A Game of Chess

Rainbow Dash grit her teeth, flying down the path and matching the others' collective speed. After all, the last thing that she could want would be to rush in front of them; they needed to stay together, to escape so that none of Deun's soldiers could catch them.

"After them! Do not allow any of them to escape!"

Applejack and Pinkie ran without not looking back, instead focusing solely on the path laid out before them. The two -- even the ever-optimistic party-loving pony -- appeared completely terrified, their hooves aflame and crashing into the snow-dusted road.

Twilight, however, appeared to be doing something entirely different; while Pinkie and Applejack ran without looking away from the path, she was hurriedly flipping through the pages of what appeared to be a spell-book, her eyes darting to-and-fro across the pages.

"T-Twilight!" Rainbow shouted, looking over at her friend, "what are you doing?!"

The alicorn instead continued to flip through the pages, her eyes not moving from them for even an instant. "I'm... I'm looking for a spell!" she called back, which Rainbow thought was strange considering how close they were to each other. "Night told me that there was something in here that's good against windigoes!"

Behind them, the sound of hooves crashing into snow became more apparent. "Do not allow them solace! We must ensure that they cannot escape!"

Rainbow blinked. "Wh... but why wouldn't Night have used it to stop 'em, or anything like that? Why didn't any of the other unicorns cast it? If it's as good as you think it is, couldn't it-?"

"It's not that simple," Twilight replied, her hooves moving with a great amount of speed. "It's an advanced level spell-book. As in, the kind that only ponies who have studied magic for several years can use. And none of the ponies here in Darkfrost have the magical energy needed to cast it, if they can use magic at all."

"So... what? You're the only one who can, I'm guessing?" Rainbow shot her friend a smug smirk. "Well that's certainly a surprise!"

Twilight rolled her eyes at her friend's obvious sarcasm. "It's not just me, Rainbow Dash," she responded. "Anypony with sufficient practice should be able to --"

"Turn right!" Applejack called back, before disappearing around the corner of a house.

"-- should be able to cast it," Twilight finished, as she and Rainbow passed the corner, the plaza in sight. "Rarity can, too. It's just a coincidence that Night gave it to me."

"Coincidence. Right," Rainbow said. "Just like how you coincidentally became an alicorn, or how we coincidentally managed to escape death by the skin of our teeth about three times so far due to sheer luck, or how Checkmate coincidentally chose Ponyville over any other town in all of Equestria to visit."

Twilight continued to leaf through the pages. "Exactly," she noted simply. "In the same way that you managed to coincidentally create a sonic rainboom, giving all of us our cutie marks and setting us on the road to defeat Nightmare Moon, Discord, Chrysalis, Sombra..."

"Okay, okay! I get it!" Rainbow muttered, by this point completely ignoring the fact that they were being chased.

"They have almost reached the plaza! Do not allow them to regroup!"

Applejack grimaced. "We're almost there! We're so close!"

Pinkie grit her teeth. "Yeah, we just gotta turn our speed up a notch!" She flashed her friends a small smile. How she managed to remain calm, even in such a dire situation, Rainbow would never understand. "So take that dial and turn it up to eleven!"

With much surprise from those around her -- or not, because Pinkie was always known to break the very laws that governed the universe -- the pink pony took off with an incredible burst of speed, flying down the remainder of the path before Rainbow even had a chance to blink. "C'mon!" she shouted, looking back at them. "Hurry up!"

The battalion of soldiers behind them -- now fifteen, Rainbow noted, looking over her shoulder -- continued to close the gap that lay between the two groups. Certainly, she could easily outrun them, but what about Twilight and Applejack? These were creatures who ruled the wind, and the wind wasn't known for simply sitting by and watching the world.

Twilight continued to flip through the pages. "Where is it?" she muttered. "It's gotta be in here somewhere!"

"Twi', we've gotta hurry up!" Applejack shouted, now running next to her. "If we don't, they're gonna get us!"

