One Bolt, Many Questions

by Boltsinger

Any Bright Ideas?

Apple Bloom, Scootaloo, and Sweetie Belle sat in the clubhouse for the Cutie Mark Crusaders, another client having her picture taken. They had just finished for the day, and were getting ready to head out.

“Another satisfied client!” Scootaloo announced, her head held high. “This feeling never gets old!”

“You said it, Scoot!” Apple Bloom agreed, opening the door. “I can’t wait to find out who we can help next!” She turned to Sweetie Belle, a hopeful look in her eye. “Any more cases today?”

Sweetie Belle floated a nearby clipboard in front of her, looking it over. “Not that I can see.” A strange noise began repeating itself in the fillies’ ears as the Unicorn put the clipboard aside. She looked at the flanks of her best friends, seeing their Cutie Marks light up with smaller versions of the same marks appearing around them and spreading outward. “But… maaaaaybe I hadn’t seen everything yet…”

Apple Bloom and Scootaloo gawked at the sight in disbelief. “Oh my gosh!” Scootaloo shouted, fluttering her wings and jumping into the air. “We’ve been called by the map!!!” The three of them bounced around excitedly.

“We got called by the ma-ap~” They repeated as they danced in circles. Before long, images of their Cutie Marks flew off of them, through the door.

“Wait a sec, Crusaders!” Apple Bloom started, stopping their celebration. “Maybe we should go see where it wants us to go before we celebrate!” Her friends nodded, turning to the door as the three of them galloped out as fast as they could.

---

Twilight and Boltsinger stared at the map, seeing a tri-colored shield with the individual symbols of the Cutie Mark Crusaders circling it hovering over a town they did not expect to send anypony, let alone fillies. Twilight hovered above the location, furrowing her brow and wondering if the map was on the fritz again. Boltsinger simply looked at the location, slack-jawed and wide-eyed.

“TWILIGHT!” a distinct drawl came from the foyer. “Didja see?!” Applejack ran into the room, the Cutie Mark Crusaders following behind her. “My sister an’ ‘er friends have been called by the map!”

Twilight landed by the table, looking back at her approaching friend as she skidded to a stop. “I see it, but I’m not sure how much I believe it.”

“What’s to believe?” Apple Bloom asked, putting her forelegs on the map. “Where’s it sendin’ us, anyway?”

Boltsinger used a foreleg to force his mouth shut as his eyes returned to normal. “There.” He said, pointing his wing at the town the marks hovered over.

Applejack followed the lead of the stallion’s wing, her jaw dropping as her eyes fell on the town in question. “Vanhoover?” She started, her head rearing back. “Why in Equestria would the map send three little fillies to the one town where we know somepony is likely ta try an’ attack them?”

“Wait, I gotta stop you there.” Boltsinger interjected. “I don’t think those three will be in any danger.”

“And why d’ya say that?” Applejack wondered, looking sternly at the stallion. “You’re the one that awful pony went ‘n attacked!”

“Yeah, and I’m somepony he really hates and honestly wants to pummel with in an inch of his life.” he explained, standing up and motioning to the CMC’s. “They are fillies, and when he’s not enraged or provoked, I remember Brightling being a reasonable pony. He’s not gonna go as far as to attack younger ponies. Especially ones that he doesn’t know.”

Applejack raised a hoof to argue, but it fell limp. “I… see your point.” She turned to face the smaller ponies. “And y’all do have a mission there… I jus’ don’t know… I don’t want y’all to go so far away all by yerselves!”

“Yer not gonna come with us, are you?” Apple Bloom asked, pouting.

“Now, that jus’ wouldn’t feel right.” the orange mare continued. “It’d feel like I was steppin’ all over yer hooves if I went along. How ‘bout we head back to Sweet Apple Acres and get y’all ready for yer trip? We can figure the rest out, there.”

“We really should get ready.” Scootaloo added.

“And it’s not like having an older pony with us would be a bad thing.” Sweetie Belle concluded.

“I guess yer right…” Apple Bloom admitted, hanging her head as she turned towards the foyer.

As the fillies left the room, Applejack turned to Boltsinger. “Bolt, would you be willin’ to go with ‘em for this?”

“Any other place in Equestria, and you’d get a resounding ‘yes’ outta me.” he informed her. “But… I can’t go back there.”

