Author's Notes:

I know what you're thinking! "HOLY CRAP! 21,906 WORDS?!"

If that's too much for you, rest assured that this chapter was, what I'll go on ahead and call, a "Dungeon Chapter", meaning it will cover an entirely huge situation that requires Bolt and Summer to remain in a certain area for a long period of time.

Don't worry, though, if it isn't! Even the regular chapters will still be (hopefully) lengthy enough to feed you all plenty 'till the next chapter!

(Please message me if you happen to find any errors, and I'll be sure to correct them as quickly as I can! Thank you, and I hope you enjoy!)

JOURNEY OF THE
~~BREEZE

---

BY: JUSTIN DANIELS

---

After what felt like several days in the darkness of the Everfree Forest, Summer and I managed to make it to an open area where the sun was able to actually shine. At first, we thought that it was the way out of the Everfree Forest, so we were cautious... mostly because I was a timberwolf... and despite having a flower attached to my forehead, I doubted if anyone (or anyPONY as Summer seems to say) would consider me anything less than a threat.

Speaking of flowers, the flower on my forehead didn't really have much of a stem on it. In fact, it was just four blue petals attached to a yellow cork-like center, which was then attached directly to my forehead without even a leaf in-between. I didn't want to risk unintentionally harming myself, so I didn't bother to mess with it, despite how... feminine it made me look.

Anyways, so the two of us stumbled across an opening. What we found in there... I dare not say.

At the entrance of Froggy Bottom Bogg...

Slowly, Bolt walked through the center of the sudden clear area of the trees. Below his paws, he noticed a dirt trail, which must've meant that he was close to civilization, at least. Cautiously, though, he knew better than to go near the road while in his "timberwolf form", as he (but mostly Summer) called it. After all, he would've towered over the ponies by at least two times their height while he was a timberwolf. With that in mind, he hid behind a bush as he entered the clearing, with the road not too far to his right.

The road, though clearly paved manually, was off-centered by a long shot, which only made Bolt wonder even more if that road was even up-to-date, or even led to civilization anymore, or if it might've been the remnants of a long lost civilization.

"So, Bolt... any signs of life nearby?" Summer asked Bolt; now revealing herself to have been resting behind his right ear.

Bolt merely made a whining noise, due to the fact that he lacked the knowledge of his senses.

"Oh, right... to get better at your senses, you have to first know the smell of what to look for... and as of right now, that would be poison joke and grass... perhaps even breezies, since I'm so close to you." Then she let out a sigh. "Well... just keep your eyes peeled... alright?"

Bolt merely nodded his head while the two of them cautiously searched around the bog.

While it didn't seem like this place could possibly contain any life in it, it was clear that this place wasn't, in any way, a safe place to stay in for long. In fact, most of the time I was out there, I could tell that Summer was having trouble breathing, due to the huge amount of musk and pollution in the area. So, I motioned for her to stay close to my flower; hoping that it could at least give her the oxygen she needed to survive.

Turns out, it was the ONLY way how she was able to even breath in there. If we were to split for even a second, she would have difficulties breathing.

"Really, Bolt... I'm fine!" Summer complained before coughing a few times while she rested on Bolt's forehead.

In response, Bolt growled at her, which made her sigh in defeat. "Alright, fine! So a breezie can't breathe in all this muck! It doesn't mean that I have to stay on your forehead forever though, does it?!"

Bolt, in turn, slowly nodded his head (slowly so she doesn't blow off of his forehead). Then he tried sniffing around the area in hopes of learning about the environment even better to avoid getting lost. Due to the heavy pollution in the air, however, even his senses were suffering... which made him whine once more.

"Hey, Bolt... is it just me, or is the sun starting to set too soon?" Summer finally asked. Bolt looked at the ground and, sure enough, the formerly bright area started to darken.

Backing up out of a mix of fear and confusion, Bolt accidentally backed directly into a small cavern that, surprisingly, wasn't filled with the muck like everywhere else... though the walls inside the said cavern were still dripping with the muck, only extremely slowly.

As soon as he landed inside, he landed with a loud thud mixed with yet another canine-like whine... but after checking his forehead, he sighed with relief when he heard Summer say, "I'm fine, Bolt! Are you okay, though?!"

Bolt slowly stood back up, before barking happily. "Good... then maybe we should-" Before she could finish her sentence, the sound of a multitude of colossal roars outside the cavern caused both of them to jump up in shock.

"Um... maybe we should go deeper into this cavern!" Bolt didn't even respond, as he was already too busy running at top speed with his camera tucked in his teeth. Summer was holding onto his forehead for dear life, while he had his head angled downwards to help keep her from floating off... due to the environment they were in, they couldn't risk being apart for too long, after all... and as she learned before they even passed two minutes into the bog, her wings were too weak to fly when in that kind of environment. With that in mind, her falling down could result in a severe injury for her.

"WHOA! BOLT, NOT SO FAST!" Summer shouted. Bolt immediately slowed his pace to her liking, but didn't even bother to stop moving.

Finally, when they were deep enough in the cavern to the point where the only visible light was the dim glow from Summer Breeze, Bolt slowed his running into a cautious walk, while he and Summer looked around the cavern, hoping to figure out just where they were.

"Great... from one cave, to another! Can this day get any worse?!"

Bolt tilted his head in an attempted shrug, before nearly tripping and falling down an eerie hole in the ground. After a few frantic pushes of his forehooves, however, he successfully managed to regain his balance before he could fall. "Whoa! Easy there, Bolt... don't wanna die this early in our adventure, at least!"

Bolt merely made whining noises while still trying to talk.

"You do realize that I don't speak timberwolf... right?" Bolt merely sighed at that statement. "I mean... sure, in Equestria, Princess Celestia's chosen subjects like the breezies and ponies can live forever, but... well, I was mostly talking about you." Bolt growled at that statement. "Yeah, you do have a point... I still would've died from all this smog in the air. Still, though... eh, forget it."

Somehow, I doubted that she actually understood what I said... or rather, TRIED to say at that point. Still, though... her guess wasn't too far off.

"Hey... walk over there real quick!" Summer pointed Bolt towards their right... which happened to be blocked by a nearby wall. Not wanting to argue with her, Bolt followed her directions. Shortly before he could take more than a couple steps, however, his right foreleg bumped into a hard stone object on the ground... causing him to trip and fall.

"Ooh! What's that?" Summer asked before motioning for Bolt to stand back up. At first he felt like complaining... but then, when he saw what it was that he tripped over, he tilted his head in confusion. The object happened to be a pair of half-circles with a metal clockwork contraption between each half-circle... a lever, of some sort. As for what it was meant for, none of them could truly tell for sure... not yet, at least.

"Hm... I wonder what that lever's for... wanna try to pull it?" Summer asked before turning to Bolt.

Bolt merely deadpanned at her before raising his front forepaws in the air and making more canine whining noises. "Chill out, already! It was just a simple question... oh, wait..." Then she lightly chuckled. "I see what it is!" A mischievous smile formed on her face. "Bolt, the fearless photojournalist, is actually afraid of finding the truth to something, huh?" Bolt shook his head, before pointing at his forelegs with his nose.

"Oh... you just can't because you don't have your 'hands' anymore, huh?" Bolt nodded his head. "Can't you try... I don't know... biting the thing, and pulling it with your jaw?"

Bolt moved closer to the rusty handle, gave it a few sniffs, then turned his nose away from it, before shaking his head "no".

"Oh, come on! Don't tell me you're afraid of getting a little bit of rust on you!" Bolt shook his head once more. "No? Then what's the problem, then?"

With a sigh, Bolt began drawing a small picture of a tree in the dirt with a mountain at its right. After that, he drew a "plus" between them. Then he drew an "equal" sign after the mountain, and followed it with a picture of a crossed-out tree.

When his drawing was finished, he pointed at it with his nose, while Summer sighed. "So... because it's metal, you're afraid it'll be a problem for your fangs?" Bolt nodded his head once more, which made Summer sigh. "Well... would you be more motivated if you had a better view of this whole room, first? Make sure that there aren't any potential traps?"

Bolt pondered that thought for a moment, before nodding his head. "Fine, then... but where are we gonna find a light bright enough to fill up this whole room?"

After thinking for a moment, the two of them sighed. "We'd need a way to light a fire... but since you're made of wood, that could be a huge risk on your life! We'd need some sort of light that's not... made of fire..."

At once, the two of them looked at each other, before lowering their heads, in unison, at the camera that still hung loosely over Bolt's neck. "Of course! Your camera!"

Bolt sighed before groaning and letting out more whines. "What's wrong this time, now?!" Summer asked with an annoyed tone.

Taking a deep breath, Bolt covered his snout with his left paw while fanning towards his snout with his right paw. "You... think something stinks?" Bolt deadpanned at her, until her eyes widened at the realization. "No... there's still too much smog in the sky... darn it! Now things are starting to get too complicated!"

Bolt nodded his head and whined, before sitting down... on top of a conveniently placed button. As soon as he sat down on it, the walls around them began to make loud noises which caused Bolt to yelp, jump back on his paws, and run towards where he hoped was the center of the room. While running, though, he soon found several cracks of the walls in the distance opening up; revealing unlit torches that hung on posts. Finally, the room stopped shaking... and while it did, the torches instantly lit up across the entire room they were in... mysteriously on their own.

As soon as the light hit the smog in the air, things went from startling to downright strange... the smog immediately moved away from the light of the torches in unison... then fell to the ground, and sunk below where the hole in the floor was, which gave it an ominous green "endless fall" type of look. The rest of the smog, however, flowed over the walls in a thick layer that, without a doubt, could bring serious trouble breathing in if someone were to even try to inhale it for even a second.

When Bolt and Summer were following the sight of the smog below the hole, the two of them decided to look straight ahead when more torches lit up on a wall in the opposite end of the hole. What was on the wall practically gave them a clue as to what they stumbled into... an ancient-looking drawbridge that led to, what appeared to be, the entrance of an ancient-looking castle.

"This... this must be the remains of 'Celebration Castle'! And... that would mean that we're getting close to the ancient 'horse' race's burial grounds, in 'Ancient Ponyville'!"

Bolt whined out of confusion, only for Summer to clarify what she was talking about.

"Yeah... you'd be surprised what kinds of names that they came up with for their places! Of course, they didn't have 'Ancient' in their name, though... it's just that after the horses went extinct, Ponyville became nothing more than a ghost town. If it weren't for a select few survivors who were altered by a protection spell cast by Princess Celestia and Princess Luna, then the ponies we know about today wouldn't even be here.

Oh, and before you ask, yes... they considered themselves ponies all those millenniums ago. Nowadays, though, to distinguish the differences between our small ponies and their huge ponies, we've decided to call them 'horses', to define their stronger nature and surprisingly tall height. In fact, they were about as tall as you are, Bolt!"

Bolt raised an eyebrow at her while she lightly chuckled.

"That is... they were as tall as you were, when you were human."

The two of them continued to look around the area, hoping to find out whether the lever could be a trap or not. Seeing no threats, Bolt decided to give pulling it a try with his jaw... needless to say, he didn't even get it to budge... much to his frustration.

"WOOF! WOOF! GR... MOVE, YOU STUPID LEVER! GR..." Bolt barked, as he continued to try pulling the lever. Then he tried to push it with his shoulders from the other end... which also yielded no results.

"It's too rusty, Bolt... we're gonna have to find some oil to grease it up, first!" Summer interjected. Bolt whined, but nodded his head nonetheless, before turning around towards where they came from. Towards the left corner of the entrance (towards Bolt's right), however, his eyes caught a glimpse of a door that was blocked by the smog in the sky. "Hey! There's a door there!"

Bolt nodded his head before heading towards it. "Now, the greater mystery is how we're gonna get in there..."

While Summer continued trying to think of an idea, Bolt already had a hunch, as seen by the torches. Sitting the camera on the ground, he pressed his right paw on the button on the top-right corner; causing the camera to let out a large flash of light, which scattered the smog around the door in a circular pattern. "Good thinking, Bolt!" Summer stated while Bolt balanced the camera back on his neck and walked towards the door. As soon as he was just a few steps away, however, the mist re-approached the door, and blocked it back up in the matter of seconds. "Looks like we have limited time to work with... maybe if you stepped back a little further, the light could spread more of the smog out of the way? Could buy us more time, then."

