They never had a chance. She was simply too good. Two armies, one of black and one of white, stood on opposite sides, fighting with all their might. A knight swiftly glided past a slew of charging enemy soldiers, the hole in their defensive line unnoticed. She grinned, exactly the opportunity she needed. With naught but a soft gasp, the lone guard left to protect the space fell, and the war was over. Checkmate.

“Bad move, Fluttershy,” Twilight said. “Good game though.”

Time in the cafe seemed to stop for Fluttershy, everything but the pieces on the black and white squares of the chessboard completely forgotten. She had looked at every single solitary move, twice even. Her king was still pinned down, yet maybe that knight, maybe the bishop, maybe her queen could still save her. Analyzing her position, Fluttershy quickly stuck out a hoof to move her queen, but brought it back just as fast.

“Nope,” Twilight said with a hint of smugness.

“But what if I…” Fluttershy placed her hoof over her knight.

“Nope.”

Fluttershy hung her head in defeat. “Darn.”

“Oh Fluttershy, it’s nothing to get upset over. You’ll be even better next time.”

“…but I’ll never be as good as you, Twilight”

Twilight shot her a winning grin. “Practice makes perfect.”

Sure. It’d been four weeks since they started meeting on weekends for games at Twilight’s insistence, and Fluttershy wasn’t any closer to beating Twilight than when she started. What little remnants of hope she had left after her first defeat at Twilight’s hands slowly began dissipating into nothingness as the losses racked up. First one, then two, twelve, forty-nine, a hundred, it was enough to get even the most chipper of ponies in a foul mood.

There was a long silence between the two, neither making eye contact until Twilight finally decided to speak up. “Well, if you really want to improve, I have some game books in the library that I could give you. They’re a bit hard to read though.”

Fluttershy didn’t respond. Her gaze was fixed on a golden flier taped to the white walls of the restaurant. It read, “Come to the First Annual Ponyville Chess Tournament at Suger Cube Corner and have a chance at besting The Black Queen! A thousand bits for first place! Three hundred for second and two hundred for third! ”

“In fact, I have several books just for reading those books. The How-to-Read Books books, real great stuff. If you find those a bit too challenging, I always have the How-To-Read Books Books books collection. Establish a foundation for learning, you know? I even—”

Twilight stopped as soon as she realized what Fluttershy was staring at. Twilight’s pupils dilated, panic-stricken.

“The Black Queen? Here, in Ponyville? How could I have been so unprepared? I have study, now before it’s too late!” Twilight took a book roughly the size of her forearm out from under the table they had been playing on, and slammed it down, reading furiously. The table shook violently, causing a score of pieces to plummet to their untimely demise with a soft “clink.” Deciding that Advanced Openings for Advanced Ponies was simply not enough, Twilight produced another book, The History of Chess, a Compendium of Every Move Ever Made with Historical Attributions, which was thicker than a tree trunk. She at first struggled to place the book on the table without knocking over the first book. This proved to be a futile effort, as the table, along with the chessboard and all its pieces collapsed to the floor the instant it was placed on the table. Sawdust spewed upward, coating the two with a thin veneer.

“Uh… Ma’am? Your order,” A scrawny waiter said, presenting a daffodil sandwich on a small platter. His face contorted into grimace as he examined the remnants of the table.

Twilight paid him no heed, crouching on the floor to view the books. “Ah, the Sicilian, wonderful opening, a favorite of the grandmasters.” The sawdust still stuck in her mane did not help alleviate the waiter’s concern.

“She’s, uh, a bit ‘busy’ at the moment. She gets like that sometimes. I’ll take that off your hooves for now.” Fluttershy smiled absentmindedly.

The waiter blushed; he wasn’t used to customers doing him favors. He did what he was told, but Twilight grabbed him before he could make his escape to the side of the restaurant where there weren’t crazy ponies.

“Does my mane look all right?” Twilight asked insistently.

“Wha?“

“I said does my mane look good?” This time her voice was borderline desperate.

“I’m really not that kind of guy you should ask about that. Maybe she could help you.” He pointed to Rarity, who had just entered the restaurant for her afternoon lunch.

Twilight rushed over to Rarity with what would have been the speed of a jaguar, but the two books she was carrying slowed her pace to that of a turtle, even with her magic to assist her. The entire restaurant seemed to shake as she moved step-by-step across the ceramic tiles.

“RARITY! AM I BEAUTIFUL?”

Rarity’s eyes widened. Judging from her expression, she knew that Twilight was having one of “those” days, and had already checked “Have lunch” off her mental to-do list. Scarcely had there been ponies that ran faster than Rarity at that moment: she was gone in an instant.

“Wait! I need your help!” Twilight chased after her, displaying a surprising degree of nimbleness, considering that she was carrying roughly a metric ton of paper. Once Twilight left, the restaurant returned to its previously peaceful atmosphere. The waiter tiptoed away slowly, hoping that he could return to the sane side as soon as possible.

