A little grey filly was sitting on a cloud alone. It was not the grey cloud, but instead a white fluffy cloud. Along with other white clouds in the vicinity, they made up the city known as Cloudsdale. These particular clouds surrounding the filly where what made up the flight school, for all of the eager young Pegasi, ready to earn their wings.

She sat there, tears streaming down her face, but her childish stubbornness holding back sobs. All she could keep now was her dignity. The other foals could be heard in the distance, laughing and playing, as little ponies often do. A group of smaller Pegasi, classmates of the crying filly, flew by. They would not have noticed her if she had been flying, but with her sitting on the white cloud, still as a grey pebble, she stuck out more. One of the young colts nodded to his companions, and then flew down beside the crying filly.

“Hey, what’s wrong?”

The filly looked towards him quickly, his voice startling her. Watching him for a second, she turned away and frantically tried to force her tears to stop falling. The little colt trotted towards her and stood at her side.

“Do you wanna talk about it?”

The grey filly tried to shake her head, but when she felt the colt put his foreleg around her, she buried into his chest, her tears still streaming out.

“T-the, o-other kids…” She began, beginning to sob. “T-they… I t-tried to fly straight in c-class… but I-I just couldn’t…”

The colt hugged the upset filly tighter. “Yes, yes go on.”

Taking a deep breath, her sob forced her little body to shudder. “I j-just couldn’t f-fly straight, and c-coach s-said that if I didn’t fly straight one more time… t-then…” She sniffed and wiped her tears with her foreleg. “…T-then we’d all have to fly laps…”

The child’s eyes moved towards the direction where the other children were playing. “T-they said that I couldn’t play with them anymore… b-because I always make f-flight practice so hard…”

Talking about what had happened made the filly feel somewhat better, and her tears slowly began to dry. Her hurt feelings were not completely healed however, and her little heart still felt the stab of rejection. The little colt loosened his grip slightly. The child looked up at him, and he stared deep into her unique and yellow eyes.

“You know that there is something you can do for Equestria right? There’s something that you can do to make Equestria such a better place right?”

The little filly stared up at the colt, confused. She tilted her head.

“Do you want to know what that is?”

The grey filly stared at him, her eyes focusing as best as they could on the colt. She nodded slowly, her mouth slightly open.

He smiled. The colt pulled himself closer to the crying fillies’ ear, and whispered softly, but loud enough for her to hear.

“Kill yourself.”

With that, the colt pulled himself away from her, and walked back towards his friends. Behind him, the filly stared for a moment, and then began crying again. Her heart hurt worse than it had before. Before it was just the sting of rejection, but now it was the realization of a cruel trickery. She had given her heart to him, and he had just torn it to pieces.

The colt walked over to his friends, a smile still on his face.

“Dude, what’d you do to her?” One of the colt’s friends asked.

“Oh,” The colt said casually, “I gave her some helpful advice for once.”

The colts laughed at their friend’s cruel joke, and they took to the air.

“Dumb-Bell, you’re a riot!”

The colts left, laughing loudly at the little filly’s expense. The child was left alone on that little white cloud, the bright blue sky surrounding her like some vast lonely sea. She was alone, and she sobbed, quietly.

***

It had been slightly misty that morning. The grey mare’s Pegasus intuition had told her that misty mornings meant that rain was coming soon. It would never be any more than a light drizzle, which was what the grey cloud would give them occasionally. It was, in a way, a blessing. It kept the world clutching to life for a few moments longer, and that meant that the mare and her daughter would be kept alive a little longer as well.

The town had not changed since the previous day. What had been an empty, deathly empty village still remained: the bleak, scattered bones spread across the place like lilies in a pasture. The mare resumed her search throughout the town, and as she passed by the familiar sign, she looked about. As she studied what to search next, she thought about the house that she had skipped over yesterday. Surely it had been a grocery, and there had to be something to eat inside.

She’s starving. The mare’s thoughts stung the sides of her brain as she thought about her daughter back in the cave. She and I are starving. What she had found yesterday had not been enough. She had to find more today. They couldn’t keep up for much longer. If only she could find more food. She thought about flying as she searched for the grocery. A quick glance at her wings, and her confidence faded. Her flying had never been the best. In another time, when hospitals and clinics and more professional ponies had existed, maybe it would not have been such a bother or a risk. The weather now, however, not being controlled by ponies, was unpredictable.

The grey mare retraced her steps from yesterday. It was a bit difficult, but not impossible. She noted that the dreary mist had made some of the ash in the air settle, and that walking, while annoying because of the wet slosh that clung onto her hooves, was a little more tolerable. She knew that the building had been a few blocks down from the greeting sign of the town, about six she guessed, and that the corpse from yesterday should still be there.

