Any Bar in a Storm [closed - pm for invite]

[Bramble Rose]

Rainbow Dash blushed a little, seeming uncertain for a moment, before throwing out her chest and tossing her head, lifting it proudly. "Yeah, that's right!" she said almost challengingly, "I have fan-clubs, too!"

Then she lets out a soft, awkward laugh. "Though, really ... that whole thing with the pie was the high point of my Gala," she confessed. "The rest of it just went downhill from there. That was the worst night *ever*." Her stomach rumbled, and she realized suddenly that she hadn't really eaten at all, for most of the day. Her stomach rumbled a little louder as it realized the same thing. "Ohboy. Yeah, let's get something to eat and drink before my stomach stages a revolution and starts its own perfect storm!"

She led the three over to the counter, settling down into the middle seat of a group of three to make sure she'd get to sit next to Soarin'. "Heya, 'Keep! Thanks for stayin' open so late! Three waters and three slice of apple pie to start with, follow that up with a trio of hard cider, and keep the apple pie coming till I tell you to stop!"

[RarityDash]

"The pie thing was a little embarrassing, honestly. Ponies seem to remember the oddest things, heh."

"Though, really ... that whole thing with the pie was the high point of my Gala. The rest of it just went downhill from there. That was the worst night *ever*."

As she listened to the other two talk about this pie incident, Cloudchaser had to say she was really curious. Maybe curiosity wasn't the right word, actually? Maybe she was just hungry for some pie. Yeah, that was probably more likely.

"Besides, tonight I think almost every pegasus in Equestria is a hero. Between the evacuation and the weather damage control, we all had our work cut out for us. We should probably order something to drink or eat though, since the shop was nice enough to let us stay here."

As Soarin' spoke, the mare found herself focusing in on the 'every pegasus was a hero" line, which made Cloudchaser have to look away. "Yep, we're totally all heroes..." she said absently. She wasn't going to admit that she had been taken out of commission shortly after the storm had started to get serious. Not even Flitter would get to know that embarrassing detail. She laughed awkwardly and glanced back toward Rainbow Dash.

"Ohboy. Yeah, let's get something to eat and drink before my stomach stages a revolution and starts its own perfect storm!"

Cloudchaser shook her head back to full alert. Yes! She wanted food too. She eagerly followed Dash over to the bar and found a seat to Dash's right.

"Heya, 'Keep! Thanks for stayin' open so late! Three waters and three slice of apple pie to start with, follow that up with a trio of hard cider, and keep the apple pie coming till I tell you to stop!"

Dash gave her order to the pretty unicorn mare working the bar. Cloudchaser smiled widely and nodded. Dash really had the right idea here with her order!

"Yeah, that sounds great! I think I'll have three slices of pie and three ciders too!" the young mare said, still grinning blissfully. "Not sure I need all that water though..."

[brianblackberry]

Martini smiled warmly at the tired forest ranger at her bar, “My name is Martini Paradise, but you can just call me Martini, and I'm glad to hear that nopony needed rescuing in the forests tonight. Of course, being brave enough to search for ponies to rescue, well, that makes you as brave as any weather pony, so don’t you sit here in isolation now because you don’t think you're good enough to hang with the rest of ‘em, you hear, brave Wind Rider?” Martini winked, hoping that her little pep talk helped in some small way to the pegasus whom, she felt, was being far too modest.

“Rainbow Dash?” Martini guessed the white unicorn must be referring to the rainbow maned pegasus mare - who else among that trio could it have been? Still, she was acting more like a fangirl than some famous type. “Sooo… Not to sound too much like some out-of-touch backwoods pony from the Pinto, but why is Rainbow Dash so famous?”

But before he could answer, the three pegasus ponies from the entrance finally came up to the bar to order. “Sure thing hon! Coming right up!” Their order wasn’t complicated in any way; in fact, it was so routinely simple that she gathered the mugs for the cider without even looking, while floating the pitcher, glass, and plates of pies over in front of each customer. As the food and water was settled down before the three ponies, Martini tilted each of the mugs as she poured the cider in so it would run down the side, then just as it reached the end, she straightened the mug to create a big, impressive foaming head, the rich cider scent wafting out ...

Martini trotted back to the trio, floating the mugs of hard cider and their rich and foamy tops with her, placing them in front of the Wonderbolt and his two admirers. “There you go, three frosty hard ciders; courtesy of that fine gentlestallion over there!” Martini smiled as she nodded towards Pocket Change.

[Snowshoe]

"Nice to meet you, Pocket Change. A wandering archaeologist...now those are two words I wouldn't expect to hear together. Don't you folks usually work for a school or something?" he asked. He was always under the impression that would be one of the steadier jobs available.

The other group seemed to be moving over to a table, and Wind Rider couldn't help but chuckle when Rainbow Dash placed a rather brusque order. Kinda funny to watch.

The brown pegasus looked back at the bartender and smiled. "A pleasure to meet you, Miss...er, Martini." He couldn't help but blush a bit at the compliments and chuckled. "Hey, I wasn't planning on sitting in isolation. And you can just call me Wind," he added with a smile. "Well, to answer your question, best as I know, is that she's the only pegasus to preform a trick called the Sonic Rainboom. It's a big deal, among the winged ones like us," he said with a chuckle. He shrugged. "I read about it in the paper, 'bout a flying competition a little ways back," he added. Wind looked back at the others at the table. "Kinda feeling a bit starstruck right now, if I do say so myself." When he'd taken off earlier that day, he wasn't expecting to meet two of Equestria's better flyers in the same room, at the same time. It was quite the experience.

