The Smiling Stallion

The Wheel rolled to the Flame!

Boys and Dragons

Sky Blazer observed Spike on the monitor. So far, she had discerned that the purple dragon really liked the white unicorn, an affinity that was clearly unrequited. Perhaps she was oblivious or deliberately ignoring his romantic advances; after all, they were different both in species and in age.

"Do you see how that baby dragon acts around the white mare?" Sky Blazer asked, "Reminds me a lot of my annoying boyfriend."

Sky Blazer's boyfriend was another Pegasus from Baltimare, persuaded that all cool ponies played guitar or at least were friends with people who played guitar. While she did find it cool that Wind Strings could strum the strings of a guitar, he acted haughtily towards other ponies who were not up to his guitar playing standards. Now that she thought about it... why was he her boyfriend again?

"Well, opposites have been known to attract," The Smiling Stallion said.

"Better be the dragon you're talking about." Sky Blazer mumbled under her breath.

"What's that?" The Smiling Stallion asked.

"Nevermind!"

Fun Little Games

Spike followed Rarity for a while before she stopped walking and turned to face the young dragon.

"I am sorry, Spikey, but I need to go find a room to unpack, and I need some time alone." Rarity spoke to her friend, "Why don't you go ahead and unpack your things?"

Reluctantly, the purple dragon left her to go do so.

The little dragon found a room next to Twilight Sparkle's room. At first, Spike had felt uncomfortable about not sharing the same room with his teacher, but after looking around the room for a bit, he thought he might be able to get used to the idea.

Sitting down on the small bed, Spike opened his suitcase and started emptying it. He pulled out a blue blanket Twilight had bought him and a few comic books he had brought along which he set out out on top of the bed. Looking around the room, Spike was shocked to find a television set sitting on the other side of the room. Oddly enough, it seemed to be in good condition, considering how old the house was.

Spike sat down by the television. The young dragon didn't usually get to watch much television since Twilight didn't own a TV set and had often remarked that the contraptions could destroy brain cells, given how non educational and unstimulating they were in comparison to books, which abounded back home in the library. While Spike kind of understood where Twilight was coming from, he didn't really agree with her on the matter. He had seen a few ponies around Ponyville with their televisions, and they seemed to be having a good time watching them.

Thus, seeing this chance to mess around with one really made Spike happy; however, as he turned on the television, the only thing that showed up on the screen was static. Looking the television over, that Spike noticed a few wires that were attached to back of the television. The purple dragon traced the wires back to a Pony Station game console. Spike had met a few colts who owned this game system; however, the most up-to-date version of the console was the Pony Station 2.

Despite it being an earlier console, Spike was curious as to what games might be available for him to play. In a cabinet under the television was a box that held a few games, the titles ranging from Mega-Mare to Quest of the Dragon and Pac-Mare. The first game Spike tried was Quest of the Dragon; however, he had difficulty understanding the RPG elements of the game, and after dying a few times, he decided to try something else. So he pulled the Pac-Mare disk out of its case and inserted it into the Pony Station.

Immediately the logo PEGA appeared on the screen, revealing the game's creators before starting the game. The logo consisted of white letters spelling out PEGA, with what appeared to be wings branching off the back of the P.

The game featured a yellow earth mare who ran through a maze picking up oranges while a few diamond dogs chased her through the maze. However, if the yellow pony picked up an apple, the diamond dogs would run in terror, allowing the player to temporarily defeat diamond dogs until they respawned in the outside corners of the map. The goal of the game was to pick up all the apples and oranges in the maze. Once that was done, the player would move onto the next level.

Spike played the game for a while. Once the little dragon learned how to play the game, he was able to pass the first five levels with ease.

He was about to begin the next level when Twilight called out, "Spike, we are sitting down for dinner!"

While a little annoyed at the interruption, the little dragon hit the pause button on his controller and walked out of the room.

"Alright! I'm coming!" Spike growled.

Dinner Is Served

The ponies talked and laughed around the dining room table. All except for Spike, who was eager to return to playing his games. Spike attempted to eat as quickly as possible without being conspicuous.

"So Spike, what have you been doing?" Twilight asked.

Spike was silent. He knew that if Twilight figured out about the game system in his room, then she would either have it removed or have him moved to another room.

"Just been getting my room ready." Spike answered.

