"Okay, so, I think the answer to number six is eighteen."
"You sure? I got twenty on that one."
"Twenty? Why is that?"
"I carried the one here."
"So did... ugh. Right. Yeah, should have done that."
I sigh and thunk my head on my book as Blizzard and Night Blade chuckle at me. "It's okay, Comet," Blizzard says. "I messed up on number four."
"Yeah, yeah," I grumble. "I'm just waiting for finals to be over."
"Same," Night Blade says before perking up. "Then we finally get to be roommies!"
"That'll be nice," I agree before giving her a fake glare. "Although, I'm going to kill you if I wake up and see you in bed with another pony."
"Pssh, whatever," Night Blade said with a wave of her hoof. "I'll just find ways to put sound spells around us and make sure he's gone by the time you wake up."
I sigh and roll my eyes. "Right. Sure. Whatever. Right now I'm more worried about passing math. I wish I took some of those AP classes in high school so that I didn't have to do any of this nonsense, but I don't think I would have passed. AP calculus would be a disaster, and totally ruin my GPA." AP chemistry wasn't all that bad, though.
"Well guys, it's been a time and a half, but I'm starving," I say, shutting my textbooks shut and putting all of my materials in my saddlebag before standing up and slinging it over my shoulder. "Dining hall closes in an hour, so might as well head on over there now."
"Sounds good," Blizzard says as he packs up. "I might get it on the run. Got class in half an hour."
I don't know why, but that bothers me a bit. We're in college, and that means that we all go to classes. I guess I was kind of hoping that we'd be able to sit down and have a good conversation and whatnot. I was thrilled when we found out that he had the time to do some studying with us. Since it was just him me and Night, that meant I got to sit next to him.
And... I mean, you know... just because it was nice to have a coltfriend. Like, not one that I'm dating, obviously. Just... I've only ever had friends that are mares, so it's a nice change of pace to have a coltfriend. A friend who is a colt. Yeah.
The dining hall is pretty close to the university center, so it isn't more than a few minutes of walking before we get there. I would have flown, but there's still a force of habit from high school where I wasn't allowed to fly from class-to-class. Although, if I woke up a bit later, you'd better believe that I flew for my life, barely keeping my saddlebag together so that textbooks didn't fly out and hit the ponies underneath.
When we got to the dining hall, Blizzard holds the door open for us like a perfect gentlecolt. I mean, like... a good friend would. Yeah. I nod in thanks and give him a small smile that he returns. Like I said: perfect gentlecolt.
We get out badges scanned at the register, and Blizzard, unfortunately, gets a to-go box. Eh, there's always dinner, I guess.
"Alright, where to begin?" Night Blade says, looking around at the various stations with a hungry look. "You feel like some meat? Because I've been craving a burger something fierce."
I raise my eyebrow and tilt my head. "Night, it's Thursday. Burgers aren't until tomorrow."
Night groans and facehooves. "Fuuuuck. That's right. Ugh. Fried chicken isn't quite the same." She sighs and grabs a tray. "But it'll do, I guess."
"Well, you two do that, and I'll get some fish," Blizzard says, grabbing a tray of his own. "Salmon today, if I remember right."
"Sounds right. I think I'll get some, too," I reply.
One of the more interesting things that I learned about bat ponies from actually interacting with them is that most of them are omnivorous. Princess Luna told Mom and Dad that bat ponies can eat meat, but I didn't know that it was a common part of our diet. Not that I was too beat up about that. I grew up eating mostly day pony food with only the occasional meaty meal that Dad would make. Here at school, though, with so many bat ponies and even griffins, they kept the dining hall pretty well stocked with meat.
Blizzard and I reach the fish station, and what I can only assume to be a student employee gave us two pieces of salmon.
Two tiny pieces.
Like, this must have been from the ass end of the fish, and they were pretending it was something and it really wasn't. I give the colt a polite smile and motion down to the salmon. "Hey, uh, not to be rude or anything, but can we also get a bigger piece?" I jerk my head toward Blizzard. "He's getting everything to go, and I want to make sure he has enough."
The colt frowned and shook his head. "Sorry, one piece at a time."
