Quiet nights were all we ever had in Haven. No crickets, no owls, nothing. Just the bleakness of dark clouds hanging overhead. Since the confirmed death of all four princesses, time for some reason hadn't stopped, as if it had a will to continue for just a small bit longer. It's done this for ten to fifteen years now. Despite the quiet, bleak nights we've had in the village, I always found the night calming, like a break from everything we've been through. I stood out on my makeshift balcony and stared into the sky, letting out a deep sigh. I watched the last of the townsfolk enter their homes for the night.

Suddenly, but not surprisingly, I felt a hoof on my back. I turned to see Pinkie smiling at me. She soon joined me and started watching the sky with me. She leaned her head on my shoulder and lovingly nuzzled me. It was amazing, really; even in a dark world like mine, I guess you could say I could still find love.

"Pinkie... How long has it been since that day?" I asked my wife.

"I can't remember" she simply said, sadly smiling "But does it really matter? Dashie, we're still alive, and I think that's what counts."

"But... Our friends..." I looked down at the ground, remembering the purge again "I... I could have saved them... But, I couldn't even grant Rarity's wish..."

"They would have wanted us to stay alive" Pinkie nuzzled me a bit more "It's no good dwelling on the past, Dashie. It'll only make the scars hurt more than they already do."

"But... ugh, fuck... I just... I don't know" I shook my head before walking back inside our one-floor, rusted metal home "I need a rest... I'll see you in the morning, Pinkie."

"Dashie..." Pinkie worryingly sighed just before I closed the house door.

I hopped into my hammock angrily back-first, trying my best to forget the day my life was turned into this hell-hole. But to no avail. I sighed and began to softly cry. Nearly every night had been like this; crying myself to sleep. The only nights I hadn't cried at all were when something happy happened to me and Pinkie, but I could only think of one time: the day I asked Pinkie to marry me. I always thought of this day to hold back the tears. Slowly, I gave a small smile and ceased my crying, easily drifting off to sleep.

(Music Stop)

My sleep was interrupted when I felt a warm hoof on my body. I opened my eyes to see that Pinkie was smiling at me. But that look in her eyes told me she wanted to try and cheer me up the only way she knew how in a world like this.

"Oh, Dashie, don't cry..." she hushed as she spoke very seductively, carefully caressing her hoof along my front left leg "Don't worry; mama Pinkie is gonna make it all better..."

"I'm liking where this is going..." I wiped my tears and tried my best to smile. Slowly, Pinkie climbed into my hammock and got on top of me, before quickly pecking me on my lips. I couldn't take her teasing anymore though, so I pulled her down and gave her a proper kiss only a married woman could give their loved one. We stayed like that for quite a while until a noise hit my ears.

"Wait..." I gently pushed Pinkie off of me "Do you hear that?"

"Hear what?" she asked curiously, trying to listen in on what I was hearing.

"That... sound..." I tried to listen in closer, getting out of my hammock and pressing my ear against the metal wall "It sounds like... crying?"

"Dashie, ponies here cry all the time, and you know that..." Pinkie pointed out "Can we please just finish our-"

"Shhh..." I hushed the pink mare "...are there any fillies in Haven?"

"F-Fillies?" Pinkie gasped a bit "Well, no, but... Dashie, are you saying there's a little filly out there crying? I don't hear anything though, it could just be a-"

"We have to help her!" I exclaimed before rushing out of my bedroom and out of our house.

"Dashie, wait!" Pinkie urged, but I had already flown out of the building by then "This could be a trick... And if it is, Dashie's gonna be in big trouble. There's gotta be something around her that can-" she looked at my sword and gave a small smile "That'll do it!"

I looked around and listened for the crying noise, carefully following it and trying my best to track down the filly. It led me all the way out into the edge of the Ravaged Plain, a landscaped filled with dirt, dust and debris. I frantically searched the plain for the crying filly, hoping to find at least a clue of her whereabouts. Suddenly, I saw a quadrupedal-shaped being between a small hill and a rather large chuck of wreckage. It was a filly turned away from me with a golden mane and a white coat.

"There you are..." I sighed as I approached the filly "Okay, come with me and I'll take care of you, okay?"

The filly ignored me. In fact, she seemed to have stopped crying all-together. She made me feel rather uncomfortable. However, I attempted to speak with her again.

"Kid? You alright?" I asked the filly "Are you... lost or something?"

It was then when I put two-and-two together; why would there be a filly all the way out here by herself with no trace of her parents? My eyes widen in disbelief. Soon enough the "filly" turned around and revealed its face with nothing more than a large hollow hole with teeth in it where its eyes and muzzle should be. It roared at me before calling into the air and summoning two more of its kind to help it.

"Fuck, Mimics!" I shook my head and stared the creatures head on.

These were Mimics, a type of Taint. They and different species of other unfortunate souls are corrupted versions of ponies from the purge. To my knowledge, they were too close to the explosion when it went off, and thus the radiation quickly mutated them into hideous beasts. Mimics were the most fortunate having most of their body kept to them. They lost their faces and intelligence and are weaker than their previous pony counterparts, but out of all the Taint species, they looked the most equine.

