“Oh really? Well I guess we should leave then.”

The ticking of chalk coming off and back onto a chalkboard warms me.

“No- no- It was my pleasure. Thank you so much for letting us stay here-”

“Kicking them out already?”

Derpy, Melody Lane, and Drum all look to me, smiling in the doorframe. Melody’s forelegs come up for a hug making Drum pout as Derpy takes to writing something down on the chalkboard. Over Melody’s shoulder I can see what she wrote. “Missed you Oxygen.”

“We didn’t know how long you would be, so we were going to leave. We’re so happy we caught you here.” I smile at Melody’s sweet words. She releases me from her grip.

“Thank you for waiting as long as you did. May I have a second with Derpy? You can stay here, it’s just that I need to discuss the whole caravan thing and my plans for the next while.” Melody nods. I face Derpy. Emotions flooded everything. “I FOUND MOM!” I squeal, hooves coming around the squishy mare. “She was in the stable!” I let go and do a little dance. Suddenly, my body stills. “I’m gonna save the rest of them. The rest of the family.” Derpy’s face drops as the couple’s show confusion. “I’m going up into the clouds for this one Derpy.” Everyone was taken by surprise. “My dad, sister, aunt, and uncle… they’re all up there...”

Derpy nods, and lowers herself for another written message. “I understand, but you need to be safe. They have energy weapons.” She had to squeeze the last words in because of a lack of space.

“I’ll be careful,” I nod. My hooves carry me to the fridge behind the counter. Staring at the fridge, I realized how hungry I am. I grab a whole cylinder containing oats, and carry it into my room, Melody and Drum in my hoofsteps.

“Are you seriously going above the clouds?” asks Drum, a hint of worry in his voice. I must say I appreciate it. “Like, where all the evil pegasi live? Ya know? The ones that kill everypony that can't fly like them?” Now that- I do not appreciate that.

“Not all pegasi are evil,” I sna. That brief surge of anger fades in an instant, leading way to a slight depression. “There are good pegasi up there. And I’m gonna save them.”

Melody wraps me in another warm hug. “Be safe. And come back, okay?”

I squeeze back, holding her tight and close to my body. “I promise.” Three promises to come back, and counting. We clutch each other like that for a minute or two. Melody is praying to the goddesses that I hold true to my word. “I am coming back. No matter what.”

The mare lets go slowly, then stares me in the eyes. “I trust you.”

Drum comes up to me. “I don’t like you that much. But I hope with everything in my heart that you stay here in the realm of the living.” I nod. “And if you need any help, you contact us?” I smile. Guess he isn’t too bad.

“Actually, I do- have something I need assistance with.”

“Love you Derpy,” I say with a hug.

“Love you too,” she replies.

“Thank you so much for letting us stay Ditzy Doo,” thanks Melody.

“Thank you Ditzy Doo,” contributes Drum.

“Your welcome anytime. Be safe,” she writes.

We trot out into the dusty Wasteland. “This way,” I call to the couple trotting behind me. “And, thanks for doing this.”

Melody trots up next to me. “It’s the least we can do for you saving our lives.”

“And letting us crash at your place,” adds Drum.

Melody nods. “Carrying some supplies to Stable 28 is nothing compared to what you’ve done for us.”

I smile. Derpy had let me take various healing elixirs and bandages, as well as some nice weapons for the mission. Drum hold the heavier stuff, including the large battle saddle on his back and the Enclave armor in his saddlebags. Melody holds the medical supplies, that I want to carry on top of the guns I had, though she insisted on helping.

The guns I have in my saddlebags are an automatic rifle and a needler pistol. Both are for Aviator, one incase she needs to kill a soldier, and one incase anypony who didn’t need to die got involved. Of course she’ll be on the ground so it won’t matter much, but I brought them anyway.

A snort comes from behind me, and I spin around. A radhog. Normally, I won’t have any problems with the beasts. The conflict stems from my new friends. fffzzzZZZZ. Electricity filled the air. “Drum! Don’t shoot!” The stallion had already fully charged the weapon. SHHHZZZZZZZ. The irritated creature, not having any armor or any sense, doesn’t dodge and takes the full blow of the overpowered guns and turns to a sickly green ash. “Dammit Drum!” I trot up to the ash. “May you rest now, poor soul.”

“He was gonna charge!” he yells in defense. “He’s just an animal anyway.” I shoot him a cold stare before starting off again on the trail to the stable.

SSSSSSCCCCCCCCCCCCREEEEEEE...!

Stable 28’s door makes us all cringe as it opens with the deafening sound of metal on metal.

“Oxygen!” yells Ledger. “Four days? And I thought you weren’t coming back for decades! Come on in.” I smile and trot in, my companions by my side. “Who are your friends?”

“Melody Lane and Drum.”

