A Game of Chess

Twilight Sparkle was furiously reading over the several books laid out before her. Of the hundreds of books available, she only found a select few that would help her with this. She grimaced to herself as she pored over the pages.

Who'd have thought that learning to fly would be so difficult? Even if she was new to having wings, Twilight didn't think that such a thing could be so irritating.

Then again, she reasoned to herself, learning magic took her years of studying, and she was trying to teach herself how to do a corkscrew when even Rainbow Dash took weeks to learn it.

Her thoughts were interrupted by a knock on the door.

"Spike?" she called, "could you get that for me?"

"Sure thing, Twilight!" the young dragon replied, stepping over to and opening the door.

And then, surprising both of them, Checkmate's voice rang throughout the library.

"Twilight Sparkle," he said, as Spike jumped back in shock, "former student of Princess Celestia."

She turned towards the door, quickly. "Y-yes?" she asked, her voice a squeak.

The mysterious stallion simply walked inside, and glanced about the library.

"I've come here looking for a book," he replied, his voice as cold as she remembered it.

"W-well... we've got... uh... hundreds of books," Twilight said, uneasily. "What are you looking for... exactly?"

"It's called The Adventurer's Bestiary," Checkmate replied. "I'm certain that you've heard of it."

"O-oh, yeah!" Twilight stammered. "Spike! C-can you get it for us?"

The little dragon was holding said book in his claws no more than fifteen seconds after the words left her mouth, and was presenting it to Checkmate like a trophy.

"Here," he said, "it's all yours!" He added a bit of nervous laughter afterwords, as Checkmate looked it over.

"Indeed," the stallion mused, holding it in an odd way, with his hoof bent unnaturally over the cover, "this is exactly what I've been looking for."

Spike gulped. "What do need it for?" he asked, obviously trying to keep his voice from quivering.

"Research," the reply was so simple, yet so cold and unfeeling that the young dragon looked as if he were about to faint.

Twilight, on the other hoof, was pleasantly surprised by this. "You're a researcher?" she asked, the nervousness having left her voice. "What are you researching?"

Checkmate looked over at her. "Why do you ask?"

"Well, I mean that The Adventurer's Bestiary is a book that primarily focuses on monsters, so..." she paused.

The tan stallion said, with a face that was entirely straight. "Windigoes."

"That's odd," mused Twilight.

"How so?"

By this point, the two were engaging in a simple conversation, with Spike looking back-and-forth between the two as they spoke.

Twilight tapped her chin. "Well, I mean that the windigoes mostly died out centuries ago, so it's kind of odd that you'd be studying them."

This seemed to take Checkmate by surprise. "D-died out? What exactly do you mean by that?"

For the first time since he'd arrived to Ponyville, Checkmate was showing her some emotion, and over windigoes at that.

"Well, I mean that they were defeated by the six ponies years ago. You... do know the story, don't you?" Obviously he didn't, based on the look he was giving her.

The earth pony sighed. "Unfortunately, no. I've never heard that version in my life."

"What version... have you heard?" the alicorn asked, cocking her head.

"It's a bit..." Checkmate stopped as he tried to find the correct word, "darker... than that."

"Would you care to tell me...?"

"I'd rather not," he interrupted. "It used to traumatize me as a colt... usually followed by..." Checkmate stopped, then, and shivered, glanced around the room, and touched his hoof - the one not occupied by a book, of course - to his face, running it along one of the scars.

"Well, anyway..." Twilight was eager to change the subject, "why don't you come and see the production up in Canterlot with us? I mean, if you've never heard the actual story, then I think you'd enjoy it."

Anything to get him away from imagining whatever got him his scars. She, unlike a certain cyan pegasus, did not want to know how he had obtained them. Even if, normally, she would have wanted to research his past, there was something that just unsettled her - and everypony else, apparently - about Checkmate.

And then, what really surprised her, was when Checkmate lowered his hoof from his face, passed her a glance, and replied. "I think that I might, actually. I... need a bit of joy in my life at the moment, even if it's artificial. May I ask, when is this production?"

