The Dance Hall - The Bar

[brianblackberry]

The bar sure was becoming busy, but this was to be expected, it was the gala after all and being next to the main dance hall meant being next to the center of activity. Of course that meant Martini had to work double-time to get all the potential orders filled in a timely, and of course, spectacular manner. Sadly that meant she couldn't spend too much time flirting with certain customers; Martini was still going to of course, she just had to make the most of the limited opportunities.

As she smiled at Brazil and Serendipity, the other pony she knew, Maximilian, finally realized she was there and greeted her. For such a well off upper-crust Canterlot pony, he sure was affable.

Affable and flattering.

Martini shook his hoof and gave a warm, welcoming smile, "aww, thank you hon. To be honest I was actually surprised when I got the letter, but I am glad I did! this year's gala seems so much less formal.. And stuffy! Don't even have to wear a uniform or anything! Even these fake wings were our own idea, dressing like an alicorn for the celebration, I think they're cute." He was cute too, and she was enjoying the fact that another stallion was so willing to shower her with compliments, especially in front of Brazil, and she was most curious to see how the normally suave earth pony would react.

The white unicorn also brought up the job he got for her previously, the fashion show. "I never got to thank you for that Max dear, it was great fun, especially since it was back home on the islands! I got to wear the traditional flowers and grass skirts and everything!" Martini would have loved to keep talking about it, but the orders were once again coming in, "excuse me Max hon, gotta take care of these drinks, be right back".

First the griffons. Fortunately both who now adorned her bar asked for the same thing, and Martini wondered if it is a favorite among the avian predators? Her horn glowed, and two tumblers slid onto the bar. She kicked the box, shaking the bottle of Stallionaya free with a nudge of her magic, as she had before, catching the spinning bottle on her forehoof and letting the spout click against one of the tumblers, splashing into it. The other tumbler scooped up a couple ice cubes and floated back in place just in time for her to direct the splashing vodka into that one, instead - filling it rather more than the two talons' worth in the first. She tossed the Vodka back in place as she reached out and drew out a bottle of bright yellow Limoncello, and topped off the second tumbler with a splash of that, and a tiny little candy limoncello candy dropped into the glass as well for an accent. As the limoncello floated back to its own place, she took the two shotglasses in hoof and slid them down the bar - the tumbler on the right slid to he left, two fingers of vodka for the spotted leopard griffon, and the tumbler on the left slid to the right, one Sour Stalliongrad for the dark griffon with the white head feathers.

Without even pausing, she pulled out a thick, heavy glass mug, lifting it up so she could tap it with her horn - a bit of mist came from her horn, and the clear glass of the mug grew white and opaque with a faint crackling noise as it frosted over. She dropped a few ice cubes into the glass for good measure, then went to the tap of the premium local root beer and pulled the tap, filling it to the top with a good head of foam, and floated it over to set down before the large brown pegasus with a smile, amused among all the harder drinks ordered, such a burly stallion would want such a bubbly beverage.

Martini was sure she got to everyone when a grey maned pony came up to the bar and seemed out of breath, well almost, as she had enough to order a hard cider. "Sure thing hon, while don't you sit a spell and relax and I'll fix you right up!" The limoncello returned as she pulled out a tall pilsner, and at a different tap she pulled on the handle to release a deep green colored frothy hard cider, while the bright yellow liquor splashed just a bit in with it. "And one hard cider with extra sour!" she chirped merrily, as she slid it over to the older earth mare.

Martini gave one last look about, it seemed she had caught up, at least for now. All the customers had their orders and were busy chatting away, just as it should be. Now she could turn back to chatting herself, and a little flirting on the side. The beautiful pegasus mare description of her own job didn't sound much different than the bar mare's except possibly with more bits involved. "Well hon, if I ever head out to Las Pegasus, I'll look you up. Having a contact there for work never hurts, and of course I am sure you and I could have our own special fun!" She winked coyly.

She never had so much fun!

[SunsetSombra]

It was a welcoming sight seeing martini in her element, and Brazil couldn't help but chuckle when the magnificent barmare gave her reply...

“Well, well, well, mister Brazil Nut, long time, no see! One cinnamon whiskey, coming right up… hon.”

Shaking his head gently, the (somewhat) esteemed Brazil Nut just gives another quick grin before speaking to the mare. " No hurry, really - you seem to have your hooves full with this bunch, but...I think you got this covered! " - it was true though, considering there were most certainly a lot of smilin' muzzles around the bar counter, and that was always good signs all around for any business!

" It's nice to see you doing what you do best, Miss Paradise! " the brown explorer pony continues, giving the mare a small nod. " Especially in such lavish surroundings as these...the Gala is pretty much what I'd call top billing for a barmare such as yourself around here, and you seem to be fittin' in with the position nicely - even if there's still a few, uh, dubious characters around these parts. " his eyes wander a little towards Maximillian - who's words had not gone unheard, but Brazil simply had to shake his head at the stallion slightly with a smirk.

