Angel of Justice: Blood Moon

The tension in the air was thick enough to cut as Celestia, Luna, and Blue Bolt steadily walked through the castle halls.

Both Celestia and her sister had been through conflict before. Their lives had been put in danger more times than they could count, and they had seen many a terrible foe bested underhoof. However, being careless was a luxury that even they could not afford.

Some would call it being wise, they called it staying alive, which was something they very much wanted to keep doing if everything went as planned.

They kept their eyes shifting about, scanning the area with all the diligence of a soldier checking a perimeter. It was a sobering sight to see two of the most powerful beings in all of Equestrian history acting with such tense unease, but then again, their foe this time was also one of the most powerful beings in perhaps all of history.

Their young companion, to his credit, was also holding a serious air about himself as they walked. He came prepared to do whatever it took to protect his friends, and he would reunite with them if he had to tear down every brick in the castle.

Of course, that would take longer than he cared to calculate, so aptly hoofing it was their go-to option.

Luna trailed her eyes to their rear, not making a show by turning her head. Nothing but tapestries and empty suits of armor were there, as they had been for most of their journey. She wrinkled her lips and turned to Celestia with an uneasy glint in her eyes.

“Sister, do you feel as if we are being watched?” She asked.

Celestia kept her troubled gaze ahead. “I have felt that way since we broke off from the others.”

Luna turned to the stallion beside them. “Blue Bolt… have there been any changes since last you used your senses?”

Although he already suspected the result, Blue inhaled and then exhaled slowly. He could feel a fair bit of energy in the area around them, but once again, none of it felt like it belonged to anything sentient.

“Nope.” He reported, sounding just as monotone as a certain apple farmer, only his flat tone was caused by discontent.

“I’m afraid that we won’t be able to detect Dusk unless he wants us to,” Celestia said.

Luna sighed tensely, “I hate being at such a vast disadvantage.” She said, eyeing over to the bag strung around her hips that was carrying the elements of harmony.

The all-important and admittedly eye-pleasing paperweights only served to remind her of the others, and how them being separated served as such a crippling blow. Without Twilight and the others, even if they did find Dusk, the elements were useless.

“All we can do for now is attempt to find the others… and perhaps find the source of this labyrinth,” Celestia said, casting a tired glance at their surroundings. Much of what they were seeing was probably original to the castle in one way or another, but there was only so much medieval decor one could go through before they started seeing repeats.

“Aren’t you worried that that Dusk guy might try to escape?” Blue Bolt asked.

Celestia almost envied the stallion’s concern. She opened her mouth to say something, but before she could, someone else beat her to it.

“Escape?” A voice came from down the hall. “Why would I go through all this trouble just to run away when it’s getting good?”

All three of them immediately froze and darted their eyes ahead. Sure enough, emerging from around a corner at the end of the corridor, red eyes softly illuminating the shadows cast onto his face by the nearby torches, was the new prince of Castle Bloodwing.

“You...” Celestia growled under her breath as she lowered her stance. She lit her horn threateningly, with Luna following suit beside her and Blue Bolt summoning his blades as they all squared off against the pale alicorn.

As he usually was whenever they faced him, Dusk didn’t seem particularly bothered by their display of aggression. “What’s the matter, Princess? You seem to have lost your companions.” He curled his lips up into a self-amused smile before resting a hoof to his chest. “Worry not… I am a hospitable host. I will see to it that each and every one of them feels at home.”

While Luna grit her teeth, and Blue Bolt tensed his hooves, Celestia managed to keep her cool and only narrowed her eyes.

“If you are trying to scare me, Dusk, it will not work. I know my student and her friends, and I know they are stronger than you think.” She said.

Dusk hummed curiously. “Perhaps… At any rate, I suspect at least one of them will meet an unfortunate end within the hour. I look forward to seeing the look on your face when you stumble across their mangled corpse… especially if it’s that precious student of yours.”

This seemed to have the desired effect of getting to the white alicorn, as evidenced by her already tense expression souring even more and her horn glowing more intensely.

