Chessmaster's Apprentice

by Magic Step

Lesson 2: Pawns are Yours to Use as You Please

The next morning, the subject of Honey Word’s rage paid a visit to the hospital. He was well-known enough by now that nopony stopped him as he made his way past staff members and down long sterile hallways until he made it to the special containment room in the basement.

An orange honeycomb-patterned dome occupied the center of the room, itself large enough to be a small bedroom. A few machines were scattered around the edges. Nurses and doctors scurried around the perimeter of the dome, adjusting said machines and holding quiet conversations.

Phillip Finder scanned the room, then trotted towards the dark yellow unicorn writing on a clipboard. “Doctor Peculiar? Is the patient-”

“No.”

Phillip stopped walking. “So, uh… sick of hearing that question?”

Doctor Peculiar must have tightened his telekinetic grip on his pen too much, since it now snapped, spraying ink all over his face. “Ugh, it’s not you, it’s everypony else. The CDC, press ponies, insurance agents, it’s all just… gah!”

Phillip shrugged. “Resurgence of a deadly, incurable illness that hasn’t been seen in centuries? Honestly, mate, I’m surprised nopony’s screaming about the end of the world yet.”

“But it’s contained, dang it.” Doctor Peculiar gestured to the shield. “These things can keep out radiation from an Atomic Rainboom; I think we’re safe from a little cutie pox.”

“How’s the patient?” Phillip Finder turned to look at the shield. The strange magical material wasn’t transparent enough, but he could make out a stallion lying on a hospital bed, wires and tubes stuck everywhere on his skin not covered by the same arcane symbol. “Get anything out of him yet?”

“Just the plans for a better heart rate monitor.” Doctor Peculiar sighed. “I’m hoping that means he’s at least aware of his surroundings, and is trying to help. When I told him about the rumors of a Zebraland plant that might hold the cure, I think he smiled. And, uh… about that lead you hinted at?”

“Not that useful.” Phillip shrugged. “The virologist turned out to live on the other side of Equestria. And he’s been dead for six months. Cause looks natural enough, but I’m not ready to leave Coastal City yet.”

“Wait, virologist?” Doctor Peculiar dropped the clipboard with a thwap. “This… wait, you don’t think this was intentional?”

Phillip looked grim. “It makes sense, doesn’t it? It’s an easy way to get free ideas.”

Doctor Peculiar shook his head. “That’s so… that’s just cold.”

“Living in sunny Coastal City, I’m not surprised you haven’t noticed. But it’s a cold world.” Phillip turned aside. “Keep doing a good job, Doc. I’ll let you know what I-”

“He-e-ey! Lookie what’s hiding here!”

Phillip muttered some curses under his breath.

A light blue pegasus soared into the room, her camera flashing like a machine gun. An earth pony security guard dashed under her, trying to look not completely useless.

“What is she doing here!?” A lemon-yellow nurse shook her hoof at the intruder. “The press conference is over, you featherbrain-”

“Sorry!” A slender white unicorn stumbled into the room, almost knocking his black-rimmed glasses loose. He waved his press pass vaguely in the air as he half-tripped after the photographer. “So sorry, she’s with me, I thought, well, it’s just, I’m so sorry…”

“Hey, Ponyville.” The blue pegasus landed in front of the unicorn and tossed her bubblegum pink mane smugly. “Finally caught up?”

“Please don’t call me that…” he muttered in reply.

Phillip slipped away from Doctor Peculiar and started walking toward the entrance as quietly as possible. With any luck-

“He-e-ey, it’s the world’s greatest scowler!” The blue pegasus was suddenly in his face. Then a bright light blinded him.

“Go away!” He lashed out blindly and pushed something furry away. Blinking purple blotches from his vision, he saw that she was now lying down in a swimsuit pose, for some reason.

“Aw, come on, Philly, just a few more snaps.”

“You didn’t get enough the other day?”

“Phillip!” The reporter jogged over to them. “Shocking Snap, please leave us alone…”

Shocking Snap stood up and retreated a few paces, then held her camera up. “Go on. I’m too far to hear you.”

Phillip turned to the reporter. In a low voice, he said, “How about it, Mild Mannered? Just give her one little zap.”

