A Game of Chess

It was nearly impossible for Checkmate to describe the flurry of emotions that seemed to run throughout the chamber now occupied by he and the group. On one hoof, they seemed rather nervous at the prospect of meeting Wendigo once more – as they should have, of course – yet, on the other hoof, those who were not showing nervousness seemed almost excited at the prospect of going on another trek.

If only he could share their enthusiasm.

Instead, Checkmate’s eyes felt heavy, and his hooves felt weak. The night prior had not treated him well, and sleep had all but eluded him, leaving him restless and exhausted. His mind, still racing with several of the previous night’s questions, felt sluggish compared to his body, even as the others seemed rather well rested.

Then again, none of them had been forced to grow up in Darkfrost, and many seemed excited just for the opportunity to see it with their own eyes, while the others – including Rainbow – were hesitant at this chance. Among that group stood Twilight, of course, and Valice, who avoided the glares that the former shot at her, even as she had taken upon herself the form she’d once used. Although Checkmate didn’t blame Twilight for her rage at the changeling, he couldn’t help but feel sorry for Valice, who looked painfully uncomfortable with the others regarding her cautiously.

However, that may have simply been because he knew that feeling all too well. It was the feeling of being ostracized because of your differences from those around you, and being despised because of them. Although the reasons he was despised didn’t include “attempted to take over Equestria”, so he wasn’t entirely sure if he trusted Valice, either.

And, compounding that fact, it made sense that the ponies would be so quick to trust the windigoes. After all, none of them had done anything recently that could be proven.

Checkmate shook his head, clearing himself of that train of thought, and instead focused on what Illia was telling them.

“As I have told all of you,” continued the sleipnir, ingoring the looks that passed between the ponies, “this second journey should, theoretically, be far more simple than the first. For, you see, us sleipnirs can assist you in exiting the desert rather quickly, and, from there, you can make your way to Darkfrost in a matter of days. The trouble will arise when you – or should I say we? – get there; Wendigo shall likely be waiting for our arrival, and Deun shall, as well.” She grimaced, and began to rub her left temple. “While Deun should be possible to defeat with all of us – difficult, but still possible –, Wendigo should prove to be far more challenging. Even with the combined powers of the Ignis, the Glacius, and Constellation, this battle will likely be one of the most difficult, painful, and bloody encounters you will have to face, possibly more so than yesterday’s skirmish with Hecatoncheir.”

“Isn’t that just typical?” Valice muttered, and cast a quick glance over at Dusk. “You’d think that having an immortal being on our side would make things at least a bit easier, wouldn’t you? But no, I guess our luck’s just about run out…”

Twilight didn’t respond, but she didn’t need to; Checkmate could see the pure, unfiltered anger that was shooting through her eyes and straight towards the changeling.

“… She does have a point,” admitted Rainbow, although it sounded very rueful, and at least somewhat forced. “Wouldn’t it make more sense to just send Dusk in and have him take care of Wendigo for us? I mean, he’s immortal, so he wouldn’t have to worry about being killed, so…”

Dusk sighed, and smiled sadly. “It’s nice to know that you all have so much confidence in me,” he said, sincerely, “but I’m afraid that would do us little good. Even if I challenge Wendigo alone, it’ll just end in a stalemate. The Glacius and the Ignis are our trump cards, so to speak, since they are what should give us our great advantage over that bastard. I could challenge him for days, but I’d just delay him. The process should only take about fifteen-to-twenty minutes with Checkmate and I fighting Wendigo, especially if the two of us can formulate an attack strategy that makes the most of both of our talents…”

Twilight nodded, but didn’t take her eyes off of Valice. “Yeah,” she said. “I’m probably not going to be much help in this fight, considering that my specialty is magic, but I’ll gladly help create a strategy if I can.” Her eyes narrowed, then, and Valice turned her head the other way.

The changeling licked her muzzle, her lips seeming very dry. “Well, I’m glad to know that there’s so much friendliness here,” she stated, her tone as dry as the sand in the desert. “I mean, for a second there I was worried that you guys were going to hate me for being a changeling or something. I’d better make a mental note about the accepting, caring creatures that live in Equestria.”

Checkmate rolled his eyes, wanting to get out of there as soon as he could. “Can you two do me a favor,” he started, “and not kill each other on this journey?”

