High-horse Bar lounging (Open, Dance Hall)

[Harv0kz]

He knew he wasn't the pony who came so such parties, or enjoyed them for that matter, yet when it was announced that the Grand Galloping Gala would be open to all, Wayward Amethyst couldn't resist the chance the visit the Gardens, a place many ponies spoke of very highly whenever he as around Canterlot. The various species if flour and occasional fauna that made their home here had always been one of his must-see goals. For the explorer Crystal Pony, the trip had been long and a somewhat hard, and Wayward just barely had time to find a place to stay temporarily, dumping most of his heavier and unsightly gear and putting on his best appearance before heading out to the Gala. It wasn't easy sourcing a ticket either. Most ponies were excited enough that getting a ticket at this time of the event was nigh impossible. It cost him an leg and a hoof in bits, but eventually, he found apony willing to part with his ticket. Score one for me and my unbeatable mouth. he thoughtfully exclaimed.

But it was a spontaneous decision, one that may have been a bit hasty. He found himself looking admissible just to get in, but not so much ballroom standard. Wayward slapped himself mentally at not preparing something a little more presentable acquired through the fruits of his labor, but alas, I'd be had more business he would've already retired. And had he discovered something worth mentioning to the Equestrian public, then he wouldn't always have to save his bits up like an obsessed pony.

As he passed through the main entrance, he could see that the Gala was in full swing, and many a pony was having a good time. At least, it appeared that way. There's bound to be a pony with a disgruntled attitude towards all this frufru stuff. Just remember , I'm here for the Garden, and to explore that Garden.... Wayward thought to himself, those last words looping through his mind like a mantra to stop himself from being criticizing of such an event. Eventually after stumbling around lost, which he again administered a mental slap for being so lost when he would normally have found his way easily, he overheard some ponies talking about a bar at the Dance Hall. Although it wasn't what Wayward came for, he had no problems with getting himself refreshed before heading out to the Gardens. He watched some ponies go by before following them into the Dance Hall.

Inside, the music was already blasting as ponies were getting it down on the Dance floor. He also noticed that most of these ponies would never fit in the ballroom anyway. But Wayward wasn't a dancer, so no way be would fit around here. There was, however, the bar. A place he was well acquainted with, no matter where he went in his travels. And although having mentally whined earlier about his lack of money, he temptation to take on some of the more exotic drinks Canterlot had to offer was irresistible to Wayward, a small challenge he made himself whoever he went into the local bar in a big town or city. Canterlot would be no exception to this challenge. He approached the bar and sat down right down on one of the chairs right up at the bar proper, telling the bartender on duty " Bartender! Give me the most... Exotic drink you can! " he exclaimed loud enough to be heard by the bartender over the music, and in a way, in a tone that challenged him.

So while he waited, Wayward turned around and watched the dancers, their moves making him remember his childhood, before the Crystal Empire was cursed and hidden away by King Sombra. How that freedom was taken from him, no wonder he has a distaste of high-society events, despite the toning down of the event of the year.

[Mojo]

Haymaker

Hayseed

Walking towards the bar were a pair of Earth Pony sibling farm ponies. It's Haymaker, wearing a elegant blue ballgown that hid her 'boxing glove' cuite mark and her brother Hayseed, who simply added a black bowtie to his look, wearing his usual vest and hat.

"Y'know sis, I still feel bad leavin' our little sister Haywire back thar in that nursery room."

"We had ta do it, Hayseed! Imagine what chaos she'd cause if'n she'd gallop 'round the castle free? She'd either break winders out with that dumb slingshot of hers or she'd find the castle fireworks room an' set'm all off! That filly's jist a disaster waitin' ta happen."

"Still sis, I think she'd rather be out here with us."

"Quit yur whinin'! I'm here to find a cute guy and... HELLO!" Haymaker said when she spotted Wayward Amethyst in the distance at the bar. "NOW yur talkin!"

"Huh?"

