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// To Wing Or Not To Wing? 
// Story: One Bolt, Many Questions 
// by Boltsinger 
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A cry of pain was heard from the library. Starlight followed the cry to find Boltsinger, standing low with his wings still in their casts like he was ready to take flight. He gave a frustrated and pained groan, picking up the book at his hooves with his mouth and making for one of the ladders.
“Stupid broken wings… gotta use the stupid ladder and do the stupid climbing…” he grumbled through his teeth. He climbed up carefully, putting it in place.
Starlight walked up to the ladder under him, seeing him wobble a little. “You alright?” she asked. Boltsinger jumped, losing his balance and falling from his rung. Starlight stepped back, catching the injured stallion with her magic just before he hit the floor. “Careful, now! You don’t wanna re-break those things!”
Boltsinger crossed his forelegs as he stared at the ceiling, growling in frustration. “I hate not being able to use my wings…” he said, turning himself over to stand up.
“Well, it’s not like being able to fly is vital to doing things normally.” Starlight stated, letting him go. “You just have to be careful about it.”
Boltsinger sighed. “Have you ever seen me do something that doesn’t somehow involve my wings?” he asked, walking to the door.
Starlight followed, thinking about the question. “Now that you mention it, I haven’t.” She pointed her hoof at him. “So, not having your wings to use is pretty hard, huh?”
“It’d be like if you suddenly couldn’t use your horn.” He explained. “To most Pegasi, our wings are a pretty big part of us. Even Scootaloo, who can’t fly, still has something she does with her wings to really stand out. Full grown wings like mine are some of the most versatile parts of our bodies! You’ve seen what all I can do with mine, right?”
“You do tend to use them for that microphone thing you do.” She pointed out.
The stallion nodded, looking ahead. “Yup. It’s pretty debilitating, not being able to move them.” He groaned some more. “I just wish I could move them, darn it!”
Starlight’s expression softened considerably. “I can’t even imagine what It would be like to not have my horn... “ she told him. “Magic has always been second nature to me… To suddenly be without it would be…”
“Jarring?” the stallion finished, looking back.
“Well… Yeah.” she confirmed. “Makes me kinda jealous of Earth Ponies like Maud and Applejack.”
“I can see that.” he affirmed. “They function just fine without any of the… extra things ponies like us take for granted.”
“Plus they can break tough rocks with nothing but their hooves.” Starlight added. “That’s a pretty cool skill to have.”
Boltsinger laughed, turning to the bedroom. He waved farewell to Starlight, heading in and slumping onto the couch. “So… What can I do that doesn’t involve my wings?” he asked himself, looking at his forelegs. He stewed for a long time, humming to himself as he sat against the arm of the sofa, drumming on his belly.
“How is our patient?” a soft voice asked from the hallway. Boltsinger stopped his impromptu music, looking at the open doorway to see Fluttershy. “Are you feeling a little… humdrum?”
Boltsinger waved a hoof at her. “Hi, Fluttershy. Come on in.” the yellow mare came in and took a seat.
“How are you feeling, today?” she wondered, getting comfortable. “Twilight tells me you’ve been moody since you got home.”
The stallion huffed, crossing his forelegs. “Well, my wings hurt. And I can’t think of what I can do without them…”
“Have you tried reading a book?” she inquired. “All you need for that is your eyes!”
“And my wings to turn the page.” He added.
“Well, what about your mouth? Or your hooves?” she suggested, holding up a hoof for emphasis.
“I guess you have a point…” he admitted. “I tried reading at the hospital, but I never could get the hang of handling them.”
“Well, you have to have known how to do it at some point.” Fluttershy continued. “After all, your wings can’t have always been big enough to reach out like that.” Boltsinger let out a faint noise, confirming her suspicion. “So, how did you do things as a colt?”
“Honestly?” he started, receiving an interested nod from his friend. “It’s been so long that I don’t remember. Growing up after my Cutie Mark was kind of a blur. The lightning took hold when I was working on stuff, and certain influences took over when I was on down time. Remembering through all of that is… hard to do.”
Fluttershy thought for a moment. “I think I have an idea!” she exclaimed. She got off of the couch, trotting out of the room.
Boltsinger looked at the happy mare as she left, reaching his foreleg out at her. “You could at least tell me what your idea is!!!” He lingered for a moment, watching her disappear into the castle. After a while, he slumped over, returning to his previous attempt at activity.
Another hour passed, and another knock came at the door. Boltsinger sighed, getting up and trotting to the castle foyer. The knocking grew louder as time went on, causing some mild irritation as he opened the door.