"Oh, alright then." Twilight said before returning her attention to the other conversations around the table.

Once Spike finished his meal, he stood up from his seat, "May I be excused?"

"I guess. Are you feeling all right, Spike?" Twilight asked.

"Ye... Yes, I feel just fine." Spike replied, "I just feel a little tired is all."

"Okay. Would you like me to come tuck you in?" Twilight asked.

"No, I will be fine," Spike answered, "Thanks anyway."

There was a moment of silence as Spike left the dining room.

"Do you think Spike is okay?" Rarity asked.

"I'm sure he is fine," Twilight said. "He is probably just tired from the trip."

Talking About... Stuff

"That dragon sure does enjoy playing those video games," Sky Blazer said.

"He certainly does," spoke the Smiling Stallion, a twinge of pride in his voice.

"Where did we get those games, anyway?" the Pegasus asked.

"Oh, I bought then from some Zebra Enchantress to the south," the Smiling Stallion answered. "At first, she was very reluctant to sell them to me, saying they were cursed. However, after she learned who I was, she was more than eager to sell them to me."

"What was her name?" Sky Blazer asked.

"I believe she referred to herself as 'Zebarbur.'"

"How much did the games cost?" She asked, genuinely curiously.

"Oh, no more than your usual salary," The Smiling Stallion teased.

Sky Blazer knew this was his way of trying to dance around the subject. He hadn't really used her money to buy the games, but rather the means it had taken him to purchase them was best left unmentioned.

"So, when will things start to get crazy?" Sky Blazer inquired.

"As soon as that little dragon puts in the right game, the real fun will start," the Smiling Stallion said as he watched the screen, "and from what it looks like, that should be soon."

Flame Breath: The Game

While Pac-Mare was a fun game, the levels were really repetitive, and eventually, Spike grew bored of it, so he decided to look for another game to play.

As Spike searched through the cabinet, he came across a clear game case. Inside was a blank disk with the words "Flame Breath" written on the disk in permanent marker.

After looking at the disk, Spike decided to see what was on it and put the disk into the game console. The screen read: "Loading... FLAMEBREATH.EXE."

When the game menu showed up, the words of the game's apparent title stretched across the screen with a red dragon watching over his treasure serving as the backdrop.

Using the controller, Spike scrolled down to a tab with the word “Info.” Selecting it a message popped up on the screen.

According to this, the game was about a dragon that was protecting his treasure from a group of knights seeking to take it. The goal of the game was to move through the cave and defeat all the knights in the cave before they took all the treasure. There was also a princess inside the cave that the dragon had to protect. However, he would have to be careful, for each of the dragon's attacks took up a certain amount of energy.

After studying the controls, Spike pushed the start button, which resulted in the dragon breathing fire on the title screen and the game starting. Spike felt a chill down his spine and shuffled his scales. This was going to be awesome...

"WARNING! Five knights and their three squires have invaded your cave and are attempting to rob you of your treasure and take away your princess! Stop them!"

Spike directed the sprite of the dragon he was playing towards the first knight, a small knight with bright yellow armor.

"I will win this game!" Spike growled.

A Burning Sensation

Fluttershy felt the floor shake under her hooves in the living room as some strange siren sounded in the distance. Seconds later, everything stabilized.

To the yellow pegasus's surprise, the room felt an awful lot warmer than it had just a second ago. In fact, it felt like she was beside a bonfire, and the heat seemed to be rising.

"What is goi..."

Before Fluttershy could finish her statement, the floor beneath the yellow pegasus burst into flames, causing her to scream.

A Horrid Sight

"Seriously, AJ, I could TOTALLY pick up all the dishes on this table and have them washed in the sink under one minute flat!" Rainbow Dash said, puffing out her chest.

"I doubt it. More likely, you'd break all the dishes and the table with it." Applejack replied.

"AHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!"

Rainbow Dash and Applejack perked their ears when they heard their friend scream in the next room.

Hearing her cry, Applejack and Rainbow Dash rushed into the room, gasping as they saw the body of their friend burning in front of them. The scent of burnt hair filled the room. Her skin bubbled and boiled as the flames burned it away. The image of her screaming face burned into their eyes.

"Dash, get some water from the kitchen!" Applejack yelled. Rainbow Dash rushed out through the hallway into the kitchen and grabbed a pot and began to fill it will water in the kitchen sink.

