A Game of Chess

Deun was not one to complain.

He had seen ponies -- innocents, criminals, and whatever lay in between -- be slaughtered before his eyes. He had watched windigoes for whom Wendigo had become displeased have their lives blotted out, not even having the chance to protest, or to fight back. All of that had only made him stronger. It had tempered his will, to the point that it was as stout as iron, as unbreakable as diamond.

So long as his soldiers could walk away safe, Deun did not care what he had to do.

Wendigo stood before him, tall and imposing. "Deun, I assume you know by this point that Checkmate Vigarde has infiltrated the Hellgate Mines, correct?"

The general nodded, but continued his steel-laden gaze towards the lord of Darkfrost. "Unfortunately, I do," he said, his voice cold, as always. "Many of my soldiers have reported to having seen him in this area, yet they did not act." Seeing the expression on Wendigo's face, he amended, "That was likely my own fault, of course; I told them to avoid acting unless I ordered them to do so."

Wendigo regarded him for a few moments, his face oddly neutral. "Whatever the case may be, that does not change the facts of the matter." His eyes glimmered, as a small smirk appeared on his lips. "A potentially dangerous creature is walking around free, and has even gathered a small militia to aid him in his attack on Darkfrost. Should you allow such a threat to go free?"

Deun was quiet, his gaze still like steel. "... I understand," he responded. "I suppose that you desire for my soldiers to end him and his allies?"

"That's right," Wendigo said, and he sighed. "I would take the time to do it myself, but I have something... important that I must accomplish, now. All that I ask is that you end Checkmate Vigarde and those with whom he travels."

The general nodded again, and turned, wordlessly, to exit the chamber and to do just as Wendigo asked.

"However, I have a request for you in regards to this."

Deun stopped, and turned back towards the windigo as he stood. He said nothing, and kept his gaze as cold as it was known to be.

"... Do not die." Wendigo's voice was strange; it was neither cruel nor kind, but held something else entirely. "Should you find yourself thrust into a position in which you look to be slain, you and your soldiers are to retreat."

Deun was still silent, attempting to process what he had just been told. Wendigo was never one to say anything along the lines of that, nor was he one to show even the slightest bit of compassion towards another living creature, windigo or not.

However, Deun could not argue, nor question the motives behind that statement. Instead, he simply nodded, and stepped away from the chamber, ignoring the new questions that had arisen.

There was only one thought that he concerned himself with: doing what was necessary for the stability of Darkfrost, no matter the personal cost. He would meet Checkmate on the field of battle, and the two would see, truly, just who was the stronger of the two.

The general... or the renegade.

The group had rested, and their energy had since returned to them in a surprisingly tremendous amount. Perhaps it was due to the sheer excitement from the ponies in the tavern -- for several others had wandered in whilst they had eaten -- who seemed greatly joyous at the prospect of Wendigo's defeat, and who seemed to almost be channeling their energy into the creatures before them. Perhaps it was simply because the group themselves were excited to see an end to the beast who had plagued Darkfrost for millennia, and who threatened everything that they cared for.

For Checkmate it was definitely the latter.

Throughout their rest, Illia and Khaza had made sure to catch up with Rolan on the details of their venture, many of which the former king seemed to have difficulty believing. Rainbow Dash spoke to several of the other ponies of Darkfrost, telling a greatly-exaggerated tale of their journey (with such matters as her having single-hoofedly defeating Asgard and Hecatoncheir in such a way that it absolutely defied the laws of both physics and common sense). Pinkie Pie was speaking to the creatures around her, talking so quickly that even Twilight or the others seemed to have absolutely no idea what it was she was saying.

Several of the others, however, simply watched, quietly, or spoke idly amongst themselves. Twilight had become engaged in conversation with Shadowed Night about what kinds of magic the ponies of Darkfrost learned (those who still could cast magic, at any rate), while Rarity and Applejack were in a heated debate about why the former wouldn't go and try to talk to the other ponies from Darkfrost. The quiet Fluttershy, however, simply stood back, speaking with the three fillies and Spike about something that Checkmate couldn't quite make out. Oddly enough, even Dusk and Valice had started to talk amongst themselves, also speaking about something that Checkmate couldn't quite hear.

