A Game of Chess

Arc II - The Blade of Fire

It was hard to describe the collective feelings of those who were about to go on the journey to obtain the Ignis. Some were excited, ecstatic, even, to go and gain this sword that could assist in saving the world. Others were visibly nervous, some of those even terrified, by the prospect of, perhaps, not returning home.

Checkmate was most certainly not of the latter group, nor was he of the former. Instead, the stallion - whether brave or foolish - felt only a sense of duty to Darkfrost, to himself, and to his friends. However, even he felt fear in his heart.

The fear he felt was not for himself, though, but for those around him. Checkmate was no fool, and he knew just how wretched the world beyond Equestria's borders could be. Certainly, the Griffon Kingdom, the Zebra Kingdom, and the Crystal Empire were all allies, and many of them were great places to live, but the rest of the world was as stable as a powder keg. Powerful monsters roamed several lands freely, wars were as abundant as the nations in which they were held, and there was always a crippling sense of fear that seemed to grip those who wandered the land.

But Checkmate had still not seen much of it. His entire life had been spent only in either Darkfrost - which he despised, save for the few nice ponies and the more compassionate windigoes - or Equestria - which he loved, save for Wendigo's interference and the few obnoxious and cruel ponies -, and he had yet to see the true horrors that waited outside of the borders of both lands.

He didn't care, though. He didn't care if the rest of the world was covered in mutated creatures, wallowing in misery, or horrid monsters that would tear apart anything for a chance to live.

No, the worst thing in all of the world - so many ponies claimed, anyway - was what he had witnessed back in Darkfrost. It was the same reason that, no matter how he tried, no matter how many times Khaza forgave him, he couldn't get that sickening sound out of his mind; That wretched sound, as the blade went between her eyes.

"There are no graves in Darkfrost."

It was a hideous saying, something that the ponies of that land knew all too well. The most wretched thing in existence was that one saying, and the connotations that it held.

Checkmate knew his friends to be strong. They didn't need any of his help, he was sure, in order to survive this mission (mostly because Twilight, as an alicorn, was effectively immortal). However, that wasn't what he was so worried about with them.

What terrified him was the idea that these creatures, once so innocent, would be subjected to the most hideous and horrible thing in the entire world. Again, he knew that they were strong, and wise, and could likely get through this intact. They'd seen things that he could only dream of, after all. They'd stopped Nightmare Moon, and redeemed Discord, and stopped the changelings, and even saved the entirety of the Crystal Empire. However, that still didn't change the fact that what he'd seen would never leave his memory.

"There are no graves in Darkfrost..."

The group of seven was speaking with the princesses and Discord, and several members of the guard, including Shining Armor, had stepped in and saluted them as they left of their quest.

"Twilight," Celestia said, "you and your friends are the only ones who can stop Wendigo, now. I realize that this is the most arduous task that I've ever placed upon you, but I'm afraid that it is necessary."

"Don't worry about me, Pri- Celestia," Twilight hastily corrected herself. "I promise you that we'll stop Wendigo, once and for all!"

"I'm glad to hear it," Celestia replied, warmly. "And the three of us" - she glanced over at Discord as she said this - "will make sure that we will put up a barrier to keep him out of Equestria while you are gone. I'm afraid, however, that you won't be able to enter Equestria until exactly two weeks have passed; That's when we estimate that you'll have defeated him, and that is when the barrier will lower. We've sent out a warning to the Griffon Kingdom, the Zebra Kingdom, and the Crystal Empire, as well, just to be on the safe side. The very last thing that we need is for Wendigo to cripple our allies."

"Right," Twilight said, although her face fell, slightly. "I understand, Celestia. I guess I'll see you and everypony else in two weeks, once we've stopped Wendigo."

The young alicorn stepped away from the princess, looking somewhat melancholy, and went to exchange words with her brother.

Fluttershy was talking to Discord (about what, Checkmate did not understand. Fluttershy was mumbling, and it appeared that the god of chaos was attempting to imitate her style of speech), and he sighed, turning towards Celestia and Luna.

"So, I understand that we will not be able to return here, then?" he asked. "It makes sense, but..."

"Yes," Celestia replied, sadly. "I know the risks of doing such a thing, of barring anypony from leaving or entering Equestria, but the danger of Wendigo is far too evident. If he gets the chance, he'll not just destroy Equestria, or ruin Darkfrost any more than he has, but he'll take the entire world for himself."

