A Game of Chess

For a few seconds atop the hill, there was silence, as Twilight searched the innermost depths of her mind for any information relating to this "Velios". Yet, no matter how hard she attempted to find it, the name -- and the beast that it undoubtedly referred to -- were not anything that she'd ever heard of.

"N-no," she said, after a moment's hesitation, "I've never heard of... of 'Velios'."

Dusk shook his head, and let out a sigh. "Perhaps that's been for the best," he admitted. "Only two souls in this entire universe know anything of that beast's identity, after all..." He shook his head, and turned away. "And yet... now, I believe it shall be three, if you desire to learn of him. Do you?"

Twilight was nervous, of course, but her inner scientist was nothing but excited. "Of course," she said, attempting to hide the anxiety from her voice. "I... I want to know about Velios, and to learn just why you're talking about him like this."

"Very well," Dusk said, his horn starting to glow. And then, as if from nowhere, a massive dome of greenish-gray energy engulfed the two, and all sound from the outside world was lost. "My apologies, Twilight, but this is simply... a precaution, so to speak."

"A soundproof barrier?" Twilight asked. "Is this information really that discreet...?"

"Indeed," replied Dusk, and he sighed. "However, it's not simply others who I'm worried about hearing this, but of Wendigo discovering the truth of the matter, as well. He could easily be listening in on this conversation, after all."

The alicorn nodded, then. "Either way," she said, "this magic is incredible, and I can't hear anything going on outside, so I'm guessing that they can't hear anything we say, either..."

Dusk nodded. "That's right," he said. "So long as this barrier remains situated, they won't be able to hear anything about Velios, nor anything about his kind."

Twilight cocked her head at this. "Do you mean that this 'Velios' belongs to some species nopony's ever heard of? If so... that could make an amazing scientific discovery..."

"No, Twilight," responded Dusk. "Rather, it's not that nopony's ever heard of his... species, so to speak, but that only two creatures in this universe remember anything about them. Only myself and Celestia should even know their name, and Velios's name, as well. However... that's why I'm here, now: to ask you if you desire to know of him, and of everything he's done, and the horrid afterglow of his work on our universes."

"'Universes'?" Twilight asked, curiously. "What exactly do you mean by that?"

Dusk turned back towards her, his eyes looking tired. "Twilight," he started, "what do you know -- exactly -- about alternate universes?"

The lavender alicorn placed a hoof on her chin, thoughtfully. "Only what I've read," she admitted. "I know that every time an action is taken, a new universe is born where that action doesn't occur, or happens differently, or... well, there are infinite possibilities for universes."

Dusk turned away, once more, and looked down at the ponies slumbering below. "What if I told you that there are creatures who can cross the boundaries between these universes at will, without the need for magic or technology? That there are creatures who exist only to protect the fabric that makes up eternity from tearing apart?"

Twilight blinked at this, rapidly, and looked over at Dusk. "Are there really creatures like that?" she asked, her inner scientist wishing that she'd brought along her notebook so that she could take notes on all of this. "That there are creatures who can just... walk around eternity?" The thought was staggering, surprising, and could change everything the ponies knew about how alternate universes functioned. If there were creatures who could do such a fantastic thing...

"That's exactly right," Dusk said. "Although... I wouldn't advise trying to harness their power for yourself, as it seems you want to do. Creatures throughout eternity have paid with their lives for attempting to elevate themselves to godhood using the powers of these walkers."

Twilight flushed at this, and looked away, realizing that Dusk had virtually read her mind. "But... where does Velios come into the equation? Did he want to take their powers for himself and become a god, or something?"

Dusk shook his head. "He didn't need to absorb their abilities," he responded, "because he already was one of them. Their kind were called 'calaverns', and all they desired was the order and stability of the universes that exist within eternity." He grit his teeth, then. "All of them... except for one, it appeared."

