A Game of Chess

Darkfrost was not somewhere that Twilight could easily describe. Certainly, it was dark, and there was ice everywhere, which probably contributed to its name, but there was something so completely alien, and strange, and just, overall, different about the befouled nation that made her feel sick just to look it over.

Maybe it was the sheer feeling of loneliness, of abandonment, of pain in the air that almost overtook her as she walked across the frozen sheet that coated the earth.

Maybe it was the fact that this place nearly looked like what Nightmare Moon had sought to create; an endless, eternal night, but with there still being a small amount of sunlight, and snow that covered everything.

Or, maybe, it was neither of those, and instead lay in what she had since learned. Everything -- the knowledge of the calaverns, her theory that the Catalyst was truly Velios, seeking vengeance for... whatever it was -- had been weighing her down ever since the night prior, and her hurried apology to Valice hadn't made it any easier.

Asgard had told her to use the information he'd given her to help best Wendigo, but how could she, given the circumstances? If she said that the Catalyst was real, and then told her friends that Asgard had been the one to grant her that information, how would they respond? Would they believe her, or would they simply think it was a dream, or would they choose not to trust anything that the sleipnir had to say?

And then the second point of her revelation -- of what she supposed was the Catalyst's real identity -- was something that she simply could not tell anypony. None except for Dusk, at the very least, and there would be no chances to tell him, given how close they were to the end of their journey, and how there did not seem to be any time that the two could speak in private.

Twilight let out a quiet sigh, trying not alert anypony around her to her presence, as she stepped over the snow. No matter what, she couldn't say what she'd learned. Otherwise, it was likely that nopony would believe her.

She was quickly torn away from her thoughts as she heard Pinkie's teeth begin to chatter. "Wow!" she gasped, shivering as she bounded through the snow. "Th-this place is r-really... c-cold!" In spite of what she was claiming, the young mare was still grinning widely.

Checkmate breathed out, and Twilight could see his breath in the air. "Of course," he muttered, although he seemed unaffected by the chilling air. "Wendigo wouldn't have it any other way."

"But... don't'cha guys think it's not that bad?" Rainbow asked, flying a bit above them, scouting out the location of the Hellgate Mines. "I mean, yeah... it's cold, but it's not, well, freezing, or anything."

Pinkie grinned, her teeth chattering. "U-um, y-yeah," she said. "But it's still... a bit chilly, wouldn't'cha all say?"

Dusk looked over at her, and nodded. "'A bit chilly' doesn't even begin to describe it," he said, and sighed. "Wendigo specifically designed the airflow of this place with two things in mind: one, making it possible for ponies to survive here without the worry of frostbite, but still cold enough that they suffer, and two --" he looked away, and let out another visible sigh "-- he covered the sky in clouds, leaving only the faintest amount of sunlight into the land. Day and night are nearly indistinguishable, and the only way to tell is that night is only slightly darker."

Applejack arched an eyebrow. "You seem ta know quite a bit 'bout this place," she observed. "Ya been here before, Ah reckon. A few times?"

"Yeah," said the mercenary, and he held up Constellation, "I've been here a few times in my life." Naturally, as was befitting him, Dusk said nothing more. "And what about all of you?" he asked. "I'm sure that Checkmate's not the only one who's come here."

Rainbow flew down, then, and began to walk next to him. "Yeah," she said, "but... I think I'm the only one, right?"

Rarity nodded, and she smiled. "Indeed. If it had not been for her, I highly doubt that Checkmate could possibly survived his excursion."

"O-oh, well... I'm not sure if I was that important..." Rainbow said, bashfully, her face having turned a bit red at this claim of her heroism. An odd reaction, given how common it was for her to burst out claiming just how "awesome" she was.

"She's right," Sweetie Belle said, smiling slightly. "If it wasn't for Rarity, Twilight, and you, Rainbow Dash, I don't think this journey would've ever kicked off!" She leaned in towards Dusk, then, and whispered. "I mean, you should've seen just how big that cut on his back was..."

Dusk looked over at Checkmate, and stared at the cloak he wore with interest. "Really?" he asked, curiously. "Come to think of it, I don't think I've ever seen you without that cloak of yours..."

Checkmate grimaced, and held up a cloth-covered hoof. "I doubt that you'd want to," he said, his voice serious.

"Can't be any worse than I am," responded the mercenary, running a hoof over his charred, scar-covered side. "Can't even see my talent sign anymore."

"Ya know, Ah've been meanin' ta ask..." Apple Bloom said, suddenly beside Dusk. "Jus' what is yer cu... talent sign s'posed ta be?"

Dusk looked down at her. "I'm not entirely certain how to describe it," he mused. "It's fairly complicated. Not what it represents, of course, but its appearance is simply... interesting, to put it mildly."

