> The War
>  by SpikeisBest
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

> Chapter 1
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Blacktalon was in shock.

He watched as entire squads of his strongest dragons were wiped out by a purple scaled behemoth of a dragon. He couldn't believe that what once was such a puny runt could had become the creature that he saw before him now. As he watched the creature it suddenly stopped in it's tracks and glared directly at him. He visibly flinched from the look that he was given. It was the look of death.

Blacktalon was still trying (and failing) to fathom how this one creature could still be standing, let alone fighting. It should have been killed by the tens of thousands of dragons that had stood before it. Pierced by the hundreds of arrows that had been fired at it. Sliced by the many swords that were sliced at it. Stabbed by the countless spears that were jabbed at it. Instead it had not been touched by anyone, Not even breathing hard. Just slowly advancing with its sword in hand and with a spear strapped to its back. It wore armor made of the finest metals and decorated with the bones and scales of other dragons. Its muscles were like finely toned steel, like they were chiseled out of solid rock. Upon its head it wore the gaping maw of a larger dragon.

He watched as a squad of elite dragons were dispatched with lethal efficiency. I quick stab to the heart. A long smash to the throat. The largest of the dragons managed to slip behind it and slice at its exposed back. The creature suddenly turned around and parried the blade into another dragon, slicing its head clean off. It followed up by grabbing the dragon's arm and flipping him over its shoulder... right into a waiting spear. It then grabbed the spear, with the dragon still writhing in pain, and threw it into its owner's heart. Just for good measure it blew a heavy gout of emerald green flames onto the cluster of bodies of what had once been the squad. While normally dragons are immune to fire the flames were so hot that they managed to melt the scales of the dragons.

Blacktalon could not believe that this creature had the audacity to defy him like this. To even continue living. It was unheard of. He turned to the nearest soldier and  said "lead the heavy infantry units around behind it and attack the Pony Outpost. That should lead it away long enough for us to regroup." 

"Yes sir." Responded the dragon.

Blacktalon was terrified on the inside, but he couldn't let that show or else his troops would sense his weakness and desert. No, he had to exude confidence if he wanted to stay in command.

Suddenly he heard a shout behind him. He turned around and saw a big red earth pony stallion with a light orange mane slit a dragon's throat using a hoof-mounted blade. Behind him was a white unicorn stallion with a blue mane levitating a sword and shield in its magic, and a yellow pegasus mare with a fiery orange mane and a mounted bow and arrow on her back. Each of the ponies also wore armor made from the finest metals that was decorated with dragonscale and all of the weapons were dragonbone.

Blacktalon heard another sound behind him and as he spun around he saw the creature impale the soldier from before with its sword. As he cursed his own stupidity for allowing himself to be outflanked, He took flight only to have his wing pierced by the creature's spear. While he crashed to the ground Blacktalon attempted to right himself by removing the spear from his wing, but even after he attempted to return it to its owner (point first) he still failed to right himself. 

After he crashed to the ground, Blacktalon quickly jumped to his feet and drew his sword. "The lamb finally arrives for it's slaughter." He mockingly said. The creature made no reply, it simply remained silent and retrieved it's spear from the ground then returned it to the sheath on its back. "Oh, I see how it is," said Blacktalon, "I get the silent treatment." He suddenly charged the mighty beast and attempted to run it through with his sword, but the creature, with a powerful swing, chopped his sword clean in two halves. As Blacktalon gaped in shock the creature sliced both of his wings off in an instant. It then preceeded to kick him a solid ten feet.

As he lie squirming on the ground Blacktalon let out a blood-curdling shriek. If he did not receive extensive training he probably would have gone into shock. When the creature reached his side he attempted to kick its leg out from under it, but all he succeeded in doing was hurting his foot. It was like kicking a brick wall. As he lay there in pain the creature knelt down and removed its helmet. It's face was covered in many tiny scars with one long scar going from it's eyebrow to it's jaw. 

They studied each other's faces until the creature spoke in a low gravelly voice. "It is time that you pay for your crimes against the creatures of this world. Name your compatriots and face a quick death or remain silent and allow me to torture the names out of you." After a short pause he busted out laughing and continued "Ok that was kind of stupid and it sounded  better in my head, but you get the point... Well if you don't I can still show you" he said, holding up his sword.