“Wait,” Fluttershy said.

The waiter’s shoulders slumped, and he stopped mid-step. At least the crazy one was gone. He took a deep sigh and turned to face Fluttershy, giving his best smile.

“How can I help, ma’am?”

“Who’s that?” Fluttershy pointed at the picture of The Black Queen on the poster, which now lay on the floor. The picture displayed a figure cloaked white robe decorated with black chess pieces. A hood obscuring its face, the only feature visible was the sinister yellow glow of eyes.

“Don’t you read the news, lady? That’s new Canterlot Chess Champion. Rumor has it that she always wears a cloak like that one, and no one has ever seen her face.”

“Spooky.”

“Yeah, chess is big up in Canterlot. If she’s the new champ, she’s probably the best in all of Equestria.”

“Mmmhhmm…” Fluttershy said as she munched on the daffodil sandwich that Twilight had left behind. The waiter stared at her expectantly. “Well, uh, thanks for the information.” She nibbled at the final bits of Twilight’s sandwich before handing the platter back to the waiter.

“Ma’am, there still is the matter of your bill…” the waiter said hesitantly, almost too nervous continue. He took a deep breath, gulping for a few more mouthfuls of air, and said, “…and my tip.”

A faint hue of red began to paint Fluttershy’s face, ears drooping. “I… don’t have any money,” she said, her bottom lip quivering in anticipation of the inevitable reprimand. No money meant that she’d have to work it off, which meant that she probably have to pay off the table as well, and who knew how much a whole table cost? She’d be there forever. Fluttershy pictured it in her mind. All the bunnies would be lonely with their friend Fluttershy to keep them company. Who’d help the birds nest? Who would take care of Angel? A thousand thoughts ran through Fluttershy’s mind until something the waiter said snapped her back to reality.

“…and that’s fine, because you two come here so often that you’ve got a tab that you can take out.”

The words were music to Fluttershy’s ears. “Oh thank you, thank you, thank you. You have no idea how much this means to me. Angel would be so lonely without me.”

“Oh, no problem. Your tab currently stands at… five hundred bits, due at the end of next week,” the waiter said, backing away slowly, waiting for the meltdown to occur.

All the color in Fluttershy’s face drained in an instant. For the longest moment, the two stood in complete silence, Fluttershy on verge of breaking down into tears all the while. Her breath suddenly became very ragged, and she struggled just to breathe, her lungs taking down massive gulps of air.

Eventually, she managed to utter, “D-did you say… f-five hundred bits?” That was more than she made in a month, more than she made in two months. She didn’t know anyone with that much money on hand, and certainly nobody that would give it away. First they’d take the house, then they’d take Angel and send him to a foster home for bunnies with deadbeat caretakers. It’d be so embarrassing that she wouldn’t even have the heart to ask her friends to take her in. Then there’d be no one who remembered poor old Fluttershy, living as an exile for the rest of her life. Out of the frying pan and into the fire, Fluttershy thought glumly.

---

Twilight paced back and forth in front of the massive chessboard set up on the floor of the library, making sure not to step on the hundreds of books, perhaps thousands, of books on chess theory littered the floor. Her game had to be perfect to best The Black Queen, and that required discipline. She picked up a chessboard poster and taped it to the wall, producing a ruler to use as a pointer.

“B1knight! When The Black Queen plays the Alekhine's Defense, what will you do?”

The knight did not respond.

“Correct! And what will you do when pinned to the king?”

The knight said nothing.

“Exactly! You could learn a thing or two from b1knight, f2pawn!”

The pawn looked bitter, almost shamed that her name was singled-out. She stifled a sniffle, rubbing her eyes. All the others stared it at her; it must have been terribly embarrassing to be such a failure. The f1bishop gave her a pat on the back.

“Look at what you did to poor Twist!” Scootaloo, the h1 rook, said. “You made her cry!”

“Forget it, no amount of extra credit Cheerilee gives us is worth this,” Sweetie Belle, the queen, said. “I’m leaving.”

“Wait! I have so many other openings to go over with you. We haven’t even started talking about all the variations of the King’s Indian Attack that can be played!” Twilight said.

“Nuh-uh, Twilight. We’ve been here for hours and all y’all has done is spout a buncha hooey about openin’s nopony knows or cares about. I’m getting’ outta here,” Applebloom, the g1 knight said.

The other schoolfillies nodded in agreement, and filed out the door. Twist was still sobbing as she left. Twilight scoffed. Kids just weren’t interested in chess nowadays, and Twilight couldn’t grasp why. Such a beautiful game of strategy shouldn’t be just an elderly pony’s pastime. With a grunt of exasperation, Twilight started cleaning up the mess that was her home.

“You know, I bet they’d like the game a bit more if you didn’t, I don’t know, make it chore to play? Games are supposed to be fun, right?” Spike, the king, said.

