My mother was… alive! The shot my father had delivered hadn’t killed her like I originally thought, and the Overmare had rescued her before she died of blood loss. There was many reasons why I hadn’t noticed any of this, but the biggest one was that by the time I had calmed down I was already at the Stable 15 door. The Overmare had taken a slightly different route than me, that is why I never saw her in my blind rage. Knowing all of this, I should have felt happy to know that the one pony I loved more the Willow Wisp was alive. Yet no matter how much I told myself this, I wasn’t happy.

How could I have been happy knowing what I’ve become in the years since I left Stable 15. My mother wouldn’t want to see the son that her little Ice Cube, now known as Sharpshot, has become. I was her son, and I had let myself become a bounty hunter who ponies hired to get rid of others. I always saw it as my ridding the Wasteland of terrible ponies, but now I couldn’t help but think of the ponies that I had killed. I had hesitated to the Overmare’s request of taking me to her, but I wasn’t going to run away from everything I had done. My mother deserves to know everything I had done, no matter how much I didn’t want her to find out. I wasn’t running away, and considering that she was inside Friendship City I was already on my way to confront her.

Though there was a bigger reason I was visiting her, more than admitting the sins of the past two years. She was dying, radiation having affected due to the hole in her stable suit from the gunshot. I felt like an asshole leaving her to die, or even that I didn’t check to see if she was still alive. There wasn’t much I could do but see her one last time, and if I won’t ask for her apologies. I don’t deserve them, not with everything I did to her, even if she doesn’t truly realize it. Still, as we made our way into the ruins of Manehattan mere hours after the others must have entered it, I couldn’t help but look down at my hooves.

“Sharpshot, you feeling okay?” Willow Wisps voice broke the silence that had surrounded us for the past day or so. I didn’t look up, too ashamed to even want to look at her face. “Sharpshot, if you're feeling wrong please just tell me.”

I felt a hoof on my shoulder and I stopped, hearing the sound of the others hooves fade as they must have also stopped. I didn’t need to look up to tell that they were all looking at me, probably waiting for some response. That was Willow Wisps hoof, I didn’t need to look to know who it was behind me. It felt as if all of time had stopped, and I looked back to confirm that Willow was who had their hoof on me. I let out a sigh, turning away from her as I did so.

“I feel terrible,” I told everyone as Willow came up to my side, leaning slightly on my side. I could feel her wing large wings pull around my body, and I decided to looked at the scorched feathers on the end of them. “I’ve been angry at myself for two years, and now I find out that my mom - who I thought died - is still alive. It’s… kinda funny in a way, how things like this seem to work out. Here I am thinking I’m the good guy, but I was…”

“Stop yourself right there Ice,” Overmare said as she walked back to me from her position in the lead. “You did absolutely nothing wrong, and even though I probably shouldn’t admit it I’m actually kinda fine with you killing the scientist,” She looked down at the ground with what I could see as embarrassment. “There was a large part of me that feels like they had more control over the stable than I did. While many of the casualties I would have prefered not happened, you were an entirely different pony than,” She couldn’t help but giggle slightly. “While you’re destruction might have destroyed the integrity of our home, you actually saved some ponies from similar fates.”

‘Similar fates’, I was told afterword by the Overmare the real motive behind the scientist coming. What she said was true, they had seemed to take control of Stable 15 and there was a few ponies who had disappeared over the year. However, the fact that those scientist were so worried about ‘pure blood’ was something that caught me off guard. I was targeted not to be used as an experiment, but rather to be disposed of. They were just as much to blame for the declining population of stable 15 as the unclear air.

“Those damn bastards,” I muttered to myself, and the sadness that showed in Willow Wisps expression told me she heard.

“I’ve been trying to do something about them for a while,” The Overmare continued. “and while my first idea probably wouldn’t have included death, in the end it was probably the only option. Security answered to them, they had somehow found out how to enter any area restricted to just me, and the harm of our very civilians frustrated me. Somedays, I was afraid they would knock on my door and… dispose of me in whatever manner they did to the others beforehand,” She looked at me with a generous smile. “In other words, thank you for what you did, even if you didn’t realize it.”

“Don’t even try to say your not a good pony,” Yeilta chimed in, looking at me with a weird smile on her faces. “Look, I understand you think what you did is terrible, but I’ve done way worse things than you,” I felt a slight shiver in my spine as she said that. “Besides you did save Willow Wisp and Dead Hooves from horrible fates from what I’ve heard. If anything hold that head high stop acting sad and put that good old attitude on that my daughter seems to love.”

“Oh really, then maybe I will act sad just to annoy her about it,” I joked, feeling slightly better. That said, I was still thinking back to the scientist and my father. Doing my best to get my mind off that subject, I turned to Willow, who was staring at her burnt wings. “Is something wrong?”