Scootaloo instantly flanked him on his other side, Rainbow Dash having retaken her position in the air. "Well?" she asked, curiously. "What does it mean? Is it like, swordplay? No, wait, that's Checkmate... Oh, maybe it's magic-swordplay!"

Sweetie Belle had joined in the two, standing beside Apple Bloom. "Or maybe..." she started, before she looked him over, "it's supposed to mean that he's really, really strong!"

Dusk looked around him, trapped in between three of the most curious creatures he would likely meet in his entire life. "Um," he started, clearly not knowing how to respond to the three fillies suddenly gaining an interest in what his talent sign was meant to portray. However, he seemed to have quickly regained his composure, as he said, "Actually, it's none of those."

"Then... what is it?" Apple Bloom asked.

Twilight chuckled to herself, as she watched Dusk fumble around for an answer. "... It represents more than simply my strengths," he replied, and he looked away from the three fillies. "It represents my standing; what I did before I was forced to take on the form of a unicorn."

"And what's that?" prompted Scootaloo.

Dusk sighed, and smiled, slightly. "You'll have to see for yourselves," he replied, and looked over at Twilight. "That's one of the joys of life, isn't it? Discovering things for yourself, rather than having others spoon-feed them to you."

Scootaloo sighed. "You say that a lot," she muttered.

"Yeah, I guess I do." Dusk was silent, then, and stepped away from the three fillies, who all stared after him with a mixture of confusion and curiosity in their eyes.

Twilight simply watched as he walked away, silently, unable to say anything. She continued to walk along behind the others, alone, and quiet, her mind beginning to return to thoughts of the bitterness of the air, and the silent rage, hatred, and anger that seemed to fill it.

Several hours passed before the Hellgate Mines came into view, and Rainbow's description of it -- no matter how accurate it had been at the time -- had not quite done it justice.

The entire place looked rundown, broken, and wretched. The houses -- what few there actually were -- were all composed of what appeared to be rotting wood and cracked stones, affixed in such a way that there were small gaps in the walls that were caked in snow, mud, and ice. None of the windows of the houses were filled in, instead being massive, irregular shapes that were left open. Even the doors of the homes were made from cracked boards, each rotting, and some with massive holes in them at random points.

Outside of the town sat a sign that read, in letters that appeared somewhat fresh: "The Hellgate Mines -- Where the Damned Fear to Tread." Twilight shuddered; clearly, Wendigo was not one to take anything lightly. Beside the sign, and leading into the town, was a path of stones that were partially covered by the frost, each looking jagged, irregular, and completely painful to walk over.

And there -- at the very back of the village -- there sat a massive wall of rock, what looked to be a cliff face that rose hundreds of feet into the sky above them. Twilight knew, without anypony saying anything, that the mountain they saw made up the titular Hellgate Mines.

"Welcome," Checkmate stated, dully, as he stepped forward, and turned towards them. "Well? What do you all think?"

Pinkie's eyes were filled with sorrow, and anger, yet her mane remained as it normally was. "If you want my honest opinion," the normally hyper pony said, flatly, "I think that Wendigo is a complete, heartless bastard."

The word seemed to draw some surprise from her friends, who all took a step back in shock. "Wh... Pinkie!" gasped Rarity. "I would never expect one so friendly and excitable as you to utter a word as... as repulsive as that!"

Checkmate sighed and looked them over. "Well, I can't deny either of those points." He gripped his hoof around the hilt of the Glacius, and grimaced. "But... well, this is it, I guess. We're here, at the place that this all started in, and we have what we all set out to find."

Rainbow flew down towards them, and grinned. "All we gotta do is take down Wendigo, and this whole thing comes to an end!" She flew back up, and held out her hooves, as if preparing to punch something.

Applejack simply smiled, and shook her head. "Well, while Ah'm not sure it's gonna be so simple, we ain't gonna make any progress jus' sittin' 'round here an' talkin', are we? Best get a move on."

"She's right," Dusk said, and he stepped towards the entrance to the village before turning back to face them. "However, there is something else that we must do before we challenge Wendigo. I've no doubt that much of your energy has been expended on our route here, right?" None of the others responded, and Dusk sighed. "It would be best for us to stop and attempt to regain any energy that we may have used on our journey here before we face against Wendigo, or Deun, even. Otherwise..."

He didn't finish that statement. He didn't need to.

Checkmate simply nodded in reply, but said nothing. Clearly he just wanted to finish up their quest as soon as they could.

Fluttershy stepped forward, then, to everypony's surprise. "Th-that's... a good point," she said, slowly, cautiously. "If we're too tired to go any further, then we won't be able to stop Wendigo... I-I think we should at least get something that we can... eat, or... um... drink, I guess... Oh, if just for the fillies and Spike... They seem really tired after walking so far..."