Bolt nodded his head before stepping further back from where he first took a picture. Then, after placing the camera on the ground once more, he tapped on the button once again; sending more of the smog away from the wall in the process. After that he quickly lifted the camera and ran to the door... only to encounter yet another problem that caused him to delay for too long, as the smog once again covered the entrance.

Summer noticed the problem as well. "Now that I think about it... how are you going to open it?"

Bolt sighed once more before shrugging. "Well... may as well delete those pictures then, huh? Might want to conserve film."

With a nod, Bolt lowered the camera to the ground once more before flipping the switch from "camera" mode to "gallery" mode. The second he saw the pictures, however, he stopped his paw from deleting the latest picture that revealed the whole wall.

"What is it, Bolt?" Summer asked, before taking a closer look at the picture. Then her eyes widened at the picture before the two of them turned towards the right of the sealed door. "Is that an open room right beside the door?! Maybe there's something in there!" she asked.

Bolt didn't bother giving an answer. Instead, he merely flicked the switch back to "camera" mode, angled the camera towards the right side of the blocked door, and pressed the button. When the flash revealed the wall, the two nodded their heads in confirmation before Bolt lifted the camera and made a mad dash for the door-less frame. The second Bolt made it inside, the smog covered the entrance while Bolt backed away from it cautiously. Then... nothing happened.

"Strange... I would think the smog would be filling this room now, but... it seems like it's intentions are to keep this room secret!" Summer stated, while Bolt nodded his head. "I wonder why, though..."

Before anything else could be said, the sudden sound of a hissing noise caused the two to freeze in place before slowly turning around. There, in the center of the room, was a short, brown coated pegasus mare with a black and gray striped mane and tail that appeared unkept and loose. On her head was, what appeared to be, a tan pith helmet with an olive colored band around it, and over her chest was an olivine colored vest. On her flank was a picture of a compass rose.

Summer told me about what that mark on the mysterious pony's flank was back when I started studying the inhabitants of Equestria. Apparently, when a pony finds his or her special talent, they get what's called a "Cutie Mark"... a picture that represents their talent to the world. It's said that everypony gets one at one point in their life.

Breezies, on the other hand, don't. Instead, they have their names earned by their greatest achievements in life. Summer Breeze obtained HER name by, as her name might suggest, giving the most pollen to the most flowers in the hottest summer in one "breeze", as their waves of work are referred to.

When the two of them noticed the pegasus pony in the center of the room, they were shocked to notice that she was on the ground, unconscious. Surrounding her was, what appeared to be, a group of five plants with crab-like legs and glowing blue mouths. All five of them were standing on thin vines; a single one on each to give them a snake-like appearance, while the plants themselves appeared more like crabs. Each time they made a hissing noise, a blue powder flew directly on top of the unconscious mare.

"OH, NO! Bolt, we have to help her!" Summer ordered. Bolt nodded his head in agreement. Then, with an intense glare on his face, he instinctively started to growl at the plants ferociously... instantly getting their attention in the process, and causing them to turn towards him. As soon as they noticed him, they began to make hissing noises once more. Then, in unison, the five of them dashed towards Bolt and Summer at an alarming speed.

PLUNDER LOBES

Before the creatures could reach Bolt, he quickly jumped to the right, while swatting one with the wooden claws from his right paw. Then he noticed the vine of the swatted creature to begin pulsating, as it floated around the air, dazed. Blindly, it blew some of the blue mist into another one next to it, which instantly made it fall to the ground asleep.

"Sleeping gas, huh? Better avoid touching that stuff, then." Bolt thought to himself as he continued circling the three creatures that were still after him.

"Be careful, Bolt! These creatures are called 'Plunder Lobes'... and their saliva, when extracted from their bodies, turn into a form of sleeping gas. Their weaknesses are fire and sharp objects!" Summer clarified, to which Bolt nodded his head in response.

As soon as the dazed plunder lobe was back to normal, it hissed once more before joining its four conscious friends in the chase. Bolt knew that he had to think fast, so he quickly made a sudden stop, took a sharp u-turn, and watched as their vines all began to pulsate. Then, right when they started to release their sleeping gas, Bolt quickly leaped in the air... directly over the plunder lobes. Then, when he landed, he continued to run quickly while the four followers turned around and began rushing towards him once again.

Quickly he continued to follow their vines until he was at the hole where they were coming from. Then he picked the vine that the unconscious one was attached to and wrapped it around the others in a feeble, slightly loose knot. After that, he ran closer to the unconscious one's center and lifted it up, while the others began inching dangerously closer.

With no time to spare, Bolt dashed towards the opposite end of the hole, carrying the unconscious one in his mouth; carefully, so as not to bite into it, and risk drinking some of the creature's dangerous saliva. Then, when he made it to where it was as stretched as it can get, Bolt turned around and noticed the other four plunder lobes were starting to choke. With all his might, Bolt wrapped the unconscious plunder lobe around his shoulders, tucked it below his chin, and started pulling the knot he made tighter. In the matter of seconds, the other four plunder lobes fell to the ground and lost consciousness. In the matter of minutes, they will wither up and die by the lack of carbon dioxide.

As soon as the battle was over, Bolt and Summer turned towards the unconscious mare and slowly approached her (or in this case, Bolt approached her while Summer sat on his forehead to keep the smog from choking her). While Bolt moved towards the mare, however, Summer seemed to have her mind on different things.

"I don't understand! What are PLUNDER LOBES doing here?! I thought the Tree of Harmony was supposed to keep all 'Plunder' things out of the Everfree Forest!" She then looked up worriedly. "I hope nothing bad has happened to it... it's an important source of our survival, after all!"

While Bolt was listening to Summer, he was also focused on the unconscious mare in front of him. Slowly he continued to approach her until she was merely inches away from him. Then he began making attempts to check for a pulse by gently placing his forepaws on the legs above her forehooves. At first, he doubted if he would have any success, seeing how she was a pony, and didn't entirely know where her arteries were. Those thoughts changed when he felt something pulsating inside her "wrists".

With a relieved sigh, Bolt looked up at Summer and barked happily. "Well, at least she isn't dead, right? Still, though... we can't just leave her in here!" Bolt nodded his head in agreement before turning back towards the mare... only to realize that her eyes were wide open, and were now focused on the timberwolf that was right there in front of her.

Then... she slowly sat up and began rubbing her forehead with her right forehoof. "Ugh... what the hay happened?" she asked in a slightly tomboyish voice. "And... why aren't you, like, trying to eat me, exactly?"

Summer lightly chuckled before replying, "There's... a lot more about this timberwolf than meets the eye."

Summer's voice caused the mare to gasp, jump up, look around, and ask, "Whoa! Who said that?!"

"Oh, right... I did!" Summer stated before flying a couple inches over Bolt's flower on his forehead. Just the sight of her made the mare's jaw drop.

"Okay... a breezie and a timberwolf actually working together?! Now I've seen it all... but hey, this might make a good addition to my book series!"

"Wait... you're a writer? What books do you make... and while I'm at it, what's a writer doing in this place, exactly?" Summer asked, while Bolt merely rolled his eyes... though since his eyes were nothing more than glowing orbs in his wooden skull, it was impossible for anypony to notice.

The mare tilted her head in confusion. "Wait a second... you don't recognize me?"

Both Bolt and Summer shook their heads while Summer replied, "Sorry, but nope... doesn't ring a bell!"

"Well..." The mare shook her head before glaring at the two mysterious individuals. "I can't tell you my real name, so I'll just go by the name that a... fellow author gave me in her books." Then she stretched her right forehoof out and said, "My name's 'Daring Do'... and the author that writes her books about me is named 'A.K. Yearling'."

Bolt nodded his head and barked a couple times, before stopping himself and whining in frustration. Summer giggled at that while Daring took a couple steps back out of confusion and worry... which Summer noticed right away.

"Oh, right... you don't know yet. Don't worry, he's not used to his new form yet." Summer stated to help calm Daring's nerves. Unfortunately, though, it only led to more confusion.

"New... form? What are you talking about?"

"Anyways, my name is Summer Breeze! My friend here is Bolt... and yes, I did say 'new form'. What I meant by that is... well... (How do I say this without sounding like a lunatic?) My friend here isn't really a timberwolf. It's just an effect that poison joke has on him."

That statement caused Daring Do's expression to lighten up. "Oh... yeah, I know how that feels, and believe me... it ain't funny in the slightest!" Then she scratched the back of her head before asking, "So... does anyone mind explaining to me what happened?"

Summer nodded her head and replied, "Of course! You see, my friend here is a journalist from a foreign land, and needs to find a way home... but to do that, we need to find a zebra that goes by the name 'Zecora'. Without her cure for poison joke, Bolt here won't be able to turn h-... into his normal form again."

Daring nodded her head. "I see... at least that explains why there's a camera around his neck... but how did that make the two of you end up down here, exactly?"

"Well... we were in Froggy Bottom Bogg, and ended up falling into a tunnel. Before we could get out, the sound of several giant roars kinda startled us... to the point where we ran deeper inside."

Again Daring nodded her head. "Makes sense when you put it that way." Then she cleared her throat. "Since you gave me your story, I suppose I should give you mine then, huh?" Bolt and Summer looked at each other before turning back to Daring Do and shrugging while nodding their heads.

"If you don't feel comfortable talking about it, you don't have to." Summer replied. That statement seemed to surprise Daring Do.

"Wait... you ain't worried about my background?!" Bolt and Summer shook their heads in response. "Well, now... that's a first. Usually when I have something to say, I would have tons of fans swarming me with questions." Then she smiled. "You're both alright." After taking a deep breath, she added, "I guess I won't have to go into details, then. Trust me, that alone is a huge weight off my shoulders..."

And so, she told us about what she did for a living... and even told us that she was actually "A.K. Yearling"... but that she required it to be a secret for her safety. As a journalist, I would usually be on the OTHER end of that kind of juicy gossip material, but... to be honest, whenever it came to the life and death of ANYONE, then I'd let morality win that round, and keep it to myself. Sure, maybe she'll eventually lighten up and allow others to know her secrets... but THAT one is HER story to cover... not mine.

As for why she was in Celebration Castle Ruins... apparently she was seeking an artifact said to have been hidden deep inside this cave... a magic artifact that seemed to catch the attention of many unicorns around the area in the surface. Along the way, though, she ended up getting ambushed by the plunder lobes.

When she got to that point, we explained OUR end of the story. Turns out, she usually works alone, but since we're not "adoring fans", she was willing to make an exception, if we were willing to help her in this place. The biggest reason was because I had my camera, and could move the smog around the area with its light.

After the three of us left that room, she seemed surprised when she had a better look of the place... but more specifically, WHAT the place across the area was.

"Whoa! That's the entrance to the Main Palace! No doubt that's the way to get to the source of the disturbance!" Daring stated as she stared at the large open gate across the giant gaping hole. "Hey, listen... I don't want to seem rude and all, but... since it was my mission, do you both think maybe you could let me fly up there, while the two of you check around this half of the place?"

Bolt and Summer looked at each other before shrugging. Then they nodded their heads. "Sure thing! Just let us know if you find anything or not... okay?"

Daring smiled and nodded her head. "Alright. Oh, and... thanks. It's not every day I meet someone who understands the concept of 'personal space'."

Bolt nodded his head and barked, while Summer clarified with what she believed he meant. "Not to worry! In fact, Bolt told me he was always a 'freelancer'... always working alone, and all that. Usually, I'm his common sense around the area. Everything work-related, though, he does on his own... and I'll admit, he's quite good at what he does!"

Daring nodded her head once more. "That's great to know. Then if you both find anything or not, we'll all meet here again. Deal?"

They both nodded their heads. "Deal!" With that, Daring Do stretched her wings out and quickly flew across the huge hole in the ground. Then, when she landed inside the gates, she hummed to herself before picking an unlit torch up off the walls and flying it to one of the lit ones. Finally, after having a torch at hand, she flew back across the hole and cautiously walked through the dark room... only for the double doors of that room to slam shut.