For the first time since the chase had begun, Twilight lowered the book, and looked behind her. The alicorn let out a cry of shock as several of Deun's soldiers -- were they considered infantry or cavalry? Rainbow was completely unsure -- grew nearer, and she instantly began to run faster, looking back at the book.

"C'mon, where is it?!"

She immediately stopped, however, and let out a gasp, as she ran directly into a large structure made entirely of steel.

Rainbow looked around her, in surprise at how quickly they had actually reached the plaza, before turning back towards the soldiers that now had stopped, their bodies blocking the path back. She whirled towards one of the other four sides -- the one that faced neither the mines, nor the one that Rarity and the others were entering through -- and saw the rest of the lieutenant's battalion, standing in such a way that the fifteen soldiers that composed each group completely covered any way out.

The lieutenant -- Aero, as Deun had called him -- stood his ground, his eyes filled with an odd fire. "Impressive," he mused. "Your speed, I mean. Other than that, I have to say that you're all fools. Challenging General Deun is the last mistake that any of you will make, I promise you that!"

Rainbow glared at him, and saw the others enter the area out of the corner of her eye, as the rest of the windigoes blocked the other two routes out, and leaving the group trapped within the area of the plaza.

Twilight, however, quickly picked up the book, completely ignoring him, and continued to read, her eyes darting rapidly across every page, while Applejack and Pinkie leapt into fighting stances.

"Truly, I must agree with Aero on this matter," mused a cold voice, and everypony turned to watch as Deun stepped past the group before him, consisting of no less than twenty windigoes, stallions and mares alike. "However, your run is at an end. You are trapped within this plaza, near this platform that so many have died on."

And then, Checkmate did something that surprised even Rainbow: he took a step back, before he turned, ran, and jumped on the blood-stained platform, his hooves clattering into place on the steel. "Then maybe I should be on it," he replied, his voice oddly calm. "After all, you want to kill me, don't you?" He grabbed the Glacius from his side, immediately unsheathing it, and did the same with the Ignis, now standing on his back legs. "Then come and get me!"

Everypony in the area, including those who had come to watch, were silent at Checkmate's challenge. Rainbow could practically feel her jaw having fallen at the sheer amount of courage, bravery, and stupidity in those five words he had spoken. Even she knew when to call it quits; this was just ridiculous.

But Deun apparently didn't think so, as he stepped forward with slow deliberation, and stepped onto the massive platform, even as his soldiers showed their dissent towards such an action ("General, it's too dangerous!" "He has the Glacius and the Ignis, Sir, he could kill you!" "G-General, please... don't...").

The general stepped forward until he was close to Checkmate. "Very well," he stated, his voice and eyes as cold as they had been in the Desert of Death. "In the case that you would challenge me, I shall accept." He gripped the silver short-sword at his side. "And so our stage has been selected, our weapons chosen. So here, on this day, let our dance of blades" -- he pulled the short-sword free of its sheath, his eyes flashing -- "begin!"

He immediately vanished, before reappearing right behind the stallion, holding the blade up high. "Now let us both see your power," he said, his voice cold.

Rainbow, and nearly every other pony in the group, let out a gasp. "H-he's fast!"

Twilight's reading of the book instantly became faster, as she continued to leaf through it at an alarming pace. "It... it has got to be here somewhere!"

Deun struck at Checkmate, his blade singing through the air with remarkable speed and precision, arching straight for his enemy's chest. Checkmate leapt backwards, dodging what would have been a fatal blow, and striking towards Deun's right foreleg with the Ignis in an attempt to make him tangible. The general, however, swung back with beautiful technique, both blocking Checkmate's strike and forcing the stallion backwards.

"I am Deun, the Whirlwind," the general stated, calmly. "I am the crux of Wendigo's army, and the one who shall end your life here."

Checkmate grit his teeth, and tried to regain his balance. He raised the Glacius, and pointed it towards his enemy, while the Ignis soon followed, covering his exposed chest.

