JOURNEY OF THE
~~BREEZE

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BY: JUSTIN DANIELS

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For around five minutes, I continued following the scent of the group of mares. Summer, of course, kept an eye on my tail to make sure we weren't spotted and being spied on, or even pursued... knowing that I was pretty much a "predator" in THEIR eyes, I had to play it safe and remain undetected. As we got closer to where the town must've been, however, we knew right away that something was off.

"Strange... from what I could tell, Ponyville was considerably safer than almost any other towns out there... despite being right next to the Everfree Forest, that is." Summer mumbled to herself.

Bolt merely nodded his head as he continued following the scent of where the mares came from. As he continued to move down the path, however, a bad feeling started to build up in his mind... almost like he was being chased by-

"OH, NO YOU DON'T!" A feminine voice shouted from Bolt's far-right corner. Before he could even turn to react, however, he was knocked back by a surprisingly powerful ball of energy. When he landed, he made a dog-like yelp before jumping back to his paws to face his pursuer... a lavender-coated unicorn with a dark bluish-purple mane and tail that was decorated with pink stripes. On her forehead was, what appeared to be, a golden crown with a jewel in the center that highly resembled her cutie mark; a pink six-sided star.

Bolt started to crouch down to remove the flower from his forehead... but before he could even reach it, however, he was surrounded by a pink aura and lifted closer to the lavender unicorn by magic. As he got closer to her, however, he noticed something on her back, hanging onto her shoulders... a purple-scaled lizard-like creature with a pair of green fin-like attachments on the sides of his head, a green Mohawk-shaped set of spikes on his scalp, and a soft green belly. Then, another sight caught him off guard... a pair of lavender wings were attached to her back; she was an alicorn!

"I don't know what you were trying to do in Ponyville, but I will not sit by, and let a MONSTER into Ponyville!" She shouted, right as Summer started to try saying something.

Unfortunately, though, the second she opened her mouth to speak, the alicorn used her magic to keep any attachments of Bolt's wooden frame in place (and one attachment would also happen to be Summer, herself) and, with all her might, threw the two very far from the road... it took them a minute to land, and when they did, Bolt was in pieces once more, and Summer was hovering over his forehead, grumbling.

"Darn it! What the hay was her problem?!" Summer complained before sighing and looking down... only for a realization to hit her. "Ah... right. I guess she was just afraid of you because you are a timberwolf, and all that... and from the looks of it, she was headed towards where those mares went!"

Bolt whined a few times as his parts began flying back to his head. "Oh, pull yourself together, Bolt... literally! We have to follow them! If I didn't know any better, I'd say they were headed towards the Tree of Harmony! Maybe the princesses are somewhere over there as we speak!"

After he was whole once more, Bolt sighed before barking a couple times. Then, after checking the line of dirt that he was dragged into, he followed the opposite direction of where the crater was headed... back to where he came from.

When he was back on the road, Bolt sniffed the ground for the scent of the lavender alicorn that "kindly" told him not to go to Ponyville. As he sniffed, however, another scent caught his nose... the familiar scent of two things; a plunder lobe, and the smog from Venus's lair. From the smell of it, the evil plant was in the same direction that the lavender alicorn went. That, of course, wouldn't end well.

"WOOF! WOOF!"

"What's wrong, Bolt?!" Summer asked as she flew in front of Bolt. Bolt, in turn, sat on his hind legs and lifted his forepaws in the air and clapped them together. Then he tilted his head towards his right and placed both paws under his right cheek, before closing his eyes and making snoring sounds. "You... want to take a nap?"

Bolt shook his head and sighed, before pawing the ground and pretending to drop a seed in it. "You're too sleepy to plant a... wait..." Then her eyes widened at the realization. "You smell plunder lobes nearby?!"

With a stern expression, Bolt nodded his head and barked twice. "Then let's hurry! If we're not too late, we might be able to catch it before it reaches that alicorn and her friends!" Bolt nodded his head while Summer jumped back on his scalp. Then the two of them were back on the trail towards where the mares and their uninvited guest were heading.

