“The secondary bridge of this ship was abandoned over a century ago. Mostly because the heat doesn’t vent up here anymore, and all the ground ponies can’t handle the cold like we fliers can.” My very chatty new friend informed me as she lead the two of us out of the vents and into a very rusty stairwell. “In the time that I’ve been waiting here with my father, I figured it’d be a nice place to be alone every once in awhile.”

“How long have you two been here?” I asked as the stairwell around us gave a distinctly worrying groan.

“About four months.” Hispano remarked almost casually as she climbed up the stairs. She must have known how my wings were feeling, because she hadn’t used hers once since we’d been in the vents. Looking back over my drooping wings, I grimaced. Then again, it wouldn’t be that hard to figure out I was in no shape to fly.

“Where did you live before here?” I asked with a sigh. Hanging my head, I tried to force the memories of dad and home back out of my mind. Mom and Dad taught me to be adaptable, to be comfortable with change because life was unpredictable. This was my life now, and I couldn’t spend the rest of my days lost in the pain of the past. I’d only taken my eyes off where we were going for a moment, but it only took that moment for me to end up bumping into Hispano’s duffle bag with my muzzle.

“We’re here.” She grumbled as she put her talons on one of the bulkhead doors. With a grunt and a stiff shove, she swung the heavy door open. Oddly enough, unlike all the other ones on these two ships, this door made no noise whatsoever as it moved on it’s hinges. “Why do you care where I lived? I’m here now, end of story.”

The bridge up here was nearly the same size as the one on the Inuvik, but felt distinctly more creepy from it’s state of decay. The large windows that looked out into the icy expanse were mostly covered, the fading light of day barely getting around the edges of the hastily welded on pieces of steel that had been put up over them. Old foggy gauges sat cracked and unused on the various instrument paneling, and several tables with yellowed maps and charts sat upturned and covered in cobwebs. Oddly enough, there were a few coffee cups still set on some of the helm positions, and they looked to be as clean as any above the clouds.

All the way at the other end of the bridge however, was an interesting sight. Old blankets had been pitched out between a few of the consoles like the canopy of an expansive tent. A pair of old mattresses and a few pillows had been spread out across the floor under it, looking well worn with age. On the other side of the tented area, sat an old rusty tool chest that was absolutely covered in old books, newspapers, and magazines. The softly glowing lantern next to them flickered as a whistling gust came through the doorway into the stairwell.

“Ugh. Do I have to do everything?” Hispano groaned and dumped her bag onto the floor. With a huff, she shoved me aside from the door and wrapped her talons around it again. With a metallic clang, she closed and sealed it.

“Sorry.” I whined. “Still getting used to the way things are down here.”

“Look, you want some free advice?” The tiny griffon walked past me, easily scooping her gun bag back onto her back before heading over to the tented area. “Living down here is easier when you make sure others know you’re good at something. Work hard at what you’re good at and others suddenly stop giving you so much shit about everything.”

“But…” I sighed, twisting myself and looking back at my flank. My blue coat was a little roughed up from the week away from things like showers, but it was just as glaringly blank as it had always been. “I don’t even know what I’m good at.”

Seventeen years. In that much time, I’d never discovered what I was good at. Back in Neighvarro city, it wasn’t so much of an uncommon sight for a pony my age to be cutie markless. There were plenty of us ‘late bloomers’ as the others called us. It was normal for a pony up there to go their entire colt or fillyhood cutie markless up until enclave training. It was expected that if you didn’t have your cutie mark by that point, it would have meant you were probably destined to be an expert in some sort of military capacity.

“Well, you’ve got your looks going for you at the very least.” The tiny griffon sighed as she basically threw herself down onto the mattresses, sprawling out with a soft mewl. “Most stallions don’t mind pampering a pretty mare so long as she puts out in the bedroom.”

“Wh...what?” I stammered. “I’m… I’m not a mare! I’m a stallion.”

“What?” Hispano answered sharply, quickly shooting a look back to me. “Bullshit. I know ponies are hard to tell apart sometimes at a distance, but I would have noticed that.” With a quick flutter, she pushed herself up and into the air, zipping out of her tent and landing with a soft flap next to me. I froze up as she practically buried her beak under my belly and took a good look at my goods. “Huh… so you are.”

The whole exchange drew a bright blush across my face, and I quickly took a step back from her. Sure, I’d been confused with being a mare at first glance, but even Delilah had noticed. Though… she had an entire week to do so. Or the Doctor could have informed her. I could see this becoming a big problem in regards to having a lot of unwanted attention in the future.

“This could become a really big advantage in the future for you.” Hispano chuckled as she looked over me intently. “You know how many ponies you could kill with looks like that?”

“What!?” I gasped. “I… I’m not a killer!”

“Calm down, not every job would need you to kill somepony.” She cooed. “Bounty hunting is a legitimate trade here on the ground. Good money in it too if you’re good at it.” She sat on her haunches and folded her talons across her chest. With a canted head, she squinted and smiled. “Yeah, it would be real easy for you to get close to somepony, make them comfortable right before wham! You clock them right over the head with a power hoof, and it’s lights out for them.”

“I’m… not sure I could live with myself if I ever killed anypony…” I sat down, wincing as my flank pressed against the cold steel flooring.

“You’ll have to one of these days.” Hispano shrugged and spread her wings. With another quick flap, she zipped herself back over to her tent and landed on the mattresses inside. “Everypony who grew up safe from the wastes pops their murder-cherry the first time they venture out in it. It’s only a matter of time.”

