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Organised by
RogerDodger
Word limit
400–750
The Constant of Chaos
“You know, Discord, I never would have expected you to be type to play chess.”
“Back when I was a troublemaker, Princess Twilight Sparkle, people use to challenge me to games of chess to save themselves. When they found I was terrible at the game, many did. So I had to as they say... ‘get good.’”
*Tap*
“Your move, Twilight.”
“Hmmm… good move. I have to say, I’m having fun and we’re going to have to do this again sometime, but I still don’t see the lesson in this. You said you wanted me to understand something?”
“Yes indeed, young princess. Since I know how much you love chess, I figured it’d be simplest way to make you understand my lesson.”
*Tap*
“Is that so? Your move, by the way.”
*Rumble*
“What was that?”
“Oh, just a monster I noticed coming over the hills. It should have been here by now, lazy bum.”
“Discord! Why didn’t you, oh, whatever, we’ll finish this game later. We --“
“Now, now, Twilight, sit back down. They said they’d handle it, and we all know they’re more than capable.”
“But…”
“You know they will and I still have my lesson to teach you. Sit back down, Twilight. Let us finish our game. My lesson will soon become clear.”
“Well…fine, ok…”
*Tap*
“Good. Your move, princess.”
“Alright, stick to the plan… let’s see… ok…”
*Tap*
“Your move, Discord. Check”
*Rumble*
“Oh crud, the pieces moved. Let me fix--”
“-- no no no, Twilight. Leave them be.”
“What? That monster’s stomps made the pieces move! We need to --”
“Ah-ah-ah. You’re not allowed to move the pieces at all, Twilight. Once you let go, it’s my turn.”
“Are you serious? I need to put everything back where it is. We can’t play chess like this!”
*Tap*
“Well, we are, and I just did. Rook takes bishop. Your move, princess.”
“You’ve got to be kidding me. You were in check.”
“That rumble made your queen move. I’m not in check anymore, and your bishop made the move of moving just in the line of my rook.”
*Rumble*
“And now it seems your King is in the line of my rook, too. I guess you’re in check now. Quit grabbing your mane like that, Twilight, and think about the next move at hand.”
“How can I? Whatever strategy I try to make, the next shift is going to mess it up! Gah, how am I supposed to make any sense of this?!”
“Because this, young princess, is the lesson: I have come to teach you how to play chess. Realistically.”
“This isn’t realistic at all!”
“On the contrary, young princess, I disagree. This game is like the plans you create. Well thought-out, almost perfect in its planning, but the moment things change under you, everything starts falling apart. This is your problem.
“You expect the world to be your chessboard. You expect the world to play by the rules that you believe it plays by. But let me tell you, and as we see, it does not. No matter how much you plan or try there is always a constant of chaos sitting in wait to make even the best-laid plans shatter.”
“I’m not saying making a plan is bad. That’s fine, but do not overlook this chaotic element that exists in our world, and be ready for it. Things will make the board change and you may not have control over that, but it is up to you to control the rest of it to fulfill your designs. Who knows, you might even make the chaos work towards your advantage. It all depends on how you react.”
“...”
“Ahhh, that quiet, thinking face. Taking my words to heart, aren’t you?”
“The world is always changing constantly. It doesn’t mean you shouldn’t plan. Oh heavens, no, that’d be foolish. Instead, learn to adapt. A ship’s captain does not push his vessel towards his destination only once. He steers it, and you must, too. Make sense of what you see before you and guide it. Think about what your options are and how they are changing, and learn on how to make those changes work to your advantage.
“Do you understand, young princess?
*Tap*
“I think.. I do.”
“Moving just a pawn? Interesting choice… now why would you move him?”
*Rumble*
“Because the next shift will move him to the top of the board.”
“I see. A queen, I assume?
“Yes. And consider this checkmate...”
“...Good job.”
“Back when I was a troublemaker, Princess Twilight Sparkle, people use to challenge me to games of chess to save themselves. When they found I was terrible at the game, many did. So I had to as they say... ‘get good.’”
*Tap*
“Your move, Twilight.”
“Hmmm… good move. I have to say, I’m having fun and we’re going to have to do this again sometime, but I still don’t see the lesson in this. You said you wanted me to understand something?”
“Yes indeed, young princess. Since I know how much you love chess, I figured it’d be simplest way to make you understand my lesson.”
*Tap*
“Is that so? Your move, by the way.”
*Rumble*
“What was that?”
“Oh, just a monster I noticed coming over the hills. It should have been here by now, lazy bum.”
“Discord! Why didn’t you, oh, whatever, we’ll finish this game later. We --“
“Now, now, Twilight, sit back down. They said they’d handle it, and we all know they’re more than capable.”
“But…”
“You know they will and I still have my lesson to teach you. Sit back down, Twilight. Let us finish our game. My lesson will soon become clear.”
“Well…fine, ok…”
*Tap*
“Good. Your move, princess.”
“Alright, stick to the plan… let’s see… ok…”
*Tap*
“Your move, Discord. Check”
*Rumble*
“Oh crud, the pieces moved. Let me fix--”
“-- no no no, Twilight. Leave them be.”
“What? That monster’s stomps made the pieces move! We need to --”
“Ah-ah-ah. You’re not allowed to move the pieces at all, Twilight. Once you let go, it’s my turn.”
“Are you serious? I need to put everything back where it is. We can’t play chess like this!”
*Tap*
“Well, we are, and I just did. Rook takes bishop. Your move, princess.”
“You’ve got to be kidding me. You were in check.”
“That rumble made your queen move. I’m not in check anymore, and your bishop made the move of moving just in the line of my rook.”
*Rumble*
“And now it seems your King is in the line of my rook, too. I guess you’re in check now. Quit grabbing your mane like that, Twilight, and think about the next move at hand.”
“How can I? Whatever strategy I try to make, the next shift is going to mess it up! Gah, how am I supposed to make any sense of this?!”
“Because this, young princess, is the lesson: I have come to teach you how to play chess. Realistically.”
“This isn’t realistic at all!”
“On the contrary, young princess, I disagree. This game is like the plans you create. Well thought-out, almost perfect in its planning, but the moment things change under you, everything starts falling apart. This is your problem.
“You expect the world to be your chessboard. You expect the world to play by the rules that you believe it plays by. But let me tell you, and as we see, it does not. No matter how much you plan or try there is always a constant of chaos sitting in wait to make even the best-laid plans shatter.”
“I’m not saying making a plan is bad. That’s fine, but do not overlook this chaotic element that exists in our world, and be ready for it. Things will make the board change and you may not have control over that, but it is up to you to control the rest of it to fulfill your designs. Who knows, you might even make the chaos work towards your advantage. It all depends on how you react.”
“...”
“Ahhh, that quiet, thinking face. Taking my words to heart, aren’t you?”
“The world is always changing constantly. It doesn’t mean you shouldn’t plan. Oh heavens, no, that’d be foolish. Instead, learn to adapt. A ship’s captain does not push his vessel towards his destination only once. He steers it, and you must, too. Make sense of what you see before you and guide it. Think about what your options are and how they are changing, and learn on how to make those changes work to your advantage.
“Do you understand, young princess?
*Tap*
“I think.. I do.”
“Moving just a pawn? Interesting choice… now why would you move him?”
*Rumble*
“Because the next shift will move him to the top of the board.”
“I see. A queen, I assume?
“Yes. And consider this checkmate...”
“...Good job.”