• Published 17th Feb 2018
  • 2,491 Views, 80 Comments

One Bolt, Moving Forward - Boltsinger



When ponies' lives change, it can be jarring. Some find it hard to accept, while others want the same for themselves. Through all of it, there are always new lessons to be learned.

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New Beginnings

It was a calm evening in Ponyville. Many of the citizens filled the streets, either heading home from their jobs or just visiting friends as a thundering boom sounded from the edge of town. The nearby ponies jumped, looking at the Castle of Friendship. Barreling out the door and down the road was a wagon, pulled by Rainbow Dash and Applejack, with Spike, Starlight Glimmer, Fluttershy, Boltsinger, and the Princess of Friendship herself, Twilight Sparkle, inside. Twilight was breathing hard, practiced breaths with the Unicorn’s magic keeping her position in the wagon stable, making every effort she could to not pass out from the pain going through her at the time. Pinkie Pie and Rarity ran alongside the wagon, calling out for ponies to clear the way, while Princesses Celestia and Luna each flew above, creating magical walls just slightly ahead of them to guide them on their path.

“THE BABY IS COMING! THE BABY IS COMING!” Spike announced as they sped through town. “EVERYPONY MAKE WAY! THE BABY IS COMIIIING!”

“The baby?” a passing pony repeated, galloping after the wagon.

“Princess Twilight’s baby?” another pony guessed, looking to a shrugging friend nearby.

“It’s coming?!” one of the florists asked, looking at the other two. The three of them gasped with glee, fainting and falling to the ground.

In the wagon, Boltsinger sat behind Twilight, propping her up with his body and placing his hooves on her belly. “Okay… We can do this… We prepared for this! Just… breathe… Juuuuuust breathe…” He matched his breathing to Twilight’s, quick, calm, practical. Before long, they were at Ponyville General, slowly getting out of the wagon and heading inside and meeting up with the doctor.

“Boltsinger, you come with us.” Doctor Horse ordered, helping Twilight into the gurney. “Everypony else will have to stay in the waiting room. I’m afraid we can only allow family in with her.”

Celestia stepped forward and raised her hoof. “Excuse me, but I’m technically part of her family!”

Doctor Horse quickly shook his head, turning his patient to the door. “I’m sorry, Princess, you’re not immediate family, so I have to say no.”

Celestia hung her head. “I understand. Best of luck, Doctor!”

Boltsinger took to the air, keeping pace with the doctor and the nurses as they transported Twilight to a room. He kept his eyes glued to hers, his hooves on her cheeks the whole way. When they reached their destination, the room became a buzz of activity. Doctors and nurses scrambling about, Twilight being eased off of the gurney and into a resting position on the bed. Boltsinger could do little, save for backing off and letting them do their work. He searched for an opening that would let him near her as one of the nurses floated some scrubs onto him. When all was as calm as it would get, he rushed over to her, placing his hooves on hers.

“How are you feeling, honey?” he asked.

Her face was scrunched up with a combination of effort and pain. “I’m fine… Just…” She gave off a loud, straining grunt. “... peachy!”

Boltsinger gave his wife’s nose a quick nuzzle, then looked around the room. Doctor Horse, in scrubs and mask, was positioned behind her, ready to work. Boltsinger recoiled, returning his attention to the mare’s face. “Okay, the doctor is ready. You ready? I think I’m ready! Let’s make sure everypony is ready before we--”

Boltsinger’s mouth was clamped shut by Twilight’s magic as she glared at him. “The baby is ready, that’s all that matters!”

Boltsinger nodded as the medical staff began their work. For hours, Twilight strained, feeling as much agony as she did relief. The doctor’s instructions were calm and precise, telling her just what to do and when to do it. All the while, the only Pegasus in the room talked to his wife, giving her a point of focus while attempting to calm both of them down. They looked out of a nearby window, talking about all the lessons they were gonna teach the little foal just as soon as it was big enough. The sun began to rise in a shaky manner, prompting a nervous laugh as the stallion looked the mare in the eye once more.

“Just keep at it, honey! Everyone is here for you, so you just need to keep it going! Breathe… Breathe…” He repeated the word ad nauseam until Twilight’s wings came forward and slapped his muzzle.

“Breathe, Bolt!” She gave another push as instructed, letting out a small tear as Boltsinger followed her advice.

“I see the head!” Doctor Horse announced. “Just a little more, Princess!”

“You hear that? Not much longer!” Boltsinger stated, smiling wide. Twilight smiled back, then tensed, putting all of her effort into that one last push.

