Star Bolt continued through the Everfree Forest before he finally reached the home of his very first friend since the Nightmare Crusade. Star Bolt knocked on the front door and waited until the door was opened by the resident. Zecora smiled as she spoke, “Star Bolt my friend, it’s been quite a while, so happy to see you and bearing a smile.”
Star Bolt nodded his head, “It’s good to see you again Zecora. How have you been?”
As Zecora stepped aside to let Star Bolt enter her home, she gave him a somewhat disappointed look, “I’m fine as always though annoyed and bleak, I’ve heard you’ve been in Ponyville for about a week.”
Star Bolt felt embarrassed as he replied, “Yea… sorry about that. I’ve been working every day at Sweet Apple Acres. It’s a moderately easy job… but it’s left me with almost no time to do anything. But I’m here now and I brought some stuff for you.”
Star Bolt sat his saddlebag on her table as he pulled out many different types of herbs that he had gathered in his travels. As Zecora looked over the herbs, she smiled, “Star Bolt my friend, I can always count on you, to bring me ingredients for every type of brew.”
Star Bolt smiled as he replied, “What can I say, you saved my life and gave me reason to continue living. I know that what I did was terrible and if death should meet me, I'll gladly accept it. However, if somepo… I mean if a zebra like you can save a lowlife like me, then maybe there is reason for it.”
Zecora started to laugh, “There’s plenty reason for that, an ancestor’s great plea, dragged me from my home, and here to Everfree. But I'll admit your friendship, for which I'll never squander, gave me great joy, even if you wander.”
Star Bolt started looking around the house as he continued, “Not much has changed has it. I can tell you’ve gotten better at your magic haven’t you?”
Star Bolt saw a stand part of the floor and began scratching it with his hoof, “Hmm… I guess even magic can’t get bloodstains out of wood.”
Zecora knew that something was on Star Bolt’s mind so she spoke, “You bled a lot on a most troubling day. But from the look in your eye… you have something to say?”
Star Bolt nodded his head as his expression became serious, “I wanted to ask your opinion on something. I wanted to know, what do you think would happen, if I decided to retur…”
In mid-sentence, Star Bolt went silent as he looked towards the front door. When she noticed his silence, Zecora tried to asked, “Star Bolt what’s wr…”
“Shhh…”
After Star Bolt shushed her, He quickly and quietly leaned against the front door and gripped his sword as he looked back at Zecora and nodded his head. Then Star Bolt quickly opened the door and drew his sword as he and Zecora watched their spy fall into the room. As soon as the little filly hit the floor, Star Bolt sighed, “Sweetie Belle… what are you doing here?”
Sweetie Belle replied, as Star Bolt sheathed his sword, “Roseluck said you were going to see a friend in the Everfree Forest, so we came to see if you needed help.”
“… We?”
As Star Bolt looked at the opened front door, he saw both Apple Bloom and Scootaloo standing there with a worried smile on their faces as they waved to him. Star Bolt could only put his hoof against his face as Zecora smiled, “A fortunate day for me, as it would sit. Appears that many have come to visit.”
Star Bolt shook his head, “More like intrude… but this would be a good reason to cut my visit short. I better get them home. You know how dangerous the forest could be for fillies. Maybe you can come visit me sometime. I'll be staying in Ponyville for a while so if you’re ever in town, feel free to stop by. I’m staying with Roseluck at her home, but if I’m not there then you could most likely find me at Sweet Apple Acres.”
Zecora smiled, “Thank you my friend, your invite is nice, perhaps next time, I can give you advice.”
The three fillies looked sad as Apple Bloom spoke, “Aww… but we just got here.”
Star Bolt sighed, “And now, we’ll just leave. Let’s go crusaders.”
The three fillies left the house as Star Bolt followed them and closed the door behind him. After the door was closed, Zecora looked at the herbs that Star Bolt left behind, then she looked back at the door with a worried look. She didn’t know exactly what he was going to ask, but she knew that his expression showed it to be something dangerous for him.
As the stallion and the three fillies traveled back up the road, Scootaloo asked, “So what’s the deal with you coming out here in the first place Mr. Star?”
Star Bolt sighed, “Well I was actually coming out here to visit a good friend with whom I’m indebted to… but since you three are out here without an adult to protect you, I might as well get you three back safely, I’m not too worried about Applejack, but I know Rarity would rip me in half if I let something bad happen to Sweetie Belle.”
Apple Bloom replied, “but I thought you were going to be working today… are ya playing hockey or somthin.”
Scootaloo corrected her, “I think the word you’re looking for is hooky.”
Sweetie Belle smiled in a smart way, “Oh who’s the dictionary now?”