Her face paled, realizing that such a powerful creature -- a beast who could walk through the universes with no difficulty, and one who was apparently evil -- had entered their own universe. "Velios..." she breathed, quietly. "If he didn't want to protect the universes, then, what did he...?" Twilight's eyes widened in horror, then, as the realization of the statement came crashing down on her. "... No..."

"Unfortunately, yes," said Dusk, ruefully. "Of all the calaverns -- the ones I've met, at any rate -- Velios was the only one to show a desire for destruction, to end all around him with his own anger and vengeance. When he came to our universe, Chronos was unable to stop him alone, so he called on aid from Hatred, but even their combined might was unable to bring down Velios.

"You see, Twilight, calaverns don't function the same way that we do. One can't simply kill a calavern by stabbing them through with a sword, or by electrocuting, burning, or drowning them. No, only one of their own kind can bring an end to them, and, as such, Hatred and Chronos called on further aid, and it came to them almost instantly."

Twilight nodded. "Another calavern, right?"

"Exactly," Dusk responded. "Three, actually. You see, Velios renowned for his monstrous nature amongst the other dozen-or-so calaverns in eternity. And, in order to combat him, three of their most powerful kind came to our universe. They were Primary, the first calavern, his brother, Secondary, and Velios's own brother, Zectao. The three managed to fend him off, and force him to leave our universe be, but they were unable to kill him."

"So he's still alive..." Twilight said, but not as a question. "But I don't understand... why would he want to destroy our universe?"

Dusk shook his head. "I asked Primary, but he didn't say. All that he said on the matter was that it was an act of vengeance. Vengeance against Primary, apparently, for something that he'd done. However, that wasn't why he selected our universe, specifically... No, it was because our universe is... different from those around it."

"How?" Twilight asked.

"Universes, when a new action is taken, split into two identical ones. However, due to there only being one of each calavern -- thankfully, in regards to Velios -- in existence, when one enters a universe, that universe loses the ability to split. But if a calavern enters a universe while in the middle of cloning itself..."

"... That universe gets stopped halfway through," Twilight finished.

"Precisely. Our universe was incomplete in its cloning process, and, thus, now there are two of them, linked together only by the thinnest thread of eternity. However, the universes that are inhabited on both sides are like a... mirror of sorts."

"Mirror?" Twilight asked. "Like... everypony is gender-swapped, or something? Or that we're different creatures, or the world is ruled by Discord, or...?"

"No, nothing like that," Dusk replied. "It's more... subtle than that, so to speak. The genders are mostly the same, the species are mostly the same, and the world is most certainly not ruled by Discord. The only true differences lay in the personalities of the creatures on either side; they're completely inverted."

Twilight's eyes widened. "So Velios came to our universe because it's composed of two conjoined universes, and because the universes are basically complete opposites of each other?"

"Basically," repeated Dusk, and his turned back towards her. "However, Primary thought that there was more to it than that. He claimed that the universe had frozen -- that it had stopped splitting -- several millennia prior to Velios's arrival; that there was another calavern who had come to our universe, and that the bastard had been drawn here by the remaining power, yet he didn't say just who it was." He grimaced. "Odd, too, considering that only a dozen or so calaverns exist..."

"Like how there are only two princesses in charge of Equestria, but on a much greater scale," Twilight said, her hoof moving back to her chin. "Having so much space to cover, but very few creatures to do so..."

Dusk nodded, and he smiled. "Precisely," he said, "but the differences in power between the two groups are absolutely staggering; calaverns are completely immortal, and all of them are several million years old. Far older than Celestia, or Luna... even Chronos was only around twenty-thousand." He looked away, again. "And to compound to that effect, every calavern, so Primary said, has a perfect memory."

"Th-that's astounding!" Twilight gasped. "With a perfect memory, they could easily document everything they've ever seen!"

Dusk shook his head, and turned back towards her. "They could," he admitted, "but the fact remains that living forever and never forgetting anything could be completely disastrous. The three of them ensured that I realized just how horrid the prospect is. Imagine, if you will, Twilight: you've killed a pony, and you'll always remember their name, face, their last words, and everything else they've bothered to say to you. It's a miracle that none of them have been driven insane at this point..."

