Devin shouted for Raine desperately. He had tumultuously called her name for what seemed like dozens of times, as the flames flickered and the wind howled dreadfully. The intimidating crackle of the fire swallowed Devin's calls, as its reddish-orange flames danced on emerald trees and tore them. Birds scattered into the smoke-filled sky, as the splitting of a large branch could be heard within the forest. The sounds of sizzling leaves were almost deafening, as they brushed against each other during their fall from their trees. Particles of ash could now be seen as they clumped together within the spewing streams of smoke.

Devin's mind sparked the idea of how he needed to take action. Somehow, over the roar of the flames, while it engulfed another tree whole, Devin's sharp hearing managed to pick up the neigh of the white horse nearby, while it munched on a few stalks of grass. Devin quickly approached the mare and leapt onto it, tugging its reins as the horse's knees shook with fear. To Devin's agony, he had a crowd of disagreement heading towards him. Devin urged the horse forward, but the mare only took a few steps, before it stopped and snorted disobediently.

Tai shouted, "Devin, no! Stop trying to play, 'Knight in Shining Armor,' when you're really going to play, 'Boy in Tin Foil,'... or… ahem, 'Boy in Chewbacca's fur'."

Devin wrinkled his unfamiliar nose in annoyance. Okay, sure he was an oversized beast trying to ride on a horse, but what did Tai expect? Devin barked back impatiently, while he continued urging the stubborn horse to go, "Sure, but if I was the Tin Man (Candi squealed at the mention of a character from the Wizard of Oz), then I'd need a heart. And my heart belongs with Raine!" Devin suddenly bit his lip back, realizing what he had just said and blushed, unsure if they could see his cheeks turn pink beneath his fur. Afterward, he continued, "And if I don't do something, then Raine's going to get injured or face even worse possibilities! So don't try and hold me back, okay, Tai? What are you even trying to do anyway? Scare me? Are you trying to be a 'Wolf in Nerd's clothing'?!"

Tai winced a bit at Devin's remark, but snapped, "Listen, I'm tryin' to protect you, lil' bro. If you get yourself hurt, you're going to hurt Raine even worse, and especially hurt me too. Why? Because I would never be able to forgive myself!"

Devin's next reply was staggered, as he was stunned by Tai's answer. While he attempted to summon his next few words, they were heedlessly interrupted by Candi, who came up to Devin's mare.

With her hands on her hips, Candi started wagging a finger and lecturing the white horse in its golden ornaments, "Now you listen up, Horse. Don't go running off with Devin like it's a wild goose chase into that burning forest, or else you might... um… burn your tongue, and then you… uh… wouldn't be able to taste any more of those…erm... yummy veggies that you're eating!"

The horse snorted in what sounded like agreement, or was at least happy to oblige as long as it didn't involve being in what looked like an oversized fireplace. Some spectators scratched their heads, as they weren't sure of whether the horse had really even understood anything that Candi had said.

For a moment, Fern just stood there, staring at Candi, who was stroking the horse's mane now. After a moment, Fern began sternly stomping up to Devin, ready to also disapprove or his recklessness, no matter how reluctant she was to agree with Tai about rescuing Raine in an alternate way. Before she could open her mouth to speak though, Fern suddenly heard screams over the sounds of the dying fire. Fern whipped around with fright, almost expecting to see the ghastly spirit that had knocked Raine off of their horse, then departing its pursuit. Not far in front of them, Cyndi and Ani were at the front of the forest, darting away from what looked like a fireball, that was curving and hurling towards them at full speed in midair!

Devin's white mare reared in fright and retreated a bit, while Candi ceased petting the horse's mane. She dashed into Tai's arms, before tugging him away from this mystical object. Devin covered his ears, as he expected to see and hear an atrocious collision happen, while he could feel the chill wind beat against him. His eyes stung, as he could feel the dirt particles clatter around his eyes.

Many of them had begun screaming, or diving for cover as they could all feel the blasts of wind beat harder and harder against them. The wind's gusts knocked some of them off their feet, while it also had Ani's dress pick her up and off the ground. Ani shrieked in terror as she was floating away, before she was fortunately snatched out of the air by Cyndi, who then pinned her onto the ground to keep the wind from carrying her away again. Devin's horse unexpectedly wheeled and threw him to the ground, before it galloped farther away, leaving him dazed on the grass. Devin shook himself out of his daze and aroused in shock to see the fireball's speed gradually slow.