[tacobob]

"Well, yes, we do work for the University.", Pocket was studying the rainbow tailed Pegasus as he spoke, "And they basically tell us where to go and we wander over to the assorted places where we are generally supposed to set up a site for digging. Today was supposed to be the 'Big Dig', but as usual somepony decided there was all kinds of nasties below and we shouldn't be permitted to explore a place that's supposed to be filled with ancient evils. It's not like they make old magical horrors look like tasty candy, and we promised not to read out-loud any old texts or scrolls we happen to come across.", an entire night's worth of drinking was starting to show on the unicorn's face and tone of voice, "We were permitted to set up a dig around the area, and when we started to do the pegging, then the storm showed up. Total loss."

Pocket sighed as he levitated his notebook closer, "Sonic Rainboom? How many Pegasus out there have rainbow colored manes? I'm guessing that helped...A bit..If she were blonde maned...Or was all blue like a kid I know...Would she still have been able to do such a feet?", he had to ponder this for a moment.

[Dio]

March, they'd said. Telling an airborne unit to march was like telling a unicorn to pick things up with her hooves or giving an earth pony three horseshoes and telling her to run a marathon. It wasn’t that Acclaim hated walking. By Tartarus, she loved the feeling of earth on her hooves and getting dirty on the pitch with a hoofball in front of her. But that ruck march had been mockery of everything great about the great outdoors.

The field training exercise, or FTX in army parlance, was to be a simple patrol with her squadron with the minor twist of a ground exfiltration. This would not have been an issue had it not been for the inclement weather. What started as a light drizzle turned into a monsoon, complete with howling gales that effectively grounded the entire platoon. What began as a stream that they were following quickly became raging rapids. What started as a 12-mile hike turned into a 20-mile forced march to a new area of operations and the corresponding hike back to the barracks. The need to rapidly transition to search and rescue duties after a dispatch came via runner further complicated matters. Needless to say, by the time the SAR operation was complete, the ponies of Alpha Squadron, III Order were exhausted, dirty, and sopping wet.

Given the extenuating circumstances, the platoon commander saw fit to dismiss her soldiers early, suspending the drill until the following day. So it came to be that Sergeant Acclaim found herself seated alone at the far corner of a hole in the wall bar in downtown Canterlot called the Ponyland. The airborne trooper sniffed at her shot of Talonopolis Bourbon before downing it swiftly. She’d probably need another soon. It had been a very long day.

[colour=#0000CD]"Heya, 'Keep! Thanks for stayin' open so late! Three waters and three slice of apple pie to start with, follow that up with a trio of hard cider, and keep the apple pie coming till I tell you to stop!"[/colour]

At the mention of apple pie from the rainbow-maned pegasus a few seats down, Acclaim rapped her hoof on the counter before subconsciously waving it in a circle above her head in the “rally up” hoof sign. Food sounded excellent right then... as did another drink.

[colour=#daa520]“Yeah, I’ll have one of those, too,”[/colour] she said. [colour=#daa520]“... and another shot of Talonopolis bourbon... and a tall Hoofington Pale Ale... and maybe a water, too. Yeah, let's go with that.”[/colour]

[AlisonRose]

Huffing and puffing as she stumbled into the bar. Misty had been helping with the storm but after it started to get dark she found it hard to see even with her corrective lenses over her eyes. She lets out a soft sigh and finds a seat up next to the bar and began to order.

[colour=#00ffff]"I would like a large glass of lemon water....and some cake, do you have cake?"[/colour] She asked not even knowing what sort of establishment this was since her goggles were dangling around her neck instead of being over her eyes. She let herself fall limp and rested her head on the counter and unzipped the front of her Uniform. Her mane fell to one side and covered her face showing how much enthusiasm she really did have. This weather system had kicked her butt in more then one way and now all she had wanted to do was relax in the bar with a bunch of her Pegasus friends and for all she knew finally get around to talking with that elusive Soarin who was part of the mane Wonderbolts team where as she was from the 'in-training' group who only ever really preformed on rare occasions.

[brianblackberry]

Although it wasn't really Martini's turn yet; I wanted to get Flitter in the RP and Martini has to keep care of the customers anyway.

Soarin', you are up next

[colour=#CC99CC]Flitter[/colour]

Flitter wasn’t a weather pony by trade, she rarely manipulated more than individual clouds, and the most ambitious she usually got with those was to water her dam’s garden. But really, it was every pegasus' duty to help in the big stuff. It took everypony. It wasn't a law or anything, but it just was. A pegasus did their duty by the weather, when they were needed. Besides, she didn’t relish the idea of Cloudchaser up there risking herself without her.

Flitter did remarkably well - or at least, she surprised herself for how well she did, for somepony who didn’t do this for a living. She did her share of helping push some of the storm clouds, direct the rain and so forth, but lost track of Cloudchaser early on; confident her fillyfriend would do well but naturally worried for her. The night wore on and the pegasus ponies gained the upper hoof, but Flitter ended up far away from home - but it was hard not to recognize Canterlot. At least she knew where she was. She searched for a place to relax, and to rest, at least until the rains let up, and there was one open establishment: Ponyland. [colour=#cc99cc]As good of a place as any.[/colour]

Flitter trotted in, her normally wavy light blue-green mane was low and straight from the drenching water. She was lacking the bow that usually decorated her hair - left at home for fear of losing it in the storms. She looked about, vision momentarily blurred due to the sudden light, [colour=#cc99cc]"h-hi, I figure you all were open; I hope you don't mind me staying for a bit, if that is alright that is.” [/colour]

Before she could get a direct answer, her eyes cleared and she soon looked in shock at what she saw; one ... No, two Wonderbolts! Sooooo awwwwesome! Wasn’t that Dash too? What luck and.. [colour=#cc99cc]"Cloudchaser![/colour]" Flitter was suddenly both ecstatic and relieved, and galloped right up to the light purple pegasus without even thinking to what she may have been doing and gave her a huge, and very wet, hug with her forehooves, [colour=#cc99cc]“you’re alright! Isototallymissedyou!”[/colour]

[colour=#CC6699]Martini Paradise[/colour]

Martini Paradise smiled at the trio as she set down their order, stopping for a second to turn to the rainbow maned pegasus and whisper in a soft voice, [colour=#cc6699]“I think the two stallions at the bar are fans of yours.”[/colour] She gave a playful wink, letting the blue pegasus decide on her own what that meant..

