Previous Chapters
Close
Anna2,018 words
Spark and Ella2,944 words

Spark and Ella

Spark was laying down on top of rubble and dirt in an ally. In no way was he prepared for any chances of attack from machine, or anything else hostile. The stallion didn't care. He waited with a annoyed and beaten expression laid upon his face. He was sick of it. Spark was sick of it all, the machines, the war, the ponies, and generally the entire world. His life had not much meaning now since he learned the truth about everything he had done, and that those things he did were all worthless. Spark had failed. However, deep down in his personality was hope, something his companion brought out of him to keep him moving, instead of doing what he did now. Now, the pegasus laid with his bow along his side and shattered glass from the bottles of whiskey he threw down in anger. The alcohol didn't cover the pain, it would take bottle after bottle to reach the glorious state where he could forget it all. That state ended with him drooling on the floor with a veneer of happiness spread across his face.

A young mare, just as young as he was, laid beside. Staying nearby and loyal. She watched him drink, it hurt her to see him do it. There was nothing she could do, and she didn't stop him. All she could do was watch while she was startled after each bottle he threw down. Spark had tricked her into going about, looking for supplies in the city, where all he was actually doing was looking for was alcohol. After yet another shatter, Ella couldn't take it anymore. The mare had to speak up, although his anger had a very slim possibility of being taken out on her. Never would Spark do that, but it still laid in the back of her mind. She was the only thing he had. With a deep breath in, Ella scooted herself back. She winced when her flank sat on a piece of glass. Spark noticed quickly, cocking his head up and giving her a glare. She cleared her throat "S-Spark, shouldn't we get moving?"

"What for?"

"Well... We can't stay here forever. You know we have to find shelter before night falls... T-they are hard to see in the darkness" The idea of the machines lurking about in the night, was just as scary as everyponies worst nightmare as a child. Something that turned you into ash in seconds, that you couldn't see coming. Like a monster under a bed, you had nowhere to run. They were everywhere with a suit of metal armor that was impossible to see at night. All you could see is the red glow of their eyes.

Spark cleared his own throat as he got up from laying down. Pieces of gravel, along with dust and debris, brushed off his brown coat. He was as graceful as he usually was, being turned clumsy from the whiskey in his system. Spark cracked his neck, trying to stand tall and make himself look big, like he was used to. The stallion couldn't do it though, and he stumbled around in his slightly confused state. His eyes met Ella's. Was Spark angry? He wasn't, his eyes showed no emotion. "What's the point. Why did we even come here Ella. We are all going to die eventually-" He was stopped.

"Don't say that!" Ella said with her voice raised

"Why not? Is it bad luck? Look around you, I don't think there is a such thing as luck anymore. That means thousands upon thousands had 'bad luck'. I don't think a simple, but true, statement is going to hurt us"

"You're wrong Spark. You're just spitting out drivel in a drunken state. It means nothing... We need to get moving. I've always been by your side, you can't do this" Ella sighed "This isn't the stallion I used to know"

With a growl, Spark moved closer to Ella as he pushed aside two other bottles in his way. He looked her in the eyes. This time Ella saw emotion, but it wasn't anger. It was depression and confusion trying to disguise itself as anger. She didn't feel threatened, she was all he had. If Spark laid a hoof on her she would be gone in minutes. Ella was just the pony that Spark could complain to. "I'm not drunk Ella. Don't doubt me, I know what I'm saying and it's true. There is no point of going on" He spit on the ground "Might as well just stop here and drink until the machines get us"

"You are sure as hell are drunk Spark. This isn't you" Ella moved forward. Despite the smell that arose from him and how much of a jerk he was being right now, she leaned in for a kiss. He was still her Spark, no matter how hopeless he was being. Every once in awhile her stallion got dramatic. The mare looked into his eyes "You're the solider that could go miles and miles without water or food, but still somehow have hope that you could go on. You're the ranger that stayed in Canterlot for weeks without any care for yourself while you looked for survivors. Now you want to give up? What about me? What about the pony that was there before this all happened? We've come far. Look in a mirror Spark, you aren't being you. You're being a hopeless monster, and that's not the pony I remember"

