Locked box! Oh no!

sucked it up you pathetic excuse for a evil mastermind! Even the most powerful gods have to do their own dirty work eventually. Use a hairpin and your blade for a lockpick. You were in the mean city streets without a cutie mark, you had to have tried to be a criminal at some point. Doesn't mean you're good at it, but hell, with all that practice you're better then the common pony.

When you get it open, steal nothing. Its a bad idea in the first place, Zecora could find out, and if you take anything she'll know. This is for knowledge's sake alone.

Here's an idea, since you're awake and moving, might as well go out into the forest and look for shit. Shit's cool. Last shit you found was Trixie. Little fillies who want to find their cutie marks go in their constantly, and with that danger...

The Chessmaster

You grit your teeth and narrow your eyes at the locked box, a flash of resolve coursing through your being. What are you doing!? Letting a little box stand between you and... and whatever the buck is inside of it!? No way! You're a better pony than that! You're a superpony! And you have not come unarmed! You are going to to open this box as evidence of your superpony resolve!

But not by slashing. That'd be pretty rude since you JUST finished breaking Zecora's things. Ummmm... Pick the lock with the tip of your blade maybe?

As the lightning crashes and the thunder rolls you hold the chest up in front of you, resting on your right hoof. You breathe in deep then out slowly, and stretch your left forehoof out to the side, then picture your blade emerging.

SCHLINK!

Out it comes, the sparkling blue mist pooling from your hoof as you bring your blade up to touch the tip to the lock. You lick your lips, staring at the metal barrier as best you can in the dark, and gulp down a lump in your throat. You're fairly nervous about this undertaking. Understandable, considering you've never picked a lock before in your life.

You had many hard days in Manehatten and did a lot of things you weren't especially proud of. Begging was one of them. You'd never been an especially proud stallion, but when you found yourself reduced to begging for the first time you... Well, you cried yourself to sleep later that night in a cardboard box wrapped up in newspaper blankets and hugging all of the twenty bits you made to your shivering body. A-and... and you've rifled through trash, and you've dived into dumpsters, and you've waited out back behind restaurants for leftovers and... and you've had to do things that nopony should have to do.

Something you've NEVER done though was steal from anypony. No mugging, no breaking and entering, nothing that would be considered thievery. And honestly you weren't entirely sure why. Thievery was rare but it did happen, and you were in a position where you easily could have gone into that place and started taking from other ponies... Maybe by not stealing you were attempting to hold onto the last of your dignity, or you knew that you'd screw it up and get caught, or you just didn't think you were worth what other ponies had... But you've never stolen from anypony... At least, until Zecora...

Do you have any idea how much noise picking a lock makes? Especially an old-school strongbox lock? To much, particularly after nearly fucking up everything today. Yesterday? How late is it? Whatever, this is a job for later. Put it back. Tomorrow we have training to do. Learn about everything, youself, the Everfree, the village Zecora mentioned, what the bucking deal is with Miss Great and Delusional, everything.

Most important, learn your way around the forest. This is your home now. And we don't need you getting lost again. M'kay? M'kay.

Agreed. Lockpicking some of the older strongboxes can be VERY noisy. Now that you know where the box is, you can open it later. In the meen time, Trixie needs to be...dealt with. She already fears you, now make her love you. Whispering in Zecora's ear at night seems to work in your favor more often than not, lets see if we can't make the "Great and Powerful" a little "Meek and Humble" ...at least to you and Zecora. Convince her that she owes you both her life. Once that is done, get some rest.

Put the box back. You're already on thin ice with Zecora about taking her stuff, no need to make the situation worse. Trying to force it open will be loud as hay, there's no sense in accidentally waking Zecora. You can ask her about it later anyway, along with the other stuff. Like anti-Changeling-Zebra mojo... eh, you'll find a better name later.

Why is it still so hard to find some rest? You've probably too much on your mind right now. Well, you've worked out some of your fears with some sweet Zecora whispers - it's really surprising how well that calms your mind. But it's still not enough, what else is bothering you?

Oh right. Small Name Big Ego, currently lying in the comfy bed. YOUR comfy bed.

Just how ungrateful can a pony be?! She even yelled at your Zebra! Nopony yells at your Zebra!

Alright, calm down. Deep breaths, in and out. No sense in getting frustrated over her, you've enough on your plate without fantasising about taking Zecora's bamboo stick to Princess Prissy Bitch von Blueplot's backside some more. What, is she jealous of Zecora or something?