Returning to behind the bar Martini walked by Wind Rider and smiled, [colour=#cc6699]“Well, a Sonic Rainboom, eh? I’ll have to ask my daughter about that one, she is all about sports, and athletics, and Wonderbolts; it sounds impressive, though.”[/colour] Martini had no clue, really, she was just sure that it sounded colorful. No doubt Sunrise would “correct” her on how undeniably “cool” it was.

Martini was about to say more when the lone pegasus in the corner spoke up with a rather large order. Martini had been wondering if the yellow mare was going to ask for anything or say anything, as Acclaim had been very quiet up till now. Maybe she was ready to open up a little.[colour=#cc6699] “Coming right up hon!”[/colour]

She started off sliding a fourth slice of pie over to Acclaim, then took out a shot glass and set it down on the bar with a loud thump. The smokey bottle of Talonopolis bourbon floated down and landed on her upturned hoof, and she tapped it to give it a proper spin, the long spout of the bottle tapping down onto the shot glass so the amber liquid could spill down into the shot glass. The shot glass was followed by a mug, floated over to the ale keg, where she tipped the tap with her hoof, spilling out the frothy beverage down the side of the glass, then the last few inches right down the center, making a night foaming head. The ale and the shot glass went down on either side of the plate of pie.

She looked up when she finished to see who her newest customers were - and her eyes widened a little to see another Wonderbolt! Oh, Sunrise would be giddy if she were here! And she was going to be so jealous when Martini told her. Martini smiled warmly to the new guest, [colour=#cc6699]"let me see what I can find! It’s great to have another Wonderbolt in our little establishment,”[/colour] she motioned her forhoof in the direction of Soarin’, [colour=#cc6699]“welcome to Ponyland!”[/colour] Martini floated over a tall glass of water filled with ice cubes as she planted a lemon slice right over the edge before going in the back to see if she could scrounge up some lemon cake.

[Windwright]

[colour=#0000CD]"Three waters and three slice of apple pie to start with, follow that up with a trio of hard cider, and keep the apple pie coming till I tell you to stop!"[/colour]

Soarin's mouth watered a bit at the suggestion of pie. After all, he HAD been exerting himself... "[colour=deepskyblue]Keep mine on a separate tab. Wouldn't wanna drain anypony's bits just to sate a pie craving, heh.[/colour]" he threw to the tender, settling in a bit to lean on the bar.

He had been about to say something to the bllue filly when her friend spoke up, and the mental gymnastics he performed to comprehend the situation would have been impressive as any show. In the end, he decided to file it away as too much stress and a long day, though whose he wasn't sure. Then the door opened again, and on spotting the distinctive blue and yellow uniform of another tem member, he immediately straightened himself up into a proud athlete's stance without realizing it. And then the purple pegasus was attacked by somepony exclaiming at high speed and close proximity, causing the Wonderbolt's ears to pin back and a somewhat concerned expression to pass over his face before he mentally shook himself.

"[colour=deepskyblue]Er...anyway, I'm glad the storm is over and most everypony's safe. Hopefully Cloudsdale wasn't too trashed by it. We always seem to get the worst of any wild storms.[/colour]" He commented, by way of moving things toward firmer ground.

[[EDIT: No more typing while half asleep.]]

[Bramble Rose]

Rainbow Dash chuckled softly, as energetic pegasus ponies bounced around. It seemed more familiar, more like Cloudsdale, where everyone wore their emotions right out in the open, and everything was done enthusiastically! It perked her up, and helped her forget how tired she was. Mindful of the rules she'd been taught in the Weather Academy, her first task was hydrating herself, and she dutifully drank down one glass of water in a nice, long, refreshing draw. [colour=#0000cd]"Ahhhh..."[/colour] Though, heh-heh, the fact that Cloudchaser thought she was taking three pie and three cider just for herself ... she chuckled, and shrugged. She'd drink two ciders, and she was sure Soarin' would eat two slices of pie, and then some.

She clasped a hoof on Soarin's shoulder. [colour=#0000cd]"Hey, don't worry!"[/colour] she said, feeling more at home, all of a sudden, and drew him close. "The first round's on that pony over there!" she said, gesturing at Pocket Change. [colour=#0000cd]"I'll get the second round, and you can get the third round! You know the rule, you never turn down free food!"[/colour] She bumped her hoof into his chest, then slid two of the pies and one of the ciders over towards him. [colour=#0000cd] "So what did you handle in the storm? Get a chance to swerve past lightning, yet? It's awesome!"[/colour] She took a drink of the cider, then let out a satisfied *ahhhhhh*. It wasn't as good as the Apple Family special, but it was still ... mmmmmm. cider. Her tongue hung out of her mouth and she got a distant, content look for a moment or three, before shaking herself back to the now.

