Time: approximately 20 years before the events of the season one premiere. (the elements of harmony, known as the mane 6 are mere newborns at this point)
You have potential. Much potential indeed. A strange voice spoke to him. It reminded him of the wicked witch of the west from that one movie… What was it… Wizard of Oz? Sounds right. You are the chosen being. The one, chosen to prove himself to the gods. You shall embark in a journey, filled with dangerous traps and creatures trying to kill you. You are weak now, but you already proved yourself to one of the 6 elements. Open your eyes and wake up. all you must do is place your thumb to the center and mutter a phrase to it. The voice began to dissipate itself to leave, but not before speaking one last time. Each harmony stone provides a unique power after completing the trial. We will meet again after you have gathered all 6 harmony stones. Farewell young warrior. The path ahead is most unpleasant.
Brad sat up from where he was laying, eyes wide open and he was panting. That dream. What was it? After dwelling upon it for a moment, he decided that he would figure it out later. while he was zoned out he picked up upon the subtle details of his surroundings, informing him of his unknown location.
He picked himself up off of the rather soft patch of grass that he had laid upon. He took in his surroundings, helped by what little light that reached his eyes. Off in the distance was a light. So faint that he nearly missed it entirely. It was a yellow light, pulsating.
Brad began walking toward the light. From around him, he saw pairs of yellow eyes stare at him. He felt scared. One of the creatures stalked toward him, being illuminated by the full moon above. A creature shaped like a wolf and made of wood stalked him. This creature just gave the term “timber wolf” an all new meaning.
Deciding to not engage the creature, he sprinted. straight toward the glowing light, which he could now discern was a gem. He dashed to it and grasped it, it was attached to a stone wall. It would not budge. Hearing a growl, he rolled to the side which turned out to be a wise decision as the wolf bashed into the wall, causing the glowing gem to dislodge. The wolf disintegrated into a pile of sticks but immediately began to reform. Brad quickly snatched the stone off the floor and ran inside the cave, the yellow light illuminating the cave.
A light not unlike shimmering water reflected off of a source and illuminated the cave further. Suddenly, a deafening snort and the movement of thousands upon thousands of golden coins and gems thundered throughout the cave. A loud groan of discontent was heard next.
Brad had the presence of mind to hide behind a rocky pillar, covering the illuminant gem with his shirt to mask the glow. The beast sat up, yawned and scratched it’s belly before sniffing the air. It’s drowsy demeanor immediately disappeared and was replaced by a snarl.
“I can smell you.” The dragon said in a raspy, almost sandpaper-y voice. “Face me, Thief!”
“But I am not a thief!” Brad shouted. “I came only seeking shelter from wooden wolves. Not to steal from you.”
“But you possess a gem, a very precious gem. Don’t think I don’t know about it. I can smell it’s unique power from here.” The dragon snarled at brad who was quivering behind his pillar. “As for the Timberwolves, they are a non-issue.”
“I found it outside! In the wall of your cave. The timberwolf smashed into it and dislodged it. After picking it up, I came in here to escape it.” Brad said, submitting to the dragon, knowing that if push came to shove, that he would never make it out of the cave alive.
“Hmm… I find myself believing you… What are you, Strange creature? You are unlike any minotaur I have ever seen.” Minotaur? After a moment, he spoke again in a demanding tone. “Well? Out with it!”
He took a deep breath and steeled his nerves, Brad then emerged from behind the pillar. “I am a Human. Homo Sapien if you’d like to be scientific.” The dragon took on a thoughtful expression, overlooking the human.
“A human you say? I cannot say I’ve ever heard of such a creature… You aren’t from around here are you?” Brad shook his head ‘no’ “Hmm, I am… Intrigued. What is your name?”
“I’d like to ask the same in return. My name is Brad Collinsworth.” He took a bow, knowing that the two were at a state of non hostility. When he rose up again from the bow, he saw an amused look on the dragon’s muzzle.
“I am known as Eldritch the Undying. A rather peculiar name I know. My kin gave it to me as I am the last of the ‘True dragons’.” Eldritch said, looking down in a downcast manner. Brad recognized the look as an ‘I don’t want to talk about it’ expression.
“I understand. I won’t bring it up. It was a pleasure meeting you Eldritch, but I must be going.” Nervously advancing toward the cave entrance, he saw a flash of lightning and the nearly deafening downpour of rain outside. Seconds later the thunder was heard, causing him to shrink away from the entrance. Brad turned back to the dragon who had an amused look once again. “Do you mind if I stay here for the night? I won’t take anything without permission.” Brad swore.
The dragon nodded. “It has been several centuries since I've last had a guest, Even longer since i’ve had a guest that I haven’t eaten.” The dragon threatened playfully before letting out a hearty laugh that caused a stalactite to fall and shatter nearby. He then pointed with one of his incredibly large claws toward a hole in the side of the cave. “In there you will find a bed. Being several centuries old, it may have rotted away by now though.”
