“What!” I shouted as I shot my head up off my desk.

I looked around as I heard voices around me, slowly realizing that I was in class still. The other students around me seemed to have taken no notice at my sudden outburst. I slumped in my seat and turned to look out the window. As I did, I saw a bright light glowing in the raptor parked at the mountain. The sounds of the shipyard siren coming to life made my heart skip a beat.

“It’s going to explode!” I cried out, scrambling under my desk like every foal had been taught in the case of an emergency. As I hid under there, the others in class simply turned at me and laughed. Rogue, Shimmer, even Mrs. Chalk stood there laughing at me as the sirens wailed out. The only pony who didn’t, was Salt. He sat under his desk like me, his scared eyes glowing brightly for some strange reason as he looked at me.

“Look at dumb flat feathers down below the clouds!” Shimmer pointed her hoof at me. “Stupid stallion can’t even fly!”

“S-shut up!” I shouted at her. The sirens were glowing louder.

“Night?” My father’s voice came from behind me. I turned to see him standing in front of the window with a frown. “I’m disappointed in you. I tried to make this work, but you ruined my life.”

“Dad… why?” I reached out for him, but my hooves stuck stubbornly to the clouds. “I’m sorry, I’ll be better!” I pulled with all my might, but the clouds turned to the consistency of sticky taffy.

“It’s too late for that, Night. I don’t love you anymore.” He snorted.

No… this couldn’t be happening!

I struggled against the restricting clouds. No matter what I did, they refused to let go. Finally, with a strong kick, I desolved them. When the clouds vaporized, so did my wings, and without them I began to fall. Even as I fell, I could hear my father’s words.

“I’m sorry, but I’m going to see your mother again now.” His sad gaze watched as I plummeted down away from them. “Goodbye, Night.”

With a multicolored flash, everything went away.

I screamed and tried to get up. Quite abruptly, I found myself ripped back down when I did. I wasn’t proud of it, but a whimper escaped my muzzle from the pain that shot through my forelegs. Never had I pretended to be a tough stallion, but there was no point more than now where I wish I was.

“Woah, woah!” A voice called out to me. “Easy there.”

Cold metal cuffs had bound me down to what felt like a very lumpy bed. Even my wings stubbornly refused to open, feeling like they pressed against some sort of bindings. The air around me smelled heavily of rot and the wetness of rain. Mixed in with it, for some reason, was the smell of fresh flowers. The chafing of a dark blindfold over my eyes alarmed me, and a fear I’d never felt before in my life gripped my mind like it was intent on strangling the life from me.

“What’s going on?” I panicked as my heart beat wildly in my chest. “Where am I!”

“Calm down,” The voice spoke up again. “You were hurt, we brought you here to get you fixed up.” The voice was gruff, but feminine overall. It was a calm, but authoritative tone, not unlike the one that Mrs. Chalk used frequently. “Stay put, I’ll get the doc.” The sounds of a door opening and closing shook the air in the room, and the sound of hoofsteps leading down a hallway outside followed.

It was about then that my head started the pound like it was being assaulted from the anti-dragon cannons that the Enclave forces practiced with at the Neighvarro airbase. At least back then, Mom was always there to comfort me. But now she was gone, and so was…

“Oh luna… they’re all dead.” The bright light, the cave collapse, everything came back at once.

Heavy steps at an odd gait approached the door, and it opened with a soft squeal from it’s hinges. The air shifted as the pony entered the room, and I could tell even while blindfolded that they were massive just by the amount of displaced air that brushed across my wings. The same heavy steps from before followed the large pony in, and the door again shut with metal squeal.

“Hello there.” The new pony spoke, it was the voice of a stallion… I think. I was a bit off, but it didn’t sound hostile. More so, with the way he’d said just those two words, he sounded like he was fascinated. “And how are we feeling?”

“A-are you going to kill me?” I whimpered. I’m not going to lie, I was scared for my life right now, and I didn’t want this to be the end!

I was given a soft chuckle from him as a reward. “No, I am not.” He lifted a hoof and shifted what sounded like some papers over. “Now, just a quick question to assess if you’ve had any noticeable side effects from your head trauma, can you remember your name.”

“My name?” That was a question that gave me some relief at the very least. If they were going to kill me, I doubt that they’d have asked that. Or… fixed me up at all, now that I think about it. “I’m Night Flight.”

“Good, good.” The doctor spoke again, ruffling some papers as he did. “What is the last thing you remember?”

“I… was flying away from these monster… things.” I had no reason to trust these ponies. As nice as they’d been, you don’t strap somepony down for no reason. “W-where am I?”

“You’re in the medical room of Inuvik.” The gruff mare from before spoke up. “These monsters, what did they look like?”

“Giant bats, I guess?” Taking care of me? Not knowing what monsters I was talking about? I’d say that this was an enclave settlement, but I’d never heard of anyplace with such an odd name. “Where are we?” I asked again, pausing only a moment before correcting myself. “I mean, where in relation to Neighvarro city?”

“Neighvarro?” The doctor asked with a tone that felt to me like he’d never even heard of the place. “Where exactly are you from?”

“Four Peaks?” I sniffled thinking about it, sharply coming to the memory of what exactly happened. “It… it’s gone. It’s all fucking gone!” The thought of dad being dead was just too much. “How could this have happened?” I whimpered like a filly between my tears, once again uncaring what anypony thought of me. I was alone in my life. Everything I knew was gone, and I’d never see any of it again!

“Slow down, kid.” The mare snorted. “I’ve heard of plenty of places in my travels. I’ve never heard of anyplace with that name.”

The air shifted as the doctor took a single, heavy step forward. “You said it was gone.” He sounded puzzled again. “Mrs. Dalilah, you said that the afternoon he had his accident, that there was an issue with the cloud cover. Perhaps he is another of the Enclave refugees?”

If there had been an issue with it, then they would have payed attention to it! That must have been why I didn’t find anypony coming to investigate! I had to know what they’re talking about. “With the cloud layer? What is it?”

“It was a layer of clouds that separated us ground folk from the sky, but that’s not important right now.” He said rather matter-o-factly. “The afternoon you crashed, it apparently just up and disappeared.”