"Do me a favor, brother, an git lost fer a while," Haymaker whispered as she then turned and galloped up to the Crystal Pony. "Hello thar cutie, er, I mean, sir. I'm Haymaker, bet this here's yur first Gala, ain't it?"

"This here's YUR first Gala too, sis," Hayseed added.

"Scram! Yur crampin' mah style," the lanky red maned mare said as she quietly shoved her brother away as she smiled at Wayward Amethyst.

[Harv0kz]

Wayward turned around towards the mare who came up next to him. And as she heard her try to talk to him, he could easily tell, thanks to his travels, that she ain't the poshy woshy type that would end up at the Gala, and rather, a stallion who seemed to be a friend, or related to her, confirmed it.

"My first, and last. I don't have intentions of making this a habit of nature, sticking around in Canterlot and fluffing around with all these uptight rich ponies. I'm only here for the garden" He said, in a frank tone, as the bartender returned with his drink. Wayward immediately dropped the bits that was asked of him, and began to drink down the exotic beverage. It was one of the better ones he'd tasted, for sure. But he still had doubts about it's value. But just to test his limits, Wayward Amethyst turned around to the Bartender. "I want more of this stuff, better if you can" he further challenged, pushing on ahead as he dropped double the number of bits.

"By the way, the name's 'Crymson' " He said, preferring to use his nickname rather than reveal straight out his identity. Sometimes he was touchy about just randomly telling ponies who he was. Didn't make for a good one in his opinion. Continuing to finish his drink as he waited for his new one, and probably a response from the mare.

[Mojo]

"Crymson! What a wonderful name," Haymaker said dreamily, her smile widening. "May I ask, what line-a work are ya in? I manage mah family's hay farm. I'm the boss thar."

"She's the boss alright!" Hayseed chimed in, "mah sister's the bossiest boss in the history of bosses, that's fer sure!"

"Ha ha ha! Mah brother and his little jokes, pardon me a moment," Haymaker said as the lanky red maned mare led his brother out into the hallway. After sounds of hitting and yelling came from the hallway, Haymaker returned to the bar with a grin.

"Jist hadda settle a little somethin' with mah brother, no biggie! Now, where were we, handsome., er, I mean, Crymson?"

[Harv0kz]

"I'm what you call 'self-employed'."

When Haymaker's brother chimed in, and was subsequently dragged out, he quickly took the moment to compose himself and take the next batch of an exotic drink that had just arrived in front of him. "Try this, I think I've worked it up to your 'level' now." the bartender said, as Wayward began to drink it, he could feel that whatever it was, it was the best in his opinion. Then Haymaker came back and spoke in her own charming way, acting as if the sounds of hitting some time agowere absolutely non-existent.

"Like I was sayin', I run around places exploring them, mappin' them out, gettin' that kinda details and stuff to other ponies who can't or won't risk themselves to do the job. It's fun, got it's perks and all, but mayhap the fury of a timberwolf be hard to get past at times." Wayward spoke in a muddled and usual way, then quickly summarizing that the drink he had must've had some unknown ingredient that tends to turn pony's speech lopsided. Whatever the case, his broken speech might be enough to earn him a few more minutes of quiet.

[Mojo]

Now that her brother had been 'taken care of,' Haymaker was free to concentrate on the handsome stallion in front of her. The lanky red maned mare was truly intrigued with 'Crymson' and his exploits.

"How exciting! Sounds like yur really livin' a life of adventure! I can't say life on mah farm is all that thrillin'. Well. we do have a run-in with timberwolves every once in a while. That last time we had one wonder on our property, had to admit, it was scary. My brother was away and I was all alone with mah little sister Haywire. Mah sister was SO afraid, but I took one of my own hoofmade firecracker rockets, aimed and fired at it! Blew it all up! Yessiree! Blew it all up! All by mahself! Say Crymson, would ya care ta dance with me?"