Once again Blacktalon was shocked. How did this creature know that he was not working alone? "H-How did you know?"  he barely managed to stutter out. The creature found this funny "Hahaha, As if you were smart enough to plan this out on your own." 

"Hey!" Replied Blacktalon "I'm a lot smarter than you think!"

"Oh yeah?" One of the ponies, the white unicorn stallion, said. "Prove it!"

Blacktalon did not reply. He simply lifted up his chest piece, revealing a multitude of dragon runes. The most important one was "Zephrath"

The creature, being the only one that understood dragon runes, immediately unfurled it's massive wings and used it's body to cover the group of ponies. Blacktalon's body suddenly started shaking violently until it exploded.

The explosion shattered the creature's spear and the pieces embedded themselves into it's back. The creature did not even notice the pain as its number one concern was the wellbeing of it's companions.

"That was close" Said the white unicorn stallion.

"You said it Shining Armor" Said the pegasus mare, known as Spitfire. 

"Eyeep" Agreed the earth pony stallion, named Big Macintosh.

"Hey, are you ok Spike?" asked Shining Armor.

The dragon, identified as Spike, did not respond, Instead he started pulling the fragments of his shattered spear out of his back.

After an uncomfortable silence during which Spike was removing the remains of his spear, Shining Armor said "Ok... What just happened?" Spike, while still removing the spear fragments replied ""Zephrath" It means destroy," when he got a confused look he continued "it usually blows stuff up."

"Ohhh, wait... how do you know all of that?" asked Shining Armor

"Well firstly, since I am a dragon it's just sort of engrained into me... don't ask. Secondly Twilight made me study it and convert it into Ponish. Speaking of which, you should know some of it because that is part of training." When Spike said that Shining Armor 's cheeks very subtly turned a shade of red.

After another uncomfortable silence Spitfire said ""Prove it," seriously Shining Armor. You just had to say it?" 

"Well I didn't know that well... That was about to happen." replied Shining Armor.

While they were doing this Spike knelt down and did a breathing exercise to control his growing anger. "We just lost our only lead and you two are just squabbling like children!" Bellowed Spike.

Everybody looked at him because they knew how personal it was for him and immediately felt guilty. "And besides, I guess you just forgot about the rest of the dragons" He finished after a short pause.
> Chapter 2
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

The massive army of dragons, after seeing their leader get wiped out, were weary to approach the group of ponies and the singular dragon. After several minutes of gathering courage and seeing the ponies in what seemed to be an argument, which was a good distraction, they decided that even if some more of them were to die it would be worth it to avenge their leader. They started to approach when all of the ponies noticed them. After their cover was blown they let out a fearsome warcry and charged. As they neared the group the lone dragon in their ranks drew his sword and charged the army. They were not expecting this and seeing as they had witnessed him single-handedly annihilate a good chunk of their ranks the dragons at the front of the charge suddenly stopped, but because the dragons behind them did not stop the ones at the front were unwillingly pushed to the living meat grinder that was the dragon. 

Spike laughed on the inside as he watched the dragons try to push against the flow of the tide, and as he continued his charge he spared a quick glance behind him to reassure himself that his friends were following the plan and retreating. Now that his mind was at rest he suddenly stopped and swung his sword in a mighty arc using a two-handed grip. Steel tore scales from skin and flesh from bone as he laid waste to the forerunners of the horde. As he continued swinging his sword's condition slowly deterioated. Spike was a little disappointed that it was breaking so quickly, for it was a gift he received when he was promoted to captain. "Swords can be replaced but ponies can not" he told himself, and besides, he had a job to do. When his sword got to the point where it looked like it would snap, he stabbed it into the nearest dragon and took their war hammer. He wasn't a big fan of using big and bulky weapons, but he was still skilled with them. 

Spike used the war hammer and smashed the skull of the nearest dragon to a pulp. He then quickly shifted where he was gripping the shaft and used it to block a sword swing that was coming at him, but the sword just got embedded into the shaft. Spike grabbed the sword with the intention of using it but he quickly realised that he would be better off with the war hammer, because the sword was much to short for his taste. With a small sigh he tossed the sword into the heart of another dragon, instantly killing it. He then broke the shaft of the war hammer in half where the sword cut it and using the side that had the tip of the weapon whacked a dragon into the waiting blades of its friends.

