//------------------------------// // You Need A *BZZT* Break // Story: One Bolt, Moving Forward // by Boltsinger //------------------------------// Twilight sat in the throne room, stamping papers, writing responses to letters asking for advice, and overall duties that befall a Princess. Flash sat by the door in full armor, doing his due diligence as per usual. The Princess had made significant headway in her work, the piles quickly switching sizes, but she had to admit she was getting remarkably tired. As the last of the papers hit the stack, galloping hoofsteps were heard beyond the door. “TWILIGHT!” Boltsinger called, nearly throwing the door open with so much force that the completed stack flew apart. “Important thing! Come with me! Now!” Twilight lit her horn, catching the papers with a now-practiced grace and stacking them again. She looked over at the stallion, letting some worry cross her muzzle. “What’s wrong? Is everything okay?” Boltsinger ran up to the mare, pushing her from behind. “You’ll see! It’s super important! Just trust me on this!” “Okay! Calm down!” she told him, moving to a trot. He jumped over her, beginning to lead her down the hall with a goofy grin etched onto his muzzle. They made their way through the familiar halls, finally finding themselves in coming upon the door to the master bedroom. “What’s in here that’s so ‘super important’?” “Just this.” he responded, kicking the door with one of his hind legs. The door opened to reveal the bedroom in a state that looked ready for a long, uninterrupted stay. Twilight entered the room, looking around curiously. “And this is…?” Boltsinger stood beside her. “You are stressed.” he said, putting his hoof on her side. “I am stressed.” He pointed to himself with the same hoof. “I think that both of us…” He motioned his hoof to indicate both of them. “... could really use a break. Especially since this little one…” He put his hoof on Twilight’s belly, where he felt an electrical discharge. “... is likely to add to that stress. We have books, we have food, we have a comfy bed overflowing with pillows. So, our ‘schedule’ for today is this.” He brought forth a parchment with a single sentence written on it. Twilight leaned in, gripping the parchment with her magic and beginning to read. “Stay in bed, read books, talk, nap, and otherwise be comfortable… all day long.” She lowered the paper, where a pair of purple eyes pleaded with her. “Sounds like a perfect day.” Boltsinger squeed, excitedly flaring his wings and turning towards the bed. “Great! ‘Cause I’ve been looking forward to just relaxing with my favorite mare for a we--" “Princess Twilight! There’s a crisis in Ponyville!” a pony’s voice called from the hallway. Boltsinger froze in place, his grin stiffening as his eye twitched. “Crisis? What kind of crisis?” “There’s a monster attacking Ponyville!” the pony answered. Twilight gasped, immediately turning to the door. “I’m sorry, Bolt. I just have to take care of this!” she told him, galloping out the door. “I’ll be back as soon as this is taken care of!” Boltsinger’s head dropped faster than a clashing outfit in Rarity’s closet. “Yeah… Yeah… Go deal with the monster…” he said.After a few seconds, his eyes opened again. “Wait… MONSTER?!” He broke into a gallop of his own, speeding down the hallway as fast as he could. This is not stress-relief! This is excess stress at the very least! I promise you now… With Celestia as my witness, you are going to have a relaxing day of snuggles and books! And I swear I’m going to do everything in my power to make you SMILE!!! His thoughts lit a spark within him, causing a blue light to shine from his pendant, with the same color of lightning surging through his wings. As he crossed the castle’s threshold, he brought all of his hooves together, bouncing in a way he never thought possible, bounding high into the air, where he made a mighty flap of his wings and shot off towards Ponyville proper. Twilight Sparkle and her best friends stood firm, staring down a monstrous beast. It stood, cat-like, on all fours, black fur covering its body. It hunched over, fixing its yellow eyes on the heroines of Ponyville. Twilight turned to Fluttershy, a desperate look on her face. “Fluttershy, you’re an animal expert! Can you talk to it? Maybe calm it down?” Fluttershy shook her head, taking several shivering steps back. “I don’t think it’ll listen to me at this point! It’s so angry I can’t make out what