Ground folk? The cloud layer was gone? This… this couldn’t be happening! They had to be lying! The ground was poisonous, even if Salt told me that I’d find a settlement there!

Oh, Luna… Salt was still trapped!

“I have to go!” I pleaded. “My settlement exploded, and my friend, he was trapped in a cave with no supplies!” I wrestled against my bindings hopelessly. Oh, please still be alive!

“Calm down before you do something to injure yourself again.” The stallion physically growled at me. “I will sedate you to keep you from doing that if I have to, but I’d rather not.” As he talked, he took another heavy step toward me, and I could feel him angrily breathing down my neck. “I’m sorry to say, but you’ve been unconscious in this bed for nearly four days, on top of however long it took for Mrs. Dalilah to bring you here. Even if he didn’t asphyxiate, he’d have died of dehydration by now.”

No…

I whimpered and sat back into the bed again. The doctor and the mare started to talk again, but I didn’t hear anything they were saying. My mind drifted, trying to make sense of why this all had to happen. I found myself thinking about Dad. Why did he have to go to work? Why did we have to be transferred out to that backwater place that got them all killed? Everypony had died except for me, and I don’t even know why.

“Even if he were alive, we’re close to three hundred miles from where we picked you up.” The mare sighed. “Look, kid, I’m sorry to tell you this, but if you were from up there, you’ll have to get used to living down here on the ground.”

No.

“Take me back.” I growled. I didn’t yet know how or why this had all been set up, but what they were telling me was all lies. “Release me, and take me back, now.”

“Kid, I can take you back to where we found you if that’s really what you want.” She sighed and reached over to me. With her hoof so close, I could smell that the scent of flowers from before had been coming from her. She grabbed the blindfold and pulled it up, forcing me to squint as the assault of bright lights stabbed at my eyes. “But I don’t think you’ll find anything.”

As my eyes adjusted, the first things I took notice of were that the walls were a solid, rusting metal. This place didn’t have the design of any cloud building I’d ever seen. Moldy ceiling tiles sagged and drooped from the rusty frames that held them up, and the old light fixtures flickered every now and again. Overall, this place shared more aesthetics to the cave in four peaks than anything I would call a ‘building’ in Neighvarro City or Four Peaks.

Along with the odd construction, sat the ugliest pegasus I’d ever laid eyes on. Her discolored grey muzzle drooped with sagging skin, and her curly red mane frizzed out every which way from around her long, drooping ears. She glared at me with an uncaring look that burned through the old, scratched up pre-war cat eye style glasses that she wore, reminding me of the annoyed expression my teachers had when they were interrupted.

“Care to get the keys to his cuffs, Mrs. Delilah?” The doctor spoke from beside me. I turned to see why the air around him had felt so displaced, and I froze at the sight of what I found. “Is there something wrong, Mr. Flight?”

Before me, sat a massive black and white monster. Set on two normal sized hind legs, it stood twice as tall as any pony I knew, and had forelegs the thickness of the tree’s I’d flown past. At the end of them, sat appendages with incredibly large claws. His muzzle was slender, and his jaw ran with jagged peaks that felt to me like they could rend me in half all on it’s own. Sharp, triangular ears sat perched on the sides of his head, seeming just as attentive as his pale blue eyes.

“W-what are you?” I pushed myself as far away from him as I could, only to have him lean in close to me in response.

“Might want to back off, Doc.” The ugly pegasus snorted and smiled. “The kid’s never seen a snow dog before.” She sighed and rose up to her hooves, turning toward the door abruptly. I froze as the sight of her bare back jammed up my mind even further.

“Where are your wings?” That’s it! I’m just going to break down and wait to wake up from this nightmare. Nothing in the world made sense anymore, and I was just outright done trying to figure it out.

“Never seen a donkey before, either.” The massive monster spoke up. “Fascinating…”

“I’ll get the keys.” She sighed and opened the door. “Might want to keep him from having a mental break while I do. The kid might be useful, you know? Can’t have him working his way back home if he’s all mind-fucked.”

I did my best to clamp my eyes shut and tune this all out. “This isn’t scientifically possible!” I muttered, wishing more than anything I’d just wake up in my bed any minute now. Dad would yell at me for getting up late, and he’d apologize for having to stay late again. “This isn’t real,” again, my voice turned to whines, “this can’t be real…”

“Is there anything I can do for you?” The monster spoke in an attempt to convince me that it was real. I simply ignored him to the best of my abilities and repeated myself. “I can’t understand what kind of a shock for you this must be, but I assure you, that you are perfectly healthy besides the head trauma.”

“I can’t be!” I screamed. Turning as much as I could to face him, the cold hoofcuffs tugged painfully against my hooves. The old chains on them clattered against the bars they were secured against. “Don’t you understand?” I spat in short breaths, half crying and half screaming in anger at the monster who looked back at me sadly. “If it’s real... if I’m still here, than they’re all fucking dead!”

I sat there, panting in frustration as my rage drained through me. I let my hooves fall limply again, and I flopped back onto the bed. The door to the room squeaked and jarred open. It’s design wasn’t like the cloud home doors back home, actually closer to being a sealing door that they had on a Raptor. Through said door, the mare returned with a silver keyring in her muzzle. She raised an eyebrow to the doctor, who simply reached out a massive claw and plucked the ring from her mouth. She grumbled and sat down, turning her gaze back at me.

“Kid, I know what it means to have your life turned upside down, and I meant what I said.” She sounded genuine as she spoke. “I don’t know what you’ll find, but you can ride with us until we get back to where we found you.” As she continued, the monster reached over and very carefully inserted the key into the cuff on my right hoof. With a soft click, it released and dropped off of me. “If you don’t find the answers you’re looking for, then you can always come find us again.”

The monster loomed over me, reaching across me with his two massive claws. His extremely furry chest gave off a warmth that I found to be quite uncomfortable. “Why would you help me?” I whimpered. Another soft click preempted the other binding falling off of me. As soon as he leaned away, I scrambled as far back in the bed as I could.

“You aren’t the only pegasus to grace our presence in the last few days.” She canted her head back toward the door. “The wasteland is a harsh place, and you’re a young stallion. It’s not going to be easy for you to get back on your hooves out here, but I figured that you could use a hoof.”

