One Bolt, Moving Forward

by Boltsinger

Problem? What Problem?

Twilight awoke once more, the bed noticeably empty of any other ponies. She let out a sad sigh, knowing that Boltsinger was doing something important, but that didn’t mean she didn’t miss him. She went through her morning routine, taking it easy. Today was going to be a good day, and no amount of loneliness was going to get in the way of that! She had a quick breakfast, moving towards the library for some light reading. As she took a seat in her favorite comfy chair, she heard a familiar sound from behind. She looked down at her flank, seeing a flash coming from her Cutie Mark as smaller versions of the mark spread out around it, a magical image of the representation of her talent rising up into the room and out the door.

“Oh!” she cried, standing up excitedly. “Just what I needed!” She galloped off towards the throne room, making sure not to overexert herself. “I wonder who’s going to be called along with me! Maybe Pinkie? She and I have never been called just the two of us before! Or Rarity! Oh, I bet an adventure with her would lead to something gorgeous! Who am I kidding? No matter who goes with me, this is sure to be--” She skidded to a stop in front of the map, seeing the image of her Cutie Mark, floating solemnly above the image of Equestria, alone. Twilight’s heart sank, her ears drooping behind her and her wings falling dejectedly. “Oh...“ She examined the map further, seeing where exactly the mark had stopped. Her face lit up once more when she recognized the image of a lightning bolt with wings. “Ah! It must be a problem with the Wonderbolts! Rainbow Dash is there, now, so I must need to solve this problem with her! After all, why would the map call her all the way here just to go to a place she’s going to be for the next several days, anyway?” She trotted away from the map, packing a saddlebag and heading out the door.

---

Twilight made her way over a gathering of clouds, looking upon the mixture of land and cloud that made up the floating Wonderbolts compound. There were uniformed Pegasus ponies flying everywhere, some of them zipping by at breakneck speeds,while others struggled to keep up. She laughed to herself, knowing full well which category she would fall under if she were to train here. She set her sights on the runway, deciding to have a little fun with her arrival.

“Okay… I may not be as fast as Rainbow Dash, but I bet I could still make a magical entrance!” She angled herself for a low landing, propelling herself to her full speed. She kept her focus on the start of the runway as she lit up her horn, charging the magic within. Several Wonderbolts, Soarin and Rainbow Dash included, came out to the runway as the Princess sped by. They followed her movements, only finding them shockingly hard to follow as she vanished in a flash of magical light only to reappear at the start of the runway, speeding by again and building up more speed. The Wonderbolts jerked their heads back and forth, watching the lilac pony as she turned into a streak of purple and pink that became near-continuous over the pavement, magenta flashes on either side of the line. When Twilight reached the highest speed she knew she could handle, she turned up, shooting into the sky above the runway, where she created a magical image of her Cutie Mark that expanded in the air behind her. She performed an immelman turn, charging through the image of her Cutie Mark, causing it to shatter into showers of light that fell to the surface below like bright magical snow. Twilight flared her wings to the sides, slowing her descent and coming in for a soft landing in front of the Wonderbolts. “How’s that for an entrance?” she asked, smirking at Rainbow Dash.

The present Pegasi held a slack-jawed stare at the arriving Alicorn, never having seen a display quite like that before, save from other Wonderbolts. “Twilight…” Rainbow Dash started, trotting over to her friend. “That was awesome! How’d you do that?”

Twilight puffed out her chest, walking towards the barracks. “Just a little something I came up with.”

Rainbow laughed, walking next to the Princess. “Okay. But why are you here, anyway? Just wanted to see me?” She quirked her eyebrows, smirking.

“Actually, I was called here by the map.” Twilight corrected, motioning a wing to her Cutie Mark.

“Cool! What’s the friendship problem?” the Pegasus replied. “I’m sure we can knock it out in no time!”

Rainbow Dash felt a tugging on her tail, dragging her to the side. “Not so fast, Crash!” The mares turned their attention to the source of the voice. There, holding Rainbow’s tail with her wing, was a yellow Pegasus mare with a fiery orange and yellow mane and tail wearing her Wonderbolts uniform. “We got a lot more flying to do before the end of the day! You may have your duties for these missions, but you’re on my time right now! Now get to it!”

Rainbow’s body went rigid as she stood at attention, saluting with her wing. “Yes, ma’am!” she answered, easing up and turning to Twilight. “You heard Spitfire. I guess I’ll help you out later, okay?”