The fireball was very near the ground now, but it somehow did not singe any blades of grass below it. Slowly, what looked like flames surrounding faded away. As it neared the ground, its buffeting of the wind finally stopped, and what they found was…

"Blaze!" some of the girls cheered, while Blaze, the flame-winged pegasus, had his hooves lightly touched the ground.

Blaze scoffed playfully, "What? Missed me?" And slung around Blaze's back was…

"Raine!" Devin shouted. He rushed up to Raine, as she had her feet dangled to one side of Blaze's back, while her head drooped over on the other side. Devin rushed up to Blaze, and carried Raine off of the pegasus' back with one mighty swing, but something was clearly wrong.

Raine wasn't stirring, but as Devin carefully nudged her cheek, she involuntarily managed to emit a small smile, as if she was in a sweet dream. Her cheeks were pink and matched well with the lush grass, as her mud-brown hair blended perfectly with the emerald-green grass too. She was still alive, but unaware of her entire rescue.

Afterward, Devin allowed Tai to give her a small, yet crucial checkup. Tai confirmed that Raine should be alright after checking her heartbeat. He then held up one finger in front of her lips to check her breathing's rhythm. Raine's first few breaths were steady, before she began to cough a bit violently. Tai recommended, "We should bring her to the nurse's quarter. Raine's heartbeat is steady, but she could've inhaled too much smoke. This can be a deadly, medical condition, if it's not treated."

Devin wiped beads of sweat and breathed with a small bit of relief. Raine would be fine for now. He then turned and looked up at Blaze, who had a look of concern on him. Devin enquired Blaze indebtedly, "How can I ever thank you?"

Blaze neighed with ease, as he pranced around the field. Then with a twinkle in his eye, he said, "Eh, I'm fine, but I could do with some treats, you know."

Candi stopped whimpering at the sight of Raine's horrendous condition, and immediately dashed up to Blaze with a smile. "Here," she beamed, offering him a lollipop.

Blaze looked abominated, before he quickly hid that expression. Then, he inched back timidly and murmured, "No, thank you."

Suddenly, the white horse dashed up and snatched the lollipop whole in his jaws.

Seeing how Candi didn't know how to react to her gift being nicked, "Blaze heaved out a sigh of relief, before he replied, "Thanks, but erm… you needn't have. I'm allergic to sugar anyway."

"Oh," stated Candi, "Well, how about some nice, juicy vegetables then?"

Blaze sighed as he rolled his eyes, "Oh, here we go with the wrong guesses on my diet again. Next time, either I wear a sign saying, 'Feed me this:' or I should choose to become a Chimera. You know, those fearsome creatures that're half-lion, half-goat, n' has a snake for a tail. If I was one o' those, then people would assume my carnivorous diet, instead of a herbivorous one."

Ani yelped at the mention of a snake; she ran around in circles, checking to see if there were snakes in the grass. She lifted her dress and ran on tiptoes, as she shook off more chicken feathers.

Eve rolled her eyes as she wondered how many more feathers did Ani have in stock for her outfits. She shook her head, while she eyed Ani, "That girl has way too many feathers! Gosh, she might as well put them all together, and be able to defend herself from bullets with that many feathers!"

Afterward, Tai tried to get everyone's attention by announcing his matter, "So, anyway, how are we going to get back?"

All of a sudden, the wind's currents began to throttle the teenagers and made Tai's point go unnoticed at that moment. The dark clouds above them began to swirl, while the wind caused tattered bits of leaves to seem engorge them. Devin covered Raine's eyes with a paw of his, in order to prevent small particles from entering her eyes. The rest of the teens did the same, but only made cracks in between their fingers to peer through curiously.

Abruptly, some mystical power struck the ground, launching all of the leaves away from a designated ring. It was as if a clear wall of air was made, keeping all of the torn bits of leaves out of a certain area. Some of the teens dropped their hands, which were covering their eyes, at this mysterious work of magic. They watched the wind blow the burnt leaves around them, but none could pass through the circular wall of air. Fern and Candi almost released squeals of terror, when they saw who had created that: Their coach had appeared. The nymph for a coach somberly stared at them, before uttering three words, "You are dismissed!" These words echoed throughout the forest, while their coach turned into a gray swirl of wind, and vanished into thin air.