“Thanks.” I didn’t trust this at all. Unless you were family, nopony did anything without asking for something in return. At least, not above the clouds that is. “I don’t have any bits, but I’d be glad to help out until I get back to my home.”

“Good. An attitude like that will help you make inroads down here on the ground.” She smirked and waved a hoof to me. “C’mon, let’s get you oriented with what it’s like down here on the ground.” She looked over to the ‘doctor’ and gave him a stern look. “I hope you’re quick to pack, because I have a good feeling that our package will be ready soon.”

“Sure thing.” The monster replied softly. “I’ll do one last check on my supplies before I head out for the evening.” I felt the air behind me shift, and by the time I looked back, one of his massive claws hooked under the ropes binding my wings and snapped them like they were plastic. I was so stunned at the fact that he had so easily severed them, that I completely missed the fact that the mare left already.

“Let’s go already, kid!” She called out from the hallway.

With as much expediency as my hooves allowed me, I decided to get as far from that thing as I could. As much as I wanted it to be a dream, I knew deep down that my life had never been that forgiving. Everypony I knew was dead, and I was left down here alone. Venturing out of that room, I left my old life and strode headlong into the world that existed below the clouds.

I’d only been on a Raptor cloudship once before on a field trip, but I was fairly convinced that this place wasn’t one. The rusting metal, numerous knocking pipes, and cramped halls felt old and neglected. Seriously, the halls of the raptor were at least twice as tall as these. How could ponies stand to get around with so little room? On top of that, the whole place itself felt like it pulsed as I followed the strange looking pony… er, donkey, through the halls.

“As much as I’d love to head out now,” The mare ahead of me spoke up, “Our party is still waiting on a certain delivery to be made here. It won’t take long, probably only another day or so at most, but we absolutely cannot leave without it.”

I found myself nodding to her like I understood anything that she was saying at all. Honestly, I wasn’t sure exactly how I got here, or even where here was. They’d called this place ‘Inuvik’ but that was just gibberish to me.

“I’m sorry to ask this, but where exactly are we?” I spoke up softly, not wanting to anger or offend the mare.

“On E-deck.” She muttered back nonchalantly. Slowly, she came to a stop and glanced back at me. “Or did you mean to ask where ‘here’ is?” I simply nodded to her. “We’re aboard the Inuvik. She was a prewar Icebreaker that was escorting a freighter through the northern sea. The day of the bombs, the two of them got stuck here, and the crews banded together to form a community, working along with a scientific outpost to the northeast of here in order to survive.” She looked over me and sighed. “That about do it for you?”

I nodded again, not sure what else to say. Again, this didn’t mean much to me, but it was better than nothing.

When she started walking, she spoke up again. “Fort Mac is about six hours travel to the south of here, just on the other side of Rock Ridge pass. Once we arrive there, I can arrange to have you taken out ahead to where we found you.”

“Fort Mac?” I muttered, the name sounding fairly familiar from my history class. “As in Big Macintosh, hero of the war?”

The mare sighed. “No, it was named after some general of back then. Macaroni Salad or some sort, but nopony ever calls it that.”

“I see.” Another useless fact for me to hold onto. “You said that we’re waiting on something, miss… I’m sorry, I can’t remember your name?”

“It’s Delilah,” She sighed and stopped next to a set of metal stairs that ran upward sharply into the ceiling. “And yes, we’re waiting.” She turned and prodded me with a hoof. “Speaking of which, can you go find my good for nothing son?”

“Your... son?” I repeated slowly, not quite sure why she even thought I could find him. I barely knew where I was in this ship past ‘standing in a hallway’!

“Good, your ears work.” She grunted, looking plainly annoyed at me. “Go find him and get his lazy ass up to the bridge for an update.” With a roll of her eyes, she pushed her old glasses further up her muzzle and grumbled. “And no, that wasn’t a donkey pun.”

“An update.” I repeated again, making her sigh even deeper. “Where do I…”

She pointed up the stairs. “He’s probably on Deck C wasting time at that local bar, or on Deck D at the gym.” She waved her hoof dismissively before walking to the set of stairs leading downward. “Just follow the signs that say ‘Recreation Room’, alright? You can read, can’t you?”

“Yes, ma’am.” I nodded and looked up the stairs.

“Good, come find me when you’re done with that and I’ll answer the numerous other questions you’re bound to have.” She rolled her eyes and carefully walked her way down out of sight.

Standing alone in the hallway, I felt awkward. What the hell was I doing? I didn’t know anypony here, and I didn’t know how anything worked around here! I mean, they were nice enough to patch me up, but still. I’m supposedly on an icebreaker that got stuck in the ice, surrounded by monstrous doctors and ugly ponies, whom I’m now doing favors for. Hoofing up my mothers dog tags, I knew that I needed to be strong for now.

A metal squeal down the hall I’d come from prompted a quick glance back. The black and white monster from the infirmary stepped out into the hall and cast a look over to me. A grin filled with sharp teeth and guaranteed pain spread across his muzzle, and my heart skipped a beat in fear. Scrambling for the stairs, I figured that anywhere else was better than here.

I climbed like the wind, getting a shiver as the cold, ambient air ran over my coat. I hadn’t realized how cold this place felt, which made sense knowing now that I was on a arctic ship, but somehow it only served to amplify my fear.

As I pulled myself up the last few steps, the large words that spelled out D deck met my eyes. The floor under my hooves on this level pulsed slowly, and a low drone thrummed along in time with it from down the hallway next to me. Poking my head out from the stairwell, the rusty red hallway stretched on what felt like the whole length of the ship. A large, black stallion stood propped up against the hallway a fair way down, a small pair of wings sitting curled tightly against his back.

Ah, finally! Somepony who looked normal!

“Excuse me!” I called out. The stallion didn’t seem to notice me, simply staring across the hall from himself as he smoked a cigarette. “Excuse me, sir?” Again, I called out as I trotted swiftly towards him.

He casually cast his glance over at me as I approached him, shifting closer toward another one of the sealed bulkhead-like doors. The closer I got, the more the floor vibrated, and the odd thrumming noise turned into the heavily muffled sound of shouting ponies. Next to the door, a faded sign caught my eye.

