8 Years Ago

I was in the farmhouse's kitchen with Nazira, who had just finished teaching me how to make bloatsprite sliders. She placed two servings on a plate each and passed one to me. We each took a bite to see the results of my cooking. It was better than when I started, but it was still mediocre.

"It is good to see you are making progress." Nazira complimented me with her exotic accent.

"...but it could be better." I said, my shoulders slumped.

"Patience, little one. You will get the hang of it eventually." She said with a smile. We continued to dig in to the meal, and I asked Nazira about where she was from. She told me about Glyphmark, how she had to leave, and how she eventually ended up at the ranch.

"...Do you miss it?"

"Hm?"

"Do you miss Glyphmark?" I asked her.

"...Occasionally. I did have friends there," She says, "But it was here at the ranch that I found my family."

"You mean Haybale, Raindrop, Crimson, and Crutch, right?"

"Yes, but not just them. I consider you family as well, Bunny." I was already happy enough to have ponies that I could call family, but to know that they consider me family as well? The joy I felt was immeasurable.

"Hey, guys! What're you eating?" I turned to see Raindrop approaching us. Judging by the look on her face, I'd say she was bored again.

"Nazira helped me make bloatsprite sliders. They're nothing special, though." I told her as she served herself. She took a bite and immediately brightened up.

"Nothing special!? This is delicious!" She continued to scarf down the food and Nazira couldn't help but chuckle.

Well, I'm glad somepony loved my cooking.

Present Day

We finally reached the cave the ERC base was located in. I could feel Barrel's blood soaking through his bandages and onto my back. As we entered the cave, we passed several floodlight tripods that had been set up to illuminate the dark cavern. Eventually, we arrived at a giant, metal door shaped like a gear with the number 54 on it.

We had arrived at Stable 54.

The ponies who founded the ERC had set up shop here after they found the stable abandoned. I'd heard rumors that many of the stables had been used for social experiments back when they were built, but if Stable 54 had an experiment, I have no clue what it is, nor does anypony else.

Joy pressed the button on the intercom just beside the door and spoke into it.

"This is Private Joyful Morale! Corporal Clean Barrel is wounded and needs serious medical attention!"

"Understood, Private. We're opening the door now, so stand back." A voice crackled from the intercom.

Wasn't she supposed to give them her serial number? Huh, weird.

A second later, the door began to move and light poured out from within. We quickly made our way in and were greeted with the sight of a few ERC soldiers, all armed with rifles.

"Private, who is this?" One of the soldiers spoke up, pointing to me.

"Don't worry, he's okay. He's with us." She tried to reassure him.

"Where's the rest of your team?"

"Look, we've got more important things to worry about." I said, gesturing to the stallion bleeding out on my back.

The soldiers all glanced at each other before letting us through. One of them spoke through a radio, ordering the medics to bring a stretcher. They arrived pretty quickly and rushed Barrel off to the medbay. After that, they questioned me about who I was and why I was here, while Joy reported what happened to their team.

Cat didn't like being kept on a leash and bit the poor sap who was ordered to do so. Fortunately, it wasn't a serious injury, but they still had to go to the medbay as well. I just told them Cat would be calm if they left him alone.

It was a while before they finished questioning me, and told me to wait in the atrium while they went to fetch the General. If anyone knew about The McGuffin, it would probably be him. He would also be able to verify if I really used to be with the ERC. So here we were, sitting on a cold, metal bench on the second floor of the atrium while anypony that walked by kept paying me and Cat curious glances. The bench I didn't mind. It was everypony else that bothered me.

Just looking around the place gave me deja vu, and I hated it. I knew this place like the back of my hoof. I had hoped I could just be in and out quickly, though the more I thought about it, the more I realized how naive that was of me. The ERC may not have much in terms of discipline, but they weren't stupid. Well, most of them weren't, anyway.

Oh, I also realized why the name Morale sounded familiar to me, and why Joy didn't have to tell them her serial number at the intercom.

The General's name was Strict Morale.

