6 Years Ago

The ponies in cloaks lead us out of the room we had been held in and through some caverns. Those that resisted were beaten. Eventually, they lead us through another metal door and into a new room. The room itself had a couple benches on both sides, a metal bucket in the corner with a few flies hovering around it, and a heavy gate at the far back. Peering through the bars of the gate, I could see a large open space on the other side.

The cloaked ponies told us to wait here for the first trial to begin, and if we ever got hungry, there was food in the bucket. They then slammed the door shut. An audible click from the other side was our indication that they locked it.

"W-What's gonna happen to us?" Kettle asked nervously, huddling as close to Healing as she could.

"I'm not sure... Just stay close to me." Healing did her best to calm the poor filly down.

"That goes for you too. Stick to me as best you can, ok?" Raindrop said to me, and I gave her a firm nod.

"AAAAAAAAHHH!!!" A high-pitched scream drew the attention of everypony present. One of the fillies had decided to examine the bucket, and whatever was inside had horrified them. They stumbled backwards, trying to get as far away from the bucket as possible. "I-It's...! T-There's a...!" She stuttered, unable to bring herself to say what it was.

Rusty took the initiative and stepped forward, checking the bucket for himself. As soon as he looked in, he looked like he was going to throw up. "Oh... oh dear Celestia, that's just wrong..."

Curiosity got the better of Raindrop, Healing, and myself, and the three of us joined him. Just in case, Healing told Kettle to stay back and not look. When the three of us saw what was in the bucket, we shared similar emotions to Rusty.

Inside the bucket was a rotting decapitated head, and a good chunk of its brain was exposed. The head's lower jaw had been ripped off. One of its eyes was hanging from the socket, while the other was missing entirely. A few maggots nibbled on what remained.

"H-Hey, what's in it?" One of the children, a colt, asked. "Those guys said there's food in there, right? What is it?"

The reminder that our captors intended for us to eat the head was the last straw for Healing, and she ran over to a different corner to puke. Raindrop pushed the bucket further back into the corner with her magic, not even daring to touch it herself.

"Trust me kids, you do not want to eat that." Rusty answered them. After he did, Raindrop addressed the whole group.

"Ok, from this point on, that bucket is off limits. If you're really that curious and want to know what's inside..." Raindrop turned her gaze towards Healing, who was still throwing up. "... Just go in that corner if the sight makes you sick."

"Definitely don't throw up in the bucket. It's gross enough as it is." Rusty added. The other children in the group looked at them, some worried, some confused, and others skeptical. They turned to the filly who first looked in the bucket, and she furiously nodded in agreement.

"You don't want to know what's in there." She warned them, her face completely pale.

After that, no pony else had been brave enough to look in the bucket. All twenty of us sat in that room for what felt like an eternity. After about half an hour, the large gate started to move. We all looked amongst each other in hesitation as the gate was slowly raised upwards, granting us access into the large open space. One by one, we cautiously exited the room and stepped into the large area.

Now that I had a better look, I could see the space was circular in shape, and that there was another gate on the opposite side. Above us, the area was ringed by balconies with seats filled with other ponies in cloaks, all yelling and cheering. The whole area was illuminated by several torches hanging from the walls.

"It's an arena..." I heard Raindrop murmur from beside me.

"More like a gladiator pit." Rusty scoffed. I didn't say anything, not knowing what either of those things were.

"WELCOME, MY FELLOW BRETHREN! WELCOME, ONE AND ALL TO THE TRIALS OF DESPAIR!" A cloaked stallion stood on one of the balconies with a microphone. "WE HAVE SEVERAL LITTLE LAMBS HERE THAT ARE READY TO BE TESTED! THEIR FIRST TRIAL WILL PUT THEIR COMBAT CAPABILITIES TO THE TEST! BRING OUT THE WEAPONS!"

