A Game of Chess

Deun is dead. Another creature has fallen... all due to your ignorance.

"I know," Wendigo stated quietly. His eyes met those of his reflection's; those eyes that he despised, and hated, and wanted to see blotted out for all of eternity.

Or, perhaps, his ignorance would have been the more accurate statement; did you not order him to flee in the case that he was to find himself nearly dead? Yet he simply stood. What a fool.

Wendigo grit his teeth, eyes dancing with fury at the thing that mocked him from within his own mind. "Shut up," he growled in reply. "Deun fell because I was an idiot. It wasn't his fault... If anything, it was yours. It wouldn't be the first time, either."

... What are you insinuating?

"Perhaps it would do you some good to not blame everyone for your own mistake," he replied. Was he truly going to finish that thought?

Yes, he was. "Maybe, before you look at everyone in existence as the cause of this, you should look to yourself." Wendigo's eyes glimmered. "Don't blame all of us for what you failed to do!"

There was silence, but Wendigo could clearly feel the absolute rage and hatred that the voice was concealing. At last, when it spoke again, it dripped with hidden malice that sent a shiver down his spine.

... Quaternary died because of all of you. Primary, Secondary, Zectao, Solin, Noctus, Abyssin, Diasnier, Verin, Terran... All of you killed her. And so you will all suffer... every calavern and every other damned beast who refused her aid. You'll all rot... and Primary shall be the first to die.

Wendigo shivered once more. The voice -- the Catalyst, it wanted him to call it, even if he knew its true name -- had never come so close to showing hatred as it did in that statement. Certainly, it had occasionally showed emotion, but it hadn't ever been so purely filled with rage, and it had never had such a struggle to keep itself stoic in all of the years Wendigo had acted the part he'd been forced into.

However, in spite of the nervousness that now gripped him, Wendigo pressed on. There was one last bit of information that he needed his inner foe -- or his ally, in a manner of speaking -- to learn before Checkmate arrived; one final piece of knowledge that would change almost everything.

"Perhaps," he admitted. "However, there is something that I think you should know: you recall Chronos, do you not?"

Indeed. You killed him.

Wendigo's lips curved into a small smirk. His legs shook and small beads of sweat ran down his face, not to mention how much he despised himself over Deun's death, but he still held the face of one who was completely confident.

"I'm afraid that piece of information is incorrect."

... What? You are not honestly stating that-

"Of course I am," Wendigo interrupted. "Chronos still lives even now."

That cannot possibly be. You...

"... I tricked you, of course. It was rather simple, to be honest; you're so easy to fool that it's sickening to know that you've lived for millions of years longer than I." He laughed bitterly. "That's not all, you know. See, Chronos -- I told him everything. All about myself, I should say."

You... What have you done?

"Ruined your damned plan, perhaps? While you were off screwing around with Asgard and Hecatoncheir and destroying their lives, I was off letting Chronos know the truth of the matter. Why do you think he gave me that magical barrier, anyway? It's because he knew he wouldn't have been able to kill me, given the circumstances." Wendigo held his hoof out in front of him, as a thin, glassy dagger appeared in it. "And then... more than a thousand years ago, when he and Hatred came to stop me, I let him go.

"Even now -- wherever he is, for even I don't know where he could be -- Chronos knows everything. Well... not about you, of course, but about me."

The voice was silent for a long while, and its rage could nearly be felt from within Wendigo's mind, echoing across the walls of his skull. However, just as soon as he felt its anger, it ended, leaving behind only the emotionlessness and cold rationality that it always displayed.

... And what changes in that case? All that occurs is that a fool continues to thrive.

Wendigo stopped, another chill running down his spine. "Wh..."

Say whatever it is that you desire; you won't change what is to occur. Checkmate Vigarde and his ignorant band of allies shall soon arrive in this accursed chamber, and the lot shall be slaughtered by your own hands. The foolish children's lives shall be made null, and this universe shall fade into eternity's maw. This universe... and every other.

Wendigo grit his teeth. Even though he knew the beast who spoke so closely -- even if he remembered its name, its face, and that cursed deal -- the thought that it could control its emotions so simply was absolutely horrifying. It was almost in the same vein as Checkmate; one who acted the part of the emotionless, yet whose true nature was far from that. "Do you not understand?" he growled. "Chronos knows the truth. He knows-"

Yet can you truly claim that to be any alteration to the events that now take place? Let us entertain the notion that Chronos can convince any of these other equines -- be they windigo, sleipnir, griffon, pony, zebra, changeling, or whatever else may exist -- that such a being as I exists, or that you are but a pawn in my game. What does that truly change? Should I desire, I could simply slaughter every living creature upon the face of this world, and I shall, should the need arise. It should be said that one of the creatures I could slaughter with simplicity would be Chronos himself.

"And Primary would know everything, too," Wendigo replied, through clenched teeth.