Deun's response came immediately as he vanished, before reappearing behind Checkmate, and slashing towards the back of his neck with the short-sword. The stallion turned and blocked yet another potential fatal attack, being sent backwards once again. He was struck towards once more as Deun continued his assault, blows coming from behind, in front, and to either side, but all of them were blocked or dodged by the determined Checkmate.

Why wasn't he attacking? Rainbow Dash stared up with shock as Checkmate continued to dodge all of the attacks that went his way, not once raising up his swords to strike back. Not since the beginning of the battle, at the very least, but why not?

Her thoughts were completely derailed as Twilight let out a triumphant cheer, directing everypony's eyes except for those of the two creatures locked in battle, their swords now creating sparks that flew between them as a result of Deun's incredible speed meeting Checkmate's blocks.

"I found it!" Twilight held up the spell-book for all of the ponies around them to see, looking as happy as she did when the bookstore received a new shipment. "It was on the last page!"

"Figures," Rainbow heard Valice mutter.

"Wait, what spell?" Dusk asked, immediately taking his eyes off of the action on the platform -- he claimed he did not wish to disturb the battle; a duel was meant to be honorable, so he'd said -- and stared at the page in question, before his eyes widened. "That... that's... That could work."

How good was that spell?

Twilight nodded, and looked around her. "I was able to get a good look at it. It doesn't look too hard to cast, but it'll take me a few minutes to get it down well enough that I'll be able to use it. It might be a bit awkward, since I've never seen it before, but it should do the trick."

The windigoes, however, weren't paying attention, and instead focused on the battle above them, which Rainbow now turned back towards.

Deun struck out towards Checkmate once more, who blocked the attack with the Ignis, and continued to take a more defensive approach to the battle. Once again, Deun vanished, only to appear above Checkmate, and he held out the short-sword, the wind whistling over its blade as he aimed it downward towards his foe's head. The stallion turned upwards, and held both the Ignis and the Glacius above his head, crossing the blades so that his enemy's strike continued to produce sparks that ran along their swords.

The general leapt away from Checkmate, his emotionless eyes showing nothing but steel. Once again, he vanished, only to appear behind the other once more. Checkmate appeared to have anticipated this, however, as he not only managed to block the attack, but was also able to counter the move and strike out towards his opponent.

Deun stepped back, and held the blade forward so that its point was lined up with Checkmate's chest. "Your skill with those blades is excellent, particularly given how you only just recently received Illia... or the Ignis, I should say. However, I must say that you have missed something very important in regards to our battle."

Checkmate lowered the blades for just a moment. "And what is that?"

He let out a gasp as Deun vanished once more and appeared behind him, shoving Checkmate to the ground and holding the short-sword to the back of his throat. "Never lower your guard around your opponent."

"Ch-Check!" Rainbow gasped, taking a step forward, before Dusk reached out a hoof and blocked her from going any further.

"This is their fight," he noted, gravely. "We cannot interfere, as much as we would like to."

Rainbow grit her teeth, but stared up at what was occurring before them.

Deun shook his head, his eyes and voice still showing nothing. "As I said, your skill with a blade is excellent, but your technique is unrefined. It truly is a shame; your skill is meant to be swordplay, is it not? You trained for eight years to bring an end to all of this, did you not? Then why is it that you cannot best me? Why is it that you would fall for such an amateur mistake in our duel?"

Checkmate let out a gasp, Deun's foreleg trapping him against the blood-stained platform. He reached to the side to grab the Glacius, which had fallen along with him, but he could not reach it.

"After so many years of practicing, the most you have been able to produce is simply this? Wendigo would end your life within mere minutes, whether-or-not Dusk joins you in your fight, and whether-or-not your allies are able to fight, as well. Your talent is swordplay, but your best is to be felled before you can even reach your goal. A pity."

And then, Checkmate did yet another thing that Rainbow Dash would never forget: he began to laugh. It was quiet, certainly, but it was laughter nonetheless. "You... you really think that?" he asked, gasping again.