A brittle smile crossed my face. "Look, this thing is barely bigger than one of my fangs." I flashed him a wide smile to prove my point. "See? Tiny."
I notic Blizzard blush beside me, something that he can't hide at all, which I kind of get. Flashing your fangs is either an insult or a show of dominance. It's a sign that you're willing to get aggressive. Of course, that's not at all what I was doing with the colt. I wanted to showcase how small the fish was.
The colt's ear twitches, but he doesn't budge. "Sorry, but I can't get you any more unless you finish what you have."
I raise my eyebrow. "Oh? Well alright, then."
I pick the piece of salmon up and slooowly put it in my mouth. I begin chewing, not breaking eye contact with the colt at all. He gulps and looks at Blizzard like he's going to get him out of this, but when Blizzard doesn't do anything, he looks back at me right when I'm swallowing the fish. Without another word, I extend my plate to him. He gives me a nervous smile and lights his horn to put a much bigger piece of fish on the plate.
"Thank you," I say before tilting my plate and sliding the fish into Blizzard's box.
We walk in silence for a few seconds before he lightly clears his throat and looks over at me.
"You didn't have to do that."
I scoff at that. "Disagree. We asked for salmon, not some tiny sliver of fish. You've gotta run to class, and I'm not going to let you just starve in class."
He snorts and rolls his eyes. "Oh, yes, I'm going to waste away because I didn't get as big of a piece of salmon as I was expecting. Woe is me!"
"It's the principle of the matter," I reply as we get ourselves some grilled cheese sandwiches.
"If you say so."
We get a few more things to eat before Blizzard closes his box and seals it up. "Welp, time to get going." My heart drops into my stomach as he wraps his wing around me and pulls me into a hug. "Hit you up for study hall tonight?"
"Uh... wheugh uh..." Come on, Comet, say something in Ponish! I force a smile on my face and nod. "Y-yeah, sounds like a great time. To study. And learn more... stuff."
"Sounds great."
With that, he walks off. I won't say that I watched him go for a bit longer than most ponies would, but I... uh... wanted to make sure that he got out of the dining hall okay. Didn't drop his food. When he's out of sight, I turn toward the table where Night already has her stacks of food that look like they're enough for two ponies. Maybe I should have just gotten nothing and shared with her.
Unfortunately, she has a big smile on her face when I sit down. Oh boy.
"So... how was your time with Bliz?"
I roll my eyes and poke my fork into my salad. "We just got some lunch. We've done it dozens of times."
"Yeah, but he's never given you a wing hug before!" Night squees. "Bat ponies only do that for ponies that they really like."
"Like good friends and family," I shoot back, but I can't help the blush that's slowly creeping up on my face.
Night gives me a sly smile. "Technically yes, but just think about it: a dashingly handsome if unique stallion, a smoking hot mare that's an outsider to the culture... it's perfect!"
Okay, I really couldn't help the blush this time.
"I don't know about smoking mare," I grumble. "And yes, Blizzard is objectively attractive and... you know. A good friend."
"I dunno, he's never given me a wing hug before," Blade points out. "He hasn't given me any kind of a hug before at all!" She chuckles and pats my hoof. "He's smitten."
I hope s... uh... well, that would put an interesting spin on our relationship. Hm. Yes. Very interesting.
"We'll see," I said neutrally.
"Comet and Blizzard sitting in a tree," Night starts singing. "K-I-S--"
"Oh please," I growl. "If I was a pegasus I'd give you the middle feather."
"Ah, I'm just teasing," Blade says with a wave of her hoof. "Seriously, though, he might have a biiiit of a crush on you, and if I'm reading your blushes right, it's mutual."
"Let's not talk about this," I groan. "I'm hungry."
"Alright, alright," Blade says with a shrug. "You still up for studying tonight?"
"UH-huh," I reply, thankful for the change in subject. "Got a paper to write for history that I'm really not looking forward to."
"Same with me an Ponish," Blade says. "She's assigned..."
And just like that, we switch over to more benign topics.
* * * *
I'm still not done with my essay when it hits seven, thus time to head on over to the U.C. for study time with Night and Blizzard. I put everything in my saddlebag and headed on over to the U.C.'s coffee corner. Blizzard was already at one of the tables, and smiled when he saw me approaching. I smiled back and quickly sat down at the chair next to him.