" And if you think I'd come to the grand galloping gala, Max, just to hassle you on Martini's biggest workin' night of the year...then you're jus' lookin' for things that simply aren't there! " Brazil utters, before shooting Martini a coy wink and a small nod of thanks with regards to the drink. " Just here to mingle, maybe dig up a few contacts and, maybe, even keep Miss Paradise company...'course, thats if she so wishes! "

Indeed, the last thing he cared about doing was gettin' too much attention from the wrong ponies - rattling max's cage was very much on his 'avoid doing' list for the moment...if he could avoid it, that is.

[Bannhammer]

Max took another sip of his drink, glaring at Brazil over the lip of his martini glass. This stallion simply couldn’t let bygones be bygones, could he?

Yes, Max had done a lot of things to irk the stallion, but turnabout was fair play! Nopony was going to miss those darn caves and their paintings, not with the factory he built on top of it! He brought prosperity to a region and single hoofedly clawed the economy of a rural area out of the dirt. If Brazil couldn’t appreciate that, it was his hang up.

Maybe he was still angry about the whole railroad thing... a lot of land had to be dug up or blown up in order to make way for progress!

The Rockefilly allowed himself a small chuckle, not because he was amused by annoying Brazil, but... well... actually that was EXACTLY why he chuckled. After everything Brazil pulled at school, the teasing, the bullying, it all seemed like a righteous punishment. Though he shouldn’t flatter himself, all of those projects were done for the greater good, irking Brazil merely came as a pleasant consequence!

”Dubious Characters? My dear Brazil, you would insult those around you so easily? I know you have a problem with griffons, but there is no need to insult them!”

Max knew the comment was directed towards him, but why not turn it around on the troublesome adventurer?

”Surely a fine mare like Miss Paradise can speak with who she wishes, no? Especially a pony who has had the pleasant fortune to encounter her a few times. Even if one of those was by design..."

He chuckled again, sipping his drink. ”And I do have another offer for the mare, but discussing business at this time seems uncouth. I’d rather just enjoy the moment. Pleasure before business, you know!”

[brianblackberry]

Martini Paradise gave a sly smile Brazil's way. "Oh, don't you worry your pretty lil' head now, Mr. Nut, I always have things under control. You know me, cool under pressure, fiery when need be!" She gave a reassuring, if not flirtatious, wink and amorously swayed across the length of the bar, checking to make sure everything was in order.

One thing was obvious; there was some history between Brazil and Maximilian that was leading to their current animosity. As flattering as it may be to think it was about her, Martini knew that whatever issues stood between the two stallions, it had to do with their own actions and her involvement was secondary. Still, it couldn't hurt to playfully banter with both, could it? It was the Gala, after all, and she doubted either would go too far to antagonize the other. While the verbal sparring between them might get heated, she was sure she could keep anything from getting out of control.

"Now, now, boys, you are both most welcome to spend as much time as you like at my bar; I do sincerely appreciate, and enjoy, the company. Remember now, this gala is a celebration! So be sure to enjoy yourselves." Martini was pretty sure Brazil had as much interest in her as she did in him, even if she was being very coy about it. As for Max, she felt he didn't have any feelings beyond appreciation for her, but he was great eye candy to have, and as an added bonus he seemed to keep Brazil on the tips of his hooves.

There was one thing Max did say that really piqued the baremare's interest though, some sort of proposal. As curious as she now was, she didn't want to come right out and ask, this was the customer's night, after all, but he certainly had her attention!

[Dunder]

Dunder licked his lips, eyeing the mug and it's process of getting filled more than he eyed the attractive bar mare. After the train ride from ponyville and now getting the biggest cup of Canterlot root beer for free...it was almost too good to be true. He thanked the bar mare as she put the mug on the counter in front of him. The pegasus wrapped his hoof through the loop and lifted it up, eagerly slamming down part of the fizzy drink, not minding the cold sting in his throat as he did so.

The frothy beverage rested in his stomach and he cleared his throat, looking over at the Doctor as he began to talk. He smiled, feeling exponentially better after getting something to drink. He eagerly grabbed the pony's hoof, shaking it enthusiastically, quickly pulling the earth stallion close with ease and patting the pony on the back with the free hoof, "Ey! Nice to meet you buddy!" Dunder said happily, releasing the pony and taking another sip of his drink.

[RarityDash]

"Well hon, if I ever head out to Las Pegasus, I'll look you up. Having a contact there for work never hurts, and of course I am sure you and I could have our own special fun!"

Serendipity giggled excitedly, happy to see her new friend so responsive and playful. She was pretty good at keeping her cool and reacting as best she could to a given situation, but even still things were only on occasion quite this smooth. It was nice, especially since Martini herself was so fascinating.