At the vibrations of the nymph's words, the bad mood of the clouds faded away almost instantly, and the sunlight shone through the clouds again, as their sun perched high up there in the blue sky again. Crackles and rumbles could be heard, as treetops climbed up again, and had their branches reattached. The forest sprang to life, as if it had been renewed from a deep sleep. This happened all so hastily, that it made the forest look as though it had never been touched before. The teens watched in awe as vines regrew and swiftly snaked around trees, while colorful butterflies fluttered and birds sang their sweet songs again. The ambience of the lush forest was back, and the teens gasped with astonishment. Some of them almost felt very young again, and began bolting around, laughing at a game of tag.

Unanticipatedly, the whinny of a horse could be heard in the distance.

A few of the teens rapidly pivoted to look at the white horse. The white horse had his mouth stuffed with fresh blades of grass, so the noise couldn'tve come from him. Alongside, Blaze, the pegasus, picked up his forelegs and used them to shrug, as if to say, 'Not me.'

Another sound made by a horse was followed by a gruff snort. The couples heard it, and they swung their heads to see…

"Talia! And, erm… 'Nightmare,'" greeted Marie, who was relieved that they could get away from the horses.

Talia was clinging to 'Nightmare's' waist while he set the black mare to a gallop, before he had it rear to a halt. Talia let out a little shriek as she tightened her grip around 'Nightmare'. Then, with a helping hand from 'Nightmare,' she was lowered to the ground. Talia asked their spectating crowd, before immediately regretting the question, "So, how'd you do without us?"

A burst of offended answers aroused, as Talia fearfully clung to 'Nightmare' again, after he let the black mare roam freely.

Devin shouted, "You need to ask after we didn't have 9-1-1 on speed dial?!"

Tai clapped a hand to his forehead to cover his eyes from the discord, while Candi chewed on her lip silently without an answer.

Cyndi was yelling insults, such as, 'You missed everything and helped with nothing!' Her shouts were muffled by the rest of the clamor though, while Ani squawked angrily and shed more feathers.

Eve rolled her eyes again at the dizzying thought of how many more feathers did Ani have remaining.

'Nightmare' elbowed Talia and murmured, "Maybe you shouldn'tve said that."

Talia gulped, "Ya, oops. But what should've I said anyway?"

'Nightmare' replied, "Maybe with something that does not sound as harsh? Something like, 'Are you okay?' For if you sound harsh, people'll usually reply back harshly."

"When did you learn that?" asked Talia interestedly, as she balled up a fist lightly, and put a side of her jaw on it.

"Since I had to win your heart," stated 'Nightmare' in a as-a-matter-of-factly way, while hiding a smug smile under the shadows of his mask.

Talia blushed as she turned away and bit her nails nervously, while dark strands of hair rushed down her cheek.

Tai then cleared his throat to interrupt this couple's moment, while Candi was next to him and holding her fingers up. Candi grinned and made a rectangular frame that was supposed to represent a camera. She said, "Cheese; smile at the camera!" as she was pretending to film the two's moment.

Talia turned red with embarrassment, before she bit her lip back, and looked to 'Nightmare' for help.

'Nightmare' rolled his eyes in slight annoyance beneath his mask, and thought, "Ya, we still have the public to take care of." 'Nightmare' scoffed, and then uttered irritatedly to Tai, "Ya, what?"

Tai ignored 'Nightmare's displeased tone and indicated, "So, how are we going to get out of here?"

'Nightmare' shouted, "Don't look at me, Nerd! You're supposed to be the smart one here."

Tai mumbled at that sharp remark, "Um... thanks?"

'Nightmare' continued, "Ya, just don't look at me— look at Blaze."

Blaze coughted, "Wait, what? Me?"

Very soon, Blaze had found what they had meant. Nearby, nestled in the forest, they found the stables, which they snuck into and found a carriage. Talia and 'Nightmare' managed to equip Blaze with the necessary gear,, and luckily avoid the presence of their ghastly coach. There, they decided that everyone would take turns in a set of four, and fly to their destination.