"Are we there yet, Twilight?" the short lizard-like creature asked the alicorn that he was sitting on the shoulders of. Both he and the alicorn (who's name is now known as "Twilight") were standing in a large opening in the middle of the Everfree Forest. Miles behind them, the road ended abruptly; making their path unclear.

Twilight sighed before turning towards him, as she started looking around in circles with a worried expression on her face. "I don't know where we are, Spike... we're lost!" She closed her eyes and sat below a tree, as a tear fell from her left eye. "I should never have left my friends behind!"

Spike frowned at her sad expression and gently patted her left shoulder. "We can't just give up, Twilight! There's got to be a way to find them!" He scanned the area quickly, before spotting a tree nearby with enough branches for him to climb on top of. "Maybe if I climb that three over there, I can spot 'em!"

Without even waiting for an answer, he was already climbing the tree he had in mind. Before even a minute could pass, he was already at the very tip of the tree with his left hand over his eyes to block out the sunlight (and moonlight).

Suddenly, his eyes caught the sight of a distant flash of light, which caused his eyes to widen, before he leaned closer towards it (carefully, so as to avoid falling down). What he saw next made him gasp in horror.

A swarm of purple-skinned biped creatures with the horns of minotaurs, legs of goats, and long thin arms, appeared from five different portals; each of which leading to separate areas around Equestria. The biped creatures stood twice as tall as a pony, so they definitely weren't minotaurs. Around their waists, they wore barbaric sashes made of (what made Spike have to force his lunch back inside his stomach) cowhide, and around their chests, they wore harnesses with spiked iron pauldrons over their shoulders.

While there were twelve of them, five of them carried the unconscious bodies of five very familiar mares to Spike; a cyan pegasus mare with a rainbow-colored mane and tail, an orange earth mare with a blonde mane and tail, a pure white unicorn mare with a purple mane and tail, a light pink earth mare with a darker pink mane and tail, and a bright yellow pegasus mare with a pink mane and tail. In the order that he saw them (the order given), he quietly mumbled their names with a mixture of terror and sadness in his eyes. "Rainbow Dash... Applejack... Rarity... Pinkie Pie... Fluttershy... oh, no!" Tears fell from his eyes as he saw each of his friends' unconscious forms taken, by the monsters, through the portals. Each of the portals closed the second they made it past them... however, there were still eight of those monsters that didn't go through the portal. Instead, they were headed towards a large crack in the ground; towards a set of stairs that led to the bottom of it.

As quickly as he could, Spike rushed down the tree to where Twilight was, before crying out, "TWILIGHT! OUR FRIENDS... OUR FRIENDS ARE GONE!"

At once, Twilight's ears perked up at his statement before she jumped back on her lower hooves and shouted, "WHAT?! SPIKE, WHERE DID THEY GO?!"

Before Spike could reply, however, a loud hissing noise caught Twilight off guard. The next thing she knew, she turned towards the noise, and was quickly blasted in the face by a blue smoke... causing her to cough several times before slowly closing her eyes, and collapsing on the floor.

"TWILIGHT!" Spike screamed before rushing towards his unconscious friend... but before he could even get close enough to her, the source of the blue smoke quickly appeared from below the ground and whipped him into a nearby tree.

Dazed (but still conscious) and frightened, Spike saw the newly discovered plunder lobe slither his way. As he looked, he also noticed that his feet were now caught in thinner vines as black as the ones that attacked Ponyville. With that in mind, he did the one thing he knew how to do the best in that situation... he screamed at the top of his lungs.

"SOMEPONY! ANYPONY! PLEASE HELP!" As if by a stroke of luck, a shadow quickly rose over him, and in a blurring motion, the plunder lobe was focused on the source of the shadow. What it was, however, was far from expected.