Risking a quick glance behind him and seeing that his friends were gone Spike focused and time seemed to slow down. He went through the steps of the spell that he had been working on in his head. Relax your mind. Calm your breath. Slowly breathe in. As he went about the steps of the spell, the dragons, not being entirely stupid, noticed that he seemed to be losing focus on the battle. As they all charged him, Spike released a large amount of smoke from his mouth, more than seemed possible, even for a dragon. While the dragons were trying to see through the smoke , Spike took to the air and flew away. A few of the dragons noticed this and tried to follow him, but that was where the second part of the spell kicked in. The smoke streamed into their nostrils and pushed the oxygen out of their lungs. As the dragons squirmed around on the floor Spike quickly left the scene of the battle. Spike felt disgusted with himself for fighting so dirty, but if they followed him then they might find the base. If they found the base, even if it was in Equestria, they would at the very least attempt to attack it. "No," he told himself "I must protect them, even if I feel disgusting."

As he flew Spike thought about what he would do next, now that Blacktalon was dead and he did not gain any leads. "Well I guess I could get in touch with my contacts again and see if they found anything that could help." He decided that it would be easier if he just went straight to the base instead of trying to find his team. He trusted them, they could handle themselves.

Spitfire was surprised that they were already almost back at the base. They had left the site of the battle about one and a half hours ago, so to already almost be back in Equestria was shocking. She was flying ahead of the rest of her team scouting out the terrain and making sure that it was clear of hostiles. She flew in a large circle around the rest of her team just to make sure that they were not being followed. As she finished her scouting mission and returned to her team she heard them making friendly banter. When she landed Shining Armor asked "Any sign of Spike?"  

" Negative " She replied. "I bet you that when we get there he will already be back," Said Shining Armor "and I also bet that his sword broke from the shear amount of carnage that he caused with it."

"I'll take you up on that bet for twenty bits" Replied Spitfire. They finished the deal with a hoofshake.

forty-five minutes later

As the group of ponies approached the outpost they were approached by a soldier who said "I take it you are looking for Spike," To which they nodded "Well he's in the practice field."

"Thanks for the help." Said Spitfire.
> Chapter 3
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Forty-Five  minutes earlier 
As soon as the base was in sight Spike, not wanting to be mistaken for the enemy, dropped to the ground and walked the rest of the way there. When he approached the gate one of the guards, a new one, thought that he was an enemy. The guard grabbed his bow and shot at Spike before his companion could stop him. The arrow hit Spike in the helmet causing him to jump back, extend his claws, and shout "Seriously! I landed on the ground and everything just so I would't get shot at!" As he walked past the guard at the gate he continued "Good thing I wear a helmet." To which the guard just scoffed.

When Spike made it past the gate he went straight to his private quarters. Most ponies have to share a barracks, but since he was an officer he got a private room. Besides, nopony wanted to share a room with a dragon. On top of that, his room was just a shed that he had to make due with. While he wasn't as large as most dragons, he was still twice as large as a pony. He was only able to keep up with and even surpass the other dragons in strength because he was imbued with magic from when Twilight hatched him. As soon as he entered Spike walked to the far wall which had a board full of pictures, names to go along with those pictures, and captions of what the creatures in the pictures did. Most of the pictures had X's on them. All except for one, that one was a picture of Blacktalon, which he marked out now. He let out a frustrated growl and sat down on a chair that was facing the wall. While he studied the wall he could not help but feel angry. "All of this work and it leads to a dead end!" 

That was when he noticed it. All of the pictures had connections to a creature named Greenhorn. He quickly grabbed a a sheet of paper and, not knowing in what the dragon looked like besides having green horns, jotted down a question mark. He labeled the paper Greenhorn and pinned it on the wall. There were two things about the name that stuck out. One, the creature, whatever it was, probably wasn't actually a greenhorn, for it had to be  really skilled at its job to be in contact with all of his other targets. Two, he had seen reports of pony squads being butchered by a dragon that was named Greenhorn. He remembered the name because the dragon actually had green horns which was rare for a dragon. Spike had green spines but not horns. He knew that he would eventually have to hunt the dragon down, but he also knew that it would be best to wait for more information.