Recreation Room

“Yah here for da room?” The stallion snorted as he looked up and down over me. He took a slow drag on his cigarette as I nodded quite happily. “Yer late.” He grumbled before stepping away from the door.

“I hadn’t realized that I’d been expected,” I spoke meekly, fairly embarrassed. “But I’m just delighted to have gotten here this fast at all.”

“Whatever.” He grunted as he hefted his large hooves onto the wheel that sealed the door. With the same squeak as the others, he twisted the locking mechanism open and pulled the door open. Looking in, I found myself staring at another sealed door. On it, was the poorly painted words of The Wreck Room. “In yah go!”

Without a say in the matter, I found myself stuffed inside the cramped room. The door behind me slammed shut, and the metal arms swung around on it to seal it. From inside here, the chanting voices of the others in the next room, along with what I could feel was their rhythmic stomping made me shudder in fear with every pulse.

“No no no!” I attempted to scream over the almost deafening crowd. “Let me out!”

“Fillies and Gentlecolts, Snow dogs of all ages, welcome to… the Wreck Room!” The voice of a mare boomed through what sounded like a PA system in the other room. Her excited voice only served to rile up the crowd even further, who now stomped and cheered so loud that it made my head throb. “I am pleased to bring you tonight's match up, a fight that will no doubt be one to remember!”

“Oh Luna,” I whimpered to myself, not even able to hear over the roaring ponies. “I… I don’t want to die!”

“Our first contender is a self proclaimed veteran soldier out of the now defunct Enclave military!” But… I wasn’t a soldier at all! “Not one to fear the ring, she specifically requested to go up against our reigning champ, so you know she’s either crazy or just that damn full of herself!” I kicked and screamed at the sealed door behind me again in yet another futile attempt to get out. “At ten to one odds, folks, here she is!” The door in front of me squealed and swung open, allowing a blinding light to bath over me. “The fearless, Bombay!”

The crowd went wild as I held a hoof up to cover my eyes. I couldn’t see much around me, but the heavily illuminated room glowed an obnoxious rust red color. The smell of sweat and alcohol hit me hard, and if I’d thought it was loud before, I was wrong. The ‘ring’ I’d found myself in was a cubic cage, maybe twenty feet on each side. It was surrounded by old chain link fence, and just on the other side stood countless monsters and ponies alike.

“Our second contender needs no introduction. You all know her, you all love her!” The PA system called out again, drawing a prolonged cheer from everyone around me. “Here she is, your untouchable, unstoppable, and undefeated beast! Inuvik’s lead mechanic, Rosey!” My heart beat wildly against my chest so hard the I’d started to wonder what would kill me first, my opponent or cardiac arrest.

With a metal squelch that beat out the crowd, the door across the room from me swung open. A second bright beam shot down from the ceiling and illuminated the most imposing monster of them all.

Nearly twice my height, she was even more bulky than the monster in the medical bay had been! A chocolate brown color, she had a bright white spot that covered half her head, circling around across most of her short and extraordinarily mean looking muzzle. Her jowls sagged much like Miss Delilah’s had, and she had a very unhealthy looking underbite. With a heavy slam that I could feel from where I stood, she stepped out from her corner.

Thankfully, her massive forepaws didn’t bear the same knife like claws that the doctor had. Instead, they looked to be shaved down and blunted. Even so, that didn’t make them anywhere near safe. One swipe from her would be like getting hit by a steel beam.

“The rules of the match are simple.” The announcer blurted out more ecstatic than ever. “The first one to submit, loses the match. To submit, one combatant must stay on the ground to the count of five, or be rendered physically unable to continue.”

Oh thank Celestia, finally a break! I dove onto the floor of the ring, staring up at the monster across from me. She only formed a smirk from my action, and the crowd around me burst into laughter. I listened as they uttered insults and aggravated taunts for me to get up and fight. No thanks, I’d rather be alive than die for your enjoyment!

“A cursory sixty seconds must elapse before submission is legal.” The announcer chuckled. “Sorry kid, you made your bed and you have to sleep in it!” No, no I didn’t! I didn’t even want to fight anyone! “Ready?”

“I’ll do you a favor and make it quick.” Rosey growled over the crowd, lowering herself down onto all four of her massive limbs. “But I won’t go easy. I’m going to make you sorry you ever called me out.”

The sound of a bell ringing in my ears was deafening, and nearly blocked out the excited “Fight on!” from the anonymous announcer!

The will to run found it’s way to my wings. I spread them quickly and pushed myself up. The thicker air of being under the cloud layer made it easier for me to climb up, allowing me to shoot to the top of the cage relatively quickly. With a bit of a twist, I managed to lift the chain link a bit and hook my forehooves over one of the cages tubular supports.

“This is all a big mistake!” I screamed down at the very angry looking monster.

“You’re damn right it was.” She snorted and pointed a massive finger up at me. “Are you going to come down, or do I have to come up there?”

“You don’t understand! I’m not the one you were supposed to fight!” I screamed and pulled myself tighter against the tube. Could she really get me up here? I just needed to stay up here for a minute, right? Then I could just flop onto the floor and lose… right?

Lowering herself even further, she glared up at me. “Quit wasting my time!” She roared out and sprung up. She was like a massive bullet as she hurled herself at me. If I hadn’t hooked my forelegs around the bar, I might have been able to let go in time.

The force of her slamming against me knocked the air from my lungs, and I crumpled against the cage above me. As quickly as the hit came, the pressure left me and gravity took hold. Without the focus or breath to move, I slammed down into the floor on my side.

I didn’t even have a moment’s rest before I felt her massive paw grip around my hind leg. Without any effort at all, I was spun and thrown through the air. My vision filled with painful stars as I slammed against one of the supports so hard that I could swear that it bent. From all around, angry boo’s and insults were directed at me again.

Crying and whimpering, I slumped to the floor. I didn’t want to do this anymore. I wanted to go home and be with mom and dad again, not trapped in some nightmare where I have to go on without them.

“Pathetic.” Rosey snarled as she stomped toward me. I only managed a glance at her before a brown blur hit me across the cheek like a prewar freight train. The world went quiet for a moment, tilting over as I dropped to the floor. My body throbbed all over from the trauma, and my vision went in and out, all color lost from it.

