Not being able to see friends for an entire year and fearing that they may be dead always frightened Spike to no end. He was always thinking about his family back in Equestria; wondering if they were dead or alive, praying for the latter.

But now that he saw them in front of him, armed and ready to fight, he couldn’t help but feel saddened. They should not feel any obligation to fight since they were still children but here they were, ready to take on the Umbrum army. And he knew that after liberating Griffinstone, that they would not be able to turn back.

Things would not be the same.

Together, they had opened the gates to Griffinstone and allowed the guards from the Crystal Empire to enter and make sure every creature was alright. The guards had taken with them special aid kits along with food and water.

Spike and his allies helped the creatures of Griffinstone, which made the creatures happy with them but some were scared. Spike understood this, not every creature would understand why he would be fighting, it was normal to be scared.

walking to a secluded spot in Griffinstone, Spike and his allies began to start a fire with some wood that have been used for that purpose. Spike looked at his friends and allies who looked at the others, wondering who would strike up a conversation.

Pipsqueak decided to start, he was the one who came to Spike and he was in the second act of the prophecy so he would start. In his mind, if Rumble came from nowhere and told Spike that they had been planning this for a while, there would be more questions than answers.

“Hello, Spike, or shall I say; The Ghost?” Pipsqueak asked with humour obvious in his voice. The others grinned at Spike, but not in a mocking sort of way, it was more with humour. Spike arched a brow at him.

“What, afraid that I’ll become more famous than you?” Spike asked, a smirk playing on his face. Pipsqueak chuckled heartedly along with the others.

“Maybe, I may not have any fancy or cool names but I do have my bow and arrow.” Pipsqueak said, proudly showing off his bow and arrows that he carried on him at all times. The bow had red and black stains from the paint that had been used, giving it a sensibility of power.

“That’s a very nice crafter bow with beautiful colours,” Rumble spoke, his voice holding awe at the bow that was shown to them.

“Thank you.” Pipsqueak said, putting away his bow but in a position so he could grab it faster if Umbrums came back. He did not intend to risk any chances that he may have.

“Spike,” This time it was Scootaloo who spoke up, her voice held some uncertainty. Spike glanced at her and the rest of the cutie mark crusaders. “We wanted to tell you that even if you say no, you will not be rid of us. We will follow you until the end of King Sombra’s reign, maybe even longer.”

Spike sighed, he expected this. “I will admit, I do need allies so I will accept this. I can tell you have trained well, am I right to assume that this is not your first battle?” He asked.

They nodded in affirmative. This was not their first battle, nor would it be their last. They had fought as many Umbrums as they could but they had not tried to take over Umbrum strongholds because they felt like they should leave that to Pipsqueak and Spike.

“Yes, this is not our first battle, we have fought many Umbrums in the past, we were on our way to the Dragonlands when we heard that you were on your way to Griffinstone, we also heard about your tales of how you defeated Umbrums without breaking a sweat.” Pipsqueak said with a smirk playing on his lips.

Spike laughed at that. He knew that many creatures would speak about his feats, he knew it would happen, it was natural that way — explaining what happened to them when they were oppressed by the Umbrum and later being saved. Who wouldn’t want to give other creatures hope?

“That’s right,” Sweetie Belle said, winking at him. “He is a Vengeful Spirit back from the grave to slaughter the Umbrums.”

Spike shook his head in amusement.

The others laughed at his amusement. Rumble walked up to Spike and sat beside him, both looked into the fire for a little while before Rumble decided to speak about something serious. The silence became tense and Rumble finally broke it after he had sighed.

“We saved a mare who had been captured by the Umbrums, she was battered and bruised, her clothing was filthy and she needed a bath,” Rumble explained, his face neutral of emotion. “When we saved her, she thanked us profusely and told us about a large fort that held many hostages, she told us that the Umbrums are planning on taking them to a continent somewhere. We do not know the nation they are planning on taking them, but that is why we leave it to you. The fort is somewhere near Manehattan, by the woods.”

Spike’s face did not reveal any emotion at first, but it gradually became darker for each word that came out of Rumble’s mouth. Luckily, those hostages would not be leaving Equestria.

The others waited anxiously for a response from Spike when he finally responded. “Thank you for telling me this, Rumble, I will travel there as soon as I can. They will not be leaving Equestria.” His voice was dark, his voice seemed seeped with venom.

The others bowed in respect, knowing that what he just declared was nothing but the truth. He had never a promise like this before, and he knew that he wouldn't break them now.

Spike got up to stretch his legs, the katana felt sharper than before, how Spike felt like that he had no idea. But if it was sharper, then it meant that he could kill faster and make the Umbrums suffer if he stabbed them in the right places. He smiled darkly as he thought about it. He did not notice his friends look at him with a hint of awe. That they onwards, they would swear that day saw something take over Spike, like a spirit.

Author's Note

Enjoy!