We walked in silence for a while, relishing the lack of chatter from the trio, but eventually Sam switched on a little radio hitched on his belt, and let it blare out music from the Goodwater station, it gave a nice filler to the empty space that we walked, this sounds really fucking mystical and ominous in my head for some reason. We switched it off after we got a decent way from the border, the creatures were to scared to live to close to that line, after all, shooting rodents and other things is a good way to pass the time on guard duty.

The air now silent, aside from the sound of our walking, it made the journey both relaxing, and fucking tense. Nothing happened for a good long while, which was both good and bad, but then we hear a small click from behind us as we were walking, Sam looked out in front of us while I darted into the air and looked behind us, we didn't see anything but we heard it, both me and Sam looked at each other in the yes knowing what was coming but hoping to celestia that it wasn't and we were hearing things.

We weren't.

It launched at us from under the sand it's mouth opening into a blender of revolving jaws curling, horrifically making the sound of a ticking clock. I dived away and took Sam under his arms to pull him out of it's path, It turned to us quickly it's spindly legs looking like tarp drawn taught over bone, pale and rotting, It screeched horrifically like a thousand souls falling to their deaths in a void of blades. It launched at us again we barely doged it coming next to it's gangrenous eyes, blood pouring from them as I ran after us. It turned quicker and slashed down at us with a bloody claw slashing us both down the side, causing me to falter in the air and fall.

We pulled out our pistols, me taking one in my mouth and the other in the crook of my wing ready to swap out for when I ran out of ammunition. The bullets and beams of magic glanced of its' blotchy pale skin, tearing off pieces that hung loose like old tarp, I was concerned now, where that tarp I used exactly came from. I launched at us a final time and we were to slow to respond it caught us in it jaws and dragged us under the sand trying to suffocate us. I blindly fired both pistols into its' mouth, rounds glancing off its' teeth and magic turning sand to glass when it missed the mouth.

It then gave another screech and turned away, we fell through the sand into and open casm I pulled open my wings, ignoring the lancing pain across my side and Caught Sam just before he was plated hard on the ground. The casm was tall and wide old excavation lights lay scattered powered by an old whining generator holding on by it's teeth and planted jaggedly in the centre was a grand church, it's facade stained with sand and blood marks, and marks of the Bouncer, the horrific creature who planted us her had left on its' once respected walls.

"Well, were one step away from being fucked Sam groaned out as he felt his side grimacing, though mostly at the fact there was another hole in his shirt probably. I passed him a healing potion with my wing as I downed one myself. Reloading both of my pistols we walked forward to the great carved oak door that stood arched like a turned shield. Sam walked forward and pushed down the oxides copper handles, wincing slightly as the screamed from disuse and age. They opened slowly giving the sound of an old ship in a storm, creaking as they opened wide.

"Sanctuary." I said ironically under my breath. We walked forward into the church, it was black as the night, ironic considering who it was for. I walked to a small cabinet that managed to still be lit by the excavation light outside. Hundreds of candles sat inside waiting it seems for the next mass, tough I felt that would ne'er come to this place. I pulled out a few of them and pulled out my lighter lighting a few into the stands on the walls, Sam doing the same for the centre and the back and front wall. Lit up we looked over the grand hall of the church.

Dark oak pews sat slowly rotting row on row like ribs along the sine like path, whose sandstone floors once polished beautiful now lay dulled and cracked. Great stained glass windows, depicting beautiful and brave scenes say backed by sand and rock, small piles of sand forming below the corners were it wore through the ancient putty, cluttering up the sides of the church. A metal bordered door stood proudly at the back of the room red wood carved depicting a beautiful scene, entirely ruined by the feverish rot that has worked its' way from the centre out tearing it away and ruining the masterpiece.

I walked to the rotten door, looking right to the centre of the back room where the sermons were given the gold pedestal covered in an unknown grease and blood, caked by age into a disgusting film over the once 'holy' thing. Pushing open the old door it groaned then crumbled, the wood falling out leaving only meal bracers and pegs, making it look like a jail door.

"How fitting." Sam yelled from the back as he looked over at the door. I nodded in agreement that walked forward up the old stairs behind it. The stairwell was wide and tall leading up to an over hand in the church were decking lay above the floor below, patchy through age and worn through time. On the back wall above the sermon rotunda, sat a large organ, silver and Ivory sat proud and somehow clean an new, but rust looked like it was now beginning to lick its' lips and it gained its' first bites on the giant instrument.

"Hey Sam how about you play us a song, make it something loud and ominous, after all this is a death march." I said as he turned his head up to look at me. "After all, I doubt we could survive this." He nodded sadly as he returned to looking through the ruins on the floor occasionally picking up something and inspecting it but quickly dropping it again.

