In the center of a dark, dimly-lit cave...

"Just a bit longer, Bolt! We're almost there!" Those were the words of a small, red-coated breezie with an even brighter mane color, and a pair of red-glowing antennas attached to the sides of her scalp. Her mane was long, curly, and her tail was similar in shape. Her wings were similar to a butterfly's in shape and size, but the coloration resembled her mane and coat colors, and were see-through.

Below her, running at a fast speed, was a tall, light-skinned, long brown-haired human with a thick, inch-long beard. He was wearing, what looked like, a ragged, torn suit, a pair of formal shoes that were tied to his feet with black laces, and a camera that dangled from his neck... though he was carrying it tucked in his left hand, while his right hand was balled up, and flailing back and forth, as he continued to blur through the cave, while the breezie held onto his hair for dear life, since she was technically the size of his pinkie fingernail... maybe even smaller. To him, she seemed more like a fairy, due to the glow that her antennas gave out.

"You... sure... about... that?!" The human, now known as "Bolt", asked the breezie between breaths, while looking behind his back. Though he couldn't see anything, the sound of a blood-curdling roar echoed through the cave, which only made the frightened human gain more speed.

"Well... I don't know, entirely... but you better move faster, or the Ursa Major will get us!" That statement made the human nod his head and attempt to run faster. As he did, however, he didn't notice the loose rock that was on a collision course for his right foot.

"EEK!" Bolt shouted, before tumbling onto the ground, and rolling a couple times.

"BOLT!" The breezie shouted, before flying to his face, and tapping on his forehead with her right forehoof. "Bolt, get up! We don't have much time, until... until... uh-oh..." As soon as she turned around, she noticed a pair of golden eyes shining through the darkness. Then, from outside of that darkness came a massive purple paw with a starry pattern etched through its fur. Its pattern of stars shined through the darkness, giving its outlining a bear-like pattern, though its pearly white fangs seemed more similar to a sabre-tooth tiger, instead.

It growled as it inched closer to the unconscious photojournalist and the frightened breezie. Then, it opened its mouth and snarled; allowing the odor of the countless creatures it has eaten in its years to fill the area... much to the breezie's disgust. "Ugh... GET A BREATH MINT!" As she expected, though, her voice was lost in the room, due to her tiny size.

Finally, when the Ursa Major was ready to strike, Bolt quickly opened his eyes, lifted his camera, and shouted, "SMILE!" before pressing the button on the top-right corner of his camera. Then, for a split second, the entire room was engulfed in a blinding flash which startled both the Ursa and the breezie; with the breezie also startled by the sudden loudness of Bolt's voice.

Knowing that he startled the breezie, though, he quickly caught her in his right hand, tucked her in his suit's jacket pocket, and scooped himself off the ground with his legs already kicking back into gear... all while the Ursa Major stumbled backwards, roaring in both fury and pain.

"You alright, Summer Breeze?!" Bolt asked the breezie, who only flew out of his pocket and back into his hair with a glare on her face.

"YOU IDIOT! WHY DIDN'T YOU TELL ME THAT YOU WERE GOING TO DO THAT?! UGH... NOW MY EYES NEED TO ADJUST TO THE DARKNESS AGAIN!"

Bolt merely smiled sheepishly and shrugged his shoulders. "My bad?"

"Oh, you're bad, alright! Bad enough that I'm going to report that one to Seabreeze when we're back in Breezie Valley!"

Before anyone could say another word, the sound of quaking paw-steps cut their conversation short, while a hall that appeared to be too short for the Ursa Major to go through appeared from the darkness... along with several other small tunnels. "Ugh! Of all the times to have to make choices, WHY NOW?!" Bolt complained, while Summer sighed and began to shine brighter. (Upon closer inspection, her antennas were starting to glow brighter, which would mean that the breezie was increasing her senses to find the slightest hint of plant life.)