Twilight didn’t answer. Spike sighed.

“I know you’re trying because you like the game, but you can’t force others to like it too.”

Spike was awfully perceptive for a baby dragon sometimes.

“You don’t understand, Spike. If Ponyville doesn’t perform well, there might not be another chess tournament!” Twilight threw the ruler to the round. “And if there’s not another chess tournament, who am I going to play with?”

“Don’t you have Fluttershy?”

“Yes, but she’ll never be as good as…”

Spike pointed behind her.

It was at that moment Fluttershy opened the door.

---

Fluttershy had picked up her chessboard and bolted from the café as fast as she could, heading for Twilight’s. She wasn’t home. According to Spike, Twilight was it Rarity’s, according to Rarity, she went to see Pinkie Pie, according to Pinkie Pie, she had gone to Sweet Apple Acres, according to Applejack, she had gone to the school, and according to Cheerilee, she had gone back home. For half the day, Fluttershy had been running frantically all over Ponyville looking for Twilight.

She stopped in front of the library tree, and caught her breath, steeling herself for the confrontation to come. “Oh hey, Twilight, yeah, you know that restaurant you did all the damage to? Yeah, that one. Well, we owe them five hundred bits in back payment, and it’s due by next week. Good luck getting Celestia to cough much money up.” Fluttershy imagined that would be when she fainted, and she’d have to have Spike fetch a doctor. The medical bills would stack up on top of their unpaid tab, and Twilight would be a deadbeat just like her. Wonderful. But it was Twilight’s responsibility just as much as it was her’s, so she had to be told about it, lest her home be taken too. Hopefully she would listen to what Fluttershy had to say after that little tidbit about the tab, because she’d worked a solution out in her mind while searching for Twilight.

A score of fillies came barging out of the library’s front door, much to Fluttershy’s confusion.

“Can you believe that? She’s crazy, I tell you what,” Scootaloo said.

“What’s going on here, girls?” Fluttershy asked, taking note of the sobbing Twist.

“Oh nuthin’ Miss Fluttershy, just Twilight bein’ nuttier than a fruitcake again,” Applebloom said.

“Do fruitcakes even have nuts?” Sweetie Belle asked. “They’re fruitcakes, why would they have nuts?”

“They do, quite a lot of nuts actually,” Fluttershy said meekly. ”So, uh, what happened to Twist?”

“Oh, uh…nothing,” Scootaloo said, clasping a hoof over Twist’s mouth before the group scattered. “Have fun talking to Twilight, Fluttershy!”

Fluttershy stood there, alone, for a few seconds. What just happened? She couldn’t say. Slowly, she crept to the door, cracking it open with the gentlest of pushes. As she stepped through the doorway, she heard Spike’s voice.

““Don’t you have Fluttershy?”

Then Twilight’s.

“Yes, but she’ll never be as good as…”

Twilight spun around to face her. “Fluttershy!”

Spike slowly crept upstairs without as much as a peep.

Fluttershy wasn’t sure how to react, so she just let it all loose. “Twilight, you messed up the café, didn’t pay for lunch when you said you’d treat me, accrued a tab of five hundred bits worth back-pay, made small fillies cry, and now you’re bad-talking me?! What’s gotten into you?” Fluttershy heaved in exasperation. “…sorry.”

Twilight’s ears drooped in shame. “I’m sorry, Fluttershy. That was wrong of me. But I must not have heard you right, you said five hundred bits?”

“Uh, yes. But I think I…”

Twilight’s expression changed to something Fluttershy recognized all-to-well, the face of a pony that’s been pushed to their absolute emotional limits, and just can’t deal with the stress anymore.

“Fluttershy! We don’t have that kind of money! I can’t go to the Princess for unpaid debts! What would she think? She’d probably find another number one student after hearing about the ‘Twilight Sparkle Scrounger Scandel.’ What are we going to do? They’ll take both our homes as collateral!”

“Twilight, I—“

“Who’ll take care of the books when I’m gone? Nobody cleans their dust jackets with as much love as I do! They’ll be so lonely without me!”

“Twilight, there’s a—”

“And who will take care of Spike? I mean, taking care of a baby dragon is expensive, and without any money—“

“Twilight!” Fluttershy yelled.

“Oh, sorry.”

“…As I was saying, I happened to find this,” Fluttershy held up one of the posters for the chess tournament, which was in six days. “If we both win second and third place, we can pay back the money.”

Twilight’s grin was so wide that it stretched to the far ends of her cheeks. She got up, retrieved a record, Training Montages: Study Edition, and placed it in the record player. “Well, what are we waiting for? Let’s study!”

---

The next few days passed incredibly slowly. Twilight’s training routine was incredibly brutal, and Fluttershy had read nearly the entire library of books in that time, not even sparing time to sleep or rest. They played more and more, Fluttershy steadily improving as she read and practiced.

