I was limping towards the distant light, as the sounds of gunfire and explosions filled my ears. My left hand was firmly clutching my right kidney, which was pumping blood out at an alarming rate. Several bullet wounds littered my shoulders, my legs, and my stomach, and my forehead bore a nasty gash across and above my left eye and my nose.

My partner, a lavender coated unicorn with a purple and pink mane and tail, was untouched, thankfully. Her magic continued to hold strong around the two of us, but her worry for my sake was clear on her face, as her big purple eyes continued staining her cheeks with tears.

"Come on, Justin! We're almost there!" she pleaded, moving under my right arm, which carried a pure white shotgun, better known as a "SCATTERSHOT 2177"... one of the latest of its kind before its manufacturer ended his career with his prototype of the next one in line.

I was wearing pure white armor, circular in shape, with a black leather interior to add flexibility... though most of the white was now covered in red, so there was no telling anymore.

There was no moving anymore, either, it seemed. I fell to my knees, causing my partner to yelp and try to pick me up... but despite her not being injured, she was tired as well. Her magic was starting to deteriorate, due to her constantly using it.

"NO! Justin, please! Don't give up now!" she screamed, using her nose to try lifting me up.

Naturally, I was never one to give up, either. I accepted her attempt to lift me up by holstering my shotgun on the back corner of my armor and wrapping my right arm over her shoulders. Despite her small size, I was surprised to find out how strong she really was when we first met... but that was already a very long known fact at this time.

"I'm not... giving up yet, Twilight..." I groggily replied, fighting the urge to pass out there and then. I continued limping, but at the speed we were going, I knew that it was hopeless to even try.

And finally, the fatigue caught onto us both. She collapsed as well, with me behind her. She was able to stand back up, but her fatigue was too much for her to lift anything else.

Despite this, she tried to lift my right arm up again... but this time, she could not.

"We... we have to... to make it!" she panted.

"Twilight..." I began, only for her to cut me off.

"NO! We are going to make it! WE are going to make it, Justin! Do you hear me?!"

"Twilight..." I repeated again. She shook her head in disbelief and glared at me.

"I-if we could just f-find a... a water source, t-then maybe I could be refreshed enough to heal you! T-then maybe we could-"

"TWILIGHT!" I shouted, though I instantly regretted it as I felt my lungs surge in pain. She recoiled at my shout; her glare no longer present. Instead, the frightened mare that I knew when we first met was standing before me.

"Justin... p-please don't say it! I... I know what you're going to say, and I disagree! There has to be another way!"

I weakly smiled at her and shook my head. "There isn't, Twilight... this is the only option we have left... and you know it, too... you... you just don't want to accept it... do you?"

She closed her eyes and looked away from me. Her tears flowed down her cheeks even more, and her sniffling voice filled the air. The gunfire was no longer present, and the explosions in the distance were ceased. It was just the two of us at this point.

"Please, Justin! Don't-"

"Please, Twilight..." I interrupted her, using my right hand to firmly, yet carefully, grip onto her right hoof and pull it closer to me. "Please... go on without me..."

That was what broke the barrier. She broke from my grasp and wrapped her forelegs around my head, crying like she has never done before... not since I've met her, at least. She cried out of pain, out of misery... out of loss... and this time, she didn't hold anything back like she did when she learned where she was.

And this time, I didn't even bother to stop her. What I've learned from a good friend of mine... if someone has to cry, then let them cry it all out. Otherwise, they'll just break even quicker.

When she finished crying, she released my head from her grasp, and looked me in the eyes. I was still weakly smiling at her, but this time, my cheeks were also covered in tears... but none of them were hers.

"Twilight... I'm scared." I weakly said to her. Her eyes shot open at that.

"Y-you?! Y-you're scared?!" she asked in disbelief. I lightly chuckled and nodded my head.

"I... I've always been afraid of death, you know. Before this whole thing began... I've always been afraid of losing my life..."

Her ears perked up at that. "T-that's why we need to get you help! I can heal you, if my magic were replenished!" She pointed her horn at my wounds, but I quickly pinched the tip of it, cancelling her spell immediately.

She stared at me in disbelief. "W-why did you-"

"Somepony once told me... to face my fears. Remember who that somepony was?" She frowned again and shook her head.

"This is an exception to that, Justin! That was nothing like this kind of fear! This fear is natural! Something that we all are afraid of!"

I shook my head again. "No, Twilight... this is the... same. And... either way, it's not the fear of death that I'm... feeling right now."

She looked me in the eyes again. "It... it's not? B-but you just said-"

"I'm afraid of death, yes... but... not this time, though." She arched an eyebrow at that, confusedly.

"You're not? T-then... what are you afraid of?" she asked.

I gently scratched behind her ear; a gesture she was quick to take a liking to. "I'm afraid... that you won't move on from this..."

"From... this? W-what do you mean this?"

"I'm afraid... that you'll remain here forever, Twilight... I'm afraid that you won't move on, and be happy again... like before you made it to this place..." I looked at her sternly, causing her to whimper as even she knew where I was getting at. "I'm afraid... that you won't make the right choice... and return to your friends, who are waiting for you."

She closed her eyes again and looked away. This time, however, I gently placed my right hand below her snout and turned her head to where she was facing me again.

"Promise me, Twilight... promise me, that you'll go home... that you'll be with your friends... that you'll never forget what you learned here."

"I-I... I promise..."

"Most of all, though... promise me that'll move on. That you'll be happy again. Promise me, Twilight, that you'll live and learn from Princess Celestia like you did before you made it to this place."

She was hesitant to answer this time. She lowered her head and was now deep in thought. I smiled at that, knowing that she wasn't forcing a random, uncertain answer out, but actually thinking things thoroughly... a trait that I've grown to love about her during our time together.

"I..." she began, but by the time she began speaking her answer, my vision was blurring out into darkness. Her voice became muffled, and my hand was no longer under her snout, but over my chest, where a pulsing red light glowed. The sky was now in my peripheral vision... the dark blue night sky. As my final moments came to pass, a golden light appeared before me. What I saw, I didn't know... but whatever it was, it wasn't of this world.

As everything around me faded, memories of my journey that brought me here flashed before my eyes. From my awakening... to this very moment. I felt like I was going to be judged for my actions. Everything good I did... everything bad... it was all going to be laid out on the table now.

Everything from three months ago, up to today... from the moment I stepped into The Dark World, to the very moment when I saw the light.

This is where my ending began...

Author's Note

So begins the story of the end! Please let me know what y'all think in the comments section below, and do keep an eye out, as I may be focusing on this story for now, then jump back to the others later!