//------------------------------//
// Home 
// Story: One Bolt, Many Questions 
// by Boltsinger 
//------------------------------//

It was getting a bit later in the day as Boltsinger continued his exploration of Ponyville. He had noticed a large, fancy building in a clearing. It looked very inviting, and he remembered Twilight talking about it being Rarity's place of business. He walked up to the door, carefully peeking in. Inside, he saw a number of mannequins, all dressed in extravagant and beautiful outfits. It was clear to him that the various items in the store were designed with mares in mind. He turned to keep going, but the door opened behind him.
“Why, Boltsinger!” a familiar voice exclaimed. “How delightful of you to come!”
Boltsinger turned back around, seeing Rarity in the doorway. “Oh! Hi, Rarity.” He said, waving a wing.
“So, what has brought you here today?” Rarity asked.
“Mostly curiosity. I never really took too huge of an interest in fashion.” The stallion admitted. Rarity gasped, shocked to even think of such a statement. “B-b-but...! What I saw in your boutique looks really good! Even somepony like me can see that!”
The Unicorn calmed down upon hearing the compliment. “Well, I'm glad you appreciate at least that. Won't you come in, darling?” She offered.
Boltsinger nodded as Rarity led him into the boutique. Taking a good look around the place, he found himself quite impressed. The décor screamed “fashionista”, but was more welcoming about it than some of the more uptight fashion ponies he had met. Looking at the outfits, no two mannequins held the same design. Each one was breathtakingly unique, elaborately strewn with various gems and overflowing with personality. His mouth hung open, dumbfounded at the sheer “fabulosity” before him.
Rarity trotted around, seeing the orange Pegasus' reaction to the various outfits. “I take it you like my designs?” She asked.
“It looks like... like each of these outfits were made with individual ponies in mind...” He guessed. “Is that the idea behind all of it?”
“That does seem to be how it usually turns out.” Rarity admitted, thinking back on all of the ponies that have seen something of themselves in the dresses she's sold. “Truthfully, I make outfits based on whatever inspires me. You'd be surprised just how much of Equestria is brimming with beauty when you really look at it!”
Boltsinger nodded, looking over at the glamorous Unicorn while sitting down. “I suppose if I ever needed to get dressed up, I know exactly the pony to go to, huh?
Rarity giggled, raising a hoof to her face. “It would be my pleasure, of course!”
The visiting stallion soon got up. “Well, the sun is probably going down soon. I should get to the castle for the night.”
He bade farewell to the Unicorn and left, spreading his wings and taking off towards the Castle of Friendship.





As Boltsinger came back to the castle, walking through the foyer, he smiled as he took in his surroundings. Looking at the largest doors in the room, he felt a wave of curiosity. He pushed the door open with his left foreleg, revealing a large room that had a crystal table in the middle of it, surrounded by six crystal thrones, each bearing the Cutie Marks of Twilight and her friends, with a smaller throne connected to Twilight's. The windows of the room were all a stunning green stained glass, while the ceiling above the table was adorned with a mass of tree roots, upon each hung a different gem. He flew up to look at the gems and saw images in them, showing Twilight and her friends in a myriad of situations in an old library. He could feel the love put into each of the memories he could find, starting to tear up as he saw each new image. He flew down to the side of the table, sitting down and trying to stifle his tears.
Twilight poked her head into the room, taking a look at the stallion as he looked up at the beautiful roots. “Oh! I see you found my other favorite room in the castle!” She stated.
Boltsinger slapped his face with his wings, snapping himself back to his normal disposition and looked back at the Princess. “Yeah. It's really beautiful in here...” He told her. “Not just from a looks standpoint, either.” He pointed up at the roots. “Those, especially. They remind me of a library tree that was here in Ponyville back during my first time here...”
“They should.” Twilight affirmed. “They're the roots of that very library. It's where I lived when I first moved to Ponyville... But it was destroyed during my battle with Tirek. My friends all took the roots and set them up there so that I'd be able to be at home here in the castle.”
Boltsinger smiled. “They sure are incredible ponies, aren't they?” He asked. Twilight nodded, looking up at the roots with a fond tear streaming down her cheek. Boltsinger's ears perked up as he turned to face Twilight. “You know, some of them were part of my little exploration today...” He told Twilight about his trek through town. She seemed to get a particular kick out of his run-in with Fluttershy's pet, Angel. “But, in the end, I'm really glad I came back--” His eyes grew wide, his pupils shrinking as the events of the last three days surged through his head. “Oh my gosh...” He said.
Twilight looked at the Pegasus, seeing what seemed like a look of revelation on his face. “Something wrong?” She asked.
He remained silent. His thoughts were a jumble, and he was trying to make sense of it all.
Twilight got up next to Boltsinger, putting a hoof on his shoulder. “Hey, Boltsinger!” she cried out, trying to get his attention.
There was no response. The Alicorn tried for a while, calling out to the pony in front of her. She started thinking of everything she knew about him. He's excitable, to the point where he was sent into a panic easily... No, that doesn't help... He doesn't look scared. It's like he's stuck inside his own mind... Wait, that's it!
As quickly as the idea came to her, Twilight spread her wings wide, bringing them together, hard, on either side of Boltsinger's muzzle. The sound of the slap could be heard throughout the castle.
With the impact, all of the raging thoughts in Boltsinger's head flowed together into a single point. His eyes closed, and tears welled up in them. He opened his eyes, and saw Twilight's face, fraught with worry. He panted heavily, putting his wings up to pull the Alicorn's wings away.
“Um... Th-thank you...” He told her. “I-I-I... really needed that.”
“Are you okay?” Twilight asked, the all-too familiar question ringing in Boltsinger's ears.
The doors opened, Starlight and Spike standing in the doorway with worried expressions. Neither Twilight nor Boltsinger noticed, however, as the Pegasus spoke up.
“Yeah... I'm fine...” He replied. “I-I just... need to think for a while...” He got up, his face still having a bit of shock in it, and walked out of the room.
Spike and Starlight looked at the orange pony somberly walking away, then turned to Twilight, who was still sitting there on the floor, in a little bit of her own shock.
“Twilight, what's going on?” Starlight asked. “I heard this loud noise from my room, and it sounded like somepony was hurt somehow!”
Twilight shook her head, pulling herself together, and looked at her student. “He seemed to have something happen inside. Not like when he goes into a panic. I don't know what it was, but it seems like it was a big deal...”
Spike walked up to Twilight, putting a claw on her shoulder. “Are you alright?” He asked her. “You look a little freaked out.”
The Alicorn looked at her ever-faithful assistant. She explained the situation to them, not leaving out a single detail. The Unicorn and the dragon both sat down on the floor, seemingly baffled.
“Sounds like something he said himself may have gotten to him...” Starlight mused.
“What do you mean?” Twilight inquired.
“Well, you said that he blanked out right after he mentioned something, right?” Starlight lead as Twilight's face lit up with realization.





