//------------------------------//
// The Game 
// Story: Checkmate 
// by -Mazer 
//------------------------------//

	
His dark eyes watched the horizon for any sign of the Princess’s presence. He was sitting upon an oaken throne, claws clasped behind his back looking, for all intents and purposes, as if he had naught a care in the world, though that couldn’t be any further than the truth. In fact, he couldn’t recall a moment in his life when he was more alert. Perhaps when he faced against his so-called brother, Anarchy, but other than that, he had never felt so awake.
He raised his eagle claw over his head, snapping the index and thumb together to create a glass. He rotated the cup in his claws, smirking as the world bulged and contorted thanks to the cup’s curves. Without warning he shattered the glass, watching as the shards fell from his claws and onto the blackened soil where they transformed into fireflies – literally. Their wings were of glowing embers, their bodies black as charcoal. He watched as they fluttered away into the dark skies. They would cease to exist the moment they flew out of the range of his magic, but that did not concern him. He was tired of waiting and creating meaningless creatures could only amuse him for so long.
He took a moment to regard his surroundings. He had chosen this spot specifically for it held a very special place within his black heart. It was here, so many thousands of years ago, that he had been defeated by a pair of sisters. They had ambushed him, waiting for a moment when he was celebrating his latest victory over their stubborn, foolish ways. Before he had even noticed them, the sisters used the Element of Harmony to banish him into a stony prison.
His claws left deep impressions in the arms of his throne. He would never forget the feeling of complete and utter helplessness as he remained encased in stone. It was maddening…
And it had happened once again, though he blamed himself more than those who actually vanquished him. It was his arrogance that led to his downfall. However it was thanks to his so-called brother Anarchy that he had been able to escape. When Anarchy succeeded in destroying the Elements of Harmony along with the ponies that controlled them, their spell had been broken. He escaped, defeated Anarchy, and vanished within Equestria to do what he did best:
Create Chaos.
A flutter of movement broke his train of thought. He turned his gaze skyward as a smile of curiosity kissed his lips. He was not a spirit who held grudges. In fact, throughout his victories and defeats, he grew in not only power, but in knowledge and while he would love nothing more than to regain control of Equestria, he contented himself with creating chaos on a much smaller scale, thus allowing him to slip beneath the watchful eye of the only pony who knew of his existence.
Her chariot, he noticed, was being pulled by two Pegasus. His small smile grew into a toothy grin as he watched the trio circle the clearing before finally landing off in the distance. He sat up, claws clasped in anticipation for the arrival of his favorite pony.
She came alone, as he had expected, her body hidden beneath a deep blue cloak, her eyes practically glowing with a barely contained fury. He had always enjoyed the relationship he had with this Princess and seeing her again brought him a sick, almost perverse joy. He clicked his claws, summoning a plush chair to appear opposite of him.
“Ah, Princess, it has been far too long,” He purred, his eyes glittering with excitement.
“Discord,” she whispered from between clenched teeth.
“That is my name,” He replied. “Don’t wear it out.” He chuckled at his own joke. “Tell me, Princess, how is your precious little Ponyville? Are things all happy, sappy or has it finally fallen into a state of complete and utter boredom.” He leaned forward, towering over the Princess. “It’s been far too long since I’ve paid your precious subjects a visit. I am sure they could use a little chaos to liven their day.”
“If you so much step foot into Ponyville…” she growled, her eyes flashing a deep purple.
“Oh please,” he groaned while rolling his eyes. “No need to get upset. I swear, Princess, if I didn’t know better, I’d say you were becoming more and more like Celestia by the day.”
“I’ll take that as a compliment.”
He snorted. “You shouldn’t.” He leaned back against his throne. “She was always such a bore. Took things way to seriously for my taste; she really needs to loosen up.” He twirled his claws causing a wine goblet to appear. He swirled the red juice around in the goblet than took a sip. “You on the other hand, you’ve never been boring. I cannot remember a time where I had more fun than when I dealt with you, Princess.”
“Why have you returned?” she hissed, ignoring his lecture.
“Don’t be like that,” He set the goblet upon the air beside him where it stood as if being held up by an invisible shelf. “This is a casual visit. I am here as a friend.” He exposed his teeth in a toothy smile. “Why, don’t you remember all the fun we had back in the day?”
“I remember you turning my home into a floating disaster,” the Princess snapped. “And almost ruining the lives of all those close to me.”
Discord waved the comment away. “All I did was introduce a little fun in your boring, drab lives. If you cannot appreciate my gifts, that’s not my fault.”
“State your business else I take my leave.”
Discord’s smile vanished. “You remind me so much of her its unbearable.” He flexed his paw causing an ethereal yellow glow to encase his fist. The ground between the Princess and Discord began to tremble as a stone tablet rose from beneath the earth. It hovered above the ground, suspended by Discord’s magic. The top of this tablet was polished marble with a checker pattern in its center. “I will state my business, Princess, but only after you join me in one final game.”
