A Game of Chess

Epilogue

Several dozen ponies had gathered at and around Shadowed Night's tavern, celebrating the occasion with tears, laughter, and joy. The lights that adorned the building -- placed by Pinkie herself -- shone with a wondrous brilliance beneath the night sky, the moon hanging over it all.

For the first time in millennia, the sky of Snowfall was clear, allowing light to pass through to the earth below.

Night passed out another round. "C'mon, you lot!" he shouted jovially, "it's on the house tonight, so drink up!" He levitated a glass over to the counter and placed it down. "Huh, you're drinking a lot less than normal, Heatwave," he observed. "Are you feeling alright?"

The pegasus -- if he could even be called that anymore -- chuckled, bringing the glass up to his lips. "I've got no real reason to drink now, do I? Ha... I can't believe that kid did it..." He drank the liquid slowly before he lowered it and wiped his mouth. "Then again, I guess that his 'hope' paid off, huh?"

"Yes, indeed," Night replied, smiling sadly. "I... I guess I should feel happy, right? Then why do I feel like there's this hole in my chest...?"

"Death's a funny thing like that," replied Heatwave calmly. "No matter what happens, it's something that remains forever. All the lives lost for that bastard's Zephyr... None of 'em will ever come back, but there's no use in grieving when we can just look to the future." He nodded to his friend. "Listen -- I know that it hurts, but you'll have to move on. I mean... what would White Shadow say if he saw you like this?"

"You're right," Night said, and he looked away. "I can mourn, but life will just have to go on. But, until then... I think I may want to grab some of these." He poured himself a glass, drinking it in one gulp, before looking over at Checkmate, who had only just approached. "Huh... what about you, Checkmate? Do you want anything?"

Checkmate shook his head. "Sorry, I've never really been one for alcohol. It hasn't been much use in fighting off Wendigo, after all..." He took a seat on the stool next to Heatwave, looking him over. "You're not wearing your cloak?"

The pegasus shrugged. "What's the point? It's not that cold anymore. Besides," he added, "I don't have any reason to hide these. They're a part of me, even if I do despise them." He ran a hoof over the mangled lumps on his back.

"Fair enough," Checkmate said, before he glanced towards the area a few seats over. Valice and Dusk sat, the former being the one who spoke as a group of ponies surrounded them.

The changeling hiccuped, placing a glass down on the counter behind her. "And then Checkmate wash all, 'Shtop shpewin' your bullshit!' or shomethin'. Whatever it wash, it wash sho badash!" She hiccuped again and giggled. "He jush' shtood up and beat the crap outta that shtupid ol' bashtard!" She giggled again, raising her hooves into the air as she told her story.

Dusk turned to the counter before letting out a sigh. "I will never understand how one gets so inebriated due to one glass of liquor..." he muttered and rubbed his temples.

"One glass?" Heatwave raised an eyebrow. "Is that even possible?"

Dusk grimaced. "Evidently."

"Huh."

Checkmate scanned the crowd, looking between the ponies who had been crammed into the small area. Among them, he could see Pinkie Pie -- dancing to the music that she had somehow brought out of thin air -- and Rarity -- who stood among a group of ponies all clad in cloaks, offering them tips on fashion.

It was an odd feeling, Checkmate thought, that so few of the ponies were actually there in the area. He already had his suspicions of the others, but decided to investigate regardless.

"Alright, I'm going to head out. I'll see you in a bit, Night," he said.

He stepped down from the stool, pushing through the crowd of creatures who seemed intent on thanking him and shaking hooves, managing after several minutes to finally exit the tavern and enter the outside world.

Checkmate looked up towards the sky. It was truly strange to see it so bright and clear, with the moon hanging over it and the stars of the night sky shimmering in the distance.

He turned aside and stepped around Night's tavern, his hooves cracking the ice and snow that coated the path. He was in no hurry, and for the first time in his life, Checkmate walked comfortably, not feeling the necessity to check around the area for any potential enemies.