"Huh?! What the hay is th-AAH!" Daring's voice echoed through the room... followed by silence.

"DARING DO!" Summer shouted in horror, while Bolt glared across the room and began to growl and bark. "Bolt, we have to go rescue her! Perhaps she's just been put to sleep again!"

Bolt nodded his head and began to attempt pushing the lever again... only to fail once more. "Gr... WOOF!" Bolt barked out of frustration, before turning to his right. Then he took another picture in high hopes that there was another door on the other wall... but there wasn't.

Summer, however, didn't give up hope. "Let's check the room we found her in, Bolt! Maybe she forgot something in there when she was put to sleep!" Bolt nodded his head and turned back towards the wall on the left side of the room. Then he, once again, placed the camera on the ground a good distance from the wall and took a picture. Then he rushed in at full speed... only this time, Summer didn't complain.

For a single minute, Bolt skimmed through the room in high hopes of finding anything that could be useful. As if by a stroke of luck, he noticed a small jar in the corner of one of the walls, but hidden by the smog. After close inspection, Bolt and Summer realized just what was in that jar... butter. "Perhaps she had to take a lunch break? She might've been camping in this room... but now the question is how she was able to get past that smog wall without it affecting her?" Then her eyes widened in realization. "You don't think maybe this smog... might've gotten into this place after she got here... do you?"

Bolt shrugged his shoulders as he gently placed the camera on the ground while the jar of butter was gently placed in his mouth, and the strap to the camera was wrapped around his neck slightly tighter than usual. Then, after the camera's flash went off, he quickly dashed past the doorway and into the main room, where he placed the jar of butter on the ground next to the lever, and attempted to butter the bar's rusted gears down... but he quickly figured out that it was impossible to even open the jar with paws.

"Ugh! Without you being human, there's literally no way to open that jar!" Summer complained before sighing. "Well... let's go back in there! Maybe we can find... what're you doing, Bolt?"

Bolt groaned before moving towards the wall where the entrance was located, and looked around it. Surprisingly enough, it wasn't covered in smog... which must've been a sign of some sort. After looking closely at the wall, he noticed several strange patterns written on it. He turned to Summer, who also noticed the symbols, and smiled. "Bolt! These are magic inscriptions... and lucky for you, I happen to know the language that it's written in!" She then squinted her eyes and started reading the words on the wall.

"By order of King Solaris and Queen Cosmos, all royal subjects are to read the inscription below to find their special talents, should they come of age, and still lack their Cutie Marks."

"Spirits beyond, hear my plea! From deep within my soul, my talents be free! Allow me a vision of my greatest task... for the presence of my cutie mark is all that I ask!"

Summer tilted her head in confusion before asking, "Huh... sounds kinda corny, don't you think?" When she looked down, however, her eyes widened when she saw Bolt wobbling back and forth with a fatigued expression on his face. "Bolt?! BOLT!" The next thing he knew, the world around him started to fade into nothingness.

When Bolt woke up, he found himself in a pure white room. After rubbing his head, however, he froze in place and noticed something odd... he was human again. "What the... what's going on?!" he asked nobody in particular.

After standing back up on his feet, he looked around worriedly. "Summer? Summer, where are you?!" Now he was beginning to worry.

He took a few steps forward, but was stopped when a deep, low-pitched male's voice spoke from behind him. "Fate must have chosen you for a reason, young human."

Instantly, Bolt felt an uneasy hint of nervousness at the sudden voice. He froze in place and didn't bother to look back. "W-who are you?"

The voice replied, "I can assure you, I am no threat... I am merely here to offer you guidance on your quest."

"Quest? Um... oh, right! Saving Daring Do, correct?" Bolt asked in a slightly more calmer manner.

The voice, however, replied, "You won't just be saving Daring Do alone, Bolt. Countless millennia have passed since the day a human came through the portal between our worlds... and like you, she was chosen to be the one to face my brother."

"Your... brother?" Bolt asked confusedly before finally deciding to turn around. What he saw next, however, he didn't expect.

Standing in front of him was a gargoyle with pure white fur and wings. He was taller than Bolt by twice his size, and had muscles that could possibly make a minotaur jealous. His eyes glowed blue, and he was wearing a golden crown on his scalp.

"Please, allow me to introduce myself... I am King Scorpan... ruler of the Spiritual Kingdom. My brother, Lord Tirek, was in control before me... though when he ruled, he did so without mercy."

Bolt tilted his head once more in confusion. "So, wait... you want me... an ordinary photojournalist... to fight a king?!"

Scorpan shook his head in response. "I never said you were an ordinary photojournalist, Bolt... there is a hidden power inside you... one that you have already discovered for yourself, in fact."

Bolt sighed before scratching the back of his head. "Man... if I didn't know any better, I'd say you... might've gotten the wrong guy here. I'm just an ordinary guy, who lives an ordinary life, caught in an unusual... world, apparently, who wants to go back to his ordinary home, in his own ordinary world, thank you very much!"

Scorpan merely stared at him with a stern look on his face, but Bolt's history of photography has made him immune to any form of stares out there. "You can stare at me all you want, but I'm practically immune to that stuff, now."

A few long, minute-like seconds passed, until Scorpan finally spoke up. "Did it not occur to you that the poison joke turned you into a timberwolf twice in a row?"

Bolt hummed for a moment before shrugging his shoulders. "Not really. Why, is that unusual?"

Scorpan nodded his head. "Indeed. Normally, a special potion is required for an effect of poison joke to repeat itself... but to you, turning you into a timberwolf is the only thing it can do... and even so, poison joke has never had that effect happen to anyone before." He walked closer to Bolt, then concluded, "You have been chosen to be the hero who will stand against my brother once he becomes a threat to the world."

Bolt stood there silently, before he began to chuckle lightly... then stronger... and in before he knew it, he was in a fit of laughter. Scorpan, however, stood there unchanged by Bolt's sudden laughter.

"So wait..." Bolt began between breaths, "you mean to tell me that... I have been chosen to be a hero... by a little blue flower?!" He continued to laugh, until Scorpan cleared his throat to speak.

"No."

Bolt's laughter died down, but his amused smile was still on his face. "No? Then what chose me to be this hero that you speak of? A daisy? Tulip?"

"The Tree of Harmony did."

"Oh... so a tree then, huh? Well, why didn't you say so? Maybe it needs me to water its roots, huh? Or does it need a friendly little 'trimming'?"

Scorpan sighed before turning his back towards Bolt. "If you wish to return home, then you will have to defeat my brother, first."

"Dude, don't you understand when I say that I can't, beat, your, bro-" Before he could finish speaking, however, Scorpan instantly warped directly in front of him and lifted Bolt in the air with magic... much to his shock.

"Then he will reach your world next! And when he does, you will not be ready, and everything, everyone you know, and everyone you love... will die!" Scorpan viciously spoke in a much darker tone than how he sounded before. "And if you don't believe me, see it for yourself!"

In the snap of his right fingers, the entire area around the two of them turned into a large suburban neighborhood... but in the neighborhood, countless houses were on fire, and even more countless numbers of people were running through the smoke that surrounded the streets. It didn't take long for Bolt to realize just where he was standing in.

"Home? What... what's happening?!" Bolt asked confusedly, before the sound of colossal footsteps echoed through the landscape... and with each step, the ground below him shook furiously. When he turned slightly to the left (towards the direction of where the sounds came from), his eyes widened when he saw, what looked like, a pitch black human-like figure with two massive horns on his head and two hooves for feet... a centaur, as the books and myths have claimed. Both of his eyes glowed blood red through the fog, while his entire body was pitch black in the darkness. He was facing his lower-left side when Bolt noticed him, but shortly after that, his two blood-red eyes instantly focused on Bolt, while a menacing, fang-filled smile formed below the two eyes.

"You will be an excellent trophy for me... Bolt..." Bolt's eyes widened at the mentioning of his name. "It doesn't matter what choice you would've made, Bolt... you were never ready to begin with..." And just like that, a pair of red beams of light energy shot towards Bolt in a speed he couldn't even perceive. The second it was in his eyesight, he jumped back in panic, right as the illusion faded away.

At that moment, Bolt was shaken up beyond words. His knees were tucked in his arms, and his hands were shaking. His eyes were wide open, and his heart was racing. "Th- the... the hell was THAT thing?!"

Scorpan sighed before stretching his right hand out for Bolt to take to help him up. "That... was what my brother will become, if he succeeds in destroying this world."

"So... what you're saying is... I have to face THAT guy?!" Bolt shook his head before adding, "No way... that's NOT what I signed up for!"

Before Bolt could say anything else, though, Scorpan lowered to his level and said, "Look at me, Bolt." Slowly, Bolt looked upwards, only to find that Scorpan was no longer glaring at him... but rather, he looked sympathetic. "I know what humanity is capable of... and trust me when I say this... the first human that we brought to this world was no different than you when she first started on her journey!"

"Really? So... she was a photojournalist, then?"

"No... she was a simple farmer with no trust in her own capabilities." That statement caused Bolt's eyes to widen.

"So... it was a freakin' girl?!" Then a sudden realization made Bolt lightly chuckle. "Figures a little girl would be more than willing to help her little pony friends, though... now that I think about it."

Scorpan shook his head. "She was in as much denial as you are, Bolt... but with the special training that she learned through her adventure, she was able to stop my brother, and seal him away for thousands of years. Only once did he ever return... but the princesses of this world were able to send him back to Tartarus. Now, though, I can feel his powers growing with each passing day... and unfortunately, I fear that he may already be out of his prison."

"WHAT?!"

"But thanks to the power of the 'Elements of Harmony', however, most of his powers were drained from him; crippling most of his abilities, and shaping him into a weak and elderly figure... that is why I say that you have a chance to face him."

Bolt thought for a moment before letting out a long, drawn-out sigh. "Well... if I'm gonna die... might as well die swinging then, huh?"

"You don't fully accept, do you?"

"No, I don't... but hey, it's not like I really have a choice in the matter, do I?" Scorpan shook his head. "Then... might as well... 'go with the breeze', as Summer would put it... wait a minute! Where is Summer?!"

Scorpan weakly smiled and chuckled. "Do not fear, Bolt... she is still with you in the real world."

Bolt tilted his head in confusion. "'Real world'?! So wait, is this just an illusion?!"

Scorpan nodded his head. "Indeed it is. Now, then... I can't leave my kingdom behind, but the least I can do is awaken some of your hidden powers for you."

"Yeah, sure... whatever you say!" Bolt stated in a somewhat joking manner. "I don't really understand half of what you're talking about, but... sure thing! Do... whatever you just said!"

"Bolt... when you wake up, I want you to remove the flower from your forehead, and keep it with you."

Bolt tilted his head in confusion. "What? Um... why?"

"Just trust me... you are now immune to poison joke... and the cure for it, as well."

"WHAT?!" Bolt's eyes shot up at that statement. "THEN HOW AM I GOING TO-"

"When you remove the flower from your forehead, you will return to your human form... and when you place it back on your forehead, you will regain your timberwolf form."

"...Oh..."

With a chuckle, Scorpan's eyes began to glow brightly. "When you return to the real world, I want you to check inside the sealed door... what you find in the room will be very useful in your journey."

Bolt nodded his head. "Alright, then... beam me up, Scotty!" Bolt stated before raising his right hand, and parting his middle and ring finger in a "V" formation.

Scorpan lightly chuckled at Bolt's joke before replying, "Very well, then... we shall keep in touch." With that, the entire world around them started to fade away, until the only thing Bolt could see was a stone wall in a dark, dimly-lit room.

"BOLT!" Summer shouted at the top of her lungs, which caused Bolt to shake his head widely and look up at his forehead.

"*Whine* Yes, Summer?" Bolt stated, before his ears perked up at the sudden realization that he was a timberwolf again.

"Bolt, what the hay was that all about?!"

Bolt tilted his head in confusion, which made Summer lower her face into her right hoof. "When I finished reading that phrase, you just stared at the wall for, like, thirty seconds! Almost like you were daydreaming about something!" Then she turned towards the smoggy left wall again. "Now, then... help me figure out just how we're gonna get that door open, already!"

