[Canterlot] The Fiery Vine: All Patrons Welcome! (Open)

[Valencetiger]

Champagne awoke to the light of the morning sun streaming through the bedroom windows, bathing her room in a glow of yellow and orange light. Wiping her eyes with her hooves, she slowly got up from her bed and letting out a quiet yawn. Opening the curtains on her windows fully, she gave a happy sigh, gazing out into the large, open streets of Canterlot. Another day in Canterlot, it seems...well, I had better get started! Moving away from the window, Champagne took a brush from her stand, combing out her mane and coat so that both were even and sleek. With a satisfied grin in the mirror, she put on her silver anklets and red silk boots, trotting out of the room and going downstairs.

Ever since she had moved to Canterlot, she had stayed in the largest of the upstairs rooms in her club, having transformed the place from an old mansion into a fully modern hangout for all kinds of creatures. Glancing around to make sure everything was in-check, Champagne nodded to herself as she trotted over to the door. Opening the intricately-designed wooden doors, she trotted outside to turn on the firefly sign she had above the entrance, stepping back a bit as she pulled the switch. With a flash, the bright red letters glowed to life and spelled the name "The Fiery Vine". Yep...just another day in Canterlot, Champagne doing what she loved. With a delighted smile on her face, she rushed back inside with enthusiastic energy, opening the blinds on all the windows and letting the light bathe the tables, bar, arcade, and dance-floors with the morning glow. Brushing her red mane aside, she moved over to the bar and began to inspect her stores of drink, from juice to cider, wine to ale. After satisfying her inspection, Champagne took the glasses from the previous evening, cleaning them as she waited for the day's first customer.

[FermataTheBasse]

Whump!

With a dull crash, Penumbra's erratic momentum was forcefully corrected by the side of a building she had flown into. Her eyes unfocused for a moment, dazed by the force of the impact. It had been a long day hanging out with friends, and a longer night of weather detail. She needed sleep, but in her exhaustion she was having difficulty finding her own house. So she lay there on the side of the road for a moment, half dozing off as that was frankly quite tempting to just do here and now.

[colour=#808080]"Zzzz... Oh, I'm up!" [/colour][colour=#000000]Penumbra managed to pull herself together, shook her already frazzled and wild hair out of her eyes thus making it even more chaotic in appearance. She had the time to inspect herself in the reflection provided by a puddle beside her. Her coat and mane were going all over the place. Her eyes were more red from weariness than their actual colour. [/colour][colour=#808080]"I'm a mess... I should get something real quick. Boost me enough to get me home." [/colour][colour=#000000]She was talking to herself aloud, not caring who overheard. She looked around for any establishment. There was a boutique, another boutique, another boutique with a giant lemon for a sign- she made a note to go there later on- but no bar... Until she looked into the building she had crashed into. "The Fiery Vine". That seemed appropriate.[/colour]

Penumbra slowly walked through the doors, not knowing what to expect.

[Valencetiger]

Champagne looked up to see who had entered her bar, spotting the messy mare. Studying her in but a few seconds, a concerned look came across her expression. Putting the glass down, she offered a big, welcoming smile to Penumbra. Why...the pegasus looked like she had gotten into a tussle with somepony. Ignoring the pony's blemished appearance, Champagne greeted the pony. [colour=#ff0000]"Good morning! What can I do you for, ma'am? Looking for a drink, or just somewhere to rest your hooves? Either way, please take a seat!" [/colour]Gesturing to one of the leather-bottom bar stools or oak wood tables, she went over to her rack to get a ceramic mug. After grabbing one and placing it on the bar's granite top, she sat down on the stool at her side of the bar. [colour=#ff0000]"My name is Champagne, by the way. Champagne Spirits. I'm the proprietor of this establishment."[/colour]

[FermataTheBasse]

[colour=#808080]"A bit of both would be nice to be honest," [/colour][colour=#000000]Penumbra deadpanned as she made her way over to the bar and sat precariously onto a stool. To this day, Penumbra had no idea why bars even had stools when it was such an awkward position for most ponies to be in, but she supposed it was tradition. Penumbra appraised Champagne with a weary eye, her bloodshot eyes looking over her counterpart's own purple. She had a nice colour scheme, easy on the eyes, which was good for Penumbra when she was tired like this. [/colour][colour=#000000]This diffused Penumbra's mood, making her a bit happier. [/colour][colour=#000000]Some ponies colour schemes were really hard to bear after twenty one straight hours of work. [/colour]

