A Game of Chess

Checkmate awoke with a start, quickly sitting up in the small bed. His back felt odd, as though it had been sewn shut, and he had barely any energy in him whatsoever.

He turned as if to try and exit the bed, but let out a gasp as a wave of pain ran through his spine. The stallion's vision was blurred, slightly, and the lights around him ached just to look at. So, naturally, he just chose to lay back and close his eyes.

Where was he? He knew, for a fact, that he had been rescued from Wendigo, but by whom?

Then, he heard a voice. "Oh, you're awake!" it was obviously feminine, and sounded familiar. "Thank Celestia for that... You were out for three days, and..."

Checkmate tried to speak, but his tongue was too dry, and was stuck to the roof of his mouth, forcing him to let out another gasp as his answer.

"Hey, are you alright?" the voice asked again, but Checkmate couldn't see who was speaking. "Oh, right! I'm sorry. I guess you're pretty thirsty... Here."

The stallion felt a small canister of water touch his mouth, and he drank. His throat burned as the water ran over it, but he didn't care. It tasted surprisingly good, and he felt his voice beginning to return.

At last, he was able to speak once more. "Where... am I?" his voice was still slightly raspy, but it sounded far better than it had beforehand. Which was, to say, that he could speak.

"We're at Carousel Boutique," the voice replied. "Rarity's home, remember?"

"Rarity's..." that was right, the white unicorn. Of course he remembered, but still, this voice was bothering him immensely. He knew it. He'd heard it often, but his mind was so muddled with tiredness and pain that he couldn't think of who it belonged to.

"Yeah," another voice, somewhat different, said. "We've been lookin' after ya for the past couple-a days."

"Indeed," yet another voice added, although it was more prim and proper. "We had to make sure that you were alright. Even Princess Celestia herself sounded worried when we told her the news of your run-in with that ruffian."

"Ruffian"? Did she mean Wendigo?

"Who's... there?" Checkmate found himself asking. He knew those voices, but he couldn't put them to any names...

"C'mon, Checkie!" Came a fourth voice, almost playfully. "Open up your eyes and see the sunshine!"

At last, the stallion was able to force his eyes open, the light shooting into them and causing them to burn. And, yet, he allowed his eyes to adjust as he saw the seven creatures surrounding him. That was when Checkmate realized that, while his cloak no longer covered his back, his hooves still were wrapped in their cloth.

"All of you..." he whispered, his voice returning to its normal state by this point. "Why are you here?"

Twilight Sparkle, who had been talking to him the whole time, stepped over to the bed. "We wanted to help you, Checkmate," she replied. "Rainbow Dash told us everything. About Wendigo, Darkfrost, the windigoes... and we told Celestia about them, as well."

"You know everything...?" Checkmate whispered, again. This was too much for him to process in one sitting. These ponies and the dragon had all come to help him.

Rainbow Dash looked away. "Sorry, Check," she replied. "I'm just... I had to tell them. It was the only way that they'd believe me."

The stallion looked her over. "You... you saved me... But... how did you know...?" his mind immediately found the answer. "Rolan... What did he tell you?"

"He told me about how much harm Wendigo's done," the cyan pegasus replied. "And... also about how your family..."

"Checkmate, I'm so sorry," whispered Twilight. "I wish that I'd known about all of this beforehand... I could have helped, and..."

"That's why I couldn't tell you," the stallion replied, and the seven stared at him in surprise. "If anypony from Equestria knew of my plight, I knew that they'd want to help me... and... I couldn't let that happen."

Pinkie Pie jumped on the bed, placing her face just inches away from Checkmate's. "Why not, Checkie?" She asked. "I mean, all that it would take would be for us to aaalllllll get together, and then blast Mr. Meany-Face with the Elements of Harmony! And then, he would've been like 'Agh!", and we'd be like 'Yay!', and then he'd be like 'Nooooo!', and we'd all be like, 'Yeeees!'" She was using hoof motions the entire time, somehow making that last statement into a semi-coherent splatter of words.