Her eyes flashed in irritation. “A game?”
“You do not think that I will just hand over my information to you for free, do you?” He shook his head. “It’s been far too long since the last time we’ve talked.”
“I don’t have time for games,” she hissed.
“Then make time,” he countered. Several figurines appeared upon the checker board; there were eight earth ponies lined up on the second to the last row with a pair of dragons on either side of the last row followed by Pegasus, then Unicorns, and finally a marble figurine of Princess Celestia and Princess Luna. The same figures were on Discord’s side of the tablet except his were carved out of obsidian whereas the Princess’s were ivory.
“I believe you are familiar with this game,” Discord whispered. “The rules of the game are very simple. If you can defeat me, then I will tell you all I know. However if you fail, you must answer any question I ask.” He grinned. “Do we have an agreement?”
“There is nothing you can say or do…”
“Oh,” Discord countered. “There is a lot I can do to convince you to play.” He clicked his claws. The sky overhead suddenly turned as black as a starless night. He snapped his claws again causing the darkness to retreat.
“I get your point,” she whispered in an icy tone. “Fine. I will play your stupid game but I warn you, if you try any funny business, I will have you encased in stone so fast…”
“So many threats,” Discord replied while yawning. “You never used to be like this, you know. I think the pressure of palace life is finally getting to you.” He smiled. “Care for a drink?” He reached up over his head and grasped the air as if it were made out of cloth. He yanked down upon the empty space causing it to unzip. Reaching into the black hole, he pulled out some more goblets of red juice along with a bag of popcorn and a bag of cotton candy.
“No, I don’t.” The Princess used her magic to send an Earth Pony forward two paces. “Let’s get this over with.”
Discord took a bite out of his bag of popcorn – the bag itself, not the popped corn – before moving his Pegasus figure. “Speaking of the palace, how have things been since I’ve been away? Tell me you’ve finally removed that tacky Hall of Champions, or whatever it is called.” 
She moved another Earth Pony forward. “Do you not like seeing the depictions of your many defeats?”
“Please,” He moved an Earth Pony. “It pleases me to see this beautiful face adorned upon the stained glass windows of the palace.” He ran his claws over his cheek down to his goatee. “How could you not appreciate just how handsome I am?” He chuckled. “No, it is just that I’ve never liked that hall. I believe it could use some new colors, or fewer walls, or replace the windows with poured sugar. Oh that would be delicious.” 
“The hall shall remain as is.” She replied while moving another figure. She glanced up from the shadows of her hood to glare at him. “I’ve been following your travels, Discord, though it pains me to admit that my guards are always one step behind you.” She sneered, her teeth showing. “Replacing the seeds inside Appleloosa’s apples with jellybeans, making Trottingham’s clock towers ring every minute instead of every hour, and turning every single bit in Las Pegasus into chocolate coins?” She shook her head. “You know, for a spirit with unfathomable power, you sure enjoy acting like a foal. Why is that?”
Discord regarded the little figures. He snapped his claws causing his Pegasus to hop over one of his Earth Ponies to capture one of the Princess’s pieces. “If I so wished it, Princess, I could wipe all of Equestria off the map.” His eyes moved from the chess board to look into her eyes. “But there is no fun in that. Fun, my dear, is the only reason for living. Without it, why bother?”
She used a unicorn to take one of his Earth Ponies. “You understand,” she said in a tentative voice. “You could prevent the suffering of many ponies. I’ve already seen how you can bring the dead back to life…you don’t need to be this way.”
“Oh Princess,” Discord groaned. He bit off another strip of his popcorn bag. “You will never truly understand to whom you are talking to. I am the spirit of Chaos and Disharmony, remember?” he clicked his claws causing his Dragon to take five steps forward to devour the Princess’s unicorn. “Why should I help anypony when there is absolutely no reason for me too?”
“But what you did after Anarchy…”
“Was to prevent myself from getting bored.” He argued. He watched as she moved her Pegasus across the board before moving his other Dragon. “As I have always said; what fun is chaos if there is no pony around to appreciate it?” he scowled as she took another of his Earth Ponies. “I have no interest in the well being of your ponies. You are mere toys to me,” he looked deep into her eyes as he moved another piece on the board. “Best you remember that.”
“I cannot understand how one can think that,” she sighed. She moved her last unicorn over some spaces, thus capturing his Dragon. He growled in irritation. 
“That is because you care so much about others, you refuse to see that they are nothing more than playthings.” He shifted his other Dragon towards her last unicorn, paused, and then shifted it back. He used an Earth Pony to block the unicorn’s path. “There is only one pony I can think of who understands what it means to have fun.”