Checkmate, however, sat alone, not desiring to talk to anypony at the moment. Instead of being engaged in conversation, he was engaged in thought, picturing every possible route that they could take to reach Wendigo's location, and over every possible outcome that he could imagine.

At last, however, he leapt down from the chair in which he was seated, and nodded over to the others. "I think it's time we get going," he added, looking up towards Night. "Thanks for this, Night." He glanced over at Heatwave. "And you too, Heatwave. We'd best get going, though, before Deun or any of his soldiers find out we're here."

Twilight looked over at him, and nodded. "Yeah, the worst thing we can do is just sit around here." She reached over the counter, and grabbed something -- a book, it looked like -- and smiled at Night, before quietly thanking him, and slipping the item into her bag.

All around them, the group stepped away from whatever it was they were doing in order to join back together; Pinkie stopped talking to the extremely confused ponies, Rainbow let out a sigh and walked back to the others, and all of those who had been talking idly simply continued their conversations as they met back with Checkmate and the group. Khaza and Illia retook their forms as the Ignis and Glacius, much to their own private chagrin.

Then, with a silent nod, the group began to walk once more, exiting the tavern. The ponies around them did not speak, or even act in any way, as they passed, their sights set now upon the massive cliff behind the town. Yet they did not walk quickly, but slowly, deliberately, walking down the irregular stone path and towards the chamber where the Glacius lay.

While most of them stayed silent, Checkmate could overhear Twilight and Rarity speaking. "I saw that Shadowed Night gave you a book," the unicorn stated, her voice quiet so as not to draw attention. "Would you mind if I ask you what it is?"

"Oh, of course." Twilight smiled slightly, and pulled it out of her bag with magic. It was somewhat large, and seemed rather thick, with a dark blue cover bordered by several white lines. "It's a study book for magic-users, like unicorns," she explained. "Night told me that there's a really useful spell in here for fighting against windigoes, and that his son was trying to learn it."

Rarity grimaced. "Indeed, that should be quite useful against the one windigo who happens to be completely immune to magic," she said. "I honestly cannot see very many times that we could find it useful, particularly now that we're so late into this journey."

Twilight let out a small sigh, and pushed it back into her bag. "Yeah," she agreed, "but that's not the only spell in there. There's a whole untapped world of magic in this thing, and I'm gonna try and learn as much of it as I can!" She smirked, and looked over at Checkmate. "Besides, I don't think I've ever seen this book at the library. I've been looking for a new addition to fill in the gap left by a book a certain stallion decided to take with him on this journey and never use..."

Checkmate sputtered, suddenly remembering the book that even now lay in his bag, probably collecting dust. Although he'd wanted to make use of it on the journey, there had simply not been a single chance for him to have looked over it, or to learn of any monsters for when they were attacked.

Twilight grinned, and instantly looked back at Rarity. "Oh, well, that's not important. What is important is just how much magic is contained in this thing, and I'll need something to do once we finish up this quest."

"And... Night just gave that to you? For no cost?"

"Yeah, I know." Twilight sighed, and pulled the book out again. "He said he doesn't want to look at it anymore, now that White Shadow's been killed. He asked me if I used magic or focused on flying --"

Checkmate smiled to himself, remembering the bandage that she wore on the first day he'd entered Ponyville, and her statement regarding how bad she was at flying.

"-- so I told him that I use magic, and he just handed this to me and told me to use it however I can."

"Really?" Rarity asked. "And he said nothing else on the matter?"

Twilight nodded, and looked in front of them, where they were approaching the cliff face. "He said that he didn't want to talk about it."

"... I see." Rarity said nothing more.

The group stopped completely, now standing just in front of the massive wall of rock, a single large entrance. Its sides were wooden, and the top was held up by a large board which, unlike everything else in the town, all looked completely new, likely to keep the mineshaft from collapsing.

