A Game of Chess

Four blades crossed in the chamber of ice. One was a dagger of obsidian, its blade designed to curse those who fell by it to an eternity of agony and destruction. The second was a blade with a blade like ice, its own curse one that forced the dead to shatter into shards of frost. The third was one -- a twin of the second -- with a blade like fire, which caused those felled by its edge to become ash.

And the fourth, as it swung through the air, seemed to dominate the others. Checkmate could not even begin to describe the level of power with which Dusk wielded Constellation, flames dancing across its blade as it struck towards his hated foe.

Wendigo's eyes flashed as he raised Conviction high, blocking the strike from the massive blade with the thin dagger's edge. The tyrant's smirk widened as he pulled his weapon back, his eyes dancing with a foul joy. "What's the matter, Dusk? I thought that you were a damned expert in swordplay! Don't tell me that you're so weak that you can't even cut me?" He swung out with a terrifying swiftness that most certainly did not fit his size. "C'mon, now! I thought you were supposed to be a god, or did you lose your strength due to that bitch's intervention?! Show me your power! Let me delight in your strength!"

Dusk dodged backwards as Wendigo's blade sung through the air, thrust towards his heart. Checkmate quickly ran to his side, pressing his back against Dusk's. "Dammit," he hissed, "I knew Wendigo was strong, but this is...!" His words were cut short as Wendigo struck from on high, causing him and Dusk to both dodge to the side in an effort to avoid the culling blade.

"Ridiculous, I know," Dusk growled, raising up Constellation to his face. "It's as if his power's been multiplied tenfold!"

Wendigo's eyes glinted as he spun Conviction in his right hoof. "Oh, come on. Surely you two can't be giving up? What the hell happened to that 'I've gotta save everyone' crap that you were spouting earlier? Did you think that just 'cause you've got a few new fancy weapons, you have a chance against me? Ha, how delightful!" He rushed towards them, shouting as he did so, "If you want to save Darkfrost so badly, then you'll have to do better than that!"

Dusk hurriedly blocked the strike with Constellation, causing flames and sparks to burst from between the two blades as they crossed from the sheer velocity of Wendigo's speed. "Dammit!" he growled, trying to push his enemy back. "This... how can this be possible?!"

Wendigo simply laughed, his eyes boring into Dusk's. "Oh, you know fully well, Dusk!" He laughed again. "As I said: I'm superior to these damned creatures! Chronos, Hatred... and yes, Dusk, even they are all beneath me! Khaza, Rolan, and even you could not stop me! Nobody can stop me!"

Checkmate grit his teeth, clutching the Ignis and the Glacius so tightly that he thought their handles would shatter beneath his grip. He had a clear shot for Wendigo's back, and knew when to take the shot. He pulled himself back, and his gaze between the tyrant's shoulder-blades.

He let himself loose then and ran. His hooves were quiet on the cavern floor, the sound not even echoing across the brightly-lit walls, with the lights instead shining on the two blades that he held, causing them to reflect across the area -- the ice, the walls, and even the area beyond the blockade all shone with a brilliant mixture of red and blue light.

However, just as the Ignis was mere inches from Wendigo's spine, the foul god turned, blocking both at once with Conviction. He said nothing, but his eyes spoke for him, showing only a depraved, monstrous delight in having seen his enemy fail so utterly.

Checkmate let out a gasp as Wendigo quickly pushed him back before turning and dodging Dusk's strike, placing the two of them before him once more. "Come, now! Is this truly the best that you both can muster? What a shame --" he let out a sigh, before running a hoof over the side of his head "-- because it's here that you'll both die!" He instantly lunged again, eyes filled with that same depravity.

Dusk's reaction was immediate, using Constellation as a shield once more, before he dodged back, and let out a sigh. "... I was hoping that this would not be necessary, but I suppose that I'll have to use up a bit more of my energy for this moment."

Before anypony could ask what he meant, Dusk's eyes flashed. The mercenary held out Constellation, both Checkmate and Wendigo watching in fascinated shock as the blade began to alter once more; light from the walls began to coat and enter the blade, mingling with the fire, as well as himself. The result was that the blade glowed like the stones on the walls with a soft white light, but also burned red with the inferno that now seemed to have engulfed it.

