Identity Crisis
Fan-fic written by DragonlordT
Trixie, Twilight Sparkle and other canon ponies belong to Hasbro.
Planewalker, Checkmate and Cherryblossom belong to me.
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Arriving just as dusk started to set in a dark blue colored pegasus with a green mane and tail knocked on a simple door pushed it open slowly. The light from the doorway making a small sliver of light that shone into the room, illuminating part of the black and white chess board that marked the pegasus' flank as he entered. In front of him posters lined the walls around a bed where a light blue colored mare slept, her silver mane covering part of her face from view.
Tapping his hoof on the solid wood floor a few times to wake the mare as nicely as possible the pegasus spoke, "Sorry to bother but I think I have found what we were looking for." As if she had not even been asleep, the blue mare in front of him jumped off her bed and put on her purple cloak, covering the wand shaped cutie mark on her flank, and hat all before touching the ground with her hooves. "Well, don't keep the Great and Powerful Trixie in suspense. What did you find?"
Nodding the dark blue colt floated an old worn book in the air as it flipped open to an entry near the back. "I was looking for old folk-lore that might prove to be valid and in this book these last few pages talk of a group of unicorns that were able to pass their own magical abilities onto other living creatures.” Turning the book around he showed it to the rather skeptic mare.
“When those unicorns died their spirits supposedly became part of their magic and lived on until they would pass their knowledge and skills onto somepony else. As more and more ponies sought them out for power the remaining spirits fled into a group of ruins in the Everfree forest.” Floating the book back in front of him he turned the page. “Legend has it that these spirits still reside there to this day. Perhaps if we find them we would be able to convince them to share their magic."
Looking up from the book he noticed that Trixie was already moving toward the door. "No time to lose then, checkerboard, let us be off at once!" And with that she was out of the door, Checkmate rolled his eyes at the nickname she used for him, carefully putting the book back into his bag and sped off after her.
Reaching the edge of the Everfree forest Trixie turned to her assistant. "Well where are these ruins exactly?" Using his cloud shaped pendant, Checkmate levitated the book out from his bag and flipped open the pages. "If this map is right it is somewhere inside of the hydra's swamp." The two ponies headed into the dark forest cautiously. Inside the forest the gnarled old trees seemed to hang over the path as they trudged along the slightly worn down earth that marked the only often used route through the gloomy area.
Darting his eyes back and forth among the trees and shrubs that stretched out before them, Checkmate kept a watch out for the array of dangerous creatures that they were both aware made their homes in this forest. Oddly enough on this day none seemed to be active. Even as they entered into a thick murky bog there was no sign of anything larger than a frog or a fish moving about.
Taking out the book once more Checkmate rummaged through the pages that told of the last known path toward a temple that the unicorn's had made long ago. "According to this there is a passage that leads underground somewhere around here."
Looking around both ponies saw nothing but scattered trees on lonely patches of ground and mucky swamp as far as they could see. "The Great and Powerful Trixie wonders if your information was correct about this place. All I see is muck and swamp, no caves or out of place scenery, or anything that would be anywhere near an underground passage."
Flipping through the pages yet again Checkmate stumbled upon a line he had missed and read it out-loud. “It says here that the only way to find the cavern is by magic.” Scribbled on the margin of the page were what looked to be an incantation for a spell. Pointing to it with his hoof, Checkmate looked over at Trixie. “We may as well give it a try.”
“If the Great and Powerful Trixie has to." Taking a step forward with a slight huff, Trixie's hat started to glow a faint pink as her magic took effect. A spider web thin line seemed to appear from Trixie's hat to a spot on one of the scattered mounds of land that dotted the swamp.
As the two approached the patch of ground the earth underneath them seemed to shake as a section of the landmass slid backwards, revealing a large tunnel that gradually angled down into the ground. Nodding to each other the two ponies started down into the passage with Checkmate in front just in case.
After a couple of minutes the tunnel floor seemed to flatten out like a floor and opened up into a dimly lit cavern. Inside the cavern a dozen lanterns hung suspended in the air with green and purple flames illuminating the open space. As the two carefully entered the cavern the wall seemed to close up the opening they had just come through, sealing them inside of the empty space. Examining one of the lanterns that had no lit flame.
