//------------------------------//
// Meeting with Friendship 
// Story: One Bolt, Many Questions 
// by Boltsinger 
//------------------------------//

After what could only be described as “the most interesting destination he had ever reached,” Boltsinger could sum up how he felt today in one simple word.
Confused.
It wasn't like he wasn't accustomed to flights like this after so many years, but to have woken up next to Princess Luna? How was he supposed to react to something like that? Sure, she'd seemed friendly enough, and she had shown curiosity and concern for his situation, but she was a princess for crying out loud! What was someone as ordinary as him supposed to do in the presence of someone as incredible as that?
After gaining a clearer idea of what was going on, the Lunar Princess instructed him to stay through the night in the castle as she discussed the situation with her sister, Princess Celestia. His day from then on was rather uneventful, but quite contemplative, as he tried to make sense of it all. The next morning, a yellow-coated Pegasus in armor with a blue mane and tail, and a blue shield with a lightning bolt as his Cutie Mark, entered the room.
“Boltsinger?” He called out.
Said stallion was still in a deep sleep, as if he'd been up almost disturbingly late. His snoring was audible in the hallway, as the now-open door soon proved.
The Pegasus walked up to the bed, looking at the orange stallion that lay there. He placed his hoof on the sleeping pony's shoulder, shaking him. “Wake up!”
In that instant, Boltsinger's eyes shot open and his left wing flapped, sending a gust of wind straight into the guard that woke him. The force threw him back into the corridor wall. “What?! What is it? I'm awake!” Boltsinger exclaimed, looking around rather frantically as he sat up.
His attention quickly turned to the Pegasus that had woken him up, seeing him sitting against the wall, looking a little bit dazed. “Oh my gosh! I'm sorry!” He leaped off of the bed and flew over to the yellow pony, returning the favor and shaking him awake. “Are you okay?”
The guard rose to his hooves and shook his head a bit. “I'm... fine. The Royal Sisters require your presence in the throne room. I trust you know the way there?”
Boltsinger nodded and pointed his right wing in the direction that would take him to the throne room fastest. “This way, right?” he asked. The guard nodded silently, with a puzzled look on his face. Boltsinger simply nodded, cantering off to see what was required of him.





An hour later the door to the throne room opened, and in walked a lilac-coated Alicorn with a purple mane and tail that featured streaks of a lighter purple with a more notable pink. Her Cutie Mark consisted of a magenta six-pointed star on top of a smaller yet similar white star, surrounded by five stars that were smaller still to create a sparkle effect. She was followed by a small purple dragon with green spikes and a yellow belly, walking on two legs, along with five other ponies. One was a white Unicorn with a deep purple mane and tail that had some well-accentuated ringlets to them, she also had false eyelashes, and some light blue eyeshadow over her piercing cerulean eyes. Her Cutie Mark was made up of three brilliantly cut diamonds. Another was an orange Earth Pony with a blonde mane and tail, each tied at the end with a red hair-tie. She wore a stetson, and had a Cutie Mark of three bright red apples. Her eyes were about as green as a Granny Smith apple, with three white freckles at the corner of each. The next to come in was a bouncy pink Earth Pony mare with a darker pink mane and tail that seemingly defined the word 'frizzy'. She had light blue eyes, and a Cutie Mark consisting of two blue balloons and one yellow one. She smiled happily as another much more reserved mare followed her. She was a yellow-coated Pegasus with soft blue eyes and a long pink mane and tail. Her Cutie Mark was three pink-winged butterflies. Lastly, a cyan Pegasus flew in with a six-colored rainbow mane and tail, and violet eyes. Her Cutie Mark featured a cloud with a multicolored lightning bolt coming out.
Princess Celestia sat on her throne as the six ponies and the little dragon walked in, smiling softly at the sight of her beloved pupil. “Twilight Sparkle, thank you for coming to see us on such short notice,” the Princess of the Sun started, walking towards the Alicorn for a hug.
The lilac pony responded. “Of course! I'm happy to come anytime you need me.” She reciprocated the embrace happily. “You said in your letter that you needed some help with a magical problem. What's going on?”
Celestia broke the hug and walked over to her throne, taking a seat as her sister, Luna, walked up.
“That,” Luna began, “is a question that can only be answered by one pony.”
Twilight looked around the room, seeing nopony else save for her friends and the Royal Sisters. “What do you mean? Is there somepony else you want me to meet?”
Celestia snickered. “Yes. He should be somewhere nearby...” She pointed her left foreleg behind her throne.
Immediately, the cyan Pegasus took off, leaving a rainbow streak behind her as she flew. She sped behind the throne and appeared above everypony in the center of the room, holding an orange-coated Pegasus stallion who seemed to be shuddering in fear.
“This who you're talking about?” the Pegasus mare asked.
