Just Another Night At the Bar

by Silent Sir 224

Rough Mornings

Bishop heard an alarm going off, the alarm that he forgot to turn off the day before it showed that it was six in the morning, stopping him from sleeping in for the first time in many moons. The reply was the alarm being surrounded by a grey aura and being turned off, before being levitated over to and dropped in the nearest trash can.

Afraid that his house guest was woken up he slipped down the hall quietly and peeked inside, Twilight was still asleep thankfully. Waking up somebody after a night of drinking was not the smartest thing to do, and getting himself back to sleep was not going to happen, so he got himself ready for the day.

Bishop just walked into the kitchen and started his coffee maker, coffee always helped him wake up in the morning with the taste and smell. He sat on the couch with a cup of coffee and enjoyed the peace and quiet, which was a refreshing change from the hectic mornings getting ready for work. The sound of stirring came from the bedroom, with Twilight emerging from it soon after holding a fore hoof to her temple.

"Good morning Twilight, how are you feeling this morning?" Bishop greeted.

"Not great," she groaned, "my head is pounding."

"There's an ice pack in the freezer if your headache is bad enough," he pointed to the refrigerator.

She went into the kitchen and came back out holding the pack against her forehead, "that helps a lot, did you put this in the freezer just for me?"

"Yeah, I threw it in there last night before I went to bed," he explained.

"I thought you said you couldn't drink."

"Right, but I still know what a hangover is, as well as the symptoms of one," he laughed a little.

"Still, thank you... how bad was I last night?"

"What do you mean?" He gave her a puzzled look.

"Well... I had one too many and I need to know if I did something... stupid, for lack of better words."

"Only thing I could note is that the hotel you said you were staying at didn't have any rooms listed under your name, which is why I brought you back to my place last night."

"Wait, this is your home? I thought it was my hotel room!"

"Yeeaah, this is my apartment, don't you remember... actually never mind," he realized that alcohol acts as a memory blocker.

"I-I'm sorry I didn't mean to be such a burden!" She looked like she was going to make a break for the front door.

"Whoa, whoa calm down, everything's alright, you're not a burden, just relax," he walked in between her and the door and got her to ease up a little, "do you want some coffee? I just brewed it this morning."

"Uh... sure but don't you have to work today?"

"Actually, this is my first day off in a couple months, I don't have any real plans for the day," Bishop smiled, the idea of not having to do anything filled him with joy.

"And you had to take care of me this morning..." her ears drooped down and looked at the floor.

"Hey, don't you start blaming yourself, I literally had nothing to do so helping a friend out just made my morning, besides I didn't even get to sleep in this morning because I forgot to shut off my alarm yesterday, stupid thing." he muttered.

She laughed a little, "so you're sure I'm not being a burden?"

"Absolutely, as far as I'm concerned my home is your home," Bishop sat down on the couch, "make yourself comfortable."

"Really? Just after one night you just open up your home up to me?" Twilight asked in shock.

"To a friend absolutely, I couldn't just leave you here with no place to rest and to be honest I don't have a lot of friends because of my lifestyle," he explained, sipping his coffee. "So I try to keep the friends I do make close, so don't be afraid to make yourself at home I really don't mind."

Twilight hesitantly sat down next to him, "thank you for your hospitality."

"Don't mention it," Bishop got up and headed into the kitchen and poured another cup of coffee and walked back out into the living room. "Here," he handed her a full cup of coffee, "it's still pretty warm."

She sat up, put the ice pack on the coffee table and took it in both hooves, "thank you."

He sat back down next to her and took another sip from his cup, "I have creme and sugar if you want it."

Twilight took a sip and flinched slightly, "no it's fine, a little hot though."

"Sorry, I should've grabbed some ice or something."

"No, I can just wait a minute, you've done plenty for me," she yawned and put her head on Bishop's shoulder.

"Still sleepy, huh?" He stretch his free arm around her and rubbed her shoulder.

"Yeah," she yawned again, "I can't stand sleeping in though."

"I tried to sleep in today, that didn't go well," he laughed.

Twilight took another sip of her coffee, this time giving a hum of approval, "what blend is this?"

"I couldn't tell you the name of it, but it came from Saddle Arabia," he explained.

"Saddle Arabia? That must cost a fortune! How can you afford that?"

"Uhh, my job at the Institute pays really well, I gotta spend those bits on something," he took a swig of coffee.

"Really? Couldn't you get a nice house or something?"

"I could if I felt like it, but it would be kind of pointless to do that since I would just be living by myself, this amount of space works well for me."

"You're not seeing some pony or something?"

"Nope, I don't really have that much of a social life, and that's spent at the bar we were at last night," he finished off his cup.

"Oh, well what about the mares that go to the bar?" She asked with a hint of curiosity.

"I can't really say I find any of them attractive," he stared into his empty cup, "in my mind, looks only go so far... I want to have a mare in my life that has the intelligence to match her looks."