Despite the death glare being sent his way by the two alicorn sisters, Dusk shifted his attention over to the blue pegasus stallion beside them. “Ah… Mr. Bolt. I had hoped you could join us this fine night. I have not forgotten our last encounter, you know.” He narrowed his eyes.

Blue Bolt stood up tall and thrust a hoof toward the pale alicorn, the ornate blade around his wrist gleaming in the torchlight. “Are you kidding? I’ve been waiting to pound your prissy face into pudding since I first met you. There’s no way I would miss out.”

Dusk growled a bit at this, the sound bordering along the line of going feral. “You should learn to address royalty with respect.”

“That is a poor joke, Dusk.” Luna chimed in. “You may force your slaves to refer to you as prince, but you are as far from royalty as it gets.”

The red glow in the pale stallion’s eyes intensified with his glare. He clenched his jaw, his whole form practically shaking and two streams of blood snaking out of his wrists. “I will live to see your bones turn to dust, Luna.”

Seeing murder in Dusk’s eyes, Celestia stepped forward slightly, shifting his focus to her and away from her sister. “Have you forgotten why we’re here? Your quarrel is with me, not her.”

“Sister…” Luna cast a worried glance at the older alicorn. She was expecting the stallion to just lash out at whoever was the current target of his ire.

After a moment, Dusk released some of the tension in his body. The crimson streams paused and actually started receding as he took a steady breath. “Worry not, my dear mentor. I will have plenty of time to spend with you before the night is over… But, I’m getting ahead of myself.” He ran a hoof through his mane and sighed.

Blue Bolt took a step forward and readied himself. The two sisters looked to him with unease clear in their faces. He looked like he was prepared to charge straight into a fight so they wouldn’t have to face the alicorn themselves.

“Easy, Blue Bolt,” Luna said softly, resting a hoof on his shoulder and pressing him back just enough to get her message across.

“Give me one good reason why I shouldn’t,” Blue stated, not taking his eyes off the alicorn.

Sensing the hostility radiating off the pegasus, Dusk chuckled giddily. “Impatient are we? Good. I like to see that fire in your eyes… especially after the last slayer I fought left me so wanting. But, such was to be expected after all. He wasn't even a pony.”

However, instead of Blue Bolt being angered by this, it seemed as though Celestia and Luna were the most upset. The white alicorn’s expression soured, while Luna grit her teeth and growled.

“Do not speak of Tom in such a manner!” Luna barked.

“Upset, Princess?” Dusk smirked before flattening his expression. “You should be. After all, you were the ones that sent a mere boy to be slaughtered by me. Although… I suppose it was really Twilight Sparkle and her friends’ faults. I gave them an ultimatum, and instead of standing bravely with their ‘friend’ and dying honorably, they chose to flee and leave him as their scapegoat.”

Hearing this, Luna felt her blood begin to boil. As she thought back to the sheer heartbreak, the soul-shattering sadness that clung to the purple mare’s face after they returned, she clenched her teeth and started to see red as she glared at the pale stallion.

Celestia also felt angrier than she had been in a long time, even if she wasn't showing it as outwardly as her sister was. “Enough words, Dusk. We came here to end this, not to listen to your serpent tongue.” She charged up a spell, ready to begin what she knew would be their final battle one way or another.

She let her horn dim and looked on in stunned confusion as Dusk turned and started to walk away.

“Where are you going?!” Celestia shouted, causing him to pause.

“You may have come here to end this, Princess, but I will not have you ruining my fun prematurely. I have much planned for tonight, so as much as I’d like to entertain your feeble attempts at retaliation, I must bid you farewell for now.” Dusk remarked.

Seeing the pale alicorn about to leave after all that, Luna charged her own spell and leaped forward. “You will not get away this time, Dusk!”

Just then, however, Blue Bolt lurched forward as all the air exited his lungs alongside a puff of mist. He widened his eyes at the sensation he felt, darting his gaze up to the wall beside Luna before rushing after her.

“Princess, look out!”

Celestia barely had a moment to react, as did Luna, as a sound like roiling flame faintly emanated out of sight. Just as Blue Bolt got to the blue alicorn’s side and tried to push her out of the way, an explosion of light and fury engulfed the hallway as something blew through the stone wall like it was nothing.

