A Game of Chess

The scout watched, hesitantly. Suddenly, this entire mission seemed to be an awful idea, as another stallion with a sword had stepped in. However, this one had shown such immense power, prowess, and a horrifically calm demeanor, that just the thought of challenging him - or any of the others, at this point - sent a chill down her spine.

In short, she was absolutely terrified of him. But, still, her quest was one that had to be completed. Even as she watched the group of ponies tear into the jadetails, as she saw them take down the scorpion, the scout knew that this was not going to be as simple a journey as she'd hoped.

She let out a sigh, but made sure not to let them see her. At this point, she was beginning to question just why she'd decided to scout out the Desert of Death. Even if her friend had warned her against it, why had she been so idiotic as to just venture out into a place like that? She was almost certain that it was due to her sick, stupid pride, and she should have known better than to put herself in such a compromising position.

The scout winced, slightly, as that sword of the newcomer struck deep into the jadetails's side, cutting deep into its armored carapace. There was no way in hell, or in that wretched Tartarus, that she was prepared to face off against that bastard with the blade. In fact, she was tempted to just fly off, now, and get the hell away from from the two ponies with the weaponry.

Although she smirked, albeit only slightly. After all, physical attacks were never her forte. No, she preferred stealth. Stealth, agility, and speed were her best traits, and, as her friend claimed, "a mind sharp enough to cleave diamonds in two". The scout didn't quite find herself that intelligent (although she did find enjoyment in snarking at nearly everything around her), but went along with it regardless.

And to that end, her plan was unfolding almost precisely as calculated, with only a few minor complications. As soon as they rested, she would be on them in a flash. The scout would take one of them, specifically the alicorn, back with her to where she called home, and then at last, she - and the rest of her kind - would have exactly as they desired.

Revenge.

But still, the sell-swords made her shy away. The scout was terrified by their abilities. The first was fast and agile, and the second showed strength and power that could cut through even the carapace of a jadetails. Even if she was after getting at least one of them, the scout would have to either sneak past the two sell-swords, or she would have to kill them.

And, although she despised killing those who had nothing to do with her, that was beginning to look like a better solution the more the scout thought about it.

The jadetails let out a howl of agony as the new stallion's blade ripped through its carapace like a knife through butter. He struck with such force and precision that it was a wonder that the beast was not yet dead.

On the sidelines, Twilight and Rarity hit the beast with magical energy on its left and right side, respectively. The former had given up attempting to bind the beast, as that only enraged it, and instead focused her attacks on causing any damage to its outer shell that she could. The latter, however, seemed rather nervous about the whole affair, instead glancing over at the four children whenever the opportunity arose.

In the sky, Rainbow still flew around it, not creating a sonic rainboom due to its explosion being fatal to anypony in a certain distance of it. Rather than risk her friends' lives, the pegasus instead flew overtop the beast, looking for, and pointing out, and weak areas in its armor, which were quickly taken advantage of by Checkmate.

Checkmate and Applejack worked on areas of its carapace not being attacked by the new stallion, slashing and kicking at any weak-looking areas of its shell. The strange pair attacked with speed and power, striking with all their might at every area that could potentially cripple the massive scorpion.

The beast let out yet another screech, as the ponies overwhelmed it, tearing into its flesh with their bare hooves, magic, and weaponry. Beside it, Pinkie had begun to twitch furiously, warning the others as it attacked them in an effort to tear them apart. Her friends, and the new stallion, in turn, dodged the strikes, having known in advance just where it was they were coming from, and when they were coming.

Fluttershy took a similar position to Rainbow, flying above the scorpion, but, rather than point out weak points, attempted to disorient the creature by circling its tails as it attacked, but wore an expression of terror throughout the entire escapade. The yellow pegasus was obviously frightened, and somewhat disgusted, by the prospect of killing a creature only attacking those who trespassed on its land, but did not protest.

Before long, the jadetails, still screeching in agony and angrily attacking those around it, reacted in surprise as the new stallion leapt up into the air, held the sword out in front of him, and landed on its back. The monster attempted to swipe him off using its claws and two remaining tails, but its wounds, inflicted by the stallion, Checkmate, Applejack, Rarity, and Twilight, were too deep for it to do so successfully.

The stallion held the blade up high, above his head, and, with a glint in his eyes, plunged the blade downwards, deep into the jadetails's back. It let out one last scream, one that seemed to permeate the air, before falling, dead, to the ground.

He sheathed the massive sword, then, and leapt down from the jadetails's back. "There," he said, "are you all alright?"

Rarity let out a sigh of relief. "Oh, yes!" she said, smiling. "Thank Celestia that you arrived in time. I would hate to see what would have happened had you not..."

Checkmate stepped towards him. "Yeah," he said. "Thank you for helping us, there. What's your name?"

The stallion turned towards them, and Checkmate saw him clearly for the first time. He was tall, and looked muscular. His coat was a dark, grayish-blue, although it was difficult to see beneath all of his scars, which covered his entire body to the point that he appeared to be a splash of hideous, disgusting colors, with marks running everywhere from his back to around his neck. His face, however, appeared untouched by these wounds, with his eyes seeming perfect and bright, albeit somewhat sad, and his ears not even cut slightly.