A white queen, regal and elegant in poise stood in the middle of board. A crafty black bishop used his cover provided by his teammates to pin her to her lover, the king. Glued to the spot because of her affection to the king, and unable to move another soldier in to help, the queen valiantly charged forward, taking the bishop with her as the pawns ended her spree. Her sacrifice was in vain; the king was still trapped, and he too would be gone after the enemy moved.

“Wow, good move Fluttershy!” Twilight said, knocking her king over. “I resign.”

“Yes!” Fluttershy’s hoove shot up in the air in triumph. “uh… I mean, yay.”

“You’re getting good, Fluttershy. Really good.”

Fluttershy beamed. “I am?”

“You just saw how you mopped the floor with me, tell me you’re not getting better.”

Fluttershy blushed. “Hehe… I guess I am!”

Twilight reset the board, making sure that each piece was in its proper place. She frowned. With a sigh, she made her first move.

“Twilight, what’s wrong?”

“It’s nothing.”

But her face told a different story.

“Twilight,” Fluttershy said in a pouty voice.

“Fine. It’s just that you’ve gotten so good, and I haven’t improved at all. I feel like all this training has done nothing for me. Maybe I should just give up.”

“Oh Twilight, it’s nothing to get upset over. You’ll do better next time.” Fluttershy said, playfully.

Twilight stared blankly at Fluttershy, shocked at having her own words thrown in her face. She grinned. “Sage advice. Come on, we got a competition to win, and a queen to dethrone!”

Fluttershy returned the smile. “Yeah!”

---

Chess-styled decorations filled the modest venue of Sugar Cube Corner to the brim. Pinkie Pie evidently had taken part in the decoration, as party paraphernalia was scattered about: streamers, confetti, even a “chess” canon in the corner. Fluttershy hoped that it didn’t shoot chess pieces. A dozen chessboards sat on both sides of the candy shop, creating a path leading up to an ornate triple-decker gold trophy with a queen centerpiece. The turnout was better than Fluttershy had expected; there were at least thirty ponies milling about in the area that had been designated as the lobby.

“Well hello girls, plan to compete?” Mrs. Cake said, carrying a small clipboard.

“Why yes we are,” Twilight said, cheerily. “Where’s Pinkie Pie?”

“Oh, we left her to take care of the kids.” She shot a look to her husband. “Wouldn’t want her to spoil the event, now would we, dear?”

Mr. Cake nodded enthusiastically. “Yes ma’am. As the official director of this here tournament, I wouldn’t want any player to be distracted by, uh, her ‘antics.’ Orientation will be starting in a few minutes, don’t be late!” Mr. Cake shuffled his notes, and took off towards the podium that stood next to the trophy.

“So, girls, the entry fee would usually be around ten bits, but because of a very generous donation from one ‘Black Queen’ the tournament stays free for everyone!” Mrs. Cake said. “I’ll just put you down on the registration list.”

Twilight looked both relieved because they didn’t need to spend any more money, and confused. “Why would she do that?”

“She said she just plays to play. Apparently she comes from a rich Canterlotian family, as she’s the one who financed this entire setup.”

“That’s… nice of her,” Fluttershy said.

“Yes, yes it is. We get all the advertisement and none of the cost. It’s simply lovely,” Mrs. Cake said.

A tall figure cloaked in a white robe adorned with black chess pieces stepped behind Mrs. Cakes. “It’s all in a day’s work, Mrs. Cake.” Her voice was gentile, definitely a member of the Canterlot aristocracy, yet there was something off about it. It sounded as if she were speaking through her hoof, all her sounds were slightly muted and warped. Her robe covered her body completely, and her face was but a silhouette underneath her hood.

Mrs. Cake froze, then slowly turned around to face The Black Queen. “Thank you very much for what you’re doing.”

The Black Queen nodded. “It’s the least I could do to bring the wondrous world of chess to Ponyville. Now if you’ll excuse me, I believe orientations are starting.” She walked off towards the podium.

Mr. Cake took out a microphone and began speaking, “Ahem, registration is now officially over! Hello, I’m Mr. Cake, and this is my beautiful wife.” He took a photograph out of his wallet, before realizing that she was standing right next to him. “She’s a keeper, isn’t she?”

The crowd nodded awkwardly in agreement. Mrs. Cake cut in before her husband could be of any more embarrassment. “Welcome to the First Annual Ponyville Chess Tournament! We’ll be your directors for the day. My lovely husband here will explain the rules.” She gave him a hard nudge.

“We play standard rules: five games, fifty minutes each. Who you play in the first round will be randomly selected, then winners play winners and losers play losers. Each player will have a score sheet to write down their moves as they play. This is mandatory. The one who has the best record after five matches will be our champion and take home this fabulous trophy!” He gestured to the massive trophy that lay next to the podium. “And a cash prize of a thousand bits, generously given to us by The Black Queen!” He gestured to the cloaked figure standing in the corner of the room.