[colour=#808080]"My name's Penumbra. Weather pony, just off the night shift." [/colour][colour=#000000]Penumbra yawned heavily. [/colour][colour=#808080]"Any recommendations for a pick-me-up?"[/colour]

[Valencetiger]

[colour=#ff0000]"A weather pony, hmm? Must be a rather tiring job. As for a pick-me-up...let me see what I can do for you." [/colour]Placing a hoof on her chin, she turned to look at the rows of beverages, alcoholic and non-alcoholic...until finally coming across a small bag and a smile lit up her face. Taking the bag, she picked up a knife with her mouth from the table and cut it open, placing the knife down and pouring the bag's contents into a pitcher and filling it with water. Trotting over to a stove in the back, she turned on the heat and put the pitcher on there and went back to her customer. [colour=#ff0000]"...I must ask you to wait a little bit, but I promise its worth the wait. The drink I'm making is a special tea from the Outlands. Its made from the leaves of a plant called Sparkroot...quite potent for providing a source of energy. Since you look in need of it, the first cup is on the house!" [/colour]

Champagne heard the high-pitched whining sound coming from the pitcher, asking Penumbra to excuse her while she went to fetch the tea. Coming back, she filled the mug with the greenish liquid, which gave off a strong, bitter scent. Her nose pinched a bit at the smell, but she placed it near Penumbra. [colour=#ff0000]"Its...uh...a bit strong...rather bitter, too. If you want, I can get some sugar and sweetener to make it easier to down."[/colour]

[Chapien]

Sparks couldn't help but sigh in exasperation. He had been in Canterlot already for two days already, and his vacation was still extraordinarily boring! Besides the Castle, Canterlot was actually a fairly boring and ridiculously uptight city, and Sparks regretted his decision to come here instead of Hoofenheim for his one week leave of absence from his duties at Northern Storm Industries. Go to Canterlot, they said, thought Sparks in annoyance, It'll be great they said. There was almost nothing to do for recreation or fun besides the usual uptight activities of the upper class society of Canterlot. It reminded him heavily of the Ostrov district of his home - and he hated the Ostrov district.

After about an hour of wandering aimlessly through the neat (yet confusing) Canterlot streets, he finally came across a building that seemed moderately interesting - a building that appeared to be a bar of some sort called "The Firey Vine". Finally something remotely interesting! Adjusting his hat and checking to make sure his saddlebags were still firmly attached to him, he pushed the doors to the bar open and entered.

[RarityDash]

It was morning in Canterlot and Steel Dagger found himself slinking off in the general direction of a bar. While the act wasn't anything out of the norm for, it wasn't usually part of the morning routine. Something about this place, The Fiery Vine, had just caught his attention. The look, the name, the sign... something of it just caught his eye. He was always looking for new hang outs--collecting gossip could prove vital for his job-- and this looked like just his kind of place. He was actually kinda surprised he'd never noticed before.

Smirking his usual roguish smirk, the Honor Guard officer with the burnt orange mane reached out with his magic and opened the door. Shifting in, he scoped the place out. it was early; couldn't have been open very long, but already there were already a couple customers. One was a colt in a silly hat, the other was a perhaps too thin pegasus mare with a rather unkempt look to her. His eyes drifted toward the barmaid, to find a cute but rather young mare. He shrugged. Not exactly the most intriguing of crowds, but what did he expect to find this early in the day? Things might pick up eventually he supposed.

[colour=#cc3300]"Good day, my sweet young miss,"[/colour] he said with all his usual aggressive charm. [colour=#cc3300]"I noticed this fine establishment and couldn't help but stop in for a drink or two."[/colour]

[colour=#cc3300]"Nothing too strong at this hour, mind you,"[/colour] Dagger said with a nod. Ordering alcohol during morning hours, wasn't particularly good form. [colour=#cc3300]"What might our hostess here suggest?" [/colour]he added, smiling at the mare behind the bar.

