Ghost Of Equestria

Chapter 10
Acceptance

As the winds brushed against his armour and his katana firmly in his claws, he still saw the silhouette that had been following him for some time. The sun was not as warm as it once upon a time used to be. The light from the sun was no more. The only thing that remained was the corrupted creatures in Equestria, corrupted by the umbrum. Following a leader that wants to do nothing but have power.

Power, that even Princess Celestia, his mother, would fear.

His fleeing from the Dragonlands did not go unnoticed, and he was sure that whoever the one in the silhouette was, wanted to either thank Spike or something more sinister was at play.

Spike stared at the creature with a look of indifference, not that the creature could see that because of the mask Spike was wearing. They were in the Everfree Forest, the cold wind tense like usual. It was hard to tell whether it was day or night, but the sun was up in the sky so it could be daytime.

“Are you a coward?” Spike questioned the silhouette. The creature must have gotten angry because it jumped very quickly after that towards Spike but it did not try to hit him, it seemed more like it was studying him from up and down. The silhouette did not seem very dangerous but Spike was not taking any chances.

He was standing inside of a circle, surrounded by trees and tree branches on the ground on wet grass and leaves. The coldness hitting his nostrils and the wind gently caressing his armour and body was a nice touch. He looked at the creature who then came out of the shadows and it was revealed to be an archer for King Sombra. Immediately, Spike threw a kunai which was a small blade sometimes used for arrows if there was nothing else around.

The kunai flew through the air and the archer must not have witnessed the sudden movement or noticed it too late, he was wearing a red suit with animal skin but Spike did not dare even look at the size of it to see which animal it was. There was no way he would do so. He was just like Fluttershy in that respect, a large animal lover.

The archer was holding a bow that was made from wood that Spike did not know of. It could be umbrum wood maybe but the umbrum creatures are not known for using wood. They are mostly known for using metals that could cut and slice their enemies without the worry of non-penetration.

The archer fell to the ground, the kunai hitting his throat. It was a changeling by the looks of it but one that belonged to Queen Chrysalis or just a changeling that was not reformed. The eyes were red but that could be explained away as blood from him or her or some creature else entirely …

This was wartimes so it came as no surprise for Spike. It was dangerous times they were living in.

He slowly walked forward to her body wondering if he should check for weapons or not. He was mildly curious as to what he or she had on their body. Specifically anything valuable or something he could use to his advantage. Something like that. But when he checked for just that, he found none which he expected as well.

He had crouched down when he had searched the body, but there was some aching pain coming from his left leg. He checked his leg by feeling with his claws if anything was poking out or so but nothing.

“Most likely cramps,” Spike muttered to himself but he did not sound irritated the slightest. He checked his surroundings, it felt like the trees had moved closer but that was probably just him. The leaves and mud on the ground made noise every time he slowly walked from one place to another to see if he could find any timberwolves in the area just in case if he needed to fight against them.

The sky was still as grey as ever and Spike would have gotten tired of it but he knew it was no creature’s fault. It was just that King Sombra had a bad taste in weather. He would have chuckled at his humor if it was not for the fact that he grew angry with himself.

How could he just make a joke like that? He is in the middle of a war and he is making jokes about King Sombra while creatures could be in danger. He could not stand by these “moving trees” and wait for something to happen. He had to move onwards if he even wanted a single glimpse of a possibility of a victory.

So Spike started running in the direction of Ponyville. If he manages to liberate Ponyville, then it will mean that King Sombra will lose a major strong point. But Spike had to think things through. He could save it for later, for the final battle maybe. But then other creatures could get severely hurt and Spike did not want that. He knew that sacrifices needed to be made but when it came to innocent lives he had to think about it. In detail.

He moved through the forest with ease and stealth, not drawing any kind of attention from any creatures nearby. If there were any that is. The whole forest seemed oddly vacant of life and that was something that worried Spike a lot. He had not heard a single pep from any kind of animal or anything, just the wind that blew against his back.

Spike neared the end of the forest and noticed the oddly shaped buildings of Ponyville. It looked completely different from the one year he had been gone. Or well, he had seen it a few weeks ago but it still felt like it had been ages since he had seen his old hometown. It felt so strange and weird to say that it had been his hometown, it looked so depressing to live in despite the fact before the invasion, Ponyville was considered the happiest town in Equestria.

But now, it was in all probability, the most miserable town in Equestria. All the creatures living together seemed to have lost all hope and just live together, got to learn about each other. Then some lost family members and friends from King Sombra and it sent Spike fuming mad with his blood literally boiling.

In the end, Spike believed it to be best to leave Ponyville alone ... for now.

