8 Years Ago

It was early in the evening. Raindrop and I were sitting at a table in the barn with Crutch, who was teaching us how to play poker. Haybale and Nazira were in the house making dinner, so Crutch thought it was a good way to pass the time.

We were using bales of hay as seats, since we didn't have anything else. Raindrop kept shifting around, trying to get comfortable. I, on the other hoof, didn't mind. I spent the majority of my life sitting on a cold, cement floor in a basement, so I was used to it.

The cards currently on the table from left to right were a six, a four, a queen, an ace, and an eight. I had already folded, having a two and a three. Yeah, it was a pathetic hand.

"Ha! Pair of queens!" Raindrop said proudly as she showed her cards, a queen and a seven.

"Not bad, not bad. Unfortunately, it's not good enough." Crutch said with his gravely voice before showing his hand. He had an ace and a six. Two pairs.

"Aw, c'mon!" Raindrop scrunched up her face, trying to look mad but just ended up looking cute.

"Heh, better luck next time." Crutch chuckled before turning to look at my hand, wincing as soon as he saw it. "Yeesh, not a great hand. Smart of you to fold, that shows you're learning." I smiled at that. At least there was a silver lining.

Our attention was drawn to the barn door when we heard it open. Crimson Rock stepped in from the light drizzle outside, carrying something. It looked like a gun, but I wasn't sure what kind. I was still trying to learn and memorize the different types.

"Is that a... shotgun?" I asked.

"Rifle, actually, but close. At least ya didn't say pistol." He corrected before showing it to me. "This is a BB gun. It shoots pellets instead o' bullets. It'd still hurt gettin' hit by one, but it wouldn't be lethal. I reckoned it would help ya get some practice with shootin'."

"It looks broken." Raindrop chimed in.

"Yeah, it is, unfortunately." He said as he placed it down. He discussed with the other two that he didn't know what was wrong and that he would need to take it apart to find out. He then began listing off the possible problems and how to fix them. I didn't know what he was talking about, so I turned away and looked over the weapon.

I toyed around with it, quickly figuring out how to take it apart and put it back together again. The others still hadn't noticed. I could see a few things that looked like they needed to be adjusted. I don't know how I knew, I just seemed to figure it out by looking. I could just tell when something looked out of place. After making the adjustments, I reassembled it and snapped everything back into place.

"I think I fixed it." I said, cutting off whatever Crimson was about to say next. He looked at me and the BB gun, surprised, before examining it himself. He grabbed a pellet from his saddlebag and loaded it into the gun. He then aimed it at a bale of hay on the other side of the barn and fired. The noise it made wasn't nearly as loud as any other gun I'd heard, so for a second I was worried I had made it worse.

"It works like a charm! How did ya-?" Crimson didn't finish his question. Instead, his eyes went wide when he saw something behind me. Crutch also seemed shocked at whatever they were looking at. Raindrop had a look of pure joy and excitement on her face.

"Your cutie mark!" She exclaimed.

My what?

I followed their gaze and saw that a strange image had appeared on my flank. A wrench and a rifle, similar to the BB gun, were crossed like an X. I had seen images like this on the flanks of Haybale, Crimson, and Raindrop, but I didn't know what they were for.

"What does it mean?" I turned to ask them.

"It represents your talent, or what you're good at. In your case, it seems your good at fixing up weapons. Getting your cutie mark is something to be proud of." Crutch answered. I looked back at my cutie mark again and smiled.

I was, indeed, feeling very proud of my cutie mark.

Present Day

It was around dusk by the time we got back to Sunny Sunset Estates. I assume the sun was setting around now, but it was impossible to see through the clouds.

I had returned all the stuff I looted as soon as we got back. When I had taken it, I hadn't really considered that the settlers could still be alive. They needed it more than I did. They insisted that I take some of it as payment for helping them, so I had to do some convincing to lower my payment to the bare minimum. In the end, I had to accept fifteen caps and a small bit of food.