After the smoke and debris settled, Celestia unshielded her face and looked ahead with alarm in her eyes as she saw a gaping hole in the other wall, right across from where the two had been standing moments before.

“Luna! Blue Bolt!” Celestia called after them. A metallic creak drew her attention to the site of the initial explosion, only for her to shrink back.

Through the hole opened up into another room, an equine figure could be seen, at least it resembled an equine at first glance.

As it shambled forward, creating metallic clanks with each movement, she could see glowing red dots staring at her, and what appeared to be thick black smoke billowing out of its form. It walked into the nearby torchlight, allowing her a clearer view of it. The alicorn almost couldn’t believe what she was seeing.

A suit of armor, not too dissimilar from the ones the trio had been passing in the hall, was standing upright of its own accord. Smoke cascaded out of its every joint and opening, even its four sharp digits and armored beak. And as it turned to Celestia and opened its beak with a rusty-sounding grate, a low, airy growl came out and flame gathered within.

“What in the name of...?” Celestia pushed herself back on her hooves, creating some minute distance from the menacing specter.

Dusk gave an amused snort at her reaction. “You like it? I must say, it isn’t what I originally had in mind to use on you, but I was a touch short on time to be fiddling around with summoning rituals and the like… You understand I’m sure. Luckily, this castle has an overabundance of lost souls that can be repurposed into all sorts of fun creatures.”

“Using more tortured souls for your own betterment…” Celestia creased her eyes, though she kept her focus mostly on the newly arrived creature as it slowly approached. “Why am I not surprised, Dusk?”

“You know me so well.” Dusk grinned. A hollow groan drew his attention over to the living suit of armor briefly before he turned to the side and actually started walking away. “So sorry, Celestia. As much as I would love to stay and watch your performance, I have other things to attend to. Do try not to tire yourself out too much.” He said, an impish tone to his voice as he gave her one last look before rounding the corner.

Celestia produced a throaty growl as she watched the pale alicorn leave. She contemplated following after him, but a swinging iron gauntlet dissuaded her and made her back up a step as the knight stood in her way.

Meanwhile, Luna grunted softly as she lifted her aching head. Her whole body was throbbing, and she faintly smelled of smoke and brimstone.

Her strained vision clarified and she jolted at the sight of a snarling maw of teeth, only for her to realize it to be a taxidermied bear. She had landed in a den of sorts when she and the stallion were sent through the wall, as evidenced by the hunting trophies along the fireplace and outer rim of the room.

As her thoughts shifted to the stallion, her eyes snapped open all the way and she lifted up. Immediately, she found him lying on his side next to her, a scorch mark and a slight hole punched into his ribs.

“Blue Bolt!” She rushed her hooves to his side, framing the wound. It looked like it should have been bleeding, but it was most likely cauterized by the fiery blast.

Blue groaned and coughed as he started to stir, doubtlessly feeling the pain from his burns and brief mingling with solid stone and wood.

“I’m… ngh… I’m ok…” He started to get up before cringing and holding his side as his healing powers kicked in. As counterintuitive as healing burns with fire seemed, everything except for the scorch marks vanished with little trouble.

Luna softened her eyes as she saw him coping with his injury. She couldn’t believe he jumped in front of her like that. Then again, if she had been hit by the blast instead, the damage would have been far longer lasting.

However, before she could even say a passing thank you, the loud crumbling of stone stirred both of them into looking up at a cloud of powder and debris being flung loose as Celestia narrowly dodged a strike from the armor’s clawed gauntlet.

Celestia jumped backward into the room as the knight stood on its hinds and slammed down with both fists where she just was, pulverizing a small chunk of the floor. She might have been larger and taller than its griffon form, but it packed enough power to keep even her wary.

Taking a darting glance back to her companions, her features softened with relief as she saw they were relatively unharmed. She teleported over to them and gave them a concerned look before settling her attention on the specter ahead. “Can you both fight?”