That was absurd! Pushing myself to my hooves, I puffed up my chest and strode over to Hispano. “Now, you listen here. I will never kill anypony, either willingly or if I’m told to.” My scathing words were probably a little more than I should have used toward the griffon who’d saved me earlier, but I was going to stand by my morals.

Instead of anger at my words, Hispano only giggled. “You’re as naive as one of those stable dwellers, you know that?” Her giggling only intensified as she continued. “I mean, you just had me kill somepony to save you not ten minutes ago!” My mind went blank at that, and I felt my ears press down against the side of my head. She was right. While I didn’t kill them with my own hooves, that pony was dead now because I wanted him to be. Hispano however didn’t seem to care, starting to roll around as she laughed out of control. “You’re too good! ‘I’ll never kill anypony!’ Ha! What a riot you are.” She mocked me with her words, and it stung.

“Hey, would you look at that?” Looking up at my rear, her eyes went wide. Her talon pointed at my flank as she gasped. “A raider cutie mark!” I went wide eyed and looked back at my flank in horror, only to find that it was mercifully still blank. “Baaha!” She giggled again and rolled over into her pillow. “Too good!”

I was a monster.

Stumbling back, my rear hooves gave out and dumped me onto the cold floor. As I flopped down, the thoughts of Mom and Dad were back. What would they have thought of me? Their son, the murderer. What if that pony had a family? What in Celestia’s name have I done? I let out a whimper and pulled myself into as tight of a ball as I could. I… I had to turn myself in. I had to pay for the life I’d stolen and do whatever I could to make things right.

“Woah, Dum Dum.” Hispano gasped between her giggles as they trailed off. “Take it easy. It was just a joke.”

“No… I got some pony killed.” Twisting my head up, I looked up to her. “That’s not who I am! I can’t be a murderer.” I sniffled as my eyes watered up. The look on her face was at the very least one of understanding.

“Yeah, they’re dead because of you, but you’re not a murderer.” Reaching up, she pulled off the leather cap and goggles from her head. Her head feathers now free of the confining headgear, they puffed up and darted every which way messily. “I shot that stallion because if I didn’t, he would have killed you.”

“You don’t know that!” I snapped at her. “He could have just beaten me until he got bored, or maybe…” I sighed. Who was I kidding? He and his buddies attacked me with silverware. Silverware for Celestia’s sake! They wanted to kill me, and I panicked by asking Hispano to kill them first.

“Trust me when I say that it was self defence.” She nodded, giving me an uneasy smile. “So please, don’t tear your pretty little mane out because of this.” Uneasily, she turned and pulled the gun duffle bag over to her and unzipped it. Almost reverently, she removed the large gun from the bag and pulled it close to her. Wrapping her talons around it, she pulled it close and nuzzled the barrel. The flickering lantern light drew my attention to the ornate silver embossed lettering that sat on the lower block of the gun’s receiver.

A thought kicked itself into my mind, and I hastily grabbed on to it over the thoughts of the stallion who was no longer alive because of me. “You said that the gun was named after your sister.” I spoke softly, rubbing my watery eyes. “Why?”

“No, she’s not named after my sister. Suiza is my sister. She was one of the best talon mercs who’d ever lived. Well, to me anyway...” A soft but sad smile sat across her beak as she reached down and ran her talon over the embossed name. “But the wasteland is a cruel place, where even the things that the one’s who love you say, can end up getting you killed.” With a heavy sigh, she squeezed the gun tight to herself.

“I don’t understand.” She was speaking oddly, almost avoiding the topic. I could see that it was making her uncomfortable, and it was probably best to drop it.

“My father,” She huffed with a resentful tone to her voice. “He always remarked that Suiza loved her cannon more than she loved him.” Her eyes wavered as she spoke, tearing up. “She always said she loved me more than that stupid gun, but I joked along with dad. ‘Maybe she should just marry it’.”

I sat and watched as the last of the daylight outside the covered windows dimmed, and only the flickering lantern next to Hispano illuminated the tears rolling down her cheeks.

“Six months ago, she was out on a mission when she was shot down saving her idiot wingmate’s life.” Hispano carefully pushed the gun off of her, setting it down on the mattress next to her. “She fell into a patch of killing joke, and…” She paused, slowly putting her talon on the gun’s receiver. “Her wingmate said that this is what became of her. Her gun and her, finally one and the same, together forever.”

“I still don’t understand.” I blurted out. Reflexively, I found my hooves shoot up to my muzzle, but the damage had been done.

“Killing joke changes you.” She snapped at me. “It takes your body and magicly fucks it over until you’re something you’re not supposed to be. My sister was lucky and probably didn’t even feel a thing. I’ve heard of others lasting minutes or days in agonizing pain before dying from it’s stupid fucking jokes. That’s all you need to know about it, and you better hope that you never fucking see a patch of it in your life...”

“I… I’m sorry.” I whispered. “It wasn’t my intention to bring something so painfull up.”

“Yeah, well you fucking did.” She sniffled and turned herself around with a huff. She flopped down again, shoving her face into her pillow. “Fucking seriously, Dum Dum.” Her muffled words made me wince again, but I deserved it.

“My name is Night Flight.” I whispered, laying myself down onto the cold floor again. Closing my eyes, I listened as the wind whipped against the ship outside, the low drone of it almost drowning out the soft sobs that Hispano cried into her pillow. Part of me wanted to go, to leave her to her sorrows and get back to going where I was supposed to be. I couldn’t convince myself to move though. I wanted to say it was because she’d said we needed to lay low for a while, but that wasn’t it. For as fucked up as the little griffon was, I owed her.