[RarityDash]

Cloudchaser was initially a little confused about the proceedings. Her order went unacknowledged, save for with a small chuckle from Rainbow Dash. Nothing particularly new; she had a bad tendency of not thinking things through always and sometimes saying things that were kinda dumb. After a few moments, she realized that Rainbow Dash had been ordering for all of them, and she felt a little embarrassed. Being served a tall, frothy cider perked her back up, however. She attacked the drink readily, sipping down a third of it all in one go.

Around her, even more ponies seemed to be showing up, including what looked like a second Wonderbolt. Ponyland was starting to get kinda busy, and almost everypony was a pegasus. It was kinda cool; reminded her of some of the clubs on Las Pegasus' higher cloud levels. Still, it remained all too lacking when it came to one particular pegasus who meant more to Cloudchaser than any other. She hadn't seen Flitter since right after the storm had started. They had been separated once things had gotten really rough. And unlike Cloudchaser, Flitter wasn't a weather pony so she wasn't used to this kind of rough stuff. Considering Chaser herself had had such trouble with the storm, she couldn't help but start to worry about her a little. If only she could somehow show up here...

[colour=#CC99CC]"Cloudchaser![/colour]"

The mare gave a sight at the sound of the familiar cry. It was just her imagination playing tricks on her again! Perhaps the bump from whatever had knocked her our during our during the storm was making her start to hear things Flitter couldn't be here. There just wasn't any way.

[colour=#CC99CC]“You’re alright! Isototallymissedyou!”[/colour]

And soon the night weather mare found herself being enthusiastically hugged by a very wet and very excited mare. Cloudchaser gasped, wondering for a moment how her imagined delusions had managed to take on a physical form. She pondered this train of though for a solid fifteen seconds before her eyes met those of the pony hugging her. There was no doubt, this really was the really real Flitter for real. Cloudchaser's eyes lit up with delight.

[colour=#cc99ff]"Flitter! You're really here!" [/colour]she chimed cheerfully as she hugged the other mare tightly and placed a brief kiss atop her muzzle. She pulled back and smiled at her mare, still in disbelief.

[colour=#cc99ff]"I was worried. How did you end up here? Did you see that Dashie is here too? And this is her Wonderbolt coltfriend,"[/colour] Cloudchaser nodded in turn to the ponies seated next to her, her excitement quite obvious. She then motioned for her to the seat on the other side of her. [colour=#cc99ff]"Have a seat. We're gonna have cider and pie!"[/colour]

[colour=#cc99ff]"One more cider and piece of pie, please! Fitter needs some too!" [/colour]Cloudchaser called, addressing the bar tender.

[Snowshoe]

Wind Rider looked over at the bartender, who mentioned something about the Wonderbolts sounding impressive. "THE premiere pegasus air demonstration squadron. There's been others, but you won't find a team better than they are...and no team that's so instantly recognizable," he pointed out. Almost anypony recognized at least the logo, or the uniforms, even if they didn't know the name.

And lo and behold, a second one trotted in. He didn't recognize Misty Morning, but then again, Wind Rider hadn't been off to an airshow in...well, a good long while. Soarin' made a comment about Cloudsdale that Wind overheard, and he chuckled.

"I wouldn't worry too much about Cloudsdale. We know how to build our stuff to be storm-proof. I'd be more worried about the rest of the towns, this is a bit more extreme than what the weather factories usually pump out. I'm going to guess there's a few roofs in need of repair." His own cabin in Hoofington was probably in a bit of disrepair, which made him sigh a bit at the thought.

The forest ranger turned to grin at Pocket Change. "Hope you got a lot of spare bits," he said casually, grinning. He untied the string around his large-brimmed hat and trotted over to the rack near to the door. It was getting a bit irritating having it around his neck, so he put his hat on the rack and trotted back over, this time sitting next to the other Wonderbolt, who was slumped against the bar.

"You alright?" he asked her. "Well I mean, comparatively speaking. You look fairly worse for wear...well I mean we all do, but hey." He was suddenly reminded, looking at the newcomers, that it would look like he hadn't been out himself, due to Pocket Change's spell. It made him feel kind of bad, considering he was comfortable compared to the others.

"Hey, Pocket. Still got a bit of mojo left up there?" he asked, looking down the bar at him.

[tacobob]

Pocket desperately tried to keep himself from blushing, but it was too hard to do being fair-coated and all. He smiled at the light cerulean pony as she acknowledged his offer, "Gal and her friends saved the world like what, three or four times, it's the least I could do.", he muttered under his breath to Wind Rider before taking out a small mint from a tin he kept on hoof which he quickly devoured. The wakeroot mint would keep him up a few hours longer and keep his breath fresh as well. "Bits? Don't worry, I'm always good for the coin!", he kept his smile on a little longer as the stallion made his way over to the other Wonderbolt.

"Huh, Mojo? I guess I could spare another as it's just a cantrip.", as he slowly rose up from the chair his body protested the act of physical movement, after all, he had spent the better part of the night sitting on his rump, which felt like it had fallen asleep. Protests or not, he was going to aid this poor mare! He cantered over to the two, "In my line of business it's generally a good idea to have a spell or two on hoof that will clean you up a bit. I might be out on a dig for hours on end and end up finding the discovery of the lifetime, and no pony wishes to be photographed by the Equestria Geographic Magazine looking like he or she has been under the hot sun for most of the day. And with all these famous folk about, i wouldn't be surprised if a few pony-paparazzi don't show up and start snapping pics in this very bar. So if you like my dear.", he winked at Misty Morning, "I'll be more than happy to hit you with the same spell I used on my good friend here. It will dry your clothes and fix you up a bit. Free of charge!"