"Excellent," she said, smirking softly. "You won't be disappointed. Any time spent with me, is a time worth remembering," she added with a cute wink.

Things were going well and Seren was relatively satisfied with her evening, though she did regret to see the cute barmare's attention increasingly drift away and toward the stallions who were so eager to praise and flirt. These two, Mr. Cinnamon Whiskey and Mr. Manehattan, had a certain advantage in the history they evidently had with Miss Paradise. One had money and charm while the other seemed to hold Martini's attention. However, they also clearly didn't quite get along, as their little jabs at each other proved definitively. Martini was left trying to control them while taking their advances. It made Serendipity remember a time back at the casino where a couple of regulars at her table who obviously were mostly just interested in the view for the regular losses they incurred there, actually started into a brawl while trying to out-stage each other. It had been amusing in a way, but that didn't stop it from being utterly ridiculous.

Seren sighed and sipped at her martini. "As I was saying... stallions really can be so silly," she chimed, giving a small laugh. "Get two in one place and everything has to become some contest--all butting heads and trying to one up each other."

"Mares are just easier to deal with sometimes, don't you think?" she added coyly, shaking her head.

​

[tacobob]

"My parents and several of my siblings are metalsmiths, but they specialized in normal, everyday items griffons usually need. Once I learned what I could from them, they permitted me to work with an earth pony named Zabivat who was a skilled blacksmith. He always warned me I would never become wealthy in this time and age making swords and weapons.", she took another sip from her glass, "But at first, I didn't care. I enjoyed making armor. I later moved to Canterlot to attend university and became skilled in sculpting. I found that I could make better bits by creating statues for wealthier ponies and even detailed mannequins to hold the armor I made.", she gave Derecho a beaky-smile, "The name's Zelda, and my friend over there drinking the root-beer.", she said the last word like it was an expletive, "Is Dunder. With a name like that, I always assumed he would be into rum."

She nodded politely and took his hoof as her old friend and occasional life-saving beacon of historical knowledge spoke of his wine, but let him continue to speak to her little pony companion, "So is this your first Gala? This is my first and also my first time wearing a dress. Can't say I'm a fan. It's all so tight in such odd places. When I wear clothing, I generally prefer something a little more practical and comfortable.", she asked the griffon and smartly-dressed mare, "I wanted to wear my trusty chainmail shirt under this, but there just wasn't any room. Ooh.", she clicked her fingers, "Also, when I'm not making art, I also go on little adventures. Usually helps me when I'm suffering from an artist's block. This fine fellow over here.", she glanced towards the good Doctor, "Is as smart as a kick to beak. When I need correct information on certain historical items, like clothing or armor, I go to him. I would hate to embarrass myself and my clients if I put historically incorrect culets on my armor."

[PedestrianWolf]

"It is a pleasure to be meeting you, Comrade Tankena" Derecho said to the Stalliongradian mare. He took Zelda by the hand and bowed low to her, then righted himself. "It is also a pleasure to be meeting with such a fine griffoness."

"So is this your first Gala? This is my first and also my first time wearing a dress. Can't say I'm a fan. It's all so tight in such odd places. When I wear clothing, I generally prefer something a little more practical and comfortable."

"Da, this is my very first time being here in Canterlot Castle. It is very opulent, yes?" He ran an appraising eye over their surroundings, then up and down the griffoness in front of him. "I must say, I am liking the dress on you. Very attractive." He smoothed his jacket with one foreclaw, feeling the fine silk under his rough callouses. "I do not normally wear such finery either. But, is special occasion, yes?"

He listened to Zelda speak of her artistic career with interest. "My brother, Lyosha, is an artist in Stalliongrad. He is a painter, not a sculptor like you. But perhaps he has painted some of your work? Many clients request portraits of themselves in armor."

"Myself, I am a flying teacher. The most creative thing I am doing in my work is building obstacle courses for my students. Is very fulfilling work, though." He turned to Tankena. "What about you, Comrade? What is your profession?"

[Quillhart]

Quillhart shuffled slowly in through the entrance. He gazed from the left to the right, upside and down and made a valiant attempt to look at everything at once. He was late, very late. Most of the ponies had arrived already and the whole hall was already filled with dancing ponies. Quillhart sighed longingly as he gazed towards the dancing couples, he had secretly been practicing dancing before the event in case a miracle occurred and he would invite a mare to join him on the dance floor. Quillhart would rather bring a mare on his own to the gala, a beautiful, special mare to join in a dance with him. Yeah, that would be nice. He gazed around a bit more and noticed that the bar was filled with various ponies and he decided to get something to drink in order to limber up.