*

He had decided to see if he could liberate Griffinstone so he had traveled all the way there, not even stopping for food or water that had run out. He did have money for his long journey, so that bit wouldn’t be a problem. The stones that lead up to Griffinstone had been intense. He had almost been spotted by some Umbrum guards who were on patrol.

The Umbrum soldiers had been speaking in their language but Spike could not make anything out because the one speaking sounded incredibly angry for whatever reason.

He just hoped that the creatures who were prisoners in their hometown were as safe as possible from those Umbrum soldiers. He would hate to even think what they would do to them for trying to run away and find shelter or try to buy medicine or even food.

This was the reason he had trained for so long, without knowing it, he had been training his whole life for this. He had been a child when the invasion happened which was a year ago, but why did he feel mature? It was because he had to, he could not be fooling around during wartimes.

He was hiding inside of a cave near Griffinstone. The cave was covered in moss, the walls and ceiling of the cave were almost covered in green. He squeezed himself through when he heard footsteps from the Umbrum soldiers come closer. He squeezed further in until he came to an opening.

The opening was a large triangle-shaped room with a small opening the furthest to the right. He would have to crawl under but Spike wanted to check the place out just in case there was anything of value. He hoped to maybe find something valuable and sell it and then give the money to the innocent creatures.

But there was nothing, but there were signs that someone had been living in here. Either multiple or few creatures had been using this as a hideout. But there was a very large scale of possibilities that this had been used by Umbrum soldiers. There was some blood on the stone ground and walls but there were no drag marks which made Spike believe that it had rotten away. But it did not make any sense, there should be bones left.

Spike decided to not focus on that right now and decided to head out and see if he could see any strategic points on taking control of Griffinstone. Not that he personally was interested in ruling it but in the situation, he was in, it was pretty much a coup but at the same time it wasn’t a coup. He just hoped no more innocent lives have been lost.

He walked over to the crawl space and got down to his claws and knees and then his stomach and then he started to crawl. The tunnel he was crawling through only lead to one way which was out of the caves on into the wild mountains of Griffinstone.

He did know how the Griffins usually were around other creatures and themselves, they were never kind and never did have anything nice to say so Spike could only imagine what kind of resistance they must have put up. He did know that their army was pretty strong but he had never actually seen them be used for anything unless it’s wartimes.

He just hoped that they did not say anything to have made the Umbrum soldiers angry, he could only imagine what they must have gone through with their attitudes. Spike remembered Gilda and he couldn’t even think about what she must have gone through. Being hit for being too slow, barely being feed, or not feed at all.

Spike used his kaginawa to climb some mountains. From where he was climbing, he could see some parts of Griffinstone. They had wooden houses with hay for roofs but now it looked like they did not have anything at all. Some parts had been burned down by the Umbrum and there were hanging bodies of Griffons and other creatures who had come there looking for shelter.

When Spike reached the top of the mountain he had been climbing, he observed the area more clearly and saw hundreds of Umbrum guards marching in and out with four different generals and two warlords who were wearing gold armour while the generals wore dark silver armour.

The Griffons looked to be desperate for help, they did not look angry, they only looked scared which shocked Spike, if there was any kingdom he would expect to be the most resistant, it would be the Griffins. They are the most aggressive creatures and have been compared to dragons at times. But Spike did understand as well, the Umbrum soldiers had better weapons and fought like dogs.

Spike looked towards the entrance of Griffinstone. “Hmm, too many guards watching, a frontal attack would be suicide unless if I find an armourer who knows how to make armour made of only metal.” He told himself out loud. He realized that the idea was ridiculous so he scratched the idea without thinking twice. He looked towards other mountains nearby. “There is a possibility that I can place archers there and make it rain fire arrows on the enemy so they would have to cover themselves so I can swoop in and kill a few.”

Spike liked that idea and decided to keep that one. It could be beneficial. He then looked towards the mountain he was standing on and looked towards the center of Griffinstone. “I can gather some creatures like dragons and pegasi to fly in with weapons and start the first act of the rebellion against King Sombra. At least one that King Sombra would recognize.”

Spike observed the scene a little bit more before he decided to finally face his family in the Crystal Empire. He knew that there would be questions that would need answering, but was he ready to answer them? Well, there was never a right time so it was probably best to just do it.

*

Getting down from the mountains was easier than Spike initially expected, but that was just plus points for him.

He did wonder how he would get into the Crystal Empire without triggering any alarms, but he would find some way. The Crystal Empire was not very easy to sneak around unless if you knew of ways to make sure that you did not get attention on yourself. If you did, then everything was over, you would have to abort the mission.

Spike knew as much, King Sombra only managed to do so because he knew about all of the security breaches. Even cousin Cadance did not know some of them which showed how little modern creatures know about the empire that was believed to be a myth. Spike’s mother, Princess Celestia did not know much about the empire along with his aunt Luna. The things they knew were only things they needed to know and the rest were just for those within the kingdom to know just like how any other nation functions.

