//------------------------------// // Personal Reassurance. // Story: Identity Crisis // by DragonlordT //------------------------------// Muffled voices stirred Checkmate from the dark void he was in. Slowly opening his eyes the pegasus sat up and looked around the stark white room, machines hummed faintly next to the bed he was in. Reaching down off the side of the bed he pushed his hoof to a rather large button. A few moments later a familiar white earth pony entered the room. The pony wore a white cap with a red cross that matched the mark on her flank. She looked at him rather calmly as Checkmate knew she was very used to seeing all kind of patients come in for a wide number of things. "Hello Miss Redheart, sorry I cannot give a proper greeting as I can't be sure what time of day it is from in here." The nurse smiled at the pegasus as she walked over and started to shut off the machines. "Well then Checkmate, you will just have to go and find out now won't you?" The dark colored pegasus looked at her curiously as he hopped out of the bed, feeling a little dizzy but otherwise normal. "I am free to go then?" Nodding as she turned off the last of the equipment, Redheart turned to face him. "Yes Checkmate you are free to go..., the others that came in with you on the other hand will be here quite a bit longer." Stopping short with his wings half stretched out the pegasus slowly folded them back to his sides. "M… may I go to see them?" Seeing the concern in his expression, the white earth pony nodded after a moment and led the pegasus through most of the hospital to the intensive care section. They passed by other ponies in white coats, who rushed from here to there checking on patients; his ears picking up groans and pained sounds coming from here and there as he trotted along through the hall. Stopping at one of the back rooms Redheart slowly pushed the door open and let the pegasus inside. A hollow feeling started in Checkmate's gut as he walked into the room. Inside were two beds with machines similar to the ones that had been in Checkmate's room, as well as one or two others he did not recognize, that hummed and beeped periodically. On each bed lay a unicorn, the light blue mare on the left had bandages wrapped around her torso whilst her hat and cloak lay folded at the foot of the bed. The lavender unicorn on the right had no obvious injuries from the lack of bandages on her form. Both had multiple machines hooked up to them with small circular patches that were placed on various parts of the unicorns' bodies connected by thin wires to their respective machine. Twilight's small dragon assistant lay on the side of her bed who Checkmate guessed had been keeping a constant watch over her but being a young dragon the need to sleep had caught up with him. He also noticed that pacing between both of the beds a heavy eyed white alicorn kept a watch over both young unicorns, her multicolored mane billowing behind her as she moved. Unable to make eye contact with the solar princess, Checkmate slowly walked over to the blue mare's bed and sat down next to it, laying a hoof gently on her foreleg. Thought after thought buzzed through his mind but none could fit how sorry he was to see what his actions had wrought on the mare in front of him. After quite some time he saw the unicorn stir and partially open her eyes. "You are late, checkerboard…" Seeing her violet eyes looking up at him was strange. He had seen her once or twice without her hat and cloak on but this was different. Rather than her normal showy expression was one that seemed vulnerable, weak, and helpless even. He fought back the grief building inside of him knowing that he had put this unicorn, that he admired so much, in such a state. Composing himself Checkmate nodded. "My apologize Miss Trixie. I will work harder to be on time for the next meeting." He suppressed his wonderment as he thought he saw a smile appear for a moment on her face before she closed her eyes once more. "I shall hold you to that checkerboard… I am the Great and Powerful Trixie after all and I dislike being kept waiting…" Her voice trailed off as she drifted back into her sleep leaving the room quiet once more except for the humming and beeping of the machines. After waiting a few moments of silence, Celestia turned away from the resting lavender unicorn to address the pegasus; yet she found herself looking at an empty space next to the bed where he had previously been. Looking to the entrance all she saw was the green of Checkmate's tail as he ran out the door and down the hallway. Dodging as best as he could through blurred vision Checkmate somehow managed to avoid tripping or knocking any other pony over before he burst out of the front entrance to the hospital. The sky was dark and gloomy as a steady rain fell from the darkened sky to the ground. Checkmate ran purposelessly and without a destination until he had to stop to catch his breath. Taking a look around he noticed he had run straight to the square of Ponyville, amidst the normal handful of ponies ducking here and there to avoid