'Nightmare' and Talia looked at each other, for they promptly got the same idea. They had to protect these kids.

"So, who's gonna be the footman, n' who's gonna' be the escort?" smirked 'Nightmare'.

Talia answered quickly, "Well, duh, you're gonna be the footman!" She then playfully shoved him, before continuing, "Because if I take that position, then I'm going to barf so much, that there'd be more barf, than grass by the time we finish!"

Blaze, who was nearby, snorted in disgust at that. Then, he shouted, "Okay, first passengers on board please, before I personally throw up at the thought of more icky puddles than grass."

'Nightmare' got to his post, while Talia commanded, "Devin with Raine to the front seats, while I want to see Tai with Candi at the back seats. Since you're the closest as family to them, I expect that you both behave."

As their first set of passengers approached, 'Nightmare' opened the gate of the grand carriage and stated, "And I advise you to be quiet on this ride."

Tai gulped as he saw that 'Nightmare' was their usher. With this guy's creepy mask on, no matter how elaborate the carriage was, it felt as if they were taking a trip to a haunted house!

Meanwhile, Candi put her fingertips to the edges of her lips. She stared in awe, as her jaw fell agape at the dazzling, white carriage. Golden swirls that represented laurel leaves lined the gate of the carriage, while its curved poles were completely inlaid with gold on the outside. Fringes were on the top of the carriage and lined with gold too, while a few more swirls were embellished above the cushioned seats. On the inside, velvet pillows were laid against each corner of the carriage, while a few more were stuffed underneath the seats. The inner roof of the carriage had a curved ceiling with an intricate painting on there. In the picture, little angels, fluttered around in the luminous blue sky, while fluffy clouds dotted above a white palace. A large pond was put close-up, while green anthurium leaves, bordered with red shades, had dewdrops on them. Swans puffed out their feathers, and had their necks reach out to the sky, as the painting froze them in the middle of a take-off. The work of art was undeniably admirable, and after goggling at it a little longer, Candi looked at the top of the carriage. The top was admirable too, but a bit sharp to begin with. A silver, spear-like point was on the outside, plopped onto the center of the carriage. Fluorescent roses cascaded down, while their long stems and edgy leaves wrapped round the carriage's golden lanterns. Candi was finally awaken from her daze, when Blaze snorted some refusals continuously at Ani's pleas that he should where a giant, feathery boa at the top of his head as if he was fancy horse. Candi glanced back and saw Devin, woefully carrying Raine, as he had his head bowed. Candi watched and felt a bit disturbed by this sight, so without any more hesitation, she stepped into the elaborate carriage.

While she did so, Devin just kept his eyes softly on Raine, as he admired her beauty in his arms. In his large, furry arms, Raine almost seemed at peace, as she seemed to be comforted by his hold. She slept as though nothing in the world could disturb her. Through his hazy vision without his glasses, Devin saw that her rosy lips were slightly parted, while she breathed wisps of air delicately in her sleep. The loose ends of her hair fanned out in his arms, as her blue irises were covered by her eyelids, preventing her vision from meeting the blue of the sky.

Unanticipatedly, her long, purple gown began reappearing. Slowly, the fabrics went from the top of her waist to the ends of her ankles. With a poof and a swirl of sparkles, a pair of heels mystically reappeared on her feet. Following that, a shower of sparkles rained on top of her head, letting her silver, glittering tiara reemerge. When its work was done, the large centerstone of a sapphire on her tiara flashed, causing all the sparkles in the air to fade away at once. Devin gaped in awe, while Raine's eyelashes had now been curved magnificently like never before. Together, they both emitted a small smile unawaredly, as the wind sent their hair soaring and waving together.

Behind them, Talia scoffed, as 'Nightmare' rolled his eyes beneath the shadows of his mask; he was disgruntled by how slow this pair's pace was. Blaze mumbled, "Lovebirds," before 'Nightmare' shut the door of the carriage. 'Nightmare' then stood at the footrest between the lanterns on the side of the carriage. He then shouted to Blaze, "Okay, full speed ahead! We have no time to waste with an emergency at hand!"

