Moonflower

by Lux

Chapter 3

Chapter 3

It was not a long journey from the greenway to the towering student center. It was arguably the center of all life in the campus, a massive three story horseshoe shaped brick building with plenty of windows to let in the natural sunlight. Even though you’ve been to this place too many times to count during the past years as a student, the sheer size of the place always amazed you. From the look on Moonflower’s face it amazed her too as the two of you drew close.

“This place is amazing,” she said looking at every detail of the place, “Is this just the dining hall?”

“Well, that’s on the third floor,” you said pointing to the upper part where the two of you could vaguely see from the ground level several tables and chairs, “but there’s more here than that! This is where you go to get your mail, ask questions at the information desk, hang out with others in the lounges, even get your books at the bookstore. I’m surprised that you haven’t been here before Moonflower. Didn’t they show you this on the campus tour?”

Moon stopped to think for a moment, surprisingly longer for such a simple question. You remembered your first time on campus and the tour you took, and the student center was certainly a highlight that the guide touched upon. In fact you recalled how perspective students and their families met at the center to depart on the tour, and once it was over they would be brought back to the center. It was ideal to do so since the other side of the student center opened up right into the streets of Canterlot, making it easy to explore the city. To have her not remember the place was very strange.

“Oh, well, yes, I do remember the place from the tours, but I guess I had my mind on something else to not remember everything here.”

“Oh, well, that I can understand that, I felt like that as well when first coming here. So where would you like to go for your first dinner here, the cafes on the first floor or the dining hall?”

“Well, where do you like best?” Moonflower asked, “After all, you know more about this place than I.”

You thought for a moment about the choices. It was a simple decision to make and yet when you were around her it seemed so monumental. After all, first impressions were lasting ones, and the last thing you wanted was to leave a bad first impression on such a beautiful and smart mare that you saw as one who had taken an interest with you. Finally a thought came to mind, an interesting but wonderful idea.

“Why not we get our food from the one café, but we don’t eat there?”

“Oh?” Moonflower, “You mean we eat somewhere else?”

“Yeah, and I have the perfect place.”

“Alright, I trust you. Let’s take things one step at a time with ordering, then you can show me this mysterious place. Oh, and I’m paying, my treat for you being so nice in showing me around.”

“Oh no. I can’t let you pay for both of us,” you said thinking about how when you were in school for his first year he could barely afford to pay for your own meals let alone others.

“I insist,” she said with an inflection that sounded direct, almost royal. It was clear that she was not going to back down from her decision.

“Alright, let’s order then,” you said as the two of you entered the café. It was a small place split into two different restaurants. One served sandwiches and salads while the other sold grilled and fried things. To your surprise Moonflower made a beeline towards the grill area, and after spending a few seconds getting acclimated to the menu picked a hay burger and hay fries with cheese. She didn’t strike you as somepony interested in that type of food, maybe salads or a sandwich instead. You guessed it was because of her thin frame that you thought that hay fries, especially ones drenched in cheese, would be out of the question. There were many surprises to this new mare on campus, like she was a pile of presents on Hearth’s Warming Day, each one when opened revealing something new about her. You ordered your meal and made your way to the checkout where Moonflower paid without a second thought to the total. Maybe she had a rich family or one that at least covered certain things like food for her.

“So, where to?” she said as her meal bobbed in the air with her magic.

“Follow me,” you replied as you both exited the loud student center packed with ponies mingling about and back out into the greenway. It was a relief getting away from the crowds on the first day back, and from the look of it Moonflower wanted to spend some time alone too. You made your way down the sidewalks and suddenly entered the Life Sciences building. The mare beside you questioned your reasoning but followed you past the classroom, all of which were dark and silent in anticipation of what would come then next day when classes began. At last you opened a door that led back outside, not to the greenway but a small courtyard in the center. There were no students there and the place looked empty but was still well maintained.

“What is this place?” Moonflower asked.

“It’s a courtyard. The pony who donated the funds insisted on it being built because he wanted students to remember nature being at the heart of life sciences. Now it’s kind of been forgotten by many students, or they just use it to cross from one part of the science center to the next.”

“You’re a wealth of knowledge,” Moonflower said as you showed her to a bench, “Ever thought about teaching?”

“Actually that’s what I’m going for,” you said as you sat down, “Although I’m not sure how well I’ll do to get a foal’s attention.”

“I’d say the best way is to keep them interested by starting with an interesting fact, like what you did with me.”

“I’ll consider that,” you said taking a bit of your sandwich, “Thanks for the advice.”

“Of course,” she said with a smile as the two of you ate and conversed about your lives together. For such a messy meal, Moonflower ate with such grace you’d swear she went to some preppy finishing school. The thought of her walking across a hall with a book on her head with other ponies almost made you laugh! Time dragged on, but you didn’t seem to notice until you happened to look up at the sky.

“Hey, the sun’s about to set. We can watch the moon rise if you want,”

“Oh my gosh!” Moon said almost dropping her fries, “What time is it?”

“Uh…seven?” you said looking at your watch.

“Sorry for having to cut this short, but I have to get going. I have…plans with my sister tonight. She came in and wanted to wish me good luck.”

“I understand,” you said a little sad to see her go and hoping it really was her sister she wanted to see rather than it being some excuse.

“Don’t worry, we will see each other soon,” she said with a smile, “Maybe I can meet your friends next time.”

“Definitely,” you said with a smile.

“Alright then, see you soon!” she said as she got up, deposited her garbage and left. She almost was about to depart when she stopped and turning around gave you a reassuring smile before leaving you. Maybe it was the assurance that you just made a friend with her. One thing was for certain as you watched her move across the courtyard; you hated to see her go, but you loved watching her leave with her glorious plot and tail moving with each hurried step. But did you see her merely as a friend or something else? It was too early to tell.

“Such a strange beautiful mare,” you said finishing your meal before leaving the courtyard and the memory of a good time with Moonflower.

That night you happened to look up at the clear night sky, illuminated by thousands of stars and the massive moon overhead that was so close to earth you’d swear you could reach up and touch it. Suddenly a shadow passed by the moon, taking the form of a pony in flight. Although you weren’t quite sure, you could have sworn the silhouette paused for a moment as if staring at you among the thousands of ponies in the city before disappearing into the night.

Comments

[FireBlast]

Its luna...