//------------------------------//
// Seeking Advice 
// Story: One Bolt, Many Questions 
// by Boltsinger 
//------------------------------//

The afternoon sun rose high above Sweet Apple Acres. The family had finished their lunch, and Big Mac was headed out to deliver a cart of apples to his number one destination. Starlight’s village. He had a goofy grin on his face as he trotted along in anticipation, not even noticing the extra weight that filled the cart.
“Going somewhere?” a familiar baritone voice asked from behind him.
“Eeyup.” the farm stallion replied.
“Important delivery?” the voice continued.
“Eeyup.” came Mac’s typical response.
“Gonna see a friend while you’re there?” came another question.
Big Mac giggled. “Eeyup!”
“Nice. Stallion?” the voice sounded.
“Nnope.” Mac told it.
“Ooh! A mare, huh?” the voice said, sounding intrigued.
“Eeyup!” Mac continued. He began to trot faster as his excitement built.
“From the pace you’re going, I take it she’s a special one?” the voice wondered.
“Oh yeah!” Big Mac confirmed, going from a trot to a canter.
“Nice.” the voice agreed. The extra weight on the cart vanished as a familiar orange pony flew ahead of him. It turned its blue-maned head back to look at Big Mac. “So you know a thing or two about going into relationships with mares, do you?"
Big Mac, recognizing Boltsinger, slowed back to his trot. “Uh, nnope.” He admitted.
“Aww, crabapples…” Boltsinger spouted, kicking a nearby rock with a foreleg as he landed. “And here I thought I’d get some advice.”
“Advice?” Big Mac repeated, taken aback by his friend’s statement. Boltsinger stopped for a second, looking at the red pony with his mouth slightly ajar. “I dunno why you’d want advice on mares, Bolt, considerin’ you got a Princess on yer wing.” Big Mac looked at his orange friend, wondering what was wrong with him. “What? I got sumthin’ on my face? What’s wrong?”
Boltsinger shook his head. “No, it’s fine.” He continued his trot. “Just not used to you being so… wordy, I guess.” He sighed, looking at the road ahead. “And believe me, the situation I find myself in is not quite so fluid.”
“What’re ya gettin’ at?” Mac inquired. “From what AJ says, y’all got sumthin’ special goin’ on between ya. Are you sayin’ ya still haven’t sealed the deal?”
“That I am, Big Mac. That I am.” the Pegasus admitted. “I somewhat know how I feel, and I know she’s willing to listen to me, but… At the same time, there’s still stuff at the back of my mind that... keep me from pushing things along. You know what I’m saying?”
“Eeyup.” Big Mac replied, returning to his typical vocabulary. He looked ahead, seeing the one street that marked the town he was heading for and returning to his goofy grin.
“Ah, are we almost there?” Boltsinger queried.
“Eeyup!” Big Mac’s pace quickened as Boltsinger lifted off of the ground, so as to not get hit in the rear by a cart of apples.
Boltsinger looked happily at his goo-goo eyed friend, following him into town from the air. Big Mac was moving at a gallop by now, coming to a skidding halt in front of a house with a cupcake sign hanging over the door. The Earth Pony stallion quickly unfastened himself from the cart, rushing inside as quick as he could. Boltsinger landed in front of the shop, peeking in the window. It was a fairly simple shop. Grey walls with a faded blue shelf that held a plethora of baked goods. There were cupcakes, muffins, pies, and full-sized cakes all over, many of them featuring some kind of apples. More colorful than that, though, was the Unicorn mare that Big Mac was nuzzling noses with. She had a pink coat and red eyes, with a long and curly purple mane and tail, each featuring two-tone blue beaded hair clips just short of the ends and a Cutie Mark featuring a red cupcake with a blue cup. The two seemed lost in each other’s eyes, Big Mac giggling like a school filly the entire time.
After about five minutes of seeing the two make eyes at one another, Boltsinger stepped into the shop proper. They hardly noticed his approach, hearts seeming to emanate from their very being. That is, until he cleared his throat. Snapping back to reality, Big Mac and his very special friend each let out a yelp, the former of the two jumping slightly and landing with such a hard ‘thud’ that it shook the ground beneath him. They looked at the entrance to the shop, where Boltsinger stood with his hoof raised to his muzzle, hiding a smirk.
“Hey, Big Mac?” the Pegasus began. “You know you’ve got a cart full of apples outside, right?” He motioned a wing out the window, where the apple cart waited for the farm pony to complete his work.
“Uh… Eeyup…” Big Mac scratched his mane sheepishly, running out to bring in several buckets of apples.
“Oh! Excuse me!” the mare said, going behind the counter. “I’ve never seen you here before. Are you a friend of Big Mac’s?” she asked.
“I am. My name is Boltsinger.” the stallion replied. "I’ve been helping out at Sweet Apple Acres for a while since moving to Ponyville. Partially for the bits, but also because the food is amazing.”