"What... Pinkie means, is..." Rarity interrupted, "we would have been more than happy to help you stop Wendigo. After all, as the Elements of Harmony, we would be able to stop him with the power of friendship, and you wouldn't be in this state."

Checkmate let out a single, barking laugh, and the seven jumped in surprise. "It's a nice thought," he admitted, "but... it's impossible. Wendigo can't be hurt by magic of any kind, whether it's friendship or raw power."

"How does that work?" asked Twilight, cocking her head. "I mean, nopony is resistant to magic naturally, so how could Wendigo have that much power?"

"There's much you all have to know," replied Checkmate. "And... do you desire to know it?"

The nod was almost unanimous, with Fluttershy being the only one not to do so.

"Very well," conceded the stallion. "Wendigo was born - or, rather, created, as windigoes are - 3,000 years ago, approximately, in Darkfrost. It's said that he used to be... almost, normal. Quiet, calm, and friendly to those around him. That is, until he was around 500..."

"What happened then?" Applejack asked. "Ah'm curious."

Checkmate nodded. "Around the age of 500 years, Wendigo's heart, it's said, began to freeze. He turned cruel and sadistic, slowly at first. A murder here, an execution there... But none know the true cause for his transformation into becoming such a monster. Just that, along with his change in personality, he also gained power. Power enough to kill the old king, take Darkfrost for himself, and turn it into a vile nation, filled with anger, bitterness, and hatred."

"So none know what caused this change?" Twilight asked.

The earth pony shook his head. "None. There's a theory, however, that there was something that... interfered in his growth process. Those in Darkfrost call it the 'Catalyst', something that caused a massive shift in Wendigo's personality. Some say that it's a demon that wandered the world five millennia ago, and others claim that it was the combined bitterness and hatred of our kind. None know for sure, as I said. The Catalyst, however, is believed to be the true cause of all of this destruction and chaos. But, again, it's but a theory. Albeit a theory that ponies in Darkfrost cling to, in hopes that, perhaps, Wendigo is just being manipulated and that he'll change his ways eventually."

"The Catalyst..." Twilight whispered, softly. "What a strange name... But... it's just a theory, right?"

Checkmate sighed. "None are certain. All that we know is that Wendigo kills indiscriminately. He doesn't care whether or not his prey is a child or an elder... All that matters to him is that he wins. Personally, I don't believe in this 'Catalyst'. It's foolish to blame Wendigo's changes on something else, when it could just as easily be that he grew up in a hostile environment."

Rainbow Dash nodded at this. "Yeah. When I saw that guy, he gashed Check's back open after freezing his hooves solid. I don't think that there's any justification for his actions."

"Agreed," Rarity mused, "but that's beside the point. Checkmate, you say that Wendigo gained an immunity to magic, correct?"

"Yes," replied the stallion, "and that's the next part of the story. Wendigo had taken Darkfrost for himself, turning it into a hellish, wretched place. My village, the Hellgate Mines, stood as its capitol, so the bastard spent most of his time there. You can imagine, I'm sure, that the ponies weren't overly satisfied by being violently tortured every day. So Chronos, the original ruler of Equestria, stepped in, making a deal with Wendigo: In return to giving fifty percent of Darkfrost's ponies over to Equestria in order to become citizens. In exchange, Chronos gave Wendigo a magical barrier that blocked any-and-all attempts at striking him with any sort of magic. This includes, of course, the Elements of Harmony."

"How could he give that monster a barrier?" asked Twilight. "That sounds absolutely... just... I don't even know how to describe it."

"To be fair to Chronos," mused Checkmate. "Wendigo had already killed Equestria's strongest warrior: Chronos's son, and Celestia's brother."

It took a while for this revelation to sink in. "Wait..." whispered Applejack, "are ya tellin' me that this 'Chronos' was actually Princess Celestia's...?!"

"Father?!" Finished Rarity, in shock, "but that would mean that he is Princess Luna's father, as well, correct?"

"Was," Checkmate corrected. "Chronos died centuries ago. And I suppose that you can all guess who killed him?"