With a soft sigh, I curled myself up, and waited to drift off into what would hopefully be a short nap before we got moving again. If anything, she’d know to wake me up when it was time to go. And when it was finally time, hopefully I wouldn’t need to have her murder anypony else.

Waking with a yawn, I felt surprisingly warm. Uncurling myself slightly on the floor, a glorious amount of heat poured down from above me. It felt good to have actually gotten a simple nap in. No horrible wasteland hanging in my mind, no horrible wasteland dwellers coming to kill me.

Then again as I was learning, the wasteland was unpredictable.

“You.” The seething hatred that came from a voice just above me prompted my eyes to shoot open. I looked up just in time to see a large white griffon reach down and grip around my neck with his talons. “You stay away from my daughter and go do your whoring someplace else.” The sharp and nearly serrated beak of the imposing griffon was almost as troublesome as his tight grip around my neck. He was covered in more scars than I cared to count, and the top of his head was twisted, burned, and featherless from what looked like a hit from a magical energy weapon. His piercing red eyes bore into me like hot coals as he used his tremendous strength to pick me straight up off the floor.

“Hnrgth!” I tried to speak, but his grip was cutting off my breathing. Panic set in, and I tried to flail as best I could against him.

“Dad?” Hispano’s weary voice came from behind before she gasped loudly. Like a bullet she was on his arm, trying to break his hold. “Dad, stop! You’re hurting him!”

“What have I told you about stallions?” He snapped at her, only tightening his grip around my throat. Darkness began to claw at the edges of my vision, and my head pounded to remind me that more trauma wasn’t what it needed! “They are greedy sons of bitches who aren’t to be trusted.”

“He hired me!” She snapped back at him, still tugging at his arm. Those words seemed to do the trick, as he released me. I felt to the floor in a gasping heap, the world full of spinning stars for a few moments. “What the hell are you doing making assumptions like that when you keep telling me never to do the same damn thing!”

“You are too young to be hosting your own contracts.” He grumbled angrily. “After last time…” he was cut of with a small smack.

“Last time was because of Suiza, and because you weren’t fucking there for me.” Hispano’s voice was harsh, but from what I could gather about what she’d said happened, I could tell that the whole event had strained their relationship. With a flutter, Hispano dropped down beside me and wrapped her talon around my neck. Not to strangle me, but instead to help me up. “Night here hired me to take care of some stallions who were out to kill him. I was forced to shoot one, and we came here to lay low for a while.”

That sent a pang of guilt through me. We weren’t forced to kill them! She did it happily and without a second thought!

“I should have known it was you.” Her father groaned, running a talon down his face with a sigh. “However, seeing that your little ‘job’ is finished, it’s time for him to go.” Stepping forward again, he reached out and grabbed around Hispano’s arm, pulling her off of me as I got my hooves under me again. “Solomon was apparently delayed the last few days by a landslide in Sparrow’s pass, but have been back on the road here. The detour means they will arrive a few days from now, so don’t wander off again.”

“Yes, dad.” She sighed before looking over at me. “You alright to find your way back, Dum Dum?”

Ugh, that name infuriated me. “Yes.” I grumbled in frustration as I turned myself back towards the door off the bridge. With much less effort than before, I managed to pull my wings up tight against me. The rest did wonders for them, and they were only mildly sore now. Probably not enough to fly me up any more stacks of containers, but I hoped I wouldn’t need to do that anywhere in the near future. Looking back over my shoulder at her, I found her expression had dropped from the happy one she’d mostly been wearing since I met her, to a defeated and depressed look. “Thank you again.” I spoke up making her look up at me sadly. “I hope you’ll come find me again sometime.” I offered a smile to her, immediately not knowing why I’d chosen to say something so stupid. However, it did happen to draw out her happy expression again. “You know, for…”

“I know.” She snapped nervously, cutting me off as she shoo’d me off with her talon. “Now get going and stay out of trouble.”

“I’ll try.” I sighed, turning around and heading past the old conning stations on the bridge and out through the bulkhead. Once back into the old, dark stairwell, I looked down into the dark abyss below me. Again I was on my own without any idea where I was supposed to go to get back. Then again, so long as I avoid any more doors with pegasus bouncers standing at them, what could go wrong? I was on a ship in the middle of the arctic so really, how hard could it be to find my way back?

The symphony of groaning metal and odd clangs and ticks that ran through the numerous pipes around me kept me on edge. Of course, the rickety stairwell didn’t help, giving more groans of protest as I went down than it had on the way up. Still, I’d descended so many stairwells on hoof that I was starting to become dizzy from the constant spinning around the railings headed down. The repetition was so boring to my mind that I’d almost missed the two sets of vent grating that sat almost invisible on the stairwell walls. A bothersome thought cropped up in my mind and grew like a bad itch.

“Shit… which one did we come out of?” I spoke to myself. I paused as my voice echoed in the darkness around me, sending a shiver up my spine. The world below the clouds was dark and full of terrors, and who knew what lurked in the shadows. Even on a ship this big, there were bound to be places no pony had been for years, and I didn’t want to even think about what horrors might be found in them.

