A Game of Chess

The antlion's cave was exactly as Twilight remembered it: Dark, dank, and with a floor slightly covered in sand, and very covered in pieces of deceased jadetails. However, there was a new air to it; Something that seemed... different than it had when they'd exited from it the day prior. Perhaps it was the fact that the creature didn't look as threatening when it was nuzzling Fluttershy, or perhaps it was simply the fact that Dusk's words held a strange tension in the air that refused to break its grip on them.

"... All of you," he began, slowly, "as I said, there's... something about this that's been bothering me since we spoke with Asgard yesterday. I'm sure that you noticed it as well, Khaza, if you don't mind."

Yes, came the voice of the windigo, I think I understand what it is you're talking about.

She materialized, then, in front of them, cracking her neck and shoulders. "Damn," she muttered, "it feels like it's been forever since I've been able to talk to anypony..." She looked over at the mercenary. "But I do understand exactly what you mean, Dusk. You're talking about Illia, aren't you?"

"That's right," replied Dusk, and he looked away. "As you all know, Asgard has claimed that Hecatoncheir has slain Illia, correct? And that he is offering us the Ignis in the case that we slay Hecatoncheir, as well?"

"Yes," Twilight said, stepping towards him. "That's been brought up a lot by this point..."

"The bastard's lied to us," said Dusk, not even waiting a second to speak. "Illia cannot be dead. Not if the Ignis is still in existence."

Twilight's eyes widened. "Wait... are you saying what I think you're saying? That Illia is the Ignis?!"

"That's right," Khaza said. "So either Asgard offered us something that doesn't exist anymore, or... Illia is not dead at all."

"But why would he lie like that?" breathed Checkmate, stepping forward. "What would he have to gain if he...?" His eyes widened. "Of course... Without Illia in the way, he's the ruler of Solace..."

"That's exactly what I thought," agreed Dusk, "and I'm guessing that Hecatoncheir is a part of this, as well. For all that we know, the two could have had this entire thing planned from the beginning... On the other hoof, however, it's plausible that he simply lied so that we would help them with Hecatoncheir, but either way, what we must do is the same." He looked up at them, his eyes flashing. "We need to speak to Asgard himself, and we need to learn the truth of the matter."

"And you expect him to tell us the truth?" Rarity asked. "The one who could have been pulling all of the strings from the very start? If anything, it is plausible that the sleipnirs themselves could easily be assisting him in this, and that is not even beginning to mention that Hecatoncheir may be."

Valice looked away, refusing to meet any of their gazes. "I think that... No, never mind," she said, although she looked uneasy. "There's just something about this that's really, really screwed up..."

"Tell us," prompted Twilight.

Valice, however, just chose to turn away. "I-It's nothing, alright? Nothing's the matter..." she looked over at all of them. "Why are you all staring at me like that? I told you that nothing's the matter, okay?"

She rubbed her temples. "Sorry," Valice murmured, "I just need some air."

The red pegasus then exited through the passageway outside, until her steps could no longer be heard.

Dusk let out a sigh. "Well, that came out of absolutely nowhere. However..." He shook his head. "All of you, whatever happens next, we'd best be prepared for it. Once we return to Solace, we'll no longer be able to speak like this, and Khaza will not be able to speak at all."

The windigo in question let out a sigh. "Well, that's a bit painful," she muttered, rubbing the side of her head. "Oh, well. Let's just go and learn the truth from Asgard, get ourselves the Ignis - or learn that Illia's dead -, and get the hell away from this place so that we can actually end this damned quest."

"That's the plan," Checkmate said, and looked back towards the passageway, "so I guess we'd better be completely prepared for anything."

"Right," Dusk said, and he followed Checkmate's gaze. "If we must resort to fighting, then we'll do what we have to. Nothing more, nothing less."

Khaza nodded, and changed back into the Glacius, which Checkmate promptly picked up. That's right, she said. We can only do what we, well, can do. That's all there is to it.

"I guess so," Twilight whispered, as the rest of them looked towards the opening to the desert. "Well, then, I guess we should go."

"Indeed," replied Dusk. "I'm almost certain that we can put some trust in Lynar and in Cora, but we can't be entirely certain of anything at this point. If we can explain the situation to them, I'm positive that they'll at least listen, and probably the other sleipnirs as well. Nopony likes Wendigo, after all, and if we can convince Asgard of that, we'll be able to take the Ignis with little difficulty, possibly without any bloodshed at all, if we're lucky."