Luna stood up and lowered herself into a fighting stance, as did the pegasus. “I don’t think we have much of a choice in the matter.” She grit her teeth before charging up her horn and letting loose a powerful bolt of energy.

The beam of light zipped toward the suit of armor and impacted right in its chestplate before it bounced uselessly off, impacting the ceiling and punching a small hole through it.

Seeing the creature standing unfazed, Luna’s eyes flashed with unease. She hadn’t expected the attack to do much, but she was hoping to see some damage.

“That’s not good…” Blue Bolt noted, a bit disheartened as he briefly let his stance falter to stare at the knight in shock.

“No…” Celestia grit her teeth as the possessed armor opened its maw again and roared, fire gathering once more in its smoking abyss and its red eyes staring unblinkingly at the trio.

“No, it is not.”

Meanwhile, Twilight’s group was making their way through the second floor, blissfully unaware of the hardships their friends were going through. As worried as they were for the others, they had a job to do, and they were getting close.

Glitterball led the group, using her locator’s brightly glowing tip to navigate toward what they could only hope was Cadence and the three fillies.

Still, even with this beacon, it was hard to find the right path. The lavish rooms and carpeted corridors around them almost seemed to purposefully twist and bend to thwart their attempts at getting any closer to the reading.

Then there were still possible traps and other dangers to consider. Other than the close call before with Rarity, they hadn’t run into any further complications, and that was more worrisome than comforting. There was supposedly an unknown number of vampires still lurking around somewhere, and whatever other monstrous minions Dusk’s twisted imagination could cook up.

Shining glanced up at the vial Glitter was holding in between his borderline paranoid scanning of the area. The red light was tantalizing as a sign that they were about to find his beloved wife and the missing crusaders, but without the training to use it properly, he could only guess at how close it was saying they were.

“How far do you think it is?” Shining asked, trying not to let his feverish nerves make him come off as rude.

Glitter glanced back at the stallion and the two mares. They were understandably anxious, and she couldn’t blame them for wanting constant updates. “It’s hard to say…” She sighed as she returned her gaze to the charm floating from a cord in front of her. “I think we’re almost there, though.”

While Shining was at least somewhat comforted by her answer, Twilight in particular still seemed uneasy about something.

Rarity recognized when her friends were troubled by something. They each had their own tells, and the purple mare staring at the floor with pensive, soft eyes was a dead giveaway. “Is something wrong, Twilight?”

Looking up to see the others turning her way, Twilight exhaled tensely. “No, it’s nothing.”

“Well, if it’s nothing, you shouldn’t feel bad for telling us.” Shining Armor added.

Twilight mulled over her thoughts for another moment before letting her ears droop and looking up. “Well… I was just thinking about what Dusk has guarding Cadence and the girls.”

The thought made the others give pause as they too considered what surprise the alicorn had waiting for them. As if coming to the castle and fighting him wasn't bad enough.

Rarity made an attempt at lightening her troubled expression. “Are you certain he will have something guarding them? I don’t think he knows we can track them… Maybe he is relying on this maze of his to stop us?”

“Trust me,” Twilight said, “I know from experience that he doesn’t leave his prisoners unattended… especially not important ones.”

“Don’t worry. Whatever it is, we’ll get through it. We always do.” Shining assured, though Twilight couldn’t tell who he was trying to comfort.

As they walked, the red sand inside Glitter’s and even Twilight’s charms gradually grew in size and vibrance, until it was taking up all but a small unlit portion near the base.

Then, Glitter stopped walking as they passed a door that was slightly ajar. The light shifted ever so slightly to the right, only to go back as she turned and faced the room before them. Her mouth split into a slowly building smile.

“I think we’re here.” She explained, giving the door a careful push and peering inside.

It was a cozy-looking bedroom, with a circular yellow patterned throw rug sitting before a canopy bed. A bookcase stood at the back wall, with a fireplace off to the far right and a variety of knick-knacks and decorations sprinkled throughout.

Strangely, however, there was no sign of anycreature anywhere, let alone Cadence and the others.

The accomplished smile Glitterball had gradually fell into perplexion and slight worry as she led her understandably confused group into the room.