... what if she is jealous of Zecora? Didn't she start yelling at her after you and your Zebra kissed and made up? Did she want more out of you? You saved her life twice, maybe now she developed some irrational crush on you that makes itself known by treating your mare like crap? Gah, mares are all crazy!

At this rate it'll never leave you in peace, and you'd rather not spend the rest of Trixie's time here with Trixie's wand-emblazoned flanks bouncing around your skull all the time. Time to work off some of that frustration again, with some self-therapeutic night time whispering!

Make sure Zecora's asleep. Go to Trixie, make sure she's okay. More importantly, make sure she's asleep as well, and that nopony is at the door. If she doesn't wake from an ear-lick, she's probably out. Then, start whispering to her: how it's not right that she's treating both of you like dirt; that she owes you her life, you and Zecora, and that she should never forget that. Really, she should be grateful that she's not in some Diamond Dog Warren, strapped down and passed around like a cheap salt lick, despite your sneaking suspicion that she might actually enjoy that, the pervert. Does she want you? You think she does, but before she gets anything from you, she needs to learn her place. She's already screaming out that she wants to be put in her place as it is, you'll gladly do it for her, but still she should stop acting like a flankhole to her betters. That's you, then Zecora, in that order.

Whew. Good to blow off some steam like that, eh? A little harmless whispering to calm your nerves, and then you can surely sleep. Other ponies might believe you're crazy for talking to yourself, but hay, whatever works, right?

Thunder sounded in the sky and rain danced on the roof of the hut as you turned your gaze over towards the sleeping mare. A well timed flash of lightning illuminated her form as Zecora shifted softly beneath the covers, the storm continuing, the Everfree performing it's violent orchestra in the skies above the zebra's hut...

You continued to watch her for many moments after the flash had passed, barely able to make her out in the dark... You bit your bottom lip, staring at your savior as she slept, oblivious to your desecration of her secreted hiding place... and then you began to feel a twist in your gut.

You flinched, and then your eyes went wide and you doubled over, gritting your teeth hard as a pain flared up in your stomach. You crossed your left forehoof over your middle in the hopes of somehow reducing the pain. The box shook on your hoof but you managed to hold it steady through the suffering. And then as quickly as it came it was gone, in the span of a few seconds. Slowly you righted yourself, breathing heavily, sweat starting to form on your brow, a realization now clear in your mind.

This is wrong. That little stomach cramp was obviously a physical manifestation of your guilt at doing something that you know you shouldn't be doing. You JUST got out of hot water with Zecora. And also you don't know how much noise a lockpicker who's never tried to pick a lock before and is using a sword tip to do the picking makes. Even if it's not a lot, and even if Zecora is able to sleep through an Everfree thunderstorm, do you REALLY want to take the chance that that sound will wake her up? To the image of you, picking her obviously precious locked chest? Almost assuredly confirming previous suspicions and ending your relationship with her forever?

No. No you do not.

You close your eyes and sigh out slowly, giving yourself a few moments, before opening your eyes and looking to your blade. You picture it disappearing and it withdraws into your hoof and dissipates, the mist vanishing behind it. You wait for the illumination of another lightning flash before you slide the locked box back into it's resting place. You nudge and push and wiggle it with your right hoof to make sure it's snug back in it's nook, and then turn to look down to the big kinda creepy mask that had kept it hidden.

You pick up the mask slowly with both forehooves, standing up on your hind legs, wobbling from the weight. You turn, lifting the mask and try to place it back where you found it over the nook... and then your eyes widen and your heart starts sprinting in your chest. You can't get it to latch onto it's hook! Or nail! Or whatever the buck it is Zecora had it hanging from! It's going to fall! It's going to be loud! It's going to wake Zecora! Oh buck, oh buck, oh buck, oh buck!

No, no, calm down, quickly, just relax, that's it, this is... this is no big deal just... just keep at it, the hook or nail or latch or whatever has to be there somewhere...

You take a deep calming breath, still standing on your shaky legs as you fight the urge to panic. You lick your lips, and just keep on moving the mask, pushing and prodding, back and forth, up and down, trying to get it to hook on to whatever held it. You stretch up onto the tips of your hind legs, trembling with a mixture of physical exhertion and fear and then... it catches onto something. You hold your breathe for a few moments, standing on your hind legs with your forelegs around the mask, feeling a lessening of the weight... Slowly, you move your hooves away from the mask... and it stays. You fall back onto your rump and hang your head, letting out a sight of relief as your heart slows back down in your chest. Potential crisis averted.