Finally, after three seconds of extra shining, Summer pointed to the fourth tunnel of the five directly in front of them and shouted, "THERE! I CAN SMELL A PLANT!"

With a nod, Bolt replied, "Thanks! Now, let's get out of here!" Without a moment's hesitation, the two of them took the path, while the Ursa Major blindly ran into the wall with its claw stretched through the first few meters of the tunnel; inching dangerously close to Bolt and Summer. As soon as it closed its claws, however, it turned out empty. Both Bolt and Summer were too deep for it to reach.

Seeing that as their time to rest, Bolt panted heavily before falling to the ground, and leaning against the cave wall, while Summer's natural glow illuminated the area around them.

"Well... at least... we're safe... for now..." Bolt whispered through deep breaths.

Summer nodded her head before replying, "Yeah... good thing this cave has so many smaller tunnels, huh?"

Bolt merely nodded his head before turning to his right; the direction where they were headed to. "Yeah..."

Seeing nothing better to do, Summer relaxed next to Bolt and asked, "So... now that we're free from the Ursa Major, you wanna check your camera for any good pics you took already?"

Bolt nodded his head before flipping through the camera's options. Thanks to the magic of this continent known as "Equestria", the camera's battery was always at full charge. He wasn't sure how it was able to do that, but he figured some things are better left unknown.

Flipping through the menu, he chuckled when he saw the first picture he ever took... a selfie in the beach where he landed in.

I was always wondering why I took that picture... perhaps I just wasn't fully aware of the situation I was in.

Summer flew closer to the camera to examine the pictures that Bolt took. "So... you actually smiled when you got here?"

Summer Breeze happened to find me three days after I took that shot... and trust me when I say this... I was FAR from happy. Huh... now that I think about it... when we were trapped in that cave, that was the first time she's ever seen that picture... or any of the other pictures I took prior to meeting her. It was almost like I didn't even think that we would make it out of there... and from the looks of the situation we were in, I doubt if anyone would've thought that, also.

Bolt turned to her and nodded his head with a smile. "Yeah... something about the whole scenario just seemed like a vivid dream to me at that time." Then he flipped to the next photo... one with a wolf-like creature made of wood. "I found that thing trying to chase me, so I took this picture. Like the Ursa Major, the camera was able to blind it! And of course, since flashes of cameras seem rare to find in the woods, it ran off whining like a little dog."

Summer's eyes widened at the sight of the picture. "No way! That's a timberwolf, Bolt! Those things are extremely dangerous!"

Just the way how she stared at that picture told me right away that those "timberwolves", as she called them, are bad news. Thanks to that advice, I knew to keep my camera close by, should one suddenly make an appearance. Of course, considering the fact that she's a BREEZIE, I wouldn't be surprised if a little rabbit could be a major threat to her.

"Anyways, moving on!" Bolt said, before flipping to the next picture. This one was a simple picture of the sunset that he took while on top of a tree. Needless to say, Summer really liked that one.

"Oh... so you like sunsets, huh?" She asked, while Bolt nodded his head. "There's a saying, you know? When the sun sets, the breezes of the cool night begins... sending the rest of the pollen that the breezies have scattered across the lands even further; reaching beyond where even the greatest of breezies could reach... and only one of us were ever able to go beyond that distance... thus, the way how he got his name!"

"Seabreeze, right?" Bolt asked, which caused Summer to gasp audibly.

"How did you know?! Only the breezies have known that secret for so long!"

Her shock made me hold back a laugh. It's true, not many creatures besides breezies would truly know their secrets... but I could tell right away that their leader, "Seabreeze" must've gotten his name for a reason. And since breezies can't stand water, it's clear that "beyond where even the greatest of breezies could reach" must've meant the sea, or the ocean. With that in mind, I explained that fact to her... needless to say, she was VERY ticked off.

"W-well... well... DARN IT!" She growled, while Bolt continued to laugh at his partner's frustration. "Anyways, go to the next picture! I wanna see more!"