"Dusk," he replied, his voice calm and level. He turned, then, as if to leave.

"Wait!" Twilight shouted. "Where are you going?"

The stallion stopped. "I've something important that I must do," he replied, "and -"

"- Not much time to do it?" finished Checkmate, knowingly.

Dusk turned back towards them, seeming bemused. "Exactly," he replied. "Although... I wonder if you could help me."

"How so?" asked Rainbow, flying in front of him.

The mysterious stallion turned towards her. "That sword," he started, "is the Glacius, isn't it?"

That's right, responded a voice, as Khaza appeared before them from the blade.

Dusk stared at her, for just a second, before looking away once more. "There's only one reason that a group of ponies would enter the Desert of Death with the Glacius in tow. Well, several, technically, but this one is the most likely." He turned back to them. "You seek the Ignis."

"That's right," Twilight said, although she seemed somewhat shaken, "but how did you know about that?"

"More importantly," mused Khaza, "why would an earth pony like yourself enter this desert alone?"

Dusk stared at the windigo, seeming confused by this. "An earth pony?" he asked. "Who ever said that I was an earth pony?"

"Well," Checkmate said, "you don't have wings, or a horn, so..."

The other stallion silence him by lifting up his mane, revealing a bump, the top of which was flat and cracked, on his forehead. "I'm no earth pony," he said, calmly, "although I suppose that I'm not exactly a unicorn either. I still have enough magical energy to properly use most of my techniques, but my full potential has been... compromised."

Twilight, instinctively, reached up and touched her own horn, as if to make sure that it was still there.

"Who are you, exactly?" Applejack asked, cautiously.

"Like I said," replied Dusk, "my name is Dusk. I am a unicorn mercenary, traveling the world on a personal mission."

"You sell your sword?" clarified Checkmate. "But why did you help us, then?"

"Simple," the other stallion said. "I've something important that I must accomplish, and only a few months to do it." Dusk looked away, again. "And I know that you are in the same situation, and we both have an enemy who I'm sure that you want to kill."

"Wendigo," muttered Checkmate.

"Exactly," said Dusk. "We both desire to see him dead, so I want to ask for your help. In exchange, I'll travel with you through the rest of the desert, Solace, the home of the sleipnirs, and to our last battle with the bastard himself. To put it more simply, I join you on your journey to slay Wendigo."

"And what do you get, in return?" asked Checkmate, cautiously.

Dusk's eyes met his, and a strange fire seemed to burn in them. "Simple," said the mercenary, again. "I get what I've wanted for years, but have not had the power to accomplish." He stopped, and the smallest smirk crossed his face. "I get closure that the Zephyr is not in production, and..." He stopped, and shook his head. "Yes, I just want to go with you to Darkfrost. On my own, I can't defeat Wendigo; I'm strong, and this blade is excellent, but by myself the two of us would be trapped in a stalemate. With somepony wielding the Glacius and the Ignis, however? Together, we could stop the bastard, once and for all."

"There's something that you're not telling us," Twilight said, stepping around him. "Why did you enter this desert in the first place? It seems almost as if you were waiting for us, based on what you're claiming."

"Maybe I was," replied Dusk, "but why should I tell you everything about me? I merely wish to help you stop Wendigo's reign of terror. Nothing more, nothing less."

"Why do you want to stop Wendigo?" asked Checkmate. "What reason could you possibly have?"

Dusk hesitated, for just a moment. "That is my own reason, and I do not feel the need to elaborate on it with all of you. It's the same reason that I was here in the desert to begin with, and I don't need to explain it to any of you. Let's just say that this sword in my hooves is no ordinary weapon, and that I'm no ordinary mercenary. However, if we're to travel together, I'm going to need your names."

The others all appeared uneasy, but spoke, nonetheless. The eleven ponies - including Khaza, Spike, Sweetie Belle, Apple Bloom, and Scootaloo - introduced themselves, in turn, to the mercenary.

Dusk looked over the group. "A pleasure, I'm sure," he said. "Now, then, shall we be off?"

Checkmate sighed, but followed the scar-covered stallion, regardless. The others, particularly Khaza and Twilight, seemed uneasy around the mercenary, but they still went with him in spite of their misgivings. Unlike the walk to where they'd fought the jadetails, however, this time the group stepped with an odd confidence. Despite his rudeness, Dusk had firmly established himself as an experience and excellent fighter, and just being with him made Checkmate, and the rest of the group, he presumed, feel at least slightly safer.

However, oddly enough, the mercenary kept stopping throughout their trek, and glancing off to the sides. Twilight and the others seemed to think nothing of it, but Checkmate could not stop the sinking feeling that a certain windigo general was watching them. Although, he reasoned with himself, he had the same suspicions that Wendigo was watching him for the past eight years, when it was actually Khaza who was doing so.

