There was only one way for me to describe the condition of Ponyville, depressing. My mother was not joking about this being a raider hotspot. As me and Star walked into town using a nearby bridge, we were met with horrifying sights. The decaying body of ponies stood on pikes lining the cobblestone bridge, skeletons leaning against houses. This is what pony kind truly was deep down inside, the only thing keeping it from coming out for so long was the princesses. Ever since that devastating day seventy-five years ago, dark parts of ponies truly started to show. I envied those who enjoyed stable life, as they didn’t have to witness the horrors of this world.

However, it was the stark contrast between Las Pegasus’ ruins and Ponyville’s that really got to me. In many ways, even though half the city was leveled by Nebula One, Las Pegasus had been left in rather reasonable condition. Ponyville was much more depressing, not in terms of destruction but just in the shape of it. Even walking across that bridge you could see the despair of the buildings that had so long ago been the home of pony. Old, faded posters were on the walls of building promoting dozens of things from the Steel Rangers to the ministries. Homes were either ransack or in a complete mess, disturbing graffiti of… things were written on the inside.

Of course, what fear and sadness at that moment I had was pushed into the back of my mind. All I could think about was the reason I’m seeing everything in the first place. Dread, one of the two ponies responsible for me being out here, was here in Ponyville. The Blood Angel, former ‘friend’ of my father, and the reason Willow Wisp's was a slave. It was that last one that got to me the most, remembering the horrifying condition the poor pegasus had been in back with the raiders. Twister had much to explain, but the rage inside of me was all on that criminal. I was going to beat him senseless; his punishment for the crimes he committed.

“Ponyville wasn’t even hit by a mega spell,” Star Chart said as we examined our surroundings. “All of this was from ponies. Raiders, slavers, and other bastards who didn’t give shit about the world ending.”

I didn’t respond, staring at the posters on the walls of homes of poles. If there was one thing my mother had made me aware of, it was who the really culprits of Equestria’s condition really were. I know it was only making more furious by look at the propaganda, but I couldn’t tear my eyes away. I pulled my lips back in a snarl, my eye catching one poster of a menacing zebra standing over a dead pony. ‘They will stop at nothing to kill us’ the description read, words that stopped my in my tracks. I could see Star stop an inch or so in front of me as I made my way to the poster.

“Who are you to say such a fucking thing?” I asked, a low growl escaping me. “Are we the ones who blew them up? Or is the world you brought us suppose to be better?” I ripped the poster off the wall, staring at it with fury. “LIKE HELL IT IS! YOU THINK THIS IS THE WORLD I WANTED?!”

“Dead Hooves calm down, please,” I heard Star Chart say. “It’s just a poster; no part of it is true.”

“Do you think ponies seventy-five years ago knew that?” I asked. “It may not mean much anymore, but think about everything this caused. It’s because of things like this that we couldn’t obtain peace,” I threw the poster on the ground, stomping on it. I could feel the hoof of my sister wrap around my neck. Upon her touch, I stopped what I was doing and looked to her. I then looked back to the now trampled propaganda poster under my hooves, letting out a frustrated sigh. “Things such as this is the reason the mega spells ever dropped. The war is one thing, but the fear...”

“I can understand how you feel right now,” Star replied, gently hugging me. “Your thinking about mom, and no matter how crazy she is she never deserved what had happened to her. I understand that, but we have ponies after us, and getting angry will only make that worse. Just try and stay calm till we meet up with Sharpshot and the others.”

My heartbeat slowed to a steady beat as my sister’s words sunk into my head. She was right, this wasn’t the time or place to act angry. The Steel Rangers were after me for the crimes Dread had committed, and a squad of them were here in Ponyville. It was hard to grasp, but no matter how much I denied it their actions made sense. The Steel Ranger’s job was to keep ponies safe, and I had the unfortunate soul who had a fake bullseye painted on my back. I kept the anger I felt inside of me as hidden as possible, turning to Star with a nod.

Before we made a single step, I heard a familiar sound. Power Armor gave a particular sound when it moved, the sound of metal and rust from years of use and poor care. The last time I had heard the sound was in Las Pegasus, but it was to familiar to not recognize. My ears shifted to what I suspected was west, a building not far away being the only think muffling the sound. It was going to turn the corner, and considering my father’s explanation of battle saddles, I didn’t want take the chance of being seen.

I motioned to Star behind me, looking to the building that I had teared the poster off of. It had a hole wide enough to fit through at the corner, and I quickly ran to it and jumped inside. I put my back up against what there was left of the brick wall of the house in time to see Star jump over me. I slide to the side, my metal legs scraping against the wood floor as I made room for my sister behind it. I could hear the sound of metal steps getting closer and closer, until the obstruction of the building it had been behind completely disappeared. I could hear it clearly, the once so welcoming sound of power armor filling me with fear.

I looked down at the Novasurge rifle in my hooves, my first thought being to shoot the pony in the power armor. Almost as soon as the idea came to my head, a chill was sent through my bones. How could I ever think of doing such a thing? These were the Steel Rangers, good ponies who defended other good ponies. I couldn't get my head over the thought that they would be willing to listen. Listening as the sound of hooves came closer to us, I made up my mind.

“Stay here,” I told Star as I handed her my Novasurge rifle and Remembrance. “If things go south, run as far away from here as possible.”

Before she had a chance to answer I got up and jumped out of the building. It took me only a few seconds to spot the familiar Steel Ranger Armor the pony wore. There face was covered by the helmet which gave a menacing glare from the way it looked. As soon as I revealed myself, the Steel Ranger turned to my direction. I swallowed my spit, heart thumping like a drum as I prepared to speak. Luckily for me, the Steel Ranger didn’t rev the minigun that I saw on their power armor.

