I understand the action but I am approaching it in terms of voltage.
QUOTE]
While I acknowledge that transistors are "current devices", I also tend to think of circuit actions in terms of voltage. The "engineer types", who tend to think mathematically, seem to typically like the current model with current flowing into and out of nodes. But, current is difficult to measure except by its voltage effects so "technician types" (like me...who are lousy at math) often tend to bypass the "current modeling" and go right to the voltages.
But, to your original question, look at the current source for Q1. It consists of a 50k resistor AND also a capacitor in series with a 500 Ohm resistor. Thus, for the first instant, at power on, it gets a heavier (and more importantly, a quicker) dose of base current.
Q2 is also getting base current but must contend with various stray capacitances that must charge through 50k to turn it on so, it's Q2 that gets the delayed turn-on. By that time, Q1 is already on and the rest is history...
In practice, you also have to account for another option which your simulator probably wont deal with. What if the supply voltage is applied slowly? In astable multivibrators this can actually bring up both transistors in the ON state and the circuit wont oscillate. In the monostable, that is an illegal condition but, what can happen if the wrong transistor comes on first is the possibility of getting a spurious signal that can disrupt other circuits the monostable connects to as it settles into its legal status.