"COME ON!!!" Rainbow Dash yelled, as the water slowly filled the pot.

While Rainbow Dash was getting the water, Applejack looked around the room for something to help her smother the fire. She tore the curtains from the window and threw them over Fluttershy before dropping her to the ground. Applejack then started patting Fluttershy down with the curtain as Rainbow Dash flew in with the water.

SPLASH!!!!

The combination of the curtains and the water extinguished the fire.

"Fluttershy, are you okay?" Rainbow Dash asked.

Removing the blanket Applejack and Rainbow Dash beheld a horrible sight: the charred remains of their friend lay dead upon the ground. Her burnt feathers had curled up like an eagle's talons. Fluttershy's eyelids had been burned shut over her blacked eyes.

"No," Rainbow Dash whimpered as she fell to the ground, tears forming in her eyes.

"We were too late, sugarcube," Applejack spoke, holding her hat to her chest.

Through Flame-tinged Lenses

"AHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!"

As Fluttershy screamed in her final moments, the pegasus could have sworn she saw something. Something was clogging her vision. Was it the smoke? No, there was a definite form to what was clouding her vision.

In the background Fluttershy could hear the panicked voices of her friends as they tried to put out the fire that was consuming her. However, the pegasus knew it would be all for nothing. She couldn't even feel the water as it splashed across her body.

As her vision went black, Fluttershy was finally able to see what was clogging her vision. They were words. Two large words in white font. Fluttershy tried to make them out but couldn't, for her soul left her mangled body.

Stay Here!

"YEESSSSSSSSSS!!!" Spike exclaimed as he observed the pixels of the yellow knight go up in pixelated flames.

Before Spike had the chance to fully enjoy his victory, he heard someone knocking frantically at his bedroom door. Turning off the television, the little dragon ambled over to see who it was.

When he opened the door ,he was greeted by a frantic-looking Twilight.

"Spike, are you okay?" Twilight asked, her teeth chittering, as she stood in the doorway.

"I am fine." The little purple dragon replied, quirking a brow, "what is going on?"

Twilight sighed in relief, knowing that her friend was all right; however, this relief vanished away as she stood there in the doorway, contemplating what to say next.

Should I tell him what happened to Fluttershy?

The unicorn concluded it would be better for him to remain ignorant of the details regarding Fluttershy's death, at least for now.

"Spike," Twilight spoke nervously, "something happened to Fluttershy."

"What happened?" Spike asked, his expression worried.

"Well, we really are not sure," Twilight answered, "however, she was injured really badly."

SHOOT! WHY COULDN'T YOU JUST TELL HIM THE TRUTH, TWILIGHT! WHY COULDN'T YOU JUST TELL HIM THAT SHE'S DEAD!!!

"Can I see her?"

"Actually, I think it would be better if you stayed here for right now, Spike," Twilight deflected.

"Oh, alright." He cocked an eyebrow in suspicion.

"If anything happens, please call out for us. Okay?"

"Yeah, yeah, sure, I am not a baby, you know," Spike retorted.

"Alright." With that said, Twilight closed the door.

Locked in the Castle

Rarity tried to open the door, but it was locked. How was that possible? The door could only be locked from the inside. Maybe someone had obstructed the entrance way.

"Hey, Rainbow Dash, stop this prank this instance. It isn't funny!" Rarity yelled, her eye twitched.

There was no response but instead an eerie silence, that crept into Rarity's heart like cold tendrils.

The white unicorn tried banging on the door. At first, the blows were slow, but they became more frantic when there came no sign of acknowledgement. This was one of the most outrageous pranks Rainbow Dash and Pinkie had ever pulled on her.

Still no response.

Annoyed, Rarity looked around the room. Eventually those two would let her out. Rarity threw herself onto her sleeping bag as she waited for her friends to let her out. There she lay, looking at the ceiling.

However, after a few minutes her boredom overtook her, and she started pacing around the room.

"RWWWWWWWWYYYYYYYYYRRR!!!" Rarity yelled, as she slammed her hoof into a pile of boxes, knocking them over.

When she had calmed down, Rarity looked regretfully at the mess she had made, only to notice a pile of paper on the ground. Curious, Rarity used her magic to lift the papers to eye level. They were a stack of old notes.

Sitting back down on her sleeping bag, Rarity began to read the notes.