“Halt pony!” The muffled voice of the pony ordered as she spotted me. Even though I couldn’t see her eyes, I could tell she was looking over me “Tan coat, Black and Red mane, no cutie mark. The description matches perfectly, except for the legs,” My heart felt like it was about to burst. Twister didn’t know about my operation, meaning that my legs were currently my only saving grace. “Elder Nightshade was pretty specific in his description of the pony, he wouldn’t have left out something that important. Tell me pony, what is your name?”

“Dead Hooves,” I answered. “My father was a paladin of the Steel Rangers, left a few years ago to take care of me.”

What followed next was silence. A long, drawn out silence that resonated in the still town. I looked at the Steel Ranger, and she looked right back at me. I needed her to recognize me, I knew that my ancestors was my only hope of getting out of this alive. She walked up to me, and I stayed perfectly still save for my eyes. This pony was big, being at least a head taller than me, which was strange considering their voice was female. My eye caught onto a strange insignia on the collar of her power armor, a pegasus with a gear and sword behind it.

“Dead Hooves,” She replied. “Under the law, I hereby arrest you and your Enclave friend. You are charged for almost two hundred murders in the past two years, and the Enclave soldier will be dealt with as we see fit.” Hearing what she was saying, I looked behind myself to see another pony in power armor holding Star at gunpoint. “If you try to escape we will gun down you and the pony you're with. Action with the Enclave is seen as a betrayal to Equestria, unless you got a good reason she will be terminated here.”

I looked to Star, looking terrified. “She’s my sister, we're family! I have no relation to the Enclave, as our fathers were different ponies. My loyalty,” I gulped heavily as I continued. “... resides with the Steel Rangers, and my sister was doing nothing but help me get to Manehattan.”

“What you say is nothing short of a lie,” The Steel Ranger in front of me replied. “I’ve seen this same exact design for artificial limbs only on Enclave soldiers. Even if she is your sister, her and the other Enclave pegasus had abandoned Equestria in her time of need. No ponies with affiliation with the enemy, like she must be, is allowed to live,” The Steel Ranger took out a revolver, pointing it in Stars direction.

Bang

I closed my eyes as the sound of gunfire sounded, to scared to watch my sister die. That was until I heard the sound of metal hit the ground. I opened my eye, watching as the Steel Ranger who was holding Star dropped her, falling to the ground. A small, barely visible hole was visible in the soft material between the helmet and neck piece. Blood oozed out of the hole slowly, but I was more shocked that somepony had managed to make the shot. I turned to the Steel Ranger that I had originally seen, thinking she had turned the gun, only to see it pointing at me.

Bang

Another shot rang through the air, this time I could see the small streak of air it left behind as it pierced the same exact location on the Steel Rangers body as the last one. Without thinking I grabbed the gun pointed at me out of her hoof and unloaded several shots into her helmet. After the entire barrel was empty, she fell to the ground dead. I was breathing heavily, as if I had been holding my breath that entire time. Having seen where the shot had come from she saw the window of a large tree not that far in the distance. That must have been Golden Oak, which means that it was most likely Sharpshot who had taken the shot; he did shoot a dragon in the eye twice with perfect accuracy. I waved to whoever it was before looking back rushing to Star, who was on the floor crying slightly. I looked to what her front legs were holding onto, seeing that her back left had a small hole in it. I didn’t bother to ask if she was okay, knowing perfectly well she was in pain.

“I’m sorry Star,” I said as I helped her up. I never noticed it, but since I got these new legs I’ve felt much stronger than before. “I should known better then to do such a thing, but deep down inside of me I was hoping they would look past false claim and see who I truly was,” As she got onto her hooves I let go of her, glad to see she could still stand.

“I should have known that when you would have acted such a way,” My sister said. “It’s my fault for not doing anything to prevent it. Since we have these free suits of power armor however,” We looked to the two dead Steel Rangers, a pang of guilt inside me. “We might as well use them to our advantage, but if our friends start to attack us take the helmet off.”

I nodded heading over to the smaller piece of power armor, which actually happened to be the taller mare that I had spotted. The soft material was stretched rather wide, which explained how they managed to make a ‘one size fits all’ kinda deal. Opening the power armor, I looked away as I removed the body, not wanting to see the body of what should have been a comrade. These were the ponies that my dad had worked beside, and I had just been convicted of a false crime. This wasn’t the group my father had told me about, the one that was suppose to be the good guys. It was horribly ironic, working with the Enclave and against the Steel Rangers, considering their overall likeability in the wasteland.

As I stepped inside the power armor, I was forced to face the horrendous smell inside of it. My god it smelled awful in here, and a quick glance to the pony occupying it just filled me with more worry. That mare really needs to learn to wash this thing, it’s sticky, groose, and overall just plain disgusting. Only paladins got power armor… right. She should know how to clean these things like my dad had taught me to do. I couldn’t tell where it smelled and felt worse, the back of suit or the helmet, but I wasn’t going to find out why.

“I miss my dad’s old armor,” I said as I tried to get as comfortable as possible. My voice was actually echoing slightly off the inside of the helmet. “Star, please tell me that your armor smells any better than this.”

“The smells okay,” I said, turning to a now armored up Star, “but this ain’t Enclave armor. No slot for wings, and just moving them feels wrong. At least the leather inside keeps it from scratching my wings and hurting my feathers. Does feel a little wet in some parts however.”

“I… guess that’s better,” I said, tilting my head the best I could inside the helmet. I then proceeded to point in the direction of the big tree the shot had come from “So I think that must be Golden Oaks. Whoever is in their save our ass, and given my current predicament I don’t think it would have been a random stranger.”