As the two fillies glared at each other in annoyance, Star Bolt sighed, “No I’m not playing hooky. Applejack said that Rainbow Dash was planning on a storm passing through today, so she told me to wait till it passed before continuing. Besides she says that we are so far ahead of schedule that she will give me weekends off so we can wait for the apples that aren’t ready to be harvested to ripen a little more.”
Scootaloo asked, “Ok so why did you use your day off to come out here? Are you in love with Zecora or something?”
As Sweetie Belle glared at Scootaloo for her comment, Star Bolt shook his head, “No, no, nothing like that. let’s just say I borrowed a few things from her and as payment, I’m returning what I borrowed through the herbs I gather in my travels.”
Sweetie Belle sighed in relief as Apple Bloom spoke next, “Ya mean like a trade?”
Star Bolt nodded his head, “Yea… like a trade.”
As soon as the ponies exited the forest, Rarity met them on the road, “Sweetie Belle, I’ve been galloping everywhere looking for you. We have to hurry and get home before the storm starts. Thank you Star Bolt for seeing that my sister got home safely. I’ve been much too busy getting orders filled for the Grand Galloping Gala that I’ve almost forgotten to make sure she stays inside today.”
Star Bolt nodded his head, “Not a problem at all Ms. Rarity. Can you see that the other two get home safely too?”
Rarity smiled as she replied, “Hmm I don’t see why not. To think that you would go this far out of your way to help these fillies was too much to ask to begin with.”
Star Bolt turned to leave as he replied, “Thanks Rarity, you be careful then.”
As Star Bolt was trotting away Rarity yelled to him, “You too Star Bolt, and tell Roseluck hello for me… she’s a lucky mare.”
Star Bolt stopped and turned towards Rarity, “What was that last part?”
She smiled, “Oh, Nothing! Nothing at all!”
Since Star Bolt didn’t actually hear her comment, he just disregarded it completely, as he made his way back to Roseluck’s home. As he entered, Roseluck met him at the door, "Welcome back Star, how was your visit?"
Star Bolt felt a little unusual being greeted like this but he was a guest so he just replied, "Well, it could have gone better, but all in all it wasn’t too bad. The weather looks like it’s going to get a little rough out there. Will your garden survive a storm?"
Roseluck smiled, "My roses are tougher than they look."
“I'm sure they ar..."
Before Star Bolt could finish his sentence, the door flew open as Rainbow Dash rushed inside, "STAR BOLT!!! I need your help! You said you were once a weather Pegasus right?"
Star Bolt was surprised that Rainbow Dash seemed so worked up, "Yea... I did some work here and there, why do you ask?"
"Cloudsdale messed up, big time! They have a typhoon that was supposed to wait till it reached the coast before activating, but it activated too soon. Now it’s a massive tornado that’s going to hit Ponyville on its way to the coast, unless we stop it."
Star Bolt replied, "So this town can't handle this tornado?"
Rainbow Dash replied, "Are you crazy! This was going to be the mother of all storms! Ponyville has no hope against this thing. If we don't do anything soon then Ponyville will be permanently relocated to wherever this storm takes it!"
Star Bolt immediately reacted, "Then let’s get to work and stop this thing!”
Rainbow Dash smiled, "YEA! Now you’re talking!"
Roseluck nervously stepped forward, "Is there anything I can do to help?"
Rainbow Dash replied, "Nah, it’s probably best if you leave it to the professionals."
As Roseluck looked down in disappointment as Star Bolt spoke to Roseluck, "What she means is; it would be better if you found a place to take shelter. You know just in case."
Roseluck smiled at Star Bolt and replied, "Ok... If you think its best, then I'll take your advice."
Rainbow Dash realized something and smiled, "Oh, I see what's going on here."
Star Bolt was confused, "What?"
Rainbow Dash replied, “I know you two ar..."
Before Rainbow Dash could reply, Roseluck jumped forward, covered her mouth and spoke quietly to her, "Shhhh, please Dash, I want to tell him at the right time."
Rainbow Dash smiled, "Ok if you say so. Come on Star; let’s take care of this thing."
Ignoring the conversation that was interrupted, Star Bolt spoke to Roseluck as he trotted out the door, "Just stay here and be careful if you have to, go to Sweet Apple Acres. They have a storm cellar you can take cover in."
As both Star Bolt and Rainbow Dash flew into the sky, Rainbow Dash explained her plan, "Ok you try to take out any surrounding storm clouds and I'll work my magic on the center of the cyclone. That should be enough to disperse it, and stop it from leveling Ponyville."
Star Bolt replied, "Are you sure you can handle it by yourself?"
"Please, you’re talking to the pony who got her cutie mark from using the Sonic Rainboom... I so got this!"
Star Bolt shrugged him shoulders, "Whatever you say Dashie."