The stallion looked down at a small puddle of water. It reflected his face, the walls of two apartment buildings, and the sky that was overcast as usual. Without Cloudsdale's weather team anymore, the weather came from wherever, and that was usually no-ponies land. Clouds drifted in from the west, usually bringing this normal, miserable weather that the pegasi pushed away for so many years. It sure was a hopeless atmosphere, but just like there was always signs of failure, there could also be signs of good things too. Like his mare that always stopped him from being the pony he never was, a bum. The sober thoughts came through "I-" Spark started "-I love you Ella. You're right... I-If I keep doing this we can't get anywhere. If we have the will to go on, maybe things didn't go well for others, but things could go right for us. But I still want to look for survivors. We are still part of Equestria, I'm still a ranger, so I still have to carry out my last duty. That duty is to save as many lives as possible"

"That's the stallion I remember"

"I know... I can have my moments sometimes. Sorry you had to see that" Spark sighed. This was originally supposed to be a break to eat a somewhat dinner. Instead it became a moment for Spark with his drinking. He was sure to keep those two bottles for later, there was a good chance this would happen again.

"Yeah, that's a no brainer" Ella chuckled. With a kiss, Spark slowly started to recover. His mare wrapped a hoof around him as they brought themselves into the street.

=================================================================================================

It was close to dark as the two continued forward on their journey. It was a mission to find the one area, the one area that all were looking for. An area where they were safe from the metal menace. If it would be found, or if it even existed, it was always doubted and especially by Spark. But Ella made him push forward as always. The stallion held his bow close, with a arrow always ready to be fired. The very point of arrow scanned while he stayed in a defensive position. It always had to be a direct hit in the eye for a arrow to be effective against a machine. It was his talent, and it was what his specialty was in the Ranger's branch of the royal guard. Most used the guns, a hidden technology, the machines, with help from G-3 brought into Equestria. Spark however stayed to the weapon he was used to, and the weapon that was forever to be on his flank. Spark's eye was watchful, listening for the grinding of metal.

Ella followed along with her head down. She knew she was defenseless compared to Spark, having not much of a talent in survival. Her flank had a rose, a beautiful red one on it. If somehow decorating for weddings, funerals, or birthdays would help her out here it would be useful, but that wasn't the case. Ella's talent was being a florist, a beautiful talent yes, but flower's weren't around anymore to pick. Her coltfriend always kept her safe, a strong solider that was always smart, so she didn't have much worry. Ella continued to slowly follow along while Spark scanned every inch of the land in front of them. Spark put his hoof up as he suddenly became tense. "Spark, what is it?" The mare whispered.

"I heard something" He replied with the same volume

"Machine?"

"No, not loud enough... Pony, maybe a animal of some sort. At my 1"

"Would you like me to hide?"

"No... Stay with me" Spark waved his hoof for the two of them to move forward. He was right. With a loud reaction from Ella, a irritated and infuriated dog hopped out of a trash can with it's teeth drawn. It didn't stand much of a chance. Spark gave no mercy, as his very quick and swift reaction had a arrow in the dogs eye while it was still in air from it's jump. Ella hopped back, startled, as the momentum of the body had it drag and stop in front of her. A brown, fairly large dog that looked beaten. It still had a angry look on it's face. Spark chuckled while Ella looked down. He was proud of yet another impressive kill.

"Spark! It was scared!"

"Yeah... It-" He stopped as his ears perked up and he walked towards the trashcan "-There's more" Spark said quietly as he walked towards the trashcan that was stuck in a pile of ruble in the middle of the street. The answer was going to be along the lines of 'It shouldn't of messed with me' but it sounded like the fight wasn't won yet. He kept his arrowhead pointed right at the trashcan. Ella put her head down again as they slowly went towards it. He walked away as soon as he saw what it was.

"W-What was it?" Ella tilted her head at Spark's carelessness. She headed forward and saw it was a litter of young, frightened puppies "Spark!"

"Yeah?"

"Are we just going to leave these little puppies here?"

"Eeeyup" The stallion said as he continued to march forward in the slowly darkening street. He hummed a little tune to himself.