“True, especially since this is closer to Manehattan,” Star said as she handed me back Remembrance and the Novasurge rifle I had. “I’ll take the lead, you watch my six. Remember: the Steel Rangers don’t care about who your father was. He was exiled, and even if it was for a bad reason they won’t care. They want you dead, so don’t see them as friends.” I nodded, ready to leave. That was delayed after only a single step as Star fell forward. “OW!”

“Star!” I rushed to her aid, helping her stand back up. “You okay?”

“It’s the leather,” She told me. “When whoever killed the second Steel Ranger shot, they threw off the other one and the bullet landed in my leg. I’m already bleeding, but the leather is only making it feel worse,” As she got comfortably back on her feet she looked to me. “Forget what I said about leading, stay by my side. I’m going to need to take it slow, but if I fall again try to catch me.”

“You think I let my sister fall?” I asked her rhetorically. “Don’t think just because we just learned about our families that I don’t care. We’re sisters, and besides, you're not a bad pony.”

Star laughed nervously at this, although I knew she was grateful on the inside. With that we made our way slowly down the road toward the tree. I could hear her grunt and feel her hesitate as she stepped, brushing my side. She stumbled with almost every step she took, using me as a wall to keep her balance. I could understand the pain she was in, or at least the struggle of walking. That was the one similarity I hoped my sister never had to share with me. Just the thought of her losing the ability to walked scared me. Why a single bullet to the leg made me that scared, I didn’t know or even wanted to know.

As we turned the corner I saw the giant tree that the pony who saved us had shot out of. It was tall, but I think what truly interested me was how wide the tree was, and the fact it still seemed to be slightly alive. A single door red door was in the center with many windows sticking out where giant branches must have once been. The top of the tree was completely bare, the cold yet snowless winter being the obvious culprit. A rooting side gave me the only answer I need to what this place was. ‘Golden Oak Library’ it read in fading wordings.

As we approached the door, I disconnected the back of my helmet, letting the front of it hang limply from a single clip. Before I could open the door, somepony opened it from the inside, and I could feel the anger in me rise as I saw who it was. A big, bulky, black furred earth stallion made himself known, with a look of what I assumed was shock. Dread! I grinded my teeth at the familiarity of the stallion. He made way for us to head inside, and I decided to save beating him till after everything was done. That didn’t stop me from opening my mouth.

“You,” I said as I walked inside. “You have no idea how much I never want to see you again.”

“Just get inside,” He ordered, “Your friends will no doubt be close behind you. Also, if you think I’m here by choice, I honestly have better things to do.”

I pretend to ignore him, searching the bottom floor for Stitch. The walls were lined with what must have been over two hundred books, the fading picture of the sun on the top of the wall. I’m sure many of these books were as old an unreadable as most things in the wasteland seem to be. The library wasn’t the thing that caught my eye, it was the two pony I saw sitting on the left side. I was able to tell one of them was Stitches, who I was surprised to covering her right eye in what must have been pain, but the other pony took me several seconds to recognize. A pure white alicorn, probably an inch smaller than what I remember Scythe looking at. At first glance I didn’t recognize her, but then I noticed the scar on her neck and the missing top of one of her ears.

“Just get it out, please,” Stitch said as she continued to block her eye from my vision. I could see Willow come close to the Stitch’s blocked, before quickly pulling away with her mouth clenching a small piece of metal. “AAAH! Bandages, bandages quickly.”

“You sure that’s all of it?” I did a double take as I heard Willow speak, thinking I had heard things. No, that was Willow talking, a voice much deeper and mature than her age would have suggested.

“Yes yes, I’m sure just bandage my eye quickly!” Stitch pleaded to the Willow, me simply staring in shock. Willow effortlessly lifted up a giant roll of bandages as if she had been alicorn all along and started wrapping it around the eye Stitch was blocking from my view. As Willow finished she put the bandages into what I could see was a black, leather purse. “Thanks, I don’t think it's infected, but I never had to operate on an eye before.”

Willow nodded, turning in my direction as she got up. Her face told me just how shocked she was to see me here. Before I could even exit the sticky power armor I was still end, Willow leaped onto me with full force. I fell to the ground, shocked that she had somehow managed to knock me over. I opened the power armor up as Willow Wisp hugged me. The smile on her face almost brought me to tears, but nothing was more reassuring than the fact she hadn’t been hurt.

“Dead Hooves, I’m so happy to see you!” Her voice greeted me with excitement. “I was so scared when I saw the HQ blow up. I… I thought you were dead!” She got off of me, allowing me to get to my hooves. I could see her staring at my new legs, just like I was staring at her new horn. “You're wondering about my voice, aren’t you?” I nodded. “Well, it’s a long story, but to put it simply I had an incident with killing joke that made me lose my voice before getting captured. Then, when we took the train here to Ponyville… well, he saved me.”

The excitement in her voice faded into one that was unsure. She pointed to Dread, who sat at the door with that same purple and pink shotgun I remember him having. My urge to pound him to the ground was overwhelmed by the joy in my heart to see Willow. A sole tear fell from my eyes as I wrapped the pegasus-turned-alicorn into a hug. Hearing that Dread was with them, I had assumed the worst to happen to Willow, but to see her unscarred before me was the happiest thing in the world.

“I’m so glad your alright,” I told her as she returned my hug. “When I heard Dread was the Bloody Angel, and that you were his slave, I was scared.”

“Trust me, he would have,” Willow told me, a comforting wing wrapping around me back. “Sharpshot, despite what I originally thought of him, he saved me. He saved me from becoming a slave to the alicorns, and from Dread when he threatened me.”

“Hey, where is that insufferable bitch anyway?” I asked Willow, only to get no respond. Looking at her face, I could see her looking at the ground with a soft smile. Her face was slight pink as if… oh no. No way, she isn’t. “Willow, are you okay?”