"Next week," Spike interjected, quickly.

The two of them turned towards him, looking surprised that he was there.

Checkmate appeared to be mulling it over for a few moments, and looked over at her, his eyes cold again. "Yes. I should still be here then. I'll agree to this, Twilight Sparkle."

"That's great!" the mare said, grinning. "I'm sure that Prin- er, Celestia would be really glad to know that... Oh! I almost forgot."

"Forgot what?" Checkmate asked.

Twilight glanced over at him. "Celestia told me that she wanted to speak with you. She said that she really wanted to meet you, and that you're really famous and all of this other stuff!" she paused, and frowned. "But... famous for what, exactly...? She never actually said..."

The stallion grimaced in reply. "Of course," he muttered, "I am to have an audience with Princess Celestia, aren't I?"

"What's wrong with that?" asked Twilight, confused.

"Nothing," Checkmate reassured her. "Nothing in the slightest. I've actually been hoping for this ever since I came here to Equestria. In fact, if this audience is so important, then I will go to Canterlot immediately."

"Great! I'll get us a chariot, and-"

"Nonsense. I'll walk."

Twilight's face contorted in surprise. "What do you mean?"

"I'll walk," replied the stallion, simply. "I've walked far more treacherous roads in my life. Roads that were longer and filled with monsters that would tear me apart at the slightest provocation -" he grimaced "- I should be fine simply walking to Canterlot."

"But..."

"Twilight Sparkle," Checkmate mused, "don't concern yourself with me. Ponies as innocent as you shouldn't try to understand my motivations."

"What does innocence have to do with it?" the purple alicorn asked, cautiously.

"Not much, truly," he admitted, "but Equestria is virtually a utopia. Certainly, there are... complications, but the creatures live together in harmony, the monsters that attack generally have good intentions or are forgiven and join society... What I mean to say is that, where I come from, the world isn't this bright and beautiful. I don't want to drag anypony down into the depths with me."

"But just talking to you isn't going to kill me!" Twilight protested.

"Not yet, anyway," Checkmate replied, "but I don't wish to chance it."

He turned, then, the book still held in his hoof, as he walked out of the library.

"Wait!" Twilight shouted, and Checkmate stopped.

"What is it?" he asked, quietly.

"Why... why are you so concerned about Equestria?" she demanded. "Why do you care so much about us ponies?"

He turned towards her, then. "My motivations are mine to suffer. I... There's much that I've done wrong in my life, and I intend to correct it, no matter what the cost." He glanced away. "Your friend, Rainbow Dash, was curious about me, as well, but I can't answer any questions."

"Why not?" asked Spike, and the two looked at him in surprise once more.

"Because if I were to tell anypony why I'm like this," Checkmate ran his hoof along his scar, again, "then I'm almost certain that, seeing how determined everypony in Equestria is, they would rush towards it in order to destroy it and save those like me. But I cannot allow that."

"Why not?" prompted the dragon, again.

"Because... nothing can destroy my enemy," Checkmate replied. "My foe is monstrous, evil, and immortal. He kills all who go anywhere near him with a joy that can only be described as 'sadistic'... and it was only by luck that I was able to escape him."

"Well... what's his name?" asked Twilight. "Who was it that did this to you?"

"I've already said too much," Checkmate said, quietly. "I can't say any more... but I will leave you with this, Twilight Sparkle: there is only one true evil in this world, and he's a monster. A monster that's worse than Hell itself."

And then, with that, Checkmate Vigarde exited the library, book in hoof, leaving Spike and Twilight staring after him.

"Hey, Twilight?" asked Spike, "why did Princess Celestia say she wanted to meet with Checkmate?"

The alicorn sighed. "She said it was important," she replied. "I just hope that she knows what she's doing. If what Checkmate says is true about this monster, than I expect us to need all the help we can get. Especially if he's going to speak with her directly."

"Why?"

"Because, Spike," Twilight replied, "it means that we may be in for the fight of our lives."