Checkmate had to cover his ears as Trixie's voice echoed throughout the room. "Who dares to trap the Great and Powerful Trixie? I demand that you show yourself and explain your actions!" Every lit lantern dimmed and flared brighter than before as an eerie wind kicked up inside of the seemingly sealed cavern.
Faint outlines of unicorns appeared over each of the flames and all seemed to stare at the pair of ponies standing in the cavern. "The better question would be." All the spirits seemed to respond at once, "What is a magic deficient unicorn and a skill-less pegasus doing in our sacred temple?"
Again putting his hooves to his ears right after that comment, the following tirade from Trixie was drowned out somewhat. "How dare you insult the Great and Powerful Trixie in such a manner! I am the most powerful unicorn in all of Equestria and you would do well to remember that!"
The wind blew around the cave in a way that sounded like laughter to Checkmate as he planted his hooves back on the ground. "We are well aware of who you both are. The so called "Great and Powerful Trixie" who is no more than a common trickster and a show-off that would not be here in this cave had she the power that she boasts. And you, an outcast pegasus named Checkmate, a skilled thinker that can never seem to follow through with any of his plans. It is astounding that you two were even able to find this place."
Mumbling under his breath Checkmate returned the book to his bag and examined each of the floating spirits, they all seemed to share the same look of indifference and slight disdain except one that seemed to be watching them intently rather than having a disconnected stare. While Trixie and the remaining spirits exchanged banter back and forth, Checkmate slowly approached the odd spirit. "Why do you not seem to be connected with the rest of these unicorns?"
The spirit eyed the blue pegasus for a moment or two before replying. "They keep themselves connected to better judge those that come into this place. To that end they may very well grant that loud-mouthed unicorn with the power she seeks and pass you over completely. But you are one that while limited with magic by that pendant you possess have become quite verse with its uses. Unlike the rest of my fellow unicorns I don’t view magic to be obtainable only by those born with a horn.”
The knowledge that this spirit had of things outside of this cavern was astounding as well as the bluntness of his response. Checkmate stood silent and surprised at how this spirit was able to tell what the cloud shaped pendant hanging around his neck allowed him to do. A bright light distracted Checkmate from the spirit as Trixie was enveloped with a bright blue veil of magic coming from the rest of the spirits that lifted her up into the air a few feet.
After a brief amount of time the veil disappeared and Trixie was left standing with her hooves on the ground once more. "It seems the transfer ritual we normal use was not necessary for your friend, all that was needed was for the spirits to unlock her true magical potential. You on the other hand will need to remain here for a small amount of time for a more complicated spell if you wish for the same gift."
Checkmate nodded slightly as he walked over to Trixie as she looked herself over for any odd changes. "Well how do you feel?" He asked and somewhat knew what was coming as Trixie proudly stood on her back legs with her front legs stretched up toward the top of the cave, small orbs of magic shooting up and exploding in a shower of sparks. "Better than the Great and Powerful Trixie has ever felt before!"
Checkmate waited as his eyes adjusted once again to the dim lighting of the candles before replying. "Well things are sure looking brighter now for you at least. Though it seems I need to stay down here for a short while for some sort of spell. I'll join you back outside Ponyville when it is finished."
Trixie looked over the blue pegasus curiously for a moment before turning to leave as the cave wall opened up once again. "Humph, you had better not keep me waiting too long checkerboard." Nodding Checkmate watched as the cave wall slid shut once more, leaving him in the dim light of the cavern with the spirits.
"Now then young pegasus…" The detached unicorn started off as the others stared silently, "the ritual I have persuaded the others to use will have the desired effect by binding my own magical abilities to you. What will happen during this spell we are unsure of as it has never been tried on a pegasus before, but we remain hopeful that the end result is the same. Although, we must put you into a sleep-like state during the ritual: for your safety as to keep any unintended pain or unpleasantness to a minimum. Are you certain you wish to proceed?"
Taking a moment to consider the ups and possible downs of this action he nodded and looked from spirit to spirit with an air of certainty. "I'm sure." Checkmate watched as every unicorn spirit's horn and eyes started to shine in an array of bright light as lines of magic sped along the ground around him forming a giant circle and many odd shaped symbols. The lights intensified as Checkmate felt his body start to grow heavy as his vision blurred before going black.
