A Game of Chess

"Don't any of you realize just how irritating you are?"

Checkmate stepped into the chamber, noticing that it was nearly identical to the one in Solace. However the stones that made up the area were lighter in color, and the platform was surrounded by ice and water. The walls seemed to glow with an etherial light, leaving the chamber entirely illuminated.

Wendigo stood at the edge of the platform, facing away from him. "None of you seem to understand just when to give up. First, you got away from Darkfrost, but you couldn't just live out a normal, peaceful life... No, you had to go about and be a Chronos-damned hero, didn't you? I never should have allowed Khaza to interfere, and I should have just killed you that day. But no, I let you live, and you became nothing but a thorn in my side! Everypony in Darkfrost began to proclaim you as some sort of savior, that you were going to end my reign. And you did nothing to contradict these proclamations... you just took them, and ran with the idea that you were going to save all of these foolish creatures."

Checkmate raised the Ignis and the Glacius. "... Wendigo," he started, "is it true... what Rolan said back there? Did you really-?"

"Save your breath, Checkmate. You'll need it for later." Wendigo let out a deep sigh, still facing away from Checkmate. "I told him to not interfere, that he would only walk down a path towards misery and pain! But he didn't listen... and now we're here because of it." He turned his head downwards. "Well? You want me dead, don't you? Then why bother with this useless drivel?"

Checkmate nodded. "You're right," he admitted. "I do want you dead, especially after all of the destruction and pain that you've caused --" he paused, contemplating his next words "-- but I want to know the truth more than that. I want to know why this is all occurring as it is."

Wendigo chuckled, although it sounded almost tired. "Truth? What truth is there for you learn?" He turned, slowly, his face and rage-filled eyes coming into view. "Well? What truth do you desire, eh? You want me to spout a load of crap? Give you my damned motive?!" He began to visibly calm down, looking away from his foe. "I don't really have one, to be honest. I do what I do because I can, and I continue because it's fun."

"Stop lying," hissed Dusk's voice as he walked up beside Checkmate. "Tell us the truth!"

"There is no truth!" Wendigo screamed, and his eyes widened before he stumbled back, clutching at his head. "U-ugh, dammit... sh-shut up..."

Dusk stepped towards him. "No, there is a truth, and you're hiding it away! Say it, damn you!"

For but a second, Wendigo continued to clutch at his head, looking as if he was in agony, before he stood up tall. For just a second, Checkmate could have sworn that his eyes changed; it wasn't anything highly noticeable or anything drastic, but they seemed to alter for just a brief moment. "... Say the truth? Ha... how absolutely stupid of you, Dusk... I would, but that route is no longer available to me." He began to laugh -- slowly, quietly at first, before he broke out into a loud, fast, and utterly psychopathic scream that echoed throughout the chamber.

Dusk's eyes widened in horror. "Th-that laugh...! That's...!"

"It's hilarious, isn't it? I thought if I left you be as Khaza told me, you'd eventually realize just how stupid you all were, and you'd give up on this disgustingly idiotic farce of yours! But you... you're like some sort of plague, never leaving me be! And I'll show you... I'll show you just who I am, just how I became so powerful, just how I became a damned god! And in order for you to understand my might, I'll just have to give you both an upfront demonstration!"

Wendigo proceeded to smash one of his hooves against the ground as ice began to gather at the entrance to the chamber just as the others ran towards it, all being stopped by the frost that coated the area.

"Check!" Rainbow shouted, smashing her hoof against the wall, her voice somehow audible past the thick ice.

Valice grit her teeth and slashed at the ice with her daggers, only for the blockade to remain. "Dammit!"

Wendigo's smirk was replaced on his face. "Ah, perfect... you get to have your friends watch whilst you die! And this time I won't simply let you go! You may have convinced me before, Khaza, but I promise that I'll tear your little friend into pieces, and then I'll shatter the Glacius and the Ignis into dust and let the wind carry them into the depths of Hell!" He raised Conviction into the air, his eyes setting on Dusk. "And you desired death, Dusk... a death that I shall now provide, and that your so-called 'immortality' shall not allow you to escape! I will watch the two of you squirm as your souls are burned into the Zephyr for all of eternity!"

Checkmate raised both swords up once more. "Alright, Dusk, this is it!"

Let's give it all we've got! Khaza shouted triumphantly, and let's kick Wendigo's flank down to Hell where he belongs!

Likewise, Illia began, formally as always. Our shared pasts mean nothing based upon the present we now face. The Wendigo who Khaza and I once knew is now dead, and this monstrosity is all that remains. Let us bring an end to this destruction, and restore the peace of the world once more!