“Huh?” She finally responded, looking to me. I was still getting use to her low voice “Oh, uh, yeah. I’m fine, thanks to Sharpshot at least. You really get to know him as a pony when you travel with him for a few days, and he isn’t all that bad. I’m, he’s got a rather nice face for a-” Something seemed to go through her head as she said that, and I could now confirm that the pink on her face was a blush. “Dead Hooves… it’s not what you think, seriously.”

“Really?” I asked teasingly, “Willow, I won’t judge who you love, but please tell me that was an accident? Cause if you really do love Sharpshot I expect-”

“Let it be Dead Hooves,” I looked to Stitch, who had walked up to us. The bandage around her right eye was already covered with blood. “As far as I’m concerned the only cure for love is either a breakup or divorce, and I don’t see that happening with these two. Although, I do have worries about the two of you in the long run.”

“And it’s none of your damn business who we love,” My attentions turned to the stairs to see a ghoul start making his way down. My heart skipped a few beats, and I stumbled back. Then I noticed the red zebra rifle on his back, and staring aghast as I realized who it was. “Sorry to interrupted, but I heard a certain somepony calling for me. That somepony being a lucky unicorn idiot who just entered the doorway.”

“Fuck you too, Sharpshot,” I cursed, giving him a glare. “So, what happened to Feather? I thought she had come with you.”

“Upstairs with a rather… special pony,” Stitch responded. “We picked up an alicorn on the way here, or Sharpshot and Willow did to be more exact. She has some sort of multiple personality disorder from the taint. She looked herself in a room on the upper floor saying and I quote ‘It’s better that somepony like me stays as far away from everypony as possible’ end quote. White Light, Feather’s real name, is-”

“Wait,” I put a hoof on Stitches mouth as those last few words were said. “Did you just say Feather is a pegasus named White Light?”

“The same White Light that Dread told you to take me to,” Willow answered, with a smile. “She and Dread use to be friends before the whole Bloody Angel thing. She’s also apparently White Light’s sister, which is still rather weird.”

“So I’m not the only pony here who has family we never knew about,” I thought outloud, both Pegasi simultaneously tilting there heads at me. I pointed behind them to Star Chart, who this entire time was trying her hardest to get out of the power armor she was in. “Turns out I have a sister who worked in the Grand Pegasus Enclave, and my mom’s a cannibalistic zebra,” They turned around as I said this, Star finally getting completely out of the power armor in time. She waved to them. “Trust me, it’s a complicated story.”

The door opened behind us, and I watched as both Rocket, Silver Gunner, and Yeilta made there way inside. I watched as my mother stared down Dread as she entered the room in the same way I had. Dread attempted to get in their way, only for Rocket to effortlessly push him out of the way to Willows shock. Almost immediately after, Rocket disarmed Dread, taking the weird purple shotgun out of his hand. I could hear hoofsteps behind me as I watched White Light and an alicorn join Sharpshot as the made their way downstairs. Looking back, I saw the Sprite Bot that Spike was using.

“Well, aren’t we a large cast of main characters,” My mother said, words that I didn’t fully understand. “Glad to see the rest of you made it here safely.”

I turned to introduce my mother to everypony before Willow put a hoof on my mouth. “You don’t have to explain Zoey to us,” Willow said “We already know everything, and I mean everything,” Her happy demeanor changed as a frown took form on her face. She hung her head, looking up to me in what I remember my dad calling ‘puppy eyes’ “Dead Hooves… we’re sorry about what you did to your father.”

“It’s okay, I guess,” I rubbed the back of my neck as I spoke. “Just don’t bring it up on a regular basis, please?” Willow nodded her head, and a certain emotion came back to me as I looked to Dread. “Speaking of my father.”

I charged at Dread, who put no effort in stopping my as I pinned him to the wall of the library. My magic seemed to activate as a tan aura surrounded him, holding him slightly in the air. I stood on my back hooves, or rather the one that I could, and used my front ones to put pressure on his neck. We were about the same height standing up, his muzzle grazing mine as my lips peeled back into a snarl. He did almost the same as I did, although his was more of a growl then a snarl.

“Never shoulda shown up motherfucker!” I told him, my voice crackling like a hyena, “Enslaving Willow Wisp, murdering hundreds of ponies, and apparently a friend of my father! You expect me to see you and act like I’m happy? The only reason I didn’t shoot you when I came in the door was because I want answers. Why did you do all of this? Was it really worth killing all those ponies?” What pressure I put on his neck didn’t seem to do anything as he simply looked away, gazing out the window. “ANSWER ME YOU BASTARD!”

“I never expected you to be happy seeing me,” He said in that same disgruntled voice he always did. “I don’t expect anypony to see me and be happy, cause I’m not. Why put a smile on your face when there's nothing to smile about. You’ve seen the way Ponyville is right now; ruined and void of the things that once made this place beautiful,” He looked to me, and with no effort took my hooves off his neck. Unable to balance I fell to the floor, landing on my back with pain. My magic vanished from around Dread as he landed quietly on his hooves. “Me and Twister have similar views of ponies such as ourselves: beings that destroy, desolated, and cowered from there country in needed hours. We are the ones responsible for our kingdom going to hell, the ones who forgot the foundation in which we founded Equestria on.”

He made his way to the center of the room, looking to all of us as he continued. “That’s where the differences in us end however. Twister sees pegasi, unicorns, and earth ponies such as most of us inferior. He thinks he’s a higher class, and believes that the only way for Equestria to rise again is through unity,” He pointed to Willow Wisp, staring her hard in the eyes in a way that made the alicorn shy away. “Alicorns, to him they are the perfect beings. He doesn’t give a shit about anyone, not after what he learned about the ministries.”

“And what would that be?” Star asked. I looked in her direction to see Stitch working on her injured leg.