(If she gives her approval, the unicorn's horn will [colour=#006400]glow[/colour] for just a second, and quicker than she could say 'Dryclean!', her clothing and coat should be nice and dry,and her mane will be properly adjusted)

[brianblackberry]

[colour=#CC99CC]Flitter[/colour]

Oh, did Flitter have a story! Well, to her, at least. Maybe not much to the experienced weather ponies like her love, Cloudchaser, but she was excited to tell it anyway! [colour=#cc99cc]"It was amazing! There was this squall of clouds coming down between Ponyville and Cloudsdale and the group leader ... Uhh?" [/colour] Flitter tapped her hoof under her chin and concentrated but she couldn't remember the stallion's name. [colour=#cc99cc]"Uhh ... Well, I can't remember, but he told Silverspeed, Thunderlane, and I to push the line of clouds apart. That's when I lost track of you, 'though I'm sure you were taking care of some of the bigger storms! Annnyway, it took us hours even if it was just a small line of clouds, they were so black and windy, and kept shocking us! Poor Thunderlane, he kept getting pushed behind and Silverspeed and I had to keep grabbing him so he wouldn blow away, but we did it! We got them all!"[/colour] Flitter looked down for a moment as if embarrassed, [colour=#cc99cc]"buuuut by then we didn't know where we were. Thunderlane swore he knew which way to go but took off so fast I lost track of him in the rain."[/colour] Flitter rolled her eyes. [colour=#cc99cc]"I think Silverspeed managed to keep up with him, she is really fast ya know. So annnnyway, I flew around looking for anypony I could spot when I realized I was near Canterlot, so I flew down here to rest up under an eave or something, when I saw this place."[/colour] She gave Cloudchaser another great big hug, [colour=#cc99cc]"and I found you!"[/colour]

Flitter smiled and waved to Dash, who seemed to be in cider heaven, and Soarin', and blushed slightly. Wonderbolts were just so hip and cool, she never knew anypony that dated one before. "[colour=#cc99cc]So Dash and he are ... dating?! Ooooooooo!"[/colour] Flitter whispered and giggled, trying not to be too loud as she leaned her head on Cloudchaser's shoulder, but she couldn't help but smile broadly as if she had knowledge of some great secret. [colour=#cc99cc]"So you gotta tell me, how awesome did you do?!"[/colour]

[colour=#cc6699]Martini Paradise[/colour]

Martini smiled as Wind Rider talked up the Wonderbolts. She knew the spiel all too well; Sunrise never stopped singing their praises, or at least never stopped talking about how that one Soarin' fella was just "so bodacious and dreamy." You didn't need to be a peagsus to know who they were, just about anypony who didn't live under a rock did. [colour=#cc6699]"I am sure they make all of you proud, but here is your chance to chat with them one on one."[/colour]

Martini looked around for some lemon cake when she heard a call for more cider and pie. Things were suddenly getting busy, not that she minded. She just hoped she could keep up some nice conversations with the patrons - the main perk of the job.

While Martini could find pie, pie, and more pie, in great variety, and one of them was lemon, but pie was all they seemed to have. Knives and mugs and plates floated around her as she simultaneously cut one slice each of apple and lemon pie and poured another frothy cider, the cloud of implements and food coming together before her to settle down onto the bar in a perfect landing formation she hoped would impress pegasus ponies. By the time she was done, the two stallions were already talking to the Wonderbolt mare, [colour=#cc6699]they do work fast, those two.[/colour] She smiled apologetically to Misty Morning.[colour=#cc6699] "Sorry, hon, we don't have any cake, but we've got some lemon meringue pie if you want. It's really good!"[/colour]

[Windwright]

Soarin' chuckled quietly. Ah, that old game. It rarely got past three or four rounds but even so it usually evened out. The Team used something similar quite often on the wing so he nodded and returned the shoulder bump jovially. "[colour=deepskyblue]Oh, this and that. You know the score when we don't know much about something we're helping with. Just do what we can and make sure nopony feels like they're going at it alone. They had me in the parts of the storm with less...storm, I guess? I didn't see much lightning, and what I did see was balls more than bolts. Last time I really tried to dodge lightning, I was a colt still and jigged when I should have bobbed.[/colour]"

That story was a tad embarrassing for him, as most childhood tales are, and he was about to start in on the pie as a diversion when suddenly from the din of cafe conversation, he heard the phrase '[colour=#cc99ff]...her Wonderbolt coltfriend.[/colour]' followed by "[colour=#cc99cc]So Dash and he are ... dating?! Ooooooooo![/colour]"

This left the stallion feeling a bit coltish and wishing for his cheek-hiding uniform again. "[colour=deepskyblue]Actually, I'm sorta single. Not much time for dating with practice and travel and shows and stuff...[/colour]" he mumbled out by way of protest. They probably couldn't hear him, he knew, over the crowd, but he felt it had to be made. Rumors could ruin a mare's reputation if left unchecked.

[Dio]

[colour=#daa520]“Thanks, keep,”[/colour] Acclaim said curtly.

Her order floated around the pink unicorn, each item plopping down on the counter in front of Acclaim in sequence. The sergeant’s stomach rumbled loudly. It was then that Acclaim realized just how hungry she had been. A single pint of ale was no substitute for a hearty meal or a generous slice of apple pie!

Reaching into her haversack, she plinked a few bits on the counter to cover her order before gazing down at her cornucopia of spirits and vittles. First things first. Acclaim picked up the shot glass, cradling it in both hooves and taking a good whiff of its contents, allowing the aroma to waft into her nostrils. As was tradition, Acclaim tapped the bottom of the glass on the counter before downing it in one gulp. A bit of nuttiness, a hint of coffee, and most prominently a distinct pungency unique to Griffon liquors.