As Bolt continued down the path, he spotted the purple dragon (as Summer clarified for him as a heads-up... along with his fire-breathing capabilities) climbing a distant tree and quickly hid in a bush until he was no longer in Spike's range. Then, at the base of a nearby tree in the clear open area, he spotted none other than the lavender alicorn crying... which gave Bolt a chill of sadness. Even though he was a journalist, and was responsible for grief due to the lack of privacy (especially for the celebrities of his world), he didn't like seeing it in person.

Then, he slowly and carefully inched closer to her while remaining in the shadows... until he could hear her talking. "Why are you such a failure, Twilight?! You always have to buck something up because of your social awkwardness, but this time... it just had to be your friendship!"

"At least we know that she's Princess Twilight Sparkle, now. I've heard about her recent coronation, but... never actually got to meet her in person like this." Summer whispered to Bolt, who nodded his head in return. "From the sound of it, however, it seems that even she is having trouble of her own." Again Bolt nodded his head, before crouching down lower when he saw the purple dragon practically fall down the tree while catching branches with his claws in-between. The look on his facial expression, however, practically screamed "trouble".

The next thing we knew, the prior events acted up. Thankfully, when the plunder lobe whipped Spike (as Twilight happened to point out through their panic) towards the tree, the said tree happened to be the one right in front of the bush I was hiding in.

"SOMEPONY! ANYPONY! PLEASE HELP!" That was Bolt's cue to make his move. As quickly as his wooden paws could move, he was able to catch the plunder lobe off guard before quickly gripping it by the vine and dragging it towards the nearest tree to his left (far enough away from Twilight and Spike for its sleeping gas to reach them). While dragging it, he made sure to keep as little space between its spore and its body, so that it didn't have the opportunity to turn around and hit him with the sleep gas.

When he made it to the tree, he quickly ran around it and leaped over the vine that started to snag against him, then leaped over the vine that was coming from the left side of the tree; forming a knot in the process. Then he quickly ran down the vine's path to the point where he was too far away for the smoke gas to reach him.

As the action went on, Spike continued to stare. As he did, he didn't even notice Twilight weakly standing next to him; both of them staring wide-eyed at the surprisingly clever timberwolf that, for some odd reason, was fighting the plunder lobe.

Then Bolt turned towards them and lowered his head, which triggered Twilight's inner-prey instincts to kick in. Quickly she scooped Spike up and turned to leave... but at the sudden appearance of a bright flash of light, she stopped in place, and slowly turned around. What she saw next shocked her and Spike beyond belief.

There, towering over them by at least four times their height, was none other than a human that was shaped similarly to the ones that they saw beyond the Magic Mirror... only at the same time, this one seemed to be more... different. For starters, the outfit that he wore slightly resembled the ones that they wore in the "Medieval Ages", as she read about in the history books in their world.

With a fierce battle cry, Bolt drew his sword, held it with both hands over his head, and lopped the vine in two; instantly killing the plunder lobe, and causing it to quickly fade to gray, before dissipating into ashes. Then he slid his sword back in the sheath on his back before turning towards Twilight and Spike.

"Are you both okay?" he asked them... only to be answered by silent stares.

They continued to stare at him for a whole minute, until the distant sound of twigs breaking caused them to quickly turn their heads towards the source. No doubt, there would be trouble nearby. "Don't worry... we're here to help!" Summer told them when she quickly flew up in-between Twilight and Spike. "We need to get to the Tree of Harmony, so we can return one of its acorns! I think if we do that, then these vines should go away... within the Everfree Forest, at least!"

As the sounds grew louder, Twilight and Spike nodded their heads in unison. Before they could get up all the way, however, a passing javelin quickly flew past Twilight's left cheek, and landed in the grass; causing her to gasp in shock, before wrapping Spike in her left wing, and pulling him between her and the tree to keep him safe.

In the matter of seconds, two of the thin bipedal monsters appeared from both sides of the tree; each of which holding thick, long, wooden clubs in their right hands, and thin wooden bucklers in their left. Thankfully for Twilight, Spike, and Summer, however, they weren't focused on them. Instead, they had their glowing red eyes focused on Bolt, who quickly drew his sword again (along with his shield, though) at the sight of the javelin. Then the two monsters let out a war cry before charging towards Bolt at the same time.