After closing his eyes to think back on what just happened, Bolt suddenly remembered what Scorpan told him about the flower on his forehead. Slowly Bolt lowered his head to the floor and placed his paws on the side petals while Summer flew directly over his head, and stared at him in confusion. "Bolt? What the hay are you doing?!"

Without giving her a response, Bolt slowly lifted his head up with the flower caught between his paws... needless to say, he felt excruciating pain as he did so. "BOLT! WHAT HAS GOTTEN INTO YOU?!"

The next thing they knew, Bolt's back arched up while he howled in pain at the first removal of the flower. Then, in the matter of seconds, he was engulfed in a bright blue glow, which caused Summer to gasp and fly backwards a couple feet. At once, the sound of cracking wood began to fill the room, and in the matter of seconds, the glow around Bolt began to get bigger and brighter. Then... the glow instantly vanished.

Summer slowly opened her eyes after being nearly blinded by the glow. Then, her eyes went extra wide when she realized that Bolt was a human again. "Bolt! You're... you're a human again!"

Bolt gasped for air while he sat there on his knees with the flower in his hands. "Holy crap... I can talk again!"

Summer's look of shock turned to a smile. "Thank goodness! Now I don't have to go on guessing what you have to say anymore! So... what happened, exactly?"

Bolt took a deep breath before looking back at Summer. "Do you really want to know?" Summer nodded her head eagerly, which made Bolt sigh in defeat. "Alright, then..."

I told her about the vision I had... and that I was supposed to be the new replacement of a little girl long ago that "saved the world, or something like that".

At first, she thought I was just fantasizing things... but then, when I told her about Scorpan and Tirek, she gave me a look that practically said, "Oh, crap... this is serious, isn't it?!"

"I don't know whether to believe you or not, but... if you know about Scorpan and Tirek, then that alone says that something fishy is going on!"

"How so, exactly?" Bolt asked, to which Summer sighed.

"Because there has never even been a book about those two in centuries! In fact, that kind of information happens to be held secret by either Zebra Shamans, Royal Unicorns, or Princess Celestia and Princess Luna themselves! Anyone else, though... well... they wouldn't even know a little about them!"

Bolt nodded his head. "So I take it breezies happen to know about them?" Summer shook her head, which caught Bolt by surprise. "No? Then... how do you know about them?!"

"I..." Summer began, before closing her eyes and looking away. "I'd rather not talk about it, to be honest... I'm sorry."

Bolt nodded his head and sighed. "I understand." Then he smiled and gently placed his right pointing finger underneath her so she could relax. "I won't bug you about it, then."

Summer smiled at him in response before gently falling onto his finger and sitting on it. "Thanks, Bolt..." Then she let out a large gasp. "Even so, if Tirek is coming back, we have to warn the princesses!"

Bolt nodded his head in agreement. "Good idea! Maybe we should check it out once we get out of this place!"

Summer nodded her head in agreement. "Then let's hurry up and save Daring Do!"

With that, Bolt gently placed her in his hair once again before placing the flower in his pocket. "Um, Bolt? Why are you keeping that thing?!"

"I'm immune to poison joke, now... so I'll need it in order to turn back into a timberwolf, should I need to."

Summer tilted her head in confusion. "Wait, so... you actually want to become a timberwolf again?" Then she grinned mischievously. "And here I thought you hated being a timberwolf!"

Bolt glared at her before retorting, "Hey! I still do hate being a timberwolf! I was just told by Scorpan to keep it, that's all!"

Summer rolled her eyes while she held onto her smile. "Whatever you say... doggy!"

"Oh, hardy har har!" Bolt groaned before lifting his camera up towards the smoggy wall at the left. "Anyways, I was told there's something in this room reserved specifically for me!"

"Oh, really? Well, then... go on ahead! I ain't stopping you!"

Bolt nodded his head before quickly lifting the camera up. ("Holy crap, it feels good to have hands again!") he thought to himself before taking the snapshot once again. Then he quickly ran up to the door and gripped the horizontal handle in the center of it. After that he lifted it up a small way, until it automatically lifted itself up even further. "Huh... quite an interesting mechanism there!" Bolt thought loudly.

Summer nodded her head. "Yeah... I wonder why we didn't try that be- oh, right."

This time, it was Bolt who grinned mischievously at Summer. "What's wrong? Already used to me being a human again?"

Summer glared at him before kicking her right hoof on his scalp... which didn't really hurt him, but rather, cause him to itch a little. "No! I just thought maybe a timberwolf could figure out something that simple!"

Bolt shrugged his shoulders as they stopped in the center of the room they were in. Then, the door quickly fell shut, which sent an echo through the entire room, and caused Bolt to turn towards it in shock. "What the... how did it..."

"Uh, Bolt? What's... that thing?!" Summer asked before pointing towards the center of the room. When Bolt turned back around, he squinted his eyes to get a better look.

Standing in the center of the room was, what appeared to be, a golden chest. Wrapped around it, though, was a mess of black roots that sunk below the chest that belonged to a black cabbage-like plant with thorns that stuck at each side. It appeared to be pulsating... but nothing else.

PLUNDER LOCK

"I... don't know what it is, but... it appears to be a lock made entirely out of a plunder seed!" Summer stated.

Bolt nodded his head and replied, "Might as well call it a 'Plunder Lock', then. Now, we just need to find some sort of 'Plunder Key' to open it!"

Summer shook her head and replied, "I don't think the plunder seeds would even have a key to open this kind of thing! No, we need to find something else to unlock it... or rather, we need to find something that can kill it!"

Bolt nodded his head before slowly stepping closer to it. When he was just a few meters away from it, however, the cabbage opened up, revealing a slightly disturbing core inside of it... an eyeball.

"GOOD GOSH, WHAT THE HELL?!" Bolt shouted before taking a few steps back... which only made it close its 'eye' once again.

Summer, however, was holding her mouth in disgust. "Ugh... did that thing eat somepony to even get that?!"

Bolt shrugged his shoulders before lifting his camera up. "I'm not sure, but... maybe I should take a picture of it, so we can have a reference on what this thing might be capable of!"

Summer nodded her head. "Gross, but... I see what you mean! Ugh... I just hope that's not the case!"

When Bolt stepped closer to the Plunder Lock once more, it opened its eye once more. The eye didn't seem to be moving, until Bolt was just a single meter away from it. Then he gasped when it turned its eye towards him. Quickly he took the snapshot and backed away, screaming, "HOLY CRAP THAT EYE'S A PART OF IT!.

As soon as the flash went off, however, the Plunder Lock closed its eye while the roots below it started to shake and rise up to the plant itself. Bolt tilted his head in confusion, then raised both eyebrows when the plant turned gray and combusted into ash. "Wow... now that's strange..."

Summer nodded her head in agreement. "It seems like they're extremely sensitive to light!"

"Well... might as well go see what's in the box, now... right?" Bolt asked, to which Summer nodded her head in response.

Slowly Bolt walked up to the chest while keeping his eyes on the floor to make sure nothing would pop out of the holes that the plunder lock had its roots in. After seeing that it was safe, he knelt down and unhitched the locking mechanism on the chest. Surprisingly, as he felt the metal of the chest, he discovered that, unlike everything inside the ruins, it wasn't covered in rust... almost like it was either new, or taken good care of.

After the lock was unhitched, Bolt lifted the upper half of the chest up and allowed it to unfold. Surprisingly, when he looked inside, all he could see was a belt with a foot-long pouch on the side of it.

"A bag... well, it beats using my pockets, at least!" With that, he lifted it out of the chest and examined it carefully. "Huh... is there something inside this bag?"

Summer shrugged her shoulders before replying, "Possibly... why don't you check it out?"

With a nod, Bolt unlatched the buckle on the pouch and lifted the flap. As he did, however, he found nothing but pitch-black darkness inside it. "Huh... that's strange..." Then he rotated it upside-down to empty any contents inside it. What fell out, however, he did not see coming.

On the floor below where he dumped the pouch was a light brown tunic, a pair of hardened leather gauntlets with metal braces around them, a dark brown full-body suit made of cloth, a steel longsword with a metal sheath that had a long gash on the side to allow the sword to be drawn quicker, a round wooden shield with a metal rim that surrounded the body, and a pair of surprisingly thick brown socks.

"Wow... so I get a new outfit and a few weapons... not too shabby, if it weren't for the fact that I come from an age that uses things like guns and stuff like that!" Bolt thought out loud. Summer tilted her head in confusion at his statement, though.

"What's a gun, exactly?"

"Eh, it's nothing. Anyways, what are these for, exactly?" Bolt asked while lifting the pair of thick socks off the ground. They were almost as long as his legs, but the shape they were in seemed odd... mostly because they were meant for hooves, though.

"Those are boots, of course! You put your hooves... err... feet in them, and roll the upper halves down to fold them to your preferred size!"

"Well... I guess it would be better to wear this than this suit. It's meant for business, not adventures." Then he slipped his jacket off and placed it in the pouch, before turning towards Summer. "Um... do you mind? I'd... like a little privacy here."

Summer thought for a moment before replying, "What's wrong with undressing?"

"Well... I'm a male, and my anatomy... isn't quite the same as a pony's." Bolt replied as he realized that ponies didn't necessarily wear clothes very often. With all that fur that they had, it was clear that they didn't really have much use for them, anyways.

"Um... okay?" Summer replied before turning away. "Well... let me know when you're done, okay?"

Bolt nodded his head. "Okay."

With that said and done, I quickly changed into the outfit that I was "assigned" to wear. Surprisingly, though, they didn't seem to show any signs of wear and tear! It was even MORE surprising when I noticed that they fit me perfectly!

And when I got to the "boots", they felt surprisingly comfortable. Strangely, though, it was almost like I was modeling clay when I got to my feet... after I folded the tops of the boots, that is. When they were in the centers of my shins, I pressed down on my ankles, only to find the boots stay in shape. If I didn't know any better, I'd say most of this equipment was magic in some way... and knowing that it's very real in THIS world... the chances are quite high.

After Bolt finished clamping the belt with the bag on his waist and the belt with the sword diagonally across his chest, he placed the shield on the sheath and smiled when he found that both were magnetic, and capable of attaching together firmly enough to where the shield would have to be pulled in order for it to become unattached. Then he walked out of the shadowy corner of the room and said, "Alright, Summer! I'm done changing, now!"

Summer nodded her head and flew back up towards him. "Well, aren't you strapping! The historical look kinda suits you!"

Bolt chuckled before replying, "Hey, you'd be surprised how comfortable this actually is! I could wear this forever, if I had the choice!"

Then Summer nodded her head before flying back into Bolt's hair. "Well, be careful where you swing that sword! And... now that I think about it, how did that thing fit in that pouch, exactly?!"

Bolt shrugged his shoulders before replying, "Eh... maybe it's some kind of magic pouch? I bet it can carry a ton of stuff!"

"Well, don't get any ideas! Just keep important stuff in it, alright?"

Bolt nodded his head before placing his camera inside it and closing it back up. "Alright!" Then he walked back towards the entrance... only to find that the smog was covering his path again. "Ugh..." Then he reached back into the pouch... but gasped when he saw his camera floating in the darkness. "Whoa... guess it is magic!"

"The tools that you want will float in the darkness of the bag, as long as you have it inside." Scorpan's voice echoed through Bolt's mind... which caused him to jump up in shock.

"Whoa! What was that?!" Bolt asked in shock.

Summer tilted her head before counter-asking, "What was what, Bolt?"

Bolt thought for a moment before sighing. "Eh... never mind. It was... just in my mind, that's all."

"What was in your mind?"

"Um... well, remember how I told you about that 'Scorpan' guy?"

Summer's eyes widened at that statement. "Wait! You mean he's watching us?!"

Bolt shrugged his shoulders before replying, "Eh... I guess so. Anyways, he told me that this bag will pretty much make whatever I want float up in the darkness of the bag, as long as I have it inside the bag."

Summer nodded her head. "Ah... makes sense! Anyways, what are you waiting for? Get your camera out, and let's go!"