Bolt nodded his head before flipping through the camera to the next picture. That one, of course, caused Bolt's laughter to die down instantly. Summer's frustrations were lost the minute she saw the creature on the camera... a lion with bat-like wings, and a scorpion-like tail. "A manticore?! You actually went face-to-face with a MANTICORE?!"

Bolt nodded his head once more, before sighing. "Yeah... though the flash only blinded it temporarily when it tried to pounce on me... I was lucky I escaped it, to be honest." Then he shuddered at the next thought. "And the surprise that I had when I noticed that it had wings... my first idea was to climb a tree, but... that didn't turn out well, to say the least."

"Hey! That was a year ago, okay? At least things are better now, right? I mean, sure we're still in the same continent where all of that happened, but..." She then stepped on the button that flipped to the next picture on his camera... which happened to be a close-up of Summer Breeze, herself. "If I didn't get the others to bring you into Breezie Valley, then you would've died from that wound! Seeing how you survived that must mean that there's something special in you! And now, since you have a heads-up on what to do, plus a partner that knows what she's doing, there's nothing to worry about! Alright?"

It was strange how they brought me into their "little valley", by the way. First, a large group of them flew around my unconscious body; all glowing in different colors. The next thing I knew, the world around me started to get bigger and louder... or so I thought. Turns out, they had some sort of powder that a zebra gave them that can shrink certain creatures to enter and exit their valley once... the effects, however, would wear off if that creature were to leave Breezie Valley. So, for a year, I camped in their valley with them; learning more about the "way of the breezies" and what-not. Then, I learned about the inhabitants of these lands. Apparently, they resemble the breezies in shape, but their size is "enormous", as the breezies pointed out. What puzzled me the most, however, was what they were... ponies.

After seeing a picture of one, however, I knew right away that they weren't like the ponies that I'm used to seeing... which seemed bizarre, since I could've sworn I was on the same world! In fact, the debris of the ship that I was on prior to waking up on that beach was scattered around, which obviously meant I was shipwrecked, and not sucked into some other planet.

Anyways, I'm getting off-topic here. These "ponies", as they pointed out, would more than likely stand up to about my knees in height, which must mean that I'm like a giant to everything here... even that "manticore" was like a lion, but was the size of something shorter, like an adolescent cheetah.

Bolt nodded his head with a smile. "Thanks, Summer. You seem to know how to make these kinds of crazy scenarios seem more brighter... metaphorically speaking, of course."

Summer chuckled before replying, "And... you just killed the mood there. Anyways, next!"

Letting out a chuckle, Bolt flipped to the next picture... a clear open area, with the spot where the massive valley he lived in for a year was visible... a simple little hole in a tree. "How that entire valley is inside that small little tree is still beyond me!" Bolt stated in an amused tone.

Summer, however, shrugged it off, stating, "Eh, it might be small to you, but to me, it's like a simple doorway for ponies, in comparison!"

"Makes sense." Bolt agreed.

Knowing that THAT was where I've been for a year was amazing, to say the least... almost like a cartoon, or something. So we spent the next five minutes going through photos... though the rest were mostly about the different flora and fauna that we came across. One piece of flora, in particular, was the strangest of all... a blue flower named "Poison Joke". When I got some of it on me, I ended up turning into a timberwolf! It was strange how Summer knew who I was, though. Apparently, I had a blue flower embedded in my forehead, which must've given it off. That, plus my eyes were glowing as green as the irises around the pupils of my eyes.

"Well, I'd say that's been enough photo-viewing for now. So... let's try to find a way out of this cave now!" Bolt stated... to which, Summer agreed to.

"Oh, finally we get to continue! And here, I was starting to think that you'd keep sitting around until we starve to death!"

Bolt merely chuckled before replying, "And like you have room to talk? In case you didn't notice, I have to eat an entire town's worth of food to you as a simple little snack!"