You shake your head a few times to get the sleepiness out of your eyes. Alright, no more fooling around, time to get some bucking sleep...

You get back up onto your hooves and groggily make your way over towards Zecora, stifling a yawn on the way. Halfway there though you just kind of stop. You blink, and then slowly turn your head towards the bedroom doorway. A flash of lightning illuminates the hut once again, and a loud roll of thunder rumbles through, sending a chill through your spine, as the light vanishes into darkness once more...

... Vaguely ominous. Despite that inexplicably well-timed lightning bolt and the spine-shivering thunder that followed it, the idea that stopped you in your tracks remains present. Why not pay a little visit to Trixie? Nothing untoward of course, just to have a little conversation with her sleeping self... After all you whisper to Zecora in the night to relieve your stress... why not Trixie? Might be good for you, let you get to sleep.

This idea in mind you stand still for a few more moments, pondering, thinking, turning it over in your skull... And then you turn and slowly walk through the dark, over to the doorway. You hesitate at the doorway proper as you reach it, licking your lips nervously... You don't know if she's even asleep after all. Cautiously you lean forward and peek around the edge, looking in...

The lightning flashed, illuminating the mare in her bed... No in YOUR bed. No! In Zecora's bed that she let you sleep in and- The point is it's not HER bed! In any case she's tossing and turning beneath the covers, grumbling something, muttering... you can't hear what from here. She looks asleep, but it's dark, she's speaking, and she's moving... Should you risk her being awake? Or waking up? You stand staring at her for a few moments, just watching, biting your bottom lip... Then you gulp down a lump in your throat, breathe out slowly, and move around the corner, walking in.

You trot slowly up to the bed, and bring your forehooves up onto the edge, standing up onto your hind legs to look down at Trixie. You watch her for a few more moments as she shifts and mutters, and you can now make out some of what she's saying.

"... Mrrrg... Shtupid... Can't trust em... rolling... mggr... who'needs'em..." She spoke, grumbling in her sleep, and you couldn't help but raise your eyebrow... Even sleeping she sound like a vindictive bitch. You shake your head, breathing in deeply, then out slowly... Then you lean over Trixie and start to lower your head down to hers. You start to stretch out your tongue as you lower down, and then stop. She's shifting around so much that you'd probably miss and lick something else. And frankly you're worried enough about her waking up to whispering, much less somepony licking her... So, going to play this one more cautious. Your tongue flicks back into your mouth and you breathe out slowly, quietly... before leaning down and starting to whisper over the mare...

"Hello Trixie. I just want to let you know... you were out of line today. You were a real bitch yelling at Zecora like that. You don't get to yell, you don't get to throw a hissy fit. You owe me your life. You owe Zecora your health. You OWE us Trixie. We're not your inferiors, you're our inferior. We're BETTER than you. And you need to treat us with some damn respect... Don't forget that. Be grateful, be polite, and always remember... you owe us."

Well not exactly a speech for the ages, but it'll have to do for now. You're tired and you want nothing more than to get to bed and finally be done with the day.

You move your forehooves from the bedside and lower yourself back onto all fours. Then you turn and start walking away when another mutter enters your ears.

"Grrrr... buck you... wheels... I'mda... great, an... powerful... ... mrg." You blink for a moment, then turn your head to look back over your right shoulder, your right eyebrow raised.

... ... Wheels? ... ...

You suppress a yawn, then shake your head, blinking rapidly. Buck it. You're tired, it's not worth it. Time to get some sleep.

You groggily walk back through the doorway, and have the sense to wait for a flash of lightning to illuminate the room, reminding you of positions before moving back over towards Zecora and the blankets. You pull the blanket back up on your side and slip in underneath, then snuggle back up to your zebra, wrapping your forehooves around her. You cuddle up to her as she snuggles into you, and press your muzzle to her neck, breathing in her scent deeply once more, letting it fill your nostrils... and then you're out like a light.

... ... ...

Pyrus and Cryon were laid out on their stomachs on the ice-coated floor, Pyrus on top of a large red blanket, and Cryon on top of a big dark-blue pillow with light-blue frills. Between them was a game board large, wooden, and square, with black edging. It consisted of white and black squares in a checker pattern on the top, and horseshoes placed on the board. Pyrus had light-red horseshoes on his side of the game board and Cryon had light-blue on his, and the horseshoes seemed to be diagonal of each other but none side to side or above or below... and Cryon looked to have more of his light-blue on the board than Pyrus had his red. With a small stack of red horseshoes to the left of the board, and a tiny stack of blue horseshoes to the right.

