and took the wooden box and went to the shelf and began levitating the pieces into the corresponding spots, covering them with the feathers and straw. He stopped when he got the black queen: the platinum alicorn. Something about it made him stare at it for a few seconds before gently placing the piece into the box. Once all the pieces were inside he moved the board into place and closed the wooden box with a click, locking down the latches.

He placed the box into his saddle bags and trotted out of the antique store, sparing once last glance at the pony running the store before moving out into the rainy night. Once again the smell of rain on the cobblestone roads got his attention, accompanied by the rusty creaking of the sign.

He glanced back at his bag with a smile, “Maybe this storm wasn’t so bad after all…”

He glanced up towards the university and began trotting up towards the school. Soon he sped up to a gallop, the rain beginning to sting his face.

He was almost atop the hill now. Just a few hundred meters away from the gate of the campus, a large bolt of lightning cracked down from the sky and exploded the ground before him, sending him flying in a shower of steaming rock and dirt.

Just before he lost consciousness, he saw the wooden case bounce across the ground and crack open…

≪≪♜♞♝♛♚♝♞♜≫≫

“Gah! Great! Just, ugh! Great!”

Chancellor groaned and held his head.

“Out of my way little Emmy!”

“Not on your life!”

The sound of metal on metal reached his ears.

“Why? Gah! Do I? Ugh! Always? Fuck! Get? Aah! An idiot?!”

Chancellor cracked open his eyes. He was resting on his side on the cobblestone streets. More clattering of metal and wood.

“Get! Out! Of! My! Way!”

“I’ve been awake for less than ten minutes! If you think I’m gonna let you win this easily you’ve got another thing coming!”

Chancellor pulled himself onto his hooves and searched for the sound of the noises. He stumbled before turning. He gasped.

Two mares were in the process of attempting to kill each other. One was wearing and oriented helmet with a golden crest. She had a golden ornate chest piece that sat atop what looked like a kind of armored robe. She wielded a spear and a shield.

The other mare looked more familiar. She had a white coat with a cloudy grey mane. She also sported a shield and a spear but had a xiphos strapped to her belt. A red cape blew behind her, strapped just below a crested helmet, as she jumped over her opponent and thrust out with her spear, aiming for the neck.

The other mare was faster and raised her shield to block and punched backward with it, knocking the alicorn mare back. It was then that Chancellor got a glimpse of her eyes. They were the color of shinned gold and bore a look of frustration as she flapped her wings to stabilize herself.

“Wh-what is this?” Chance asked.

The alicorn glanced over the shoulder of her enemy and growled.

“Oh! Well look who’s awake!” she shouted.

The other mare, a unicorn aimed her emerald green eyes at Chance.

“Good!” she shouted, “Now I can kill him!”

“Not if I kill you first you little minx!” the alicorn shouted and rushed the mare, smashing her shield into her back. Stunned, the mare stumbled forward, her magic losing its grip on her spear. Meanwhile the alicorn’s was working perfectly and she swung the spear as hard as she could, smacking the unicorn in the neck and knocking her to the ground.

“Move it hoofball head!” she shouted as she rushed forward and grabbed the confused unicorn and taking to the sky with him.

The ground instantly receded away from him as the mare dragged him into the air. Down below, the unicorn mare appeared to recover but still held her neck as she watched her prey escape.

He landed on the tile roof with a clatter.

“Fuck you’re heavy,” she groaned.

Chancellor gasped and scrambled to his hooves and backed away from the mare.

“What the fuck are you?! And why’s that bitch down there trying to kill me?!”

The alicorn removed her helmet and shook her mane, “She doesn’t have wings, why’re you panicking?”

“Teleportation spells?!”

“What’s a teleportation spell?” she said cocking her head.

“Who the fuck are you?! And how do you not know about teleportation spells?! They were created at least 900 years ago!”

The mare sat down, “Well shit, you got me there. Guess I should’ve really got caught up on my school work since I’ve been sitting on the board for the past THOUSAND YEARS! Fuckin' moron.”

“Thousand years?! What the fuck are you talking about?!”

“What am I talking about? You’re the little shit who got me! You better start thinking on your hooves if you want any chance of surviving this game!”

“Game?! What game are you talking about?! I’m just trying to get home.”

The mare blinked and then sighed, “Oh boy… this is gonna suck a whole bunch.”

“What are you rambling on about this time?”

“You just bought a chess set didn’t you?” she asked, "Huh shithead?"

“Yeah, fell out of my damn bag-how the fuck do you know that?!”

“Well this is going to take a while to explain but in short, you’re in a tournament now and right now,” she looked around, “since I don’t see anypony else here, I’m your only hope of living through this.”

“What do you mean a tournament?!”

“That unicorn? She’s trying to kill you because if you die, we lose. And I fucking hate losing,” she said aiming her eyes at the spooked stallion.

“What do you mean? How do I lose?! What’s this even about?”

“Hell if I know this time. It’s always changed. Last time it was to… well better not get into that right now. Right now we have to survive. And since you’re all… weak and I’m guessing can’t fight…” she sighed, “Just… try to stay out of my way for now and above all, stay alive. I’d hate to lose this early into the game.”

“Wait, who the hell are you anyway?”

She replaced her helmet and sighed, “My name is Minerva and that bitch as you so eloquently put it is Pallas. And that chess board you bought, wasn’t a chess set. You just bought an army. Congrats.”

She turned and hefted her spear and jumped off the roof and into the rainy night.

Author's Note:

This is kinda an impulse write. Just felt the need to write this. I'll see what happens with it.

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