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In his magic induced sleep Checkmate's mind thought back to a few days prior to this whole event that put him in this current situation. He had come to Ponyville in search of Trixie to recruit her to his cause. Landing on the outskirts of the town he found a rather large but slightly run-down shack.
Scattered about the ground were large pieces of decorated wood that had seemed to be broken off from something much bigger as well as various orbs, packets of colorful powders, and other items that Checkmate had seen used once or twice before for crowd entertainment. Carefully stepping his way through the various piles of effects on the ground, Checkmate reached the door of the shack and knocked on it with his hoof.
From inside a rather grouchy voice replied to the knocking. "The Great and Powerful Trixie thought she told you not to interrupt her during her beauty sleep. I will not repeat myself so away with you Twilight Sparkle, and stop leaving your letters on my doorstep!" Intrigued, Checkmate knocked on the door once more with a bit more force this time. Hearing hoofsteps on the wood inside Checkmate waited as he took a step backwards from the door as it opened. "I told you to go away Twil..."
Standing in the now open doorway was a light blue colored mare, her silver and blue streaked mane partially hidden underneath the large purple hat that she wore, decorated with stars and other effects that matched the jewel clasped cape she wore over her back. Her expression remained indifferent as she looked over the pegasus. "And just who might you be?"
Carefully choosing his words to best handle the situation in his favor Checkmate replied. "I am a fan and admirer from years ago. As it seems you have very little of them now-a-days. Although I can’t blame them for that, after all you were exposed to be nothing more than a fraud not too long ago."
Checkmate could see the fire in Trixie's violet eyes as she glared at him, although this was the best way he knew he could get through to this particular pony, it gave him little comfort to be throwing around insults. Trixie's irritation was easily picked out as she voiced her response to him. "How dare you come to the great and Powerful Trixie's home and insult her in such a manner! You would do best to leave before I..."
Checkmate smirked as he interrupted her statement. "Or you'll what? Shower the air with special effects? Sabotage my act? Try to fake being better than me? You had more potential than this when you first started out as a show-pony but somewhere along the way the only thing that mattered to you was your fan-base. You had the ability to become just as skilled as Twilight is now, yet you threw it all away just to make your act look better."
Irritation visibly turned to anger as Trixie's horn started to shine underneath her hat as some of the orbs on the ground lifted up into the air and flew at Checkmate. Seeing the orbs out of the corner of his eye, Checkmate spun around and knocked the orbs away with his wings, during his spin a photo slipped out of the saddlebag on his side and floated down onto the ground in front of Trixie.
Looking down as the glow from her horn faded, Trixie’s expression seemed to change all at once from anger to wonder as she stared down at a photo of herself as a filly on the stage during her first magic show. Written on the top corner of the photo were the words, "To my first fan, Blue." Looking up away from the photo Trixie stared at the pegasus in front of her. "W... where did you get this photo?"
Checkmate merely smiled as the photo floated back up off the ground, with a soft green glow, and into his bag once more. "It was a gift from a very inspiring unicorn I was able to meet while I was still growing up. That unicorn in this photo had much more promise than the mare I see now, but perhaps there is a way that we could change that so that you would not have to rely on tricks to be impressive."
Composing herself Trixie's expression changed back to the high strung look she had on before. "Trixie is already the most powerful unicorn around but I suppose it would not hurt to make sure of it. Very well then, you will help me by becoming my assistant and looking for a way to do what you propose." She put her hoof up to her chin as she thought for a few moments. "I suggest you go to that Twilight Sparkle's library and find something that would be of use to us."
Nodding as he turned away and walked back through the piles of stuff on the ground, the dark colored pegasus called over his shoulder as he unfolded his wings. "By the way, the name is Checkmate now." And without another word he jumped into the sky and flew off toward the large tree that was Ponyville’s library.
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When his eyes opened again he was still surrounded by black but this darkness felt oddly strange and he still had the sensation that he was floating in a void. Slowly appearing in front of him was the unicorn spirit from earlier yet he seemed less like a spirit this time. The unicorn's voice seemed to echo around him. "It seems the ritual has succeeded… yet there was a development that we did not anticipate."