the rain, there were large marks dug into the ground here and there as well as shingles from houses scattered on the ground from the events that had unfolded the previous day. Spreading out his wings, Checkmate crouched down and jumped up into the air. Flying up higher and higher he was content to glide just below the dark clouds as he let his emotions go, tears dripping down his cheeks and fell with the rain as he let out his guilt and sorrow of the recent events, somewhat glad that up this high no pony would be able to tell whether it was tears or rain rolling down his cheeks. It wasn't until after he had opened his eyes once more that he noticed he had drifted down closer to the ground and Canterlot had appeared not too far off in the distance. A subtle pull in the back of his mind kept Checkmate on his present course and rather than turn and fly away he let it guide him as he flew. The gloomy sky colored the ground below in dark shadows as the lights of Canterlot rapidly grew brighter and brighter as he approached the city. As he passed over the city he watched the few unicorns and earth ponies that walked about the streets blissfully unaware that Ponyville had paid for an attack that was meant for here. Holding back the grief that started to build up again he flew to the edge of Canterlot as the castle came fully into view. Angling up Checkmate followed the pull in his mind and landed on a balcony near the top of one of the spires. As he folded up his wings he noticed multiple small gaps were feathers had fallen out during the trip. Considering that was the worst of his injuries he was glad but at the same time a hint of sadness stuck him at the sight of his normally well-kept wings in such a state. Putting his thoughts to the side the pegasus slowly walked into the lit room. The room itself closely resembled the night sky but on a much clearer and more detailed scale. Checkmate may have looked past the dark colored alicorn inside had it not been for the billowing of her mane. "Ah, my apologizes for just barging in out of nowhere Princess." The lunar princess turned to look at the damp furred pegasus. She smiled with slight amusement at the rather embarrassed looking figure standing just inside of the room with his head bowed down. "Come here young one, we have been expecting you." "We?" Looking up, Checkmate took a second look around the room. The lights were slightly dimmed more than they normally would be for this time of night as well as a gentle breeze coming from the inside of the room and not from the window behind him. Looking back over at the princess, Checkmate noticed three large pillows on the floor, one occupied by the Luna, another was vacant, and the last was odd in the fact that there was an impression in it as if somepony had just gotten up off of it. Starring for a moment the air over the cushion shimmered as the outline of a unicorn slightly bigger than the princess took shape, the pony seemed to become more solid every couple of seconds. The lights seemed to brighten back to normal and sitting on the pillow next to the princess was a large silver coated unicorn, his mane and tail a light blue color with tips of silver matching his coat. On the unicorn's flank a symbol of blue waves with an arrow weaving through them seemed to pulse with energy as he finished materializing. The light seemed to reflect off of the unicorn's ice blue eyes as he looked at the pegasus with a very familiar expression. After a few moments it dawned on Checkmate and he almost jumped back in surprise. "Planewalker? How is this even possible? I thought breaking the horn would have cut the connection that the ritual had made, which would have made you disappear with Whiteout." Luna slowly got up and walked over to a stone table near the side of the room, on top of the polished stone was a set of black and white chess pieces. She calmly motioned the pegasus over to the table while moving one of the white pawns forward with her magic. Attempting to take his mind off of the flood of thoughts and emotions now floating around in his mind he looked at the small objects on top of the board. He noticed that unlike the normal glass or wood pieces he was used to these were finely detailed pieces of polished marble. Luna's voice pulled him out of his study. "You make a very common assumption about what happens in such situations. But breaking a unicorn’s horn, or an alicorn's for that matter, can have a varying degree of outcomes from just the loss of one's magical ability to, in the worst case, death." To break the somber mood that was forming Planewalker started to make his way over to the two dark colored ponies. "Though if you remember young pegasus, the ritual that I preformed bound my spirit and magic to you. As long as you are still here I shall remain bound to you, horn or no horn." Another question slipped into Checkmate's head as Planewalker came nearer. "How is it that you are no longer a ghost?" The unicorn merely smirked at the question. "Well my name was given to me after my talent had been fully realized, much like you picked