When she did find the building, it looked rather unchanged, which disappointed her slightly. The mare had hoped that it would fall in on itself, which would make it easier and safer to search. It had not, however, and still stood as imposing as it had done the previous day. As imposing as a broken leg or sprained hoof would seem, if ever the building collapsed while she was in it. Or worse yet.

In spite of this, she had to take the chance today. Yesterday had proven very unsuccessful, and remembering her daughter’s shrinking stomach, she knew that she had to look inside. Just a quick peek, and she would be out. If she needed to fly a bit, she would.

“Celestia help me.”

She prayed to a princess whom wasn’t there, and poked her head in. The room was empty, and as she took a small step forward, she felt the skeleton’s skull rub against her leg. The walls of the room had shelves, but they were empty, save for a few old grocery supplies.

A broom, dustpan, laundry detergent, and other inedible things. Nothing good. She trotted inside carefully, and still found nothing. The floor did creak while she walked upon it, but being a Pegasus, she was naturally light, and knew that it would not collapse from her near nothing weight. What did worry her, however, was the building falling down on her. She poked her head into another room. It seemed to be a sort of kitchen, and the roof had completely collapsed here.

The metallic smell of fresh blood invaded her nostrils, and she almost found herself gagging. The dangerous smell kicked her adrenaline, and she found herself becoming tense. On the floor, beneath a rather large beam, was the body of a pony, a white one, laying haphazardly. His body lay flopped sideways, and his head seemed to be trapped underneath a rather large beam. He was dead, by the looks of it, and he had died rather quickly. The beam seemed to have fallen on him when he was not expecting it, and his brains and blood seemed to have scattered from the impact.

The ceiling had collapsed entirely, and a choking breeze was filtered through the dusty cottage. Looking and hesitating for a bit, the grey mare entered the room, and examined the body closer. It was a male, and he was definitely dead. He appeared to be completely naked, not wearing saddlebags or any cloth or clothing. His coat, though now stained with blood, was noticeably dirty in the places, the assortment of filth scattered around on his corpse, like some sort of natural looking spots.

The grey mare suddenly jumped as a loud cough came out of nowhere. She had calmed down previously, but now the adrenaline rush was back, and it coursed through her veins like some sort of antidote to danger. Her sense forgotten, she threw herself down to the floor, laying down as best as she could. She waited for a bit, trying to locate any sounds of hoof steps that she might hear, either from outside or inside.

“Help me.”

The masculine voice seemed to be coming from inside of the room somewhere. It had sounded incredibly painful, but the mare was smart and she knew about other ponies tricks. In spite of this, she stood up, and flared her wings, her Pegasus instinct kicking in.

“Oh please Celestia. Someone help me.”

The mare didn’t need to search very long. Behind a small pile of rubble not far from the body, was the body of another. Turning around the pile, the mare had almost jumped as she saw the pony lying on the floor. Blood seemed to be pooling from his backside and wings, which were trapped underneath the collapsed ceiling. He scrambled with his forehooves when he saw her, his eyes darting back and forth quickly, mad with panic.

“Oh please...” His voice was weak and hoarse. The mare looked down at his broken body. “Oh please don’t kill me…”

The mare seemed to recognize him, a vague memory reappearing in her head. She stared down at him for a moment. Then, she reached behind him, and began to clear the rubble away.

“W-what are you doing?” The stallion’s voice squeaked in fear.

The mare ignored him, and continued to lift the rubble away. It was not heavy, but it was cumbersome. The impact from it falling unexpectedly had grounded the stallion to the floor, and he had been unable to turn himself around to remove it. He didn’t seem to realize what she was doing, and he began to fidget about, causing ash to stir from the floor. He coughed as it polluted his lungs. Finally, the mare stopped the cleaning. “Stop it.” Her voice was firm and cold. When he stopped, he looked at her and the coldness in her eyes. Submitting to her mercy, he stopped fidgeting, his fear only keeping him moving with an unstoppable shivering.

When she had cleared the rubble away, she could see that his back legs were practically destroyed. The blood that had been pooling had been coming from his ruined wings, and a small shimmer of bloodied bone stuck from each of his legs, completely broken and damaged from the rubble that had fallen. His feathers stuck out sporadically, and in spite of his panicked state, they hung lifelessly and dull. She wondered how long he had been stuck here.

Reaching down, the mare pulled the stallion as best as she could on top of him. He could not walk himself in his condition. When she began to adjust him onto her back, he began to panic again. This time, she ignored him and pulled him on, grunting and coughing as she did the best she could.

“Wrap your fore legs around me,” She spoke. “If you try to choke me, I will throw you off and leave you.”