The crowd oohed and awed as The Black Queen took the stage. Mr. Cake offered her the microphone, but she apparently didn’t need it, as she spoke loud and clear. “As the benefactor of this tournament, I wish you all good luck! I will now let our TD continue his speech.”

“TD?” Fluttershy asked.

“Tournament Director, it’s chess lingo,” Twilight responded.

“Oh.”

“Thank you, missus, uh, Queen. Second and third place also receive cash prizes along with trophies. There are several rules to chess that are exclusive to tournament play…”

Fluttershy listened to Mr. Cake to drone about the rules, but didn’t pay much attention. Twilight, on the other hand, was furiously scribbling notes. She raised her hand.

“Excuse me, what happens if a player makes an illegal move while touching a piece that can be moved, but it isn’t figured out until later because the player forgot about en passant and didn’t know that a pawn could work that way, but the game has already progressed a good number of moves, and what happens to their clock time?”

Fluttershy could see Mr. Cake mentally process the information. He counted on his fingers, shook his head, and looked to his wife in desperation. She shrugged. Fortunately, The Black Queen spoke up before the dead air could become an awkward silence.

“The players reset their position to when the error was made with time granted to compensate for the rest of the game.”

“Oh, that’s interesting. Thanks!” Twilight said.

Mr. Cake looked at Twilight a bit apprehensively. “If there are no further questions, we’d like to announce the pairings for the first round. None? All right then.”

Mr. Cake announced the first round pairings, Fluttershy was set to play Big Mac, and Twilight was paired up against The Black Queen herself. When Twilight heard “The Black Queen versus Twilight Sparkle” she nearly fainted. The tournament had just started and things were already going wrong. It was all Fluttershy could do not to scream out in frustration as well, but one pony yelling out curses was probably enough for one chess tournament.

The Black Queen approached Twilight. “Our table is over there, table number one, for the best, I assume.” She chuckled. “I’ve heard a great deal about you, Twilight Sparkle. Let’s see if you’re as smart as they say.”

Twilight laughed nervously along with her. “Yes, let’s. Good luck on your game, Fluttershy!” she said with some enthusiasm before going into a full-fledged slump. The walk to the board was going to be one of the longest walks of her life.

Fluttershy watched as her friend left, then took her seat at table number twelve. Big Mac was already seated, and had set the board and clock.

“You, uh, ready to play?” Fluttershy asked.

“Eeeyup.”

---

They had been overwhelmed by her strength. All the king’s loyal soldiers, even his beloved wife, had been captured or done away with. Standing at the center of the board, surrounded by enemies, the king did the only thing he could: raise the white flag.

“I resign,” Twilight said, depressed. She tipped over her king and stopped her clock. “Congratulations, you win.”

“Do not despair, Twilight Sparkle, for you played a most excellent game. When you’ve had as much time as I to study the intricacies of chess, you know the ins and outs of the game almost as a second nature,” The Black Queen replied.

“But I’ve studied chess my entire life, how can I still lose?”

The Black Queen chuckled. “So have I.”

Twilight gave herself a moment to calm herself before responding. Sure, she lost the first round, but she could at least win the rest of her rounds and snag second place. They only needed second and third place to pay back the tab, but already in Twilight’s mind had formed delusions of grandeur. There would have been a trophy, press conferences, and a thousand bits that could go a long way. Now that dream was crushed. She took a deep breath, put on her best smile, and spoke one last time to The Black Queen.

“I learned a lot from playing you. Thank you for that.”

“You’re welcome, Twilight Sparkle.”

The Black Queen stood up, and walked to the break room, which was stationed in the backroom of the shop. Twilight sat on her board, going over the game in her mind. Sighing, she reset the board, and went to check on Fluttershy’s game.

Big Mac had been, using the term lightly, absolutely crushed. His side of the board was a mess of poorly positioned pawns and not much else. Fluttershy had taken nearly every major piece, and was just about to finish him off. Sweating nervously, Big Mac pushed one of his pawns, a move which proved to be a horrendous blunder. Fluttershy capitalized on it, forcing her queen right in Big Mac’s face. There was nowhere his king could run.

“Checkmate. Good game, Big Mac.”

“Uh, Eeeyup.” Big Mac blushed, embarrassed. “I think you’ll find a trail-hand like myself a bit too green for yer tastes, little lady.”

“Oh, it’s okay, at least you tried,” Fluttershy said.

Big Mac nodded.

“Fluttershy! That was amazing!” Twilight exclaimed. “You just completely trounced Big Mac, one of the best chess players in Ponyville!”

Big Mac’s blush became even more pronounced. Considering that the guy was already red, he must have been pretty darn embarrassed to get even redder.