“Uh… Glitter, are you sure you’re not off by a room or two?” Rarity asked, giving a cursory look around their admittedly lavish surroundings. The bed alone was enough to trigger a few fantasies, but then again, she was a little sleep-deprived.

Twilight wrinkled her brows as she turned back toward the hallway. “I don’t think we came across any paths that would take us further in that direction.” She noted. Judging from the latticed window by the bed, they were along the edge of the building, at least if the moonlight streaming in was an accurate glimpse of the outside world.

Undeterred, Glitter stood in front of the bookcase, her locator hanging in her magical grasp as she stared ahead absentmindedly. “Even before Dusk triggered whatever spell is changing this place, it had secret rooms and hidden passages.” She noted, standing on her hinds and beginning to examine the shelf closely. A tickle at her ankle made her pause.

Shining and the others watched as the unicorn got down and knelt to the floor, examining the seam under the shelf curiously. “You think this shelf moves or something?” He asked.

“I know it does… There’s a draft here.” Glitter stated as she held a hoof close to the seam. “Start looking for a switch. The last one we found was a false torch, so it could be anything.” She hurried to her hooves and immediately began pulling books.

The others shared a brief look with each other before shifting their eyes to the room around them and getting to work turning it over.

Shining helped Glitter with testing the books on the shelf and looking for hidden buttons on the shelf itself.

Rarity rotated a globe in its stand, briefly noting the severely outdated map of the world on its face. Nothing happened, eliciting her to move on.

Twilight padded over to the fireplace. It was impressive-looking, to say the least, but the images of bat-like creatures with gaping maws and sharp claws carved into the sides were a touch disquieting.

She briefly fiddled with some of the objects on the mantle. A small bust of a griffon, an ornate chest, a stack of paper. None of which turned out to hold any secrets. Then, however, she peered closer at the two carved sides of the fireplace. There was space enough in the creatures’ mouths to fit a hoof, or a hand, depending on if this room was even really part of the castle originally.

Not wanting to actually stick her hoof in there, she lit her horn and felt around the inner recess with her magical aura. Much to her surprise, one of the stoney fangs tilted inward, and there was a sharp click.

Shining and Glitterball backed up as the bookshelf abruptly started moving. It slid to the side with a wooden rumble, revealing a dark opening into a small antechamber, with an even darker doorway at the end.

“Open sesame,” Twilight remarked as she and Rarity joined the pair near the newly revealed doorway.

“Nice job, Twilight.” Glitter smiled.

Meanwhile, the excitement quickly faded from Rarity’s face as she peered into the tunnel before them. “Ulgh… Why can’t these secret passages ever lead somewhere pleasant? Like a reading nook… or a spa… or literally anywhere else?”

“Welcome to my world,” Glitterball said flatly.

Taking a moment to pull out his dagger and cast some light into the darkened space, Shining Armor turned to the three mares with a serious expression. “Stay on your tips, everypony.”

Any leftover eagerness left as Twilight and the others shifted gears back into caution mode. Still, behind all the trepidation and unease, their determination to save their friends acted as a steady rock for them to cling to as they slowly walked into the tunnel.

The small space made their hoofsteps echo. They kept their eyes to the next opening ahead, which seemed to lead into a larger space than even the bedroom behind them. Any semblance of decor was gone, replaced with stark stone and cobwebs.

Almost immediately, they could see a faint light coming from up ahead. It was tinted blue, and it had the same familiar vibrance and glimmer at the edges as they were used to from their own light spells.

As they neared the opening, they could hear faint voices as well, which was enough for Shining to pick up the pace slightly until he emerged into the next room.

The instant he set hoof outside of the tunnel, a stone sank underneath him, causing another rumble as the bookshelf far behind them slid back into place. However, the group only paid a passing glance to this, as what was waiting in the room for them held their attention.

Standing in the middle of the large, almost cavernous room, was a pink alicorn and a group of three fillies. They were spaced out and seemingly standing on a raised platform surrounded by tall statues, though most of them were outside of the light Cadence was casting.