Among the mass of ponies and monsters against the fence, one source of color came into focus. She was a pegasus pony with a coat as blue as the sky, and a mane the color of the blazing sun.

“Mom?” I gurgled, watching as she wore a horrified expression. She was shouting something I couldn’t hear, and raising her hoof toward the hulking form of Rosey. What did she want from me? How could she be here?

“You can call out for whoever you want,” Rosey’s voice pulled me back into reality. “but it’ll be the last thing you do today.”

I couldn’t pull my eyes away from my mother, watching as her expression shifted to one of anger. She raised her forehooves and mimicked fighting somepony. I don’t know why, but she wanted me to try to win.

“Okay.” I whispered before I felt the massive paw grip my hoof again. The world tilted again, spinning upside down as Rosey held me up.

“Wait a sec, you aren’t a mare.” She spat at me in surprise. It was the one break I had, and I was going to use it! Recoiling with my hind leg, I screamed out with all my might. Like a coiled spring, I kicked out as hard as I could. My leg connected to something solid, and that something snapped.

With a deafening roar of pain, I was thrown even harder than before. The world zipped by in a flash, then disappeared as I think I hit another pole. Everything went dark for me, and I knew that I was finished.

But hey, at least I got to see mom again. Even if it was for just one, last time.

“Captain, I think he’s waking up.” The voice of a strange mare sounded fuzzy to me, but it was the least of my concern as my head felt like it was trying to tear itself apart with each word. I think I gave out a groan, but just as I did, I felt a sharp prick in my foreleg before a warm numbing feeling washed over me.

Letting out only the ghost of a groan, I’d stirred myself to wakefulness a second time today.

“Woah there, easy now.” The soft voice of a mare reached my ears. Underneath me, I felt the same kind of lumpy bedding that I’d woken up to earlier. Only this time it felt bigger than the last one, and thankfully I wasn’t shackled to it. Even so, I barely had the strength to move at all, let alone open my eyes any. “I don’t know if you’ve got a death wish, kid, but you nearly got it.” The mare sighed.

Struggling as much as I could, I pulled my eyes open. Above me were not the same walls as I’d woken up to before. They looked to be made of wood planks, albeit a bit… fuzzier and a whole lot brighter. Turning my head slowly, I found that it was because of a very large and bright light on the far wall from me.

As much as I tried, I couldn’t get my eyes to focus. Shifting my gaze slightly, I found that instead of Mrs. Delilah next to me, another mare was in her place. Her red coat and white mane were as fuzzy as everything else, but what I wanted to focus on was the sharp looking horn that stuck out from her forehead.

“Fractured skulls aren’t something you should get right after being let out from having head trauma.” The mare grumbled as her horn glowed. A clipboard floated up next to her where she used a pencil to write with. At least, I thought it was a pencil through the haze I was viewing the world through. “Dr. Fix did what he could with that bone weave, but you’ll need to give it a day or so to fuse. Magic is great for healing, but it can only work so fast.”

“Thank you for your assistance, Sparkle Ray.” If I could wince from the gravely and scratchiness in this other mare's voice, I would have. “If you think that he is stable enough, you can head back to the infirmary.” A very fuzzy and mottled light orange colored mare stepped up behind the red mare. “Oh, and tell Quick Fix that I’ll be sure to get him something as thanks for doing this.”

“Yes, of course, Captain.” The red mare gave a slow nod before she turned and walked across the room. The heavy squelch of one of the bulkhead doors made me whine more than the new mare’s scratchy voice. It seems as we would have been left alone, and I’m not sure why.

“So.” The ‘Captain’ as it seemed, continued. “You have been quite the pony of intrigue around here.”

“What?” As whatever painkiller I was given set in, I decided to sit up. Though the pain was mostly gone, my eyes still couldn’t focus.

“You spent the better part of four days in our hooves, only to get up and fight in our arena under another’s name.” The mare sounded amused as she spoke, carefully sitting herself down next to me. “A bold move, but one that might not get you on the best side of a few unscrupulous characters around here.”

“I didn’t mean too, I was just…” I tried to explain, only to have a foul smelling hoof pressed up against my muzzle. Geeze, did nopony on the surface bathe?

“Hush now.” She spoke as softly as she could through her scratchy voice. “I brought you up here to find out just who you are.” With a small chuckle, she shook her head. “It’s not everyday we get somepony as interesting as you up here. You know, you had half of my bridge crew convinced that their captain was bringing a mare up to her bedroom.”

“I… I’m not a mare.” I pressed my hoof up against my neck, feeling the small metal ovals still hanging around it on a chain. Mom had always been so happy with how I looked. I missed the smile that she’d have when I’d come home with a new mane style, or a stylish dress from the cloud outfitters. I was happy that I could make her so happy, and now that she was gone, now that dad was gone, I didn’t know what to do about my looks.

“Child, I have been alive a very long time.” She sighed and turned herself toward the wall light. “I have seen plenty of stallions that look like mares. It is something that they most of the time embraced and wore proudly.” She paused as she stood at the light. “If you do not want to be seen as a mare, I understand. I know however, that some out there will be cruel and hateful about your looks. Know that here we do not judge.”

“Thanks… I guess.” I sighed, not sure what to think about all of that. “I’ve just always looked this way. I never changed because it kept my mom happy.” Carefully, I pulled myself out of the bed. The pain across my body spiked for a moment as I got to my hooves, drifting away as I could feel the odd texture of the floor under me. Looking down granted me a blurry view of the color brown. Spending my whole life up in the clouds meant that I barely stepped on anything but them. This… this was a new feeling. It was a lot like the rug in ‘The Den’, but… fuzzier.

“The others who came up with you to the bridge called you Bombay, but I assume that it is not your given name.” The captain’s voice pulled my gaze back up as she looked back at me. My eyes were slowly getting more focused, as I could tell that part of her orange muzzle was a mottled white. Her forelegs and side had bits of white and red as well mixed in with her orange coat, but I couldn’t tell why. I’d never met a pony with a coat with more than two colors before.

“My name is Night Flight.” Again, this grounder was being so nice that I saw no reason to be deceitful. “I’m… from above the clouds. My settlement was destroyed, and I left the ruins to seek help.”