“Okay then, think.” I sat myself down, raising a wing to brush my mane back as part of my bangs fell against my muzzle. “It was mostly a straight walk to one of the junctions that met up here, so it might not matter which one I choose…” I let my voice drift off as a low drone came through the vents closest to me. I took a deep breath, holding it as if I didn’t, some enormous monster would hear me breathing and come snatch me up. However, as I breathed in, a sweet scent hit my nose from the air coming through the vent. I smiled as I realized what it most likely had been from. “Oh, the market must have been this way then!” Reaching up, I wrapped my hooves around the vent cover and pulled.

It didn’t budge.

“Stupid.” I snorted, reaching forward with my wings and slotting them through some of the wide slats. With a grunt I pulled again, hearing the vent cover groan slightly but still refuse to budge. With a sigh, I relaxed a bit, adjusting my grip again. “Dammit. How did she make it seem so easy?”

Crouching down and nearly hanging off the vent cover, I took a few deep breaths. Then, I tensed up and gave the vent all I had. With a squelch from the cover and a yelp from me, the metal vent cover dislodged and flopped down on top of me as I fell back onto the walkway. The walkway in turn gave it’s own groan, followed by a sharp snap as part of the railing sheared away.

Pushing the vent cover off of me, I scrambled to get back to my hooves. Another snap resounded as I did, and the whole rusted floor under me shuddered before bending under my weight. Pushing off, I nearly threw myself into the vent, flopping into it with a whine. The whole section of rusted stairway gave one last shudder before it folded down and dropped down on to the floor below it. With a sigh, I pushed myself up and sat myself back against the vent wall.

Seriously, was this going to be my life from now on? Was it going to be danger at every turn, ponies out to kill me in every room I find myself entering? How could anypony have adapted to life down here if that was the case? Everypony who’s been helping me has seemed so together, so sure of how they need to be to survive. I didn’t want to be destined to need somepony to hold my hoof through everything everyday.

“I won’t be, damnit.” I grunted as I shoved myself back to my hooves. My parents raised me to be a strong, independent stallion! True, they were gone, it hurt, and I couldn’t bring them back. But I needed to go on living for them. I still need to be a pony they’d have been proud of calling their son.

Pushing myself forward, one hoofstep at a time, I started to move forward into the dark vent. The air ahead felt thicker, and the sweet scent wafted through the air thicker with every step. Along with the smell, I could feel the air growing warmer, heavier with water the further I went. It was as if somepony had simply filled the vents somewhere ahead with a tropical raincloud and was slowly letting it seep throughout the whole ship. Underhoof I felt a creak, and I immediately stopped and looked down. It was hard to see in the near darkness, but it was another vent grate like the one’s everywhere else in the ducts before. However, unlike the others, this one gleamed with wetness. I was amazed that for some reason, it didn’t seem to be nearly as rusted or corroded as the vents before had been.

As if just to spite me, the grating under my hooves gave out, dropping me down into the slanted shaft below.

I gave out a yelp as I slammed down onto my side in the vent, struggling to get my hooves to grip on anything, but the old metal was slick with liquid. The sweet smell changed and was replaced with a pungent smell that filled the air. It was only getting thicker as I slid down, and the air itself felt even more humid as I began to panic again.

I felt myself go weightless as the slanted shaft dropped out from under me again. With another slam, I dropped into another slanted shaft. Quickly I flailed my wings, trying to find some angle to get them open to stop myself from sliding. As I slid, I finally found an angle to get them open almost enough. Then once again, the bottom gave out from under me.

With another slam and whimper, I dropped into yet another slanted shaft. Only this time, at the bottom, I could see light coming up through another old grating. Still sliding too fast, I used both my hooves and my wings to try to slow myself. The sticky fluid under me was yellow and had the consistency of wet baking powder. Along with it, the smell of vegetation felt like it was ripping its way through my nose and sinuses. It was so heavy that I wished that I could physically grab on to it to stop me. With a thump, I dropped onto the old metal grating, sighing as finally my wild ride was over. I took a moment to collect myself, and as I did, I looked down through the grate.

Down below me, there was nothing but green. Plants, trees, and vines covered the entirety of the area below me, and for a moment I had to remind myself I was still on a ship in the arctic. The green was more striking than the forest's I'd flown over when I'd left the clouds, feeling more constricting even from here. I felt like if I went down there, it'd swallow me up and I'd never find my way out.

With a sickening groan, the bolts holding the grate sheared off, and I was plunged into the canopy below.

Almost as soon as I’d cleared the edges of the vent, I thrust my wings out. I didn’t even have to think about it like when I was back home. This time, it was pure reflex. My wings caught the warm, dense air and converted my fall into a gliding flight. Something I noticed right away, was that small changes in the way I twisted my wings, subtle shifts in the way I held my legs, dramatically changed the way I flew down here. Drifting forward through this thick, almost jungle like section of the ship, for the first time since I’d left home, I could feel myself smiling.

I was flying. Not fast, not like all the other pegasus I’d ever known, but this was all that I’d even ever wanted.

Carefully, I lowered my forelegs away from my body, using them to torque myself ever so gently. My style of flight might have been uncharacteristic for ‘normal’ pegasi, but much like when I’d glide back home, I’d found it easier to maneuver like this. I found myself easily pitching below branches, rolling to fit between large tree trunks, and yawing myself toward a bright opening that tore it’s way through the thick canopy foliage.

Nothing mattered up here. Not what happened in Four Peaks. Nor the fact that I was somewhere far outside the only world I’d thought existed. For the moment, I was happy.

I punched through the leafy hole and found myself flying over an open field. Rows and rows of crops sat in neat lines twenty or so feet below me. All sorts of ponies worked around the various vegetables that I’d thought long extinct on the ground. Corn, lettuce, tomatoes, and even watermelons were being harvested and cared for.