“That they had let the mega spells be developed by zebras,” Dread replied with venom as he glared at Yeilta, who simply rolled her eyes. “We let secrets loose, secrets that ended in our fucked up world. That was the ministries fault, but he won’t solve anything by killing or turning everypony he meets,” He walked over to me, getting close enough where his muzzle was on top of mine, breathing on my face. “He kills, manipulates, and so far that has all worked in his favor. The only thing keeping him from doing such a thing, is getting something from the Ministry of Arcane Science and Ministry of Wartime Technology. Those places are still locked tight, and the only pony who can get into them is a descendant of the Ministry.”

“That’s where our plan starts,” Yeilta interrupted, trying to push Dread to the side. She failed, and after several attempts Dread just walked away so she would get on. “Spike told us everything he could before losing control of the Sprite Bot, so I’ll explain from here. Now, I by no means agree with the amount of ponies you killed, but Dread has given us a slight advantage. Dead Hooves my dear, as far as we know your father was the only Ministry of Arcane Science that still has living offspring. Either that, or the rest are dead,” She looked to Dread, a cynical smile on her face “His pattern wasn’t like a normal serial killer, but targeting specific ponies makes you one.”

“Stop drawing out the point!” Dread barked in anger, his cold voice only making it less friendly. “The point is that you are the only pony, save for a few stragglers that the mother fucker hasn’t been able to find, that can open the Ministry of Arcane Science. I have descendancy with a member of the Ministry of Wartime technology.”

He nodded to Sharpshot, who shot a glare at him as he made his way to Star. Willow Wisp stayed close to the ghoul's side, and I had to remind myself not to judge. Knowing that, I looked to Dread, who was looking at me. I still had questions that needed answers, things I had to know. If I didn’t get my answers like he denied it back at the cave, I will kill him. It would help keep Twisters hooves off of whatever was in the Ministry of Wartime technology.

“Why did you enslave Willow?” I asked, “And don’t you dare say you won’t tell me. I want my answer-”

“She was cheap and affordable,” Dread answered, his emotionless voice just making it sound even worse. “Nopony wants a pegasus slave, not since it’s the waste of a slave collar to them. Unicorns can at least have magic dampened, Earth ponies are retards to run unless there owner is dead, but slave collars have been known to seize working condition when introduced to large gusts of air,” He walked over to the window and lend against it. “She was useful, did what she needed to. I would have freed her once this was all over, but you can’t trust an alicorn. She’s not connected to their hive mind, but I don’t give a fuck. Alicorns are the bigger reason we are in this mess. They caused the war, so they don’t deserve to live.”

“Even if that pony-turn-alicorn is your bestfriend?” I asked, lips once again in a snarl.

“What is there left of your friend if they have the same mind as the rest of the alicorns?” Dread looked to me, his voice slightly higher. “And what use is there gaining trust if that pony is just going to stab you in the back? That’s the way the wasteland works; anypony is willing to shoot you in the head or cut your head off with a knife. Honestly, I don’t get what you see is so great in friends like Sharpshot and Willow.”

I could see that most eyes were on us at this moment, and I was ready to snap. I had already taken enough of Dread’s bullshit, and thousands of thoughts of exactly what to say to him now ran through my head. As this happened, I tried once again to pin him against the wall. Even with the most force I could apply, it was as if I was putting no pressure on him at all. How the hell did Rocket manage to shove him earlier? That has to be one strong pegasus to move somepony like this.

“I could give you many reasons as to why Sharpshot and Willow are my friends,” I told him as I began to explain. “Sharpshot may be insufferable at times, but at least he seems to understand the concept of loyalty and trust. I don’t think I would ever trust you with a gun considering your criminal record, so don’t say anything about shooting in the back,” I tried to put more pressure on his neck, which didn’t even make him gasp. “Also, I think Willow could teach you a few things about friendship. She didn't say a single word until today and I could tell how nice she is. Perhaps you should learn to shut the fuck up. She’s the same pony she was as a pegasus, and if you try to harm her I will jump in the way. Willow Wisp deserved a better life than with the likes of you. How could you ever be my father’s friend?”

“I want to make two things very clear to you right now Dead Hooves,” Dread replied. “First, I could easily crush you like a grape at this exact moment. You already had a physically frail body being a unicorn, but add in your legs before you got rid of your old ones and I’m surprised you’ve survived. Even with these new legs, your normal bones and muscles are incredible soft, and easy for anypony to out do you in hoof to hoof combat. Second of all, your father was my mentor, not friend. I couldn’t give a shit about that self-centered prick,” He shoved me to the ground, walking by me. “Taught me everything I needed to know about surviving in the wasteland. Would have left him to die if he didn’t disappear with that stupid zebra.”

“And what a student you turned out to be,” I retorted with a low growl.

Dread stopped walking at my words, glancing at me with cruel look in his eyes. He didn’t say anything more to me, and turned back around. The bastard opened the door to the library and exited, everypony watching him. I got back onto my feet, feeling a victory in my words for actually survive this. A smile dawned my face, and stuck my tongue out at the now closed door. I felt a heavy weight on my back, look behind me to see a smiling Sharpshot. He held out his hoof, which looked in about as good of shape as the rest of his rotting body.

“Come on Dead,” He said cheerfully. “Give me some skin.”

I looked at my hoof, then to his hoof, and then finally to his face. I’m going to be honest, that was the first time I have ever heard the phrase ‘give me some skin’. Not that I realized this at the time, but it meant to give him a high hoof. Instead, I reared around struck him as hard as I could in the face with my one of my metallic hoof. Dread was right about one thing: my physical strength was rather weak, because in the end all I did was make Sharpshot stagger backwards a bit. I could hear Willow laughing, and looked blankly at the alicorn not getting why it was funny.