“Why not?” Applejack inquired. “It’s yer hometown, after all!”

“What part of getting violently run out of town would make me ever want to go back there?” he deadpanned, turning his attention towards the town on the map. “Besides, I’m pretty sure I’d go crazy if I were anywhere near Sparks.”

“Yeah, I suppose you got a point, there.” Applejack admitted. “All right, I’ll get somepony else to go along with ‘em.”

---

An hour later, the Cutie Mark Crusaders met up at the train station, Applejack trailing behind.

“Okay, girls, y’all ready to go?” The older pony asked.

“If we were any more ready, we’d be fit for makin’ cider!” Apple Bloom announced. She and her friends stood in the center of the platform, saddlebags stuffed and ready to go.

“Ready and waiting!” Scootaloo added.

“Just waiting for whoever you got to come with us.” Sweetie Belle concluded. “Who’d you get?”

“Oh, he’ll be along. You sure yer ready fer this?” Applejack repeated. “Got all the info ya could get on the town?”

“We made sure to talk with Grand Pear-pear ‘bout it!” The yellow filly stated. “He’s the best expert on Vanhoover you can get in Ponyville!”

Applejack smirked, leaning in closer. “How ‘bout toothbrushes?” The Crusaders each pulled out a toothbrush. “Snacks for the trip?” They each pulled out a bag of cinnamon nuts. “What about--”

Apple Bloom put her hoof on her sister’s muzzle. “Applejack, trust me! We’ve got this!” She turned to her fellow Crusaders. “If the map called us somewhere, then there’s a good chance it’s got sumthin’ to do with somepony’s Cutie Mark, and that’s sumthin’ we know all about! The map hasn’t made a wrong choice yet, has it?”

“Well… I suppose… Yer right.” the mare admitted. “But I still wanna make sure y’all’re safe. So I asked Big Mac if he’d go along with ya and he said--”

“Eeyup!” a deep voice said from behind the freckled mare. Big Mac, saddlebag and all, stepped beside his sister, looking at the fillies.

“He’s promised that ‘e won’t get in the way o’ yer mission, no matter what it is.” she explained. “Y’all’re gonna have free reign to do whatcha need, ya just need to make sure y’don’t do anything too dangerous, got it?”

Big Mac walked up beside the fillies, facing his sister as they all let out a resounding “Eeyup!” They boarded the train, talking amongst themselves.

“Y’all be careful, now…” Applejack said once more, holding her hat over her heart.

---

The whistle blew at the Vanhoover train station. A red Earth Pony stallion disembarked, followed shortly after by three young fillies all with packed saddlebags.

“Well, we’re in Vanhoover.” Scootaloo started, looking at the town. “What now?”

Apple Bloom breathed a depressed sigh, her gaze fixed on the floor. “I dunno…”

Sweetie Belle stepped beside her friend, leaning in close. “What’s wrong?”

Apple Bloom lifted her head up, pointing a foreleg at the large stallion in front of them. “That.” She stated, a bit of a scowl on her face. “We finally get called by the map fer our very first Cutie Mark Crusaders friendship mission, and we gotta have a chaperone! Nopony else who was called by the map ever needed an escort!”

“That’s because everypony else that was called by the map was a full-grown pony.” Scootaloo pointed out. “And Spike, but his issue was already in Ponyville.”

“I guess you’ve got a point…” Apple Bloom admitted, looking at her brother as he made his way off of the platform. “At least ‘e promised not to get in the way of our first friendship mission.”

“So, how do these ‘friendship missions’ usually go?” Scootaloo inquired, looking out at the town.

“Applejack always said that they just kept wanderin’ around ‘till the problem just showed up!” Apple Bloom answered. “Any place you wanna go ‘round here?”

“What about the Pear farm?” Sweetie Belle suggested, pointing at an Earth Pony pulling a wagon full of the fruit. “I’m sure there might be somepony there who isn’t satisfied with their Cutie Mark, and that’s driving them apart from their friends!”

“Or the school!” Scootaloo added, pointing to a group of frolicking foals. “Maybe somepony is getting bullied by their classmates for having a ‘weird’ Cutie Mark, and they need our help to get the bullies to cut it out!”

