//------------------------------//
// Seeing the Sights 
// Story: One Bolt, Many Questions 
// by Boltsinger 
//------------------------------//

Another morning came with the rising of the sun. Boltsinger woke up, looking around the room he had been allowed to stay in. It matched the overall crystal decor of the castle, and had a nice view of the countryside. He took a deep breath and opened the window. Looking over at the door, then back out at the incredible view.
This is the point where I would normally fly off... He thought, with his gaze drifting back to the door. I wouldn't want anypony to go too far out of the way just for me... But... As he pondered, he heard a knock on the door. He quickly closed the window and hurried over to the door, opening it to find Spike.
“Oh! Good morning, Spike!” The Pegasus greeted.
Spike gave a wave. “Good morning.” he replied. “Twilight wanted me to make sure you woke up. She's making breakfast.” With that, the baby dragon continued on his way, heading to the bathroom.
Boltsinger called out from his doorway. “All right, thanks!” He smiled at the thought of food and trotted down the hall, soon finding that the place was extraordinarily expansive. “Now... Where are the stairs? Where is the dining room, or the kitchen, for that matter?”
As the orange Pegasus wandered about the halls, another pony trotted up beside him. She was a Unicorn with a pink body of a lighter shade than Pinkie Pie. She had purple eyes, a slightly darker shade than Twilight's eyes, and had a dark purple wavy mane and tail, with her bangs combed to one side of her head, and bearing streaks of a slightly lighter purple, and a cyan color that seemed to pop out. Her Cutie Mark consisted of two streaks of glimmering blue light leading to a purple four-pointed star over a white star that ran perpendicular to it.
“Hey, there.” The mare said.
Boltsinger looked onward, still trying to find his way around. “Hey.” He said, as if responding automatically.
“Whatcha doing in the castle?” The mare asked.
“Trying to find the kitchen.” The stallion told her, still facing forward and trotting along. “I figured I can offer to help Twilight make breakfast. If I can ever find my way around this place! It's huge!”
“Yeah,” the Unicorn began. “I got lost a few times when I first got here, too. It's pretty hard to find your way around sometimes.”
“I hear that.” Boltsinger said. “I just hope I can get used to it all before too long.”
“Well, I can help you out if you want.” the mare offered. “Just one more question.”
“Okay.” Boltsinger responded, his gaze unwavering from the hallway.
“Who are you?”
Boltsinger tilted his head, confused. “I'm Boltsinger. Didn't I meet everypony in Canterlot a couple days ago?” He turned his head to see the unfamiliar Unicorn. His eyes grew wide as he finally realized that this was an entirely new face. “Ooooooooooooooooooooooooooh...” He droned. From there, he turned to run, only to be stopped by a baby blue magical field surrounding him shortly after taking off.
“Whoa, there! Where are you going?” She started. “It was just a simple question! It's not like I'm gonna throttle you or anything!” She pulled him closer with her magic and let go, seeing his knees shake a bit. She laughed a little as she leaned in. “You okay? You look like you had a run-in with Nightmare Moon!”
Boltsinger slapped his face with his wings in an attempt to stop his legs from trying to give out from under him. “Yeah... Yeah, I'm fine...” He looked at the mare once more. “Oh! You're that student that Twilight mentioned! Starlight, right?”
The Unicorn nodded. “Starlight Glimmer. Nice to meet you, Boltsinger.” She extended a hoof, which the Pegasus grasped with his wing for his usual kind of hoof shake. “That still doesn't explain why you're here, though.”
The two began walking down the hall again as Boltsinger explained his situation, along with what led him to Canterlot, and, in turn, to Ponyville.
“Oooooh.” Starlight started, once the explanation was finished. “All right. I don't quite understand why the Princesses went so far out of their way, but I don't see any harm in helping you out.”
“You see, that's the question I asked myself! And them!” Boltsinger exclaimed. “Princess Luna explained that it was due to the simple fact that she is a Princess, and I'm a citizen, so it was 'her honor and duty' to do what she could to help. I... still don't quite understand it, myself.” He averted his gaze to the floor as they kept walking.
Starlight looked at his expression, seeing the frown that looked just a little too natural on his face, she had an inkling of an idea. “Aaaaaahh... I think I get it now.” She said, smiling and trotting a bit faster. “Well, the kitchen and the dining room are this way. Come on!” She called out, leading him the rest of the way.