“Okay, I guess that will do,” Sharpshot said as he rubbed the left side of his muzzle. “It seems like every mare we meet wants to hit me.”

“I can get mine out of the way if you so wish,” Yeilta chimed in, cracking her neck in a way that made me shiver.

“No thank you,” Sharpshot said, waving a hoof from side to side frantically. “I’ve seen the physical strength and flexibility you zebra’s have. No offensive, but I’d rather not end up with my ass above my head,” Sharpshot shook his head, turning back to Star. “Does the location on the map seem familiar?”

“Well Sharpshot, that’s the tricky part,” Star replied with a sigh, “All I have here is coordinates and elevation. Without an actual map or terminal I can’t pinpoint an exact location this is pointing to. I can tell you this, however: the location is farther north of Las Pegasus, and I doubt anything very important is here in Ponyville.”

“The ministry of Awesome should have a mainframe possible of tracking the exact location,” Silver Gunner stepped in. “I can’t access it, but I am able to shut off all security systems inside the building. I would suggest a group of more technical ponies take care of this.”

“Excuse me,” Everyone's attention was drawn to the Sprite Bot that, up till now, had been floating aimlessly. “I heard most of what you all were saying, but it took me sometime to take control of the speaker. The robot has a point, and it would be better if we separated into groups so we could-” The door slammed open, interrupting Spikes already sudden input. Dread looked at the ground, constantly glancing at me before sitting at a far corner of the library “-get an idea of what we are up against. One problem, the main headquarters are all in Canterlot, which Sharpshot could tell you makes them unreachable.”

“The solution is simply,” Silver cut in. “Each ministry has a secret, secondary headquarter in the cities around Equestria, as well as hubs in every major city. The location of most of the secondary headquarters are unknown. However, with the Angel Hunters base having a Ministry of Awesome terminal, I have that location a backup headquarters. Fillydelphia, a city that was on the rise during the war due to it’s harbors, is that very location of the Ministry of Peace’s secondary base. We can use it to locate the others.”

“Guess even robots have limits to knowledge,” Sharpshot commented. “In that case we split up into four teams. One of which heads to Fillydeplhia, and the other three head to Manehattan.”

I tilted my head, “Why four teams?”

“There are other things we need to take care of in Manehattan,” Spike said. “I know it’s irresponsible, but I’ve taken the liberty of plotting our how will be on what teams,” I could hear the crinkle of paper on the other side of the Sprite Bot. “First off, we need to deal with Nightshade, and I want Sharpshot, Yeilta, and Willow to take care of that. Yeilta has had her fair deal of experience revealing secrets considering she was suppose to be an infiltrator, but Sharpshot’s accuracy with rifles and Willow’s alicorn strength will give you the force needed to get into Friendship City.”

“I’ll be taking Silver Bullet and Rocket with me,” Dread said. “We're going to look into the Ministry of Wartime Technology, as well as deal with a secondary objective involving an operative of Twisters. Once we know where the Ministry is, will head there.”

“The final team is made up of everypony except for Dead Hooves-” I gasped at this part, my sister clearly doing the same. “- and Star Chart,” I relaxed again as I heard this, glad that I wasn’t alone after all. “Dead Hooves, I was hoping to meet with you, but over the past two hours plans have changed. I can’t tell you everything, even though I want to, so you will have to learn the hard way. I know the location of the the backup headquarters for the Ministry of Arcane Science: A library obviously, under the name of ‘Grand Manehattan Library’. They have something Twister wants, and we need it,” Everypony was silent for a few seconds. “Also, Twilight had an extra projects in the work, one I need to know. Something happened the day she disappeared, and I need to know. Dead Hooves, please give this dragon some leverage? It’s all I can ask for.”

“I understand,” I nodded my head as I responded. “I’ll do everything in my power to see you get what you need.”

“Will take our leaves then,” Rocket chimed in, looking to Dread. “I’m going to give you back your gun, and I expect you to show restraint with it. Don’t want somepony shooting me in the back.”

“Uh yeah,” I looked to the Alicorn next to White Light who had finally spoken up. She got up hesitantly. “Sure, I guess we should leave now. I mean, Fillydelphia is a long ways away from us and, um, it’s the only other working train stop so-”

“Shut the hell up,” Dread mumbled as he took his shotgun back from Rocket.

I could see him reach into a bag that was in was rather hidden until now. He took a gun out, and I had to blink as I glance at it. The gun had two triggers! No, not just two triggers, but also two muzzles, sights, and even magazines. It had the print of a bird like creature on it that I haven’t seen before in red on it’s side, and a small switch laying out of one side of the gun. He threw it to Sharpshot, who caught it in his hooves, eyeing it with optimism.

“That right their is a Gryphon Switchshot Rifle, or the Dual-Shot for short,” Dread explained. “A rare rifle that has the firing capability of both a sniper rifle and shotgun. Not many of them were made, and only gryphons carried them around. I was lucky enough to kill an old griffon with one, claimed she killed a minister with it. Use it well, asshole.”

With that Dread shoved Silver Bullet to the side and exited. Rocket and Silver Bullet followed after him moment later, giving their goodbye. The Sprite Bot was playing music again, telling me Spike was long gone. I looked down to Remembrance, the shotgun that had carried me this far. Looking to Silver Gunner, I couldn’t help but feel something inside me click. I looked down to the double-barreled shotgun, then back to the robot. I had the Novasurge Rifle, and Silver Gunner had nothing with him as it was. I walked over to him, and his mechanical red eyes looked to me as I held the shotgun out.

“Take it,” I requested. “I know it seems like to much, and you probably don’t understand completely why, but I want you to have. I’ve gotten over my father's death, and my fatal decision, and I don’t want it in front of me anymore. If you somehow manage to forget us, please use it to remind you of us.”