With a nod, Bolt did as requested. With a click, he ran past the smog and placed his camera back inside the bag. Then he walked up to the rusty lever and picked up the jar of butter that still rested beside it. Thankfully, though, most of the butter was liquid at that point, so all he had to do was pour it over the corners of the handle without getting his gauntlets buttery. "Wouldn't want to have butterfingers, after all!" Bolt stated as he poured the butter over the handle carefully.

Summer tilted her head in confusion before asking, "What do you mean by... butterfingers, exactly?" That statement caused Bolt to sigh and place his left palm over his face.

"Eh... it's a human expression... something you might not understand."

After shrugging it off, Summer continued to sit in his hair and watch as he poured the slippery liquid over the hinges. Finally, when he had the lever as slick as he could get it, he placed both hands on the tip of the lever and gave it a firm pull.

Due to the amount of rust on the lever, it creaked loudly, and met a lot of resistance... but thanks to the butter, however, it was able to move enough to activate.

What happened next, however, was unexpected. Instead of lower some kind of bridge to the room past the massive hole, a number of torches began to light in the hole beneath the smog... causing the smog to rise up to the ceiling. When they looked down the hole, they noticed that it was actually a room with a set of stairs that lowered to the ground level of that room.

"Well... this just keeps getting better and better, huh?" Bolt asked Summer. She, in turn, nodded her head before flying off of Bolt's scalp.

With a breath of relief, she said, "At least the smog is no longer too dangerous for me to breathe in!"

Bolt chuckled before replying, "Yep!" Then Bolt started walking down the large set of stairs while admiring the scenery. Summer remained close by him, but flew beside his right shoulder, since his sword was hanging over it. (She also flew slightly below the sword, so that if he ever needed to draw it, his right arm would practically arch over her, so she wouldn't have to dodge the sword's blade.)

"Gotta say... despite the odd name that this place has, their architects must've been paid a lot of money! And their builders must've been the best of the best!" Summer mentioned, to which Bolt nodded in response.

"Yeah... but I hope security wasn't a big deal to them, though! Maybe this could be a simple walk in the park for us!" As soon as he finished saying that, though, a black root started to grow in the center of the room... which caught Bolt and Summer off guard the second Bolt stepped foot on the stone flooring. Without sparing a second, Summer flew into his hair while he reached for his sword and shield, and drew them. "Looks like I spoke too soon!"

As he said that, the tip of the root grew thicker, until it shaped itself into a plunder lobe. "Alright then, sleepyhead... let's do this!"

The plunder lobe hissed before spraying its saliva after Bolt. Before it could reach him, however, he quickly jumped to the side and raised his shield over his head while it attempted to turn the stream up to him. Thanks to his enchanted outfit, the sleeping gas had no effect on him, so long as it didn't touch his skin... and his face was, literally, the only part of him that was exposed.

As the mist hit his shield, he took that opportunity to move closer while keeping the shield and stream in line. Then, when it ran out of saliva to spit at him, he lowered his shield and dashed closer to it for the kill. With one swift motion, he swung his sword horizontally towards the lower half of the plant; slicing through the plant's vine upon contact.

When its head flew off, it and its vine started to turn gray, before dissipating into ashes. "Huh... like the plunder lock, this one seemed to turn to dust as well!"

Summer nodded her head. "I guess when they die, nothing is left but ashes... I wonder why..."

Bolt shrugged before replying, "Eh... maybe it's just the magic leaving the plants' bodies?"

"It's possible... but not important right now. We need to find a way up there!" Summer stated before pointing up at the room across the entrance.

Bolt nodded his head. "Yeah... but first, we need to know where to go to figure that out..." After giving the surrounding area a quick skim, he found a door below the stone stairway that they originally walked down from. After walking closer to it, he noticed that it was shaped the same way the door next to the entrance was... rectangular, metal in the center, and had a horizontal handle that they had to lift to open.

When they entered the room, they noticed yet another chest in the center of the room... and a door on the opposite end. The room itself was round, and had several holes on the ground that surrounded the walls. Bolt didn't notice them at first, though. Instead, he slowly walked up to the chest while staring at it confusedly. That chest wasn't made of gold, but still looked unusually well-kept.

Then, when he was about a meter away from the chest, a swarm of roots grew from the holes, wrapped the walls, and collided in the center of the room before lowering over the chest, and engulfing it in the black roots... much to Bolt's and Summer's shock.

Mere seconds after the chest was completely covered in the mess of knots, four cabbage-like plants sprouted in a cross-like pattern across the thick mess of roots. "Well, now... this plunder lock seems different, actually..." Bolt spoke out before drawing his sword and shield from his sheath and stood in a defensive stance, with his shield in front, and his sword behind him, but angled slightly up.

PLUNDER MONSTER: IVY

When the cabbage plants opened up, however, he quickly learned that they weren't filled with eyes. Instead, they were mouths filled with razor-sharp thorns for fangs... and the second they opened, a long root that must've been their tongues stretched out and wrapped around Bolt's right leg, before lifting him in the air, while the two on both sides disarmed him of his sword and shield with their long, whip-like tongues.

"BOLT!" Summer shouted before flying off of his scalp to avoid getting harmed in the dirt. Then, as if by a stroke of luck, Bolt's flower slipped from his pouch and landed on its front half, as the plants began to drag him towards the one that had his foot. "Bolt, your flower!"

Bolt nodded his head before turning himself around with his loose foot and shoulders, and slammed his forehead on the flower; slightly leaving a painful-looking gash on his head. The gash, of course, wasn't visible for long as the flower, once fully attached to his forehead, started to glow, followed by his whole body. Then, in a split second, he was transformed back into a timberwolf.

Due to the unexpected change of size, Bolt quickly managed to slip out of the root and jump back to his feet (or paws, in this case). Then he ran back towards where Summer was flying and barked; telling her to hop on his forehead. She did so without hesitation, as the two began running in circles, dodging the monster's attempted lunges, and scanning the creature itself for weak points. Finally, they noticed that the roots were coming from the holes that surrounded the entire room.

"Bolt! We need to cut through these roots... and we need to cut through them quickly!" Summer stated.

Bolt nodded his head in response before rushing towards where the plant's vine tossed his sword. Then, after lifting it up quickly with his teeth, he firmly gripped it while having it hover towards his right side, close to over his right shoulder. With sword in mouth, he continued to make a mad dash, before inching closer to his right, until the sword was within reach of the roots. Sparing no second to lose, he closed in and started to cut through the roots while the monster's cabbage-like plants continued to flail their tongues towards him in a failed attempt at stopping him. The second he reached the last vine, he quickly sliced through it... causing the mess of knots to quickly turn gray, before dissipating into ash.

With a breath of relief, Bolt lowered his forehead, gripped the flower with both paws, and ripped it out of his forehead yet again. This time, though, it didn't appear to have much resistance... and it was painless, as well!

"Wow... glad to know I won't be hurting every time I use this thing!" Bolt said as he lifted the flower up and placed it in his pouch once again. Then he lifted his sword and shield off the ground before walking up to the chest and humming to himself. "Now, then... what could've been so useful that a bunch of crazy "ivy-like" plunder plants had to try to eat me over?" As he asked nopony that in particular, he lowered to the height of the chest before unlocking its mechanism and opening the chest.

What he found inside was a meter-long metal rod with a pitch black spherical object hanging on one end. The rod was sitting next to a small bottle with an odd group of symbols written on it.

Summer looked at it closely before translating it for him. "Huh... 'Rock Oil'? Then... this must be some kind of fire-less torch that they used long ago!" Then she smiled. "Let me think... aha! This device is called a 'Light Wand'! I can remember, now... they used these to avoid risking the safety of the ancient breezies once they were discovered!"

Bolt nodded his head and smiled. "No doubt this will be useful! I'd hate to risk your safety with a normal one, after all!"

Summer seemed to blush at that statement, but due to her size (and the fact that her coat was naturally red), Bolt was unable to notice. "Oh... well... thank you!" Then she cleared her throat. "Anyways... to refill it, you have to lift the black pearl from the tip and pour the rock oil through the hole in the top."

Bolt nodded his head and did as instructed. "Alright... the oil's in... now what?" He asked before placing the jar that the rock oil was once in inside his pouch.

"Now, you simply have to give the pearl a firm tap, and it should start to glow! Do it again to turn it off to save rock oil!"

Once again, Bolt did as instructed. After balling his fist up, he tapped on it similar to how he would knock on a door. The second the first knock came, the black pearl suddenly started to glow with a bright white shine.

"GOOD GOSH, THAT'S BRIGHT!" Bolt shouted as he shielded his eyes. "Well... at least it works, right?"

Summer nodded her head as she shielded her eyes. "Yeah!"

Then Bolt tapped the pearl once more, and the atmosphere changed back into darkness. "So... now that we have a torch, we should conserve the rock oil inside it, so we don't end up getting trapped in the center of a dark room, huh?"

Summer nodded her head once more. "Good thinking! Anyways, it looks like we can go to the next room, now!"

With a nod, Bolt walked towards the door in the opposite end of where they came from and opened the door the same way all other doors opened... by pulling the horizontal handle up.

When they were merely two steps inside the next room, their eyes went wide. As far as the eye could see was nothing but a thick layer of smog. The only way how they were able to step foot inside the room was the torch directly over the door that was, somehow, already lit. Not having to think much on what to do next, Bolt tapped the pearl of the Light Wand, and the second it lit up, a chunk of the smog cleared away from the light it produced.

Quickly, yet cautiously, Bolt walked through the smog with the torch held high, while Summer rested on his hair to keep from falling behind. As they continued through the room, though, they found a group of three torches in the center of a purple carpet inside the room.

"Maybe there's a switch somewhere in here that can light those torches!" Summer stated, to which Bolt nodded his head.

"Possibly... let's check..." When he looked around a little more, he smiled when he saw just what he was looking for on the wall in the distance... a lever. When he was about to step forward, however, Summer stopped him immediately.

"WAIT!"

Bolt's right foot hovered over the stone floor directly off of the carpet when he looked up and asked, "Huh? What's wrong, Summer?"

"Look at the ground, Bolt... something seems... off about it!"

Bolt did as suggested while stepping his right foot back on the carpet. Then he lowered to the ground level and, sure enough, there was a strange looking pattern on the ground... pictures of birds, lions, bears, and mice. "Huh... that does look kinda sketchy. Thanks, Summer."

Summer nodded her head and replied, "Any time! Now, then... there's something strange about this. It... seems to be some kind of pattern... but it doesn't appear to be in any kind of order!"

Bolt tilted his head while closely eying the pictures of each creature. "Looks like animals are drawn on them... but what does it mean? There's a bird, a lion, a bear, and a mouse."

"Why's there a mouse, though? It... doesn't seem to go with the other creatures!"

Bolt nodded his head and smiled. "Then that's the block we need to step on!"

With that, Bolt slowly and cautiously inched closer towards the pictures of the mice and lowered his foot. Before he did, though, he pulled it back and hummed to himself. "But... just to be safe, we should double-check." Quickly he placed his right hand in his pouch and pulled the empty jar of butter out. Then he inched it closer to the block and placed it down.

Merely three seconds after he placed the jar on the block, however, a large fire rose from it; roasting the glass jar to the point of blowing up. Luckily for Bolt, though, that he quickly pulled his shield from the sheath and blocked the projectiles of glass from doing any harm to him.

"Three seconds to stand on it... looks like I've gotta be quick, then!"

After five seconds of nonstop flaming, the fire instantly died down, leaving shards of broken glass on the puzzle.

Bolt hummed to himself for a moment before reaching into his pouch and pulling out the empty vial of rock oil. Then he placed it on the same mouse that the glass shards was on and applied pressure on the block for one second. Then he lifted it back up and jerked his hand away to see if the fire would return... it did.

"Crap... so not only do I need to act fast, but... I have to get to the lever, pull it down, and get back in under three seconds!"

Summer gulped at that sudden realization. "And if that lever's rusty, then it could take even longer to merely pull it down!"

Bolt shook his head and sighed. "There's gotta be a way!" Then he tilted his head at the pictures once more. "Wait... what about if it isn't asking for the weakest animal?"

Summer tilted her head in confusion. "What do you mean?" Then the sudden realization hit her. "You think that maybe the mice was there as a distraction?"