He was Joy's father.

Maybe if I'm lucky, I'll have earned brownie points for helping get his daughter back safely. If I'm unlucky, he'll have remembered the time I snuck a whoopee cushion under his pillow. Let's hope it's the former.

I decided to tune into DJ Pon3 while I waited. I was hoping to listen to some music, but it seemed as though DJ Pon3 had some news to share.

"Welcome back, everypony! This is DJ Pon3 with an update on the news! Here's a shout-out to everypony listening over in the San Palomino! My heart goes out to the ponies in Sunny Sunset Estates, who took a big hit from raiders yesterday. Most of the ponies living there had been taken prisoner, and the rest were killed. Thankfully, those that survived were rescued by a wanderer and his dog who happened to be passing by. That's not all he's done, though. Just this morning, he was helping a couple ERC soldiers fight off some of those Martyrs of Despair that've been popping up lately.

"Now, there's something special about this mystery stallion that makes him stand out, ladies and gentlecolts, and that's the nasty brand mark he's got on his eye! Can't imagine how he got that! Seems the San Palomino has a new Branded Ranger to help keep things safe. If you see a pony with the letter B on his left eye wandering around with a dog, give him a pat on the back and tell him DJ Pon3 said thank you."

"That's all for now, folks. Next up, here's-"

I switched off the radio before DJ Pon3 announced the next song. I was more interested in what he just said than listening to music now. This was probably going to bring a lot of unwanted attention. Also, what was with that name? Branded Ranger? Seriously?

I leaned back against the wall and closed my eye. Maybe I could catch some Z's before the General shows up. He was certainly taking his time, anyway.

"Hey mister." I opened my eye back up to see a couple of kids standing in front of me, a filly and a colt. Now, I'm sure it seems weird to see children in a military base, but a lot of soldiers were actually born into the ERC, and grew up training for it. I assumed that was the case for these kids.

"Are you that Branded Ranger DJ Pon3 was talking about?" The colt asked.

"Uh... yeah, I suppose I am." I answered, still a little surprised by their sudden appearance. Being the curious children that they were, the pair continued to ask me a barrage of questions. I kept my answers short, simple, and vague.

"How many weapons do you have?"

"A few."

"How many raiders have you killed?"

"A lot."

"Can I pet your dog?"

"That's up to him."

"How'd you get that scar?"

"Tripped and fell on a branding iron."

"Really?"

"Of course he didn't, stupid!"

"I'm not stupid! You're stupid!"

"Hey, kids!" A new voice approached, one that was deep, masculine, and very familiar. I went bug eyed when I saw the owner of the voice was the buck in charge of training new recruits, and the same buck who trained me, Brisk Bronco. I prayed to Celestia and Luna that he wouldn't recognize me.

"You gotta stop sneaking off from training like that. I'm sure you don't want me telling your parents." He spoke.

"Y-Yes, sir!" The children stammered before running off to the gym.

Bronco was a dark grey earth pony with a buzz cut mane. He wore dark sunglasses over his eyes and a couple dog tags around his neck. He was also buff as hell, and good looking too, despite being in his middle ages. Back when I was still in training, a lot of the mares and some stallions had a crush on him. He was, and probably still is, quite the role model.

Please don't recognize me, please don't recognize me, please don't-

"Oh, hey Bunny. Never thought I'd see you again."

FUCK!

"Hey." I muttered, hoping he wouldn't stay for conversation. I hoped wrong.

"So, how've you been? What're you doing here?"

"I've been better. I'm just getting some info and then I'll be on my way."

"Ah, I see." After that, we both sat in awkward silence.

Why do conversations with me always have to be awkward?

"...Well, I should go make sure those kids actually went back to the gym instead of running off again. See ya later." He waved.

"Yup." I was once again alone with Cat. We sat there for about another minute before the pony we had been waiting for finally showed up, being flanked by two other soldiers.