"...Wow, you really are not like any stallion I've met before," she sipped her cup, trying to avoid eye contact.

"How so?"

"No stallion I've met would say that they would want a mare with intelligence... just looks."

"To be honest I'm not surprised, but hey no one ever claimed I was normal," Bishop laughed.

Twilight joined in his laughter, "no you are definitely not normal, but I think that's a good thing."

"I do too," he patted her shoulder, signaling he was getting up again, "do you want a refill? I'm getting one myself."

"Uh, sure if you want to..." she hesitated.

He took her cup in a grey aura, "yes I do, don't be afraid to ask," he smiled and walked back into the kitchen, she's acting a little nervous, what's going on with her? She's probably just a little caught off-guard waking up in some one else's home. He filled the two cups and walked back into the living room to see Twilight stretched out on her side across the couch sleeping. Okay, that is by far the cutest thing I've ever seen, he put her cup on the coffee table and stood in front of the window, enjoying the scenery of autumn.

His guest remained on the couch for an hour or so before cracking her eyes open again and sitting up, "I thought you said you couldn't sleep in?" Bishop joked.

"I didn't sleep in, I just fell back asleep," Twilight retorted, "and I think my brain and body appreciate me doing that."

"What about your mane? I think that it didn't really appreciate it," he pointed at her mane, which was stricken with bed head, trying to stifle his laughter.

She saw how her mane was sticking out every which way, "I, uh..." her face grew red and she ran into the bathroom and slammed the door behind her. Wow... I probably could've done that with a bit more subtly, she probably likes me a whole lot less now, way to go moron.

After a few minutes of silence, Bishop couldn't let the silence continue, he walked up and knocked on the bathroom door. "Twilight... I'm sorry, I didn't mean anything by what I said, I was just being an idiot, can you come back out?"

The silence returned for a few minutes before a response came from the other side of the door, "I... I know you didn't mean it... it's just..."

"Just what?"

"Just ...never mind," the door opened slowly, revealing a more well groomed Twilight, "what are we going to do for breakfast?"

"Well, there are a few cafes in town," he noted.

"Would this be... a date?"

"No, no, no this would just be two friends getting some breakfast, nothing like that," he rubbed the back of his neck, although, a date doesn't sound too terrible...

"Oh, okay," her tone was either one of relief or disappointment.

"Shall we be off, milady?" He offered his hoof.

"Of course sir," she accepted his hoof as he led her through the front door.

"So what are you going to do?" Bishop asked heading down the stairs with Twilight right behind him.

"I don't really know... maybe some breakfast will help clear my thoughts."

"Well my offer still stands, today we could just walk through town and see the sights," he walked through the automatic doors that lead out of the apartment complex.

"That sounds very nice, I think for today I will take you up on your offer and then go from there," she walked up next to Bishop, matching his pace.

"Well, I would be happy to accommodate you for your stay here in town," he stopped and turned to face her, "I wouldn't have it any other way."

"No, no, no I couldn't impose on you for any longer than I already have," her eyes were gazing down at the ground.

"It is no imposition," he pulled her eyes from the ground to meet his, "I promise, I would be happy to have some company for a few days."

She looked him in the eye for a minute, "okay," she sighed, "I'll stay, I mean, what kind of story would I tell my friends at home if I went home early?"

"I'm glad," he turned around and started walking again, trapping himself in thought, wow, those eyes of hers... just... those purple eyes...

"So where will we be our enjoying breakfast this morning?" Twilight inquired.

"Huh?" Bishop was snapped back to reality, mostly, "oh yeah there's a little cafe around the corner up here I go to sometimes in the morning before work, it has very good uh... cripes."

"I think you mean crepes," Twilight laughed a little.

"Yeah those things, I'd have figured it out eventually," he lied.

"Suuure, you would have," she rolled her eyes, with a playful smile on her face.

"Okay, I claimed I knew magic, I never said I knew anything about fancy food, Ms. Smarty Pants," he retorted.

The two walked up to a little outdoor cafe, the unicorn waiter stood at the podium wearing a gold vest uniform which contrasted his black coat well, "ah Mr. Bishop a pleasure to see you again, the usual table for one?"

"Not today, I have a guest this morning," he took a step to the side revealing the guest, "Twilight, this is another friend of mine, Niccolo, I've known him since my first year here."

The unicorn gave a small bow, "a pleasure to meet you Ms. Twilight, any friend of Bishop here is most welcome at this establishment."

Niccolo led the two to an open table, "shall you have the usual sir?"

"Sure, thank you."

"And for you Miss?"

She scanned the menu for a moment, "wow everything looks good here, I would like have the egg croissant and a glass of water, please."

"Ah, an excellent choice madame, I will return shortly with your drinks," he left the table and headed inside.