"My name is Artemis Featherclaw,

A few other ponies and I ventured to this strange cabin. I am not fond of Poptart; he is very disrespectful and has no respect for life. On the way here he had thrown a few rocks at some squirrels. I told him to stop, but he told me to mind my own business.

To make matters more annoying, he keeps running around with a goofy-looking clown mask.

As for the other three ponies in the group, they aren't too bad. The pudgy one, Silver Screen, is alright. However, he does appear to be shy around females.

Then there is that energetic one, Shifting Winds, who can never seem to stay in one spot for too long. It isn't necessarily an annoying trait, but I wouldn't want to bring her along to observe the wildlife. Chances are she would scare the animals away with all her excitement.

And then there is Lakin... hmmm... what was her last name again? Spotson! Yes, that was it. She was the one who told us about this place and the rumored treasure within.

In about an hour we will regroup to discuss where to start our exploration."

Well, the note was short, but it was something to entertain her as she lay trapped in this room. Thankfully, this was just the first note. However, the thought of treasure being hidden in this cabin really piqued Rarity's interest.

"I do wonder where this treasure is..."

More Commercials
Because we have to pay for this story somehow.

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... [Place explosion effect here].

Back to the Game

As Spike moved his character along the game map, his eyes caught sight of some pink pixels. The pink knight pony was coming for his character. The pixels of the pink knight sprite were arranged in a similar fashion to the armor Spike had seen the royal guards wear in Canterlot.

Not wanting to lose the game, Spike moved the sprite of his dragon behind a door to serve as a trap for the intruder. At this point in the game, Spike's character was weak out in the open, but he could win with an ambush.

As Pinkie Pie trotted around the hallway, she thought she heard something like a growl coming from another room. Hearing the noise, Pinkie stopped in her tracks and her mane fell flat. Curious, the pink mare sought out the source of the sound. That was when she noticed an orange glow coming from under the door.

At first, she thought of opening it but her Pinkie Sense told her it would be a bad idea. She agreed with her senses once she put her hoof up against the door. It was hot.

"Well, that can't be good." Pinkie said.

Fearing that there could be a fire behind the door, Pinkie Pie mystically pulled a fire extinguisher from her puffy tail and strapped it to her back. If it were any other pony, this would have been considered bizarre, but something like this was common for Pinkie. With the nozzle of the extinguisher in her mouth, Pinkie pushed open the door with her hoof.

"Hopefully I don't need my flame retardant suit."

However, when she opened the door, she didn't see a fire. Instead, she saw a large ball of flame flying towards her. She tried the use the extinguisher, but the fireball hit her before she could respond.

"I should have grabbed the suit!"

Thankfully for her sake, she didn't feel anything as the heated ball of plasma consumed her flesh, leaving behind only ash. The only thing that didn't burn away was a small card, which fell to the floor beside the ashes, that read: "Every day is a party!" Eventually, the ash pile and the card would be discovered by Rainbow Dash, who sullenly reported the news back to her friends.

Prizzzzzzzzzzzzzzzeeeeessssssssssssssss!!!

"Alright, there we go!" Spike said proudly, having successfully dispatched the pink knight.

Suddenly, a message appeared on the screen.

"You have successfully dispatched a powerful knight. You have won a prize box! Do you wish to open it?"

At the bottom of the message there were two options: Yes and No.

'Hmmm... should I go ahead and use it or not?' Spike thought to himself before he made his decision. 'Well, why not?'

Spike moved the analog stick on his controller, selecting the "Yes" option and pressed the "A" button. With that, another message popped up on the screen.

"Congratulations! You have earned the ability known as Dragnosis. Now, all the remaining squires supporting the knights have been removed from the game and will be replaced by Dragonling Minions, who shall aid you in protecting your treasure!"

"That is AWESOME!" Spike exclaimed. With this new prize, the rest of the game should be easier. What was also great was that Spike hadn't dispatched any of the squires, meaning that he had three Dragonling minions on his side.

"Perfect!"

Moving Shapes

Wishing to check on her sister and her two friends, Applejack walked down the eastern hallway to the room where the fillies were sleeping.

Opening the door, Applejack walked up to the sleeping bag he sister should be sleeping in, only to find it empty.

"Apple Bloom?"

Applejack looked around the room and discovered that not only was Apple Bloom's sleeping bag empty but so were the sleeping bags of the other two foals. Suddenly, the sound of something growling caught Applejack's attention.