Checkmate simply nodded. "I know," he said, "but the fact remains that we... may not return. What makes you so confident that we will succeed?"

Celestia looked away, the faintest glimmer in her eye. "I knew a pony, once," she said, slowly. "He was... determined, strong, and brave. He longed to slay Wendigo, to protect not only our ponies, but those of the world, as well. More than 2,500 years ago, he set out on this quest, and he fought Wendigo for weeks on end. It was a sight to see. However, in the end, he failed. The stallion was... killed. He never was able to return to Equestria."

"What does that have to do with me?" Checkmate asked, cocking his head, slightly.

The princess of the sun looked back at him, before sighing. "The stallion was my brother. He was the strongest swordscolt I've ever met. But you, Checkmate... I've confidence that you can out-duel his greatest foe, and defeat Wendigo. Maybe you're not the best at fighting, but you've got something to fight for. Not only that, but with your experience, I'm almost certain that you can easily match Wendigo's strength."

"Wendigo? The one who defeated me for everypony to see?" Checkmate asked, sarcastically. "I'm sorry, Celestia, but... I don't share your confidence. I mean, I've done crazier stuff before, but fighting a monster like Wendigo? Every time we fight, he gets some advantage. An advantage that I can't counter, being an earth pony."

"You act like that's a bad thing," Celestia's eyes twinkled. "Believe me, Checkmate. My brother was only better than you at swordplay because he had thousands of years of practice, not to mention being an alicorn, with a signature style that most ponies feared just to look at."

"Did your brother have a name?" Checkmate asked. "I mean, you've been referring to him only as 'my brother', and 'he'. Didn't he have a name?"

"... Yes," Celestia's response was delayed. "However, his name is not meant to be known to any except for myself, Luna, and some other important leaders."

Checkmate sighed. "So he's that kind of brother, eh?" he asked. "Well, I understand. I get that you wouldn't want to say his name if it causes you heartache."

"Hey, Check!" came a shout, and Checkmate looked over to see the six ponies having boarded the chariot. "Hey, C'mon! Don't keep us waiting!"

"Right..." he murmured, and turned back towards Celestia. "I meant to ask you some questions just the other day... But I'm afraid that they'd slipped my mind at the time. I'm sorry that I wasn't able to."

"I've no problems, Checkmate," answered Celestia, "but... I do have one thing that I want to ask you. Do you remember last week, what I asked you just before you left?"

Checkmate tried to remember. "Something about... what did you call it, 'Velios'?"

"Him," Celestia said, quietly. "I just want you to answer this one question for me, just before we leave: what do you know about alternate universes?"

Checkmate stopped, and stared at her. "I know that every time a new action is taken, be it living or non-living, a new universe is born. What does that have to do with this 'Velios'?"

"Everything," whispered Celestia. "Checkmate, you must guard that name. Nopony, besides myself, and a select few immortals - with possibly being only myself and one other alicorn -, is to know anything about it."

The stallion rolled his eyes. "Don't worry," he said, "I've no plans to tell anypony about something I've never heard of. Is that all?"

Celestia nodded in reply.

"Very well," Checkmate said. "I guess I'll see you when we get back, and maybe I can finally ask you those questions."

"Good-bye, Checkmate," Celestia said, as he turned to leave, "and I wish you luck on your quest!"

Checkmate stepped over to the chariot, where the other six ponies were seated.

"About time!" Rainbow Dash muttered. "We've been waiting here forever!"

"Not really, though," Twilight said. "Girls... and, uh, Checkmate... are all of you ready to go and save the world, again?"

"YEAH!" As per usual, the cry was impossibly unanimous.

"Alright!" she said, grinning. "Come on, guys, we've got a desert to cross, and then a monster to kill!"

After casting one last, wistful look off towards the three immortals who stood watching them, Twilight motioned for the chariot to lift off, sending them up into the clouds. The chariot hovered, for just an instant, before going flying forwards at impossible speeds.

Rainbow Dash just sat, looking bored, while the rest of them held onto their belongings.

"Gah, this is so slow!" complained the cyan pegasus.

"A-are you kidding me?!" Checkmate gasped, finding it hard to speak.

Rainbow rolled her eyes, "Well, yeah!" she said. "I've flown at least ten times faster than this!"

