"Imagine, a day there and I already caused two people to cower before me, and based on how small the town was, word of me being some big, bad wolf spread like wild fire. Looking back on it, I know how you felt when you came back on Nightmare Night.", a dark blue arm drapes itself around my shoulder, and the weight of a moon nestles into my shoulder; urging me to continue my story.

Twilight kept me for two more hours, most of the questions she asked got long, thought out answers. By the time she asked the last query, I was certain I could answer it without a problem. But what she asked stunned me; even after I answered her, I found the question stuck in my head.

"Okay, last question and we'll call it a night. What made you join the EQMC? Why not the Canterlot Guard, or the Equestrian Army?"

"I joined the Marine Corps because I wanted a challenge. I wanted to see combat. Plus, I had nowhere else to go. I'll come back to this in a minute... to answer the other part of the question; the Canterlot Guard are pussy hooves. They get paid to sit on their asses and look nice, while the Army and Marines are out there actually fighting; all the while we get paid half their salary. The differences start with the uniforms- what I'm wearing is standard issue to all enlisted marines. What they wear is glorified Colt Scout uniforms, made for decoration. Next is training; their training focuses more on drill than anything else, I'd be surprised if they could fight with the spears they're given. Every recruit, every officer, everypony in the EQMC is first and foremost a rifleman; which is why it makes a single marine the equivalent to a squad of infantry in the army, and a battalion of Canterlot Guards.

"As for the real reason I joined, we gotta visit my past. Before you get ready to turn on the water works, let me make one thing clear; I had a normal life growing up. My family wasn't the richest, but we sure as hell weren't the poorest either. I had a few close friends, much like you with yours. Occupations forced us apart. Some of my buddies went to university after high school; I never had the grades to even dream of attending a college, I slid through school with mostly 'C's. As for the guys who didn't rush out of Marecinnati, they settled down and accepted life immediately. They had two things I didn't; a stable relationship with a mare, and a useful talent," I rolled my sleeve up, revealing a string of sinew and a lacrosse stick, "Remember how I said the only thing I was good at was lacrosse? Well my damn talent fits with that sport. That's sinew; it's used to string a crosse. That's literally all I'm good at- stringing lax sticks. It'd be great if it was easier to get into that business.

"Believe me, I tried during the last two years of high school. I crash and burned pretty slowly. While business moved along at a nice pace, I realized early on that I was losing money, not gaining it. After my first year, I had picked up a second job just to break even. Senior year, I still made sticks, but they were horrid in comparison. Without proper funding, I couldn't buy the right wood to shape the stick out of. A lot of them broke during the bending process, and countless others were just too fragile to play with. Soon, people just stopped coming to me for everything- stringing, repair, and new sticks. Now what's this have to do with me enlisting, you ask?

"Well, without a proper profession, or grades to move onto college; there was no future for me. I had been receiving pamphlets since my sixteenth birthday from all the various recruiters in the area. I looked back through them, and realized that if I couldn't do anything worthwhile there, I might as well make a difference somewhere else. I chose the Marine Corps for the challenges that the Army and Guard couldn't offer me. I knew full well that I'd see combat, and I was damn ready for it... or so I thought. You already know what happened to my squad mates, but that wasn't the end of everything; let's just say lady luck has never been on my side.", I subconsciously rubbed my chest in the same area all the shrapnel had to be removed, "That's... well let's save that for a later date. It's getting late, and I wouldn't want to give you night terrors, so if ya don't mind, I'll be taking my leave." I rose to my feet, and quickly stretched my upper body. The sound of paper crumpling up made me remember the letter I wrote to Celestia, "Oh, before I forget, mind sending this for me?"

I set the letter down on the coffee table in front of me, and walked out the door, and into the comforting embrace of the night. The walk back to my house was slow; I made sure to take my time and relish in the moonlight. I had never told anyone of my time in the military, and now was my opportunity to get it all off my chest.

The walls around me were covered in blood, and there were only two entities in the room; me and the Al Flighta boss that I executed. We were locked in a stare down, neither one of us backing down. After a minute of staring, a devious grin emerged on his face, revealing sharp, dragon-like teeth. Before I knew it, what I thought was a demon flashed into existence in place of the griffon. He spoke softly, and tried to talk me into a rampage.

"You know, I don't think this town likes you... that has to piss you off. I bet you'd like to shoot everyone here, just like you did over there. The streets would run red with the blood, and above everypony else would stand you; the soul survivor."

"Demon, you are wrong. That part of my life is over. I will not kill those who I fought hard to keep alive."

Come on Drifter, you and I know you're nothing but a killer. I'll take the blame, you can tell everypony it was me who shot them. They don't trust you, nor do they want you here. They don't accept you, they don't need you, and you don't need them. End their worthless lives. You'd be doing them a favor-"

"NO, begone from my mind, you are no longer welcome here! I will not do what you want, I will never listen to you."

Slowly the world around me faded, and I bolted upright in my bed, sweaty and clammy. Looking to my right, I saw it was still night time, however I found myself unable to sleep, I rose from the bed, and went to the living room. For the rest of the night, I sat idly, watching infomercials on T.V. When day came, I was more than ready; I rose from the recliner and was about to make a simple breakfast, when I remembered I hadn't even bought groceries yet. I decided it best to just go into town, and buy some fruit for a quick and simple meal.

I slowly laced my boots, and started my trek into town. I reached the market right as the morning rush started; however every stand I approached seemed to be out of stock, or the workers on break. I was about to give up, when I passed an apple cart with a familiar orange mare standing by. "Heya, partner! It's Drifter, right?", I nodded my head, "Right then, Drifter, what can Ah get ya?"

"Three apples, please.", I responded groggily.

She handed me the produce in a paper bag, "That'll be five bits."

I handed over twice that amount, "Keep the change, think of it as payment for making sure I didn't kill anyone the other day." I flashed her a smile, and continued on to the library.

A few blocks from my destination, I was stopped by three young fillies; the infamous Cutie Mark Crusaders. As I recall, Scootaloo was the first to talk, "Mr. Drifter! Just the stallion we were looking for! Before you ask, I'm Scootaloo, this here is Sweetie Bell, and that's Apple Bloom; and we are-"

The three joined in unison, "THE CUTIE MARK CRUSADERS!"

"Today me n' the gals decided it'd be a good idea to become Cutie Mark Crusader soldiers! We were wonderin' if-"

"I know what you're going to ask, and the answer is no. Girls, trust me there is no way you would want to do what I did. You are all too young for me to tell you war stories, but trust me when I say you don't even want to know what I've gone through. Besides that, you're parents would kill me if I taught y'all anything. I want you guys to go off and think about what it'd be like to lose your best friends, and if you knew you'd never come home. If you can come to terms with that, then I'll consider sharing a single story with you."

The three fillies sighed in disappointment, and walked off to who knows where. All I was focused on was what Twilight would ask me that day. I was in for a rude awakening when I got there; instead of questions, she got me a job taking care of animals with Fluttershy.
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Author's Note

Two chapters in one day? FUCKING INCREDIBLE! Sorry, this chapter just came to me out of nowhere and said, "Theta, ignore sleep. You still have five hours before school, you're so awesome, I bet you can write me down and still have adequate time to sleep!" All I have to say is, I won't regret this tomorrow afternoon, but I will hate myself for it in the morning. Oh well, enjoy! By the way, drill (more properly known as D n C or Drill and Ceremony) is just basic marching along with a few other commands to make one look good. It serves no real purpose (although it was put in place to instill discipline in soldiers). I guess it still does, but that can be debated.