Turning around, Applejack saw three small creatures. They resembled Apple Bloom and her friends, except, instead of having fur, they had scales and draconic wings on their backs. The creatures looked up at Applejack with yellow serpentine eyes and saliva dripping from their mouths, which were filled with rows of sharp teeth. Smoke seemed to leak from their nostrils.

"What?"

The small dragonlings lunged at Applejack and attempted to claw at her with their talons. While Applejack did manage to kick off one of the dragonlings, she was overcome and pushed to the ground.

"Stop!"

Applejack struggled against the brute strength of the dragonlings but due to the transformation their original strength had tripled. In their fury, the three dragonlings unleashed a torrent of flames upon the farm mare, burning her. Once their prey was dead, the dragonlings began to feast upon her flesh.

Silent Rooms

Twilight thought over what had happened. Both of her friends Fluttershy and Pinkie Pie had been killed while in the house. What could be causing this?

Maybe Rarity would have a good idea. Rarity had gone up to her room to unpack before the incidents had happened and had not been seen since.

The unicorn ascended up the stairs to the room Rarity had chosen for herself.

"Hey, Rarity, may I have a word with you?" Twilight called out as she knocked on the door. However, there was no response.

Twilight tried to open the door, but it was locked tight.

"Hello, Rarity, the door is locked. Can I please come in?" Twilight called out again, but there still seemed to be no response from anyone behind the door.

However, Twilight didn't give up, she had one more trick up her sleeve.

"Rarity I am going to try to teleport myself into the room, okay?"

Thinking of the location behind the door, Twilight's horn lit up as she cast the teleportation spell. When she opened her eyes, however, she noticed that she was still out in the hallway. Twilight tried casting the spell again, but nothing happened.

"Surely I am doing this right." Twilight thought. She then teleported herself a few feet away, seeing that she was, indeed, casting the spell correctly. For some reason she couldn't teleport herself into Rarity's room.

"Rarity, there is something I need to tell you..." Twilight spoke, "Fluttershy and Pinkie... they're... they're dead!"

A door with a million locks

"TWILIGHT! PLEASE LET ME OUT OF HERE!" Rarity screamed at the door. She had heard Twilight trying to call out for her in the hallway, and Rarity was hoping her friend would be able to help her.

Minutes earlier, Rarity had heard the sound of an explosion somewhere else in the house.

"Hello, Rarity, the door is locked. Can I please come in?" Rarity heard Twilight call out from the other side of the door.

"NO, THE DOOR ISN'T LOCKED ON THIS SIDE!" Rarity yelled back. She continued to jiggle the knob, but nothing happened.

"Rarity, I am going to try to teleport myself into the room, okay?"

"YES! BY CELESTIA, THANK YOU! THANK YOU! THANK YOU!" Rarity proclaimed as her heart jumped with delight at the thought of being saved. However, this sensation evanesced as a minute had passed and her friend had not appeared in the room.

"Twilight?"

"Rarity, there is something I need to tell you..." Twilight spoke, from the other side of the door, "Fluttershy and Pinkie... they're... they're dead!"

"What?"

The revelation caught Rarity off guard. How could something like this happen? Hours ago, Rarity had seen Fluttershy and Pinkie alive and well. Now they were both dead.

"Anyway, I have to go." Twilight's voice said from the other side of the door.

"NO! WAIT!" Rarity called out, but the only response she received was the echoing sound of a pony's hoofsteps descending from the attic back to the main floor.

Saddened by her inability to escape, Rarity sat back down on the bed and resumed reading the notes she had found earlier. This time, however, the notes she began to read had a different form of hoof writing.

"Hello, my name is Silver Screen,

So Artemis has been writing some of these notes. I am afraid to say that she is dead, but I am certain she is.

We were looking around the basement looking for the treasure when suddenly this creature came out of nowhere and attacked us. It looked like a pony, but it wasn't. It had a circular blade in its head and it was covered in bandages.

It cut Poptart in half, and it would have killed me if it weren't for Artemis. She managed to push me out of the way when the horrific monster charged at us.

Artemis told Shifting Winds and me to run for it before she brandished a pair of metal claws on her hooves, saying she was going to buy us some time.