And, as he stepped into the village's plaza, he saw exactly what he expected to view: Twilight Sparkle, Applejack, Fluttershy, and Rainbow Dash all stood, their eyes affixed to the statue of ice before them.

Checkmate walked over to the others, joining them. "... I knew I'd find you all here," he mused, before touching a hoof to the side of the statue. It was cold, as to be expected, and felt rather rough and irregular.

Twilight looked away. "I can't believe it..." she said quietly. "Is this the price that we had to pay in order to beat Wendigo...? We should have stayed... Celestia, we should have stitched up his wounds, at least, o-or something..."

"Ah know, sugarcube." Applejack shook her head. "Ah don't know what to say, but... Deun's dead, and we can't change that."

"Dammit..." muttered Rainbow Dash, "he should have said something, at least! We could've helped him, and we just left him here to die..."

Checkmate grimaced. "At least none of you were the ones who acted as the executioners. Deun was right... I can't imagine that I would have been able to face Wendigo knowing that I'd done this." He stepped back, and continued to look over the statue, before he slammed his hoof into the platform, his teeth grit. "Dammit! Too many lives were stolen for this... Deun's..."

"... Asgard's..." Twilight continued, "and Hecatoncheir's, even... I can't believe that anypony would go this far..."

Rainbow Dash looked over at her. "What do you mean by that?"

Twilight flushed, and looked back at them. "It's... it's nothing. I'm just talking to myself." Everypony simply continued to stare at the alicorn, not believing her claim. "Girls... er, guys, don't worry about me. It's nothing important."

"Ya sure 'bout that, Twi'?" Applejack asked cautiously. "Seems like somethin''s eatin' you up."

Twilight gulped and grimaced. "It's just something Dusk told me about last night, and... Really, you guys don't need to worry about it."

Fluttershy looked over at her. "I... are you sure you're feeling okay?" she asked, her voice as quiet as ever.

"You look a bit pale," Checkmate observed. "Maybe you should just get some rest. It's been a tiring day for everypony. I'm amazed that Dusk's even conscious right now, and Valice is probably passed out in the tavern..."

Rainbow nodded. "Yeah, it has been a pretty long day... and watching you fight always seems to make me a bit tired." She yawned as if to emphasize the point. "Oh, yeah... how long do we have 'til the shield around Equestria drops?"

"One week," Twilight noted, before yawning as well. "Sheesh, I guess I am a bit tired... We'll have more time to talk about this stuff tomorrow, I guess."

Checkmate smiled mischievously. "Not quite."

"And, uh... why's that?" Applejack asked, her voice ripe with suspicion.

"I signed us up to help out with the repairs tomorrow... and wednesday, thursday, friday... we'll probably spend all of our time for the next few days fixing this place up."

Rainbow stared at him for just a few moments, her face completely flat. "Check?"

"Yes?"

"Did I ever tell you how much I hate you?"

Checkmate looked over at her and grinned. "Yes," he replied. "Just last week, actually."

Rainbow Dash opened her mouth as if to respond, but no words came out. After a few seconds, however, she was able to speak. "Well, last week feels so long ago now."

"Yeah," Twilight mused, "and today feels like it's gone on for months." She placed her hoof on the statue once more. "And Deun... I still can't believe that it was only a few days ago that we met him out in the desert on our way to Solace."

"Or that we only met Wendigo less than a week ago," Fluttershy added. "It's weird when you think about it..."

Checkmate chuckled. "And we only knew Dusk and Valice for three and two days before they revealed who they really were... Time's a weird thing." He looked down at the platform once again. "To think: we did something in a few days that ponies have been trying millennia for."

The five ponies stood in silence for a long time, simply gazing at the general's corpse before them, the ice that encased him, and the blood that had splattered on the platform.

Checkmate finally said, "Eight years of my life have gone into achieving this, and now that it's all over, I don't know what I should do." The others all turned their heads to look at him, and he continued. "Twenty-three years of my life were stolen because of that bastard, and because of everything he stood for... but what should I do, now that it's all come to an end?"