Luna nodded with an amused smile on her face. “Yes, Rainbow Dash, that is him.” Rainbow Dash proceeded to let the stallion go as he started flapping his own wings, lowering himself to the floor and sitting in front of Twilight and her friends.
The orange mare looked up at her flying friend. “Rainbow!” she shouted, a country drawl present in her voice. “Why'd ya have to go and scare him like that? Why, he looks more spooked than a stampeedin' herd before breakfast!”
The pink pony came from behind her fellow Earth Pony, seemingly out of nowhere. “But, Applejack! It's so much FUN to be scared! Your heart is racing,” She stood on her hind legs and performed a motion that looked like a heart shape leaping out of her chest in a cartoony fashion. “You're shivering aaaaaaall oooooover!” She stood in place and shivered so fast that she started moving around the room. “And you have so... much... adrenaline!” With each of the final words, her face grew more playfully intense, and she bolted around the entire room, stopping right next to Applejack, placing a hoof up next to her mouth . “Hm... Somehow I feel like I've explained that somewhere before...”
“Um... H-h-hi...” He said, softly, while waving with one of his wings. “I'm... um... I'm Boltsinger... I'm the one that the Princesses... Can't believe I'm saying this... Th-th-th-the... The one the Princesses wanted you to meet!” He shivered more, keeping his eyes closed, his breathing more rapid than even he expected.
Twilight walked up to the new face, looking him over from multiple angles. “Are you alright?” She asked, looking concerned. “You seem awfully nervous.”
The white Unicorn walked up next to Twilight, bending near Boltsinger and giving him a coy glance to the side. “Now, now, darling, we can't properly introduce ourselves to you if you aren't willing to look at us, now can we?”
“You've... got a bit of a point...” He replied. The unicorn backed up a bit so as to give him some space. He slapped the sides of his muzzle with his wings, taking a deep, calming breath before opening his eyes and looking at the Alicorn before him first.
In that instant, he saw a kind of beauty that reminded him of the Princesses he had met so far, and yet, on the other hoof, she seemed infinitely more approachable. The look in her violet eyes was innately welcoming, and seemed to put his heart at ease.
The white Unicorn smiled and looked at the Pegasus through half-lidded eyes, looking relaxed and content. “Now that is much better. I am Rarity, and it's quite a pleasure to meet you, Boltsinger.” She offered a hoof in greeting. Boltsinger looked at the finely polished hoof and grasped it with his wing, giving a slightly loose shake.
Celestia and Luna walked up behind Boltsinger, wings spread regally. “The task we'd like you to undertake, Twilight, directly involves this pony's plight.”
Twilight looked confused as she drew her gaze to her fellow Alicorns. “What do you mean? He seems fine.” She took a closer look at the orange pony, letting the dots in her mind make their connections. “Do you have a kind of friendship problem?
Luna chimed in. “Not quite. He was not doing quite as well when I met him just yesterday morning, for he was knocked out upon the very balcony upon which I typically undertake my nightly vigil.”
Twilight and her friends gasped at the information. “How did he get up there? I mean, I know he can fly, and that's probably the easiest explanation, but why would he go to your balcony?”
“That is the same question I asked him when he awoke.“ Luna replied, seeming to avoid some details about the event. “I believe he would explain it best .”
“M-me?!” Boltsinger repeated. “I mean, I know I was there, and all, but you're so much more articulate and accurate and...” He looked at Luna, who looked back at him with an air of confidence. “All right...” Looking at Twilight, he told the Princess of Friendship the story of how he obtained his Cutie Mark, and the events surrounding the strange behavior of his wings.
“We would like for you all to help Boltsinger with this problem present im his wings.” Celestia began. “Do you think you can do this?”
Twilight nodded, but looked confused once again. “I think so. Between Starlight and I, we should be able to learn what's going on. But, why not ask Star Swirl about this? He's much better at solving magical problems than I am.”
Celestia placed a wing on Twilight's back, taking her aside. “This problem doesn't stem entirely from magic. Luna has been telling me that he seems greatly troubled. A kind of loneliness, a depression that goes deeper than a simple magical remedy can solve. We believe that you and your friends are the ideal choice to not only help him with his wings, but with his heart. Would you let him stay at your castle?”
Twilight looked worried as she looked back at the stallion she had just met. “I'm not a hundred percent sure about him staying in the castle... But, he doesn't seem like a bad pony. I can let him use a guest room.”
Celestia gave her pupil another hug before they walked back to the others. “Thank you, Twilight. He seems like he could really use some friends.”
Twilight looked over at her friends, who were gathered around a seemingly uneasy Boltsinger. He greeted each of them, smiling weakly, as they all introduced themselves.
Boltsinger stood up and looked around at the ponies before him. They were extremely different from one another, and yet, together they seemed to be right at home. Rarity, Rainbow Dash, Fluttershy, Applejack, Pinkie Pie, and Twilight Sparkle... He could tell that he had some interesting days ahead of him.