The gate on the other side opened up, and three of the cloaked ponies walked through. The leader held a bag that most likely contained the 'weapons' while the other two flanked him, each armed with assault rifles. The two with the rifles ordered us to line up single file or be shot, so we complied. Four of the kids stood on my right, including the kids that had bullied Kettle, while Raindrop stood on my left. Next to her was Healing, then after her was Kettle. Rusty stood on Kettle's left, and the remaining eleven kids came after him.

The cloaked pony with the bag started to speak. "You'll take one weapon each. Once the trials begin, you are free to trade weapons, or pick up any potential weapons you find, once the trial begins. If you try to trade weapons before the trial starts, you will be punished. There will be no complaining. Understood?"

We all nodded fearfully, not wanting to know what would be in store for us if we didn't listen. He started with the pony on the far left of our line and held the bag open, not letting the child peek inside. The kid reached inside and pulled out whatever weapon he grabbed, which turned out to be a tire iron.

The pony with the bag did the same with the other kids, each of them getting their own weapon. Each weapon seemed to vary in terms of how useful or effective it would be. For example, some kids got weapons like a bowie knife and a police baton, while others got weapons like a rolling pin and a straight razor. I watched as my friends all received their own weapons as well. Rusty pulled out a hatchet, Kettle pulled out a ball peen hammer, Healing pulled out a switchblade, and Raindrop pulled out a monkey wrench.

Eventually my turn came. I reached into the bag, hoping I would at least get something decent. When I pulled out my weapon, my hopes were immediately shattered.

My weapon was a rock no bigger than a baseball.

"Heh, that kid is screwed." I heard one of the guards snicker as he eyed me. Comparing my weapon to what everyone else had gotten, I kinda agreed with him. The last of the kids claimed their weapons, and the cloaked ponies left through the way they came from, the gate closing behind them.

It was then that I heard a low grinding sound coming from my hoof. I looked down to see that the noise had come from my Pip-Buck. I had honestly forgotten I was wearing this thing. I'd just grown so used to it being on my hoof that I never thought about it.

I flipped through the tabs and noticed one in particular had changed, a tab called "Quests". The tab used to be empty with nothing on it, but now there was a brand-new line of text on it. I had no idea how it got there, but I didn't dwell on it and decided to read the text itself.

The Trials of Despair
- Survive the first trial

I've got a bad feeling about this...

"THE FIRST TRIAL WILL CONSIST OF THREE ROUNDS!" The pony with the microphone continued to speak. "THE ONLY WAY FOR OUR LAMBS TO WIN IS TO SLAY THEIR OPPONENTS AND SURVIVE BY ANY MEANS NECESSARY! THERE WILL BE NO BREAKS IN BETWEEN ROUNDS! ARE YOU ALL READY!?"

The audience roared with cheers, stamping their hooves down in applause.

"THEN WITHOUT FURTHER ADO... LET! THERE! BE! BLOOD!"

The gate on the opposite side opened up once more as the crowd's cheers got louder and louder. I couldn't see what was behind the gate, but I did notice some movement. Eventually, a couple feral dogs stepped out from the darkness, followed by several more. I counted five of them, all growling at us with a scary look in their eyes.

Everyone was too frozen with fear to react, and one of the dogs came charging at us. It leapt at one of the children on my right, who didn't look any older than 9 or 10 years old, and sank its teeth into their throat. The kid's screams of pain were cut short as the life slipped away from his eyes. The rest of us screamed in terror and scattered as the other four dogs started attacking us as well.

Several of the kids chose to try running away instead of fighting, either because they didn't know how or were too scared to do so. I could see Healing staying close to the walls of the arena, doing her best to keep Kettle as far away from the dogs as possible. One of the kids, a filly armed with a kitchen knife, tried to take one of the dogs on. Unfortunately for her, the canine managed to get the better of her. The dog avoided a stab from the filly, then bit into her leg, causing her to fall to the ground crying. The dog took the opportunity to bite into the filly's throat and ripped it out, killing her.

