Luna looked around the dreamscape she had just entered. The floor was a black and white checkerboard style and all around her were massive chess pieces, as if she were in the middle of a giant gameboard.

"Pawn to E-five." A voice called out.

As she watched, Luna saw one of the giant pieces move a space forward, into the designated area. She heard a loud chuckle.

"You have sealed your fate, it would seem." A second voice called.

"Bring it! I've still got one spell card left! You attack and I'll bitch slap you right back!" Hearing it a second time, Luna recognized the voice as Eclipse. Now the question was 'what is going on here?'

"I call your bluff, boy. Bishop to E-five!"

Another large piece slid over the board, vying with the pawn for control over the square known as E-five.

Luna could practically hear Eclipse grin. "It wasn't a bluff, and I'm not your boy. Card reveal!"

The two massive chess pieces slowly faded to a translucent coloring, revealing two cards at their hearts. The card glowed white, before transforming into two monsters the likes of which Luna had never seen.

The bishop released a black dragon with glowing red eyes. The pawn turned into a giant hairball with claws and eyes.

"You think a kuriboh can stand against my red-eyes black dragon?"

"It's not the kuriboh you should be worried about." Eclipse retorted. "Remember my card?"

"Oh please. What card could you have that could possibly--"

"I play the spell card, Black Luster Ritual!"

"...Excuse me?"

"By sacrificing that kuriboh and one other monster--specifically, that Gaia, the fierce knight under my, er, knight over there--" Another chess piece faded and revealed the card underneath. "--I can use this card to turn that pawn into a Black Luster Soldier! Say good bye to your last bishop."

"Bah! You still lose the pawn."

"But open the way to your king. I think the card under my queen should pack just enough power behind it, thanks to not having either your bishop or my pawn in the way."

The Black Luster Soldier charged forward, destroying the dragon but also being mortally wounded in the process.

With that, both pieces were removed from play. Now, Eclipse sent a queen across the board, to his enemy's rook. Another battle played out, with the attacking piece as the victor.

Scrambling to protect his king piece, Eclipse's opponent lost several more pieces and eventually found himself backed into a corner. Conceding the game with a groan, he relented. By now, Luna had spotted the two competitors on opposite sides of the giant board, each sitting with a set of cards in their hands. Both of them were humans.

One of them spotted Luna as the game ended. "Ah! It's about time!" He slipped behind one of the chess pieces, the familiar gray and brown pony coming around the other side. "I was wondering when you'd arrive!"

Luna looked around, surprised to find that the area had turned into a blank void around the two of them. Eclipse was really starting to get the hang of controlling his dreams.

"I believe you'll be happy to know that the situation in Appleloosa has been resolved. However, there's also some bad news..." Eclipse cleared his throat. "You may want to sit down, Princess."

"The Dawn's Light are just an old pony's tale!" Luna exclaimed, shaking her head. "Vampire hunters. Nothing more."

"With all due respect, weren't you the same not so long ago?" Eclipse asked. "Who's to say that the Dawn's Light are not also real? Though, they're hardly vampire hunters so much as some criminal element that's gotten way out of hand. Hoof, I mean. Out of hoof." He rubbed his head. "I'll never get used to that. Though I will not start saying 'everypony', under any circumstances!"

Luna nodded. "Return with the new recruits Celestia asked you to gather. As well as any family they bring with them. We must wait for the Light to make their move next, but we want to begin preparing Dust Demon and Sagebrush as soon as possible." She gave Eclipse a small smile. "Though Sagebrush may already be well trained enough."

Eclipse sat down. "So we're stuck waiting? That's it?"

"That's all we can do, for now." Luna responded, her tone shooting down any further objection. "Besides, Feather Duster still wants that dinner you promised."

"Yeah, I remember. But after that incident with the mugger, I just wanted to get right back out and do something, you know? I probably shouldn't have left."

"Tell Feather Duster that and she'll twist your leg off." Luna laughed. "Just get on the next train back. As a bonus, I have something... special planned."

Eclipse blanched. "My stomach just made it halfway through the mantle."

"I hope it brings back some diamonds."

Eclipse shook his head as he woke up. Groaning, he stretched, popping several joints in the process. Once this was finished, he noticed an odd feeling coming from his stomach.

"Uh-oh."

Miraculously, a nurse came in with a bucket at the perfect moment. Handing Eclipse the bucket, she backed away to avoid the back splash.

Several moments later, Eclipse and the nurse stared at a bucket that was half full of semi-clear gemstones. Eclipse sighed. "And yet I somehow didn't see this coming." Giving the pile of diamonds another look, he glanced at the nurse. "Know any place I can drop these off?"

The nurse's ears pricked at his question. "You don't want to keep them?"

"Not really."

The nurse immediately grabbed the bucket and left the room. Eclipse heard a loud "Moving to Canterlot!" come from the next room over, then saw the nurse sprint away from the building through a window in his room.

The doctor, understandably confused, came into the room not long after. "Well, there was an unexpected resignation, so I'll handle this situation now." He looked up at Eclipse. "You're free to go."

Eclipse smiled. "In that case... Zim-zala-bim!" Eclipse threw the covers of his bed in front of himself. When they resettled, Eclipse had vanished from the room.

Sighing at the second unexplainable thing that had happened to him in as many minutes, the doctor turned to the room's other inhabitant. "You however, still require two more days off your hooves."

The patient groaned.

"Yeah well, you should have come here sooner." The doctor muttered. "Everypony's a tough guy..."

Author's Notes:

The odd (and completely made up) combination of Yu-gi-oh and chess featured in this chapter does have rules to it. No I won't bore you with specifics.