“I am sorry to hear that.” The captain replied somberly. “Too many have lost their homes over the last two centuries.” She raised her hoof and waved me over to her. “Maybe with the news coming over the radio about this 'lightbringer', there will finally be an end to all the petty wasteland conflicts. Maybe we as ponykind will finally begin to rebuild the nation we so foolishly destroyed.”

“You sound like my teacher.” I spoke without thinking, only to remember that along with everypony else as four peaks, she was gone. “Well, how she used to sound.” It was hard not to drag my hooves. As I approached the light, I looked up to find something unexpected before me.

Even before my eyes finally focused themselves, I found that it hadn’t been a bright light on the wall, rather a window to the outside. A dense white fog whipped around the outside, while sheets of white snow blanketed the stationary form of the Inuvik. Sailing ships were something we’d only skimmed over in class, but it was unlike anything I’d ever seen.

If that hadn’t been amazing enough, off to the side of the ship, were several rows of somewhat buried cargo containers. Strings of lights whipped and shook in the winds that trailed across the snow covered ground, a number of bulky looking ponies scurrying about outside near the containers. Funny enough, if I hadn’t been told I was on the ground, I might have confused this place for a cloudship at a glance.

“I have survived in this frozen waste for two hundred years, alongside the ponies ancestors who sailed these ships through this straight.” The captain sighed out, having chosen seemingly random and odd words to speak.

“What do you…” I turned to ask her, only to freeze in fear. The Captain’s face was a pale orange cream color, and her red eyes were cloudy and unfocused. The wispy golden and white strands of what was left of her mane trailed out under her hat, matching the bleached bone that made up half of her muzzle. Her dry and rotten looking skin looked like it had been peeled back, revealing the few muscles under it that were still attached.

“When I say that we don’t judge looks here,” She stated as my eyes focused in terrified fascination on how the inside of her face worked when she talked. “It is because not all of us are beautiful in each other's eyes.” She cast her glance over at me, keeping a calm expression as I tried to formulate in my head just how she was still even alive. Along her back, fidgeted a pair of rotting and frayed wings. This mare had been… was a pegasus! Was this what would happen to me now that I was down here? “I can see that you aren’t accustomed to the strange and unusual things that you will find below the clouds. However, while there are some things you’ll find terrifying and scary, mostly you will find ponies and the like just trying to do their best to get by.”

“But… but…” I felt so lost. Everything down here was so surreal, a bad dream that I just can’t wake up from. “I don’t know anything about the ground. I wasn’t even finished with school, how could I survive down here?”

The captain gave a gravely giggle and smiled as best she could through half a muzzle. “My advice? Find yourself some friends, or even better, a family.” She cleared her throat, well, as much of it as she still had left, and straightened herself out. “When the world came to an end, the ponies here felt just as lost and confused as you. Those scientists returning to the research station heard the cries of these two ships over the radio and set out to help them, arriving just before the magical radiation of the bombs set in. I was one of the ponies who volunteered to go with them.”

She gave out a sigh and turned toward me, the bare muscles on her sides and forelegs entrancing as she walked back toward her bed. “We knew that their only chance to survive was to get them to the reactor rooms on the bottom deck. We worked quickly to rescue the others on the Empirica and get them on board the Inuvik and so we corralled and sealed ourselves down there.” Her smile dropped slightly as she looked at me. “There was barely enough room down there for the nearly two hundred ponies from both ships to be kept in there. After two days, supplies were running dangerously low. Without more food and water, we all would start to waste away.” Closing her eyes, she hung her head slightly as she rose back to her hooves. “So I made a judgement call.”

“You?” Already, I could see the parallels being drawn between the events in Four Peaks and her own story. “What was it?”

“I took myself, Quick Fix, and Dr. Aurora back to the surface.” She walked over to a large ornate looking desk, scooting some of the papers and things she had stacked on it to get to a drawer set in the back of it. “The radiation was much worse than we had anticipated, but still we had a job to do. Quick Fix raided the infirmary for as much Rad-X as he could find, while Aurora and I trekked our way across toward one of the Emperica’s cargo containers that her captain had said was full of canned goods.”

With a light touch, she slowly pulled an old, worn picture frame out from the desk, staring at it with a sad look. “By the time we’d found the container, we both had advanced radiation sickness. I wanted him to head back, to get somewhere safe. Before I could make him, I’d collapsed and passed out.” She pulled the picture up to her chest and paused. “When I came too, Quick Fix was trying to revive Aurora. Both Quick and I had been lucky enough that the necromantic radiation had changed us into ghouls, but Aurora wasn’t as lucky. He’d died right there next to me, refusing to give up.”

“I’m sorry.” Was all I could say as I reached up and gripped the tags around my neck tightly.

“For our actions that day, they made me the captain of our community. I carry on each day, protecting those on these ships so that they might one day get back home.” Setting the picture down on the desk, she turned and looked at me with the ghost of a smile. “They are my family, you see. I love each and every one of them, pony, snow dog, griffon, zebra. It matters not what you are if you exist on the ground, so long as you can work together for the betterment of those around you, you will always have a place in the wasteland.”

A knock on the captain’s door pulled our attention to it. With another squeak, the door swung open and a thin yellow stallion stepped in. “Captain, you have a call coming in.”

“Very well.” She nodded and got to her hooves. “Night, I’d like you to accompany me to the bridge.” I didn’t say anything, only getting up and following her as she headed out the door. The yellow stallion cocked an eyebrow at me with a smile as I passed him, making me feel extremely uneasy.

Just outside the captain’s room, was a set of familiar looking stairs. Straight across on the other side of them, was a long hallway that held an interesting sight. Dozens of open doors along each side were decorated in a different way from the next. The joyous laughs of colts and fillies filled the air as they darted along the halls, dipping into and out of the different rooms. A few various ponies poked their heads out, calling out to them as they ran around.

“Come now, Night.” The captain spoke from near the top of the set of stairs. Quickly, I ducked around the side of the stairwell and followed her up. Stepping onto the next deck up, we stepped through a bulkhead and onto the extremely spacious and widely windowed bridge. From here, all I could see out the windows was an endless sea of white.