[Bellosh]

It was yet another fine morning in Canterlot, and Dr. Spin Tale was eager to take on another day as curator of the Canterlot Army Historical Museum. The doctor had about an hour or so before he opened up his doors for business, so Dr. Tale decided to treat himself to an early dose of his favorite treat; grape juice. With the museum all clean and his mane all groomed (Dr. Tale hoped he did a good enough job with his mane), Spin trotted out the museum doors (his living quarters resided just above the actual museum), and commenced his journey to one of his favorite watering holes; “The Fiery Vine”.

Spin Tale frequented “The Fiery Vine” for quite some time now, ever since it first opened. Among opening up during morning hours, Dr. Tale always liked the bar’s nature as an all-in-one establishment. During evening hours he particularly liked playing in the arcade, or sitting down at a corner table with some of his miniature war-gaming buddies. At least, he used to do those things a lot back before he graduated from Canterlot University. Nowadays, the curator mainly comes for a bottle of grape juice approximately once every day, either during morning or night hours. On rare occasions, Dr. Tale even held meetings of the Canterlot Army Historical Society at “The Fiery Vine” instead of the usual location at the museum.

As “The Fiery Vine” laid less than a few blocks from the museum (another plus for the curator), it took no time for Spin Tale to canter over to the bar. Opening the wooden door, Dr. Tale saw that a few customers had already entered the premises. Taking a seat on a stool in front of the counter, the curator patiently waited as the barmaid attended to the needs of another customer; an army officer by the look of him. Dr. Tale had time to spare, for now…

[FermataTheBasse]

[colour=#808080]"I can totally wait..." [/colour][colour=#000000]Penumbra's head hit the bar as she began to doze off once more, her constitution failing her once again. For a moment she was still, then her head bolted back up, her eyes wide but still dull and weary. [/colour][colour=#808080]"I'm up, I'm up!" [/colour][colour=#000000]She watched Champagne for a moment, internally trying to rally herself against her own exhaustion. When she had managed to gain some modicum of focus, she remembered what the barmare had said. [/colour][colour=#808080]"I'm paying, I insist... Oh!" [/colour][colour=#000000]That was a really strong smell the drink had to it, and it managed to both look and smell like a dangerous acid at once. The smell alone was bringing Penumbra back to her senses. She nodded. [/colour][colour=#808080]"No, this is fine. Whew, I can already tell this'll have a kick! Thanks Champagne." [/colour][colour=#000000]She wanted to keep up the conversation, but there was suddenly a stallion in her peripheral vision talking to Champagne instead.[/colour]

[colour=#000000]Penumbra appraised the bar and realized that there were two other patrons hovering around, both male. Huh, business was picking up quickly. Hopefully it didn't pick up too quickly. If it got crowded some roughness might go down, and Penumbra was rash when she was as tired as she was now. She turned her attention back to her own drink and took a test sip, to make sure it wouldn't burn a hole through her throat or some such.[/colour]

[Valencetiger]

(OOC: Whew! Champagne has her work cut out for her this morning, doesn't she? )

Yikes, today is going to be a rather busy day. Thanking the mare for her patronage, she left Penumbra to the special herbal tea, greeting the three ponies who had just entered the bar. Asking them to relax and be patient, she slided over to the opposite side of Steel Dagger, offering a gentle smile to the handsome stallion. At this rate, she would have to hire somepony to help her keep up! However, she was generally a fast server, so she could pick up the slack for now. Sizing up the pony in front of her, she could tell by his posture and way of speaking that he had been through the mill. Perhaps a guardspony or soldier...?

[colour=#ff0000]"Well, I'm glad you picked my little joint, love. From what I can tell...you probably don't want any of the alcohol here. Perhaps you would like to enjoy a bit of the fresh batch of apple cider...? It just came in from Sweet Apple Acres! Oh, pardon me...I've forgotten myself. My name is Champagne, and I am the owner here."[/colour]

As she spoke to Steel Dagger, Champagne went about her business. Grabbing a bottle of fresh grape juice, she opened it and poured the contents into a clear glass. Waving at Spin Tale to acknowledge him, she passed the drink down to her regular customer. She enjoyed talking to Spin Tale when he came every day, often talking to him about the museum he worked at and any new events that had happened within the REA. Turning back to Steel Dagger, she waited for his request with an eager expression.