I'm afraid that when it came to talking my way through situations, whether it be convincing or lying, I wasn't very good. It was possible for me to talk my way out of some situations, sure, but I was far from a silver tongued smooth talker. The brand on my eye didn't help make me anymore charismatic either. It did help when I needed to give off a terrifying presence, though.

Heh, Raindrop probably could have convinced them to keep everything.

...

It's in the past. Just forget about them.

I shook the thoughts away and got off the bench I had been sitting on. Cat came to my side once he saw me moving, and I gave him a scratch behind the ears. He was clearly still upset about the death of his owner, and I wished I could've done more for him. I turned my head to see a mare approaching me. She had told me earlier that she had been the town deputy, but since the sheriff had been killed by the raiders, she was now in charge.

"I wanted to thank you again for saving us. Are you sure you don't want anything else? I know we don't have a whole lot to offer anymore, but-" She began but I quickly cut her off.

"It's fine, really. You all need it more than I do." I insisted. "Are you guys gonna be okay?"

"It might take a bit before we're fully back on our hooves, and some ponies still need to recover mentally, but I think we can pull through." As she spoke, I could see her struggling not to stare at my bad eye, trying not to be rude. "Just remember, you'll always be welcome here."

"That's good to hear." I said, even though I doubted I would come back, since I didn't plan on staying in this desert. We said our goodbyes as me and Cat left and began our long trek towards New Pegasus. Seeing as how it was getting dark, though, we wouldn't be walking for long. I would've stayed at the estates, but they were already struggling. They didn't need an extra pony to take care of.

My map already had a few locations marked from when I used to live here, so I checked to see if there was anywhere we could stay, or at least set up camp. There were locations, but none of them were close enough for the night. I sighed, hoping we would find something along the way. The desert could be dangerous at night, so I wanted to avoid camping on the side of the road.

Looks like we'll be walking for a bit longer. Let's just hope we don't get ambushed.

Night had finally approached, and darkness surrounded us on all sides. We had passed the Caravanner's Rest Stop a few minutes ago and finally found a place we could stay the night. It was an old, abandoned convenience store. The sign that used to hang above the store had fallen off and was now buried in the sand, so I didn't know the store's name.

Pistol at the ready, I pushed open the door and peeked inside. The store was dark and dusty. Empty shelves lined the walls, and a few shelves sat in the middle, separating the isles. In the back was a counter with a register on it. The place looked untouched, but I didn't let my guard down just yet. I stepped in, still remaining cautious. The wooden floorboards creaked underneath me.

I checked the shelves, but the place seemed to already have been picked clean a long time ago. I stopped dead in my tracks when I saw a radroach corpse in one of the isles. While it was indeed dead, it still looked fresh. I then noticed hoofprints in the dust on the floor.

Somepony's here.

"NOW!"

I didn't even get time to react as somepony leapt from behind the counter, tackled me, and pinned me to the ground. The stranger pushed my face into the ground, preventing me from seeing who it was that just tackled me.

Another pony came from behind the counter, but Cat was on them in an instant. The second ambusher barely managed to stop Cat from biting into their face as they were knocked to the ground. Cat got on top of the ambusher, keeping them at a disadvantage, and tried to sink his teeth into them. The ambusher held Cat back with their hooves, but it was a losing battle.

"Help!" The ambusher, who's voice was clearly that of a stallion's, called out to the one holding me down. I felt the grip of the pony pinning me loosen a bit as they turned their attention to their friend. I took the opportunity to make a move and turned myself to face my assailant, about to throw a punch to knock them off.

Unfortunately, the assailant felt me moving from under them and was quick to react. With the reflexes of a professional, the assailant, who I could now see was a unicorn mare, blocked my punch and drove her hoof into my throat. I coughed as my windpipe was blocked off, struggling to gasp for air.

"Call him off!" The mare ordered me as she pushed the barrel of a 9mm pistol into my face. It was then that I noticed the jacket she was wearing. It was a hooded military jacket with a design on the right sleeve that I recognized. It was the Equestrian flag, but where the sun and moon would normally be, there was instead a .50 cal bullet.

