//------------------------------//
// Ready Or Not 
// Story: One Bolt, Many Questions 
// by Boltsinger 
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Morning in Ponyville shimmered. Some would say it downright shined. In Boltsinger’s case, he would say that it sparkled. He woke up to the sun shining into the window, stretching and yawning. The previous day was quite the adventure. He sent Twilight on a scavenger hunt, but thanks to the nature of the clues he left, he had to be a couple steps ahead of them, eventually having to return home to help Sunburst watch the tiny toddler that was Flurry Heart. At the end of it all, he finally asked the biggest question he would ever ask. He presented his special somepony with a diamond ring, and offered to spend the rest of his life with her, which she happily accepted. They were officially engaged, and he could hardly believe it.
He sat up, stroking the mane of the mare next to him as he got out of bed. “So… what’s next?”





Starlight Glimmer was wondering the same thing as she walked through the halls towards the dining room. Boltsinger wasn’t the only one with a big question boiling in the back of the mind to ask Twilight. She had at least started to ask her yesterday, but she was so into finding that clue that she glossed over it and suggested talking about it later.
“Well, it’s most certainly ‘later’...” She told herself as she descended the stairs. She could smell something delicious coming from the kitchen, immediately brightening her mood as she sat at the table.
Spike came into the room, holding a plate that had some savory-smelling breakfast essentials grouped neatly together. He placed it in the center of the table, the guests of the castle coming in to join them.
“Good morning, Starlight.” Cadence greeted, taking a seat next to her. “How are you today?”
“To be honest, I’m nervous.” The Unicorn admitted. “I know yesterday was probably the happiest day of Twilight’s life… at least so far. And I don’t know if I want to talk to her about… what I want.” She directed her gaze towards Sunburst, who was setting a jar of food in front of Flurry’s high chair. “I want to take a ‘big step', too, you know…”
“I understand. He’s been talking about it back home.” The Crystal Princess affirmed, directing her own gaze at the stallion. “I don’t think I’ve ever seen him so excited.”
Starlight smiled, resting her head on her hoof, then let out a sigh as Spike placed her plate in front of her. “I just need to talk to her about it.” She floated a fork, poking at her food. “I think she understands what I meant. But I don’t know. Have you ever felt like a third wheel around other ponies?” After a moment, Cadence busted out laughing, putting her foreleg against her stomach. Everypony in the room looked at her antics, confused. “Yeah, I thought it might be a silly question… I mean, you’re a Princess. Nopony has ever made you feel that way, huh?”
Cadence’s laughter died down. “No, that’s not it at all…” she stated, opening her eyes. “Starlight, do you know how close Twilight and Shining Armor were back when we were foals?” Starlight shook her head. “Those two were inseparable. I was Twilight’s foal-sitter, and Shining Armor was always doing his own thing, so I thought being with them together for the first time was going to be a real treat.” Shining Armor sat next to the mares, giving an embarrassed smile. “But half the time, it felt like they didn’t even know I was there! It wasn’t until I’d been spending time with the two of them regularly that I was able to find my place with them.”
“So even you had that issue?” Starlight wondered.
Cadence gave a curt nod. “Of course. What brought this subject on?”
“Well, I’ve spent plenty of time with both Twilight and Boltsinger, but whenever they’re together, they change a little. It’s been like that ever since they got together, and it makes me feel… left out. Especially now that I have a special somepony of my own…” she cast another glance over at Sunburst, letting out a swooning sigh. “I feel out of place here, now… And I want to spend more time with the pony I love… I’m just worried that Twilight might not be ready for me to leave…”
“Well, that’s why you’re going to talk with her, isn’t it?” the Alicorn inquired. “I’m sure she’ll understand your reasoning.” Starlight took a bite of her meal, slipping into the distraction that was breakfast as she nodded in agreement.
Boltsinger walked into the room, taking a seat at the table with a smile on his face. “Good morning, everypony.” he said with a slight yawn, looking around. “How are you doing?” He was met with general statements of good fortune, finally falling upon Starlight. “And what about you?”
“It’s nothing.” she told him, taking another bite. “I’ve just got a lot on my mind right now.”
“Okay.” he replied, his eyes filled with understanding. “Well, I was hoping to get a word in with you later, if you don’t mind.”
“I actually need to talk with you and Twilight, too.” she agreed. "It’s something… important.”
“All right. But first, I think you should spend some time with Sunburst.” he mentioned, pointing a wing at the robed Unicorn. “You don’t see him anywhere near enough.” He gathered up some breakfast, giving Spike a thankful nod and digging in.
Starlight let out a nervous laugh, trotting over to Sunburst. You’ve got that right...