Slowly rising Checkmate looked around curiously, in this void there was no wind, no cold or even heat, only darkness as far as he could see. "Who are you really? And what kind of outcome are you talking about?"
The unicorn seemed to understand his confusion. "My name is Planewalker and as for the outcome of the ritual I was successfully bound to your conscious and subconscious mind. That being said we are both currently conversing inside of your subconscious. While performing the ritual we put your mind in a sleeping state as you are aware. What we did not account for is that you seem to have a very different personality locked up inside of you. When we transferred my magic into you we broke the seal that was placed on this aspect of your mind and it took the chance to take control of your mind."
Pondering all of this information Checkmate took a few moments to take it in. "If that is true then how am I being held here and not able to take control again?" Planewalker's horn shone as the blackness around them was replaced by a clear image of the night's sky. Scattered clouds seemed to move past them. After a few moments the view panned back to show a pony similar to Checkmate flying through the sky. The differences he noticed were a thin pointed horn at the top of the pony's head as well as his cutie mark looking like a blurry patch of white.
"Who is this pony?" It was the only possible question that would matter at this time, which Checkmate could think to ask, hoping that this was just a dream. Planewalker’s reply made his heart sink in his chest. "He calls himself Whiteout. And it seems he has some ponies to settle a score with in Canterlot. He is actively keeping up a barrier to stop us from escaping into your conscious mind."
Multiple ideas started to form in Checkmate's head as he abandoned some and reworked others in hopes to find one that might work. "If he is using magic to keep himself in control then we may have a way to use that against him. But he is too focused right now for it to work so we will just have to wait it out it seems. Yet there is one thing we may be able to do in the midterm." Planewalker nodded as the two ponies watched events slowly unfold with a mutual feeling of helplessness at being unable to stop it.
Soaring through the night sky, Whiteout scanned the horizon for his target. "Finally I'll be able to do what that weak-minded side of me should have done all those years ago and make those near sighted unicorns pay for casting me out! Although I may need a quick test of how strong this magic is…" Underneath him the town of Ponyville started to grow larger as he grew closer to it, a smirk forming on his face. "Perfect."
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Standing on a balcony overlooking Canterlot, a dark blue alicorn watched the clouds passing through the sky as the light from the moon made her light blue eyes seem to glow. A slight gust of wind blew past the dark pony and into the room behind her. Turning around, the light inside sparkled off the tip of the alicorn's crown and the dark blue choker around her neck with a moon symbol on the front, matching her cutie mark.
Inside the lights seemed to shimmer and dim as a pony seemed to materialize out of thin air, although he remained see-through the shape took the form of a unicorn. "Princess Luna, it is good to see you again out of your nightmares. It has been quite a long time… Well longer for me at least. For you it has merely been a brief moment between memories."
Luna slowly looked over the apparition, the voice she swore she knew from long ago. "You seem familiar to me…" The greeting as well as the voice clicked something in her mind as she realized who it was, "Planewalker? It has been over 1000 years. How is this possible?"
A hint of joy seemed to spark in the unicorn's expression before it faded just as quickly. "Sadly I have no time to explain how. I come with a warning that there is an alicorn out for vengeance against Canterlot. Although he seems to be slowing down over Ponyville he will undoubtedly reach here soon after. He must be stopped… no matter what needs to be done. I trust you will know what to do."
The spirit in the room seemed to blur and then vanished as fast as it had appeared, leaving the princess to stare at an empty room. "Guards!” She shouted to the two armored ponies outside of the room. “Ready all available squads, we have an immediate threat to address!" After explaining what needed to be done to the guards outside her room, Luna's horn radiated with a light blue aura as she vanished from sight.
At the same time, down in Ponyville a familiar cloaked pony with a purple hat covered in stars knocked on the wooden door to the library. Opening the door with her magic, a lavender colored unicorn stood in the doorway somewhat surprised at who had come to visit. "A little late to be roaming around isn't it, Trixie?"
The light blue pony slowly walked past the unicorn into the library. "Humph, the Great and Powerful Trixie is free to go where she wants when she wants." Rolling her eyes as she closed the door behind her, Twilight turned and was about to make a reply when she was interrupted as an image of a pegasus appeared in the middle of the library floor.