“I wouldn’t say that, Twilight. He played a good game.”

Twilight watched as Big Mac slowly crept away in humiliation. She took a mental note to watch what she said from now on.

“Well, it’s good that you won your first game, because I lost mine,” she said. “The Black Queen is good, Fluttershy. Too good.”

“It’s okay, Twilight. We can still win that money.”

“I don’t think you understand, Fluttershy. She crushed me. I’ve never had that happen before.”

“It’ll be all right, Twilight. You learned something, right?”

Twilight nodded.

Fluttershy grinned. “Then we’re making progress.”

---

Mr. Cake spoke into the microphone, “The next match begins in one minute. Please move to the lobby for pairing announcements.”

“I guess it’s time to buck up, sit down, and win some games,” Twilight said.

The players crowded into the space allotted for the lobby and listened patiently as Mr. Cake called off their names.

“Fluttershy gets a bye this round, which is an automatic win for those silly ponies that weren’t paying attention earlier, Carrot Top plays Bon-Bon, and Twilight Sparkle plays Big Mac.”

There was a heavy groan heard from the within crowd. A deep baritone said, “I just can’t win today.”

---

“Checkmate!” Twilight said, cheerily. A victory like this was just what her confidence needed after that humiliating defeat.

Big Mac smacked a hoof against the table. “Why can’t I win?” He seemed to shrink inwardly, ears drooped. He looked at the board, disappointed. “I used ta be good at this game, Granny Smith always said I was her little chess champion.”

“Big Mac, I’ve been studying chess all my life, and the last few days I’ve been studying harder than I ever have before. There’s nothing to be ashamed about.”

His face brightened. “Mayhap you’re right, Twilight. That bein’ said, I think I’ll see myself outta this here tournament. Too many high-rollers for my tastes, and I ain’t gonna be some punching bag. I’ll seeya later.” Big Mac stood from his chair, and was gone without another word.

Twilight watched him go. Ponies took this game too gosh darn seriously.

---

The third round match was announced. This time Twilight got the bye, and Fluttershy was paired up against none other than The Black Queen. When Fluttershy heard her named announced, her reaction was that of Twilight’s, if it were multiplied by sixty-four. She clasped onto Twilight like an oversized teddy-bear or security blanket and refused to let go. It took the combined efforts of Mrs. Cake and Mrs. Cake to pry her off, but as soon they released her, she clung back onto Twilight. They eventually got her off again, and managed to get her seated on table number one in spite of her protests. Protests being the innate kicking and screaming a filly goes through when they visit a dentist, or another source of great pain. When basic objections failed to succeed, Fluttershy attempted to pity her way out it, telling the Cakes of her current financial woes, and how there’d be nopony to take care of the animals once she was gone.

Unperturbed by her opponent’s behavior, The Black Queen calmly and quietly took her seat. “Ready to play, Fluttershy?”

Fluttershy shook her head and pleaded to the Cakes one last time. “Please, think of the bunnies.”

“Your financial problems do not affect the pairings in this tournament. Just sit down, relax, and play the game, deary,” Mrs. Cake said.

“Financial problems?” The Black Queen perked up.

“Oh, it’s nothing… I’ll play the game now… sorry, for being such a spoil-sport,” Fluttershy said.

“Good luck Fluttershy!” The Cakes chimed, as they walked off to the break room.

“Well, let’s begin then,” The Black Queen said.

And the game was on. Fluttershy played the best game of her life, nearly impeccable in strategy, but The Black Queen matched her move for move. She tried various gambits, all of them countered. When she thought she gained an upper hand, The Black Queen took it back as soon as it came. Were the chess environment not supposed to be a quiet one, Fluttershy would have screamed in frustration. Fluttershy had one thing working for her though: she had more time than The Black Queen. The Black Queen took a calm, deliberate pace with her moves, even though she was almost out time. Perhaps if she got careless, maybe, just maybe, Fluttershy could win this. She kept telling herself, “she’s not looking at the clock, you can do this” yet these felt like hollow words. As if she were simply deluding herself into accepting a lie.

Something was off. Fluttershy didn’t know what, but as the game progressed onwards, it became clear that The Black Queen wasn’t even remotely concerned about her time, which had dwindled to under a few minutes. Fluttershy considered it for a few moments. If The Black Queen didn’t speed up, then she’d run out of time, but what if she wasn’t concerned about running out of time? Fluttershy replayed her previous moves in her mind, but found nothing. She kept playing, eying the board warily.

As the time clicked down to under a minute on The Black Queen’s clock, Fluttershy finally realized what was wrong: she had been in check for at least ten moves and had been moving illegally. A barely audible gasp managed to escape her. The Black Queen had been toying with her the entire time, and there was nothing she could do about it.

