While this is, in fact, an actual MLP-related minific, it doesn't particularly mean that I'll be returning to fanfic writing as a whole anytime soon.

All I can say is that August is gonna be a hectic month...

Anyways, have a proof-of-concept for my next fic. Yes, I am reusing OCs from "Remnants of Glory". They seem rather fitting, considering how the two are survivors living in what's essentially a wasteland in both stories.

"Jewel?"

I gagged, putting a rag back up to my face as I trudged through the rubble-filled streets of Canterlot.

"Jewel?"

Far above, the smoking caldera of Canterlot Mountain loomed over the city. I wiped my hoof across my forehead-- more ash.

"Over here!" Lunar Jewel's voice echoed through the empty streets.

I spun around, staring into the wreck that had been a bustling city just a day before. A pebble smacked me in the side.

"C'mon, Rusty," Jewel smirked, lighting her horn. I wheezed for a moment as she dropped a bag of her plunders on my back. "You wanna wait around for the ash to settle in your eyes, or are we gonna leave this place?"

"Yeah, let's go." I sighed, peering one last time into the ghostly streets. The distant tingling of a doorbell haunted the air as another small quake rippled through the ground.

One day. All it took was one day for everything to vanish.

Another pebble hit me as I shook myself from my daze.