MIDNIGHT GOBLINS

Instinctively, Bolt managed to side-step the left one's downward thrust with its club... but when he tried to slice its neck, the other one quickly used it's shield to deflect the blow, while the left one raised its shield up and shoved Bolt in the chest; sending him back a meter.

Then the right goblin attempted to bash Bolt with a horizontal swing, but he managed to quickly block it with his shield. Quickly, though, he turned towards the left one and, sure enough, it was about to bash him in the side with his defenses down. Thanks to his quick notice, he was able to roll to the right quick enough to dodge the attack, before attempting an uppercut on the right goblin. Unfortunately, though, it managed to block his sword with its shield and push forward; causing him to lose his balance and fall on his back.

Quickly, the right goblin managed to jab his sword out of his hand, while the left one managed to sit on his legs. (Despite their short size, they were unusually heavier than they looked!) Then the right goblin gripped Bolt's right hand while his left hand was free... but after punching the right one in the face, he soon found out that they were wearing helmets... the hard way. Then the goblin on his legs lifted its club in the air and made another war cry, before swinging it towards Bolt's head.

Before it could reach him, however, he managed to punch his left shoulder forward; barely managing to make him dodge the club by an inch. Then he quickly wrapped his left arm over the club, reached into his pouch, and pulled out his camera before shouting, "SMILE!" Then, at the click of a button, the camera's flash caught the goblins by surprise; causing the right one to release Bolt's hand and shield its eyes, while the left one released its club and covered its eyes... but even though it was temporarily blinded, it still sat on his legs; rendering movement impossible.

Thinking fast, Bolt quickly put his camera away and pulled out his favorite "toy" from his previous adventure... the Grip Whip. With a quick flick of the wrist, he managed to send it over the right goblin's shoulder and onto a patch of grass a good distance away from it, before lifting his shield in-between himself and the right goblin, and pressing the red button once more.

Finally, Bolt managed to make a strike. The second the Grip Whip pulled him, he sent both goblins flying in the air, and onto the ground beside him; giving him enough time to run back to where he was before and re-claim his sword. Then he placed his shield on his sheath and held his Grip Whip in his left hand, and his sword in his right, and eyed the goblins who, at this point, had their shields in front of their bodies in a defensive position. (They had tower shields, so it was practically impossible for a sword to reach them in time.)

With a smug grin on his face, Bolt quickly slung the disc halfway between himself and the left goblin before jumping in the air with both feet in front, and pressing the red button once again; sending him flying foot-first into the left goblin's shield... which then bashed it in the head harder than enough to daze it. This, in turn, caused it to drop its shield and club, while Bolt quickly sliced at it with his sword.

Though he managed to wound it heavily, however, it was still standing. Before Bolt could hit it a second time, the right one quickly attempted a downward thrust... which Bolt side-stepped out of and sheathed his sword again. Then he gripped the right goblin by its left horn and slung the Grip Whip at a distant tree. After that, he dragged it with him to the tree... but when he landed, it was the goblin that hit the tree... with its back. Now it was the right goblin that was dazed.

Before Bolt could even strike the right goblin, however, the left one dashed towards him at a quick rate with its club held in both hands. With all its might, it attempted to bash Bolt in the head horizontally... but since Bolt anticipated it, the only thing it managed to hit was the tree... and its friend, who was sent to the ground two meters away. Sparing no second, Bolt stood back up (since he had to duck to avoid getting hit), drew his sword out, and pierced the right goblin in the heart; causing it to screech in pain before fading to gray... and like the plunder plants, it turned to ashes... which aroused Bolt's suspicions on the ash itself even more.