Bowing gratefully to Eldritch, Brad walked quickly to the cave that was mentioned. Inside was a very barren room. There were stalactite formations on the low ceiling, each dripping water. on the side was what seemed to be a desk, carved out of the stone. and the other side contained a simple bedroll but it somehow looked perfectly preserved. Throwing this odd thought out of his head, he walked up to the bedroll. He had to duck beneath and between the sharp stalactites, to make his way to the bed. He laid down upon it and fell asleep almost instantly.
The next morning he awoke to… darkness. This isn’t my bedroom. The memories of the previous night crept back to him, remembering the dragon, the strange yellow gem, and the timberwolf. Luckily, his eyes had long since adjusted to the darkness, allowing him to make out the sharp formations dotting the low ceiling. He got up and walked out of the side-cave to see the giant pile of gold and gems disturbed. He could not see the dragon.
Eyeing the mound of gold and gems, his natural greed came to the surface. He ran his hands through the massive amount of gold and other riches. Unbeknownst to him, The dragon was outside, watching the human from the entrance. “Such beauty…” He said in a trance. “No, It is not worth my own life.” He walked away, toward the entrance, where the dragon hid out of sight. Eldritch must be out hunting. He thought, unaware of the elder dragon’s dietary habits. Not knowing that gems and gold were a major portion of their diets.
He began his trek by quickly descending from the mouth of the cave. Since it was daytime, he could now see that he was infact on a mountain. He slid down the embankment to the base and dusted off his tattered pant. Around him was a thick wall of brambles. He sighed and tried to find a way around but to no avail. He sighed. “This is going to hurt…” He winced at the thought of it.
A memory rose to the surface. One on survival. he quickly disrobed down to just his underwear and held the clothes above his head as he pushed through the brambles. The thorns on this plant were much thicker than he was used to around his old home but he eventually got through and fell to the ground completely covered in scratches that already started to bleed. Looking around, he saw that he was next to a river, once that was gushing past him at an easy forty miles an hour. His wounds were beginning to bleed profusely. Blood from a particularly large wound on his forehead began to drip into his right eye, obscuring his vision. He took out a knife that was conveniently inside one of the pockets in his pants and began to cut up his shirt, cutting it into thin strips and wrapping them around the worst wounds. Brad then put his pants back on. “Water leads to civilization… But was it upstream or downstream that can be faster? I don’t remember.” Walking forward, he followed the river upstream.
He eventually came to an incline, having hiked several hours, he had picked up a rather sturdy stick which he used to keep himself upright. It was nearly sunset and he had no time to build a shelter. He could only rely on his faith as he neared the top, praying that a village or some sort of shelter laid on the other side.
The hundreds of wounds on his body had dried, clotting the injuries. Every single one of the cuts itched like mad. He reached the top and looked around, the particular hill he stood upon was taller than many of the trees, allowing him a good view of his surroundings. He turned slowly, closely analyzing the area. He looked around for any signs of civilized life, smoke, fire, perhaps an abandoned cabin, anything. As the last of his hopes nearly faded he saw it… a smoke stack. His hopes skyrocketed as he immediately took off in the direction of the fire. The cold winds of night time were already tickling his back as he ran, adrenaline filling his veins as night time drew closer.
He had to cover atleast two miles within a few minutes. Sadly, he was not an athletic runner and had scored a 7:31 time on the mile run at his previous school. At that rate… 15 minutes to cover two miles. He doubted he could do it, but he had no choice.
Brad ducked and weaved through the trees, jumping over tree stumps and being careful not to trip as he ran. He was happy. The feeling of air whipping through his hair felt amazing. Had his life not been endanger, he would have savored this moment even further.
He had no choice, he could die. He was in the middle of a forest, alone. presumably on an alien world if the Dragon was any indication. Not a single being aside from the dragon knew he existed. He would be alone, not a single being trying to find him. He was scared.
He slowed down, having covered at least a mile by that time. He wheezed, coming off of the adrenaline rush. He brought the glowing gem out of his pocket, whispering a silent prayer to whatever deities that would listen. With the gem between his palms, he knelt.
“Help me. I have showed you nothing but Kindness, if there is a way to repay it, it would be now. Help me get through this.” From behind his closed eyelids he could tell there was a source of light that was getting brighter and brighter by the second. Here he was. In the middle of the forest, so close, yet so far from safety. He couldn’t make it. Fatigue was overcoming him. The blood lost from the brambles and his desperate sprint toward safety had taken a heavy toll upon him.
He opened his eyes to see the gem glowing dangerously bright. Suddenly, the gem exploded, splitting into six sections. One of them began to glow blue while the rest stayed yellow. The five yellow shards flew toward him and attached to his chest causing him to black out. the blue shard held in his hand. He drifted off into unconsciousness. But in the waking world, any observer could state that he had suddenly vanished.