"Hey, how was your day?"
"Fine, thank you," Blizzard says, pulling me into another wing hug. "My physics professor said that we might have a test this Friday, so that's what I'm going to be focusing on."
"Cool. I have a couple of pages left on my Ponish essay. Hopefully Blade is here soon."
Before Blizzard can say anything else, the barista walks up to our table with a pair of caramel frappachinos in her magic, which she puts down in front of the two of us.
"Sorry for interrupting, but your friend told me to tell you that she had a thing come up, but paid for these for the two of you."
"Uh..." I exchange a glance with Blizzard, then look back at the barista. "Thanks, I guess."
The barista just shrugged. "Hey, she's the one who paid for the coffee."
With that, she walks away, leaving Blizzard and I alone. I... don't think that I've ever been alone with him before. Just the two of us. I switch to the chair directly in front of him so as to not be rude, then take a sip of my coffee.
"I wonder what's keeping Blade," I say before taking another sip.
"Ah, who knows?" Blizzard replies. "It could be anything. Maybe she had a date, or something like that."
"I think she'd tell me if she did," I say with a roll of my eyes. "We already know pretty much everything about each other." I tilt my head. "Though, since I haven't spent a lot of time with you just the two of us, I don't know as much about you as I'd like. What are you planning to do once you graduate?"
"Probably get my masters, then maybe my doctorate," Blizzard says. It would help me get a job in one of the more well-regarded hospitals in the country."
I vigorously nod. "Yeah, I was thinking that, too! My dad says that nobody in his family has ever gotten their doctorate before, so I'd be the first, which is pretty cool. My mom only has her masters."
"Both of my parents have their doctorates, so it's natural that I'd get one as well."
Yeah, but..." I tilt my head and raise my eyebrow. "Do you want to get one, or is it just for the family expectations?"
"I'd be lying if I said that that wasn't a factor," Blizzard admitted, "but it would also be great to be in a high-quality hospital."
"Hopefully you wouldn't get so busy that you'd be married to your work instead of a great mare."
"Perish the thought! I would certainly be on the lookout for Miss Right," he says, stirring his coffee with his straw. "Somepony who wanted foals of their own..."
"I want foals!" I say a little too loudly. "Since my biological parents put me up for adoption, I've always wanted to have foals so that they wouldn't have to go through with that kind of thing. I love my real parents, but I wouldn't want to put a foal through that."
"And I'd try not to crush him or her under my personal expectations. I'd ease up on them a little bit and let them have their own life to a degree higher than I got." Blizzard shakes his head. "Don't get me wrong: my parents weren't like some of those hyper-strict parents you frequently find in the Canterlot nobility, but there were certain expectations that were harder to meet than others, not matter how hard I tried."
"Yeah, though I wonder if our kids would be a--" My eyes widen, and my entire face lights up in a blush as I realize what I'd just said. Son of a bitch! He probably things I'm some kind of crazy mare that's gonna stalk him until he loves me, or something like that. "Uh... what I gbfrm... uh... you know..." I spin my hoof and look anywhere that's not right at him. "Like, just... scientifically speaking. How the genes would work."
Then he says the worst thing ever.
"Comet, are you madly in love with me?"
I don't know how I didn't have a heart attack right then and there. Why did he have to say it?! Madly in love is a little far. I just like that he gives me attention and is funny and nothing seems to faze him and he laughs at my dumb stories and is really relaxedandtakesaninterestinmeandwe'rebothbatponiesandkindofoutsidersandwe'dbe...
I gulp and try to prevent myself from sliding out of my chair, getting out of sight until I could find some way to sneak away. The tables are too tiny, though. I haven't responded, and he's giving me an expectant, but vaguely amused look. I take a deep breath and clear my throat a few times, taking a few sips of coffee to try to calm my nerves. It doesn't work.
"W-well," I finally begin. "Y-you're objectively attractive, and... you know... good personality and... any mare would be lucky to have you and..."
"And you're quite beautiful, and smart, and kind, and any stallion would be the luckiest pony in the world to have you," he cuts in.