Waiting a moment for the two unicorns to focus themselves on his image, Checkmate spoke rather quickly. "Sorry I have little time to explain what is going on but the ritual didn't turn out as well as planned and now there is an alicorn headed for Canterlot. I doubt he is coming for a random stroll, but you two need to slow him down or even stop him if possible. For some reason he seems to be moving your way. Do whatever you have to do to keep him fro…"
Through the open library window a green orb of magic slammed into the image of Checkmate and detonated. The blast that followed knocked books off shelves and filled part of the room with smoke. "Tsk, that know-it-all could never keep things short, that is one quality I'm glad didn't carry over to me."
Whiteout stood on the open window frame, his horn glowing deep green as another orb started to form on the tip. "Yes, just stand there shocked for a few more seconds and we can end this quickly." Firing the orb this time at Twilight, who jumped over the sphere of magic as it impacted against one of her bookshelves. Books and pieces of paper scattered all over the room.
Landing on the stairs, Twilight turned in time to see a beam of light purple magic hit against the alicorn's side and sent him tumbling through the air out the window. Trixie's hat gracefully floated down onto the table in the middle of the room as her horn stopped glowing. "No one is going to upstage Twilight Sparkle but me, the Great and Powerful Trixie!" Running outside after the alicorn the two unicorns ducked under a beam of green light from up above one of the houses next to the library that shattered the wooden door behind them.
"The Great and Powerful Trixie? More like the puny and weak Trixie. That foal Checkmate may believe in your power but I say he was wrong to think a trickster like you could be any better than the average unicorn. Compared to me you are nothing but a pest!" Whiteout's horn shone a bright green as he made a horizontal motion with his hoof.
An arc of green magic formed in the air in front of the horned pegasus before it shot forward at both ponies and slammed into a pink tinted bubble of magic that surrounded the unicorns. Twilight’s horn shone brightly inside the sphere. "Tsk, Quick thinking there Twilight, but how long can you hold that up?!" His voice echoed down at the unicorns as his horn shone brighter as arc after arc of magic energy flew down at the ponies.
Every impact seemed to strain Twilight as she kept up the protective field with all her strength, small cracks starting to show in the field as the assault continued. "Now to finish you off!" With both front legs Whiteout made an X motion as two energy waves descended down against the field of magic and detonated on contact. The shattered barrier slowly faded away as an unconscious Twilight lay on the ground a few feet from where she had been holding the barrier up.
Standing between the lavender unicorn and Whiteout, Trixie glared up at him as her horn shone brightly while her eyes started to glow with the same bright light. "I WARNED YOU! NO ONE UPSTAGES TWILIGHT SPARKLE BUT ME! THE GREAT AND POWERFUL TRIXIE IS SECOND TO NO PONY!" Standing on her back legs Trixie's horn almost seemed to blaze with light as a large beam of white/purple magic shot forward from her front hooves and slammed directly into the alicorn's chest.
Whiteout's horn pulsed with green energy as a field of magic similar to Twilight's formed in front of his body. The magic from Trixie's attack seeming to glace to the sides of the shield, but regardless she kept up the attack for as long as she could. After a few more moments the glow in Trixie's eyes faded and she stood back on all four legs, fighting just to stand with the absence of a good portion of her magic.
Looking up at the bubble protected alicorn she noticed that there had been a small patch of his jacket burned off as well as a handful of feathers from his wings. "Perhaps, I had underestimated the power you had gained… but it is still too small to be compared to me!" His words were empty even to his own ears as Whiteout struggled to maintain in the air from the force of that last attack.
Raising his left foreleg as his horn shone brightly he took one final look at the two unicorns. "Be gone you troublesome mares!" Bringing his leg down, the arc of another magic blade started to form in the air as he made the motion but he stopped halfway through and the magic dissipated. Eyes wide open, Whiteout’s entire body convulsed and shook, his head throbbing with pain as he felt a presence pushing him out.
"N... no… I trapped you out of here, how did you… get out…? This… this is my mind now! I won't let you have it back!" Wildly flailing around in the air Whiteout's horn shone brightly as orbs and blades of magic were thrown randomly through the sky, some just flying far to the distance as others hit the ground and buildings in Ponyville.
