//------------------------------// // Sweet Tooth // Story: Crushing in College // by Freybli //------------------------------// The cool wind streamed past Qibli’s face as he winged his way towards the busy Canterlot marketplace. At least, he thought it was the marketplace. From his view in the clear afternoon sky, he could see various groups of ponies milling about in the streets. Every so often one of them stopped to peruse the wares of a nearby vendor. Even from so high up Qibli could make out the different market stalls. A majority of them carried only produce, but he spotted a few that seemed to have what he was searching for. After singling out a particular stand, one that stood a bit away from the main body of the market, Qibli began a lazy descent towards the ground. To the ponies’ credit, none of them seemed fazed in the slightest by the sight of a dragon almost twice their size coming in for a landing on the busy street. “I guess nothing really spooks these folks, huh,” Qibli muttered to himself as he finally touched down on the ground. The stall he had been eyeing from the sky lay just a scant few feet away. Upon realizing that he was approaching, the mare running the stall, a purple unicorn with a light-blue mane, replaced the bored frown on her face with a cheery smile. “Hi! How are you today?” The mare took a moment to gesture to her wares, which included a variety of chocolates, each set contained in an intricately adorned box. A few of said boxes were heart-shaped, while most of the others had the basic rectangular structure.“See anything you like?” the mare asked. Qibli hummed quietly to himself for a moment. He looked over the different types of chocolate that the mare had to offer, searching for one that fit his needs. After a moment, however, he gave up and brought his searching gaze to rest on the mare instead. “Do you have anything for, uh… special friends?” Granted the fact that the chocolates were indeed for Draco, a pony whom he had just met only yesterday, Qibli felt as though the pony definitely fell into both the “special” and “friend” categories. He’s special to me, at least, Qibli thought to himself. He reminds me of the first time I met Moonwatcher and Winter, albeit without all the mind-reading and cranky IceWings. His expression grew somber as he remembered his friends back home in Pyrrhia. I hope that they’re doing alright without me… I don’t care how long it takes, but I’ll find my way back home. For now, though, I think I’ll just keep on getting to know Draco better… “So, are you going to buy these, or what?” The mare tapped her hoof impatiently on the ground. “What? Oh, right.” While he was busy mulling over the different thoughts going on in his mind, Qibli had completely forgotten about the chocolates he had asked for. Using his newly discovered levitation magic, he floated the sack of coins from where it hung around his neck. Luckily for him, when he was first hired to teach at Celestia’s school, she made sure to give him his first month’s pay ahead of time just in case he needed it. He remembered vaguely that she had referred to the shiny golden coins as “bits.” “So, how many… bits do I owe you, ma’am?” Qibli asked. “For this box, it’s only five bits!” the mare replied. Qibli nodded and got to work on retrieving the necessary bits from the pouch. He may have been able to use levitation, but it wasn’t yet accurate enough to pick out the individual coins. He reached in carefully with his claws, extracting five bits and laying them on the stall’s counter. After counting the coins, the mare nodded in satisfaction and gestured for Qibli to take the box of chocolates that she had wrapped up while he was sorting out her payment. He took the box, thanked the mare, and leaped into the sky, making his way out of the marketplace. ~~~~~ Following his brief foray into the marketplace, Qibli decided to make a few more stops around Canterlot in order to better acquaint himself with the city. The main shopping district was filled to the brim with ponies going about their everyday lives in the huge city. There were a variety of boutiques and storefronts on the busy street, each one specializing in a different aspect of Canterlot fashion. One such boutique he saw was the Canterlot Carousel. Because the sun had already begun to set, the store had already put out its “closed” sign, but Qibli could still see a white unicorn mare through the window. She seemed to be taking note of various dresses that stood on display, writing frequently on the clipboard that floated beside her in her light-blue magic.Qibli continued quietly observing her for a moment longer, then went about on his way. “Hmm… I wonder how Draco would look if he had a mane like hers…” Qibli considered the idea for a moment, then discarded it as quickly as he had come up with it. “Nah, purple is definitely not his color.” He paused for a moment. “Well, not for his coat, at least. Besides, the classic black and white looks good on him, though an accessory or two might help accent it. Maybe I should get him an earring...” Leaving the boutique behind, he rose into the air once again, this time heading back to Draco’s house. The dragon checked to make sure that the chocolates he bought were still in his possession. Qibli sighed in relief as he determined that they were still held firmly in his claws.Soon after, he spotted his destination, the fading light of the sunset bathing the home in a yellow-orange glow. Qibli angled his wings downwards and dived for the ground, pulling up right before smashing into the pavement and making a dragon-sized crater. As he walked up to the door, he pulled out the house key that Draco had magically replicated for him the day that he moved in. Qibli