Twilight was picked up fairly quickly, unlike the rest, who had been pulled from dead end jobs, and given armor, Twilight was given rogue wear, and a sword. As accustomed a new piece brought in to play.
The rules have been changed several times, both agreeing on the new rules, or disagreeing.
One such rule was the armor, as aforementioned.
Each new piece, begins with minimal, but adequate, armor, and each game survived, gains better armor.
Each piece can serve a full of ten games, but Celestia chooses for them each to serve only four, and, really, doesn't liek the game, as it's sport is very...bloody.
Just like regular chess, there is a board, and in this case. the board is a flat forest area, heavily thicketed, and hard to navigate. without magic of course.
Celestia stood up to the long standing pedestal, and gave a sigh, refreshing her memory of every rule, and took a deep breath.
"Hello King Grifforous."
"Celestia. I see you are finding this as unpleasant as always."
"Well. Not so much. I hate the blood shed, and having to wipe their memory seems...a bit overboad when trying to keep a peaceful nation. But...I'm a ruler, not a pacifist, and if you prefer this over war, then so be it. Place your demands, and I shall do so with mine."
"Fair enough.", the griffon sat on the opposite side fo tyhe round stone table, "If I win, we claim the right to set up industry within Eqeustrian, anywhere at all, no hassle, no trouble."
"And if I win, you have to stop deporting ponies back to Equestria. Truth be told, I'm not a fan of cross species mating, but, I am not one to trifle with love. Or lust. It is a poniy's business, or horse, to what they do in their private time, but I do know relationships have developed between griffon kind, and equestrian kind."
"Understood. Do we have a deal?"
"Deal."
the griffon chuckled and set his forepaws on the table, his side glowign brightly.
Celestia did the same, and her side glowed just as bright.
As both took their hooves and paws off the table, the solid pieces made from aged ivory, formed magically, markign the location of the pieces where the true pony, griffon, or whatever else, resides.
"Let the game begin. As usual, you cna move first."
"I will take that with gratefulness. Knight to C-6."
The table's magic taking place, the intended piece moved without question.
"Well, I have something that you might want to know. Pawn to D-3."
The pawn moved as well.
"Oh? Another request of trade? Some economic troubles? Pawn to B-5."
"Oh, something that' smore of a surprise, really. Bishop to F-4."
For those wondering what I'm doing...
I'm basically playing a game against myself, on a chess set I have on my desk right now.
/Sorry for the interruption.
"Pawn to D-6."
Celestia smiled, having known the reaction would be sour from an impatient beign such as Grifforous.
"Pawn to A-4."
"Obvious move, simple pawn sacrafice, but backed by your rook."
celestia smirked.
both knew that lives were actually on th line here. One pawn taken, is a pony taken. But, it's a good sacrafice, if it's not called a bluff.
"But this is chess...", Grifforous smiled, "pawn to A-4."
celestia's smile disappeared, and of course, the table zoomed in over the forest, showing the clearing of which a single pony resided, watching back and forth, sword ready to draw. That is, until something slammed into it, and sprayed blood everywhere.
Celestia lifted her wing in both disgust, and reflex.
"Ah? A bit uneasy, are we? It's jsut chess..."
"With real lives ont he line! he had a fiance!"
"Oh, big whoop, what's to care for a mare's heart? She can find anotehr."
Celestia didn't speak.
her two win streak, both of a perfect game, had been sprayed with blood. his strategy has changed.
"rook to A-4."
The table did it's magic, and showed the results, a large pegasus swooping down onto the bloodied field, and, in the enraged pegasus' fit, cleaved the griffon in to with a claymore.
"Oh, seems someone is getting a bit angry."
Celestia did not respond.
"You know, I, too, have my own secret in this game. Queen to D-7."
"Then I guess we'll both be in for a surprise. Queen to C-3."
The piece moved in silence, overshadowing a pawn entirely in the evening sun.
"Queen to E-6.", Grifforous took his move, piece respondign quickly.
"Not even protecting your knight."
"It's a knight. Like every young chess player says: They move like an 'L'."
"Queen to C-6."
The piece moved, and zoomed into the forest this time, into a covered clearing, showing a waiting paladin griffon, stout and strong.
Twiligth appeared not far from him, and the griffon jumped, but readied for an attack.
"Oh? A new piece for a queen? She can be easily overpowered, Celestia, dear.", Grifforous said happily.
"Watch."
The griffon brought his halberd up, and Twilight hadn't even drawn ehr sword, to confused to move. As he brought it down, metal met metal, and she deflected it, flawlessly.
"Wh...wha?", Twiligth said, confused.
"It's a fight, uniconr, so put your sword up!", the opposing griffon shrieked, swinging the halberd once more.
Twiligth deflected it once more, light blade meeting heaving axehead, and still, the polearm was blocked, and then parried, her blade find true in teh harty griffon's chest.
Twiligth was staring at teh ground currently, where her gaze had stayed as she moved, and, feeling the blood trickle from the handle, she looked up to see the red fluids leaking freely from the right side of the griffon's chest, her sword nearly hilted in his ribs.