Down below a flash of light appeared next to the two battered unicorns as Princess Luna blinked into existence and immediately went over to examine them both. After making sure Twilight was still breathing and not badly injured, Luna went over to Trixie and there was a moment of silence before the Princess looked her over for the same kinds of injuries. "What is going on here?"
With one of her hooves Trixie shakily pointed up in the air where the dark colored alicorn was flailing around in the air. "We were listening to a message from my assistant Checkmate when that alicorn attacked us. He mentioned something about a ritual going wrong before he was inter…"
Amidst Whiteout’s flailing a stray arc of magic had managed to angle its way down and catch Trixie off guard while she was explaining the situation to the princess, sending her flying to the side. Skidding along the ground and stopping a few inches from where Twilight lay.
Trixie struggled in vain to rise back onto her feet and laid on the ground weakly, the strain from her trance state coming at her full force now coupled with the pain from the hit she had just taken left her barely able to keep aware of what was happening. Rushing over to the light blue mare on the ground, Luna's horn shone a dark blue as she focused on healing the damage on the unicorn’s side.
Back up in the air the alicorn struggled to keep his hold on his mind as the force against him started to win over. "Y… you can't banish me! So long as you have this magic you can't be rid of me, I will always come back and take control from you again!” Checkmate voiced a response to his captor as he moved his front hooves up to either side of the horn atop his head. "Then why don't I rid myself of this magic and be sure you will never come back!"
Planewalker's voice pushed through his thoughts with a hint of urgency. "Checkmate, I would advise against this course of action! If you do this you may not live through it." Hesitation crept into his mind at those words as Checkmate considered any other options as he thought of possible choices. During this small interval of time he felt his control start to fade as he tried to move his front legs but they would not respond. Cursing, Checkmate once again found himself trapped in the dark void of his own mind.
Strain as he might the void was once again impossible to get out of, yet he could feel that Planewalker wasn't as held back as he was. Reaching out to the unicorn's consciousness he relayed a set of instructions to him while keeping up his attempts to break the void to keep Whiteout distracted from his plan.
Down on the ground Princess Luna watched as the alicorn in the air stopped flailing around and stared down at her. "I had not thought to go after the royals till after I had finished my little errand, but as you have delivered yourself here with no one around to help you I can't pass up this opportunity! Let us see if you value your life more than the lives of those two weaklings!"
Bringing his hooves down from above his head twin arcs of magic shot down toward the ground, one aimed at each of the two unicorns collapsed on the ground. Jumping between the arcs of magic and the two unicorns, the princess' horn shone a bright blue as a field of magic surrounded the three of them.
Unlike Twilight and Whiteout's shields, the field Luna made seemed to be made of large hexagon shaped pieces rather than a solid barrier. The arcs of magic impacted against the barrier and rather than fight against it the magic seemed to get absorbed into the panels that protected the three ponies.
Glaring furiously down at the shielded alicorn Whiteout threw arc after arc of magic down at the lunar goddess. Every blade of magic had the same effect as it vanished against the glowing blue panels surrounding the princess and the unicorns.
A specter of Planewalker appeared inside of the blue barrier and quickly relayed his message to the princess as she concentrated on keeping up the protection as well as listen to the plan put forth to her. “What good would a spell like that do him?" The ghostly image merely shook his head and looked up as Whiteout desperately rained blades of magic down on the protective panels. "I'm not sure Princess but I trust Checkmate on this."
Dropping one of the blue panels for a moment Luna fired a small orb of blue magic up toward the attacking alicorn before replacing the hole in the barrier. Whiteout immediately stopped throwing attacks and brought up a shield of his own to block the sphere. Surprise struck him as the orb easily passed through his magic as if it wasn't even there and absorbed into his body.
"Wha... What kind of magic is this?" Whiteout's shield ebbed and seemed to fade as he was suddenly dizzy; a bout of pain wracked his entire body from nose to tail as a bright green orb of magic shot out from his body and into the air in front of him. The orb took shape with a bright green glow and as it faded Checkmate hovered in the air facing Whiteout.
