Ghost Of Equestria

Spike had sent a letter and told everyone in the Crystal Empire that he had shot up the plans of liberating Manehattan for up to a week so it would give their guards enough time to make sure that they have not missed any key points when they were to retake the city.

He did it also because he needed to mentally prepare himself for the devastations of what happened inside of the city; it would not be a pretty sight to behold, the city from what he had heard—was practically a waste with the buildings breaking every fifth seconds and Umbrums everywhere to behold.

The Umbrums themselves were not that helpful either, they just tortured the ones who lived there and stole all the food and water that was needed for any creatures’ survival. What makes it worse is the fact that those Umbrums do not even want to do the things they are doing; they are being forced by King Sombra to fight for him with mind-magic spells, the same ones he used on the Crystal Ponies to create the army that he desired.

It was a fate worse than death. Imagine, you get freed from the spell that makes you do those terrible things only to find out that you were forced to kill your own family because of the spell.

It would be more than heartbreaking. The emotion is indescribable.

Spike looked over the terrain from where he was. He intended on going back to the Crystal Empire and in fact, was not far from there, only a few more miles and he’d be back. He needed some sleep and water, that was the thing on his priority at that very moment.

The terrain had many trees scattered around with rocks laying around in weird formations. Or, it wasn’t weird per see but the way they were laying around made him feel a little uneasy, it was like some creature had formed the rocks and left them there but intended on coming back with something.

But Spike shrugged it off. He was getting paranoid! All the fighting he had done for the last few months was getting to him.

He left the area and shook his head in disbelief, before he knew it, he would think that every creature was out to get him. While it was somewhat funny though, it could end up being quite dangerous given the situations he has been through and has suffered. Those events could plague his mind and destroy it, making him into the deadliest weapon there was in Equestrian history.

*** *** ***

When he reached the Crystal Empire, he walked through the gates and were greeted by every creature who began fawning over him, thanking him for his duties as samurai—which they had learned through reading many books and finding what category from which the armour he was wearing—and wearing that they would do anything that would be of benefit in the war against King Sombra.

Spike glanced at them all and felt the love and awe they displayed by just seeing him among them and that was all the boost he needed before he went and took retook of Manehattan.

When Spike managed to free himself from his huge amount of fans, he made his way over to the palace but on the way there, he made a little detour and was checking out the shops, watching the displays on what they sold. Nothing was out of the ordinary.

Many things were sold about; Spike The Brave And Glorious even books about him and his supposed origins. He would not later in the future be surprised if they made books about how he became The Ghost how he was sent from the heavens to fight for them.

Spike continued to look through the small shops where he wondered if any magical objects were useful enough that he could use them in battle, curses, jinxes, or anything else that he could use to his advantage but he found nothing, none of the objects that caught his interest in the different shops was anything that he felt he could use in battle, there were, however, a few books that depicted on old legends that held many secrets of weapons and armour but he did not know if the book was outdated or not, if it was, then it would still be a good read to just freshen his mind for new possibilities, and who knows? Maybe he would get inspired by one of the many armours.

Paying for the books by dropping some bits on the counter—when the pony who worked there wasn’t looking—he made his way back to the palace where he knew his friends were waiting. He hoped that Rumble would have prepared his mind enough that he would be ready for when the battle takes place later in the week

He allowed his mind to wander as he started to climb to his bedroom with his grappling hook and proceeded to climb. The Umbrums from what he could see were getting agitated by the days that went by, the torture was increasing and the food supplies in Equestria were decreasing by the day it is an actual miracle that the kingdom is even standing to begin with.

The creatures in Equestria were becoming more miserable. Spike could see it in their eyes but he also saw faint—very faint—hope that the legend that they had heard was real. The only way they could know is if they understand the language the Umbrums speak which would not be entirely surprising since they have been surrounded by it for an entire year so they are bound to pick a few phrases here and there.

But the creatures were forced to work, their bodies were malnourished, they looked gaunt, their faces were so pale that it is as if they were dead—dead creatures who worked as slaves in their homes in which they had grown up in, even the creatures who were not from there, but transferred there for no apparent reason.

But there was nothing they could do, their King ordered for everything to happen so if they wanted change; it is the King they would have to go to. And they knew for a fact that King Sombra would never allow them to have any sort of change; they were his slaves and that was it.

When Spike reached the balcony to his room, he found that he could not get inside because it was locked. That was odd, he had never locked the balcony doors before because he saw no reason to. The only time he did that was if he was angry at some creature and did not want to be disturbed whatsoever.

It was unusual for that, however, to happen but it still did.