I turned back to the stairs and looked up at it, it continued on for a longer while before coming to a large vaulted tower cap and sat proudly in the belfry still safe from sand and debris was a heavy and proud bell a stamp placed proudly on the side displaying:
'New Oreins Metalwork's with the date of manufacture worn away.
Funny I didn't know they had metal works there for the longest time, guess this was an early contender, or they replaced the bell, probably the latter.

I turned out to the roof of the church, it was covered in sand, the old slate roof holding strong though. Probably the only thing other than the roof that faired well was the organ. Well this is where I die, in an old Celestial church, trapped under a desert with Sam, to be killed by a Bouncer, at least I can tell when they are coming cause of that sound, clicks like a Bouncing Betty from pre-war, honestly did well to even survive to here, we are quite close to NMC after all, one of them would have caught our sent, guess it waited till there was only two of us to reduce the risk of us getting away and warning others of its' hunting grounds.

I walked back down the stairs watching them closely as I continued down, Sam was sat near the opposite the opposite side of the church looking hard at a large device in his hands.

"What's that?" I asked as I came up next to him drawing his attention as I stood next to him, eye level.

"Just some broken old energy weapon, think it was a old shotgun type thing pre-war, it's busted up but I wanted to see what I could do with it." He responded slightly cheerfully but despondency and sadness edged on his voice.

"Capacitors cracked, it won't be able to fire properly, best you could do with it without a new capacitor would be to make it a charge weapon, connect a few cells to it pull the trigger and it releases a super powerful blast." I responded darkly as I looked over the church floor planning in my head slowly trying to piece things together. Sam looked down at the broken rifle and bundle of wires and cells and cores and smiled, he started connecting and bolting wires together fusing them with candle heat, he bolted candle holders to the side as connectors and holders for cells. Wires danced over the thing like spider webs held down by wax, electrical tape and metal braces.

As he loaded in the cells the weapon began giving off a evil hum and the cells jittered in their holders. It wobbled slightly in his paws but he held it steady. He pulled it to his shoulder and looked sown the makeshift sight he made out of and old camera lens and a coin he filed down.

"That looks like it could explode at any moment." I said as he held it in his hand inspecting it.

"Doesn't matter, as long as it does some damage, it will do." He said solemnly as he looked over the malicious device again.

"Well I have an idea of how we can kill this thing, you want in?" I asked Sam as he rose from the floor and wiped dust of his knees.

"Don't really have a choice do I now?" He said as he looked out through the door to the open chasm. The excavation light flickering as he did so.

"Not really, but I thought i'd humour my manners by asking." I responded sardonically as I smiled at him.

We spent half an hour preparing, we set up the excavation lights around the church making the light focus on it. I stood out in the centre of the chasm pistol drawn and loaded waiting. I heard it shortly after, the small spring and clink that it made when it lept, raised my pistol and fired as I jumped from the floor out to me, I jumped backwards and flew into the church, it followed me in and tore though the rotten pews, I rained down fire at it swapping to my magic pistol when the first ran dry, reloading it with my wing as I did so.

"Now!" I yelled through the grip of my pistol, Sam took the que and slammed his paws down on the organ keys blaring sound through the church and the chamber. The Bouncer screamed and writhed but quickly got up and tore after me again, slashing after me desperately, disorganised. It struck up at the ceiling and tore down the southern side of the veranda, leaving the east side of it to slope down like a stair. The roof began to rattle and sand began slipping through the gaps falling on the Bouncer making it more confused.

It finally locked itself on me and sprinted to me I darted up the old stairs firing down to it, trying to draw it up. It followed after me tearing up the stair after me destroying the stair after it climbed the stone tumbling to the floor. I reached the belfry and lept to the top of the grand bell at the top of the tower, my impact causing the knocker to wobble and ring the bell, the Bouncer ripped though the old wooden floor and clasped at the bell scratching at it leaving deep heavy gashes, its' tunnelled mouth trying to reach at me, it's white skin bursting in places.

"Well then beastie, let's have a crescendo!" I shouted to it as I pulled up my magic pistol and shot the chain holding the bell, Just as the organ stopped.

It fell instantly hitting what remained of the wooden floor quickly then falling again landing on broken stair still remaining before landing on the ground trapping the beast underneath it, causing it to let out the highest wail yet, the organ then gave out it's highest wail yet causing the roof and the tower to shake above and the chasm outside rumble.

"How's this for a four gun send off!!" am shouted from the banister as he fired the makeshift rifle at the Bouncer, it hit just in the mouth blowing out the back of his head splattering the bell, and me with gore. The decking beneath him then began to groan and creak before it all fell down the organ falling fast to the empty space below and crumpling slightly but still standing proud. Was is with that organ is it possessed?!. Sam rose from the rubble smiling at me, then the chasm outside clumped in on itself and the sand on the roof stopped pouring, sunlight now seeping in.

