//------------------------------//
// prologue 
// Story: Adventures of Shasta 
// by veteranbrony 
//------------------------------//

	Running. It seemed that was all my miserable life had come to. Running from those I cared about. I used to call family. Friends. None of that mattered anymore. In fact, I was not even thinking about this at the time. I was aware of a few things only at the time: The crunching of the autumn leaves underneath my paws. The howling of furious wolves in the distance. That's all... well that and the constant fear of being caught and torn to pieces by the pack. Now I was just running, running from a place I called home for so many years.
This was the sixth time today I had to leave my little temporary hiding holes that were by now all over the forest. I knew it was no use, though. Taka had my scent down pact. Of course that was to be expected... he was my only brother after all. Well... not by blood... He raised me after my mother died. He taught me the ways of the pack. He showed me how to hunt. How to survive on my own. I bet right now he was wishing he hadn't. His survival skills he had so graciously passed onto me were the only things keeping me alive right now.
Oh no... I heard a howl from up ahead. I immediately recognized the howl as none other than Taka's. He had me surrounded, I just knew it. There is no way he would have passed me by like that. He had to have the rest of the pack behind me. I stopped for a moment, collected myself and immediately ran to the left. Maybe I wasn't surrounded. Maybe the rest of the pack only was behind me....  Nope. My heart sank.
In front of me stood the three greatest warriors of the pack.... Taka didn't count. He was the pack leader. Sharma, the one in front, snarled. She was Taka's sister... I could definitely see the family resemblance. Same piercing eyes, same menacing teeth... yep... she growled and gave me a final warning: 
"Shasta! You. Betrayed. The. Pack. I will give you ONE last chance... tell us... WHAT did you DO to the FOAL!?" 
I took a deep breath, and said:
"I told you. I don't know what happened to the foal. ask Taka. As for betraying the pack, I have no idea what you are talking about. I am simply a hunter on a hunting trip. now if you would pl-"
I was cut off by Sharma,
"LIAR! You ran off with the foal and never came back."
I responded,
"Am I not allowed to go on long hunting trips anymore?"
She just about lost it. 
"YOU JUST ABOUT KILLED HATHOS! NOW YOU MUST PAY FOR YOUR TRAITOROUS ACTS!"
She and the others lunged in unison. I remembered back to a lesson with Taka.
"Bears could attack at any time. You need to feel your surroundings. Find everything and anything you could use to your advantage and think of how you could use it. Take this hole, for example."
Taka said, pointing at a small hole in the ground, 
"it is much too small for a bear to fit in. But with the some effort-"
he struggled, going into the hole,
"you can fit in. See?"
I quickly snapped out of the memory. The wolves were pouncing at me as if in slow motion. I felt a branch beneath my paws. Hoping it had proper leverage, I shifted all my weight onto it. It did just as I had hoped. The back end of the branch stuck up. It swung through the air, effectively taking out Sharma and the others. They were knocked to the side. Sharma's eyes were shining with hate. I did what anyone in their right mind would do. I turned and I ran. Again...
I was the fastest member of the pack by far. I could easily outrun them to... I then remembered... I have no where left to run... I couldn't afford to think like that. Not right now. I put that thought aside and ran like I had never run before. I ran through the forest dodging branches and trees. I was a good distance ahead of the three crazed wolves. A wave of confidence rushed through me as the wolf to the left of Sharma got whacked in the face with a branch. I shouldn't have been looking backwards. I slipped and fell. Sharma beamed hate at me. She was coming at full speed now. I looked around, but saw nothing I could use to my advantage. I tried getting up, but by that time she had already pounced.
A wave of pain seared through my body as her claws made contact with my back. I rolled on by back, desperate to try to buck her off me. It worked. I got to my paws as quickly as possible, and ran again. I only got a few feet distance before a new searing pain rushed through my body going from my hind leg and vibrating to my head. The wolf on the right had bitten me in my hind leg. I kicked him in the throat and kept running, though slower than before. I looked back. Sharma and the other wolves were knocked out cold. A tree to the head, a head to the ground, and a kick to the throat will do that to you. Looking forward again, I saw a light and remembered that I DO have one place to run. Ponyville. I had seen one of the ponies taking care of many animals. even bears. It was a long shot, but it was my only chance. Surely if she could take care of bears, she could take care of me. Perhaps I could even join her pack. I could be a "pony". I could start my life over. I ran towards the light and never turned back.