Alone. (Title not confirmed.)

by Zanozoid

First published May 19th, 2013 06:40

((It is a work in progress. I am still rewriting the chapters, and will be adding in a lot more later. But for now, enjoy what I have. Or don't. I really don't care. Actually, I do, but whatever.))
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This is a story of three specific ponies. Zark, Thunder, and Spark.

Zark, a traveler from distant(ish) lands, seeks to find rare and interesting items in the debris of a raided and destroyed town, it's name a mystery. But instead finds a mysterious orb, in which after throwing at a wall, a beam of light shoots into the sky, leaving behind a stone with strange symbols. Zark then heads to Ponyville to find Twilight, maybe she will know what these strange marks mean...

Spark is a Royal Guard sent from Princess Luna herself, to patrol the towns surrounding the one that had been attacked. Spark heads for Ponyville to patrol first, but finds that there is nopony there! A bit more patrolling, and he finds a strange new pony named Zark. Together, they will finish the task of... Well, patrolling. But in the process, they find Thunder. Accepting him to the team, the continue the task. Will they find clues to what might have happened? Or will it just be another plain patrolling day?

Thunder is a troubled pony. His town has been destroyed, his friends and family killed. He needs to know who did it. He ventures to Ponyville to seek advise, but finds Zark and Spark patrolling the town. After letting him in on the "team," the trio go out to find the evil pony who might have caused this. Thunder seeks the truth of this horrible crime, but will he be satisfied after knowing, or go insane from never finding it?
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If you would like updates, make a Brohoof account. That is where I post most updates before I put them here.

Chapters

Prologue: A town once known as-
Chapter 1: Zark
Chapter 2: A new face

Prologue: A town once known as-
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Alone. (Title not confirmed.)

Prologue: A town once known as-

I awoke in a dazed state, eyelids still heavy. Something big and very loud had presumably just hit the floor. It was probably something that fell off a shelf... I thought as I drifted back into a deep sleep. I'm not sure how long I was out for, but again I was woken up by a loud sound. An explosion. This... Isn't normal... I jumped out of bed and raced over to my window. I opened it up and nearly collapsed. My town in flames, thick columns of smoke billowing into the sky out of shattered windows and doors of houses. I was petrified. How... How could I have slept through this?! It was a question I didn’t have enough time to answer as I turned around and ran to my door. Peeking out of the door and into the hallway I saw that the far end was covered in fire. Brimstone drifted through the air and a warm, soft breeze flew past me as I rushed back inside. No time to lose... I put on my saddle bag and scooped up a few items, hastily shoving them in. Dang! some of my stuff is falling out.. probably didn’t need it anyway... I thought as I shot out of my room and back into the burning hallway, making my way towards the stairs.

As I walked outside, my eyes stung and began watering from the smoke. Through my blurry vision, I looked down the roads and into the darkened skies to see if anypony was there, but to my dismay, it was empty. I continued down the road, hoping somepony would see me, looking down each street and alleyway as I walked pass them. To my right a bunch of debris scattered about a path I took regularly.. Some pieces of wood, glass, some trash, burnt bodies, and other things of that nature. To my left I heard crumbling, then cracking, and then a loud crash as a building collapsed. Ah, shit! Better get going... I thought, picking up the pace. Further down the roads, I heard a cry for help. "Help! I need help! I'm trapped! I'm trap-" His voice was cut off by the roar of fire, and the sound of burning wood. I raced towards the house, thinking I could save him before the fire reached him.

I burst into the house, searching desperately for anypony, looking in each room, and in every nook and cranny. "Where are you?!" I yelled, hoping to get an answer. "Up... Upstairs... Please... I need help..." That voice. It sounded like someone I knew... "Klank? Is that you? Answer me!" I yelled. Klank I couldn't let him die. I couldn't let him die... We had grown up together! we were best friends... Were. No. We are friends."Is that you buddy?" Klank said. "Is... Is that you Thun- AGH!" I heard the sound of wood cracking and fire begin to overtake the house. "KLANK!" I knew he was dead, but even with that knowledge, I started up the stairs. I tried to push the thoughts of death from my mind, but the stench of burning flesh was overwhelming. I rushed back out into the smoky road. I need to get out of here! I thought to myself. He's dead! There's nothing you can do to stop that... I continued down the road, squinting my eyes, trying to see through the smoke. tear's streamed down my face, dripping off my chin as a ran. My head started to spin. The smoke was getting to me. Almost there, almost there… I’m so close… I started swaying back and forth, losing my balance more than once. Attempting to run forward, I fell, once again, on my face, and slowly blacked out.

As my eyes opened, I realized that I was still in the line of fire! Literally! I was on fire! Well, my bag was. Patting out the fire, I continued down the road. Common'... You can do this... Do it for Klank. Do it for your family. Do it for all those who died. Make it out, tell the story. Let this town live on... I charged through the smoke and haze, fighting back the urge to pass out. Then, I saw it. The gates.I'm so close! I ran with all my might, and shut my eyes. The smoke stopped. The pain stopped. The tears stopped. The world stopped. I made it. I was out. Finally! I made it! There must be somepony out here... That can... Help... My vision blurred, my head spun, and as I collapsed, I realized:

Everything I once knew is dead. This town is gone. The town once known as-

And with that, my world went dark.