"I'm-I'm sure that's impossible..." breathed Checkmate, still gasping for breath.

"Believe what you want," Rainbow said, smirking. "Just do whatever makes you feel good about yourself."

You want to have a race, some time? Khaza teased, the Glacius shimmering. I think I'd beat you, pretty easily, though.

Rainbow laughed at this. "You're challenging me to a race?" she said, through tears. "Oh, you are so on, when we're done here! I'll fly laps around you!"

Looking forward to it, Khaza replied. Windigoes have high affinities for wind and ice, you know, so we should be pretty evenly matched. Well, there's just another motivation to beat the crap out of that heartless bastard.

"Yeah!" Rainbow said, throwing her hoof into the air. "It's always great to get a racing challenge! Now I'll at least have something to do when we get back to Equestria... or Darkfrost, wherever you prefer."

Ha! Yeah, I'm definitely looking forward to it...

Checkmate wished that he could share their sentiments, rather than be in the position that he was: gasping for air, having to hold onto the hood of his cloak, lest it blow away, and fighting an inherent fear that they hadn't checked everything well enough before leaving.

Then, there was a flash of red beside the vehicle.

Before Checkmate knew what had happened, the chariot had fallen to the ground with a crash, and those inside it were sent into the air for a few seconds before landing safely upon its seats.

"What the heck was that about?!" Twilight shouted, looking over the two pegasi carrying the chariot.

"I'm sorry, Princess!" one of them gasped, clearly younger than the other. "We got to the edge of the desert, but something just attacked me!"

He showed them his side, which was bruised just under the wing.

"No, not the crashing," Twilight murmured. "I'm fine with that, considering I was expecting something like that. I mean, what was that red light?"

The other pegasus, the older of the two, glanced back at them. "I've never seen anything like it in my life, Princess... I'm not sure what it was, either, but odds are that it was hostile, if it just up and attacked Cloud Cutter like that. In any case, leaving here with the chariot isn't an option for a while. We got you to the edge, but I'm afraid that you'll have to get through the rest of the Desert of Death yourself."

"That was always the plan," Checkmate informed him. "Thank you, sergeant."

"It was nothing, lad," replied the sergeant, "but watch your step... I've walked these sands once before, and the monsters in it are nothing to sneeze at. I'm not talking about manticores, but about truly dangerous creatures. Jadetails, gold vultures, and the worst of the lot: antlions. You'd better be careful out there."

"You've been in the Desert of Death before?" Checkmate asked, "but this isn't a part of Equestria."

"No, it's not," admitted the sergeant, "but not all of us are from Equestria, are we? I was born in the Zebra Kingdom, so going through deserts was normal for me. This place, however... It's like some wasteland, filled with pain and things that'll kill you if you even stop for a chance to breathe. Like I said, watch your step, kid. Get that sword, get over to Darkfrost, and slay that windigo king. Anyway, the two of us will be returning to Equestria, now. The barrier isn't going up until we return, and I have to make sure that Cloud Cutter here gets some good medical care."

"I-I'll be fine!" said the younger guard. "I mean, it's just a bruise, see?" He touched it, and winced as he did so. "See? I'll be fine!"

"Ugh, you kids get going," said the sergeant. "I'll take the kid back to the palace. You should all watch out for whatever it was that attacked us. We're going to leave the chariot here, since we won't be able to carry it back with Cloud in this condition."

The sergeant and Cloud Cutter took flight, the latter limping slightly. "I'll see you guys when you get back," the latter said, weakly, before the two flew off.

Checkmate turned to the others once the two guards had gone, and leapt to the ground. "We'd better get used to all this sand," he muttered, stepping over to the back of the chariot to grab his bag. "It's all that we'll be seeing for a while... Oh, you're absolutely kidding me."

"What's wrong?" asked Twilight, glancing over at him.

Checkmate reached in, grabbed something - something that squirmed - and pulled it out. "Does this belong to anypony?" he asked, annoyed.

"Oh, buck," muttered Rarity, as elegantly as one would imagine, "Sweetie Belle, why would you-?!"

The young unicorn looked terrified, and gulped. "R-Rarity... I'm..."

"Three more," deadpanned Checkmate. "Two more ponies, and a dragon."

The three were systematically removed, berated, and chastised.