Spike was contemplating trying to get some sleep because he was exhausted, but he didn't like sleeping because he always had dreams of her. Then Spike decided to go the mess hall, but he realized it was raining, so he opted to close the windows and simply wait for the rain to go away. He didn't mind the rain that much, but he disliked seeing what it left behind, because it also reminded him of her.

Eventually the rain cleared away, and after waiting a few more minutes to make sure that he could not see it Spike went to the training field. He deposited his war hammer onto a weapons rack that was exclusively his because all of the weapons that he used were to large for ponies to use. He decided to practice using a mace and shield that he picked up from an opponent a while back.

He remembered that fight like it was yesterday. He was using a halberd and his opponent was using the previously mentioned mace and shield. Spike vividly remembered the moment that he sliced his halberd then his opponent, a dragon with a very rare black-and-yellow scale pattern, block it with his shield then it into the ground and proceed to snap the shaft into several pieces by stomping on it. He remembered the worry that he actually might lose the fight. It was moments like that when he truly felt alive. It was as if a switch had been switched inside of him. He remembered the thrill of the moment when he pried the blade out of the ground and threw it at the other dragon only for it to be blocked by the very shield that he now held. He remembered... He remembered that he used the words he remembered a lot when telling this story. Anyway, Spike ended up winning the fight by grabbing the dragon's wrist when he swung next and squeezing it until the dragon dropped the mace. After which he used the spikes on the mace to rip the shield out of the dragon's grip and then deliver one very powerful swing to its head, instantly killing it.

Spike then suddenly snapped back into reality and noticed that it had been around twenty minutes. He finally started training by perfecting his swings with the mace. Next he used a movable training dummy to practice blocking and parrying at the correct moment. He started to get a little winded after switching between the two excersices for about ten minutes so he returned his gear. After he returned the equipment he turned around and saw his squad approaching. "Well it took you long enough" he said.

"Where is your sword?" Shining Armor called while slowly ambling towards him.

"Well hello to you too. As for the sword it... well it kind of... it broke." replied Spike. He said this in a calm enough tone, but on the inside he was worried that Shining Armor, being the kind of pony who cared for ceremonies and the like, would be mad at him for breaking the sword.

After this Spike saw Spitfire give Shining Armor a few bits. Spike, not even wanting to know, just shrugged it off.

When Spike finished closing the distance between him and his squad he said "I have a lead. All of our previous targets have had connections to a dragon named Greenhorn."

"Isn't that the dragon that was leading the others in the Everfree Forest?" Spitfire asked.

Spike nodded in reply and said "we are going to track him down."

"You mean right now? We just got back." said Shining Armor

"I want to get this done as soon as possible." said Spike.

"You should get some rest." said Spitfire. 

"Eyeep" Agreed Big Mac. 

"Sleep is the last thing I need." When they all stared at Spike he finally said "Fine." 

After returning to his quarters Spike laid down and had a dream about the day war was declared on Equestria... and the last day that he saw her.
> Chapter 4
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Spike woke up to the sound of an explosion going off downstairs. He hurriedly got up out of his basket and in a moment of panic left without fixing his sheets. He ran downstairs only to find a purple alicorn with a dark purple mane that had a magenta streak staring at a book on the floor. Her horn was smoking and all of the pages in the book, which was a bright green covered one, were either charred beyond recognition or just completely disintegrated. "What happened Twilight? Why did you mess up the book? Was it a spell gone wrong? A misfire? Oh wait I know, the book was trying to attack you! Wait, why was the book attacking you?" Spike questioned. He knew that she wasn't actually being attacked and she was most likely practicing a new spell, but Spike loved to annoy Twilight by doing little things like this. Nothing big, he loved her with all of his heart and would never forgive himself for hurting her.

"The book wasn't trying to attack me Spike. I just was practicing a new spell." the alicorn, known as Twilight, answered. Spike, now that the excitement was over, went to grab the broom and dustpan. When he returned, he grabbed the book and, deciding that it wasn't salvageable, tossed it in the trashcan. After which he proceeded to sweep up all of the ashes. "Thanks Spike." Twilight said while looking at a spell book. 'Most likely trying to find what went wrong with the spell' thought Spike.