Indeed, and that is why I must hide away, and why you must grant me aid in this matter. As I have stated so often: we both desire Primary's head, and I know that you would go to any lengths in order to acquire your vengeance upon the creature who ripped your life into oblivion, just as I wish the same.

Wendigo spat onto his own reflection. "We share the same goal," he admitted, "but nothing more than that. When we have finished this, I promise you that I will end you, regardless of the cost."

Lying is looked down upon, so I have heard. As is the arrogance that you feel the necessity to display, and the ignorance of you and your ilk. Windigoes, especially, are worthless creatures as a whole. What they do is naught but create storms and cold, and feast upon the hatred that you bear with pride. Yet they are hardly the most worthless of creatures in this universe. Indeed, fools such as Checkmate Vigarde -- heroes, the title that they bear -- are no more than fodder for the more powerful of this universe's creations.

"Fodder indeed," Wendigo replied, turning away from the eyes that met his own. "Just as calaverns are fodder for the more powerful beasts of eternity, no? Or how Quaternary was fodder to those who slew her while you just sat by and watched?"

Do not speak ill of her death. Primary is fodder, and Secondary and every other calavern who walk eternity are all lower than even he. The entirety of the calaverns are but worthless, useless fools who know not the destruction that they cause. I, however, shall craft a perfect universe... one of beauty, of wonder; a veritable utopia that shall stretch onward forever, regardless of what I must do to maintain its greatness. One where none must feel the agony that a creature as monstrous as he felt the need to curse me with.

"So I assume that you're supposed to be infallible? You claim that all of us are worthless, but who's the one who has to use all of us because he can't show his own face? The one who has to brainwash a child and ruin him and his brother just to cause a minor distraction in lieu of 'my' takeover? Who forced me to betray my closest friends and claim that I hated them all along?!" The sound of glass shattering echoed throughout the chamber once more, Wendigo's hoof once more having met the ice that now lay broken before him. "I'm not worthless, Catalyst. The worthless one is you."

The voice was silent once more. There was absolutely no noise that came from it, not even its quiet breathing. Instead, the room had fallen into stillness, as though nothing existed within. Wendigo waited, allowing the seconds to pass, but the voice still did not return.

He let out a quiet sigh of relief before turning back towards the entrance of the cavern. After all, Checkmate and his group were liable to soon approach, and he had to be prepared for when the time of his death arrived.

"Come, now, Checkmate..." he heard himself whisper. "Let's see if you can do it... If you can finally bring an end to all of this destruction, and bring this damned thing to an end."

Darkness.

Darkness touched everything, cloaking the world in a place of shadows. The walls of the mine were the color of the night sky, the ground and ceiling darker still. There was not even the gentle light of Dusk's blade to show their way, leaving the group to stumble across the uneven stone in their way.

Checkmate knew the accursed area all too well. While he, personally, had not spend an absurd amount of time in the depths, he had still worked in the darkness of the upper levels on various occasions. Usually after his parents had grown sick and they had not had the money to purchase any commodities. The pain of those memories still haunted him; seeing creatures whose bodies had been literally ripped apart by the machinery, the ones who were devoured by the beasts that stalked the lower levels -- fine when they met that morning, and dead by nightfall -- and those who had been so utterly broken that their very minds and sanity had been stripped away, along with most of their flesh.

Those were the ones who Checkmate feared the most. The ones who had literally nothing left, and who had very nearly lost their own emotions into the maw of the void. Wendigo had taken special care to annihilate all of them in the most gruesome and horrid ways imaginable, adding more terror to the already-increasing pile that existed within him.

That had been part of the reason why Checkmate had gone so far as to hide away his emotions; had he shown them so much as they did, there was a chance -- no, a likelihood -- that his death would have been as disgustingly vile as theirs, and then his flesh devoured.

A chill ran down his spine and he shuddered, looking about the darkness in an effort to ensure that they were not being stalked by any creatures that prowled within the areas where what little light remained did not dare to touch. Nothing was behind them, and nothing in front. Checkmate breathed a relieved sigh, turning his attention back towards the path.

Surprisingly, the others were all completely silent; even the breaths that they took were almost impossible to hear as their hooves carefully and slowly stepped across the uneven terrain. Even the children and Pinkie Pie were quiet, their eyes set upon the darkness that spread before them.

They walked further, hooves touching stone, as the group slowly made their way down the corridor. The Ignis and the Glacius both sat at Checkmate's side, his hooves ready to dart out and grip their handles when the need would arise. Beside him, he could see Dusk, his hoof on the hilt of the massive sword on his back, and Valice, already holding her daggers as she strode.

The silence continued, seeming to nearly echo off the walls and into the black, unrelenting curtain that hung near the wood and stone, as if goading them onwards to see just what lay beyond the shadow.

Eventually, the darkness began to lift, a strange light filling the area as a large chamber was revealed to them; the walls curved upwards, joining into a large dome; the ground was a single long walkway, with ice to its left and right; and there, at the very end was a small staircase, behind which was yet another entrance into a different passage.