[RarityDash]

[colour=#FF0000]"Well, I'm glad you picked my little joint, love. From what I can tell...you probably don't want any of the alcohol here. Perhaps you would like to enjoy a bit of the fresh batch of apple cider...? It just came in from Sweet Apple Acres! Oh, pardon me...I've forgotten myself. My name is Champagne, and I am the owner here."[/colour]

[colour=#cc3300]"Charmed, my dear Champagne," [/colour]Dagger said with a playful smirk.[colour=#cc3300] "And I would be First Lieutenant Steel Dagger, V Order Her Majesty's Honor Guard,"[/colour] he said, wasting no moment to divulge his full rank. [colour=#cc3300]"It's a pleasure."[/colour]

[colour=#cc3300]"And of course it's far too early an hour for serious drinks,"[/colour] he said with a small nod. [colour=#cc3300]"But while I'm not typically one for sweet cider, I think I'll take you up on that offer. Sweet Apple Acres' reputation is near as immaculate as you can get, and their production is small scale. It's a true rarity you can get it even this far from Ponyville."[/colour]

[colour=#cc3300]"You must have quite excellent connections to have some of that in stock,"[/colour] Dagger added with a shrewd smile.

[Valencetiger]

Champagne blinked in surprise at the stallion's ranking. Surely, he must be quite the achiever to reach such a high position at such a young age. Shaking her head to be rid of the speculations. [colour=#ff0000]"Why, that is very impressive, Mister Dagger...and it is a pleasure to meet you, too." [/colour]It seemed to her that Steel Dagger was rather sure of himself...well, confident stallions were always good to have, but this one seemed a bit...arrogant, perhaps?

[colour=#ff0000]"As for my connections...being the daughter of the Spirits Agricultural Corporations' CEO has its advantages. Plus, the bits I've inherited help as well." [/colour]Champagne shrugged, not considering it a very big deal. Her parents own the large Spirits Agricultural Corporation, which runs a large amount of plantations and fields in the Strand and also has a hoof in many other economic industries. [colour=#ff0000]"...but enough about me! I'll be right back with your order, Mister Dagger." [/colour]

Moving away, she went to the storeroom door in the back of the bar, entering inside. She would come out a moment later with a flask of the cider, placing it on the bar counter and taking out a silver-lined mug. Pouring the cider into it, she placed it in front of Steel Dagger with a warm smile. [colour=#ff0000]"If there is anything else you would require...feel free to ask. Now, if you will excuse me..." [/colour]With that, Champagne trotted away from the soldier, approaching Sparks.

[colour=#ff0000]"Hello there! Is there anything I can do for you?"[/colour]

[Bellosh]

Seeing Champagne wave at him, Spin Tale quickly smiled back at her. Champagne always provided exceptional service, Dr. Tale fondly recalled, and she also enjoyed hearing about his work running the Canterlot Army Historical Society and its museum. The curator wondered why he never attempted to convince Champagne to subscribe to the Society’s quarterly journal. Spin swiftly put this question out of his mind as he drank out of his grape juice glass. Yep… tasted as divine as always. Spin wouldn’t know how he could possibly live his life without grape juice like this. Content to stay silent for now, Dr. Tale merely listened in on Campagne's conversations with the other patrons.

[FermataTheBasse]

((This number of posters, how the heck do you do it?!))

Penumbra squeaked slightly. Man, that stuff was powerful. It was like someone had crushed several hundred bags worth of coffee beans and concentrated it into the space of her mug, with the bitterness and the rush of energy that accompanied it. Penumbra swore she felt the exhaustion draining from her, her eyelids no longer felt heavy, her mouth no longer felt dry, and she could probably make her way home without crashing into stuff anymore.