"Cat, stand down! They're ok!" I managed to cough out. Cat stopped trying to bite the stallion and and did as told. The stallion got up and as he did, I noticed he was wearing the same jacket, along with an army helmet, confirming my suspicions. I also noticed that he appeared to be injured, though not from Cat. The mare removed her hoof from my throat while keeping her gun trained on me as I stood back up. Cat growled, still not trusting them.

"State your name and busine-"

"Lance Corporal Bunny, serial number 054792." I cut off the mare before she could finish her order. Both her and the stallion looked at me, surprised. I would be too, if I were them.

They just ambushed a fellow soldier.

I should probably explain before we continue. These ponies were part of the Equestrian Restoration Corps, or the ERC for short. When the ERC was originally established a few decades ago, their goal was to try and rebuild Equestria, or at least make it closer to the way it used to be. This didn't last long, though. They ended up spreading themselves too thin, trying to spread their forces to every part of Equestria, despite not having enough soldiers to actually make a difference. This lead to them being almost completely wiped out by raiders, slavers, pretty much everything that tries to kill you in the wasteland.

That wasn't the only problem with the ERC, though. Their was barely any discipline among the soldiers. They would slack off, party, or sneak out during curfew. A lot of those that were here in the San Palomino would visit New Pegasus to gamble and get drunk. As for the ponies that run the ERC, they were greedy and power hungry, especially nowadays. They care less about helping others and more about helping themselves.

The majority of what remains of the ERC operates here in the San Palomino. There are a few here and there around the rest of the wasteland, but not many. They've pretty much been reduced to almost nothing. They do help who they can, but they aren't able to offer much if they want to stay alive themselves.

As for why I gave these ponies a rank and serial number, that's because I used to be in the ERC, if only for about three years. I resigned, though, just before I left the San Palomino for good. Still, my serial number was burned into my brain, so I still remembered it to this day. A part of me wishes I didn't.

"Wha-? But... huh?" The mare in front of me sputtered, clearly confused. Looking at the insignia on her left sleeve, it seemed she was a Private Second Class, the second lowest rank. She had to have been serving for at least six months, but less than a year.

"If that's so, then where's your uniform, Lance Corporal?" The stallion spoke up, still remaining suspicious. He was a dark gray pony, standing about an inch taller than me. I looked at the insignia on his jacket and saw that he was a Corporal, which was the rank above Lance Corporal. Guess he's in charge.

"Well, I'm not with the ERC anymore. I resigned a bit more than a couple years ago." I clarified. By this point, Cat had calmed down, though he remained wary. The Corporal looks me over, scrutinizing me, before his gaze lands on my brand and he seems to recall something.

"Ah, I remember you. Hard to forget somepony with a scar like that." He says, beginning to relax.

"Wait, he's telling the truth!?" The mare asked, shocked. The Corporal nodded.

"Yup. Him and his friend were quite the troublemakers back then." I prayed that neither of them would press further on the topic of my 'friend'. The mare turned to face me again, straightening her posture. "I'm truly sorry for the ambush, Lance Corporal! We thought you might have been with the Martyrs of Despair!"

Oh, not those assholes again.

"Don't worry about it, and don't call me Lance Corporal. Like I said, I'm not with the ERC anymore. Anyways, mind introducing yourselves?" I ask, changing the subject.

"The name's Corporal Clean Barrel. This is Private Morale." He nods to the mare and she salutes.

"Private Second Class Joyful Morale, serial number 146-!"

"Ah, don't bother with the serial number. I'll just forget it in a few seconds anyway." I cut her off and she slumped back. The only reason I stated my own serial number was so they would realize I used to be among their ranks. I didn't need to hear theirs.

After hearing her full name, I finally take a good look at the mare in front of me. She was a mint green pony with bright, lemon yellow eyes. She had a long and wavy jet black mane. Now, when I said her mane was long, I meant it was long. It reached all the way down, almost touching the floor! Even her bangs were slightly long, hiding her right eye a bit. I could see her cutie mark was an image of a pencil doodling something on a sketch pad.

