Twilight squinted her eyes as she gazed down at the landscape. An evil hue of purple cast a long and chilling shadow across the once green shrubbery of the forest below the stony escarpment that she stood on, the magnificent shine of the blue Crystal Empire and the Canterlot Castle sitting on top of a steep cliff, a waterfall dispensing clear water over it. The Princess of Friendship's purple hair streaked with a dull pink waved in the calm wind, a gold crown adorning her head. Her hoofs were fashioned with mystical golden shoes that enlightened the grey stone floor where she stood.
Twilight stared at the sight in front of her, thoughts running through her mind. She understood the reason why everything was shaded an unnatural colour. The power of her crown and her shoes would assist her in something that she would prefer not to be accustomed with. Along down the landscape, a lone mountain top was flanked by dark thick clouds, the source coming from a large hole drilled through.
The resident of the makeshift home: Spike the Dragon.
Twilight prepared her long wings. She channeled her magic into her horn, a small pool of energy for her to use if things got hairy. With a long step, she leapt from her spot on top of the escarpment. Instantly, she felt a strong air resistance push against her face. She fell down across from the rocky wall opposite from her belly and felt the first unnerving sense of fear make a lump in her throat. She waved the feeling away quickly and spread her wings. She suddenly changed her direction and made her body go toward the direction of the mysterious mountain top, hoping that her flight will take long.
Twilight strengthened her dismayed expression as she travelled across the soon to be doomed landscape. She had to find a way to stop her once assistant and end his invasion. The princess knew that if she was not able to stop Spike, then the entire world of Equestria and the countless lives that populated it would be in jeopardy. She flapped harder as a result and finished reserving her magic into her horn. In minutes she passed the extravagant Canterlot Castle and inched closer to the darkened mountain top.
I just hope that this magic will be enough, Twilight thought.
Twilight passed through the pitch black clouds (with some difficulty) and emerged on the other side. She was met with the point of the mountain. A hole just as big as the gates to Twilight's castle came into view, the contents inside hidden from her sense of perception. She rested her wings as she descended to the rocky ground. She took a deep breath and walked into the large chasm. She was suddenly met with the inability to see. Twilight concentrated her magic to light up her horn. A dim purple glow fizzled from her stunted horn and saw that the hole was much larger than she had anticipated.
An unsettling heat rose, making beads of sweat trickle down Twilight's forehead. It quickly became harder to breathe normally. Her hoofsteps echoed around her and bounced away into the seemingly endless entrance way. Soon, the light from the opposite direction faded, and she was met with darkness around her, save for her own light. Twilight nervously darted her eyes, only to be met with the same dark space. She could not make out a shape of any kind, and as far she knew she could not hear any sounds apart from her own.
Twilight stopped. Something was not right. Spike had to be in here, and if Twilight's calculations were correct, the dragon should have grown ten fold. With that size, there would be no way he could use stealth.
Unless he became more powerful than I previously figured, Twilight thought.
A rumble erupted inside the cave as soon as Twilight ended her thought. Her body wobbled while she tried to get her to stand correctly. The shock stopped suddenly, and a series of smaller rumbles followed. Twilight steadied her focus and analyzed the pattern. They were like footsteps, and they shook the entire cave.
Just like the steps of a fully grown dragon.
"It has been a long time, hasn't it?"
Twilight stifled a gasp, trying not to appear frightened. In front of her, a large piece of purple scaly flesh moved to the right, shined by the lavender light. As soon as she saw it, it was gone.
"Spike," Twilight forced out.
A low chuckle filled the air. "...It has been such a long time since anypony used that name. Usually, they would scream before they thought of referencing me by name."
Twilight suddenly felt a steamy stream of air massage her stood up hairs. Another short chuckle from behind.
"So long..."
"Spike, you have to stop this," Twilight said. "You shouldn't hurt these ponies. They're innocent."
A moment of silence instilled a familiar sense of panic within Twilight, only interrupted by the loud breathing behind her. She heard the scales behind her move, then found that she was facing a large snout. Hot air snorted out from Spike's nostrils and blazed a sickening breath on to Twilight. The princess attempted to ignore the smell, but stood still. She was not to be intimidated. Twilight remembered that she had magic readied up, and had to know when the situation came to use it.
"I have grown much wiser than I had before," Spike said. "Wise enough to know that these ponies that you are trying to defend are not innocent in the least. I had wished your limitless wisdom would have known that."
"What I am saying is the truth," Twilight shot back, taking a dominating step forward. "Maybe your eyes have grown blind and useless in your old age."
Another chuckle annoyed Twilight, but she kept her cool for the moment. The large purple dragon moved his large snout back and stuck out two large menacing hands, their claws huge and pointy. One of them, to Twilight's surprise, held a large chess board and pieces. The dragon set them down to the ground and placed the pieces together, while putting his face forwards, finally revealing his golden lizard eyes.
"Perhaps we will see who is the better in the game of strategy."
Twilight raised a brow, confused. Perhaps this was a way to boost his ego. Dragons have been meant to beat many ponies in a game of chess before, due to their large and developed minds, but Spike did not show the intellectual characteristic. Maybe Spike had grown determined to beat her in what is universally regarded as a smart pony's game. Twilight knew that there were many at stake, so she should choose her moves carefully. She studied that she had the black pieces, so white was to go first.
Twilight sat patiently and studied Spike. He stared at Twilight. They both sat in silence for a long moment, neither making a move.
"Aren't you going to go?" Twilight asked.
Spike's eyes widened. "Hrm?"
"You are white. You go first."
"Oh."
Spike studied the pieces and moved a pawn forward. Twilight looked at the board. She wasn't sure what strategy he was going with, but he has always been unpredictable. Twilight set up her pawn forward as well. Spike shot up in excitement.
"Ha! I get two points!"
"...What?"
Spike looked at Twilight. "You went on the black square! I get two points!"
Twilight tried to comprehend that statement, then gave up immediately afterwards. "What are you talking about? There is no points."
"What?" Spike glanced at the board, then at Twilight. "What about getting a knight? Is that worth something?"
"No, you just get the knight. That's it."
Spike nodded his head and rubbed around his neck with a puzzled look on his face. "Okay, okay..."
The dragon picked up his rook and sent it right to the queen in one move. Twilight sputtered in confusion and shot a look at Spike.
"You can't do that! That's cheating!"
"No it isn't! After that, I shuffle cards and if I get two monsters, I can use a fusion card to summon a Nine Tailed Fox!"
"No! That's an entirely different game!"
"What?! What about a four word score tile?"
"That's a different game! Do you even know how to play chess?!"
Spike stopped and looked at the board.
"This is chess?"
Twilight twitched.
ELSEWHERE
"So, explain to me why we never used these magical weapons again?" A warrior pony asked.
A grey pony decked in shining armor glanced at his friend beside him. A large magical missile glowed behind them. Ponies were tending to it in preparation. He shrugged.
"I dunno. Plot convenience?"
"What?"
"Nothing. Let's blow this joint."
"FIRE!"
Kaboom.