Apple Bloom nodded, looking at the plethora of ponies walking about. Her eyes scanned the Cutie Marks of every pleasantly passing pony, seeing nothing really amiss. “Both of those suggestions are good. What do you say we split up?”

Big Mac cleared his throat. “Nnope!” He stepped ahead of the fillies, looking around like a watchdog.

“I take it you don’t want us splittin’ up so that you can keep a closer eye on us?” Apple Bloom queried.

Big Mac nodded. “Eeyup.”

Apple Bloom’s face sank a bit. “All right. Let’s start at the Pear farm, then!” She turned to her fellow Crusaders, the three of them engaging in a high-hoof and running over to the pony with the sales wagon. He pointed them down the road, where the three fillies cantered off, much to the chagrin of the lumbering stallion behind them.

They came to a large farm lined with lush, fruiting pear trees. There was a rounded green barn in the center with what seemed to be a processing plant off to the side. It was letting out steam as the machines inside clinked and clanked, with a pony pulling a wagon full of jars coming out the back as they approached. His coat was roughly the same shade of orange as Big Mac’s mane, with a lime green mane and tail in a scruffy, unkempt style, with three pears in a swirl pattern as a Cutie Mark. He strained as he pulled the wagon behind him, coming up onto the fillies.

“Well, hello little fillies!” He greeted, stopping and smiling at them. “I wish I could stay and give you a proper welcome, but these jars won’t take themselves to the market!” He began moving again, his legs shaking with every step. “Ponies have really been liking our pear jam lately. I think maybe Grand Pear has been talking it up a little too much once he left!”

Apple Bloom looked curiously at the pony. He wasn’t quite the same size as her brother, yet he had so much weight behind him. “That looks heavy. You want some help gettin’ that to town?” She asked.

“I’d love some help, but I don’t think you fillies would be able to carry all these.” he told her, taking another pained step. “The jars were heavy enough already, but with all the jam, it gets a whole lot worse!”

“Well, we’re here with a pretty strong pony.” Scootaloo pointed out, motioning to the approaching Big Macintosh. “What if we asked him to help?”

“If he can carry all this, then be my guest!” he stated, stopping to look at the strapping stallion. “The name’s Sweet Pear.” He blushed slightly as he said the name. “I know it’s not exactly the most flattering name for a stallion, but I like it!”

“Pleasure to meet you, Sweet Pear! I’m Apple Bloom!” the Earth Pony filly replied, offering a greeting hoof. “And this here’s Sweetie Belle and Scootaloo!” She pointed over at her approaching brother, who was listening to Sweetie Belle at the time. “And that, there’s Big Macintosh!”

“Apples, huh?” Sweet Pear noted, looking at the Cutie Marks of the two Earth Ponies. “Never thought I’d see any of your kin around here, what with that silly old feud our families used to have. What brings you to Vanhoover?”

“My friends and I are here on official friendship business!” Apple Bloom announced. “Big Mac is here to make sure we have an escort. Right, Big Mac?”

The red stallion nodded proudly. “Eeyup!” He moved over to the wagon Sweet Pear was pulling, lifting up the front end. Sweet Pear quickly undid the harness, falling to the ground as the stallion who lived up to his title put it on, effortlessly walking despite the heavy load.

“There’s a reason they call him ‘Big’ Mac.” Scootaloo mentioned, leaning close to Sweet Pear.

“Anyway, we were brought here ‘cause there’s supposed to be a Cutie Mark-related friendship problem here in Vanhoover!” Apple Bloom continued. “Y’all got any problems comin’ from Cutie Marks that’re messin’ with friendships in town?”

Sweet Pear brought a hoof to his muzzle, thinking hard on the filly’s question. “Only thing I can think of involving a Cutie Mark problem is a Pegasus named Brightling.” he told her. “Used to be this big, bright light bulb. Now it’s all shattered.” He looked in the direction of the main town. “Sure wish he was back to the way he used to be. Back before he stopped sharing those bright ideas with everypony. Made all of our lives better back then.”

“Brightling?” Sweetie Belle repeated. “We’ve heard of him! About when did he change?”

“Wasn’t too long after he and Sparks got together for real. Suddenly started keeping to himself instead of helping out.” he continued, looking sad as he went on. “Said there wasn’t anything in it for him anymore, so he was only gonna help ponies who paid up-front. Those who did didn’t always get ideas that were all that helpful.”