I freeze. I'm not sure of what else to do. He chuckles and puts his hoof on mine, which just sends my brain spinning. "Since it's just the two of us, and Blade isn't here to interrupt anything, should we perhaps consider this the first date?"
"YES!" I cry, shooting to my hooves. "Uh... I mean..." I clear my throat again and look around to see everypony looking at me like I'm nuts. I turn back to Blizzard and force a carefully neutral expression on my face. "I would like that very much."
He puts his hoof back on mine. "So would I."
* * * *
We only leave the coffee shop once the U.C. closes down. We didn't get a single moment of studying done, but that was fine with me. It's about eight when we leave, and the sun is setting as he escorts me back to my dorm.
"I had a good time tonight," I say, leaning up against him as he gives me a wing hug. "I've... never had a coltfriend before."
"And Mother and Father never allowed me the time to have a fillyfriend." He makes a happy little grunt. "This is exciting territory."
"Definitely." I let out a contented noise and nuzzle his cheek. "But how long have you wanted to ask me out?"
"I admit that the first little sparks appeared when we met at the club that first night," he admit. "I was the only albino bat pony, and you hadn't seen more than about two bat ponies in your live ever. We were kindred spirits in that regard. As the months have gone on and I got to know you even more, I felt more sure that I wouldn't mind being in some kind of deeper relationship with you."
"Yeah, pretty much the same thing for me," I say as we reach the crosswalk that leads to the side of campus where my dorm is. "You have no idea how happy I was when you decided to join Blade and I for studying-- whoa!"
I feel myself jerk back as Blizzard pulls me off of the road. At first I have no idea what had happened, but I quickly figure it out when I see a pony speeding by pulling a cart, calling out 'sorry' behind her.
I blink in shock as I realize that I just about got creamed by a cart crossing the street. Wow. Wouldn't that have put a damper on tonight?
The second thing I realize is that Blizzard is holding me, taking deep breaths as if he just had a heart attack. I look up at him, and he gives me a weak smile.
"Well, that was something, wasn't it?"
"Yeah, it was." I lean into his neck and nuzzle into it. He's really warm and smells like pine. "My hero."
"I wouldn't want to lose you right after we started dating. Perhaps I should fly you the rest of the way so as to avoid any more wayward carts."
"Well, aren't you just a perfect gentlecolt?" I wrap my forelegs tight around him. "Fly away."
Given that I'm a bat pony and have, you know, wings, I've flown hundreds, if not thousands of times. Yet here, in the forelegs of my new coltfriend who either just saved my life of prevented serious injury, I have a clear winner for bet flight ever. I'm disappointed when it ends so quickly, but it isn't more than a few minutes before he's landing outside of the door to my dorm."
"Well, goodnight," he says, gently putting me down. "Sweet dreams, dear Comet Screech Powell."
"You too, Night Shadow," I whisper.
Then he leans in and kisses me. My legs just about collapse out from under me as I kiss him back. It's not an extremely passionate kiss, but it's not exactly chaste either.
Unfortunately, that too must end. He bids me another goodnight, then takes flight. I watch him go until he's out of sight, then take four tries to scan my badge to get me into the building.
Wow.
What a night. Why did it have to end?
No, you'll see him again tomorrow. And the next day. And the days after that. Maybe every day after that.
I trudge down the hall, happy thoughts racing through my head, right as a nearby door opens up. I turn and see that it's Night Blade, and she's giving me the biggest smile ever.
"Sooooo. How did it go?"
"It was terrifying. Fuck you for setting that up like that," I growl.
"Oh, it was for a good cause, wasn't it?" she says, waving her hoof. "I take it that my plan went off like a hitch, and the two of you are dating now?"
"Well..." I rub the back of my neck with a hoof. "Yeah. Yeah, we're dating now."
Blade squees and flies up, punching the air. "Yes! Score one for Matchmaker Night Blade!" She lands in front of me and pokes my shoulder with a hoof. "You two were gone for a long time. You didn't spend all of it in the coffee shop, did you? You had to have gone back to his room." Her smile widens, and she tilts her head. "Is he built?"
"Fuck you."