Twilight grit her teeth. "Let me guess," she muttered. "His name was 'Wendigo', wasn't it?"

"Yeah," the stallion replied. "Isn't it amazing what happens when you give a sadistic windigo - who's already immune to most physical attacks - an immunity to all types of magic, as well? Chronos didn't survive for more than a week against Wendigo, which was the second longest battle the bastard fought in, next to Celestia's brother."

"How do ya know all this?" asked Applejack. "Ah mean, there's no way that ya've been alive fer so long."

Checkmate sighed. "How could I not?" he asked. "This was one of Wendigo's favorite lessons... that he was so powerful, that even an alicorn king couldn't stop him. He enjoyed watching us lose all of what little hope we had. Next to, of course, his personal favorite..." As he said this, he began to unwrap the cloth from his hoof, but left it there, regardless.

"Well, we know that we can't fight Wendigo with magic," Twilight murmured, "so how do we beat him?"

"I," corrected Checkmate.

"What?" Twilight looked surprised.

"How do 'I' beat him," Checkmate replied, "because I refuse to put all of you in danger."

"But that's not -!" Rainbow Dash started.

"Be quiet!" The stallion shouted, and the entire room fell silent.

Checkmate sighed. "Listen to me: None of you can fight Wendigo. None of you can touch him, even. Only the Glacius and its twin, the Ignis, can damage that bastard. No matter what any of you try, Wendigo is absolutely impossible to kill by conventional means. Magic doesn't work. Physical attacks don't work. Nothing works, save for, again, the Glacius and the Ignis."

"Well, we're not just gonna do nothing!" Rainbow shouted. "If you go to fight Wendigo again, then you'll just be killed."

"Don't you think that I understand that possibility?!" Checkmate shouted, slamming his hoof into the covers of the bed. Once more, the seven jumped back. "I have to take this journey by myself. Wendigo is already looking for me, and the windigoes will kill anypony who tries to help me along the way!"

Silence.

"Don't you see, yet?" Checkmate asked, quietly. "I was greeted by Wendigo's general, Deun, last night. He told me that the bastard announced a 'royal decree' that forces any windigo who meets me to kill me, and anypony who travels alongside me or aids me, or else Wendigo will kill them. Rainbow Dash is already in danger for having Wendigo see her back in Darkfrost, and he could have followed her back here to Equestria!"

The cyan pegasus in question shifted nervously. "Um... Check? I wanted to talk to you about that... It's about that sword - you called it the 'Glacius', right? - um... is it possible that the sword is, well, alive?"

Checkmate stared at her for a few seconds. "It's a sword, Rainbow Dash. I'm fairly certain that it's not alive..." he tensed as soon as he finished that statement. "Wait... why are you asking me that...?"

Rainbow continued to shift from side-to-side, as she said. "Well... I left it back in Darkfrost after I grabbed you an flew off - I didn't realize how important it was - but... when I returned to Ponyville, after I had Rarity and Twilight fix you up, I found it up in this room..."

Again, there was silence, as they processed this information.

"That's..." Rarity started. "How could that possibly be?"

Checkmate grit his teeth. "Wendigo did send Deun after me," he muttered. "Looks like I've got less time than I thought..."

He stood up, and attempted to exit the bed, but stumbled as his hooves hit the floor, dropping the cloth onto it. Immediately, Rainbow flew and grabbed him, supporting his body.

"You're in no condition to leave!" She said, angrily. "You need more rest... Oh, Celestia! Y-your hoof!"

"Like I said," whispered Checkmate. "Wendigo's personal favorite lesson. How did you think I could hold a sword?"

He knew just what his hoof looked like. From experience, he knew that it was wretched; The flesh inside of it had been cut out, leaving what could best be described as a "lumpy bowl shape". Certainly, it was awful, but the reactions of everypony else surprised him greatly. They stared at it with such disgust that one would assume Checkmate to be the worst case of Wendigo's torture.

If anything, he was the best.

