One Bolt, Spreading Harmony

by Boltsinger

Prologue: Not Much of a "Professor"

It was a pleasant evening in Ponyville, with all of the students at the School of Friendship retiring for the night. A lilac-coated Alicorn trotted into the nearby castle. She had a darker purple mane and tail, featuring two stripes down the middle, one of a darker still shade, along with a pink that popped out considerably. The Cutie Mark on her flank was a magenta six-pointed star running perpendicular to a smaller white star behind it, and surrounded by five smaller stars. Around her neck hung a pendant made from amethyst and crystal, with a hair clip situated on the back. She moved her purple eyes up to the balcony, a relaxed smile on her muzzle. She had been working long and hard on a particular lecture for her students, spending much of her time secluded for the sake of her writing. Now, the lecture was all said and done, and she was going to take advantage of it to see her family.

As if to answer her desire, she heard wingbeats from above. Her smile widened as, next to her, a bright orange Pegasus came to a landing. His mane and tail were a messy blue with electric blue streaks scattered all about, with eyes of a lighter shade of purple than those of the pony next to him. On his flank was a Cutie Mark of a black microphone with a streak of lightning taking the place of the cord and coiling around the device, and from his neck hung a white crystal pendant in the shape of a lightning bolt while adorned with topaz that was cut to luck like an electrical discharge. On his back was a darker orange diapered Alicorn colt with a wild yet uniform mane and tail of deep purple with a jagged cyan stripe running through it and violet eyes. The stallion extended his wing, putting it around the mare next to him and pulling her close. “So how is Head-mare Twilight Sparkle today?” he asked.

“Ready to relax with her two favorite Princes…” She lit her horn, lifting the foal in front of her, where she gave him a number of kisses on his cheek until he let out a giggle. “My little Nova…” She nestled the baby in her wing, then turned to the stallion, planting a kiss on his cheek. “And my great big Boltsinger!”

Boltsinger let out a laugh. “I dunno about ‘great’...” He returned his spouse’s gesture, smiling warmly. “But that doesn’t matter. Did the lecture go over well?”

“It went great! The students learned a great deal about the benefits of group research and how it can affect teamwork!” she explained, opening the door ahead of them. “All that work was definitely worth it!”

“Sounds like it.” Boltsinger stated, beginning to trot faster. “Because we certainly missed you this past week. Especially our little one, here.”

Twilight nuzzled her colt affectionately, moving deeper into the castle. “Actually, I was thinking of taking a day off pretty soon.”

“Weekend is coming up after tomorrow.” he reasoned, turning into the kitchen. “You’ll have plenty of time off then. Besides, didn’t you go with the CMC’s to Mt. Eris recently?”

“That was different. I needed to get Silverstream’s permission slip signed!” she retorted, placing Nova in a playpen in the corner. “I was there on… business… And I was mostly by myself! I haven’t spent quality time with Nova in a while, now!”

Boltsinger shrugged, starting a pot of boiling water. “Well, I mean, it’s your school, so you can take a day off if you want. But you’d have to let the students know.”

“I think I have an idea for what we can do tomorrow.” she mused, looking slyly at him.

Boltsinger could almost feel the coyness in her voice slide up his spine. He slowly turned his head to look at his wife, the eyebrow closest to her rising inquisitively. “And what might this idea be?”

Twilight stepped up to him, smiling sweetly with her wings fluffed out on full display. “Would you be willing to take over my classes tomorrow?” she requested, leaning in and batting her eyelashes.

The water in the pot behind Boltsinger let out a puff of steam as his wings turned stiff. He stumbled backwards, nearly jumping as his rump hit the stove. “Ooooh no… Nonononono!” He waved a hoof in front of him. “We talked about this, I am not professor material!” He moved to the side of the room, still backing away from his wife’s playful advance. “I mean, I’m not exactly what you’d call an Element bearer or any kind of aficionado on all of that!”

“Neither is Starlight, and she’s the school’s guidance counselor!” Twilight told him. “Besides, you were able to teach Scootaloo how to fly.”

“Scootaloo was a case I knew really well.” he argued. “Plus, she’s practically family! Teaching her comes easily!”

“That’s true.” She took another step forward, making him back up further. Their movements had formed a synchronized yet unrefined waltz around the kitchen, moving in time with Twilight leading their movements. “But you’ve come a long way since you got here. You’ve learned more than enough about friendship to pass on some lessons.”

“Okay, but… What in Equestria would I be suitable to teach your students about?” he continued, finally encircling the room to the point where they stood parallel to the stove.

“Devotion, of course!” she said, giving her eyelashes one more flutter.

“Devotion?” he repeated, letting some confusion cross his face. She nodded silently, bringing her wings up to either side of his face. “Devotion…” he trailed off. Nova looked at his parents from his playpen. Both of their faces were hidden from view, but he could hear the sound of smooching coming from behind the big lilac wing. He paid it no mind, floating over a pot that hung from the side of a cabinet, which he proceeded to bang on with his hooves.

---

Boltsinger stood, stiff as a board, in the middle of a lecture hall. His pupils looked between the ponies and other creatures in the room, all of the eyes boring into him. “So this is what stage fright feels like…” he muttered, tugging on his pendant with his wing. He took a deep breath, bringing his wings forward and slapping himself on either side of his muzzle, sharpening his focus as he opened his eyes with a bright smile and a wave of his hoof. “Hello, class! My name is Boltsinger, and I’m here to fill in for Twilight today!” He looked back at the blackboard, where several formulae had been scribbled all over the place. “I… um… Well, I told her, myself, I don’t quite know what to teach you all. I mean, she’s so smart and has the whole magic thing going for her, and I’m… well…”

“Lame?” A Griffon among the students suggested. He was a bright blue, with dark blue wings and an off-white underside, the feathers on his head bearing yellow tips. He nudged the pony next to him, letting out a laugh that was quickly met with an alarmingly large number of glares.

