I awake to my caretaker nudging me with her fleshy hoof, and I peer up at her, confused. She holds up a board that reads, "I need you to get out more often." It’s already noon and there’s no point in complaining, so I get up off my mattresses (I use three for extra comfort). Across the room is an open window (really, it's just a square that was cut out of the metal) and under it Enclave armor and my favorite sweater are folded neatly. I trot over, slip on my sweater, sparing the armor nothing but a glance, then dash out the room with a "See ya Derps, love you, be back later!"

I sleep and live in a train cart behind Ditzy Doo's store. Growing up, the ghoul has been my mother and caretaker and like a mother to me. This is because of my biological mom’s absence. the absence of my biological mom. Apparently I was told that, I was dropped off because the Enclave was planning on killing me, on account that I wasn't a pegasus. Mom gave Derpy her armor, battle saddle, and saddlebags. Inside the saddlebags was a PipBuck and tools to take it off and on. It had been was Mom's PipBuck– before she became a soldier of the Enclave and didn't need it because of the power armor making more use anyway.There are journal entries dating until she gave me up, which means that she always carried it around her and used it despite having armor to do the same thing. I haven't read the entries, personally- But Ditzy has, and she’s somewhat translated and told me about them in her own synopsis. I'm unsure about it. Her PipBuck's on my leg now. It makes me feel closer to her. And I want her to know I'm not mad; that I understand she did what she had to and I agree with her choice. She did the right thing.

Trotting straight out of town, I’m ready to explore. Shutting my eyes, I spin in a circle for a full minute- A fine way to start off the day, if you ask me. When I stop, I fall down, laughing, dizzying bubbles in my stomach flipping my vision. Once recovered, I check my PipBuck for anything out of the ordinary. There was a new signal that I hadn't noticed. Tuning in, the PipBuck plays the message. "-us. Please... Message Repeats. Raiders came after me and my wife," a mare is crying in the background, most likely the female spouse of the speaking buck. "We hid in a cellar, and they've decided to just wait it out. We need help. Anypony, come rescue us. Please... Message Repeats." I turn off the radio. A cellar, huh? It would be a lot better if they had given more of a hint to their whereabouts, but I was pretty sure of their location. They better not be dead already. Ponies just don’t watch their backs like they should anymore. I look around. That-a-way! I trot off South. Anypony would think that I’m strange, doing what I do, but I've memorized the whole Wasteland, I have nothing else to do really. I can get home with my eyes closed; that's how well I know it, and that's pretty damn well.

I spot a little shack, with raiders all around it. That's the place. As I get closer, the raiders start to see me, but none of them attack. One of them screams in my ear though. I muster up the patience and will to control my reaction to it and the raiders get confused by my stale expression. I look as no threat, but still not too pathetic. Eyes Forward Sparkle labels one of the raiders with an actual name, Slash-Tastic. This raider, a unicorn stallion, stares at me. The large stallion has a dirty dark green coat, a messy dark red mohawk, and eyes like clear, clean pre-war rivers. The left side of the shack has a cellar door. And Slash-Tastic is standing right by it. "Slash-Tastic?" I ask. It's good to say their name when you've never seen them before; it spooks them.

He has a mad frown. "What do you want?" I smile. Most ponies get some curse words with talking to raiders, but they don't do that with me. I look useless, but not helpless. I nod at him, and he slowly nods back. Playfully, I stick my tongue out at him. His face drops all anger. The smallest of smiles appears on his face. I turn away. The rusty metal handle was cold in my mouth. I pulled on it but something was stopping the door from opening.

I let go and sit down in front of the door. I speak gently, "excuse me?" I pause. "I got your message- the radio signal."

A raider screams. "A RADIO SIGNAL? WHAT THE FUCK!"

My voice lowers more. The tone was soft, like a mother's, "You can come out now. You'll be safe. I promise." A minute of silence later, I hear something metal sliding smoothly against more rusty steel. The door slowly creaks open to a hesitant male earth pony and a scared female unicorn with dried tears on her face. The earth pony has a lime green coat, a mane and tail made up of two shades of brown, and brown eyes. The mare behind him has a light pink coat, a long mane and tail of dark blue and yellow, and light green eyes. "C'mon," I say, turning and walking away. I glance back and see the couple frozen as there were about thirty raiders staring menacingly at them. "Follow me. You're going to be alright." The earth pony slowly stalks out of the cellar with wife behind him. The two pass Slash-Tastic untouched.

The other raiders get upset. "What are you doing?!" They yell. "Get them!"

Slash steps forward, and the husband noticing the movement, dashes between his wife and the raider, growling loudly. Slash-Tastic raises his head, "You touch them, you DIE!" He uses his levitation to raise about ten guns, ranging from sub-machine guns to rocket launchers. All of the raiders back up away from the new threat.

I face Slash-Tastic and we make eye contact. "Thank you," I whisper. A smile grows wide on his face and he starts laughing like mad. The raiders see that Slash-Tastic isn't himself and run for their lives. The couple pull up beside me as I continue trotting.