The bridge itself looked mostly well kept, with only some spots of rust creeping along the seams of the riveted metal plates. Several command consoles still blinked and flashed various lights, and a few well dressed ponies stood around looking over charts and maps. One of the only non ponies up here, another of the dog monsters, had their head and forearms inside of a dark console, a set of tools nearby as they worked on it.

Following the captain, we approached a wide bench just behind the bright wooden helm wheel. It was a bit old school for navigation, but I liked the look a lot more than the computerized command chairs that the raptor’s navigators used. The pony sitting in front of the consol used her horn’s magic to lift up a rusty looking microphone, holding it out for the captain to grab.

“Go ahead, Ice station.” The captain spoke.

“This is ice station. The package you requested has been loaded on the motor sled.” The voice on the radio crackled slightly through the old console.

“This is boat, good copy on that and good job.” The captain nodded with a sigh. “You boys have a beer for me tonight. We’ll contact you when the sled arrives, over and out.” Stiffly, she shoved the microphone back to the radiopony and turned toward one of the other ponies down at the other side of the bridge. “Signal Flare?” She spoke up, catching the attention of a well looking red coated stallion by one of the windows. “Contact the Empirica, the motor sled should be here in a couple of hours.”

“Yes, ma’am.” He nodded and turned around to the console he stood by, hoofing a pair of headphones over himself. He reached a hoof up to a button on the console and started to press it repeatedly. As he did, a small light next to it flashed whenever he depressed it.

“Well, Mr. Night.” The captain turned around to face me, the bone in her muzzle seeming extra bright with all the white light that the windows let in. “What do you intend to do?”

“I…” I wasn’t sure, but I remembered that Mrs. Delilah still had wanted me to find her son. “The mare who brought me here offered to return me to where I was found if I helped them out. I’m supposed to go find her son in some bar.”

“I see. Well, you’ll find the saloon on the opposite side of my cabin on B deck.” She nodded as her cloudy eyes studied my face. “I understand the want to go back to where your town was, but don’t get your hopes up to feel any better when you get there.” She shook her head slowly. “And, while I can’t do anything about the reputation you’ve earned, you are more than welcomed to join the crew of my ship. We’re always willing to take on new crew who are willing to do their part, especially in the days to come.” With a wide smile, she looked out the windows longingly. “Soon enough, we’ll break through the ice and take this ol’ gal back home.”

Reputation? “Wait, what do you mean?” I blinked with zero idea what she was talking about. “What reputation?”

“Well, as I hear it, ponies have been talking about how the mare named Bombay managed to break Rosey’s jaw in the little fight that went on. Her flawless fighting record is now tarnished.” She canted her head and looked at me like a judgemental mother would. “And as everypony there had seen you do it, then you may have some very unhappy betters on your hooves.”

“But, I didn’t even want to fight!” I whined.

“Then you make it good between you and Rosey. If you square things off with her, than she’ll see to it that you don’t find yourself in trouble on the lower decks or over on the Emperica.” With a grunt, she put her rotten hoof on my shoulder. “I wish you the best, but now I need to ask you to leave the bridge. I’ve got a lot of work to do to prepare us for our departure, and I need to get to it.” Slowly, she turned herself around and stared out the window.

“Before I go,” I asked, taking a step backward toward the door to the stairs. “I gave you my name. I’m curious as to what’s yours?”

“I’m the Sky Captain, or just the Captain to you.” She grunted without turning around. “The mare I used to be died with the world, two centuries ago.”

That would have to do. “Thank you.” I replied, turning myself back toward the door. Walking, I made my way down the stairs, passing B deck where all of the joyous and rowdy noises still echoed down the halls.

Maybe… I should stay. I knew exactly what I would find if I went back to four peaks, and I’m not so sure I’d be better off if I went. Here, even though I was surrounded by strange ponies and monsters, at least it seemed alright. I’m not sure how I could build myself a life here, but it might be at the very least as start.

Coming down the steps to C deck, I stopped and ducked out the door. Turning towards the hall that lead to her cabin, I instead looked down the other side. Right where she said it was, sat the dark entrance to the saloon. I hesitated to step out into the hall towards it. If I did find Mrs. Delilah’s son, I guess I could always ask to continue with them if there really was nothing left of Four Peaks. The conflict in my head was pushed aside when the shuffling hoofsteps of a pony leaving the bar caught my attention.

The roughed up shape of a lime green pegasus mare with a mohawk appeared through the door. Her half lidded eyes met mine as she squinted in the brighter hallway lighting. A smile spread across her lips as she laughed.

“Hey, yer tha bitch who fought in Bombay’s plash.” She spoke in slurs, leaning against the bulkhead for stability. “Rock on, gir. Yah got me drunk frum mah winnins.” She let out a half a whinney before she almost fell over. “Shit, gotta go crass. Bombay’s inside if yah wanna kick her ash or shumthin. She yah later!”

Slowly and on very unsteady legs, she turned and walked herself down the hallway from me. Well, at least that was one pony in this place who wouldn’t kick my ass. Pushing myself forward, I crept up to the saloon door just enough that I could see into the darkened room.

“Kid?” The cranky voice of another mare called from inside. “You the one who took my place?” She groaned out. Making my way closer, I poked my head into the dark room and waited for my eyes to adjust.

There were a few scattered tables in the room, along with some booths that sat against the far wall. The bright lighting of the small kitchen in the back was muted by the cloth curtain that hung across it, and the sound of somepony doing dishes back there caught my ear. Along the wall directly to my right, was a long metal table that looked like the bars they’d had back in Neighvarro city.

Sitting muzzle down at the bar, was a very tired looking mare. Her pink and red striped mane sat over her face as she groaned softly. From what I could see, she was the only pony in the room.

“You the one who used my nickname?” The mare grunted. “Come here.” With a very floppy wiggle of her hoof, she waved me over. “I listened to the fight from up here. You didn’t get too hurt, did you?”

“I don’t really know. The doctor gave me some painkillers.” I wanted to keep this short and ask her outright where Mrs. Delilah’s son was, but she continued talking.

“Kid, I am so sorry that you had to go through that.” The mare groaned as she rolled her head on the bartop to get a better look at me. “One drink lead to another, and then to some… fruity… thing?” She scrunched up her muzzle and put her forehooves on her head. “Goddesses, what the hell did I drink?”