“You remember how I told you on the train about my wings, and what Dread did to them?” I nodded, remembering clearly what she had told me. Not really a surprising anymore, but that bastard is the one who burnt them so she couldn’t fly away. “I thought that after becoming an Alicorn I would be able to fly, but they’re just as useless as they were before.”

“What brought that to your mind all of a sudden?” I asked. “Last I checked you didn’t mind not being able to fly or even glide at that.”

“I know, and I still don’t care that much but,” she looked to me with those cute blue eyes she always had. “We could have caught up with Dead Hooves and Nav if that was the case, or at least Stitch and White. Would that have made things easier.”

“Well you can’t beat the view of this…” I stopped as I realized exactly what I was about to say, and fixed it. “destroyed, messy, and… okay yeah I really have nothing to say.”

Willow Wisp giggled as finished. “Good try Sharpy, but next time keep the heartwarming to Yeilta, or Dead Hooves if you're not up to talking about blood.” She smiled innocently, making me feel on easy as I remembered what she had said. That smile suddenly fell almost as quick as it appear. “I missed Dead Hooves.”

“Don’t worry dear,” Yeilta responded as she came over and hugged the Alicorn. “I’m sure Dead Hooves will be okay. You would be surprised the amount of trouble the wasteland caused her those five years after. Raiders, ghouls, even that silly old power armor all seemed to be against her”

“How do you know about any of that?” I asked, rather confused. Yeilta’s smile dropped to a sad grin.

“Do you think, even though she never knew who I was, that I would straight abandon her all together?” She responded to me, the question clearly rhetorical. “Though I wasn’t able to directly visit her, I watch over from a distance. Not only that, but I made sure that if anything ever was going wrong that I would fix it when she wasn’t looking,” She chuckled slight after saying this. “Like to think I saved her ass quite a few times over the past few years. Though she also saved herself, from raiders would use her as their toy or her dead body as a punching bag, not to mention that ghouls would want to feed on her body. Two years ago I stopped watching because I thought she was able to save herself from then on.”

Though it seemed like she had more to say, that was where she decided to stop. That said I didn’t need her to say anything to know what she was thinking. She stopped watching over her daughter and started playing the role of a zebra named Zoey. How she must've felt when she saw her daughter back in Manchester, realizing that she had failed at keeping her daughter safe from this cruel world. Though, if it wasn’t for her getting kidnapped, as bad as should have been, wouldn’t have known about anything. If I hadn’t met her, we would’ve never known about Twister and everything he was doing. I also wouldn’t have met Willow, which is something that feels almost wrong now.

“The Butterfly effect can be one son of a bitch now, can’t it?” I said to the zebra, watching as she looked to me with a warm smile.

“You have no idea,” She turned to the Overmare as we found ourselves overlooking the bay. “How close are we to Friendship city?”

“Shouldn’t be much longer till we come to the Bucklyn bridge,” She said, pointing at the large bridge in the distance. “Though, if anything is to be expected, we will have to fight our way in.”

“Is it because I’m friends with someone everybody thinks is a killer or because I’m the one trying to get in?” I asked, noticing how the Overmare looked to me as she mentioned fighting. “It’s the second one isn’t it?”

I didn’t get an answer but I’m pretty sure it was both in the end. Nightshade is Twister’s lackey, and if he had patrols searching for us in Ponyville than he would have Friendship city in complete lockdown. We wouldn’t simply be able to enter when they know we are on Dead Hooves side, and that meant we would be fired upon instantly. I readied the Switchshot, watching as the Bucklyn bridge got closer and closer. This was going to be hell.

Despite the extensive damage done to the rest of the city, the Bucklyn bridge was spared a lot of the damage the mega spells caused. If only the water underneath it could be said the same, as it practically glowed with radioactivity as we walked near the sea's edge. Even if it wasn’t Salt Water, this would be completely undrinkable, and if there was any sea life left it had gone crazy from poisoning. Yet another reminder of what those two stupid princesses and their equally fucked up ministers let happen to this country.

As we came to the edge of the Bucklyn bridge the Overmare put her hoof out to stop us. Looking ahead, I saw what she was looking at, and our earlier expectations were confirmed. The Steel Rangers had set up a barricade, Soldiers spread out across it with guns at the ready. They were expecting us, but at this point that wasn’t really that surprising. The entire bridge would likely be under similar defense. I watched as Willow Wisp came up to me, pointing to an overturned carriage at the side of the bridge.

“Do you think I could push that?” She said, looking to me with a smile. I returned the smile to her with a nod.

“Keep that in mind, but I figured we should at least try talking to them,” My mind immediately went back to the fact we were being pinned as working with a killer. They weren’t entirely wrong but it wasn’t Dead Hooves of all ponies. “You know what, forget what I said. Let's kill these sons of bitches.”