Quillhart trotted towards the bar while he flattened his suit. He was wearing a newly bought outfit for the event: A white shirt with a white blazer upon it. The blazer had black sleeves and a black stripe followed the clasped buttons on it. A black cravat pouted on his chest with a white pearl on the top. Quillhart's once tousled hair was combed backwards and his glasses' black bows were embellished with white glass in a beautiful pattern. The earth pony felt like a rusty horseshoe that had been painted to look better than it was and he constantly corrected the suit to make it look top notch.

So he took a seat by the bar while he accidentally bumped a little into a griffon by the bar. "Hi, I'd like some rum, If it wouldn't be too much of a bother." Quillhart asked the beautiful mare by the desk. Then the earth pony turned to the griffon he happened to hit and braced himself mentally for the first informal interaction on the gala. "Sorry about that, my friend. I was a bit absent when I decided to sit here. But now when I do, I guess I better introduce myself.", He reached out a hoof towards her, "I'm Quillhart, or Quilly for my friends. And you may be?" Quillhart smiled at her, quite pleased with his approached and he hoped that he didn't look all too nervous.

[Mojo]

Tankena clapped her front hooves together in excitement.

"This is wonderful! All of us talking like this! Zelda, Derecho, Dunder, what say you we liven up party a bit?"

Out from behind her back, the green Earth mare produced her baliliaka.

"I say music band is playing is too slow! Traditional Stalliongradian music much more lively! Let's go take over dance floor! I will play and we all will show these parry guests correct way to party! What do you say, are you all with me, dear comrades?"

[Bellosh]

"This fine fellow over here is as smart as a kick to beak. When I need correct information on certain historical items, like clothing or armor, I go to him. I would hate to embarrass myself and my clients if I put historically incorrect culets on my armor."

As Dr. Spin Tale finished introducing himself to Dunder, he overheard Zelda talking about him to another griffon; one whose body looked more like a leopard than the lion typically associated with that hybrid kind. Spin might not have learned the other griffon’s name yet, but it wouldn’t stop him from elaborating more about his occupation to Zelda’s newest talking buddy. “That’s right,” explained the red stallion as he took another sip of his red wine; “I run a community army museum over in the Garrison District. We… house many sorts of militarily-significant artifacts over the years, including weapons and armor. I daresay that perhaps the Canterlot Army Historical Museum owns the largest-such publicly accessible collection in the entire Solstice Heights!” Spin’s passion for his enterprise shone through his rather large smile of satisfaction.....

[Dunder]

As Dunder friendly-hugged this new stallion, he noticed the second griffon... one that was eye-ing up Zelda. He considered intervening, but a familiar stallion bumped into her, she seemed to switch attention to him and the leopard griffon went back to talking to a green mare.

Dunder leaned back, sitting back in his seat and still smiling at the doctor as he explained himself. Dunder took another gulp of the root beer, listening to the pony, instantly catching his attention at the name of the Canterlot Army Historical Museum. "Oh! I know there!" Dunder said, his expression lighting up, "I used to live in Solstice Heights. My parents decided to live there after coming to Equestria. That, and you house swords and armor that are used to help create better swords and armor.... swords and armor that I use. You guys have quote the selection, and I appreciate that you preserve the history contained in every piece of equipment you house." He took another gulp of rootbeer, this time, lowering his head and letting out a belch that he covered with a hoof, though after he recovered, he heard the green mare say his name and call him to the dance floor? He'd need to wait for other ponies to go, he was chatting. "Sorry... Anyway, do you know how to use a sword? Or are you the one who looks at swords and I'm the one who swings them?" He chuckled

[brianblackberry]

Teasing Brazil Nut was fun enough, teasing Brazil with such a lovely mare playing along as perfectly as Serendipity was doing so made it priceless. Martini Paradise was pretty sure that the lavender pegasus was somewhat serious in her coquetry, still, it was all in the spirit of Gala fun. “That be great Seren hon, the next time, or well, the first time I am in Las Pegasus, it’ll be a date!”

The pink unicorn turned towards the other patrons as she sauntered away from her new friend, and smiled coyly in response to Serendipity's observations, “indeed dear, mares often know exactly what they want and are not afraid to tell you, sometimes I think stallions are taught to be ambiguous and hesitant to express their feelings.”

Before more flirtations could happen, a young looking brown earth stallion with glasses came up to the bar and asked for rum without any specifics. Martini smiled warmly. “No trouble at all – that’s what I’m here for!” she said cheerfully, reaching out to blindly catch the bottle of rum that had just fallen off the shelf and onto her hoof. She set it spinning with a flick of her hoof, as her other hoof scooped some ice up into a tumbler. She brought the tumbler and the bottle together, atop the bar, so that the amber Captain Mare Gem splashed out of its long metal spout , over the ice, filling the tumbler just to the top of the ice. She spun the bottle again before slapping it into place on the shelf with a solid thud, and slid the tumbler across to Quillhart.

