Lightning Jolt didn't know what all happened in those moments. She only remembered darting and dodging. She remembered yells and howls and a blur of motion. She would have said that it was a minute or two but in fact it was only a few seconds. Somewhere in it she flew off the ground only to butt her head into a jaw of a timber wolf. She felt teeth clamp on her mane and the timber wolf instantly began to spin her around. Just when she felt that she was going to be sick the beast released and slung her across the forest. Dizzied Lightning Jolt shot up through the canopy into the bright sunlight. She was upside and looking at the blinding sun one moment then falling back through the leaves again. Turning her head as she fell she saw the timber wolf running along underneath her with its jaws open wide ready to receive her falling body. She spread her wings while still upside down and rolled on the air. She heard the jaws snap shut sounding loud in her ears and felt her back brush the cheek of the timber wolf as she spun. As she righted herself she soared under the timber wolf's chin and clear of the jaws.
"Thank you so much for that training Rainbow!' She called as she zig-zaged through the branches trying to get back above the trees while just ahead of those jaws. She was not used to flying though obstacles though and while Rainbow Dash had made her a stronger pegasus she still was no olympic flyer. A branch suddenly snagged on a wing causing her to drop to the earth. She hit on her running hoofs, already flapping to get airborne again but it was too late. The timber wolf closed the distance and punted with its nose like she was a pony football. Lightning Jolt shot ahead of the wolf who howled in amusement then gave chase again.
Lightning Jolt expected to smack into a tree but she collided with something, soft, warm and furry. The thing, a sleeping manticore, stood up and roared in anger. Even partially stunned Lightning Jolt leapt off its back and rolled into the underbrush just as the beast spun around. All the enraged manticore saw was the timber wolf running at it. The timber wolf tried to stop but the manticore had already leapt on its face. The air was filled with snarling, roaring and branches flying through the air.
Lightning Jolt wasted no time watching but spun around and galloped away. Once far enough away she zipped up into the air and began weaving through the canopy, desperate to find her friends. Her ears quickly picked up the loud pounding of the timber wolves’ feet hitting the ground and flew toward it. She was soon flying over a group that was chasing Valentine. She pumped her wings hard, trying to catch up with the pink pony because she knew that even she couldn’t take on all these wolves at once. Valentine suddenly stopped and bucked so suddenly that both her front hoofs were still skidding forward in the soil. Her back hoofs caught the front runner under the chin and kicked his head clean off. The body crashed to the ground breaking in to pieces as Valentine took off running again. The wolves jumped over the pile and kept chasing. It took Lighting Jolt a moment to realize what she was doing. It dawned on her when the pony doubled back again kicking the front legs out from under another wolf. Valentine knew that she had no chance taking on all the wolves at once so she ran but with a plan. No group of animals or ponies could all run at the same speed. There would naturally be some who were faster than others so the groups would become staggered. Whenever one of the wolves got far enough ahead of the others she would suddenly stop and attack it with a disabling blow then run again.
Lightning Jolt cheered inside at this clever strategy but then quickly found out that Valentine couldn't keep it up forever. She stopped for another beast but her reaction was a second slower as she began to tire and that second was enough. The timber wolf dodged her attack and swatted her with a paw. Valentine was sent tumbling across the ground and rolled into a tree where she lay winded. The wolf wasted no time and pounced.
"No!" Lightning Jolt screamed and without thinking about what to do she flew straight at the airborne timber wolf. There was no time to think. She smashed bodily into its back. The Timber wolf shattered and she hit the ground next to Valentine. They covered their heads as timber wolf branches rained down around them. Shaking it off they looked up to see the last timber wolf bearing down on them too fast for them to react. Just before its jaws slammed shut on them it was suddenly yanked back by a powerful force. They looked up to see in held in the air and surrounded by an amber/orange field of magic. Ember Light stood nearby with his face contorted in rage.
"You! Will! Not! Hurt! My! Friends!" He yelled slamming the timber wolf into the ground with each word. When the sentence was finished the timber wolf was just a pile of sticks. Ember Light rushed over to the two mares. "Are you alright?!" He asked as he helped them up.
"I have been better." Valentine replied.
More low growls came out of the forest. Lighting Jolt took a stance with her wings ready to propel herself at the enemy. Valentine tensed up with her hind legs ready to spring and Ember Light stood tall with his horn glowing. The other half of the timber wolf pack stepped into view. The looked at the ponies then to the pile of timber wolf branches, from the ponies to the branches, from the branches to the ready ponies. Leafy ears dropped and wooden tails tucked between their legs as the timber wolves slunk back into the forest.
"Phew!" Lighting Jolt said sitting down. Then they starting laughing the laughter of relief.
"That was a close one." Valentine commented. "Thank you Lightning Jolt."
"Thank you for saving me on the train." Valentine replied. "And thank you Ember Light."
"Just a stallion's duty." He replied. "Come on, let's get out of here. I've heard that the parts reattach themselves." They wasted no time and began trotting away.
"Whoa, Lighting Jolt." Valentine said as they moved. She pulled a twig that was glowing green out of her mane and tossed it away. "We don't want to take that with us." They quickly checked themselves for any timber wolf twigs then kept going.
"Well, we can now say that we survived a timber wolf attack now." Lighting Jolt said.
"And quarry eels and a dragon thing." Valentine added.