Twilight nodded, taking a seat as Rainbow took off alongside the other Wonderbolts. They began a series of drills, practicing a new routine for an upcoming tour. Throughout the drills, there were several moments in which Rainbow fell behind, causing another of the ‘Bolts to call out and correct her. She would always groan and pick up her pace, but was quickly growing tired of clipping her wings or nearly crashing into her fellow flyers. Meanwhile, Twilight made the rounds of the compound, walking up to various ponies and asking if they’ve had any kind of problems with their friendships as of late, more often than not being met with a resounding ‘no’ as they went about their business. After several hours, Twilight hung her head, moving slowly back towards the barracks as the bell for lunch sounded.

“What’s with you today, Crash?” Spitfire asked as she and the rest of the Wonderbolts landed. “I haven’t seen you flying that badly since your first day on the team!”

“Is something wrong?” Twilight wondered, fluttering over to them.

“Nothing!” Rainbow huffed, bringing her head low as she started for the mess hall. Spitfire and Twilight looked at the Pegasus, then at one another.

“Care to elaborate?” the Princess inquired.

“Ever since she got here, she’s been in a weird funk.” Spitfire explained. “Has something changed back in Ponyville?”

Twilight stewed for several moments, scratching her chin with her hoof. “Well, I don’t think anything has happened yet.”

“Yet?” the Wonderbolt captain repeated. “What’s going on?”

“Well, I haven’t seen her since I told everypony I was gonna have a--” She paused for a moment, realization hitting her like a weather pony on a storm cloud. “... baby.” She broke into a canter towards Rainbow Dash, slowing to match her pace as she came up beside her.

“How’s the search for that friendship problem going?” the disgruntled Pegasus queried. “Anypony stick out?”

Twilight nodded, taking a deep breath in preparation. “I think so.”

“So what’s the friendship problem?” Rainbow continued, brightening up slightly.

Twilight put her wing around her blue companion. “Rainbow, I think… You’re the one with the friendship problem.”

The Wonderbolt’s head recoiled at the statement, her eyes turning fierce. “What?! How can I be the one with the friendship problem if I’m supposed to help solve it?”

“Well, Rainbow…” Twilight started, pointing to her flank again. “I’m the only one that was called by the map. At first, I thought it was because you were already here, but… I can’t find anypony other than you that’s been having problems here. So, what’s your problem?”

“I told you, there’s no problems!” she huffed, picking up her pace. “Everything’s fine!”

“That’s not what Spitfire said.” Twilight retorted, matching Rainbow’s pace. “And you’ve been acting strange ever since the picnic! What’s going on with you, Dash?”

Rainbow Dash gave a frustrated groan, looking dejectedly at the Alicorn. “There’s nothing going on with me... Why don’t you just keep looking around? I’m sure there are some ponies you missed! You’re bound to find that friendship problem!”

Twilight stopped and tilted her head as the rainbow mare trotted onward. “Okay, but we’re not done!” She called, turning to head back outside.

---

Twilight came out of the classroom of the Wonderbolts Academy, a satisfied grin on her muzzle. She had gotten to appear as a guest speaker in the class, offering advice based on her experiences learning to fly as late in life as she did. The smell of books and paper, along with the chalk in her magical grip… It was invigorating to the studious mare. She felt renewed, energized, ready to take on any problem she was faced with!

“I DON’T HAVE A PROBLEM! GOT IT?!” a raspy voice shouted in the distance. Twilight would have thought it was her husband, had she had only the sheer volume to go off of, but the voice was unmistakably Rainbow Dash.

Twilight gave a firm flap of her wings, ascending into the air and quickly closing the distance between her and the landing Wonderbolts. Fleetfoot and Thunderlane were already headed inside, while Spitfire and Soarin stood in front of the frustrated mare. Spitfire wore a stern expression, while Soarin showed concern. Twilight stopped short of them, allowing the Wonderbolts to continue.

“A tone like that tells me otherwise!” Spitfire spat. “You’re talking back to me, you’ve been flying like a filly, and you yelled at your own friend! I’ve half a mind to put you on probation!” Rainbow’s eyes went wide at the suggestion, her ears drooping as she considered the possibility.

“Now, that seems a little harsh, Spitfire.” Soarin interjected. “So she’s not at a hundred percent today. That’s never stopped me!” Spitfire turned her glare towards the white stallion, showing the kind of fire in her eyes that gets every Wonderbolt to listen without question. “Okay, why don’t we just give her some time? I’m sure she’ll be back in the zone soon!”

Spitfire looked back at Rainbow Dash, her angry glare turning less serious. “Okay, you’re not on probation.”

Rainbow’s face brightened. She put her hooves on Spitfire’s shoulders. “Thanks, Spitfire! I promise I won’t let you--”

“But…” she resumed, stopping the cyan mare. “I am ordering you to take some time off. Sort yourself out! We’ll get some of the reserves ready, so you just sit back and get stuff figured out, okay?”