Summer merely sighed before flying back into Bolt's hair. "Yeah, yeah! Anyways, let's go! I'll keep an eye on our backs, in case that Ursa Major tries to show its cosmic face again!"

"Kay."

With that, the two of us continued on our trek through the dark tunnels. As it turned out, however, the "plant" that she happened to sense was nothing more than a piece of poison joke that grew beneath the cave floors. I, of course, was frustrated... then shocked at her next request.

"I'm not joking! You have to rub your hands on it... then, you'll be transformed into your timberwolf form again!" Summer pleaded to Bolt, only for him to turn his head away, with his arms crossed.

"Forget it! I'd rather keep my humanity, thank you very much!"

"Just temporarily, until we get out! Then we can go find the ingredients to get you back to normal afterwards!"

Bolt thought for a moment, before sighing. "You won't quit bugging me about it until I do it, will you?"

With a triumphant nod, Summer replied, "And you can count on a breezie to bug you! After all, we and the bugs are so much alike!"

With an unamused nod, Bolt knelt to the blue flower, but turned to Summer a quick second later. "You owe me for this, y'know!"

"Yeah, yeah! Hurry up, already! I'm getting hungry over here!"

After taking a deep breath, Bolt looked away, as he quickly swept his hand over the poison joke. Then, he waited for a moment... then a minute... then two. "Ugh, what's taking so long?!" Bolt complained.

"I... think you have to go to sleep for it to work!" Summer pointed out, only for Bolt to sigh.

"Well, wake me when I change, then."

And so, I curled up on the ground and started to just rest there for a while. Since it's easy for me to go to sleep, even in the sunlight, Summer's natural glow wasn't a disturbance. Plus, all the running that I've been doing DID make it easier for me to go to sleep. Only one problem, though... literally FIVE minutes after I was asleep, Summer started yelling in my ears.

"BOLT! IT WORKED! YOU'RE A TIMBERWOLF AGAIN!"

"Gr... WOOF! WOOF!" Bolt replied, only to yelp at the sudden barking noise that he heard.

"Settle down there, boy! Now, then... I need you to smell the grass around the poison joke, so you can find the nearest patch of grass! Perhaps if you can find that, then you can find the way to the exit!"

Bolt nodded his head before lowering his snout to the patch of green around the blue flower. Since he was already under the effects of poison joke, it didn't bother him if he bumped into it as he pawed the ground around the grass to get a better scent of it. Then he sniffed in a circular motion, before barking towards a certain direction... which happened to be the direction they came from.

Summer groaned before asking, "You mean to tell me... we have to go BACK?!"

Bolt merely nodded his head with, what would appear to be, an amused grin on his now wooden face. "WOOF! At least I know my senses are better than yours now!"

"Oh, don't give me that look! I know you think you're better at sensing things than I am, but don't forget who's idea this was!"

Letting out another amused bark, Bolt quickly lifted the camera off the ground and wrapped it around his neck. Then, since he didn't have any saliva (due to being completely made of wood now), he held the camera's strap firmly with his teeth; carefully so he doesn't damage anything, or risk getting a splinter when he has his hands again.

When Summer had a good enough grip on one of Bolt's wooden patches of fur, he ran on all fours at a significantly faster motion than when he was human... much to his joy, and Summer's fear/annoyance. "H-HEY, SLOW DOWN, ALREADY! I HAVE A WEAK STOMACH WHEN IT COMES TO FAST MOTION!"

Listening to his "passenger", Bolt slowed his speed until Summer stopped complaining. Then, at a steady pace, the two continued down the long, narrow passageway, until they were at the opening to the even more huge hallway that they were chased in. After noticing where they were, Bolt slowed his pace to a simple tiptoe (or tip-paw in his case).