Haymaker is obviously lying. What REALLY happened was Haymaker was SO scared, she ran into a barn and slammed the door behind her, leaving little Haywire outside with the timberwolf, The happy Haywire was the one who launched one of HER hoofmade firecracker rockets at the beast. Didn't blow it up, but it sure disassembled it and when it reassembled, the beast ran off from the blank flank filly. Haymaker is lying to impress Crymson. Haymaker would never build rockets of any kind.

[Harv0kz]

"...would ya care ta dance with me?"

Wayward almost spat his drink, but refrained from doing so when he realized the setting he was in. His discipline paid off, because now he had to deal with THIS. Under no circumstance, treasure or not, could Wayward Amethyst, explorer of many wonders, adventurer of Equestria, could dance. And sadly, I got no exit card for this. After all, I AM in a Dance Hall. Wayward reminded himself. Oh the mental agony and anguish! Now what am I supposed to do? Were the thoughts that ran through his mind as he casually sipped his drink without appearing in thought.

And after a few idle minutes of thinking about what she was saying, he decided that it wasn't worth messing around with her, and instead decided to play along with whatever little game she had in mind. Although that didn't mean he would do it with the highest of excitement. "Sure. Just lemme finish up my drink" He just said.

[Mojo]

"Of course, Crymson, please take yur time," Haymaker said calmly. The red maned lanky earth mare tried to keep her composure, but the truth is, she was SO excited she just wanted to cheer and gallop around in circiles! She was here, at the Grand Galloping Gala, and was sharing time with a handsome stallion! As she stood, waiting for Crymson to finish his drink, out of the corner of her eye she noticed her brother in the hallway, staggering away.

"Gee, I didn't mean ta clobber that big goof so bad," Haymaker thought to herself. "I'll make it up ta him later. Crymson is SO HAWT! Glad this ballgown covers up mah boxing glove cutie mark. Guys usually git turned off of me when they see that on mah flanks. At least now I ain't got no dumb brother er mischievious little sister here ta ruin this moment fer me."

[Harv0kz]

((Sorry it took so long, dorm had Internet issues until the middle of next week))

To buy himself thinking time, Wayward slowly drank the drink,thinking of ways this could go lopsided at ground zero. But his thoughts were more of worrying about how he was unable to get out of this situation, and the ramification cations that it would cause.

And as Wayward 's drink ran out, he eventually had to deal with the mare that was waiting on he dance partner. I didn' t come here for this, but gotta go with the flow

He turned around to Haymaker " Let's dance?" he asked in a slightly posh tone.

[Mojo]

Haymaker was now giddy with excitement! Here she was, at the Grand Galloping Gala getting ready to dance with a very handsome stallion she'd just met. Everything was going her way tonight! Absolutely nothing could go wrong!

"Yes indeed! Let's dance!" the lanky red maned mare neighed as she led Crymson to the dance floor. The moment she gave him a respectful bow, a firecracker rocket flew in through an open window, got caught in the hem of her dress and flipped the mare over before working itself loose and flying out another open window. There was Haymaker, her flanks in the air and uncovered, clearly revealing her boxing glove cutie mark to the entire room. A deep sense of shame and embarrassment filled the Earth mare. In the past, many guys she liked would be turned off by her veru unusual cutie mark. This was why she wore such a long evening gown to cover it up, but now, in one split second, that was all undone. Slowly she got back up on her four hooves, quickly trying to pull her dress back down over her flanks, hoping against all logic that no pony noticed her apparent clumsiness.

"Er, surry bout all this," she quipped, blushing so hard that it could be visibly seen on her face.

[Harv0kz]

Well, this is an interesting turn of events.

His mind had slowly dissected and interpreted the situation as it blazed passed him. Here she lay, Haymaker, Wayward's impromptu date, with her gown having revealed her unusual Cutie Mark thanks to a firecracker. At least it didn't explode in the room, something bad might've happened. He thought to himself. Now that pony safety was no longer a concern, his attention snapped back to Haymaker, who managed to mutter something in embarrassment and after quickly trying to conceal herself from other ponies.