No doubt, The Black Queen saw the look on Fluttershy’s face, and stopped the clock, raising a cloaked hoof to call the director. Fluttershy grimaced, knowing all too well what was about to happen. Mr. Cake navigated his way from the confection area over to Fluttershy’s board. He took one look at the board, and knew exactly what was wrong.

“How long?” he said.

“Since move thirty-seven,” The Black Queen replied.

It was longer than Fluttershy thought; that was twenty moves ago.

Mr. Cake’s face showed signs of conflicted interest, but he ruled in favor of the rules.

“Add twenty minutes to each of your times and start from move thirty-seven. Best of luck you two.” He gave Fluttershy a look of pity and whispered, “I’m sorry.”

No sooner had Mr. Cake completely wrecked her game that Fluttershy started the breakdown into tears. It was all over. There was no coming back from a hit like that. Sure, she had back what was essentially an even game, but to be denied victory when it was just within a minute, and her grasp, could be nothing other than cruel.

“H-how, how could you?” Fluttershy asked, her voice little more than a whisper.

The Black Queen did not answer, keeping the time-honored chess decorum of remaining silent while playing. She made her moves, faster this time, with a shaking hoof.

The game continued, but Fluttershy played poorly; her heart wasn’t in the game anymore. Minor losses grew into major losses, and soon she completely overwhelmed by The Black Queen’s attack.

Knowing that there was nothing in store for him but capture, the rook snapped off a salute to his king.

“It’s been in honor serving you, sir, but now’s the time to say goodbye,” he said.

In the end, the rook did what he did best: charge forward. It was a shame to leave the old king like that, alone and vulnerable, yet there was no other choice. He took out an enemy bishop before a sea of soldiers freed him from the bonds of his loyalty forever.

All her major pieces were gone, leaving only a few pawns. Fluttershy groaned in disappointment. The Black Queen’s position grossly trumped hers; she still had her knights, plus a rook. Defeat was inevitable— no amount of fancy playing could bail her out of this mess. Fluttershy stuck out her hoof, and placed it over her king, shaking. She knocked it over.

“I… resign,” Fluttershy said.

Stopping the clock, The Black Queen stuck out her own hoof. “T’was an excellent game, Fluttershy. I daresay it’s the best I’ve played in who knows how long.”

Because it was the polite thing to do, Fluttershy accepted the hoofshake. Yet, resentment plagued her heart. How dare you waste time just to toy with someone, she thought. She said nothing, only stood up from her chair, and walked the walk of shame back to the break room.

---

Twilight had been inside the break room, too anxious to watch Fluttershy play. There was no doubt in Twilight’s mind that victory was at least twenty-three percent, give or take ten. As she saw her friend enter with the slumped shoulders of a pony that’s completely given up, ears drooped in defeat, and a face full of sadness, the probability decreased to something close to three percent.

“Come on, Fluttershy. We knew beating her was a long-shot anyways,” Twilight said, giving Fluttershy the hug that she obviously needed. The embrace, while warm and comforting, was short-lived.

“…I know, but I was this close to winning.” Fluttershy made a tiny space with her hooves. “She’s just a big meanie, Twilight. She was just messing with me half the game.”

Twilight looked from Fluttershy to The Black Queen, who took refuge in the corner of the break room. “Is this true?” she called out.

Although Twilight couldn’t see her face, it was easily recognized that The Black Queen was taken aback. “I have no idea what you’re talking about. Your friend made a rather humorous face which prompted me to inspect the board a bit more closely. I found that she had been in check by my bishop for a good period of time, and any resemblance to any rules I pointed out to Mr. Cake today is purely coincidental. I would not deny myself a good game of chess.”

“See, Fluttershy? She meant nothing by it, just an unfortunate happenstance due to unforeseen consequences of an unintended coincidence.”

“B-but, I… and her... She played…” Fluttershy waited a moment so she could cool down.

Before she could do anything though, Mr. Cake announced, “Pairings for round four will now be given!”

Twilight listened to pairings and cringed in abject horror. Things just weren’t going their way. Why couldn’t fate let them win? It was as if Discord had come back to throw a wrench in their plan at every step. The fourth round match paired Fluttershy against Twilight. The two exchanged a glance, and sat down on their haunches, defeated, Fluttershy taking a deep sigh, and Twilight pounding at the floor until it hurt. Why must winning be such an obstinate goal?

“What’ll we do?” Fluttershy asked.

Doing the calculations in her head, Twilight said, “We’re doomed.”

Signs of alarm crossed Fluttershy’s face. “…What? W-why?”

“If I win, and you lose, you’re out of the running for third place. If I lose, and you win, I’m out. If we draw, both of us could get third place, but that’d result in a sudden death match to decide who gets the actual prize. If we both don’t place in second and third, we won’t have enough money to pay off that tab. We’re doomed.”

“Well, maybe I can get Rarity to give us a two hundred bit loan if I win second place.”