“Hey!” The soft voice of a filly from down below called up at me. Looking down to where she was, I found the happiest looking yellow coated filly excitedly waving her hoof at me as I flew over her. Mirroring her bright smile, I waved back.

Unfortunately, waving changed my flight path and I started to oscillate with the waves. Realizing that I should probably concentrate on staying airborne rather than waving, I lowered my hoof and tried to tweak my wings to stop me from losing control. As I did, I turned my gaze ahead of me just in time to see the uppermost story of an old, wooden farmhouse encompass my entire view.

“Oh no...” Was all I had time to blurt out before I put my hooves up and rammed into the side of the old structure. Thankfully, the old wooden wall wasn’t constructed to take a hit from something my size and the musty wood planks snapped as I barreled through them and into a dark attic. I let out a yelp as I pulled my wings closed as tightly as I could and did my best to roll and flop along the dusty old floor. Without having been going too fast at all, I slid to a stop in no time, not in nearly as much pain as I’d thought I’d be in from a crash like that.

I blinked a few times as I laid there on the floor, wondering why I seemed to have gained the tendency to run into things since I’ve come down here.

“I was never nearly this clumsy back home.” I muttered as I lifted my head and looked at the splintered hole I’d made in the wall. Then again, maybe I just never really worried about it, as clouds were fairly strong and elastic. With a groan, I picked myself up off the floor and brushed the dust off myself with my forehooves and wings. “Still, I really need to stop running into things.” Flaring out my wings a bit, I hooved at them, finding all sorts of wood splinters and the like caught up all in my feathers.

“Hello?” The panicked voice of a mare called through the floor below as the quick hoofsteps below me reverberated through the entire house. “Are you alright up there?”

“Yeah.” I called out as the realization of what happened hit me. Shit, I just broke somepony’s house, didn’t I? How was I going to pay for this!? What if they wanted to kill me? Why couldn’t I go a single day without making somepony an enemy?

“That is a relief.” The quickly approaching hoofsteps culminated in the squeaking of boards at the other end of the attic. From the stairway down, bright lavender eyes appeared under a tall spiked black and white mohawk. “Though, I must inquire as to how…” The elderly zebra mare paused as she saw my wings. “Ah, now it makes sense.”

“I’m sorry, I really didn’t mean it.” I whined as I got to my hooves and took a step back. Great, I pissed off a zebra of all things! I know Mrs. Delilah said that I’m not supposed to hate them, but that doesn’t mean this one won’t curse me for something like this! “I’m sorry I broke your house.” Oh what have I done to deserve this?

Instead of anger, she laughed at me.

“So long as you are not injured, that is all that matters to me.” She smiled in a way that my instincts told me was genuine, but my mind told me was only a rouse. “It is hardly ever that I have interesting guests over, and it seems that today I am blessed with two in the same hour.” She waved her forehoof for me to follow before turning and disappearing back down the rickety stairs. “Come come! You must join us before the brew I have made grows too cold to enjoy!” She shouted as I still stood there lost in confusion.

So, let me see if I can get this straight. I fell from the vent and was flying. Check. Flew over a farm that’s inside this enormous ship. Check. Smashed through a farmhouse wall, and the owner doesn’t hate me? On top of that, she’s a zebra who doesn’t want to curse me for that?

Check...

“Fuck it, I give up.” I sighed and hung my head. “The way everyone acts down here on the ground hurts my brain.” Giving my wings a few good shakes, a few more splinters of wood and dust came out from them. That’d have to do for now. I didn’t have time to clean them thoroughly, let alone share whatever drink that this Zebra mare was talking about. I was supposed to meet Mrs. Delilah already, and I don’t know what she’ll do if I’m late. I really don’t want to be stuck here forever…

Putting one hoof in front of the other, I slowly headed for the stairs.

Walking down the creaky old wood, I passed old picture frames that hung on the walls. They were all filled with numerous pictures of ponies, zebras, and the like. Stopping at the bottom of the stairwell, I had to do a doubletake when I saw that there were a few prominent pegasi standing in the old photo. They wouldn’t have seemed so out of place to me, if I hadn’t spotted the dark brands that sat where their cutie marks would have been.

Every part of me wanted to call them traitors. To hate them on the principle of all they stood for. But really, how could I? The Enclave lied to us all. The ground has been safe, and these ponies could have been helped. Hell, we could have used their help. With a heavy sigh, I sat down and tried to figure out just where everything went so wrong.

“You really bought into it.” The sharp voice of a mare from behind me made my mane stand on end. Before I could move, a pair of hooves on my shoulders kept me from jumping through the ceiling in shock. “Easy there, didn’t mean to startle you.”

“What?” I said as I spun around. “I bought into…” My words died in my throat as I found myself standing in front of another pegasus. The vibrant purple and black stripes in her swept mane caught my eye only a moment before the glaring magenta of her eyes.

“I gave them 12 years of loyalty.” The mare spoke, pushing past me as she walked toward the old picture. I couldn’t help but admire her velvety blue coat. A darker shade of my own colors, but it was a nice fit on her. That is, until I saw what adorned her flank. “Then what did they give me?” She lifted her wing and slapped the dark brand that sat where her cutie mark was. “A hot iron on the flank and a boot to below the clouds.”

“Did you deserve it?” I found myself saying before I could clamp my muzzle shut. The mare only cocked an eyebrow at me as she turned around.