your own name." Planewalker motioned to his flank with his left front hoof as he continued his explanation. "My talent is the ability to convert matter into energy and vise-versa. In this sense I can change myself from a pony into a spirit and back again at will" Nodding silently Checkmate looked at one of the black pawns on his side of the board and willed it to move, as he was accustomed to, yet nothing happened. It then dawned on him as he remembered the end of the battle against Whiteout, whose broken horn had shattered his pendant. Looking down as he placed a hoof where the pendant normally hung he was visibly saddened to find that all that remained of the white cloud pendant was a small white sliver hanging from the necklace around his neck. "I suppose Whiteout was right. I'm nothing more than a failure of a pegasus without my pendant…" Sitting next to the dark colored pegasus, Planewalker's horn shone softly while the piece Checkmate had been focusing on moved a square forward. "Yet you were able to outsmart even yourself when you had to. Would a failure have been able to do such a thing?" Checkmate pondered Planewalker's statement as Luna moved another pawn along the checkered squares. "But just like this here," Checkmate paused as he had Planewalker move one of his knights forward. "I can't do anything without someone to help. I'd still be trapped in my own mind if not for you, Princess Luna. Nor would I have been able to fight against Whiteout without the magic Celestia had given me." Luna's voice interrupted him but he could tell the same question was in Planewalker's mind as well. "Why would my sister have given you such a powerful amount of magic if you had no potential or skill?" Having pondered this question more than once, Checkmate merely shrugged in response. "I… I have no answer for that." Luna nodded as she got up from the opposite side of the table and walked over to the balcony, observing the rain that was still falling whilst the moonlight leaked through small breaks in the clouds that made the rain look like small gems falling to the ground. "For the remainder of the night I would like you to think on that question and give me your answer in the morning to both my sister and me. Until then you and Planewalker are guests and may stay here in the castle. Dawn is only a few hours off and my sister shall be returning in time to raise the sun." Checkmate's mind wandered as he stared blankly at the chess table in front of him as if the slightest move of a piece would send the whole table crashing onto its side. The lunar princess walked back across the room to the large wooden door that connected it with the castle as it slid outwards into the hall with a blue glow. "Rest while you two can. I suspect tomorrow shall be a very long morning." And with that Luna vanished into the hall as the door quietly shut behind her. As to not disrupt Checkmate's train of thought, Planewalker slowly trotted to the large cushions in the middle of the room and laid down on one of them, sleep quickly overtaking the unicorn which left the pegasus to wrestle with his thoughts in silence. --------------------------- As the pale rays of dawn started to shine over the horizon, light filled the high tower of Canterlot castle. A knock on the large wooden door at the far side of the room stirred the silver coated unicorn from his slumber. The brightness stung his eyes for a moment as the light of day greeted him. Because as a spirit he had no real need of sleep, grogginess was something Planewalker to adjust to as he slowly rose onto his hooves and made his way over to the door. Taking a moment to examine the intricately detailed wood that played out a scene of the raising of the moon into the sky, Planewalker’s horn shone a faint blue as the door slowly slid open into the room. To no surprise Princess Luna stood in the doorway as her dark colored mane billowed about her neck. Standing behind her and to the side a larger alicorn stood, her multicolored mane waving in the same fashion around her. Bowing his head, Planewalker took a step back to allow them into the room. “Good morning Princesses.” Luna smiled as she walked into the room. “Good morning to you as well Planewalker.” Her eyes catching the pieces on the chess table as she passed it which made her stop and examine the board. Every black piece except for the king was set into the felt box on the edge of the table, which was used to hold the pieces, as well as two white pawns and a bishop. “Were you and Checkmate playing after I had left by any chance?” Shaking his head, Planewalker joined the dark colored princess at the table. “As far as I recall I had turned in when you left and Checkmate was still sitting here.” Looking around the room it the unicorn noticed that the pegasus was nowhere to be seen. “Speaking of which…” Celestia trotted over to the table, listening to her sister and Planewalker as they talked. Her horn shone a soft gold as the black king slowly lifted off the board and was set gently into its place in the box. Planewalker and Luna merely watched as the