This was obviously going nowhere. “I’m looking for somepony, maybe you’ve seen him?” I don’t know what help she could be if she’d been as inebriated as she claims. “He’d be the ugliest looking pony in here.”

“Some ugly mother fucker?” She grunted and looked at me with a cocked eyebrow. “Can’t say I’d seen any ugly ponies, but there was this stupid son of a bitch mule hitting on me when I came in.” She lifted her hoof off the bar and pointed to the far back corner of the room. “Think he’s passed out over there.” Sure enough, slumped in the dark corner booth was a very passed out looking lumpy pony… thing. Different races of equines were weird to be around.

“Thanks.” Well, at the very least I could finally do what Mrs. Delilah asked. “Can ask you one more thing though?” The image of my mother at the fight crept out from the recesses of my mind. “Were you really in the Enclave?” If this mare served, maybe she knew where she was onboard.

“Yeah.” She groaned again, spreading herself across the bartop even further. “Worst job I’ve ever had.”

“Have you seen another pegasus around here? Most likely enclave as well, blue coat, bright yellow mane?”

“Don’t have to yell it.” She whined, “But yeah, I came here with her.” Once again, my heart skipped a beat. That was the best news I’d heard all day! “Her name is Serene skies. Fucking bitch tore my heart out to go sleep with Gale, the prick.” Waving her hoof angrily, she changed her voice to a mocking tone. “Oh, Slipstream, you’re too uptight for me. Gale knows how to ‘really’ have fun.” With a groan, she flopped her hoof down against the bar again. “Fuck her, and fuck Gale.”

That… wasn’t my mother's name. Nor to my knowledge did my mother care for other mares. Even though it was encouraged, I’d been the only one in my family to follow the Enclave’s suggestion to keep to the same sex. Honestly, it wasn’t that I exclusively liked stallions, there was the occasional cute mare I saw back at my old school. However, something about stallions just made my heart flutter. Now I’m off track again, and I really should get away from this mare before I somehow make her angry at me.

“Oh, I see.” I forced myself to say. Who was I kidding in looking for mom? She was dead. Dad was dead. My life was this now, and I didn’t even know why any of it had happened to me. Maybe I should just go with Mrs. Delilah, at least to see if there were any answers for me there.

“Say,” The mare spoke up before letting out a loud belch. “You wouldn’t be looking to help me get back by having some angry, drunken revenge sex, would you?”

Sleeping with a drunk mare screamed wrong to me, even if she wanted it. “I…” Casting my glance over to the passed out form of Mrs. Delilah’s son, I focused myself. “I don’t swing that way. I’m sorry, but I must be going.”

“Pft, your loss.” She waved her hoof at me before dropping it onto the bar top with a loud clop. “Bartender! Another whishkey!” As I turned back toward the corner she’d pointed me to, she spun and put her hoof on my shoulder. “Hey, kid.” She looked at me with her half lidded red eyes, seeming lost and unfocused. “Keep the nickname. With a bomb like the one you dropped on the crowd during the fight, it suits you.”

“Thanks, I guess?” I wasn’t sure that was how nicknames worked, but I didn’t care. I wrapped my hoof around my mother’s dog tags. My body was sore, and my head hurt, but I had to stay strong. Casting my glance over to the booth in the corner, I turned myself toward the drunken stallion. This place was so different than anything I’d ever known, but I couldn’t stop moving myself forward, at least, not yet.

I had to get back to four peaks, maybe then at the very least I could find out why my life crumbled under my own hooves. To do that, I had work to do. I’d promised to help Delilah until we got there, and I would do whatever it took to get her to keep up her end of the bargain. That started, with getting her son up to the captain.

Walking over, I recoiled at the stench coming off of the stallion. He wasn’t nearly as ugly as his mother. Along with having a crimson colored coat more befitting of a pony, he also had a few softer features on him than her. His ears were shorter, his muzzle wasn’t as pronounced, but his black mane was as ruffled and unkempt as his mother’s. Honestly, it was hard to even consider him her son with the way he looked. However, nothing down here really made sense to me, and I had a lot to learn about it. Carefully, I leaned down and pulled his forehoof up. With a bit of effort, I managed to work my way under him, getting him slung across my back.

He was heavy, but not so much that I couldn’t at least walk. Looking ahead out the door into the hallway, I gave a grunt and headed towards it. I knew it probably wasn’t, but if this was the least that I’d have to do to get them to take me back home for some answers, this would be worth it.

Yeah, back home. Just yesterday. Well, my yesterday. I hadn’t even known what I was going to do with my life in that place. I had nothing but the prospect of either joining the military, or working in that shipyard like my father. Now, I’m stuck in this ‘wasteland’ on my own with no direction to go but the one I chose.

However, so far, this hasn’t been too bad I guess. It’s been hard to understand, but the ponies who I’d been told couldn’t survive down here have already done so much to help me. I already owed them more than I could pay, and even without my parent’s here, I had to be the upstanding stallion they’d wanted me to be. I may not have legally been an adult in the Enclave’s eyes, but it’s time that I started to act like one.

Even now though, something in the back of my mind was nagging at me. Just a creeping little feeling that scratched at me just enough to where I couldn’t ignore it. Somehow, I just knew that it was telling me that perhaps my streak of bad luck was not yet over...

Author's Notes:

So! Once again, we begin yet another wasteland adventure! Wait, this time it's after the day of Sunshine and Rainbows!? Well, wouldn't you know, I figured it was about time to get up to this point in the timeline. I hope you stick with us on the fantastic journey ahead for Night Flight! I have to thank Sawyer and Dice Warwick for both editing and giving heaps of feedback on these first few chapters of the story! I'd be lost without them! Seriously, go read their stories, they are great!

Also, a much needed thanks to Kkat for crafting such a wonderfully diverse and colorful wasteland to play around with! Without you, this all wouldn't even exist!

Lastly, I'd love to thank Hnetu, Lost Art, Retl, Furryrailfan, Vanguard, Savage, Keanno, Bad Pun, Fiat, plus tons of others who've been such great friends over these past few years. Their support and help in my times of need have been a major driving force behind this story.