One Bolt, Many Questions

by Boltsinger

The Painful Truth

Boltsinger flew through a bright blue sky, pure white clouds all around him. He took in the feeling of freedom that the sky offered, reveling in it. He performed twists, flips, and various other maneuvers, better than ever before as he flew through the clouds. He descended rapidly, his foalhood home in Vanhoover quickly coming into view. He skidded to a halt above the place, shocked, as storm clouds began to form around him.

“Son…” a deep voice called out from behind him. “How could you, son...?”

Boltsinger turned around, seeing a yellow stallion with a blue mane and tail and a Cutie Mark of three swirling clouds. “Dad…? What are you… How are you…? Brightling said you were gone… Did you wake up?”

“Boltsinger…” another voice said, flying up from below to reveal an orange mare with a brown mane and tail and a gusty Cutie Mark. “Why did you do it…?”

Boltsinger shivered in place, descending slowly as he looked at the mare. “Mom, I… don’t understand… What are you talking about?”

Lightning struck behind the two Pegasi, Their coats fading and eyes glowing white. Boltsinger landed on the ground below, his parents hovering above them without even moving their wings. “How could you do this to us?!” they shouted. Boltsinger’s wings began discharging electricity that spread all around him. “How could you DO THIS TO US?!?!” they continued.

“I don’t understand…” he repeated, hiding under his crackling wings. The images of his parents loomed ever-closer, covering his field of vision with more black silhouettes. The discharge grew in magnitude, extending out of him and striking everypony in a ten foot radius. He spread his wings and forelegs, standing on his hind legs and letting out a yell that pierced the clouds and resonated for miles. He didn’t know just how long he screamed, only that it felt like forever.

---

Forever came to an end, and Boltsinger sat up in bed in a cold sweat. He hyperventilated, clutching his head with his hooves. His eyes darted around the room, the familiar sights calming him down. “What was that…?” he asked himself, scooting to the edge of the bed. “Mom… Dad...“

Twilight stirred, seeing the Pegasus leaning forward. She reached out and touched his tail with her hoof, causing him to look back. “Hey… You okay?”

The stallion gave a reluctant nod. “Yeah… I’m fine... “ He got out of bed, turning to face her. “I just… had a bad dream.” He put his hoof on hers. “I’ll be okay. I’m just gonna go get some air.”

“Okay… Don’t be gone too long.” she told him, yawning. “You can tell me all about it in the morning…”

“Yeah… I promise I’ll tell you everything…” he agreed, making for the door as she rolled back over.

---

Boltsinger came through the Everfree Forest, traveling along a well-known path. The place felt unnatural, especially traveling at night, but he had to brave it in order to reach his destination. Before long, he came upon a hut made from a hollowed out tree. There were a number of masks and ornaments all over, and a warm green glow coming from the windows. He took a deep breath, slapping his muzzle with his wings as he knocked on the door.

“Yes, yes, that you’re here, I’m aware!” a thickly accented voice called out. “Just what in Equestria are you doing out there?”

With the sound of hooves scrambling to the door, Boltsinger took a step back. The door opened to reveal a Zebra with an ornate black Sun pattern emblazoned on her flank. She wore a cacophony of gold rings around her neck and left foreleg, with thick golden hoop earrings. Boltsinger lowered his head a little as she looked quizzically at him. “Hi, Zecora…”

The Zebra smiled, stepping aside to let him in. “Why, Boltsinger, you’ve stepped out of your rut! May I ask what brought you to my hut?”

The stallion stepped inside, sitting by the cauldron. “Cryptic nightmares.” he informed her, taking a look around. “What has you up so late?”

Zecora moved over to a table full of bottles and ingredients. “I often stay up late into the night, it helps me get some of my mixtures just right! These nightmares you have, just what do you see? And why, pray tell, would you bring them to me?”

“I know dreams are more Princess Luna’s domain, but… I want to see what you make of it, too.” he explained. He went on to tell her every detail he could remember about the nightmare, leading the potion-maker to puzzle on the goings on.