Acclaim’s wings fluttered a bit at her sides and a smile spread across her face as the warming sensation wormed its way through her belly and into her chest. She was feeling better already! Now to do something about her stomach’s grumbling and mumbling. Picking up the piece of apple pie much like a slice of pizza, Acclaim munched happily at her substitute meal for the evening. Quickly scarfing down her pie, Acclaim took a much more leisurely approach to her cider, hooking one hoof through the handle and taking little sips as she leaned on the bar with the other, leaving her flanks glued to the barstool.

[colour=#daa520]“That was patently delicious, keep,”[/colour] she quipped, addressing Martini. Motioning towards the gaggle gathered a few seats down, she continued, finally striking up conversation. [colour=#daa520]“Looks like we got ourselves the Wonderbolts fan club in here!”[/colour]

[AlisonRose]

With a look of pure blah Misty looked at Martini and opened her mouth to attempt to speak but rethought the idea and plastered her muzzle back to the counter top.

[colour=#00ffff]"Yes, Pie will do. Thank you, how much do I owe you for this?"[/colour] She put her bit purse on the counter top and stretched her wings out before she put them away.[colour=#00ffff] "As you can see I don't have very good vision without my goggles on so you'll have to pardon me."[/colour] She sighed and just slid the whole bit purse to Martini and let her take the whole thing not even caring at this point. She heard some of the other ponies talking about Rainbow Dash and even that she and Soarin were dating. Misty let out a soft giggle at that knowing it was odd for Soarin to have a special somepony other then Pie, he loved his pie too much to have time for a real pony. Letting out another sigh she reached up and started to sip from her glass of Lemon Water and kept listening to the conversations at hoof.

[colour=#00ffff]"Would you perhaps be wanting to talk with us barkeep? I am sure that I can tell you some funny stories if you wish to listen."[/colour] She started smile, if there was one thing she loved to talk about it was the Wonderbolts and her own self. It was often silly stories about how she runs into things all the time or even about how she recently got her wings combed and got her mane straightened for a week hoping it would make her faster.

[Bramble Rose]

Rainbow Dash's eyes widened when she heard Cloud Chaser and Windrunner talking about Soarin' and her that way. She hurriedly turned in her seat and waved her hooves in front of her, letting out an awkward laugh. [colour=#0000cd]"hahaha! ha-ha! No, no, it's not like that!"[/colour] She couldn't let Soarin' think she was spreading rumors about him! [colour=#0000cd]"We're just ... friends! Kinda! I mean, we danced a couple times, is all. And hung out at the Gala together. Nothing special!"[/colour]

She turned back to Soarin', her cheeks flaming. [colour=#0000cd]"Ah-heh. Not like you couldn't date real easy if you wanted to,"[/colour] she tried to reassure him. [colour=#0000cd]"I mean, you're a Wonderbolt! And you're nice, kinda a goob, but nice ... and you dance real good! And you look *great* in your REA uniform!"[/colour] She let out a soft *heh* and tamped down the desire to keep fangirling over him.

[colour=#0000cd]"ANYway! Yeah, lightning! Um ... Well, heh-heh, I'm sure you'd get the hang of it really fast if you did more weather work! It's all about how it makes the fur stand up on your back. Then *fwoosh*!"[/colour] Dash made a little wiggling gesture where she sat, as if making a sharp bank. [colour=#0000cd]"It really gives you a jolt! Better than coffee!"[/colour]

​

[RarityDash]

[colour=#000000]Cloudchaser listened to her mare's story, smiling as she did. If sure sounded like Flitter had quite the interesting time out there, helping Thunderlane and Silverspeed combat the storm. She couldn't help but wish she had been out there with them, instead of swept away on a gust and then deposited face up in a large puddle. Just thinking that made her anxious. Hopefully Flitter just would forget to ask her about her time fighting the storm? Yeah. That's how it would be. Flitter would just be happy to tell her story and so not be curious as to what happened to her.[/colour]

​

[colour=#CC99CC]"So you gotta tell me, how awesome did you do?!"[/colour]

[colour=#000000]Cloudchaser's smiled fell and she hung her head. What did she say here? She was terrible at lying, especially to Flitter. She couldn't admit the truth either. She just couldn't. Instead, she looked away slightly and gave some fumbling words, [/colour][colour=#ffffff]"Um... well... you see, I did lot of flying, and kicked a few clouds and it was raining and there was wind and... and other stormy type stuff... and I fought it all and then... well..."

"I was really cool and totally not lame or anything,"[/colour] [colour=#000000]she added with a nod and awkward laugh. She then looked back toward Rainbow Dash, noticing that her earlier comments had caused that mare to become flustered.[/colour]

​

[colour=#0000CD]"hahaha! ha-ha! No, no, it's not like that! [/colour][colour=#0000CD]We're just ... friends! Kinda! I mean, we danced a couple times, is all. And hung out at the Gala together. Nothing special! [/colour][colour=#0000CD]Ah-heh. Not like you couldn't date real easy if you wanted to, [/colour][colour=#0000CD]I mean, you're a Wonderbolt! And you're nice, kinda a goob, but nice ... and you dance real good! And you look *great* in your REA uniform!"[/colour]

[colour=#000000]Awkward laugh, immediate denial, tempered compliments, hurry to change the subject... Maybe Chaser wasn't the smartest mare when it came to the kind of smart pony stuff Flitter knew, but she at least could read obvious cues. If Dashie was really going to Galas and dancing with this pony too, she couldn't really deny what it sounded and looked like. Then again, Dash seemed to give off similar cues even with some of her friends. Perhaps she didn't realize how it looked.[/colour]