The sound of clapping permeated the air, as a familiar figure stepped from the area across the bridge. "I must say, I'm impressed that you all made it so far! I would have thought you all would have been slaughtered by this point." Wendigo smirked, stepping down the staircase with great deliberation. "Well, it's not as if it makes some difference; after all, a group of children can't kill a god, now can they?"

"Do you still honestly think that you're a god?" growled Dusk, taking a single step forward, his hoof tightly clasped around Constellation's handle.

Wendigo laughed. "Oh, but of course I do! After all, I fit all of the criteria, don't I? All-powerful... immortal... and above every other creature in existence."

Twilight's eyes flashed. "You... you are no god! What you are is just a monster!"

"Wow, how very perceptive of you. I really can see just why Celestia took you on as her protégé; you're just as stupid as she is."

Rarity took a step onto the ice, her eyes seeming to blaze with quiet fury. "How dare you claim such a thing of her, you... you..."

Wendigo turned to the side, not bothering to meet any of their gazes. "Because Celestia is just a stupid, ignorant bitch who thinks that the world is hers to play around with. I mean, really! She sent all of you out here on this journey that'll probably wind up with all of you dying, and she didn't even bother to try to come here herself! It's hysterical, really." He laughed once more, before turning his head to face the group. "Don't you all think so, too?"

"Where the hell do you get off pretending to be superior to all of us?!" Rainbow hissed. "The last time I checked, we've mopped the floor with dozens of threats, so what makes you think you'll be any more difficult for us to stop?!"

"Isn't it obvious?" Wendigo disappeared from sight, merging with the air around him. "Because" -- his voice came from behind them, prompting everypony to turn, seeing the cruel figure leaning against the area where they had just entered from -- "I'm superior to all of you. Ponies? Worthless creatures. Windigoes and sleipnirs are even more so, and changelings are the most useless and stupid of all. 'Oh, hey, we devour love, so let's go and try to make everypony hate us!'" He broke down into yet another fit of laughter, clutching at his stomach as he did so.

"You son of a bitch!" shouted Valice, her eyes also burning with pure rage and anger. "I'll kill you myself!"

"How adorable." Wendigo stood tall, his smirk growing. "Don't any of you realize just how powerful I am? I am a god! A god among gods, even! Celestia fears me, Luna despises me, and even Discord is terrified by me! Try as much as you all want; you're not going to be able to stop me!"

"Maybe not," Applejack admitted, "but we can at least try, and we're gonna save every single creature in Darkfrost that we can!"

"Optimistic, too! Or stupid, I can't really tell the difference. Either way, it doesn't  change anything; you'll die regardless."

Checkmate took a step towards his hated foe, drawing the Glacius and the Ignis as he did so. "You're wrong, Wendigo; the only one who will die today will be yourself!"

Wendigo vanished once more, this time appearing back where he had started. "Very well, if you're so ignorant as to think that you can best a god... if you are asking for death... then who am I to deny you the right to vanish into eternity's maw?" He drew Conviction, his grip on it reversed, as his smirk only continued to grow. "Do say hello to Hecatoncheir for me when you've arrived in Hell, won't you?"

Rolan, who had been silent from the beginning of the conversation, began to walk forward, his hooves slowly hitting the stone bridge. "I... have one last question for you." He looked up and met Wendigo's eyes, his own completely calm. "Tell me this: if you plan to kill us, and you despise us... then why did you name me as your successor?"

The tyrant froze, the smirk on his lips completely fading away at his enemy's statement. He opened his mouth as if to speak against the claim, but no sound exited. His right hoof, which had held the dagger, slowly lowered to the ground. "... It matters not my reason. It was simply something that I chose to do... And where did you learn of that?! I only told it to... one..." His eyes widened in horrified realization, although Checkmate thought that he could see something else in them; something that he could not quite place. "Deun..."

"He told me everything; about how you made that decision three days ago... and about what you told him before he was sent to try and stop us. So why don't you tell us the truth about all of this?!"

Applejack stepped up beside him. "And he wasn't the only one, either. I heard them -- Deun's last words -- along with Rolan. So you can't call him a liar 'cause of it!"

"Nnnnn..." Wendigo growled, his eyes darting across the fourteen figures before him, from the youths to Dusk. "No... I... that's... not... I... Ugh!" He took a single step back, before turning and sprinting down the passageway behind him.

"You're not getting away!" Checkmate shouted, as he began to run towards the staircase. He pushed both Rolan and Applejack aside, racing up and into the passage that his foe had since vanished into.

From behind him, he could hear Dusk call, "Checkmate, wait! Do not be so hasty," followed by the sound of hooves crashing into stone from the room that he had only recently exited.

Checkmate did not look back to see who had chosen to follow him, instead focusing his sight on the path onwards. The Glacius and the Ignis both shimmered with a dull light as he rushed towards where Wendigo had fled.