The Masked Stallion

Hmm. Bolt trotted through the empty streets with his leather saddlebags, hood forward. Bolt squinted at the innkeeper's messy handwriting.

Al's Ale Brewery

Bolt looked ahead and spotted a decorated wood sign hanging from the side of the shop. The words 'Al's Ale Brewery' were magnificently printed on it and mugs of ale were squished to the side with red dots between them, surrounding the words. Bolt entered the shop and quickly scanned the room. Wooden planks covered the walls and strips of iron were laid in a pattern on the walls. Big barrels settled in the room, with only a few chairs and a small counter surrounded by shelves full of cups and mugs.

"Ah suppose y'all are here for sometin?" A deep voice asked.  Bolt turned to see a pale-green stallion with a mug cutiemark wearing a vacation t-shirt staring him in the face, rubbing his rusty beard. "Uh, indeed sir."

"And ah suppose y'all are gonna tell me sometin?" Al asked. Bolt smiled under his hood and took out the innkeeper's notes for Al.

"Ah see. You work for 'im?" Al read the note, and Bolt shook his head quickly. "He wants 'em delivery. Ah gotta deliver 'is ale. Ah hope it ain't bad."  Bolt nodded, following Al's words as he trotted to the bar to grab a big box. He heaved the box onto his back and lugged it to Bolt, and they both exchanged items. Al took a moment to look at Bolt as they exchanged their items.

"Y'all don't seem to be from 'ere, mister."  Al said, and Bolt winced. "You think I don't know?" Bolt retorted, and threw him a sack of bits. "Goodbye, sir." Bolt called, and Al grunted. "That was a lil' rude."

Bolt was trotting into the next shop on the list.

DJ's Records

"Huh." Bolt walked into the big store, glistening with marble and modern pop tunes playing on the speakers. There were pianos and guitars and all sorts of instruments sprawled across the floor, price tags hanging on them. At the end of the store, there was a big stage, a violin and a DJ desk, not with price tags though. A wild-looking pony stepped onto the stage and shook her mane.

"ARE WE READY TO ROCK AND ROLLLL!" She yelled, and Bolt looked at her weirdly as if she didn't know what she was talking about.

"YES YOU, MR....?" Bolt remained silent. Best not to answer this question. "BEST WE CALL YOU MR. SCAREDY-PANTS FOR TODAY!" She shrieked, and started playing more tunes. Bolt grunted loudly and slowly walked up to her, back aching from the box of ale.

"My name is Bolt." He said smoothly. The crazy pony stopped and nodded her head at him like nothing had just happened.

"I'm Startunes. Nice to meet ya!" She held out a hoof to welcome him. Bolt reached out his hoof to shake hers, but she yanked hers back at the last moment and laughed. Bolt glared at her angrily and slammed the note onto the stage, furious.

"Jeez Bolty, don't get yourself in a hoof." She sighed and took the list to her nose. "Oh yeah! Mr. Kindspeed wanted me to get him a guitar. I guess you're his worker or something." She grinned as Bolt's face turned suspicious.

"Kind...speed? That's his name?" He muttered. Startunes nodded, and waited on the stage impatiently. "So do you want the guitar or what?"She asked. Bolt smiled under his hood for the first time in the shop, and nodded. Startunes gave him her best toothy grin, and galloped through the disaster of musical instruments.

"Isn't this beautiful?" She sighed, and laid down, wading in the chaos. Bolt paused. "I don't know, it's a little messy don't you think?" She shrugged and sat up. "All the same." Bolt shrugged back, and waited for her to grab the instrument.

"Well...come on!" Startunes urged, pushing him towards the mess. Bolt looked at her, hood still down. "Uh...you should really take off your hood. I don't think it's helping me understand you." She said, and Bolt groaned. He pulled off his hood, again revealing his neon red eyes.

Startunes gasped. "Woah..." She breathed, and stared into his eyes some more. He closed them, and opened them again to search for the instrument. "IT'S HERE, SILLY GOOSE!" She yelled from across the room. Bolt, fascinated by the speed of the wild unicorn, carefully trotted through the instruments, hopping and standing on his hind legs. He finally reached the end of the room. "I'm not a silly goose." He added, angrily gritting his teeth.

"Here ya go, Bolty." She said, and handed him a brown and smooth guitar. Bolt looked impressed. She smiled and stuck out her hoof. Bolt looked at it suspiciously, and she laughed. Bolt laughed too, and shook her hoof gladly.

"You're not so bad for a stallion, Bolty." She remarked, and they both sat down in the sea of instruments. "I guess you're not too bad either." He replied, and settled his box in front of them to make a table. "I can't stay here for too long, I've got to get back to..uh..Kindspeed right?" He asked, and she chuckled.

"You have a terrible memory, goose." She said, and Bolt closed his eyes impatiently. "Goose..?" He asked shortly, expecting a sorry.

"Oh...sorry Bolty." She put a hoof to her lips apologetically, and grinned behind her sad face. Bolt's eyes sent out a smile, but he looked outside worriedly. "I'm really sorry, but it seems like I delayed too much. I'll see you sometime." He returned an even-more-apologetic face. Startunes sighed sadly, but smiled hopefully. "See you..." She waved her hoof as Bolt threw a sack of bits, grabbed his things, and waved back to her.

His shadow disappeared slowly, and once again, Startunes was left in her mess of music, with nopony to share it to.

Bolt recalled Startune's appearance as he galloped through the quiet city. White coat, neon green mane and a DJ disc as a cutiemark. She was a great pony, Bolt thought. He looked down at the list again.

Black Arts

Huh? Bolt shrugged and opened the door to find a pony staring at his face just like in the brewery.

"I've been waiting, Highflyer."