"It's been a while, Bunny." There was the General in all his glory. A pale green unicorn with a grey, swept back mane and small beard. He was a bit wrinkly in the face, but it wasn't too noticeable. He wore his General's cap on his head to hide his bald spot.

"I'm not here for a reunion. Do you have the info I need?" I asked, standing up off the bench.

"Straight to the point, huh? Alright then." He spoke like someone who demanded respect. "We don't really know anything about this McGuffin, except for the fact that the Martyrs are looking for it."

Wait, WHAT!?

"They're looking for it too!?" I could scarcely believe it. If that was true, things just got way harder. Not only was I still lacking in leads on the computer chip, but now I had to race for it against some crazy death cult!? For fuck's sake, why can't finding one computer chip be simple!?

"I can have my men look into it... on one condition."

Oh, here we go.

"Help us fight off the martyrs, and I'll get you the information you need." He offered. I just scoffed.

"You want me to fight your war? In case you forgot, I'm not one of your soldiers anymore." One of the soldiers standing behind the general gave me a glare, probably for speaking to the all mighty General with such slander like that.

"If you're looking for the McGuffin, then you'll be butting heads with them anyway. They're more than we can handle, and we could use all the help we can get. I think it works out for both of us." He countered.

Great. If I want to find the McGuffin, I had to help fight a war I wanted no part in. I thought about it for a bit longer before I letting out a sigh. I didn't really have a choice if I wanted to leave as soon as possible.

"...Fine, but you better find something." I finally decided.

"Good. If you'll follow me then." He walked further into the stable and I reluctantly followed, Cat trailing behind me.

Well, crap. This isn't going as planned.

We followed the General and his lackeys all the way to the stable's residential area, which were now called the barracks. After passing several rooms, we stopped outside a specific one. Above the door was a nameplate labeled 'Joyful Morale', along with her serial number. Soldiers normally bunked with one another, so I thought it was odd that there wasn't a second nameplate. I then noticed there was, in fact, space for a second one, but it looked like it had been recently removed. This meant that the pony who used to be staying here had either left, or been killed.

Before I could ask why we were here of all places, the General gave me an answer.

"You'll be working alongside Private Morale. She'll be keeping an eye on you to make sure you're actually helping us fight the martyrs."

"Whoa, whoa, whoa, hold on, I didn't agree to a partner!" I didn't want to travel around with anypony else! Having Cat with me was good enough! I know I'd agreed to help Joy out with her cooking, and I had planned to keep good on that promise! Just... not while traveling out on the road together.

"You two already know each other, so I thought she would be the best fit." He explained.

I had to admit, I was a little shocked he trusted me with his own daughter. For all he knew, I might try to hold her hostage in exchange for the information. I wouldn't even think about doing that of course, but he didn't know that. The two guards waited outside, and we entered Joy's room.

Every soldier liked to personalize their room, and Joy was no exception. There were a couple stuffed animals lying on her bed, A Sparkle-Cola themed clock on the wall, a desk littered with paper and colored pencils, and a punching bag off to the side, which Joy was currently using. She turned to face us as soon as we entered.

"Hey Bun- Oh! S-Sir!" Joy immediately straightened herself and saluted to her father.

"At ease, soldier." He ordered and she relaxed. "You'll be traveling with Bunny here for a while. He's going to be helping us fight off the martyrs."

"He is?"

"Apparently." I mumbled.

"He'll be doing so while we look into the computer chip he's searching for. I figured since you've already been acquainted, you'd get along fine." I noticed the way the General was addressing Joy. It didn't sound like he was talking to his daughter, it sounded more like he was talking to just another soldier. He turned to face me.

"Private Morale here is just below average when it comes to firearms, but she's an expert in hoof to hoof. She can also hack any terminals you come across. Other than that, she's received the same level of training you have." He now addressed both of us. "The guards by the entrance will give you your orders. You'll be heading out first thing tomorrow morning. Understood?" He asked.

"Yes, sir!" Joy replied. I just grunted.

"I said, understood?" He asked me again, this time with more force.

"Yes, sir." I replied, giving a mock salute.

