Spike slowly awoke. His eyes blinked rapidly as he took a deep breath. As he did, his hopes shattered again. He didn't wake up inside the castle of friendship. Twilight wasn't there to greet him, nor Starlight. He was still inside the clubhouse where he feel asleep in. With a heavy sigh, he got up and stretched. His hands and back popped, making him shiver. With his bones feeling a bit looser, he made his way to the window. His gaze shifted, scanning the outside for any sign of life.

Just like yesterday the streets were empty. There was no ponies walking along the road, no voices, nothing. All there was, was silence and emptiness. Spike turned his head, looking around the room once again. Just as before there was no sign of the CMC. The only thing that gave him hope was that the sun was shining and the sky was clear. It was a beautiful sight that would bring smiles to many faces. Yet, there was no faces for him to see, or ponies for him to speak too.

He slouched down and his stomach growled. Grabbing one of the nearby snacks, he munched down and leaned against the framing of the window. He stared out, hoping to see even a glimpse of somepony, but no such luck. He didn't have the strength to move, and didn't even try to leave the clubhouse.

Had Spike even attempted escape though, he would have finally saw the monster. It was still firmly asleep twenty feet under him. Its eyes were shut and its tongue was sticking out. Its body constricted around the tree like a tight vice. The stomach slowly expanding and contracting as it breathed in and out.

However, upon hearing Spike's voice above, the blacken eyes slowly opened. Its head tilted upward ever so slight to see Spike's head out the window, looking over the town. The creature gave no emotional response to see the new prey. Instead, stretching its tail out.

Its tip slowly slithered around the treehouse and approached Spike from above. This was to ensure the dragon would have no idea the source was actually coming from below him. The creature remembered that it had used this very same trick in the same place before. It was used then to take out an unexpecting Scootaloo, who was looking through the same window. She didn't notice the tip either until it ripped through her skull.

Spike didn't even notice her hoof marks dug deep into the underside of the window rim. Her blood was long gone thanks to the creature's tidiness and acid. But didn't have time to remove every detail of her demise back then when fighting off Apple Bloom, Diamond Tiara or Silver Spoon. Those three put up a mild fight only because Apple Bloom's strength was greater than the beast suspected. It had to splatter Scootaloo's brains all over her before her guard finally broke. Once her legs were snapped in the distraction, taking out the two spoiled brats was an easy feat.

It wouldn't make the same mistake with Spike. A quick and precise stab to the back of the head. It was all that it needed to do to win against this survivor. With a swift motion, the tip of the tail shot forward, aiming for the back of his neck. Yet just before it could penetrate his scales, the sunlight glimmered over the Fire Ruby.

The shattered gem was still lying on the ground where Spike had dropped it. Its reflective surface caught the sun's rays, casting its shine in the creature's eyes. It winced in pain and stopped the attack. Its tail retracted from taking out Spike and quickly returned under the tree.

It slithered around in pain, trying to dodge the burning light. Why was it suffering now? The sunlight never bothered it before. What could have changed this time? Then its mind flashed back to the boutique and all the blueprints in the record room. Those two from before screaming in agony. Rarity's last breath, urging for her dragon to find that cursed gem. At the far end of it was a chest containing the... Fire Ruby. The strange object was impossible to pick up for some reason the beast couldn't understand. Even odder was the effect light had upon it, blinding the monster even now.

Its eyes widened at the sight of the shattered remains of the gem. The head tilted and popped a loud cracking sound. This disruption of the town's silence so close to the dragon threw him for a loop. His head fell off the window frame as his body crashed to the floor. In the same motion, unknown to Spike, the creature twisted and twirled around the tree like a snake and shot upward until it was towering over the Fire Ruby and far from the shine that it cast back.

Its black orbs locked onto the broken gemstone and felt a strange sense of rage and malice. The head of the beast rammed down upon the gem, barely missing it as the light hit the eyes again. Tearing through the ground, the monster reeled back and curled around the tree once more. The anger within reached a boiling point as its head shot down multiple times. It couldn't understand the gem, why would it hurt it so much?

Each one missed until there was enough force to crash its head firmly into the dirt. Now trapped, a deep growl erupted from the creature, the sounds damped by the rocks and stones. All Spike heard was the multiple crashes outside, which shook the tree. His head popped out the window, trying to see the source of the noise. Yet before he could see the body, the whole floor of the clubhouse tilted back.

A different cracking sound echoed around them. The beast's weight and bony body had torn and cut into the tree just enough to rip it loose from the stump. The whole building was leaning downward with each passing second, increased with the beast's attempts to break free from the ground.

With a final growl, the beast's head shot upward, sending the tree back into place tossing the treehouse into the air, flying across the town. Spike screamed in utter terror, not knowing what just happened. He held on to the windowsill, barely keeping him inside the building. Yet a final bump sent him falling out of the window.

Spike rolled around the floor as the treehouse as it flew for several seconds. Things around him slip and slide, revealing objects he hadn't noticed before. In particular, there was a single grey feather. Spike quickly snatched it and looked up to see the building crash into the Apple Farm. He was knocked unconscious upon hitting the ground. The Fire Ruby landed just inches beside the clubhouse as it fell apart around the dragon.

Author's Note

Yes, we will be getting minor flashbacks, purely from the monster's POV through the series. I can't have Spike learn too much, too quickly, but I can provide the reader with quick glimpses of each character's gruesome demise. One more chapter after this and then we are taking a month-long break to let everything settle before jumping into season 2.