Dusk grimaced, unsheathing Constellation. Flames began to lick the blade of the massive sword, with Dusk's own body beginning to alter because of his magic. "This will be our last duel... this is the battle for the souls of everypony who has had to suffer at the hooves of this wretched tyrant! Raise your blades, and this shall decide the fate of all who live in Darkfrost... Equestria..." His eyes flashed, almost knowingly. "... No, this is for the entire world, so let's make it count!"

Wendigo stepped towards them, Conviction in his right hoof, and a new smirk on his lips. "It's time for the lot of you to die!"

Wendigo lunged towards the two, both of them dodging to the side of his strike. The obsidian dagger seemed to nearly slice through the air of the cavern as the lord of Darkfrost turned his gaze on Checkmate, slashing downwards with the wretched weapon in an attempt to end his foe. Checkmate quickly raised the Glacius -- now shimmering with a powerful determination -- and used the blade to block Wendigo's attack.

The Ignis's crimson-orange blade glinted in the light as it approached the tyrant's throat, only narrowly missing its intended target as Wendigo leapt backwards, placing himself between both Dusk and Checkmate. The duo exchanged a quick glance before they ran towards the king of Darkfrost from front and back.

Wendigo quickly turned his body, barely avoiding Constellation's burning blade, before he swiftly blocked Checkmate's strike with Conviction. "Ha! Is that truly the best you can muster, Vigarde? Do you want to see your precious world die?" he taunted. The smirk fell from his face as the Glacius's blade reached forward and slashed under his left eye, causing the white blood of the windigoes to drip from the small wound.

Checkmate pulled both blades back, admiring his work. "Not quite," he replied, his voice strangely calm even as excitement ran throughout him.

Wendigo wiped the blood away, his face filled with anger. "Annoying little brat!" he hissed. "I think you need a lesson in manners!" He swung downwards on the last word, Conviction's dark tip aimed directly for Checkmate's heart.

Checkmate matched his strike with the Glacius, striking once more with the Ignis from the front whilst Dusk aimed towards Wendigo's left. The tyrant leapt to the right, dodging both blows and turning his gaze back towards the mercenary, and slashed the dagger towards his newfound prey.

Dusk raised Constellation over his head, its massive blade acting as a natural shield against Wendigo's thrust. He pushed the blade towards his enemy and forced him to stumble backwards due to the sheer force of the shove. Checkmate instantly went in for the kill, holding the Ignis and the Glacius forward as he rushed towards Wendigo's right side.

The tyrant's eyes flashed in rage as he turned to the side and dodged yet another strike that would have inevitably ended his life had it connected. He touched the wound beneath his eye and winced, his teeth grit in pure, unfiltered hatred towards the one who had caused its existence. However, just as soon as the anger appeared, it was replaced with something else entirely, which Checkmate could not quite place.

"Ha... you're strong, I'll give you that much," he admitted, his breaths seeming somewhat shallow and pained. "But -- unfortunately for you, Checkmate Vigarde -- strength and determination aren't enough!" Wendigo then slammed his front-left hoof into the ground, causing ice to ensnare the legs of both Checkmate and Dusk, and holding the two in place as the weapons fell out of the wielders' hooves.

Checkmate was sent to the ground, and felt the wind become knocked out of him as his chest slammed into the stone. The image was all-too familiar, but this time, Dusk was in the same position: bound to the earth, and unable to move even slightly due to it. "U-ugh, dammit..." he gasped, panting for breath.

Wendigo let out a sigh as he walked up to Checkmate and placed Conviction under his chin, forcing the stallion's head up. "Y'know, that's what annoys me the most about you, 'Check'," he said mockingly, the smirk having returned. "You think that just because you have the 'determination' or the 'drive' to stop me that you can. But all that you're doing is just digging yourself deeper into Hell, along with the idiots who you roped into this." He removed the blade from its place, but ran it along Checkmate's cheek slowly. "You wanted to protect 'em, right? Well, what did you think would happen if you failed? I'd just send them all back to Celestia, maybe have a little party, show up at your funeral, some crap like that? Please. Life isn't that simple, I'm afraid."

Checkmate let out another gasp, Conviction's blade now on the recently-stitched wound that ran down his back. "And since you seem to have thought -- or think, I guess, based on that stupid look in your eyes -- that you could stop me... Well, let's pretend, shall we, that you manage to beat -- no, kill -- me. What'll happen, then, in that case? You think that Darkfrost'll be all sugar, candy, and rainbows? That its populace will forget millennia of torment, torture, and death? Ha! Your naiveté is absolutely adorable, don't you think, Dusk? Of course you do, based on that cheery look you're giving me." Wendigo laughed, pulling Conviction away from Checkmate's back, and replacing it under his chin. "And your friends, too." He cast a glance towards the entrance, the smirk on his face slowly growing, and looked back at Checkmate. "No, this damned place'll just continue to suffer, and they'll suffer for centuries more.