solar goddess turned and headed for the door. “Well come on then. We were going to have a talk with Checkmate were we not?” Luna was the first to snap back from the odd moment as she proceeded after her sister. “But Tia, we don’t even know where he is.” Her voice was slightly raised from her normal speech with a hint of concern in it. Celestia smiled as she started down the staircase. “I know where he is.” And with that she disappeared from sight down the spiraling corridor. Coming out of the room Planewalker nodded slightly to the lunar princess as they followed down the stairs. The trio of magical ponies made their way lower and lower into the castle and got off at the second floor. Hoofsteps echoed through the large halls as they passed the large wooden doors that lead into the royal library, Planewalker noticed that one of them was slightly ajar, a small sliver of light shining on the floor and wall of the corridor. The rays of the rising sun shone through the large windows along the hall and onto the polished white stone as they passed by door after door and stopped in front of one near the end. Near the top of the door there was an engraved pair of spread wings. Occupying the rest of the door were scattered clouds and delicately carved raindrops. The door had no handle but Celestia merely stepped forward and touched the tip of her horn against the wooden mural as a small spark of magic passed from her it into the wood. With a resounding click the door shuddered and started to open out into the hall. The white alicorn smiled as she walked into the room. Inside the room, books littered the floor some were open while others were closed and laid in lazily made piles and stacks. The only window in the room, unlike the windows in the hall, had no light coming through it. Contrary to the rays of light that poured into the outside hall from the sun, the window inside actively displayed dark clouds rolling back and forth as rain and an occasional boom of thunder could be heard echoing in the room. Above the clouds an image of a bright full moon shone with stars dotting the top of the window which cast a pale light into the otherwise dark room. Forks of lightning streaked along the glass and lit up the entirety of the room every couple of minutes. A made up bed occupied the far wall with open books covering most of it. Near the wall closest to the door a large table was set against it, on the table was a set of old but well cared for wooden chess pieces. On the far side of the table a dark colored pegasus slept with his head on his hooves, leaning forward on the table. Under Checkmate’s left hoof was a scroll of paper that slowly lifted out from under his hoof and in front of Celestia with a soft glow. On the paper were two columns. At the top one had the word white and the second had the word black. The white side had twenty-four dashes showing under it and the black side had only one dash as well as a scribble of words at the bottom. As Celestia looked over the paper in front of her Luna was the second to enter. Her gaze traveled from the table and followed the trail of scattered books as her eyes fixed on the back window. Stepping closer her horn shimmered faintly as the rain seemed to ripple in reaction to her magic as she got closer. Small beams of light pierced through the spot where the image deformed. “Tia, what is going on with this window?” Taking her eyes off the window the dark colored alicorn looked over at Celestia who nodded her head slowly. “A rather clever enchantment Checkmate had come up with. It casts the recipient’s favored time of day and weather onto the desired object.” Luna made no reply as she backed up slightly and fixed her gaze once more on the window. Celestia floated the piece of paper over to Planewalker as he entered the room. “What would you make of this?” She asked as she let him take the paper with his own magic while she looked at some of the open books on the ground. Counting out the tallies on the paper, Planewalker read the note at the bottom. “What is the difference between a pony who gives up to save other from one who makes the necessary sacrifices to accomplish a task? Are those that give up regarded as…” The rest of the writing was too hard to read as it was smudged from drops of water. Placing the piece of paper down on the table Planewalker watched the sleeping pegasus. “I’m not sure I understand.” Lifting the open books into the air as she closed them and set them neatly in a pile on the ground; Celestia cleared the bed on the far side of the room and carefully lifted Checkmate with her magic. Setting the pegasus down on his bed she turned and sat on the opposite side of the table from Planewalker. “Observe the table if you will.” With a spark of magic from her horn the lines on the chess board started to shine as a projection of the board floated above the table. On the floating image the thirty two pieces appeared on each side, sixteen of both black and white, and started to move one at a time. After the sixth move on the white side the game ended in only a check of the black king