“I believe this is something over which you can’t gloss,” she started, pouring a tincture into an ornate bottle. “It is clear to me you have suffered a loss.” She corked the bottle, placing it on a table and beckoned him over. “For now, I suggest that you drink this blend. It will help, but the nightmares will not likely end.”

Boltsinger slid the bottle over to himself with a wing, feeling a degree of warmth coming from within. “Thanks… What does it do, anyway?”

Zecora poured herself some tea, giving the stallion a sly grin. “If I were to tell you the effect of this brew, its magic would no longer apply to you. Should you be wise and listen to me, you’ll soon realize that trust is the key.” she placed two cups on the table in front of him, stacked and ready to go. “Share this drink with one for whom you care, and the fruit that you seek will soon come to bear.”

“Fruit that I seek?” he repeated, scratching his chin with his wing. “I take it that’s some kind of metaphor?” Zecora silently nodded, sipping her tea. “Okay. I’ll give this a shot in the morning.” he quickly got up, tucking the bottle and cups under his wings. “Thanks, Zecora. As always, you know just what to… um… rhyme!” He waved farewell and cantered out the door as the Zebra stared into her cup.

“Dear Bolt, no magic can truly help you. You’ll only find sweet berry tea in that brew.” She said as the Pegasus left earshot. “To calm your mind, you may find it uncouth, but the loss you have seen must be faced as the truth.”

---

Hoofsteps clopped through the foyer the very next morning, slow and steady, the stallion who owned them breathing with a rhythm that matched his pace. He held his wing forward, looking at the still-warm bottle he received from Zecora as he rounded a corner, heading for the dining room where Twilight sat, eating a bowl of oats.

The sound of the door brought Twilight from her bowl. She raised her head, looking at Boltsinger with a face covered in oats and plastered with a smile. “You’re home! How was your walk?”

Boltsinger marveled at just how adorable his fiance was in that moment, shaking his head free of the trappings of his mind, he sat down at the table. “It was less of a ‘walk’ and more of a ‘visit to Zecora’s place’.” he clarified, setting the cups and bottle between the two of them. “She gave me this, and told me to share it with ‘one for whom I care’. I can’t think of a better example of that than you.”

“What did you need a remedy for?” the Princess wondered, wiping the food off of her muzzle.

“That bad dream I had… I saw… my parents.” he explained, uncorking the bottle and pouring the tincture into the cups. “They were asking… why I did something. How I could have done it. I didn’t really understand what they meant by it, and then lightning came out of my wings and hit them… then I screamed and… Well, that’s where I woke up. When I told Zecora about it, she made this, told me I’d suffered a loss, and to share it with you.” He picked up his cup with his wing, raising it. “So, bottom’s up?”

Twilight nodded, raising her cup with her magic. They brought the beverages together, downing them with a single gulp. Twilight set hers down on the table, leaning against the table on her forelegs. “I think I see where she’s coming from… You never really had a chance to deal with your parents’ passing, after all.”

Boltsinger looked wide-eyed at the Alicorn, a mixture of confusion and shock forming on his face. “What do you mean, passing?” he queried, putting his cup down.

Twilight’s face began to mirror that of the Pegasus next to her. “Oh my gosh… You didn’t know? But, at the Gala, Brightling told you that your parents are gone! Didn’t you hear him?”

Boltsinger took deep, staggering breaths. “I-I-I was… I was being beaten within an inch of my life! My-my ears were ringing from the pain! I couldn’t make out any words!” His breathing quickened. “How do you know they’re really gone gone?”

“Grand Pear said they passed not long before he moved back to Ponyville…” she answered, looking at the floor. “I thought you knew… I’m so sorry!”

“So… I…” his hooves fell to the floor below, his pupils shrunken and shaking as he stared at his reflection. “... I killed them…” his wings came up to grasp the sides of his head. He began rambling in bouts of frantic gibberish, occasionally repeating about how they suffered, how he killed them, how it was all his fault.