The Unicorn giggled to herself. “They do have the best apples in all of Equestria.” She offered a friendly hoof. “My name is Sugar Belle!” Boltsinger grasped her hoof with his wing, giving a hearty shake. “It’s nice to meet somepony else who appreciates a good Apple.”
“From what I gather, there’s more than one kind of ‘Apple’ in your eye.” Boltsinger teased. Sugar Belle blushed at the comment. “I thought he was gonna be able to give me advice on… well… relationships… today, considering he was able to woo somepony like you. But, that went nowhere fast.”
“Oh? You’ve got somepony special in mind?” the baker wondered, leaning forward on the counter. “Who is it?”
“Princess Twilight.” Big Mac blurted out as he brought in another bucket of apples. “But AJ says Twilight’s already got feelin’s for ‘im. Personally, I think he’s just bein’ stubborn ‘bout the whole thing.”
“I’d argue that your sister was just gossiping,” the orange-coated stallion started. “but this is Applejack we’re talking about.”
“Eeyup.” Big Mac said, nodding firmly.
“I won’t believe it until I hear it from her, though.” Boltsinger concluded.
Big Mac let out a mighty groan and facehoofed.
Sugar Belle walked over to Big Mac, tenderly placing a hoof on his shoulder. “It’s okay, Big Mac.” She turned to face the winged pony. “Do you know how Big Mac and I ended up together?” she asked him. Boltsinger simply shook his head. Sugar Belle looked at her special somepony fondly. “I’d liked Big Mac for a while already, but eventually, his younger sister and her filly friends followed him into town. They had him do so many embarrassing things to try and tell me how he felt, all while Featherbangs was trying to sweet-talk me!” The Unicorn giggled at the memory. “Why, those two even got into a goofy little singing contest just to try and win me over!” She looked over at the large display of baked goods. “In the end, though, Big Mac threw his stubbornness and silliness aside, and showed just how much he cared by doing something he knew I would appreciate.” She placed a hoof on the side of Big Mac’s muzzle. “By being his sweet self, he won me over completely!” The two giggled, nuzzling noses once more. After a second or two, she turned to Boltsinger. “Don’t worry so much about how to approach Twilight about this. She’s one of the most approachable ponies I’ve ever met!”
Boltsinger smiled at the happy couple. Their story was on the inspiring side for him. “Thank you, Sugar Belle.” He said, bowing his head. “I know full well how approachable Twilight is.” He looked aside with a tinge of red appearing on his cheek. “I guess I just need to make sure that… that I’m ready for it.” His wings flared up as he turned to leave. “Thank you for the advice, truly. I’m gonna leave you two to your… ‘activities’. I’ll see you later, Big Mac!” With that, he flew off, away from the small town. Big Mac smiled and took a look over at Sugar Belle, only to let out an irritated groan when the bell sounded to signal a new customer.





The flight back to Ponyville was a pleasant one. Boltsinger wanted to explore the village some more, but it was just the one street. Not much to really explore. So, he opted to head back home. Perhaps a good book might help him settle this part of his mind. Thanks to his training from Rainbow Dash, the flight itself didn’t take very long. The castle itself came quickly into view, and the smiling stallion made a beeline for the structure.
Landing on the balcony, he walked into the building, taking a decisive breath. “I have returned!” He belted out, his voice carrying through the castle. He heard sounds of greeting from the present ponies as Spike walked by, waving a claw. Boltsinger nodded and went to the library, opening the doors and taking wing. All right, what am I reading today? He pondered, looking in various sections. He pawed his way through the romance section, seeing something that piqued his interest. He pulled the book out, taking a hard look at the cover. It looked fairly generic, having an image of a gorgeous mare looking into the sky, pining, with the image of a handsome stallion in the sky above, long, blond mane blowing unrealistically in the wind. He gave a sappy sigh, getting ready to put the book back as the library doors swung open.
“BOLTSINGER!” Starlight called from the doorway. Boltsinger’s eyebrows rose as he let out a high-pitched neigh. He scrambled to keep the book in his hooves for a half-second as his wings snapped to his sides. He and the book fell to the floor unceremoniously, the impact of the fall causing a number of additional books to fall on top of him. Starlight trotted over to him, a sour look on her face. “Twilight told me what happened after the party last night!”
“Sh-she did?!” the stallion asked, shuddering on his back as Starlight stood over him.
“She did.”  she confirmed, leaning in close. “You had the perfect opportunity to make a move! Why didn’t you?”
Boltsinger looked at the stern face Starlight made, his own expression easing out of its fear. He sat up, moving his head past hers and letting out a breath of relief. “Ah… That. I thought it was something more dire than that.”
Starlight raised an eyebrow, turning to face the Pegasus. “What do you mean by that? You could have taken a major step!” she sat next to him. “Don’t you want that?”