"Good. I'll leave you to prepare, then." He then left the three of us alone, the two guards once again following him. We stood there in awkward silence before Joy spoke up.

"Well, uh... I'm glad to be working with you again!" She smiled awkwardly.

"Meet me in the cafeteria at dinner time. We'll go over the plan for tomorrow." I grunted before I turned around and left.

With Cat alongside me, we made our way to the entrance. He gave me a look as we walked. I think it was because of the way I talked to Joy just now.

"Look, I'm sorry, okay? I'm just in a pissy mood. I'm sure I'll have cooled down once we meet up again." He looked at me like he didn't believe me. "We don't need anyone else. We're fine with just the two of us. In my experience, getting close with other ponies is a bad idea. In the end, they'll either die or leave you behind."

I stopped in my tracks when I'd realized what I just said. I hadn't opened up that much with anypony before. I looked back at Cat, who was giving me another look.

"Listen, don't tell anypony what I just said, okay? Just keep that between us. I don't want people prodding into my history."

He looked at me like I was an idiot. It took me a second to realize why.

"...Right... you're a dog... you couldn't tell anypony even if you wanted to." I mentally face hoofed and we continued on our way. As we walked, we passed many different soldiers slacking off in their own way.

One was off in a corner, thinking he was sneaky enough to hide the chems he was about to take. Another pony stumbled out of their room alongside their roommate, both clearly drunk. Passing by the bathrooms, I could hear the familiar sound of a spray can coming from within. Somepony was most likely spraying graffiti on the walls. Passing by another room, I could hear the rhythmic squeaking of a bed on the other side, two ponies most likely going at it.

If this were the actual military, I'm sure this all of this behavior would be utterly disgraceful.

For the ERC, this was perfectly normal.

We arrived at the entrance and a soldier, who I noticed was stuffing a pack of cigarettes in his pockets, approached us with a folder containing some documents.

"This is all the information you need for tomorrow." He hoofed over the folder and I slipped it into my saddlebag. The soldier gave us a salute as we left. "Good luck!"

Since we had time to kill before dinner, I decided to look over the assignment we were given. According to the file, they had reason to believe a martyr spy was hiding out in a town a small distance from here called Alleyville. I didn't even know the martyrs had spies. Apparently, they would blend in and kidnap people when nopony was looking. Where they take them and what they do with them is unknown. Our job was to hunt down and eliminate the spy.

Okay, this seems simple enough. It's just one pony, right? What could possibly go wrong?

I heard a grinding noise come from my Pip-Buck and swiftly flipped to the Quests tab. I didn't need to look to know my newest quest was about hunting down the spy, but I checked it anyway.

I Spy With My Only Eye
- Go to Alleyville and look for the spy

Oh, good. Now this thing is making fun of my eye.

While I was at it, I figured I should check to see if my main quest updated at all.

The Great and Powerful Plot Device
- Find clues for the location of the secret lab

Nope. Still nothing. Guess that meant I had to wait for General Asshat and his boys to find something. Speaking of waiting, I still had a lot of time to wait until dinner, which left me with nothing to do.

I really hate waiting.

The cafeteria was much more crowded than I was comfortable with. It was hard to find a table that was secluded from everypony else. I eventually found one, though, and I made myself comfortable, Cat taking a seat next to me.

Ok, nopony should bother us here-

Somepony quickly sat down across from us, slamming their tray of food onto the table.

Never mind.

I shouldn't have been surprised to see that it was Joy who sat down. She had plenty of food on her tray.

"Ok! Let's go over the plan, sir!" The mint green unicorn spoke with enthusiasm, that cute, innocent smile present on her face. Clearly, she hadn't been dissuaded by my obvious annoyance about us being partners. Her smile soon disappeared, however, when she noticed a lack of food in front of me.

"You're not eating?"

"I'm not hungry."

As if on queue, my stomach decided that was the perfect time to start growling.

"...I'll eat later."