He took it with one of the claw that extended out from his back, looking at it with what looked like curiosity. He used another claw to trace the word ‘remember’ that was still stitched into it. I wanted to imagine a smile on his face as he looked at it, but I could read what could have been going through his head. I mentally chuckled as I imagined Silver Gunner having an error, unable to understand why I had done it. I was snapped from that image as the robot looked at me, and I felt like I could see a strange vibration in his artificial eyes.

“There is a camera located in the upper level of the library,” He said. “My hard drive was made to carry mental images, and I therefore need a face to look back on. Even then, my hard drive is damaged so that any injury it sustains, will cause loss of memory.”

Remembrance was stored away in Silver’s back as I heard the quick chatter of hooves rushing up stairs. I looked to see White Light missing from the group, and looking at the wooden ceiling above me I knew what she was doing. Moments later she reappeared with a device I remember from picture books I had when I was little. A small black box on a tripedal stand, that was the way my dad described the camera to me, and how I would describe the device White Light carried down. She parted the legs of the stand so it stood, looking at us as she placed it down on the other end of the library’s main room.

“If we're going to take a photo, then we should all be in it,” White Light stated, as she messed with the camera. “That way you can remember all of us.”

No one said a word, simply nodding in response as we lined up in two rows. The taller ponies, meaning Sharpshot, Willow Wisp, Silver Gunner, and Star Chart, lined up in the back row. I sat down next to Stitch, keeping myself from looking at the bloody bandage on her face. From the side her I was on, I could see slightly through the bandage, seeing the middle of her eye had a whole in it. I held in the urge to gag, looking back to the camera as White Light sat on the other side of Stitch. She put her hoof around her sister and I could feel Star leaning on my back. I looked behind her to see her smiling at me, and I smiled back.

“Smiling at the camera!” White Light exclaimed, vigor in her voice. I smiled, trying my best to keep the heavier body of my sister from crushing me (she’s not fat, I’m just weaker than her) “CHEEZE!”

A bright flash of light overwhelmed my vision for a second, long enough for my body to give up on holding Star’s weight. I collapsed with a thud on the ground, Star following me as the bright light faded. I could hear everypony laughing, and I could help but laugh myself as Star got off me. Willow Wisp helped me up, using one of her now humongous wings (though the fact half the feathers are missing meant she still couldn’t fly) to make sure I stay on my hooves. Looking to White Light, I could see her using tape as she stuck the picture to the shotgun, which Silver Gunner was kind enough to take out.

“It will take some time for the picture to show, but as long as it doesn’t get filled with holes it should be enough of a reminder in case you ever forget us,” White Light explained, looking to the rest of us. “Well, we won’t get to Manehattan standing around here. The least we can do is travel as a group until we reach the city.”

“We still have Steel Rangers looking for us,” Sharpshot reminded us. “They will see us making a made dash out of town and the last thing we need is for anypony getting killed. So Dead Hooves,” He turned to me, “you want to see if they will let us live like you tried to earlier? Or should we go with the more reasonable response?”

I knew what the reasonable response was, and as much as I hated it Sharpshot was right. The Steel Rangers wouldn’t listen to me; they were blinded by the lies told to them by their leader. I could only imagine what my father would have thought of me - killing these ponies - but he wasn’t in the situation I was in. My life was so much better before destiny decided to toss me out here, and I had had enough of it playing with me. It wanted me to see these ponies as my friends, it wanted me to believe I was one of them.

That was the moment I came to a sad but true realization, I would never be a Steel Ranger. Even if they accept me by the end of this, I wouldn’t deserve to be one of them in the end. I had decided what my answer was, and with the fact I killed my own father - even accidentally - I didn't deserve to be among their ranks. I had killed ponies who didn’t deserve to be, that was all that needed to be said to decided. My loyalty lies not with them, but with these ponies I had met.

“We kill them,” I said without hesitation, looking at my hooves. “I’m not one of them, and they want me dead,” I looked up to Sharpshot. “You’ve all decided to stay with me. It’s only because of you ponies that I’m alive still, even if you were directly involved,” I glanced between each of them pacing in front of them. “I know they I won’t ever truly be a part of them, but through the learning of past events and family,” My eyes at the point specifically focus on Star. “I’m an Enclave soldier. They won’t ever know it, but they are the only parts of my family I still have. If any of you want to speak against it, please say something now.”

I had expected at least one of them (or Sharpshot to be specific) to call me out, but I was surprised at the response. Everypony just stood there, looking at each other with silence. Despite that, I could tell that they didn’t disagree with me, which I had all but expect. After a few moments of silence, both Yeilta and Star Chart walked up to me with sympathetic smiles on their faces. I looked away, slightly embarrassed as my mother and sister engulfed me in a hug. Before I could say anything more I could well the wide, yet bony ends Willow’s wings surround us. Stitch and White Light tried there best to join in, though they ended up hugging Willow and Star instead. As for Silver Gunner and Sharpshot, they kinda just stood back, the latter with a smirk on his face.

“I… I thought you all would be confused!” I exclaimed. “You all really don’t have any problems with it?”

“Well you can’t deny what’s true,” Sharpshot replied “By the end of this you’re going to have some Steel Ranger blood on your hooves, and last I checked that isn’t a very good way to get respect. The Enclave isn’t great, but I’m not going to judge you considering the ponies I’ve worked with.”

“And you are my sister,” Star said in a matter-of-fact way. “I’d hope we were on the same side. When this is all over, I don't want to return to the Enclave and have to fight my sister. If at all possible, I would love it if you came with me in some way.”