Not having a moment to think, Bolt turned to the enraged goblin that, due to Bolt's deep thinking, managed to pick its shield back up again, and hold it defensively once more. Bolt, however, had another plan of attack. With his Grip Whip, he swung it towards the goblin that, out of self-defense, swung its club at the disc to deflect it. Instead, though, it merely stuck onto it, and even gave Bolt's "Air Glide" technique a boost once he pressed the red button. Out of confusion, though, the goblin lowered its defense just to look at the club... which proved to be its last, as Bolt swept right past it in time to deflect the club from its hand, whip behind it, and jab his sword into its chest, right as he glided by. With a final shriek, both goblins were finally dead, and turned to ash.

After breathing heavily, Bolt sheathed his sword again and put his Grip Whip away, before turning back to Twilight, Spike, and Summer, who were all three staring wide-eyed at him. (He even noticed that Twilight's wings were, for some odd reason, fully extended, rather than folded like before.) "What?"

Summer was the first to fly up to him and speak. "Bolt! How in Equestria did you learn to even fight like that?!"

Bolt chuckled before scratching the back of his hair. "Well... long story short, I don't know! Most of it was just ideas that I got from all the video games that I've played!"

Summer just stared at him some more before shrugging her shoulders and smiling at him. "Well, good job, nonetheless!" Then she flew up to his right ear and whispered, "Remind me not to get on your bad side... okay?"

Bolt chuckled before replying, "Don't worry, Summer! I would never do that to my friends, no matter how mad I get!"

With a sigh of relief, Summer nodded her head before flying back into his hair. Then Bolt turned his attention to Twilight and Spike. "I'm guessing you must be Princess Twilight Sparkle... correct?"

Twilight's wings quickly folded back down before she slowly stood up again... only to fall on the ground once more, due to the effects of the sleeping gas still slightly in effect. "U-um... y-y-yes?" She managed to stutter.

Bolt sighed with relief before smiling. "Thank goodness! Listen, we need to find the Tree of Harmony, so we can return this acorn back to it." Bolt said, as he reached his right hand into his pouch and pulled the said glowing diamond acorn out of it. Just the sight of it caused Twilight's eyes to widen, and her jaw to drop.

"W-WHERE did you get that?!" Then she paused for a moment before adding, "And while I'm at it... how do you know about the Tree of Harmony?!"

Bolt held his left hand up defensively before replying, "Easy there, Twilight... I just found it in a cave beneath Froggy Bottom Bogg, and Summer Breeze, the breezie in my hair, told me that it's supposed to be on the Tree of Harmony, along with the other eleven... so, I figured I'd take it up there, and see how much is missing... and hopefully figure out what's going on around here."

Twilight slowly nodded her head before replying, "W-well... I... th... thank you, Mr... um..."

Bolt chuckled before replying, "Please, just call me 'Bolt'. Only my closest friends know my true name... and even that isn't what I prefer to be called."

With another nod, Twilight replied, "W-well... thank you, Bolt..." She then slowly stood back up and began to limp forward. "W-well... Spike, which way is the Tree of Harmony? We... we need to get there quickly!"

Spike hummed for a moment before pointing towards the direction of the large crack in the ground in the distance. "I think it was in that direction... inside a large crack in the ground. Be careful, though! That's... that's where four more of those goblin things were!"

Bolt nodded his head before looking at Twilight... who was still limping. "You're too fatigued to walk. Here, let me help you." He slowly walked up to her, but she shook her head and backed up.

"N-no, I'm fine! I... I'd rather not be carried like a bride, thank-you-very-much!"

Bolt hummed for a moment, before a different idea came to his mind. "Very well, then... what if I became a timberwolf again? Would you sit on my back then?"

Twilight thought for a moment before sighing and shaking her head. "N-no, really! I'm... I'm fine!"

Bolt shook his head once more, before turning towards Spike. "Are you okay with that, then, Spike?" Spike's jaw dropped at the mentioning of his name, but was soon closed once more when Bolt clarified how he knew his name.

With a nod, Spike agreed. "Sure! Oh, but... you might as well take Twilight, too. Though she may not look it, she needs help here... she's just too stubborn to admit it."