Now that I think about it, the name Morale sounds familiar, but I can't put my hoof on it. Eh, I'd probably forgotten it on purpose, anyway.

"Gotta say, Corporal, this is a helluva team you got here! I don't think anypony would dare to mess with all two of you." I said sarcastically, pointing out his lack of said team. He should definitely have more soldiers than this.

"There were more of us, but we were attacked." He began, a little irritated by my sarcasm. "We were on patrol when we were ambushed by a large group of martyrs. Unfortunately, we're all that's left."

"We came into this building to hide and, if we had to, stay the night." Joyful chimed in.

If those martyrs are nearby, this place might not be as safe to sleep in as I thought. Still, it would be a bad idea to keep walking while it's dark out. Guess we'll have to take our chances with these ponies.

"Got room for two more?" Clean Barrel thought about it before giving his response.

"...I don't see why not." He finally decided. After placing my bags off to the side and getting settled in, the two soldiers pull a couple dirty mattresses out from behind the counter.

"There aren't enough mattresses for all of us..." Joyful speaks up.

"I'm fine with sleeping on the floor." I offered." I didn't actually think there would be mattresses in this place when I first saw it, so I already planned to sleep on the floor."

"Are you sure?"

"Yeah, you two found this place first, anyway. You alright with that, Cat?" I turned to face the dog, who replied with a bark. I assumed it was a yes.

"Guess that settles it." Barrel said before placing down his mattress. Soon after, a thought occurred to me. What if the ERC had intel on The McGuffin?

It was a long shot, but it wouldn't hurt to ask. I doubted Corporal Barrel or Private Joyful knew anything, so I would have to ask somepony else who was a bit higher up the ladder. Cat and I could go with the other two to the ERC's home base. Having been there before, it was already marked on my Pip-Buck, and I could see that it wasn't too out of the way from New Pegasus.

Then again, going back there might dig up some memories I'd rather forget. The last time I saw... her... was at that base. Just thinking about it made some memories resurface. I shook them away. If their was a chance they could help me find The McGuffin, I needed to take it.

With this new plan in mind, I laid down on the floor and closed my eyes as sleep overcame me.

"AH!!!"

I awoke from another nightmare with a scream.

Sweat rolled down my forehead as I frantically took in my surroundings. After remembering where I was, I sighed and laid my head back down. The nightmare had been worse than usual. This time, my father had the same animalistic eyes as the martyr corpse. I needed to do something about these nightmares, but I had no idea what.

"Are you ok?"

I looked in the direction of the voice. Joyful was cooking something on a hot plate, supposedly breakfast. She was looking at me, her eyes filled with concern.

"Yeah, I'm alright. Just a bad dream." I reply as I stood up. Light seeped into the store through the boarded up windows. I noticed that Corporal Barrel and Cat were still asleep. "Where'd you get the hot plate?"

"We brought it with us when we went on patrol, just in case." She said as she continued to prepare the meal. We sat in silence for about half a minute before I spoke up.

"Hey, Private Joyful..."

"Oh, you can just call me Joy. Everypony else does." She says with a smile.

"Alright then, I've got a question for you, Joy." She turns her attention towards me. "You two are heading back to base, right?"

"Well, we can't continue patrolling when it's just us left, so I assume so." She answers.

"I was wondering if I could join you."

"W-What!? Uh, I-I'm not sure... It's up to the Corporal, not me. Why do you want to?" She stammers.

"I'm looking for something. I thought that maybe the ERC might be able to help."

"I don't know, we're spread pretty thin as it is."

"I just need some intel, that's all. I'll be out of your manes right after." I assured her. She thought about it for a second.

"If you say so. It's still not for me to decide." After that, she went back to her cooking. I noticed she seemed a bit dejected.

"Something wrong?" I ask a bit later.

"Huh? Oh, it's just... I can't stop thinking about the rest of our team."

"Were you close?"

