TEK: The Beginning

by Jet Fly

Flashback Bonus: The Journey to Nowhere (Final Part)

Shade's heart raced faster than the speed of sound as he fled for his life through the forest night. Dodging through trees, bushes, and branches, he ran restlessly as the dragon tracked him down. The pale beast roared ferociously as it stalked its prey. Shade dived into a ditch and quickly crawled under the large log that stretched over it. He did his best to contain his rapid, heavy breathing as the dragon stepped over the log. Seeing that his next meal had eluded him, the dragon began to hunt him down elsewhere. Believing he was safe for now, Shade slowly crawled back out and ran the opposite direction.

Where exactly he was running to, he didn't know. Nowhere in this forest was safe, he realized, and finding shelter was getting harder and harder every day. His body ached, sore from numerous scratches and bruises, and as badly as he wanted to stop and rest, he knew that wasn't an option.

As he was running, however, Shade unfortunately took a bad step, slipping and tumbling down a slope and into another ditch. He was far too weak to rise. He was tired, in pain, and felt lower than ever before in his life. Here he was, all alone in one of the most dangerous places in Equestria, lost in the dark, and lying on his side in the cold dirt. Hope seemed close to nonexistent at this moment, and Shade feared he was going to die here alone, without ever seeing his family and friends again.

*....I'm sorry........ I should never have left......*

Shade wept as he lied on the ground, thinking of everything and everypony he left behind. He lied there for quite some time, the nighttime sky growing darker as the shadows of the forest shrouded him in his own misery. However, it was those memories of everypony close to him that gave him the strength to get back up on his hooves.

*No..... I'm not going to give up like this..... I made them all a promise, and I can't let them all down. I need to be strong for them..... for her...*

Back on his aching hooves, Shade risked activating his light spell to check the surrounding area. Climbing out of the ditch on the other side, he continued down a path that he could only hope led to shelter...
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Three weeks later
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Just when things started looking better for Shade, it was not long before things went from good to bad to worse, all in a matter of a few weeks. He had managed to stumble upon a less dangerous section of the forest, as well as more caves that were free of hungry, fire-breathing reptiles. What he did find here, however, was that food was quite scarce. There was a nearby river that was fairly clean for drinking, but that was about it. Shade knew that if he didn't want to starve to death, he'd have to search for food elsewhere, back into the frightening unknown.

The morning sunlight barely breached the density of the treetops, allowing only thin rays of light to illuminate Shade's path as he cautiously wandered deeper into the Everfree Forest. After nearly an hour, he finally came across a bush bearing what he recognized as wild strawberries.

*Thank you, Botany class...*

Immediately he picked a cluster of the small red fruits with his telekinesis, consuming them one by one, until eventually he was shoving all of them in his mouth at once like he'd never seen food before. Their taste wasn't quite so sweet, and it was certainly no three-course meal or anything close to his mother's cooking, but it would have to suffice for now. Wiping his mouth with his hoof, Shade took a moment to survey his surroundings, listening closely for any sort of sound or movement. Believing the coast to be clear, Shade continued through the forest. As he began pushing through more bushes and branches, however, he stumbled upon numerous piles of logs in a small clearing. He knew exactly what they were.

*Timber Wolves... Better just back away slowly so I don't wake them. Really don't feel like dealing with these pests.*

Slowly stepping back, Shade was almost in the clear until he stepped on a twig. The small snap sounded off in his head like thunder, and he froze as he watched the piles of logs enveloped themselves in an emerald aura, rising and forming half a dozen ravenous wooden hounds.

*....I really hate this place....*

Shade wasted no time in running the opposite direction, the Wolves quickly picking up his scent and racing to track him down. Shade could easily fight them off, but he didn't feel like wasting his energy. It was still the middle of the morning, and he wanted his full strength and energy to last the whole day. Darting through trees and leaping over trenches and fallen logs, Shade fled from the pack of Wolves, which weren't showing any sign of stopping.

*These things aren't letting up... They must be really hungry... or angry...*

Shade ceased his running and slowly halted to a stop when he was faced with a mountainside rock wall, cutting off his escape. He turned to see the Wolves had caught up to him, halting to a stop as well. Shade stared each one down defiantly.

"So it's a fight you want, huh?"

The Wolves began to slowly close in on him, savage hunger glazing their green glowing eyes. Shade began gathering up his energy inside of him, that same look of determination and slight anger in his eyes.

"COME ON THEN!"

The Wolves began to do just so, and Shade was getting ready to hit them with all he had. But something beat him to it. In a split second, each of the Timber Wolves were consumed by an explosion flames, leaving a black, ash-filled, smoldering crater in their place. Shade was both confused and absolutely terrified, a feeling that magnified after the resulting familiar roar.

*Oh no....... Oh please no......*

Shade's eyes widened in horror at the sight before him. Through the fading smoke appeared the face of a ferocious Dragon. And as if that wasn't bad enough, it was the same Dragon that sought to make a meal out of Shade three weeks ago and continued to haunt his nightmares. Shade slowly crawled backwards, finding himself pinned against the mountain.

*I'm trapped...... I have nowhere to run this time....*

The fearsome predator grumbled as he approached his prey, slowly and menacingly.

*It's over... I'm going to die here after all......*

The lavender Dragon stared down at Shade with his horrifying cyan eyes, enjoying this pony's fear like it was an appetizer. But in that moment, Shade no longer felt fear. He felt something else. Frustration. Anger. Defiance.

*....Well if that's the case....*

Shade rose back to his hooves, rage quickly building inside him.

*....THEN I'M NOT GOING DOWN WITHOUT A FIGHT!*

Shade's mind completely snapped. Driven only by pure adrenaline and anger, he charged straight at the Dragon, his horn pointed at his face... only for the Dragon to spin around and smack Shade back with his tail, scratching him across his face and sending him tumbling and rolling across the ground and against the mountain. Shade was in serious pain, and was completely exhausted physically. He looked up weakly as the Dragon drew nearer, going in for the kill. Shade simply dropped back down and pulled his cloak's hood over his head. He didn't want to watch whatever was coming next. He could hear the Dragon's growling growing louder. He wished he were anywhere else right now. He didn't care where. Home, Canterlot, anywhere. All he could think about was escaping his imminent death. He waited for what felt like an eternity for it all to be over. But then, just when the Dragon was about to unleash a blast of flames to cook his prey to perfection, Shade disappeared in a flash.
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Shade was a bit confused. Just a second ago he was fearfully awaiting his end. But then he heard a flash, and he felt this odd feeling. He then heard two voices speak simultaneously in a demanding tone.

"Who goes there?"

Risking to look up, Shade saw just beneath his hood two Solar Guards standing in front of him, both aiming their spears at him. Slightly rising, Shade removed his hood before speaking up.

"Help... m-me..."

Shade dropped back down with those words, completely exhausted and feeling himself slipping into unconsciousness.

Comments

[BronyBlazeFire]

oooh! surprise chapter! good. :3 I like.