“Did I deserve it?” She sounded insulted, which might have something to do with the fact that I’d just said the stupidest thing possible to her. “Look, I was one of the ones who voted to bring you along with us, kid.” She rolled her eyes and walked past me again towards another set of stairs heading downward. “Don’t make me regret it.”

“You work with Mrs. Delilah?” I asked, this time making sure in my mind beforehoof that there wasn’t anything about that question that would piss her off. Well, probably nothing that would…

“Yeah, and when you didn’t show up here three hours ago, I was sent to find you. Said you might have gotten lost or something.” She tossed her head toward the stairs for me to follow her. “Saw your fight in the arena, figured you couldn’t have gotten into too much trouble since then.” Swiftly finding my hooves under me, I got up and followed. “Come on. It’s almost time to go.” With a swift jump, she bypassed the stairs altogether and landed straight on the floor at the bottom. Without hesitation, she started up at a trot and disappeared from sight.

“Go where?” I called out as I quickly followed. My hooves fell upon the old stairs in quick succession. The old wood protested to my quick movements, and before I knew it, I was on the ground floor of the old house. The smiling face of the old zebra mare who’d checked on me before poked out from the kitchen as the pegasus trotted right past her.

“Oh, leaving already?” The elderly zebra pouted as she turned to me. “I was all set for more tea and biscuits.”

“No thanks, Mrs. Spring Leaf.” The Pegasus sighed. “We’ve got a schedule to keep, and it’s time for us to go.” Stopping, she turned and pointed to me. “However, I’m sure that Bombay here would love to have some for the road.” The words couldn’t have made the Zebra smile any brighter, and I immediately got a feeling in my gut like this wasn’t particularly a good thing.

“That’s not my… um…” I stammered as I began to trot after the Pegasus mare. “It’s very kind and all, but I don’t want to impose…” As I tried to get past her, I found a very strong grip hook around my neck and tug me right into the kitchen.

“Oh nonsense!” Mrs. Leaf spoke as she pulled me in and sat me down on a stool all in one go. Without slowing down, she spun and opened a cupboard near her, hoofing out a couple of hazy glass jars. “A growing mare such as yourself needs to be well taken care of!” She looked like a mare on a mission, digging through parts of her pantry and filling up various little tins without even slowing down. “I mean look at how thin you are! One could think you had hardly eaten anything at all in the last year! Not good for you if you are looking to have foals down the road, dear.”

“That’s very kind…” I spoke up softly, pushing myself to get up. The moment my flank rose from the seat however, I found a pair of striped forehooves quickly push me back down on it. I will say this, she was quite strong for the age she looked to be. “However, I’m not a mare. I’m a stallion.”

“Whaa?” That however made her slow down, but only just. She eyed me over before shrugging and going back through seemingly tearing her kitchen apart. “Then what I said sticks, doubly so!” With a firm shake, she pulled out an old cloth sack and opened it before pausing. “No, this will never last.” In a flash, she trotted out of the kitchen and up the stairs to the second floor.

I caught a glance of the pegasus mare as she eyed around the corner at me, watching in elation as I sat here helpless to move. Honestly, I’d earned this for opening my muzzle like that upstairs. Still, I had so many questions I wanted to ask her. How did she adapt when she was kicked out? What about her family? Did they know what happened? A thought struck me like a bolt of lightning.

What if that’s what happened to my mom?

“Here we are!” The voice of Mrs. Leaf ripped me from that thought as she trotted back in with a pair of old tan saddlebags. They had seen better days, but curiously had a very interesting symbol sewn into the fabric, some sort of plant. “I am sure Mr. Leaf would not mind me giving his old saddlebags to a strapping young stallion such as yourself, gods rest his poor soul.”

“These were your husband’s?” I said, feeling more than a bit awkward in taking something like this from her. More so as she shoveled a whole assortment of filled tins, jars, and cans into the bags. “I… I can’t accept these.”

“Oh hush now.” Mrs. Leaf shot me a motherly glare before taking the bags in her muzzle. With a swing of her neck as she walked over, she tossed the filled bags right onto my back. The sudden weight made my legs wobble for a moment before I managed to adjust. “It is nearly harvest season, and it was about time that I cleared out the cupboards anyway.” She smiled as she walked back around to the front of me. Holding out her hoof to me, I couldn’t help but smile back. Taking her hoof, I found myself yanked from my seat and into a warm hug. “Just promise me you will share some of the goodies with your friends.”

“Okay.” I nodded and blinked as my brain caught up with what was happening. “I… I don’t know how to thank you.”

“Well, maybe sometime in the future, you could come visit an old mare for some tea.” She smiled for a moment before grabbing me again and shoving me out of the kitchen. “Well, best be going now! You do not want to be late for your journey!” With the strength of what should have been ten mares, I quickly found myself pushed through the old living room, and out onto the front porch. Trotting out after me, the pegasus mare gave a light giggle as she passed by. “You two have a good trip now, you hear?” Mrs. Leaf said as she quickly spun and trotted back into her home.

“Take care, Mrs. Leaf.” The pegasus mare called out before giving her wings a stretch. “Alright, Bombay, care to fly?”

“My name isn’t Bombay.” I grumbled. “And I… can’t fly. Not well, anyway.”

“Well, that’s obvious from the hole you left in Mrs. Leaf’s attic, along with the fact that you slammed into the side of Bertha.” She snorted. “And what do you mean that’s not your name? The announcer said it when you were in the arena.”