Bolt chuckled before nodding his head. "Fair enough. If you have any questions, then, feel free to talk to Summer. She usually rides on my forehead while I'm a timberwolf, or on my hair when I'm a human."

Spike nodded his head while Twilight groaned in frustrated defeat, as she fell on her stomach and began to breathe heavily. Then, without even sparing a second, Bolt had the flower in his right hand... which Twilight instantly recognized right away.

"H-hey, wait a minute! You're... you're that timberwolf that was headed towards Ponyville!" Twilight stated, which caused Bolt to pause mid-swing, and smile.

"You catch on quick, don't you?" he asked before placing the flower on his forehead. Then, in the matter of seconds, he glowed, and shifted back into his timberwolf form... much to Twilight's and Spike's surprise.

Bolt then barked a couple times with a smile, his tail wagging, and his tongue sticking out, and drooping down over the right corner of his lips. Summer sighed before floating up a few inches and saying, "I think he means 'hop on'... right?"

Bolt nodded his head before walking closer to Twilight and lowering to his own stomach. Slowly, and cautiously, Twilight crawled to his back, and began petting the loose twigs of his "fur" down enough for her to get comfortable on. Then, with Spike's help, she was able to bring her right leg over Bolt's right side, while she wrapped her forehooves over his neck, and held on tightly. Spike, in turn, crawled further up his back; tucked between Bolt's neck and Twilight's arms.

"Well, then... lead the way!" Summer chanted, to which Spike nodded in response, and pointed his right claw towards the direction they needed to go. After checking the grip Twilight and Spike had, they were off towards the direction the crack in the ground was said to have been spotted; carefully keeping their eyes peeled for the other goblins with each passing step.

The trip turned out to be thirty minutes. During that time, Summer explained the situation that we were in, and Spike told us about Twilight's friends' abduction. Needless to say, she was in tears the minute she heard the news.

It was at THAT point that I realized what my next big goal had to be... I HAD to save them. Sure, I may not know them... but according to Spike and Twilight, they aren't only important to THEM, but to the ENTIRE WORLD, as well; the "Harmony Bearers".

When Bolt managed to climb down the last step of the stairway, his eyes widened at the sight before him... and following his eyes, Twilight and Spike's as well. Summer, on the other hand, was in tears.

The once glowing "Tree of Harmony" was colored pitch black... and on both ends of it were two more of the black cabbage-like plants... only this time, they weren't pulsating... they were moving with a few lumps forming at each movement; something, or someone was inside them.

Twilight, now feeling better from the sleeping gas, leaped from Bolt's shoulders and ran up to the one on her right, and asked, "H-hello? I-is... is anypony in there?!"

In a muffled voice, a female's voice replied in, what appeared to be, a slightly motherly tone... though filled with worry. "Twilight?! Twilight, is that really you?!" The sound of the voice caused Twilight's eyes and mouth to open widely.

"PRINCESS CELESTIA! IT'S YOU!" Her statement, in turn, caused Spike and Summer to gasp and hop off of Bolt before running (and flying for Summer) towards the right plant.

Bolt, on the other hand, wasn't focused on them. Instead, he lowered his head to the ground and removed the flower; once more turning human again. Then he reached into his pouch and pulled the acorn out.

The second he did, however, it started to glow brightly, and cause the (now visible) black roots to start moving towards him.

After letting out a gasp, he quickly ran towards the Tree of Harmony, which started to glow a feint white (or grayish) color. With each passing step, however, it started to glow even brighter; slowing the roots' progression towards Bolt by a landslide. Then, when the tree was within reach, he quickly placed the acorn on one of its branches; causing the entire room to get engulfed in a bright light.

As soon as five seconds passed, a massive "pulse" of light projected from the Tree of Harmony... instantly causing the two cabbage plants to dissipate into ash before they could even fully gray out. When they did, their contents appeared clear as crystal... a pair of surprisingly tall alicorn mares. (Instead of standing up to just below Bolt's knees, these mares actually stood up to his chest!)