The second they stepped out of the hallway, however, the sound of the Ursa Major letting out a huge roar filled the room. Then, in the blink of an eye, they noticed the Ursa Major appearing from deep inside the distant shadows; rushing towards them at an alarming rate. Quickly, Bolt began trying to lift the camera up... only to figure out that he couldn't get a good grip of it with his paws. Turning towards Summer, he deadpanned at her while she shrugged her shoulders and smiled sheepishly.

"Um... my bad?"

With a sigh, Bolt quickly bit the camera's strap once more, while Summer got an even tighter grip on him, and in an instant, the timberwolf began rushing through the cave in a blurring speed... towards the Ursa Major, though.

"WHOA! WHAT THE TARTARUS ARE YOU DOING, YOU IDIOT?!" Summer screamed, only to notice the underside of the Ursa Major overhead... then behind them.

Bolt grinned mischievously as the Ursa turned around confusedly... only for him to make a sharp left-turn around its left paw, then into another tunnel... much to its displeasure. Then, it tried to reach into the tunnel, only to find nothing yet again. It gave out another large roar, before punching the wall... something that neither of the two brave adventurers were expecting. After that, a frightening situation from Summer's worst nightmares began to happen... the cave's ceiling was starting to collapse.

Sparing no second to stand idle, Bolt quickly shook Summer off of him, which caused her to fling off of his back, and into the air. Naturally, though, she used her wings to stop herself in midair. Before she could even ask what his problem was, he quickly moved his head behind her, and pushed forward; using the blue flower attached to his forehead as a type of handle for her to hold onto. In an instant, she understood what was going on, as the two of them were now surrounded by a blurry world around them; courtesy of the speed that Bolt was running.

What felt like eternity ended up being mere seconds, as I rushed through the seemingly endless hallway, with the ceiling behind me falling to the ground. Adrenaline was filling my veins... well... you know what I mean. I was pumped up, and following my senses, hoping that whatever I smelled didn't lead to a dead end. What I ended up finding, however, was something even MORE unexpected, though.

"GREAT! A DEAD END! WHAT NOW, YOU STUPID DOG?!" Summer complained, only for Bolt to huff, before looking down. Sure enough, a hole was on the ground... a hole that led downwards like a huge tunnel slide. "Oh, no you don't! M-maybe if we're lucky we can- AAH!" Bolt didn't even give Summer enough time to speak, before nose-diving into the tunnel, as several rocks from the cave-in started following them down the huge tunnel.

"BOLT! IF WE GET OUT OF THIS ALIVE, I'M GONNA BUCKING KILL YOU!" Summer swore, while Bolt merely howled in entertainment at the amount of fun he was having, despite the danger they were in.

I thought to myself... "If I'm gonna die, why not enjoy it while it lasts?" Of course, Summer never fulfilled her promise there... otherwise, I wouldn't be telling you this story! *Chuckles*

As seconds turned to minutes of non-stop sliding, twisting, and turning, a fork-in-the-road appeared from out of nowhere; which caught Summer by surprise. Bolt, on the other hand (or paw, in his case), still had the scent of the grass he smelled, and turned right; towards the path his senses told him to take.

"BOLT! I SENSED GRASS ON THE LEFT SIDE, YOU IDIOT!" Summer screamed.

"WOOF! Well, I smelled more THIS way, moron!"

"I DON'T EVEN WANT TO KNOW WHAT YOU JUST SAID!"

Suddenly, the rays of hope began to come into view... lights. "OH, SWEET CELESTIA, LIGHT! QUICK, SPEED UP!" Summer shouted.

Bolt barked once more before arching his front paws forward in a diving motion; giving him a slight bit more speed.

And for the record, it was a HUGE advantage that my fur was made of wood. If I were sliding like that in my tux, I doubt if I would've even made it out of there in the flesh... maybe a skeleton would pop out, instead... which speaking of...

As soon as they were out, Summer shouted, "FREEDOM!" while Bolt howled; more than likely saying the same thing. All of that changed when they realized just how high they were flying. "Oh, no! BOLT!" Summer shouted once she realized that she was flying, while her partner was falling from high in the sky in a bone-shattering speed.