Once far enough away from the commotion, the couple’s shoulders relax. "Thank you so much. We'd be dead without you," cheers the stallion. "How'd you do that? It was amazing!" His eyes light up despite him being extremely confused.

I laugh. "I don't know how. I probably got it from my Mom or Dad. And about saving you, it was no problem." Honestly, the only reason I think ponies and other creatures don't attack me, is because they know I'm not planning on doing anything bad, otherwise I would have probably brought a weapon with me. I mean, I don't even carry saddlebags with me, so it's not like I'm there to take anything. I'm harmless unless provoked, and I like it that way.

The green stallion shakes his head. "Thank Celestia you came."

I laugh again, "No. Thank my guardian. I would have just stayed home if she didn't make me do something productive."

The mare speaks up, "There's no way to repay you for what you've done." She rubs her stomach in a circular motion. She's pregnant? Wow. "I had the a nurse check. We've got a baby on the way." A soft smile found it's way to her lips.

Apparently the father didn't know. He freezes, eyes wide. "We... we're gonna have a foal...?" His wife nods. Suddenly Mr. I'm Gonna Be A Father had the pink mare in his arms. Tears were streaming down his face. Happy tears. "Oh Mel!"

"How about we get somewhere safe?" I gently propose.

The stallion let go of his wife (and child) and hid her (them) behind him. "How do we know you aren't leading us somewhere bad?"

I stare at him blankly. "Whatever. I'm offering an escort to New Appleloosa." He was thinking, when I continue. "You know what? You don't have a choice." He takes it as a threat and backs up. "You have a foal with you." No reaction. "You all are terrible ponies if you would risk your child's safety." I start trotting. "I know my mom would never do that." I turn briefly. "My mom died to give me a chance in life, and here you are," I spat it the ground. "Here you are, making the wrong choice." And I continue on my way home.

The soon-to-be mother, called Mel by the stallion, starts trotting with me and her spouse follows close behind. My words got to him and he’s visibly feeling lousy. "Hey," said Mel. "What happened to your mom? She died giving birth to you?"

I look up and smile. "Not even close." Confusion blossoms on her face. I laugh for a second, then it dies with my smile. "My mom, she was part of the Enclave." The mare gasps and the stallion's ears perk. "Yeah... She gave birth to me, and I, being an earth pony, couldn't be allowed to live in the clouds with all the pegasi. So they decided that I wasn’t allowed to live at all. Got to spend one week with Mom. She loved me too much to let me die, so she flew me down her, and gave me to a good home. I'd have to assume she's dead by now."

"What was her name?" asks the stallion behind us. His ears are down. He must have Mom problems too.

"Nitrogen. And I'm Oxygen. She'd call me Oxy though."

He smiles at the talk of nicknames. "I was always called Drum by my Mom. Because she'd always be playing the drums, and I liked to copy her. I changed Drum to my official name after she died."

His wife giggles at her own name, "My Dad'd call me his little Radioactive Gumdrop." We all laugh. "My real name's Melody Lane."

"I like your name," I say, providing a smile. She smiles back.

We arrive in Appleloosa shortly after the conversation ends. "You guys ever been here?" The husband nods. The wife's head shakes. I decide to make it a tour. "Welcome Melody Lane, to our humble establishment and my lovely home." I project each word loudly and because of that many ponies in the town turned towards us. The ones in good spirits, which is everypony today (yay!), smile at the new folks as well as laugh at my silliness. "The first and only stop on this tour is my house and the general store...: Absolutely Everything!" That earns a smile from Melody and Drum as I lead the couple to our destination. We walk into the store. The owner of the store and my trustee is dusting off the merchandise. "Ditzy Doo?" The ghoul turns and smiles at the new ponies. "Melody Lane? Drum? This is Ditzy Doo, my guardian." They wave politely, but you can see a suspicious look in the stallion's eyes. "Ditzy Doo, this is Melody Lane and Drum, they set up a distress signal when they were stuck in a cellar with raiders waiting for them to come out or starve to death."

Derpy's face showed no smile. Then she took a chalkboard and wrote "Well I'm glad you're okay," then showed it to the pair.

"Now! THE TOUR CONTINUES!" I announce dramatically roaring voice. I guide the recently rescued ponies into a door at the end of the store. We enter to my room. The entrance is in the corner, on a the long side of the cart. The middle of the length, the opposite side of the door, is my mattress(es). On the mattress sits five scattered blankets and my teddy bear. The teddy bear was given to me when I was born and it has a little heart with "I love you" is sewn on the right side of it's chest. Across from the mattress is the square hole I call a window. Around the window, I have a couple of posters. The first is “REMEMBER: We are all in this together! Care for one another,” for Fluttershy’s Ministry of Peace. The second is "Reading is Magic" and the third is “Remember what separates Ponies from Zebras. Not stripes. Not cutie marks. But what is inside. THERE IS GOOD IN ALL OF US!” The short, far side has two bookshelves. The left bookshelf is filled with pre-war books of all kinds; books on the brain to books on humans, I have it all. (The Book on Humans by Lyra Heartstrings, I read it. It’s pretty cool.) The right bookshelf isn't a bookshelf as much as a normal shelf. It holds all my stuff, my caps, a functional camera (Mom suggested it I try to fix one), a large stack of (more than three hundred) papers with my drawings on them, clipboards, pencils, and other stuff. "This my room. If you ever need a place to stay, you're welcome to crash here. We have extra beds and food, so it’s never a problem."