It wasn’t long before Star Bolt and Rainbow Dash approached a massive tornado that seemed to be almost a quarter mile wide. Star Bolt paused as he looked at the storm and spoke, “Hey dash? You sure you can handle this thing?”
Rainbow Dash smiled, “I told you before, I’ve handled worse than this monster.”
As Rainbow Dash flew close to the tornado’s center cyclone, Star Bolt made his way around the outside destroying the outer clouds so that the center would be easier to control. But no matter how much she tried every time Rainbow Dash tried to build up speed, she had to slow down or stop to dodge the severe lightning that was assaulting everything near the center of the storm. It wasn't long before Rainbow Dash took a full on impact from a lightning bolt and started to fall. When Star Bolt saw this, he immediately sprang into action. Moving as fast as he could Star Bolt caught Rainbow Dash just inches before they both hit the ground and rolled a few feet.
When Rainbow Dash stood up, she stumbled as she spoke, “It’s no use, I can’t get enough speed to reverse the vortex. That lightning won’t give me a break."
Star Bolt thought to himself and replied, "I have an idea, I'll draw the lightning to me while you continue trying to reverse the vortex."
Rainbow Dash was confused, "And how exactly are you supposed to do that?"
Star Bolt replied, "Trust me."
Rainbow Dash looked at the vortex that was just starting to cross the outskirts of sweet apple acres, then she sighed, "I hope you know what you're doing Star."
Star Bolt smiled as he flew into the sky, "Don't worry Dash... I got this."
Star Bolt then took off into the sky straight towards the large spiraling cloud. As he got closer, the lightning that was posing a problem for Rainbow Dash started to strike near him now. Remembering the countless arrows, spears, catapult boulders, and other obstacles he faced in the many battles he fought in, Star Bolt dodged the lightning with ease using the same maneuvers he used more than a thousand years ago. Not far behind him, Rainbow Dash marveled at Star Bolt as he flew. She was moving as swiftly as she could and dodged the lightning by inches, while the lightning wasn't even close to him as it passed by, Watching him fly was almost like watching the Wonderbolts. Rainbow Dash stopped in flight, "Whoa... Who is this guy?"
Finally Star Bolt got to the outside of the cyclone, using all the strength he had, Star Bolt hit the side of the vortex, made it inside, and vanished from Rainbow Dash's sight. While inside the vortex of the massive tornado, Star Bolt could see that this storm truly was the mother of all storms. The wind was strong while the lightning scattered in many directions making the center of the vortex look like a tin can with a neon spider web inside. Star Bolt continued to climb through the center of the massive funnel until he finally reached the very top of the clouds where the mouth of the vortex began. Star Bolt flew to the side and gathered a large cloud into the center of the mouth, and then he stood there and started to focus on using the Lightning Orb. He didn't know if this would work or not, but if it did he knew that he would need a large amount of energy to attract the entirety of the charge that this storm was carrying. He knew if he could absorb all of electricity in the air then he could either weaken the storm so it would be easy to stop, or stop it entirely.
As Star Bolt stood on the cloud trying to use the Lightning Orb, he started to feel the charge in his hooves that he usually felt when he used it; only this cloud didn't appear above him... Instead, the cloud he stood on started to get darker and darker as it absorbed the energy around him. Outside the vortex, Rainbow Dash was increasing her speed as she flew around the storm with ease, she had no idea how he was doing it, but Star Bolt was actually drawing the lightning away from her as she flew. Then she started to notice that the vortex was getting darker as the surrounding cloud cover was turning white or dispersing all on its own. Finally, a large flash rose out of the top of the vortex as a large string of lightning shot out in all directions from the highest point in the vortex. Rainbow Dash couldn't believe her eyes; she had never seen anything close to what she was witnessing at this moment. But she wasn't the only one, all the ponies watching the tornado as it approached, marveled at the spiky electrified ball that was hovering just outside Ponyville.
As the sphere of light vanished leaving behind a small number of white clouds, Rainbow Dash called out, "Aww yea!!! That's what I'm talking about!!!"
Up on one of the few remaining clouds, Star Bolt stood breathing heavily as he looked around, "I... I did it... That's... That's good. I didn't know if..."
With barely enough strength to stay awake, Star Bolt collapsed and laid on the cloud as he thought to himself, "I... I hope nopony saw too much... I’ve come too far… to be seen now…"
With that said, Star Bolt lost consciousness on the slowly dissolving cloud. Down on the ground, Princess Twilight approached Rainbow Dash as she was landing next to her, "Wow Rainbow Dash that was amazing, you really showed that storm huh."
Rainbow Dash turned and replied, "Well actually the credit belongs to Star Bolt, he’s the one who stopped this storm. Though I wish I knew how."
Twilight looked around and replied, "So um... Where is he? I don't see anypony else but you here."
Rainbow Dash looked around and replied, "Hey... Where did he go? I got a few questions I want him to answer."
