Later, the squads of Royal Guards were completing the post-investigation. Pairs of Guards questioned the doctors and employees. Wax Buffer, his head bowed in shame, was led into an armored carriage and flown away to jail. As the carriage lifted off, another group of Guards emerged from the hospital, clustered tightly around a stretcher, trying to hide a small body bag from view.

Flash watched them move quickly across the ground and tenderly place the bag into an ambulance carriage, which took off without hurry. He sighed softly, lowering his head in grief.

Then he felt a touch on his shoulder. Looking up, he saw Twilight giving him a tender look, leaning in to nuzzle him gently, attempting to comfort him.

"I'm fine," he lied, leaning into Twilight's touch.

"You can't just focus on the bad all the time, Flash," Twilight whispered into his ears, and that was when he realized that she was struggling to cope as well. But she was still willing to stand by him, support him. And he would do the same for her. It was what friends did.

There was a clattering and voices from the front of the Center, and Flash's attention was attracted to a pair of paramedics carrying a stretcher bearing the wounded Doctor Winged Cure towards another ambulance. "Wait," he called to the paramedics, striding to the doctor's side. For a moment, Flash's eyes were drawn to the foreleg that bore the gang tattoo, but then he made eye contact with the pegasus.

"You going to be okay?" he asked.

Winged Cure hissed in a little breath and managed a small grin. "It's not serious. I'll be okay."

"Why'd you jump in like that?"

Winged Cure's face fell slightly. "I came down looking for you, and when I saw him holding that knife to that pony's throat...I couldn't just stand by and let him get hurt." The marked foreleg flexed slightly. "Not like what..." He caught himself, then corrected, "Because I'm a doctor."

Flash stared at him for a moment, processing what he had said, what he had done. Then, with a smile, he held out his hoof. "Thank you, doctor." Winged Cure smiled back and shook Flash's hoof before he was carted away to the ambulance.

Twilight gave Flash an approving smile as he turned back to her. "I was wrong," he admitted. "Ponies can change."

The two of them turned now to Phillip, who was sitting off by himself, looking unusually tired. He had already explained how he had infiltrated the auction and fallen into Zugzwang's trap before Twilight and Flash were called away.

"So how did you get out of that room?" Twilight asked.

Phillip looked up. "It took me a while to figure it out, but once I did, it was simple. Both candles would burn out in an hour. I lit the first candle at both ends, and the second at just one. When the first candle completely melted, half an hour had passed. At that point, I lit the second candle at the other end. When that melted away, 45 minutes had passed, and I was able to open the door and escape. Then I got the Guard and hurried here."

He paused, then swallowed softly and glanced down. "Flash...Twilight...Zugzwang told me that he was going to kill you two to teach me a lesson."

"You don't need to feel responsible for us, Phil," Flash said. "We're fighting with you, not for you, remember?"

Phillip smiled softly. "It's good to see you again."

Spreading his forelegs, Flash moved forward for an embrace, but was immediately rebuffed. "What did I say about hugging?"

"Sorry."

Many hours later, after night had fallen across Equestria, Wax Buffer lay awake in his cell at Canterlot Jail, struggling to get comfortable on one of the hard, itchy cots. Fear prickled at his mind. Surely Zugzwang knew that he had failed. Or had he not expected him to succeed in the first place? Had his order to murder the Guard and the Princess been a test? And what did it mean now that he had failed?

That was when he heard hoofsteps approaching, and the rattling of chains. Looking up, he saw that all his worst nightmares had come true.

A pair of Guards were walking down the hallway, a shackled prisoner between them. "Caught him at the train station, trying to head for Baltimare," one of them said to the other as they reached Buffer's cell. Shivering, Wax Buffer crawled into the furthest corner, his widened eyes fixed on his new cellmate. Zugzwang kept his eyes on his failed pawn as one of the Guards removed his shackles before backing out, leaving the magical restraint ring on, and locking the door behind him, his face stony and impassive. The two Guards remained for a moment longer, then stepped away. It was only after their hoofsteps faded away that Zugzwang spoke, his voice cold and hard as ice.

"I'm disappointed in you," he said to Wax Buffer, still cowering in the corner.

"Sir, please—"

"Silence." Wax Buffer was struck dumb and still, left to silently pray for his master's mercy.

"Weak-minded as you are, your brain addled by the pills you swallow like candy, I thought you had proven your loyalty and usefulness to me. That was why I made you the key to my plan.

"And yet, when the time came, when I told you to kill Princess Sparkle and Corporal Sentry, you disobeyed me. You forgot what you were: a pawn, a piece to be controlled and maneuvered as I see fit. When I give you an order, you obey without question, without doubt, without thought to yourself or whether you might be caught."

He took a single step towards his terrified servant, who quailed under the imperious look he was giving him. "You put your faith in me, and me alone. I am your master. I am your commander. I am your god." He leaned down and spoke in a low, venomous hiss. "Do you understand the weight of the sins you have committed against me?"

"Yes! Yes, master! I'm sorry!" Wax Buffer cried, flinging himself at Zugzwang's hooves. "Please forgive me!"

There was a long silence, the weight of which hung over Wax Buffer's head like a sword blade. Finally, Zugzwang let out a small sigh. "You are forgiven. Perhaps some of the fault lies with me; I overestimated your capabilities."

Hardly daring to believe what he was hearing, Wax Buffer was able to look up. "So...you're not going to kill me now?"

Zugzwang stared down at him for a moment longer, then spoke with no change in his voice or face. "No, I'm not going to kill you now." Buffer sighed in relief, feeling the weight removed from over him.

"I killed you several hours ago, when you ate your dinner," Zugzwang continued, still in that same chilling monotone. "A small pill of strychnine with a protein shell concealed in your stew. As I speak, the enzymes in your stomach are breaking down the shell and releasing the poison into your bloodstream. I realize you had hoped for forgiveness, but unfortunately for you, I have a point to make."

A chill spread throughout Wax Buffer's body. "No, master, please—" His voice was suddenly cut off when a constricting feeling spread across his chest, cutting off his breathing. His jaw clamped shut, pain spreading across his face. Convulsions began to spread across his body as if he was being shocked, becoming worse and worse with every passing second until Buffer was sprawled across the ground, his back arched and limbs violently twitching like a dying insect, his face growing steadily bluer as he slowly suffocated. Zugzwang sat up on the other cot, watching impassively as his pawn died, silently screaming in agony.

Once the twitching finally stopped, Zugzwang turned away and closed his eyes. He imagined a great chessboard, large as the nation itself, spread out before him, noting the position of the pieces. He thought of the pieces that he had sacrificed tonight, and the ones that he had already placed, ready for his next move. He thought of Twilight and Flash, two pieces whose power he had evidently underestimated. He would have to keep an eye on them in the future.

And then he thought of him. He pictured him, sitting on the other side of the board, brow furrowed as he pondered his next move, wondering what might happen next. His rival, his equal, his opponent. His purpose.

Zugzwang thought of Phillip Finder and smiled. This game was just getting started.

Author's Notes:

That's the end of this story...and the beginning of the next!

I can't wait to start the next one, and I hope that you've enjoyed this story and are looking forward to the continuing adventures of Phillip Finder!