Pyrus's coat was a dark red, with a simple black iron plate over his chest, and black iron guard over his head and neck, looking to have melted over his black mane. He laid with his hooves uncovered and reptilian red eyes in his sockets. His wings had turned into black metal spider-legs, four thick blade-like appendages to each wing, with sharpened piercing tips. Eight in total splayed out around him, digging into the ice as he looked to the game board with furrowed brows.

Cryon was, as always, a small foal alicorn.

In synch, Cryon and Pyrus's ears began to twitch... And then both of them jerked at once, Pyrus gritting his teeth as Cryon squeezing his eyes shut, pain etched onto their faces.

"AGH! WHAT THE BUCK!?!?" Shouted Pyrus, bringing his hooves up to press over his ears.

"There's more than one of them this time, going at once! Hold on, I'm restructuring!" Shouted Cryon, his hooves pressing to his ears as his horn glowed white.

Cryon's horn stopped glowing after a few moments, and Cryon lowered his hooves, breathing out deeply as Pyrus tentatively began to lower his own, before turning a glare towards you.

(To the Brothers)

(PROBLEM!!! Zecora belives that the pawns powers are a curse and will be attempting to "cure" him. I don't know what she can do to the Star of Woe, but the work must not be undone. I humbly seek your counsel on what should be done as Zecora is too valuable a resource to lose. Any advise you could give will be most helpful)

(Your humble servant, Nomad)

Cryon cleared his throat, shook his head slightly, and sighed out, regaining his composure... And then he opened his eyes and looked to the board, shifting position to get comfortable again.

"Ahem. That's better. And that's what I was afraid of. Zecora is a powerful healer and agent of good. If she is attempting to cure him then the threat is a legitimate one." He stated simply, seemingly recovered from the noise problem. He brought his front-left hoof forward to move a piece on the board, leapfrogging his horseshoe over his brother's piece, and then pulling it from play, over to the left of the board, stacked on the other red horseshoes. Pyrus let out a snort.

"Nopony is "too valuable" to lose. Kill the bitch and be done with it." He muttered, eyes narrowed as he turned his gaze back to the board and began to contemplate his move. Cryon looked up with narrowed eyes at his brother.

"It is too late for that and you know it. Give the polite one some actual advice brother." Stated Cryon plainly, to which Pyrus sighed out heavily and rolled his eyes.

"Oh FINE." He muttered, before bringing his forehooves beneath his chin, sulkily, as he contemplated the game in front of him.

"Right now the Star's still in it's early stages, but it has managed to get a firm grip on the host. With each passing mutation it becomes more and more entrenched in his genetic make-up, mixing itself into his biology. This makes it really bucking hard to remove without killing him. Now that zebra bitch has got the mojo to do it, but it's major mojo and takes a lot of prep-work for her. And she has to know exactly what it is she's dealing with, so she needs to figure that shit out first. With a few more decent mutations, it'll probably become impossible for her to remove it completely. So you've got some bucking time. Use it to figure something out... Or just make him mutate more, whatever..." Muttered Pyrus, his horn glowing red as he inched up one of his horseshoes, up and to the left one away from his brother's piece.

(Well, Evil Gods. You must have one smart brain to let us guide the Stallion. Here's an idea, remember all those other evil things you have? When the time comes, release them at an opportune time, and have it kill Zecora. Do it in a way that blames the pony sisters and he will be yours forever. Do it in a way that brings attention to him, we will guide his hand toward subtlety, but with this we can get him close to the elements. Castle the king at a price of a pawn.)

The Chessmaster

Cryon and Pyrus both raised their heads, looking to one another... Pyrus narrowed his eyes.

"Did that bucking bastard just call me stupid?" Asked Pyrus, a growl entering his throat.

"Yes but it is possible that they did not realize it. It is a very roundabout insult." Replied Cryon calmly. Pyrus just growled louder, black smoke coming from his nostrils as his eyes began to glow red and the ice around his blanket started to form water droplets. Cryon sighed, and turned is gaze back to you.

"And no, that will not occur. As a point of clarification, my brother and I have not had direct control of significant forces for a long time. Our minions have been reduced to a hoof-full of starved windigos, and a Dragon Migration if my brother chooses to call it. The windigos are a vital asset and I risk them sparingly, and the only time my brother takes command of dragons is to wage war. And while that war would cause havoc and destruction, it is one that we would ultimately lose, result in our destruction, and the extinction of evil from Equestria." Stated Cryon simply, before looking back to the board.