One of the dogs cornered Rusty, so he tried attacking it with his hatchet, only for the dog to duck under his swing and bite down on his wing. He howled in pain as the dog kept pulling and tugging on the wing. He pushed through the pain and brought his hatchet down onto the dog's head, killing it instantly. He pulled the dog off of himself before seeing me gawking at the sight. His eyes widened as he noticed something behind me. "WATCH OUT!"

I turned around just in time to see the dog leaping straight at me. It tackled me to the ground and was about to sink its fangs into my face. Thinking quickly, I shoved my rock into the dog's throat just as it opened its maw. It coughed and hacked in attempt to dislodge the rock, but was unable to before Rusty bucked the canine off me. before the dog could get back up, Rusty swung the hatchet into the dog's head to finish it off. He then offered me a hoof up, which I accepted.

I was about to thank him, only to notice Raindrop in the corner of my eye. Another dog had her pinned down and kept snapping its jaws in an attempt to bite her. She tried pushing it off her, but the dog's teeth got closer and closer to her. Seeing her in danger triggered something in me, and any panic I had was gone. I didn't hesitate as I charge forward and rammed my whole body straight into the dog, knocking it off of her. The dog recovered quickly and lunged straight at me.

I thought for sure it was going to kill me right then and there, but Raindrop had reacted quick enough and swung her monkey wrench at the dog's face, hitting it in midair. She didn't stop for a second and continued to beat the dog's head in with the wrench, bludgeoning it to death.

As Rusty ran over to join us, I looked around to see how everyone else was doing. Another one of the children had been killed by a dog, and their corpse was currently being feasted upon. Three of the kids managed to gang up on one of the dogs and kill it, leaving only one left. The remaining dog noticed it was alone, stopped chewing on the corpse, and came running straight at the three of us.

Despite no longer having a weapon, I prepared myself to fight it alongside Raindrop and Rusty, only to realize I didn't need to. Rusty threw his hatchet at the dog like a tomahawk. It spun threw the air before hitting the dog straight in the eye, killing it. The body landed at our hooves, and Rusty pulled the hatchet out of it. The audience around us shouted their approval over the battle. They enjoyed every second of it like the vultures they were.

"AND THERE YOU HAVE IT! THE LAMBS SURVIVED THE ONSLAUGHT OF THE BIG BAD WOLVES! WELL, MOST OF THEM, ANYWAY!" The announcer yelled into the mic.

"Nice throw!" Raindrop complimented him, wiping the sweat from her brow as the adrenaline wore off.

"Thanks. My dad taught me how to fight. He worked as a caravan guard, so he had some combat experience." He explained. Now that the dust had settled, everyone that was still standing gathered around. Healing, being the only one among us with medical expertise, examined the damage.

Three of us were dead, their bodies only a few feet away. A few of us had claw marks on us from the dogs. Some would heal, others would scar. The only serious injury among us was the giant bite mark on Rusty's wing.

"Oh my goodness, are you okay!? Here, let me see it." She carefully inspected the bloody wing. Rusty winced a bit as she did, but gave no protests. "It doesn't look like you'll be flying for a while. Let me see if I can-"

Before Healing could try to patch up Rusty's wing as best she could, she was cut off by the announcer. "MY FELLOW BRETHREN, PREPARE YOURSELVES FOR ROUND 2! THIS TIME, IT'S GOING TO BE A BIT MORE DIFFICULT THAN THE FIRST ROUND! LET'S SEE IF OUR LITTLE LAMBS CAN PULL THROUGH!"

"W-What!? Already!?" She blanched.

"They said there wouldn't be any breaks in between rounds, remember?" Rusty reminded her. "If we have any injuries, we'll just have to put up with them."

As the gate started to open again, I realized I was the only one without a weapon. I grabbed the kitchen knife from one of the fallen kids and readied myself next to Raindrop. Everypony prepared themselves for whatever challenge we had to face next. We were all surprised and horrified to see that our next opponent wasn't any wasteland wildlife like the first round. This time, it was something much more adept at combat.