[colour=#000000]Either way, this was a chance to change the subject quickly and maybe avoid follow ups from Flitter. She gave a nod.[/colour] [colour=#ffffff]"Aww, but I think you'd look cute together! And it's be great since Dash is totally going to be a Wonderbolt herself some day!"[/colour]

[colour=#000000]The mare gave several more nods and continued to smile. [/colour][colour=#ffffff]"And dancing and going to galas together does sound like a good start to something!"[/colour] [colour=#000000]she added cheerfully.[/colour]

​

[brianblackberry]

[colour=#CC99CC]Flitter[/colour]

Flitter smiled at Dash’s awkward attempt to downplay the relationship she had with Soarin’; it wasn’t often the rainbow maned pegasus was flustered, usually Flitter always saw her confidently showing off. Surely she was only this ruffled was because there was something going on; maybe they weren’t dating, but she really wanted to! Flitter draped herself across Cloudchaser’s back, looking at the pair. So what if he was a Wonderbolt and could date anypony? Sure, he was uber-cool, but Dash was really cool, too! Besides, Cloudchaser was really cool and the like, and she gave Flitter a chance, and look how that worked out! [colour=#cc99cc]“Well, it couldn’t hurt to go on a date, riiiight? I mean, you two can even have this one as an informal date and talk about lightning and moves and all that cool stuff! If you want, Cloudchaser and I can go over to the bar there and give you guys some room, or we could stay, or whatever you want!”[/colour] Flitter gave a huge smile; it was such a good idea, wasn’t it?

But what was really niggling at her curiosity, now that Dash and Soarin’ were settled, was for some more detail on Cloudchaser’s awesome stories! She always thrilled to hear her love’s stories, and even if Cloudchaser took a few too many risks, it always worked out somehow, just making her seem all the cooler! Flitter wrapped her hooves around Cloudchaser’s neck and shoulders from behind and snuggled her, [colour=#cc99cc]“of course it wasn’t lame, but you know how much I love hearing the details! Sooooo… How did you get here? Did you spend all of your time fighting huge storm clouds? How about lightening?”[/colour]

[colour=#CC6699]Martini Paradise[/colour]

Martini Paradise smiled to Acclaim, then glanced back to the Wonderbolts. [colour=#cc6699]“I wasn’t honestly expecting any, let alone two, but I guess the weather bureau called out every pegasus they could. If you want any more slices, we have them! Though if I know pegasus ponies after a storm, we’ll run out fast enough!” [/colour]

Martini pushed Misty’s purse back towards her, smiling brightly. [colour=#cc6699]“Wow, you look exhausted. Don’t worry, that kind white unicorn over there already paid for the first round of food and drinks, though if you want to spend the night in one of the back rooms, you’ll need to pay for that I'm afraid.”[/colour] The barmare floated over the pitcher of ice water and poured another tall glass - it was obvious this Wonderbolt was almost dehydrated,[colour=#cc6699] “And I’d love to hear awesome stories! Hearing stories from all corners of Equestria’s one of the best parts of my job. Oh! I’m Martini Paradise, it’s nice to meet you!”[/colour]

[AlisonRose]

Nodding her head a few times she put the bit purse away and sighed she was really thirsty and she could tell that it was showing. She took the glass of lemon water and drained it down her throat as she didn't even seem to swallow it. Once she had finished the glass her ears perked up a bit however she was still thirsty but she was ready to tell the barmare some stories.

[colour=#00ffff]"Well it is nice to meet you Martini Paradise, I am Misty Morning."[/colour] She tried to lift her head up a little bit to smile at the barmare and then found herself sitting up, well at least as up as she was going to get for now. That storm sure had taken its toll on Misty and her stamina.

[colour=#00ffff]"What sort of a story do you want to hear about? Perhaps one about the Wonderbolts or even some sort of story about myself?"[/colour] She wanted to know before she just started to ramble on and on about things to the barmare as she seldom had somepony who would actually sit and listen to her as she talked.

Misty then looked to Pocket Change, she had heard somepony else talking to her but didn't notice until a moment later it was him.

[colour=#00ffff]"Oh hello,"[/colour] She started out adding in a soft sigh not really in the mood to do much still.[colour=#00ffff] "Sure if you wish to dry me off, but if you do that for me however am I supposed to repay you?"[/colour] She let out a soft giggle as she sipped more of her lemon water.[colour=#00ffff] "My name is Misty, Misty Morning, by the way."[/colour] She held out her hoof for him to shake. She then nods towards Wind Rider,

[colour=#00ffff]"Yes I am a bit more worse for wear but that is nothing that has stopped me before."[/colour] She let out as weak of a giggle as she could possibly muster followed by a sigh and a small whimper. The storm was not kind to her that was for sure.

[tacobob]

The unicorn took her hoof and shook it,"Repay me?", Pocket Change's usually active mind had been overwhelmed by both weariness and alcohol and decided to ignore the little red version of himself that was sitting on his shoulder. He dared not repeat what his subconscious suggested as it probably would have gotten him slapped silly by the friendly mare. "No need to pay me, I just don't want to see you catch a cold. Hold still for a second.". His horn was bathed in a light green glow which, and for just a brief moment, Misty herself was surrounded by a similar glow. As the magical energy vanished, she did indeed feel dry, her hair felt a bit odd, but she was no longer a soggy pony.

"You might want to fix up your mane a little bit. Last part of the cantrip sort of fizzled out there at the end. I guess I'm a bit more tired than I realized.", he smiled knowing he at least was a short walk from his apartment, "The name is Pocket Change. Just a humble little unicorn from a few blocks away. I was working on a dig out near the old training grounds when we were hit by that nasty storm. The dig was mostly ruined, but we all managed to get some paperwork done here. The others have long gone though, and I'll probably be cantering off home soon. So I take it you were part of the group of heroes that kept others safe during the storm?"

