One Bolt, Many Questions

by Boltsinger

Unexpected Company

A knock came at the door to the castle, emanating throughout the structure. It repeated several times, slow and deliberate as the Princess of Friendship got up from the work she was doing. She lit up her horn to try and teleport there, but each rap at the door broke her concentration. She grew increasingly frustrated as the knocking panged at her eardrums, her pace starting to match the sound. After a minute of walking through the foyer, she finally reached the door, encasing it in her magic.

“Yes! I hear you!” She shouted, swinging the door open wide. She jutted her head forward, an annoyed look on her face. “What do you want?!”

In the doorway stood a grey-coated mare with a turned-up nose that Twilight had last seen in a memory provided by Boltsinger. “Well, that’s not a very friendly greeting, now is it, Princess?” she teased, walking past the Alicorn and into the castle. Twilight gawked at her as she sauntered by, turning to look back at her. “What’s wrong? Were you expecting somepony else?”

“Dimming Sparks?!” Twilight started, her head rearing back as her eyes grew wide. She squinted, turning to face the pony with her head low. “What are you doing here?”

“Just ‘Sparks’, please.” She replied, looking sternly at the Princess. “Anyway, I’ve heard such good things about Ponyville, I thought I’d pay it a visit.” She walked farther into the castle. “Is my ‘brother-in-law’ home, by any chance?”

“He’s not home at the moment.” Twilight informed her, trotting past the Unicorn. “Somepony somewhere needed his help, so he took off not long ago. I still don’t know where just yet.” She opened the door to the throne room, seeing Boltsinger’s Cutie Mark floating above it, moving rapidly to the southeast.

“You mean he just took off, knowing that somepony needed help?” Sparks asked in disbelief. “That sounds preposterous… Nopony is that noble!”

Twilight huffed at her unexpected guest, sitting in her throne in as proper a manner as she could manage. “He doesn’t have control over when it happens. His wings do it on their own, and he helps whoever might need him when he lands.”

Sparks squinted at the mark hovering above the map. “I see… Well, then, I guess you are going to show me around, aren’t you?”

Twilight’s gazed snapped in Sparks’ direction. “What?! No, you’re leaving my castle. Right now.”

“Now is that any way to treat a guest, Princess Twilight?” the Unicorn teased, walking past the Alicorn’s throne in her slow but deliberate manner. “You’d think the one meant to spread the ‘magic of friendship’ across Equestria would be more welcoming.”

The Princess in question rose from her seat, walking over to the intruding pony with a fierce look in her eyes. “I’m perfectly welcoming to anypony who is open to the idea of friendship.” she explained, lighting up her horn. “But somepony like you, who has put somepony important to me through so much grief, I have no patience for!” She lifted the Unicorn with her magic, making her way back towards the already-open front door.

Sparks’ own horn lit up, cancelling out the magenta aura surrounding her. She fell to the floor and shot Twilight a smug look. “But I haven’t wronged you in any way, have I?” She trotted up close to the lilac pony, turning her head playfully. “It’s true, my husband did attack your… um… is he your boyfriend?” She faked a confused look. “But I only pulled him away after the whole debacle. You’ve no reason to despise me, so. And certainly no reason to be anything less than the Princess you are with everypony else. You have a reputation to uphold, after all.” She walked behind Twilight, turning and speaking into her ear. “Set an example for all the… lesser ponies.”

Twilight could feel the anger boiling up inside her, but she could see the argument this mare had made at the same time. She brought a hoof up over her heart, taking a deep breath, then let the breath out as she extended her foreleg out. “You’re right. I don’t have a reason to be unfriendly.” she agreed, turning around with a smile. “Thank you for reminding me of that. Now, you said you wanted a tour of Ponyville?”

“Yes. That would be delightful.” Sparks confirmed, making for the door. “I’m glad you can see reason, Princess Twilight.”

Twilight flew past the Unicorn, landing in front of her with a trot in her step. “But you were wrong about at least one thing in your argument.” She informed her.

“Oh? And what’s that?” Sparks wondered, keeping pace with Twilight.

“There’s no such thing as ‘lesser ponies’.” Twilight stated, spreading her wings regally. “I’m a Princess, but that only means I have a responsibility to everypony. They don’t owe me anything.” She held her head high as she continued. “It’s my honor and privilege to be a Princess and spread friendship across Equestria!” She turned her head to look slyly back at Sparks. “Something you could use in spades.”

Sparks let out her own conceited huff, picking up her pace. “I have friends. They’re useful to me, and I repay them with the occasional favor as well!”