Rainbow Dash grinned. "You could always move into Ponyville," she offered. "I'm sure that Princess Celestia could use a good strategist."

Checkmate smiled wearily. "I suppose," he noted. "I think... that such a peaceful place as that would be wonderful. Maybe I can finally put everything behind me."

"Maybe," Twilight echoed quietly, before she turned away. "Well, if that's it, and we're going to have to wake up early tomorrow, I think I'm going to head to bed. Or maybe," she added, suddenly sounding very excited, "I can start looking over some of this magic...!"

As soon as she was out of sight, Rainbow Dash yawned once more. "Yeah, I'm gonna hit the hay, too. G'night, Check."

She and the others said their farewells, before they left Checkmate alone, and staring quietly at the statue of ice before him. After a time, he turned away, and began to step away. "Deun," he said quietly to general's corpse, "goodbye. And... thank you."

"Ugh... dammit... Why does my head hurt so much...?" Valice complained, holding an icepack up to her forehead. "And what the hell happened last night, anyway...?"

Twilight grimaced. "If it means anything, we found you passed out on the floor of Night's tavern."

Valice groaned and slammed her head into the sign in an effort to quell the pain. Naturally, it only made it worse. "Remind me to beat the crap out of Checkmate later for making us do this..." she muttered, using her other available hoof to hold the paintbrush steady.

"Why does this job take two ponies, anyway?" Twilight asked, looking over their work as she moved the paintbrush to and fro. "It seems like it'd be fairly simple..."

Valice groaned again, and picked some snow off the ground to cover her head. "Would you rather be lifting those girders with the others...?" Even hungover, her wit hadn't dulled in the slightest.

"Point taken," Twilight said.

She stepped away from the sign, admiring their work. In neat, even letters was spelled out:

Lux

-- Where the Light Shall Always Lay --

"Heh, that looks pretty good," Valice said, temporarily forgetting the splitting pain in her skull. "Odd name, though."

Twilight looked over at the changeling and nodded. "Yeah. Rolan came up with it last night. He said it was meant to symbolize the light that Dark... Snowfall now gets." She tapped her chin thoughtfully. "Huh, I wonder if all the other towns'll have to do this."

Valice gulped and winced in pain. "Ugh... I hope not. This freaking headache is killing me..."

"No, not with our --" Twilight stopped, and sighed. "Forget it."

"I'm just amazed at how calm you are now," Valice observed, attempting to ignore the pain. "Just yesterday you wanted me dead... or are you just trying to be nice?"

Twilight flushed and looked away. "I... It's like I said: I don't forgive you for what you've done, but you just seem so... normal, I guess. I've been finding it hard to remember that you even are a changeling at this point..."

Valice grinned. "That's because I like this form better."

Twilight cocked an eyebrow. "Really? Why wouldn't you --?"

"I think you can answer your own question, Sparkle," Valice responded. The pain in her head seemed to recede somewhat, and she let out a small sigh of relief. "Honestly, I hate the fact that I'm a changeling. Everywhere I go, ponies would fear me, or hate me, or... or anything as long as I would use my natural form." As if on cue, the telltale green flames appeared around Valice's body, causing her to take on the insect-like form of a changeling. "It's the same rap that windigoes and sleipnirs always get. Windigoes feed on hate, so they must be evil, and sleipnirs feed on fear, so they must be evil, too. And changelings? We may as well be monsters. Especially me, since I'm so close with Chrysalis."

Twilight lowered the paintbrush, staring at the creature before her with pity in her eyes. "But that's not true!" she said. "You saved Pinkie Pie, y-you..."

"I attacked Canterlot," interrupted Valice. "The rest of that crap doesn't matter. I could have rescue Celestia herself and ponies would still hate me. Changelings are just despised, and that's why I hate this damned body so freaking much..." The flames consumed her once more, and the red pegasus stepped out of them. "Heh... Isn't it funny? I can change my identity all that I want, but I'll never be able to escape..."

"I understand," Twilight said quietly.