[Pretzelparty]

Wandering to one side of the bar a few hoofs away from the closest creature beside an empty seat. Her Silvery white mane was very clean looking and neat, The bangs of which covered one of her bright blue eyes. Her yellow-tan coat looked exquisitely groomed and free of dirt, she seemed to have faint trace of lilac scented perfume upon her. Upon her head rested a small tiara with a few gems imbedded in it. Covering her tail and hind-legs was a lovely mint green Gown with some frills of seafoam blue and a bit of white lace on the hem.

Having heard the sounds of a good time being had a new mare had chosen to wander onto the scene, "A bar huh?... I guess I am a bit thirsty and I haven't gotten to try these kinda drinks since I visited Manehattan." As the silvery maned Mare approached the group and found a place for herself, she muttered under her breath "why do these things have to be so hard to walk around in for Celestia's sake?" as she waited for a chance to order something. Once she saw her chance she froze up for a moment before remember a drink a friend had recommended for her, "Um... one Manehattan please!" she said raising her hoof to get a bartender's attention.

[tacobob]

"Ah shucks.", Zelda chuckled, "Flattery will get you everywhere, you know that?", she winked at the handsome griffon, "I feel like I've seen you before, but where?", she tapped her beak with a single clawed finger before it popped up. "Aha! I remember! It wasn't that long ago. Back in Ponyville. We all spent a good portion of that day in the lovely little spa they have there. Mister Dunder here spooked a girl you were with.", she glanced over at her date hoping he wouldn't be to cranky about her chatting with a fellow griffon. Both had planned rather in advance to attend the Gala, but both had different partners at the time and the pair decided to attend the event together at the last minute after losing their original dates. The blacksmith knew the stallion's heart was still rather tender from all the drama he had gone through over the last few months. Both the breakup between he and Fire Walker, a bit of unpleasantness she had to experience on both sides, since she was also a good friend with the mare, and then the later fiasco with Dunder's marriage to mare named Icestorm which didn't last very long.

"No, I usually do all my painting, but I do work with an assortment of supplies for my pieces from all over Equestria, I usually go to a rather funny little pony who always manages to snag some very curious pieces when I need 'em. Now you on the other hand.", she lowered her voice, "I've never seen a griffon such as you before with your fascinating leopard spots.", she placed a claw on one of those spots, "Sometimes I use ponies or griffons for my statue molds. Dunder here has been used several times since he possesses the idea Pegasus stallion form. If you're not the bashful type and don't mind standing still for a little bit, I could use your help.", she studied the strange griffon for a moment before being snapped out of it by a pony.

"I'm Quillhart, or Quilly for my friends. And you may be?" Quillhart smiled at her, quite pleased with his approached and he hoped that he didn't look all too nervous.

"Muh?", she turned away from the griffon and nearly smacked the earth pony with her beak, "Oh! Yeah! I know you. Not personally, but we do share a common friend.", she made sure to check his cutie-mark to be safe, "My good friend Fire Walker knows you. She told me about you and the books you write. Small world, eh?", she glanced over at the band the moment Tankena announced that they would all be dancing soon, "Excuse me, but it looks like I got some dancing to do. Hope to see you all on the floor. Eespecially you Doc!", she threw a friendly smile towards Spin Tale, "I wanna see you shake your stuff!"

She scooted off the barstool and gave the brown coated stallion a smack on the rump, "Come on Blustie! Let's show these guys how it's done!"

[SunsetSombra]

Maximillian really never changed - it was the one constant about Brazils long-time near-nemesis...he was always something of a scoundrel, a cad and a generally all around undesirable whose idea of progress was a rather stiff 'put profits first, be ****ed the rest' approach when it came to his business strategies. Sure, certain elements of his profiteering had proven advantageous in the past {and present} but Brazil knew all too well that the stallion was not above a few dirty tricks to make sure that his wallet was the first to truly 'benefit' from something...anything else gained was just a bonus.

Brazil rolled his eyes at the stallions attempt to deflect his comment - luckily, none of the griffons seemed to be ultimately bothered that max had even tried to do such a thing, which the earth pony thanked his lucky stars for. An incident in the gala with griffons was likely to leave everypony with a rather sour taste in their muzzle, and that wasn't something he wanted.

" I'm not even going to justify that with a witty remark, Max... " Brazil says, clearing his throat a little as he sips the glassful of delicious spicy fluid - as much as he wanted to say something biting to put the stallion back in his place, this wasn't the time for him to do so...too many faces, too much publicity that would make the situation far worse if left to develop further. No, it was best left to die out here, leaving Max without something to hang up on and him looking the victor against max's rather uncharacteristically weak verbal snipe - Brazils attentions were on the mare before him, and the drink he currently held on a hoof, as he watches the surroundings and company gathered around the barcounter, pondering just who was here...and what, if any, their story might be.

There was time to catch Martini whilst she was less busy - for now, Brazil was fine with taking a little observation time to figure out if there was anypony here in need of an adventurer!

