> The Canadian Brony > by Biglaw > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- > Prologue > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- Prologue The past is something that should be let go, but for me, so much has happened. I've moved five times, each time going somewhere different. My life keeps taking me to new places, but you all know the saying, "Live and let live". I've lost some pets too, two cats, one dog. My mother even left me, but my father is a good man. He probably knew twenty times as much as my mom did about... Well, anything pretty much! One night I decided that I'd check out My Little Pony, thinking it was going to be the bane of my existence, but I saw all the joy, and, it made me feel... Almost happier. I watched as many episodes as I could, and with everyone I watched, I felt a bit better. I made more friends, and, wait, I'm getting off track, so let this tale begin! > Chapter One > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- Chapter One "Hey man listen..." "...And I was like BOOM! And he laughed until..." All the noises coming from around me were just a tad bit irritating, not a huge fan of crowded hallways. But when that's the only way to go, that's where you got to go. "Hey, HEY!" I heard my friend call out for me, so I turned around to see him with a cut on his face "Oh man, what happened to you?!?" I exclaimed. "Some fucking idiot thought It'd be a smart idea to launch plastic knives all across the cafeteria!" He belted out at me. So I said to him "Don't worry, just follow me to my locker." and so he did. "So Derrick, why are we going to your locker again?" Tyler asked "I got some stuff that will make the pain dull down a bit." ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- As I said that we got to my locker, I put in the combination "32, 15, 40" I said to myself quietly, and my locker opened up. Unsurprisingly some books and paper fell out. I was quick to grab them, due to me having some doodles of ponies on them. I stuffed them into my locker, and I grabbed a bandage as well as a small spray bottle full of a clear liquid. "Uhh, dude? What's that?" Tyler asked with a slight worried tone in his voice. "Oh don't worry, this stuff is made of..." I quickly check the back and I read the first ingredient I see "...Titanium Trioxcide!" I exclaim. I spray some on the cut, Tyler had cringed a bit so it wouldn't get in his eye, and I placed a bandage on his face. "Do you want me to kiss it better?" I ask sarcastically "God no." Tyler sternly replied. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- As the day went on, I had gotten my stuff done in class, and I headed home, well, Apartment, I should say. I get in the building, go up the elevator, and I take off my bag, grab a glass of water "Great Celestia this tastes SO much better after school." I say to myself. I then head into my room and shut the door, open up my netbook, and start watching My Little Pony. "Ahh, Sonic Rainboom, my favorite episode." I mutter to myself as I watch the episode. I feel nice watching the show, only if I could be there... I think as the episode ends. The time is about 7:00PM, according to my alarm clock. Time to read some fan fiction, now which one... ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- After reading a few of the featured stories I look over to the alarm clock, 10:25PM. "Uggghhhh.... Maybe Equestria Daily has something interesting to read." I moan to myself as I put in the address, and I browse the site, nothing too interesting on it. I decide to go back to reading fan fiction, and I look at a link, It's my favorite story! I thought, and I clicked on it. I started reading it, and before I knew it, the alarm clock said 1:26AM. "Ah well, there's only a few more chapters." I mutter quietly. As I read through the chapters, I felt myself getting more and more tired. "Final chapter, come on Derrick, you can read it...". As I read the last words of the final chapter, I flopped onto my bed, and I expected to fall into a dark, quiet slumber, but instead, I hear a voice, and I see a light. Derrick, Derrick, can you hear me? The voice sounded heavenly, and it seemed oh so very familiar, it hit me, and I yelled out "CELESTIA?!?" > Chapter Two > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- Chapter Two I could hardly see where the voice was coming from, even though I knew who it was. Celestia. Princess Celestia. "Derrick, can you hear me?" the heavenly voice called out. "Yes, I can hear you." I responded. The light had begun to die down, and the Alicorn appeared from its wake. Unsurprisingly, she stood taller than my father, and had a multi coloured mane, which seemed to flow as if carried by a gentle breeze. She was snow white in colour, and had a sun for a cutie mark. Her eyes were violet, and her horn was about 18 inches long. "Celes- Princess Celestia, why have you come here?" I ask "There is very little time, we must hurry." Celestia hastily responded "Why? What is wr-" before I could finish my sentence, she had put her horn on my forehead, and I saw an extremely bright light. What is going on, why is this happening? I try to move my arms, but I cannot do anything, Why can't I move anything? I thought to myself. As I continue to wonder what this situation is, I feel myself start to fall. Crap. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- The wind around me starts to fly into my face, and I could feel the world start to form around me. First, the sky. I began to see into the distance, and I saw Cloudsdale Looks so much bigger than in the show, then I began to see the mountains, and I saw Canterlot. When I can, I'm going to ask the princess what's happening., and finally, I see the ground. The ground... Wait, GROUND? I flail my limbs in hope of something being achieved, but nothing seemed to help. If I remember correctly, drag can cause something to descend slower. Thank you math! I spread my limbs out as far as I can, and I slow down a bit I'm not slowing down fast enough! Come on, there's gotta be something else that will slow me down! I look to my side and facehoofed. Wings! Why didn't I notice these! I open up my wings, and they catch a lot of the wind, which made me spin backwards. Great Celestia, why couldn't you have just put me on the ground?!? ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- After spinning around from the updraft, I become extremely worn out. Shouldn't be surprised, considering I've never flown before. I feel like I can't take much more flying, and one of my wings fold back in from exhaustion. "Well, this can't really get worse." I begin to spiral towards the ground, and I try to open my wing, and I can just barely do so. I attempt to level myself, but I am still going down. I'm about 300 feet off of the ground when my wing gives in, again. I begin to fall at a rapid pace, unable to pull up at all Oh God, oh God, oh God. I'm about 50 feet from the ground, and there is no stopping my fall. Well, it's been a good run. Or fall, I should say. I hit the ground at about a 15 degree angle, and I roll about 10 feet. "Uggghhh... My legs..." I mutter to myself. I look to my legs, and they are awkwardly bent, and they are scratched up as well. Well, ain't this just dandy. My legs are broken, and there is nopony here! Thank you Celestia!. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Many emotions are going through my head right now. Anger, fear, sadness. The fact that my legs are broken don't exactly help out the situation either. Well, i guess I'm just going to have to wait here until somepony comes. I lied there for about an hour, and the sun was beginning to set. Where is everypony? Sigh. I lie there for about fifteen more minutes, when suddenly, I see something in the sky. Could it be? An actual pony? "Hey!" I call out, but they didn't hear me. "HEY! YOU UP THERE! I yelled out. Holy crap, that was almost as loud as the Royal Canterlot voice! The pony had heard me yell, and was approaching with haste. "Hey! You! Why'd you yell at me?" The rainbow maned pegasus asked. "Well, I'm not sure if you can notice this but..." I look to my legs, and her mouth stood ajar. "Holy cow! How did that happen?" the pegasus asked "Does it really matter? I can't walk! Could you help me out?" I ask. "Oh, yeah! Of course!" she happily responded. She flew down next to me, and she said "The name is Rainbow. Rainbow Dash. What's yours?" Oh man, everypony here has some sort of name that's related to their cutie mark, what would mine be? I quickly look to my cutie mark, it's a lightning bolt with a star behind it "Well? What is it? Or are you too chicken to tell me?" "My name is... Star Bolt. You can just call me Bolt, if you want." I reply. "Well, Bolt, your pretty dinged up, I think it's be best if I got Twilight to help you get to the hospital." She said "Alright, I'll wait here. Not like I have anything else to do." I reply, and she flew away as quick as she could. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- I lied there for about three minutes, when I saw a stream across the sky in a rainbow fashion. She's back! And hopefully with Twilight as well. "Hey! Bolt! I got Twilight here!" She yelled out to me. "Thank you!" I shout back, she gave me a smile, and Twilight hopped off her back. "Hello there, Bolt? I believe?" she said. I nodded and she began to levitate me with her magic. Kind of feels the same as when I came here. The walk to the hospital was about fifteen minutes, and when we got in, there was a stretcher ready for me. "Thanks Dash, thanks Twilight. I'd probably be stuck in that field still if it weren't for you girls." I said. "It was my pleasure!" Twilight said "Yeah, same here. You seem pretty cool Bolt, maybe we can hang out after you get fixed up?" she replied "Yeah, that would be pretty cool! Thanks again you guys." They both smiled and I felt myself being moved. "Now Bolt, we're going to do some x-rays to see what is broken, okay?" The doctor said. I nodded, and was pushed into another room. The x-rays weren't too long, and the doctor said I had broken my right front leg, and the others were only sprained. "Now Bolt, you're going to have to stay for at least tonight." I nodded, and the doctor was about to leave the room when I said "Hey doc, is Rainbow Dash still here?" The doctor looked at me and said "Yes, why do you ask?" "Oh, I just wanted to see her, could you get her for me?" I ask. He nodded in approval, and went to get Rainbow Dash. A few minutes later, she walked into my room. "Hey Bolt, you wanted to see me?" Dash said. "Yeah, I just wanted to thank you again for what you did. You're pretty awesome." I replied. "Yeah, I am pretty awesome." she said. "Hey Rainbow Dash, do you think you could stay here for tonight?" I ask her. She gave me a smile, and said "Sure, I wouldn't mind staying here with you. And Bolt?" "Yeah?" "Call me Dash." > Chapter Three > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- Chapter Three I felt comfort, with Dash sitting by me. She had pretty much saved me. Man, I gotta find a way to pay her back... But how? "So Bolt, how did you end up like that" Dash asked "Oh, um, err..." I was kind of embarrassed "Well? Are you going to say it?" "I kind of, well, crashed." I was blushing when I said that to her. "How did you crash? You should know how to fly, right?" Dash said "Well, no. Not really." I sighed, and put a pillow over my head. "Well, hey, how about I help you learn to fly? I mean, it's be kind of mean not to." Dash spoke, and she saw my ear spring up when she said it. "I knew it, now come on Bolt, get your face out of that pillow." I pulled the comfy pillow from my face, and smiled at Dash. "So Dash, how did you get your cutie mark?" I ask. She smiled and said "Well, back in Cloudsdale when I was just a filly, I was challenged to a race. The boys who thought they could beat me were wrong." "Why?" "They were wrong because I was going fast. Faster than when I got Twilight. I was going so fast, I made a Sonic Rainboom." I knew what a Sonic Rainboom was, but I had to play along. "A Sonic Rainboom?" I asked "Yeah, It's when I go so fast, I break the sound barrier and a HUGE rainbow coloured explosion happens!" Dash said ecstatically. Seeing the joy in her eyes when she said that made me pull out a giant smile, and she smiled back. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Dash and I were talking when a nurse came in the room with a tray of food "Here you go Bolt! Here's your dinner." The nurse had put the tray on my side table, and then left. "Yuck." Dash said "Why yuck?" I ask. "I was in here too, I hurt my wings, and I was stuck here for three days. The food wasn't exactly the best." I gave Dash a shrug, and asked her to hand me the tray, since I can't use my hooves to grab it. "Here's the grub, hope you'll enjoy it more than I did." Dash said with a smile. I was unsure on how exactly to eat it, but I decided to just put my face in the food and try to eat it. Dash looked at me for a second, and burst out laughing. "What? I can't use my hooves!" I say with a half-full mouth. Dash is still on the floor, laughing her flank off. After "Eating" my meal, I ask Dash if she could grab me a mirror. Why? I haven't really had a chance to see what I looked like. Dash asked why I wanted a mirror, I just said "To make sure my face wasn't all messed up.". Dash put the mirror in front of me, and I tried to grab it with my left hoof. "Feels almost, natural to grab this." I took a look at myself "Well, my coat is a light brown, I have hazel eyes, and a dark brown mane. Seems similar to my human self.". I put the mirror down, and I was feeling tired. I let out a yawn, and so did Dash. "Hey Dash, I think it's time I hit the hay." I drowsily said "Yeah, same here. 'Night Bolt." What Dash did next made my wings pop open a bit, she gave me a hug. She noticed, and blushed a bit. I blushed too, and she went to a chair and fell asleep smiling. "Dash, you're the best." The next morning the doctor had walked into my room and said "Good news Bolt, we can fix up those breaks and sprains today!" I was half asleep when he started talking, but when he said "Today!" I sprung up "Really?" I said excitedly "Yes, now, if you want, we can start now, and you can leave by lunch.". I was thrilled, I accepted and went off to get my breaks repaired, and by noon, I was out of the hospital. "Ahhh... Walking." I said to myself. I then wondered "Where's Dash?". Then as if on cue, she swooped down in front of me! "Gah!" I fell onto my flank, and Dash was laughing, again. "Dash! That's not funny!" She came down and stood next to me "I'm sorry Bolt, I just couldn't resist!" She gave me a hug, and she started to fly towards Ponyville "Uh, Dash?" I said to her. She looked back and I flapped my wings "Oh, yeah, you can't fly. Hey! I was going to teach you to fly! Right?" "Yeah, so, where should we go?" I asked "Well, we could go to a field under my house! It's an open place." Dash said happily "Alright then! Lets head on over there!" "Flying, she makes it look so easy. Perhaps it is?" It takes us twenty minutes to walk to the field under her house. "Well, under home sweet home!" Dash said with a smile. I laughed at the joke and we began. "Alright Bolt, all you have to do is open your wings like this." I did as Dash instructed. "Now, just give yourself a bit of a jump, and flap your wings!" I did so, and believe it or not, I was flying! "Oh my god, this is so easy!" "Alright, now that I'm up here, lets see how fast I can go!" I try flying quickly, but Dash caught up to me with ease "Whoa man, you just started flying, don't try and do sonic rainbooms!" She said jokingly. I gave her a smirk, and I went off flying. "Hey man wait up! You're a newbie and you think you can beat me?" She shouted at me "Buck yeah!" I shout back. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- I was flying faster than I thought I ever could. "The wind in my mane, it feels... AWESOME!" I was flying so fast, I crossed over Ponyville in less than 20 seconds, the speed felt incredible, I felt free. Dash had caught up and was smiling at me "You're pretty awesome for somepony who can't fly!" Dash said "Well, I guess it's beginners luck?" I say back. "Yeah, but I don't think a beginner can do this!" Dash shot up at least 300 feet in 5 seconds, and shot straight down, when a cone was forming around her, and she did it. A Sonic Rainboom. I was in awe. I had never seen one before, at least, not on a computer screen. The blast was powerful, and I was flung upwards. "Maybe I should give it a shot." I said. I was about 1300 feet off the ground when I began to nose dive. Dash was a good 500 feet away from me when she saw me going straight down. "Bolt! What are you doing?" She yelled out "A Sonic Rainboom!!!" I yelled back. I was gathering a lot of speed, and a cone began to form around me. "This is it." I did it. I broke the sound barrier. I felt like I was just still for about half a second, then the velocity hit me. "HOLY CELESTIA THIS FEELS GREAT!" I shouted out. I saw the rainboom colour, it was a hazel colour, with small bits of rainbow in there. I must've been flying for hours, because by the time that I landed, the sun was setting. "Hey Bolt! You have some pretty awesome moves!" Dash said. "Thanks! But it's you who's awesome. You taught me to fly, pretty much!" I replied. Dash flew over to me and gave me a hug, and I gave her back a bigger hug. "Hey Dash?" "Yeah Bolt?" "Do you think, I could maybe, stay at your place tonight?" Dash had given it some thought, and said "Alright, you can come over, but don't think about pulling any moves on me." "Alright. Seems like a fair trade." Dash had given me a smile, and I did so back to her. We then flew to her cloud home, and man, clouds are COMFY! "Wow, you have a pretty nice place here!" I complimented "Thanks!" Dash said, and gave me another hug. My stomach growled, a bit loudly. So did Dash's. "Sounds like an Ursa Minor is in here." I said jokingly. Dash laughed and flew to the kitchen. "Well, what do you want? I have some leftover cake from Pinkie's party yesterday, some daisies, and some bread." "I wouldn't mind some bread." I said. "Suit yourself, I'm having cake!". After a quick bite to eat, we were both tired. "Alright Dash, I think I'm gonna go to bed. Mind if I sleep on the couch?" I asked. "What? There's room in my bed for two, and I don't have any extra blankets, so I would mind if you slept on the couch." Dash said, with a wink. "Alright then, to your room then." I said kindheartedly. > Chapter Four > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- Chapter Four "So Dash, where's your room?" I ask "Oh, just over here." Dash responds. Dash opens the door to her room, and I step in. "So, you're a big fan of the Wonderbolts, huh?" "Yeah, ever since I was a filly, I wanted to be a part of The Wonderbolts." She said. "Got a big comfy looking bed you have there." "Yeah, cumulus. Really soft.". Dash jumps onto the bed and jumps on it a bit. "It's also really bouncy!" she said happily. "Well, how about I see for myself?" I reply, and I join in on the jumping. "She was right, it IS really soft!" "So how did you get a cloud for a bed?" "Well, what else could I have gotten? Anything else would've fallen out of my house!" Dash said. After jumping around for about ten minutes, we were both really tired at that point. "So, should we go to bed now?" I ask "Yeah, we should. I got to do some weather control tomorrow." Dash replied. We then both got under the cloud-like blanket, and were out faster than a sonic rainboom. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- We both woke up at around the same time, both still slightly drowsy from the late night. I open my eyes slowly to see the beautiful mare next to me, still half asleep. "Good morning Dashie." I said "Dashie?" she said with a smirk "Oh, I'm sorry if you don't want-" I was interrupted by Dash when she gave me a kiss on the cheek "It's cute, Bolt." At that point I was blushing, a lot. "Did she just.... Kiss me? Yes, I think she just did." "So... Dashie, what do you want for breakfast?" I said, still flustered from the kiss I just received. "I think I'll stop by a cafe in Cloudsdale, I gotta get going soon." Dash said, with a bit of a frown. "Well, I guess I should get going now. You have to get ready. I'll meet up with you later then?" I asked "Yeah, see ya later Bolt." Dash said, and gave me another kiss on the cheek "Yep, she kissed me.". ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- I leave Dash's house at about 9:30 am, and I head towards Ponyville to talk to Twilight, and to thank her for what she did for me as well. I fly to the Library and I arrive at about 10 am. I knock on the door and wait for somepony to answer. As I wait I see a dark grey pegasus with a crimson and white mane wearing a cloak following Colgate around. "Heh, something seems familiar about him, oh well. Somepony is at the door now." The door swings open, and there is not a pony at the door, but a baby dragon. "Hello there sir! Is there anything I can do for you?" The purple dragon asks "Yeah, could you get Twilight for me? I need to talk to her." I say "Uh, Okay!" he says, and runs into the library and yells "Twi! There's somepony at the door for you!" "Let them in Spike! I'm just reading a book and I want to finish the chapter!" "Okay!" Spike walks over and guides me into the library. "Hey there, I'm Spike! Who are you?" Spike asks "My name is Star Bolt, but you can call me Bolt. I'm new around here." I reply. Then, out of nowhere, a pink maned mare pops into the library excitedly "Did somepony say they're NEW here?" She asked, then ran right over to me "Hey! I don't know who YOU are! What's your name?" The mare asked "His name is St-" I stuffed my hoof in Spike's mouth "My name is Star Bolt, you can just call me Bolt." I reply, then remove my hoof from Spike's mouth. "Oooohhh! You're new here! We gotta throw a party for you!" the mare said excitedly, then ran off. "Uh, who was that?" I ask "Oh, that was just Pinkie Pie. She LOVES to throw parties." Spike said. Twilight finally emerged from her room and smiled when she saw me. "Hey Bolt! Good to see you on your hooves again!" ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Twilight brought herself down the stairs and sat next to me "So Bolt, what have you been up to?" Twilight asks "I, uhh, was flying around yesterday. Yeah, flying. It was fun." I said. Twilight gave me a funny look, but something else grabbed her attention "What's going on Twilight?" I ask "Oh, I should write a letter to the princess about you coming to Ponyville, It's not everyday somepony crashes just outside of Ponyville." I nodded, and thought "Maybe the princess will FINALLY explain as to why I am here." "Alright Spike, are you ready?" Spike nodded, and so the letter began. "Dear Princess Celestia: Two days ago a pony by the name of Star Bolt was found by Rainbow Dash, and he was hurt. But Rainbow and I had brought him the attention he needed and has made a recovery. I feel that Star Bolt will be a very good member to our community! Your Faithful Student, Twilight Sparkle." Twilight then rolled up the letter, and Spike sent it to the princess for her to read. "Say, Star Bolt, do you like any books?" Twilight asked. "Hmmm, no books I can think of right now." I replied. Then, moments after I said that, Spike coughed up a letter from the Princess. "Ah! That was quick! Let's see what she wrote!" Twilight exclaimed. "Dear Twilight Sparkle: It is good to hear that there is a new citizen of Ponyville. I must ask of you a favor though, gather your friends and Star Bolt as well and meet me in Canterlot in one week. Your faithful teacher, Princess Celestia.". "Wow! The princess wants to see you! I wonder why?" Twilight exclaimed "I have NO idea" I thought to myself. > Chapter Five > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- Chapter Five After receiving the letter from Celestia, Twilight had started pacing around the Library "Uh, Twilight? What are you doing?" I ask "I'm just wondering why Princess Celestia would want to meet you? I mean, she's never done anything like this in the past." She replied, still pacing about. "Well, is there anything I should do Twilight?" "Yes, how about you meet everypony else? I'm sure they're wondering who you are!" Twilight cheerfully responds. I nod, and I wave my hoof good-bye to Spike and Twilight, and I leave the store. "Who should I visit first?" I wonder. As I walk about Ponyville, I see that same pegasus with the red and white mane, still chatting away to Colgate. "I swear I know that pony from somewhere, but where?". The pegasus saw that I looked at him, and gave a kiss on the cheek to Colgate, and walked towards me. "Oh no, what should I say? Uggh I am not good with talking to complete strangers!" "Hey there, you gave me a bit of a weird look, anyways, you seem new around here." The pegasus said with a friendly tone in his voice. "Yeah, my name is Star Bolt, call me Bolt. What's yours?" "Flare Chaser. You can call me Flare." I felt a bit better, knowing he was somepony who was nice. "Well, I'd love to keep talking Bolt, but I gotta go to some stuff with Colgate. See ya around!" "Bye Flare!" I waved my hoof, and I was on my way. I continue to walk around until I find myself at Carousel Boutique "Well, here's Rarity's house, err, shop." . I step in and I find a filly with a periwinkle and pink mane walking around. "Oh, hi there! Is Rarity in?" I ask the filly "Oh, yeah! She's here! RARITY! SOMEPONY IS HERE TO SEE YOU! ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- I nearly fell on my flank when Sweetie Belle yelled like that "Holy Buck that was loud!" "Coming Sweetie Belle!" I heard Rarity call from upstairs, and heard hoofsteps come down some stairs. "Now, who is at the door Sweetie Belle?" Rarity asked "I don't know, who are you mister?" "My name is Star Bolt, but you can just call me Bolt." Rarity walked into the room, and smiled at me. "Hello Bolt, how may I help you today?" Rarity asked. "Oh, I'm new around here, and Twilight said I should meet her friends, and you seem to be one of them!" I reply happily. "That's good to hear, my name is Rarity darling. Oh dear..." " What is it Rarity?" I ask worryingly "Your mane! It's a complete mess!" Rarity said with a dramatic tone in her voice "Ah, my mane. What do you suggest I do about the situation?" I ask sarcastically "Well for starters..." Rarity started. "Oh Celestia what have I done?" . . . . . . . "And that is what you should do!" Rarity finished, after talking for a good half hour "Well, I would LOVE to keep talking, but I have to meet the others as well." "Oh dear! I completely forgot! I'm sorry for taking up your precious time!" Rarity apologizes. "It's fine, I still have a couple hours to burn." "Say, the next time you need something made, you just ask darling, okay?" "Why, that'd be great! Thanks Rarity! No wonder you're the element of generosity!" I reply. Rarity gave me a smile, and she opened the door with her magic. I gave Rarity a smile, and left the store. "Who should I visit now?" I wondered. As I was walking about, I felt something fall on my head. I put my hoof in my mane, and I felt crumbs. I looked up to see a light grey pegasus flying above me eating a muffin "My bad!" she yelled out. I smiled and thought, "Derpy, you're silly." ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- I brushed the crumbs out of my mane, and decided to take to the air. "Still feels great being able to fly, I mean, who wouldn't enjoy it?" I fly to Fluttershy's cottage outside of Everfree Forest, and I land in front of the door. I knock on the door, and hear a soft voice inside say "Angel dear, could you get the door?" I hear a tapping noise come closer to the door, and the door swings open. "Hello there, is Fluttershy around?" I ask the bunny "Oh, you can come in! I'm just making Angel bunny his food." Fluttershy said. I walked in, and I nod to Angel. He just crosses his arms and gives me a smug look "Fine, be a twit" I thought to myself. "Hello, there. Um, my name is, um, Fluttershy. What's your name?" Fluttershy asked shakily "My name is Star Bolt, feel free to call me Bolt" I say cheerfully. "Oh, um, hello Bolt. Why did you come to my house?" Fluttershy asks "Oh, I met Twilight, and she said I should visit her friends. It's nice to meet you!" I say with a smile "Uh, Nice to meet you too Bolt!" Fluttershy said with a smile. I give her a smile back, and I look over to Angel. He was tapping his foot, and pointing to his stomach "Oh my, Angel deary you must be hungry, let's get you fed now." Fluttershy said worryingly "I can see you're busy, maybe I could come over some other time." I said "Uh, um, yes. I think that would be good." Fluttershy said, and brought Angel into the kitchen. I left the cottage and closed the door behind me. I take to the air again, and I fly over to Sweet Apple Acres. "Time to meet the apples! Hopefully they're as nice as they are in the show.". I arrive at Sweet Apple Acres after flying for about ten minutes. I see a tall, red stallion out by a barn, and I decide to fly down to meet him. "Hey there, this is where the Apple's live, right?" I ask Big Mac "Eeyup." "*Squee*! He said Eeyup!" "So, is Applejack around?" "Eeyup." Big Mac said "Do you know where she is?" "Eenope." Big Mac said, with a bit of a frown. "Well, I'll go try and find her. Thanks for everything! And the name's Big Mac, right?" "Eeyup!". ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- I head to the air in search of Applejack. "I wonder where she is?" I thought, but then, I saw an orange pony lying down under an apple tree with a hat over their face. "Found her.". I flew down and landed gently about five meters away from her, and I gently start to walk over to her. "Ah could hear ya when ya landed pardner." She says "She's good." I thought to myself. "Hey there, I was told you are Applejack, was I told the right thing?" I ask "Most certainly partner! Say, I haven't seen yer face around 'ere before, are ya a newcomer?" She asked "Why, I am! Thanks for noticing." I replied "Anytime, so may ah ask why you came out here?" She asked "I was with Twilight, and she said that I should meet her friends, and you seem to match the description!" I say happily "Well, it's nice to meet yah, and yer name is?" "The name's Star Bolt. Feel free to call me Bolt." I said. "Well Bolt, It's nice to meet yah, but Twilight said she wanted me and the others to go to the Library. She also wants ya to come too." Applejack said. "Oh well, alright then! Let's get going." Applejack and I were walking together to the library, and it was a good ten minutes from Ponyville. "So, Applejack, do ya know why we are heading to the library?" I ask her. She was smiling, but when I asked her that question, her face drooped a bit. "Ah, I uh, no. I dunno anything. Nuthin'." Applejack said with an odd look. "Alright then Applejack. If you say so." I say, knowing she's hiding something. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- After about ten minutes of walking, we finally get to the library, but the lights are shut off. I could see from the outside. "Well, mares first!" I point towards the door, and Applejack walks in. I follow, and the lights all flip on and I hear a synonymous "SURPRISE!" > Chapter Six > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- The amount of ponies that were in the library was incredible, there must've been at least forty ponies in there. I saw Colgate, Derpy, Lyra, Bon-Bon, Doctor Whooves, even Cheerilee! "Hey Bolt! Surprise!" Pinkie ran up to me, and shot confetti in my face. "Heh, Pinkie, that was a good one!" I complimented "I have no idea where she got that confetti." "Thank you! But it's you who is important!" "Why is that Pinkie?" I ask "Well DUH! It's YOUR welcoming party!" Pinkie Pie jumped up and down in excitement. I looked around the library, and I saw a big bowl of punch, a big banner saying "Welcome to Ponyville Star Bolt!", a few kegs of cider, and a gigantic cake! "Holy buck! Who made that cake?!?" I say in awe "I did silly filly!" Pinkie Pie happily shouted "Wow, a cake that large. It must be at least four feet tall! How did Pinkie manage it all by herself?" I thought to myself. "What's in it Pinkie?" I ask "Oh I just put some chocolate and vanilla cake together, and it's got a raspberry icing!" Pinkie said with glee. "Sounds good! I think I'll check it out!" I went over to the cake and Twilight had hovered over a slice of cake to me. "Go on Bolt, try it! It's delicious!" She said with some frosting on her muzzle. I grabbed the plate, and took a bite of the cake. I am not sure is Pinkie put something weird in the cake, but I felt my irises widen about an inch "Holycelestiaandlunathiscakeisdeliciousness.". That was what was going through my mind when I took that first bite. "So? How is the cake Bolt?" Twilight asks. I didn't exactly hear her. I was in a state of nirvana. "This is the single most delicious thing I have tasted ever. Is it made of deliciousness itself?" I just sat there on my flank, Twilight was looking at me with a grin. She gave me a nudge, and I returned to the real world "That.... That..." I can barely talk, stumbling over my own words "Bolt? Is everything al-" "Was... DELICIOUS!" I shouted out with glee, and I continued to eat my slice. While I was eating my cake, the pony I had met before came up to me and gave me a tap on the shoulder. I turned around and I saw the pegasus from earlier "Oh, hey Flare! How are you doing?" I ask "I'm doing good. This sure is one heck of a party. Won't be surprised if Pinkie gets drunk." "Why, and how, could Pinkie get drunk?" "Check the cider out, it's a good batch." Flare said. "Ahh, Colgate, she's the best mare somepony could ask for." "Yeah, she looks fairly nice." She is, anyways, I'll catch up with you later, gonna have some more of that cake. See you around Bolt." I wave to Flare, and I head towards the kegs of cider. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- I get over to the kegs of cider, and I see a stallion drinking some of the cider. "Hey, you! Aren't you *hic* Star Bolt?" the drunken stallion says "Yes I am, what's yours?" "The name, is Alexx. Care to drink?" Alexx asks. "Maybe a bit later I gotta find somepony." "Suit yourself, more cider for me!" Alexx says, then takes a swig of his cider. I walk through away from the cider in search of something less alcohol involved, and I run into Vinyl Scratch. "Hey! It's S-Bolt!" Vinyl says in an upbeat manner. "Hey! It's Vinyl, right?" I ask "Buck yeah it is! Vinyl Scratch!" She said, and give me a huge smile. "Hey, if you want, I could put on a tune, anything you want to listen to, just ask!" "Wow, thanks for the offer Vinyl, but I'm good with what's on." "Whatever. Hey, why'd you come to Ponyville?" Vinyl asked "Uhh, crap, think of something!!!" "I, uh, came here looking for change. Yeah, I was in Manehatten, and it was too crowded for me." "Good save brain!" "Ahh, Manehatten. big city. I wasn't a fan of it too much either, but hey, everypony has their preferences." Vinyl said. "Yeah, hey Vinyl I'll catch up with you a bit later, I'm gonna find Rainbow Dash." "Alright Bolt, enjoy the party!" Vinyl said. I went away from Vinyl Scratch, and it wasn't long before I found Dashie. I tapped her on the shoulder to get her attention. "Hey there Dashie." Dash turned around and blushed at me, as well as giving me a smile "Hey there Bolt, how was your day?" Dash said "It was okay, though about twenty percent more boring without you around." I said in a loving tone of voice. Dash leaned over to me and gave me a kiss on the cheek. I was blushing, yet again. I returned the favor to Dash, and gave her a hug as well. "Hey Bolt, want to get some cider?" "Sure, being around somepony as hot as you would make anypony thristy." I said with a smirk, and Dash gave me a smile back ." You must've gotten all the mares back in Manehatten didn't you?" Dash said "Heh, far from." We get over to the kegs, and Alexx is still drinking his cider. "Hey Bolt! Dash! You guys want a drink?" Alexx asked, we both nodded, and he used his magic to get us some cider. I raise my mug up to Dash's, and we tap them together, and both take a swig "Wow, this stuff is REALLY good!" I exclaim "Yeah, this stuff is hard as buck to get when it's not at a Pinkie Party.". We both continued to sip down our cider, while Alexx was talking to Pinkie, who was unsurprisingly drunk. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- "Hey! *hic* Bolt and Dash! I bet I could... I could, uh, drink more cider than you!" Alexx boasted. Dash and I both looked at each other and nodded. "Alright Alexx, I bet we can drink more than you can!" Alexx gave us a drunken smile, and levitated many mugs of cider onto a nearby table. The three of us had walked to the table, and we sat down on one end of it. "Alright. Three, t-*hic*two, one, DRINK!" Alexx shouted. Dash and I grabbed our mugs, and downed them in ten seconds flat. We grabbed our second mugs while Alexx was still halfway through his first. Apparently, we were making a commotion, and a group of ponies had gathered around us, most saying "Chug! Chug! Chug!" or something of that nature. Dash and I finished our second mugs, and grabbed our third mugs "Whoa guys, let me *hic* catch up!" Alexx said, with a mouthful of cider. Dash and I were giggling like fillies, and weren't thinking that much after the fifth mug of cider. "Well, I'm smashed, great." "Hey, Bolt?" Dash asked "Yeah Dashie?" "Do you love me?" "Dashie, I couldn't think of a single reason not to." Dash gave me a smile, and she leaned over to me. Her muzzle was brushing against mine, and I went in for a kiss on the lips. She went in too, and when our lips met, I felt her tongue meet my tongue. "This is SO awesome" Her tongue felt incredible as our lips were locked together. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- We must've been kissing for a while, because by the time we were done, almost everypony was gone. "What? Where'd everypony go?" I asked "Oh, most of 'em went home, it's almost midnight." Spike said. I saw Alexx on the floor next to Pinkie, both with mugs in hoof. "Hey Bolt?" "Yeah Dash?" "You wanna come over to my place for the night?" "Was Dash asking me to... No, well, maybe she is. Ehhh, Buck it" "Yeah, sure! Let's get going." We left the Library at about midnight, and we flew back to Dash's cloud house. We felt like flying a bit slower, just to enjoy the night sky. "Wow, Luna did a good job, eh?" I say "Yeah, the moon is full, the sky is clear. It looks great Bolt." We made it back to Dash's cloud home, and we both were still awake. "Hey Bolt?" "Yeah Dashie?" "Come with me, I want to show you something." I followed her, and we went into her room. "That was the best night of my life." > Chapter Seven > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- Chapter Seven I lay next to the beautiful mare that I just slept with. "So Dashie, how was it?" I ask with a smile "It was one of the best things that has happened to me, next to meeting somepony like you." Dash said in a soft tone. I gave her a kiss on the lips, and she enjoyed every second of it. "So Dash, was that your first time?" I ask "It was, and it was incredible. Was it your first time too?" "Yeah, it was." I said back to Dash, and gave her another kiss on the lips. "Her muzzle is so smooth, almost like silk." "Hey Dash, was the party good?" "Yeah, it was a bit more wild than usual. I guess Pinkie wanted to give you a big welcome!" Dash said with a smile. "Hey Dash?" "Yeah Bolt?" "Want to go again?" "Buck yeah." ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- "That... Was great Bolt." Dash said, panting a bit "I aim to please!" I said, a bit exhausted. I wiped the sweat from my forehead, and I embraced Dash again, giving her another kiss. "Alright Bolt, we'd better get some sleep." Dash said, with her eyes half shut. "Yeah, you're right. See you in the morning Dashie." I said, while shutting my eyes as well. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- I wake up with the sun rising, I shielded my eyes as it rose, feeling the warmth of it envelop me. I looked to my right, and saw that beautiful mare yet again, still sleeping. "I think I'll let her sleep in, she's had a long night.". I quietly stepped out of the bed, in hope that Dash wouldn't wake up. Thankfully, she didn't and I flew into the kitchen to make her something for breakfast "Alright, lets see if I can cook." ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Well, it was painfully obvious I couldn't cook worth a buck. I burnt almost everything I tried cooking. I burnt the eggs, and the tea. "Lets see what I didn't burn, I have toast, and cereal. At least I can't burn cereal." I picked up the food, placed it on a tray, and quietly flew into the bedroom, and I placed the food next to Dash. "Good morning Dashie, I made you some breakfast." She didn't wake up, so I gave her a kiss on the cheek, and her eyes opened slowly, and gave me a smile "Good morning Bolt, last night was great." Dash said, she then gave me a kiss on the cheek, and pulled the tray towards her. "Looks pretty good! Thanks Bolt!" "It's not much, it's just breakfast." "Yeah, but it's a breakfast I didn't have to make." I smiled, and let her eat the breakfast. "Hey Dash?" Yeah Bolt, what's up?" "I'm going to go visit Twilight's library. Thanks for letting me stay here, too."Oh, that's fine Bolt, and you're welcome." Dash said back, and I gave her a hug, and left to go to Twilight's place. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- I arrive at Twilight's house at about noon, and I knock on the door. The door swung open and Spike had a lamp shade on his head. "Uh, Is Twilight here?" I ask. "Oh, yeah come in Bolt!" I walk in, and the library is still a mess. "Wow, last night was pretty wild, eh Bolt?" Spike asked "Yeah, it was. Pinkie was pretty drunk wasn't she?" "Yeah, she was laughing more than ever." I said with a smile. I saw Twilight still cleaning up some of the stuff, and Applejack was there too. "Oh, hey there pardner! What er you 'ere for? Come to help clean up?" Applejack asked "Well, if you need any help I'd gladly oblige." I said "Oh, we'll be fine Bolt, don't worry." Twilight said "So why are ya here Bolt?" Applejack said. "Oh, I just wanted to see Twilight for a second, if that's okay." "Oh, I'm sorry Bolt, but I have to clean up the library. That was a pretty wild party last night." "Yeah, it was." I said, while blushing a bit " "Somethin' 'appen last night sugarcube?" Applejack asked "Oh man, should I break it to them? Ugghhh, curse my blushiness!" "Other than the party, not much. Pinkie was a lot gigglier than usual." I said, thinking that I convinced them. "Yes, Pinkie WAS rather giggly, but after the party, you flew off with Rainbow, what was up with that?" Twilight asked. I blushed intensely, and was sweating a bit. "Sugarcube, you can tell us anythin'. No worries." Applejack said "Yeah Bolt, you can trust us." Twilight added. "Well, okay, if you say so. Last night when we got back to Dash's house..." ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- "You did WHAT with her?" Twilight yelled. "Ah, ah don't know what ta say ta that." Applejack said with an unsure look on her face. "I know it may seem rather... Sudden, but I do really like Dash! And Dashie likes me as well!" I exclaimed. Twilight looked a bit more calm. "Well, if you're both liking each other, I see no reason to be against it. In fact, good for you!" Twilight said, and gave me a pat on the shoulder "Really? You are okay with it?" I asked "Of course we are pardner, we all 'ave to find our special somepony, and ah think Dash found 'ers." Applejack said with a smile. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- One Week Later: I flew over to Twilight's library with Dash, and we got there at about 11am. "Looks like everypony else is already here Dashie, hope we're not late!" I said "Yeah, I'm usually the first here! We both got into the library, and we saw Twilight, Applejack, Pinkie Pie, Fluttershy, and Rarity. "Hey everypony, we're here! Sorry for being late!" I said, and Pinkie ran up to me with a big smile, as usual. "Sooooo Bolt, I heard Dashie is your special somepony? Am I right?" Pinkie said energetically. I put my wing over Dash and pulled her a bit closer, we both blushed a bit and I nodded to Pinkie Pie. "YIIPEEEEE!!!" Pinkie was jumping up and down and making a ruckus. "Pinkie! Bolt! Dash! Come over here!" Twilight shouted, and the three of us went over to her and the others who were at Twilight's desk. "So why are we here Twilight?" Rarity asked "Well everypony, Princess Celestia had sent me a letter last week, saying she wanted to meet Bolt!" everypony except for Twilight and I gasped, since we already knew. "WOW! We're really going to Canterlot?" Pinkie exclaimed "Ahh, It'll be nice to go back to Canterlot, maybe somepony will remember the fashion that IS Rarity." Rarity said. "Oh um, who will feed Angel and the rest of my animals?" Fluttershy asked "Oh, I'm sure Spike can take care of them!" Twilight said "Well, ah'd love to go to Canterlot! Especially to see Celestia again!" Applejack said "So, I guess we'll go by train to Canterlot?" I asked "We will! In fact, Oh no!" Twilight exclaimed. "What is it Twi?" Dash asked "Yes Darling what is the matter?" Rarity added "The train! It leaves in five minutes!!!" Everypony gasped, and we all ran out the door. "Crap crap crap crap! We're going to be late!" I thought to myself. Everypony was going at full speed, and with luck, we made it to the train station. "ALL ABOARD!" A conductor yelled. "Hel- *huff* Hello! We're here for the train to Canterlot!" I said, still exhausted from the flight. "Oh yes, I believe you seven are Rainbow Dash, Rarity, Pinkie Pie, Rarity, Fluttershy, and Star Bolt!" The conductor said. "Yes, how did you know us all?" I asked "Oh, I got a message from Princess Celestia that you seven were coming, and to let you have a ride to Canterlot!" he said with a smile "Ah! That's great!" Applejack said. "Well ya better get on! We're gonna get going now!" he said. We all got on board, and we were on a train to Canterlot. "Finally, I get to meet Celestia in pony." > Chapter Eight > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- Chapter Eight The seven of us had gotten onto the train to Canterlot. I sat next to Dashie, for obvious reasons, and we all piled into one car. "Wowee! I can't believe we're going to see the Princess again!" Pinkie shouted "Most certainly! I haven't seen the Princess since the wedding! I wonder how Shining Armor is?" Twilight said. I was a bit hungry, and so was Dash. We hadn't eaten anything because we had woken up late. "Hey, is anypony else hungry? I haven't eaten yet." I said. "Yeah, I'm a bit peckish right now." Twilight said. "Yeah, I'm hungry too, all I had was a cup of tea!" Rarity added "Yeah! I could eat a mountain! I mean, if it were made of candy! Or cake!" Pinkie said. Everypony else nodded in agreement, but we all didn't have a single bit on us. "Oh, um, how are we going to get anything to eat?" Fluttershy squeaked "I'm unsure, how are we going to get food without any money?" I said "Did somepony say food?" . We all heard the voice and turned to where it came from. It was Donut Joe! "Hey! It's you from the pastry competition!" Twilight said "It most certainly is! And I heard you need a bite to eat!" We all nodded in agreement; and Joe went into another car, and wheeled in a long table full of food. "WOW! Where did that come from?!?" Pinkie yelled out "Well, my family was supposed to meet me on the train for brunch, but they couldn't make it. So here you go, best not let it go to waste!" Joe happily said. There were croissants, bagels, apples, oranges, and even a pot of coffee. "Feel free to have so-" Joe was interrupted when Pinkie jumped at the table and stuffed apple and croissants in her mouth. We all joined in, and ate the delicious food set out before us. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- "That was delicious... Thank you Donut Joe!" I said "Oh, it was my pleasure!" Joe said. "Yes, it was quite delicious, thank you Joe." Rarity said, wiping off the crumbs on her muzzle. "Ah, ah do say that was mighty fine, thank ya Joe." Applejack said, sitting down. "Yeah, thanks a bunch Joe!" Dash said. "Oh, hey, I think we're almost at Canterlot!" I exclaimed. Everypony looked out the window, and they all cheered. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- We arrive at the Canterlot Train Station at about 1pm, and as we get out, I see somepony familiar. "Hmm, Sapphire Blue, white mane, no, it couldn't be..." He walks towards me, and I know who he is. "Alexx! It's good to see you!" I shout out to him "Ah, Bolt! Good to see you!" Alexx says back. "What brings you to Canterlot?" I ask "Well, I am a royal guard!" He exclaimed. "Probably should of guessed that, since he's wearing golden armor." "So why are you at the station? Shouldn't you be at the castle?" Rarity asks "Well, I am here to escort you!" Alexx said. We nodded, and we were off towards the castle. "So how is Shining Armor Alexx?" Twilight asks "Oh, he's doing fine, he got back from his honeymoon about a week ago. He's been working twice as hard to make up for the lost time." Alexx said. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- We arrived at the castle after walking for about fifteen minutes, and the castle was huge. "Oh, my, God. This place is HUGE!" I thought to myself. As we walked towards the gate, I saw Shining Armor talking to another guard. "Hey Shining Armor! I think this one's yours!" Alexx shouted out. Shining Armor looked over, and saw Twilight. He ran over and gave Twilight a hug. "Hey Twi how are you?" Shining Armor asked "I'm doing great, how's my BBBFF doing?" Twilight asked "I'm working hard, seems you have a new friend." Shining Armor looked at me, I smiled and said "My name is Star Bolt. Your sister is a very nice mare!" "Good to hear, now I have to get back to work. Some of the new guards need some pointers. Nice meeting you!" Shining Armor said. "It was nice to meet you too!" I shout back, and Shining Armor left. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- We walked into the castle, and it was ginormous. "Echo!" I yell out, but no echo was heard. Everypony laughed, and we headed towards the throne room. On the way to the throne room, we ran into Luna. Everypony gasped, and went on one knee in the presence of the dark blue alicorn. "Hello there everypony! It is good to see you again. Hmm, I do not recognize you, may I ask of your name young colt?" Luna asked "Heh, I should try the Royal Canterlot voice." I took in a deep breath, and I spoke "Hello! My name is Star Bolt!" "Oh? You like the Royal Canterlot Voice? IT'S VERY FUN ISN'T IT?" I fell back when she spoke like that. "Whoa!!! That was about twice as loud as I was!" everypony laughed, including Luna. "You seem to be a good pony, you take care, I have to go to the archives." Luna gave us a smile, and left to go to the archives. We walked to the throne room, and there she was, Princess Celestia. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- We all bowed when we got to the stairs leading to her throne, and she descended towards us. "Hello everypony, my faithful student Twilight Sparkle has informed me that a pony by the name of "Star Bolt" has arrived in Ponyville, And you must be him!" Celestia said. I looked up to see that all-so familiar alicorn, and I nodded. "Yes Princess, I am Star Bolt. What is it that you need me for?" I ask "Well, you see, there is, another Element of Harmony." Everypony in the room gasped. "What is this new element Princess Celestia?" Twilight asked curiously. "This new Element, is the Element of hope." Celestia said. "Where, or who, is the Element of Hope Princess Celestia?" I ask. "The Element of Hope, is you." Everypony gasped, including me. "What makes me the Element of Hope, Princess?" I ask. "Come with me Star Bolt, I shall explain it all to you." Celestia said, and she started to walk towards the royal gardens, and so I followed her. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- "Wow, me, an element of harmony, I wonder how... Oh well, it'll be explained to me soon enough.". Celestia and I had made it to the gardens, and some guards were following. "You two, you may go elsewhere. I request to talk to Star Bolt in private.". The two guards bowed, and they left. "So, Princess, how am I worthy of being an Element of Harmony? I've only been in Equestria for just over a week, what have I done to earn such a responsibility?" I asked "Well, you see, it's not what you've done here, but what you did in your own world. On Earth. "What? What could I have done there?" I asked "You have gone through much more in such a short time, than most ponies would have in a long time. You endured through it, and kept hoping for something better." Celestia said. "You are right, I have been through a lot. I guess that's what made me worthy." "It is, and you hoped for a better tomorrow, so I brought you here, but for another reason." "What is that reason Celestia?" I wondered "You see, Equestria is facing a.... Rather large threat." Celestia said worryingly "What is it?" I ask "You see, Discord is, rather not tolerant of his prison, and is trying to escape it." "How long until he will get out?" "About eight months, I wanted to inform you, to give you time to prepare." "Well, thank you for telling me of this. It's been a pleasure meeting you." "You too Derrick." We both began to head back to the throne room, when I realized something. "Wait, eight months from now means... Oh god, Dash." > Chapter Nine > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- Chapter Nine "Oh man, why does this kind of stuff happen to me?" I thought as I walked back to the throne room to join the others. "I guess this is a test, a test to see if I am the element of hope.". I decided to take a bit of a detour, to see Luna. "I need somepony to talk to about this, and I don't want to say it to the others yet, Luna should know what to do." ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- I got to the archives where Luna was, and I saw Shining Armor standing by the door. "Hey there Shining Armor, how's it going?" I ask "Oh, rather slow, nothing too interesting is happening. Though, I did hear that you talked with Celestia, may I ask why?" Shining Armor asked "Oh, it's kind of secret, maybe later on. Do you mind if I see Luna?" "Hmm, I guess, you could, but try not to take too long, she's been busy in there for a few days. Don't know what she's doing, but it must be pretty important." "Thank you Shining Armor, see you again soon!" I waved my hoof, and he set off to find Luna, wherever she is in the archives. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- I searched for Luna for a little while, considering how large the Canterlot Archives are, I was lucky to find her this quickly. "Uh, hello there Luna, could you spare some time?" I ask "Yes, I do have some time, what is it of me that you need?" Luna said "Well, how come I was chosen as the Element of Hope? I mean, someponies have gone through so much more than I have, why me?" I ask "Celestia seems to think you exhibit the true aspect of hope, you kept believing for a better tomorrow, and that is why she chose you, Star Bolt." Luna said. "Now, I do apologize,but I must return to my studies." Luna said, and she opened the door with her magic. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- I make it back to the throne room, and I see the six mares talking to one another. Rarity whispers something to them, and they all look at me. "Uhh, is there something wrong everypony?" I ask "Well, I would hope you would have at least told us about what happened last week!" Rarity shouted "What? What are you talking about?" I said, with my heart beating a bit faster. "You know, with Rainbow!" Rarity was looking furious "Uhh, Rarity? I don't think this is a good time to talk about this..." I say "WHY? Why is this NOT a good time!" "Well, it was something that the princess said to me." "What is it Bolt?" Dash asked "Yeah, what was that about?" Twilight jumped in "Well, it's Discord. He has been attempting to escape." Everypony gasped. "When will he get out?" Twilight asked "Well, the princess said he would get out in about eight months, perhaps a bit longer." Everypony sighed, except for Dash, and I think I knew why. "Hey Bolt, I need to talk to you, in private." I nodded, and we went somewhere away from the others. "Listen, Bolt, I think you probably thought of this, and it's true. I'm pregnant.". "Wow, me, possibly being a father." I thought to myself "That's wonderful Dashie!" I shouted, and gave her a big hug. "So, should we tell the others?" I ask "I think we should keep it our little secret." Dash gave me a wink, and I winked back. We both returned to the throne room to meet up with the others. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- "Hey there Bolt, what did Rainbow Dash have to say?" Pinkie asked "Oh, she said she was feeling kind of tired, she says it's been a long day for her." I lied, but I pulled a good poker face, so nopony suspected anything. "Umm, Okie dokie lokie then!" Pinkie said happily. "So, you're a new Element of Harmony, huh?" Twilight asked "Yep, I am. Feels rather nice, having such a title bestowed on somepony." I said "Um, uh, yes, that's very nice! Right?" Fluttershy said quietly. "Well it sure as buck is!" Applejack said, tossing her hat up in the air. "Alright everypony, we should get back to Ponyville soon, I have to get back to the library." Twilight said "Yes, we should get going soon, I can't imagine how the store is with Sweetie Belle being there alone." Rarity said, with some dread in her tone of voice. "Alright everypony, lets go!" I said, and we were escorted back to the train station by Alexx. "Been good to see you again." Alexx said "Yeah, maybe some other time we'll see each other." I said, and headed onto the train. I look over Alexx, and I saw Flare Chaser talking to a cloaked pegasus. "Hey! Flare!" I shouted. Flare looked at me, and took a bag of something from the pegasus, and flew off. "I wonder what that was about." ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- The seven of us got back to Ponyville at about six in the evening, and we went out separate ways, though I heard Rarity shriek, and I thought I knew why. I flew over to Carousel Boutique, and I went inside, to see Rarity holding a dress above her head, and scolding Sweetie Belle. "Now what in hay is going on here?" I shout, but when I saw the look in Rarity's eyes, I knew I made a mistake coming here. "WHAT'S GOING ON?!? Look at this dress! What is wrong with it?!?" Rarity shouted, and I gave the dress a good inspection. "I don't see anything wrong with it." I said. "It's... IT'S TORN!" Rarity roared. "Whoa! Hold it right there! Where is this tear?" I ask I saw Rarity look over the dress, and her eyes widened. "Oh my, oh dear, there is no tear!" Rarity discovered "Oh my dearest Sweetie Belle! How can I ever repay you for accusing you of such a thing?" Rarity was watery eyed "Well, you could let me have some ice cream!" Sweetie Belle said happily. Rarity bit her lip, and nodded "But eat it in the kitchen!" Rarity shouted, but Sweetie Belle already brought it upstairs. Rarity shrieked, and ran upstairs. I left the boutique, and snickered a bit. "Ahhh, Sweetie Belle, you're such a silly filly." I thought to myself, as I flew back to Dash's cloud home. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- I got back to the cloud house just as the sun was setting. "What a beautiful sunset, maybe Dash will be able to see it!" I thought to myself. I opened up the door, and the house was quiet. "Hey Dashie, you home?" I shouted out, but there was no response. I flew around the house, in search for my Dashie. "Dash? Dash? Where are you?" I shouted, but to no response. I flew into the bedroom, to find her sleeping, with tufts of cloud in her ears. "Great God, don't scare me like that!" I flew over the bed, and gave Dash a kiss on the cheek, I saw her smile, and I flew to the living room, to sleep on the couch. "I wouldn't want to disturb her sleeping, she looks so peaceful." I thought, and I slowly drifted into slumber. > Chapter Ten > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- Chapter Ten I woke up a bit earlier than I normally would, probably because I slept out on the couch. "It's surprisingly more comfortable than I thought!" , I looked around the living room, and I saw a picture of Dashie as a filly. "Aww, she looked so cute, and still is!" I thought to myself. I continued to look about the room, and I stumbled across a book, it was a Daring Do novel. "Hmm, I wonder if this is as good as it was when Dashie read it, only one way to find out!" I grabbed an apple, and plopped myself on the couch, and began to read. "Daring Do was told of a rare artifact located in the Everfree Forest..." ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Two Hours Later.... "And Daring Do escaped the evil clutches of the Ursa-corn with the Ruby pendant of Destiny! The end." "Wow, that was really good! No wonder Dashie liked it!" I thought to myself. I felt a tap on my shoulder, and I turned to see the messy maned mare whom I love. "Hey there Bolt, see you found one of my books." Dash said with a smile. "Yeah, you must think I'm an egghead now, don't you?" I said jokingly "Yeah, but your my egghead." Dash said softly. "Is something up Dashie? You seem a bit quiet." I ask "Oh nothing, still half asleep." "Must've slept pretty well huh Dashie?" "Yeah, now how about we make some breakfast. I don't know about you, but I'm getting hungry." Dash said. Both of our stomachs growled, and we both laughed and flew into the kitchen. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Well it was painfully obvious that neither of us could cook worth a buck, considering we burnt almost everything, aside from anything that didn't touch the oven. "Uhhh, Hey Dashie? Do you just want some cereal?" "Yeah, that would be good." We both then proceeded to eat our cereal, and we then flew to Ponyville to see Twilight. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- We made it to Ponyville at around noon, and we walked into the Library, and we saw Twilight organizing books. "Hey there Twi! What's up?" Dash shouted. "Gwaaah!" Twilight yelled, and dropped several books she was levitating. "Oh, hi there Rainbow Dash, hello there Bolt! What brings you here?"" Twilight asked "Oh, I found out my special somepony here is an egghead, and thought he might want some more books to read!" Dash said, I blushed a bit "Really Bolt? You like reading too?" Twilight said excitedly "Well, reading is okay, but I think I could be doi-" I was interrupted when Twilight started jumping up and down in circles, repeatedly saying "Yes yes yes yes!" happily. Me and Dash looked at one another, shook our heads, and quietly left the library. "Uhh, Twi? What are you doing?" Spike asked "Yes! Yes yes yes... Oh, heh heh, oops." ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- "Oh, this prison is just absolutely dreary, tsk tsk. I'll be out of here soon, soon all chaos will break loose! Ah ha ha ha!". A guard standing close to the statue turned his head, and shook it in disbelief "Must be hearing things.". ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Dash and I flew out of the library, and Dash suddenly gasped "What's wrong Dashie?" I asked worryingly "Oh boy, I'm late for cloud patrol! I'll see you later, gotta fly!" Dash said, and flew off with great haste. "Hmm, maybe I should get a job, perhaps Applejack will have something I can do!" I said to myself, and I flew over to Sweet Apple Acres, to find Applejack bucking trees. "Hey there Applejack! Got a moment?" I shout out. "Ah, sure sugar cube! What's on your mind?" She shouted back. I flew down to the ground next to her, so we wouldn't have to shout. "So Applejack, I was just wondering if you could possibly get me a job here, at Sweet Apple Acres." Applejack looked at my hind hooves, and I could tell she was thinking of something. "Well, it looks like ya got some buckin' hooves, why not try to buck that tree?" Applejack said, and so I flew over to the tree. "Alright, you didn't win track for nothing, you can do this!" I thought, to motivate myself. I raised my hind legs, and bucked the tree as hard as I could. I must've hit the tree pretty hard, because I looked at Applejack's face, and her jaw was pretty much on the ground. An apple hit my head, and plenty more were falling on to me. "Wow, ah ain't seen anypony buck that hard before, ya have potential Bolt, ya sure do." Applejack said happily, I gave her a smile, and she went to grab a basket. "So, when do I start?" I asked "Right now!" Applejack said, bucking the basket towards me. "Aah!" I jumped out of the way of the flying basket, and it hit the tree. Another apple hit my head, and Applejack let out a chuckle. I laughed too, and we went on to buck more apples. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Six Hours Later... "Wow, we sure buck a lot of apples today huh, Applejack?" I said, exhausted from all of the bucking "Yeah, ah think you're one of the best apple buckers ah've seen in a long time, how 'bout ya come back tomorrow?" Applejack said "Sure, what time?" I asked "Oh, be here around eight in the mornin', that'll be alright." Applejack said with a smile. "Oh, ah almost forgot, here's your pay, ya did good today." Applejack said, and tossed a small bag over to me. "Wow, this is my first day though!" I said, rather happily considering it was my first EVER payment. "Well, ya bucked apples, and ya made the money!" Applejack said with a smile. "Well, thanks Applejack!" I said "No, thank you for helpin' out 'ere." Applejack said, and I decided to leave the blond maned pony, I waved my hoof, and she waved back, and I flew back to the cloud house. "I wonder if Dashie is home, I sure hope so, might take her out for dinner." I thought, as I approached the home. I quietly stepped into the house, to surprise Dash. I tip-hoofed about the house, until I found her in the living room, reading a Daring Do book. "Gotcha." I thought, as I snuck up on her. I gave her a quick tap on the shoulder, and I yelled "BOO!" Dash jumped up, tossing the book across the room, and I laughed loudly. "Bolt!" She said with an angry look on her face. "Yes?" I ask shyly. "Prepare." She said "For what?" "For this!" she jumped onto me, and started to tickle me, I was smiling and laughing more than a filly on a sugar rush. "Ah ha ha! Oh Dash, Dashie stop!" "Why?" she asked, she stopped tickling me for a split second, and I tackled her to the ground, and I began to tickle her. "Ah hahaha! Bolt! Ha ha ha!!" Dash was laughing at least twice as loud as I was, and she rolled over from laughing so much. I stopped tickling her, and gave her a hug. "Hey Dashie?" "Yeah?" "Want to go again?" "Buck yeah!". > Chapter Eleven > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- Chapter Eleven "Ah ha ha ha ha! Bolt! Ah, stop! Ha ha!" Dash was yelling, laughing louder than ever before, she tried to fly away from me, but I tackled her back to the ground. "Alright Dashie, I'll stop, but you have to agree to something." I said, still tickling Dash. "Ah ha, oh, tell me! Ha ha ha!" "You must agree..." "Agree to wha-ha ha ha!" "To go to dinner with me!" I stopped tickling Dash, and she gave me an odd look. "What's wrong?" I asked "How did you get money? You don't have a job." Dash said, still confused "Well, I gave Applejack a visit, and I got some work done down at Sweet Apple Acres!" I said happily "Wow! Cool!" Dash said, and gave me a hug. "I got 30 bits, anywhere you want to go Dashie?" I asked "Well, there IS this restaurant in Cloudsdale that is nice, could we go there?" Dash asked "Sure! Sounds good!" I replied happily, and we set out towards Cloudsdale. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- We arrived at Cloudsdale at about 7:30pm, and we arrived at the restaurant that Dash had talked about. "Oh! We're here!" Dash said happily. The name of the restaurant was "Cloud Nine Diner". "This place looks pretty good so far, how did you hear about this place?" I asked "I went here with Gilda for her birthday a few years ago. Gilda is an old friend, if you're wondering." I knew who Gilda was, a rude griffon who bullied many ponies. "Mares first!" I said, holding the door open for Dashie. She blushed, and gave me a kiss on the cheek, and walked into the restaurant. I walked in, and to my surprise, it looked almost exactly like a fifties diner you could find on Earth. "Whoa, this place looks-" "Awesome! Right?" Dash interrupted, but I was happy she knew what I was going t say. A pegasus came up to us, little did I know WHO it was, Dash squeed whenever she saw them. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- "Everything alright Dashie?" I asked "Dashie? That's a new nickname." a familiar voice said. I turned, and it was nopony other than Spitfire, the captain of the Wonderbolts. "Omigosh omigosh omigosh omigosh!" Dash said in excitement. "So, is this stallion a friend, or a bit more than that?" Spitfire asked "Omigosh... Ahh, sorry about that Spitfire! It's just that you're... Spitfire!" Dash said "Oh, it's fine. Happens to a lot of ponies. So who is your friend here?" Spitfire asked "Oh, this is Bolt! He's my special somepony!" Dash said. I proceeded to give her a hug. "That's kinda cool! So Dash, since you're here, I was wondering if you could stop by the Cloud Coliseum tomorrow, where you pulled off that awesome Sonic Rainboom?" Spitfire said "Oh, yeah! Sure!" Dash said excitedly. "Alright then, "Dashie", see you tomorrow!" Spitfire said, and left the diner. "Dang it!" I said "What's wrong Bolt?" Dash asked "I should of gotten her autograph!" I said, Dash chuckled, and we took our seats. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- After the meal, I left seventeen bits on the table, and Dash and I left the restaurant. "Wow Dashie, that was... Incredible!" I said joyously. "Well, it IS one of my favorite places in Cloudsdale." Dash said "Well, I think it's time that we got back to the house, we have work in the morning." I said, slightly unhappily. "Yeah, but hey, at least the both of us are getting bits! Maybe we could get some more stuff for the cloud house. It's a bit bland, right?" "Oh god, should I say yes? Uggh, what if she takes it as an insult! Gah! Why do I over think these things!" "Uhh, yeah? I think some more stuff would be nice." I said, a bit nervously "Yeah! Good to see you think the same way!" Dash said, as we flew off. "Crisis Averted!" ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- "The night sky is beautiful, eh Dashie?" I said "Yeah, good ol' Luna did a good job on this sky." Dash said smiling. "So Dash, what are we gonna do?" I asked "Gonna do about what?" Dash asked back "You know, the filly?" "Yeah, our little filly on the way. What do you want to do for them?" Dash said "Well, I was thinking that if it's a pegasus, we could enroll them in Flight School, like you did." "Yeah, that would be cool!" Dash said happily "But, what if it isn't a pegasus?" Dash said "Well, we'd probably have to move to the ground. Wouldn't want our filly to fall through the house!" I said "Perhaps if it's a unicorn, we could get Twi to teach them some magic! She IS the element of magic!" Dash said "Yeah! That would be awesome!" I exclaimed. "And if it's an earth pony?" Dash asked "We could get them to go to the school in Ponyville!" I said happily "Yeah! That would be pretty cool." Dash said happily. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- We got back to the cloud home at around midnight, and as the gentlecolt I am, I held the door open for Dashie. She gave me a kiss, and walked inside. Dash walked into our room, and she flopped onto the bed. "Worn out Dashie?" I ask. All I heard was a muffled "Mhmm" come from her muzzle which was buried in a pillow. I flew in beside Dash, and I settled into the extremely comfortable cloud bed. "Good night Dashie, sweet dreams." I said, but she was long gone. I put my arm over her, and I drifted to sleep slowly. I felt pain, a lot of it. I was on the ground, in the middle of a garden, which seemed augmented. I slowly opened my eyes, and I found Discord, clutching Dash in one of his claws. "Oh ho ho! It seems you've FINALLY woken up!" Discord boomed out "Discord! What are you doing!" I shouted "Oh, just making your life a little more CRAZY! That's what!" Discord cackled "Let her go! Let my Dashie go!" I yelled "Oh, DASHIE eh? That's new. Ah ha ha! Oh I know just what to do!" Discord yelled out. "That's it! You are going down!" I yelled. as I tried to fly at him, I hit the ground. "Hmm, it seems that you are missing something? It seems to be these!" Discord laughed, as he held my wings in his paw. "Now, time to end all of this fuss!" Discord said, as he squeezed Dash, and I green flame appeared, and Dash was gone. "NO! What did you do to her!" I screamed, with tears in my eyes. "Oh, I just sent her... AWAY. Now, it's your turn!" Discord roared, as he ran at me. I was petrified, I couldn't move a muscle. I felt my heart racing, I was crying, and all hope seemed lost. "Wait a minute, all HOPE seems lost, this, is all just a test!" "So, you've finally figured it out? Well, I guess that means one thing." Discord said. "What is that?" I asked. "I think it's time you were re-introduced to your friends!" Discord said, as he snapped his paw, Rarity, Fluttershy, Applejack, Twilight, Pinkie Pie, and Dash came out of thin air. "What have you done to them?!?" I shouted. "Oh, nothing TOO bad, I just sort of, how should I say this, took their element away? Yes, and I put hatred and sorrow in it's place! Isn't that just wonderful!" Discord cackled. "Everypony! It's me! Bolt! Remember?" I said, teary eyed. "NO!" all of them shouted, except for Dash. "Dash? You gotta remember me! It's Bolt! Your special somepony?" I said, now with tears flowing from my face. "No, I DON'T know you. I've never had a special somepony, and YOU certainly aren't my type." Dash said angrily. "No, no, no, no, no, no!" I thought to myself. "Now, my little ponies, take care of this poor excuse of a pony." Discord commanded. Everypony jumped at me, and I was brought to the ground. "Goodbye, Derrick." Discord said with a snicker. It was all to much for me, I was being harmed by my own friends, even Dashie! I felt myself feeling weaker, and Applejack came up to me, and prepared to buck me, hard. "See ya later, ya little varmint!" Applejack shouted, as she bucked me in the muzzle. I woke up, covered in sweat, and teary eyed. "Celestia, never do that again!" > Chapter Twelve > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- Chapter Twelve "Bolt? You okay? You were tossing and turning in your sleep." Dash asked worryingly "Oh, just had a bit of a bad dream. Nothing to get too worked up about." I half-lied. "Well, if you say so Bolt. If you need to say anything, don't hesitate. You know I love you." Dash said, as I wiped a tear from my muzzle. "Thanks Dashie." I said, and hugged her tightly."Hey Dashie, don't you have to meet the Wonderbolts today?" I asked with a smile "Ohmigosh! Your right! Thanks for reminding me!" Dash said quickly, after we gave each other a kiss, Dash flew out of the cloud house, and flew straight towards Cloudsdale. "Hmm, I wonder what The Wonderbolts want with Dashie, maybe I should tag along? Besides, I don't have anything better to do today." I thought to myself. I then ate a few apples, and set off towards Cloudsdale. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- I began to head out to Cloudsdale, when I heard somepony call my name. I looked down, and I saw the familiar blue coloured unicorn. "Hey there Colgate! What's up?" I asked, as I descended towards the ground. "Well, I was wondering if you knew where Flare was. I haven't seen him in days, and I'm getting really worried." Colgate said sadly "Well, I haven't seen him lately. The last time I DID see him was in Canterlot. Does he have any friends there?" I asked "Yeah, he has this friend named Cloud that he sees every once in a while. Cloud is a well known doctor in Canterlot. In fact, I've met him a few times during my visits to Canterlot." Colgate said. "Alright, I'll look for this Cloud guy, and I'll see if he knnows anything. But now I've got to go to Cloudsdale, Dashie's meeting The Wonderbolts!" I said happily. "Alright Bolt, see you around, and tell me if you see Flare, he'sworring me sick." Colgate said, as I began to fly away. "See you later Colgate!" I yelled. "Later Bolt!" ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- I arrived in Cloudsdale after a while, and I flew towards the Cloud Coliseum, where Dash was meeting up with The Wonderbolts. I saw a dark coloured pegasus in the distance, and he looked at me, and began to fly away. "Oh no you don't! Flare get back here!" I said, as I flew at high speeds towards him. "Bolt! Get away from me!" Flare Chaser yelled "Why? Colgate's been worried sick about you!" I shouted. I saw him frown a bit, "Wel, I'm not going back!" Flare said. "well, you are! One way or another! I shouted, as I increased in speed, a cone was building around me. "Oh buck!" I heard Flare Chaser yell, after he saw what was about to occur. I was going faster, and faster, until I heard a loud crack, and the world seemed still for a second. "This, this is one of the best feelings." I said to myself, as I then felt the velocity take effect, and I went at supersonic speeds. I must've been going over a thousand kilometers an hour, because I reached Flare, who was easily a couple hundred meters ahead, in less than ten seconds flat. I tackled Flare at great speeds, and we flew into a nearby cloud. "Alright Flare, what's up? You haven't been in Ponyville for days, and you left Colgate! I thought you two were each others special somepony!" Shouted at Flare. He didn't say anything, instead, he turned over, and his eyes were green. "What the buck?" I said, as he was engulfed in a green flame, and appeared an ugly black creature, and it flew away with haste. "Oh my god, that was a changeling?" I thought to myself. "Oh god, Dash!" I shouted, and I flew towards the Cloud Colisuem at great speeds. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Dash's Point of View. "Ohmigosh Ohmigosh Ohmigosh!!! The Wonderbolts want to see ME!" I thought to myself, as I flew into the Cloud Coliseum, I saw the entire Wonderbolt team. "Wow, everypony on the team is here! It must be important!" I said, with a squee. "Hey Rainbow! Nice to see you made it!" Soarin said, eating a slice of pie. "Yeah Dash, good to see you!" Another Wonderbolt added in. "So, guys, why did you want me to come here?" I asked excitedly. "Well Rainbow, at the young fliers competition, we thought you were doing great, and we wanted to award you with something special, something you might enjoy." Spitfire said, with a smirk. Right after Spitfire said that, everypony heard a large cracking sound, and an explosion "What the buck was that!?!" Soarin said, dropping his pie. "Sounded like a sonic rainboom, but Dash here is the only pony I know who can do it." a Wonderbolt said. "Yeah, Bolt can do his own sort of rainboom, except it's more hazely than rainbow-y." I said with a smile. "Well, that's pretty cool!' Spitfire said. "So Dash, about your reward." Soarin said. "Oh yeah! Can I ask what it is?" I asked "Well, I think The Wonderbolts could put on a little show for you!" Spitfire said. Another large cracking sound was heard, followed by another sonicboom. "Man, Bolt must be having a good time! It's a shame he's going to miss this." I thought to myself. "Alright Wonderbolts! You all ready?" Spitfire yelled. The entire team shouted "Yes!", and they all were engulfed in a green flame, and all of them transformed into changelings, except for Spitfire, who became Queen Chrysalis. "What? I thought you guys were gone!!!" I shouted "Well we are back!" Chrysalis yelled. "Now, Changelings, attack Rainbow Dash!" Chrysalis yelled. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Bolt's Point of View "Oh man, Dashie! They'd better not lay a single hoof on her!" I said to myself. "Alright, time for rainboom number two." I said, as I began to pick up in speed. I felt the wind rush through my mane, and I felt the cone begin to form. "Here we go.". I went even faster, and then, crack. I enjoyed the few moments of peace before the speed hit me, and then, it hit me. The velocity. The speed was intense, and I got to the cloud coliseum in less than a minute. I got to the coliseum, and I saw The Wonderbolts change into Changelings. "Great Celestia give me strength!" I thought to myself, as I prepared to attack. "Now, Changelings, attack Rainbow Dash!" Queen Chrysalis yelled. "Not on my watch!" I shouted, as I began to fly at extreme speeds towards Chrysalis."Ahh, Bolt, we meet. Now, prepare for pain!" Chrysalis yelled, and shot a beam of energy at me. I barrel rolled out of the way, and I then lifted my hoof at Chrysalis, and I punched her in the jaw. I heard an extremely loud crack, and Chrysalis was sent flying across the stadium. "Bolt! Good timing!" Dash yelled. "Buck yeah I do! Now lets get out of here!" I shouted. Dash nodded, and we both flew out of the coliseum before Chrysalis could put together what happened. "I.... I had no clue that would happen." Dash said. "It's alright Dashie, everypony will run into trouble every once in a while." I said. And with that, we both flew back to Ponyville, to tell the others what just happened. "Oh man, how am I going to break this to Colgate?" > Chapter Thirteen > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- Chapter Thirteen "WHAT did you just say?" Colgate exclaimed, slightly teary eyed "Well, Flare wasn't Flare. I'll do what I can to find him Colgate. He's a good pegasus." I said "Alright then, you better find him. I am worried sick for him." Colgate said, as she walked away. I flew off, and I ran into Derpy along the way towards Twilight's house. "Hey there Derpy! How are you?" I ask kindly "Oh, um, I'm good! I think I have some mail for you!" Derpy said, as she dipped her head into her saddlebag. "Ah ha! Here it is!" Derpy said happily, as she pulled out a letter. "Thanks Derpy!" I said, as I passed a few bits over to her "Here, go get yourself a muffin." I said with a smile "Wow! Thank you Bolt! I wonder which one I'll get..." Derpy happily said as she flew away. "Now, time to get to Twilight's place." I said to myself. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- I arrived at Twilight's place, and I saw Dash there. I opened the door, and I walked on in. "Hi there Bolt! How are you today?" Twilight asked "Well, I'm okay, not so sure about Dashie though." I said worryingly "Why? Something happen Rainbow?" Twilight asked "Well, you know how I was supposed to meet The Wonderbolts today?" Dash said "Yeah? Something go wrong?" Twilight said "Well, this is what happened." Dash said, as she put her muzzle to Twilight's ear. I saw Twilight's eyes widen. "No, no that can't be right! I thought that Shining Armor and Cadence defeated them!" Twilight exclaimed "Well, I have no clue how they got back, but that doesn't matter now, we should tell the others." Dash said "Yes, we should. Dash, you go get Pinkie and Applejack, Bolt. You get Fluttershy and Rarity." Twilight said "Yeah, I'll do it in ten seconds flat!" Dash said with a grin "I'll do it five." I said jokingly "It's on." Dash said, and flew out of the window at great speeds, sending some papers on Twilight's desk in the air. "Well, see you soon." I said to Twilight, but she was busy focusing on cleaning up the papers. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- I flew over to Fluttershy's cottage, and I knocked on the door quickly. "Um, who is it?" Fluttershy asked quietly "It's Bolt!" I shouted through the door. "Oh, come in!" Fluttershy said happily. I flew in, and Fluttershy was feeding Angel. "Hey Fluttershy? Could you come to Twilight's place? It's a bit urgent." I said in a serious tone "Oh, well, um, Angel is hungry, and I have to make him his favo-" "Spike isn't feeling well." I lied "Oh no! We should get there right now! Sorry Angel, I'll make you dessert when I get back okay?" Fluttershy said. Angel just rolled his eyes, and flopped onto the couch in the living room. "Alright Fluttershy, I'll meet you there, I have to go get Rarity." I said "Why do you need to get Rarity?" Fluttershy asked "Oh, Twilight said she wanted to talk to Rarity as well, she's busy keeping Spike company." I lied again "Oh, okay then. I'll see you at Twilight's house then." Fluttershy squeaked, and flew off towards the library. I set off towards Carousel Boutique to get Rarity. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- I made it to the store with haste, and I went inside. "Oh, hello there Bolt! Is there something you need?" Sweetie Belle asked "Oh, I just need to see Rarity, it's a bit important." I said. "Alrighty! RARITY! BOLT IS HERE TO SEE YOU!" Sweetie Belle yelled out. I took a step back, to hold my temples after hearing the filly yell. "Good Celestia Sweetie Belle! You don't have to yell!" Rarity said "Hello there Bolt! Is there something you need?" Rarity asked "Well, there was a bit of an incident with Dashie, and Twi said we should talk about what happened at her place." I said "Okay then, just give me a few minutes. My mane is a disaster!" Rarity said, as she levitated a brush to her mane. "Okay then, I'll see you in a few minutes." I said to Rarity "Okay then, see you soon darling!" Rarity said. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- I arrived at the library, and everypony was there, except for Rarity, who was brushing her mane. "Hey Bolt! About time you got here!" Dash said with a smile. I gave her a kiss on the cheek, and I sat down next to her. Spike walked into the room, and I flew over to him quickly, and whispered into his ear. Spike gave me a nod, and walked over to Fluttershy. "Oooh, Fluttershy... I don't feel too well..." Spike said. "He's not a half bad actor." I thought, as he played sick. "Oh it'll be okay, let me get you some water, you go to your bed, I'll bring it to you." Fluttershy said worryingly. "Uhhh.... Okay...." Spike said, and coughed a bit. Rarity walked into the library, and sat next to Twilight. Spike poked his head up, to see Rarity, but Fluttershy put his head down, and told him to rest. She left a glass of water next to the bed, and came downstairs. "Alright everypony, Dash and Bolt have found out something very important, which is a major threat to all of Equestria!" Twilight exclaimed, and everypony in the room gasped. "Yes, what we found was a threat. The Changelings have returned." I said in a serious tone. Everypony gasped. "But how? Ah thought we beat em good!" Applejack exclaimed. "Yes! I thought that they were defeated too!" Rarity chimed in "Well, they aren't gone, and Chrysalis became Spitfire!" Dash exclaimed "And, Flare Chaser is missing too." I said "Colgate's special somepony?" Twilight asked "Yes, I worry about him." I said sadly "We have to tell Celestia right away!" Pinkie shouted. "Most certainly" Twilight said ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- As Twilight said that, the letter I had received, fell out from under my wing. "Oh my! Bolt!" Twilight said. "What is it?" I ask "It's the letter! It has the royal seal on it!" Twilight said. Everypony huddled around me, as I picked it up. "Well, might as well read it!" I said. I tore open the top, and I pulled out the letter. "To Star Bolt, I am aware of your encounter with Queen Chrysalis, and I request that you and your friends meet with me at Canterlot. I have instructed the conductor at the train station to let you and your friends ride to Canterlot without charge. The train shall leave at eight in the morning, and should arrive at Canterlot Station at around eleven AM. I bid you and your friends a safe journey and I shall see you soon. Sincerely, Princess Celestia." "Well, look like were going to Canterlot again!" Pinkie said happily. "Alright everypony, we will all meet up here at seven thirty, and we'll make it to the station at about seven forty, That will give us time to eat." I said. Everypony nodded, and left the library. "Bye Twilight!" Pinkie said joyously "Ta ta darling!" Rarity said. "Ah'll see y'all soon!" Applejack said. "Good bye everypony!" I said "Yeah, see you all tomorrow! And Pinkie?" Dash said "Yes?" Pinkie asked "Mind bringing some cupcakes tomorrow?" "Sure! I'll be sure to add a dash of my special ingredient!" Pinkie said, with an awkward smile. "See you all tomorrow everypony!" Twilight said. Everypony said goodbye, and we all went on our way. > Chapter Fourteen > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- Chapter Fourteen I felt myself on the ground, in the middle of a field, where I saw Dash with a filly, whom was a pegasus. "Dash!" I shouted out, but she didn't respond. Instead, she looked over to the male pegasus, and kissed him. "Dash! Can you hear me?" I yelled, but to no response. "Momma, where did daddy go?" the filly asked Dash "I'll tell you later. When you're older." Dash said with a grim look on her face. "Okay momma. Maybe we could get some ice cream! That would be fun!" The filly said happily. "Alright then Snow, I think some ice cream would be cool." Dash said. "Wait! Dashie! I'm here! Can't you see?" I yelled, teary eyed. Dash begun to walk in another direction, and they were gone. "Why did you leave me?" I shouted, and a grey fog consumed me. I couldn't breathe, and I blacked out. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- "Bolt! You okay?" Dash said worryingly. "Uhhn, yeah. I'm cool." I said "No, you aren't cool. You were kicking in your sleep, and were crying. What in Equestria could be bothering you?" Dash said, insisting on knowing what was going on. "Listen, Dashie, I'll tell you on the train. We gotta be there soon anyways, right?" I said, trying to delay the conversation. "Alright then, we'd better hurry." Dash replied. I gave her a kiss on the cheek, and we flew out the front door. "So Dashie, sorry about last night." I said. "Sorry? About what?" "Me, you know, kicking and all that stuff." "It's alright Bolt, all ponies have nightmares." "Who said I was having a nightmare?" "Nopony, just seemed like you were having one." "Listen Dashie, remember what we agreed on?" "Yeah Bolt, I do." "Then, how about a race to Twilight's? Loser has to hug the winner." "It's on, prepare to hug." ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Dash and I instantly picked up speed, and the both of us were equally matched. "For a newbie, you're pretty good!" Dash complimented. "I know I am, but how about you?" I taunted. "Eat my rainbow!" Dash shouted, as a cone began to form around her. "Oh no you don't!" I shouted, as I began to go faster to match Dash's speed. The both of us were going at blinding speeds, and we both heard the distinct crack. We both looked at each other, and we shook our heads in approval of what we both did. We both did a sonic rainboom, and we both were going at supersonic speeds towards Twilight's place. "Oh man I gotta stop!" I thought. I looked at Dash, and I lifted my hoof back to try and signal her to slow down, but she kept going. "Dash! Slow down!" I yelled. It was useless though. She was going faster than sound. "I gotta stop her. Now!" I thought, and I flew towards her, and gave her a bear hug. "Bolt! Stop it! Unless you quit!" Dash shouted. "I quit! Now slow down!" I shouted, as the both of us were on a collision course with the library. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- The two of us opened up our wings as wide as they could go, and we slowed down significantly, but not enough to stop the crash. "Hold onto me!" I yelled to Dash. She nodded, and she hugged me as tight as she could. I rolled the two of us, so that I was on the bottom, and we both hit the tree. "What was that?" Twilight asked after hearing the large thump. "Hey... Twilight... Mind giving us a hoof?" I asked through a window. "Oh my gosh! I'll get you straight down!" Twilight shouted, and used her magic to levitate the two of us into the library. "Thanks a bunch." Dash said with a smile, but then she looked down at me in horror. "Bolt! Oh my gosh!" Twilight exclaimed. Spike heard the commotion, and entered the room. "Hey Twi what's with the yell- Oh man Bolt!" Spike said in shock. "Ugghh, what happened to me this time?" I groaned. "It's... Your wings. They're broken!" Dash said in horror. "Oh no, what are we going to do? Celestia wanted to meet us, and you're wings are in no condition for flying!" Twilight said, while pacing back and forth. "Well, I can walk, can't I?" I asked, as I tried to take a step, I felt a sharp pain run up my front right hoof. "Agggh! That is a definite no!" I said in pain. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- "Twi! Can't you do something?" Dash exclaimed. "Yeah, the doctors used some magic, and they fixed me up! Which most of me was broken." I realized. "Yeah, that's right! Spike!" "Yeah Twi?" "Get my book on healing magic, and put it in my saddlebag." "On it!" After Spike went to get the book, all the others made it to the library. "We're going to Canterlot! We're going to Canterlot!" Pinkie chanted. "Pinkie, umm, do you see Bolt here?" Fluttershy asked quietly "Hmmmm.... Nope! I wonder where he is?" Pinkie said, as she began to pull out a tweed hat. "Everypony, I'm in here." I mumbled. Everypony walked into the room, and they all gasped. "Bolt! Darling! How did this happen to you?" Rarity said in a worried tone of voice. "Well, me and Dash were-" "Your mane! And your wings are a complete mess!" Rarity exclaimed. Everypony facehoofed. "Oh, that's not the issue?" Rarity asked. Everypony nodded, and pointed at my wings and hoof. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- "So, how do I get to the train station?" I asked "Well, I'm sure that I could use my magic to get you there." Twilight replied. "So, Bolt, care ta explain what in tarnation 'appened to ya?" Applejack asked. Everypony started to walk to the library, while I was levitated by Twilight's magic, and I began to tell them how it happened. "Me and Dash decided we wanted to race to Twilight's..." ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- "And that's how Equestria was made!" Pinkie exclaimed. Everypony looked at her with an confused look, and we all were nearing the train station. "Oh hey Pinkie?" I asked. "Yes Bolt?" "Did you bring the cupcakes?" "Yup! They're my special recipe!" Pinkie exclaimed, and she opened her saddlebag, revealing cupcakes with rainbow icing. "What's the flavor?" Pinkie's eye twitched, and she said "They're my special secret." I remembered when I was a human, I read the fan fiction "Cupcakes" and I immediately looked over to Dash. "Good, she's still here." I thought, as we approached the station. "Hello there! I believe you must be Twilight Sparkle." The conductor said with a smile. "That's me! We're here for the train to Canterlot." "Then get on! We're about to leave!" The conductor said, as the steam whistle blew. Everypony got on the train, and we set off towards Canterlot. "Alright Bolt, just lie down, and relax. I'll be using this spell for most of the way there." Twilight said. "Alright, thanks for doing this for me." "Isn't that what friends do?" ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Twilight was doing an incredible job on the spell, because by the time we were half way there, everything was feeling a lot better. "Wow Twilight! You did a good job! Perhaps you should become a doctor!" I complimented. Twilight blushed. "I think I'm alright with being in the Library." I felt my stomach growl. I considered eating one of Pinkie's cupcakes, but I decided against it. "Hey there everypony, I'm gonna grab something from the food car. I would have a cupcake, but sugar doesn't agree with me too much before noon." I lied. Everypony nodded, and I began to head out towards the food car. Applejack followed suit, and we both ended up in the car. "Oh, uh, hi there Applejack! What're you doing in here?" I asked nervously. "Listen sugar cube, ah can spot a lie from a mile away. Why don't ya wan't any cupcakes?" Applejack asked. "Oh God, how can I say that I read cupcakes? Wait, idea!" "You see, last night, I had a nightmare." I half-lied. "What was it about sugar cube? Ya can tell me." Applejack said worryingly. "Well, I had a dream that Pinkie wasn't really Pinkie, she had flat hair, and her eyes were all twitchy. She had Flare Chaser all tied up, and turned him into cupcakes!" I said into her ear. "Mah, that's awful! I don't think good ol' Pinkie would do that, but, if ya want ta eat somethin' else, I ain't stoppin' ya." Applejack replied. Applejack gave me a smile, and walked back to the car where the others were. "Waiter?" "Yes good sir?" "Eight daisy sandwiches please!" > Chapter Fifteen > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- Chapter Fifteen I brought the sandwiches back to the car where everypony else was, and they all gasped. "Wowie Bolt! Where did you get those sandwiches?" Pinkie exclaimed. "I thought that we should have something more than just cupcakes, if that's alright with you Pinkie." I asked. Pinkie nodded, and everypony indulged in the food. I stuck with my sandwich, and so did Applejack. "Why aren't you having any cupcakes?" I asked Applejack. "Oh, ah thought it would be odd if you were the only one not eatin' one, so ah'm just gonna have a sandwich." Applejack said with a smile. I nodded, and she ate her sandwich, and I ate mine. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Everypony was stuffed, especially Pinkie Pie, who had at least seven cupcakes. "That was delicious! Thank you Pinkie Pie!" Twilight said happily, but Pinkie was napping after eating all those cupcakes. I flew over to Dash, who was half asleep, and I put my arm around her shoulder. She smiled, and fell asleep. I too slowly fell into a bit of a slumber myself, and then, I fell asleep. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- I felt myself on something soft, not as soft as the bed at Dash's. It felt familiar. I opened my eyes, to find myself in my room. "What, how did I get back? Was it all a dream?" I said outloud. "Was what a dream?" I heard my father ask. I'm imagining things, I can't be here, or... Am I? I got out of bed, and what do you know, I saw hands. Hands with four fingers and one thumb each. I slipped out of bed, and stumbled a bit. "Haven't walked like this in a while." I thought. I walked of my room, and went in the bathroom. I turned on the shower, to a hot temperature, and stepped in. "No, no, no, I was there, I did all those things! How can I just, go back?" I thought to myself. I was in the shower for a bit, and I dried myself off, and then got dressed. After putting on something decent, I went into the kitchen, to see a note. "Derrick, your sister and I went out, we'll be back soon, love, Dad." "Well, that's cool I guess. At least I can listen to music now." I said to myself, and I put on some Green Day, and began to surf the internet on my netbook." ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Two Hours Later... "Well, that was a good fic, *yawn* I think I'm gonna take a nap now." I paused the music, brought my netbook into my room, and flopped onto the bed. I was slowly closing my eyes, when I heard someone say something. "Probably the neighbors." I mumbled. I heard it again, and it was louder. "Bolt!" a familiar voice called. "Bolt! Get up! Were here!" It was Dash's voice. I felt reality start to slip away, and I fell. "Reminds me of when I first came here, hopefully I won't crash this time." ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- I shook my head a bit, and everypony was around me. "Hey everyo- pony. What's wrong?" I asked. "You were asleep! We got to the station an hour ago!" Twilight exclaimed. My eyes widened, and I jumped up. "Whoa! We'd better hurry to the castle then!" I said, as I flew out the door. Everypony followed, and we hurried to the castle. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- We made it to the castle in record time, and we all rushed into the throne room. "Ah, good to see you Twilight Sparkle, Star Bolt, Pinkie Pie, Applejack, Fluttershy, Rarity. May I ask what the delay was?" Celestia asked. "Oh, Bolt was sleeping deeply, he wouldn't wake up!" Rarity said. "Well, at least you all made it here safely. Now, we must go to somewhere more private." Celestia insisted. Everypony nodded, and we all followed her to another room. We all followed Celestia into a secret room, which had a map of Equestria, and even other lands. Celestia sat at the end of a table, and the rest of us sat around the table. "So Bolt, you encountered Queen Chrysalis? Is this true?" Celestia asked. "Unfortunately, it is. They took form of The Wonderbolts, and they almost attacked Dashie." I said, with a small frown. "Hmm, Bolt, do you have any feelings for Rainbow Dash?" "Most certainly, why do you ask?" "The Changelings feed off of love, and they sensed the love between you two is immense." Dash and I looked at each other, and we both blushed. "I can see the love between you two, and it is important that you both keep an eye on each other. We wouldn't want Chrysalis to do what she did with Cadence." Celestia said. Dash and I nodded, and so did the rest of the group. "Now everypony, please leave, except for you Bolt." Celestia said. Everypony left the room, and it was just me and her. "So Bolt, care to enlighten me on what happened in your dream?" Celestia asked. "Well, any dream? Or the one on the-" "Every dream." Celestia said, intent on knowing what has been going on in my dreams. I began to explain my dreams to Celestia, and the expression on her face was less than happy. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- "I... Don't believe it." Celestia said in disbelief. "You don't believe what?" I asked. "Luna has been in the archives, and she has been looking through some older documents. some of them seem to match what has been occurring in your dreams." Celestia explained. "So, what does that mean?" I asked "It means, you will be tested, to see if you truly are the Element of Hope." I shuddered, realizing my dreams have been a vision of what is to come. "Wait, what about the dream with Dashie and... Snow? Snow was the filly." I ask, fearing the worst. "Your dreams show what the future could be, not what it will be. You are in charge of your destiny." Celestia said. "Okay then, thank you Celestia." I said kindly. "Thank you? Thank you for what?" "For showing me that life is not on one guided path, that one can change their future." I said, as I walked out of the room. "He is Hope, I know it." Celestia said to herself. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- I joined the others outside, and we all headed back to the Train station. "So Bolt, what did Celestia have to say?" Rarity asked, insisting on knowing. "I'd rather not talk about it." I said, in hope she'd back off. "Oh, alright then." Rarity said, then sighed. "Hey Bolt!" A voice from far behind shouted. I turned, and it was Alexx. "Hey there Alexx! How have you been?" I asked. "Oh, I'm good. The princess wanted to bid you and your friends farewell, since she wasn't able to earlier." Alexx said, a bit short of breath. "Oh, well tell her we all say thanks, and hope to see her again soon!" I said happily. "Alright then, nice to see you again!" Alexx said, as he began to take off. "Good to see you too! Say hi to Shining Armor for us!" I shouted to him. He nodded, and set off towards the castle. The seven of us made it to the train station, and we all got aboard. "Hey Dashie?" I asked, giving her a small kiss on the cheek. "Yeah Bolt?" She replied with a small smile. "I think I'm going to take a nap, it's been a bit of a long day." I said, yawning a bit in the process. "Alright then, I think I will too." Dash replied. We both hugged each other, and we fell asleep in our arms. > Chapter Sixteen > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- Chapter Sixteen I slowly opened my eyes, and I felt Dash in my arms. I saw that she was still sleeping, as well as everypony else. "It's been a long day. We all need our rest." I thought to myself. I closed my eyes again, and I was out like a light bulb. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- One Hour Later... I opened my eyes, after a good rest, and I saw that we were approaching Ponyville. I gave Dash a light tap on the shoulder, and she slowly opened her eyes. "I'll never get tired of seeing those magenta eyes." I said softly to Dash. "I'll never get tired of seeing you." She said lovingly. We both gave each other a kiss, and we looked out the window. "Almost home, can't wait to get back." I said. "Yeah, I miss everypony there already." Dash replied. Everypony else started to wake up, and they stretched their legs. Dash and I stayed seated, holding each other. I saw Rarity whisper into Pinkie's ear, and she smiled. "What's the matter?" I asked Pinkie. "Oh, Rarity just thinks you and Dashie make a cute couple!" Pinkie said happily, then giggled. "You two do seem to get along quite nicely!" Rarity chimed in. I just looked back at Dash, and she seemed a bit under the weather all of the sudden. "Is something wrong Dashie?" I asked. "No, I'm alright. Just, leave me alone for a bit." Dash said sadly. "You sure Dash? Ya seem a bit down." Applejack asked worryingly. "No! Just leave me alone!" Dash yelled, and flew out of the train, towards the cloud house. "Ah... Ah didn't mean to offend her, ah just wanted ta help." Applejack said with a frown. "I think something is really bothering her, Bolt?" Twilight asked. "Yeah Twi, something you need?" I answered. "I think you should go talk to Rainbow. She seems to trust you more." Twilight said. "Alright. I'll try to see what's bothering her." ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- After the train arrived at the station, I flew directly towards the cloud house. I flew so fast, I nearly knocked down the door. I slowly opened the door, and tried to be as quiet as I could. I walked to Dash's room, and the door was slightly open. I looked in through the crack, and I saw Dash crying into a pillow. I knocked my hoof on the door, and she stuffed her face further into the pillow. "Hey, Dash? You feeling alright?" I asked. "N... No, I'm not fine... Just go away..." Dash said, muffled through the pillow. "Dashie, you can talk to me. I'm your special somepony, right?" I said, with a tear running down the side of my face. "Yeah... But, you wouldn't get this..." Dash said, with her voice cracking. "Dashie, you can talk to me. You can say anything. I'm here for you!" I said, trying to get to her. Dash raised her head from the pillow, and her eyes were red. Her mane was a mess, and she had tears flowing from her eyes. "*Sniff*... Alright... I'll talk... Just be here, with me." Dash barely said. I flew over to Dash, and hugged her tightly. "So Dashie, what's hurting you?" I asked warmly. "Nothing's hurting me." She said, slightly confused. "What's hurting you, on the inside." I said. "Well, you see..." Dash burst into tears again. I hugged her tightly, running my hoof in her mane. "Thanks... Bolt..." Dash said quietly. I hugged her again, and she began to explain what was hurting her. "Well, when I was a filly, my father, he left me and my mom. He was pretty much my best friend, next to everypony like Twi and Fluttershy." Dash said, with tears running down her face. I felt something inside me break. "Dashie, can I tell you something?" I asked, with a tear on my face. "Yeah, what is it?" Dash asked softly. "My mom left me, my father and my mom, they fought a lot. They just couldn't get along, so, my mom left us." I said, with tears rolling down my face. Dash hugged me, and I hugged her back. I whispered into her ear, "I love you.". Dash let go of the hug, and we both stared into each others eyes, both of us red-eyed. We both kissed each other, and we both fell asleep, in each others arms. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- I woke up next to the mare, whom shared tears with me. I felt the dried tears on my muzzle, and I saw them in hers too. "Dashie?" I asked, my voice was a bit dry, from dehydration. "He... Hey Bolt. Thanks for being here, with me." She said, still with some tears in her eyes. I knew that we both were thirsty, so I flew into the kitchen, and grabbed us two glasses of water. "Thanks..." Dash spoke, then downed the entire glass. I did the same, and we both gave each other a tight hug. "We are each others special somepony, we both know it." I whispered into Dash's ear. Dash gave me a big smile, and we both kissed each other on the lips. "Alright Dashie, I gotta get to work, I think you should take today off." I said. "Well, alright Bolt, I'll be here. You have fun, I think I'll catch up on some Daring Do books." Dash said with a small smile. "Alright, see you later Dashie." I said, as I left the room. Dash gave me a hug, and grabbed her book from her night stand. I left the house, and I flew over to Sweet Apple Acres as fast as I could, hoping I wasn't late. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- I arrived at Sweet Apple Acres, and I saw Applejack and Big Mac out in the field, bucking trees. I flew in as fast as I could, so I could get straight to work. "Hey! Applejack!" I shouted, as I flew in towards her. "Well, hey there Bolt! Bout time ya got here!" Applejack shouted back. I landed, and I began bucking trees like the wind. "So, Bolt, how's Rainbow doin'?" Applejack asked. "Oh, she's getting better, she just needs a day off." I said. "Ya know what was up?" "Oh, she was just..." I mumbled off, as I continued bucking trees. "What did ya say Bolt? D'int quite hear ya." Applejack asked again. I walked over to Applejack and gave her a stern look. She realized it was something personal, and nodded. We both continued to buck apples late into the evening, and I left after I got my pay from Applejack. "Thanks Applejack! See you tomorrow!" I shouted, as I flew back to the cloud home. "No problem! Ya know, Zap Apple season starts soon! We could use ya then!" Applejack shouted. "Sounds Good!" I yelled, as I got farther away, I saw the orange mare go back into the house. I then flew back into the cloud house, and I went to check up on Dashie. I opened the door, and I saw Dash lying in bed, without a book. "Odd, she had at least three Daring Do books earlier, ah well." I thought to myself, as I sunk into bed. "Good night Dashie." I said to her, but to no response. "I wonder what's up with Dash, she isn't her..." > Chapter Seventeen > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- I woke up the next morning, though, it felt as if I didn't sleep at all. I yawned, and I looked to Dash, who looked better from yesterday. "Hey Dashie, how are ya feeling?" I whispered into her ear. She turned over to me, and nodded. "Want anything for breakfast?" I asked She just pulled the blanket over her head, and I heard her snore. "Well, I'll leave an apple by your bed, if you get hungry." I said to her, as I flew into the kitchen. I flew back, placed the apple on her night stand. "Hey Dashie, if you're not feeling well, you can stay home. I have to get to Sweet Apple Acres, I love you Dashie." I said lovingly. All I heard was her snore. "Alright, see you later." i said quietly. I flew out the front door, and went over to Twilight's library. "There's something up with Dash, and I'm not resting until I found out what." I said to myself. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- I made it to Twilight's house, and I knocked on the door, and Spike opened it up. "Oh hey there Bolt! Come on in!" Spike said happily. "Hey Spike, is Twilight around?" I asked anxiously. "Uhh, yeah! One second!" Spike exclaimed, and ran upstairs. I picked up a book, it was a Daring Do novel. I skim read through it for a few minutes, and Twilight finally came down the stairs. "Oh, hey there Bolt! Enjoying the book?" Twilight asked. "It's a good series, I can honestly say that." I replied. "So what brings you here? Does Rainbow want any more books?" Twilight asked, while organizing some books. "No, she doesn't. I just wanted to ask you about her... Behavior." I asked Twilight. "Well, what's the problem?" Twilight asked. "Dash has been acting a bit weird. After I got back from Sweet Apple Acres, she was really quiet." I said with concern in my voice. "Hmmm, that is odd, she usually talks to you." Twilight said curiously. "Yeah, I wonder if..." I said, then gasped. "What's wrong Bolt?" Twilight asked worryingly. "Dashie! She's not Dashie!" I exclaimed. "What do you mean?" Twilight replied worryingly. "Before! Celestia said the changelings feed off of love, right?" "Yeah, but how does... Oh no!" Twilight said, realizing the truth. "Alright, you go get the others and tell them to meet here, ASAP. I'll go get that faker." I spoke. Twilight nodded, and she teleported away. "Uhh, Bolt? What's going on?" Spike asked, hearing the sound of Twilight's magic. "Ah! I need you, and I'll explain, just write." I shouted to spike, who was across the room. He ran over to a desk, and grabbed a quill, and a scroll. "Ready!" Spike said with a smile, giving me a thumbs up. "Alright, Dear Princess Celestia, I have very urgent news. Evidence shows that Rainbow Dash has been replaced by either a changeling, or worse, Chrysalis. I am currently investigating, and hope you may be able to aid the elements of harmony and I if things go out of hoof. From, Star Bolt." "You got that Spike?" I asked. "Yeah, alright, you go, I'll send this off to the princess!" Spike said with a smile. I waved my hoof, and I left. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- I flew as fast as I could to the cloud home, and I barged in without knocking. "Hey Dashi- Oh Celestia..." I said, trembling at what I was seeing. "Oh, hello there Bolt, It seems you are here for the party." Chrysalis said with a devilish grin. There were at least two dozen changeling in the room, and Dash was in a chair in the middle. "Why are you here?!?" I shouted at the queen. "You should know already, I saw you explain it all to that Twilight pony." Chrysalis said. "Leave her be, she hasn't done anything to you!" I yelled at her. "You're right, she hasn't done anything to me, but you have!" Chrysalis shouted, rubbing her jaw. After she said that, six changelings flew at me, but I bucked them away, yet they kept coming back, and after a few minutes, I gave in. There was sixteen changelings trying to bring me down. They hauled me over to Dash, and tied me up in a chair. "What are you going to do now?" I ask, wonder what they could do at the moment. "Well, you know the saying "What goes around, comes around." right?" Chrysalis said, with her horn beginning to glow an eerie green light. I nodded, and I closed my eyes, preparing for the worst. I heard a loud shocking sound, and I cringed my face, but I felt nothing. I opened my eyes, and Chrysalis was using her magic on Dash! "Stop it!" I yelled to the queen, but she instead blasted her harder. I was in tears, and I looked at Dash's coat, it was fading. "What are you doing to her?!?" I yelled. Chrysalis rolled her eyes, and stopped her spell. "I'm draining her, us changelings feed off of love, and there is a lot between you two! Probably close to that Princess Cassy, or whatever her name was and Shining armor." Chrysalis said, with a chuckle. "You can't get away with this, I swe-" I was interrupted by the sound of knocking at the door. "Who is it?" I yelled, and I saw the mail slot pop open, to see two yellow eyes stare through. "It's me, Derpy! I have a letter from... Celestia? Wow!" Derpy said happily. "You can come in!" I shouted, to blow Chrysalis' cover. The door opened, and every changeling, including Chrysalis, turned into random ponies. "Oh, wow! Are you having a party? Are there muffins?" Derpy asked excitedly. "Uhh, yeah... Just put the letter in the kitchen, and I think there's a muffin on the counter." I said to her. "Uhh, Okay! Hey Bolt, why are you tied up?" Derpy asked with a confused tone in her voice. "Oh, we're just playing a littlegame!" Pony Chrysalis said to her. I looked over to Derpy, and mouthed to her "Get Twilight." Derpy nodded, grabbed her muffin, and left... With the letter." "Now, where were we?" ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Derpy's Point Of View I flew out of Rainbow Dash's house, and with a muffin! I bit into the muffin, and it was blueberry! "Mmmm... Muffins!" I said to myself. "Now, what was it that Star Bolt said to me?" I thought, and I then remembered. "Get Twilight! That's what he said! But why?" I said, confused. I flew over to Twilight's library, and I knocked on the door, Spike opened it, and let me in. "Hi there Twilight!" I said happily, knocking over a tower of books in the process. "Oh, hello there Derpy! Why are you here? I didn't order anything recently." Twilight said, curious as to why I am here. "Well, I was at Rainbow's house, and Star Bolt was having a party! He said to get you, probably wanted you to come!" I said with a smile. "Did somepony say party?" Pinkie Pie said happily. "Thanks Derpy, alright everypony, we gotta get to Rainbow's house, now!" Twilight shouted. She cast a spell on all the non-pegasi ponies, and she teleported the group somewhere else. I frowned and left the library. "Why don't I get invited to any parties?" AUTHOR'S NOTE I do apologize for not updating my story recently, I hit a bit of a writer's block, and I decided to catch up on some deciations on DeviantArt, so sorry for not updating! I'll try not to let this happen again. > Chapter Eighteen > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- Chapter Eighteen I looked over to Chrysalis, who was busy talking to one of her subjects, so I tried to get out of the chair that I was tied up in. I failed, and one of the changelings noticed, and immediately told Chrysalis. "So, trying to escape, my little pony?" Chrysalis sneered. She then pushed the chair back, onto the ground. "Just be happy I'll finish you quickly." She said, patting my head. "You'll be sorry you tried this, you will pay!" I shouted at her. "Can someone shut his mouth? I don't want to hear him whining any longer." Chrysalis said, and a changeling tied a cloth around my mouth. "They had better get here soon..." As I thought that to myself, I heard the door. Somepony was ramming it down. Everyone in the room looked over there, and the door flew open. "Emmerypomy! O'er ere!" I shouted, being muffled by the cloth. "Chrysalis! Let them go!" Twilight shouted. "Now, why would I do that?" Chrysalis said, as she raised her hoof, the changelings became clones of the five ponies who just came. "Now, now, who is who? This will be most fun." Chrysalis said, as she transformed into Applejack. "Oh 'oy...." "Twi! Where are ya?" an Applejack shouted amongst the crowd of clones. About four Twilights shouted in response, confusing the mare. I looked over to the kitchen, and I saw about four Pinkies in the kitchen. Then, one of them who was a darker shade of pink, smacked the others with a rolling pin, and hid them in the oven, which was on. "Cupcakes..." ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- After a good fifteen minutes, the fight was going nowhere. Even the changelings were confused as to who was who, and everypony was getting exhausted. "That's it... I'm gonna help, if nopony else can." I struggled to get out of the chair, and I managed to loosen the ropes enough to slip out. I immediately went over to Dash to untie her, and she was rather... Colourless. "Twilight!" I shouted, and I got about five responses. "Uggh... Who is who?!?" I shouted. "Ah need some help over 'ere!" An Applejack called out, and I knew it was her. I flew over and pulled off a Twilight clone. "Thanks pardner, now, who in hay is the real Twilight?" Applejack shouted, and one came over. I gave her a good stare, and bucked her in the face. "What the hay Bolt?" Applejack shouted. The Twilight then turned back into a changeling. "One down, too many to count to go." I said. "We're gonna need a lot more ponies to help, this'll be a tough tussle." Applejack said, tipping her hat to me. "Alright, let's do thi-" I was interrupted by a bright flash coming from the kitchen, and a blue phone booth appeared. The door opened, and a brown earth pony walked out. "Oh dear, the TARDIS has malfunctioned..." The pony said. "I know that pony... Doctor Whooves?" I said to the stallion across the room. "Aah... Do I know you?" Whooves asked. "No, but do you think you could help us out here? We're in a small situation." "Oh, yes! Most certainly." He said, as he went back into the phone booth, and it disappeared. "Well, that was help-" Another flash appeared, and he walked out, with... Flare Chaser? "Wait! Waitwaitwaitwaitwaitwait! How did you get him?" I asked, wondering as to how a phone booth could do that. "Does it matter? You have a friend here to help now. I should be on my way. If our paths cross, I do hope it is a better time!" The doctor said as he went back into the phone booth. Applejack and I both looked at each other in disbelief, and I went over to Flare. "Dude! Where have you been? Were you ponynapped or something?" I said to him, who was rather confused "I... Don't remember, but hey, now's the time to kick some flank, right?" Flare said with a smile. "Buck yeah it is!" I shouted, giving him a brohoof. I flew over to a group of ponies who were surrounding Fluttershy, and I gave them all a good hit in the head with my front hooves. "Oh, um, thanks Bolt..." Fluttershy squeaked. I gave her a quick nod, and I saw Flare holding up a Rarity up to the wall, and hitting her in the face. It eventually became a changeling, after four hits. He threw it over, and went to a group of Twilights, practically diving into it. He shouted "Come at me!", and so they did. I flew over and pulled them off, and helped Flare back up. The two of us fought off a group of clones, and we found the real Twilight. "Thanks! They were getting out of hoof." Twilight said with a smile. I looked over to Flare, who was walking over to a Fluttershy clone, and dragged her over to me. "Another changeling?" I asked. "More than that." he said, with a smile, and knocked his hoof with force on the clones temple. The clone then transformed back into Chrysalis. The remaining clones looked over, and they quickly scattered, leaving the rest of the real ponies. The rest of them came over to Twilight, Flare, and I, and looked at the unconscious queen. "Well, what do we do now? We can't just leave her here." Rarity said, while looking around the ruined home. "Well, I think I know what to do with her." A familiar voice said, from the doorway. It was Princess Celestia. "Princess Celestia!" All of us said in surprise, and kneeled before her. "No need for such formality, we have to detain Chrysalis immediately. I have prepared a spell, to send her to the dungeon beneath Canterlot Castle." Celestia said, as her horn began to glow. Chrysalis then disappeared without a trace. I then looked over to Dash, who was still tied up. "Dashie!" I shouted, as I flew over to her, and untied her. "Dashie! Are you alright?" I said worryingly. She looked up to me, and he eyes were grey, not magenta. She opened her mouth to speak, but no voice came out. "Celestia! Can you do anything for Dashie?" I ran up to her, in fear of losing Dash. "I'm not sure... Derrick, er, Star Bolt." Celestia said, and the other ponies looked over to me, giving me and her odd looks. "Princess, did you say Derrick?" Twilight said curiously. Celestia looked over to me, and back to her. "I.. I will explain later. But I think I can cast a spell on Rainbow Dash to send her to the hospital in Canterlot. It has the best unicorns there for healing magic." Celestia said. Twilight nodded, and she went into the kitchen, to see Pinkie pulling a tray out of the oven. "Uh, Pinkie? Were you making cupcakes the entire time?" Twilight asked. "Eeyup! They smell good don't they?" Pinkie said with a huge grin. Twilight inhaled deeply through her nose, and she nodded. "Pinkie, we didn't have flour in the house." I said to her. "Oh, I found some!" Pinkie gave me a wink, and I looked over to Applejack, who seemed a bit uncomfortable. "Alright Celestia, just make sure she gets better. send Twilight a letter if her condition changes." I said to the Princess. She nodded, and she began to glow, as well as Dash, and the two of them disappeared. "I hope she's in good hooves." I say to Applejack. "Ah'm sure she'll be alright." She said, and she gave me a soft hug, and the rest of them came in for a group hug. Pinkie shot up, and shouted "Who wants cupcakes?".