"But... Spark, that dog you killed was a mother. It was just trying to defend it's children"

"That sucks. It got in my way, and I couldn't stop myself from defending our well being" Spark rolled his eyes, looking at the whimpering puppies mourning their mothers loss. He had no choice but to comfort her mare, who looked pretty sad. What pony with a sole couldn't be? "They are old enough to go out on their own. They sure as hell figured out what happens if you mess with a pony. If they don't have a father figure to grow them the rest up, they'll go out and survive on their own. The machines don't kill animals, they are only programmed to kill ponies" He chuckled "Feel better now?"

"Just-" Ella started "I don't know... I would do the same if I had a foal"

"Of course you would... But let's hope that doesn't happen" Spark trotted towards the dog, taking his knife to it "Ah, I don't think we could use any of this meat anyway. This mom looks pretty sick"

Ella sighed, petting one of the puppies heads. It reacted by lowering it, very scared of the companion of it's mothers murderer. She felt bad, and pulled a piece of bread out of her saddle bag. Instantly, all of them forgave her, and came in to start nibbling on the piece of bread. Spark came closer, watching what she was doing. When she stood up, he patted her on the back. "I'd say it's a waste of supplies, but it's something we could donate. See, the little guys are old enough that they don't need their mothers milk anymore. Any day now they would go out and live by themselves"

"I just wonder if there is still any mothers out there alive. We saw older ponies like us on our travels, but nopony younger then 14"

"Well, just like this dog here, they have to stay home and defend the litter" Spark put his head down "Sadly, they had no ways of defending against machines" Spark nudged her forward "Come on, we don't need this depression. Let's keep moving, it's getting dark"

With that, the two kept marching forward. Shelter consisted of a well put together building, that had most of it's structure so that the two could go on the fourth level. The machines were about three stories high, and could look into any third, second, or first floor with it's menacing eyes. That's why story 4 or a little higher was safe. However, too high would make it hard to get out in case of the worst sort of attack. Machines had capability on all grounds, so if a aerial machines bird eye caught you high enough, it would crash and burn through walls just to kill you. So a level in the middle was perfect. Spark was having no luck as the sun lowered past the city skyline. He stopped in his tracks and looked around, wondering if sleeping in a dumpster was the best idea. It was getting dangerously close to night. The roamers were the small population of machines in the city. They were the few decently powered machines that peeled off the main group to keep guard in the areas they already destroyed. However, the main group did a well enough job that the roamers were often off guard, not calculating any chances of life. But if found, they were hungry, and they would kill you in seconds.

Ella was a few feet away from Spark as he flew up a few feet to look about for a building. Most had excuses for why they couldn't be used. Not high enough, looks unstable, too dark, located in a bad spot, too noticeable, and too open was just a few. Spark was almost out of time when he turned to Ella. Noises started to ring out, but he didn't pay attention to them. They were faint, but they were the noises that weren't wind, or leaves. They were the noises that you should run from, and the mare perked her ears up at them. Spark talked "We are sleeping in a dumpster... We don't have time".

"Do you hear that Spark?"

Spark paused, crouching down as he listened. He put a arrow in his bow as he heard something coming closer. He stayed quiet as a mouse, like he was back in the military. His heart slowed, everything slowed, as he knew that a machine was coming. The noise came close enough that Spark knew he had a shot. His bow came up, swiftly and quickly as he was about to shoot. He was startled by what he saw, and the stallion was about to fire until Ella tackled him. The arrow flew upwards, just missing the target.

"Ella! What are you doing!" Spark yelled, confused. But Ella pointed, wanting him to turn off his kill switch and just pay attention for a second. He sighed as he saw a creature he never thought he would see again. A very large and tough looking griffin had his arms up, along with a smaller one that also put his own hands up. Spark sighed, walking towards them "It's fine... We're not-" The stallion paused again. His ears perked up and he looked around. Was that still a noise he heard? A unknown one that didn't belong? The two of them looked at the two new arrivals, both staying still as statues. Spark aimed his bow again, annoyed. "You two playing games?" The pegasus growled.

"Spark?" Ella whispered?

"Ella, not now" Spark kept his aim.

"Don't. Move."

Author's Note:

More to come~

Spark is not owned by me. Spark is owned by npawersome on Brohoof.com. All of it belongs to him.

Ella is not owned by me. Ella is owned by Wimpykid on Brohoof.com. All of it belongs to him.

391 views

Previous Chapters