Bolt nodded his head and smiled. "Well, yeah! To be fair, that one could be what makes this whole puzzle a trap!" Then he slowly moved the oil jar towards a block with a lion engraved on it and gently applied pressure on it. Seeing that nothing happened in three seconds, he left the oil jar on top of it and pulled his hand back. Then they sat there for thirty seconds, while the block didn't even do a thing, except sit there. "IT WORKED!" Bolt cheered as he threw his right fist in the air.

Summer chuckled before shaking her head. "Oh, boy... the horses of that day were far more clever than the ponies of today took them for!"

Bolt snickered before shrugging his shoulders. "Would've fooled me, if I didn't have all this stuff with me to double-check with!" Then he lifted his oil jar back up and stood... but three seconds after he lifted it from the lion, it was engulfed in flames... for ten seconds.

"OH, YOU'VE GOT TO BE KIDDING ME!" Bolt shouted before kicking the ground with his right boot. Summer, however, gulped at the sight of the fire.

"If this smog wasn't in the air... I would've probably sat back, but... since my life is also in the danger zone, I'd just like to tell you, Bolt... DON'T YOU DARE BUCK THIS UP!" Summer shouted in Bolt's left ear... which made him flinch and rub his ear.

"I'll... try not to!" Bolt stuttered, before humming to himself. "Well... this just got even more interesting, to say the least..."

After about a minute of examining the patterns, however, Bolt smiled confidently. "Ah, I see!"

Summer tilted her head in confusion. "See what, exactly?"

Bolt pointed at the patterns once more, before saying, "I have all the time in the world to plan out my next jump with the lions, but only three seconds to jump off of a mouse... maybe I have to use the lions as a way up there... and the mice as a way back?"

Summer thought for a moment, before adding, "Or... maybe we could just stand on a lion long enough for the ones before it to go out?"

With a shrug, Bolt replied, "Only one way to find out."

After taking a few deep breaths, Bolt slowly placed his right foot on the lion that he originally put the oil jar on and slowly moved his left foot onto it. Then he sighed in relief while looking around the block to anticipate his next few moves. "Kay, then..." After crouching down cautiously, he leaped to the next one and landed on one foot while the other foot hovered in the air. His arms flailed slightly, but thankfully, he was able to catch his balance. Three seconds later, the lion behind him started to project flames. He stood there for ten seconds to check the flame's progress... but twenty seconds on, and it still continued to blow. "Well... crap..."

Summer's eyes widened at that realization. "As long as someone's on a lion block, the others will continue to flame up!"

Bolt nodded his head before replying, "Well... looks like we're gonna have to use the mice to escape!"

Then he looked around the block he was on for the next lion... and mouse for when he has to make a run for it. After spotting the lion, however, he groaned. "It's between two mice! How's that gonna work out for me, exactly?!"

Summer shrugged her shoulders before replying, "Maybe a couple mice wouldn't hurt for while you're on your way up there!"

Bolt nodded his head and replied, "Fair enough..." Then, in a pair of cautious leaps, he managed to make it to the next lion, right as the mouse behind him projected fire for five seconds. "Well... at least the mice don't continue to fire up while I'm on a lion!" Bolt stated.

Summer nodded her head in agreement. "Indeed... so... can we hurry up, now?! I'm starting to burn up here!"

Bolt nodded his head; now remembering how extra sensitive Breezies are around fire. "Alright... here goes nothing!" With that, Bolt scanned the area around the next mouse, but sighed when the next lion would happen to move away from the lever. "I freakin' HATE horses, now..." Bolt whispered, to which Summer lightly chuckled at.

"Hey, at least you'll be a master of Hopscotch when you're done with this!"

Bolt nodded his head once more. "Or a pile of burnt-down ashes."

"...That, too." Summer said, now feeling even more uneasy.

Then, Bolt decided to make the move. After narrowly dodging the fire of the next mouse, he was now one step further from the lever on the wall... then two when he made it to the next one. Finally, he was just two blocks away from where he started. Thankfully, though, the next lion was at his left, and appeared to zig-zag in a snake-like pattern towards the lever.

After a minute of cautions jumping, he was finally just two blocks away... only, there was one problem. "THERE AREN'T ANY MICE OR LIONS UP THERE! Bolt shouted.

Summer began to look closer, and smiled. "Maybe not, but there's a few blank stones there!"

Bolt sighed before replying, "Well... even so, there's no way that I can jump that far!"

Summer hummed to herself before a grin formed on her face. "Maybe not... while you're human, at least!"

That statement caused Bolt to gulp. "Yeah, but... my timberwolf form is, like, made of timber! That means that the fire might do extra damage to me!"

With a shrug, Summer replied, "Well, technically, this fire would kill you either way, so... what's the difference?"

Bolt thought for a moment, until a slightly amused, slightly nervous grin formed on his face. "I... guess you have a point, there..."

With a sigh, he reached into his pouch and pulled out the flower. Before changing, though, he placed the Light Wand in his mouth and gripped it between his teeth. "This does not taste good, just-so-you-know!" He mumbled while fiddling with the flower. Then, after taking a deep breath, he slapped it on his forehead, causing him to glow for a second (which also sent a large number of smog back for a few extra seconds) and the next thing he knew, he was a timberwolf again.

"That still makes you look like a girl, y'know." Summer teased, which only made Bolt growl at her. "Kidding! Anyways, get ready to make a jump for it!"

Bolt nodded his head before wrapping his wooden tongue around the Light Wand... he had an idea.

After crouching down in a low angle (cautiously so as not to step on anything else), Bolt made a quick leap in the air... right below the lever. Then, before he could fall down, he bit onto the lever and held onto the lower half for dear life, with the sides of the Light Wand poking out of the sides of his mouth.

"Wow... nice catch!" Summer stated. Bolt groaned before tilting his head to allow his stomach to rest on top of the bar.

After carefully balancing himself on the bar, he slowly inched his forearms to his forehead and pressed onto the petals. Then, with a quick tug, he was back in his human form again.

"Great! You made it to the lever, Bolt!" Summer stated, but then a frustrated expression formed on her face. "Only one problem, though... IT'S BUCKING RUSTY AS TARTARUS!"

Bolt shrugged his shoulders before slowly lowering his feet onto one of the blank stones that rested in front of the lever. He sighed in relief when he found that, as Summer and he hoped, they were not rigged like the ones with the animals on them.

"Well... now what?!" Bolt asked, until a realization hit him. "Wait a minute... this light has oil in it!"

Summer nodded her head and replied, "Yeah, but just one problem there... it happens to be our only protection against this smog! Without it, we'd be suffocated in seconds!"

Bolt nodded his head before replying, "Well... maybe if we're fast enough, we can keep that from happening!" Then, an idea formed in Bolt's mind. "I've got it! My camera! It has a "simultaneous capture" feature in it! Perhaps I can use it to keep the smog out of the way while I tend to the oil!"

Summer nodded her head and smiled. "Well hurry, then!"

Quickly Bolt reached into his pouch and pulled his camera out. Then, after toggling through the settings with the Light Wand in his mouth (which still tasted terrible), he set the camera's "simultaneous capture" mode to "ten frames per second", and his number of photos to its maximum... thirty. "I have three seconds to open the wand, pour a little oil back in the jar, and turn the wand back on... simple, right?"

Summer groaned before replying, "We're gonna die, aren't we?"

"... Don't worry! I've played many video games like this situation before! I know what I'm doing!"

"And in those 'video games', did you happen to win the first time around?"

Bolt froze for a moment before smiling sheepishly and shrugging. "Um... try second or third attempt?"

Summer deadpanned at him, and remained silent for a good ten seconds. "We're most likely gonna die, aren't we?"

"Yes... yes, we are." Bolt nodded, before frowning. "That is... if my plan doesn't work."

With a sigh, Summer flew back into his hair and said, "Well, it's been nice working with you!"

"Likewise!" Bolt agreed before gently placing the camera down on the next empty stone block. He had the timer set for ten seconds... and when he stood back up, he already had the oil jar in his right hand, and the Light Wand in his left.

Ten seconds on, and at once, the entire room started to cover in constant flashes of light. At that time, Bolt quickly lifted the pearl from the wand, right as one second passed. Then he started filling the jar up once again, leaving a little for the torch to come back on, right as two seconds passed. At the third second, he placed the pearl back on the Light Wand. The next thing he knew, the smog was starting to quickly close in on them. When it was merely a meter around them again, Bolt quickly slapped the black pearl, instantly lighting the area up once again.

There was silence... then a loud cheer, as Bolt shouted, "NAILED IT!"

Summer, on the other hand, was just breathing heavily; thankful to still be alive. "Surprisingly, well done, Bolt!"

Bolt nodded his head and smiled triumphantly. "What can I say? I guess the games I've played really did pay off!" Then he picked his camera back up and placed it in his pouch again, before turning towards the lever that hovered over a small group of bear and eagle blocks; all of which between the two empty blocks. Carefully, he placed his right hand on the tip of the lever and dripped a little of the oil on the cogs inside the lever's holder. After that, he sealed the oil jar back up and placed it in his pouch before grabbing the lever, and pulling down... only to find that it still wasn't budging.

"Dang it!" Bolt growled before swinging his left leg over the lever, and pressing his entire body's weight on it. Firmly, he gripped it with both hands, while he held the Light Wand in his mouth. "Go... down... you... piece... of..." Before he could finish his sentence, however, a tiny bit of the oil that missed the contraption somehow found its way in Bolt's left boot's path... and at the same time that his boot made contact with it, the lever began to lower.

"CRAP!" Bolt shouted as the lever instantly lowered down... and broke off. The second Bolt landed on the bear and bird blocks, they lowered down... and fell into a dark pit, while Bolt frantically ditched the broken lever and gripped on the blank block.

"BOLT!" Summer shouted as she flew up and tried to help him up... which was, without a doubt, pointless. "HANG IN THERE, BOLT!"

"Oh, hardy har har!" Bolt sarcastically stated through clenched teeth, as he held onto the Light Wand with his teeth and the block with his hands for dear life. Then, ever-so-slowly, he managed to pull himself back up to the block and smiled. "Well... it went down, alright! Down in that... hey, wait a minute!" Bolt lowered the wand to where he could see walls... along with distant floors where the blocks landed on. "There's a room down there!"

Before Summer could even respond, however, the sound of rusty gears turning filled the room, and appeared to be coming from the center, where the three unlit torches stood. Then, after the cogs stopped turning, the three torches lit up; sending the smog across the room, and onto the walls.

After that, the sound of something unlatching over the torches echoed through the room, which caught Bolt's and Summer's attention, and made them look up.

In-between the dangerous puzzle and the center of the room, a wooden chest surrounded by a golden aura slowly fell to the ground, as if it were under a weak levitation spell. Then, when it landed, the golden aura faded away.

Seeing no reason to carry the torch around, Bolt bopped the pearl to turn it off, and placed it in his pouch again. As he did that, however, he noticed the blocks that fell levitated back to where they came from and turned around; now with a blank side on the top of the surface. Shortly following them, the rest of the blocks turned around, until they were all blank sides facing up.

"Okay... this place... is nuts..." Bolt stated before cautiously stepping on one of the new blank blocks. Seeing that it wasn't going to fall, he casually walked up to the chest and opened it. What he found inside, however, was far from what he thought it would be.

A golden-looking rod with a blue diamond handle, a green and red button in the center, and four golden crescent extensions on one end of it, with a half-spherical golden disc in-between them. Inside that disc was, what looked like, a green orb that was sunk inside it. On the other end of the handle, a black diamond stuck out with the sharp end sticking out the most.

Bolt eyed it carefully before pressing the green button. When he did, the green orb in-between the four extensions glowed and shot out of the disc (but was caught by the extensions), the black diamond below the handle dimly glowed white, and the device itself made a loud noise that resembled a blade clanking onto a metal surface... and an odd "magic" type of noise.

Out of curiosity, Bolt stuck his hand on the green orb and tried to feel it... but as soon as his hand was just mere inches away from it, his hand ended up getting caught onto it like a vacuum.