[Windwright]

[colour=#0000CD]"hahaha! ha-ha! No, no, it's not like that! [/colour][colour=#0000CD]We're just ... friends! Kinda! I mean, we danced a couple times, is all. And hung out at the Gala together. Nothing special! [/colour][colour=#0000CD]Ah-heh. Not like you couldn't date real easy if you wanted to, [/colour][colour=#0000CD]I mean, you're a Wonderbolt! And you're nice, kinda a goob, but nice ... and you dance real good! And you look *great* in your REA uniform!"[/colour]

[colour=#cc99cc]“Well, it couldn’t hurt to go on a date, riiiight? I mean, you two can even have this one as an informal date and talk about lightning and moves and all that cool stuff! If you want, Cloudchaser and I can go over to the bar there and give you guys some room, or we could stay, or whatever you want!”[/colour]

Soarin' carefully took small bites of the food on the counter, pointedly ignoring the varying lines of comments on his dating life. Sure, he could catch the eye of almost any mare in Equestria, but they'd be after the Wonderbolt, not the Soarin' in the uniform. It was just something that performers understood, after a while, that other ponies had a harder time with. Sure, Rainbow Dash was talented and cute, Sisters knew he was blushing enough at that thought, but-

[colour=#ffffff]"Aww, but I think you'd look cute together! And it's be great since Dash is totally going to be a Wonderbolt herself some day!"[/colour]

-but that, too. You don't date team mates. He'd been given that lesson hard.

Thankfully another distraction arrived before he passed out from all the blood rushing to his cheeks.

[colour=#0000cd]"ANYway! Yeah, lightning! Um ... Well, heh-heh, I'm sure you'd get the hang of it really fast if you did more weather work! It's all about how it makes the fur stand up on your back. Then *fwoosh*! [/colour][colour=#0000cd]It really gives you a jolt! Better than coffee!"[/colour]

"[colour=deepskyblue]Oh yeah? Sounds a bit like that time one of our fans fell onto the end of the table Coach was supplies on. Pens and pictures and posters and things flew EVERYwhere while we were coming down in a dive. I had to dodge past a big cluster of those souvenir pencils, and MAN that was a rush! Those would not have been fun at the speeds we were going.[/colour]" he said, the conversational dodge every bit as challenging as the actual one had been. "[colour=deepskyblue]The event sponsors were pretty ticked, but the poor mare broke her leg in the fall so they just forgot about it. Some of the team even went and signed the cast for her, heh.[/colour]"

​

[Snowshoe]

Wind Rider looked around, taking in what was going on. Not much had changed in the bar, for a while. Down at one end was another pegasus with quite the order of food, who commented on the Wonderbolts in the room. He chuckled.

"We're pegasi. That's a given, my friend," he said with a laugh. "It's as Martini said...everypony with wings who can help is out. You should have seen the Hoofington staging area. Tons of volunteers in vests," he mused. It was nice to see communities getting together to help with this stuff. Still, he wished he could be back, helping with the cleanup. Canterlot was mostly protected with the mountains, Cloudsdale was used to heavy storms, being a pegasus city and all, but Hoofington wasn't built to withstand this. He'd be picking pieces of his roof off the ground for days.

"Well, I'm glad you're alright," he said sincerely to Misty Morning. He knew it was tough to fly in a usual storm, let alone something like this. "I'm Wind Rider. A pleasure to meet you...and, I have to add, an honour to meet a Wonderbolt first-hoof, not something usual for me," he admitted with a chuckle. He'd always wanted to meet a Wonderbolt, and it seemed like he'd finally gotten his chance.

The stallion idly stretched out his wings. While he was dry, the hard pace he'd set to land safely in Canterlot was starting to come back and hit him. His wings were starting to ache a bit.

"Anypony know when this is supposed to let up?" he mused out-loud. "I lost track of its progress on the way here."

[Bramble Rose]

Rainbow Dash hissed at the other two pegasus ponies from Ponyville, and made little 'go away' gestures with her hooves, as they just kept on with their insistance, her eyes a little wild from frustration. [colour=#0000cd]"We're not dating, and we're not trying to date! Now stop that!"[/colour]

She sighed, and returned to her seat next to Soarin', letting out a resigned sigh. With a casual gesture, she slammed her hoof down on the edge of the plate, popping the slice of apple pie up into the air, and snagged it readily out of the air with her teeth to chew on it morosely and swallow it in one big gulp, then wash it down with another draw of cider. Man, things always seemed to go wrong whenever she got anywhere near the Wonderbolts!

[colour=#0000cd]"Ugh. Good thing they didn't know I sent you all those Hearts and Hooves cards in Weather Academy ... I shoulda just told them you were dating Spitfire,"[/colour] she finally sighed. [colour=#0000cd]"Why didn't I think of that?"[/colour] She let out another sigh. [colour=#0000cd]"Anyway, yeah, I know what you mean about an adreneline rush like that ... but lightning's special. It charges the very air you breathe! It's not just adreneline, it's, like, supercharged adreneline. You should totally try coming by Ponyville next time we have a storm scheduled. I'll show you the trick of it, and you'll see what I mean."[/colour]

Wait, what was she doing? Inviting him to hang like he was just any other pegasus? He was a *Wonderbolt*! He had better things to do than hang out with some weather coordinator on the job! [colour=#0000cd]"I mean, you know. If you're not busy doing all sorts of totally awesome stuff, like you must be... I'd totally understand if you weren't able to."[/colour]

​