[PedestrianWolf]

Derecho nodded towards the red stallion on the barstool when Zelda mentioned him as her advisor. He also noticed the brown pegasus on the next stool down giving the griffon the stinkeye. He stared back as only a raptor can, with a cold and unblinking gaze, then turned his attention back to the griffoness.

"I feel like I've seen you before, but where? Aha! I remember! It wasn't that long ago. Back in Ponyville. We all spent a good portion of that day in the lovely little spa they have there."

"That was you? How could I not be recognizing you. It must be the lovely dress you are wearing tonight." He was pouring on the charm, partly because she was a lovely lady, and partly just to tweak her date. Jealousy was such a silly emotion.

"No, I usually do all my painting, but I do work with an assortment of supplies for my pieces from all over Equestria."

"Ha ha, no no, you misunderstand me. Lyosha is a painter of portraits, on canvas." Derecho mimed using a paintbrush and a palette. "Rich and powerful ponies in Stalliongrad pay him to paint their likenesses to hang in their big houses."

"I've never seen a griffon such as you before with your fascinating leopard spots."

He blushed deeply as her talon traced the rosettes on his side. Although frankly it was hard to tell under his dark feathers, just a flushed color around his nares was all that was visible.

"Ah, yes. My family lineage comes from the far northern continent. A few of the griffon families are spotted, but others have stripes, like zebra. Is not very common, only our mother has spots. Our father is golden coated."

"If you're not the bashful type and don't mind standing still for a little bit, I could use your help."

"Da, of course! I can stand still, like rock, no problem." Derecho struck a pose and held it for a few seconds. "Sometimes I am model for my brother's paintings. I would be happy to assist such a lovely and talented lady."

He would have been happy to continue the conversation, but Tankena had retrieved her baliliaka and offered to play for them all. Zelda had leaped up to go dance with her pegasus friend.

"What do you say, are you all with me, dear comrades?"

"Da! One more drink, then we dance! Bartender, another vodka! Za zdorovje!" He swallowed the contents of the glass in one swig, then slammed the empty down on the bartop. "Come, Comrade Tankena, play for us!"

[Bannhammer]

The Rockefilly simply smiled, pleased that his attempt to shut Brazil up had worked. Whenever that stallion opened his mouth, either something stupid or insulting came out of his mouth, usually both. It seemed that even after all this time he just couldn't accept the fact that Max wanted to do some good in the world.

His loss. Max had nothing to prove to a pony who played in sandboxes for a living, digging up scrap metal or pieces of clay.

"Brazil, we both know that 'wity' isn't part of your repertoir." he chuckled, at least acting like the comment was simply a joke. No need to be rude in front of the others.

Speaking of...

"Miss Paradise, another Manehattan. Top shelf whiskey if you will."

His gaze lingered on the mare behind the bar. She was very cute, and from their earlier encounters Max knew that she was a very competent pony. Hopefully she would consider his business proposal. His home was in Appleoosa, and of course the town would need a high class bartender to help attract tourists to his new hotel...

But the offer could come later, no time to put a burden on the mare's mind while she worked.

[RarityDash]

“That be great Seren hon, the next time, or well, the first time I am in Las Pegasus, it’ll be a date!”

Serendipity giggled. Again, Martini didn't hesitate to flirt back rather obviously. How nice. Even if it was partially or fully to goad the silly stallion in the hat, it was still amusing and made Seren at least feel like she was getting somewhere. Though if that was the case, it maybe wasn't the most effective plan. The stallion seemed far more focused on his equally silly Manehattan counterpart than he was on the pretty mare behind the bar. She wasn't even sure either of them were aware of her, the jabs she had thrown out or the progress she seemed to be making. In this case, that could only play to her advantage, she figured.

"I'll look forward to it, love," she said with another giggle before taking the time to sip down the rest of her martini.

​

“indeed dear, mares often know exactly what they want and are not afraid to tell you, sometimes I think stallions are taught to be ambiguous and hesitant to express their feelings.”

"Couldn't agree more. It's silly really," she started immediately with a full laugh.

"I know exactly what I want," she added with a playful wink as she set down her empty glass. "And it's a little more of your Passion, Martini," she teasingly finished, purposefully playing off of the name of the drink she had ordered.

​

[Mojo]

Tankena was happy to hear a positive response from Derecho.

"Good idea, Comrade! I will finish drink, then go to stage and play!" the green mare announced as she immediately downed the bottle of apple vodka she was holding. "Drink over, now I play!"

It was Tankena's good fortune at that moment, the fancy band on stage decided to take a half hour break and exited. Seizing the opportunity, the bold Stalliongradian mare leapt up on the stage,

"Fillies and gentlecolts! While band is on break, we can still party and dance, Stalliongrad style!"