“Girls!” Shining beamed happily as he finally laid eyes on his wife and the missing fillies. Thankfully, they seemed to be unharmed, but they didn’t move to greet them.

“Shining? Twilight?” Cadence took a careful step forward before pausing, her mouth falling agape into a relieved grin.

Scootaloo sighed with relief as well. “Thank the Princess you’re here.”

“Rarity!” Sweetie Belle immediately perked up from her position near the front of the platform.

Seeing her sister there before her, Rarity gave an elated gasp and rushed forward. “Sweetie!”

Suddenly, Cadence held out a hoof frantically. “Wait! Don’t come up here!” She instructed, causing the whole group to stop their eager approach.

“Cadence… what’s wrong?” Twilight asked, taking a closer look at the strange platform and the statues surrounding the alicorn and the fillies.

Around that time, blue light sprang to life as torches along the walls lit up with unnatural flame. Four short stone pillars at the corners of the platform also sprouted blue fire from recessed tops, offering decently eerie lighting of the whole area and finally revealing what the four were standing on.

It was a large, flat marble surface with a black and white tile pattern. The many statues around them were also made of varyingly colored marble, and they all had different designs that looked strikingly familiar to even the most passive observer.

Cadence and the three fillies were standing on an oversized chessboard.

“What in the name of…” Glitterball muttered as she stared ahead, mouth agape in shock. She couldn’t fathom what purpose the strange feature held, but it couldn’t have been good.

“Cadence, do you know what all of this is for?” Shining asked as he carefully approached the edge of the platform, taking care not to actually step up and onto it. As much as he wanted to rush up and embrace his wife, her warning and the fact that none of them had moved from their respective squares was more than a little worrying.

“It’s a trap.” Cadence explained, though she knew it was fairly obvious by now. “Dusk cast some kind of spell using this board. We can’t leave until we finish the game.”

“Finish the game?” Twilight parroted as she looked to the board. It didn’t look like the start of a game of chess.

There weren’t enough pieces on either side, and they were scattered around at seemingly random, though something told her that their placements were important.

There was also a message written in blood near the edge of the board in bold letters. It simply read ‘How many pawns will you lose?’

“Ok…” Shining huffed and ran a hoof through his mane, letting it linger as he thought about what to do. “That sounds simple enough. We just have to play it out, right?”

Cadence didn’t look confident in that. “I’m afraid that it’s a bit more complicated than that.” She explained, reaching down and picking up a small object she had at her hooves. It was a chess piece. A queen to be precise. And as they looked at the three fillies, they realized that they each had a different one as well. Sweetie Belle seemed to be holding a knight, Apple Bloom held a rook, and Scootaloo held a bishop.

“What are those for?” Rarity asked.

Glitterball bit her lip, “Well… you know how in chess, you play by taking the opponent’s pieces?” She started, receiving understanding, if a little troubled, looks from her companions. “I think Dusk set this up so that,” She swallowed, “they are pieces.”

“Oh, gosh…” Twilight’s pupils shrank as she realized the full ramifications of the situation. She glanced down at the message on the floor, which now sent a shiver down her back as she understood what it meant.

Rarity was unsettled, but she still hadn’t grasped the full picture. “Umm… w-what would happen if… one of them was taken?”

“I don’t think we want to find out,” Shining said, already looking around for alternate solutions.

His eyes wandered around the room. Other than the torches and the chessboard itself, it was mostly empty space. Mostly. There was a set of stone steps recessed into the floor over to the side of the room, leading down to somewhere unknown.

“What’s down there?” Shining asked, hopeful that Cadence knew a bit more about the situation.

Cadence looked over to the stairs in question, which was a little difficult as her view was blocked by a piece. “I’m not sure, but I think that’s where Dusk went to work on the spell. He kept bringing ingredients down there, and I could see a bright light.”

While Rarity stayed behind to keep an eye on Cadence and the fillies, Twilight, Shining, and Glitterball trotted over to the stairs and headed down.

They came out a few steps down into a markedly smaller space with a short ceiling, and almost immediately, they could see a tint of red light ahead of them that made them widen their eyes as they turned.