Chapter 1: Zark
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Alone. (Title not confirmed.)

Chapter 1: Zark

Zark

I saw the smoke from a mile away. At least, I thought I was a mile away. I couldn’t really tell. But anyways, I saw it. The smoke rose hundreds of feet in the air, black as ever. My first thought was to go and see if there were any survivors, but then again, I didn't want to get myself into trouble. But to heck with it, I went anyways. The first thing I noticed was the lack of, well. Everything. Nopony was there. No trees, buildings, nothing. Only smoldering ashes and burnt bodies. I sat there for awhile, wondering what to do. I was dumbfounded. How could something like this happen? I didn’t even know fires started in Equestria! And if they did, they happened very rarely. I mean, I’ve never seen one. Dang it Zark! Get your head out of the clouds! I mean, you’re a pegasus, but- Damn it! There I go again!

Zark Tomb has always been a bit of a nut. In his past life he had killed 12 ponies, and was put into a mental institute. In one of the testing labs, though, something went wrong, and Zark was stabbed in the eyes, making them shrink and be turned to a blood red color. After he got out of the hospital, he was flying home and was hit in the face with a bird, causing him to crash into the ground, (head first) giving him amnesia. He remembers nothing of his past life, only the things ponies have told him. Also, if you couldn't tell, he gets sidetracked... A lot. Anyways, back to the story.

As Zark Reached the gates of the once beautiful town, he noticed that there were strange items scattered about. He picked one up, (Although I’ve always wondered how they do that if they have no fingers) and studied it, in a careful like way. “Hm,” he said, “this item doesn’t look like anything I’ve ever seen before! I’ve seen a lot of things, but this? No.” What Zark held in his hooves was an orb. A blue one to be exact. “I wonder what it does...” Zark said as be placed the orb on his head. “Nope, it isn’t a hat...” He then sat on the orb. “It isn’t a chair...” Zark looked at the orb in confusion. “What the heck is this thing?! I know it’s an orb, but is that it? No. Maybe. Well, I don’t know.” He threw it at a pile of bricks, hoping for something to happen. The orb just broke into several large pieces. Nothing interesting. “Hm, really thought something would have happene-” Zark was cut off by a huge stream of light that shot into the air and a horrible screeching noise that accompanied it, making him put his hooves over his ears. “Oh shits! What did I do?!” The light stopped as suddenly as it began, all was quiet. In the place where the orb was thrown was a piece of a rock- like thing. Zark picked it up and put it in his saddle bag. “Might as well keep it. That didn’t happen for nothing.” Zark walked down the winding path to Ponyville, not knowing what troubles lie ahead of him.

As Zark descended the trail, he kept on thinking about that strange rock. What is its purpose? Is it some kind of statue? Was it a part of something? Is it edible? I don’t know! Zark thought to himself. I just wish I knew... As he approached Ponyville, he was greeted by Twilight, who was strangely looking more worried than usual. “Hey, something wrong?” Zark asked. “Yes, a town close to ours was attacked! Burnt down! Raided! Of course something is wrong!” Zark felt stupid for asking. “Speaking of which, I was just there. Man, that place has seen better...” Twilight gave him a disapproving look. “Sorry...” he said, feeling even dumber than ever. “Yeah. So, I need to get going. I have to find out what happened there!” and with that, she took off. “Hey! Wait! I need to show you something I found!” Twilight turned around to see what it was that he had. “Yes?” she asked. “Yeah, well, I found this orb in the town’s ruins, so I threw it at a wall to see what it would do, and it sort of turned into this rock thingy.” Zark pulled the rock out of his bad and showed it to her. “Hm...” she said studying it carefully. “I think I’ve read about this somewhere before... these symbols, I mean.” “Symbols?” Zark said, tilting his head to one side. I never noticed any symbols before... guess I just wasn’t paying attention to it.

Twilight continued whatever it was she was doing, while Zark just sat and listened, absent minded. After she was done she asked if she could take it back to the library for further study. "I guess so," Zark replied, "I don't have any real use for it." Twilight thanked him, then went on her way. "I really don’t see why she would need it..." Zark said to himself, and continued down the path to Ponyville.

Zark walked into the town , hoping to see others. If Twilight was here, then there must be others! But yet, there was hardly anypony. Just an empty street. Zark looked down the road with a puzzled expression. "Wha?! Buh, I just, and she, I- how?! Where did they go?!"

This made no sense to Zark, I mean, he had just talked to Twilight! Something odd was going on. And he was going to figure it out. But what Zark didn't know, was that he wasn't going to do this on his own...

Chapter 2: A new face
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Alone. (Title not confirmed.)

Chapter 2: A new face

A new face

As Zark walked down the empty streets, a chill ran down his spine. Something was off. Something wasn't right. "Better keep my eyes peeled..." He said to himself. Turning down a corner, he saw something fly past him. Out of reflex, he jumped back, readying himself for whatever it was he saw. He waited for a bit, just to be safe, then continued down the road.