Boltsinger and Starlight arrived in the kitchen as Twilight was putting breakfast on the plates, starting to lift them with her magic. She looked over at the entering ponies, smiling and waving with her right wing. “Hey! So, I take it you two met already?” She asked, noticing that they had walked in together.
Starlight trotted over to her teacher and friend. “Yeah, he explained his whole situation on the way down here.” She replied. She leaned in and got a little closer. “Is it just me, or does he seem a little... excitable to you? And not the Pinkie Pie kind of excitable, either.”
Twilight smiled, closing her eyes and nodding. “He definitely is. But once you get used to it, there's no problem.”
“Really?” the Unicorn wondered. “He looked like he was about ready to scream when he finally got a look at me.”
Twilight sighed, but with a smile on her face. “You've just gotta learn how to approach him once he does get spooked. After that, he's just like anypony else.” She continued towards the dining room, where Spike was waiting at the table, fork and knife in his claws. Everypony else took a seat at the table as Twilight set the plates down, and they proceeded to eat their meals.
“So, Boltsinger,” Spike said, his mouth full of food. “Whatcha got planned for today?”
Boltsinger raised his head from his plate, putting a wing to his muzzle. “I hadn't thought of that... I want to get to know the castle a bit better, but I also really want to see Ponyville some more. Yesterday I just went to the track, but the tour I got was really interesting.” He looked over at Twilight, who smiled a little as her face flushed from the compliment. “So, I'd like to explore. See what all Ponyville has to offer for myself.”





After breakfast, Boltsinger and Starlight took care of the dishes while Twilight had Spike take a letter, and the stallion set out on his own in the town. He took his time, trotting along and taking in the sights, until he came upon a school house where the fillies and colts were playing outside. He looked on at them and thought back to when he was a foal. You know, once my Cutie Mark showed up, I never really got to go to school anymore... Well, I guess I can say that I learned through experience... But, I wonder how I would have turned out if I'd gotten to be around other ponies more often back then?
He shook his head, letting the past stay where it was, and then continued on. After a while, he happened upon a quaint little cottage with plenty of space around it, animals running and flying and skittering back and forth. A bear was sitting in a portion of the back yard that was clearly visible from the front of the house, holding a teacup. That's a little bit odd...the orange pony tilted his head, letting it influence his movement as he walked over to get a better view of what was happening behind the house. There, he saw the bear sitting with Fluttershy, who was laughing and petting various critters that had all snuggled up to her. He smiled and walked a little closer, trying his hardest to be silent as he did.
After about three steps, Boltsinger heard a “whoosh” from behind. He turned around to see what was there, but there was nothing. With another “whoosh” behind him, he spun around, confused. He wanted to call out to whatever was speeding on by, but before he could open his mouth, he saw a little white bunny with a perfectly fluffed tail.
“Awww...” he cooed. “Hi there, little bunny! Are you the one that's been ru--” Before he could finish his sentence, the bunny leaped forward and kicked him squarely in the face, causing him to rear up and cry out. From there, the bunny ran under him and kicked him in the knee, knocking him to the ground. “What did I do to deserve this?!” He cried as the bunny proceeded to stomp on his tail and kick him in the stomach. After about ten seconds, a familiar voice called out from behind the house.
“Angel!” it called, sounding like Fluttershy, but louder and more commanding. “What are you doing?!”
The bunny stopped its assault on the Pegasus, and looked over at the source of the voice. There stood Fluttershy, an angry look on her face. The bunny gestured to its victim, stomping hard on the ground.
“That's no excuse! Boltsinger is a friend of mine!” she scolded. “You had no business doing what you did! Now, say you're sorry!”
The bunny looked over at Boltsinger, then back at Fluttershy, pleading.
Fluttershy's expression grew more intense as she looked disapprovingly at the bunny. Its ears drooped and its face turned into a little bunny-frown as it turned to Boltsinger, patting him on the muzzle before hopping away.
As the bunny left, Fluttershy's expression returned to its natural, soft state. She fluttered over to Boltsinger, who was still groaning from the hits he took.
“Are you okay?” Fluttershy asked, leaning in to help the stallion up.
Boltsinger accepted the help and worked his way back up to his hooves. “You know, a lot of ponies seem to be asking that lately.” He mentioned. “Yeah, I'm fine. That bunny sure is a piece of work, though! How did you calm him down like that?”