Twilight glanced over at the four youths in question. Sure enough, most of them looked completely exhausted from the walk through the ice and snow, with Spike looking like he'd had the worst of it, looking as if he was about to collapse. Scootaloo and Apple Bloom looked extremely tired, yawning even as they tried to hide it. The only one who didn't look very affected was Sweetie Belle, and she still appeared to be much more tired than the adults.

"Alright," Twilight said, and she sighed, "is there somewhere that we can stop around here? Somewhere, erm --" she chose her next words carefully, not meeting Checkmate's eyes "-- trustworthy?"

The tan earth pony, seeming to understand her meaning, let out a sigh. "I think just about everywhere here is 'trustworthy'," he said, his voice cold, "but I know the perfect place for us to gain some of our strength back." He pointed towards a small building towards the back of the town. "See that? It's a tavern. Rarity, stop giving me that look; it's perfectly fine, as long as they don't order anything alcoholic."

Rarity let out a dramatic sigh. "Oh, very well," she said, "but do tell me that we can trust the owner of this establishment?"

Checkmate nodded, once more. "... Yeah," he said, slowly. "He and I go back a few years."

He said no more, then, as he turned, and began to walk into the town -- although Twilight was a bit cautious to call it even that -- that lay before them, not saying anything else as he did so.

Until, of course, he saw a familiar figure leaning against a house close to the entrance. "Rolan!" Checkmate ran over to the windigo, who appeared to have just about fallen asleep.

Could windigoes sleep? Twilight made a mental note to ask that question when everything was finished.

"H-huh?" Rolan asked, appearing to awaken, and looking over at Checkmate. A large smile broke out on his face. "Checkmate!" he said, and he ran over to his friend. "Good to see you made it. I've been waiting there for hours."

Waiting? Khaza asked, curiously. I didn't think you would do that anymore...

Rolan smiled, bitterly. "Some habits just take awhile to die off, Khaza," he responded, and shook his head. "But that's not important, now, is it? I see you have the Ignis, Checkmate."

Good day, Rolan, said Illia. How have you faired?

"About as well as you'd expect, but that's not what you're here for." He looked over the group, and nodded, wordlessly, at Dusk. "Huh, I'm amazed at the ponies you've amassed," he noted, and grinned.

Twilight sighed. "I'm sorry that we'll have to... uh... cut this reunion a bit short," she said, "but we have to stop Wendigo, right? Can we save all of this until after we've saved the world?"

"Sounds reasonable enough," Rolan said, and he turned around. "Well, let's get going, shall we? The sooner we take the bastard down, the sooner the world is saved. So, where to?"

"We're stopping at Night's tavern." Checkmate stepped up beside him, and pointed towards the building, again. "We're going to get ourselves prepared, first, before we challenge Wendigo."

Rolan nodded. "Of course," he remarked, sagely. "That's probably the best course of action you can take right now; the worst would be to just run in, especially considering that you all probably just trekked all the way across the frozen plains to get to here. Take awhile to rest up, get yourselves situated... and then go and run Wendigo through."

"Exactly," Dusk said, before he grimaced. "Provided that we do not meet with Deun, of course..."

Rolan said nothing, but instead began to walk forward. At last, he spoke. "Yeah, you're right. Meeting Deun is the last thing we'd want to happen, especially now."

Valice stopped, for just a moment, before looking all around her. "Huh," she said, at last, her tone as dry as ever, "I guess that fate's not being a complete jerk today. I would've expected him to emerge from nowhere right after you said that."

The windigo grinned. "Huh, I don't think we've met. What's your name?"

The changeling grinned, then, as green fire consumed her body, and she became her true form once more. While Twilight still couldn't get over how unnerving that was, she had, strangely, grown used to it over the course of the day, when Valice had constantly shifted between the two forms she'd been known for. "Valice."

Rolan didn't even react to the fact that she was a changeling, instead turning towards Checkmate. "You've an odd taste in friends," he remarked.

Checkmate grinned. "I know. I chose you, didn't I?"

His friend rolled his eyes. "Yeah, of course," he muttered, before he smiled. "Well, let's be off, shall we? It would be better for us to actually try and get this done, instead of joking around." His face turned solemn, suddenly. "Wendigo sure won't wait."

The message was heeded, and the group soon began to walk along the path, silently. Valice had retaken her form in an effort to keep the ponies in the homes -- who stared at them out of cloaks and hoods -- from paying them much attention. Naturally, this attempt went unnoticed, and the denizens of the Hellgate Mines only seemed more curious of the group of ponies who now made their way towards the center of the town, where the metallic platform that Rainbow had described lay.