unlocked the door and headed inside and made his way towards the living room. When he made it there, he was met with an interesting sight. There was Draco, lying on the sofa with his snout buried in a mound of pillows, snoring softly as his sides rose with every breath. The gray pony was knocked out cold, if the bit of drool covering one of the pillows was anything to judge by. Qibli stared at him for a few minutes before realizing that neither one of them would be getting any chocolate if he just let Draco continue sleeping, no matter how cute he may have looked while doing it. A mischievous smile made its way onto his snout as Qibli was suddenly struck with an idea. He slowly and carefully made his way over to the coffee table, where he set the chocolates down. Turning around towards his unsuspecting target, the dragon then craned his neck downwards over Draco’s sleeping form and brought his mouth near the pony’s ear. “Oh, Draco~,” Qibli whispered. “I have something for you...” That got an immediate response out of him. The pony shot up, a furious blush erupting across his muzzle. He whipped around to stare at Qibli, then just as quickly turned the other way, trying in vain to hide his rosy cheeks from the dragon’s view. Qibli couldn’t help but smile in delight as he watched Draco adamantly refuse to turn in his direction. “Draco, you wouldn’t happen to care for some chocolate candies, would you?” Qibli asked as he waved the box around enticingly. “I’ve got a whole box of them…” Draco hesitated for a moment, then finally turned to face Qibli. The pinkish glow to his cheeks had yet to completely disappear, but he looked more composed than he had when he was first woken up. He glanced warily at the red box that Qibli held in his talons, then at the grinning dragon himself, who was still admiring how the pink of Draco’s cheeks complemented his gray coat. “Well… I suppose a couple couldn’t hurt before heading off to bed,” Draco conceded. Ignoring the surprised look from Qibli as he grasped the box in this magic and took it from Qibli’s claws, Draco levitated chocolates over to him on the sofa. He motioned for Qibli to sit beside him, eliciting a strange feeling of déjà vu from the dragon as he hopped onto the sofa and sat down beside Draco. Qibli’s surprise only grew when he felt Draco lean against his side, despite the pony’s obvious embarrassment earlier that day. Qibli shrugged, ultimately giving up on figuring out Draco’s sudden change of heart. Draco magicked the lid of the container off and took out two chocolate truffles. He passed one of them to Qibli, who proceeded to look the chocolate confectionary over once, then popped the entire thing into his mouth. “Oh! It’s, um, sweet. Very sweet,” Qibli said, trying not to imagine what would happen if this single piece of chocolate managed to give him a cavity. “Are all Equestrian candies this sugary?” he asked. “Because if so, I think I’ll need to see what kind of dental plans you ponies have to offer.” Draco had just finished chewing his own truffle before replying. “Well, they’re sweet to you, but it’s really just the norm for us. I’ll warn you, though,” Draco began, the seriousness in his voice managing to surprise the dragon, considering the fact the conversation was primarily centered around candy. “If you think this is sweet, you should probably never visit Ponyville. The bakery, Sugarcube Corner, would likely give you a heart attack if this is too much for you.” “In any case,” Draco said as he looked out the window at the setting sun, “we should probably get some rest.” He closed the box of truffles and teleported them into the fridge for later. “Tomorrow is the first day back for students, and it’ll be your first day of teaching, so you’ll need all the preparation you can get.” He moved away from the dragon and hopped off the couch, taking a moment to stretch his legs to get them back working again. “Sounds like you’re speaking from experience,” Qibli noted. “I take it that you weren’t adequately prepared for your first day as a professor?” Draco grimaced. “Let’s just say those weren’t my greatest moments as a teacher.” His unhappy expression persisted for a moment later, then was replaced by a pleasant smile. “But once you get the hang of it, teaching is actually quite fun! Trust me, you’ll love it as much as I do.” A dreamy sort of gaze fixed itself onto his face as his smile widened even further. “And just imagine all of the different research topics there are! Within the field of elemental magic, there’s pyrokinesis, aquakinesis, geokinesis, aerokinesis, and fulgurkinesis as base studies, but with enough practice and dedication, there are many different fields to master!” At that point, Draco had begun pacing in circles as his miniature speech grew even more passionate. “Isn’t this all so exciting?” he asked. Does he realize just how adorable he is when he’s being a huge nerd? Qibli couldn’t suppress his amusement at seeing the eager pony staring up at him, the passion for learning burning brightly in his eyes. “Well, you definitely make it sound exciting, Draco,” he admitted. “I suppose we’ll truly find out tomorrow in class.” Qibli finally got off the couch and started towards his room. Before he made it to the hallway, he paused and turned back towards Draco, who was still in his own little world, fantasizing about the different branches of elemental magic. “Good night, Draco!” he called out to the entranced pony. Snapping out of his thoughts, Draco turned to the dragon, who was quietly retreating behind his bedroom door. “Um, goodnight to you, too!” Still smiling, he made his way back to his own room and got ready for bed, preparing himself for the inevitably busy first day of class tomorrow.