A little whinny carried through the room, followed by a cry. With that tiny voice, everything else fell silent. Twilight and Boltsinger’s eyes went wide, the little noise etching itself into their hearts. “Did you hear that?” Twilight asked. “It sounded like…”

“It’s a colt!” the doctor declared. After a minute, presumably to clean the foal, he came forward to the parents, a little bundle wrapped in cloth held safely in his foreleg. “Princess Twilight, Prince Boltsinger, I’d like to introduce you to your healthy baby colt.”

The cries grew louder still as a magenta aura wrapped around the bundle. Twilight floated it between herself and her husband, unfurling a part of the cloth to reveal a tiny dark orange pony with big violet eyes. He had a wild, straight purple mane with a jagged cyan stripe running through it, parting only slightly to make way for the horn that protruded from his forehead. The baby screamed as loudly as his little lungs could handle, and he reached upward, as if trying to touch something.

The ponies were speechless. In that moment, all they could feel was love. Instantaneous, unrelenting, and unconditional. There was nothing else in the world that mattered more. They didn’t care what life threw at them, they would do anything to protect and support this little foal.

“Hey, there, little guy…” Boltsinger finally said, reaching his wing forward and caressing the foal’s head. “I’m… I’m your daddy!”

Twilight leaned her head in, nuzzling the newborn with her nose. “And I’m your mommy…” She put her foreleg on Boltsinger’s neck, pulling him close. “And we’re going to teach you everything you’ll ever need to know, okay?” The foal’s cries finally calmed as he took a sleepy-eyed look at his parents, spreading his forelegs while the rest of the cloth fell away.


The waiting room was filled to capacity with friends and royalty as Celestia re-entered. Not long ago, she had to raise the sun as per usual, but it had been the least comfortable sunrise of her life. “Any news?” she asked.

Luna looked up at her, shaking her head. “I am afraid not, sister. I fear they may have trouble with the birth at this--”

Boltsinger burst through the door, speeding to the center of the room. “It’s a colt!” he announced, trotting in place and looking around with a frantic smile. The gathering cheered as Starlight held out her hoof. Pinkie gave off a mild pout, putting five bits in Starlight’s hoof. “And… it’s.. that is to say he’s.. an… an…” Pinkie Pie, Rainbow Dash, Applejack, and Starlight leaned in intently, their eyes pleading for the information. “... an Alicorn!”

“YES!” Pinkie shouted, pumping her foreleg and swiping back her bits. Applejack and Rainbow Dash shrugged, giving the bubbly mare five bits each. “I knew it would be an Alicorn!”

“Really?! You could have told me!” Boltsinger replied. He sat for a moment, letting the fact sink in. “I have a son… and he’s… an Alicorn…”

“Well it’s not like he didn’t have the genetics going for him!” a cocky tone chided from nowhere. Discord pulled his head out of the floor, roping his way upright and looking down at the orange stallion. He smiled wide, reaching down and giving him a hug. “Congratulations, panic pony! You’re a daddy, which means you have every reason to freak out over every little thing! Doesn’t that sound fun?”

“Better than a hundred Daring Do books!” Boltsinger declared, returning the hug. He quickly separated from the Draconequus, looking around at the group. “You wanna meet him?” After a resounding and cheerful ‘yes’ nearly knocked him against the wall, Boltsinger guided his friends through the hospital. “Now, keep in mind that Twilight’s in recovery, and the baby is still a bit sensitive.” He focused his attention between Pinkie Pie and Discord. “You’ll need to be quiet, okay?” Discord simply smiled and responded by delicately grasping his fang, using it like a zipper to seal his mouth shut.

“Better than a hundred Daring Do books, huh?” Rainbow repeated, flying up to land next to him. “Whatever happened to being terrified?”

“Oh, I’m more scared than ever!” he admitted, widening his grin. “I just can’t help but be excited, though! You’ll see what I mean when you meet him!”

Starlight trotted to his other side, looking curiously into all of the rooms they passed. “Have you picked out a name yet?”

“Nnope. We haven’t thought of anything that really sticks.” Boltsinger informed her. “It’s actually pretty hard to come up with something like that… Giving a pony a name they’ll go by their whole life. I don’t know how Twilight did it before.”

Applejack laughed, looking over at the dragon in the group. “I think it was probably pretty easy back then.” she reasoned, playfully flicking one of Spike’s spikes.

“Well, when you’ve got it, ya might as well show it off, right?” the dragon replied, running his claw over his spikes.

Boltsinger turned another corner, heading into a room that was filled with a baby’s crying. “Ladies, dragons, Discord…” Boltsinger started.