Standing on the platform at the Ponyville train station. Twilight, Starlight, and Boltsinger waved as the Friendship Express left. Starlight held a somber expression, lingering on the edge as the other two ponies turned to leave.
Boltsinger looked back, motioning a wing to beckon her along. “Hey, Starlight! We’re going to the cafe. You want to join us?”
Starlight was brought out of her trance, turning to see her winged friends. “Oh! Yeah… Let’s go!” She trotted over to them, taking a spot between the two. “We still need to have our talk, after all.”
Minutes later, the three ponies sat at a table outside. Twilight had pulled out a large scroll with a quill and inkwell, jotting down various things.
“So, I know you’ve already got a lot set up, and I’m ecstatic about your choices! I couldn’t have made better ones, myself!” She started, lifting the paper up and looking at it more. “But there’s still a lot to plan for. This is an important ceremony, after all!”
“Yes, it is.” Boltsinger affirmed, gently pushing the parchment down with a foreleg. “But I think Starlight has something to say.”
Twilight lifted her head, looking between the two of them. “Oh? What do you need?”
Starlight recoiled slightly, not expecting to have the spotlight so quickly. “Um… Are you sure? Shouldn’t we… I dunno… eat first?” Twilight and Boltsinger simply looked at them with vested interest. Their smiles were genuine and their purple eyes pierced into her very being. She could hardly take just how pure they both looked. “Okay, fine! Twilight, do you remember the conversation we had yesterday in the gem cave?”
Twilight thought for a moment. “The one about fixing a problem?” she guessed.
“Yes, that.” The pink Unicorn confirmed. “Do you know what I was referring to back then?”
“Well… You said you don’t spend enough time with Sunburst,” she began, stewing some more. “and that’s what you wanted to fix… How often do you want to see him?”
Starlight took a deep breath, staring at Twilight with a serious face. “As often as you see Bolt.” she clarified, pointing at the stallion. “I want to see him every single day.”
Twilight’s eyes grew wide as she wrapped her mind around what she just heard. “Oh… I see… Well, we could have Sunburst move into the castle with us!”
“Um… Twilight, I don’t know if having him move in is really possible.” Boltsinger interjected, putting a hoof on his fiancee’s shoulder. “He’s got some pretty big responsibilities as Crystaller in the Empire…”
“He’s right…” Starlight stated, offering her own hoof. “He wouldn’t be able to move to Ponyville. I would have to… well…”
Twilight lunged towards Starlight, putting her hooves on her shoulders. “But you can’t move out! I don’t know if I’m ready for that!”
“It’s not about whether or not you’re ready!” Starlight retorted, anger building up and starting to billow out of her horn. She stood up from her seat on her hind legs, pulling her mentor’s forelegs away and gesturing to herself. “I’ve been with Sunburst for almost as long as you’ve been with Bolt, and while we do have good times together, whenever he’s not around, I always feel like the third wheel!” She panted for a moment, calming down. “It’s nothing against either of you… After all, I egged him on towards making a move for you… I just… I want to go and be with him, is all…”
Twilight’s mouth hung open as her friend sat back down. She looked at the Unicorn mare and the Pegasus stallion, getting an idea for what she was talking about. “I… I think I understand. Can I think this over for a while?”
Starlight let out a calming breath, the anger flowing back into her horn as she regained her composure. “Of course. I’m sorry I yelled at you.” She looked over at Boltsinger. “So, what was it you wanted to talk about?”
Boltsinger was in a similar daze to what Starlight had experienced earlier, his eyes wide and his mouth hanging open. “Huh? What?” he started, snapping out of it. “Oh, that’s not important right now. Not after what just went down. I’ll talk to you about that later. Now where are those hay fries? I’m starving!”





Starlight walked behind the castle, coming up on a wagon that shook with activity. As she stepped up to it, the door opened, and Trixie stumbled out, her horn digging into the dirt. She pulled herself up from the ground, looking fairly disgruntled.
“Hi, Trixie.” Starlight greeted, offering a hoof to help her friend up.
“Hey, Starlight…” the illusionist responded, accepting the help.
Starlight examined her best friend’s expression. Her eyebrows were as low as they could get, and her muzzle showed a tight and distinctive frown. “What’s going on that’s got you so… mad?”
“I’m leaving Ponyville!” The blue mare declared. “Nopony in this town ever remembers any of my grrrreat and powerful feats! All they ever talk about is how I’m your friend, and that you’re Twilight’s protege!” She reached into her wagon, pulling out a jeweled pink heart medal. “Do they even care that we won medals for our own selfless heroism that nopony asked us to do?”