"No, but they were still ponies. It's not uncommon for soldiers to be killed, especially nowadays. I just wish things could be different." I didn't respond, not knowing what to say. Instead, we just sat in silence again. Soon, Joy had finished making breakfast. It appeared she had made omelettes of some sort. I gotta say, they looked and smelled amazing.

"I don't normally cook, so I wouldn't expect it to be anything special if I were you." She said.

"Are you kidding? It smells delicious!" I took another waft of it.

"Really!? Here, try some!" She said with excitement, handing me a plate. She had a bright smile on her face that could warm even the coldest of hearts. Something about that smile felt so innocent and cheerful. It made me feel as though I had a moral obligation to make her smile. I happily took the plate, ready to enjoy it. I took a bite of the food...

...and it took every fiber of my being not to vomit.

Dear Celestia, this is the worst thing I've ever put in my mouth! And I've eaten literal shit!

"That bad, huh?" She asked, noticing the look of pain on my face.

"N-No, it's- *hurk!* it's g-great! I-It's *cough!* *hack!* absolutely delicious!" I struggled not to collapse on the spot. It felt like the food was slowly killing me. What the hell did she put in this!? "Yep! *hurp!* Some of the best cooking I've ever had!"

"You don't have to lie. I know I'm not great at cooking." She said with a deadpan expression.

Not great is an understatement.

"I'm trying to practice and get better, but it's a lot harder than I thought it would be." Once she said that, memories of Nazira teaching me how to cook flashed in my mind. I shook them away.

"Well... how about this..." I panted as I slowly regained my strength. "I'll teach you how to cook. In exchange, you put in a good word for me at your base so I can get the intel I need."

"Really!?" She beamed.

"Yup. Is it a deal?"

"Yes! It's a deal!"

We shook hooves, and I looked over at the other two. Cat was beginning to stir from all the noise we were making. Barrel, however, remained asleep, snoring rather loudly.

He's quite the heavy sleeper.

A little over an hour later, we were all on our way to the ERC's home base. The Corporal had accepted my tagging along, saying that having an extra gun would be useful.

Cat, Joy and I followed Clean Barrel as he lead. As we walked, I gave Joy some cooking tips. I would need to actually show her what to do at some point, but this would do for now. She also told me what she used to make the omelette and, to be frank, it was atrocious.

"Why the hell would you put glowing fungus in an omelette!?" I blanched.

"I thought it would give it more flavor! I read somewhere that you should try to make the flavors stand out, and I figured it would!" She tried to defend herself. I couldn't believe anypony was this inept at cooking.

"About halfway there, now. Don't let your guard down." Barrel called back to us.

"Yes, sir!" Joy saluted. We continued walking for a bit longer before I noticed a glint in the distance. I recognized it as a sniper scope immediately.

"GET DOWN!!!" I yelled, tackling Joy to the ground as I heard the gunshot ring out. I heard a cry of pain come from Barrel and turned to see he had been hit, but not killed. He needed serious medical attention, though. Blood began pouring out from under him.

I ran over to him and lifted him up onto my back, returning fire in the direction of the sniper, though I doubted I would hit anything. I just needed to keep him from blowing my brains out while I was busy. Joy and Cat had already taken cover behind a rock, and I joined them just as the sniper fired again, this time hitting the rock.

"Corporal!" Joy cried. I took him off my back and examined him. He had a pulse, but he was losing blood fast. The bullet must have hit an artery. Joy had already started taking out medical supplies from her bag.

"I've got him! Just take care of the sniper!" I nodded in response. I took a peek from behind cover, only to duck back down as another bullet struck the rock. I was able to see that the sniper wasn't in cover, but he was too far for S.A.T.S. I needed to get closer somehow.

"FOR OUR MISTRESS!!!" I heard another voice yell. I looked and saw a pony charging at us from the same direction of the sniper. He was wearing the same cloak as the martyr corpse, and even had the same creepy eyes. He was carrying a rather sharp looking machete. It didn't take a genius to guess who our attackers were.

Something I noticed was that the martyr was running faster than anypony else I'd ever seen. His speed was almost unnatural. Was he on Dash or something?