“You can’t expect me to trust… that,” said Twilight, indignantly. “It’s a changeling, Checkmate! It attacked our capitol, brainwashed my brother” – Valice visibly winced at this – “foalnapped Cadance, and tried to take over everything my friends and I care about! I’d sooner work with Discord. At least he and Fluttershy are close enough that I can trust him not to try and destroy everything that I want to keep safe…”

“For the record,” replied Valice, “I’m female. Also, I can think of worse allies on this journey.”

“Indeed,” agreed Dusk. “The name ‘Wendigo’ comes to mind…”

“And Hecatoncheir, and Asgard,” added Rainbow. “I mean, Twilight, don’t get me wrong: I don’t completely trust Valice either, but she told us all what she was just to save Pinkie. Don’t you think that she at least deserves some credit for that?” The cyan pegasus let out a sigh. “I mean, I’m pretty sure that she could have just played along in her disguise for this whole journey, but she decided to go and ruin it for herself to help us out.”

“Well, to be fair,” Dusk admitted, “I’d probably have told all of you that once we’d stopped Wendigo as well, and once I’d gained enough evidence to prove it.”

“You’re not free from this, either!” Twilight snapped. “You could have easily told us that you were a former alicorn, but you just… didn’t.”

“Let’s be logical here, shall we?” Dusk smirked, but glanced away from Twilight. “Never throughout this entire journey did I lie to you. I am, currently, a unicorn mercenary who has a personal grudge against Wendigo, wields a legendary weapon, and has a broken horn.” He laughed, then, bitterly. “Never did I say that I wasn’t a former alicorn, or that I’d always been a mercenary or a unicorn. Everything that I claimed was a fact. Valice, on the other hoof…”

The changeling in question grimaced. “Can we go five minutes without talking about that?” she asked, and sighed. “It seems like the only topic any of you ever care about. ‘Oh, Valice is a changeling!’, ‘I bet she’s totally different than how she was before we knew her!’, ‘Please don’t eat me, death beast!’.” Valice rolled her eyes, stood on her back hooves, and crossed her forelegs. “Chronos, can’t you guys ever just shut up about something like that? It’s literally all that we’ve talked about, and Illia is just waiting there for us to get the hell out of this place, so that we can… oh, I don’t know… do what we were going to from the beginning?”

The group simply stared at her in awe, and Checkmate found himself rather surprised – and impressed – at this display of hers. She’d shown her annoyance towards Twilight, Dusk, and the rest of them, and she’d done it all in one swift, snarky motion.

Checkmate coughed, loudly, and the group turned towards him. “Yeah,” he said. “Shouldn’t we just go to Darkfrost already? The more time we waste here, the more time Wendigo will have to murder another innocent, and the closer to completion the Zephyr will be.”

Twilight grimaced, and didn’t answer for a few seconds. “… Fine,” she muttered, finally. Again, like with Rainbow’s first statement, it sounded forced.

However, it was good enough for Checkmate, who simply nodded. “Illia,” he said, “will you be able to help us with this? You said you could take us out of the desert faster, right?”

The sleipnir nodded. “That’s correct,” she said. “It should take us no more than ten minutes to leave here, provided that this is done properly. From there, it should take us no more than two days of travel – including today, of course – for us to reach Darkfrost. At that point, it should take us roughly… I’d estimate five hours… to stop Wendigo, in the case that we meet with Deun before we see him. However, before then, it would probably be an excellent idea to regain what energy could be lost on the trek, so I would add another two hours to that.”

“So, basically,” started Applejack, “we’re gonna be finishin’ up this journey a week before the princesses put down the barrier o’er Equestria?”

“Shortcuts,” mused Checkmate. “It’s amazing how much time they save.”

Valice grimaced, once more, evidently wanting to have been the one who said that.

“Agreed,” Dusk said. “The journey to Solace was meant to take four days, originally, but that underground pass enabled us to skip half of that… It’s great that we did, too; anything could have happened in that time, after all. However, that moment felt almost… planned, wouldn’t you all say? After all, Deun attacked us at that exact location, and did not pursue even after we fell…”

“Maybe he was worried about his soldiers,” offered Pinkie. “I mean, he wasn’t really mean to them like Wendigo is, so it makes perfect sense that he wouldn’t just wanna make ‘em all squeeze into that pass to catch us.”