"What do you mean?" Deun asked, cautiously.

Checkmate let out another gasp of laughter, his voice somewhat stifled against the platform. "Ha... my talent is swordplay... I wish it was. It would certainly make everything so much easier. Let me ask you this, Deun: I got this sign after Wendigo knocked me out cold and left me to die, right...? Why would I get a talent sign for failing to do something? Unless I got it for something else, of course."

Deun seemed unconvinced. "Truly? And what would that happen to be?"

Checkmate smirked. "Strategy."

He immediately rolled to the side and out of Deun's hold, grabbing the Glacius as he did so, and leapt up. He pointed the blade at Deun's throat, but let the Ignis on the ground before him.

"Never let your guard down during a battle," he echoed, his face now neutral.

"Perhaps I had underestimated you," Deun admitted, his voice oddly cold for one who had a sword to his throat. "But nothing more."

Everypony who was watching seemed to be in complete shock at Checkmate's recent action. Rainbow, for one, had never even once suspected that his talent sign represented anything except for swordplay. How could it, given how excellent with a blade he was? If it hadn't been for him outright saying then-and-there -- or the fact that he'd never once actually claimed it to be his ability to so easily use weaponry -- she would never have believed it.

Deun, however, did not appear even remotely surprised by this revelation, instead immediately vanishing after he spoke. The general reappeared behind Checkmate once more, the stallion turning towards him to block the strike again. The stallion's eyes flashed as he struck back towards his enemy, blades meeting in the air as sparks poured forth.

Silver and blue blades crossed, their owners seeming swept into their dance as they countered, struck, parried, and blocked. If it hadn't been for the fact that the two were silent as they fought, Rainbow Dash could have mistaken the moment for when she had watched Checkmate's duel against Wendigo.

"Alright, I've got it," Twilight said, and the others looked over to her once more.

Dusk simply smiled, slightly, but turned his attention back on the two figures as they fought. Rainbow followed his gaze, knowing that watching Checkmate and Deun fight was more exciting than watching Twilight perform magic.

And that's when every windigo around them became opaque, including Deun, who seemed to ignore it as he and Checkmate fought, the latter now dodging and countering his blows perfectly. The other windigoes, however, reacted with cries of shock and terror at the revelation that they were no longer intangible.

Rolan looked over himself for just a moment, before glancing over at Twilight. "Say, what spell's that?" he asked, surprisingly calm (or not surprising, given that he was Rolan). He stepped over to the book, as Twilight opened it up to the last page and showed him. "Huh, 'Take Away the Intangibility of Nearby Windigoes...' I'm guessing it's temporary?"

Twilight nodded. "It's only for a few minutes, but it should do the trick."

"What 'trick' is that?"

"Take a look for yourself." She pointed up towards Deun, who only then seemed to notice the fact that he was no longer transparent.

The general looked over at Checkmate. "You have intriguing allies," he mused. "However, nothing more than that. I can already see your reasoning behind this magic; you attempted to distract me, yet I am not one to break my discipline." He held the short-sword out towards the stallion. "I believe it is time that we bring this to an end, do you not?"

"Right," Checkmate replied, "but there's one thing that you're wrong about: I don't have intriguing allies. I have intriguing friends!"

Before Deun could react to his statement, Checkmate ran forward and grabbed the Ignis off of the steel. He inverted his grip on both swords, and jumped as he stabbed them both into the platform, sending himself high into the air. Checkmate then replaced his grip on the Glacius...

... and stabbed the blade directly into Deun's back.

Everypony in the area, once more, let out a gasp of surprise at what had just transpired. The windigoes, especially, all let out cries of shock and terror as their general had been pierced by his foe, and as he crumpled to the ground. The eighty soldiers began to shout, their eyes now affixed to the ponies around them as they readied their weapons.

Checkmate stepped away from his opponent, and lowered the Ignis and the Glacius to his side. "Deun," he stated, calmly, "it's over."