"I don't know about you ponies but I think that those are experiences best only lived once." Ember Light said. "Let's see how fast we can get out of here." He picked up the pace but stopped short as somepony was blocking their way.
'What's this I see, the missing pony here, in the Everfree. Of fighting Timber wolves you have certainly hacked it. I found you by all the racket." She said. It was no pony but a zebra. Ember Light and Valentine just stared, a little taken aback by her rhyming everything. Lighting Jolt was less surprised since Spike had told her all about this zebra.
"You’re Zecora, the friend of Twilight, Apple bloom and all my other friends." Lightening said rather than asked.
"Yes that is true," Zecora responded, "And they have asked me to help find you."
"They know I'm missing?" Lightning Jolt asked. She had always assumed that Twilight and her other friends had no idea that anything was wrong.
Zecora nodded. "They certainly know my dears, it will be good to alleviate their fears. Of the guards, Twilight asked me to guide, to help them past all the dangers this forest hides." At this Lightning Jolt felt her ears droop and she sat down.
"What is this child, are you not glad? To be found, I would not think you to be sad."
"Well, Zecora," Lightning Jolt poked at the ground with a hoof. "I really don't trust royal guards right now and wanted to go straight to Twilight or one of her friends. What all did she tell you?"
"Not much for there was a hurry, she came and went in such a flurry." Zecora replied. "To me all the details was not explained, just to surch for you was desperately made made plain and I did not ask for all to be explained, the need for a fast surch was certainly quite strained."
Ember Light and Valentine had been standing back not sure what to make of this. They had never met anypony who always talked in rhyme and even more surprising was that Lightning Jolt talking as if she knew her. Valentine finally stepped forward. "Where are the guards?" She asked.
"Those guards, they are not far, just over two hills and there they are." Zecora said nodding behind her.
"Wait here." Valentine told her two friends. "I'll go ask them for details and study them for any deceit since they don't know to look for me. I'll be back shortly." She said and took off in a trot.
When she left Zecora turned to Lightning Jolt and Ember Light. "While she goes to the guards to call upon, please tell me all that is going on."
* * *
Just as Zecora had said Valentine found the guards two hills away. It looked like they had set up a temporary camp to rest and reorganize. It was a very efficient camp as one expected of the military. Interestingly, it wasn’t just soldiers here though, regular citizens were mixed in. This was a little comforting to Valentine for if it was something secret that was going on then the royal guards would not have included regular ponies. Not likely anyways.
Valentine walked boldly right into the camp and headed for a brown unicorn guard who appeared to be directing everything. Ponies looked up at her and many stared. It was only then that she remembered that she was covered in dirt and had twigs, leaves and burrs tangled in her tail, mane and coat. She pretended that she didn't notice and most of the ponies began to go about their business again. They probably had other teams out here since it was a big forest so they must be assuming that she was one of them.
The unicorn guard lowered the maps that he had been levitating when she trotted up. "Do you need a medic or any help miss?" He asked.
"No I'm fine. I just want know what is going on." She asked. "What's this search for?"
"You're not from one of the other teams?" He asked.
"No, I'm a hermit that lives out in this forest." Valentine replied. “I never know what’s going on.”
The guard looked at her with a raised eyebrow for a long moment and even the tough mare felt like squirming under his gaze. "A young pegasus has gone missing. Two stallions posing as royal guards kidnapped her. She was an unknown Jane Pony whom none could identify and had befriended the Princess Twilight Sparkle. We don't know why they did it or who they were. Many civilians have been enlisted into the search since the culprits claimed to be royal guards. I’d say that everypony knows about it by now.” He finished still looking at her with a critical eye. To his astonishment Valentine exclaimed, "Ohhhh, you don't know how happy I am to hear that!" Before he could ask why she had taken off into the forest at a gallop. He stared after her a moment then called across the camp to a pegasus guard. "Dander! Follow that pony and see what she's up to."
Dander saluted and flew after her.
* * *
It wasn't long after that Dander and Zecora came walking back into the camp with Valentine, Ember Light and Lightning Jolt following. The ponies in the camp stared a moment at the unexpected appearance of the pony they were looking for. Then a cheer broke out and the unicorn guard looked very pleased. He called for every pegasus that was with them to fly out and call off the search. To Dander he gave specific orders fly to their base of operations and send for a chariot.
While they waited Lightning Jolt and her three friends got some much needed rest, food and water. They passed the time with Zecora telling them amusing anecdotes of her times with Twilight and her friends but from her side of the story.
About an hour later an extra large chariot arrived. It was pulled by four uniformed, white pegasus stallions and the led the chariot with ease and grace. They quickly descended smoothly and landed with such practiced ease that the cart hardly shook.
"This is the royal chariot used by the royal sisters and Princess Cadance for special ceremonies." The head guard announced as he led them to it. "It will be plenty large enough.” He ushered the three onto it after they had said their goodbyes to Zecora.
Lightning Jolt hopped in ahead of him, (She was still a little nervous about guards) and moved to the front of the chariot. She hung her forehoofs over the rim as her friends climbed up next to her. "So, we’re really going back to Ponyville in style.” She said to her friends with a grin.
"We're not going to Ponyville. We're going to Canterlot." The guard said as he stepped aboard. "The Princess Celestia wants to speak with you. All of you."
Before they could let that sink in they chariot took off into the sky.