Sam looked sheepishly at me and asked nervously,

"Overkill?"

"Nah, prepared caution." I responded dismissively waving a hood at him from on top of the bell, gurgling coming from the bouncer.

"Also it's four gun salute, not sendoff. And really, one-liners honestly I didn't think you would sink that low." I responded with mock disappointment. He looked at me insulted and shouted back,

"You did one!"

"Ah, but that is because I am good at them. You? Ehhh." I said waving my wing in a 'so-so' gesture. He went red in the face then slumped down smiling at me happily. I glided down from the bell and next to Sam watching him grimace at the gore spattered of over my face, I pulled out a cloth from my saddlebags and wiped down my face and barrel, throwing the now bloodstained cloth over the bouncers head.

Ole

I grabbed Sam under the arms and flew up the now ruined stairwell, more now a tower than a stair. We reached the empty belfry and looked out, the sand had fallen into the pit leaving a empty bowl of sand still unstable and rocky, the tower looking out in all directions over it and the roof bare, sand only just covering the windows. The copper wind vein the shape of a sun now turning in the light wind glinting in the strong sunlight.

"Valhalla in Hel verlassen" I uttered under my breath as I looked over the ridges and dips before me.

We got out of the pit a little while later and started walking back. Sam was going o about the stories he could tell to Oxide and the patrons at his bar, he had someone else running it at the moment while he was out apparently. And other tiff and tat about how this would be brilliant. I was mainly happy that I could say I have killed two bouncers in my lifetime, most ponies who are still alive have only ever seen one, let alone killed one.

"Hey Pilot!" Yelled a voice from the left. I turned my head and I saw Eisca walking towards me happily.

"Business mare, or comic book villain?" I asked flatly as she approached.

"The former today. Just looking for something to inspire me, saw you take down that Bouncer, well heard it and saw the sand flump down." She said smiling widely as she looked over to the site in question. She then turned to Sam, seeing his confused and nervous expression. "Oh, don't worry I'm not here to fight just to chat, we do this some times, there is a reason why we are like we are and that is because of the fact we both know what could happen each time we meant and whether we can be bothered today, this is a cold feud, filled with violence yes, but not much really progresses." She consoled him making his face become even more confused.

"Well it was lovely to chat, see you later dear, ta!" She said as she waved her hoof in goodbye and teleported quickly away. Sam turned to me said firmly;

"Everyone who you have know for awhile is absolutely fucking nuts!"

"Yup, it's a requirement for the position." I said as I rolled out some smoke weed and placing one in my mouth and holding one out in a wing. It was quickly zapped out of my wing and replaced by a note with: 'Thanks, love!' written in looped horn writing. I lit my roll-up an breathed it in as we returned to walking.

"I feel like I should be concerned, but in reality I'm not, rather pleased actually." I said calmly as we looked over a empty camp a few miles from NMC, filled with Steel Rangers littered about torn through by gunfire and claw marks. The camp was set to be able to serve at least twenty five soldiers, and here they all are slaughtered like rabid dogs. "Pitiful display soldiers, pitiful."

"Who are you to judge?" Asked a voice weakly from a tent, quickly followed by a hacking cough. II walked into the tent and looked at the speaker, he was a gangly stallion but proud faced, with iron set eyes, though weak through blood loss. He was laying down in steel ranger barding, a torn suit of power armour sat crippled in the westernmost corner.

"An old soldier, one who you should have heard of considering your squad emblem. I never thought I would see a Switchboard Ranger out here." I replied simply sneering at him. This caused him to start and look up at me nervously.

"How do you know that name? They changed it years ago, the only ones who ever knew it were the Ecla-" He stopped upon noticing my wings, he gulped and I smirked at him, allowing my teeth to show in a malicious grin.

"You're that Special Forces leader aren't you?" He asked nervously as he shook, both from blood loss and fear. I nodded to him.

"I resigned after the Lightbringer had her little, 'justified genocide' moment, but yes, speaking." Our little chat was cut short however when Sam burst in and saw the colt, more fitting in my opinion, and pulled out a healing potion.

"What are you doing?" I asked irritated as he knelt beside the ranger.

"Helping him; obviously, why wouldn't I?!" I responded sarcastically.

"No good will come of it." I said flatly as he poured the potion down the rangers throat. "Should have just gave him a bandage and left him be." I added bitterly. The ranger gasped as his wounds slowly healed I grimaced at his twitching and writhing at the pain, honestly boy. You are a soldier! Act like it! Ignore the pain unless it will kill you.

He rose up after groaning as he did so, a final crack coming from his spine as it reset into place.

"Ahaaa." He whimpered out a tear pricking his eye. He looked over at us and smiled at Sam.