I turned to Willow Wisp, who was brushing her head against my neck in the way a pet would. “I know we aren’t related but… I want to believe you're my family,” She explain, and I could see she was embarrassed at having to do so. “You really are in many ways. My parents died so long ago, and you're the first pony since I was little that actually care about me. I… guess that’s part of why I like Sharpshot, because he cares. I wouldn’t have made it here if it wasn’t for him, and he’s much kinder when you actually get to talk with him.”

“I said I wouldn't judge you for who you love and I uphold what that. You don’t have to explain to me why you love Sharpshot.” I reminded her. “Could you maybe give me some room everyone? It’s getting a little stiff in here, no offense.”

Everypony backed up, giving me the space I need to get comfortable. I took a deep breath, closing my eyes as I exhaled. Opening them, I looked to everyone with a smile on my face. A tear went down my eye at seeing how much they all cared for me, and how accepting they were. Coming to the realization I had to kill the very ponies my dad had worked with was not happy, but they had made me feel better about the situation.

“They’ll be waiting for us on the east end of town,” Sharpshot explains. “That’s the way to Manehattan. They will find us if we go that way, or really any way that doesn’t involve days worth going around Ponyville. We have no choice but to fight them, and even then they are more battle hardened the most ponies here.”

“Sneaking isn’t going to work considering that power armor is so thick,” White Light said. “And they most likely know two of their pals are dead by this point, so we can’t just dress up as them. We have no choice but to fight them head on.”

I watched as Willow Wisp suddenly pulled out a strange blade. It curved in a hook formation, the blade’s tip pointing inwards. It glistened in the flickering light of the library, shining a reflection onto my chest. I would have thought Willow Wisp was to afraid of guns to hold something dangerous like that. The smile on her face said otherwise, reminding me of the same look she had on her after ripping apart that Hellhound in Las Pegasus. She looked to me, her tail flicking in anticipation.

“A ‘gift’ from Dread,” She told me, showing of the strange blade like it was a trophy. “Thanks to Sharpshot we know that the leather connecting the joints of the power armor are thin enough to cut through with ease. I can slice through it if you get me close enough, and Sharpshot can sneak a bullet through if they hold still long enough. The rest of you will have to focus on piercing the armor, which as Dead Hooves could tell us is probably easier said than done.”

“It’s not very high grade metal considering that before the war the Steel Rangers were a much larger organization,” I chimed in, clearing up what Willow Wisp meant. “It’s entirely possible to take a bullet in one of those things and die. That being said the armor is still metal, and strong enough to not fall apart from looking at it funny.”

“We need a backup root incase this goes downhill,” Sharpshot said after giving me a nod. “The Everfree isn’t the safest of places, and it’s in the opposite direction of Manehattan, but what weird things in there can harm them just as they can harm us. Things go south, fall back that way.”

We nodded, Star giving a salute as well to Sharpshot as we grabbed our things. I already had my Novasurge Rifle, which was everything I currently carried. Star tossed me a saddlebag filled with power cells at me, which I strapped around my waist the best I could. Stitch and White Light stayed in the back, the latter carrying a large box-shaped gun attached to what I recognized as a battle saddle. Stitch simply had a first aid kit and a small pistol, Silver had Remembrance and Sharpshot had both Flash Fire and The Switchshot flung over his back with straps. As for my mother, she was staring off at the ceiling, licking her lips. Luna only knows what was going on in her mind.

“Me and Willow Wisp will take lead, everypony else fall behind,” Sharpshot ordered, heading to the door. I managed to stop him as he almost opened it.

“Promise me you’ll get Willow Wisp out of this alive?” I pleaded softly, “I won’t stop you two from loving each other, but please protect her when we go our separate ways in Manehattan.”

“If I didn’t want to protect her I would have left her to die back in Las Pegasus,” He replied with a smirk before opening the door.

I watched as everypony made there way out of the library until the only two left inside was me and Star Chart. I kept telling myself to not interfere with Sharpshot and Willow's relationship, but part of me can’t accept it. Not because I hate Sharpshot, but because they seemed so different. My dad told me about love, how it could change a pony for better or worse, and I didn’t know if Sharpshot was the right pony in that regard. I felt a hoof on my back, and the room was so empty I didn’t need to look to see who it was.

“I know it’s wrong for me to try and shape Willow’s life, but I’m the first pony in Celestia knows how long to treat her equally,” I explained to my sister. “For Sharpshot and herself to fall in love after only knowing each other for such a short amount of time, it’s worries me.”

“If you get in the way you’ll only make Willow feel betrayed,” Star told me. “You're doing the right thing letting her figure it out for herself. Sharpshot isn’t the perfect pony, but that’s something no stallion or mare can achieve. You want my advice: just let them be.”

Her words helped me reassure myself, and I looked back to her with a smile on my face. She was right, this wasn’t my place to get involved. I should feel happy for Willow Wisp considering everything she’s gone through. This had to be one of the best things to happen to her in her life, and I wasn’t going to ruin it on her. Besides, Sharpshot may not be the best pony I could think of for her, but it was better than many of the other options out here.

“If that’s what you think is best for her then I’ll just let things play out.” I replied before opening the door. “We better get moving, don’t want to be left behind right?”

My sister simply nodded as we made our ways to the others. I was preparing myself for the hard task that was now in front of me, one that my father wouldn’t be proud of. Maybe in another world, I could have stood by the Steel Rangers as friends instead of foes. That wasn’t this world, and I wasn’t going to act like it was. They were my enemies, whether I liked it or not. Nothing was going to change that now.

Author's Notes:

This was a hard chapter, mostly because of all the character involved in it. Usually you only have four to three main characters, but with this story I'm trying to write at least eleven characters while still keeping the first person perspective. Easier said then done, but I did the best I could. Anyways, please give a like, comment and follow if you enjoy this or other stories. With that, I will see you all in the next chapter.