He followed her instructions, and wrapped his fore legs around her stomach. She would not leave him to die, in spite of who he was.

When she was as comfortable as she could be, she headed for the doorway of the room. The stallion seemed to recognize the dead body as they passed it, and let out a small choking gasp. When they were outside, the mare began to trot towards the forest.

The stallion was not a light load. In spite of having to carry around the cumbersome and sometimes heavy saddlebags every day, the mare was not muscle bound, and she found herself becoming quickly tired as she carried him around. She knew that she could not search the town with her load, and what she had found was going to be much more difficult for her and her daughter. She had previously only two mouths to feed, and now she had three. That meant that the food would run out quickly, and they would be hungrier. The stallion’s back legs and wings were ruined completely, and it was possible he would never walk or fly the same, if ever, again.

She could feel the blood from his broken body soaking into her coat completely, and the stench coming from it made her cough. When they reached the edge of the forest, he had seemed to calm down, though he still shivered from the cold. “Where are you taking me?”

“Somewhere safe.”

“Are you going to eat me?”

“No. I don’t eat ponies.”

When they reached the edge of the trees, the mare smelled something in the air. It did not smell right. The forest was supposed to smell like an assortment of strong herbal smells and the musty smell of ash. The ash and herbs were still there, but another smell greeted her nostrils. The stallion seemed to smell it too, and he gripped her sides tighter, his breathing becoming fast and erratic.

The mare hid herself behind a tree thick with brush, and listened. What was nothing but silence became a steady sound, like the marching of soldiers. She dared not peek, but as they passed by, she could smell their smell. Dirty and wet, like a wet dog. They also had patches of blood on them, and she knew that it was not their own. They stepped out from the cover of trees into the open, and the five of them looked about. They were all stallions.

“Do you think that they went this way?”

“Why would they? There isn’t any cover here.”

The mare didn’t want to bother to listen. She waited until they left. The stallion on her back, however, seemed to panic again, and he fidgeted around, one of his hooves jabbing her in the stomach unintentionally.

“Oh please. Oh Celestia, don’t let them see me.”

The stallion’s words become jumbled and incomprehensible as his panic only grew. The grey mare almost panicked herself when the one of the stallions looked back towards the forest, but her panic soon turned to a built up anger. She reached up, and grabbed the broken stallion’s mouth, and clamped it shut.

“Shut up you.” She whispered angrily. “Shut up now. Be quiet.”

The mare kept the stallion’s mouth closed and watched the group of stallions in the distance. They had walked away further, and as they exited the Everfree, one of them seemed to look back in fear. When they had disappeared over the horizon, the mare unclamped the stallion’s mouth and he coughed. She watched the horizon for a bit, just to be safe, and then she turned and trotted away.

They would not be coming back. It was almost funny to the mare as she thought about it.

Ponies still fear the Everfree in these times, she thought to herself.

***

When she entered the cave, the child ran up to her, but paused as she saw the hurt stallion.

“Mommy,” the filly spoke. “Who’s that?”

The grey mare trotted to the fire, the child following behind her, and dropped the stallion beside it. He landed on the ground, a painful grunt coming from him. She collapsed herself, exhausted with having carried him such a long way.

“Go… get…” The mare took a deep breath. “Go… get… the first aid kit… please…”

The filly nodded vigorously, and rushed off to their supplies, looking frantically for the kit. In that time, the mare recovered her breath somewhat, and stood on all four hooves again. When she received the first aid kit, she set about trying to set up a splint and cast for the stallion’s legs.

“Mommy,” the little filly spoke with her eyes wide, “He’s bleeding badly.”

The stallion stared up at her as she set about her work, his eyes darting from her and her child. He did not say any words, but he would let out pained gasps as she tried her best to treat him. When she was finished with his legs, she set about preening his feathers, rooting out the good from the bad, and trying her best to fold them back into place. When she was finished completely, she sat him up against the cave wall, and sat across the fire in front of him. Her child cuddled beside her, but stared at him all the way. He seemed to be too pained to speak right now, and the mare herself was tired enough. The child was not tired though.

“Where are you from?” The filly asked.

The mare shushed her and held her close. “He’s very tired right now muffin. Let him rest.”

The mare did not leave the cave again that day. Occasionally, she would walk to the entrance of the cave, and leave the two behind. She would check to see if anyone or anything was nearby, and then, when the coast was clear, she would walk back to her company. Taking from what little they had, they ate a small meal of two cans of pears. The stallion seemed to be in too much pain to eat or drink anything, and he had fallen asleep shortly after the grey mare had doctored him. When she finished with her can, she gave the juice to her filly, who liked to suck up any juices that were left in the can at the bottom. The mother and child ate their meal, and the child fell asleep against her, the mother’s warmth and love radiating off of her more powerfully than the sun.