"HEY! WHAT THE HELL?!" Bolt shouted before pressing the red button. Instead of turning it off, though, a golden strand extended from the disc's bottom, and fell to the ground. Curiously, Bolt pressed the green button again, and at once, the disc went back to its normal state, and the diamond stopped glowing. The odd golden strand, however, was still there... and the disc falling to the ground only made it stretch out even more. Then Bolt pressed the red button again, and at once, the strand quickly pulled itself back into the handle... though how it was able to fit in there was beyond explanation. Bolt decided to scratch it off as simply "magic" of some sort.

Even though his hand was just caught in the device, a huge grin was on his face.

"Holy crap..."

For a test, he pressed the green button again, which made the device repeat its former action. Then he stretched it behind his back and took aim at nothing in particular, before swinging the rod forward. As he did, however, he quickly pressed the red button, which sent the disc nearly halfway down the room, before it latched onto the ground. After that, Bolt quickly jumped up and raised both feet forward in the air before pressing the red button again. In the blink of an eye, he was pulled towards the disc, and slid on the opposite end of the room, before the strand pulled him back towards the disc like a piece of rubber would bounce; the distance growing less and less.

After that, Bolt pressed the green button again (releasing the item's grip), before turning towards the wall. Then, like before, he pressed the green button, swung the item forward, pressed the red button, and watched it latch onto the wall, before repeating the new "flying technique". This time, however, when he landed, he didn't bounce at all. His feet were planted on the wall, and his hand, thanks to the "sticky magic" of the item, was unable to release the item's handle... at least, not until he pressed the green button again. When he did, he fell on his back... dropping the item midair.

For a few seconds, he sat there speechlessly... but with the huge smile still plastered on his face. Then, in a higher-than-manly voice, he screamed, "THIS THING IS AWESOME!"

Summer (who was hanging onto his hair for dear life the whole time), however, was visibly shaken and green-faced, before stuttering, "E-easy for YOU to say!"

Bolt shrugged his shoulders before picking his new "favorite toy" back up, and humming to himself. "We're gonna have to pick a name for this device!"

Summer, on the other hand, shrugged before replying, "Actually, I've seen that thing before... never was a fan of it."

Bolt hummed, before smiling. "Alright, then! What is it?"

"It's called a 'Grip Whip'. It was used in the ancient days for ponies who weren't pegasi to scale walls... though they usually carried two to do so. Thanks to their usage in wars, though, blacksmiths from all over Equestria, along with the neighboring kingdoms, have stopped producing them thousands of years ago."

Bolt chuckled at that name. "Grip Whip, huh? Well, then... I might need to look into getting another one at some point!"

Summer shook her head before replying, "Like I said, they've been obsolete long ago... so if you plan on finding another one, we'll have to go 'dungeon diving' in another place... unless we find another one in here."

Bolt shrugged his shoulders before replying, "Eh... we can worry about that later. Right now, I think we have our ticket to Daring Do's location, now!"

Summer's eyes widened at that realization. "Oh my gosh! You're right!" Then, with a determined smile on her face, she pointed her right hoof towards the door that led to where they came from. "Let's go save Daring Do!"

Bolt nodded his head before replying, "Yeah... just be on guard, though. You heard her when she screamed, didn't you? She didn't say who... she said what."

Summer's look of confidence quickly turned to uneasiness, as the fact that they were more than likely not going to face anything normal suddenly came to play. "I... I'll keep my eyes peeled!"

Bolt smiled at her before adding, "If things get out of ha-err... hoof, then you might want to fly into the pouch... I won't hold it against you."

Summer shook her head before replying, "And risk getting trapped in there for Celestia-knows-how-long?! No thanks! We die, we die together!" Then she smiled nervously. "Just know, though... if we die... I'm going to haunt you forever!"

Bolt chuckled and nodded his head. "I'll keep that in mind!" With that, the two began to walk back to the entrance of that 'dungeon'.

"Well... this is it!" Bolt said after taking a few deep breaths. The Grip Whip was latched onto the ceiling between the "Throne Room" (as the layout seemed) and the edge of the stairway. "Ready?"

Summer nodded her head and gulped. "R-ready!"

"Alright, then... three... two... one... GO!" At the word "GO", Bolt jumped from the ledge and, thanks to the magic grip of the Grip Whip, managed to swing across with ease. When he was at the proper range, he pressed the green button, but firmly gripped the handle (to avoid dropping it, due to the lack of magic energy), and flew into the air; landing right in front of the door with a roll. "Thank you 'Parkour Classes'!" Bolt mumbled to himself, before pressing the red button. After putting the Grip Whip away, he placed both hands on the double doors and slowly opened it. Then, after lighting his Light Wand and gripping it with his left hand, he slowly walked inside... right as the doors closed themselves shut.

When the doors closed themselves shut, Bolt and Summer looked back, and noticed large, thick roots blocking the path back... which made them gulp before turning back towards the center of the room. "Well... no turning back now, huh?" Bolt asked.

Summer shook her head slowly before replying, "N-nope..."

Slowly, Bolt walked deeper into the dark, circular throne room with his torch at hand. "Daring... Daring Do?" Bolt slowly asked. The nervousness of his voice was clearly visible.

Bolt continued looking both directions, until the sound of muffled crying filled the room... and appeared to be coming from the top of the huge dome-shaped walls. Looking up, Bolt and Summer breathed a sigh of relief when they found the one they were looking for... safe, and unharmed. "Daring Do! You're okay!" Summer cheered before flying up to their friend... only to stop midway when the sound of a loud growl echoed through the room. Looking down, she gasped when she saw a massive hole that went through well over half of the entire floor... and inside it was an extremely thick layer of smog. Without hesitation, she instantly flew back to Bolt, who was now eying the smog-filled hole with extreme caution.

Suddenly, a black cabbage-like plant rose from the center of the hole... about the size of a pony... attached to a thin black vine. It then angled towards Bolt before opening... vertically. As it did, an eyeball appeared from the center of it.

Another pair of black cabbage-like plants rose from the center of it; both of which, when opened, appeared to be a pair of mouths similar to the ones that blocked the chest with the Light Wand in it. They, too, were attached to equally thin vines.

Bolt glared at the eyeball and drew his sword defensively... but then, the three vines started to rise higher... and as they rose, the entire room began to shake... which caused Bolt to stumble to the ground, and stare in shock.

Slowly, a massive, black, "unbloomed rose"-shaped plant started to rise from the center of the hole... filling the gap with each passing second. After mere seconds, Bolt stood back up, but his hands began to shake, while Summer's eyes and jaw were now wide open, and her entire body quivered in fear.

Then, in an "X"-shaped pattern, the colossal peddles of the rose opened; revealing countless layers of blue thorns that seemed to go all the way through its throat. As they opened, however, the creature let out an unbearably high-pitched roar that caused the walls to vibrate around the entire area. In the center of the behemoth's throat, three vines (as thick as a healthy pine tree) stretched out, and moved with the sound waves of the beast's roar.

PLUNDER LORD: VENUS

"Um... excuse the language, but... HOLY SH-" Bolt began, before Summer interrupted him.

"B-Bolt... BUCKING RUN, ALREADY!" Summer screamed, as Venus's tongue(s) extended even longer, before lifting them up higher; more than likely an attempt to slam the floor down.

Bolt took a couple steps back before nodding his head. "Y-yeah, running is good! RUNNING'S A GOOD IDEA!"

As soon as the massive roots swung downwards, Bolt quickly rolled to the left. As he did, the floor he was on just a split-second ago was now the victim of a massive tree-sized root. Thinking quickly, Bolt noticed the plants with mouths didn't even have tongues... but they were still looking down at him, as their vines began to pulsate. "BOLT! INCOMING PROJECTILES!" Summer shouted, to which Bolt nodded to and stuck the Light Wand into the ground, before drawing his shield, and covering his head.

What he didn't expect, however, was a thick puff of green-colored fog to leave its mouth and float towards him and Summer.

"Smog?! So the smog is coming from THIS thing?!" Bolt asked nopony in particular.

"Looks like it!" Summer replied.

Bolt quickly placed his shield back on his sheath and lifted the Light Wand back up from the ground. Then, when the smog was close enough, he waved the wand at the smog; instantly causing it to disappear.

Venus lifted its tongue back up and turned its head towards where Bolt was once more, before lifting all three roots up. Summer noticed it right away. "BOLT, USE YOUR GRIP WHIP, NOW!"

Bolt nodded his head before sheathing his sword and pulling the Grip Whip from his pouch. Then, in a quick swing, he slid across the floor, and was now on the other end of the half-circle by the time Venus's tongues landed. Needless to say, he still felt the impact of the blow from the other side.

"There has to be a weakness, Bolt! Use your head!" Summer shouted. Bolt, in turn, nodded his head, and quickly scanned the surrounding environment.

As he did, he noticed that Daring Do was trapped in a cage that was hanging over, what used to be, a windowsill. She was tangled up in a large number of black vines, and her snout was closed shut by another vine. She had tears on her cheeks, as she struggled to get free.

"BOLT! WATCH OUT!" Summer shouted, which caught Bolt's attention just in time for him to notice that Venus was now sliding all three of its tongues across the floor... too high for him to easily jump over.

Lucky for him, however, he had the cure for that problem already in his right hand. With a quick thrust, he sent the Grip Whip onto the wall and narrowly dodged a hit that would've, without a doubt, flattened him on the wall then and there.

He glared at Venus and shouted, "HEY! THAT WAS TOO CLOSE, YOU JACKASS!"

Venus, in turn, didn't respond with anything more than another roar. As it did, however, it looked at him with its yellow eye in a crescent shape; it was angry that it missed its target.

Seeing its eye, however, gave Bolt an idea. His idea, of course, gave him that bold, daring smile that Summer always dreaded seeing when she was involved in it as well. "Bolt... what are you thinking?!

Without even waiting for an answer, Bolt pressed the red button, which allowed him to fall towards the ground again... but he kept the disc attached to the wall, though.

With the daring grin still on his face, Bolt started to tug on the Grip Whip... only for his grin to drop instantly. In a nervous tone, he shouted, "OH, CRAP! THE BUTTON'S STUCK!"

That caused Summer to practically scream in a pony's talking volume, "WHAT?!"

Venus, on the other hand, took that as an advantage. With its middle tongue in the air, it made another roar... but as it did, Bolt's grin instantly came back to him. "Gotcha!"

With the click of the red button, Bolt was lifted back into the air... right as the vine landed on the ground. Then, once the handle was back on the disc, Bolt released it and landed back on the ground; piercing the Light Wand in Venus's tongue, and sealing it on the ground... much to its disapproval.

It screeched loudly as its other two tongues started flailing rapidly at the ground in an attempt to break free. What it didn't expect, though, was for Bolt to use the Grip Whip on one of the loose tongues when it was on the ground, and jam the diamond onto the ground. As he did, the magic effect somehow transferred from the handle to the diamond, because he was able to release it that time, even with the grip switched to "on". Then, once he was sure it was secured, he pressed the red button, which yanked its tongue to the ground next to the other one. Finally, with more precision, its third tongue swung between the gap; set on a collision course for Bolt, who was standing in the middle. At the last second, however, he stepped out of the way and drew his sword. Then, with all his might, he pierced its third tongue into the ground, which now shaped its tongues like an extra large drawbridge.

Without sparing a second, Bolt quickly ran up its tongues (which caused Summer to scream out of fear of how "insane" and "crazy" this idea is) and reached into his pouch, while Venus's eye was wide open, and filled with tears of agony, as it saw Bolt running up its tongues. Then, out of his pouch, Bolt pulled his "best" weapon that he was most familiar with... his camera.

"SMILE!" Bolt shouted as he made it mere meters away from Venus's eye. Then, at the click of a button, the camera flashed into its eye; causing it to roar and shake furiously, while Bolt took that as his cue to run back down its tongues.

When he made it to the ground again, Venus's first two tongues that were pierced by the Light Wand and sword were freed (with a pair of new piercing holes as a bonus). Its third tongue, which was still attached to the Grip Whip, was ripped completely out, as purple and green liquid spewed from Venus's mouth at the loss of the organ.

