> Alone. (Title not confirmed.) > by Zanozoid > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- > 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 > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- The day was hot. The sun shown brightly in the bright blue sky. The wind was gently blowing through the grass and leaves. I continued down the path I was on, the gravel crunching beneath my hooves. I loved being outside... Never really had a place to go inside, really. I am a traveler, so, I travel... A lot. I never really stay in one place for long. I just sort of wonder. I usually find myself being drawn to the Everfree, though. I'm not quite sure why... But it might have something to do with my past. I sat down on a nearby bench. You see, I have amnesia, so I have no idea where I am from, who is in my family, who my friends are, what my special talent is, none of that! If it wasn't for that damn bird, none of this would have happened! The story behind all of that is... Well, I'm sort of a... Escaped mental patient. I had attempted to kill somepony, (so I've been told) and I was dragged there. But in one of the medical labs, my eyes were stabbed, causing the pupils to permanently shrink and be stained red. Not sure what they had in those needles, but it didn't work. I was put into the hospital so that they could study my eyes, but found nothing... That I know of. On the way out of the hospital, though, I was flying home, and I was hit in the face with a bird. It was huge! Could have been a griffon it was so big! Actually... It might have really been a griffon! Never thought of that before... But anyways, it caused me to crash into the ground (head first) giving me amnesia. Also a fractured skull and jaw. All I could remember was the days I spent in the patients room... It was dull. I never wanted to be in a room like that ever again, so I decided to spend the rest of my life traveling. Man, that story was really nice. Gave me awhile to regain my stamina. I got up off the bench and began to walk again. The trail was coming to an end. It lead out of the forest and into a hill filled field. I walked out of the tree and plant infested forest and trotted up one of the hills. I sat down and shut my eyes. Maybe I'll just take a small nap... Just to pass the time. I awoke with a start. The smell of smoke and burning wood was in the air. Wha- What happened?! I stood up, shaking the drowsy feeling off. I looked to the skies and saw smoke. A lot of it, too. It filled the entire sky, and then some. A massive fire was behind this, no doubt. But there was so much smoke, I didn't know where to look for the source! I decided to just follow the trail to the nearest town. I had never been this way before. It would be interesting to see something new for once. As I walked down the path some more, I realized that the smoke was getting worse. Maybe it was the town on this trail that was on fire! I started to trot a bit faster, I was still a bit sleepy, but I wanted to see this.I wanted to. I needed to. I approached the town, only to find that it was completely destroyed. Burning buildings laid about, pieces of wood and burnt wall scattered about the streets. Dead bodies were everywhere, some of which were still on fire. Others were just bone with some bits of skin and clothing stuck to them. I was sickened from this sight, but I forced myself to continue going. Barely any buildings were still standing... There were some foundations here and there, but most of them had piles of debris sitting atop of their smooth, stone surface. I walked the streets, trying not to acknowledge the bodies. Hopefully there is something in all of this shit... I tried clearing for debris and looking around in boxes and chests, but was greeted by dust, bones, or things of little interest. I was walking down a pair of stairs in a half collapsed house, when I saw it. It stuck out like a candle on a cake, meaning it wasn't all that hard to see. I jumped down off the stairs and raced over to it. I dug it out of the trash that was surrounding it and brushed of the dirt. What I held in my hooves was an orb. A blue one to be exact. I looked at my reflection through its gleaming, polished surface. It was beautiful. But other then that, it was extremely boring! I could sell this... But who would want a big blue orb? Hm... I didn't know what to do with it. Oh! I know! What if there is something inside of it? And with that, I chunked it at a wall. No second thoughts or anything. As the orb smashed into the brick wall, time seemed to slow down. I was really hoping something was inside of it! But, all that happened was this: The orb collided with the wall, making a very loud crashing and cracking noise, causing it to break into large chunks. Man... I was really hoping something cool would happen- And with that, the orb's pieces shot a large beam of light into the dark skies, a loud screeching noise accompanying it. "Ah! My... Ears...!" I shouted, placing my hooves over my ears. They were bleeding. Not good, not good, not good... What have I done? What did I do wrong?! Well, I did throw it at a wall, but whatever. After about a minute of bright light and screeching, it stopped. The beam slowly disappeared, and the screeching drifted of like the wind. Ears still bleeding, I walked forward to where the orb once laid, only to find a strange looking stone. What? A stone? When did that get here? Maybe the stone was the thing inside of the orb! Only one way to find out: To Twilight! I was very sweaty by the time I got to the clearing to Ponyville. My ears had