"Full speed?" inquired Blaze, "You got it!" Without warning, Blaze shot off into the sky, bolting at an incredible speed till he became not just a fireball, but a streak in the sky!

At the sight of Blaze turning into a twinkle in the sky, as if they had blasted off like Team Rocket from Pokémon, Talia shrieked, "Holy!"

In the meantime, 'Nightmare' was screaming in terror, until all of the air gave out in his lungs. The powerful air currents then shoved more oxygen down his throat as he was flying with his mouth open. 'Nightmare' coughed and sputtered at the forced impact of the air. Soon afterward, he bit his tongue to hide what he would consider an embarrassing action from himself. He had his hands cling tighter to the golden pole of the carriage, while the air's currents shook him like a wave. He frantically called, "Stop, Blaze!" His call went in vain though, as Blaze was engulfed in flames that were crackling too loudly for him to hear them.

Up front, Blaze had become a silhouette within the traces of the fire, as he kept zooming along without noticing his passengers' frenzy.

Inside the carriage, the passengers yelped with pain, as they were being jostled against each other or slammed against the carriage. 'Nightmare' heard the shouts of anguish coming from inside there, and he slowly began climbing on the carriage against the tremendous currents of wind that knocked against him. He clutched his mask, and he strained his face with determination, in order to keep his mask on. Beads of sweat dripped down his jawline, as he felt other droplets become cold because of the air that rushed against them. The bitterness of the chill air also nipped at his skin mercilessly, trying to get him to let go of his grip in pain. He felt his palms go numb, as the stinging began within his muscles, for he had been holding onto the carriage remarkably tightly.

Only an elated Candi was shouting, "Weeee!" inside the carriage.

Tai managed to give a weak smile at Candi's delight, before he was slammed against a window's edge and gave an outcry of pain.

At that noise of pain that 'Nightmare' heard from his passengers, he urged himself to struggle against the wind's currents even more. With one, aching pull at the fringe on top of the carriage, 'Nightmare' managed to pull himself onto the stairs in front of the gate to the carriage.

With a glimpse, 'Nightmare' saw that Devin was still cuddling Raine tightly, preventing her from colliding with anything, but even though she was still unconscious and had no prevalent injuries on her, they could see that a troubled expression had crossed her face. It was as if she had an inkling of what was going on.

Abruptly, a loud crackle could be heard, and they all swung their head to look at where that sound had come from. At once, Raine's expression became the least of 'Nightmare's worries. Everyone's conditions immediately became endangered at the sight of the golden pole, to Devin's right, splitting.

'Nightmare' heaved himself forward to get closer to Blaze, but they were all of a sudden, they were throttled back by an increase in the amount of speed from Blaze. 'Nightmare' lost his grip on the stairs, and tumbled backwards, barely managing to grab a hold of the golden pole, where he had started from. Another horrifying crackle alarmed them, and a second pole broke on Devin's side. The front of the carriage was now rattling, and the alarmed passengers attempted to get away from there, as the front of the carriage began to shake violently, without anything to attach to. 'Nightmare' gritted his teeth, intent to solve this crisis, before he stared up at the sky. The relentless air knocked at his head, while blurs of clouds streamed by rapidly, making him feel queasy. What made him feel even more uneasy, was the fact that he now saw Devin inch out of his seat.

Still holding onto Raine, Devin offered a paw out to 'Nightmare'. Devin yelled panic-strickenly, "Take my paw!" Devin saw that 'Nightmare's masked face looked from his enormous, padded paw, to his deformed, beast-like face. He observed 'Nightmare's expression, as this stubborn guy had his eyes narrowed through the apertures of his mask, while the air's currents ebbed his body, swinging 'Nightmare' violently as if he was a piece of hung-up laundry. Devin had no idea of what 'Nightmare's reaction was. Could it be disbelief? Hope? Or...

'Nightmare' then spat ferociously at Devin, "I don't need your hospitality."

With that rude response, Devin decided that 'Nightmare's reaction was disgusted, just before Candi shrieked, "O-M-G, he yeet himself!" Devin refocused and reacted to that, as he had his eyes trail to where Candi was pointing at…

'Nightmare' had let go of his grip on the pole.