I could see Yeilta licking her lips, eyes lighting up as if she was a foal about to get candy. Willow Wisp simply giggled, though if the revelations on her feelings about blood were anything than she was probably just as excited as the crazy zebra. We made our way over to the overturned carriage, the Overmare staying farther back to make sure she didn’t cause any noise until the fight started. As we set down behind it Willow started investigating the carriage before looking to me and waiting for me approval.

“Go for it.”

I heard her gulp before taking a few steps back, lowered her head and turning so she wouldn’t get her horn stuck. With a deep breath she charged forward, and I dodged to the side as her body made impact with the carriage. I put up a protective spell around me and Yeilta as I realized how much force Willow put against the carriage, causing it to break break upon impact. The result was still rather deadly, as splinters flew everywhere. Many of the Steel Rangers outside of their power armor faced the worst of it, large glass shards and splinters impaling their bodies and most like some organs. Those who were in the power fared better, but some of the small shards found their place in the gaps between armor pieces. Those who had their neck exposed were incredibly unlucky.

“They’re here! The Bloody Angel is here!”

“Guess again motherfuckers!”

Lowering the shield just enough so that only my gun barrel was outside of it, I took aim at the last Steel Ranger and fired a shot. The bullet hit both his front and hind left hooves, knocking him off balance as Yeilta charged forward. Jumping the barricade that had been made out of spare metal and barb wire I watched her land on the injured enemy and… lots of screams sounded from that direction. Trying my best to block out the noise I instead turned my attention to said barricade.

“Willow, get under the shield,” Without even arguing she did just that, leaping under as my started to glow even more.

I clinched my teeth, doing my best to not only hold the shield spell up but tear the barricade in half. It was all just scrap metal, and that barb wire couldn’t hold it in place if I put enough force into my telekinesis. The mental strain was the tough part. I’ve held up multiple spells before but a shield spell is much more taxing compared to double telekinesis. The weight of the object does translate slightly to the mental strain, but unless you are holding it for a long time than it usually is a problem.

Sadly, that’s what it became real quickly as I searched for a weak spot in the barricade. Nightshade must have thought Dead Hooves would do this, and even though he didn’t realize she couldn’t control her magic it was still an issue. A normal pony would have been fine for some time, and while I wouldn’t deteriorate like a normal ghoul it did effect how much mental strain magic had on my body. I was quickly exhausting myself in an effort to break apart a simple barricade.

I wasn’t prepared when the barricade blew apart from the other side, breaking my focus and dropping the shield in surprise. I had enough time to reapply the shield before any spare scraps hit us, but I was still exhausted. I did my best to hide it, looking to see Yeilta beckoning us to another overturned carriage. Willow used her wings to guard me as I dropped the shield and ran towards the zebra’s position, looking back and signaling to the Overmare to stay where she is. I was not getting her involved even if she had power armor. This was our fight; we had been given the task to take down Nightshade and that was what we were going to do.

“Next time you need me to open up the road, remember they carry grenades,” Yeilta said waving one of the small metal balls she mentioned around. However my eyes instead found themselves focusing on blood covering her muzzle, and I told myself to not look at the pony she had killed.

“I’ll remember that for next time,” Looking back through a hole in the carriage we were using as cover I looked to see another barricade not far away. “Must be a lot of these things across the bridge, which tells me we have a long way to go.”

“Are we really going to have to kill every Steel Ranger that comes our way?” Willow shooted to me over the sound of gunfire. “Doesn’t that leave the city completely defenseless?”

“Well do you see another option?” I asked her, getting silence from the mare in return. “Look, we have no one on our side who can have them call of the attacks. That means that unless some miracle happens we aren’t going to have any other way of getting across,” Willow didn’t look at with that answer, and I had a pretty good idea why. Dead Hooves’ father had worked with these ponies, something that must have been going through her mind. “We have no choice as sad as it is. Either we fight them or we die, and I’m already dead enough as it is.”

The look of heartache on Willow Wisp’s face as I told her that made me feel horrible, but we were in no condition to do any talking. Probably should have thought about that before blindly charging in, though it was more than likely they would have fired at us anyways. None of it mattered now anyways, we got to keep moving or will die.

“How many of those grenades do you have on you Yeilta?” I asked the zebra.

“Well considering he had a grenade launcher,” Her hoof was now cradling a scary amount of standard issue explosives, a seductive smile on her face. “I say we have enough to blow up Ponyville and then some.”