“You mean he’s not even trying to use his own talent?” Scootaloo queried. “No wonder his Cutie Mark is broken.” She looked at the overstuffed wagon, then back at Sweet Pear. “So, why did you fill up that one cart so much? Wouldn’t it be easier to use more than one?”

“We’ve been getting so many orders that this one is just a third of what we send out.” He stated, looking at the jarring number of jars. “But this is our only wagon right now. And everypony’s so busy with farm maintenance there’s nopony to fix the broken ones. We’re short-hooved, and run ragged. Practically no organization left ever since Grand Pear moved away.”

“Sounds like you need somepony with ideas.” Sweetie Belle suggested, turning to Apple Bloom and Scootaloo. “So, I think our mission here is obvious. We need to help Brightling!”

Apple Bloom and Scootaloo let out a simultaneous “YEAH!”, the three of them doing another high-hoof.

Big Mac came to a stop, looking at the fillies with a worried face. Sweet Pear emptied the wagon, putting crate after crate next to the store they had stopped at as the red stallion trotted over to the girls.

“Uh… girls?” Mac began, the fillies looking his way. “Are you sure you wanna track down that pony?”

“He’s got a Cutie Mark problem, doesn’t he?” Scootaloo suggested.

“Eeyup.” Big Mac confirmed.

“And that Cutie Mark problem is messing with his life, and the lives of everypony else, right?” Sweetie Belle added.

“Uh… Eeyup.” the stallion replied, his face beginning to sink.

“Well, then, we gotta go help ‘im!” Apple Bloom concluded. “It’s our job as Crusaders! Are you with us, big brother?”

The farm stallion’s face rose, a proud smile covering his muzzle. He lunged forward and picked up Apple Bloom in a big hug, tears of pride welling up. “Eeyup!” He squeezed tightly, a squeaking noise seeming to come from Apple Bloom as she struggled to get out.

---

Walking down the streets of Vanhoover was a faded yellow Pegasus with a brown mane and tail and a Cutie Mark of a shattered light bulb. He was on his way home from his job as a cashier at the local grocery store. He was moving up in the ladder of management there, but he was growing bored with it rather quickly. Outside the store, he saw some ponies he’d never seen before. Three fillies with a larger Earth Pony stallion. They seemed to have a particular interest in him as he left. The fillies especially began to creep him out as they moved to follow him.

“Uh… Pardon me, sir…” the Earth Pony of the girls began. “Yer name wouldn’t happen to be Brightling, would it?”

“That’d be me.” he answered. “Who’s asking?”

“Well, my name’s Apple Bloom.” she said, motioning to herself.

The Pegasus stepped up next to her. “And my name is Scootaloo!” She fluttered her wings as she approached.

“And I’m Sweetie Belle!” the Unicorn squeaked, coming up on the other side of Apple Bloom. “And together, we are…”

“THE CUTIE MARK CRUSADERS!” The cried out together. Brightling took a step back, covering his ears with his wings as he gritted his teeth.

As the fillies finished their introduction, Apple Bloom gestured back to the stallion with them. “And this is my brother, Big Macintosh. He’s here as our ‘escort’.”

“Eeyup!” he confirmed, standing over them.

Brightling brought a wing to his chin. “Apple Bloom? Big Macintosh?” he repeated, looking between the siblings. “Like Sweet Apple Acres Apples?” The Apple filly nodded. The older Pegasus facehoofed, letting out a groan. “Ugh… So that means you four are from…”

“Ponyville!!!” the Crusaders finished, causing the yellow stallion to groan further.

“So it’s more of his friends... “ He looked at them dejectedly. “What do you want this time?”

“We heard you’ve got a problem with your Cutie Mark.” Sweetie Bell informed him.

“I don’t have a problem with my Cutie Mark.” Brightling retorted. “What would make you think I have a problem with it?’

“Have you looked at it lately?” Scootaloo started, pointing at the older pony’s flank. “Everypony tells us it’s broken, and I can see what they’re saying pretty easily.”

Brightling used his wing and his tail to cover the mark. “Yeah, so? It changed when my life changed. When I learned how much I can gain with my talents.” He walked past the visiting ponies. “It’s not something I should just give out, after all.”