"No you freaking don't!" Valice snapped, only to feel a sharp pain in her head. "Ugh... Sparkle, until the day that everypony fears you, hates you, thinks that you're some Chronos-damned, Love-damend, and every-other-god-damned monster... that is the day that you'll understand."

Twilight looked away, but said nothing for a long while. After at least three minutes of awkward silence, the alicorn nodded. "C'mon," she said, "let's go and... and tell Rolan that we're done."

Valice didn't reply verbally, but simply nodded. She pressed the icepack against her head, attempting to stifle her groans as she and Twilight returned to Lux with as much alacrity as they could muster, given the circumstances.

The next several days passed methodically, like clockwork, leaving only one day until the barrier that blocked Equestria was set to recede.

In the time that it had taken, Snowfall had completely transformed. Gone were the houses formed of rotting wood, with new, well-structured ones having taken their place. The jagged, irregular path had been uprooted and replaced by a simple road of dirt, and the platform in the town's plaza had been scrubbed clean of blood and death.

The buildings still had no windows, but there were plans to purchase several panes of glass from Equestria following the barrier's demise. Eventually, it was said, everything that was so horrendous about Wendigo's rule would be broken down, with the major remnants of his evil being displayed in the mutilated ponies who lived in Snowfall.

However, there was one other piece that was to be remembered of the tyrant's rule: a single large statue of steel and iron, depicting the great general, Deun, who had died in a sword duel with Checkmate Vigarde, an eternal reminder of the lives needlessly lost due to Wendigo's foul regime. The statue itself was placed on the massive steel platform, while the real corpse lay in the chamber of the Glacius, still frozen due to the sword's power, and would likely remain frozen forever. It had been a burial requested not by Rolan, but by Khaza, who claimed that Deun deserved a tomb as grand as that.

Meanwhile, Wendigo's corpse had mysteriously vanished. None of the windigoes seemed to care, however, and the common thought on the matter was that it was simply either a graverobber who stole it or a pony who burned it and scattered the ashes. Either way, the ponies of Snowfall were too preoccupied with renovating the area and adapting to the world outside of the darkness to care about Wendigo's body.

And Checkmate was too concerned with watching what was to ensue next.

"So, who do you think'll win?" Valice casually asked him blithely. "My money's on Khaza."

"Are you kidding?" Checkmate smirked as he looked over at her. "Rainbow Dash could fly circles around her."

Applejack grimaced. "Either way, Ah'm just hopin' those two ain't gonna get themselves hurt... This thing could be brutal."

Rolan grinned, looking over at the farmer. "Ha! Are you kidding? That's part of the fun!"

In front of them, near the entrance to the mines, Rainbow Dash and Khaza were crouched and staring ahead. The former had a confident, almost-cocky smirk on her face, which the second seemed to reflect with gusto.

"Ready to get your flank kicked?" Khaza asked her opponent.

Rainbow laughed. "Oh, c'mon, we both know who's really gonna win this thing."

Illia, who stood between the two of them, let out a sigh. "However did you manage to force me into this game...? Ugh, it's unimportant, I suppose..." She coughed, before she looked over the two contestants. "Very well, in five... four... three... two..." She paused, appearing to savor the moment. "... One... go!"

The were off instantly, and Checkmate watched in awe as the two flew at such breakneck speeds, Rainbow Dash leaving a technicolor trail behind her while Khaza seemed to rip through the wind itself. The two appeared to be almost perfectly matched, flying perfectly beside each other as the wind attempted to shove them backward.

Fluttershy jumped into the air, seeming far too excited for the events that were occurring. "C'mon, Rainbow Dash!" she shouted, drawing the surprise of everypony around her with the exceptions of her five friends.

"Yeah, take her down!" Scootaloo hollered, waving a small technicolor flag that Pinkie Pie was handing out (along with white and blue ones for Khaza. All that Checkmate wanted to know was where she got them from).

Rolan whistled. "C'mon, Khaza! I know you're faster than she is!"

"Brutal is right," Dusk deadpanned, stepping up to Valice and Checkmate. "I'm interested to see how this plays out..."