"Why not just go up and get some food?" She gestured to the line of soldiers currently serving themselves. I stared at the large mass of ponies, a feeling of anxiety welling up within me. A look of understanding spread across Joy's face.

"Not great with crowds, huh?"

"Not great with people in general." I clarified.

"Here, have some of mine." She levitated some of her radhog meat over to me. I eyed it with suspicion, and she gave me a deadpan look.

"No, I didn't cook it."

Oh, thank the goddesses.

I let out a breath I didn't realize I was holding and took the meat. I pulled out the file as I ate and showed it to Joy. Thankfully, the food was prepared by somepony who knew how to cook. It wasn't anything special, but at least it wasn't painful to eat.

"The first places we'll hit up will be the bars, taverns, and saloons. They've always got the local scoop. If that doesn't turn up anything then we split up and ask around." I suggested as she read over the file.

"Sounds good! Anything else, sir?"

"That's... pretty much it, actually. I didn't think we would be doing something so simple."

"What, did you think we would be storming a fortress or something? Just the three of us?"

"Yeah, actually, something like that."

She just stared at me like I had a screw loose.

"What? I think the three of us could pull it off. Well, then again, I don't really have a clear picture of how good you are in a fight yet."

"Sir, I don't know how strong you think we are, but if we tried to storm a fort by ourselves, we'd be slaughtered!"

"Yeah, you're right. You probably aren't that good of a fighter." I said, recalling what the General said about her being a bad shot.

"Hey, I can handle myself!" She crossed her hooves and scrunched up her face in an attempt to glare at me. She just made herself look even cuter. I couldn't help but chuckle. It was then that we both noticed Cat had snuck around to the other side of the table and was now stealing a piece of meat off Joy's tray.

"Hey! That's mine! Bad dog! Sir, can please do something!?" She pleaded.

Oh yeah, I forgot to feed him. He just seemed like he could take care of himself so well that I didn't even think about it.

"Why do you keep calling me that?" I asked.

"Calling you what?"

"You keep calling me 'sir'."

"Well, the General placed you in charge, and you have way more experience than me. Plus, if you were still with the ERC, you would outrank me anyway. As far as I'm concerned, you're my superior officer!"

"Well, you can stop. I'm not in the ERC anymore. This is temporary."

"Either way, can you please tell him to stop trying to steal my food!?" She pointed to Cat as she tried to hold her plate away from him.

"I'd get some food for himself, but..." I looked back at the long line of ponies. "Think you can share with him too?"

"...Ugh, fine." She sighed before handing another piece to him.

"Well, don't you three seem thick as thieves already!"

We all turned to see Bronco approaching us.

"Oh! Hey, Mr. Bronco! Nice to see you!" Joy greeted him.

"Hey there, squirt. So, I hear Bunny's staying with us a little longer?"

Seems word still spreads fast around here.

"Yup! He and I are headed over to Alleyville tomorrow to track down a spy."

"Yeesh, another spy? Those bastards are showing up more and more. Anyways, I've got an offer for you, Bunny." Bronco said, turning to me.

"Me?"

"Yeah, I was thinking, since you're gonna be around, why not stop by the gym and pay the latest trainees a visit?"

"Why me of all ponies?"

"You have a bit more freedom than everypony else here, being freelance. Plus, while you may not have been the best soldier in your class, you were certainly up there. I figured you could show them a thing or two. Maybe some new tricks you picked up in the Wasteland."

I thought about his offer. If I ever need to, it could be a good chance to blow off some steam. Plus, I might get a little training in myself while doing it.

"... Sure, I don't see why not. I'll stop by when I'm free."

"Great! Just come in whenever you get the chance." He said before waving goodbye. As he left, the familiar grinding noise came from my Pip-Buck.

Miscellaneous
- Stop by Brisk Bronco's gym

"What's that?" Joy spoke up.

"Huh? You mean my Pip-Buck?"

"No, I know what a Pip-Buck is. I mean the noise it made."

"Oh. It basically lets me know when I've gotten a new quest."