"Oh, Celestia," Rainbow repeated. "How could Wendigo do something like this...? Come on, Checkmate. You need more rest. Now."

"I haven't the time for 'more rest'," the stallion replied. "Wendigo could have already found us, and if that's the case..."

"Then wouldn't he have killed us by now...?" The voice was quiet, and terrified, and Checkmate looked over to see that it was Fluttershy, the most silent of the group, who had spoken. "I... I mean..."

"That's a good point," Twilight mused, "If Wendigo does know about us being in Equestria, then why hasn't he sent his forces after us?"

"Because he's planning something big."

The eight in the room looked towards the source of the new voice.

"Rolan?!" Checkmate cried. "Why are you here?"

The windigo looked throughout the room, at the shocked faces of the ponies, and grinned. "What, did you expect me just to leave you be, Checkmate? You're quite a bit too important to the windigoes who aren't Deun and his soldiers for that."

"You're Rolan?" Twilight cocked her head, slightly. "How'd you find us?"

"Simple," replied the windigo. "I just followed Deun back here. The Dream Channels are easy to follow, if you know the right routes, and it was easy to locate you based on the fact that you spoke with Luna last night. Unfortunately, that applies to a certain heartless bastard as well."

"So Wendigo has found us..." Checkmate muttered.

Rolan sighed. "Yeah, unfortunately," he said. "He's planning to attack Equestria at a time that it wouldn't expect anything."

"When?" Twilight asked, cautiously.

The windigo stopped, for just a second, and swallowed. "Tonight."

"During the Winter Gala?!" the alicorn cried.

"Yeah. Wendigo isn't exactly known for his courtesy," Rolan growled, "but let me tell you this; that sword, the Glacius? None of us windigoes touched it after Checkmate fought against the bastard. It just vanished on its own." He glanced away, and Checkmate suspected the Rolan was hiding something, but didn't press it any further.

"How is that possible?" Rainbow whispered. "I mean, swords don't just teleport on their own, right?"

"Of course they don't," Checkmate said. "One of Deun's soldiers probably placed it here or something. But that isn't the point, now, is it?"

"'The point'?" Rolan asked, cautiously.

"Yeah. The point," said the stallion. "The point that every windigo who meets me is supposed to kill me, right? Then why aren't you...?"

The windigo smirked. "Please. I could care less about what Wendigo thinks about me, and considering how us windigoes just become 'reborn' after our death with new personalities, I shouldn't worry about dying. After all, I'm not about to betray a friend just to save my own metaphorical skin. Sorry to disappoint you, Checkmate, but back to the matter at hoof."

"He's right," mused Rarity. "Despite the fact that he may be a windigo, Checkmate trusts him quite a bit. And so, with much regret, I, too, shall place my trust in this... gentlecolt."

"Much obliged, my lady," said Rolan, mockingly. "If none of you trust me, I don't exactly blame you. I am a windigo, after all. But, as I was saying, Wendigo is planning to attack tonight's gala at roughly midnight. He doesn't plan to kill anypony, as that would destroy his plan to keep out of war with Equestria. See, Equestria is loved very much by several kingdoms around here, and attacking it would draw every nation into war against Darkfrost, and there are enough weapons that can kill windigoes to cause him trouble if that happens. No, he's gonna be much more careful. After all, there's only one pony that he's after right now."

"Me, I presume?" Checkmate asked.

"Precisely," the windigo replied. "He's going to the palace, either way, but he's going there alone. There will be no general, no soldiers, and no other windigoes there. Why, you may ask? Well, the answer is simple: Wendigo's going to threaten Celestia with death unless she hands Checkmate over to him, but he's never going to follow through on that promise for the reasons that I just stated. The instant that you're handed over to Wendigo, he plans to leave Equestria be until the Zephyr is completed. Now, here's where my plan comes in: we already know about Wendigo's attack in advance, so all we have to do is be prepared for it."

"And... how do ya reckon that we do that?" asked Applejack, slowly.

"Simple," there was a twinkle in Rolan's eye, "we give him just what he wants."