"IF OUR NEXT OPPONENTS MANAGE TO SUCCESSFULLY SLAUGHTER ALL OF THE LITTLE LAMBS, THEY WILL RECEIVE A HEFTY REWARD! 1,000 CAPS EACH! WILL THEY BE SKILLED ENOUGH TO EARN IT!? OR WILL THE LAMBS PROVE THEIR WORTHINESS!? LET'S FIND OUT!"

Judging by their scars, their attire, and the crazed threats of rape and murder, we knew exactly who our opponents were.

Raiders.

Present Day

After Clover and I struck our 'deal', she explained to the indigo mare in the cave that she would be parting ways with them. She said her goodbyes to her fellow ex-slaves while I reconvened with Cat. The indigo mare had explained that she knew a place they could all go where they would be safe, so I didn't have to worry about them. After all was said and done, we parted ways with the slaves and began our trek back to Alleyville.

We hadn't even been walking for more than ten minutes when the inevitable question of "What the hell was up with my slaughter fest back at the barn?" was asked by Clover. At first I wasn't sure if I should tell her about my newfound... 'gift', but seeing as how she and all the other slaves had seen my eyes, there wasn't really any point in hiding it. The only question was whether or not she believed me. In all honesty, I was still having trouble believing it myself.

I explained to both her and Cat what happened in the Martyr's lair, as well as the fact that I was the bastard child of a Martyr and his rape victim. I omitted some details of course, like the fact that my father had been the leader of the cult, and that he kept me locked up in a basement for the first ten years of my life. I had already told Cat about that part, and I'd rather not tell Clover about my entire life story.

After I finished my explanation, Clover gave me a look of understandable skepticism. "So yer tellin' me that the martyrs are all infected by some sort o' parasite..."

"Yup."

"And this parasite also gives 'em all superpowers..."

"Superpowers is a bit of an exaggeration, but yeah."

"And ye just so happen to be the bastard son to one o' those cunts, meaning you have superpowers too?"

"Kinda sorta, yeah."

She continued to just stare at me with uncertainty, unsure of what to believe. A good ten seconds of silence passed before she just shrugged. "Alright then."

"...That's it? You believe me just like that?" This time, it was my turn to be skeptical.

"I know what I saw back on that ranch. Yer not normal, that's for certain. I'm also pretty good at knowin' when people are lyin' to me." She simply stated, as if it was the most obvious thing in the world. "Besides, if the martyrs are really as strong as ye say they are, then you havin' powers gives us an edge."

"Huh... okay then." I shared a look with Cat before we continued on in silence.

We reached the walls of Alleyville a shortly after the break of dawn. Unfortunately, I had to pay the entrance fee again, much to my annoyance. After the guard took the payment and opened the door for us, Clover took in the sight of the town.

"Been quite a while since I set a hoof in here. Was kinda hopin' it would stay that way." She said to me.

"We'll be in and out soon enough, there's just someone I need to meet up with here. Hopefully she's not too pissed I didn't return as soon as I said I would." I grimaced, remembering the stallion from the bar the other night. Y'know, the one Joy had pinned to the ground after he hit on her? I prayed that I wouldn't receive similar treatment.

After a bit more walking through Alleyville's streets, and a close encounter with a desperate mugger, we reached the Ace of Hearts. I cautiously opened the saloon doors, hoping I wouldn't walk straight into the wrath of an angry Joy. Just like the last time I saw the place during the early morning, it was barren save for a couple patrons eating breakfast.

The only other pony I saw was Vanilla Heart, who was busy cleaning a shot glass. The second she laid eyes on me, she went slack jawed. "Bunny!? Where the hell have you been!? Joy's been looking for you everywhere!"

"Oh, I'm sorry. The next time I get captured by martyrs, I'll be sure to leave a note." I snarked as I stepped up to the bar counter, Cat and Clover trailing behind me.