“Are you sure that’s true, though?” Apple Bloom wondered, trotting next to him. “‘Cause you don’t look any happier for it.”

“What would you have me do? Go out and just help everypony that even has the smallest problem like my ‘brother’ does?” He snapped, glaring at the filly. “Just get whisked away to random places because somepony somewhere is too stupid to think for themselves?” He exhaled sharply, the air visible as it exited his nostrils. His eyes turned green as he looked ahead. “My good-for-nothing brother may be the kind of bleeding heart fool that would do that kind of thing, but I know where m--”

Brightling’s mouth was forced shut, a big red foreleg ending in a yellow hoof covering it. “Nnope.” Big Mac said, looking the Pegasus in the eye.

Brightling moved the offending foreleg aside, stepping closer. “What do you mean, ‘nope’?” he asked, glaring at the significantly larger pony. “You got a problem with how I talk about my own family?”

“Eeyup.” Mac affirmed, stomping his foreleg.

Brightling’s glare intensified. “And why is any of it your business? Is he actually a friend of yours?”

Big Mac let out a growling, angry “Eeyup.” as he loomed over the provoked Pegasus.

“Well, you can go back to Ponyville and pal around with him for all I care.” Brightling stated. “He’s my brother, and I’ll say whatever the heck I want about him.” He walked past the red stallion, bumping into him as hard as he could as he went.

“Just like you’ll try ‘n send ‘im to the hospital the moment ya see ‘im?” Big Mac suggested, looking back at him. “Callin’ him a ‘monster’? Sayin’ it’s all his fault that yer parents’re gone? Not very ‘brotherly’ if’n ya ask me.” He turned to face Brightling, standing firm. “What kinda brother lets himself sink s’ dang low?”

Brightling stopped cold, turning to look angrily at the suddenly talkative pony, his eyes glowing green as he seethed. “And what could you possibly know about being a good brother, huh?! You didn’t grow up with him! Everypony doting on him! Everypony giving him all the slack in the world because ‘he’s not a strong flyer yet’ and making me go up to the most terrifying place in the world, over and over and over again! I just wanted to stay on the ground with the mare that I care about, and I did everything I could to make that happen!”

Big Mac reached over to his little sister, giving her a hug as he took a breath. “I don’t know what livin’ with ‘im was like fer myself. Yer right about that. But I know a lot about bein’ a big brother. Bein’ a sibling in general.” He looked fondly at Apple Bloom. “I know that as the big brother, I got a responsibility to be there for my sisters whenever they need me. And, yeah, it ain’t always easy. We don’t always get along perfect. But ya gotta look at yer siblin’s and try ta see the best in ‘em, even if they can’t.” He released his sister from his grip, stepping closer to Brightling. “I’m just a work horse, always on the farm, but I always do everythin’ I can fer both o’ my sisters, no matter where their destinies take ‘em.” Brightling stomped up to Big Mac, breathing heavily with gritted teeth. “And from what AJ told me about yer history with Bolt, he tried to do everythin’ he could fer you way back when.” the yellow Pegasus let out a yell, rearing up and lashing out with a foreleg in an attempt to hit Big Mac. “And even now, he still hasn’t given up hope that you can be a better pony.” Brightling righted himself with his wings as he swung, kicking up a cloud of dust.

“Big Mac, no!” Apple Bloom cried, jumping towards her brother. The dust cleared, and Big Mac was unmoving, still standing firm and looking straight at Brightling. The Pegasus in question had stopped his motion, his mouth hanging open slightly as the green in his eyes began to flicker.

Brightling fell back to all fours, looking up at his fellow older sibling with confused eyes. “But what if I can’t be a better pony?” He asked. “Where do I even start?”

“You start by listenin’ to us!” Apple Bloom told him, stepping between the two stallions. “Even if all ya get is a push, as long as yer goin’ in the right direction, you can definitely be a better pony!”

“Here, here!” Scootaloo cheered, raising a hoof with Sweetie Belle.

Brightling looked at the fillies, letting his hindquarters fall to the ground, his green eyes turning back to their natural color. “Okay, then, if I’ve really got a Cutie Mark problem, as you insist, then how do I fix it?”