"Why would y'all do this?!" shouted Applejack. "Don't'cha realize why this place is called the 'Desert of Death'?! It ain't fer fillies, or a baby dragon!"

Checkmate's eyes flashed. "I hope that whatever reason you have is worth risking your lives," he said, his voice low and ominous.

Scootaloo blanched. "W-well, you see..."

Spike stepped towards them. "It's my fault!" he shouted, and the others stared at him in surprise. "I wanted respect," he explained. "After all, I saved the Crystal Empire, and I did a brief stand-in for Rainbow Dash against Discord, but nopony seemed to care, so I planned to come out here. These girls just kinda came along with me... I'm sorry, guys. It's all my fault."

"You're lyin'," Applejack said, but without malice. "Listen, Spike, I know that ya wanna protect 'em, but the fact is that y'all're here, now. An' with the sergeant and Cloud Cutter flyin' back to Equestria, y'all ain't gonna be returnin' there anytime soon."

"Dammit," Checkmate hissed. "That's right... we can't even return them to Equestria at this point... And we can't just leave them here..."

"Would it be safer to just take them along?" asked Rarity, sounding worried. "I don't want to leave my own sister and her friends here, where they could just as easily get themselves killed by themselves. I'd rather take them with us so that I'd at least know where they are."

Checkmate turned towards her. "Into the Desert of Death?" he asked. "I'm not sure if they'd be safer here, or with us, but I don't want to take any chances."

"Then we'll take them with us," Twilight said, cutting in. "The worst thing we could do is leave them here, unable to return to Ponyville. If we take them with us on our journey, we'll at least be able to keep them safe ourselves."

Checkmate sighed. "Alright, alright," he said, defeated. "I get it. You're both right. We could leave them here, but that could raise problems, and I don't want to leave any of you behind to take care of them. So these four get to see just what it is that they've brought themselves into."

"Checkmate, are you sure you don't just want one of us to stay with them...?" asked Fluttershy.

"Nonsense," replied the stallion. "I survived at their age, and what Wendigo did was at least as bad as whatever this desert has to offer." He rubbed one of his hooves, unconsciously, as the six mares winced, knowing what lay beneath the blood-stained cloth. "Besides," he added, "Celestia wanted all of you to come along with me on this quest, and I'm not leaving you out of it."

Rainbow nodded. "Yeah, he's right," she said. "I mean, what's the worst that could happen? You guys are hanging around us!"

"That's not very reassuring..." Scootaloo muttered, "but hey, I get to hang out with Rainbow Dash a bit more, and I'm perfectly fine with that!"

"Same!" said Apple Bloom. "Ah did say that Ah wanted ta come with you, Sis!"

"And maybe this'll get us our cutie marks!" Sweetie Belle said.

"CUTIE MARK CRUSADERS ADVENTURERS, YAY!" The three fillies shouted, as Spike covered his ears.

Checkmate rubbed the side of his head. "Is this what Hell is like?" he asked Twilight, deadpan.

The alicorn had to stifle her laughter.

The scout watched, carefully, stealthily, as the group of ponies talked so jovially in front of her.

She mentally kicked herself for that mishap that led to them crashing down into the sand, and continued watching, making sure not to make any noise. That was what her job entailed, after all, and her friend would be quite upset if she got herself killed by them. Although, the scout convinced herself, she could probably take them. They weren't anything but a bunch of candy-colored overly emotional ponies, after all.

Then, her eyes set on two of them in particular.

First, the alicorn. She was lavender, somewhat short, and the wings looked rather awkward on her. She looked different, but the scout remembered her all too well, and felt her hooves beginning to clench one of the daggers by her side at the memory. In fact, looking over them, almost all of the ponies were the ones that she remembered from one year ago, and it enraged her to see them wandering so freely. Oh, but that would change soon enough...

However, the second pony terrified her. He held a sword at his side, and stood with the appearance of one who had seen much pain and suffering. A mercenary, the scout assumed, who'd been hired to help them with... whatever it was Celestia wanted them to do. But he didn't carry himself like a mercenary, and seemed to be making idle conversation with the group. The fact remained, though, that he was undoubtedly dangerous to her, and everything she planned to do.

Especially, she reasoned, since the sword that he was wielding was the Glacius.

Oh, but she had time to be cautious. She had all the time that she needed, and soon she would do just as her job entailed.

All that she had to do was wait...