"We're very lucky," Checkmate said, "but I'm not sure just how long that'll last. For all we know, we could all end up killed."

"Hasn't that been a risk this entire journey?" Twilight asked. "I think that we're used to life-threatening situations at this point. But Dusk, you know everypony, don't you? What about Asgard? If there's anything we can use to our advantage -"

"I've never met him, actually," Dusk interrupted. "He's a complete enigma to me. Honestly, it's strange; I'd never even heard of him until yesterday."

"So we're dealing with a pony we know nothing about," Twilight deadpanned. "Of course."

"Of course," repeated Checkmate, and he sighed. "Well, what else is there to do? We need the Ignis, and - whether or not it exists - we have to obtain it, or at least learn the truth about this."

Rainbow sighed, as well. "But this just all sounds really reckless," she said. "I mean, us going against a guy we don't know anything about? Even if I'm completely awesome, I can't exactly fly very well in a confined space..."

"We'll have to make due," said Dusk. "We'll just have to try swordplay, or magic, if we can. But either way" - he grimaced - "the fact remains that this may be our greatest challenge yet."

"Isn't everything?" deadpanned Twilight, and she rolled her eyes. "Don't get me wrong, we've gotten lucky, but Checkmate has a point; how long until our luck runs out?"

"Hopefully not too long," replied the mercenary. "We'll need some in order to make it out of this unscathed."

Applejack decided to throw something in. "Um... y'all do know that we have no idea if this fella's lyin' or not? This could jus' be an honest mistake..."

"That is a good point," admitted Checkmate. "We can't simply antagonize him without the facts."

"That's why we're going to get them," replied Dusk, "and we'd best hurry. The last thing we need is for them to start searching for us..."

So they left, with everypony except for Twilight and Pinkie exiting through the passageway to join Valice outside in the burning desert air.

The lavender alicorn turned towards Pinkie, and noticed a sad look in her eyes. "Pinkie, what's wrong?" she asked, genuinely curious; few times had the party-obsessed mare ever showed such sorrow, or broke her hyperactive personality to show this more thoughtful layer beneath it.

"It's just... Dusk," replied Pinkie, her ears drooped and her mane flat. "Can't you see it?"

Twilight cocked her head at this. "See what?"

"Whenever he smiles, or grins, or smirks, can't you see it in his eyes?" Pinkie's lower lip quivered. "I mean, I guess that all of you aren't focusing on his eyes, but I can see it perfectly."

"Okay, seriously," Twilight said, "what do you mean?"

"He's sad," Pinkie's answer was blunt, and surprisingly melancholy. "You know, Twilight, that I can tell when a pony's sad or not, right? Well, that's all that I see when I look at Dusk. Not happiness, not joy, not even fear or anger. Just... sadness, and loneliness, and depression."

Twilight's heart fell. Pinkie always did have a way of telling whether a pony was in a good mood or in a bad one, even if she didn't claim to show it. Often, she just left her friends be if they seemed to be upset, rather than potentially make it worse. But Dusk, if her reaction was anything to go by, seemed especially serious.

"So what do you plan to do, then?" Twilight asked, although she thought that she knew the answer.

"Well," Pinkie's mane suddenly seemed to explode into life, and her eyes took on a more happy expression, "I plan to do whatever it takes, Twilight, because that's just what friends do. Even if he's struggling, or in pain, or sad, I'm going to do whatever is necessary to snap him out of his stupor, and make him the hap-hapiest pony in the world!"

Twilight felt herself smiling at this, in spite of the circumstances. No matter how much she hid it behind her mane or her vibrant, childish eyes, Pinkie had a strange maturity and intellect that Twilight couldn't even begin to comprehend the depths of.

"Come on," she said to the pink mare, "let's get out of here. We need to get the fillies and Spike back at Solace, and see what we can do about Asgard."

"Okie-dokie-lokie!" said Pinkie, as she began to bounce after her friend out into the desert sands.

Light.

Light seemed to coat everything in its beautiful yet hellish embrace, locking everything into its foul brightness, and appeared to mock and jeer at the sleipnir as he stood, staring at the accursed blade in the ground.

"They suspect us, you believe?" Asgard asked, his voice seeming to crack in a strange anger as he spun the dagger in his left hoof. "Is that truly what you think?"

"That's the case, alright," hissed Hecatoncheir, snatching the dagger away and holding it in his right hoof, while clutching at his side with his left. "That damned little bastard, Checkmate, managed to wound me pretty bad... One look, and it's all over, and they're probably going to return soon."

