Rook Takes Queen

by Undome Tinwe

Call/En Passant

"Check."

Flurry's brows furrowed as she studied the chessboard, feeling Cozy's eyes on her. The empress' gaze had the oddest effect on her, making her feel exposed even though she knew her secret was still safe from her. For now, anyways.

Still, Cozy definitely saw more than she let on, and used that knowledge to her advantage whenever she could. Just like Flurry did.

She pushed a knight between her king and Cozy's queen. "Your turn."

In response, Cozy moved her rook behind Flurry's. "Mate in five," she declared with her trademark smugness.

Flurry's heart sank as she evaluated her options. Cozy wasn't above lying to try to trick her into conceding, but this time, Flurry had the feeling that she'd been trapped well and good. A curse slipped out from between her lips as she tipped over her king, seeing that every move she could make would lead to her downfall. "Well played," she admitted begrudgingly.

"The rook on my flank isn't just for show, you know." After clearing the board, Cozy began setting up the pieces again. "You wanna go again? I still need to get you back for yesterday, with those naughty castling strategies you pulled off."

"Of course." With renewed determination, Flurry made her first move, pushing her queen's pawn forward. "I'd be happy to destroy you."

"You keep telling yourself that, Little Snowstorm." Cozy countered with the same, and the game began in earnest. "By the way, I finally met with your parents," she said casually as they played on. "Good thing we were doing it through those communication crystals or I'm pretty sure one of them would've strangled me. They're not taking losing you very well."

A pang of guilt assailed Flurry's heart, and she forced herself to tamp it down. It was all going to be worth it in the end. "I assume a lot of threats were made?"

"Yup." Cozy smirked. "If I harm a hair on your head, they're going to send me to the moon or something. I've forgotten how much fun it is to be able to hold something over a princess. Makes me nostalgic for the good old days, when I was still trying to take over all of Equestria and bring everypony to their knees."

"You really haven't gotten over them ruining your plans the first time, huh?" Offering one of her knights as bait, Flurry waited to see what Cozy would do.

Cozy's left eye twitched. "Careful, princess," she said through gritted teeth. "Don't make me hurt you to prove a point. I heard that alicorns heal fast."

"I'm definitely not telling you if that's the truth," Flurry retorted.

"And here I thought we were becoming friends." A false pout appeared on Cozy's muzzle. "Don't friends tell each other their secrets? That's an important part of honesty, right?"

In response, Flurry snorted. "Not when you're a princess."

"Oh, boo hoo." Cozy rolled her eyes as she took Flurry's knight with her bishop. "Don't try to tell me that being born an alicorn princess was so hard and you felt like you couldn't connect with anypony because of how special you were."

"I won't," Flurry replied to Cozy's surprise. "Being a princess and an alicorn has given me access to more power than any normal pony could dream of, and I've enjoyed every minute of it. But that doesn't mean that I'm not aware of the things I missed out on because of my position. I'm not a normal pony, and I never will be." Her lips curled up into a knowing smile. "I'm guessing you know what that's like too."

Cozy smiled back, and it looked genuine. "Okay, fine, it's hard being the smartest pony in the room sometimes. It's just so boring sometimes. At some point I was just trying to see what I could get other ponies to do just to entertain myself."

"I'm lucky I had the expectations that I had, I guess," Flurry admitted. "I needed to be smart, to be powerful, in order to fulfill my destiny." She took Cozy's bishop, completing the trade.

"Your destiny of being a pretty face on a throne who occasionally blasts bad guys?" Cozy taunted.

Flurry shook her head. "My destiny of becoming a great leader."

At that, Cozy began to laugh, one hoof pressed against her stomach as she struggled to breathe. "Oh wow!" she gasped out when she could. "I never thought anypony could top your mother and aunts for arrogance, but here we are! You really think you're so great?"

Undeterred, Flurry stared Cozy in the eyes as she replied. "I do. And I'm going to prove it to everyone."

"Well, you've already made one of the worst trades in history by coming here, so you're off to a great start." Cozy's queen advanced on the board. "Check."

Flurry moved a pawn to block. "We'll see," she said, biting back a retort. "Have you decided on your demands yet in return for my release?"

"I'm still thinking about it." Cozy waved a hoof idly in the air. "There's so much I could ask for. When I just had those soldiers, I was thinking of demanding that the Crystal Empire stop its sanctions against trading with us, but now that I have you, I think it's time for Tartarus to finally expand its borders. It'd be nice to have some land that isn't in an extradimensional realm, you know?" She captured the pawn almost absent-mindedly.

"It'd help with agriculture, I'm sure," Flurry said, moving her knight into a favourable position. "I can't imagine this realm makes it easy to grow things."

"We've got some crops down here, but not having to import as much of the good stuff will be really nice." Another pawn was taken by Cozy as she continued her inexorable march against Flurry's forces. "I think I'll ask for either the Asphodel Meadows or the Elysian Fields. They're both right outside and good for growing things."

"You should ask for Asphodel first," Flurry said. She ignored the danger her queen was in to move her knight forward. "The Crystal Empire is planning to approve a bunch of land grants there to develop it, so if you demand that one first, they'll be more likely to yield the Fields to you after."

Cozy glanced sharply at Flurry as she took her queen. "That's very useful advice, if it's true," she said in a guarded tone.

"Ask them about the Project Renewal," Flurry replied casually, as if she wasn't aiding the enemy.

"Why are you telling me this?" Of course she should have expected suspicion from Cozy.

"If you asked for the Elysian Fields first, you'd probably just get stonewalled and things could get unpredictable," Flurry explained. "This extends the talks a little longer, and gives me more time here with you."

"To pull off your master plan," Cozy finished for her. "Or for one of those rescue parties to finally make it here. We've been tracking a few of them, but until they cross the border, we can't really do anything about it."

Flurry shrugged. "One or the other, yes." She moved her last pawn forward. "Mate in four."

Cozy stared at the board. "Oh, ponyfeathers," she cursed. She glared at Flurry. "Did you just tell me that to distract me?"

Another shrug. "My previous reasonings were still true, but yes, I'm not above seizing whatever advantages I can. Chess or poker, conversation is always a weapon."

"You're going to feel really stupid when your plan fails and you just gave me inside information for free," Cozy promised, sweeping away the board. "If you're going to keep doing that, I think I'm going to enjoy these talks a lot more."

Flurry pressed a hoof against her heart in mock outrage. "And here I thought you just liked my company!" she exclaimed, smiling at the empress.

"It beats talking to my own subjects. And I miss having someone around who isn't awful at chess." Despite the disdain in her tone, Cozy still sounded genuine. "I guess you're not terrible for a princess, Little Snowstorm."

"And you're quite the impressive empress." Flurry inclined her head respectfully. "Shall I see you tomorrow for another set?"

"Wouldn't miss it for the world." With that, Cozy made her leave after a perfunctory goodbye.

"Quite the impressive empress," Flurry muttered to herself after she was gone. "I wonder if that's what they'll say about me after all of this."

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