As the mares looked around, Star Bolt continued to lie on the only remaining cloud in the sky, until it finally dissolved from under him, causing him to fall. When Rainbow Dash saw him falling, she called out, "Look! There he is!!!"
Twilight quickly spoke, "He is too far for my magic to reach!!! Rainbow Dash!"
“I'm on it!"
Rainbow Dash took off into the sky as fast as she could but she was too far from him, even if she flew fast enough to use the Sonic Rainboom she knew she couldn't reach him in time. Rainbow Dash continued flying as fast as she could but to no avail. As Star Bolts motionless body fell behind a hill, she heard a loud crash. As Rainbow Dash approached the area that Star Bolt landed in, she was relieved to find Roseluck standing there coughing as she was fanning the dust away from her shattered wagon filled with flowers. Out of breath and tired from sprinting, Roseluck unhooked herself from the wagon as she shuffled through the flowers looking for the cause of its destruction. Finally, she uncovered Star Bolts face as she spoke, "Thank Celestia I saw you in time. That wouldn’t have ended well at all."
With Star Bolt still unconscious Rainbow Dash spoke, "Way to go girl! If that doesn't win him over, nothing will."
Roseluck smiled, "See, I told you I could be of help. And I was!"
As Princess Twilight landed next to them, she spoke, "I'm glad this all ended well. This will be a good lesson in friendship to send to Princess Celestia."
Remembering Star Bolts last encounter with the royal guards when they first met, Roseluck quickly spoke up, "Um... Princess Twilight? Is it alright if I send this letter to Princess Celestia?"
Princess Twilight nodded her head, "That's fine; I have other matters to attend to anyway so feel free to knock yourself out. But first, you might want to let him get some rest, he has been through a lot today."
As Princess Twilight started to trot away from them, Roseluck replied, "Thank you princess... I will."
As soon as Princess Twilight was out of sight, Rainbow Dash flew up and gave Roseluck a skeptic look, "there is something you’re not telling us, isn't there?"
Roseluck replied, "What are you talking about?"
Rainbow Dash replied, "Yea, yea, I don't know anything about what happened today, but I'll get to the bottom of this, so you better not be hiding something important from us."
Roseluck replied, "I know things are a little sketchy, but I promise you have nothing to worry about."
Rainbow Dash turned to fly away as she replied, "I better not."
As Rainbow Dash flew away, Roseluck turned back and looked at Star Bolt as he laid in the wagon. She remembered the day they first met, the conflict he had with the royal guards, and the same flash that she saw today. She knew he wasn't bad, but that didn't stop herself from asking the question, "Star? Who are you?"
Back in the Canterlot Library, Princess Celestia was looking through some old tomes as her top historian trotted up and sat a number of books on the table in front of her, “Here you are your majesty, everything set before you became princess of Equestria, but I'm afraid we don’t have anything in here that could help with our problem.”
Princess Celestia closed the book she was reading and sighed, “Thank you Niether… you may leave for the night if you wish… I'm going to keep looking.”
Niether bowed as he backed away, “Thank you your majesty, I hope you find what you’re looking for.”
As Niether left the room, Princess Celestia opened another book and saw two eyes looking directly at her on the pages. She sighed and spoke, “What is it Discord?”
As she placed the book flat on the table Discord climbed out of it and replied, “Really Princess? You’ve been locked away reading old books all day, while things around the castle continue to get even more boring, and all you can do is asked rudely what do you want? Talk about disappointing.”
Princess Celestia shook her head, “Things won’t get any better if we continue to ignore what’s to come. How is Princess Luna doing, has she had any problems running Canterlot alone?”
Discord hovered over her, “She’s had no problems, in fact she sneers at me twice as much as you do, so I suppose she is twice as efficient… not to mention boring.”
Princess Celestia replied, “She still doesn’t trust you I see. Well… what about you know who?”
Discord picked up a book about the Nightmare Crusade and replied, “Still no word… this pony is really good at what he did, here I am… the bringer of chaos and despair, and yet I never did the damage to Canterlot that he did way back when.”
Princess Celestia sighed, “Don’t say that… That pony has felt more pain than any Pegasus alive. Almost as much as sister and I. Just report any news you hear to me and me alone, and remember Discord, I don’t wa…”
“I know, I know. You don’t want sweet innocent Luna to find out. You’re worse than a broken record… I'll behave… but I hope you know that my reputation is on the line so try not to expect the impossible from me.”
With that said, Discord sat the book he was reading down on the table and climbed inside as he closed the cover behind him. Out of curiosity, Princess Celestia opened the book to the page that Discord climbed into and saw a picture of Star Bolt standing in front of his officers during the Nightmare Crusade, “I can only hope he will agree to help. We could use all the help we can get.”