The alicorn that stood in front of Twilight, Spike, and Summer, was a pure white-coated one with a light pink, green, and blue-striped mane and tail that flowed freely, regardless of the amount of wind that blew. For a Cutie Mark, she had a large picture of the sun on her flanks.

The other alicorn, however, was slightly shorter than the white one. (Instead of standing up to Bolt's chest, this one stood up to his stomach.) She had a similarly shaped mane and tail, but her coat was a dark blue shade, and her mane and tail were a slightly brighter color that shined with, what appeared to be, stars that sparkled in her mane. The two of them, when freed, smiled at Twilight and Spike while the blue one started walking up to them... but froze in place the minute she noticed Bolt.

"W-what... what does this mean, dearest sister?! Why doth there be a human before the Tree of Harmony?!" The blue alicorn asked in a much more regal voice.

Summer cleared her throat; catching the attention of both princesses, while Bolt walked up to where the majority of the crowd was. The blue alicorn took note of that and joined in the crowd; standing at her sister's right side.

"Princess Celestia... Princess Luna... first off, I'd l-like to say that it is truly an honor!" Summer stuttered; to which the alicorn sisters smiled and nodded their heads... but then, the one Summer called "Princess Celestia" looked at Twilight... and right away, she noticed Twilight's saddened expression.

"Twilight? What's... what's going on?! And... where are your friends?!"

Twilight sniffled a few times before she finally managed to open her mouth to speak. What she said next, however, caused a look of shock to form on the princesses' faces. "T-t-t-they were... t-they were foal-napped!"

"WHAT?! WHO DID THIS, WHERE DID THEY GO?! WHY WOULD ANYPONY ABDUCT THEM?!" Celestia screamed in, what Summer would later clarify as, "The Royal Canterlot Voice".

Her usage of the voice caused the entire room around them to shake, and Bolt, Summer, Spike, and even "Princess Luna" to cover their ears in pain.

After taking a few deep breaths, Celestia closed her eyes and turned towards Bolt. Then, after opening her eyes again, she asked, "Excuse me, Mr., um..."

"B-Bolt?" Bolt answered in a high-enough pitch to sound like he was asking a question.

Celestia nodded her head before continuing. "Thank you. Now, then... Bolt... if you have an answer as to why the Harmony Bearers were abducted, then... please let me know now, so we can have a lead on where to look!"

"With all due respect, Your Highness, I don't think sending a group of scouts up there would be a good idea!" Summer called out, only to be silenced by a glare from Princess Celestia... a glare that caused her to shrink down to Bolt's hair again.

"I agree with her as well, Princess Celestia." Bolt added, which resulted in a glare pointed towards him. This time, however, her glare wasn't effective... much to her shock... but she managed to hide that detail, due to the amount of frustration she felt about their suggestion and (quick) denial of her plan to save her subjects.

"And just why not?!"

Bolt cleared his throat and replied in a casual tone, "Because that would be suicide! You don't know who you'd be sending them up against, would you?!"

"And I suppose you know?!"

"As a matter of fact, I do!"

"Then who is it?!"

Bolt cleared his throat before replying in a much more darker tone, "Tirek... he's back."

There was a lot of silence at that statement. Bolt and Summer never really told Twilight and Spike that detail, because they had a feeling they wouldn't even know who he was to begin with. Celestia and Luna, however, were now staring at him with complete and utter terror, as the realization hit them. Indeed, the last time a human ever showed up, it was to face him... and by the looks of things, it was evident that he wasn't lying to them.

"Then... if he has the bearers already... h-he... he has the upper hand, now!" Celestia stated in a panic-filled tone. "And... and if the ponies know about the existence of a human, then... t-then the Royal Unicorns will know about the rising darkness, and spread the news of the end of the world! EVERYPONY WILL GO INTO SHOCK, AND EQUESTRIA WILL FALL INTO A STATE OF PANIC!"

Summer shook her head and glared. "No! He hasn't won yet, though! We still have Twilight! And not just that, but... we can still keep Bolt's presence hidden, as well!"