as the pieces reset and started to move differently. The next game ended after the black side had lost three pawns and a knight. “What can either of you tell me from this?” Other motions flashed about the screen as game after game played out. Luna, who had torn herself from the window, watched the pieces intently. “One would think that a pegasus that could develop such creative spells would be a better chess player.” Celestia nodded slightly. “One would think, but as with the window, Checkmate had me enchant this table as well. The white pieces are controlled by magic and are a reflection of the best games he has ever played.” ”If that is true then he isn’t even trying to play the game correctly. Either he is giving up early on because he lost a few pieces or he refuses to move his king backwards or block it with a different piece.” Luna’s words had a sharpness to them that made Planewalker wince. Although he knew she was correct in her observations. Seeming to sense the question in Planewalker’s mind Celestia replied to her sister. “That is true dear sister. He used to play very differently, but how do you expect him to accept sacrificing those around him to protect himself?” Luna and Planewalker’s confused looks that followed were the expected responses to her statement. “As you can tell by now, this room has been here for quite some time. Checkmate has been living here since he was a young colt. During that time I had helped nurture the young pegasus’s curiosity for things that most pegasus would never take an interest in.” Celestia chuckled to herself. “One thing you should understand about Checkmate is that he has a tendency to relate games and how they work with how the life of a pony should work. This became obvious during one of our practice sessions.” Her voice changing to a more serious tone. -------------------- Gently placing a white bishop from her side of the board to left center Celestia let go of it with her magic. “Check.” The pegasus in front of her put his hoof to his chin as his eyes danced among the pieces on both sides. He knew the princess was pushing him towards the corner but with only a bishop of his own and a rook left there was not much he could do at this point. Using his wings to hover in the air Checkmate carefully slid his bishop along with a hoof between Celestia’s own piece and his king. As predicted Celestia’s bishop took his own and once again placed him in check. Sliding his rook up the line and taking Celestia’s bishop he realized his mistake too late as her queen moved diagonally to take his rook. Four moves later he was trapped in the corner with no safe spaces to move to. Carefully picking up the king with his hooves Checkmate placed it in the felt box on the table with the other fifteen of his pieces. He watched as the rest of Celestia’s pieces lifted off the board and set into their respective placing in the box as well. “You don’t seem to be all too focused today. Is there something on your mind Checkmate?” Celestia asked curiously as she commented on the pegasus' somber mood. Rather than trying to avoid the question Checkmate nodded in response. “Were somepony to look at life like a game of chess. What would the pieces represent?” He knew it was an odd question but it was one he had wanted to ask for a while now. He could see the slight surprise on the princess’ face from the sudden seriousness of his question and a silence filled the air for a few moments. Celestia looked over the pegasus across the table. Her reply to this would have an immense effect on this pony but it was a question she was determined to answer truthfully. “I would assume that the king would represent yourself and downwards from there. The queen would be the one closest to you in life. From the bishop to the rook those would be the ponies that are a big part of your life as a whole and the pawns would be those that either you know a little or those you don’t know at all.” Another question rolled into his mind and he asked it without a second of hesitation. “Then what would it represent taking a piece on a chess board compared to life?” This question Celestia took a few moments to think about before she put forth her answer. “I suppose that would be your own interpretation Checkmate. Unfortunately in life we tend to use others to shield ourselves; whether it is for blame or more serious events.” Thinking back on games he had played over the past few months, since he started, his heart sank in his chest and he was filled with an overwhelming feeling of grief. “As long as you protect your king all the other pieces are expendable. That is what we were taught on how to view this game, but are other ponies' lives and dreams ours to throw away so easily…?” --------------------- Celestia stopped in her tale as she looked from Planewalker to Luna as they listened to her words. “It was after that when Checkmate started to play his games different. Many times since then he would never finish a game. It has been a long time since he last played a game of chess for fun. But he never backs up his king even when it was the