“Howdy, Bolt!” Applejack greeted, performing a salute motion as she walked in. “You ready fer work?”
“Work?” he repeated, tilting his head. “You know I’m injured, right?”
“So ya can’t use yer wings!” she started, coming up and patting him on the back. “That never stopped me from gettin’ my chores done! Come on! Gotta earn yer pay somehow!” She pushed him out the door and strapped a wagon to him.
“Wait, what?!” He shouted, being further pushed by the farm pony.
“Yer job today is helpin’ me and Big Mac on the harvest!” She explained, jumping in the cart. “Apple haulin’ don’t need wings! So we’re gonna work on yer legs!”
Boltsinger rolled his eyes, starting the walk towards Sweet Apple Acres. “Oh boy… fun… Well, I suppose it’s better than just sitting around. Let’s do this!”
The stallion made his way to the farm, where Applejack pointed him to the orchard as soon as they saw the trees. He pulled the wagon over to the waiting siblings, several buckets of apples already full. Big Mac happily waved a hoof as Apple Bloom ran up to him. They shared a number of conversations as they worked, Boltsinger having myriad complaints about his wings and back, but still glad to be home. Applejack never had him do any bucking, but she explained the intricacies of getting the fruit to fall just right, with Apple Bloom running back and forth with a bucket balanced on her head, catching every apple that fell. Big Mac would pick up each bucket and load it into the wagon, with Boltsinger working those legs of his with every load.
“So, Bolt, I’ve been meanin’ to ask you sumthin’.” Applejack stated.
“Oh? And what would that entail?” he replied, straining to pull the wagon once more.
“Are you plannin’ some big thing again?” came the question. “Sumthin’ ya can’t tell Twilight about?”
The Pegasus’ head recoiled with a faint red to his face. “What?! What makes you think that?”
“The fact that Shining Armor came for a random visit just to go with you to Sugar Cube Corner an’ suddenly Pinkie Pie and Rarity are all excited fer some big surprise and refuse to say anythin’ about it ‘cause they think I’m gonna tell her first thing.” she deadpanned.
“Ah. That.” he said, feigning realization. “I may have a surprise planned.” he admitted. Applejack’s gaze intensified. “A big surprise.” he continued, his eyes wide. Applejack growled a little as she leaned her head closer. “Okay! Okay! A really big life changing surprise that may or may not involve the tying of certain knots and would need Pinkie and Rarity’s areas of expertise that we may also need your help with along with the distinct possibility of Fluttershy!”
Applejack’s jaw dropped. “Wait… Y’all can’t mean--”
“Eeyup.” he confirmed.
“An’ so that means you…” she started.
“For about a month before Shining Armor’s visit.” he finished.
“An’ Twilight…?”
“Cannot know.”
The mare lingered, her hoof in the air with her mouth agape. She let out a sound every now and then, trying to come up with something to say. “But…” she finally squeezed out. “But y’all have only been together fer a year!”
“And that was more than long enough.” he affirmed. “I’m in my right mind, and that mind is made up.”
“Well, then… I guess there’s nuthin’ to it but to support ya.” she said, easing up. “You’ve got a plan, right?
Boltsinger thought to himself a moment. “Actually… I have... no idea.”





The next day, the desk, blackboard, and books were all set up in the library. Twilight was making her preparations, drawing a bunch of diagrams on the board. She hummed to herself as she worked. Her teaching days were easily her favorite days of the week, and this was going to be one of the more interesting sessions. The special guest instructor was sure to make it so!
Boltsinger walked inside, sitting down as per usual. “Okay. I’m ready!” he stated, picking up the quill with his mouth.
“Oh? You can write without your wings?” Twilight teased, eyeing him from the side.
“I’ve always used my mouth for that.” he told her, accidentally dropping his quill. “Picking up a feather with other feathers doesn’t really work all that well. Either way, this is bound to hurt less than hauling apples for five hours straight.” He took his quill again, dipping it in the inkwell.
Twilight began her typical lessons, going over all of their usual topics. He wrote with an energy he hadn’t shown in past lessons, as if it was the first time in days he’d gotten any kind of real engagement out of an activity. She covered as much as she could in the time allotted. Right as the lesson reached its high point, Twilight stopped, putting her chalk down and magically closing all of the books.
“All right! Time for a new lesson!” she proclaimed, spreading her wings. “And we’ve got a special guest instructor to help!”
“New lesson?” Boltsinger repeated, tilting his head. “Special instructor? What are you talking about?”