stopped bleeding awhile ago, and I was exhausted. I was glad to be there at last. "Finally!" I said in praise. "Finally what?" A voice said from behind me. My eyes opened wide and I jumped several feet in the air, letting out a small yelp. "Oh, I'm sorry. I didn't mean to scare you..." Thank goodness... It was just Twilight. "Oh, Twilight! I was looking for you. I need you to see something." I pulled out the strange stone and showed it to her. "Hm... I think I've seen this somewhere before... These symbols, I mean." I looked at her funny my head turned to one side. "Symbols? I never noticed those before. I guess I wasn't paying attention to it." I really wasn't paying attention to it. I saw it, threw it at a wall, and then shoved it in my bag... "Uh, would you mind if I took this for further inspection?" That snapped me out of my thoughts. "Hm, what? Oh, yeah. Sure." "Okay, thanks!" And with that she trotted off down the path.Well, while I'm here, I might as well stop and get something to eat... I walked along the streets, waiting for somepony to say "Hi" or hear laughter, maybe even some ponies arguing. But what I got was the opposite of all that. The streets were empty, all the windows to houses, buildings, and, well, anything that had a window, were bordered up with wooden planks, blinds, even furniture! All the doors were locked, and there were no restaurants open. All the lights were off, and all that could be heard was the gentle breeze and bits of paper or leaves being tossed around in the gusts of wind. I was very puzzled by this. I had just spoken to Twilight! How could the town be so empty? Were was everyone? I really had no idea what was going on. Is it a prank? Is this a set up? Is Pinkie behind this? I kept asking questions like that until I decided to just leave. Well, if they all left, then I should leave too. I turned around, and started walking back from where I had come from. > Chapter 2: A new face > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- As I walked down the empty streets, a chill ran down my spine. Something was off. Something wasn't right. "Better keep my eyes peeled..." I said to myself. Turning down a corner, I saw something fly past me. Out of reflex, I jumped back, readying myself for whatever it was I had seen. I waited for a bit, just to be safe, then continued down the road. That's a bit strange...I thought to myself. It was probably a damn bird or something... Man I hate bir- I was cut off by the shadowy blur again. I saw it. I knew I had. I nervously spun around and yelled, "I know you’re here! I saw you! Come out and face me!" As the silence settled in, I felt like a fool. "What am I thinking? Only ponies in those dumb story's say that." I walked down the rode a bit more before stopping at a four way. I thought I heard a shattering sound. Looking towards the sound, I saw that the building on the other side of the street had a smashed window. I knew I shouldn't have gone over to investigate, but, hey. I'm a curious kind of pony. I trotted over to the building and checked the door. Looked. Well, the window is already broken, so I might as well.. I crawled onto the window seal and climbed inside. I might have been imagining things, but I could have swore I saw blood on the glass shards. They must have cut themselves... I continued through the building, Whoever did this must have not gotten far... I creeped up the stairs, trying not to make any noise. About half way up, I heard a shuffling sound. I froze, not daring to move. I stood there for a while, silently breathing. "Okay... One... Two... Three!" I charged up the stairs and burst into the attic. "Where are you?! Why were you following me?!" I turned to my right and saw that the window was open. They must have gone on the roof. I shimmied my way out the window onto the roof. "Really need to loose some weight..." It's true. I was getting out of shape. I stood up and looked around. Nothing. "Well, I guess I was wron-" I was once again cut off as I was tackled, sending me flying off the roof. "Oh... My back..." I groaned. "What’s your prob- Who are you?! Why did you do that?! Why were you following me?!" I said, pulling myself off the ground. A ping of pain surged through my back. That's going to hurt in the morning... The pony stood up, then brushed the dirt off the black cloak he was wearing, it was covering his face. "Who are you and why are you here?" The mysterious pony asked. "Uh... Y-you answer me first!" I stuttered out. "Do you know who you are talking to?" He turned towards me, 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. I thought. “Um... Nice to meet you?” “Yes. Nice to meet you too. Now answer my questions: Who are you and why are you here?” He said sternly. "Oh, yes. Well, I am Zark. Just Zark. I'm not really from anywhere. I just sort of wonder around, going place to place." "Well, Zark, why are you here?" The pony asked me. "I um... I found a stone in a town that was ruined, and I brought it here so Twilight could see it. Then I came into town to find a place to eat, but then you started following me and-" He cut me off. "Did you say, 'a town that was ruined?'" I looked at him funny and raised an eyebrow. "Yeees..." I slowly said, not knowing why he would want to know. Well, he was a guard, so it makes sense. The pony turned away from me and looked off into the distance,"A town nearby was burnt down and raided. I came here to evacuate everypony before the same happened here... Tell me, did you see anything strange there other than that stone?" "Um... I don't think so. I didn't really observe that much." I said. "Uh, I don't think I know your name." "Spark. My name is Spark." 