“I’ll admit a lot of ponies tend to forget that stuff pretty quickly.” Starlight admitted. “But, that’s something you’ll find pretty much everywhere in Equestria.” She sat on the ground next to her fellow Unicorn, wrapping a hoof around her. “Well, if it makes you feel any better… I’m probably leaving Ponyville, too.”
Surprise filled the magician’s face, her head jerking into place to gawk at her much more magical friend. “WHAT?!” she cried, using her magic to turn Starlight’s head to face her. “What do you mean? I was going to leave, but that doesn’t mean you have to! I’ll always come back to visit you!”
Starlight laughed, giving her a reassuring hoof. “Relax. It’s not because you’re leaving. I have my own reasons.” she went on to explain the situation in detail. Trixie swooned at the idea of Starlight going to live happily ever after with Sunburst, then made a face like she was going to be sick upon hearing the news of the recent engagement.
“So, you’d be living in the Crystal Empire, then?” Trixie inquired. Starlight gave a nod, looking up at the clouds. “Well, then, I know where my new home base is going to be!” She dove into her wagon, reappearing in her hat and cape. “Those Crystal Ponies won’t know what hit them! The grrrrreat and powerful TRIXIE is on her way!!!”
Starlight smiled, giving Trixie a surprise hug before turning to leave. “Thanks, Trix. I’ll see you later.”
She rounded the perimeter of the castle’s roots, opening the door and making her way into the foyer. The structure lit up with her hoofsteps, as if it was happy to see her. She felt a distinct warmth as she looked around. No other place had made her feel so welcome.
This place has been my home for a long time, now… she thought. I’m really going to miss it. But I have another home, now, too, and I really want to be there! Besides, it’s not like I’ll never see this place again! She headed up the stairs, making for the hallway towards her room. But, that’s if a certain somepony is willing to let me go at all...  As Starlight stepped into her room, distracted by her own thoughts, she felt a body bump into her. She stopped for a moment, looking ahead to see just what was going on.
Standing in a much emptier than before bedroom, was Twilight. She had a sorrowful yet understanding look on her face as Boltsinger took a box from atop the bed and placed it next to several others that had a bunch of kites leaning against them. Twilight stepped closer to her protege, taking a deep breath.
“Starlight…” she began, still sounding uncertain. “I’ve decided to go along with your plans to…” she somberly closed her eyes as she paused. “... leave…” She opened her eyes with a renewed vigor, looking intently on the pony she was most proud of. “You were right. It’s not about whether or not I’m ready for you to leave. You’ve already made up your mind, which means you’re ready. I’ve come up with every excuse I can think of to get you to stay, or to convince myself that the worst would happen… But none of that is up to me…”
Boltsinger nodded as he moved the next box. “She really did. I swear I heard at least fifty worst-case scenarios through it all!”
Twilight stepped ever-closer to Starlight. “I just… don’t want my friend to leave me behind…”
Starlight’s entire being warmed at the Princess’ words. She leaned in close and pulled Twilight in for a hug. “I could never leave you behind!” She stated, pulling back slightly. “If anything, I’m the one that has some catching up to do!” She pointed her hoof at the stallion in the room. “Twilight, you’re engaged! Getting married! You have so much of life’s wonders ahead of you, and a special partner to share them with! You don’t need some third wheel around, getting in your way. Especially when that wheel fits so perfectly on another wagon.”
Twilight gave her a soft smile, directing her eyes to the ring still sitting at the base of her horn. She thought fondly on what her friend had said, looking puzzlingly back at the mare. “You felt like a third wheel with us?” she asked. Starlight gave a sheepish nod of confirmation. “I’m sorry! We never thought of you that way, I promise!”
“After all, how can my Best Mare possibly be the third wheel in our friendship?” Boltsinger added, coming up and putting a wing around each of them. Twilight and Starlight took on mirrored versions of the same wide-eyed shock as they slowly turned their heads to face the slyly smirking stallion.
“You want me to…” Starlight started, pointing to herself.
“You want her to…” Twilight mirrored, pointing to Starlight.
“... be your BEST MARE?!?!” They finished in unison, shaking the room a bit.
“Well, who else would I pick?” he reasoned, shrugging. “We were able to openly talk about our individual romantic scenarios from a perspective of common ground.” He turned his gaze to Twilight. “She always egged me on to connect with you, and I kinda did the same for her and Sunburst.” He moved to face Starlight. “You’re always good for some calm advice and are great to hang out with. Plus I’ve always had your support! I can’t think of a single pony better suited for the role!”
Twilight let out a gleeful giggle, hugging her student once again. “Neither can I!” She declared. “So you’d better come back to visit often, okay?”
Starlight gave her royal friend a confident smile. “Of course!”