Invite-Only Fancying a Little Tea (PM to Join)

[GingerbreadSpy]

Fancy Pants sat at an outdoor table by a small, expensive cafe in an upper-class area of Manehattan. He didn't take trips to the big city often, and he was here on some business regarding a dispute between the mayors of Manehattan and Fillydelphia. Rather dreadful business it was, too. But as he was valued for his ability to handle such delicate matters, here he was. He had to admit it was nice to be able to get away from the constant chatter of his usual entourage, but he didn't like the lack of conversation that had replaced it. He had almost assuredly been recognized as the "most important pony" from Canterlot, and it had made some of the upper-class denizens of Manehattan a little wary of approaching him. It was absurd, in his opinion. He would hardly have sat out in the open if he did not welcome being approached. Oh well. He took a sip of his tea in the proper manner befitting an upper-class unicorn trained in etiquette.

[Bellosh]

A very short distance away, another unicorn of high stature was making his way over to the same café patronized by one Fancy Pants. With the white suit and fedora he wore along with the extraordinary swagger in his canter, there was no mistaking the gentlecolt archaeologist Dr. Merlot. As one might expect of a stallion of fine taste, his major source of tea in Manehattan was the Cafe de L’amitié, a gathering place for the rich and famous in the city.

To only mild surprise, the khaki unicorn saw that one of the tables was occupied by Mr. Pants, the most distinguished resident of Canterlot after the Princesses themselves. Knowing through newspaper coverage that the other unicorn had come down to settle an intercity dispute, Merlot surmised that Fancy would have showed up in a café sooner or later. And judging by the noble’s confident manner in which he sipped on his tea in open view of everypony else, it was quite clear that Fancy would welcome some polite conversation... so why not oblige him?

[colour=#0000ff]“Well well well,”[/colour] proclaimed the grinning doctor as he made his way over to the table occupied by Fancy Pants; Merlot making the assumption that the other gentlecolt would probably remember him from the Canterlot high society functions they’ve both attended; [colour=#0000ff]“It’s been some time since we’ve seen you around Manehattan, Fancy. I take it the negotiations went well today?”[/colour]

[GingerbreadSpy]

Fancy Pants finished a sip of his tea before he looked up. He did, in fact, recognize the khaki-coloured unicorn. It was practically his job to know everypony who was anypony, but he had a good eye and ear for faces and names, anyway. He gave a charming, little smile. "Ah, Dr. Merlot! Jolly good to see you." He nodded to a seat in front of him. "You are certainly welcome to join me; please take a seat." He gave a suitable pause at the mention of negotiations. He could never be sure who was listening, and he preferred to keep such matters as private as possible. The task was nearly impossible with so many reporters taking up residence in Manehattan, but that didn't mean he could speak as freely as he pleased. Integrity had to be upheld, after all. "Negotiations are ongoing," he said politely. "But I must say, this city is ever the delight to visit. It's almost like a new experience every time. I'm sure you know much better than I do about new experiences, though. Do tell me how the wonderful world of archaeology has been treating you."

He took another sip of his tea before setting it down to give Dr. Merlot his attention.

[Bellosh]

Fancy Pants was kind enough to maintain silence as Dr. Merlot went to sit down at the table. Once the archaeologist took his seat, the other stallion answered Merlot’s question. And by answering the question, it actually meant Fancy dodged it instead by talking about how great of a city Manehattan was. Merlot let the evasiveness slide though since his question served its one and only purpose; to serve as a basic yet topical conversation starter. Besides, the khaki unicorn wasn’t really all that interested in the negotiations anyway.

For now though, Merlot gladly used this opportunity with Canterlot’s most important pony to describe his latest endeavors in the field; [colour=#0000ff]“My work has been coming along nicely. In a week’s time, I’ll be able to commence excavations of the Clover Park site.”[/colour] The excited gentlecolt was of course referring to Canterlot’s crystal caves, which recently became readily accessible from the surface thanks to a freak sinkhole that formed in Clover Park. [colour=#0000ff]“It’ll be a spectacular event; I’ve even invited a few select schools to have their students observe the excavation. There is no doubt that those delightful little ponies will be grateful to finally be able to witness the magic of archaeology first-hoof.”[/colour]