“Is that what you think friendship is about? Favors?” Twilight inquired, matching Sparks’ acceleration. The two of them quickly found themselves in Ponyville proper, where Twilight veered over to head for Sugar Cube Corner.

“Well, what else would it be about? Ponies are only ever friendly when they want something from you!” the Unicorn explained, not seeing the building they were trotting into. “Like that babbling pink mare that pestered my husband! All for some insignificant date! Flitting about throwing pointless parties for ponies that don’t even matter!”

“Who doesn’t matter?” a squeaky voice called from behind the counter. Sparks jumped, turning to look at the source of the voice, where Pinkie Pie stood behind the register. “Hi, Twilight! Hi Sparks!” she greeted, waving an enthusiastic foreleg. “What brings you to Ponyville?”

“That’s what I was wondering…” Twilight mumbled, floating a toy from the nearby toy box over to the Cake twins.

“Nopony of import.” Sparks retorted, donning her typical smug expression. “You are….”

“Pinkie Pie! I’m the one you were just talking to Twilight about!” Pinkie offered a hoof in introduction. Sparks placed a reluctant hoof on the outstretched one, pulling it back just as soon as contact was made. “All I wanted to know was my friend’s birthday, you know. And it was one of the best parties ever!” She rambled on for several minutes, talking about all of the preparations she had made, and how even the Royal Sisters managed to RSVP. Sparks grew more and more bored as the party pony plentifully prattled on pertaining to particular presents and presences. She turned to leave, tugging on Twilight’s wing with her magic to attempt to get the Alicorn to follow.

“Bye, Pinkie!” Twilight said, reluctantly following the grey mare outside. She trotted ahead of Sparks, looking at the huffy mare as they went. “So, you said that friendship was all about favors… Haven’t you ever just had them over to simply enjoy each other’s company?”

“Nopony has ever wanted to ‘just enjoy my company’. They only ever wanted my help with some benign task.” Sparks replied, looking away. “So I learned how to get my own level of influence. Be the one getting the help instead of providing it for nothing. I’ll do something for those most useful to me, but when somepony isn’t worth my time, I let them know. Once they get the message, things always improve.”

Twilight’s face sank to a degree. She was fairly certain she’d never met anypony with this twisted of an idea of friendship. “And you’ve never given any thought to how you might improve their lives? Just how they can serve you?”

“I don’t understand why this confuses you so much.” Sparks retorted. “It’s how the world works! Everypony for herself! I’m just looking out for the most important pony in my life.”

Twilight groaned as quietly as she could, turning to Rarity’s boutique. The mares passed through the front door, sounding the bell as the proprietor of the establishment made her appearance.

“Welcome to the Carousel Boutique, where everything is chic, unique, and magnifique!” She greeted in her traditional way, opening her eyes. “Oh, Twilight! What a pleasure!” She stepped forward to escort her guest inside, noticing another mare with her friend. “Oh, and who might…” Slowly, but surely, she recognized the mare. “...you be…” She pulled Twilight aside, raising her muzzle to the Princess’ ear. “What is she doing in my boutique? Or in Ponyville, for that matter?!”

“I don’t know!” Twilight admitted. “She just showed up out of nowhere and wanted to be shown around!” She looked at the grey mare, who was looking around at the outfits. “I thought… maybe we could give her a taste of what real friendship is like… Maybe it would help her attitude?”

“Twilight, this is the pony that nearly broke Boltsinger’s spirit entirely…” Rarity pointed out. “Are you sure you want to extend your hoof in friendship to her?”

“She doesn’t have to be our friend.” Twilight corrected. “She just needs to open her mind.”

“You do realize that I’m right here, don’t you?” Sparks called out. “Why don’t you show me around your... “ She cleared her throat. “Quaint… little shop?”

Rarity smiled and stepped over to the mare. “Of course, dear. We have several outfits by all the best up and coming designers in Equestria! Myself included, of course. If you see anything you like, feel free to let me know!” She walked with Sparks through the shop, highlighting various outfits.

“Why do you do this… business… anyway?” Sparks inquired. “It seems frivolous.”

“I’m not quite sure what you mean, dear. I do it because I love to do it.” The fashionista stated. “I do all I can to make myself look and feel fabulous already, so why not help other ponies to do the same?”

The grey mare lifted a few outfits with her magic, looking them over. “I guess I can understand that. It does earn you a profit, after all.”

“Oh, I’m not in it for the money.” Rarity corrected. “Certainly, I have to charge customers to keep all three of my shops afloat and pay employee wages, but that's not the real purpose behind my couture.”