Once again, the blue pony lowered her head. “Yes ma’am…” She turned away, walking towards the locker room. After a brief stint of conversation with Spitfire, Soarin quickly caught up to her. “What do you want?”

Soarin smiled at her, glad that the Wonderbolt uniform obscured his now-reddening face. “Well, I thought it still wasn’t totally fair for you to be forced into time off, so I volunteered to stick around Ponyville for a while and make sure you’re still keeping up with your practice!”

“Where are you gonna stay?” she begrudgingly asked. “You seem to be all buddy-buddy with Bolt, now. Gonna go to the castle?”

“I don’t have a problem with that!” Twilight called out from behind, causing the Pegasi to jump. She smiled up at them, waving her foreleg. “We told you already, Soarin, you’re welcome whenever!”

Rainbow wiped her forehead in relief. “Whew! It’s just you…” She landed next to the Princess, resting her wings. “You find that friendship problem?”

“Nopony but you seems to be off today.” She stated.

“Well, then, the map must be on the fritz again,” she suggested. “‘cause I don’t have a problem!” Soarin raised a hoof, his mouth open only slightly as Rainbow glared daggers at him. “Right, Soarin?”

Soarin sighed, letting his hoof fall to the floor. “Actually, Rainbow Dash, I think the Princess has a point. Your performance hasn’t been good, and your behavior is worse. If that’s not evidence of a problem, I dunno what is. Why don’t you just tell her what’s going on with you?”

Rainbow Dash growled, shaking her head and beginning to seethe. “It’s not anything that’s going on with me that’s bugging me…” she admitted. She raised her head and flared her wings, turning around to point a hoof at Twilight. “It’s what’s going on with you that I don’t like! That thing that happened with you and… Boltsinger… It’s gonna change everything! And I’m not sure how I feel about that!”

The Princess sighed, knowing that Rainbow had a point. “Yes, the baby is going to be a big change. We’re all going to have to make some of our own changes to adjust to that. But why does that bug you so much? You were so happy when Cadence and Shining Armor were going to have a baby! What’s so different here?”

“Neither Cadence nor Shining Armor are one of my best friends!” she shouted, flaring her wings. “I don’t go out on epic, awesome adventures with either of them! I don’t team up with them to save Equestria, solve mysteries, help heroes, and kick butt with them! I do all of that stuff with you and the girls! And it’s the best part of my life!”

Twilight’s eyes widened as the impact of her friend’s words consumed her. She puzzled for several moments, shaking her head only slightly as she worked up what she wanted to say. “But… what about being a Wonderbolt? Wasn’t that your dream? And you’re doing that right now!”

“Yeah! Being a Wonderbolt is truly living the dream!” Rainbow admitted, looking around the barracks. “But going out and being heroes with my best friends? That’s better than any dream!”

Twilight let a smile explode onto her face as she nearly tackled her friend in a hug. “I had no idea you felt this way!” she cried, squeezing almost as tight as Pinkie Pie. “I love going on adventures with you, too!”

Rainbow reciprocated the embrace, pulling away slightly. “I’m glad to hear that, but… You’re gonna be a mom soon… Whether we like it or not, you won’t be able to just get up and go adventuring like you used to! I can’t ask you to drop everything just to go and risk your life! I’m happy that you’re happy, but… I’m not happy, okay! All this stuff changing, I just wish things would go back to how they used to be!” She broke the hug, walking towards the mess hall again. “Sometimes I just wish he never showed up…”

Twilight’s foreleg lingered in the air as her hindquarters dropped to the floor. “Rainbow…”

“No, don’t…” she started, looking somberly back. “Soarin’s right… I need some time… I’m going home. I don’t care what you do, just… leave me alone for a while.”

Twilight’s flank began to glow again, the images of her Cutie Mark flying into the central one as her head dropped down. She stood up, looking at the glowing mark as she plodded her way out of the compound. “How can my job be done? My friendship is worse off than it was before…”

Author's Note:

I know, the problem here isn't necessarily "solved". Sometimes admitting to having a problem is a problem of its own. Rainbow is just too stubborn to admit it, especially when it means hurting a friend's feelings.
Starting on the next chapter soon! I hope you enjoy it!

Comments

[everydaygamer]

Another good chapter, out of curiosity do you have any intention of having Bolt meet Sunset at some point?

[Boltsinger]

8753127
It's something I've considered. I've had ideas involving interactions with characters like Flash Sentry, as well. I feel like if I were to bring Sunset in, I would probably have to do a story devoted to an adventure in the EQG world. The idea is there, and it does bring some interesting interactions to mind (The Bolt we know meeting Sci-Twi, maybe?), but it's not quite at the forefront right now.