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?" I thought for a moment. "Okay, sure." And with that, Spark took off into the sky. "Hey! Wait for me!" and I shot off after him. I flew next to him, looking down on the empty town. "We have unfinished subjects to discuss." He said. I looked at him for a second. "What?" "That stone, what did it look like?" I thought for a minute. What did it look like? I can't seem to remember... "Um... I forgot. Sorry." Spark's face seemed to look worried. "What? What is it?" His face stayed the same. "This isn't good..." "What? What isn't good?" I asked, starting to worry myself. "N-nothing. It's nothing. Just... Just forget it." "Uh... Okay, I guess." How could you forget something that someone specifically wants you to forget?! As time passed, the skies darkened and the sun lowered itself beyond the horizon. "Man, that sure is beautiful..." I said, hoping that I would get a reply. "Yeah, I guess so." Spark said, looking off into the distance. He looked off. "Is- is there something wrong?" I asked. "No, it's just- Nothing. It's nothing."Hm. Yeah. Nice try. "No, clearly something is wrong. Something is bothering you, and I want to know what." Ha! I got you now... "I said, it was nothing!" He shouted at me. I cowered a bit, raising my shoulders slightly. "Okay. Sorry, it's your business and I shouldn't be pokey." I apologized, hoping he would forgive me. I really don't want to get on his bad side... I mean, he's a guard! A trained guard! He could probably rip my wings off with ease! Or, maybe I need to stop reading all of those violent books... "alright," he said, landing on a rooftop, "I think that's it for today. Lets find a place to rest." He walked over to the edge of the roof and looked down the empty street. "did- did you here that?" He asked me, looking over his shoulder. "No, I didn't. Why? What did it sound like?" "Crying. It sounded like crying. Or at least, one cry." I looked at him for a second, then realized what he wanted to do. "Oh. Oh! You want to go see what it is, don't you?" He flew of the roof and landed on the ground below. "No, I just want to sit here and look at the stars. Yes I want to see what it is!" He started making his way down the street. I quickly flew down after him. "Star gazing is cool..." I mumbled to myself. "What?" He said to me, raising one eyebrow. "N-nothing..." I shrank back down again. Man, he was scary! The look in his eyes, it's just... Gives you the chills. About half way down the road, we heard it again. Well, for me it was the first time, so I was kind of creeped out. It was a low moaning sound, not much of a cry. It sounded like it was hurt. not with wounds, not with sickness, but, you know, like it was extremely sad. "Was that what you heard earlier?" I asked. "Yeah, sounds like it. common', we need to hurry." Not to long after we had taken flight, we saw a light gray pegasus with green striped hair sitting in a field just outside of town. "Down there!" Zark said. "Got it!" Spark shouted back, then dived toward the gray pony. "Wait for me!" Zark said, and dove down towards the ground. As I landed on the grass next to my new... I guess you could call, "friend," Spark, I looked at the pony laying on the ground in front of us. "Is there something wrong with him?" I whispered. "I don't know..." Spark replied. The pegasus just sat there silently, eyes watering. "Uh... Excuse me. Is there something wrong?" I asked. "They are gone. All of them..." He muttered, voice shaking slightly. "Who? Who is gone?" Spark asked. "Spark! Don't be so rude! We need to take this slow. We don't even know who he is! Baby steps, man. Baby steps." It was sort of rude of him. "Alright... Um, what is your name?" Spark said to the gray pegasus. He looked up slightly and said, "I-it's Thunder... Thunder Bolt." "Well, Thunder, mind telling us what's wrong? How can we help you?" Spark said. Thunder only replied with, "You can't." You can't. What could he mean? "W-what do you mean, 'You can't?'" Spark asked. "You can't help me. They are gone. Dead. So unless you can bring things back from the dead, you can't help me. Just... Just go away. Leave me alone." We were silent for a few moments. "Well, we can't just leave you out here by yourself." I said. "Why don't you come with us?" Thunder stood up and said, "Fine." "Great! Now we only have to find a place to sleep." I said, looking toward the town behind us. "How about the library?" Spark said. "The library doesn't seem to bad. Common Thunder, let's go." The door was unlocked, so we just walked in. "I call upstairs!" I yelled, running towards the steps. "Alright. We will stay down here, I guess." Spark said walking over to the couch. "Stupid books. Get off the couch!" He said, knocking some books off. As I got upstairs I noticed one thing: Books. A lot of them. "Uh... Were is the bed?" I asked. "I don't know! I've never been in Twilight's room before. "Wait... This is Twilight's house?" I said. "Yeah man. She owns this place." I did not know that. Guess I never really asked where she lived. Under a very large stack of magazines, newspapers, paper backs, and hard covers, I finally found the bed. Aw man, it's purple! Meh. I can live with it. I crawled under the sheets and shut my eyes. This was my first time sleeping in a real bed. The fact that it was Twilight's made it kind of weird, but I can get past that. "Night!" I yelled downstairs. "Good night." Thunder said. "Night." Spark yawned. And with that, we all dozed off within minuets.