“Why else would you even run a business?” Sparks interjected. “If not for your own personal wealth, then what’s the point?”

“I already told you why. I simply love to make other ponies look and feel fabulous!” She continued, making a grand gesture with her foreleg. “The best part of my work is seeing how a pony lights up once they see a style that truly speaks to them! It’s why I almost never make the same thing twice, unless it’s a special order of some kind.”

Sparks squinted at the dresses. “I see…” She dropped them back on the hanger, turning away and slapping them with her tail. “No wonder all of these ‘outfits’ are so… gaudy.” She looked Rarity in the eye, her horn lighting up. “You really should consider a new line of work…”

Rarity gasped, taken aback by the suggestion as a flash of green began building up in her eyes. Her mouth hung open for a few moments as the intruding color made its way up her eyes. A purple light began to shine around her as her expression soured. She stood firm and faced the mare, the green in her eyes shattering as she stepped forward. “Well, if you’re just going to stand in my boutique and insult me and my work, then I suppose you’ve no need to remain!” She stomped over to the door, opening it with an angrily lit horn. “I’m afraid I must ask you to leave!”

Sparks looked at Rarity, her mouth hanging open as the magic in her horn died down. “I… suppose I will…” She said, making for the exit in her slow and deliberate manner. “This place is giving me a headache anyway…”

Rarity walked over to Twilight, still looking at the rude guest. “I’m sorry, Twilight, but I just can’t let my passion and generosity be insulted, so!”

“I understand, Rarity.” Twilight told her, making for the exit herself. “I’m gonna stay close and see what it is she’s after.” Rarity nodded, turning to return to her work.

---

The walk through Ponyville was a silent one. Sparks seemed to be suffering from a headache ever since her conversation with Rarity. Twilight had decided not to bring her guest to see Rainbow Dash or Fluttershy. Dash was likely to attack the Unicorn, while Fluttershy would most definitely be scared out of her mind. She was headed for the home of the friend she had that would be able to take everything Sparks had in store, being courteous, yet honest at the same time. She smiled to herself as they came to the top of a hill on a dirt road, a familiar red barn showing in the distance.

“This will be the last stop on your Ponyville tour, Sparks!” Twilight announced, spreading her wings with a big smile. “Sweet Apple Acres!”

Sparks huffed, trotting past the Alicorn with a bored expression and whipping Twilight on the muzzle with her tail. “A farm? Like the Pear farm back home? I’ve seen them before, you know.”

“Just trust me on this.” Twilight flapped her wings, flying ahead of the Unicorn. “You can learn a lot from the ponies that live here!”

Sparks scoffed, cantering to keep up with the flying pony towards the farm. “She sure does like to flaunt those wings of hers, doesn’t she?”

Moments later, Twilight came to a landing and led her guest the rest of the way there, where Applejack was bucking trees in the fields. She picked up a number of apple-filled buckets, her eyes widening as she noticed her friend.

“Well, howdy, Twilight!” She called out, strapping on the harness to a hauling wagon and trotting up next to the Alicorn. “How’re ya doin’ today?”

“I’m… okay.” Twilight replied. “I’ve been giving a tour of Ponyville.” She motioned to Sparks, who had the most sour face the farm pony had ever seen.

Applejack squinted at the Unicorn, then looked at Twilight with a smile. “Well, I’d be happy ta show y’all around!” She directed her attention back at the new guest. “Yer… uh… Dimmin’ Sparks, right?”

“Just ‘Sparks, please.” She corrected. “I’m guessing your name has the word ‘apple’ in it somewhere, right? This is the farm that the Pears moved all the way to Vanhoover to get away from, after all.”

“You bet yer boots I’m an Apple!” She confirmed, swinging her foreleg in front of her. “Name’s Applejack! It’s a pleasure to make yer acquaintance!”

Sparks scoffed, trotting faster towards the barn. “I suppose it is.” She looked around at the trees. “So where are your workers? Don’t you have ponies to pick all these apples for you?”

“Only hired help we got is Bolt.” The work horse informed her. “This, here, is a family operation!” She motioned to the orchard, where Big Mac and Apple Bloom were working together to buck trees. “It’s a labor of love, fer the most part. I mean, we gotta make sales to keep the farm floatin’ along like we do. But we do it all ourselves!” Twilight cleared her throat, causing a faint blush to appear on Applejack’s face. “With help from honorary family, o' course.”