“And disobey Wendigo’s orders, risking their lives even further?” replied Dusk. “No, Deun’s not like that; he’s too brilliant, too… caring. He’s the kind of stallion who would chase us into Hell’s maw just to keep Wendigo from hurting one of his troops… Which means, logically, that the reason he didn’t pursue us any further than that –“

“… Was because of Wendigo, right?” finished Checkmate, and he placed his hoof on his chin. “But what would he have to gain from letting us reach Solace? There’s nothing I can think of.”

“Likewise,” admitted Dusk, and he grimaced. “There should be no reason for that, which tells us that one of two scenarios occurred: either Wendigo told Deun to attack us in that specific area, knowing that the sand would fall, or Deun’s orders were so wretched that he’d rather have taken the punishment then attacked us.”

Valice grimaced, as well. “Based on what you’ve told us,” she said, once again ignoring the looks she got, “Deun wouldn’t ignore Wendigo’s orders for any reason, no matter how terrible they are. So, in that case, the first of the two seems to be the more likely, no matter how unlikely it seems to be.”

The silence that now held the chamber was almost tangible. Could it have been true? Did Wendigo honestly allow them to reach Solace, knowing entirely what lay inside the volcano, and what they were seeking? If so, then what was he after, and how important was it to him that he would risk his own life in the process?

None of it made sense, no matter how much Checkmate thought it over. Wendigo simply wasn’t the kind of windigo who would readily gamble with his life on the line. He was too cautious, too careful, to risk everything on something that he couldn’t control the outcome of, especially putting an enemy into a position of power.

“It doesn’t make any sense,” Rarity murmured. “Regardless of his reasons, the case remains that that ruffian decided to place one of the greatest weapons available into Checkmate’s hooves, and placed him – considering that we aren’t truly in this equation, after all – into such a powerful position against himself. Unless, of course, we are incorrect in this assumption.”

“That’s an excellent point,” Twilight said, and placed her hoof on her chin. “It could all be just a coincidence, but it doesn’t seem likely. Too many events lined up perfectly, with our shortcut, escape from Deun, taming the antlion… It doesn’t make sense that Wendigo would just… well, leave us like that, but the chances of it all just being chance are slim-to-none, at best.”

Valice nodded, but quickly caught her mistake. “I’m not sure about that,” she replied. “It’s always possible that we’re just stupidly, ridiculously lucky. We can’t assume that Wendigo was actually moving us along until we have all the facts, otherwise we’ll just look like idiots.” She sighed, and met Twilight’s hate-filled eyes. “Well, Twilight, it seems you have something you want to add.”

The alicorn spoke through grit teeth. “Yeah,” she muttered, “you’re right. Until we know everything, we shouldn’t make assumptions. I’m just saying that it seems likely, is all.”

“See?” Dusk asked, surprisingly cheerful. “Building off of each other’s opinion in order to make your logic sound; you two seem to have this ‘teamwork’ thing down, even though you seem to hate each other. Perhaps you trust each other more than you claim to.”

“Wh... trust her?!” Twilight shouted, her voice dripping with venom. “Dusk, she’s a changeling, the one race that absolutely cannot be trusted!”

“You make us all sound evil,” muttered Valice. “I guess Chrysalis was right, though: your kind doesn’t trust us, so we had to try and take over Equestria because, otherwise, none of you would have opened up your ears that seemed to be so clogged up with your precious ‘only cute, fluffy things can be good’ policy. I’m surprised that you haven’t led a war against the griffons, yet; I hear they do things that scare ponies, like walk into them when they aren’t looking.”

“It’s not that!” Twilight shouted, her eyes burning. “It’s…! You know what? Never mind. You’re obviously not going to listen to anything I say anyway, changeling.”

“Likewise,” muttered Valice. “Now, can we stop getting sidetracked, and can you teleport us out of here or whatever it is you plan on doing? The sooner I can get away from this insane mare, the better.”