Stuck on the outside of his bedroom, he started to gently look around to see if he could climb up to the top of the palace and get into the palace that way. Hopefully, it would work in his favor. He knew that his family would question where he had been while his allies would not bother because they knew what he had been doing.

The balcony was not all that large with some bluish reddish crystals that shined when the sun shot its rays on the crystal ground of the empire with no visible clouds in the sky to hinder the sun’s light. The railing was designed with gold mixed with darker crystals, forming hearts, Cadance design.

She was the princess of love so it came as no surprise to him that she would design the railing to have hearts; the design that there is love between two creatures. There was even a room inside the castle that was for two ponies that showed pure love between one another.

Love that could never turn into hate.

Spike saw a way to climb up the palace and jumped from the railing and put both of his claws near the crystal part of the window, and started jumping to the outer parts of the palace so he could get to the top without any problems. Which he did, he jumped and jumped, not stopping for a second.

His ancestor had trained him to be able to do those kinds of dangerous stunts if he ever came into a situation where he would need such climbing skills. Luckily, those skills came in handy in this situation because if he did not know how to do it, he would be dead.

Reaching the top, not breaking a sweat, he noticed how there were no crystal guards at all. None were guarding anything; it was vacant of any life which surprised him.

Seeing that he was alone, he walked towards the door that led into the palace so he could get to his room and read for some while. It would be beneficial if he smartened himself up a little so he would be able to use his knowledge later if he came into a situation where he would need to use it.

When he reached the door that led inside, he was surprised to find it locked. He looked around; trying to see if he truly was alone up there only to find that he was. He shook his head and tried opening the door again but it was locked.

“Hmm, this is very strange, first my balcony door and then this, What is going on?” The question was screaming inside of his mind, trying to tell him of all the possibilities of what is happening but he did not satisfy any of it, because he wanted to get to the bottom of the truth.

Spike looked around and decided to write a haiku, so he walked to the edge of the palace and sat on his knees. It was beautiful, the creatures going around, shopping, playing, being around old and newfound friends, it was beautiful. “Creatures having fun ...” He began. He thought about the times he had seen them hopeless, the times when they looked as though no creature would save them; from old grudges or for what they personally had done. “Hope once lost ... “ He thought about the war, the creatures that would have to pick up their weapons and lead them into battle, the swords that would need to clash, and the blood that would have to spill. “United we stand.” He finished.

Standing up after the haiku, he decided to head into the heart of the empire. He would have no problems there surely?

*** *** ***

He was right; he would have no problems there at all, there were no creatures who needed much help but when they saw Spike they started to wave enthusiastically, so much so that he was afraid that their limbs would fall off.

Luckily, that did not happen and he made his way through the narrow alleyways, trying to find creatures who needed help. He may not want to go all over Equestria, but he could still cook and bake, those were one of his skills that he had a lot of pride in; you never know when your gonna need it.

But when he came to a crystal pony who was crying her eyes out, he could tell that he would be traveling all over Equestria, but he put those thoughts aside and approached the mare who was by a river for the fisher creatures. The others looked at her—unsure of what to do. Spike approached her, there were minor gasps as many of them recognized the legendary warrior who approached the mare.

The mare herself was a raspberry-coated mare with green eyes and yellow mane and tail. Spike sat on his knees beside her and turned his head to look at her, wanting to give her space before he asked anything. When the mare showed no signs of stopping, he asked;

“Are you okay?”

The mare hastily looked up; trying to find the creature that had disturbed her but when her eyes landed on Spike, her eyes widened like saucers as she recognized her hero. The one who saved her home twice and was now doing it a third time.

“Spike The Brave And Glorious? The Ghost, what can I do for you?” She asked, surprised that her hero was speaking to her or even being near her at all. Her hero chuckled slightly but it died down just as fast as it had come. He looked at her and she looked at him, trying to read each other’s body language.

“I was walking around the empire when I stumbled upon you crying; what happened?” He explained before he asked the one question that nearly made her burst into tears again but she hid it well as to not make her hero feel guilty for making her upset over something he had no control over.

“I am just depressed—nothing to worry about at all.” She unconvincingly said, making Spike raise a brow at her. In any other situation, she would have laughed but the situation she was in was very serious and could be life-threatening. She contemplated if she wanted to tell him but she knew that no other creature would help her, and there was a big possibility that her hero would not help her either.

Well, if she did not get help, no creature would be able to tell her she did not try.