“I have an idea of who you are talking about,” the Princess said. “But she will never be like you.” She adjusted the position of another Earth Pony.
“So you say.” He smiled. He moved his Luna figure across the board, capturing the unicorn. “Though I can assure you there will be where she grows tired of pranks and parties. She will find a new way to entertain herself, even if it is at the expense of others.”
“That is a lie!” The Princess snarled.
“Is it?” Discord motioned back towards the board. “Your move, Princess.”
The Princess examined the board carefully before shifting her own Luna figurine. Discord responded by capturing a Pegasus with his Luna, the Princess countering by taking another one of Discord’s Earth Ponies. “Those who weld the Elements,” the Princess whispered as she watched Discord move another piece. “Will never know defeat, for as long as they stick together, they can accomplish anything.”
“Princess,” Discord frowned when she took his Dragon. He used Luna to crush one of her Dragons in return. “There will be a day when your precious Elements face a creature that is not as playful as I. The Elements have already failed once before with Anarchy, and they can fail again.”
She looked up from the board. “Does this have something to do with why you came here tonight?”
“Play the game,” he whispered. He peeled off the last bit of bag from his popcorn (which has maintained its square shape throughout the game) and popped it into his mouth. He blew a red, yellow, and blue bubble before swallowing. 
“Discord, if you know something…”
He ran his claw over the marble finish causing a loud, and very irritating, screeching sound. “The game, Princess.”
She scowled up at him then looked back to the board. She moved another piece to keep his Luna away from her Celestia. He used Luna to steal that piece; she used her last Dragon to take his unicorn. Bit by bit the two chewed away each other’s defenses until the board was practically empty. 
Discord moved his Luna forward. His snack supply was running low and he was beginning to grow bored with this game. He was tempted to turn the last figurines into life-sized, living, breathing beasts but decided against it. That would be something to try out at a later date.
The Princess countered his move and the maneuver caused Discord to blink in interest. He examined the board from every conceivable angle before smiling in mild amusement. “Hm.” He hummed. He slid his final Earth Pony forward. “I see what you did there,” he commented. “Go ahead.”
She moved her Celestia one space to the left. “Stalemate,” she sighed, sounding exhausted. “There is no other legal move either one of us can make that won’t allow the capture of our Celestia.” She looked up to him. “Which means you need to tell me this secret that you’re keeping from me.”
“Ah, but that wasn’t the rule, now was it? The rules clearly stated that you must win in order to get me to confess to what I know.” He chuckled. “Ah, Princess, how I forgot how much fun you could be. No matter how many times we talk, you fail to remember the rules.”
“Then give me a hint!” She demanded while stomping her left front hoof. “I may not have beaten you, Discord, but I haven’t lost either.”
He twirled a claw through his goatee. “Very well.” He snapped his claws causing the table, his throne, and the remainder of his treats to vanish. He approached the Princess with an uncharacteristically serious look upon his face. “I shall ask you my question and only after you answer it will I tell you what I know.”
“Fine,” she replied, refusing to back down from the taller, more menacing spirit.
“Before she passed; what were Luna’s exact orders concerning me?”
The Princess scowled from beneath her hood. “That we were not to hunt you unless you returned to your old ways. She said that if it wasn’t for you, none of us would be alive today and while she despised herself for admitting it, we are in your debt.” Her purple eyes flashed in irritation. “Though this is an order I struggle with every waking day. After what you did to me and my friends, I should have you encased in stone and dropped into the sea.”
His smile grew several sizes. “Delightful.” The smile vanished. “Listen closely, Princess Sparkle, for what I have to say is of the uptmost importance:


“Beware the One who Controls the Dead
“Known for the Twisted Horns upon His Head
“Past Equestria you must look beyond…
“For the ancient city of....
“Tambelon…”

Twilight Sparkle frowned upon hearing this. “Tambelon? I’ve never heard of it. He who controls the Dead?” She growled up at Discord. “What are you babbling about?”
Discord shook his head. “You failed to beat me, Twilight, as per usual.” He smirked. “As such you are privy to only a fraction of what I know. The rest is up to you.” He turned his back to her and began to exit the forest. He took several steps then stopped. “Listen closely,” he said in a dark voice. “The Elements will not save you this time. You will have to cross that line if you want you survive.”
“Why are you doing this?” She demanded. “Why bother helping us at all?”
“You and your little friends amuse me,” he responded simply. “And I am not done playing with you just yet.” He glanced over his shoulder, his yellow and red eyes seemingly ablaze with a mysterious light. “Do not die on me, Twilight Sparkle. It would be most tragic if I lost my favorite toy so soon after her coronation.” He looked over her shoulder towards the dark forest. “Give Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy my regards.” He smiled. “I’ll see you all soon enough…”
And with that he vanished leaving Princess Twilight Sparkle alone with her thoughts…