it’s saying!” Twilight sighed, looking back at the savage creature. It let out a roar, blowing the hair back on all of the mares in front of it. “All right, then. We’re going to have to do this the hard way!” She took a confident step forward. “Ready girls?” Applejack, Rarity, Rainbow Dash, and Pinkie Pie stepped forward. “READY!” Twilight looked to Fluttershy again. In her spot was a settling cloud of dust with a few pink hairs floating to the ground. “Well, she’s gone… Oh, well.” She looked back at the monster, rearing up and kicking the air in front of her ferociously. “CHA--” “NNNNNNNNO!” Twilight stopped, letting her hooves fall back to the ground. “No? Who said that?” In that instant, her question was answered. Slammed into the side of the cat creature’s face was Boltsinger, furiously kicking with both of his hind legs. His wings were charged with blue electricity, with his pendant shining in the same color. “THIS IS OUR DAY! NO AT-TA-TA-TACK!!” Everypony's jaw dropped in that moment. The image of the creature’s face crumpling from the sharp impact of the stallion’s hooves etched itself into their memories. The strange moment became stranger still when the monster finally recoiled from the blow, as the flightless creature flew off into the distance  disappearing like the twinkling of a star. Boltsinger landed hard, kicking up a large dust cloud as the lightning continued to discharge from his wings. His breathing was heavy, and he seemed twitchier than usual. Twilight slowly approached him, unsure of what exactly was going on. “Boltsinger? Are you alright?” The stallion perked up with a jolt that ran through his whole body, putting a wide smile firmly on his face. “Twilight! I’m fine-fine-fine. Never been better! Abso-tively posi-lutely A-okay!” he told her, rigidly swinging his hoof. “The big monster problem has been taken care of! You ready to go home and unwind?” He twisted his wings together, letting them naturally unwind. Twilight’s lips turned upward slightly. She didn’t fully believe that he was ‘fine’. The sudden monster attack had put her in a heightened state of awareness. The lightning coming out of him didn’t look any different. But he certainly behaved-- “Um… Princess Twilight?” a filly started, tentatively stepping forward. “Can you help me out? My friends are having a big fight right now, and I don’t know what to do…” Twilight approached the filly with a tender look on her face. “Of course I can help… Bolt, I’m going to go help this--" As she turned to look at her spouse, he was gone, leaving little more than a faint electrical discharge where he stood. “Bolt?” She returned her attention to the little pony, extending her hoof. “Lead the way!” The filly nodded, taking the outstretched hoof and trotting back the way she came. They easily found their way to the park, where a baritone voice was heard giving a well-meaning lecture. “... And that’s why you shouldn’t let such a little thing get in the way of your friendship! A little compromise can go a long way, and your friendship is far more important than something this small, don’t you think?” “I agree!” the Princess stated, announcing her presence and walking towards the conversing ponies. “Whatever problem you might have, your friendship is strong enough to guide you through it!” “Princess Twilight!” the foals cheered, springing up and running over to the Alicorn. Twilight grinned, sitting down as the foals approached. “So, what seems to be the issue?” One of the foals hung his head. “We got into an argument over what we wanted to do today… I wanted to go to Sugar Cube Corner, ‘cause I think it’s the best place in all of Ponyville!” The other foal cleared her throat. “And I wanted to visit Sweet Apple Acres, because I think that’s the best in Ponyville!” Twilight nodded to each of them. “Those are both great choices! But, you know, there’s a whole lot of day left. You could go to both places!” “That’s what he suggested!” the filly told her, pointing back towards the source of the voice. “He’s really smart, just like you!” Twilight looked in the indicated direction. “I’m sure he is, given what I--" When her eyes fell upon the spot he was supposedly sitting, there was nothing, save for a residual spark. “-- heard…” The colt turned to follow their gaze, tilting his head in confusion at the lack of ponies there. “Huh? Where did he go?” Twilight shook her head. “I don’t know… But, you should follow his advice. He definitely