In just a few hours of walking - during which the group had, conveniently, met no more jadetails or any other desert beast - they stopped. Night had fallen, and the temperatures dropped immensely, to the point that even Khaza, the sword made of ice, complained about the chilling wind.

"It should be safe, here," Dusk said, turning back towards them, "Let's break for camp. We can make our way towards Solace again tomorrow, once we are ready. I'll take the first watch, and you kids get to sleep."

There were no objections to that, and almost everypony had fallen asleep a few minutes after camp was made, and even Checkmate found himself, soon after hitting the ground, falling into slumber, his body aching from the activities of the day.

Night had fallen, and the scout's eyes flashed with joy as her prey had fallen asleep. All that she needed to do, now, was grab the lavender alicorn and get the hell out of that cursed desert.

She licked her muzzle. The lot of them were asleep, and she couldn't see the more dangerous-looking of the sell-swords anywhere. Odds were, she reasoned, that he'd left them, considering that he was nowhere in sight, and she'd checked the area around her at least five times before making sure to watch again. Things were definitely looking up for her.

That's when the scout felt something sharp touch the back of her neck, and she froze.

"Don't move," came a voice, cold and deep.

She whirled around, quickly, and found herself facing the same damned sell-sword who she'd been worried about the most.

The blade had moved from the back of her neck to her throat, as the mercenary's eyes glistened. "I told you not to move," his voice was still cold, yet calm.

"I like to see the guys who threaten to kill me before they do so," snarked the scout.

The sell-sword smirked, but only slightly. "You didn't get a good luck at us during the day?" he asked, rudely. "How disappointing, because I saw you well enough."

Her face paled. "H-how?" she breathed. There was nothing that she could be sarcastic about in this instance.

"The next time you desire to stalk ponies," said the mercenary, "perhaps you should try a different color in the desert than bright red? Honestly, tan would have worked. Light tan would have been fantastic, or possibly even a buttercream color like that pegasus, Fluttershy, but red? Red with a black mane?"

The scout hung her head, embarrassed. She knew that she should have changed the color of her coat, or at least covered herself in sand, before she attempted this, but her stupid pride had gotten in the way.

"I checked this area out five times," she whispered. "How did you get passed?"

"Simple, really," the mercenary tapped his head. "Tell me: What color is my coat?"

"Dark blue," replied the scout, and she felt her eyes widen in realization.

"That's right," said the mercenary. "Dark blue. The perfect color for blending into shadows, wouldn't you say?"

"Dammit..." she hissed. "What, are you gonna kill me, now?!"

"I should," admitted the sell-sword. "After all, a pegasus who uses stealth and agility, and who carries a dagger? I'm almost one-hundred-percent certain that you're an assassin."

The scout let out a laugh, at this. "A-an assassin?" she said, "Come on! I'm not a killer!"

"Really?" asked the mercenary, drolly.

"Yeah," said the scout, "I'm just here to check out the area."

"Alright," he said, although he didn't sound convinced. "Who sent you?"

The scout felt herself freeze, again. "I-I'm..."

She couldn't tell him. She couldn't tell any of them. Putting herself into this position was bad enough, but being asked that question caused her heart to almost stop in her chest.

"Well?" the mercenary pressed the blade up closer to her throat, to the point that she could feel pain.

"I-I'm not..." she stammered. "I'm not..."

The mercenary's face remained cold. "You refuse to tell me who sent you out here?" he asked. "Fine then, I've no reason to challenge you. But you've provided no reason for me to believe that you're no assassin, or that you're just some scout. I'm not going to kill you, because you could be completely innocent. However... I'm not going to risk leaving you be, either, only for you to turn around and stab us when we are not looking."

"What do you mean?" she asked.

The stallion sheathed the sword. "I'm taking you along for this journey," he said, calmly. "After that, you will be free to go. Nothing more, and nothing less."

At last, the scout spoke with a normal tone of voice. "You expect me, a pegasus, and a possible criminal, to just sit around and not fly off once your back is turned?"

The sell-sword simply smirked at this. "Of course I don't. In fact, I'm not even going to tie your wings, or cripple you in any other way. The choice is entirely yours. But know that, if you do run off, I'm not one to just let my quarry escape. I'll follow you to the gates of hell itself, and I shall end you."

Her face paled, once more. "Wh-who the hell are you?" she asked.

"My name is Dusk," replied the sell-sword. "I'm nothing but a simple, unicorn mercenary. A mercenary who does not desire any harm to come to his... employers, so to speak."

There was something about his calmness that just sent a shiver down her spine. The scout could tell that this bastard was going to follow through on that promise of his, regardless of what stood in his way.

"Now tell me, kid," he said, calmly. "What is your name?"

The scout licked her muzzle, but spoke in spite of her fear. "My name?" she asked. Part of her was nervous to say this, but a bigger part of her knew that this sell-sword was not just some cheap purchase, based on how easily he'd killed that jadetails.

So, despite her misgivings, the scout knew it was better to tell him her name, so she did.

"Valice."