She sighed. “I fell in love with a bandit.” She admitted the others gave no reaction and Spike was not all too concerned because love is love. “He is a Griffin who was banished before the invasion, he promised me that if I gave up my families location that we would be together, but he lied, I gave him the location and he killed them—he told me that he was just going to steal the food and nothing else but he did, he took everything! He even killed our dog who was doing his best to protect my family, his name was Trevor.”

Spike felt his rage pulse through his veins like a drug that had been injected into his system and was making him stronger and more competent for battle. He could not imagine what she just went through—you meet some creature and fall in love and you believe the other party genuinely loves them but it turns out that it is not the case.

That it is all just deception, a deception that will lead to vengeance if they are not careful enough.

Spike looked at the mare who began crying hysterically again, she had her hooves to her eyes blocking her field of view from the accusing glances—not noticing that the “accusing glances” are one of sympathy and concern. But to her, it would have been all the same.

“What is your name?” Spike asked, his voice kind and one that showed affection to a hurt child. She stopped her crying and looked at Spike with confusion clear on her face. Why would he be interested in knowing her name when she just told him she’d kill her family?

“What?” She asked, making sure she heard right.

“What is your name?” He asked again, making it clear that he wanted to learn her name. She looked delighted; her hero asked for her name of all creatures! Who could say that they have that happen in their life?

“Cherry Neck,” She responded. She turned to look at him. “I work at the Crystal Empire most popular spa place, I am quite excellent in the neck areas.” She stated proudly.

Spike was interested because of two things; one he had never been to the spa in the Crystal Empire because he had been so busy, now especially, so it was interesting to hear that there was a spa where he could relax and have all of his worries washed away.

But at that moment, he had to find the bandit who killed her family. The only thing he needed now was a name, and then the Griffin would have to flee for his life. If he isn’t already ...

“What is the bandit’s name?” Spike asked, his voice displaying no emotion. It looked like Cherry had some problems speaking before she forced the name out of her mouth, she said it as if it was something ugly.

“Gilda.” She blanched.

Spike’s muscles tensed and he stared at Cherry with his eyes shining with wisdom and power but not in a good way, the power that was displayed promised something foul would happen; something that no creature would want to think about and it terrified the ones who watched the conversation with great interest.

“Gilda ... as in Gilda Griffin?” Spike asked. His voice was calm; too calm to the other’s liking—his eyes were dangerously twinkling in a way that made the other creatures want to run away.

“Y ...yes.” Cherry forced out, looking away from her hero as she felt his eyes drilling into her like he was digging up dirt but this felt more ... violent.

“Do you know where she is located, I can promise that she will not be hurting any creature ever again.” The others paled and realized that this Gilda had made Spike angry, it meant that no matter what the Griffin did; she would be by the end of the blade of Spike.

Cherry was unsure if she should answer that. She did want revenge, but at the same time, the look on her hero’s face suggested that he knew who her lover was and that concerned her. If Gilda knew Spike The Brave And Glorious then it must mean that they have met in the past which must mean that either Gilda screwed him over or did something so heinous that Spike felt the need to end the Griffins life. Cherry’s face said it all and every creature themselves felt pure sympathy that moment for her, there was no way their hero would allow Gilda to walk free after what she had done and they knew it.

“She is near Griffinstone, there is a survivors camp that is run by her bandits, be aware, they are usually around ten creatures in total and they know how to fight.” She informed, her voice cracking slightly by the thought that she would not see Gilda again. Alive.

Spike stood up and walked away slowly but he voiced his lack of care in numbers.

“I am not concerned about how many bandits are at Gilda’s camp, I am have slaughtered more than that without breaking a sweat.”

He did not notice the looks of awe and slight fear when he said that.

*** *** ***

The kingdom of Griffinstone was still beyond repair when he got there, the creatures there welcomed him with open hooves and gave him no trouble. He marched through the streets where the creatures were either doing illegal deals or other things that either could destroy the kingdom more or help it.

There was nothing much any creature could do, the ones doing illegal business wants revenge on the Umbrums or want them to come back so they can do other illegal things and get rich while doing it. Either way, they would die.

And not by his claws.

When Spike reached the other end of the kingdom he slipped through an open crack in the defense walls that had been built all around the kingdom. It was impressive if it wasn’t for the fact that the Umbrums had been the ones who built the entire thing.

It just showed Spike how much King Sombra is paranoid. he believes that every creature is out to get him and he is correct; every creature in one way or another wants his head but that would not have been the case if he tried to reform himself. Not that he would ever get the chance because what he has done to Equestria and the other kingdoms is something that will never be forgiven by the other creatures and rulers so the King dug his own grave from the very start.