Melody smiles. "Thank you so much for everything." She trots up next to me and kisses me on the cheek. I blush like mad, my body frozen from the fading warmth on the side of my face. "Oh, I didn't know you like mares!" She looks embarrassed, slightly blushing too. "That was a friendly kiss," she adds.

Still blushing a lot, I speak shakily, "Oh- I- It- It's alright." Drum stares at me, suspicious as always. "Anyways, would you all like anything? Water? Sparkle-Cola?" Drum was too busy staring at me to answer, so I looked to his wife for an answer.

Still blushing like me, she nods. "Oh. Some water please. Gotta make sure the foal's alright." I nod and walk out into the store. Behind the counter is a mini fridge. I get out two cold purified waters, walk back into the room, and give them to my guests, then walk back to the fridge, grab four apples, and come back into my room. "For de lede," I say through the stems gripped tightly between my teeth. The mare envelops the apples in her magic so I have a free mouth to speak with. "Please, sit," I say, gesturing with my hoof toward the stacked mattresses. She sits down and Drum does too. I take a seat on the floor. "We have plenty of apples, so eat till you're full." Melody passes an apple to her husband, to me, and drops one in her lap, between her legs, leaving one more in her magic. We all take bites into the apples. The apples are fresh and crisp. They take notice. Melody opens her mouth to ask a question, so I decide on answering the question before she asks it. "Ditzy Doo gets fresh apples from Stable Twenty Eight. They give us apples, we give them basic weapons and armor." She nods and smiles because I knew what she was going to ask before she said anything. Finishing my apple, I look at the fourth apple that I brought. Drum places his hoof on his wife's lap. I look up and we lock eyes. He is clearly very pissed and looks as if beating me up would cure Equestria of its radiation.

Okay then.

Note to self: don't look at Melody Lane's private parts or anything that may be near them.

I break the stare, awkwardly get up and walk out. I sigh as I fetch two more apples out of the mini fridge. Is he seriously going to do this?

When I turn around, I see Derpy holding up a chalkboard. "You okay Sweetie?"

I smile and hug Derpy Hooves's squishy body. "Yeh. Wuv ou Ders."

She smiles back at me and writes on her board "Love you too Oxy."

Reaching the door, I see Drum attempting to kiss Melody Lane. She turns away as his face approaches hers. No. I’m not going to eavesdrop. I lift up my hoof and knock on the wall, making a loud clank. I clear my throat as I walk in. I prance in, trying not to be awkward, and failing. Drum had taken the fourth apple, so I approach Melody with my trip’s haul. "Ahul?"

She smiles weakly, a tear rolling down her face as she takes an apple from my mouth. I frown with my apple in my mouth. She bites hers. I shoot a glare at Drum for upsetting Melody and he turns away from me. I place my apple on my shelf for later. "You all have a place to go?" No response comes from the grumpy stallion, but the mare shakes her head to give me an answer. "Well then," I say as I trot to the window. "Hey Crane! I need six mattresses up here!"

"Hey, is Little Miss Day Dreamer finally getting laid?" replies the stallion with a chuckle. I laugh. "Here you are Ox." Six mattresses float in through the window, one at a time, kinda rolled up so they could fit. Once through the window, Crane flattens them out on top of the other. "Goodnight."

"Goodnight Crane. Thanks for your help." I turn away from the window, get up on my hind legs, push the top three mattresses off the bottom three, then space out the three beds, or three stacks of three mattresses, evenly, so that if Melody and Drum are still being weird, they don't have to be next to each other. The sky is darkening and the two ponies look exhausted. "You two look tired. I think crashing earlier that usual would be a good idea." Most ponies would be up another three hours. Melody Lane and Drum get off my bed. Melody crawls onto the bed to the right of mine, so Drum is stuck the one near the window. I leave the room for a moment and come back with a big turquoise sweater and a smaller light blue sweater. I fold them up and place them on the shelf. "If you need more than this," I say, tossing a blanket to each of the ponies, leaving my bed with only three, "you can take a sweater. The small one's the light blue one, and the bigger one's the dark sweater." I nod, satisfied with my hosting skills.

I take off my sweater, and notice a specific mare watching me do it. Her eyes follow me as I fold it and place it under the window where it was this morning before I left. I yawn and hop into my bed. Pulling my blankets over me, I close my eyes and eventually fall into a light sleep.

Author's Note

Comment your opinions please.