"Well I guess I should get ready now." Spike said. Then he walked out of the room; he went back upstairs and fixed his basket. After which he went into the bathroom and grabbed his scale polish. Spike hurriedly took a shower and polished his scales, but he realized that his scale polish was running out. He added 'get more scale polish' to his mental checklist. As for drying off, Spike waited for the tub to drain of water then got back into it. Spike then blew a gentle flame over his body that evaporated all of the water. "I'm so glad we have a metal tub." he said aloud to himself. He only dried himself using his flame inside of the tub because he didn't want to burn down the library. He could have just used a towel, but he disliked using one because it always got stuck on his scales.

When Spike finished getting ready it was 12:00. "Can I go hang out with Rainbow Dash?" he asked.

"Just make sure you're back by 6:00." Twilight said.

"Don't worry Twilight; I'll be back by then." Spike shouted while running out of the door. He ambled throughout the town for a while, but then it hit him. 'It' was not a physical object. Rather, 'it' was an idea. Spike thought that he should go to Sugarcube Corner and grab some food. He continued walking until he made it to the oddly-shaped building. When he walked inside he saw a bright pink earth pony that had a mane that was also bright pink. "Hello Pinkie." Spike greeted.

"Hey there Spike! What brings you here?" Pinkie Pie said. 

"Can I get three blueberry muffins?" Spike asked.

"Sure thing Spike! The wait will be a little longer than usual because we just ran out of blueberry muffins though." Pinkie said.

"That's fine Pinkie." Spike replied. Pinkie then walked out of the room into the kitchen to make the muffins. After about a ten second wait (thanks to Pinkie's speed that seemed to defy physics) Pinkie came back into the room carrying two dozen blueberry muffins. 

She gave Spike his three muffins and said "That's six bits Spike." whilst putting the remaining muffins into the display case. After Spike gave her the requested bits, he grabbed the bag that had his muffins in it and left the bakery after saying bye to Pinkie.

He took about ten steps before it hit him. This time 'it' wasn't an idea. Rather 'it' was a physical object. Spike was walking one moment then in the next he was on the ground with a cyan pegasus on top of him. The pegasus had a rainbow colored mane and currently had a face that showed a mixture of mostly worry and a little bit of embarrassment.

"Oh my gosh Spike! Are you ok?! I'm so sorry! I didn't mean to hurt you!" Rainbow Dash tried to explain.

Before she could continue Spike said "I would be fine if you could just get off of me!"

Rainbow Dash loomed down and realized that she was still on top of Spike. After she moved off of him and helped him up she said "Can you walk? If not I can fly you back to the library."

After regaining his bearings Spike replied "Don't worry about it; I have tough scales. I was just looking for you anyway. This just saves me the effort, so don't feel bad. Anyways, I got you some muffins," he said, holding out the bag "They might be a little smushed though."

"I am so lucky to have a drakefriend like you" Rainbow said.

"What can I say, I'm just all around the best" Spike said whilst flexing his arms.

"The only way you could be better is if you were to drop the ego," Rainbow said "But that's just part of what makes you... well you."

It was at that moment that Spike felt the familiar feeling in his throat that he had when sending or receiving a letter. The letter burst out of his mouth with a burp. "Excuse me." Spike said. He then proceeded to open the letter and read it out loud.

Dear Spike,

There has been an emergency. Gather all of the elements of harmony at the Golden Oaks Library. I will meet you there to explain.

From, Celestia

When Spike finished reading the letter he looked at Rainbow Dash and said "You get Fluttershy and Applejack. I'll get Pinkie Pie and... Rarity."

" On it" Rainbow said as she flew away.

As soon as Rainbow Dash flew away, Spike went back into Sugarcube Corner and shouted "Pinkie go to the library! There is an emergency and I don't have time to explain!" Spike then ran out of the bakery and made his way to the Carousel Boutique. 

When he entered the building he was greeted by a white unicorn that had a magnificent purple mane who said "Spike darling what are you doing here? I didn't think that you would still come and visit me after what happened. Oh well, what can I do for you? 

Spike, who was out of breath barely managed to wheeze out "Rarity. Emergency. Go to library. I'll explain later." After delivering his message Spike left the boutique and started to slowly trudge to the library. 