"Quest?" She cocked her head.

"Basically anytime I've been given a job or task, this thing marks it as a 'quest'. I don't know how it creates the quests without my input, but it does."

"You make it sound like it's alive." She scoffed.

"For all I know, it might be. It seems to have a mind of it's own most of the time." This made Joy stare at the strange device with much more curiosity. Even Cat was looking at it, seeming to understand our conversation.

"I've never seen any Pip-Bucks do something like that before." She mentioned.

"I think it's unique to my Pip-Buck. Either way, I'm not complaining. This is probably one of the most useful tools in the wasteland."

"...You should probably stay away from Steel Rangers while wearing that." She warned.

"Trust me, I'm aware."

After dinner, we returned to Joy's room. Since we'd be traveling together, I would be rooming with her. Cat went over to one corner of the room and laid down, claiming that as his place to sleep.

"Normally, they have two soldiers share one room, right? What happened to the pony that used to sleep here with you?" I decided to ask her.

"She... she was one of the ponies on our team that got killed." She explained in a somber tone.

"Oh... sorry."

"She had just moved in, so I didn't know her very well, but... y'know." She looked down at the ground, before looking back at me, determination replacing the sadness in her eyes. "I'll just have to keep fighting for her. I won't let her sacrifice be in vain."

Honestly, it was impressive how quickly she bounced back from that. She seemed to have a knack for staying positive. Still, I could tell the atmosphere was still somber, so I wracked my brain for a way to lighten the mood before coming up with one.

"Hey, wanna see something cool?" She perked up at that before nodding her head. I got into a stance and summoned every ounce of energy in my body to make this work. This, of course, lead to me making some weird faces and grunts as I tried to focus all my effort into my horn.

"...Are you trying to force out a fart or something?"

"Just...hrrrgghhh... gimme a sec ...hrrrrrrrggghhh!"

*Pop!*

After plenty of effort, I managed to summon a flame on the tip of my horn. While it was indeed small, the size of the flame was at least slightly bigger than what a lighter would make. Joy stared at the flame in complete awe and wonder.

"H-How... How did you do that!?" She beamed.

Ah, there's that award-winning smile.

"A friend... taught me... how to do it." I managed to say. It was still taking a lot of concentration to keep the flame going, so it was hard to focus on talking, but I was doing it.

Raindrop would be proud.

...

"...Bunny?"

I stirred from my thoughts when Joy spoke up. I realized I'd lost focus and the flame had died out.

"Are you okay? You had this... look on your face-"

"I'm fine." I quickly answer. "So, uh... should we turn in?"

"Uh... yeah, sure." She looked at me with concern before trotting over to her bed. I climbed into the other bed and got under the covers. It felt nice to be sleeping in an actual bed for once. Perks of sleeping in a stable.

"...Was it about that nightmare you had this morning?" Joy asked, still concerned about me.

"... Something like that." I finally answer. "Sorry, it's just... personal."

"I understand. We all have our demons. If you ever feel like you need to talk about it, just remember I'm here for you, ok?"

"Yeah, thanks."

As I laid there, I thought more about Joy. I could understand why Strict Morale gave her that name. There was just something about her that made you feel happy. A sort of child-like innocence. She wasn't completely innocent, of course. She knew about death and killing, and has probably had to kill ponies herself. But despite all the sadness and pain, she keeps trying to find a way to be positive, and that positivity spreads to others. It was a good trait to have. I felt a little guilty for acting like a jerk to her when the General made us partners. She was a nice pony, and didn't deserve that. Either way, I think I was starting to feel better about having her with us.

I closed my eyes and drifted off to sleep.

I had a feeling I would sleep well tonight.

Author's Note

Sorry this chapter took way longer than the others and ended up being shorter. I just started a new part time job, so my free time took a nose dive. I'll keep trying to write and update when I can. I plan on finishing this story, so don't worry about it getting dropped.

Edit: Okay, I added some more to this chapter, and fixed other things. Hope this made it better.

Thanks for reading!