We ran and didn't look back. Shifting Winds and I ran for the door, but it was locked. We tried the windows, but they wouldn't budge. I even threw a chair against the window, and the glass refused to even crack. The chair, on the other hoof, shattered.

After hearing the creature ascend the steps, Shifting Winds and I split up looking for places to hide.

I don't believe Artemis survived. I am certain of this because I am hiding here in the attic, and I can still hear the sound of a buzzsaw in the distance. About a half an hour ago, I thought I heard another scream. It must have come from Shifting Winds.

I am going to finish writing this letter because I think I hear it coming for me. I will try to remain hidden here, but I fear it will find me. Somehow, it sees without sight.

"How awful!" Rarity said as she let the letter fall to the floor.

Rarity lay on the bed, wondering if perhaps this would become the fate of her and her friends, as well.

Anticipating the End

Spike stared at the television with sweaty palms holding the controller.

On Spike's screen there was an indicator showing that there were two knights left: a blue one and a purple one. They both possessed armor that was designed less for protection and more for speed and agility. This lightweight armor would allow them to outmaneuver his dragon in a fight, which meant Spike would have to be very careful with his tactics.

Perhaps a charged fire breath would be useful.

"Alright, here goes nothing."

With sweaty palms, the dragon picked up the controller and readied himself for the upcoming battle.

Between a Rock and a Cauldron

"Hey, Rainbow Dash, have you seen Applejack?" Twilight asked.

"I think she went to check on the fillies." Rainbow Dash answered.

Looking at the wall, Rainbow Dash found herself examining some of the paintings on the living room wall. One painting was of a stallion wearing a blue shirt with some white flowers on it. Another painting had the image of a gray pegasus mare with blue eyes and a blue mane. Both of the portraits had a strange black backdrop with some runny yellow paint behind them. Both of the ponies appeared to be looking out of the portraits with a sinister look on their face.

Suddenly Twilight started notice a strange scent in the air. Was it... gas?

"Rainbow Dash, I think we need to get out of here!"

Sniffing the air, Rainbow Dash noted, "Yeah, something seems off."

However, it wasn't the smell that made the two mares worry but instead the gurgling sound that seemed to resonate throughout the house.

"Rainbow Dash we need to run! NOW!"

As Twilight ran, one of her hooves caught on a nail sticking out of the floor, causing her to fall face-first to the floor. Upon hitting the floor, most of the force of the impact went to the horn causing it to crack.

"Ouch!"

Returning to her hooves, Twilight resumed running as fast as she could. Up ahead, Rainbow Dash had made a swift turn up the stairs towards the attic. An ominous gurgling sound could be heard in the distance, impelling Twilight to attempt the use of a teleportation spell to catch up with Rainbow Dash; however, all her horn did was glow and sputter.

When the gurgling sound resonated through the hallway, Twilight realized where she had heard it before. She remembered Spike's stomach making a similar sound before he used his breath to deliver messages to Celestia, or when he belched at home.

The sound of stone clashing against stone could be heard before the rushing of wind as a great torrent of flame blew down the hallway towards Twilight. The flame engulfed Twilight, turning the unicorn to ash. White text blinked before her nonexistent eyes.

Flame engulfed the corridor, burning the wall paper and scorching the wood underneath. Once the fire subsided, small embers danced in the air.

Should Have Waited Before Counting Your Eggs

A blue pixel blinked on the screen showing that the blue knight had survived Spike's attack.

"Drat!"

His dragon's last attack had taken up so much energy that the fight against the blue knight would be extremely difficult... unless. Spike opened his menu to discover that he still had three Dragonling minions in the game.

No, Spike would win this game. He was now sure of it.

"Just one more to go."

The Writing on the Wall

Rainbow Dash ascended the stairs at an exhausting rate. She was tired and worn out from the running after the already exhausting trek to the mansion. Looking back, the Pegasus saw that the flame was gone now, save for a few embers on the charred wooden floor below the steps. The scent of something burning entered her nostrils; no doubt, Twilight did not survive.

Every pony was gone, taken away by some unseen force that Rainbow Dash doubted she could understand.

Reaching the top of the steps, Rainbow Dash collapsed on the floor. As she lay there, she thought she heard something growl. Looking up, Rainbow Dash saw three dragon-like creatures looking down at her, their mouths drooling thick saliva.

"Oh, buck!"