“She explained it to you in detail, right?” he started. Starlight gave a nod in confirmation. “Then you know what I’m getting at here. And it’s just like things are with you and Sunburst.”
Starlight tensed, backing up into the book pile. “I don’t know what you’re talking about! Sunburst and I are just friends! That’s all we need to be! It’s nothing like your situation!”
Boltsinger gave her a deadpan look. “Except the part where you value the friendship that helped you change your life and better yourself to the point where, even in spite of yourself, you want to do everything you can to keep things the same so that you don’t ever have to risk losing that friend just for the sake of maybe being a little happier?” He got up and resumed his search for reading material. “Plus the events of your past have affected your psyche to the point where you doubt your own worth in the eyes of other ponies and are willing to go without a special somepony so as not to burden the pony in question?”
Starlight’s jaw dropped, pupils tiny and ears low. She would never admit it outright, but he was pretty spot-on. She knew full well how she felt about her oldest friend, but she wasn’t ready to try and move forward. It would mean a complete change in how they saw each other. “I… uh… You…!” She shook her head, returning to normal and pointing a hoof at the stallion. “You’re good.” She moved to sit in one of the more cushioned chairs in the room. “Tell you what. You make a move towards Twilight, and I’ll make a move towards Sunburst.” She held out a hoof as the Pegasus fluttered to the nearest chair with his book. “Deal?”
Boltsinger looked at Starlight. Her stern face was back on in full force, save for some upturned lips to soften things up. “All right, deal.” He agreed, giving her a solid hoof-bump. He turned to his book, opening it to the first page as Starlight got up.
“So, then… How do we get you feeling like you’re not gonna be a burden on her?” She said, raising a hoof to her face. Boltsinger looked up from his volume, cocking an eyebrow. “You’ve gotta work through that eventually, right? May as well start now.”
So much for reading today… he thought, putting his book down and walking up to Starlight. “If it makes you feel any better, I was thinking about maybe saying something to her soon. I asked Big Mac for advice on it earlier today.”
“How soon?” the Unicorn inquired. “Like, a few days? A week, maybe?”
“Maybe a month or two is more like it.” he answered. “I did ask her to give me some time, after all.”
Starlight hung her head. “That’s a long time to keep a girl waiting... “ She told him. “What do you plan to do in the meantime?”
“That’s a good question.” he replied, hanging his head. “My feelings are certain, but… I still have a lot to sort through.”
Starlight walked back to the doorway. “Okay, then. But don’t wait too long. She won’t wait forever, you know.”
“Yeah…” Boltsinger walked out into the hallway. “I know…” He walked onward, twitching his tail uncertainly.
“Am I gonna have to contact Cadence again?” Starlight asked no one in particular. She let out a low growl, trotting off to her room.





The next day was tutor time. Twilight had everything set up for a good tutoring session. Chalkboard, chalk, all the right textbooks, even a desk for her student to sit at. It was all ready, and she was excited to get back into it! All she needed now was her student. Her horn lit up, beginning the teleportation spell as the doorbell rang.
“Oh! I wonder who that could be?” She pondered out loud, changing the target location of her spell and vanishing in a flash of magenta light.
At the front door, the Princess materialized, happily opening the door with her magic.
There stood her B.B.B.F.F., Shining Armor. He had a tiny Alicorn on his back, with all the bags that came with bringing the baby along. “Surprise!” He exclaimed, Flurry Heart standing on her father’s head and letting out her closest approximation to the word.
Twilight reared up excitedly, laughing and hugging the white Unicorn. “Shining Armor! Flurry! What are you doing here?”
Shining Armor accepted the hug instantly. “I just thought I’d come and see how you were doing. Cadence told me about her last time here.” He magically lifted his little filly, floating her in front of his sister. “Plus, it’s been a while since Flurry saw her favorite aunt!” Released from her daddy’s magic, Flurry flew over onto Twilight’s back, giving her a hug from behind and letting out an excited laugh.
Twilight giggled and hugged her neice. “Well, I was able to figure out what I needed to. Plus, Boltsinger is back, now!” She took Flurry Heart with her foreleg and passed her back to her brother. “Actually, we’re just about to start his tutoring for today, if you don’t mind waiting until we’re done.”
“That’s good.” Shining Armor said, giving a nod. “Honestly, I wouldn’t mind sitting in on your little class. I’d like to see you in action!”
“What about Flurry Heart?” Twilight inquired. “I don’t think she could sit still through a full class.”
“THAT’S WHERE I COME IN!” A familiar squeaky high voice sounded, giggling like a school filly. From behind one of the pillars in the foyer, Pinkie Pie appeared, bounding up to Flurry Heart and latching onto her with her forelegs. Flurry got a look at Pinkie and giggled, giving her as big of a hug as she could. “Hi, Twilight!” the party pony greeted, turning to Flurry and growling like a bear. Flurry laughed and flew off, Pinkie speeding off after her.