"So no. If you wish for Zecora to die and the royal pony sisters to be blamed, then find a way to manipulate such a thing into coming to pass." Finished Cryon succinctly, his horn glowing white as one of his pieces moved forward on the board, away from his brother's open piece and the ambush laid out behind it. Pyrus just kept glaring at you, black smoke pouring from his nostrils...

Dear Pyrus and Cryon would our "champion" be able to reach the realm of chaos because if he can he would be able to be possessed by a daemon then the star of woe could use the daemon as mutation fuel.

Pyrus interrupted his glaring to blink, the last whiffs of smoke leaving his nostrils as surprise interrupted his anger. Cryon looked up to you and blinked. Then they both looked at each other. As one they furrowed their brows. Cryon looked up, bringing his left forehoof up to rub his chin, while Pyrus looked down, almost glaring at the floor in front of him as the water froze back into ice. Both of them spent several moments like this, in deep thought, before directing their gazes into each other's eyes again... And then turning their looks towards you.

"We have no idea." Stated Cryon calmly, shifting position on the pillow.

"Nopony has ever tried it before. The only times in our history that the dimensional walls have been broken have been from without, and those were few and far between." Continued the alicorn simply, as his brother looked down again, bringing his front-right hoof up to rub his chin.

"And even if it was possible, the kind of energy it would take to do that would make Celestia's little solar bauble and Luna's star-painting look like amateur shit. Buck, Discrod's chaos magic wouldn't let him tear through. I don't think there's a physical being in this world that can host the kind of mojo it'd take to break through dimensions. Including me!" Pyrus proclaimed, as Cryon gave a slight nod.

"It is as my brother says. Theoretically it should be possible... however it is unknown if it is possible with the power available to us within the confines of this universe and it's restrictions." Stated Cryon calmly, before looking back to the board.

"Now, if that's everything, my brother and I will get back to our game. I wish you luck in dealing with these difficulties. The future of evil in Equestria is riding on you." Spoke Cryon simply, still looking at the board as he raised his front-right hoof, waved it in a circular motion at you and-

... ... ...

You slowly opened your eyes... Yawning loudly, sleep clinging to you and exhaustion permeating your being... The blankets are empty, save for you, and the smell of cooking in a cauldron reaches your nostrils...

What do you do?

Author's Notes:

Wow. A humungous discussion broke out last chapter about how to best get the Host to evil, and it was awesome! I love seeing how you all think. A question or suspicion arose in the discussion though and later in a private letter that I think it's best if I address this more or less officially.

This story is guided by the will of participants, however it is not controlled by such. The difference being influence within the story versus domination of the story. The primary method of control was meant to be, and hopefully still is, the host's actions upon the rest of the world. Your suggestions, thoughts, and desires, influence me to the rest of the world and actions within, give me ideas of what you want to see, and I respond to them, especially when they make sense. However I don't let them control the story.

The reason for this is the same reason I don't just create a super-powerful artifact out of nothing to give to the Host when people suggest it. Because if he's allowed to run roughshod from the very get go, with drastic changes dependent on what anyone says at any time, absolutely devastating any opponent with a million and one ancient super-powerful artifacts, then there is no game. No challenge, no tactics, no sense of progression. Just a bunch of chaos and weirdness that breaks the world, and that's no fun for anyone except maybe Discord. For everypony else, it's exciting for all of ten seconds before it just gets ridiculous and boring.

So this game isn't about instant gratification. It's about progression and growing and playing for the long-term. It's about seeing the character grow into a top-class villain from humble origins, and guiding him on the path to evil. It's more focused on what he does with the world around him than on the actual world around him. At least that's what I'm aiming for, and what I hope I'm accomplishing.

So, in short, the will of the masses does guide me. Your influence is integral to the story because this isn't just a story. This is a game, and I love to see how you play it. However I'm not going to grant you everything, I'm going to watch for what seems logical and what doesn't, take opportunities to throw in situations that you're not expecting, and hopefully it will flow in such a way that you can see the results of your influence and the actions the Host has taken, from point A to B. Anyways, thank you all for reading, and I hope you continue to enjoy!

And as for the amount of time this one took... there's no good reason. Mainly I was just tired and distracted all week and unable to focus. Sorry about that. A little worried about how this came out actually. Hope it's alright.