Spike walked up the mountain trail, not bothering to look at the animals who were looking all over the place, making sure that they are not being hunted by any creature. But that was hard to know who was an enemy and who was allies. Spike in the animal’s eyes; could very well be an enemy that wants to end their life for whatever reason.

It wasn’t unreasonable, that is what they had always known.

... and the fact that Umbrums slaughter them with cruelty.

He walked up a path that was becoming more desolate as he walked. His legs were not showing signs of stopping despite them slightly aching. His claws were bawled into fists, ready to through a punch if necessary before unsheathing his katana. He trained in a lot of different forms of battle.

Anything from sword, spear, bow, and arrow. The two weapons he mostly used were swords and bows. His ancestor, Jin Sakai had been trained by Sensei Ishikawa who once trained Hironori Nagao who then tried to cease the clan for himself. Trying to save face; clan Nagao made up a story about Hironori dying at the hands of bandits and Sensei Ishikawa retired.

But Sensei Ishikawa’s Way Of The Bow lives on. Spike is one of them who knows the technique.

Spike is the only one who knows it. To his knowledge at least.

He walked up to a crossroads where he took a right that led into a forest that was known to have been a large bandit spot even before the invasion. Bandits, ronin, and pirates were known for frequenting the area for making deals that were known of ending in bloodbaths.

The forest had become a lot worse after the invasion, there were hundreds of criminals every day who went to the forest. Even the Umbrums used the area for body-dumping grounds ... if they didn’t burn the bodies first of course. There were even legends of hidden treasures inside of the dangerous forest. Treasures that could give eternal life, end hunger, disease, weakness. But if that was true or just fabrications remained to be seen.

In those sorts of tales; there was always a catch. Always.

The treelines that Spike walked past were nothing sort of interesting, the grass under his feet was as dry as sand and the bark on the trees looked to almost be rotting by the weather conditions that King Sombra have issued over the entire continent that are under his regime. The skies were not faring better. The clouds were as dark as the shadows and it was not filled with rain or thunder.

And if Spike was going, to be honest with himself; he did not want to know.

After a few minutes of walking and listening to the silence that filled around him, a silence that was getting him agitated because he was getting worried. What if he had just missed Gilda? What if they had an advantage over him by having spotted him before he entered the forest?

It was not entirely impossible because while Gilda is not the sharpest tool in the shed, she is not a complete idiot, she knows what it is she’s doing.

And if anything of the old Gilda is still there, then she is still smart enough to know when she has crossed a line. Not that she would care about that all that much. She had shown that she does not care about any other creature in the past so why would she start doing so?

Spike then stopped dead in his tracks when he walked past a tall, thick tree with dark bark around it that looked to be rotting with the roots below it, clearly visible to anyone who was looking. He heightened his hearing, trying to hear where the sound was coming from;

“Hahahahahahah!!” He heard. There was laughing inside the forest? Was it the bandits who were laughing over something they had just done or was it other creatures who escaped Umbrum rule and were laughing in joy for having escaped capture?

Spike walked in the direction where the laughing was coming from, intending on finding out if it was bandits or not. To see if it was Gilda who was laughing.

When Spike got closer, he could see that there was smoke in the sky that kept flying up. He knew he was getting closer, he wanted to remain unseen though, just in case it turned out to simply be other bandits who were in the vicinity. Better be safe than sorry.

The closer he got the creatures the louder the laughing came. But he still did not know what they could possibly be laughing at, especially during wartime when the kingdoms sent out soldiers to do heinous things to others just to get the message across.

But he was somewhat happy that creatures could still laugh at something funny unless if it was bandits who were laughing about the theft they had just done. It would not surprise him the slightest; bandits have always been known for being crucially violent along with ronin but the difference with ronin is that they are sadistic and aggressive while bandits are just violent, they are pretty good at fighting but not as good as ronin who are excellent with their blades that could cut through any creature who stands in their way for the riches they believe they rightfully deserve.

Getting closer, Spike was able to hear the voices of the creatures who were by the fire. One of the voices was the one who he was coming to kill for; Gilda. She was there.

“Oh, hahaha! You should have seen her face! She fell in love with me, told me I could steal the food from her family's house and I did after I killed her family and dog!” The Griffin doubled off in laughter from the sounds of it, the rest of the bandits laughed along with her.

Spike pushed past some bushes that were in the way and peeked into the setting where the bandits were. He saw Gilda holding a water bottle that most likely had some alcoholic beverage in it. Wouldn’t surprise him one bit if he was going, to be honest with himself. Gilda is nothing more than an overgrown bully who still acted like a child.