A colossal magical symbol was drawn on what must have been the underside of the chessboard. It was bewildering to look at with its many complex lines, patterns, and glyphs. It pulsed softly with light and made a barely audible hum.

“Oh…” Glitterball’s jaw dropped.

“My…” Twilight shrank back.

“Gosh…” Shining felt his heart sink along with his shoulders. He couldn’t believe that his wife and three innocent fillies were standing on top of that.

As hesitant as she was, Glitterball stepped over to stand underneath part of the symbol and stared up at it, trying to piece together what it did.

“Glitter, is there any way you can disable this thing?” Shining asked.

Thinking back to the last symbol she messed with, Glitter felt a wash of dread as her lips trembled. Still, she had to keep steady. Her friends needed her. “I… I-I can try, but first I would need to get a better understanding of it.”

Just then, a noise came from upstairs, causing them to prick their ears.

Glitter turned to them urgently. “Go! I’ll see what I can do down here!”

Needing no further confirmation, Twilight and Shining rushed back up the steps and into the larger room.

Immediately, they could see Rarity and even Cadence and the fillies staring ahead as one of the black pieces, a bishop, slid across the board with a low grating noise that filled the room and gave a slight vibration in their hooves.

“What’s happening?! We didn’t do anything!” Twilight asked. Usually, white moved first in chess, but apparently, Dusk wasn't playing fair.

Rarity turned to them with a worried look in her eyes. “I don’t know! It just started moving on its own!”

Apple Bloom cringed nervously as the bishop approached her, or more accurately, the white pawn nearby. “Guys… w-what’s it doing?” She whined softly and shrank back, making sure to stay in the confines of her tile.

“Stay still, Apple Bloom. I don’t think it will hurt you.” Cadence said, though she wore a worried frown nevertheless.

Regardless of whether or not she was prepared for it, Apple Bloom watched the oversized piece approach. It stopped just before the white pawn, and there was a moment of troubled silence.

Then, a bright light flashed on the tile under the pawn before it shattered from the bottom up, creating a shower of marble flecks and a loud rumble.

"AHH!" The yellow filly squealed and jumped at the sudden sight and noise so close to her.

"A.B!" Scootaloo widened her eyes. Thankfully, the young farmer seemed to be unharmed despite the violent reaction.

After a moment, the bishop moved into place where the pawn just was before coming to a stop.

"Ok…" Twilight let out a stressed exhale, her form starting to get a bit jittery. "So that’s what happens… heh." A nervous smile twitched into place.

Another sound of shifting stone came as an hourglass at the back of the room turned itself over, allowing the sand within to slowly pour down.

Shining looked up with mild alarm at this. "Uh… what’s that for?!"

"I think it's our turn." Twilight reasoned, watching the hourglass for a moment before holding a hoof to her ear. "Princess… we’ve found Cadence and the girls, but we've got a big problem."

The seconds ticked by, now accentuated by flowing sand, but still, no response came.

Twilight skewed her expression and trailed her eyes to the side. "Princess…? Hello?" She asked, only to have a similar result. Desperate, she shifted her focus to everyone hooked up to the spell. "Can anypony hear me?!"

Once again, nothing but silence.

"This isn’t good." Rarity fretted. "The door shut behind us when we came in! Are we cut off from communicating with everyone now too?!"

"What’s going on up there?" Glitterball’s voice came from the opening to the stairs.

Shining Armor trotted over and peered downstairs. He could barely spot the white mare still at her position under the symbol.

"We can’t reach the others, and the game just started. It looks like we're on a time limit." He explained, glancing back up before turning to her with an anxious expression. "Any progress down here?"

Glitter darted her eyes between the stallion and the symbol. She struggled to get her words out. "I-I'm trying. I can’t go any faster without risking something going wrong. I'm sorry."

"Hey… take it easy," Shining said, forcing a calmer look to his face despite his own nerves. "It's just chess, right? Twilight can handle this. Just hurry every chance you get."

"Right…" Glitter took a moment to center herself before nodding and getting back to her monumental task.