“I can’t do that,” Mild Mannered hissed back.

Shocking Snap’s camera went off again.

“Gah!” Mild Mannered looked at her with wide eyes. “Wh-why would you need a picture of both of us?”

Shocking Snap put a hoof to her mouth and snickered.

“Go get some pictures of the patient already.” Mild Mannered put a hoof to Phillip’s shoulder and steered him towards a corner of the room.

“I know how to walk,” Phillip muttered, twisting away from the reporter. “What’s this all about? Didn’t you just cover the cutie pox in yesterday’s headline?”

“I’m not here about the cutie pox.” Mild Mannered narrowed his eyes. “I think you know what this is about.”

Phillip narrowed his eyes back. “Excuse me?”

“I saw what you did to Shadow Skip. What is he, sixteen?”

“Twenties. Small for his age. And if you’re going where I think you’re going-”

“Why in the blazes did you think what you did was justified?”

“When’s your girlfriend’s funeral, SuperStar?”

Mild Mannered took a step back. “You…”

“You think those glasses are actually fooling anypony?”

The pale unicorn pushed said glasses up his nose. “It’s not just a disguise. It helps me control The Stare.” Then he scowled. “And don’t change the subject! Leave Scoops out of it; this isn’t about her. It’s about the crazy pony who thinks he needs to break a pony’s bones so he can’t run away.”

“It worked, didn’t it?”

“You could have just restrained him nonviolently.”

“With what? I don’t just carry hoofcuffs everywhere. I’m no longer in the guard.”

Mild Mannered apparently hadn’t thought of that, but wasn’t willing to concede the point. “Y-you… I’m… I’m telling you this as a friend-”

“One case, SuperStar. One. Case. That doesn’t make us friends.” Phillip scowled. “And as I recall, you spent most of that case physically restraining me from doing my job.”

“You didn’t have probable cause-”

“I don’t have to listen to ponies who don’t care when an honorable guard and an innocent mare-”

“Shut up!” Mild Mannered swung his hoof at Phillip.

Phillip wove aside. The white hoof crashed into the wall right where his head had been. The resulting crash shook the building as a spiderweb of cracks spread under Mild Mannered’s hoof.

Mild Mannered froze, his eyes wide.

He’d be reproaching himself enough; Phillip didn’t need to say anything. So the pony in the gray trilby just turned and walked away.

He’d almost made it to the door when he heard it, again.

“He-e-ey-”

“Shocking Snap.” But maybe he could turn this to his advantage.

The light blue pegasus landed and skidded up to Phillip Finder. “Yeah?”

Phillip Finder pulled a notepad from one vest pocket and a pencil from another. “I overreacted to the lights earlier.” He scribbled for a bit, then put the pencil back in his pocket. “Here’s my hotel room. I hope you’ll give me a chance to make it up to you.”

Shocking Snap grinned like a Cheshire kitten as she took the note from Phillip. “You won’t be disappointed.”

***

The lousy therma cloak was itchy.

Honey Words was trying to become one with a rock, the silvery cloak hopefully masking her luscious golden mane. She was nestled against a huge gray specimen on a grassy knoll, overlooking the path her targets would certainly take. On the other side of the hill was the bright lights of Coastal City, but this semi-secluded footpath was reserved for transporting things ponies didn’t like to remember existed. Mostly trash. Of the inorganic kind, and the equine kind.

There it was. The prison wagon slowly lumbered along the path. They were still far enough away that she’d have time to prepare.

Honey Words scampered further down and hit the dusty road. She pulled a small red jar out of the therma cloak’s pocket, then tossed the cloak into some tall grass. With her nose and hooves, she applied the fake blood liberally, doing all she could to make it look convincing.

By the time the police wagon rounded the corner, she was lying on the road, sobbing with pain.

“Oh, oh my gosh!” The wagon puller, a younger earth pony, apparently forgot the load he was carrying and scampered forward.

The guard who’d been sitting on the wagon seat yelped and fell to one side. “Careful!”

“Miss, are you okay?” The earth pony stared down at her as Honey continued to bawl her eyes out.

“Th-the cloud…” she scanned the sky frantically. “The one I was napping on… where is my cloud?”