He looked around some more and saw that six other bandits were there making them a total of seven. Spike wondered if he should jump out of the bushes and assassinate one of the bandits, catch them by surprise, and strike fear in Gilda. The sight would be a funny one, making them run away like scared children.

But Spike refrained from doing anything, he knew that Gilda had spoken about Cherry Neck, but he still wanted to wait, he wanted to make them feel as though they are being watched by something, make them feel uneasy. They would make some kind of mistake, one that would lead to their demise.

And it didn’t take long before he started seeing Gilda shift around uncomfortably but the other bandits did not see it at first. They just laughed and drank their alcoholic beverages until one of the bandits who were a mint coated heart pony with a white mane and tail looked at his friend who look around uneasily.

“Are you alright, Gilda?” He asked. The Griffin in question looked at her friend. “You look as though some creature will jump at us at any given second.”

Gilda, paranoid, glanced everywhere, completely missing Spike who was staring at her intently, and then turned her attention back to her bandit friends who waited for an answer. She opened her mouth to speak but before she could; out of nowhere, Spike jumped at one of the bandits, his katana cutting from inside the skull and reaching into important organs before he pulled it out. Without stopping, he then cut the throat of the nearby bandit and then he killed another bandit who stood close by, not even turning halfway around before he was killed.

The last remaining four bandits looked in Spike’s direction, Gilda pales so much, the purple dragon thought she was a vampire until he realized that Gilda was shocked because she never expected to be attacked; she felt watched, not necessarily that she would be attacked.

She had not prepared herself if something like this were to happen.

“Down!” One of the bandits archers shouted and the three other bandits got crouched down as an arrow flew through the air, almost hitting Spike but the dragon blocked it with his katana which both infuriated and made the bandits scared at the same time.

One of the bandits who wielded a spear ran towards Spike and tried to stab him but was blocked by Spike’s sword, momentarily, making it look like he was not even trying, but in reality, Spike was silently savoring the moment.

Spike then stabbed the bandit in the heart, making the bandit slowly drop to his knees before closing his eyes from the immense pain that was coursing through his body, feeling his nerves acting up in such a way he did not believe was possible.

Now that there were three bandits left, Spike would have less fun ... until he fought Gilda that is. The archer ran to a nearby stone that overlooked the camp and aimed at Spike who had just killed another archer of the bandits, making there be two bandits left.

“Down!” The archer yelled, his voice holding clear anger at the warrior who was killing them one by one as if it was something he did every day.

Gilda crouched, allowing the arrow to attempt to put her enemy to rest but to her dismay and fear, the warrior was still standing, not even breaking a sweat; it was as if the creature was born to fight life-threatening battles. It was almost as if he enjoyed the violence.

But it was hypocritical of her; she did enjoy her killings and thefts so who was she to judge?

Spike pulled out his half-bow and without hesitation; fired an arrow at the archer who was not quick enough to move away from the arrow that pierced his skull, making him fall dead to the stone, bleeding out.

Now it was only Gilda that remained.

The Griffin was looking in Spike’s direction and for the first time in her life, her fear was evident on her face. Her entire life she had to build facades to make sure friends believed her lies that she was okay and that she just had trouble here and there, but now, she faced a creature that killed her bandits, her friends, he did not seem to have remorse, or her, if it was a female.

“Wha ... what is it that you want?!” Gilda shouted, hoping she could bribe her way out of the situation. She knew that it was fruitless; the creature would kill her either way, but she had to try at the very least!

Before she could scream; Spike’s sword plunged her heart, and pulled it out with such force that the heart almost came with it. The purple dragon looked at the form of Gilda and felt nothing, it was almost as if he did not care what he had done; he hadn’t. Gilda was nothing more but a murderer.

He left the forest, he could not stay a second longer.

*** *** ***

When Spike got back to the Crystal Empire, he decided that he would immediately go to the place where he had met and left the mare; Cherry Neck, but when he got there, he noticed that there were a group of creatures who had gathered there who looked depressed.

“What is going on?” He asked, the confusion on his face was clear after he took off the mask.

A Crystal pony turned to him and bowed in respect to his hero. “The mare, Cherry Neck took her own life, she could not handle what she had done, ultimately ending her life.”

Spike was stunned into silence. She had committed suicide? That was ... awful. He could not think about anything appropriate for a response and simply bowed back. The Crystal Pony understood that it was a lot to take in so he did not press his hero for a response.

Spike walked past the other creatures and looked to the spot where the mare had once sat, he did not know her well, but he bowed in respect and did not realize that the fishes of the river were jumping up and down from the gesture.