Wendigo stumbled back, a strange amount of fear showing in his eyes for the first time. "T-Two?!" he cried, watching Dusk  as he stepped forward. "That's... that can't possibly...!"

Dusk smirked slightly. His coat had become an odd mixture of light-tan and orange, with both colors appearing to have mixed together, and his mane had become a strange light-auburn. "Unfortunately, that appears to be the truth, Tyrant," he spat, holding Constellation forward. "Your elements -- they're wind, ice, and darkness, if I recall correctly. Three elements at once would be impossible to hold for so long, but two? I believe we can end our duel in due time in that regard, do you not agree?"

Wendigo grit his teeth, eyes darting over to Checkmate. "It makes little difference! The end result will be the same!"

As soon as he spoke, Wendigo turned and struck out towards Checkmate, all of his energy placed behind Conviction's edge. Checkmate quickly blocked the strike by crossing both the Ignis and the Glacius in front of him, but the force behind the attack sent him sliding backwards until he stood with his back to the lake of ice. He let out a gasp as he held the blades up once more, struggling to stand tall even as his foe loomed over him with a wretched look of triumph in his white eyes.

"And after that speech of yours, too, you still are just backed into a corner," Wendigo taunted. He held Conviction in front of him, its tip placed at Checkmate's forehead. "Sure, you've grown far stronger than you were when we dueled here last, Vigarde, but what difference does it make? And Dusk, I would advise you to relinquish your grip on that sword, or your friend here might be... well, you know."

Checkmate's gaze moved past Wendigo and to where Dusk stood behind him. Already the mercenary appeared somewhat drained of his energy, likely from the alteration, and seemed to be having difficulty standing.

"Ha... life's funny like that, isn't it? You work so long, spend so much time doing something, only to watch it fade away in a flash of light." Wendigo pulled the dagger away and looked over it. "Sometimes you have everything you could want: friends, family, creatures who care for you and respect you... but then, one day, something worms its way in -- an idea, a monster, anything -- and refuses to let go. And then everything you've worked for... everypony you've ever cared for --" he grit his teeth, looked Conviction over once more, and tightened his grip on its handle "-- they all fade away... Ashes to ashes; dust to dust."

Checkmate grit his teeth, trying to ignore the threat of death that now loomed over him once more. His grip on both of the swords only tightened as he looked for an opening. Behind the tyrant, Dusk nodded at him, still trying to stand tall.

Wendigo sighed, and looked away. "That's all that life it, Checkmate... so what makes it so worth living to you?"

"I'm... not sure," Checkmate responded, shakily. "At least, that's what I would have said eight years ago... then, I didn't know what I wanted. I wasn't sure why I even bothered to live. All that I wanted... all that I desired... was vengeance for the deaths of those I cared about. My mother, my father, my sister, and Khaza... I just wanted to take you down because of them." He stood tall and lifted the Glacius. "But now... now I know just what I really want out of life. I have a world that I want to protect, and friends and creatures who care for me and want me to go living."

Checkmate's eyes flashed as he swung the Glacius towards Wendigo's head. The tyrant quickly blocked the strike with Conviction, leaving him staring into Checkmate's eyes. "And I will not let you hurt them." Checkmate swiftly cut across Wendigo's left foreleg with the Ignis, forcing him to turn opaque. "Dusk, now!"

Wendigo's eyes widened as he turned around quickly, but was too late to stop the blade from entering his chest. Constellation's blade shown with fire and light as it burned into Wendigo's abdomen, leaving the tyrant to stumble back in horror as the blade remained trapped in his body. The strategist simply looked over the brutal display, and added:

"Checkmate."

Wendigo choked, continuing to stumble back until he was just above the pool of ice. "N-no... that can't be...! Ch-Checkmate...! I-it was supposed... to... be..."

And without another word, the lord of Darkfrost -- the wretched tyrant who had made so many creatures' lives hell -- fell to the ground, his life collapsing into the dust where he now lay.