"I take it your little mission wasn't successful, then? So much for it being 'just the one guy', as you put it." She finished drying the glass and put it away, then took notice of Clover. "Who's your new friend?"

Clover herself snorted. "Friend ain't the word I'd use. I'd say we're more like... temporary acquaintances."

"Yeah, what she said." I agreed. "So, where's Joy at? She upstairs in her room?"

"No, she's out looking for you. She's been at it since yesterday, and got up early today to keep looking." Vanilla explained accusingly. It was then that the door leading to the staff area opened up. I wasn't too surprised to see Pokerface walk through. I did notice a small smidge of blood on his cheek, but I had the common sense not to ask about it.

"Oh, hey Bunny! Heard you disappeared on us! Good to see ya safe and sound. Who's this lovely lady?" He gestured to Clover.

"Temporary acquaintance," She reiterated, "and the name's Clover."

"Uh, Poke? You've got a little somethin'..." Vanilla pointed at Pokerface's cheek. He wiped the blood off and looked at his hoof to see what it was.

"Oh! That's a little embarrassing. Don't mind that, I just had to take care of some business in the back." He reassured us. As if on cue, one of Pokerface's fedora-wearing goons came through the staff area door, dragging a stallion that looked like he'd been beaten within an inch of his life. I almost didn't recognize him through all the swollen bruises, but the stallion being dragged was the same one that had been thrown out of the poker game the other night.

"Now if you just remember to pay what you owe, we won't have to do this again. Sound like a plan, old chum?" Pokerface gave the stallion a pat on the back.

"Y-Yesh, sir..." The stallion slurred, his busted jaw making it difficult to talk normally. The bouncer released his grip on the stallion, and the poor bastard ran out of the bar as fast as he could, not daring to look back.

"...Sorry you two had to see that." He turned back to us once the stallion had left. "Tell you what, I'll let you each have something from the menu as compensation. On the house, of course."

"If yer offerin', I'll take a bottle o' whiskey." Clover took a seat at the counter next to me.

"Early drinker, eh? Alright, how 'bout you, kid?" Pokerface looked over to me.

"I'll just have some breakfast. Brahmin steak with a side of bacon." After giving my order, I heard Cat bark from behind me. "...And some extra bacon for Cat."

"Coming right up, honey." She gave me a wink and got to work on our orders. As she did, she decided to make some small talk with Clover. "So, what's your story? How'd the two of you meet?"

"My story is my business. Bunny got me out of a slaver camp, that's all ye need t' know." Mentally, I appreciated Clover for not mentioning how I basically butchered all the slavers. Though, to the surprise of both of us, Vanilla seemed to freeze when Clover said she came from a slaver camp.

"...You were a slave?" She held a sympathetic look on her face. "Did they, uh..." She started to ask a question, only for her gaze to shift between Pokerface, the bouncer, and myself. "Sorry boys, but could you give the two of us some privacy? We need to have a bit of a girl talk."

I shared confused glances with Pokerface and the bouncer. Eventually, Pokerface gave Vanilla the ok, and she asked Clover to follow her into the back. Once the door shut behind them, I briefly considered listening in on whatever they were talking about.

Pokerface seemed to know what I was thinking though and put a stop to that idea. "Trust me, kid, it ain't worth it. If Vanilla catches you listening, she'll rip your balls off. And no, I'm not exaggerating."

We waited for a few minutes until the two of them finally returned. Clover was clearly in deep contemplation about something, showing a mix of several emotions in her expression.

"Uh, is everything ok?" I asked her as she returned to her seat.

"...Yeah... Yeah, everything's fine." She replied, but the look on her face didn't go away. Vanilla got back to readying our orders, and I soon found a plate of brahmin steak and bacon in front of me.

What threw me off was that Clover also had a plate of steak and bacon in front of her. Even more surprising was that Clover didn't seem upset about not getting what she asked for.