"Then that means that... that Velios," Twilight started, "could be wanting vengeance for something that could have happened hundreds upon thousands of years ago. And you said that he's still alive, so who's to say that he won't be coming back to this universe to finish what he started...?"

"It's doubtful," responded Dusk. "That was five millennia ago that Velios attacked us, and none of the calaverns are idiots, either. All of them are geniuses, since they remember literally everything, and Velios is smart enough to understand that coming back to this universe would do nothing for himself but draw attention from Primary once more."

Twilight shook her head, then, and looked behind her. "Why does this all have to be so complicated?" she asked, and sighed. "I mean, having to fight against Wendigo is one thing, but worrying about some universe-crossing god is another thing entirely! And why are you even bothering to tell me this now, anyway?"

Dusk smiled, ruefully. "I needed a pony I could trust," he said. "Celestia would never release this knowledge until it's too late -- until Velios attacks -- and Luna, though I trust her with my life, would likely relay the information to Celestia immediately. There would be no secrecy, no discretion, but instead the knowledge would be lost. If I told it to another mercenary, or a king, it could spread a panic throughout the world, which would only hasten Wendigo's conquest, with him using the panic to his advantage. No, I needed a pony who is... intelligent, and powerful, and who can use this information to better ponykind. I don't care if Velios never again attacks this universe, or the one it's conjoined to, so long as the ponies at least know to be wary of him in the case that he does return." He shook his head, then. "But, at the same time, you're not the first one I've told this to, Twilight. I've actually spoken to many 'immortals' about this matter in the past. However... none of them are still alive today. That's part of why I chose you; I saw a pony who I know can survive with this knowledge, and thus would be able to put it to use."

Twilight nodded, although made a mental note about the bitterness in Dusk's voice as he spoke of Celestia. "But this means you've been around at least five millennia, right, if you knew all of these... these calaverns as they came here? Have you been wandering the world for that long?"

To this, the mercenary responded with a bitter laugh. "No," he said, "if that were the case, I think I would've completely lost any trace of intelligence years ago, back when I didn't have anything left. I've lived for a long time, Twilight, but I can say that I've only spent the last few thousand years as a mercenary, and it's when I became a sellsword -- as Valice seems wont to call it -- that I lost my wings and my status as an alicorn, and became a unicorn."

"That's another thing," Twilight said, her hoof on her chin once more. "How did you cease to be an alicorn?"

Dusk didn't respond for several seconds. "... In the same vein that you became an alicorn," he finally said. "In a manner of speaking, the two of us are complete opposites. You, the one who went from being a unicorn to an alicorn, and I, who went the opposite direction; alicorn to unicorn. However, the causes of our transformations are quite different..."

"Why...? Did Wendigo take away all that power from you?" Twilight asked, her heartbeat suddenly increasing. Just the thought that she -- that Celstia and Luna, even -- could lose their powers so simply...

But Dusk simply shook his head. "No," he said, "I ceased to exist as an alicorn not because of Wendigo, but because of another creature. One whose name I'd rather not claim here, but they were a barbarian nonetheless. Their transgression I could overlook, but Wendigo did nothing more than twist the knife ever further into the wound, and he stole from me everypony I cared for. And yet it all wasn't all at once. No, he allowed my hopes to soar, and then taunted me as soon as he ripped everything away from me..."

He grit his teeth again, and Twilight could almost hear the pure, unfiltered venom in his voice in his next words. "He claimed me to be worthless, and useless, and pointless, and called my existence 'inconsequential'. Oh, but I've been training, and forcing myself to learn this blade's secrets..." He gripped the hilt of Constellation, then, and pulled it free. "And the next time that we meet upon the battlefield, I shall prove just how 'worthless' I truly am."