Checkmate stepped forward, and placed a hoof upon one of the boards that supported the entryway. "We're here," he said, his voice solemn. "This... or these, I guess... these are the Hellgate Mines."

"So Wendigo's in there?" Valice asked, and she grimaced. "Wait, why the hell am I asking that? Of course he is."

Sweetie Belle both took a step back, her eyes widening at the gaping maw of the dark abyss. "Th-that doesn't look too safe..." she breathed. "Wh-what if it caves in? I-I think I'll just wait here until you're all done... it... it should be safer."

"That does raise a question..." mused Rolan. "Wouldn't it be safer to just leave the kids back at Night's? At least until this is over, I mean."

"Perhaps," Dusk admitted, "but that would also leave them in a position where they could easily be abducted by Wendigo, or even Deun. And then they'd just be held for leverage... perhaps even killed, and everything would be for naught." He shook his head. "No, we'll have to take them with us. Regardless of how bad it may seem, there are enough of us that we can at least make sure they're safe. It's a better alternative than having Rarity, Applejack, Rainbow Dash, and Twilight be worried for them."

Spike blinked. "Wait, did you just say that I'm a kid?"

Sweetie Belle shuddered. "B-but I can't go in there... It's too dark, and we don't know how much oxyclean is in the air, and it could all collapse on top of us, a-and..."

"Oxygen," Twilight hastily corrected, but she shook her head. "But she's right, Dusk. This seems like it could be really dangerous, especially for ponies who haven't even really fought before, and can't really use any magic."

Scootaloo rolled her eyes, and coughed loudly, directing all of their attention to her. "Um... Twilight," she said, in a tone that Valice grinned at, "we crossed the Desert of Death. That's one of the most dangerous places in the world, and we've seen and encountered many other dangerous things, too. Not to mention that we've already been underground before, and you didn't complain then." She passed a glance over at Sweetie Belle, who sunk down into the snow.

"B-but..." Sweetie supplied, quickly, "there weren't any windigoes, then!" Suddenly, as if remembering the reason why they had to take the underground passage, she immediately added, "A-at least, none that were waiting for us in the darkness, trying to kill us, and take our souls, and make us into a g-giant freakish monster!"

Apple Bloom, however, grit her teeth in obvious annoyance. "Listen to yerself, Sweetie Belle! Yer jus' gonna sit out here an' cower while they're off fightin' after we've been through so much? C'mon, now!" She walked over, and, to everypony's collective surprise, stepped under the entrance. "See this? Ah don't think this here thing's gonna fall on me, do you?"

"B-but..." Sweetie Belle started, again, before trailing off as she shuddered.

Apple Bloom sighed. "Yeah, yeah, Ah know that this is gonna be dangerous, but we've been through a lotta stuff by this point. 'Sides, what's the worst that can happen, huh? These beams're pretty sturdy, so it ain't gonna fall on top of any of us, an' long as Dusk has that light of his goin', there ain't gonna be no darkness 'round us. An' the windigoes? Ha, Ah betcha that Checkmate an' Dusk can take 'em out in ten seconds, flat!"

Sweetie Belle looked back-and-forth between the creatures around her, all of their expressions mixed -- Checkmate, personally, was for having the group be together as they went down into the cavern, but that was simply his desire for them all to be in one area.

However, the young unicorn put on the bravest face she could muster, and smiled, although it appeared somewhat shaky. "U-um... yeah," she said. "I'm not... I'm not gonna worry about this... I'll try to... to be as brave as I can..."

Rarity looked at her sister, her eyes filled with a mixture of pride and sorrow. "Sweetie Belle..." she said, softly, before she smiled. "Well, I should hope that you will come with us. It shall certainly make our journey into this deep, likely extremely long cavern far more eventful, would you not say?"

Checkmate's face was deadpan. "Actually, the trip to Wendigo's cavern is only about five minutes."

There was silence among everypony, several of them pressing their hooves into their foreheads at those words. "Wh... then why did we just waste time having this discussion?!" Rainbow Dash shouted. "You know, you could've said something, Check!"