“It’s a bad day for clouds,” the guard said, sniffing at the sky. “Too hot.”

“I-I must have… I woke up, and I was falling… I just thought I was still dreaming.” Honey Words looked at her wing, then pretended to be shocked. “I’m bleeding!”

“Oh, miss, it’ll be okay,” the earth pony said. “Um, Tight Rein?”

“What?” the guard snapped.

“I can carry one more…”

“You can- We’re headed to the jail, sonny, not a country club!”

“You can’t ask her to walk back to the city like this!”

Honey Words pretended to stand, then cried as if it was too painful for her.

“Just got back from the hospital…” Tight Rein grumbled, getting out of his seat. “All right, missy, we’ll do what we can.”

“Thank you!” The earth pony unhitched himself and trotted over to help.

As the two of them moved Honey Words to the back of the wagon, she noticed the young earth pony even had a wagon for a cutie mark. Ugh, what a pointless existence. He’d thank her later.

The prison wagon was basically a huge box, but this one had a ramp fitted onto the back that was currently folded up. It made a short ledge with a tall wall that she could rest on without actually being in the wagon.

The two gentlestallions lifted Honey Words up as gently as possible.

“Don’t worry miss, I’ll go extra slow to make sure you aren’t hurt worse,” the earth pony said.

“Excuse me?” Tight Reins and the earth pony rounded the side of the prison wagon. “We do have a schedule to keep, whippersnapper.”

Honey waited until the wagon had been rolling for a while. The earth pony was going exceptionally slow, which was good. More time would just help her.

Honey sat up and extracted a hairpin-shaped lockpick from her mane. She went to work on the prison wagon door, then slipped inside.

It was mostly dark except for the fading rays of light coming in the small barred window. Shadow Skip’s dark coloration didn’t make it any easier to see him, but she soon found the navy blue stallion crouched by the wall. White and pink bandages were wrapped around his middle, with holes cut for the wings. A collar around his neck was chained to the wall behind him.

“Pink looks good on you,” Honey snickered.

“Zugzwang sent you?” Shadow Skip was practically wagging his tail with joy.

“Sweetie, do you think he’d just abandon you like that?” Honey set her lockpick to work on the collar. Well, he had, but telling Shadow Skip that would make him needlessly suspicious.

“This town is crazy,” Shadow Skip said. “You’ve heard of Phillip Finder? I’ve met him. Oh, sweet merciful Celestia preserve us…”

“I’m… familiar.” Honey tried to keep her tone even.

“They call him a great detective, but he’s just a spook. …T-that’s not right, he’s terrifying. Somehow he got the idea that-” the collar snapped off. “Oh, we can leave now.”

“Better not.” Honey pulled back. “Let’s wait for a more opportune time, shall we?” She returned the lockpick to her mane. Then she slipped off the red crystal earring she had on one ear and held it out to Shadow Skip. “I thought you might be hungry, so I brought you this.”

Shadow Skip stared at the tiny jewel, probably wondering what the connection was. “What is it?”

“It’s a meal gem. It’s enchanted to be super nutritious. Trust me, it’s safe.” Honey held it closer.

Shadow Skip blinked skeptically, then licked the gem up with his tongue.

“Chew it if you can,” Honey Words said.

A brittle crunch came from Shadow Skip’s mouth. “Doesn’t taste like much…”

“Just swallow it. You’ll feel better shortly.” Honey Words brushed her mane behind her ears. “Now, then, you were saying?”

Shadow Skip swallowed hard. Honey resisted the urge to sigh with relief. “Right, Phillip seems to think I murdered some ponies. But I couldn’t have. I-I mean that makes no sense. I’m a courier, I just carry stuff, whatever needs to be carried, or hidden, no questions asked. I run away, I don’t fight. I never have, never could. I just…” He turned to the side. “I don’t like to think about hurting other creatures. I don’t know why… I d-d…” He took a deep breath. “It just makes me feel… I feel… g-guess the sun is hotter.”

They rode in silence for a few minutes, except for Shadow Skip’s heavier breathing. Honey Words smirked. It had never worked this fast before, but she’d heard it was stronger when ingested instead of injected.