With a sharp glare Whiteout roared in anger at the pegasus in front of him. "I don't know how you managed to escape but you can't best me! Your efforts are all for not!" Whiteout's voice was cold and harsh. Checkmate just smirked as he ran a hoof through his mane, happy to find no horn occupying his head. "Perhaps, but this first attack will be a warning, I suggest you try to dodge the rest."
Rising backwards up into the clouds, Whiteout focused on Checkmate as he made an attempt to dive at him and knock him out of the air. A blue blade of magic shot up between the two winged ponies causing Whiteout to stop short and look down at the source. On the ground below, the barrier surrounding Princess Luna shimmered as the blades of magic they had absorbed shot back up out of them in rapid succession.
Cursing, Whiteout formed up his magic shield once more as he weaved through the rain of magic blades, some grazing the bubble as others hit it straight on. The blades that missed flew up into the clouds, came to a stop, and then dropped back down toward the ground, pelting the top of Whiteout's barrier as he focused on dodging the ones still coming up at him. When at last the final blade dispersed against his shield the green bubble surrounding Whiteout was riddled with chips and large cracks.
"I… have had… enough of this… nonsense! If I can't destroy any of you directly I'll just level this town and everypony in it!" Whiteout's voice rang through the air as he flew high up into the sky, his horn illuminating the clouds as he started to form a large orb of green and black magic between his hooves.
"I won't let you do that!" Placing a hoof over the cloud pendant on his neck Checkmate closed his eyes. "I'm sorry Princess… I know I was supposed to save this but I have no other choice." A golden yellow glow lit the sky above Ponyville, as the light enveloped Checkmate's body his eyes shone the same golden color. Spreading his wings out, he shot up into the sky directly underneath Whiteout.
"You foal! Perish with the rest of this town!" Whiteout fired the orb directly down at Checkmate who made no effort to move out of the way. The sky seemed to shake as the orb impacted against the glowing pegasus and detonated in a large cloud of smoke and green fire.
Down on the ground Luna watched as the golden light was blocked out by the explosion. She dropped her shield as she prepared to jump into the air but stopped short as she swore she heard a chuckle. Looking to the ghostly image next to her she saw the specter of Planewalker smiling. "I wouldn't count him out too quickly princess."
As the smoke slowly cleared a shining pegasus stared up at Whiteout with neither a scratch nor singe on his coat. "This ends now." Glaring angrily and shouting, something that couldn't quite be made sense of, Whiteout rained a hail of magic blades, orbs and beams down atop Checkmate.
A gold tinted field of green energy surrounded the waiting pegasus, the onslaught of magical attacks merely dissolved as they entered the field. "Using the power you so quickly tried to take for your own to hurt other ponies just proves you are not deserving of having it!"
Checkmate's wings seemed to vanish entirely into a blazing light as he disappeared from sight and reappeared hovering in the air in front of Whiteout a split second later. The field of light surrounding Checkmate dimmed slightly as a small orb formed between his hooves. Firing the orb at point blank range the sphere shattered Whiteout's cracked barrier and expanded around the alicorn's body, holding him in place in the air.
"You talk big but you are too soft to destroy me! You can cage me again but you'll never be rid of me!" Whiteout growled as he struggled in vain to free himself from the magic holding his limbs. Checkmate's golden eyes focused onto his counterpart as he hovered closer.
"You are wrong. You are no longer a part of who I wish to be and I will be rid of you!" Pulling his leg back, Checkmate slammed his left front hoof against the side of Whiteout's horn and with an audible snap it broke free and tumbled toward the ground while slowly fading out of existence.
Snarling, Whiteout brought his head back and then smashed it against Checkmate's chest. The broken end of Whiteout's horn shattered the cloud pendant that hung there. "Tsk… you failure of a pegasus… even in victory you have lost. Without the princess' precious gift, you now have no way left to use magic without me…" Whiteout's voice trailed off as he slowly started to fade away.
The golden glow slowly dissipated from Checkmate's body as the pieces of his pendant fell to the ground. Hovering for a moment Checkmate watched with his bright gold eyes returning to their normal green as the last specks of Whiteout faded from view.
Once the last sliver of gold light faded from his eyes, Checkmate's body ached as waves of pain coursed through his body. His wings flailed weakly as he looked up towards the clouds above him as they got farther and farther away. A few moments later the sensation of falling stopped and the world went dark.