A Game of Chess

Arc I - The Blade of Ice

Darkness.

Darkness covered everything, and snow and ice clung to the small homes, comprised only of stone and rotting wood.

The town – village, rather, as, while there were many ponies that lived there, the entirety of the populace were shoehorned into the tiny homes – was entirely silent, its citizens watching as a young colt was led up to the center, where a large platform sat.

The poor creature was shuddering and shivering in terror as he glanced about him, his breath visible to all who sought to look at it. Although, of course, few would desire such a thing; after all, the terror in his eyes was all that anypony saw.

At last, after what seemed an eternity, a tall, ghostly creature stepped over to the colt, a dagger of obsidian in his hoof (which was bent in such a way that one could wield a sword, dagger, lance, or any such other weapon, although it did not look especially comfortable, given the circumstances). The creature simply stared down at the colt, a look of pure, sadistic glee in its eyes.

“White Shadow,” it said, smirking, “it would appear that you’ve not done your part for our little nation. What have you to say for yourself?”

The colt, although visibly terrified, managed to force himself to speak. “G-go to Hell!”

The monster simply laughed at this. “Please, you expect me to fear you? I’ve heard that line thousands of times in my lifetime. That, and ‘heartless bastard’, although I think that the second is my personal favorite.”

“W-Wendigo,” growled Shadow, stuttering, “I-I know that you’ll… that you’ll be…!”

“Be what, brat?” asked Wendigo, mockingly. “Be defeated? No creature – not in this universe, not in any – could possibly stop me. I have an army at my back, and a nation beneath my hoof. A nation full of worthless, useless creatures such as yourself, if I might add.”

The colt suddenly gained a small amount of courage in his eyes. “Checkmate,” he replied. “Checkmate will stop you!”

The windigo immediately began to laugh, his entire being shifting in-and-out of existence with his foul laughter. “Checkmate Vigarde? Really, you fools are just getting more so by the day! First you say Chronos, then Celestia, and now that worthless, pathetic brat Checkmate? Your standards have certainly dropped. But enough of this pointless banter.”

Shadow’s eyes widened, then, as the dark blade was held directly over his forehead.

“You remember Conviction, don't you?” Wendigo mused, flicking the blade so that a small cut appeared between the colt’s eyes. “Ha! I wonder… how much agony will you feel after becoming part of the Zephyr? How many years, do you think, it will take before it is completed? Five? Twenty? One thousand? Oh, the hatred you will feel… I’m going to quite enjoy this…”

And then, the dagger was plunged deep between the colt’s eyes, as he screamed with pain and agony. Wendigo threw his head back and began to laugh, a cruel, barking laugh that resonated all throughout Darkfrost.

“Well then!” he shouted, “Let’s see, Checkmate, if you’re truly the hero this brat thought you were.” His voice lowered, then, becoming very quiet. “Or, perhaps, you’re just the pathetic creature that you seem to be.”

The stallion stood, steadfast, upon the outskirts of Ponyville, the light-blue sword around his side. His journeys had taken him long and far, and they had been met with much suffering from all involved.

He grimaced, although his face quickly took upon itself his old look, and he began to walk, slowly, but quickly picking up speed, towards the village.

The stallion had something he had to do.

And he didn’t have much time to do it.

It was a beautiful day. The birds were singing, the sky was near-cloudless, and the ponies were moving joyously throughout their daily activities.

In other words, all was right with the world.

Pinkie Pie hummed a happy tune to herself as she hopped down the street, smiling as always. It was another amazing day for her. After all, there was another new citizen of Ponyville, and she couldn’t wait to meet them! The young mare was already imagining how great of a party it would be, and the look of surprise and joy on their face as she greeted them.

Just imagining it got her extremely excited, and she could already feel her speed increasing. It was so increased, in fact, that she didn’t notice herself running face-first into one Twilight Sparkle, knocking her to the ground.

“Gah!” the lavender alicorn cried. “Pinkie… watch where you’re going!”

The ball of compressed energy, surprisingly, stopped. “Oh, sorry Twilight! I’m just super-duper excited for tonight’s party!”

Twilight worked her way back to her hooves, and used her magic to pick a large stack of books off the ground. She shook her head, and smiled slightly.

“Just be careful, alright, Pinkie?” she asked her friend. “We wouldn’t want this new pony to feel overwhelmed.”

“Overwhelmed? By me?” Pinkie stared at Twilight in surprise, before laughing. “Puh-lease! I’m sure that they’ll find my party to be the absolute bestest ‘Welcome to Ponyville From Wherever-it-is-You’re-From-Land Party’ in aaaallll of Equestria.” In order to make her point, the word “all” was stretched out for a long period of time. Twilight would never be able to counter THAT logic!

The young alicorn simply sighed, ignoring the fact that “bestest” was not a word. “That’s kinda my point, though… We don’t know what they’re like, Pinkie. We wouldn’t want a repeat of… well… MY first day in Ponyville, would we?”