***

The night was as cold and unforgiving as the previous nights had been. The cold was enough to break bones, and the silence was just as strong. The blackness that was caused by the cloud was enough to damage the eyes of those foolish enough to look into it too long. The darkness was feared, and the unspeakable unknown that lurked within the darkness was feared. The mare was awake slightly, and she stared into the eyes of the stallion sitting across from her. She and him were the only ones awake now, and her filly slept by her side, her breathing soft and precious.

The stallion moved himself, trying to become more comfortable. When he failed, he looked into the fire, and then at the mare.

“Do you have something to eat? He asked.

The grey mare got up, and found a can of cherries that she had been storing. She opened it with her teeth, and handed it to the stallion. He took it from her, and seemed to chug the entire thing down. He would lower it from his mouth, and cough occasionally from the overindulging, but then he would continue, the juices dripping down his neck like the blood had been dripping from his legs. He finished the can quickly, and placed it down beside him. It tipped over and rolled away. “Thanks…” He said quietly, but the mare pretended like she didn’t hear him.

The mare could smell the stallion’s blood. As she glanced at his doctored legs, she could see that her rough handiwork had not done much good. Blood seemed to seep from the bandages, and it formed a red pool beneath him. She stared at it for a minute, the firelight causing the stallion’s reflection to light up in the crimson puddle.

“Why did you save me?” The stallion finally asked.

The grey mare stared at the blood, and didn’t look up at him. She could tell by his reflection that this seemed to annoy him slightly, and she wanted to sigh.

“You want to know why I saved you?”

The stallion nodded. “Yes, that’s why I asked.”

“I don’t know.”

The mare answered as truthfully and honestly as she could. Deep down, somewhere within the mare’s heart, she knew that wasn’t the complete truth. She would not and could not leave him to die. Even if she knew that he was going to die anyway, to leave him there would’ve been a terrible death. At least now, if he was going to die, it would not be alone.

The stallion didn’t seem to believe her. He pushed. “What do you mean you don’t know?”

The tone of voice that he spoke in seemed to unlock bitterness within the mare’s heart. “I said what I mean. I don’t know.”

“If you don’t know, then you shouldn’t have saved me.”

“You didn’t want me to save you?”

“No, that’s not what I meant…”

“That’s what I thought.”

The cave was as silent as the cold. The stallion had looked away from her at this point. She could feel that if he had wanted to sigh, he would have, but he didn’t. He seemed to stare at his ruined legs for a minute, and then he looked away towards the exit of the cave. The mare watched him all the while. She watched as his eyes widened for a moment, and he seemed to hold his breath. He exhaled after a second, and then turned away. He seemed to notice her watching him, and he looked at her again, his eyes filled with uncertainty.

“Is that your daughter?” He said, raising a hoof to the sleeping child.

The mare looked down at her daughter. Her pride and joy. Her little muffin. Her own proof of the good of pony-kind, and what it had been before the world had ended. Innocent and pure. She looked up at the stallion.

“She isn’t a that. She’s a she. And she’s none of your business.”

“I bet she is your daughter.” The stallion spoke, a tone of slight mockery in his voice. She knew that he knew, but she didn’t care.

“You don’t know.”

“You could be a little friendlier you know.”

“Really? I could? I had no idea.”

The mare returned to looking at her sleeping daughter. She wrapped a foreleg around her protectively. It didn’t matter though. The stallion couldn’t have moved if he wanted. She did not look up at the stallion again, even if she could feel his eyes on her.

“What’s your name?”

“What does it matter?”

“Who are you then?”

“I’m not anybody.”

Her memories returned to crying alone, with no one to comfort her. She had been hurt, and she had been sad. In spite of those hours alone, she had finally left, and had needed to go home.

Don’t you remember? She thought to herself. Of course not. You wouldn’t remember.

“Well,” The stallion said, “I’ll tell you my name. I’m Dumb-Bell.”

An old bitterness overcame the mare, and she found herself replying coldly. “I’m sure you are.”

“I…”

But the stallion did not finish. The mare did not look up at him, and she began to make herself more comfortable, her daughter’s small body pressed against her belly. The stallion did not speak again that night. A small breeze from the outside world worked its way past the protective vines, and spread it’s coldness throughout the cave.

Author's Note

There's more dialogue in this chapter. The story is going to have more dialogue from here on out, so if the first chapter was too boring, it never gets quite like that again. It'd be nice to know if I'm keeping the dialogue and story equally written. In other words, if there's not too much of one or the other, and their just right. I'm sure there are flaws here, and again, feedback is always welcome!