"Thanks, I might have died if not for you." He thanked kindly.

"I'm sure Pilot would have helped... eventually." He returned awkwardly "So don't give me too much credit."

"I wouldn't have." I said darkly looking deeply at the young colt causing him to flinch under my gaze. "Anyway, soldier, field report: who attacked you, when, and how can I send them a gift basket and the business card for a funeral planner." The coffee coloured stallion looked at me irritated by my joke but responded nonetheless.

"Group called the Two Stars, they cornered us and gunned us down with ballistic weapons letting these further mutated hellhounds on us, tore us all to shreds." He recounted morn-fully.

"Those nuts? Well what were they here for?" Sam asked as he looked over the tent looking for something for the coffee stain.

"They were going on about how they were going to take over territory from some mare named 'Eisca' they thought we were hired guns." He finished hatefully.

"Well, they won't be around much longer, we just saw Eisca a little walk away. So that little meeting will happen soon and I already know the winner, and just when she said she was bored too." I replied to him as I sat down in a bullet riddled armchair. "Lucky girl." I added as I pulled out my hip flask and took a long draught of it. The ranger took on a shocked expression and yelled out;

"What?! We need to help we sho-" As he was doing this I was counting down with my wing, holding up three pinions, two, one:

BOOM

Both the SR and Sam both jumped at that and looked in the direction of it, seeing a rising pillar of smoke through a tear in the tent.

"Told you, wouldn't be around much longer." I said to them as I swigged down the last of my gin. "Well, we're done here, Sam come on." I shouted to him as I left the tent

"But what about him, we should hel-" Sam yelled pleadingly. I rounded on him and shouted;

"They murdered foals SAM!"

"What"

"They murdered foals at New Pegasus, I was on an expeditionary and they were butchering foals in lines, and the ones that they didn't had to watch their friends and family get killed as well." I responded furiously. Sam looked down in concentration, conflicted, he looked at the colt who looked away shamefully, not even daring to attempt a response.

"We should still help, I doubt he was there, and we should be better than them." He insisted still conflicted but looking like he thought this would be better. I looked deadly at him and responded darkly;

"You'll get no help from me, I will stay by you but I will not help him, even if you do, I will simply watch." He looked at me firmly but nodded.

"Okay, that's fine." I sneered at the colt again and turned away from him. I walked out of the tent and looked over the decimation of the Rangers, I walked for a step then my hoof hit a helmet from one of them, I looked at it, shattered visor, torn side and bullet marks decorating the relic. I looked at it distantly and stamped down on it causing it to crinkle up like a beer can.

"I hope you find the hell you deserved you fucking monsters."

We left the camp after the Ranger pulled together some armour from all the stray pieces that were left around, the result was a mishmash of power armour pieces of different versions mixed together, all different colours and modifications making him look like a deformed monster, the latter certain in all cases.

He lagged behind us like a wounded puppy, staying close to Sam but far from me, all the better in my opinion. He tried soon after we were a few miles from the camp to talk to Sam.

"I wasn't there when that happened by the way." He said weekly, but still matter-o-factly. Sam turned to him and said calmly,

"I didn't think that you were."

"And everyone told me that there was a good reason why that happened, why they did what they did," He said now more confident "they were all against the BoS they wanted to destroy us and take everything we worked for, to destroy us." He said pleadingly as he looked at Sam.

"All the more reason why I side with them." I said flatly drawing their attention. "You were tyrants in that area, same as everywhere else, you deserve to fall."

"But we changed we care about people now! We are Applejacks Ra-"

"DON'T FEED ME THAT BULLSHIT!" I shouted to him from the front. "A name change and a lick of paint doesn't change your nature, you are monsters who murder, maim and control without thought. You are just as bad if not worse than us, you don't have the moral high ground. If anything you are in a valley." I finished still looking ahead.

"We shouldn't fight, we need to get back then we can go our separate ways." Sam said putting himself between us. I looked at him coolly then responded sourly;

"Ve'ra." I looked over at the colt and watched him flinch under my gaze. "I will never forgive you or anyone in the Brotherhood of Steel, and neither will you understand that I am right to do so." He simply stayed silent at that, we continued walking on the sun flying weakly over the horizon, like a broken plane holding on but failing.

Quest completed: Peer Gynt, suite No. 1:
Survive the Bouncer with Sam and kill it, making sure to escape, damage resistance increased by 10 when underground or in buildings, crafting makeshift weapons is 50% faster and costs less.

Unique Item Crafted: MG Watts rifle
A homemade rifle made from capacitors, church candle holders and an old magic shotgun supplied to construction crews in hazardous areas.

Author's Note

Thanks to Kkat for creating FoE

Leave opinions down below.

Hope you enjoyed this.