The two racers had rounded the final stretch, both coming in for the last move, when Rainbow Dash suddenly stopped. Instead, the pegasus had begun to rapidly fly down as if attempting to gain speed.

Dusk's eyes widened. "Chronos, she's not seriously..."

"I... I think..." Valice mumbled, before she saw the telltale signs of the wind forming around Rainbow Dash's body. "Everypony, get down!"

Without any hesitation, every creature gathered in the area jumped to the ground as a massive, earsplitting crack resounded about the area, followed by a large ray of rainbow light flying in every direction from its source.

Checkmate looked up just in time to see Rainbow Dash flying at a simply absurd speed pass by Khaza, through the area, and on to victory.

A loud cheer resounded throughout the area as the mare landed, gracefully, followed by Khaza.

"Huh," the windigo mused, "you're better than I thought you'd be. Nice job."

Valice smirked. "And," she remarked dryly, "let it be known that a sonic rainboom is faster than the freaking wind."

Rolan let out a disappointed sigh before he leaned back against a nearby house. "Ah, well," he said, "better luck next time, I guess. I've gotta say: I didn't expect Rainbow Dash to pull another sonic rainboom. I guess I should've, since that was how she got you out of here, Checkmate."

"I guess so," Checkmate breathed, still in shock at the display.

"Well, that's that," Dusk responded. He looked over the group and nodded. "I suppose this is farewell. The barrier around Equestria is lowering... but I'm afraid that I would not be welcome there."

Twilight cocked her head slightly. "Wait, why not?"

Dusk simply smiled sadly. "Let's just say that... No, that would not be the correct thing to say. To put it simply, I just do not expect that the princesses would be too excited to see me once more, and because you are all going back there now..."

Valice nodded. "Yeah, the same's true for me. I... I don't think that Celestia or Luna or Cadance, especially, would really like to see me right now. Thank you guys for this, though. These last few days have been a lot of fun, and... well, if I can turn Chryssy's mind, I hope I get the chance to see you guys again."

Checkmate looked between the two. After several seconds he nodded, and sighed. "So... I suppose that this is goodbye?" he asked.

"For now, at least," Dusk mused. "Life is a funny thing, Checkmate. Perhaps, someday, we shall meet again, but I cannot say for sure. It mostly depends on how long you live," he added.

"And I'll see you guys when I get the chance," Valice said. "But, until then, I guess I'll just have to get back to the Mercury Springs and tell Chryssy that the enemy of love's no more."

Pinkie sighed. "Darn it," she said, attempting to keep the tears from leaving her eyes. "I hate having to say 'goodbye'! It's always so sad, and bad... and makes me so un-glad!"

"Well, then," Dusk said. "I guess you'll love saying 'hello' if we meet again, right?"

Pinkie sniffed. "Y-yeah, I guess..."

"Then we will."

Checkmate smiled, and looked over the two creatures. Certainly, he had not known them for very long, but he felt like he knew them well enough. Regardless, it still saddened him to know that they were leaving. "Well," he said at last, "it was fun while it lasted. Dusk... Valice... thank you both so much for everything you've done. Thanks to the both of you, Wendigo has fallen, and Snowfall's been made a better place for everypony."

Twilight nodded. "Yeah," she said, "and Dusk... thanks for what you told me the other night. About... um... 'them'. I'll make sure I put the information to good use if I can."

"I'll hold you to that," the mercenary replied. He turned away and said, "Very well... Twilight, Checkmate, Valice... all of you... farewell, and I hope that your days are many."

And without a single other word, the strange stallion simply stepped away until he vanished over the horizon.

"And what about you, Sparkle?" Valice asked, turning towards Twilight. "What are you gonna do now?"

Twilight looked over the faces of all of her friends -- Rarity and Sweetie Belle, Applejack and Apple Bloom, Rainbow Dash and Scootaloo, Fluttershy, Pinkie Pie, Checkmate, and Spike -- and placed her gaze back on Valice.

"I'm going home."