"Dashie, catch this!" Pinkie shouted just before throwing my iron sword with a gold handle and brace at me. I jumped up with the help of my wings and I caught it with my mouth mid-flight. Without thinking, I fell down and sliced the first Mimic in half, yellow blood spilling all across the rubble.

"Who's next, you sons-of-bitches!" I shouted as I stared down the Mimics with intensity in my eyes. They all simply roared at me before charging right at me, eager to fight.

The second Mimic jumped onto my back and pulled on my hair while the third one leaped onto my face and attempted to bite it off. Needless to say, I shook both of them off and impaled the second one, its blood splattering all across my face. I turned to the third and final one and gave it an intense glare.

"Still want more, huh?" I asked it "Then you'll share the same fate!" I jumped into the air and spun around a bit before dive-bombing straight into the now retreating Mimic, my sword facing forward and slicing right through its head, killing it immediately.

(Music Stop)

I pulled my now covered in yellow blood sword out of the dead creature before I stuck it into the ground and went up onto the hillside. I collapsed on my knees as I looked out into the seemingly endless field of nothing but ruin. Pinkie Pie soon approached me to try and comfort me.

"Dashie, I'm sorry that it wasn't a-"

"Look at me, Pinkie Pie..." I sighed "All these years have taken their toll on me, and now my head is giving me illusions that it'll all be okay and it'll all be over soon."

"But it will be-"

"NO IT WON'T!!" I shouted at my wife having had enough of being told that, making her jump a bit "Look around you, Pinkie! That field used to be grass, and for years now it has been a wasteland of filth! Years I've held onto a faint glimmer that maybe we can all be saved, but now, I see there's no point..." I looked out into the plain again "...I've completely lost hope. Its moments like this when I wish I could just... give up and die..."

"Rainbow Dash..." Pinkie somberly hung her head.

"I'm... I'm sorry I yelled at you..." I apologized "I just don't know how much more of this I can take. I... I..." I felt water in my eyes, but I did my best to suppress the tears "I... I love you, Pinkie..." I went to hug my wife.

"Dashie" she sighed before giving a gentle smile and rubbing my head "I love you too, Dashie..."

Morning came, and the light from the sun did its best to filter down onto the world. It was never that bright out, but I suppose I can describe the endless sky as a constant overcast day with clouds of brown. Nonetheless, I could still see enough to get through my day or hunting for anything that moved. Mimics were surprisingly edible, so the hunters and I usually tackled those. A long time ago, it would be disgusting to eat another pony, but it wasn't like we had much of a choice. Besides, they were technically dead anyways.

I usually hunted on a small hill near my home, the very same I battled on just the other night as a matter of fact. It was a nice place to look over the plain and find any Mimics that may have made their homes near Haven. The only downside was that it reminded me of just what this world had become. Most of the time I could shake it off, but last night was my breaking point.

"Nothing yet..." I said to myself, looking over the hill with my sword sheathed on my back "Damn... Were those three Mimics the only things here? Did we hunt them all? Now what the hell are we supposed to eat?!"

"Yo, Rainbow Dash!" shouted one of my male, Earth Pony neighbors/hunters with a brown coat and silvery mane "We got some Mimics hiding here! A whole nest of them!"

"Holy shit..." I sighed before running off to where my teammate prepared to fight with his curved blade in his mouth "How many?"

"Take a look yourself..." he nodded at the nest. I took a peek inside and saw what had to be dozens of Mimics clopping around a small alcove, all appearing to be trying to eat something.

"Jesus Christ..." I pulled out my sword with my mouth and whistled at the Mimics, gaining their attention "Sorry fellas; can't have an infestation near our home. Besides, you make damn good soups!"

The creatures once pony-kind roared at my neighbor and I, beginning to climb out of their junky cavern to attack us. My neighbor swung around his sword at a few of them, slicing off their heads and spilling their yellow blood all across the ground. But with one dead, two more just took their place. I flew into the air and attempted to dive bomb the swarm to reduce their numbers a bit. I struck the ground hard and sent a few flying away, some impaling their heads on a sharp pile of debris.

"There's too many of them!" my teammate shouted "We gotta get outta here and bring back-up!"

"Good ide- Wait" I stopped for a moment and looked inside the alcove. Inside was a filly, not like the Mimics at all. Her short mane was purple and all tattered, and her yellow coat showed multiple bruises on it. In her mane was a red ribbon, and she had no cutie mark on her flank. Her body moved up and down, but her eyes were closed. She was alive, but knocked out.

"Rainbow Dash, let's scram!" my teammate urged.

"Go on without me! I'll catch up!" I nodded.

"You're insane!"

"I know..." I never thought twice before jumping into the cave. My neighbor scoffed and ran away from the battle, leaving me to get that filly out of there. The Mimics continued attacking me, pulling on my legs and biting me, attempting to hurt me further. However, I did my best to slash the creature's all I could.