Shining quickly trotted back over to the chessboard, where Rarity and the others were watching tensely while Twilight darted her eyes along the pieces and the hourglass. "Twilight, please tell me you can handle this?" He asked.

"Umm…" Twilight softened her eyes with worry. "I… I don't…"

"Can't we just get them off there somehow?" Rarity asked, somewhat desperately.

Cadence merely shook her head somberly. "Dusk made it very clear that if we make an unfair move or try to leave, we die."

"Uh, guys… I don’t want to sound like I'm panicking or anything," Scootaloo piped up, looking very much panicked as she pointed to the back wall, "but we're running out of time!"

The others all looked back to the hourglass. Judging by how much sand was left and how fast it was falling, they had about a minute left to take their turn. At least they hoped it was only to take their turn. If they were meant to finish the game in that time, they were doomed.

"Twilight, you're the best chess player I know. I'm afraid that the only way out for us is to play." Cadence said.

Twilight steeled herself and hyped herself up. "Ok… ok. I can do this. I just need to find the right move to make. It's just chess, right?"

"Umm… Twilight," Sweetie Belle said hesitantly, "isn't that pointy-looking one over there about to take me?"

Twilight looked to the piece in question. Much to her surprise, she realized the filly was right. “That’s right. Good catch, Sweetie Belle… I didn’t think you knew about chess.”

“I played a few games with our dad,” Sweetie said, looking up to Rarity, who smiled fondly at the memory, “but I’m not that good. He always beats me.” She let her ears droop a bit.

“Well, don’t worry. I’m going to get all of you out of here so you can beat him one day.” Twilight assured before darting her eyes to the hourglass. The clock was running down, and she had to think fast.

Strategy could come later. All she cared about right now was making sure nothing threatened Cadence or one of the fillies. If she was to think of this as a game of chess, even if it was the strangest and tensest game she would ever play, then the pieces the four were holding must have represented what they were.

“Sweetie, try moving there.” Twilight pointed to a tile two down and one left from where the filly currently was.

Following the purple mare’s hoof and looking down to the piece she held, Sweetie quickly caught on. She walked to the edge of her tile and hesitated.

“Go on, Sweetie. It should be fine.” Cadence said, flashing a reassuring smile to the young unicorn.

“I hope you’re right.” Sweetie Belle cringed briefly and stuck her hoof out. Much to her surprise and relief, nothing bad happened. She opened her eyes and let out a relieved sigh before slowly making her way to the designated tile.

Once the filly stopped in the center of the tile, the sand in the hourglass somehow stopped flowing. Then, like watching a movie in reverse, it quickly flowed back up into the top half before flipping over again and falling still.

Everyone felt some stress vanish after that. Still, they weren’t out of the woods.

Across the board, a black rook started sliding down. It paused before a white bishop between Scootaloo and Cadence, triggering the bishop to explode before it slid into place. Twilight growled silently, though she would rather lose an inanimate object meant to help her win rather than lose one of her friends.

Strangely, the hourglass didn’t flip over again. Perhaps it was only there to keep them from spending too long trying to circumvent the game, wait for help, or plan out their moves. Either way, they still weren’t about to test how long they had before it came into play again.

“That’s a good start.” Rarity noted.

Shining Armor wrinkled his expression. “Not really… We’re at a severe disadvantage right from the get-go.” He said. While his sister was far better than him at chess, even he could tell that the odds were stacked against them. For starters, they hadn’t started their pieces in the proper positions, so protecting Cadence and the others would be harder. Not only that, but they had fewer pieces than the black team.

It seemed like this was designed to be a death trap for the white team, an observation that was chillingly accurate, given that some of their pieces were living beings.

Twilight looked down at the message on the floor. She could almost picture Dusk’s smug expression of sadistic enjoyment as he wrote it. He probably found the prospect of her friends dying by her mistakes hilarious.

But Dusk didn’t count on just how much she was willing to fight to protect her friends, no matter what form that took. No matter how nervous she was, she wasn't going to let any harm come to her foalsitter or the trio of fillies.

“Alright… let’s do this.” Twilight steadied herself and adopted a serious expression.