The unicorn, named Rarity, just stood there in shock and wonder. Firstly, she was surprised that Spike had shown up at the boutique because she had a fall out with him after she rejected his invitation to a date. Secondly, she was surprised that there was an emergency that was so big that it made Spike look like he had just run a marathon. Also, she was admittedly curious as to what the emergency was. After a moment of consideration, she decided that the situation was serious enough that she would have to go without doing her mane.

Spike finished his trek to the library and was greeted by Twilight, Pinkie Pie, Rainbow Dash a yellow pegasus with a pink mane, named Fluttershy, an orange earth pony with a blonde mane wearing a Stetson hat, named Applejack, and most notably a white alicorn with a flowing multicolored mane wearing full princess regalia, named Celestia. "Rarity should be on her way." Spike told everybody.

After a few minutes of waiting Spike, starting to become impatient, moved over to stand next to Rainbow Dash. "Were your muffins good?" he asked.

"Dude, they were from Pinkie. Do you even have to ask?" She responded.

"Well not really, but I thought that it was the nice thing to do." Spike said.

It was at that moment that Rarity walked into the library. "I'm here!" She declared.

"Good, now when I tell you this please don't panic," she said while looking at Twilight "The Dragon Empire has formally declared war on Equestria." Celestia stated.

"What! Why?" Twilight shouted, on the verge of a panic attack.

"The dragons have not clearly stated why, but we believe that it may have to do with simply taking our land and supplies... Or it might have to do with Spike living here." Celestia said.

Upon hearing this news Spike tried to appear relatively calm, but on the inside he was fighting tears, anger, and guilt. Rainbow Dash knew him well enough to know that he wasn't really fine, so she tried to comfort him. "Why? Why? Why do they care that I live here?!"

"Spike, we don't know if that's why they did it. I was merely stating that it was a possibility." Celestial tried to comfort him.

Each of the mane six were taking this news differently. Pinkie Pie was thought that the war would make people sad, so she would have to throw more parties to cheer them up. Fluttershy knew that she would have to use her nursing abilities. Applejack thought that it would be most beneficial to Equestria if she were to start mass-producing her family's apple products. Rarity assumed that the troops would need uniforms. Twilight realized that the ponies would not be able to stand up to the dragons, so she and Spike would have to research them. Rainbow Dash knew that it was her duty as a Wonderbolt       to fight for her country.

"As much as I don't like it the Wonderbolts are being called to fight, but because you are an Element of Harmony I could get you a royal exemption from the draft." Celestia told Rainbow Dash.

"Thank you for the option princess, but as the element of loyalty and as a Wonderbolt it is my duty to fight." Rainbow Dash replied. "I'm sorry Spike." she added at the end.

"Very well, I cannot stop you. Call time is at the Canterlot castle in two hours. I will leave you to say your goodbyes." Celestia said before walking out.
> Chapter 5
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Spike woke up to the sound of an explosion. 'Well that seems ironic.' was all that he had time to think before a pony was thrown through his wall. Upon closer inspection the pony proved to be Big Mac. "Are you alright?" Spike asked whilst jumping out of his bed.

"Enope" came his reply.

Spike ran over to the Wounded pony and was debating whether or not he should move Big Mac to the infirmary, but then out of the corner of his eye Spike saw a fireball coming. Having his decision made for him, Spike gently but quickly picked Big Mac up and moved him out of the way. After the fireball collided with his quarters, Spike ran back inside and grabbed his journal, a stack of letters, and a picture of himself and Rainbow Dash.

He ran back outside to where Big Mac was lying on the ground and shouted "Medic!" Thankfully, somepony heard him and rushed over. "Take care of him. I will go aide in the defence." before he even got a reply, Spike ran to the training field to grab a weapon. He cursed himself for not grabbing a weapon to replace his broken sword.

While on the way there Spike encountered a squad of dragons all welding lances. 'They must have just flown over the wall. We really need better anti-air defences.' thought Spike. All of the dragons, minus one, had blue scales and wore heavy armor. The one, most likely the leader, had red scales and wore nothing but leg guards. "Well I don't suppose one of you could hand over your weapon and make this fair?" Spike asked. He only received a mixture of roars and growls as a reply. "No, I thought not. Worth a try though." 

"Know the name of the one who shall finally end you, so called savior of the ponies. I am Redwing, your doom." the previously established leader said.