Twilight looked at his panic with a heavy heart, listening to him going on as tears trickled down his muzzle and onto the floor below. She raised her head, gaining a look of determination. “Bolt!” she cried out, spreading her wings as wide as they could go. “SNAP OUT OF IT!!!” she brought her wings together on his tear-stricken muzzle with a force she didn’t even know she was capable of. The impact resonated through the halls, a breeze following it that blew in all directions. Boltsinger’s eyes stopped shaking as he lifted his head, looking into the mare’s eyes. “You didn’t do anything to them!”

“B-but… the lightning… i-it came out of me... “ he retorted, still in shock. “From my wings…”

“You didn’t have any control over that!” she argued, bringing her head close to his. “Magic behaves in ways we don’t expect when we haven’t learned to control it… That doesn’t mean that we have direct responsibility over such a huge backlash like that!”

“But… I always hoped that maybe... “ he continued, his face sinking some. “... maybe… maybe someday, they might… wake up… then... Then they’d forgive me… but…” he sniffed up a sob, falling closer to the floor. “But now… now they won’t... “ his staggered breathing continued as the hardness of Twilight’s expression melted away. She put her forelegs around his head and held him close with her wings.

“I’m so sorry… You talked about not wanting what happened to them to happen to me, I just naturally assumed you knew...” she started, her own eyes watering as she stroked his mane. “I didn’t want you to feel this way...” She clutched him ever tighter as his cries continued, matching his pace with quiet sobs of her own. They continued for several minutes until the sound died down, the stallion’s head slowly rising.

“Thank you…” he told her, rising up and looking her in the eye. “I’m gonna… gonna go to the farm… I need to talk to a Pear about some ponies.”

“I’ll go with you.” the Alicorn replied, standing up. “I promise I won’t get in the way… I just want to be there with you..” Boltsinger nodded, standing up and walking out with his favorite mare following suit.

---

A knock came at the door at the main house of Sweet Apple Acres. Applejack got up from her place at the breakfast table, heading to the door and opening it. There stood Twilight and Boltsinger, smiling weakly with puffy red eyes.

“Well, good mornin’!” she greeted, beckoning them inside. “Y’all look like ya just got stung in the eyes by a swarm o’ flyders! Everythin’ okay?”

Boltsinger breathed a heavy sigh. “Define ‘okay’.” He lowered his head slightly, thinking hard on the task at hoof.

Applejack's mouth hung open as she saw the sobering expression that formed on her friend’s face. She turned to look at Twilight, who had a weak smile plastered on. “Is he okay? I know ‘e gets depressed, but I ain’t never seen ‘im quite like... well, like this.”

Twilight shook her head, not averting her gaze from the somber stallion for a moment. “He just went from having nightmares about his parents to having all of his fears about them come to life before his eyes…” She looked at Applejack, her smile shattering. “And, of course, he blamed himself…”

Applejack thought of a few things to add to the conversation, but previous experiences let her know that this was a good time to be a little more like Big Mac, and not say too much. “So, why’d ‘e come here?” she wondered as he went into the hall.

“He said he needed to ‘talk to a Pear about some ponies’.” The Princess stated. The two mares followed the orange Pegasus, staying at a respectable distance as he rounded the corner into the living room. He took a seat on the couch as Twilight and Applejack sat on either side of the doorway.

Boltsinger looked around, still thinking on what exactly he wanted to say. He’d interacted with Grand Pear a few times since coming to Ponyville, but they never really talked about anypony back in Vanhoover. This was going to be a whole new kind of scary.

After a few stewing minutes, the Pear in question descended the stairs, looking around the room. “Oh, Boltsinger!” He started, taking a seat in a nearby rocking chair. “How’re you doing, m’boy?”

Boltsinger’s heavy sigh made a return as he lifted his head to look at the elderly stallion. Grand Pear cringed a little at the sight, getting a hint of what was coming. “Hi, Grand Pear… Can I talk to you about something?”

“This is about Vanhoover, isn’t it?” he asked. Boltsinger nodded weakly. “Alright, whaddaya need to know?”