“Oh, it was nothing...” the yellow mare said. “I just gave him 'The Stare' when he wouldn't listen...”
“'The Stare'?” He repeated. “You mean that really intimidating look you had?” Fluttershy nodded daintily. “That was incredible!”
Fluttershy's cheeks turned pink at the praise. “Thank you...” She walked up a little closer to him, coiling her tail up close to her flank, lowering her head and raising one of her hooves. “Um... If you don't mind my asking... Would you like to stay for some tea? It's the least I could do after what Angel did...”
Boltsinger looked at the demure mare, then over at the yard where she had the tea set placed. There was a large bear there, but somehow it seemed far less intimidating than the tiny bunny he just met. “I would love some tea.” He told her.
Fluttershy perked up a bit, smiling and leading him to the tea set, where the bear simply put its cup down and walked over to a nice patch of grass. “I'll get you a cup right now.” She trotted into the cottage.
Boltsinger sat next to the tea set. It looked like it was well-used and well cared for. He shifted his weight, trying to get comfortable. After a minute or so, Fluttershy returned, holding a cup and saucer in her mouth. She sat down across from the orange stallion and held the china out with one of her hooves. He took it with his wing as she expertly poured some tea from the pot into the cup. Clearly, she was very practiced in the art of tea serving, as if she had been doing this regularly for quite some time.
Boltsinger took a sip, finding it to be the best he’d had in a very long time. He looked back and forth between the various animals. Many were scurrying along playfully, eating their lunches and overall having a good time. A good number of them would come up to Fluttershy for attention, and she would happily oblige. The stallion smiled at the sight, then thought back on that one little bunny.
“So, Fluttershy?” he began. The mare turned her attention to him. “I have to know. Why was that bunny so aggressive? I can’t imagine he’d be like that with everypony.”
“Oh, you’re right.” she admitted. “But it’s been a while since breakfast, and he was in a bad mood because I wouldn’t let him have his favorite dish.” She held up a picture of an extravagant-looking vegetable and ice cream combination dessert with a very particular cherry gingerly placed on the top. “I used to have bigger problems when he got demanding, but nowadays, he sees it my way more often.”
“Definitely still irritated about it, at least.” Boltsinger stated, taking another sip.





After an hour or two of happy conversation, Boltsinger got up and said a farewell for the day. Continuing on his Ponyville trek, he began exploring more of the town proper. After seeing what the various stalls in the marketplace had to offer, he drew his attention to what was probably the sweetest-looking building in town. He knocked on the door with his foreleg, but found that it opened with almost zero effort. Walking in, he caught the sights and smells of hundreds of sweet confections. He looked around, seeing all sorts of cupcakes, pound cakes, and several other types of cakes strewn about various displays, with a bunch of smaller treats surrounding them. He marveled for a moment at this magical room of deliciousness until another familiar voice sounded.
“Hey!” it called from behind the counter. Boltsinger looked over, seeing Pinkie Pie behind the register with a big smile on her face. “What brings you to Sugar Cube Corner?” She asked.
“Oh! Hey, Pinkie Pie!” He walked over to the counter. “Well, to be honest, I mostly thought the building was interesting.” Boltsinger answered. “I mean, Twilight told me about this place, and most of the notable places in town, but that roof seems to catch your eye no matter what you do.”
Pinkie laughed at the remark about the building. “Yeah, it has that effect on ponies! Is there anything I can get you?”
Boltsinger scratched at his mane with his hoof. “Um... I don't really have any bits.” He admitted. “I'd love to get something, I just... don't have money.”
Pinkie's face drooped slightly. “Awwwww...” After a second, one of the dim light bulbs above her suddenly lit up brightly, and she smiled. “Well, here's a sample, anyway!” With that, she took a cupcake from out of her mane and shoved it in Boltsinger's mouth, where he instinctively started chewing, his eyes wide with surprise, followed quickly with an expression of immense satisfaction.
He swallowed the cupcake, smiling. “Okay, that was pretty amazing! I'm gonna have to see about making some money so I can try everything else here!”
Pinkie laughed. “Glad you like it! That's from a batch I made myself!”
“Somehow, that doesn't surprise me in the least.” The stallion said, turning to leave, waving with one of his wings. “Well, I gotta get going!”
Pinkie waved in return. “I'll see you later!” She called out. After he left, she rested her head on one hoof, sighing happily. “He's silly!” She pulled another cupcake from her mane and snarfed it down.