Rolan grinned. "Ha... I meant to say something about that, myself, but these kids were making such an inspirational speech to their friend that I completely forgot." He shrugged, before looking back at them. "See, back before Wendigo took over, his old chamber used to belong to Khaza... and since she wanted it to be convenient for ponies to reach, she simply designed a small tunnel system to reach the room where the Glacius was once held, and the larger room that she used for holding audiences."

"Well, on the plus side," Applejack mused, stepping up beside her sister, "at least we'll be gettin' this thing done soon. All we've gotta do is walk a bit, an' then we jus' go an' take Wendigo down."

Indeed. It would be quite simple... if not for my existence.

Checkmate's eyes widened, as everypony turned back towards the mineshaft, and Apple Bloom and Applejack took several steps back. The air began to converge, and a tall figure stepped away from the area where there had once been nothing. His semi-transparent body somehow showed extremely clearly in the darkness, a sword of silver on his left side.

Deun stepped towards them with his eyes as cold as the air around them. "However, life is not as simple as I'm sure you all wish it was. You all know why I'm here, I'm certain."

"Let me guess," Valice muttered, dryly. "To show us love and affection?"

The general did not even blink, nor did he even acknowledge her response. "Of course, I have been given the order to rid Darkfrost of your presence." He lay his hoof on the sword at his side. "You, Checkmate Vigarde, are a threat to the stability that this nation commands."

"Yeah?" Rainbow Dash growled, stepping towards him. "Well guess what: we don't have the time to spend messin' around here with you!"

Dusk placed his hoof on the hilt of Constellation. "Agreed," he mused. "Besides, there are enough of us to pose a threat towards you, Deun, so I would advise you to tread carefully."

Deun cast a cold glare at the mercenary, his face as neutral as always. "Perhaps it would be. However, I'm not one to come ill-prepared, as you all surely remember." He took another step towards them, and the group took a collective step back. "This place is not like the Desert of Death; there, I did not have complete access to all of my soldiers, but here?"

He slammed a hoof into the ground, as several dozen windigoes appeared before the group, blocking the path forward. "Here... I have my full army available to bring an end to you and what chaos you shall rain upon our nation." Another step towards them, and another, less-confident step backwards. "The Desert of Death was an accident; a testament to the excellent luck that all of you showed. Here, however, is not the same."

Dusk grit his teeth. "Dammit...!" he hissed. "There are too many of them, even for us!"

"Of course there are," Valice muttered. "I swear to Chronos, we just had to say that the path forward would be quick, didn't we?"

Even the normally-courageous Rainbow Dash looked frightened at the odds before them. "Well... what do we do?!"

Checkmate's eyes flashed, as he looked between the groups before them; no less than eighty soldiers stood in the entrance of the passage forward. However, that lead to an interesting design of how they could best them. He looked to the sides: to the left, a narrow walkway between one of the homes and the cliff; to the right, a less narrow path, with both of the two looping around to the same area.

"Rarity!" he shouted, surprising the unicorn. "You take the fillies, Spike, and Fluttershy down the path to the left! Do not stop for anything! If any windigoes get near you, blast them with your magic! Applejack, Valice, Rainbow Dash, Pinkie Pie, and Twilight! You four take the path to the right! And Rolan, Dusk, you two come with me down the path behind us! We'll rendezvous at the plaza!"

The group, without saying anything, immediately hurried to follow the paths that he'd listed off for them, with himself, Rolan, and Dusk not even looking back as they rushed down the road behind them. After all, he knew the most of Darkfrost, and the layout of the Hellgate Mines perfectly.

Checkmate could hear Deun's voice -- unsurprisingly calm, of course -- from behind him as he hurried. "Lieutenant Fryn, take fifteen soldiers and follow the left path, Lieutenant Aero take thirty and run towards the right. Split your battalion and block the exit to the plaza before they can escape through it. The rest of you, follow me after Checkmate Vigarde. Do not allow him or any of his allies the chance to flee."

His heart began to race, then, as the sounds of hooves clattering into the stone-covered path began to grow closer, whilst he and the others rushed towards the plaza for their last stand.