As Rainbow Dash finished swearing, the Dragonlings opened their maws and breathed fire upon her. Her face was burned by a combination of orange, purple and violet flames.

Rainbow Dash was still alive despite having her face charred, a fact that the Dragonlings would be remedying soon. Sharp teeth reached around her scorched neck. As her throat was torn out, two words made of white lettering appeared before her blackened vision.

GAME OVER.

The Dragonlings tore the flesh from the Pegasus's corpse and devoured it until there was nothing left but bones. Full from their meal, the three Dragonlings rolled up into little balls and went to sleep.

The Price of Winning

Spike looked at the screen, which read: "You Win!" Then, a few seconds later, another sentence showed up at the bottom of the screen: "But at what cost?"

The purple dragon waited for the screen to change, but it didn't. Bored, the little dragon decided to leave the room and go speak with the other ponies. Sure, Twilight had told him to stay inside his room, but that must have been hours ago. Surely whatever problems they had been experiencing had been resolved by now.

Stepping out of his room, Spike was surprised to find that the light in the hallway was flickering. He tried to open the door to Twilight's room, but it was locked. The purple dragon then checked the other rooms in the hallway, but all the doors were locked.

Spike then tried to open the door to the hallway leading to the entrance of the house and found it was unlocked. However, once he stepped through the doorway, he found himself in a hallway much like the one he had just come from. Like the previous hallway, all the doors were locked.

"How did these get here?"

There were pictures of Spike and his friends on the wall, pictures of him with Twilight, Rarity, and some of their other friends.

The dragon continued to the door and left the hallway, only to once again find himself in another hallway, except now there was a strange smell in the air. Like the scent of sulfur.

"What is going on?" Spike asked, "Where is everyone?"

As the dragon walked through the hallway, he noticed that one of the doors was open. He looked inside to what appeared to be Twilight's room, however there were strange fleshy sacs hanging from the ceiling.

Feeling uneasy, Spike closed the door and proceeded down the hallway and opened the door.

Upon entering the new hallway, Spike noticed that it was pitch black. Suddenly, there was a gust a wind and the door slammed shut behind him, leaving the poor dragon lost in the dark. Cold sweat dripped down the Spike's scales as he chewed on his claws.

As his sense of sight was robed from him, Spike's other senses compensated. The little dragon could hear what sounded like dripping water occupied by a bubbling liquid. The stench of sulfur was stronger with the scent of some additional acidic substance wafting through the air. Spike felt something wet and squishy between his feet.

Spike realized that he might be able to illuminate his surrounding by using his fire breath. He wouldn't be able to hold the flames too long, but perhaps it would be enough for him to see where he was.

The little dragon inhaled and expelled a puff of green flame, illuminating the room for a few seconds. The walls were gone replaced with red slime-covered flesh. Spike was trapped inside some sort of digestive system.

Blowing another puff of smoke, Spike soon realized that the fleshy walls were started to come together, creating a claustrophobic environment.

"What?"

Spike held out his arms, trying to stop the progress of the mounds of flesh. However, this proved pointless.

"OWWWWWWWWW!!!!!!!!" Spike screamed as his arm bones snapped.

The dragon tried to scream but failed as the bones of his ribcage snapped. All he could do was whimper as the mounds of flesh crushed his small, fragile body.

That Ends the Game

"Well now, wasn't that a fun little game?" The Smiling Stallion said, leaning back proudly in his seat.

"Maybe, but how did you know the dragon would find the game?" Sky Blazer asked, "I mean, what if he never found the disk? Would this cycle have gone on forever?"

Smiling, the stallion stood up from his chair. "No, because there were two additional programs in place for such a scenario. One would have lured the dragon to find the disk, and the other that would have let loose our little assistant in the case that the first program failed."

"So you had a failsafe."

"Of course. I always have a back up plan."

A Month Later

The attic room was full of cobwebs, some newer than the others. A new layer of dust had collected on all the items in the room despite the attempts of the room's prior owner to keep it clean. All her cleaning had been in vain.

On the bed lay the skeleton of a unicorn mare. Her bones covered in the dust and cobwebs. Spiders had made her remains their home and had covered her in silk; her body resembled that of a mummy.

She had died weeks ago from dehydration, and here her bones lay unburied. This attic room had become her tomb.

Three young dragons guarded her room, making sure that nopony took their princess from them.