TEK: The Beginning

by Jet Fly

Chapter 12: Misaligned

*...Oooohhh... Where am I?*

Ditzy Doo was completely disoriented. She awoke to finding herself lying down on what felt like dirt ground, perhaps in some forest. There was a slight ringing in her ears and her hearing was muffled, and as she started to open her eyes everything around her was blurry. And her head hurt like crazy too.

“...itz!...ake up!"

Ditzy looked up slightly. Still squinting to see, she tried to make out what she thought was shouting at her.

*What's that orange thing yelling at me? Did I mess up another delivery or something?*

“...Ditz!"

*Huh... It's almost like it's yelling-*

“DITZ! DITZY WAKE UP!"

“WAH!"

Ditzy yelled as she jumped up and fell back on her side.

“Phew, I'm glad your awake. You had me worried there for a second, Ditzy."

“Huh? Jet? Where am I?"

Jet shook his head and smiled.

“Well, I'm not surprised that you don't remember. You hit that tree pretty hard."

Ditzy tilted her head in confusion.

“Tree? What tre-oh... Right... Sorry..."

It was all coming back to her. She and Jet were on a training mission, scouting out a supposed Timber Wolf nesting ground in the Everfree Forest. They were flying steadily before Ditzy collided face first with a giant oak that now had her face imprinted on its trunk.

“It's no problem. We were just about done for today anyway. C'mon, it's getting late. Let's set up camp here."

Jet then took off his saddle bags and began to take out the sleeping bags.

Ditzy sat idly as Jet set up camp. By now they had already gotten a campfire started with some leaves around their clearing.

“Hey Ditz, mind adding some fuel to the fire?"

Ditzy smiled, finally having something to do.

“Oh, okay. I can help!"

Ditzy went over to grab the spare wood, though she accidentally grabbed something else next to it.

“NO DITZ NOT THE-"

*woomph*

“...food supply...."

Realizing what she had done, the clumsy pegasus rubbed her foreleg in embarrassment.

“Oh... I'm really sorry! They were sitting right next to each other and the food pack looked just like spare wood!"

Jet merely sighed.

“It's okay. I know it wasn't on purpose. Look, stay here and watch the camp while I go out and find some supplies. Can you handle that?"

“Aye aye Captain!"

Ditzy saluted.

“Good. I'll be back in a bit. Watch your surroundings. The Everfree is a dangerous place. Be careful."

Ditzy watched as Jet took off into orange light of the Everfree sunset.

“Okay! Jet assigned me the task of watching the camp site! It is my sworn duty to do as my commanding officer told me! Don't worry Jet! You can count on me!"

Ditzy swore to herself. Sitting on her haunches, she rubbed her head.

“Geez, I hit that tree really hard. It still hurts. CURSE YOU DEPTH PERCEPTION! I could have sworn I still had a few more feet before that tree..."

Looking at the now twilight sky, Ditzy began to wonder how she even came to be in TEK.

“With my eyes, everyone in Ponyville knew that I was a klutz. It makes me wonder why Jet and Shade would ever choose me, a simple mail mare, to join an elite group to protect Equestria."

She reveled in the warm glow of the food fueled fire. Thinking a few weeks back, she thought back to how she came to be among them.
The way she heard it:
_______________
5 weeks earlier
_______________

“Her? The grey Pegasus?"

“Yep. She's my co-worker. We both work at the postal service. While I help move and teleport heavier objects, she goes out and delivers standard mail."

“Shade, mail delivery is not a basis for TEK."

“IT'S NOT HER MAIL DELIVERY SKILLS THAT I CARE ABOUT!"

“Then what is it?"

“Look, Jet, you see her eyes?"

Jet squinted to see the mailmare's eyes. It was easy because she wasn't really moving. Currently she was at Sugar Cube Corner, munching on a muffin.

“Huh... Yeah, I see them."

“Well, ever since I met her, I've always wondered how she could deliver mail with such a... disability. Well, I found out that she does it with... great difficulty. But even so, she always delivers her mail. And after asking around, I found out that she has impeccable memory."

“Memory?"

“That's right. Even though her vision is impaired, she remembers every detail of her mail routes. She practically has this whole town memorized."

“Whoa, that's incredible."

“Indeed. And she could also be our saboteur. Due to her vision, she can be quite the klutz. She's very clumsy and can often beat the odds when it comes to destruction. And more practically, she could be our messenger in case we need to send messages to Celestia or something."

Jet took another look at the peculiar Pegasus enjoying her lunch. There just seemed to be this spark about her, an inner flame.

"Her name's Ditzy Doo, though everyone calls her Derpy."

“Ditzy, huh?"
_________
Present
_________

Thinking about that story made her smile. Who would have thought that she would ever be a part of a secret organization dedicated to the safety of all of Equestria? After they had spoken with her, she was more than happy to join. This super-spy and agent stuff sounded like a lot of fun!

