d4, d5, c4


                                            Twilight was trotting around her room, deep in thought.

                                            After some earlier spring cleaning, she had found her old chess board.

                                            Now the question that was bugging her was a simple one: did she know anyone who could play the game, apart from her and Spike?

                                            She didn't mind playing with the small drake, but he always got bored pretty quickly.

                                            A week later, her desire to play chess only magnified. It was time to stop complaining and look for a new challenger, it seemed.

                                            Out of all her friends, the most likely candidate was Rarity; she assumed she'd know the game, and would also be willing to play. Unless she was busy, that is.

                                            ...

                                            It turns out she was /very/ busy. Unbelievably so.

                                            Twilight desperately hoped her friend didn't have a few too many drinks again, and completely forgot about one of her orders.

                                            "Hi Rarity!", Twilight greeted.

                                            "Oh hello darling, as you can see I'm rather busy at the moment.", Rarity replied, as she frantically rushed through the boutique, picking up different fabrics and pins as she went.

                                            "Do you need any help?", Twilight inquired.

                                            "Oh goodness no, I'm afraid this is something you really can't help me with. Perhaps some other time?", Rarity said, as she began sewing.

                                            "Well, if you say so...bye Rarity.", Twilight meekly replied, as she made her way to the exit.

                                            "What was that about?", Twilight thought, "And now who am I going to ask?"

                                            After some consideration, she settled on asking Pinkie Pie; after all, the pink pony had a knack for games, so she might /at least/ know what chess was.

                                            But of course things wouldn't be that simple.

                                            As she entered Sugarcube Corner, she was all but assaulted by Pinkie.

                                            "Oh hi Twilight, what are you doing here, you shouldn't be here you see, I'll explain later byeeeeee!"

                                            Twilight was ungraciously shoved out the entrance, making her fall to the ground.

                                            "One of those days, huh?", she muttered as she got away.

                                            As a last-ditch effort, she decided to try and ask Fluttershy.

                                            The cream colored pony was apparently even busier than both Rarity and Pinkie Pie, as she didn't even answer the door.

                                            At this point Twilight was visibly annoyed, ignoring all friendly greetings from her fellow Ponyvillians as she hastily made her way to the library, grumbling along the way.

                                            After opening the door, she immediately noticed the lack of sunlight that would have ordinarily come through the many windows of the library.

                                            Warily, she trotted inside while getting ready to strike back against any possible intruder.

                                            All of a sudden, the lights turned on, and she found herself surrounded by many ponies.

                                            "SURPRISE!", they all shouted in unison.

                                            Twilight's mood noticeably improved, as she examined the room's decorations.

                                            A banner in particular stood out, reading in large lettering "TWILIGHT'S CHESS TOURNAMENT".

                                            Rarity trotted towards Twilight, while slowly levitating something toward her.

                                            "This is for you, darling...I do hope you like it.", she tentatively said to the purple mare.

                                            It was a lacey, long sleeved, black dress, which looked like it would accentuate Twilight's curves without making her look overtly suggestive.

                                            In addition to the gorgeous attire, Rarity also produced a richly jeweled tiara and a pair of crystal earrings shaped like the Queen chess piece. The effect was quite dazzling, as the objects shined even under artificial lighting.

                                            Twilight was awestruck by the display. "Rarity, this is amazing..."

                                            "I'm certainly glad you like it dear, I've spent the greater part of this morning creating it.", the fashionista merrily replied.

                                            As Twilight was still shocked, she barely noticed the pink blur zooming toward her and giving her a bone-crushing hug.

                                            "Ooo Twilight, I also made something for you!", Pinkie Pie squealed in delight.

                                            As ponies moved out of the way, Twilight noticed the large cake covering one of the library's tables.

                                            It was shaped like a chess board, with the pieces looking like they were made out of marzipan.

                                            What really impressed her though, was the level of detail her friend put into giving every piece the likeness of each Element bearer.

                                            For some reason the figure depicting Twilight was standing on her hind legs, dressed as a ballerina. She decided not to inquire about it.

                                            "Sorry for earlier Twilight, I was just sooooo busy baking this cake for you and I just didn't want you to find out!", Pinkie frantically exclaimed.

                                            The Element of Magic chuckled. "Don't worry about it, Pinkie."

                                            The party pony's expression quickly shifted back to a joyful grin.

                                            As the two were talking, Fluttershy slowly shuffled her way towards Twilight, waiting patiently for her exuberant friend to finish talking.

                                            "Um, I also want to apologize for earlier. Mr. Bird told me you visited my cottage earlier, but I was in the back garden with Trixie.", Fluttershy stated.

                                            "Oh, that's alright Flutter-wait, what?", Twilight stumbled. Sure enough, the cerulean magician made her way through the crowd, a smug grin on her face.

                                            "The Great and Powerful Trixie was teaching your fluttery friend how to play the game of chess properly.", Trixie announced.

                                            Twilight was trying her best to not look nonplussed, and failing miserably at it.

                                            "It's true Twilight, she's been helping me understand the basics for the past week. I think she would be a really good teacher.", Fluttershy remarked enthusiastically.

                                            Trixie's boastful façade almost dropped because of the compliment, but she quickly recovered. "Uh, yes of course, as one would expect from The Great and Powerful Trixie! Haha!"

                                            "So um, Twilight, would you like to play against me?", Fluttershy asked softly.

                                            "Hah! Trixie will be the first to do so!", Trixie haughtily countered.

                                            "OooohIwannaplayIwannaplayIwannaplay!", Pinkie blurted maniacally.

                                            Twilight could only groan in return.

                                            This was going to be a long afternoon...