Dusk stepped over to the corpse and unceremoniously wrenched the blade free of his chest. "It's over," he stated simply, and looked to Checkmate. "Can you believe it? Twenty-five-hundred years of this bastard's rule... and it all ended with a few short words." He reached down, then, and grabbed Conviction from the ground next to Wendigo's hoof and picked it up. "Such a small dagger... but such a disgusting weapon. Do you want it?" he asked Checkmate. When he shook his head, Dusk merely shrugged and placed the dagger into his bag.

Checkmate shuddered, stepping away from the corpse. "Hard to believe that nopony else came this close, isn't it?"

"Hard to believe," Dusk echoed quietly. He looked away from their shared enemy, and nodded towards Checkmate. "Come, let's be free of this wretched place; I don't desire to stay here any longer."

"Agreed."

As the two prepared to leave, however, Checkmate was tackled by a familiar figure. "That was awesome, Check!" Rainbow Dash declared, before noticing that she'd knocked him to the ground. "Oh, uh... s-sorry about that..."

"Don't worry about it," he replied, and smiled. "Right now I'd rather be tackled than gutted, so..." He shrugged, and looked over the others. "I... sorry I ran off on my own there."

Rolan looked over at Wendigo's corpse and grimaced. "It's not a problem," he replied, "but I can't help but feel that... no, it's nothing."

"Yeah, besides," Valice added, stepping up to him, "that was pretty cool towards the end there. How'd you learn to dislocate your own shoulder, anyway?" She poked it tentatively.

Twilight stepped over to him as well. "Guys, I think we should wait to ask Checkmate these questions for a while; he looks a bit tired."

Checkmate chuckled. "Tired? Now that's --" he paused, and felt his face grow pale "-- D-Dusk!"

The group instantly turned towards their companion, who now lay passed out on the cavern's floor. His colors had returned to normal, and Constellation now lay in the sheath on his back. Although he seemed to be rather uncomfortable -- given the circumstances, that was only natural -- his eyes seemed almost peaceful.

Valice grimaced. "So... who has to carry him out of here?" When she was greeted with a rather awkward silence, she continued, "Well, I guess I'll have to." She hoisted him onto her back and grimaced. "Ugh... Dammit, this bastard's heavy... must be that freaking sword of his..."

Twilight grimaced. "Can't you just... change into a stronger form or something?"

"You don't know anything about changelings at all, do you?" Valice muttered, still evidently trying to not get crushed under Dusk's weight. "Just 'cause I can take a stronger looking-form doesn't mean it makes me any stronger... it's mostly just aesthetics..."

"Well, in that case..." Twilight lifted Dusk from Valice's back, using her magic to suspend him in the air. "I probably won't be able to teleport him with that sword of his, but I should be able to get him out of here like this."

Valice grinned, cracking her shoulders. "Ah, thanks for that, Sparkle," she responded. "That's a load off my back, figuratively and literally."

Checkmate grimaced, and looked back at the corpse of his fallen enemy. "... Um, can we just get going?" he asked. "We can talk later, but I just want to get out of here, and away from --" he gestured towards the broken and bleeding body of Wendigo "-- that."

"Right," Rainbow said, looking away from the corpse. "Let's... let's just get outta here."

"One last thing, if none of you mind," Rolan said, stepping over to them. He looked over the group, the two blades that shone, and Dusk, before he added: "Everything here today, and over the course of the past week -- it was all thanks to you guys. You guys fought well, and hard, and did everything all for the sake of Darkfrost -- no, Snowfall. So, tonight, I've declared that we're going to celebrate, and we're going to have the greatest celebration we can!"

Pinkie grinned, nearly exploding in joy. "Yes! It's time for me to throw the greatest 'We-Just-Saved-The-World-Again-Time-To-Kick-Back-and-Relax Party' ever!"

Rarity smiled. "Well, there is no sense in letting these creatures wait, now is there? Come, let us all be off, and give them the good news!"

And so, with the victory over his greatest foe under his belt, Checkmate Vigarde departed from the icy cavern with the rest of the group, the odd fourteen leaving behind the corpse of one of the most monstrous creatures in history, and the nightmares that had since been arisen by his evil.