"After all, you can't just put a bandage on a wound like this. Yeah, killing me'll boost morale, but what good is that when none of the freaking townsponies can so much as walk? Or the pegasi that can't fly? Or maybe the unicorns who can't cast even the most simple of spells?" He laughed, and looked over at Dusk's broken horn, fully revealed due to his mane being pushed out of the way. "See, you'll do nothing but make 'em all a bit happier -- at first, but then you'll just plunge them all into a hell more wretched than anything I could have ever dreamed of!

"The ponies of Equestria will fear and mock them for their differences, which will lead to resentment and bitterness. How long, then, until that sprouts into full-on hatred? Civil war, destruction, death... that's all you're gonna lead these pathetic, worthless creatures towards by killing me, whether you like it or not. And that, Checkmate... that is the 'truth' of my actions, because even if I die, the world still suffers beautifully!"

He broke down laughing, then, standing tall as he continued to hold Conviction to Checkmate's throat. His eyes gleamed with a mad desire -- but, again, something else seemed to live in them that the stallion could not quite place.

Rage filled Checkmate, his teeth grit as he felt the dagger beneath his chin. Every time he fought, the situation always ended with him on the ground or in some other such wretched situation. During the battles with the jadetails, the antlion, Hecatoncheir, and every single time his blade had ever crossed with Wendigo's, he had needed somepony to save him, to help him up when he could not stand.

And that infuriated him more than anything; more than the dagger at his throat, the smirking monster above him, or the fact that he couldn't even walk. He was the one who was supposed to protect them -- he was the reason that they were putting themselves into such terrible positions, after all -- but he could do nothing but lay in the dust as they struggled to keep the journey going.

"Y... you..." he gasped with some of the air that his lungs allowed him to hold. "Y... you're..."

Wendigo met his eyes and chuckled. "Wrong? See, there's another thing about you that annoys me... you never listen to anything I-"

"No... you're right," Checkmate managed to choke out. He coughed onto the ground before breathing in deeper to speak once more. "Yes... the creatures of Darkfrost are weak... and... and yes... putting them into a position like... that could be... be catastrophic..."

Wendigo stopped, his eyes seeming to change slightly, although the wretched smirk still remained. "Then why bother to fight it?"

Checkmate grit his teeth, before he slowly pulled himself upwards, standing on legs that shook from pain and tiredness. He coughed again, and breathed deeply in an effort to keep himself steady. "Because no matter what... what hell they are forced to endure..." He met Wendigo's eyes, his own burning with defiance. "It will never be as wretched as what you have caused them to live in! Maybe it will take centuries... maybe millennia... but I'd rather have them take that first step to freedom than... than live in this damned place forever..."

"Ha! How hilarious! Do you really think you can help them?" The dagger was still against Checkmate's throat, unwavering from its location. "All you'll do is lead them to their deaths, no matter whether I'm involved or not. Face it, Checkmate, this world is going to die, and you with it!"

Checkmate's eyes flashed. "Shut up! I'm sick of this... of you spewing all of this bullshit!" He closed his eyes, and quickly moved his left foreleg upwards, a sickening cracking sound emerging as he cried out in pain. His shoulder had been dislocated by the action, but the ice had been torn upwards as well, detaching his leg from the ground. "I... don't give a crap about... anything you... say... because I'll... do whatever it... ugh... takes to... stop you...!"

Wendigo took a step back in surprise, gritting his teeth but saying nothing.

Checkmate reached to the side, his hoof gripping the handle of the Ignis as its heat caused the ice to melt from it. Although he was in terrible pain, Checkmate still moved the Ignis over to his other legs, choking back sobs of agony as he did so. The ice melted from them, and he dropped the Ignis to the ground with a gasp. "Because... no matter how long it takes... this damned rule of yours'll come to an end, and these creatures... they'll all know the freedom that... that they long for...!" He reached over with his right foreleg, moving his left shoulder back into place with another cry of pain. "And that, Wendigo... that is the truth!"

Wendigo took yet another step backwards, his eyes wide. However, that look soon vanished, leaving behind that same face that he always wore, the smirk regrowing. "Ha... how foolish..." He looked over to Dusk, and slammed a hoof into the ground before the ice vanished from around his legs. "Well, then... if you're so determined, then why don't you show me your so-called 'truth'!"

Before Checkmate, Dusk, or anypony behind the wall of ice could respond, Wendigo lunged forward once more, Conviction gripped in his right hoof as he hurried towards them, that wretched, maniacal grin stretched over the entirety of his face.