"Hang on, kid..." I whispered to myself as I stuck my sword into another hollow head of a Mimic. At last, I reached the filly, picked her up with my wings and placed her on my back. However, as soon as I turned around, the horde of Mimics had since grown larger than even I could handle.

"Dammit..." I shook my head before turning it at the sleeping filly on my back "If we die here, you're going to hell for killing me..." I looked back at the creatures slowly ganging up on me "Fortunately for you, I hate these things with a passion, so we might just make it out alive after all."

I swung my sword around, cutting off a few of the Mimics' legs. I then jumped up and twirled in the air before I landed sword first into the ground, creating a huge blast of air that blew the monsters out of the way, creating a small opening for me and the filly to escape. The few Mimics that stood in my way afterwards had their heads chopped off and their blood splattered out on the rubble. Finally, I was able to escape with the filly still with me.

(Music Stop)

"Holy... fuck..." I tried to catch my breath before looking at the unconscious soul on my back "Goddammit... were you... even worth... the trouble, brat?"

"Dashie!" Pinkie called out to me as she ran towards me, soon bringing me into an embrace "I'm so glad you're safe... They told me you had gone off to fight the Mimics all by yourself!"

"Sorry, Pinkie..." I hugged my wife back "But this twerp here was trapped in that cavern with all those things."

"Oh, what an adorable little thing!" she squee'd as soon as she released herself from the hug, calming down a bit afterwards "So are we gonna take care of her?"

"What? Are you outta your mind?!" I shouted "No way am I taking care of this filly! You know damn-well what will happen if I try to do that again..."

"Dashie, remember, that's the past" Pinkie hushed me in the calmest way she could "Besides, would you rather have this little thing roaming the Ravaged Plains in search of food without a loving family? By the looks of things, she was very nearly massacred in there. I think we should take her in."

"I... But..." I lifted up my front right hoof and rubbed my face, letting out a sigh of defeat "...one night. She stays one night and then she stays with someone else..."

"Yay! Thank you, Dashie!" Pinkie lovingly hugged me again.

"Okay, okay, don't crush me..." I chuckled from her over-affectionate personality.

Needless to say, I didn't quite take a liking to the yellow filly. For god's sake, I didn't even know her name! She rested on Pinkie's hammock since the morning, sparing me from overreacting about something else today, but I still stared at her with slight anger and confusion. Who was she? What was she doing in a Mimic alcove? Where are her parents? Why are they nowhere to be seen? These questions circled my head every time I looked at her.

I sat at the table waiting for dinner to be served, thinking over a few things when Pinkie Pie approached me with the soup and sat down with me. She looked at me for a bit before looking at the filly, then back to me again.

"You don't have a reason to hate her, Dashie" she pointed out.

"She nearly got me killed, Pinkie" I sighed "Usually, I can take a few dozen Mimics, but those were a lot of Mimics back there. I would have never been in that situation if I hadn't..."

"...rescued her?" my wife finished my sentence "See, there's nothing to be angry about."

"And why's that?" I asked, still a little cross.

"Because if you didn't care about that filly's well-being, you would have never risked your life" she smiled "Let's face it: you care about her, don't you?"

"N-No!" I felt a warm feeling on my cheeks "I still want her gone by tomorrow..."

"Right" Pinkie chuckled "Well, I'm going to go to bed."

"Without dinner?"

"No, I'm a little tired right now..." she yawned "I'll sleep on the floor tonight, don't worry about me. And no, you won't make this an excuse to pretend to hate the filly."

"Ugh..." I rolled my eyes before my wife closed her bedroom door and I dug into my dinner. After I had finished, I was about to go to sleep as well, but I just stayed at the table. I took this time to think about what Pinkie had said. She was right; why would I save the filly if I didn't at least care for her a little bit. After witnessing the purge, I couldn't bear to care for anything else besides my only friend left, because I knew it would only fly away from me. This especially went for fillies, after I failed to fulfill Rarity's last wish.

I sighed. I wasn't ready to take responsibility for something. All I wanted to do was live with Pinkie and maybe grow old with her. It wasn't what I had set for life originally, but that was quite simply the best thing I could ever want in this ruined world. After a little while longer, I got up from my seat and headed into my room, slowly lifting myself into my bed with my flapping wings until I reached my hammock and pulled over my covers. I closed my eyes and tried to sleep.

What I never realized that night, however, was that for the first time in what seemed like forever...

...I didn't cry.

Author's Note

Okay, Chapter 1 up! Hope you enjoyed this one! Word of warning: Don't get comfy with some of the light-hearted themes in this story.

The filly has a name, is not a crossover character, and just so I don't sound like a dunce, I will try my DAMNDEST to make sure she is NOT a Mary Sue. She's a kid, right? Well, that's all there is to it. Don't see it? Well, you'll see soon enough.

Until then, this is SuperKamek, signing off!