She tried to feebly attempt to stop him from falling... but it was too late. The second he landed, his entire body scattered across the ground with a loud snapping noise... and a whine of extreme agony.

Summer landed in the center of the rubble with tears filling her eyes. "N-no... BOLT! ANSWER ME, YOU IDIOT!"

There was no answer. Out of frustration and sorrow, she turned around; only to notice the camera dangling loosely on a tree ahead of them. Sniffling a few times, she flew up to it and began tapping on the buttons. "Bolt... I have your camera! I'll... I'll go take it to Breezie Valley, and have them make a house out of it!" She had a hopeful smile as she teased Bolt in high hopes that it would work... it didn't. Letting out a saddened sigh, she lowered her head. "I... I guess you really are gone, then..." A tear fell from her eye... and shortly following that, the camera started falling from the tree.

In the blink of an eye, the green glows of Bolt's eyes re-appeared, and in a split second, the pieces of his body jumped to his head. After that, he leaped forward, and managed to catch the camera before it could even reach the ground.

Seeing her partner alive, Summer cheered, "BOLT! YOU'RE ALIVE!"

Bolt, however, started growling at her; much to her amusement. "What? At least your camera's still working, right?"

With a sigh, Bolt lowered the camera to the ground and started fiddling with the buttons; flipping through the pictures, until he found one with poison joke in its contents. Then, after giving the blue flower several taps, Summer realized what he was trying to say. "Oh, right! Hey, don't you worry, buddy! I have the list of ingredients right here in this... oh, poop..."

Bolt stopped tapping the picture and growled at the sudden change of Summer's reaction. Grinning nervously, Summer replied, "Um... about that... I... may have left the scroll with the ingredients... in the cave."

At once, Bolt's eyes shot open, as he started moving his forepaws around as if trying to say something... but regardless of how much his lips moved, simple canine whines were all that came out.

"Hey! Listen to me, Bolt... LISTEN TO ME!" Summer shouted, before flying up to the space in-between Bolt's eyes; immediately stopping his wining. "Don't think that I don't have a plan, alright?!" Then she flew to where he could see her completely. "Now, look! I've heard rumors of that zebra that helped you live with us apparently living close to a town called 'Ponyville'... and it's only a few days' walk from here to there! And since the 'Summer Sun Celebration' is just a week away, maybe we can find her somewhere in the jungle, collecting goods for the drinks there!" She gave him a warm smile before flying next to his right ear. "Trust me, Bolt... if anyone can fix you back up, it's her! Alright?"

With a nod, Bolt huffed before the two of them began heading towards the town called "Ponyville".

And that... marked the beginning of my long journey...

JOURNEY OF THE
~~BREEZE

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BY: JUSTIN DANIELS

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~TO BE CONTINUED~

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Author's Notes:

"Ending Credits" theme for this story is "Angels and Airwaves - The Adventure"! The link is the phrase "TO BE CONTINUED"! Feel free to give it a listen!

The lyrics are, in a way, somewhat inspirational to the feel of this story! Feel free to read them "HERE" if you're interested in reading what they say, or would even like to sing-along with it!

Well, here's my next story on the long list of "Work-In-Progress" stories! If you like this one, please feel free to let me know via the "Like" button, and feel free to "Favorite" it if you'd like to keep up-to-date with when the next chapters are released!

Also, in case you're wondering, more updates on my other stories will come, and due to the excessive amounts of real-life issues going on in my life, I may be updating more often! (After all, writing is one of the best ways for me to take my mind off of the troubles of the real world, and who better to turn to than my loving fans/friends of FIMFiction? "

As spoken in the description's little note at the top, the tags are subject to change as the story progresses! With that in mind, I hope you enjoy this new adventure, as my other story "Journey to Equestria: Homeward Bound" continues to flourish and grow!