One Bolt, Many Questions

by Boltsinger


Do You Dare?

In the castle library, Boltsinger sat with another book in the Daring Do series. He’d read this one before, but something about it stood out to him much more lately, and he wanted to give it another read. This was the first time that Daring Do had ever worked with another pony, no matter how reluctantly, and he loved the attitude that the sidekick for this adventure brought. She was a bit brash and naive, thinking the world of Daring, but eventually came into her own at the end. She had a certain level of sass to her, and was a good enough flyer to remind him of Rainbow Dash…
“Wait a minute…” With that thought, he had finished the book once again, and closed the cover, looking at the front of the book. There, next to Daring Do, was a cyan Pegasus mare with a rainbow mane and tail, wearing a baseball cap, her Cutie Mark obstructed. Boltsinger cocked an inquisitive eyebrow at the image, steam practically billowing out of his ears as he pondered the meaning of it. “Why would Rainbow Dash be on the cover of…” His eyes widened as he dropped the book. He scrambled to pick it up again as his wings went full bore. He shot out of the library and the castle faster than anypony had seen out of him.


One minute later, at Rainbow Dash’s cloud house, there was a loud crashing sound followed by a knock at the door. Rainbow Dash jumped out of her bed, her nap coming to a very abrupt end, and flew to the door.
“RAINBOW!” came a voice from outside. “You have some explaining to do!!!” The knocking on the door continued as the Wonderbolt made her way to the door.
“What is it?!” She asked, starting to open the door. “I was in the middle of a--” She stopped as the door opened, the cover of a Daring Do book having been thrust before her, an orange wingtip pointing at a familiar pony on the cover.
“This is you.” Boltsinger stated.
Rainbow Dash looked at the image, knowing full well that the stallion was correct. She looked away, backing up. “Whaaaaaat?” She started. “I don’t know what you’re talking about!”
Boltsinger thrusted the book forward some more, entering the abode. “I’m talking about the cover of this book.” He pointed harder at the picture. “This rainbow-maned pony here is unmistakably you.”
“That could be any pony!” Dash lied, swaying her foreleg down with a nervous laugh. “I’m sure there are a lot of Pegasi with blue bodies and six-colored manes! My dad has a rainbow mane! It could be him!”
“The character in the book certainly talks like you.” Boltsinger continued. “And A.K. Yearling certainly describes some crazy good flying out of this sidekick here. I dare say it’s Wonderbolt-grade flying…”
Rainbow Dash gave a cocky laugh. “Well, I dunno if it was Wonderbolt-grade flying back then, buuuut…” Her eyes opened wide, realizing what she had just said. She quickly brought her forelegs together, covering her mouth.
“What was that?” the stallion inquired, leaning in closer. “Why would you get so braggy about a fictional character’s flying ability, I wonder…?”
“Well, maybe A.K. Yearling saw me at the Best Young Flyer competition all those years ago and was impressed enough to base a character on me!” Rainbow said, continuing her fib.
“Yes, because A.K. Yearling, a known recluse, would totally go out of her way to go to a competition in Cloudsdale to see a pony to make into a sidekick for a signature character that has a preference for working alone.” Boltsinger commented, the sarcasm in his voice more evident than the Cutie Mark on his flank. “Besides, this characterization of you is so accurate that she would have to know you personally to write a character like this!” Rainbow Dash winced, shrinking into herself for the first time since the stallion had met her. “Do you know A.K. Yearling?”
“Umm… Yes, and no…” the cyan pony admitted, looking at the floor. “I know A.K. Yearling… And a little more…”
“Such as?” the orange pony lead.
“I know her secret…” She said. “Please don’t pry any more… I reeeeeeeally don’t want to betray her trust! If you wanna know, I wrote about it in the friendship journal!”
Boltsinger tucked the book under his wing and looked at her puzzlingly. “Friendship journal?” He repeated.
“Yeah, it’s a journal that we all used to write in whenever we learned something about friendship.” She informed him. “We’ve all got loads to say in it. If you really want to know why I’m on the cover of that book, read that.”
Boltsinger sat on the floor in front of his flight coach. “Um… Okay, I guess.” He offered a hoof to help Rainbow Dash up. “Sorry about all that. I was just in the heat of the moment.”
Rainbow took the hoof and stood up. “It’s okay. I needed to wake up, anyway.” She went into her room, coming out soon after, looking distinctly less disheveled. “Well, I’m up, now. You wanna get something to eat?”
Boltsinger shook his head. “Nah, I’ve got a new book to find.” He told her, securing his current tome and flying out the door. “I’ll see you later!”
Rainbow Dash watched the stallion leave, letting out a relieved sigh as she hopped out the door and flew away.


A knock came on the door to Twilight’s room, alerting the occupying Princess to the presence of a visitor. “Come in!” She called. The door opened, Boltsinger coming in.
“So, did you know that Rainbow Dash was on the cover of a Daring Do book?” the stallion asked, taking a seat next to the Princess’ dresser. “I asked her about it, and she told me that she knows A.K. Yearling’s ‘secret’... I asked her further, but she told me to consult the friendship journal.” He looked over at the Alicorn. “Is there a copy I can use?”
“I… think there’s one extra copy somewhere. I’ll see if I can find it later, okay?” She answered.
“Sooooooooo…” Boltsinger began, looking at the Princess as she lay on top of her blankets. “What are you up to?”
Twilight blushed, looking back at something she had between her forehooves. “Oh, it’s nothing! Just a new book.”
Boltsinger leaned in closer. “What kind of book?”
“The kind you read.” She nervously replied, motioning to hide the book. A corner of the page showed a covered image of a city with green hair entangling various sections of it. She let out a sheepish smile as the stallion leaned in closer.
“Comic book?” He guessed.
“What?! Noooo… Why would I be reading a... comic book? That’s ridiculous…” She rambled. Boltsinger cocked an eyebrow in her direction. Twilight’s face sank in defeat. “Okay, fine… I’m reading a comic book.”
“Nothing wrong with that. Power Ponies are awesome.” Boltsinger affirmed.
“I’ve just been hearing you and Spike going on about it for so long, now, that I couldn’t help but start reading!” She confessed.
“Spike told me that you all had an adventure in one of the books, once. I’m surprised you only got into it recently.” He got up, moving to head out. “I’ll let you enjoy the story. Bewaaaaare~  the Mane-iac!” He took off out the door. Twilight smiled as he left, returning to her comic.