Twilight waved at her hilarious friend as she zoomed off. “Well, I guess that’s taken care of.” She turned her attention back to her brother, who was bringing in all of Flurry’s necessities. “Well, let’s go find my student, then!”
Later, in the library once more, Boltsinger flew into the room. He found the desk that his tutor had set up for him and took a seat. As soon as his hooves hit the desk, a bright magenta flash shone in front of the blackboard, Twilight Sparkle appearing from within with a smile.
“All right, student! It’s time to begin today’s lessons!” She proclaimed, holding her head high with her eyes closed. “Today, we’ll be having a special guest sitting in! My Big Brother Best Friend Forever, Shining Armor!” She pointed a hoof at the doorway, where a magical field closed the door. Shining Armor was sitting in a chair by the door, his horn glowing and his muzzle showing a rather amused expression. “This will, in no way, interfere with your lesson, though. He’s just visiting.”
Boltsinger looked back at the smiling stallion, waving a wing in greeting before turning back to see Twilight. She was already floating a piece of chalk next to her head. “All right. I’m ready!”
Twilight’s lesson was fast-paced, covering a variety of subjects from history to math, as well as general magical and scientific principles. Boltsinger took notes as rapidly as possible with the quill he kept clenched in his teeth, occasionally raising a hoof to ask her to elaborate. Shining Armor looked at his sister in her element with awe, and found it surprising that Boltsinger had actually opted in for this genius-level course. After four hours of nonstop learning, Twilight began erasing everything she had written on the blackboard, walking up to her student with a pleased look on her face.
“You kept up pretty well, today, Bolt.” She informed him, taking a look at his notes. “If you need any help understanding this later, you know where to find me.”
Boltsinger nodded, his mind in just a little bit of a jumble from the onslaught of information. “Okay. Thanks, Twilight.” He looked at her fondly, then let his head fall onto the desk.
Twilight placed a hoof on the orange pony’s back, stroking it gently a couple times before moving on to meet up with her brother. “He did better than he normally does. I think he missed the learning when he was gone!” She happily trotted out of the room, turning towards the sound of a foal’s laughter.
Shining Armor lingered a bit, watching his sister canter off. Once she was out of sight, he walked over to the student he just bore witness to. “You did well.” He said, sitting next to the desk.
“Thanks…” Boltsinger replied, sitting up. “I did kinda sign up for this. And it makes her happy to teach me. I have to do my best in order to live up to it.”
“Yeah, but there are things you’ll never be able to do mixed in with all of that!” the Unicorn told him. “Why do you want to learn principles of magic?”
“Just because I can’t do it, doesn’t mean I can’t have some level of understanding.” Boltsinger explained. “You never know when my wings will take me somewhere that somepony will have a magical issue that falls under my usual criteria.” He got off the stool, stretching his legs and wings with a groan. “The wider my skill set, the more ponies I can help. Right?”
Shining Armor contemplated the comment for a moment. “I… guess you have a point. You really put a lot of thought into this, haven’t you?”
“I guess so.” the orange pony answered. “So, what brings you to Ponyville?” He turned to walk to the hall.
“I wanted to check up on my sister.” Shining Armor said, walking alongside the Pegasus. “Cadence came by a while back when Twilight was in a bit of a funk. Something about some stallion making her cry at the Grand Galloping Gala.” Boltsinger retreated into himself slightly as Shining Armor put a hoof around him. “You know anything about that?”
“Um… Technically… I wasn’t there by the time that happened.” He corrected. “Wait… She cried?” Shining Armor frowned and nodded. Boltsinger hung his head, remembering how when she called out to him in Las Pegasus, she had tears in her eyes. He wasn’t sure of it at the time, thanks to sleep deprivation, but now that he was in his right mind, he was sure of it. “Well… I didn’t mean to. I was in a bit of a funk, myself, at the time.”
“Well, you just be careful with her.” Shining Armor began, retreating his hoof. “If she gets heartbroken, it’s not just me you’ll have to deal with.”
Boltsinger stopped walking, sitting on the floor and coiling his tail around himself. “Wow…” Shining Armor stopped in kind, turning to look at Boltsinger, who looked him squarely in the eye. “You know, I have to say I really envy everypony.”
Shining Armor cocked an eyebrow, walking up to the pony before him again. “Envy? What do you mean, envy?”
“It’s a bit complicated.” Boltsinger said, standing up and continuing on. “But, you know, I think I have a bit of a better idea on how to make sense of it, myself. Thanks, Shining Armor.” He spread his wings and took off down the hall, following the sounds of laughter.
Shining Armor looked at the speeding stallion, tilting his head in confusion. “You’re welcome, I guess…” He perked up, galloping after him so as to join his family.