The general attempted to stand up, but only managed to barely hold himself upwards, coughing as blood ran across his chest and from the corner of his mouth. Even in that state, his voice remained strangely neutral. "Y-yes," he gasped, "you are right..."

He looked to the side, his head barely moving, before he coughed again. "All of you... lower your weapons."

The soldiers did as they were told without even a single complaint, all eighty of them listening to their general even as he lay in a pool of his own blood.

Rolan stepped onto the platform, and walked up next to Checkmate. "Why would you do this, Deun? Why would you go so far for Wendigo?"

Deun coughed. "Is it not obvious?" he gasped, still managing to keep his eyes and voice like steel even as blood trickled from the corner of his mouth. "The creatures of Darkfrost suffer every day... they toil in the mines, or must force their efforts into keeping the sky dark and filled with agony, all to sate the hunger of a monstrous king... When Wendigo stole the throne, I was but a child, a private in the royal guard, and one who was of no note... I... despised seeing those around me suffering in such a way, so I worked to become stronger... I hid away my emotions... I trained until my hooves bled... but eventually it all paid off."

He coughed again, as the pool below him grew larger. "Wendigo took me as his general... the one who was to ensure that the creatures of Darkfrost did not disobey his laws... and I accepted his proposal. I claimed responsibility for everything that would happen to the windigoes around me... that they were my soldiers... and that I, as their general, deserved to suffer for them... I did whatever was possible to keep them safe, and alive... even if it required my own pain..."

But killing Checkmate would not have changed anything! Khaza shouted, as she appeared from the Glacius. "Why would you try and stop him, instead of just letting us through? If we could kill Wendigo, then-"

"And that is the problem..." gasped Deun. "What... would you truly think, in my position...? I've seen... hundreds of creatures try, only to all die... in the end... Even you, Khaza, must know this..."

Khaza lowered her head, not bothering to meet Deun's eyes.

And what of yourself? Illia appeared before them, standing beside Khaza. "Had you slain Checkmate, all that would have come would be the deaths of millions at the hooves of Wendigo, not even beginning to mention what he could possibly accomplish with the aid of the Zephyr."

Deun nodded, although it was barely noticeable. "You are right..." he replied, "but... in the case that... that the Zephyr was nearly completed, I was fully... prepared to take matters... into my own hooves..." He slowly raised the short-sword, the meaning behind his words clear.

Illia nodded, her eyes filled with sorrow. "I... I see."

"Checkmate..." Deun said, looking over at him, "you are strong... stronger than I, at least... I have confidence that you... that you can beat Wendigo... But... I have a request." Without waiting for a response, he continued. "Please... make a world where an action such as mine... must not be taken... One where a creature must not feel the... the need to destroy their life... just for the sake of protecting those they love... is not necessary... A world where there isn't... just hatred, but... but love, and fear, as well... Perhaps I am wrong... perhaps it is impossible, but I do not wish for a creature to have to do as I did... solely to protect those they care about... That is the world that I want to see... no matter how long it takes to see it..."

Lieutenant Fryn took a step forward. "G-General...!"

"As for all of you... I have an order..." Deun coughed once more, blood still dripping onto the platform. "Until Checkmate... can defeat Wendigo... you are all to evacuate as many ponies from Darkfrost as possible..."

Aero joined in. "General, that's...."

"That... is my last order as your general."

The windigoes around them went completely silent, and all of them nodded, before they vanished into the air around them.

Deun looked towards Checkmate, and nodded. "Now go... you said that you wanted to kill Wendigo, didn't you...? Then go... I'll be waiting when you get back." When the group looked unconvinced, he touched the bloody platform, gingerly. "These wounds are... not as bad as they appear to be... I'll live..."

Checkmate simply stared at him for a moment, before he nodded, and turned away. "I'll see you when we're done," he said, quietly, as he began to walk away.

Everypony looked at the wounded general for just a moment before they began down the path before them, and towards the titular Hellgate Mines once more. None of them looked back, as they all walked, their eyes on either the road in front of them or the ground.