“I wasn’t even supposed to be there!” I sighed. Now that I wasn’t barred by social obligation, I didn’t have to sit and wait anymore. Walking forward across the moist dirt that lined the floor of this section of the ship, I looked up to find the old rusting hull all around us. However, like the other sections, off to one side jutted out a dark hallway. “I stumbled in there by accident. I was just trying to find Mrs. Delilah’s son.”

“Ah, I see.” She said as she kicked off behind me. With a great flap of her wings, she soared over me and dropped down just in front of my path. “So, I think we got started off on the wrong hoof.” She said, holding her hoof out to me. “My name is Violet Pulse. Nice to meet you.”

“Thanks. I’m Night Flight.” The heavy saddlebags felt awkward on me, and I didn’t really want to reach out and take her hoof in case they slipped off. So instead, I extended out my wing toward her. Surprisingly, she took mine with her own and gave a good shake.

“Come on.” She nodded over toward the door. “Coming back with that many goodies is going to make you very popular with the others. Best get settled in fast so you can stash some of it away before the others break into your room and snatch it all.”

“Delilah also told me I’d need to get ‘settled in’.” If there was one thing I’d noticed in the past day, is that ponies down here said a lot of things I think they expected me to pick up on. “What did she mean by that? Are we traveling in another boat or something?”

“Well…” That brought a smirk to Violet’s face as we approached the flap to the next section. The moment she did, a heavy banging and thumping filled the air down the hall. “Kind of, but not exactly.” Lifting the flap up, she waved me to go ahead of her. “Once we’re through the engine room, well, you’ll see for yourself.”

Stepping into the odd airlock type room, the door behind us shut and ratcheted closed. For the first time in ten minutes I finally felt like I could breathe. Well, at least breathe without killing my lungs with air saturated with magical radiation.

From how I felt like one of those old packaged dinners we’d have back home, I’m sure that the engine room wasn’t supposed to be nearly that warm. Then again, I’m fairly positive that four arcane reactors aren’t supposed to be running at full capacity after two centuries. From what dad had talked about, the reactor for the raptor at four peaks had everything in it’s reactor replaced at least twice in that time span. With a whimper, I slumped forward slightly.

Damn it. Why’d I have to go and remember. I wish more than anything that I could have them back, I don’t care how boring my life would have to be. I just wanted mom and dad to be there for me.

“Hey, don’t worry.” Violet chimed in as a small bell rang above us. “We’re out of the oven now.” With a sigh, she walked forward to the door and put her hooves on the handles that sealed it shut. “In fact, I’m positive that once we get on the road? You’ll want to run straight back into there.”

With a heavy grunt and a tortured squeal, Violet unlocked the seal on the door. With a metallic groan, the door swung open slowly, and a sharp cold ran into the small room. Immediately, I began to shiver from it. Goddesses, I was sure hoping she was wrong about how this was going to be the normal temperature when we left. Things were never nearly this cold back in Four Peaks. Must have something to do with the thicker air down here or something.

“You know,” Violet spoke up as she stepped through the door. I quickly got to my hooves to follow her. “With Brushfire leaving, you can probably just take her container for your own.” Stepping through the doorway after her, I found myself slowing to a stop as I looked up.

This room was much like the one I’d seen on the other end of the ship. Large and spacious, it held all sorts of metalworking stations with scrap piles neatly arranged around them. However, along with them, a dozen or so different scaffolds stood clinging to the walls, raising up to a set of catwalks that ran above a loading crane. The large, yellow painted crane ran along a set of gantry tracks that ran the width of the ship, from the large loading door on one side to the other. However, none of these things were the reason I’d stopped.

Sitting in the center of the bay, was something I was having a hard time wrapping my head around. It was a large boxy vehicle, painted bright yellow and blue with a near completely faded Stable-Tec symbol painted on the side of it. It sat propped up on six enormous tires, each one at least ten feet high. The front of it held a platform with an armored cab on it, and just behind it sat the pipework to what looked like a full sized arcane spark reactor. Above it, looked to be a large bed, something akin to some of the earthmoving trucks I’d seen pictures of when my schooling went over the industrialization of pre-war Equestria. Except, this thing looks to have been taken to extreme levels compared to the simple ‘dump trucks’ of back then.

“Woah.” Was all I could say as I looked over the monstrous vehicle. On the top and in the ‘bed’ of the thing’s enormous back end, several cargo containers had been stacked up and fixed on. A loose canvas had been draped over the top of them, and I could see a few lighting fixtures illuminating the interior. Even from where I stood, something on the side of one of the containers caught my eye. The familiar words ‘Shipping’ sat emblazoned on one of the upper blue boxes.

“Eeyup.” The voice of an older mare spoke up from beside me. “She’s a bit of a beast, ain’t she?” The mare laughed and smacked me on the shoulder. Looking over, I found a fairly large brown buffalo standing beside me. She snorted and gave a chuckle as she pointed up to the blue container I’d been staring at. “I think I can still see the dent you made in Zoomer’s room.” Shifting her hoof, she pointed to Violet.

“Zoomer?” I asked, looking over to the mare who now looked a bit uneasy for being put on the spot.

“We mostly run by nicknames on the crew when on the road. Not everypony has time to call out a full name in a tense situation.” She shrugged, trotting forward towards the massive vehicle. “It’s why I think I’ll just stick to calling you Bombay.”

“Well nice to meet you, Bombay!” The large buffalo smiled as she all but ripped my forehoof off the ground before vigorously shaking it. “Name’s Leaf Spring, but you can just call me Boiler.”