He quickly closed the gap between us and ran behind the rock, swinging his machete. I ducked under his swing, getting behind him. Normally, I'd have just shot him, but I saw an opportunity. I instead grabbed him from behind and held him in front of me, pointing my gun at his head.

"What are you doing!?" Joy called out to me.

"Don't worry, I've got this!"

I started moving towards the sniper, using the struggling martyr as a shield. As I planned, the sniper didn't open fire. He wouldn't want to hit his friend, after all. You can call me cold-hearted or cowardly for using a tactic like this, but from what I've heard, these guys deserved it anyway. I thought my plan was fool-proof, until the martyr spoke up.

"Heh, you underestimate our devotion, non-believer. See you in hell!" The martyr pulled out a small, makeshift blade from his pocket. I was ready to disarm him, and could do so easily. I figured he would've known that as well, which is why it surprised me he would even try attacking me.

I realized he wasn't attacking me when he slit his own throat.

I stared in shock as he choked on his blood and his corpse fell limp in my hooves. I was still trying to process what just happened when the sniper shot through the corpse and hit me. I yelled in pain, dropping the body and running for cover behind another rock as another shot barely missed me.

"You will pay for our brother's life with your blood, non-believer!!!" I heard the sniper shout. Once I was safe, I took the chance to examine my wound.

The corpse had acted as a meat shield and slowed down the bullet, so it didn't actually pierce my body. Instead, I could see the bullet jutting out of the wound. The damage was only equivalent to a deep cut, but it still hurt. If the bullet hadn't been as strong, it may not have even pierced the corpse. I pulled the bullet out with my magic, grabbed a bandage from my saddlebag, and placed it over the wound.

Once I was patched up, I took out the hunting rifle and peeked out from behind cover. The rock I was behind was much closer to the sniper, just close enough for S.A.T.S. I targeted the sniper's head and fired, his brains splattering everywhere.

I ran back to the others and found that Joy had patched up the Corporal. He was still unconscious, but he would live, for now. We still needed to get him to a real doctor, which meant getting to the base ASAP.

"Here, I'll carry him." I lifted him onto my back gently and we were once again on the road, this time with a quicker pace. I would have looted the bodies, but I didn't want to waste time when Barrel didn't have much left. As we trotted, I could see Joy was still worried about Barrel, going by her expression. I decided to take her mind off it with some conversation. I also wanted her to answer a question for me.

"What the hell was that!? Why the fuck did that guy kill himself!?" I asked. She stared at me for a few seconds, seemingly confused before coming to a conclusion.

"Was that your first time fighting martyrs?" She asked.

"Yeah, it was... Wait, are you saying they kill themselves regularly!?"

"They care more about winning than their own lives. You heard him say it was for their 'mistress', right? They're willing to do anything for... whoever she is." It was after hearing that did the martyr's words echo in my head.

"You underestimate our devotion, non-believer."

He was willing to kill himself just so I wouldn't have cover. Just so that the sniper could take the shot. He didn't care about his own life whatsoever. He cared more about killing me.

"...What the fuck is wrong with these ponies?" I mutter.

"Tell me about it." Joy added. Cat agreed with a bark. I turned my head to look at Barrel. He was sweating, and looked like he might already be getting a fever.

Don't worry Corporal, we'll be there soon. Even if it's the last place I want to be.

Author's Note

Finally, I finished this chapter. I got held back a bit because the floor of my room got flooded, so we had to pull it up and are trying to get it replaced. Luckily, nothing else was damaged, so I got off lucky, especially compared to most.

Another reason for the delay was that after the Ironshod factory, I had no idea where Bunny would go next. I had planned for Bunny to run into the ERC, just not this soon. Still, it worked out in the end. I've been pretty vague about what the ERC's base actually is because I want it to be a surprise for the next chapter.

It seems Bunny finally got to see the Martyrs of Despair firsthand. What do you guys think of them? Do they give off the creepy death cult feeling I was going for?

Hope you enjoyed this chapter. As always, thanks for reading!