Spike started walking towards the Everfree Forest to stay over the night to see if he could plan his “break-in” more thoroughly. He did know to make one, he also had the resources.

And with that, he went to the Everfree Forest and grabbed the materials he needed. He wanted a larger tent so he grabbed some tree branches and started to slowly build his tent that he would use more than one time. He also had some potions that would help to cover the tent up for a few hours.

He had found some flowers when he was heading to the forest and he recognized some of them to make the potion which made him relieved, he would not have to worry about being attacked by anyone for an entire night. He needed at minimum, six hours and the most, eight hours. Sometimes he would rest to gain those two hours he did not sleep. Or he would read some books he had but he had nothing to read because he did not see them necessary for a mission about recovering his homeland.

Besides, what was the point of reading the book if he knew how it would end? Why not save that read for a later time when war is not raging all over the place?

Gathering some of the material for the tent was as easy as it could be. He did not try to find a lot of it because he had some easy materials with him, materials that in some aspects are useless, but it was still worth it if you know the true purposes.

When he finished building the tent, it looked like a small cabin house. The front door was only covered by a cloth that reached down to the muddy ground but it was swinging like a flag but was thicker. It was coloured in beige and had no mark on it, but Spike was about to change that. He would put on his ancient family’s crest. Two Mountains.

Using his katana, he put a different kind of oil that was only used by artists and leisurely painted the cloth with his family crest. He wished he had some banners but he was okay with what he had. The banners were like flags but they were not as big as a nation’s flag, it was one-third of a flag and had the samurai family crests on them.

When he was finished he walked inside and thought about what he would need for this tent, because there was a large possibility that he would need to use this tent again, and that is what Spike was thinking, maybe he should keep it and save it for later? But he did not want to tip of Umbra soldiers either, so he should probably destroy this one but keep some instructions somewhere with him so he can give it to the others if they needed to set up camp somewhere.

They would not get rain on them at least.

Spike knew he needed something to sleep on so he pulled out some remaining cloth that he had saved in a small corner and made the bed. It was good timing as well, it was getting dark. He had spent several hours up on the mountain and did not realize how much time he had spent there scouting for ways to liberate Griffinstone. He would need help on this one. But who would be good enough to fight with skill and someone he did not have to worry about in battle.

Pipsqueak maybe? He was a good archer, perhaps it was time for him to contact his old friend again and see if he was up for it. The time he had spent in Equestria had not been long but he did know that this was not the Equestria he wanted to live in. Innocent creatures dying every day because of a mad stallion who is obsessed with ruling everything.

With those final thoughts, Spike drifted off to sleep completely unaware that an old lady friend of his had seen him and was smiling with happy tears running down her cheeks. Zecora had missed her old friend, but she did know the reason why he had disappeared.

He was destined to defeat the King.

*

Waking up early in the morning was vital under these horrible circumstances of war. He could not sleep in because of the fear that was nagging at his bones of the children being taken hostage by the Umbrum soldiers. So Spike the second he woke up, did some simple stretching to wake up and it helped.

He never slept without his armour in fear that he might get stabbed in the middle of the night. But that is the emotion that always runs through his blood whenever he faces an Umbrum leader: fear and anger. Those two emotions make a spark in Spike that he will never understand.

The fear mixed with anger seems to have this weird effect on him and he fights with more violent and fast reflexes than was necessary but that could be his instincts as a dragon. But even believing that was a bit of a stretch. The training he did for over a year could be seen as the reason but that was not possible, not for Spike.

“Huh, maybe I am delaying the inevitable,” Spike spoke, his mind wandering from one thought to the next as he was making some breakfast out of mushrooms he knew was not dangerous. He had made a little fire and was holding the mushrooms close to the fire, making sure that they were being more edible.

He was not one for mushrooms but it was better than nothing.

He ate his mushrooms, not minding the weird taste he felt inside his mouth, and was about to put out the fire when he heard some bushes rattling behind him. He turned so fast with his claws on his katana which he did not even remember he drew out and looked towards where the rattling came from.

“Who’s there?” He asked, his voice calm but very tense and cold, making whoever it was, emerge from the bushes very slowly. Spike looked at the one who emerged with confused eyes. It was not possible, he should be in the Crystal Empire!

“Howdy Spike!” Big Macintosh said in a voice that sounded very happy as if he finally found a friend that he had once lost. He was red coated with an orange mane and tail. He was wearing a chest plate and held a sword with his mouth. Spike would have asked how he managed to speak but Big Mac was an earth pony and they learned how to talk even with their mouth holding something.

But wait a moment ... how did he know he was Spike?!

