A Game of Chess

To some, the prospect of adventure, of traveling the world, would come as an excitement, a chance to flex one’s metaphorical wings – in the case that they weren’t a pegasus, of course – and show exactly what they could create or destroy.

To Checkmate, however, the prospect of adventure crafted only pain, as he felt now that they had landed from their flight away from Solace. Although the area around them was lush and green – further evidence that they were in neither the desert nor Darkfrost – his legs still ached from the speed at which they’d descended. Or, as he thought of it, crashed.

“Chronos…” Dusk muttered, rubbing his left foreleg with his right, “you should’ve been a bit more careful in that, Illia. It’s a miracle none of us broke anything…”

“Maybe it’s our incredible luck.” Valice was rapidly shifting between the forms of the pegasus and the changeling, obviously showing that she’d lost control of her own abilities due to the crash. “Dammit, though… Ugh, who’d’ve thought that getting launched out a volcano in the middle of the Desert of Death would get us so close to Darkfrost?” At last, she seemed to regain control, as the form of the pegasus remained, and she rubbed the back of her head with her hoof. “There, much better…”

Twilight rolled her eyes, but remained silent. Most of them had recovered from the crash with only small bruises, and none of them had lost any of their items, but they still appeared shaken. Twilight had been one of these, and most of the others still were asking their friends for confirmation of their safety.

“I apologize, again,” Illia said, sheepishly. “I… wasn’t expecting it to be that difficult to control. I suppose that twenty-five-hundred years of being sealed away within a sword can make one’s skills somewhat… rusty, so to speak.”

“Well, it worked,” Checkmate said. Even if the wounds weren’t large, some of his scars had caused him pain after landing. “I can’t exactly say that it worked well, but –”

Dusk stepped up in front of Illia, then, cutting Checkmate off. “It did what it was intended to do, and that was to get us closer to Darkfrost. While it may have caused us some minor injuries, in the end it will save many innocent creatures, and slow down the production of the Zephyr.” He glanced back at the ones who were complaining of their bruises. “Wouldn’t you all say that that is the most important matter at this moment, or are you all going to continue to whine?”

“Well, I didn’t realize just how snarky you were, Dusk,” Valice said, smirking, and with her injuries forgotten. “I’m beginning to think that you could rival myself.”

Dusk shook his head, and sighed. “Never mind,” he murmured, and he turned towards Illia. “I’m afraid we are going to have to keep you in the form of the Ignis for a while longer. Do you have any objections?”

Illia let out a sigh of her own. “No,” she said, her voice surprisingly calm, “I understand that this is necessary to the world’s protection, so I’ve no complaints to this matter. Besides” – her eyes twinkled – “It’ll give me a chance to speak with Khaza once more. I haven’t had a decent conversation with anypony besides Asgard and Hecatoncheir in two millennia.”

“And yet you act as if you’ve been away for a day…” Valice muttered. “Seriously, I know that you’re not so old that twenty-five-hundred years is just a day to you. It’s a significant portion of your life, and you spent it as a freaking sword. Doesn’t that faze you at all?”

Illia shook her head in reply, before turning away. “No,” she said, once more. “Actually… no, that’s not entirely true. The reality of the situation is not as simple as you all seem to think. I was unable to speak to anypony save Asgard and Hecatoncheir whilst I was imprisoned, but that didn’t mean I was trapped; so long as I was cautious, my spirit could be freed from the blade, and could travel into another pony’s dreams. While it didn’t allow me to speak to them, or to any sleipnirs who commanded their nightmares, it prevented me from losing my sanity. Again, I was unable to make any contact with them, yet it was the best I could hope for.”

Dusk nodded. “It’s the same principle as when Luna was trapped on the moon,” he replied. “While her body was stuck there, her mind was free to travel the Dream Channels, and, as such, she was able to keep her sanity by speaking with the ponies whose dreams she inhabited.”