Illia looked between the two – the lavender alicorn who seemed to be burning with rage, and the changeling who looked completely annoyed – and let out a sigh. Checkmate couldn’t blame her for feeling exasperated, and agreed with Valice completely: the sooner they finished their quest, the sooner she and Twilight could be wrenched away from each others’ throats. After all, there was only one creature that Checkmate wanted to see dead, and it most certainly wasn’t either of the two ponies who refused to meet the other’s eyes.

“Right.” Illia let out another sigh, and suddenly looked very tired. “If you will all follow me, I will try and get all of you out of Solace before your anger causes the volcano to explode. Again.” She grimaced, causing Checkmate to realize just how often everypony seemed to do that. “Very well, come with me, but be warned; once you leave Solace, you’ll need to brave the entire desert once more if you want to come back. Do you all have everything you need for this journey, or do you wish to spend a bit more time preparing yourselves? Either way, it shouldn’t take too long, I hope.”

The group exchanged a glance, and everypony quickly checked their bags, before they all nodded. Everything was in place, and they had everything that they needed for the journey ahead.

“Excellent,” said Illia. “Well, then, we’d best be off. Once more, follow me.”

The group did as she requested, the thirteen creatures walking behind her in a straight line – Dusk in the front, Valice in the back – as they made their way towards the room that Illia had prepared for them.

At last, after several minutes of walking over the rocky bridges that rested overtop the unmoving “rivers” of magma, Illia stopped in front of a passageway. “We’ve arrived,” she stated, and stepped in.

The group followed suit, and found themselves in an area of Solace that they had yet to see. The chamber was set up similarly to that of the Ignis, with a large, circular platform hanging atop magma. The difference, however, lay in the room’s size – being far larger than the chamber that Hecatoncheir had been battled in – as well as the light that shone in from above: sunlight.

“This is the volcano’s crater,” said Illia, as though it was the most normal prospect in the entire world. “It is here that we’ll be departing the desert from.”

“Wait… how does that work?” Rainbow asked, cautiously.

Illia smiled, mischievously. “Allow me to say this, if you will: hold on to your bags.”

She then raised her front-most hooves into the air, as if preparing to strike at the ground, only to lower them as a new voice echoed throughout the chamber.

“Stop!” called a familiar voice, as two sleipnirs ran into the chamber. “Did you honestly expect to leave here without saying ‘goodbye’?”

Dusk looked over at the new arrivals, and smiled. “Lynar, Cora,” he said, warmly. “What impeccable timing.”

“I’ll say,” mused the gatekeeper, stepping up towards them. “Honestly though, Dusk, you were all just going to run off from here without saying anything?”

“Really, Dusk,” Cora said, and she sighed, “you ought to have at least told us you’d be leaving via… well, this, and not bothering to tell us.”

“Why are you two here?” Illia asked, looking surprised. “I thought you already said your farewells.”

“Yeah,” Lynar mused, “to you, Illia, but not to any of them. What, did you all think you could just sneak out of here unnoticed? The thirteen heroes of Solace, who slew Hecatoncheir, unveiled the truth about Asgard, and freed Illia? I’m insulted.” He chuckled at this, and shook his head. “Besides, I need to give you something before you go.” Lynar pulled out a small bag, then, and tossed it at the ground.

Dusk reached down and picked it up. “What is it?” he asked, although he didn’t look inside.

“It’s for the kid, Sweetie Belle,” mused the gatekeeper. “It’s her winnings from yesterday’s game. I forgot about it at the time, but it’s here, now.”

“But… we didn’t bet anything,” Scootaloo said.

“What’s that?” Lynar asked, airily. “Huh, I don’t recall that part. I just remember lots of betting, lots of games, lots of cards… I mean, how can I possibly keep track of it all?” He chuckled, again. “Well, just think of it as a gift, then, for putting up with me and Cora yesterday, and for not passing out when Hecatoncheir attacked. Just a little something for you to spend once you get to Darkfrost, get some food, and prepare yourself to fight Wendigo.”

Realization crossed Checkmate’s face. “These aren’t winnings,” he said, slowly. “They’re funds.”

“Well, they’re both forms of money, and I wasn’t really lying,” Lynar said, and he grinned. “Everything in that bag is what I won from Cora yesterday. Would you believe that she’s terrible at poker, Dusk? Frightfully unlucky.”

Cora grimaced, punched him on his right foreleg, and looked away. “That’s enough out of you,” she muttered. “Let’s just have our sad, teary goodbyes so you guys can get on with your journey, alright?”