Although Pinkie looked a bit deflated by this logic, she still smiled. “Well, they could be the happiest, friendliest, most open, compassionate, and emotional pony we’ve ever met! Well, next to Fluttershy, of course.”

Twilight rubbed the back of her head, and replied. “That’s a good point… I really wish Princess Celestia, or at least the mayor, would tell us about who’s coming to Ponyville when they do…”

“Well, we can learn more about them at tonight’s party!” Pinkie supplied, helpfully, and grinned one of her enormous smiles. “Say, that reminds me! Hearth’s Warming Eve is coming up soon! And didja see the list of actors for this year’s performance! Some of the best in Canterlot! Oh, maybe we could take this new pony with us this yearbecauseI’msurethey’denjoyitand –“

She was cut off when Twilight began to speak. “Hearth’s Warming Eve, huh… What an odd time to move to Ponyville…”

“I know! But hey, I’m not gonna judge,” the pink mare seemed to have completely forgotten what it was she planned to say. “Oh! But maybe we can have a joint ‘Second Welcome to Ponyville and Happy Hearth’s Warming Eve Party (or whatever it is you celebrate; we don’t judge here in Ponyville) Party’!”

Twilight simply shook her head. “Well, Pinkie, I’ve got a lot of work to do. Prin- er, Celestia wants me to get to know how to fly better, considering that I just got these wings and all, and after that… er… ‘disaster’ at my coronation ceremony, so I’m going to ask Fluttershy for some help!”

Pinkie opened her mouth to say something about how Rainbow Dash was likely a better flight teacher, but she said nothing on the matter after seeing the bright look in her friend’s eyes.

“Okie-dokie-lokie!” she said, smiling, “and I’ll continue to work on making this the most super-duper funnerific party that I can for our new arrival! It’s only a matter of time, after all!”

As Twilight passed by, however, Pinkie winced at the mental image of Fluttershy trying to teach her how to fly.

That night, it could be said, was certainly one of Pinkie’s greatest parties. The banner clearly displayed everything that she wanted to say (“Welcome to Ponyville From Wherever-it-is-You’re-From-Land Party”), and everypony in Ponyville – even a few from outside of the town – were attending it with hopeful looks.

At last, as they hid out of sight, the door began to creak a little, and they all began to tense up in anticipation.

At last, the door opened, and inside stepped a young, tired-looking male earth pony. He looked rather strange, with a light-brown hooded cloak over his light-tan (almost stark-white, oddly enough) coat, and four pieces of cloth, a strange mixture of pink, red, and white, around his hooves. Under the cloak, a grayish mane, like a cloud during a storm, could be barely seen, with just a few hairs sticking out beneath the hood. In addition to this, he had a strange sword at his side, sheathed, but it appeared to be a transparent blue from what little of it they did see.

At last, he reached over, flicked the light switch, and –

“SURPRISE!” shouted everypony in the room, followed by cheers.

The stallion glanced around him in confusion, certainly surprised, and at last they got a good look at his face.

His eyes were a strange light-green, but what everypony was staring at were the three discolored lines, ranging from a sickly looking yellow to an even worse-looking green, that ran across his face at irregular angles. Or, to put it more simply, scars, that left him looking dangerous, as if he were a criminal.

The cheering all died down as they got a good look at him, and it became silence, as he did not even react to the party around him.

At last, after what felt like an eternity, he spoke. “Can I help you?” he asked, coldly.

That caused the silence to continue as the crowd drunk in his voice. Despite his face and body looking mysterious and cruel, his vocal chords were oddly untouched by the many scars, leaving him, instead, with a voice that was clear and full.

Plus, he was a tenor. Not many male tenors in Ponyville that actually spoke to anypony.

Then, out of absolutely nowhere, Pinkie exploded into view. “Welcome to Ponyville!” she shouted, as confetti appeared behind her.

The stallion blinked several times, before replying. “Oh, thank you, I suppose,” although his voice still retained that coldness. “However… would you mind moving this elsewhere?”

“What… b-but why?” Pinkie asked.

The stallion simply sighed, “My apologies,” he said, “but… I have much to do tomorrow, and… not much time to do it. I need to rest up a bit. I hope you understand.”

At last, unable to take it anymore, a cyan-colored pegasus with a rainbow mane rushed up to him, glaring straight into his eyes. “After going through all the trouble to throw you this party, you’re just gonna let it go to waste!”

He simply stared at her, unfazed, with eyes still completely cold. “Yes. That is what I plan to do.”

“What… but that’s just… so lame!” she shouted, surprised by his remark. “I mean, we did all of this” - she gestured to the area around her - “for you” - she pointed accusingly at him - “and you just want us to pack it all up and run off?!”

“Yes,” he replied again, simply, “that is exactly what I’m asking you.”

Silence reigned, again, as he stared into her eyes for what felt like hours, before he said. “Tell me this. Why do you want to throw somepony a party that you’ve never met?”

“Because it shows that we want to get to know you!” the pegasus shouted, again.

“If you want to get to know me, you should at least tell me your name.”

The pegasus squinted her eyes. If looks could kill…

“Rainbow. Dash,” she punctuated both words, as if to add emphasis.