Twilight instinctively took a step back, realizing that Dusk was likely to begin ranting about his desires to slay Wendigo, and knowing that she'd heard enough of that from Checkmate earlier.

And then, to her complete surprise, Dusk shook his head. "But no," he said, his voice suddenly calm. "Wendigo had nothing to do with me becoming an immortal unicorn... in fact, I can hardly blame it on the one who stole my power, as well, because, in the end, I was the one who caused it to occur, no matter what I may claim... I can't hide behind a veil of lies, Twilight, but I'm not about to disclose everything, either. It's likely that you'll understand everything yourself someday, but for now, the fact remains that I'm here to speak of the calaverns, not of myself."

Twilight let out a sigh of relief at this. For a second, she'd been worried that the conversation was going to be completely derailed, and that all of her questions would be unanswered.

"What about their appearance?" she asked, almost instinctively. "I mean, if Velios returns to our universe, then what can we expect him to look like? Are they alien in appearance -- or, well, 'alien' in the way that ponies think aliens would look like -- or what?"

"Appearance-wise," replied Dusk, "well... it's as I said: a calavern is not the same as a pony, or a griffon, or any other available race you can imagine. In fact, calaverns don't even truly have a true 'appearance' that one could describe them with, since they function mostly by possessing dead or inanimate objects and communicating through them, and then being able to shift between forms at will. Each calavern does have a main form -- which all are of the same species, if I may add -- but describing that would be rather... confusing, so to speak. To put it simply, their main form is the one that they cannot die in, lest they be truly killed, and their soul erased from eternity completely."

"Confusing..." Twilight heard herself say quietly. "At least that should make it simple to find them, if they're not possessing some other creature."

"Perhaps," admitted Dusk, and he turned away once more. "Velios especially, provided that we meet him in his main form. You see, their main forms have... digits, like how dragons have claws, and hands. Velios's hands -- there are two of them -- are burnt, charred to the point of being red and black and horrible..." Dusk visibly shuddered at the thought. "His digits, too, are also rather... horrid. On his left and right hands there were once five of these digits. Now, on each, there are only three. Primary told me that somepony had once cut them up out of anger and rage, and that they'd caused the horrible burns, but, again, he didn't bother going into any details on the matter. Is there anything else you'd like to know about this?"

"Yeah," Twilight said, after a moment's hesitation. "How likely are we -- really -- to have to meet up with Velios?"

"Unlikely," Dusk admitted, once more. "However, I can't rule out the possibility that he's just given up. Not yet. Not until I know, for a fact, that he's no longer a threat to this universe. In this vein, I actually have to admit that he's likely an even worse threat than Wendigo, in the case that he does return, but, again, it's very unlikely that he will. After all, there are so many universes in existence that ours would be like one grain of sand out of every grain of it in the universe, so we should be safe."

He shook his head, then, and sighed. "Though I have to say this: Velios was... strange, certainly, but he didn't appear the type to just up and attack us like that. He actually emerged in our world centuries before he began his rampage, and, before that, he wasn't any threat at all; he was courteous, friendly, and much different than what he became, which only raises more questions on the matter." His eyes changed, then, for a second. "Just like what Wendigo was..."

Twilight shook her head in reply, and sighed, mirroring Dusk. "I... I think," she started, "I'm just going to head to bed, now. This is all a bit much for me, really, and... I think I should get some sleep, and think on all of this."

Dusk nodded. "Very well," he said. "I've no objections to that. I've said everything I meant to. But please, Twilight, I want you to do me a favor: do not reveal that name to anypony, unless Velios does return. If not, it could cause widespread panic, or terror, and could tear this universe apart in his stead."

The barrier around them was lowered, then, and Twilight turned away. "Right," she replied, simply, bluntly. Nothing more needed to be said, and nothing more was said, as the alicorn and the former alicorn parted ways, the words he'd spoken still fresh in her mind.

And, more than that, a new question entered her mind; one that she hadn't given much thought towards up until just then.

Just who was Dusk, really?