“You can’t fly in jail, y’know?” Shadow Skip was already sounding less coherent. “I don’t know… what I’d do if… if I… I… I…” He shook his head. “I’m not a m-m-murderer. I’m not. I’m not. You… believe… me?”

A shudder ran through Shadow Skip’s whole body. His eyes widened as his natural indigo irises began to flush red.

“No, sweetie,” Honey Words said. “I don’t believe you. Because you are a murderer, honey. See, I needed that nosy reporter Star Scoops out of the way, but I didn’t have the time to run from justice that you have. I know this might shock you, but I didn’t stand a snowflake’s chance in Tartarus of tricking the world’s greatest detective into thinking you committed murder, so I had to make you actually commit murder.”

It was safe to say this now; he wasn’t going to remember it. Although part of her wished he would; this far in the plan it probably didn’t matter. “That gem was actually a mineral called Sirenite. It makes ponies berserk. I’m sorry, sweetie; I know how much your no-killing code meant to you. It let you think you were better than all of us, somehow.”

Honey snickered as she went to the prison wagon door. “It’s almost cute that you thought you were better than Zugzwang. That a pawn could think itself above his master.” She threw the doors open. As the rays of sunlight hit Shadow Skip, he screamed in rage and agony. “But when you work for Zugzwang, he owns all of you. Mind, body, and soul. So now I own you, too.” She launched herself out of the wagon, hovering in the air with the slightest flap of her wings. “Try not to leave any witnesses, mmkay?”

Shadow Skip had started foaming at the mouth. He leapt off of the wagon at Honey; rage had made him forget his wings, and he fell just short of her.

Tight Reign ran around the cart. “What the hay-”

Shadow Skip whirled around and dove at the unsuspecting guard, tackling him to the ground. With his teeth, he grabbed the feathers of the helmet and yanked it off; then he pounded his hooves against the guard’s exposed head, over and over.

Honey Words suppressed a shudder. Looking around, she found a tree, to her surprise- a nice big tree with large flat branches and shady leaves. She flew over and rested on her back on one of the branches, sighing with pleasure.

The nameless earth pony screamed in terror. Honey looked down just long enough to watch Shadow Skip tackle the only other witness. As her animalistic henchpony crushed the young stallion’s head into the dirt, Honey turned to stare at the pretty patterns the light made between the leaves. She began to sing a song to herself, an old love ballad from bygone days.

“There’s a prince in your future, Honey. He’ll be exactly who you’re dreaming of…”

Shadow Skip, having run out of moving targets, just started ramming the police wagon. Honey rolled her eyes and crossed her hooves over her stomach.

“Handsome and disarming, a regular Prince Charming. When he comes, you’ll know at once it’s love…” She giggled to herself. It was good to be queen.

***

Phillip Finder lay on his hotel bed, flicking through the last pages of the A.B.C. Murders. He was suppressing a smile; it wasn’t often a mystery novel managed to trick him. Agatha Canter could do a few things right.

While Phillip’s only priority in choosing this room was that it would be on the ground floor, far from the exits, it had turned out to be made for him. The walls were a natural brown wood color, the carpet was gray, and the bedspread was dark green. A short round table rested in one corner of the room; for tonight’s entertainment purposes, he’d poured his usual cider into two fancy-looking, thrift store wine glasses. The effect looked pretty, sparkling in the light from the oil lamp on the wall.

He had only two pages to go when there was a knock on the door. Well, at least it was just the epilogue. Phillip pushed the book to the side and slid off the bed. “Who is it?”

“Somepony call for a little shock?”

Phillip stared blankly at the door. Did she… was that supposed to be clever?

Forcing a smile to his face nonetheless, he pulled the door open. “Glad you could make it, Shocking Snap.”

“Youse are in for a treat.” Shocking Snap looked over his shoulder. “Ooh, cider?”

“Help yourself.” Phillip stepped aside and waved her in.

“Don’t mind if I do.” Shocking Snap leaned coyly against the table and wrapped her hoof around the stem of the glass.

Phillip slid the bolt lock into place and turned to his guest. “Why do you keep posing like a model when your talent is on the other side of the camera?”

Shocking Snap hid her bitter expression by taking a long gulp of cider. When she set it back down, her expression was blanker. “Let’s not talk about work, okay? Never mix business and pleasure.”