“Psh, Rarity? She may be generous but she’s not—”

“Would one Ms. Twilight Sparkle along with one Ms. Fluttershy please go upstairs? There is somepony who wishes to talk to you,” Mr. Cake said.

“Someone…” Fluttershy said.

“Wants to see us?” Twilight said.

The two ascended the stairwell off to the side of the lobby and were met with a sign labeled “DO NOT OPEN AT ALL COSTS. CONTENTS CONTAIN ONE PINKIE PIE AND TWO FOALS.” In smaller print it read, “Please, for the love of Celestia and all things holy in world, do not open this Pandora’s Box unless expressly told to do so, and if you have been expressly told, it is best to ask for confirmation before opening. You may even want to ask for confirmation of the confirmation.” The door behind the sign was covered in chains, padlocks, and other locking instruments of various sizes.

Twilight called down to the Cakes, “Are you sure about this?”

“Sure am, sweetie! Just turn the knob, those locks are just for show anyways,” Mrs. Cake called back.

Twilight slowly inched her hoof forward to turn the knob, but the door opened without her consent. An energetic Pinkie Pie greeted them with confetti and streamers. The interior of the room was positively coated with party equipment, even more so than the lobby below.

“Oh hey Twilight! And you too, Fluttershy! Some weird ghost wanted to talk to you.” She produced a glass from somewhere. “Punch?”

“No thanks, Pinkie,” Twilight said. “A ghost?”

“A ghost?” Fluttershy shivered.

“Oh girls, not a real ghost, just some kook dressed like a ghost!” Pinkie said. “Doesn’t she know that Nightmare Night was months ago? Follow me!” Pinkie hopped cheerily, beckoning them with a hoof. The Cake foals, Pumpkin and Pound, were enjoying themselves, what with the many colorful objects scattered about to play with. Pinkie Pie opened another door, and behind it stood The Black Queen.

“Hello girls, I’ve wanted to speak with you privately for quite some time now,” The Black Queen said.

“Uh, why?” Twilight asked.

“Because I couldn’t help but overhear the problems of your current financial situation. I’d like to help.”

“…Uh, why?” Fluttershy said.

“Let’s just say I owe you all one.”

“Uh, why!” Pinkie Pie shouted, excited. “Oh, we’re not playing that game anymore, my bad.”

The Black Queen giggled. “Oh Pinkie Pie, thank you for letting me stay here for today, by the way.”

“No problemo, Luna! Though you should take off that silly bedsheet, you look ridiculous. And not in the good, funny way, kinda the way that makes Rarity go all ‘blah’ like this.” Pinkie deadpanned her face, taking a very serious tone, which was noticeably difficult for Pinkie to pull off.

Twilight and Fluttershy looked at Pinkie, then The Black Queen, then back to Pinkie. No, it couldn’t be. Must’ve just been a Pinkie slip. Still, it invited questioning.

“Luna?!” the two exclaimed.

“You mean you didn’t know? Come on, it was obvious!” Pinkie took notice of the look The Black Queen shot her. “Hehehe I guess not, sorry. Didn’t mean to spoil your costume party.”

The Black Queen took off her hood, and sure enough, it was Luna. Dumbfounded, Twilight tried to come up with something coherent to say, while Fluttershy stood there, shocked.

“But your voice… and the reputation… How did you?” Twilight managed to squeak out.

“Simple magic and natural talent,” Luna said. “I’ve been playing since I was a foal, and never want to stop. Once I learned that Ponyville was devoid of chess enthusiasm, I knew I had to bring the game here. Such a wondrous town need not be without chess! The Black Queen is just a front to mask my identity. Celestia and I don’t want to be known in our talent spectrums for being Princesses. We want to be known for being the best at it. Accept no substitute. I would like to give you a gift I could before with this financial aid: an opportunity to enjoy the game for what is it, instead of trying to when every time.” She handed them a coffer’s check from the royal treasury, printed “redeemable for five hundred bits” signed Princess Luna.

The knowledge lifted a great burden from Twilight’s mind. “Oh thank you, you don’t understand how much we need this money. But please, don’t tell Celestia about it!” Twilight pleaded.

“My lips are sealed.”

Twilight took a sigh of relief. Finally, a stroke of luck.

“Not to be a grumplestiltskin, but I think you two outta leave,” Pinkie said. “Pumpkin and Pound and I gotta lot of partying to do.”

“Right.” Fluttershy stared at Luna. “One day, when I’m better, we should have a rematch… if that’s okay with you.

Luna laughed. “Of course, of course.”

The two departed, scurrying back down the stairs. There wasn’t much time left in the round, and if they were late, there’d be serious consequences to pay. Finding their board, number three, they sat down.

“Ready for a good old fashioned game of chess?” Twilight asked.

“Sure am,” Fluttershy said.

And then they played. Not to win, trying to win hurt them too much. No, in the end, the game was just for fun, and that’s all that mattered to them.