With this, Tankena began to play a very loud and fast moving song on her ballilaika. She even demostrated some of the steps of Stalliongradian dancing as she played and sang, hoping her new friends at the bar would soon join in to encourage the crowd to dance as well,

[Quillhart]

"Muh?", she turned away from the griffon and nearly smacked the earth pony with her beak, "Oh! Yeah! I know you. Not personally, but we do share a common friend.", she made sure to check his cutie-mark to be safe, "My good friend Fire Walker knows you. She told me about you and the books you write. Small world, eh?"

Quillhart felt how the beak swept above him and he had probably been knocked out if he didn't duck in the very last second. He stretched out and corrected his glasses before he responded back to her with a smile, "Fire Walker?! Heh, I say if it wasn't for her half of the country still wouldn't have a clue about who I am. I don't know how boring her conversations has to be to make me an interesting subject but nearly everypony I bump into is obviously a friend of hers and they have all apparently spoken about me. A pleasure to meet another one!"

Quillhart gave the mare by the bar a thankful look and nod while he accepted the rum before he took took a sip from it. The mare was exceptionally skilled with her beverages and he was impressed by the quality of the drink. He smacked his lips contentedly and gave the her a smile. "I got to say, you're a princess with the drinks, my lady " Quillhart uttered without giving it much thought and he regretted it immediately. He didn't want to appear too cringing. Then he heard Zelda add something to the conversation.

"Excuse me, but it looks like I got some dancing to do. Hope to see you all on the floor. Eespecially you Doc!", she threw a friendly smile towards Spin Tale, "I wanna see you shake your stuff!"

Quillhart chuckled, "No worries, pal. You go and do your dance but don't expect me to join in too soon." The earth pony turned back to his drink and drunk it bottom-up before he pushed the tumbler in the mares direction."Could I have another one, please?" Quillhart said with a faint smile. "Actually, I'll probably need more like ten of these before I even consider to join in a dance." He mumbled more to himself than anypony else.

[Pretzelparty]

"Miss Paradise, another Manehattan. Top shelf whiskey if you will."

The unicorn looked to the stranger and smiled, "If that was for me, thanks!" she said in chipper tone. She felt she might have been being too silent and decided to try and strike up a conversation with the Stallion, "Um I'm Presteza by the way, Have I seen ya somewhere before?" She asked, placing a hoof to her chin as she tried to place just where. While the though was the realization was eluding her at this moment she should have realized she'd seen his face in some pictures in Appleoosa during her last visit there when she was hoping to meet the buffalo herds and Ask if she could paint the chief. That was a very interesting trip but with all that happened then with, getting lost in the desert and then having to be nursed back to health by the very tribe she was looking for, she had forgotten just who the stallion she was speaking to was.

[brianblackberry]

Now this bar was really becoming a happening place! Normally the pink unicorn’s job wasn’t quite so busy, yet again she only worked at such a swamped bar only once before, at last year’s Gala. As expected as this was; Martini Paradise wished she had more time to talk. She feared the hectic scene was what kept Brazil from talking to her; he was being polite and humble in not wanting to divert her attention from her job. Truth was she did want him to divert; just a little, maybe with some flattering, witty compliments or something. She wasn’t going to come right out and tell him that of course, but when she got the chances to look in the brown coated adventure's way, she always made sure to give a coy smile and a very soft, inaudible “hiii”.

Of course, Serendipity had a point; perhaps Brazil had difficulty expressing his feelings, more likely he was waiting for the right moment, at least Martini hoped. In the meanwhile, openly flirting with such a forward customer never hurt, it was all for fun and she wasn’t being serious… Well, perhaps a little bit. Her horn glowed as she brought over more of the vibrant, fruity beverage to top off the lavender pegasus’ glass “Oh don’t you worry Seren hon, I have all sorts of passion to give to the right pony”.

As much fun as flirting was, there were more drinks to be served. Martini smiled and nodded at the pair of requests, scooping up ice cubes into a cocktail shaker with her telekinesis, while a bottle of Whiskey floated itself down from ... appropriately enough, the top shelf. "Fet Loch Single-barrel twelve-year Uisce Whiskey, aged in white oak Sweet Apple Acre cider casks for ten years, then another two years in Prance's own Valhas Vintage Port. It has a subtle chocolate and citrus flavor to it," she proclaimed proudly, before popping the top off of it and pouring several glugs of it into the cocktail mixer. Normally, she'd go with the floating-ice trick she'd demonstrated earlier, but she'd found that most high-class ponies preferred a more traditional style for their manehattans. She followed it up with half as much Cantero Amble Sweet Vermouth, and a dash of bitters, then cracked open the maraschino cherry bottle and tipped just a few drops of that into the drink to give it a bit of that fruity flavor - her own special embellishment that gave it a nice color that most appreciated. She did not shake it, but only swirled it around the ice a little before pouring it out into a pair of tall glasses, and putting a single cherry into each glass as per tradition, then slid one to Max and the other to the silver maned unicorn mare with a smile.