knows a thing or two about friendship!” “Um… excuse me, Princess Twilight?” a thick-accented mare called out. “Could you possibly come to spa? We are having… what you call it…? Big problem!” Twilight waved the three foals off, turning to face the pony she immediately recognized as one of the spa employees. “What kind of problem?” she asked, starting her walk towards the spa. The door to the spa opened, letting in the Princess as she wrapped her mind around the issue at hoof. “So, just the roar from the creature that attacked scared him to the point where he dropped every mane care product you have in one big pile?” “I am afraid so…” the employee confirmed, offering a sad smile. “I would handle sorting myself, but…” she gestured to the waiting room, which the Alicorn soon discovered was filled nearly to the brim with disheveled ponies. “We are quite busy.” “I… see.” Twilight said, looking around. “Well, I’ll do my best!” The spa pony smiled and nodded, returning to her position. “So, storage room… Let’s see what the damage is.” Twilight trotted through the building, waving to various ponies as she went. She quickly moved past the areas where the patrons would typically see, anticipating what she might find as she approached the door to the storage room. Inside, an orange and blue blur moved rapidly through the rapidly-organizing room. “And this one goes he-he-he-here, and thi-this one goes over here, and then this one goes…” the blur stopped, revealing Boltsinger as he put the bottle into place. “... here!” “Boltsinger?” Twilight started, slowly approaching him. She looked around the room, taking note of the way the room was arranged. “Did you… sort all of this yourself?” “Eeyu-u-up!” he replied with a sudden shake of his head. “Organized by size, sm-sm-smell, and POP-ularity!!” He flared his electrified wings, trying his best to strike a charming pose.  “So, what do you think? Ready to go home and unwind-unwind-unwind?” With each strange pronunciation or word repeat, his head jerked in such a way that it tilted to the side. Twilight furrowed her brow, approaching him with an extended wing. “Bolt, honey, are you okay?” His smile widened. “Of course! Just excited to go and take that break with you!” “Okay… We’ll do that soon… How did you know to come here, anyway?” she wondered, still inching forward. “Bolt sense!” he informed her. “Bolt sense? But you don’t have… a…” She trailed off, looking at his wings, then at his face, then at his blue-glowing pendant. In that moment, she realized just what had caused his current behavior. “I see… You’re channeling Pinkie, aren’t you?” “Channeling? Why would I be channeling? There’s no more cri-cri-crisis!” he reasoned, heading for the door. “I’m gonna double-check the town. See if there’s anything e-else going on.” Twilight lit her horn, pulling on his tail to keep him in place. “Not so fast, Jolty-Bolt. I wanna figure this out.” She encased his entire body in the glow of her magic, dragging him along with her as they left the spa, leaving a trail of electrical charges in the stallion’s wake. “Whichever aspect of Pinkie Pie you’re… accessing, it’s clearly messing with you, somehow.” She looked back at him, starting to feel a tingling in her horn. The best word she could use to describe what he was doing in her magical grip was ‘vibrating’. “I… think we should get some help!” Twilight held a vibrating Boltsinger in place in Zecora’s hut, the zebra looking over the Pegasus with curious eyes. “So you come to me wondering why this Bolt has ‘channeled’ Pinkie Pie?” “That’s right.” Twilight confirmed, working her way to sit in a nearby chair. “I don’t quite understand the situation.” Zecora began, turning to face the Princess. “Could you provide me with an explanation?” Twilight took a deep breath, recalling as much as she could. “So, sometime a couple years ago, when Boltsinger broke his wings. He’d finally come home and come to his senses after a bit of an emotional fiasco, and he touched the map.” “And then the map grabbed me by the lightning!” Boltsinger interjected, pulling out of the magic and standing on his hind legs, wings outstretched. “And it pulled on me over and over and over ‘till I was standing in the middle, where it made the lightning swirl all around me and then it knocked me over! We didn’t really know what it was doing, though.” Twilight moved the aura back into place, applying pressure on his back to calm him down. He figuratively melted