“Okay, I… guess you are in charge of destroying the barricades as we get farther along the bridge,” I looked to the carriage we were behind, noticing that, despite the many bullets flying at us, none have pierced the underside. “It’s a risk, but I think we can call this sturdy cover. There is most likely metal on the bottom of the carriage. Willow, you move the carriage, but please don’t destroy it. Nopony is dying on our side unless they have to.”

Willow gave me a smile and nodded before leaning her head down. I saw Yeilta start to cock another grenade as Willow pushed us a little farther forward. I checked the left side of the bridge, as our right was well guarded by the bridges railing. The very moment a Steel Ranger came with my vision, I motioned for Willow to stop. I quickly checked to make sure the Switchshot was set to the sniper before shooting the Steel Ranger straight through the helmet. Yeilta followed up by chucking a grenade over the barricade, and I moved my head behind the carriage as the Steel Rangers started retreating. The sound of metal burst and the intact carriage made me feel confident about my plan so far. That was, until I realized Willow wasn’t able to move our cover any more.

“It’s stuck!” She cried out as she tried desperately to get it moving again.

“Alright, I’ll check the other side off the carriage,” I told her, “It’s probably metal from the barricade keeping us from moving, and it shouldn’t take too much time.”

“And you call me the crazy one?” Yeilta shouted at me. “You already seem rather tired from trying to break the barricade earlier.”

“Well Willow doesn’t know any magic yet, and I doubt you have the ability to put a shield up,” A told her. “Look, if I’m going to die I’m gonna make sure the rest of you bastards live, okay?”

I didn’t let them respond as I cast a shield spell around myself and started moving to the front of the wreckage. The sound of bullets bounced off the barrier, my magic the only thing keeping me from death. I was correct at what was keeping the carriage from moving, as there was tons of scrap metal of wire stuck to it from cracks in the bridge. I took a deep breath as I started to work at the scrap metal, only able to move one piece at a time in my exhaustion. It was a slow and painful process, my mind doing all it can to keep the kinesis and shield working at the same. It was a pain that brought me back to how I use to feel after tests in the stable; I would be completely spent and fall asleep as soon as it was done.

I was making progress, seeing the carriage starting to move once again, but pinned metal and wires made it a lot harder than it should be. I saw a bullet slide past my body and hit the carriage on the right. I could mental feel my shield starting to fail on me, and could hear Willow calling for me on the other side of the carriage. I know what she wanted me, but I wasn’t going to leave us as sitting ducks, and I remember what I said not too long before. Guess this was a necessary sacrifice if I ever saw one, and I wasn’t going to leave them sitting there hopeless.

“I… made a promise mother,” I told myself, feeling as if I would not get the chance to see her before I died. “I promised to keep… Willow Wisp safe… no matter what happened. I’ll meet you in the afterlife… where the sun shines, the sky is clear, and the world has no need for bounty hunters. Thanks mom… for raising this stupid fuck up of a son.”

I saw more and more bullets fly by my body as my mind got heavier and heavier. I kept a smile on my face as I continued to remove barbed wire piece after barbed wire piece. I suddenly felt something graze my shoulder, but I kept myself focus, bearing the pain as I felt some go through my leg. My mind wanted to give up, and my shield was all but gone, yet I managed to keep it up. Finally, as I removed one last piece of wire, I saw the carriage suddenly lurch forward, hitting me in the head and knocking me to the ground. I was light headed, and I finally collapsed to the ground from mental exhaustion. I let out a small laugh as I felt this was the end, and closed my eyes.

That’s when the sound of an explosion sounded from farther down the bridge, and I saw Yeilta jump over the carriage and grab me. I was still conscious as she tossed me over to Willow, who placed me on her back. I kept myself from drifting off, the idea of sleeping in the middle of a battlefield terrifying me in a way I refused to express. Yet, looking to Willow, she had an expression that said ‘sleep, everything would be fine’. I didn’t want that, but my body was thinking differently than the rest of me at that point.

Slowly I nodded off to sleep as I saw Willow rush away from the carriage placing me at the far end of the bridge behind something I couldn’t make out. The sound of gunfire was clear, but the words ‘you’ll be fine’ were whispered to me as she waved someone to me. That’s when I heard it, the sound of explosives bombarding the other end of the bridge. What happened after that I didn’t find out till later, but I do remember seeing the form of ponies in the sky. I smiled weakly as I went off to sleep, the world covered in a giant shadow.

“The Enclave… is here.”

Author's Notes:

I think it's hard to describe the feeling of almost finishing a story, and the feeling to start again after being away from it for so long. I never once considered this story dead, but I didn't think that it would take this long for me to get back to it. Yet, if the title is anything to say, we are nearing the end of this adventure.

At most, there are about five to six chapters left, and while I don't know how soon I'll get them out, I will hopefully have this story finished sometime next year. The start of the final battles, the final moments, and the final words begins here.

Please, stay with me just a little longer.