Meanwhile, Boltsinger entered his room, walking up to the window. He sat down, looking hard at the night sky. He reached forward with one of his wings and opened the window, feeling the breeze rolling in. So, this feeling is... new... I've never had a place to go 'back' to... Not since I was a colt, at least... What in Equestria can this even mean? He felt the breeze in his mane, offering an inviting feeling. His mind jumped to wanting to just fly off and let all the amazing ponies with which he's become acquainted move on with their lives. He had spent more time with them than he thought possible. They wouldn't miss him, right? But... No... I really like it here... I want to stay... I want to meet more of the ponies here... I... “I...” As the tears welled up into his eyes, he breathed deeply, slapping his face with his wings to try and shake it off, but to no avail. He tried again, and again, doing everything he could to stop these emotions from coming out, but nothing happened. He inhaled sharply and fell to the floor, and started crying uncontrollably. “I wanna have tea with Fluttershy! I wanna try every little thing at Sugar Cube Corner! I wanna read every last book in that amazing library!!!” He called out, letting out a sobbing scream. “Please, wings... Please don't take me away from here... I wanna stay!” He continued for a while, then reared up, flapping his wings to create a breeze that closed his window, hard and loud, to the point where the lock fell into place.
Outside the door, Twilight was standing, having been looking through the slightly ajar doorway before the wind  slammed it shut. Her head drooped at the thought of him being forced away by things beyond his control. Regaining her composure, she waited until the sobbing died down, then opened the door.
“Boltsinger?” She started, alerting the stallion to her presence. “How are you feeling?”
He continued laying on the floor, directing his eyes to her, but otherwise unmoving. “Greedy...” He admitted.
“What do you mean?” the Princess wondered.
“I don't wanna go anywhere... But that's not in the cards for me.” He explained, rising up to a sitting position. “I've never wanted to stay anywhere so badly... Normally once I've helped somepony with a problem that my particular skills can deal with, the ponies involved tend to just go back to their normal thing. I get a 'thank you', at least, but then most of the time I never see them again. Either they just never say anything to me again, or these malfunctioning things on my back force me to quite literally take off!” He stomped on the floor with his foreleg, spreading his wings for emphasis. “I've never... made friends before...” The statement shocked Twilight, but reminded her of her own time before Ponyville, and the friends that changed her life. “I've... never had any place to... well... go 'back' to! And if I flew away now, Celestia knows where I'll go, or if I'll ever be able to come back!” Breathing heavily again, he put his wings in their resting position and fell on his side, finally calming down.
Twilight walked over to the depressed pony and plopped onto the floor next to him. “I know exactly how you feel. I was lucky enough to have Princess Celestia 'decree' that I was to stay in Ponyville when I first came and met my friends, but before that happened, I felt terrible about the idea of having to leave them. I can't imagine being forced away, though...” She placed a hoof on his shoulder, looking him squarely in the eyes. “I've sent a letter to somepony who should be able to help on the more magical side of things. I don't think we can stop your wings from taking you places, but I think we can help you find your way back... Find your way home!”
Boltsinger sniffed, smiling weakly. “Thank you...” He said, grasping Twilight's foreleg with his wing. “I mean it. And if there's anything I can do to help you, let me know.” He got up onto his hooves, offering a wing to help the Princess. She gracefully accepted.
“Well, I should hear back from him soon.” Twilight said, brushing her side off with her tail. “For now, I think dinner is in order. You... want to help me cook?”
Boltsinger simply nodded and headed out the door, following Twilight's lead.
“You really want to read every book in the library?” Twilight asked as they walked.
“Cover to cover.“ Boltsinger answered, smiling.