“Melody Lane,” the mare beside me repeats, raising her hoof.

Ledger takes it in his own and shakes it. “Overstallion Ledger. Nice to meet you Melody Lane,” he nods to the stallion by her side. “Drum.”

He nods back. “Ledger.”

A smile warmer than ever lights up the Overstallion’s features. “Come in! Come in!” He leads us into the stable. “Welcome to Stable 28! Would you all like a tour?”

“How about you show them around Ledger? And you can end the tour at Sea Salt’s Bar.” He agrees and takes off, Drum and Melody behind him.

I split off, heading down a series of stairs and entering a door labelled Stable 28 Living Quarters. I nearly run into a pony. Well, technically, I did. It is a pretty light greyish green mare with a rusty brown and orange mane. She was levitating papers with her an orange glow that matches her eyes. When I bumped into her, she broke her concentration, dropping the papers in her magical grip and scattering them all over the floor. A brown hat that sat proudly on her head fell to the floor too. “Oh jeez! I-I-I’m so so so so sorry!” I stammer, gathering the papers with my hooves to avoid them getting wet in my mouth.

She snickers, gathering the papers and her hat with her telekinesis. “It’s alright. Calm yourself.” Her hat back on her head, and papers in a stack, floating beside her, she smiles. “I’ve got to go. See ya later new pony.”

I can’t help but smile dumbly at the mare as she trots away. “See ya...” I mumbled. What an a-maz-ing flank.

“Oxygen!” My head pulls away from the door in which the pretty mare had left, and looks down the hall. Aviator is poking her head out the door I have as my destination. “Come on!” I nod and come over, entering the living room of Mom’s dwelling.

“You got the armor and weapons?” asks Mom as I trot in beside Aviator into the bedroom.

“Mhm. Medical supplies too.”

“Good.” She finishes working on a magical project that kinda looks like a glowing green grenade. Mom grins at her creation. “Perfect...” Then she turns to me. “Where’s the stuff?”

I facehoof. “Sea Salt’s Bar.”

“Wha- Whatever. Go get it. We don’t have time for fooling around when it comes to these things.”

When it comes to family… “Got it Mom. Be right back.” Immediately I’m out the door and in an instant I’m in the bar. “Melody? Drum?” I call. No reply. Of course they wouldn’t be here yet. Grumpy ponies glare at me for my yelling. “Heh, heh. Sorry.” I exit through darkly tinted glass door, and run into another pony. “Shit. Sorry.”

I look up. It was Ledger. “Hey Oxygen.”

“Hey Ledger. Thanks for touring them around here.” I turn to the couple. “Follow me.”

“What is that?” asks Drum as he stares at the glowing green grenades Mom is loading into a thick leather bag. “They don’t look safe,” he comments.

“They aren’t,” replies Mom, making Melody flinch.

Once all the grenades are packed, Mom stands up, composed, wings apparent again. Aviator levitates the Enclave armor over to Mom. “Thought I’d never suit up again...” Slowly, she slips into the power armor. The black armor makes Mom look so badass. Her white and blue mane becomes spiked with the helmet on, and her piercing blue eyes are completely invisible through the insectoid orange goggles. “Well… how do I look?”

We’re all speechless and even more so, when Aviator places the one-of-a-kind battle saddle onto Mom’s back. Aviator raises up a mirror in front of Mom.

“Wow. Just the same as when I first wore it.” She buffs out her chest, proud of herself. “Lets do this.”

Aviator nods and leaves for a moment, then comes back with the mare I had bumped into earlier. The mare notices me from the incident too. “Hey Scatterbrain,” she smirks.

I blush and shift under her gaze.

“Cast the spell,” Mom orders. The pretty green mare gives me a sexy look, and lets her gaze drip down my body. She was checking me out?! Standing awkwardly is all I can seem to do. Her eyes leave me and came back to Mom.

“You got it Commander Nitrous.” Mom smirks, revisiting the earlier years stored in her memories. The gorgeous green mare’s horn glows orange, and Mom’s whole body does the same. In an instant, she’s gone. “It’s only gonna last an hour, so I suggest you get going.” Her horn light up once again, casting another spell. The cloud-walking spell. Then it glows once more. An overglow surrounds it, showing the difficulty of the spell. Then blam. I have wings.

“C’mon,” beckons Mom. The door opens with a whirl. “You coming?” I nod to the invisible mare.

“I’ll see you both later.” I’m sad to be leaving the couple to live in the Wastes alone.

“We’ll be fine,” defensively states Drum.

“Thanks to you,” adds Melody with another hug.

“I’m just glad I could have helped.” And with that, we exit the stable. Melody and Drum going one direction, and Aviator, invisible Mom, and I going in another.

Author's Note

Please leave a comment for switching tenses! The story was originally written in past tense, and I may have missed editing some of them to present tense.