[colour=#808080]"This is good stuff, Champagne!" [/colour][colour=#000000]She called out to the bartender, then she took another swig and shivered with the power it infused into her. The colors seemed more vivid, the sounds of other customers doing whatever the hay they were doing seemed sharper and more defined. Penumbra had to cynically wonder if she was being drugged, so potent was the effect this drink was having on her. But until she woke up in an alley dumpster with all of her bits gone, she felt like she was the Princess of Equestria with this mix in her. She put down a good amount of bits on the counter-top in payment, no way she wasn't paying for this. Then she looked at the other patrons already sitting at the bar: Steel Dagger, Spin Tale, and now Thunderlane. She felt like she could be friendly for a change, now that she wasn't being weighed down by soul-crushing exhaustion.[/colour]

[colour=#808080]"So gentlecolts, what brings you all here?" [/colour]

[Chapien]

Sparks nervously approached the bar and sat down at the far end of the counter, away from the rest of the ponies who had entered the bar. Although Sparks wanted a bit of excitement and somewhere to go besides the typical Canterlot upper class boredom, he wasn't much of a pony to really get to know strangers and tended to keep to himself. He listened intently to the bartender's conversations with the other ponies, but did not say a word himself.

He took his hat off and stuffed it into his saddlebag, which he kept on around his waist. Truth to be told, part of the reason he was not speaking was because many of the Canterlot dwellers found his Stalliongrad accent to be amusing, or, as they put it, "charming", which had essentially annoyed him to the point of silence during his stay at Canterlot.

[RarityDash]

[colour=#FF0000]"Why, that is very impressive, Mister Dagger...and it is a pleasure to meet you, too. [/colour]As for my connections...being the daughter of the Spirits Agricultural Corporations' CEO has its advantages. Plus, the bits I've inherited help as well...but enough about me! I'll be right back with your order, Mister Dagger."

Dagger nodded and laughed. It all made sense now. He had heard of this corporation. Well, of course he had; V Order dealt in intel; having information about everything was kind of his thing. [colour=#cc3300]"Ah, Spirits Agricultural. Of course. It's a quite profitable and respected enterprise according to my information. It goes without saying that you would be able to stock your shelves with only the best."[/colour]

[colour=#FF0000]"If there is anything else you would require...feel free to ask. Now, if you will excuse me..." [/colour]

Dagger smiled as he took the cider served to him. [colour=#cc3300]"No, I'm fine for now. You have other customers to serve anyway,"[/colour] he said with a smirk and laugh before taking a sip from the cold mug of cider in front of him. It was a little sweet for his taste, but pleasant and undeniably fresh. He had never actually gotten his hooves on Sweet Apple Acres cider, but it certainly far out classed any he had had before.

As Champagne then went to greet the colt in the hat, who finally found his way to a seat, Dagger took the time to note that some other customers had arrived. They were both stallions, he noted with some dismay. One was a unicorn, possibly someone important, the other was a pegasus and by the look of him a more ordinary one, possibly a weather pony or a courier. He noted both of them and turned back to his drink, only looking up when the one mare at the bar.

[colour=#808080]"So gentlecolts, what brings you all here?" [/colour]

Dagger smiled at the mare and gave a small chuckle. [colour=#cc3300]"Simple curiosity, my dear. I'm always looking for new places to enjoy drinks and good company, especially home here in Canterlot." [/colour]He gave his usual smirk to the mare and added, [colour=#cc3300]"What of you, miss? What brings a lovely young mare like yourself here at this early hour?"[/colour]

[Bellosh]

[colour=#808080]"So gentlecolts, what brings you all here?"[/colour]

Spin Tale chuckled as Penumbra, the sole female customer, asked everypony else what brought them here. Once Lt. Dagger explained how he always searched for new places to buy drinks, Dr. Tale swiftly jutted in; [colour=#ff6666]“Me, I always make coming here part of my daily routine. Best grape juice in Canterlot, right Champ?”[/colour] Spin turned to Champagne, who knew the bar owner long enough to address her by a nickname. Speaking of Champ, Spin guessed that she'd appreciate hearing about an important letter he received last night... one that came straight from Princess Celestia herself! Grinning but still remaining mostly silent, the curator took another chug out of his grape juice glass as Lt. Dagger recommenced his conversation with Penumbra.

OOC: I'm surprised how so few RPers have participated in the Royal Correspondence Thread so far.

[FermataTheBasse]

((I was going to make something in that thread. But I can't come up with anything for Cadence, and the poor Princess has no letters yet!))