“But your work is so fascinating.” Phillip trotted over to his suitcase and flipped it open. “I have a small collection of shots you took.”

“Oh, well, I’m flattered-”

“In fact, I was hoping you’d tell me more about this one.” Phillip held up a color print out.

Shocking Snap dropped the wine glass. It rolled onto the thick gray carpet, the remaining cider creating a darker gray spot. “How… how did you…?”

The photo was of two ponies in suits. Innocent looking enough, for those who didn’t recognize the faces for a famous minister and an infamous mobster.

“You do a bit more than photojournaling, mate.” Phillip brought the photo closer to Shocking Snap. “You took this photo, and you sold it. Now you’re gonna tell me where you where your buyer is.”

Shocking Snap backed away, eyes wide. “I d-d-don’t know nothing.”

“True.” In one swift move, Phillip grabbed Shocking Snap’s forehoof and spun her around, twisting her front leg behind her back.

“Ah-ah, no, please.” Shocking Snap flailed with her hind legs, whimpering. “You-you’re hurting me, you can’t hurt girls-”

“You’re thinking of SuperStar, mate.” Phillip leaned closer to whisper in her ear. “But where Zugzwang goes, I follow. And I bring a new set of rules.”

Shocking Snap sobbed. “N-no, you don’t understand- ow!”

“Save your crocodile tears.”

“But Zugzwang…” Shocking Snap swallowed. “He’ll kill me.”

Phillip slowly unwound his grip. “You knew that when you signed up.”

“So do whatever youse want to me. I’m not ready to meet my Maker, got it?” Shocking Snap slid back and leaned against the wall once she was freed.

Phillip sighed. “Listen, this doesn’t have to end like that. Just tell me what you know-”

Shocking Snap leapt for the hotel room window, her hooves crossed over her face. The sound of shattering glass and screams filled the air as Shocking Snap launched herself into the sky, one wing fluttering slower in a kind of pegasus limp.

Phillip couldn’t hesitate. He jumped out after her, glad he hadn’t taken off his horseshoes as they kept his fall onto the glass shards outside from being too painful. Then he took off down the street, watching the sky for a pegasus flying lopsided.

Coastal City did have to have annoyingly tall buildings. That was alright for resident hero SuperStar, since he could leap tall buildings in a single bound, but Phillip and his regular jump height had to waste too much time moving upward instead of forward. Why couldn’t he ever chase something without wings?

He dashed towards the hotel fire escape and clambered up, hoof over hoof, like it was an extra-spaced ladder. Finally on the roof, he scanned the skies for movement.

There, a dark shadow against the starscape. Her northwestern bearing meant he had to first leap to a northward building, then a westward building. Fortunately, she wasn’t flying very fast; probably hurt her wing jumping out the-

The crack of a gunshot rang through the night, and the shadow plummeted to the top of a skyscraper and lay still.

When Phillip made it to Shocking Snap, she was struggling to breathe. Dark red liquid poured from her chest all over the gravel-covered roof.

Phillip started to lean over her and got punched for his troubles. Her weak flailing didn’t hurt much, but a shard of glass stuck in her hoof scraped across his cheek, drawing more pain than blood.

“I t-told you,” Shocking Snap hissed. “This is… y-your… fault. Son of a… son of…”

Her voice faded. Then her breathing.

Phillip looked in all directions, but already knew he wouldn’t see who’d shot her. Tartarus, how had Zugzwang known…?

The brown earth pony turned back to Shocking Snap. Gently, he shut her still-glaring eyes. “I’m sorry.”

Sorry you didn’t get any information out of her, he could hear SuperStar saying. If you really cared what happened to her, you never would have done this.

Shocking Snap’s last words echoed in his head as he headed down the staircase to tell the guard.

“Your fault. Your… fault.”

“Shut it,” he muttered darkly to himself. It wasn’t his fault; he couldn’t believe it was. It was Zugzwang who’d ordered this, and it was he that Phillip needed to focus on. Before anypony else got hurt.

Author's Note:

I think I had something clever to put in this box...

When I remember what it was, I'll tell you.

Comments

[The Villain in Glasses]

Well well well...

I'm surprised you could be this brutal, Magic!