“We heard from Sweet Pear that you used to help a lot of ponies with your ideas on how to streamline things.” Scootaloo started. “And it looks like they could really use that at the farm.”

“How much would they be willing to pay?” he inquired.

“Don’t think about it like that!” Apple Bloom snapped, clapping her forelegs in front of his face. “You got yer Cutie Mark for helpin’ ponies with your ‘bright ideas’. Not fer makin’ money offa them!”

“Sure, you can use your talents to make a profit. There’s nothing wrong with that!” Sweetie Belle advised. “But the thing that makes your mark, that defines you, isn’t about what you can make money with. It’s about what feels right!”

“The three of us used to freak out over what our Cutie Marks would be!” Scootaloo began, pointing at her own flank. “We would spend all of our time just trying things in the hopes that they would show up! But it wasn’t until we stopped and started helping other ponies with their problems, letting them know what their Cutie Marks really represented, that we found out our destiny!”

Brightling looked at the flanks of the fillies, seeing Cutie Marks that were remarkably similar to one another. “So you just keep on doing that, even though it doesn’t net you a single bit?”

“Yup!” Apple Bloom confirmed. “And the way I see it, your talent and Sparks’ talent can actually do a lotta good in Equestria!”

Everypony in the gathering looked at Apple Bloom questioningly. “What are you talking about?” Scootaloo asked after a few silent moments.

“Well, look at it this way…” the yellow filly started. “Brightling, you got this talent for new ideas, tryin’ to make things better for everypony, right?” Brightling reluctantly nodded. “And then Sparks has a knack fer spreadin’ ideas around! You could come up with sumthin’ real good, and then she can help everypony to see how it can help! Providin’ y’ don’t do sumthin’ sinister with that talent.”

Big Mac, Sweetie Belle, and Scootaloo let out a laugh at the last comment, Brightling taking a wing and scratching the back of his head with it. “I don’t know if I can convince Sparks to do something like that…”

“Maybe don’t try to go right for that goal just yet.” Sweetie Belle suggested. “Start small. Help the ponies around here when you can! You don’t have to quit your job or anything. You just need to go out there and be there for everypony else!”

“Like, maybe help the farm to get those jam deliveries done a little bit faster?” Scootaloo said, nudging the older Pegasus with her elbow. “They could use some organization!”

Brightling looked over at the wagon by the store, seeing Sweet Pear moving yet another crate full of jam into the store, only half-way done with the load. “They really could, couldn’t they?”

“Eeyup!” Big Mac affirmed, nodding his head as he began to walk over to the green-maned pony. He went to the back of the wagon and picked up three crates of jam, carrying them into the store with ease.

Brightling looked between the wagon and the Cutie Mark Crusaders, the gears turning in his head. After several moments, and a sore neck, he nodded. “Okay. You’ve convinced me.” He got back up on all fours. “It’s time I became a better pony!” He flared his wings, standing proud. “Thanks, little fillies.” He walked over to Sweet Pear, taking a crate of jam and striking up a conversation with him.

Once the wagon was finally empty, Big Mac returned to the fillies, taking a look at their flanks to see them glowing with smaller versions of them flying into them with a small alarm-like sound. “Uh, Apple Bloom?”

The filly in question looked at her flank, seeing the telltale sign of a job well done as the sun began to set. “We did it? But all we did was get ‘im started!” She exclaimed.

“Well, we said it ourselves, he could start small.” Sweetie Belle explained. “Maybe that’s all we needed to do to finish the job.”

“Either way, you know what that means!” Scootaloo began, fluttering her wings in excitement.

“CUTIE MARK CRUSADERS FRIENDSHIP MISSION IS A TOTAL SUCCESS!!!” they all cheered, letting out various hollars as they made for the nearest hotel.

Big Mac looked at the bouncing fillies with a big smile on his muzzle, letting out the proudest “Eeyup!” he ever did say.

Author's Note:

So, those Crusaders were a bit challenging to write for. I'm surprised it turned out as well as it did. But the real surprise for me came from Big Mac. He is one of those characters that just writes himself. I went into the exchange between him and Brightling thinking they were gonna try to duke it out. But "nnope". Big Mac just went on into a full-on speech, and I think that's a lot closer to who he is as a character. I'm glad it didn't turn out how I expected. It ended up a lot better because of it.