After the next day’s tutoring session, Twilight placed a purple book with a horse shoe design that featured five gems corresponding to the Elements of Harmony with the Element of Magic emblazoned in the middle. It bore two gold bars on its binding, and looked to be freshly made.
“Is this what I think it is?” Boltsinger asked, getting up and stretching.
“Yup! Your very own copy of the Journal of Friendship!” Twilight confirmed, swelling with pride. “I hope you can learn as much from reading it as we all did in writing it!”
Boltsinger picked up the book with a look of wonder, a big smile present on his muzzle. “I’m pretty sure I will.” He turned his gaze over to Twilight. “Thanks!” He gave Twilight a peck on the cheek and flew off to his room, laughing excitedly. He landed in his bed, opening the book and greedily drinking in every single word. He found himself fascinated by the ponies his friends were back before the castle existed. The lessons they had learned from one another, as well as...
“Wait a minute…” Boltsinger began, looking at Rainbow Dash’s first major entry. “Had an ‘adventure’ with the ‘coolest pony ever’?” He looked at the date of the entry, then thought back. “This isn’t too long before that book was released… Rainbow would probably be able to befriend A.K. Yearling… but an adventure with a reclusive writer is a bit out there, even for her… She wouldn’t think of Yearling as all that ‘cool’, either…” He pondered the idea more as the steam came forth from his ears. After a few minutes, his eyes opened as wide as they could, and the whistle from the teapot that was his mind sounded. “Daring Do is real…” He marked the book, placing it carefully on his nightstand as his wings flared in excitement. “DARING DO IS REEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEAL!!!” He jumped on his bed, then fluttered in the air above it. Laughing in excitement, he sped down the hallway and out the door, headed straight for Twilight in the library. He came to a stop so sudden that a cloud of stray papers kicked up behind him. “Daring Do is real.” He told her, looking absolutely ecstatic.
Twilight looked up from the hidden comic she was reading. “I see you found Rainbow Dash’s first entry.” Boltsinger nodded so rapidly that all Twilight could see was two long eyes in a streak of orange and blue. “It came as a bit of a shock to all of us, but… yes! Rainbow has done the most with her, though…” She let a small look of jealousy escape onto her face as she recalled all of her friend’s bragging about the other adventures she had with their favorite heroine. “But we do try to keep it a secret from most ponies.”
Boltsinger plopped his rear into the chair closest to the one the Princess sat in, unleashing a barrage of questions. He asked about the nature of the adventurer’s adventures, how accurately they were transcribed in the books, and whether or not creatures like the dreaded Ahuizotl were actually real. In his excitement, he didn’t even begin to notice the electricity that was sparking around his now-stiff wings.
“Uh, Bolt?” Twilight said, pointing at his suddenly shining pendant. “I think you might want to get to the balcony… And send me a letter when you get where you’re going!”
“Huh? What?!” He looked at his wings as his body began to tense up. “AHHH!” He broke into a gallop, heading for the nearest open window. “All right, love you, and I’ll tell you all about it when I can!”
With that, the sound of thunder echoed through the castle as the living lightning bolt of a pony took off, full speed, towards Southern Equestria.


What he thought was going to be a typical multi-day flight seemed to only take half a day, as he was flying faster than he normally would. He saw a number of parts of Equestria he’d never seen. Temples, desert, jungle, and several villages. Finally, he laid eyes on a building that he had never seen before, yet was extremely familiar to him.
Is that the Get On Inn? He thought, his descent beginning as he spied the inn. Is that my destination this time?
CRASH
Yes… Yes it is. He rolled over at the point of impact, his wings still tingling and stiff. He looked up into the sky, the sun eking its way into his vision. He let out a groan, his head sore from the crash, as a figure cast a shadow over him. The silhouette was familiar, reminding him of Rainbow Dash wearing a hat. “Rainbow Dash?” He asked, seeing an image of the pony in question.
“You know Rainbow Dash?” the image said, shifting to a sand-colored mare with a grayscale mane reminiscent of his friend with hot pink eyes. She wore a pith helmet and jacket, and looked to be concerned for the pony below her.
Boltsinger slowly got up. “Yeah, she’s a friend of mine and my… flight… cooooa…” He looked at the mare’s Cutie Mark, seeing a distinct compass rose as his jaw slowly fell as far as it would go. “Are you who I think you are?”
The mare rolled her eyes, looking at him with a flat expression. “Rainbow Dash told you about me, didn’t she?”
Boltsinger shook his head adamantly. “No, she was pretty tight-lipped about it. All she said was that A.K. Yearling had a secret.” He got one more look at the Pegasus before him. All questions had suddenly ceased. He was certain.
The pony before him was undeniably, unmistakably, inarguably, Daring Do herself!