//------------------------------//
// Chapter 6 
// Story: The War 
// by SpikeisBest 
//------------------------------//

"How did they even find us?" Spike questioned.

"Spike we have more pressing matters at the moment. So far we have had ten casualties and twenty-three wounded." Twilight stated.

"I believe that I know who is behind this. One of the squad leaders had a tattoo that signified him as part of the Blighters. Under interrogation he told me that their leader was named Whitefang. At this point it's really just a guess, but I believe that Greenhorn, the dragon commander in the Everfree Forest, is also a part of the Blighters. I ask for your permission to lead my squad into the forest, hunt him down, and interrogate him." Spike said.

"I am going to have to formally deny your request until Big Mac's injuries have fully healed. Speaking of healing, you need to get your thigh looked at mister. Spitfire and Big Mac, would you two please leave so that I might have a private conversation with my brothers?" Twilight paused until after they both left with a salute. "I understand that our relationship has seriously shifted, but I still care about you. Both of you, and I'm not going to let you run yourselves ragged. You need to take a break. You finished a mission, took an hour long break, repelled an enemy attack, and now you are trying to leave again." Twilight finished.

"I care about you too Twilight, but we both know that the only way to stop more attacks in the future is to stop the ones responsible for this war. We still don't know why they even want war, but if it has to do with me I would give my life, my soul, or whatever else that they want to stop this war. All that we do know is that the Blighters are the ones who are orchestrating the war, so I will orchestrate their demise. Even if it leads to mine." Spike said.

"That was really deep, and dark, but I agree. We need to stop the Blighters before any more ponies lose their lives." Shining Armor stated.

"Even so, you and your team are in no condition to pursue anything. You can go on tomorrow at the earliest." Twilight said.

"Come on Spike, let's go get that leg looked at." Shining Armor stated.

Three hours later

"I think that's the last of them. Just light them up." Shining Armor said.

Spike noticed that one of the other ponies spat on the pile of dead dragon bodies. "Hey! Just because they were our enemies you don't have to disrespect them. I know that a lot of ponies think that dragons are monsters, but they... no, we are just like you. Our physical forms may be different, but all of us are just trying to do what we think is right. Some end up doing what others think is wrong. You might think the dragons are evil for declaring war on Equestria, but what you don't realize is that these dragons have no say in the process whatsoever. Much like you are fighting for your family, they are fighting for theirs."

The guard looked like he was about to argue with Spike, but after a moment of consideration he looked back to the pile and said "I'm sorry."

Spike nodded to the guard then blew a heavy gout of flames onto the massive pile of dragon bodies and set them ablaze. "Even though you were on the wrong side of this war, you fought and died honorably. May your souls find rest at last." Spike said

"I didn't know that you cared about what happened to the dragons after they died." Shining Armor whispered to Spike.

"While I have no compassion for the Blighters, I know that many of these dragons don't even want to be on the battlefield, so the least that I can do is show them the respect that they deserve."

On the short walk back to the base Shining Armor noticed that Spike's thigh was still trickling a little bit of blood. "Hey, I thought that you got your leg patched up." He said

"I am fine. It doesn't hurt. Besides, it was, and still is, more important to take care of the wounded, damaged structures, and... Casulties. I hate that word. There is nothing casual about death. It takes a toll on all of us, me included. Every time I end a life, I stop and ask myself 'Is this one my parent?' I just can't get over the fact that I don't know my biological parents and here I am killing other dragons." After a brief pause Spike finished by saying. "Nevermind, forget I said anything."

Shining Armor replied by saying "I didn't know that this war was affecting you like that. If you ever need-" 

"Don't you dare try and send me to some kind of counselor," Spike interrupted "I need to finish repairing the walls now." 

After his conversation with Shining Armor Spike went to the training field. He had told Shining Armor that he needed to repair the wall, but all of the dragons that had made it inside of the walls had just flew over. The wall was made entirely of stone because stone was fireproof. 

When Spike arrived at the training field, he pulled out the items that he retrieved from his quarters before it burned down. He looked at the picture for a little bit then set it aside along with his journal. After that, Spike looked at the stack of letters. All of them were from Rainbow Dash. He looked at the first one and read it aloud. It read as follows.

"Dear Spike, I've been on the frontline for two weeks now. I still spend every moment missing you, but don't worry I still focus during combat. If you are wondering how I got this letter to you it's because the Wonderbolts were assigned to be one of Princess Celestia's protection squads, so I was able to get her to send this to you. Let me tell you, she can fight like crazy! Anyways, to be honest with you I wrote this letter to you because I just needed a way to vent. Fleetfoot died yesterday. It hit me pretty hard. Supposedly writing about it will make me fell better, but it isn't really helping much. I have to go now. Hopefully, I will see you soon."

After Spike read it, he put the letter down. He picked up the next one, but didn't have the heart to read it. Spike then decided to try and get some sleep. Since his quarters burnt down, and none of the other sleeping quarters would fit him that well Spike chose to sleep on the ground. Spike slowly drifted off to sleep while thinking of the letter that he didn't read.