only possible move; to him the king should take the same risks as all the other pieces protecting him.” Walking over to the bed where Checkmate lay, the solar princess noticed he was shaking in his sleep and fresh tears streaked along his cheeks. She spoke a little quieter as she ran her hoof through his two-tone green mane. “A stalemate would equal him giving up every pony close to him just to save himself.” It then dawned on Planewalker why Checkmate did not break the horn on Whiteout’s head the first time he had a chance. “He wasn’t trying to save himself… he was trying to save me…” Celestia nodded as she touched the tip of her faintly glowing horn to Checkmate’s forehead and he slowly stopped his fitful stirring. “A king that sacrifices all of his subjects is merely a shell of a frightened coward is he not?” ---------------------- Floating in the darkness of his mind Checkmate slowly walked in a line through what seemed to be an endless void of black. He swore he heard a voice behind him and spun around to see himself as a colt walking into a large hall full of unicorns who sat in pairs at tables with an array of small detailed black and white pieces on each. Most of the unicorns either ignored the small pegasus or gave him looks that made him both uncomfortable and scared. “Even on that first day you knew you were never wanted there. If not for Celestia’s influence you would never have been allowed past the front door of that hall.” An eerie voice echoed through the void, one that the pegasus had hoped he would never hear again. An image of a pony similar to himself materialized next to Checkmate but this copy had a horn on his forehead. Checkmate glared at his counterpart. “You are not welcome in here Whiteout.” The copy merely flashed a wicked smile at him. “Ha. You think you can just destroy a part of yourself so easily? I can haunt your dreams all I like, because they are mine as much as they are yours.” There was some truth in that statement that made a chill run down Checkmate’s spine. “Yet neither of us are one for pointless conflicts so do to me what you came to do and be gone.” Whiteout hissed in response to Checkmate’s command but complied. The images of the hall changed slightly as an older but still young Checkmate sat at one of the tables with a unicorn about the same age across from him. All the other unicorns had gathered around the table to watch the match. The unicorn across from Checkmate had a brown coat and a rust colored mane and tail. The pony had yet to acquire a mark on his flank but he was known for being a prankster. “I will never understand why you foolishly chose to agree to a game where you would put your right to play in that hall on the line if you lost.” Whiteout’s anger was apparent as they both watched the match play out. The game had favored the dark colored pegasus right from the start until something has begun to fumble Checkmate’s movements. Either making him push the wrong piece with his hooves or stopping him from taking pieces that would have helped him win. As Checkmate watched the scene unfold he confirmed an old suspicion that it wasn’t the unicorn he had been playing against. Many of the unicorns gathered around the table were using their own magic in small bursts whenever his younger self had tried to make a move. After the match had ended in his loss, the younger Checkmate slowly got up and headed for the door. If he was wanted gone so badly then he would do so with his head held high yet a chuckle made him stop and look back over his shoulder. The unicorn he had been playing against sat smugly as he tossed the black king up and down in the air with his hoof. “Next time Celestia decides to send someone here from Canterlot you should tell her it had better be someone worthy of such a privilege. Pawn that she can just throw at us and have any hope of being useful.” Watching his younger self Checkmate saw something visibly snap in the eyes of the young pegasus. Turning around his image charged straight at the table he had walked away from and jumped with all his might at an angle over the top of the table, flapping his wings the second his hooves left the ground. The momentum of his jump as well as the help of his wings allowed the pegasus to easily spin in the air as he kicked out with his hind legs. Two successive thuds followed as his back hooves connected with the unicorn’s chest and sent him flying backwards into one of the other chess tables with a loud crash. Landing squarely on his hooves with his back to the fallen unicorn the pegasus gave the rest of the unicorns, which stared at him in a shock, an icy glare that made Checkmate himself cringe. Looking away from the scene Checkmate noticed Whiteout was trying to suppress his amusement. “One of my finer works don’t you think? I’m only sorry I wasn’t able to give the rest of those high strung unicorns what they deserved before they threw us out. But I think I’ve made quite a dent in that goal.” With a mischievous laugh the void was filled with images and scenes from when Whiteout had attacked Twilight and Trixie in