Two creatures, however, had chosen to stay behind, while the others walked onwards. They hadn't looked back, and didn't seem to notice that the two had disappeared. Applejack was one, while Rolan stood as the other, who only stayed because he noticed that she had. The two had climbed onto the platform, but refused to look directly at the general before them.

When she was sure that the others were out of the range of hearing, Applejack looked down at the metal beneath her hooves, not wanting to meet Deun's eyes.. "You… you're not gonna be here when we get back, are you?" she asked, her voice quiet.

Deun coughed, struggling once more to rise. "No… my wounds are too great." He gingerly touched the area where Checkmate had stabbed him, only to wince in pain. "Ha… I won't survive for long, I assure you both of that."

"Dammit, Deun," hissed Rolan, "why the hell would you lie about something as serious as that?!"

"How do you think that… any of them would have responded… knowing that my blood was on their hooves? Their morale would… be shattered… like ashes in the wind." He looked up, his eyes meeting the cloud-covered sky as tears began to form in them. "No… Wendigo must be stopped, regardless of the circumstances… He must… not be allowed… to continue with this monstrous evil that he has performed…" Deun then turned his gaze on Rolan, and -- for the first time in centuries -- smiled. It was oddly calm and peaceful and seemed to cover his entire face with joy. "Rolan…"

Rolan blinked. "What?"

"I know that… that you'll make a fine new king of Darkfrost…"

"Wait, whaddaya mean by that?" Applejack asked. "Can't a windigo only become a king if they're made a…" She stopped, her eyes filling with realization.

Deun nodded, and looked over to her. "Three days ago, Wendigo… he finally named the creature who he wanted… who he wanted to succeed his rule of Darkfrost… The name he chose was-"

"Mine?!" Rolan finished, shock filling his face. "But… why would he…?!"

"I… cannot answer that," responded the general, still struggling to push himself upwards. "He told me nothing of the matter. But I… was the only one who he confided that information in. I do not understand it myself, yet…" He coughed again, flecks of blood hitting the area between him, Applejack, and Rolan. "Something has been odd about him, recently… Again, I cannot quite describe it, nor can I describe what he told me before I came to battle with Checkmate Vigarde…"

Applejack looked over the bloodied general, attempting to keep the tears hidden within herself. "Wh… what did he say?"

"… 'Deun… do not die.' He told me that… in the case that my life was threatened… I was to retreat…"

Rolan took a single step back, clearly attempting to process the information that he just been told. "But that's… that can't…" He turned away, placing a hoof on his chin as he did so. "But… could that mean that he really hasn't…?"

Deun turned to Applejack, staring at her for a long while. "You… are the one who kept Rolan here… correct? The one who… who realized I was lying?" After she nodded, he continued, "What is your name…?"

"Applejack."

"Applejack…? It was a pleasure to meet you… and thank you for allowing Rolan to learn the truth…" Deun turned his head towards the ground. "However… this is it, I'm afraid. I… can already feel the ice of the Glacius… throughout my body, and I have not much time left before I… I succumb completely…" With a great amount of effort, he raised one of his hooves into the air. "Go… Do not concern yourselves with… my fate… I am a windigo… I shall be reborn, eventually… All that I ask is that, when I am… the world that I am born into --" he coughed again "-- is better than the hell… in which we are currently living…"

Rolan stared at him for a short while, before he nodded. "I promise that I'll do everything in my power to make a world like the one you want possible. No, I'll make it a reality if I can." He looked towards Applejack and nodded. "C'mon. Let's get back to the group before they notice we're gone. And Deun… farewell."

Applejack said nothing, instead taking one last look back as she and Rolan began to step down from the platform, and watched as ice began to slowly cover Deun's body as his eyes slowly closed, sending the general into the embrace of death. And there, where the general of the windigoes had once been, there now stood a massive statue of ice in a pool of blood, pushing itself upwards and towards the sky, a strangely peaceful look in its eyes.