“But wouldn’t it go so much faster if you hired more ponies to do the work?” Sparks inquired.

“Well, that’d take away from the care we put into it all!” Applejack continued as they reached the barn. “We pride ourselves in providin’ nuthin’ but the best gosh-darn apples in all of Equestria! An’ we do it by makin’ sure every single apple we use is the highest quality! It takes a trained eye to get it just right, an’ Granny Smith ain’t got the patience to teach anypony how ta do it!”

“Don’t you just throw away the rotten ones?” The Unicorn retorted, looking at the apples in the Earth Pony’s wagon.

“Now that’s jus’ the first step!” An elderly mare cried out from inside the barn. Granny Smith walked over to the group, eyeing the new face suspiciously. “Sumthin’ about you seems familiar…” She brought her face close to the mare’s upturned muzzle. “Y’all related to Spoiled Rich ‘r sumthin’?”

“I beg your pardon?!” Sparks asked, backing away from the older pony. “What could possibly make you think that?!”

“Sumthin’ about ya seems… all stuck up.” Granny stated. Twilight and Applejack snickered at the old mare’s remark.

Sparks reared up, taking steps back and landing with her head low. “I didn’t come to this pathetic town to be insulted!”

“Pathetic?!” Twilight repeated, her face turning sour. “What makes Ponyville so ‘pathetic’?”

Sparks glared at Twilight, stepping up to face her muzzle-to-muzzle. “All anypony in this town ever does is fool around trying to make friends! And whenever they do have something they’re passionate about, it’s either tedious, frivolous, or flat-out stupid! And for the most insane reasons! And worst of all, nopony here ever listens to anything I have to say! How does such a po-dunk town with ponies like all of you change that thing so much that my husband starts questioning me?!”

Twilight’s gaze remained unflinching as she regally flared her wings. “I’ve listened to every word you’ve said, no matter how much it pained me to do so. Your problem is that you’ve barely even heard what we’ve told you! Communication is a two-way system, and so far you’ve only questioned the way we live without even trying to hear the answers!”

“I’m not after ‘communication’!” Sparks declared, the magic of her horn flaring to life. “I want each and every one of you to do what I say and GET OUT OF MY WAY!” Her horn loosed a bright flash of green light, putting Granny Smith into a daze as auras of orange and magenta shone around Twilight and Applejack. “Brightling fell for me and married me because I’m worth it… Boltsinger backed off and left town because I’m worth it! Everypony in Vanhoover listened to me because I’m the only pony who’s ever been WORTH IT!!! Just like my mother said! Nopony else is worth it! It’s everypony for herself in this world!!!”

Twilight’s eyes went from angry to sad in that one instant. “I’m sorry you took your mother’s lessons that way…” she began. “I can’t imagine what could have happened that drove you to think like this… But none of us were ever in your way. If Brightling started to question you, then it’s because he learned from Pinkie Pie’s perspective of his little brother and wanted to find out more. Maybe if you opened your mind some more, you’d see that the way you’ve seen the world might not be the only possible way.”

Applejack nodded, helping Granny Smith from her daze. “Maybe if you listened a little more, y’all would find out there’s more t’ life than just servin’ yer own aims, and that real, honest friendship feels a whole heck of a lot better ‘n just bein’ sour all the time!”

Sparks glared into the sad eyes of the Princess in front of her, her face unintentionally softening. She backed away, looking between the two glowing mares with panicked eyes. “I just… I don’t understand you ponies… I… I need to leave!!!” She let out another bright flash from her horn, temporarily blinding everypony else. They heard the sound of galloping as their eyes re-adjusted.

Twilight squinted, trying to spot the dark-toned mare. “Well that was rude.” she pointed out, seeing her silhouette running into the distance.

“Maybe she just couldn’t take some good old-fashioned advice?” Applejack suggested, tending to Granny Smith. “Well, it’s her loss, I guess.”

“I guess so…” the Alicorn agreed, watching her disgruntled guest as she fled. “At first, she seemed completely insufferable… But once I actually heard her perspective, she seemed…”

“Completely insufferable?” the farm pony deadpanned.

“Okay, she didn’t change…” the Princess confirmed. “But I think I see why Boltsinger still has hope for his brother… If his wife can at least learn to listen to him.”

Comments

[Fresnor]

Calling it now, Chrysalis' daughter or something like that.

[Boltsinger]

8677125
Would you believe me if I told you that even I'm not sure as of yet?

[Amos Anon]

Nice. A slow, step by step redemption story (or complete betrayal. I've yet to see how this is going to end.)