//------------------------------// // From Panic to Party // Story: One Bolt, Many Questions // by Boltsinger //------------------------------// Boltsinger looked around the foyer, seeing the grand decorations in place and the various ponies scattered around the room. They were a little dazed from a sudden burst of wind knocking them back, as Rainbow Dash hovered next to him in hysterics. “That… was... AWESOME!” she finally managed to say. “How did you do that? Even I have to build up some momentum before a gale like that!” Boltsinger landed quickly and ran towards the nearest of the ponies to his location. He looked back at Rainbow as he ran. “I just flapped my wings! Not that special!” He came up on Applejack. “Are you okay?” Applejack nodded groggily. “Yeah, I'm fine. But what in tarnation was that?”  “I... got a little spooked,” he replied. “How about everypony else?” He ran to check on all the other ponies and their dragon friend. They all seemed fine, if a little surprised. They all worked themselves out of their daze, then looked at the stallion that caused the sudden wind. “What happened?” Twilight asked. Boltsinger immediately squealed and ran to the back of the room, sitting on the floor and shuddering like he did when he first met the others. “I'm sorry!” he exclaimed. “I'm sorry... I'm sorry... I'm sorry...” He went on repeating himself until the others gathered around him, the concern on their faces now evident. “Darling, I don't understand...” Rarity began. “What on earth are you so sorry about?” “I... I-I-I made that gale!” the stallion told her. “I was scared... And I just acted on instinct... I'm sorry...” Pinkie Pie shook her head rapidly. “Are you KIDDING?! That was AMAZING!”  Fluttershy nodded. “It was pretty impressive...” The other ponies all nodded in agreement. Boltsinger opened his eyes, looking at the faces of the ponies surrounding him. “Really?” The other ponies all smiled. Pinkie Pie jumped up, moved to the center of the room, stood on her hind legs, and raised her forelegs, making a grand gesture as the party cannons fired again, shooting confetti everywhere. “Now, leeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeet's PARTY!!!” she exclaimed, with the doors to the castle swiftly swinging open for the ponies that began trotting in, there for the party. “Wait, a party?” Boltsinger wondered. He looked back at the banner. “For me?! What for? I just got to town!” Twilight laughed and walked over to the orange pony. Using her magic, she lifted him off of the floor and let him stand on his own hooves. “That's exactly why Pinkie’s throwing a party! She did it for me when I first got to Ponyville, too.” “Oh... Well, I guess we can't let this party stuff go to waste, huh?” Boltsinger added. He slapped his face with his wings, and shook his head, venturing into the room with Twilight next to him. The party was nice. A familiar white Unicorn in headphones and shades was handling all of the music, and many of the citizens came up to Boltsinger to introduce themselves. They all seemed friendly enough, helping him feel a touch more at ease in the new environment. He felt that if he was going to be interacting with ponies like these on a regular basis, then his stay in Ponyville was going to be a good ome. Several hours later, the party was finally winding down, and most of the ponies had left. All that remained was Twilight and her friends. “Sooooooooooo...” Pinkie started. “How was your 'Welcome to Ponyville' party?” Boltsinger scratched his head with his wing, trying to come up with a response. “I... really enjoyed it. Twilight told me you really love to do the party stuff... It was just a bit... unexpected.” “Isn't that the whole point of a 'surprise' party?” Applejack jokingly asked. The Pegasus laughed. “Yeah, I suppose so!” His face seemed stuck i. A smile, sending the pink party pony's eyes wide. “So, we're friends, now, right?!” Pinkie asked, rushing remarkably close to Boltsinger's face. He shyly laughed, nodding his head. “YYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYES!!!” Once again, she was celebrating in midair. After several more jumps, she landed normally, walking back to her friends and wiping her brow. “Well, I've gotta go. It's reeeeeeeeeally late. I mean, Princess Luna has already raised the moon!” The other ponies all nodded in agreement, all heading for the door. Before long, it was just Boltsinger, Twilight, and Spike, who was yawning into his claws. “They've got a point,” the baby dragon told them. “I'm gonna hit the sack.” Twilight patted Spike on the head with one of her wings, “All right, sleepyhead. You have a good rest.” She waved as her faithful assistant ventured off into the castle, then turned to the Pegasus. “So, I guess I'll show you to your room?” Boltsinger expressed his agreement. Twilight showed began walking towards one of the many rooms in the castle. “So, normally my student, Starlight, is here, but right now she's in... another place with my friend, Sunset,” she told him, looking back at him slightly. “Is there anything you'd like to do tomorrow? I know Rainbow Dash never got around to telling us her 'idea', but what you do here is all up to you.” “Um... I think I'm probably going to listen to whatever Rainbow Dash had to say... Also, I wouldn't mind exploring this castle a bit. I didn't get to do much exploring in Canterlot. I think Princess Luna was worried I might fly off before I could meet anypony else. Do you still have a... library... here in Ponyville?” Twilight stopped instantly, causing Boltsinger to bump into her from behind. The Alicorn turned to look back on the Pegasus with her. “You want to go to the library?”  “Yeah, sometimes the best thing I can think to do is just sit and read,” he responded. “I never really got to socialize much over the years, thanks to these things on my back. In the end, it felt like I wasn't alone as long as I had a good book.” Twilight's face changed. Suddenly she was smiling from ear to ear, her eyes were wide as can be and shining brightly. “Of course there's a library!” she shouted, jumping happily and running over to Boltsinger and pushing him from behind. “Come on! Let me show you!” Boltsinger quickly moved with the push, as Twilight guided him through the many halls of the castle. Eventually, he was led to another set of large doors, which Twilight's magic instantky opened. Inside, the stallion saw what he could only think of as 'the mother load' of books. There were research books, fiction, non-fiction, anything anypony could ask for! All of the fatigue from the party earlier quickly washed away as he flew up to the shelves, excitedly looking over the flawlessly-sorted collectio . “You did all of this yourself?” he asked, looking back at the princess. “This is all yours?!” He looked back to the books, his eyes wide, and his face beaming. “WOW! I wonder if there's any Daring Do in here...” He looked at the spines of each book on every shelf, finally taking out a copy of Daring Do and the Quest for the Sapphire Statue, holding it up triumphantly. “Yes!” Twilight closed her eyes proudly. “Yes! It's open to everypony, and... Oh, you already found it!” She fluttered over to him, and they both landed on the floor, walking over to the table in the center of the room. “I'm so glad to meet another fan! Normally, I can only really talk about Daring Do with Rainbow Dash!” From there, they went hours into the night, conversing and laughing about all of their favorite Daring Do adventures, not quite knowing where the time was going. Eventually, the topic spread to other books they enjoyed, discussing the legends of the Pillars, leading to Twilight talking at length about her personal idol, Star Swirl the Bearded. The topics kept varying for a while, covering nearly all of the fictional titles Twilight had in her library. Finally, the laughter and conversation died down as the two of them simultaneously yawned into their wings. Coming from a yawn, Twilight spoke. “All right, I think it's time for bed... Let me show you to your room...” She walked over to Boltsinger, but slightly stumbled along the way, dozing off mid-step with her head rapidly approaching the corner of the table. Boltsinger's instincts took hold again, prompting him to dive down and catch the falling Alicorn, landing on the floor with her sleeping soundly on his neck. He looked at her sleeping form and smiled softly, a slight blush appearing on his cheeks as he yawned once more. Closing his eyes, his head fell onto a book beneath him. I think, just this once, it's a good idea to just call it a night here...