[Bellosh]

"Oh! I know there! I used to live in Solstice Heights.... You guys have quite the selection, and I appreciate that you preserve the history contained in every piece of equipment you house."

Dr. Tale definitely enjoyed the words of appreciation from Dunder; "Heh, I never really thought of our museum as beneficial to the art of sword forging. Yet it makes all too much sense when you think about it; of course we’re going to own all sorts of material about that craft.” Spin took another sip of his glass, noticing he was almost out of it… but didn’t ask for a refill yet. Remembering Dunder’s comment about using a sword, the red stallion next thought to prod his conversation partner about his experiences in the Royal Equestria Army, since he assumed almost all ponies who regularly used swords and armor surely must be in the service; “So Dunder, how’s life in the Army treating you?”

"Sorry... Anyway, do you know how to use a sword? Or are you the one who looks at swords and I'm the one who swings them?"

The bookish museum curator chuckled in turn; “No, I’m just the pony who looks at swords. I may know a little bit about sword fighting based on reading about the subject, but even I know that it’s never a match for experience.” Spin Tale laughed again as he mentally envisioned himself swinging wildly with a saber and bumbling about like a fool.

"Hope to see you all on the floor. Especially you Doc! I wanna see you shake your stuff!"

"Gimme' a sec!" cried out Spin Tale, chugging down on the last bit of his red wine. Thanks to good conversation and good drink, the earth pony now felt more than ready to engage in some actual fun at the Gala. But first, he left a few bits at the counter along with his empty wine glass. Once that was dealt way, the stallion sat up and proceeded to trot over by the dance floor.....

Meanwhile, the distinguished archaeologist Dr. Merlot begrudgingly made his way over to the bar in the Dance Hall. For some absurd reason, somepony thought to move it over here where all the plebeian ponies could be found at the Gala. Merlot grumbled, but found he had no other source for refreshment if he wanted a greater selection of drinks to choose from… and so he was here.

Dr. Merlot made sure to dress well for the Grand Galloping Gala, having purchased from Carousel Boutique a fabulous black single-breasted dinner jacket along with a suitable white tie and formal shirt underneath. The gentlecolt also wore a black top hat of silk; a new touch intended to make Merlot more aristocratic than he actually was. Finally, an entire day’s worth of spa treatments guaranteed beyond all question that Merlot would stand among the most handsomest of stallions at the Gala.

The good doctor found a number of recognizable faces already at the bar; Serendipity the casino heiress, Dr. Brazil Nut a minor “competitor” in the great game of archaeology, and last but not least, Maximilian Rockefilly Jr. As he was the richest resident of Manehattan, Max was seen in numerous high society settings around town by the well-to-do Merlot for quite some time… that was, until the millionaire went native and resettled in a wasteland town called Appleloosa. Merlot for the life of him couldn’t understand what made Mr. Rockefilly so foalish as to live among the least civilized ponies within Equestria.

But for the moment, what caught Merlot’s eye the most was the lovely unicorn mare running the bar. The khaki unicorn in actually would never attempt to court a bartender in a million years; bartenders were simpletons, and were far beneath his station. But despite the damsel’s lot in life and her tacky fake wings, Merlot thought charming her would provide him with some amusement to what was otherwise a Gala infested with rubes.

Sitting down very close by to Mr. Rockefilly, Dr. Merlot provided the pinkish-gray bartender his most debonair smile and laid some bits on the counter when she was able to take his order; “I’ll take the finest merlot there is mademoiselle.” Aside from flirting with the bartender, Merlot also wanted to know if she stocked merlot made by his family label, Chateau de Prance, in Trottingham. While the stallion never entered the wine business like his siblings, he remained a great connoisseur of it for all his adult life.....

[Dunder]

Dunder chuckled again, scratching the back of his head, "Oh.... Sorry, got a little excited there. I didn't really expect a curator of military equipment who knows how to fight to run a museum. Usually they just start their own sword school if they are into the fighting and the equipment. If they just do the fighting, they do that... fake fighting with the foam swords." He stuck his tongue out and let out a 'blech' of disapproval. "And, I'm not a part of the military. I wanted to join, then didn't, then I joined it, and then I quit, and then I considered joining again and I ended up not doing it. I might join...not much else to do..." He took a deep breath and sighed, but his wave of depression was warded of by a smack on the flank. He looked up, grinned, slammed down the rest of his drink and grabbed Zelda's claw with one hoof and her saucy hips with the other. "LATER!" He said happily to the doctor, and probably his new friend as he guided Zelda off to the dance floor.

To the balalaika music, he held Zelda close, moving to the music with her, making sure to move his hips in rhythem with hers. Definitely having too much of a good time.