He was dead, dangling, and Twiligth questioned her own strength at the point, flinging the griffon off the smooth blade as if it were a bag of sand.
"So, I have misunderstood your ways of cheating."
"I have not cheated at all. Never have, never will. You see, Twilgith is very gifted in the form of magic, and the game draws power from each pony and griffon's magic. And whatever else you choose, has brute strength and a sizeless brain in that tiny skull."
"Hmm. Well, then, I think I would like you to stand her against my queen.", he smiled, "Queen to C-4."
Considerign the chances of Celestia new, low level pawn against his four year queen would be sacraficing another pony.
She chose an alternate style, and, like any one would see, as a youn player, the queen is the best offense.
"Queen to C-4.", she said confidently.
Grifforous smied widely, almost devilishly, and sat back in the stone chair he was in, relaxing with his hands tied.
"Well then. I think we'll both find this surprise fun."
"What make syou say that?"
Teh table stopped on the next square of land, and showed a blue pegasus in teh center of an open field.
"Wait that's..."
"Not a Griffon?"
Twiligth appeared a full ten meters away.
"The rules never stated I couldn't use a pony, so I did."
Twiligth began running forward, a look of worry upon her face.
"Twilight!", Rainbow Dash called, swooping a bit low, "Where are we?"
As she came close enough, her blade met Twiligth's as the magic forced yet, another battle.
"Stop this! Their best friends!", Celestia slammed her hooves on the polished stone table.
"Your point? A queen match below, each parrying, each countering, not a single drop of blood, but, you know what? It's just. Chess."
Twilight swung once, twice, thrice, driving the pegasus farther back tot eh tree line, and chunked her sword, forcing Rainbow Dash back even further as the blade spun towards her.
Twilight ran forward, grabbed the blade, and jumped, cutting a single flip.
Rainbow Dash hit a tree, and steel met steel once again. Only, Twilight's sword stuck.
Celestia's heart stopped as Grifforous spread the image, showing The two blades.
One blade had ripped open Twilight's shoulder, and the other, plunged through Rainbow dash's chest, far into the tree.
Twilight held her breath, looking at the damagae she had done, heart racing, mind stopped.
Rainbow Dash dropped a hoof on Twilight's shoulder, and took a breath, as if suffocating.
"Go get em girl."
Twiligth backed away, lettign go of her sword, and let the other grind against her open wound. It's not liek she felt it.
"Grifforous, she wasn't in your nation, she wasn't...", Celestia began.
"Oh, she was. And by the chess laws we have both established, she had to be there by will, otherwise, I couldn't summon her."
Celestia looked back down at the table, then shook her head.
"If you think you have harmed me, you have not. In all sense, you have sealed your fate, and every griffon that stands on that field."
"How so? You startign to get angry?"
The table cracked, showing a bright glow from underneath.
"Twilight is unstable...", she mouthed.
"What?"
Celestia stood, and knocked her stone chair over, the old piece crumbling upon impact with the lower floor.
Twilight had magic shifted. It may seem like a rage type of thing, to take place, but Magic shifts are near impossible without enough magic, and, in Equestria's case, enough love. Cliche, yes, but, it is a fuel.
Celestia could only watch as, against her will and honor bound word, each griffon whcih stood on the field, literally was taken down in single swings, decapitation, clean cleaves, Griffons would lay in two, still alive, until Twilight noticed they were still breathing. Overall, carnage broke loose as the enraged unicorn flew through the field, binds of the chess table broken.
"Grifforous.", Celestia raised ehr head, seriousness nearly pouring from her eyes.
"What just happened?"
"You unleashed a demigod upon an old fashioned game of magician's chess. You are king here, and as her magic works to weave a way out of the game, to exact revenge, she will fidn you. And by definition. The only way in here from the chess field, is through the table. She ahs already found you."
Griffours' beak hung slack as he processed what he had been told, and acted quickly, taking off from his stone chair, through the corridor, and out of the room. His only hope now, was to get back home before anything bad happened.
Then something grabbed his hind leg, jerking him back.
Laying on the polished floor of what was, before, the century old chess room, lay in rubble, half of it blown to pieces, the other half, still crumbling.
"That was...Erimicerite!", he gasped, lookig at the thick walls.
Twilight loomed over him, eyes aglow, blade still dripping with blood.
"Oh, please, don't.", he begged.
"This chess game has officially become, not only a stupid way to waste my time fighting a war, but...", Celestia waved Twilight away.
"You're...letting me go?', he stood on all fours.
"No."
Twiligth ran the blade through his chest, her magic channelign heat through his very core, and what used to be his chest, felt like melting flesh.
"It's time for a new griffon emporor. Someone who will take care of business. I liked these chess games because it was a minimal cost of deaths per...'War.'"
Grifforous reached for the blade, but, his own body failing him, barely moved a claw to his chest as his final moments was turned to ash.