“It’s… um… it’s about my mom and dad.” he explained, his breathing growing heavier. “I hear that you know just what happened to them…”

Grand Pear nodded, leaning closer. “That’s right. It was in the paper. I checked in on them every now and then for a while before they passed. They were some of my best local customers.”

“Thank you for being there for them…” the Pegasus said. “So… um… Would it be okay if I asked… How did they go?” he looked at his forelegs, pawing the couch below him as he brought his wings around his forelegs. “Did they suffer? Did I cause them any pain?”

The old farm pony got up from his chair, walked over to the young stallion, and put his hooves on his shoulders. “Bolt, you know it wasn’t your fault, right?”

“That’s what Twilight said.” he affirmed. “But the lightning literally came out of my body… even if I didn’t have control, I still feel responsible…”

The old horse sighed, proceeding to lift Boltsinger’s head and look him dead in the eyes. “They never once suffered from what happened.” he told him. “They went peacefully, and I’m certain they didn’t begrudge you. You’re their son. And they were some fine parents. They would never have blamed you for what happened.”

Applejack poked her head into view, coming in from the hallway holding her hat close to her heart. “He’s right, Bolt. There’s nuthin’ you coulda done to stop what happened. You know it, we know it, and…” She put her hat back on, looking straight up. “I’m pretty sure they know it, too.”

Boltsinger smiled at the Earth Ponies, slowly getting up with a gentle nod. “Yeah… I think you’re right…” He started to walk, heading for the exit. “Thank you…”

Twilight looked at him in silence as he walked. His steps were calm, slow, and steady, and his head was raised a little higher than before. She trotted over to him, matching his pace. I wish I knew what to say… How was that potion supposed to have helped? All that happened was… well, this! She reached her wing over to him, placing it gently on his back with a few feathers resting on his Cutie Mark.

At the sudden contact, Boltsinger raised his head further, looking over at the Princess. He put on a weak smile, stifling one last stray tear. “Did you hear?” he began through staggered breaths. “They didn’t suffer!” He walked closer to her, raising his wing and pressing his side against hers. “They didn’t suffer…!”

“I heard…” she confirmed, gently squeezing with her wing as he returned the gesture. They walked back to the castle quietly, where Twilight sat her grieving fiance down in the dining room. She headed into the kitchen, floating the bottle from Zecora with her. She peeked inside the bottle, trying to detect a hint of the magic inside. I don’t feel anything… she pondered, putting her nose to the lip. She took a few inquisitive sniffs, recoiling her head slightly as the smell of berries and tea leaves wafted into her nostrils. Is this… just ordinary tea? She put the bottle and cups on the counter, going to pour a bowlful of oats and bringing it back to the dining room. Boltsinger was still sitting there, laying his head on the table. “How are you feeling?” she asked him, placing the food in front of him.

Boltsinger snorted, raising his head and looking at the bowl. “Honestly, a little better... “ He admitted. “I’m glad I talked with everypony about this… Way better than just flying away, huh?”

“Yeah, I didn’t have to chase after you this time.” Twilight joked, nudging him in the side. “I’m sorry you had to find out this way…”

“It’s all right.” he replied, taking a bite and quickly swallowing. “That potion really did its work, huh?”

“Potion?” she repeated, tilting her head. She puzzled for half a second, remembering the bottle she just recently investigated. “Oh! Yeah, the potion. It sure did.”

Author's Note:

This stemmed from the fact that no one had actually talked with Bolt about what happened to his parents so far. He always knew something happened to them, but he was rather ignorant of the greater situation. I knew I had to have him confront this truth, and neurotic Bolt was more than likely to blame himself and think the worst. It didn't go 100% how I imagined it, but these chapters rarely do, and always come out a bit better anyway.
For some reason, though, I was really dreading writing for Zecora. But, as it turns out, I was able to draw upon some of my own poetry experience from about half my life ago to get her manner of speaking down pretty quickly. Good thing, too. I have some plans that are going to require her.

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[ShadedTz]

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