The group made their way into the room, where Twilight was resting in a hospital bed, a wide-winged bundle of a baby nestled in her forelegs. She smiled up at them, stroking the foal’s mane. “We’d like to introduce you to Equestria’s littlest Prince!” The baby yawned, spreading his wings wide to cover the width of the bed.

The teapot in Pinkie’s mind came to a boil as she threw herself upward. “CUTEST… BABY… EVER!!!” she proclaimed in a voice that half whisper and half yell.

Rarity looked between the parents with veritable stars in her eyes. “You two certainly have a glow about you. I have to say it’s absolutely beautiful!”

Twilight smiled softly, lighting her horn and lifting the baby so that everyone could get a closer look. Spike sat on the bed and scratched the foal on his chin, while Applejack gave him a quick nuzzle behind her hat. Rainbow Dash took a close look at the baby’s wings, talking to herself about how much she had planned for his flight lessons. Fluttershy was the first of the group to hold the baby, laughing to herself when he yanked on her mane. Rarity came forward and presented the foal with a pacifier that featured a fittingly-colored baby blue sapphire, which was quickly pulled away by Twilight. After an ecstatic Pinkie was pulled away, Celestia approached, taking the baby in her wing.

“I must say, I’m surprised to see a male Alicorn.” she stated, looking at her student. “But, I suppose he does come from excellent breeding.”

Boltsinger raised his wing, a spark of electricity coming out of one of his feathers. “And from me!’

“That’s what I said.” the Sun Princess affirmed, nuzzling the foal. “Excellent breeding.”

Boltsinger shrugged, taking hold of his son and smiling down at him. “To each their own, I guess.” He looked around the room one more time. “Anypony else want to hold him?”

“Um… actually…” Discord began, raising his lion paw. All eyes in the room fell upon the Draconequus, a sense of shock filling the room. “Would it be alright if I…?”

Boltsinger looked over at Twilight, who gave him a gentle, approving nod. “Well, I mean, you are here, and you are our friend, so…” He trotted over to the chaos creature, holding the baby up. “Just make sure you support his head. He hasn’t been using it very long.”

Discord grinned, scooping the young pony up in his furriest arm and bringing his face close. “Yes, of course!” He extended his eyeballs to examine the baby, noting a particular spark of electricity passing between it and himself. “Ooh! Well that explains the tingling! You know you really are a cute one, aren’t you?” The baby opened his eyes again, getting a solid look at the creature above him. At the sight of the strange-looking eyes and single fang, a large welling of tears began. “Um… Oh, this isn’t good…” the Draconequus looked around for some kind of support, finally bringing his talon up. “Baby want a rattle? Uncle Discord can get you one!” He snapped his claws, causing a Discord-shaped rattle to appear in a white flash.

It was too late. The cries had begun, and with them came a flash of magic from the foal. He rose up into the air, his horn alight with magic and electricity that shorted out the lights of the hospital. The wailing grew louder as the window shot open, the light of the morning seeping into the room and towards the foal’s horn. Within a minute, even the air around them was pitch black.

“DISCORD!” Twilight shouted, the sound of her flapping wings permeating the area. “What did you do?!”

“I promise you, I didn’t do anything!” he retorted. “He just started crying for no reason!”

“You sure ‘e wasn’t just scared o’ yer ugly mug?” Applejack suggested. “I know I’d be if I were a newborn!”

“As funny as that was, no blame right now!” Boltsinger commanded. “Where is the baby?!” All mouths in the room shut as their ears opened up. The crying had faded into the distance, a subtle breeze flowing into the room. Boltsinger followed the wind to its source, poking his hoof through the open window. “He’s… outside…” He leaned his head out, trying to find some hint of his newborn. “Uh… Celestia, it’s morning, right?”

“Of course.” she confirmed. “I just raised the sun not long ago. Why do you ask?”

“Because… um…” the stallion started, his voice turning shaky. “The sun... is… well… gone!”

Author's Note:

So... this chapter has been... difficult to write. Not only is it really close to the end, obviously, but the emotions in it are really hard to convey. My only reference to the feeling Bolt and Twilight feel during... that moment... stem from a dream I had once, but every parent I know stated that my interpretation is pretty spot-on. It's also coming at a fairly hard time in my life, so I am a bit distracted. If I need to, I'll come back later and make some edits to this chapter to improve quality. As for the length, I don't think I really can make it longer. This is just about as long as I can make it without really overdoing it with the padding. I really hope you enjoy this chapter, as well as the next one. I'll be starting it as soon as I can.

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