"Thats a bit strange..." Zark thought to himself. "It was probably a damn bird or something... Man I hate bir-" Zark was cut off by the shadow again, he saw it. He knew he did. He spun around and yelled, "I know you’re here! I saw you! Come out and face me!" As the silence settled in, Zark felt like a fool. "What am I thinking? Only ponies in those dumb story's say that." Zark thought he heard a shattering sound. Running towards the sound, he saw that somepony had smashed a window of a building. Zark knew he shouldn't have gone in, but he did anyways. He really couldn't stay out of trouble for very long...

Inside of the building was just some shards of glass and a bit of blood leading upstairs, nothing unusual- wait. Blood? "They must have cut themselves... Better follow this, because why not?" He continued through the building, following the quickly depleting trail of blood. Soon the blood was nothing. The trail had ended, and it stopped in front of an open window. "Coincidence? I think not!" Zark said to himself, and climbed out the window onto the roof. "They couldn't have gone far..." As he stood there on the roof, he was completely unaware of the pony silently creeping up behind him. "Well, I guess I was wron-" He was once again cut off as the pony tackled him, sending them flying off the roof. "What’s your problem?!" Zark said, pulling himself off the ground. It wasn't a long fall. Only about ten feet. Maybe more. I don't know. But anyways, the pony just stood there, wearing a black outfit-type-thing, covering his face. "Who are you and why are you here?" The mysterious pony asked. "Um, well, I was sort of looking for somepony to talk to about that village that was destroyed around here. I found a rock thingy there, so I asked Twilight to study it for me. Well, she asked me if she could. Not me. But the strange thing is, when I got here,it was empty!" Zark stuttered out, clearly shocked. "That still doesn't tell me who you are." His voice sounded cold. "I-I'm Zark, Zark Tomb." He stuttered. “Where are you from?” The pony demanded. “Um... Nowhere really. I just walk around place to place. Why do you need to know?” The pony walked up to him, and took off his veil. “I am a royal guard of Princess Luna herself.” The pony was all brown, mane, coat, and tail. He was wearing glasses. Oh shit. Zark thought, picking himself off the ground. “Um... Nice to meet you?” “Yes. Nice to meet you too.” He replied. Feeling slightly unnerved, Zark asked,"So, why did Luna send you?" The pony turned to him,"A town nearby was burnt down and raided. I came here to evacuate everypony before the same happened here... I had sort of a hard time getting Twilight out, though. She didn't want to leave her books. Typical Twilight..." "Um... I don't think I know your name." Zark asked. "Spark. My name is Spark. That's all I'm saying." He replied. "Oh, okay. Nice to meet you Spark. So... What now?" Well, why don't you help me with the rest of my patrol?" Zark thought for a moment. "Okay, sure." And with that, Spark took off into the sky. "Hey! Wait for me!" and shot off after him.

"Man... Sure is nice up here today." Zark said trying to make a conversation. "Yes, I guess it is. Well, apart from the smoke it is." Spark replied. "So, where are you from?" Zark looked at him for a second. "Well, I don’t really know. You see, I have amnesia, so I can’t remember..." Spark's grin faded. "Oh, sorry. I didn't know-" Just then a shout rang out. "What was that?!" Zark asked. "Sounds like somepony who needs help!" Spark said and dove towards the scream. Zark close behind. The screaming was more like crying. Helpless. Weak. Alone.

"Over there!" Zark said, pointing to a nearby field. In the field was a gray pony covered in blood. "I got it!" Spark said and landed on the ground, making his way over to the pony. Zark landed next to him. “What’s wrong?” “I really don’t know. He’s just... sitting there. Crying...” Zark walked up to the strange new pony. “Hello? What’s your name? Is there something wrong?” The grey pony looked up at him, and continued crying. No sound. Just the tears. Fluid, leaking from his eyes. There was a strange, awkward, moment of silence.

"They're dead..." the pony said, breaking the silence. "My friends... My family... They are all gone..." Zark felt a ping of sadness and empathy in his heart. "I-I'm so sorry. I didn't know, or I would have left you alone." The pony stood up. Inhaling with shaky breath, he said,"No, no. It's okay. I needed someone to talk to. Would... Would you mind if I tagged along with you guys?" Spark walked forward,"Not at all. So, what did you say happen to you family?" A tear ran down the grey pony's face. "I woke up one day, and my town was on fire... I don't know how or why it was, it just was... I... I didn't see my family anywhere... So I left the town. I escaped... They-" The pony choked up for a moment,"They didn't. And I left one of my only friends to die in a burning building..." Zark and Spark just stood there for a moment. Processing what they had just heard.

"Man... I'm sorry. I really am... I didn't know... That." Spark said awkwardly. "No. It's fine. As I told Zark, I needed someone to talk to..." The pony said. "Uh, I-I don't think you've told us your name. What is it?" Zark asked. "Thunder. Thunder Bolt." "I'm Spark. And he's Zark." Spark said, pointing to me. "So, let's get going shall we?" Thunder and Zark nodded in approval, and took off into the afternoon's smoky skies.