“Exactly,” said Illia, smiling. “Certainly, it was not nearly as refined or useful, but it served the same purpose, nonetheless.” She sighed, and turned back towards them. “However, I can honestly say that Asgard and Hecatoncheir, the more I knew them, the more I came to pity them, even while I still claimed derision of their very existences. The two only ever thought of each other, yet to go to such lengths for one you care so much for is both impressive and terrifying. But, of course, we should not stand around here and chatter idly, whilst Wendigo still remains on the loose. Let’s end his reign of tyranny first. After that, we can speak of this matter further.”

Rainbow flew up into the air at this, spreading her wings. “Yeah!” she shouted. “With the Ignis and the Glacius, we can easily take this guy down!”

“She’s right,” said Twilight. “No matter what the circumstances are, we have to admit that we’re all here, now, so let’s make the most of this. Even if some of us are… less than wanted.”

Valice grinned in reply, ignoring Twilight’s last remark that had undoubtedly been directed at her. “I agree with Sparkle,” she said. “No matter how much anger we have for each other, the fact is that we have the power and the will to stop this bastard, so let’s end it for him, and let’s finish up this journey once and for all!”

“’Sparkle’?” Checkmate asked. “Since when have you referred to any of us by our second names?”

Valice’s grin only grew, until even her eyes danced with the light of her own innate mirth. “Thought I’d give it a chance and see how it sounds. Why, do you have a problem with it, Vigarde?”

“Great,” Dusk muttered. “I suppose that this is to be your new... quirk, so to speak?”

“Hey –” the changeling shrugged “– it’s better than just having everypony say ‘Twilight’ or ‘Checkmate’ all the time. It gives our little... relationship a bit of an added flair, wouldn’t you say? Besides, it shows a nice amount of contempt for the pony who completely destroyed my hive’s chance at not dying out in the middle of nowhere.” Those last words were spoken with such bitterness and venom that Checkmate could almost feel it on them.

Twilight rolled her eyes. “Who invaded whose home, again?”

“I don’t know,” replied Valice, dryly. “Why don’t you ask your precious Celestia, and how she wouldn’t have allowed us in, anyway?”

“Well, this conversation went south, fast,” muttered Applejack. “Now, y’all’d better not be fightin’, or Ah’ll be forced to make ya both quiet down.”

The two creatures – alicorn and changeling – turned away from each other, muttering angrily about their derision towards their opponent.

Checkmate pressed a hoof to his forehead. “Can’t we just get going?” he asked, calmly. “The last thing we need is for two more bodies to pile up just because you two can’t stop your bickering for five Chronos-damned seconds.”

“But, I -” Twilight started.

“Shut up, both of you!” snapped Checkmate, causing the two of them to jump. “Just shut the hell up, and listen to me! I understand that you two are opposing species – that changelings and ponies aren’t exactly friends right now – but do you know what? I don’t give a damn. Maybe it’s because I wasn’t there for the invasion of Canterlot last year, or maybe it’s because I only know one changeling, and she’s not as bad as everypony claims, but I don’t give one damn about your squabbling. Do you know what will happen if we don’t work together and stop Wendigo?” He paused, but didn’t take his eyes off of the two creatures. “The world will die. There won’t be any love, there won’t be any fear, and there won’t be anything else. No, that’s not right, because there will be something left: hatred. And that hatred will consume everything else, and the world will fall into chaos! No, not even chaos – because I can at least trust Discord slightly –, but pain, and despair, and destruction! There will be nothing left, so I think it’s more important that we at least try and work together, don’t you? You can bicker, and you can fight, and you can try and destroy each other’s lives once we’ve ended Wendigo, because, if we don’t, there won’t be anything left for you to fight over.” He bored into both of their eyes, and the other ponies seemed to be watching with mouths agape. Even Dusk appeared shocked at Checkmate’s outburst, but seemed impressed, as well. “Canterlot will be gone, Ponyville will be gone, and your hive, Valice, may as well not exist. So either shut the hell up, or get the hell out of here, because I’d rather have a world than have nothing.”

The ponies continued to stare at him in shock, as Checkmate turned away. “Now, then,” he muttered, “let’s go, before my head explodes.”