“Fluttershy, you can come in, now!” the Princess called. Fluttershy walked in behind Boltsinger. “Today, and for a while after, the two of us will be teaching you a new subject!”
“And what subject is that?” he queried, looking between the mares.
“Home Economics!” Fluttershy announced, looking proud for a moment, but sinking her head down soon after. “At least, that’s what Twilight said it was… I just wanted to teach you how you can do things without relying so much on your wings… If that’s okay.”
Boltsinger smiled, getting up from his desk. “Well, I guess we should get this class started, huh, teacher?”
Fluttershy laughed excitedly alongside her studious friend as the two guided the stallion to a nearby book. He had been trying through the whole lesson to get to the right pages, but needed help. Twilight started the new class by showing him several simple ways she had learned to perform the task, going into a long tangent on the various techniques and how they all worked on an advanced level. Boltsinger was about to fall over from information overload when Fluttershy took his hoof in hers, then reached over, turning the page like it was nothing. He looked between her and the book, slightly in awe, then tried the same thing. To his surprise, the page turned with no trouble. He inquired on some of the finer points, Twilight taking over with much simpler explanations on things like research and finding specific things without the use of magic or wings. His face lit up with understanding, asking what else the girls had in store. From there, they made their way to the kitchen, where Fluttershy demonstrated ways he could handle everything despite not having the use of his most useful appendages. The lesson went on for hours, resulting in a hoof-made dinner made by the stallion in question.
Twilight, Starlight, Fluttershy, Boltsinger, and Spike were gathered around the table, looking at the meal the injured Pegasus had made. Spike looked at it questioningly.
“It looks… um…” the dragon began, poking it with his fork. “Green?”
“That was pretty much what I was going for.” Boltsinger affirmed. “I promise it’s at least edible.”
Fluttershy and Twilight looked at each other nervously, nodding and biting into the wobbly mass that Boltsinger created. Something about it felt interesting as they tasted it. It was squishy, wobbly, and yet delicious.
“So, how is it?” Boltsinger asked, looking hopefully at them.
“I wouldn’t call it… a ‘meal’...” Twilight replied. “It tastes fine, but… I don’t know…
“Let’s call it ‘dessert before the meal!’” Fluttershy suggested, receiving a nod from Twilight.
“Yes! That’s what I meant!” the Alicorn stated, earning a laugh from the room’s occupants.
After dinner, Boltsinger had gone into the kitchen to try and help with the dishes. Fluttershy, Twilight, and Starlight had gathered in the foyer as the Pegasus made preparations to leave.
“I can’t believe it never occurred to me how much we take something as amazing as a horn or a set of wings for granted.” Starlight told the two.
“It gets pretty bad. I’ve seen what happens when a Unicorn's horn gets broken.” Twilight added, thinking back on a previous encounter. “The lengths that she went to… It’s scary just thinking about it.”
“At least she found her place.” Fluttershy concluded. “I just can’t believe that Boltsinger thought he was so helpless without his wings.”
“You have no idea.” a deep voice called from the hall. Boltsinger emerged from the inner part of the castle, waving at the mares. “I didn’t even stop to think of anything else. Now that I’m actually doing things, it feels pretty silly.” He came up to the other two winged ponies in the room, hugging them simultaneously. “Thank you both for your help. I don’t think I would have even tried if you hadn’t encouraged me.”
Fluttershy’s face turned a light pink at the contact. She brought up a foreleg, putting it gingerly around his shoulder. “I was happy to help. And I hope your wings heal up soon.”
“I’m not in as much of a hurry anymore.” He informed her, pulling away. “Besides, learning from both of you at once was a lot of fun!” He beamed, turning quickly into a wince as he instinctively tried to flutter his wings. “I hope we can do it again soon.”
“I’d really like that.” Twilight stated, checking on the stallion’s wings. She saw nothing wrong and patted him on the back, looking over at Fluttershy. “What do you think?”
“As long as you need me, I’ll be there!” She responded confidently.
“So, what happened in the kitchen? Weren’t you helping with the dishes?” Twilight inquired.
“Spike kicked me out. I wasn’t exactly all that ‘helpful’ in there.” he admitted. Boltsinger’s face perked up in a sort of ‘aha’ moment. “Oh, and Fluttershy, before you go, I need to talk to you about something.” he put his foreleg around her, walking outside the castle as Twilight and Starlight looked on, more than a little befuddled.
“I thought he was done hiding his plans from you…” Starlight pointed out.
“Me, too…” Twilight confirmed, narrowing her eyes as Fluttershy gasped in the distance.