Soon after she joined they received a letter from the Princess telling them about numerous Timber Wolf sightings in a particular area. Celestia presumed that there was a nesting site there, and she assigned TEK the task of finding the truth. Jet assigned himself and Ditzy to investigate. He reasoned that it could be beneficial for her training, and that they could both fly if things got too dangerous. Besides, Shade was still working on his therapy with the whole Everfree situation, and Bulk and Zecora were still training in Canterlot. Jet also reasoned that it would be a nice team bonding exercise for the two of them.

Ditzy gave no resistance. She didn't know why, but she was drawn to the orange pegasus. He was always so nice to her, and he was one the very few ponies who called her by her real name. Jet really respected her and treated her as an equal. He never scolded her when she made a mistake, like that time she burned his favorite book. He simply shrugged it off and never brought it up again, as if it didn't matter. He also never asked about her eyes. That's something NO-PONY had EVER done. It was almost like he didn't notice. He treated her like any other pony, and he was super nice. He even took time to train with her, and bought her a muffin from time to time. For the first time in a long time, a pony saw her for who she really was, and not just her outward appearance or constant accidents.

“Things are looking up for you Ditzy.",

She spoke to herself in the darkness.

"I wonder what's taking Jet so long. It's been about an hour..."

Suddenly a cold breeze blew by her side, sending a shiver up her body. She then realized just how alone she was. All alone, in the most dangerous place in the country. Yellow eyes began to pop up all over the place, just outside of the fire's light. If she listened carefully, she could hear the steady breathing of multiple creatures.

Like lightning, one of the creatures jumped from the bushes, revealing itself to be a large Timber Wolf. Ditzy, paralyzed by fear, couldn't even scream or call for help. She couldn't even move her wings to flee.
She could do nothing as the ravenous being slowly crept its way towards her, green slime sliding down its mouth in a feral way.

*But how? Wait... could it have been... CRAP! THE AROMA COMING FROM THE FOOD FIRE ATTRACTED THEM!*

She could almost feel its breath on her as she watched in horror as two more joined the one. They were now cornering her, making sure there was no escape.
Ditzy knew there was no point in yelling for help. She was all alone, about to be eaten. She closed her eyes and began to think about her life. Never did she think it would end like this. Now here she was, about to be devoured like common prey. Ditzy thought of all the pleasant memories she'd made since she joined TEK, one very specific memory she had of her and Jet talking after a particularly unsuccessful training session.

*I don't know Jet. Maybe I'm not cut out for this stuff. Everyone knows I'm useless... all my life I've been worthless. Just-*

She had been cut off by a warm hoof on her shoulder. She looked up to see a very serious look on Jets face.

*Don't you ever say that again, Ditz. You're special, you're not like other ponies.*

*Oh...*

*Your better than most.*

She looked up in confusion.

*How? Whenever I try to do what's right, I always end up doing the opposite.*

*That's just it though. No, you're not perfect, but then again, no-pony is. You're better than most because no matter how many mistakes you make, you always get right back up. You always try your best to do the right thing. You're strong, Ditz. Your strong in here.*

Jet pointed at her heart.

*And don't let anypony ever tell you otherwise.*

Ditzy smiled at that memory. If only Jet was here, she thought. He could protect her. But he wasn't here, and she was going to die. She closed her eyes, and prepared for the worst. But, one thought kept passing through her mind. Something Jet said right before they left for this mission:

*I believe in you.*

Jet believed in her. He knew she could overcome any trial. She had to live, she had to prove that Jet was right about her. No, she wasn't going to die! She had to live to see Jet's proud face!

With new-found power, Ditzy got on her hooves and prepared for battle. There was no running away from this fight. The Timber Wolves seemed amused at her show of courage. But it didn't matter to them, they liked playing with their food anyway.

The first one jumped at her, aiming his massive claws at her throat, but she was too quick, and she dodged to the left.

*C'mon eyes, don't fail me now!*

Ditzy thought to herself as she leaped back and forth, left and right to avoid being torn into ribbons by these Wolves. She had to think fast, or it was going to be all over soon.

*Hmm... They don't look at where they jump. They just try to get at me.*

Ditzy smiled a bit as a plan began to form inside her mind. After avoiding the next jump, she ran and grabbed her sleeping bag. She then used her wings to open it, spreading them to reveal the inside of it. The sleeping bag was so big that if you were looking in front of her, you couldn't see what was behind her, and that was exactly what Ditzy wanted. She positioned herself in the small clearing, and growled.

“Jet assigned me the task of watching over the camp, and that's just what I plan to do!"

With a mighty growl the Timber Wolf pounced once again, and this time Ditzy was ready. She quickly moved out of the way, revealing the fire behind her. It was too late for the Wolf to turn, and he landed face first into the flames. His yelps of pain echoed throughout the night. He pulled his now burning face off the intense flames and ran into the woods, whimpering all the while. The other wolves seemed shocked at the sudden retreat of their companion. Full of rage, the other two began to close in on her. Out of ideas, Ditzy had no choice but to take to the air. She opened her wings to flap, but something was holding them in place. She looked back to see that sleeping bag was now tangled around them, making flight impossible.