“Checkmate, wait,” said Illia, as she stepped up to him. “I... think it would be best if I am to travel as the Ignis, rather than as a sleipnir. It would make our trek more difficult if a sleipnir is found within Darkfrost. Our relationship is... strained, after all.” And then, without even waiting for Checkmate to reply, Illia’s body began to shift back into the transparent, fire-like sword that now lay on the grass.

Checkmate reached down, then, and picked it up. “Fine,” he murmured. “Well, come on, all of you. We’ve got something that we need to do.

“And we don’t have much time to do it.”

Twilight stood, alone, Checkmate’s words still milling about her head. It had been several hours since they’d set out on their second journey, and night had fallen. She was now atop a large, grassy hill, looking over all that lay below, where a small pond and several trees decorated a flowery field, and where her friends now lay in slumber.

If Wendigo won, then all of that would vanish in ice and snow.

It was a chilling thought, quite literally, and she could almost feel herself shivering as she imagined the world before her being coated in the darkness that she’d been told about, with nothing more than pain, suffering, and hatred remaining.

She looked down, then, and glanced over at Valice. She despised the creature, she truly did, but she wanted the world to be safe more than she wanted the changelings to die out. No matter the cost, the world had to be kept safe, and she had to be one of those protected it. After all, she was an alicorn – and a princess, at that – so it was her duty as Princess Twilight Sparkle to see this thing through to the end.

“Do you mind if I join you?” asked a new voice, startling her slightly.

Twilight turned around, and saw Dusk. “Oh, Dusk!” she said, although she still sounded shocked. “Um… sure.”

The mercenary stepped up besides her, joining her in looking down upon the land below them. “My apologies if I frightened you, Twilight,” he said, sincerely. “There’s just something that I wanted to speak with you about. Well… several things.”

“What is it?” Twilight asked. “But if it’s something about getting along with Valice, I promise you that I won’t -”

“It’s nothing to do with Valice,” interrupted Dusk. “It’s simply… It’s just… Huh, I’m having trouble finding the correct words to say on this matter, so I think I’ll just say what I mean to, no matter how blunt it may sound.”

“And what’s that?”

Dusk turned towards her, then, and sighed. “Immortality is Hell, Twilight Sparkle.”

Twilight blinked at this. “Wait, what do you mean by that?”

Dusk sighed, once more. “Well… I shouldn’t say it like that. What I mean is that… if one is in the position that you’re in, they’re fine. You have the princesses, who you love, and several other ponies who care for you, and who you’ll know for years to come. If you’re in my position, however, everything is different.” He shook his head, and turned to look back down at the land below them. “When you are a mercenary, Twilight, you must be prepared to deal with certain… situations. I cannot say how many ponies I’ve befriended, only to watch them die on the battlefield, or to be slaughtered by wild beasts, to be tortured until their bodies simply give out, or to be killed in the most wretched of ways that I can't even begin to describe. There is no method of torture that I have not seen, mental, physical, or emotional.” He paused then, and touched a scar on his leg. “Or, for that matter, that I have not experienced.”

Twilight’s face paled. “W-wait,” she said, “you’re immortal, right? Then shouldn’t it -?”

“Just because I’m immortal doesn’t mean I can’t feel pain,” Dusk said, quietly. “It only means that I can feel it for longer than others. I’ve had my body electrified, thrown into icy waters, stabbed through so many times that I can’t even count them anymore, filled with poison, burned to the point that even my talent sign could not be seen, decapitated…” He laughed, bitterly. “And every time – every single time – I felt it. I felt all of it. And it didn’t merely stop, but it continued. There was at least one occasion that I was tortured for months at a time. And the agony I felt was not merely that of torture; I've been cut open so many times on the battlefield that I've forgotten the exact number, and I've been hit with magic and weaponry that would kill any other pony, but instead of death, there was nothing but agony. The pain I felt in those years nearly sent me over the edge and into madness, but there was one time of solace for myself: sleep.”

“Sleep…” Twilight said, her voice as quiet as Dusk’s. “You’re saying that the only way out of all of that... that suffering was to lose consciousness completely? But how did you ever escape?”