Celestia tilted her head in confusion, as her panicky expression turned to one of confusion. "Oh? How so?"

"Simple! Bolt... show them!" Summer stated, to which Bolt nodded his head to and reached into his pouch. Then, when he pulled the flower out, he placed it on his forehead; revealing to the princesses his "transformation". Needless to say, they were both surprised.

"WOOF!" Bolt barked happily, as he smiled at them... while they continued to stare at him curiously.

"Well, Luna... it looks like we haven't seen everything that magic is capable of yet, after all..." Celestia stated while she and Luna continued to stare at the timberwolf in front of them with the flower on his forehead.

Luna nodded her head in agreement, while Twilight flapped her wings and flew on top of Bolt's back. "If I stay on him like this while in a town or city... it should be evident that he's tame, and not wild!"

Then Celestia and Luna weakly smiled at that idea. "That's... actually very clever, Twilight! There's just one thing missing, though." Celestia stated, before looking at Bolt cautiously. "Are you okay with this?"

Bolt nodded his head before barking happily; he was willing to go through with it. This, of course, made Celestia smile.

"Good... then Scorpan's trust was well-placed." After that, she looked towards the stairway and had another look of unease. "Listen well, Bolt... Luna and I will go on ahead to Canterlot, and begin finding the whereabouts of the Harmony Bearers. In the meantime, I'm leaving Twilight Sparkle in your hooves... paws... hands... whatever! You are to listen closely to what she has to say... and do exactly what she tells you to do... as long as it doesn't endanger her! Can I count on you to keep her safe?"

Bolt nodded his head before barking once more. "Good. Thank you. Oh, and Summer?"

Summer flew up from Bolt's forehead before asking, "Yes, Your Majesty?!"

"I know that it isn't normal for a breezie to go too far from home, but... I've been watching you, and can tell that you are the brightest of the other breezies... can I count on you to remain with Bolt, rather than return home any time soon?"

Summer nodded her head with a serious look of determination on her face. "Yes, Your Majesty!"

Celestia nodded her head with a smile, before turning towards the stairway. "Thank you. Now, then... I will teleport you all to the entrance of Ponyville. When you get there... you'll have to explain to the relatives of the Harmony Bearers the... situation that they're in. Do not speak of Tirek to them, though! Understood?"

In unison, the group nodded their heads. Then, in the blink of an eye, Bolt, Summer, Spike, Twilight, Princess Celestia, and Princess Luna were engulfed in a flash of light, and were now standing in-between the edge of the Everfree Forest and Ponyville.

Celestia turned to Twilight and Spike before frowning slightly. "Spike... I'm sorry to say this, but... since you're still a baby dragon, you will have to come with Luna and I back to Canterlot... at least, until one of the Harmony Bearers are returned to Ponyville. I... hope you understand."

Spike's eyes widened at that statement before he looked between Celestia and Twilight, who also had a saddened look on her face... but her expression practically said, "You know she's right."

With a sigh, Spike nodded his head and replied, "Alright then, Princess Celestia..." Then he turned towards Bolt and Summer and sighed. "Please, Bolt... please, Summer... keep Twilight safe for me! She's... she's the only true family that I have."

Bolt and Summer nodded their heads while Summer replied, "We promise, Spike... you have our word."

With a thankful nod, Spike was lifted into the air by a golden aura, and landed cradled in Princess Celestia's left arm. Then, with one more "Good luck" statement, Celestia, Luna, and Spike were gone in the flash of a light... leaving Bolt, Summer, and Twilight there... ready to begin their new adventure.

"Well... let's go. There's... someone who needs to know about this right away. Please, though... be on your guard, Bolt. He... wasn't always on our side, after all." Twilight stated, to which Bolt nodded his head to, before following the dirt path into Ponyville.

Now, with troubled looks on ALL of our faces, we headed towards our first destination... a lone cottage that rested just beyond a bridge over a small, thin river of water.

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~TO BE CONTINUED~

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