[colour=#808080]"Daily routine? First time for me, but man, I have got to come back here." [/colour][colour=#000000]She happily considered the drink before her. This could well be the thing that allowed her to live a normal life for a change, with the effects it had on her mood. She was light as a butterfly, free as a bird, and a host of other cliches. Penumbra tossed her mane, elated to the point of giddiness with her new-found source of energy- power, she called it dramatically- and could even swore that it looked better where it settled than it had before.[/colour]

[colour=#808080]"I was, uh, working a long weather shift last night," [/colour][colour=#000000]Penumbra explained to Dagger. [/colour][colour=#808080]"Canterlot's got some harsh winds that need to be diverted from the city, high up in the mountains as it is. It's a long and exhausting job, and I had been up most of the day before. So I needed a pick-me-up, or I wasn't getting home in one piece." [/colour][colour=#000000]She laughed when she remembered, [/colour][colour=#808080]"I crashed right into the bar, actually."[/colour]

[Valencetiger]

(OOC: Really? That's a shame By the way, my posts during the week days will be on my phone, so I won't be able to colorize text when I make my posts.)

Offering a smile to Thunderlane, she nodded in response. "Yep! I just can't wait to see the happy faces of my customers, it brightens my morning better than the sun ever could." Hearing Penumbra from across the bar, she was delighted the drink helped, but she remembered something about the tea.

"Oh, by the way Penumbra, don't do anthing to taxing...! That drink will relieve you of tirdness, but you could hurt your body without rest!" She didn't want any of her customers getting themselves hurt because of one of the drinks she served...that would be a disaster. Hearing Spin, she winked at him.

"That's right! It's a special Spirits family recipe we use to make the best grape-extracted drink in Equestria...at least that is what my father would say." Turning back to Sparks, she tried to get his attention with a grin. "So what about you, sir? Would you like anything to drink...?"

While waiting for the odd stallion's response, she silently thought to herself about how many ponies had just come in, with having only opened the bar for only fifteen minutes at most! No doubt about it, Champagne would have to hire some new ponies soon if business kept growing at this rate. Perhaps she should have thought ahead and hired a couple ponies before she opened the bar...bah! What a rash decision she had made!

[Solaria]

Colgate trundled along, breathing in the warm morning air that permeated the cobbled streets of Canterlot. She had arrived yesterday out of the necessity of obtaining new dental supplies for her practice back in Ponyville, then decided to spend a little leisure time while she was in the city anyway. As quaint and wonderful a place to live as her current place of residence was, the shops just simply lacked some of the instruments that needed replacements from time to time. And then there was the city life in general.

The unicorn was perfectly at home wandering about the towering spires of Equestria's capitol. There was window shopping, outdoor cafes, colonnades, all sorts of fun things to oggle and gawk at. Not that she ever gawked... usually. Smiling happily to herself, the azure pony checked a nearby sundial to note that she still had a few hours before the Friendship Express back to Ponyville left the station. Why in Celestia's mane sundials still dotted the city was beyond Colgate, but it was rather fun that she knew how to read them. Bits of her archaeological past must have subconsciously prodded her around the things.

But what was this? Some kind of mansion, retrofitted into a trendy getaway and relaxation spot? A keen, mischievous look came into the dentist's eyes. Who said ponies obssessed with oral hygiene still couldn't be cool?! She was going to march right in there and order a tall, crisp glass of orange juice! Citrus. Edgy.

Without further ado, Colgate trotted right inside and beheld exactly what she had expected: a hip, varied crowd of all sorts of ponies just relaxing and enjoying each other's company. Perfect! This would kill some spare time easily.

"[colour=#0000ff]Your coldest glass of orange juice[/colour]!" the mare proclaimed in an energetic tone. "[colour=#0000ff]On the rocks[/colour]!"

She'd never understood why saying "on the rocks" was cooler than just "ice." But hay, cool and ice kind of went hoof in hoof, so she really didn't have a choice did she? Yep, still a badflank with the brightest smile around. Colgate T. Romana. While waiting for her drink, not even sure she'd been heard, the pony settled into a nearby chair and opted to ponywatch for the time being.

[Valencetiger]

Champagne heard Colgate's near-explosive announcement, looking up with a surprised expression. Well, wasn't that a delightful way to enter someplace? Shrugging, she put on a smile and nodded, going over to the icemaker in the back. Pushing a mug into the machine, she waited till she heard the satisfying clinking of ice, taking the glass over to one of the plastic kegs on the wall and pouring orange juice into the mug. To be honest, she was surprised to hear another pony know bar-lingo...it wasn't very often anypony would say words like that, after all.