“Leaf Spring?” I asked, turning and looking back toward the door behind me. Before I could continue, ‘Boiler’ as it were, cut me off.

“Yeah, no relation to the nice old mare in there.” She chuckled and pulled me back around by my hoof. In fact, she spun me so fast I was pulled right into her warm chest fluff. “Oooh, let me see what goodies you’ve brought from her!” As she started to riffle through the contents of my saddlebag, I couldn’t help but think that the warmth she gave off while a bit awkward, was better than the biting cold from moments ago.

“Boiler.” The stern and flat voice of Mrs. Delilah came from behind the warm mountain that was Boiler. For just a moment, I thought I could feel Boiler’s blood freeze like mine did with the tone of just that one word.

“Yes, Mrs. Delilah. The ice block has already been loaded and refrigeration is already running at optimal temperature!” Boiler spouted off as I was pushed back sharply. The enormous mare, or whatever you call female buffalo, stood sharply at attention as Delilah crept forward from the shadow of a scaffolding behind her. “Bertha’s reactor is running at eighty-eight percent efficiency, and I dare say we’re right on schedule!” If I were to say something, I’d say Boiler was almost intimidated by the mare.

“Good.” Delilah’s response was simple and precise. I was beginning to wonder just who I’d signed up to work for. Almost as I’d thought that, she turned her sharp gaze to me. The way she looked at me through her cat eye glasses made me feel like I was being held at the end of a very fine blade. “Boiler, I want you to make sure Bessy is prepared to roll out before you get your husband behind the wheel of Bertha.”

“Yes, Ma’am. He’s probably still coming down from his high anyway. Might want to give him a bit more time anyway!” Boiler nodded and took off across the open bay at a fair clip.

“Night, I will ask you this once and only once.” Delilah’s tone snapped me to attention, commanding me to listen almost completely to her. Hell, for a moment as she spoke, I couldn’t be sure that there was anything else even going on around me.

“If you agree to travel with us, there will be no hesitation when I ask you to do something. You will be part of my crew, our family for however long it is that you are with us.” As she spoke, I had to think about anything she might ask me to do. Why would she be telling me this if she wasn’t planning on asking me to do something I might object to? What if she wanted me to kill somepony? “I know it must be a fairly rude shock to be thrown down into this sort of life so suddenly, and without any sort of time to transition into it. However, I can see something in you, Night. Something that says to me that left here, you would waste any and all potential to do good, and I could see a lot of that in you from the moment we brought you with us.”

“You can stay here if you like, or simply ride with us only to see what is left of the place you once called home before returning here.” She rose her muzzle as she spoke ever so slightly louder, looking down through her glasses at me. “Or, you can work for me.” She paused for a moment, letting a softer expression fall across her muzzle. “I promise that with either choice, my crew and I will do our part to help you find out what happened to your home. However, should you choose to stay on with us right here and now, I need your unquestionable loyalty and faith. You will be brought on under the same contract pay terms as anypony else, and once we reach our destination, will be provided housing and steady pay for any further work you do.” With that, she seemed to pause to gauge my response.

“But… why?” I couldn’t stop myself from asking. “Why would you want me? I don’t even know what I’m doing down here.” I sat and watched as with a sigh, she closed her eyes and carefully removed her glasses.

“Because I need every good pony I can get.” She said, seeming to drop every ounce of her hardened expression that she’d had only moments before. “The place where I come from far far in the south? It’s dying.” She said, pointing her hoof over to the massive vehicle. “This expedition? If this doesn’t work, the town my family built, the one that’s been my heritage will cease to be.”

“I don’t understand.” How could coming up this far north do anything to save one town? More so, how the hell could I help it!?

“It’s a yes or no type of deal, Night.” She sighed, using her hoof to put her glasses back on carefully. The rigid tone she’d had at the start was back, and I could tell that this wasn’t a time for me to ask any more questions. “Will you return here and try to make your own life? Or will you join us, and just maybe, help save my town from its current fate?”

How could I make such a rash decision like this? How could anypony expect me to do it in the first place!? To me, two days ago was a normal life, yesterday was a nightmare, and today is… confusing. Everything I’ve ever known was sealed up above the clouds, and now, that place will never exist again.

So far, my life on the ground has been frightening. Between the extreme danger that I keep finding myself in, and the kindness of those around me, a life down on the ground isn’t going to be easy, nor safe. But that’s something I don’t see myself having no matter what, even in this place.

A life. Without even knowing what my talent was as a pony, how could I say I’d be content to live in a place like this? Confined between the steel walls, it’s still just as much of a structured life as back home, which in retrospect would be nice, but would I still want it a month from now? How about a year? Even so, was I willing to risk everything I knew to be stable here, on the unknown journey ahead? That’s exactly what Mrs. Delilah was offering down the road for me, right? A life? A home? Even a family?

“I…” I felt myself stammer and stutter, slowly lifting my forehoof off the ground. This was the point of no return. Either I could stay and wonder what could have been, or I could go and bet everything on this one moment. All I have to really ask myself I guess, was other than my life, what do I have left to lose? No family, no friends, no hope, all pitted against the prospect of having just any of those things somewhere down the road...

“I’ll join you.” Holding out my forehoof to her, I watched as a soft smile grew across the donkey’s muzzle. Firmly she took my hoof in hers and gave it a strong shake.

“Welcome aboard, Night. Or should I say, Bombay.” She nodded as she gave a small laugh. “I knew you’d be in it for the long haul. Now, let’s get moving. We’ve got quite the journey ahead of us.”