“Patience,” said Dusk, simply. “I waited for those who I fought for to come and save me, or for my allies to assist me. Of course, after several centuries, my abilities made it nearly impossible for anypony to capture me, and the torture was forgotten. But what was not forgotten was the one who saved me from my own insanity, and protected me, and led me forth into the light: Luna.”

Twilight’s eyes widened in surprise at this. “L-Luna?!”

“That’s right,” replied Dusk. “Approximately one-thousand years ago, I had given up on living, knowing that it only brought more agony. My mind was somehow still intact, yet it felt broken, pained, and filled with such sorrow and despair that I couldn’t do anything at all. Eventually, my lust for death increased to the point that I tried to bring it upon myself.” Twilight gasped, realizing the connotations of that statement. “Yet... no matter how hard I tried to end this pitiful life of mine – throwing myself into battles that I knew I couldn’t win, allowing myself to be captured and tortured – it still wouldn’t. However, after I’d lost all hope, after everything seemed to be over, I met the one creature that gave it to me.

“Luna and I met in one of my dreams, only a few months after she’d become Nightmare Moon. She and I were in a similar situation, as both of us were lost, alone, and afraid, so we decided to simply talk for one night so that we could attempt to forget the struggles of life. That one night became two, then ten, then five-thousand, and then three-hundred-thousand. Nearly every night since the day we met, the two of us have ensured that we speak within my dreams, always talking, and always simple, casual conversations, about... anything, really. They may be only ten minutes, or possibly two hours, yet the two of us became friends after that, my first friend to actually live as long as I. Soon, I forgot my want for death, and gained a new reason to live on because of her encouragement. Instead of fighting so that I could die, I wanted to fight so that I could live, and so that the one who caused me to suffer this way would not do so to anypony else.”

“Wendigo,” guessed Twilight. “He’s the one who’s put you through this, isn’t he? That’s why you want to stop him so badly, and why he seems to know you so well. And, I suppose,” she added as an afterthought, “you meeting with Luna is how you knew we’d be in the Desert of Death, right? She told you that we’d be there, you decided you’d meet us there and help us…”

Dusk nodded. “Again, you’re right,” he said. “You really are a smart filly, Twilight. I think Chronos would be proud of you if he were to meet you, now. However, that’s not it… That’s not the only reason I’m here. It’s true that Luna asked me to come out here and help all of you, and that my motivation for this is mostly so that I can finally bring Wendigo’s foul reign to an end. However, I didn’t simply come out here tonight to tell you about my life story, especially considering that I left much of it out.”

Twilight nodded. “Yeah, you said you wanted to ask me about something, didn’t you? Or… is there some kind of question about your story you want to ask me, to see if I was paying attention, or something like that?”

“No, I simply wanted you to realize just what immortality truly is, and how wretched it can truly be if one is in the wrong situation,” Dusk replied. “I... I’m not about to say what Wendigo’s stolen from me, because I’m positive you can figure that out for yourself, if you have enough time. However, there is something else you must know, and this is something that very few ponies know anything about.”

“What do you mean by ‘very few ponies’? Do you mean yourself and… your fellow mercenaries?”

“No, because they wouldn’t have been alive to have known it, and none of them still... still live today,” replied Dusk, and he glanced away for a minute, his eyes shimmering with melancholy. “Only two ponies should, theoretically, even know this name. This name – this wretched, horrid name – that sent nothing but terror and pain into the hearts of ponies five-thousand years ago.”

“Then why would you tell me this now?” Twilight asked, suddenly nervous.

What was she going to hear about? Would it be some ancient demon, or a beast even more dangerous than Wendigo?

Dusk sighed yet another time, and turned to face her. “Twilight, this matter is important. While I agree that his actions were wretched, and foul, and absolutely evil, the fact remains that ponies should at least know of his existence, or even his name, so that nopony shall forget those who lost their lives in the battle for our universe. If you don’t wish to know it, then I’m fine with that, but I simply want you to answer my question. Is that... alright with you?”

Twilight nodded. Even if she didn’t want to know about this thing if it was as wretched as Dusk claimed, she would rather not have the suspense of it and her own imagination devour her.

“Very well, then. Twilight Sparkle, tell me this: have you ever heard of Velios?”