Ponyville. Trying to shake the images from his head Checkmate turned fully around but the images surrounded him, even above and below him the same scenes played out again and again. Closing his eyes as he put his hooves to his ears, Checkmate attempted to drown out the images and sounds but the voices and laughter rang through his head regardless of what he did. “That… that isn’t me… it isn’t…!” The laughter grew stronger still in his ears even as he firmly pressed his hooves against them, almost choking on the tears that rolled down his cheeks Checkmate screamed into the dark. “Get out! Get out of my head!” The laughter continued for a few moments but started to die down as a strange warmth started to course through Checkmate’s body. Slowly moving his hooves from his ears there was nothing but silence. Looking up with tears still in his eyes a bright golden glow shone through the black void as an image of Celestia slowly floated down and landed in front of him. Her gaze was gentle as she laid on her belly next to the shaking pegasus and spread her wing out over his form to shield him from his own thoughts as she looked at all the images floating in the dark around them. “You are a very restless sleeper young one. But judging by the recent events I cannot blame you for that.” Checkmate didn’t need to respond; here his thoughts were open and unhidden. The princess could easily read each and every emotion as it passed through the pegasus under her wing. From under a mask of calm, waves of guilt and sadness seemed to consume the dark colored pegasus with every breath he took. “You have not changed one bit have you Checkmate? Still bottling up all those emotions till they threaten to explode and engulf you with them. You really need to learn to let these things go.” She looked down at the pegasus under her wing, the grief in his eyes made her wonder who he really blamed for what had happened. “Just let it out.” Checkmate nodded weakly as he buried his head against Celestia’s neck and for the fourth time since he awoke in the hospital he broke down in tears. “I... I’m sorry princes… I failed… failed to control my own emotions when it mattered most… put your most skilled student as well as an innocent unicorn in the hospital… almost destroyed Ponyville… broke the pendant you gave to me… attacked your sister and almost sacrificed my newest friend…” Pushing out the words as coherently as he could Checkmate wept until his eyes were dry and his throat pained him. Celestia tightened her wing around the pegasus as he spoke through his tears and waited until he had finished before she spoke. “The pegasus I see in front of me is not the one that caused the disaster in Ponyville. A certain pony that I knew years ago as a young colt may have been capable of such acts but the Checkmate I see before me now is a much kinder and braver pony then he ever was.” A maniacal laughing filled the void as the image of Whiteout reappeared in front of Checkmate and the princess. “Tsk. Like your words matter when you can plainly see how much darkness this failure keeps trapped within himself. It was your outrageous idea that he could possess any kind of ability that got him…” Moving out from underneath Celestia’s wing and taking a step forward, Checkmate glared at his counterpart with an overwhelming sense resolve that made Whiteout crouch down and back up a step midway through his sentence. “I told you before that you are not welcome here.” A green aura surrounded Whiteout and lifted him up into the air. “Now for the last time. Get out of my head!” With a bright white and green flash the image of Whiteout shrunk and disappeared from view. The void surrounding Checkmate and Celestia slowly started to chip away and fade as light filled the place where darkness had been. Turning to face the white alicorn sitting in front of him Checkmate smiled at her genuinely. “Thank you for believing in me even when I would not even try to.” Celestia nodded and smiled proudly at the pegasus. Rising onto her hooves she looked around at the thoughts that had once again become visible. Stopping one with her magic she examined an image of one of the books she had seen on the floor of Checkmate’s room. “You plan to unbind Planewalker?” Nodding silently Checkmate let the image change and show the plan he had come up with. “I would have sacrificed him to save myself. I won’t allow him to be put in that situation again if I can do something about it.” Staring at the pegasus in front of her Celestia saw the resolve that he had confronted Whiteout with burning just as strongly as before with no hint of being swayed. “I will not try to change your mind. But you do realize that once you unbind Planewalker there is no to reverse that.” Checkmate nodded as he slowly spread his wings, the rumbling of thunder echoed through his mind faintly. “I am aware of that result and I would prefer that outcome than one leading to Planewalker’s unnecessary end because of my foalishness.” Vaulting up into the air, Checkmate flew straight up toward the light where Celestia’s image had descended from.