"Bwahaha. Sorry. I'm sorry. it's just funny that you think that. If you knew the amount of times somecreature has said that to me you would be laughing too. Also, I'm not sure who calls me "savior of the ponies," but I like that title. It has a nice ring to it." Spike said.

"Attack!" Redwing commanded, and attack they did. All ten dragons under his command leveled their lances and charged. Spike sidestepped the first one and, using his claws, sliced his throat. Spike then grabbed the falling lance before it hit the ground and flew above the dragons. Before most of the dragons could follow him, Spike released a torrent of scorching hot flames that roasted all of the dragons still on the ground. There were only three dragons that had the reaction speed to lift off before Spike scorched them, so the fight was more even now. Spike landed back on the ground to catch his breath. At least, that's what the dragons thought. Spike gave off the impression of being winded, but he was wasn't really. The dragons shared a look and then they split up and flanked him on three sides. One was on his rear-left side, one was on his rear-right side, and one was in front of him.

The one on his rear-left side tried to stab him, but Spike swindled around and intercepted the blade with his own into the ground where it got stuck. The dragon looked up with a face full of fear which quickly switched to resignation. Spike couldn't tell if it was resignation of defeat, death, or both. He got an answer when the dragon extended its claws and charged him. Not hesitating for a second Spike jabbed his lance straight through the dragon's heart. 

Whilst Spike was fighting the dragon one of the others stabbed Spike in the thigh. Spike let out a roar. Not a roar of pain, rather a roar of anger. Spike had long ago mastered his pain, so now it was just a minor annoyance. He whipped around and when the third dragon tried to stab him, Spike dodged to the side, leapt forwards, and bit the dragon's throat. When the second one tried to attack again, Spike grabbed his lance and pulled it (and the dragon) towards him. As the dragon stumbled Spike kneed it in the jaw causing it to recoil backwards. Without giving it a moment to recover, Spike pounced on it and slashed its throat.

"Bravo, good show," Redwing said from the sidelines "I must admit, I am surprised that they managed to hit you."

"Why don't you get over here so I can kill you too." Spike calmly replied in a low voice, almost like a growl.

"As you wish." Redwing said. He then proceeded to fly up into the air, putting himself between the sun and Spike, so Spike would be blinded if he were to look at him. Redwing then flew straight at Spike and impaled him in the chest with his lance, or so he thought. What really happened was Spike knew what was about to happen, so he picked up one of the dragons that he had killed and used it as a shield. 

When Redwing stabbed the dragon, Spike grabbed Redwing by the throat and said "I'm going to give you ten seconds to answer my question. Who are you working for?" 

"Why should I tell you? We both know you are going to kill me anyway." Redwing choked out.

"Well I can't deny that, but I can choose to give you a quick death," Spike paused "or I can give you a slow death" Spike finished while choking Redwing out.

Spike knew that Redwing worked for the people he was after because he had the tattoo of his enemies on his wrist; Blacktalon also had this tattoo on him. The tattoo featured a dragon with its wings unfurled that was breathing fire. 

"Very well, I've never seen him directly. We always communicate via messenger. His name is Whitefang. Go on now, just make it quick." Redwing said.

"Hold on, does everybody in your little gang name's consist of a color then a bodypart? Are you all like family... or is it just a coincidence?" Spike questioned.

"Can we just get this over with?" Redwing asked. Spike promptly snapped his neck.

It was then that his squad, minus Big Mac, found Spike standing over five bodies and a large pile of ashes. "Guess you don't need any help." Shining Armor said.

"I could have used it about three minutes ago," Spike said "Big Mac is in the infirmary if you were wondering."

"Enope" Spike turned around to see Big Mac standing there sword in hoof.

"It's going to take more than a few broken ribs to keep him down," Shining Armor said "Fluttershy patched him right up."

"Speaking of Fluttershy, how are the girls doing?" Spike asked.

Rarity was repairing armor inside of her shop, Pinkie Pie was in the infirmary with Fluttershy helping to cheer up the wounded, Applejack was in the mess hall handing out food, and Princess err General Twilight was in the command center." Spitfire replied.

"Well I guess we need to pay the general a visit." Spike said.
> Chapter 6
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

"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.