"...What happened to the whiskey?" Pokerface voiced the question on my mind.

"I changed my mind." Clover simply stated, and began to dig in. We all watched her with a bit of skepticism. I looked over at Pokerface and he just shrugged, being just as confused as I was. After a bit, I started eating my own meal. I couldn't shake the feeling that whatever they discussed was something I should know about, though.

What the hell did they talk about back there?

Partway through our meals, the front doors to the bar burst open. A familiar mint green unicorn came rushing in, a frantic look on her face.

"Vanilla! I wasn't able to find anything, so I came back here to if you heard about any leads-!" Joy trailed off once her gaze landed on me. Her eyes had gone so wide that you could barely see her pupils.

"U-Uh...hi?" I gave a small awkward wave.

After standing there for a few seconds gaping at me, she closed the distance between us in an instant.

"YOU JERK I'VE BEEN LOOKING ALL OVER FOR YOU WHERE THE HECK DID YOU GO I GOT SO WORRIED AND I THOUGHT YOU MIGHT HAVE DIED AND-!!!"

"Woah, woah, easy there! I'm sorry for disappearing, just take a deep breath, ok?"

Joy clammed up before doing as I said. She sucked in a deep breath, held it for a couple seconds, then let it out. "Ok... I think I'm good now. Where were you!?"

"Well... the mission didn't go quite as planned, and I ended up getting captured, but-"

"YOU WERE CAPTURED!?" She yelled.

"But I still managed to learn some things about the martyrs. I'll give you and the General a recap of what I saw when we get back, okay?" I told her. Joy looked like she wanted to press further, but she eventually sighed and let it go. For now, anyway.

"Mind introducin' me to the lass here?" Clover got the attention of both Joy and myself.

"Oh, right. Clover, this is Joyful Morale. Joy, this is Clover. She'll be working with us to fight the martyrs." After I gave them their introductions, Joy reached out a hoof to shake.

"It's a pleasure to meet you, ma'am! You can just call me Joy! All my friends do!"

"Uh huh." Clover grunted and accepted the hoof shake. As they shook, Clover looked down at Joy's jacket and noticed the ERC patch on her right sleeve. "...You're with the ERC?"

"Yes ma'am! Proud to serve!" Joy gave a quick salute.

After she seemed to put two and two together, Clover turned to me. "Wait... don't tell me this 'army' ye promised is the ERC?"

"Uh...yes?" I gave a sheepish grin. It seemed she was aware of the ERC's reputation for being an absolute shit show. She let out a groan as she face-hoofed, probably reconsidering if I was really as useful as she thought.

"Well ain't this just fockin' swell? Why don'tcha go recruit the garbage down the street as well? They'll probably be just as useful!" Clover made her irritation evident.

"Oh c'mon, the ERC isn't terrible! ...W-Well, not that terrible..." Joy did her best to defend her group, but fell flat.

"Look, they're better than nothing, ok? They're already at war with the martyrs, so we don't have to bother convincing them. Just try and roll with it, ok?" Clover contemplated my words before letting out a sigh.

"...Fine, but I ain't takin' orders from them." She grumbled.

"That... I can't promise you. The General's kind of a-" I was about to come up with a creative insult, only to remember the General was Joy's father, and she was standing right next to us. "...He's hard to reason with."

Clover groaned, "By Celestia, I really need a drink..."

"Then why'd you turn down the whiskey-"

"None o' yer damn business." Clover cut me off, looking like she was ready to bite my head off for asking. She then went back to eating her breakfast.

"...Okie dokie then." I turned back to my own meal, and we continued to eat in awkward silence.

Seriously, what in Equestria did they talk about back there?

Author's Note

Kept you waiting, huh?

Sorry it's been so long since I updated this story. Like I said previously, I've been putting more focus into the other story I'm writing. It'll probably be another long wait for the next chapter as well, but hopefully not as long. I hope you still enjoyed this chapter despite the long wait. As always, thanks for reading!