“Why, Cora,” Illia said, teasingly, “are those tears in your eyes?”

The new queen of Solace flushed, and turned away so that only about a quarter of her face was showing. “D-don’t be ridiculous!” she snapped. “I’m not crying!”

Illia giggled, surprisingly inelegant for one so formal. “I never said you were,” she replied. “Although, I suppose I can understand your plight; after all, Dusk is such a close friend of yours, but I can’t really see your relationship going any further than that, can you?”

Cora’s blush only intensified, and Dusk cocked his head. “Cora, do you honestly think of me in that way? Because, considering the age gap between us, and the fact that sleipnirs and ponies are fundamentally… well, completely different, that could be somewhat awkward…”

“Sh-shut it, won’t you?!” Cora snapped, again. “I-I’m not involved in a romantic relationship with anypony, nor do I plan to be!”

“Well, Cora,” Valice said with a wicked grin, “I can feel quite a bit of love going in the direction of Dusk… Are you sure you don’t have a one-sided relationship with him?”

Checkmate chuckled. “Looks like we’re seeing a whole other side of you,” he said, grinning as well. “I didn’t expect you to be so romantic, though.”

“That’s Cora for you,” Lynar said, smirking. “Always the romantic, always the chatterbox. I’m almost amazed that you didn’t see this yesterday when Hecatoncheir stabbed Dusk through. A part of me wishes I was there to see Dusk kick the bastard's flank, but I know I’d likely have reacted the same way she did.”

“Can you all just shut up?!”

Everypony was laughing, then. Even Twilight and Valice had seemed to forget their animosity – if for only a second – as they laughed at Cora’s predicament.

“Ha… I’m surprised,” Dusk said, chuckling. “I honestly never thought you to be such a romantic, and I’ve known you as long as I’ve known Lynar.”

“I think she’s been trying to hide it around you,” replied the gatekeeper, his smirk still remaining. “I mean, how embarrassing would it have been for the all-powerful soldier to have a crush on you of all ponies?”

Dusk grimaced, for what must have been the twentieth time any of them had done so that day. “What’s wrong with me?” he asked.

“Oh, nothing,” Lynar replied, and he chuckled once more. “Although, I need to say… Dusk, Checkmate, all of you… it’s been a real pleasure, and I hope that you all return once you’ve bested Wendigo. So go in there, and give him a few stabs for me!”

Cora turned back towards them, her face becoming a mask. “And… and me, too.”

Checkmate nodded. “Don’t worry,” he replied. “I plan to give him enough stabs for all of Solace, Darkfrost, and Equestria.”

“I’m not entirely sure that’s possible,” mused Lynar, “but okay. Just take him down, and make him pay for what he’s done. Actually, you know what? Forget what I just said. Once Wendigo’s dead and we patch up our relationship with the windigoes, how about we visit all of you? I’m sure Celestia would like to meet a sleipnir for herself, and that Luna would enjoy learning just where nightmares really come from. Not to mention the prospect of getting to gamble in somewhere that isn't Solace, and against some ponies who aren't Cora..." He paused, then, and tapped his chin, thoughtfully. "Huh, I wonder if Celestia plays poker...”

“Sounds like a plan,” said Dusk. “Alright, then. The next time we all meet, I hope that it shall be either in the newly-freed Darkfrost, or somewhere nearby. There’s only so much one can do in Equestria, after all.”

Rather then question just why he said this, Lynar simply nodded. “Okay, then,” he mused. “I guess we’ll see you then.”

“And,” Cora added, “I’ll make sure to give you some assistance with your studying of affinities, Twilight, just like I said I would. Until then, all of you, I hope you have a safe flight!”

“Farewell!” Checkmate said, only to pause. “Wait, what exactly do you mean by ‘safe flight’?”

“Hold on to your bags!” Illia shouted, and it was the same call that she’d said before, as Cora and Lynar fled the room quickly.

Then, before Checkmate knew what was happening, the ground below them suddenly jerked upwards, and a strange, red, almost smoky air began to engulf his body. Then, he, along with the rest of the group, began to fly out at an immense speed in the direction where Darkfrost – and the Hellgate Mines in particular – lay.