into it, slumping over as the Alicorn continued. “Anyway, he’s right. We never found out why for the longest time, but over the past year, he seems to be showing a new kind of magic that connects him to the Elements. Under the right circumstances, namely when it’s needed most, he’s become prone to taking on some of the attributes of our friends. The typical sign is when his lightning comes out in a different color, usually the color of that friend’s Element of Harmony.” Boltsinger perked up again, but opted to remain in the magic. “Like when we were in the Crystal Empire and I smashed a couple of lances before they could hit Flurry! Or when we were in Baltimare and I helped Fluttershy calm a bunch of really scary creatures! Or the Ponyville Music Festival, or…” his mouth was forcibly shut, letting him ramble in a muffled voice. “But each time he does it, it takes everything he’s got.” Twilight explained further. “Using talents and magic he’s not used to takes a huge toll on him, so he generally passes out afterwards.” Zecora continued her examination, putting her hoof to her chin. “I see what you mean, but now I must ask… Why act like Pinkie Pie? And for what task?” “I just wanted to make sure Twilight got the brea-brea-brea--" He reached his hoof up, smacking himself in the head. “--BREAK that she deserves!” Zecora smiled, turning back towards the lilac mare. “So with all of the things that he’s opted to do, the entire time, his focus was you.” she said, pointing her hoof at Twilight. “I’m afraid this is something a potion can’t mend. For his condition, it’s time you must spend.” Twilight gave Boltsinger a wide-eyed stare, slowly working her way back up and stepping closer. “All of this just so that we can enjoy a lazy day in bed?” She released him from her magic, pulling him into a loving embrace. “You are the sweetest stallion I have ever met!” she declared, nuzzling his cheek affectionately. “I am not!” He retorted. “I’m not even made of sugar!” Twilight pulled back a moment, looking into his eyes with a teensy bit of shock on her face. He simply stared into her eyes with a rigid, yet goofy grin plastered onto his muzzle. She completely lost her composure, bursting into a fit of laughter as she clung to his neck. Boltsinger’s smile lost its rigidness, the light from his pendant beginning to fade as he held her close. “That’s all I needed to hear…” he told her, falling limp. Twilight strained a little, holding the Pegasus up as she re-ignited her horn. The stallion floated in the air above the mare, who gave their zebra friend a thankful nod. “Thanks for your help, Zecora. I think I can handle things from here.” Boltsinger groggily stirred from his slumber, trying to bring his wings forward to rub his temples and alleviate at least some of the headache that throbbed within. His left wing came with ease, but he found that his right wing wouldn’t cooperate. He tugged a little more, but couldn’t get it free. He opened his eyes, finding a mass of lilac fur with purple and pink mane hair laid on top of it covering his field of vision. He shuffled his forelegs, finding them wrapped around a familiar warm body. Finally realizing where he was, he squeezed the pony in front of him tight, blowing into the ear that just barely leaned in his direction. Twilight’s eyes shot open from the sudden sensation. She raised her head, looking around for the source. She heard a light chuckle behind her, prompting her to roll over and spot Boltsinger with a soft smile on his face. “Oh! You’re awake!” “And I was comfortable.” he replied, putting his hoof on her. “Get back over here.” Twilight giggled, rolling back into him with enough force to knock some of the wind out of him. He put his wings and forelegs around her again, resting his hoof on her pronounced baby bump. “I was a little worried today. It was the first time you’ve channeled Pinkie Pie.” “I channeled Pinkie Pie?” he repeated with a laugh. “I guess that explains the headache…” “Yeah. I’m used to you acting like whoever you’re channeling, but this was something else entirely!” Twilight elaborated. “You were so… glitchy!” Boltsinger’s brow furrowed immensely. “Really? I remember doing lots of things really fast, but… glitchy? I wonder why…” “Your guess is as good as mine.” she told him, shrugging. “I gave up on understanding anything Pinkie-related years ago!” Boltsinger smiled and drummed a little on his wife’s belly. “That’s probably for the best…”