"So, then, what are our available options?" Asgard asked, but he answered just as quickly. "We could always simply grant them use of the Ignis, and have them keep it for the rest of their lives. I doubt that anypony could possibly learn the truth with the only ones suspecting it long gone."

"But there are two flaws with that idea," muttered the other, still clutching at his side. The wound had stopped bleeding, and he was intangible once more, but still it seemed to cause him agony. "If we simply give it to them, who's to say that the little brat won't go yapping to any other ponies, or that our dear friend Wendigo won't attack Solace whilst our best way of defense is gone?"

"And that's the problem," murmured Asgard. "However, if we simply kill them, don't you think that it could be an even worse situation that we create for ourselves? Even if we take the Glacius and the Ignis to face against him, it would be suicide to challenge a pony as strong as Wendigo..." He shook his head. "Perhaps it would be for the best if we simply give Checkmate the blade, Hecatoncheir. I cannot see any other solution that does not involve senseless murder, leading into our own destruction."

"Perhaps," agreed the sadistic sleipnir. "However, we can't allow anypony to learn of our secret, otherwise it'll be the end of everything we've worked towards!"

"You're right," said Asgard, but he glanced away from the Ignis. "Our hooves are metaphorically tied, now, and there's no way to get them undone. We either give them the Ignis and risk losing everything, or we kill them, and lose our world to that monstrosity." He glanced over at the sword, once more. "What have you to say in the matter, Illia?"

The Ignis seemed to shake, but otherwise didn't move. I've something important to say on this matter, actually, came a voice from within, and that is simply that I hate both of you with every fiber of my being.

"You would challenge us?!" growled Hecatoncheir, and he stalked over to the blade, limping from his injury. "We could shatter you into pieces, and none of these idiots would be any wiser."

"Indeed," agreed Asgard. "After all, no sleipnirs in all of Solace know that the Ignis and their former ruler are one and the same. Perhaps you should have explained that to them before you decided to make a fool of yourself and wind up trapped in that form of yours."

The Ignis lay silent.

"I have an idea, Hecatoncheir," murmured Asgard, as he turned his back on the sword. "It's not as well thought-out as my others, but it should suffice, nonetheless. It could end up with us being slaughtered, but it will lead to our victory if we succeed."

"Oh?" asked the other, a smirk forming on his muzzle. "Do tell me, won't you? I'm quite curious as to just what this 'plan' of yours is."

Asgard nodded. "As I said, it may be foolish, and not quite... finished, so to speak, but I think it should be perfect for our necessities," he smiled, slightly. "You see, they'll likely come here to ask us about our plans, about everything, and about the truth. If such a case occurs, then we simply have to put ourselves in a position that allows us to question them. After that, we'll determine whether or not they are a threat. If they are, then we'll kill them, and if not, we give them the Ignis and allow them to leave."

Hecatoncheir laughed, and clapped his front hooves together, but pressed one of his left hooves to his side as the wound ached once more. "Perfect," he said, smirking. "So we're either safe to continue, or safe to kill 'em all. And what of those four brats back at the gate with Lynar and Cora, eh? Are we going to kill them, too?"

"No," Asgard's response seemed to catch him off guard. "I've no want to have the blood of such innocent creatures on my hooves. You know how much I detest killing creatures who don't threaten me. We'll leave the children be, for now. If they cause us any strife or any difficulties, then you'll be free to do as you like. Only, however, if you agree to make their deaths quick and painless."

"Oh, very well," replied the other, although he let out a sigh. "If you say so, then who am I to argue the facts? You are the strategist, after all... But the others are fair game, I presume? After all, that little red pegasus gave you quite the odd look, earlier. I'm almost inclined to say that she knows of our secret. And that other one, that mercenary, Dusk... He seems to know who Illia is, even though we sealed her away all those years ago."

"Probably," said Asgard, "However, we mustn't make assumptions. So long as we can get out of this with Solace intact, the sleipnirs mostly unharmed, and our secret kept safe, that is all that matters to me. You can continue to frighten them, but I wish for you to make it more subtle so that they don't begin to suspect us."

Hecatoncheir smirked. "Of course," he said. "Although my definition of 'subtle' may not quite be the same as yours."

"That is fine by me," said Asgard. "After all, you're the one who's always been so keen to keep yourself hidden, planning out every last detail so readily for the sake of our secret being just that." The lord of Solace smiled, but only slightly. "Although, I can't deny that I'm the same in that regard. Don't you agree, Brother?"