"Do you know all of the servers in this town?" Twilight asked.

"Not all, but I find there company a lot more enjoyable than most of the other ponies here..." Bishop answered.

"Bishop? Is that you?!" A voice called from the street, no, not him... not Boyle, anyone but him! The pony walked over to their table. "We're missing you at the office... oh and who might this lady be?"

Boyle, was a coworker at the institute, he was polar opposite to Bishop in every way, invasive, rude and downright annoying at the best of times. He had a blue coat and a white mane, which went well with his lab coat, the only positive thing that Bishop could ever say about him.

"Hello Boyle, this is my friend Twilight, she's staying in town for a few days, but why aren't you at the lab now?"

He turned to greet her, "Boyle's the name, a pleasure to meet you." Meanwhile, Bishop just looked at Twilight and silently mouthed the words 'I'm so sorry!'

She glanced at Bishop for a moment before turning back to Boyle, "likewise."

"So what is a lady like you doing in a place like this?" He asked. Waiting to eat breakfast, oh and for you to leave, I'm doing the same.

"Just seeing the sights with a friend," she gestured toward the other pony at the table.

"Oh, him? You should spend your time with a stallion that makes real contributions to the world of magic."

"Yes, because shortening the casting time for a spell by half a millisecond, at the cost of double the energy is much more of a contribution compared to doubling the distance of teleportation spells at half the cost of energy." Bishop rolled his eyes, just hoping for him to leave now.

Boyle simply ignored his comment, "so how about it? We ditch this guy and go and get something to eat?" Yes, because it's clear that she isn't getting food here, you incompetent moron.

Twilight laughed, "I think I'm good with my current location and company, it was nice meeting you."

Boyle stood speechless and confused, but left none the less, once he was out of sight, Bishop felt it was safe to laugh. "I really am sorry about that."

"So he's your coworker?"

"Unfortunately, but before you ask no he's not like that all the time, he's usually worse!" He couldn't stifle his laughter any more. "Now do you see why I prefer the company of the humble waiters, waitresses and bartenders here?"

The laughter was infectious as Twilight caught it, "yes, yes I do, that was certainly something I did not expect from this town."

Niccolo returned to the table with the drinks, "sorry for the wait, there was a small mishap in the kitchen." He placed two glasses of water on the table.

"Is anybody hurt?" Bishop asked.

"Thankfully not, someone just took a plateful of food and dropped it on the ground, leaving pieces of the plate all over the floor. No one stepped on them and it got picked up quickly, the younger staff members can be a little jumpy."

"I'm just glad everyone's okay, but that's probably good since it let you avoid Boyle."

"Boyle, why was he here? That pony is the right kind to get under my coat like no other."

"Trying to walk off with Twilight, fortunately she's as smart as she looks and shut him right down. I still can't stop laughing about it!"

Niccolo just started to laugh, "ah, such a foal in every sense."

"Yeah, so how's the wife and fillies?"

"Very good, the girls are doing well in school and picking up magic quickly, thanks to those tips you gave me to help them."

"Think nothing of it Niccolo, you would have done the same for me."

"Of course, but the wife would like to know if you would like to finally come for some dinner some time this week."

"Hmm," he looked over at Twilight and then back to Niccolo, "would I be able to bring a guest? It's alright if I can't I don't want to ask too much."

"Sir, I would be honored to have the two of you at my home, how about tomorrow night at seven?"

He turned back to Twilight, "that sound like fun?"

"Of course, I would love to," she answered.

"Excellent, well I'm sorry but I must check on the other customers," he left the table heading to the other end of the cafe.

"So, you helped his daughter's with their magic?"

"Uh, sorta, I pretty much told him some exercises they should try to help them focus their magic," Bishop explained.

"Well, that was certainly nice of you, so why did you ask if I could come?"

"It would be nice to have you there with me and I wouldn't feel right about turning down the offer or leaving you at my place with nothing to do. So I figured I would take two birds with a single stone," he smiled.

"Well, I'm sure it will be a fun evening, but for now I could really use some breakfast."

"Don't worry, Niccolo will get us taken care of as soon as he can," Bishop sat back in his chair. "In the meantime, we should get to know each other a little better."

"That's sounds like a good idea, would you like to go first?"

"Sure, I'll try to give you the not slow version..."

Comments

[Jphyper]

Looking good so far. Odd... even though I'm tracking it, the site didn't notify me about this update, nor did it change the number of unread chapters I have. Why would it do that?

[Silent Sir 224]

2422776 That might be my fault, I was writing kind of late one night and I clicked publish instead of edit. I didn't finish this chapter until the ninth or tenth, but it says that I published it on the sixth.

[Silent Sir 224]

I regret to inform the readers that my writing will be seriously slowed for a time. My computer broke on me and I don't know how quickly it can be fixed. I have a backup PC, but it's shared so I won't get in that much writing.