“OH C'MON!"

The Wolves seemed amused by this pony's clumsiness. Seeing their opportunity, they began to close in for the kill. Helplessly looking around, Ditzy realized that she had done all she could and closed her eyes once more.

“I'm sorry Jet..."

She whispered, tears starting to stream down her face.

Then, all of a sudden, a sound similar to a hundred branches breaking all at once burst throughout the clearing, and Ditzy felt a strong wind rush past her.
Risking to open her eyes, she was amazed at what she saw. Only one Timber Wolf remained. The other lied in pieces on the ground, it's entire upper half decimated. She looked to the other Timber Wolf and noticed that it's attention was no longer on her. She followed its gaze to none other Jet Fly walking his way into the clearing. He had scratches on his back, legs, and neck, but by the way his face looked, he was totally calm.

“You thought you were clever by trying to ambush me, didn't you? You thought that we would be easy pickings if we were separated."

Jet said to the remaining Wolf who was now in an attack stance, growling like crazy.

“But I knew Ditz wouldn't just let you take her. I knew she would fight."

He looked at her reassuringly.

“It's okay Ditz. You can rest now."

Looking back at the Wolf he continued.

“Now, I am your opponent."

The Wolf had enough of this pony and decided to finish him off first. Pouncing in the air, the Wolf aimed himself at the stallion.

“JET GET OUT OF THE WAY!"

“It's alright, I got this. Your not alone."

Jet's attention remained focused on the airborne predator. He made a lighting fast forward flapping movement with his right wing, and Ditzy could just make out a wind-like essence coming from it. It was almost scythe-like, and traveling fast. In the blink of an eye, the Wolf's legs were no more, and he crashed down on his stomach. Immobile and hurt, the Wolf started to realize just what he had gotten himself into. Jet calmly walked up to the stump-like wolf.

“You can attack me, hurt me even. But when you hurt my friends, you pay."

The Timber Wolf was now terrified. Maybe he should have left with the first Wolf. But he wasn't going down without a fight. The Wolf opened his mouth wide, revealing his razor-sharp wooden teeth. Then, in the blink of an eye, there was a massive gust of wind, which caused Ditzy to close her eyes to shield them from the turbulence. But the wind disappeared as quickly as it arrived, and when she opened her eyes again, she saw that the Wolf looked the same, other than the fact that it wasn't moving. He seemed to be stuck in that same open-mouth position.

Then, before Ditzy could say anything, the top of the Wolf's head slid off onto the ground. The top half of his body was soon to follow. Once all the sliding had stopped, all that was left were the cleanly cut halves of a Timber Wolf.

"Whoa..."

With his job now done, Jet looked to see how his companion was doing. He was greeted with an open mouth, wings-tied-by-a-sleeping-bag pegasus. He couldn't help but smile.

“C'mon, let's find somewhere else to spend the night before these guys regenerate themselves. I don't know about you, but this area is really starting to bum me out."
______________

“So then, I jumped out of the way and he landed face first into the fire!"

Ditzy recalled as she and Jet sat inside a cozy cave on the side of a mountain.
“Wow! I'm so proud of you Ditz! I just knew you would be fine!"

Ditzy blushed a little at the sudden praise.

“Yeah... well I was really scared. I kept thinking that this was the end. And it might have been if you hadn't come when you did."

“After I fought off the ones that jumped me, I knew that there were probably some coming after you as well. I would have died if it meant that you could have lived."

Ditzy was shocked considerably.

“Wha... Really? You'd do that... for me?"

Jet nodded without hesitation while looking out into the night sky.

“Yes. Your my teammate, and I'd never let my teammate die."

Ditzy couldn't believe her ears! On impulse she jumped into the air and gave Jet a giant hug, wrapping her forelegs around him tightly.

“Thank you... thank you so much..."

Ditzy muffled into his fur. All her life ponies had looked down on her, making her feel insignificant. But Jet wasn't like that. He cared for her, so much that he'd be willing to give up his own life for her sake. Jet looked at the mare with understanding and rubbed her head.

“I was so scared, Jet... I was all alone in the darkness..."

“It's okay Ditz. You'll never be alone again. I'll always be here for you. Always..."

Looking up, sniffling and teary-eyed, Ditzy nodded and laid next to Jet's side, curling up next to him. Next thing she knew, she felt a warm wing wrap around her body, holding her close. She took a peek to see what Jet was doing, and the last thing she saw was him staring out into the endless night sky before she drifted asleep.

Author's Note:

Just a heads up that everything after Chapter 13 might get somewhat delayed. Things aren't exactly progressing as fast as we would like, specifically Chapter 14. We'll try to keep the schedule up as best as we can.