“A pleasure, I’m sure,” he replied. “My name is Checkmate. Checkmate Vigarde.”

Again, there was no emotion in his voice as he spoke, but just a coldness that seemed to make everypony around him shudder.

“Weird name,” Rainbow said dismissively.

The thinnest ghost of smile appeared on Checkmate’s muzzle, before vanishing again. “I can see that your family named you after your color scheme,” he replied dully.

Again, strangely, Pinkie Pie popped up in between the two, grinning as she looked the stallion over. “Good to meetcha’ Checkie! My name’s Pinkie Pie!”

Twilight stepped over, as well. “And I’m Twilight Sparkle, former student of Princess Celestia.”

Checkmate looked her over. “You’re an alicorn,” he mused. “Odd to see one around this area.”

“Odd to see a stallion carrying a sword, wearing a cloak, and covered in scars anywhere,” Rainbow muttered from where she was floating.

Pinkie was staring at it, as well. “It’s so… shiny!” she gasped, reaching over to touch it, at which point Checkmate reflexively stepped back. “Oh, sorry,” she gasped as she realized what she’d done, “I didn’t mean to scare you!”

It appeared to take all of Checkmate’s energy in order to keep from chuckling at that. “Believe me. Nothing frightens me, anymore.”

“So, Checkmate,” Twilight interjected, in an attempt to change the conversation, “where are you from?”

“I’d… rather not say,” mused the stallion. “However, I can see that this party is not going to stop anytime soon -” he cast a glance around him “- so I’ll just assume that you all want to introduce yourselves?”

The ponies began to shift nervously from side-to-side, and several of them were already looking towards the door. A few were even looking towards the windows.

“By all means,” Checkmate mused. “I don’t want to keep you from your work. If you want to go, then do so.”

Half of the room was gone in less than thirty seconds, and the other half was out by the next ten, leaving only him and ten others.

“Well, I assume that the rest of you want to meet me?” he asked, looking back-and-forth between the other ten. They all nodded, and he let out a sigh.

The first to step up to him were two earth ponies, one with an orange coat and a straw hat, as well as a smaller one with a yellow coat. The first looked uncomfortable, but still spoke nonetheless. “Howdy there, pardner,” she said, sheepishly. “The name’s Applejack, member of the Apple family, and this here’s my little sis’, Apple Bloom.”

“Glad to meetcha’, Checkmate!” the younger of the two said, with a strange amount of enthusiasm considering what had just happened.

“Likewise,” he replied, simply.

“So, uh, how’d ya get your –“

Apple Bloom was instantly cut off by her older sister’s foreleg covering her mouth. Applejack grinned sheepishly, again, before stepping back a bit and leaving Checkmate without the question that had very nearly been asked.

The next to step towards him was a single unicorn, with a coat the color of fresh snow, and an elegant and clearly styled mane.

“A pleasure to meet one of such refined words, darling,” she said, primly. “My name is Rarity, and I would like to welcome you to our… wonderful… little town.”

“Indeed,” again, simple, without much real attention.

After she had gone back to join the others, another two fillies walked up to him.

“Hi!” said the first, a darker orange in color, with a purple mane. “I’m Scootaloo! Hey, how’d you get all of those… uh…?”

“Don’t ask.”

“O-okay then!” the young pegasus whispered, stepping back slightly. “Sweetie Belle! Why don’t you…?”

Although, at this point, the younger was hiding behind Rarity, who Checkmate presumed to be her sister, due to them both being unicorns and both having similar appearances.

Checkmate looked over at her, and sighed. “Right.”

The last two looked rather awkward, with one, a yellow pegasus, hiding in the corner shyly, and the other, a young dragon, was standing next to Twilight and glancing about.

At last, Twilight stepped forward. “Um, Checkmate, this is my friend, Spike. He's uh... he's a dragon,” she gestured towards him, “and that’s Fluttershy. She was teaching me how to fly earlier.” If the bandage above her left eye was of any indication, it was most likely not a very good teaching job.

Checkmate wasted no time in vocalizing these thoughts, "Judging by the wound above your eye, I'd imagine her to be a great teacher," he said, but without any emotion behind the sarcasm. "Now that I've met all of you, would you mind leaving me alone? I've much to accomplish tomorrow, and not much time time to do so."

Rainbow Dash opened her mouth to speak, but Checkmate shut her up with a cold look.

“Fine,” she muttered. “Alright guys, let’s just leave this guy alone, so that he can do whatever it is he needs to do.”

And then they left. Just like that, they stepped out the door (or flew, in Rainbow’s case) and left him alone.

Checkmate fell against the door then, which was locked, and sighed to himself.

“So…” he mused. “Such a strange little place.”

He held the sword up to the light, watching as it ran through the transparent blade, and sheathed it.

A sword that appeared to be made of ice, the element he almost completely despised. The element that he almost hated – no, not hated. He could never hate. He could never feel anything again, or he’d be killed.

And then, he would never complete his quest.

He would only fail it.