Going around a few of the other customers in the bar area, she trotted over to Colgate with the orange juice, placing it on the table gently and smiling brightly. "Welcome to The Fiery Vine, ma'am. I'm Champagne, the proprietor of this establishment. If there is anything else you need, please let me know!" As if on queue, another pony walked into the bar, an older unicorn stallion with a blonde mane and a tan coat, bearing a serious expression and a slight frown. With a silent demeanor, he sat down away from the other ponies at the far-end of the bar, waiting silently for Champagne to come over to take his order. Coming around to the other end of the bar, the young mare looked him up and down, wondering who he was...for she had never seen him before here.

"Hello, sir. Is there anything I can get you...?" Silently, the stallion gestured to one of the barrels containing a particularly strong ale. Champagne turned to the barrel, then back to the stallion, a concerned look on her face. As if in response to her look, the unicorn placed a small bag of bits on the counter. With an inward sigh, she brought the ale over swiftly and placed it in front of him.

As the mysterious stallion began to drink the ale, her curiosity got the better of her. "...so, what is your name? Would you like to tell me?" Champagne put on a warm smile, hoping that the unicorn would be compliant.

"...my name is Gladius. Gladius Vigil. Former REA, now retired and working as a mercenary...anything else you would like to know, young lady?" Gladius responded in a quiet voice. While it didn't sound unfriendly, it didn't seem like the stallion was very interested. Champagne gave a tight smile and nodded, leaving the older pony to his ale so she could tend to her other customers.

[Chapien]

Sparks glanced at Champagne in response and smiled slightly and responded in a moderate yet acutely apparent Stalliongrad accent. "Um, da. Yes. I'd like some chaj - that is, tea. If that's alright of course." he reached into his pouch and set down some bits onto the table. "Is this enough?" he asked with a smile.

He then began to gradually and incospicuously scoot his stool towards the other ponies at the bar, attempting to listen in on their conversations and hopefully integrate himself into a conversation. He had been vastly unsuccessful in his attempts to socialize at all with any of the denizens of Canterlot. Despite the fact that both Stalliongrad was technically under Equestrian authority, Canterlot and the rest of the southern lands felt like an entirely different country to him, with a vastly different culture and customs. It had been difficult enough for Sparks to integrate within the Manehattan culture - communicating with the upper class and aristocracy of Canterlot had proven nearly impossible.

[Bellosh]

Taking another swig at his glass, Spin Tale discerned that one of the patrons, a light grey unicorn colt who until now kept to himself, was edging closer and closer to everypony else. Specifically, the unicorn was covertly heading right in Dr. Tale’s direction. True, the curator didn’t recognize any of the other customers currently at the bar… but this colt carried the aura that he didn’t quite belong here.

[colour=#ff6666]~Out of towner most likely… say, wasn’t he wearing a fur hat when he trotted in here? Could he be from up north?~[/colour]

Finishing his glass, Dr, Tale set it down and turned towards the unicorn. If the colt was visiting the capital city, maybe Spin could convince him to tour his museum. If the visitor wasn’t into museums… maybe he’d have some interesting stories to share, assuming he actually resided to the north as Spin guessed (it was not wintertime in Canterlot, after all). Wasting no further time, Dr. Tale smiled and began chattering; [colour=#ff6666]“Forgive me for saying so, but you don’t look like you live around here. You live up north, I take it?”[/colour]

[Valencetiger]

Champagne nodded delightfully to Sparks, taking the bits and placing the change back, turning away to go fetch his order. A Stalliongrad pony...! She had only met a few before at her parent's parties, but she never really got to know them. Maybe she could get to know this one!

Knowing that the tea Sparks had requested wouldn't be out front, Champagne went to the back storeroom, checking the rows of kegs and barrels and reading the signs. At first she didn't find any, but after a second read she found a container with the Chaj tea leaves. Taking the fragile leaves, she brought them out front and placed them on the counter, placing the teapot she had used for Penumbra's tea and heating up the water. Trotting back over to Sparks, she gave an apologetic smile- "...I'm afraid it will take some time to prepare, sir. Please be patient with me." With that, she left the stalliongrad pony to his conversation.