“Eeyup. That’s an accurate word.” Boltsinger jokingly confirmed. “I’m not an element bearer. But, I did get a suggestion from your professor on what I might be able to teach. She said, and I quote, ‘devotion’.” He pulled up a stool, sitting on it and looking around again. “So… I’m gonna do my best to teach you all what I know.” He rubbed his temples with his wings, steam from his bubbling thoughts threatening to billow out of his ears. “Devotion… devotion… What is devotion and how do I teach it?” He returned his wings to their resting position, taking in the hopeful faces around him. “I don’t really think ‘devotion’ is something you can teach, honestly.” Gasps sounded throughout the room, causing the nervous stallion to flinch. “Now, wait a second! I said you can’t teach devotion; but I never said you couldn’t teach about devotion!” The calm returned to the room, settling things back into place. “Devotion, as I said, isn’t something you can you can teach someone and then they suddenly have it in the same way you do.” he explained, standing and beginning to pace back and forth through the room He lightly flapped his wings, creating a breeze that spread all the way to the far back walls, amplifying his voice. “Devotion is something that comes from within, over time, when you find someone you truly care for. For example… My devotion towards Twilight and our friends. A few years back, I just crashed into a wall in Canterlot, thanks to the thing my wings do. Princess Luna wouldn’t let me just go on my way, ‘cause she thought I needed some help. Then she and Princess Celestia introduced me to all of your teachers. They took the panicked wreck of a pony that I was and turned him into what you see here, and through all of that, we formed a connection that even the Tree of Harmony can recognize!”

The Griffon cleared his throat. “That’s cool, but what the heck is ‘devotion’?”

Boltsinger pulled himself away from his nostalgia, pointing a hoof at the Griffon. “Ah! Yes! Thank you, Gallus!” He cleared his throat once more. “What devotion is… it’s… it’s a feeling that you would do anything for someone you care about. Even if it means taking a big risk.” He took a glance around the room, a small smile forming on his muzzle. “Some of you may already have that feeling. In a good friendship, devotion comes naturally. It fosters teamwork, and has a tendency to strengthen the qualities that form the Elements of Harmony. It can’t be tied to any specific one of them, but I think it works in tandem with them.” Whispers sounded through the room, many of the students scribbling down notes on the paper below. “So, I was also told that I get to give you all a homework assignment. So here it is...” He brought his hoof to his chin, pondering what might be the best assignment. “What would be some good homework…?”

“How about no homework?” Gallus suggested.

Boltsinger smirked at the cheeky Griffon, an idea forming in his mind. “Nice try. But you did just help me clinch it.” He sat back down on his stool, intensifying the amplification from his wings. “I’d like for all of you to seriously think about those closest to you. Your best friends, your families, anyone you can think of, and talk about what forged that bond with them, and how far you’ll go for them. Look at those most important to you, and figure out for yourself whether or not ‘devotion’ has been born. Then, simply document it and turn it in to Twilight on Monday. Got it?”

“Got it!” the class replied.

Boltsinger beamed, slapping his muzzle with his wings again. “Okay, then! Anyone have any questions?”

Several students raised their forelimbs, each of them asking about the nuances of devotion, to which he discovered that he somehow always had an answer, despite his earlier doubts. Eventually, the class came to an end, many of the students filing out of the room with intrigued smiles on their faces. He placed his hoof on the desk, a strange warmth filling him.

“Excuse me, Professor Boltsinger?” someone called. He searched for the source of the voice, finding a bright blue Changeling with darker blue eyes. She had a dark red shell with a translucent pink tail along with what he could only think of as a mane, with a horn that bore a single point on the end.

“Ah, Ocellus, right?” he guessed, facing the insectoid. She gave him a confirming nod, stepping up to him. “No need for the word ‘Professor’ with me. I’m just a normal pony filling in for his wife today.”

“Okay, then… Boltsinger.” she corrected herself, smiling up at him. “I wanted to tell you that I really liked your lesson. I think I already know who I’m going to write about in my assignment!”

The stallion put on a proud grin, placing his hoof on her shoulder. “That’s wonderful! I’m glad my little lesson could make an impact.”

“Would it be okay if my friends and I asked for advice on the topic sometimes?” she inquired, looking pleadingly at him.

A soft laugh escaped Boltsinger’s mouth as he turned to guide her out. “What kind of kin to Twilight would I be if I turned down learning for the sake of it? You can ask whatever you like whenever you like, as long as it doesn’t get in the way of your classes, okay?”

Ocellus grinned back at him. “Okay! Thank you!” She reared up a little, lightly flailing her forelegs and cantering off towards Gallus and her other friends.

Boltsinger took a long look at the students, the smile on his face lingering for as long as they were in view. I guess she was right. I really did have something to teach…

Author's Note:

Season 3 has now begun! I've been super excited to get this started... I have so many ideas! Things will continue from where they left off last season, plus a bunch of new things that I think you'll enjoy!

Comments

[Crazedgamer126]

She moved her purple eyes up to the balcony, ad relaxed smile on her muzzle.

"A relaxed smile"

and from his neck hung a white crystal pendant in the shape of a lightning bolt while adorned with topaz that was cut to luck like an electrical discharge.

"Was cut to look like a electrical discharge"

“I don’t really thing ‘devotion’ is something you can teach, honestly.”

I dont really "Think" 'devotion'

I was really observant today.
Still a good start in my book
Keep at it!

Edit:

a bright orange Pegasus came to a landing. His mane and tail were a messy blew with electric blue streaks scattered all about,

his mane and tail were a messy blew?? or blue?