As Bolt picked his Light Wand and sword back up, Venus roared extra loudly... causing the vines that surrounded Daring Do to release their grip from her in her cage. Then, in a circle around Bolt, a group of six plunder lobes rose from the ground, while Bolt drew his shield from his sheath, and stuck the Light Wand in the ground.

Suddenly, from over Venus's head, Daring Do's voice echoed through the room. "BOLT! SUMMER! I'LL KEEP THIS GUY DISTRACTED WHILE YOU BOTH TAKE CARE OF THOSE!" For a split second, Bolt noticed Daring Do was no longer trapped in her cage, but rather, was now flying over Venus, who's eye was now focused on her, instead of them. Venus made several attempts to swat her out of the sky with its tongues... but due to the pain it was in, she was able to dodge each attack with immaculate ease.

Bolt nodded his head before raising his shield defensively at the plunder lobes that were now making their ominous hissing noises. Then, once two of them lunged at him, they blew their sleep gas at him... but thanks to his awareness, he quickly rolled under them as they both tried to go around his shield. While under them, he made a quick horizontal thrust; sending their buds flying in the air, and turning to ash.

Another one of the four quickly made an attempt at tripping him to render his defenses useless, but after Summer pointed it out to him, Bolt quickly sliced the vine that was wrapping around his right ankle clean in half; making the second-closest one turn to ash in the process. Two more were left.

One of the two quickly went underground while the closest one's vine started to pulsate. Before it could release its gas, however, Bolt quickly bashed it with his shield before sheathing his sword, grabbing it with his right hand by the "throat", and blocking its mouth with his shield. Then he turned to Daring Do and shouted, "DARING! UP HERE!"

With a nod, Daring flew towards him while Venus's tongues flailed towards her. As they inched closer, the end of the plunder lobe's vine started to bulge. Then, as soon as Daring Do was within range, she flew behind (and above) Bolt while he, in turn, released the tip of the plunder lobe; allowing the sleep gas to spray rapidly onto Venus's tongue that was thrusting towards them in an attempt to potentially impale its target. While it was able to put its tongue to sleep, it was still moving towards them. Bolt, however, anticipated the attack, and managed to side-step out of the way before piercing its tongue with his sword yet again.

"Bolt! Catch!" Daring shouted from behind him, and slightly towards his left.

When he looked towards Daring's voice, she tossed him his Whip Grip just in time for him to react. As she did, he noticed the tongue that it was attached to was no longer there... but a trail of ash was, instead.

"Thanks!" Bolt said, before turning to Venus again, who was about to lunge at him with its other tongue. (Due to the fact that Venus's other tongue was practically numbed by the gas, it didn't feel any pain.)

As quickly as he could, Bolt slung the disc of the Whip Grip towards Venus's tongue... but due to its awareness, however, it managed to dodge his attack, as it latched onto a distant wall. "Crap!" Bolt said, as he saw its tongue wrap around the strand of the Whip Grip, and lift it up... and with it, Bolt.

"LIKE HELL, YOU ARE!" Bolt shouted before turning the diamond tip towards the other end, and pressing the red button. As he did, he started flying upwards; much to Venus's surprise. Then, before it could even react, the diamond tip caught onto its tongue, and before they knew it, its tongue was stuck on the wall. Due to the lack of "magic grip" support, however, Bolt had to wrap his other hand around Venus's tongue to avoid falling. Then, when Venus started struggling, Bolt took that as his chance to climb up and rush down its tongue (very cautiously, so as to avoid falling).

He grinned when he saw that it closed its eye to avoid a blinding light from his camera again, and reached over his right shoulder... only to frown when a very important detail pointed itself out before he attempted his second attack... his sword was holding the numb tongue on the the ground level.

Then, he had an alternative idea. Reaching into his pouch, he pulled one of his newest weapons out... his flower. Planting it on his forehead, he shape-shifted into his wolf form again; causing the flash to fool Venus into thinking he just used his camera. With the flash out of the way, Venus opened its eye again... only to realize that it now had a growling timberwolf right in front of it, and in the air, with its fangs as clear as daylight.

When he reached its eye, he bit deeply into it; causing Venus to roar in even more agony, before it managed to sling Bolt off of its eye, and towards the entrance once again. What it didn't expect, however, was for Bolt to be carrying an "attachment" with him on a vine.

Now lacking an eye, Venus managed to rip its pinned-to-the-wall tongue off, while Bolt managed to stand back up, remove his flower, and retrieve his sword once again.

Without an eye, it flailed its last tongue around blindly; sending chunks of rocks flying in the air... much to Summer's shock. "BOLT! IT'S GOING TO COLLAPSE THIS ENTIRE PLACE ON US! WE HAVE TO LEAVE!"

"We would... if the thing's vines weren't in the way!" Daring groaned before kicking one of the thick vines that surrounded the exit with her left hoof.

Bolt, of course, looked around the ceiling and soon spotted, what appeared to be, their ticket out of there. "Daring, can you retrieve my Grip Whip again?"

Daring nodded her head before flying towards the top of the dangling tongue that still managed to hang onto the wall, despite the constant quaking of the room. ("The man's got a plan, so why bother asking questions?!" she thought to herself as she flew up to the device. Then, as quickly as she could, she retrieved it and flew back to Bolt and Summer. "CATCH!" she shouted before tossing the Grip Whip towards Bolt.

Again, Bolt managed to catch it... and a glimpse of the vine that was on a collision course for the "source of noise". "WATCH OUT!" Bolt shouted... but it was too late.

As soon as Daring turned around, the last thing she saw before blacking out was a thick vine headed her way. Bolt took immediate action at that point. Slinging the disc towards the wall where Daring was going to land, he managed to reach it just in time to catch her with his left arm. Then he quickly released the grip; only to grip further forward, until he was at the ground level again. "Alright, Summer! We've only got one chance at this! Ready?!"

Summer gulped before nodding her head. "R-ready!"

"Good... three..." Before he could count down, he noticed that Venus was now about to hit the new source of the sound. "Two-one-GO!" Bolt finished before side-stepping just in time to dodge the tongue. Then, when it raised its tongue, Bolt quickly latched onto it with the Grip Whip, and was quickly raised up. This time, however, it was intentional.

When he was going fast enough, he retracted the line and removed the grip; sending him flying towards the ceiling. When he was within reach, he used the Grip Whip to latch onto it and turn towards his said "ticket out of there"... a huge silver chandelier with several sharp points angled downward. Then, with a kick of his legs, he launched himself towards the chandelier, and latched onto it when he was close enough. While swinging, though, he would unattach from it and attach himself closer to the chain around it. Finally, when he was on the chain, he swapped hands with the Grip Whip (while Daring Do was cradled in his left arm), and re-drew his sword. Then he repeatedly hacked at the chain that held the chandelier in place several times.

"Go... down... you... piece... of... CRAP!" As soon as he finished his sentence, he used as much force as his arm could swing... which was just enough to cause the chain to snap; sending the chandelier falling, points first, at Venus, while it looked up at the source of the noise. When it gave one more roar, the chandelier quickly landed in its throat; causing massive numbers of purple and green liquid to sprinkle in the air, while Venus flailed around, once more, in a final attempt to free itself from the chandelier. It bumped into the walls around it before stiffening up, curling down, and fading to gray from the bottom to the very tip of the chandelier. Then, once the grayness reached the end of its petals, it turned to ash, while the smog in the entire room disappeared... revealing nothing but an empty room underneath... or so it seemed from the ceiling.

After making it to the ground level once more, Daring Do's eyes slowly started to open. "Ugh... what happened?!"

Bolt smiled and placed her back down on the ground. "You were knocked out by that monster's tongue." Then a sudden realization hit him. "Wait a minute... how did you know that I'm Bolt?!"

Daring chuckled before pointing at his scalp. "I saw Summer there shining in the distance while I was caged up. I had a feeling you were the timberwolf I saw earlier... then when you changed into it again... wait a minute... how did you do THAT, exactly?!"

Before Bolt could answer her, however, a bright glowing light caught their attention from down below. Curiously, Bolt walked to the ledge and used his Grip Whip to lower himself to a safe level, while Daring Do merely flew down there. The source of the glow, however, caused Summer to gasp in shock... and worry.

Floating in the center of the lower room was a large, glowing white acorn that appeared to be made of crystal. "That's... that's a 'Harmonic Acorn'! But... what is it doing here, though?! Shouldn't all twelve of them stay on the Tree of Harmony at all times?!"

Bolt shrugged his shoulders before pulling his camera out, taking a picture of it, placing his camera back in his pouch, picking the acorn up, and placing it in his pouch. "Whatever the case, we might have to take it back manually, huh?"

Summer nodded her head before replying, "Y-yeah..." She had an uneasy expression on her face. "I just... I just hope nothing bad is happening there!"

Bolt nodded his head before replying, "I hope so, too." Then, after making it back to the ground level, the three of them started heading back to the exit.

When they made it closer to the entrance, Daring Do stopped, and sighed. "Sorry, guys... but I might have to split from the group now. Despite the extra sleep I was... unintentionally given... I need to take a breather."

Bolt tilted his head in confusion before asking, "You sure? I mean... it's still a good ways away!"

Daring chuckled before replying, "Yeah, I'm sure. Besides... I kinda have to keep a low profile, if you know what I mean. Besides that, I happened to memorize the layout of this place, so I'm in no danger of getting lost!"

Bolt thought for a moment, before nodding his head. "I understand. Well, I hope to see you again soon! Take care of yourself!"

Daring nodded her head and smiled. "Thanks, I will... and likewise!"

With that, Bolt and Summer turned around and began to leave... but not before being stopped by Daring Do, who quickly flew up to Bolt's chest and wrapped him in a hug. "Um... Daring?"

"Don't ruin the moment, Bolt!" Summer whispered in his ear.

"S-sorry, Bolt... but... thank you for saving me back there... you were... kinda awesome back there, y'know." With a smile, she pulled back and flew towards a wall, where she sat down, and started to relax. "Don't ask for seconds, by the way. I ain't normally a hugger!"

Bolt chuckled before nodding his head and waving. "Well... you're welcome! And... I'm glad I could help! Have a safe trip back to... wherever you're headed next!"

After Daring returned a wave, Bolt turned back around and started heading out of the cave. "I think she likes you, Bolt! Ooh-la-la!"

"Don't ruin the moment, Summer." Bolt whispered back.

"Ooh... touché!" Summer giggled, as the light to the exit came into view.

"Now, then! All we need to do is take this acorn back to the Tree of Harmony, so that we can f-AAH!" Summer screamed at the top of her lungs when she saw the first sign of things not being right... the sun and moon were in the sky at the same time.

Bolt tilted his head in confusion at the unusual sight before pointing at it. "Is... is that supposed to happen?!"

Summer shook her head and replied, "N-no... NO! SOMETHING HAPPENED TO THE PRINCESSES!"

Bolt gasped at that statement before looking around. "That... isn't good, indeed! We've got to-" Before he could finish his sentence, however, he stopped talking at the sound of hooves clopping through a nearby road. Not wanting to be seen, Bolt quickly ducked for cover, as he heard the sound of, what appeared to be, females talking.

"Um... Applejack... are you sure it was a good idea to leave Twilight in Ponyville?" A seemingly soft, quiet female's voice asked one of the other companions that she was with.

A much more western female's voice, supposedly 'Applejack's', replied, "Ah'm certain, Fluttershy! Besides, if we lose Twilight, then we won't have any more princesses, and all o' Equestria would be lost! Would ya really want ta risk Equestria fer our own selves?!"

Then their voices became distant mumbles, as the clopping hooves faded away. Summer, at this point, looked like she was about to have a panic attack. "L-LOST?! W-what do you... w-what do you think h-happened to them?!" Summer whispered.

Bolt shrugged his shoulders before replying, "I have no idea... but one thing's for certain." He pulled the flower from his bag and added, "This 'Twilight' person just might!"

With a quick attachment-of-the-flower, and a brief transformation, Bolt ran to the road and pawed at the ground where the hoofprints were still fresh; getting the scent of the mares (as proven by the sight of hoof prints) that just passed by. Then, with the scent memorized, he turned his head, and was now on his way towards wherever the passersby came from.

And that... is where my next task began.

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~TO BE CONTINUED~

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