“Uh, hello Big Mac, first of, how did you know it was me and two, why aren’t you in the Crystal Empire?” Spike asked his head spinning several miles per hour. He had trained to be calm in almost every situation but there were some things that not even he could be calm about. Big Mac was supposed to be safe with his family, not go out into a war he was not prepared for!

Or ... judging by his armour, he did look more than prepared, and to be fair, he had never actually seen Big Mac go to war in real life. He has seen him do it in the game Spike, Big Mac, and Discord played before the invasion. Ogres & Oubliettes it was called.

Spike missed that game, maybe after he defeats King Sombra he will do so, but that is only under the circumstance that he survives the war.

Big Mac smiled at Spike, knowing that it must be very mystified by what was going on. He sat down near the fire and looked at Spike in the eyes and even though the mask was in the way, he saw that it was Spike no matter how much armour he had on his body. It was just that simple for the farmer.

“The first question is simple: Zecora told me that you were here and she was the one who told me about the prophecy as well,” Big Mac naturally said as if it was no big deal.

Spike looked at him as if he had grown a second head. How did Zecora possibly know that?! How was that even a possibility? To his knowledge and the years he spent getting to know her, he should have known that.

‘But there are secrets that never should be revealed no matter the circumstances.’ A little voice in Spike’s head said while Spike was still looking at Big Mac, standing on his two legs that were as wobbly as jelly but he was still standing somehow.

“To answer your second question: I have become a little bit of a ... mercenary ... not entirely by choice either. I wasn’t forced, I was just looking for work and a few creatures found me. They took me in and they trained me how to swing a sword properly.” Big Mac said, showing the sword he had dropped when he sat down to speak with Spike.

The Sakai heir noticed how Big Mac did not mention how he got out of the empire or why he was out here ...

He was covering something up.

Spike did not say anything just in case he loses his shot next time. He did not know what his old friend was hiding but he knew that it wasn’t anything good. He looked at his former friend and saw in his eyes how ... broken he looked. It was like all the joy Big Mac may have had, was not there anymore as if he had been squeezed from happiness.

But the question that Spike badly wants to ask is:

“Does your family know of this?”

*

They did not know how long they had been in the meeting room for but when they walked out it was as if had only been five minutes but they found out they had been in that meeting for almost twenty-four hours with breaks with sugar and toilet breaks.

Twilight was exhausted by the long hour of the meeting. It was terrible what had happened but Spike prevented it all. Spike, the little brother she hatched from the egg ... how could be so violent? She did not raise him to be this way, she knew that princess Celestia could be a possible explanation as well as Luna but to her knowledge, they hadn’t unless if they did train him without telling anypony.

Spike was a dragon but he had never shown any kind of signs that he would be like this and even if he did, nothing would change, it would just show that he was maturing into an adult from his dragon side. Twilight did not know when dragons were considered adults because they knew so very little about dragons, for all she knew he could already be seen as an adult because of how little she knew.

Twilight was walking alone down a few corridors with some creatures standing guards for different rooms to protect their dragon lady or lord whichever was ruling the Dragonlands. Or Princess in this case because Ember had said that to one of her guards.

The red walls of the palace with the windows illuminating the moon from princess Luna with the stars shining was making Twilight think about Spike. But every time she thought about him, she only felt pain. Pain over the fact that he was running from them without even thinking about it. Maybe it was because he was not ready to face them? It was possible, Twilight for one did not know the answer this time.

Her hooves made distinctive clicking noises as she walked slowly through the castle, they were only taking a break and she would have to go back to the meeting room. Twilight had been asked by her friends if she wanted anything to eat or drink and Twilight had told them to bring her some rice and salad. For drinks she wanted water. She had not eaten for several hours or even drank anything.

Ever since the invasion, she was very careful about spending any kind of money at all and she was very careful about how much she ate. This had caused the ponies and creatures of the Crystal Empire to notice how much weight she had lost and It had only continued until princess Celestia had to force her to eat something with a lot of calories.

It had helped but Twilight was still not herself and probably never will be. She had first lost her home, then she had lost Spike. But now when he was back home, she could not help but feel slightly betrayed by him. It felt like he just abandoned her for whatever reason and never showed himself again for an entire year that has felt more like a thousand years.

But there was still some suspicion within Twilight, was The Ghost really Spike? There were a few minor hints but not enough to say that it was him, for all she knew it could be a dragon that has the same size as Spike and knows about Twilight’s younger adopted brother.

But suddenly, Twilight stopped by a window and looked out over the horizon and saw the light from the moon and stars and felt her line of thinking become darker and darker, but she did not know why that was. Why was she even considering it at all?

Why would she believe that this hero who liberated Yakyakistan be a changeling? Why was she thinking those kinds of thoughts?

“I hope I can get some answers soon,” Twilight said quietly so no nearby guards could hear her.