Quickly without another thought, he quickly grabbed onto Haymaker's front hoof, and with a gentle enough motion to encourage her to follow his lead, begin to make their way to a less crowded area of the hall. "Excuse us... sorry...". Wayward said in a unfazed and calm voice as they made their way through the crowded areas of the hall to a quieter, less obvious face, though Wayward was still aware of eyes on them, staring in confusion and surprise.

When they both were finally in a quiet spot. Wayward began to talk directly to her, this time, his face portrayed a serious, no-nonsense expression, one unimpressed with Haymaker's stunt. "Now, do ya mind telling me what the hay is going on? Wayward asked in his calmest possible voice.

[Mojo]

After being whisked away from the scene of her embarrassment by Crysmon and then being asked point blank about it, Haymaker released a heavy sigh before looking up at him and explaining herself.

"Oh Crysmon, I'm so sorry," the red maned mare began, "You and I were getting along so well together. It's jist that, usually when guys see mah cutie mark, they either laugh at me or find some excuse ta leave. That's why I was tryin' so hard ta hide it. But, I reckon ya saw it. Yeah, it's a boxin' glove. I hope that don't matter none ta ya...."

[Harv0kz]

As Wayward listened to her, he began to feel a slight bit of sympathy for her. He too, had been in a similar situation, where others would tune him out because of what he was, and what he did. He stole a quick glance towards the dance floor. The situation had returned to normal and everypony acted as if nothing had happened. That's good, because if one of the faces is one where I submit my information too, I might be discredited for everything that went on tonight. He thought to himself, wondering how the more bureaucratic part of Canterlot stayed aloof in times like this.

But those thoughts would have to wait as Haymaker finished talking. "Everypony's never judged by how they look in my book. What can they do to ya? Aside from laugh and walk away, such behaviour is the reason why most ponies tend to keep alone." Wayward said as his mouth had a strange feeling from spouting hypocritical words, because on contrary, Wayward preferred work alone, so he could move faster, work better, and stay ahead of the game. "Tell you what. How about we both continue that dance, and since I figure it was your brother that shot the firecracker, lets see if we can put a spot of defeat on his face?" He asked, holding his hoof out towards her, as if asking her permission.

[Mojo]

Haymaker was relieved that Crymson didn't desert her.

"Thank you, Crymson, and I'd love to keep dancing with you." the red maned mare neighed happily until she stopped in medsentence. "Wait, did you say, firecracker? Was that a firecracker rocket that rolled me over? Mah brother don't know how ta make anythin' like that. It would have to be..... "

The realization hit Haymaker who became so upset that she yelled at the top of her lungs:

"HAY-WIRE!!!!!!!"

[Harv0kz]

​Well, this definitely changes everything. Got a saboteur with the ability to make firecrackers and prevent Haymaker from doing anything here. And of course, she went ahead an confessed herself. What a short one... ​Wayward restrict his face from immediately shaking as if he was disappointed in some way. This had been fun thus far, but sometimes such things should come to an end, or be ended in a spectacular fashion. Just not leaving a bad taste in those he meets of course.

​

​"Alright. First off, calm down. My plan would still work. Just that more than one pony would be rolling their eyes at the end of the dance. Speaking of which...." He looked out towards the main area. A song had just ended, an a new one was about to be played.

"We have to act fast, Haymaker. Are you still in this or not?" Wayward extended his hoof towards the Earth pony once again.

[Mojo]

"Oh I KNOW mah sister Haywire must be behind this!" Haymaker shouted. "Bet she snuck'm inta the castle in her saddlebags! I should've known she'd pull this crazy stunt! I know mah brother may be annoying, but he ain't no rocketmaker. Hayseed and I left Haywire over at the Happy Hooves Hop room and I told her to behave! Betcha she launched a bunch more of them firecracker rocket of hers! Who knows? She could end up gitt'n herself arrested! Might do'er some good! Tough love! Scare her to her senses and such. Maybe we could find Hayseed an' have him go look fer Haywire. Why should we ruin our good time tonight with her?"