Snowshoe

The reason I think so few male characters are seen head on is that their head design makes it awkward to draw correctly. In the immortal words of Bill Nye, consider the following: Look at Big Mac's head. Now Braeburn's. And any other male character: Filthy Rich, Caramel, anypony. All their heads are the same general shape as a horse's. Unlike horses though, the front views of all the characters have shown us that our little ponies have their eyes set rather forward compared to the side, and their eyes are obviously much larger and take up more room on the head. Now for the girls, that's not a problem. The way female character's snouts are drawn has that curve below the eyes, forming a sort of nose that makes 3/4 and full views easy to draw and not very awkward. Guys on the other hand have this long snout that goes from top to bottom of their head. Assuming the guys have their eyes forward like the girls do (and judging by the front view of Bic Mac very early on in the series, they do), it makes drawing them face on a little awkward compared to the girls. Big Mac is drawn fairly well for the occasional times you see his face, but it still looks a little awkward, like the giant snout got compressed a little into one area. Braeburn looks even stranger, having bigger eyes than Mac. SA's face just looks WEIRD. Problem is it's only weird if you look at it in comparison to their side view head. Making a 3D head turn of a male character would look weird, while the girls probably not as much. On the topic, I personally like the front views of most character. I think they're fine. It's just part of the art style, IMO.

Muggo', still lying on his back and looking up at the light of the torch circling down, grinned wryly. "Why hello there." he said casually. "How good of ya to join me in me hole." he said casually, chuckling. He was nervous that the weight of all of them could damage or collapse the ledge, but the feeling was unfounded, and within moments everypony was crowding around. He felt a tug and looked up at Dunder dragging him. "I can walk, b'y, I just need help gettin' up so I don't put weight on me leg." he explained with a laugh. "I don't think we left anythin. I packed meself up before comin' to look at this hole." he said, taking the piece of wood they'd brought down. He pulled some rope from his pack, tying the log, which thankfully wasn't all that big compared to the others, along his injured leg. With a grunt and a bit of an awkward series of motions, he managed to stand without using his injured leg, and let it rest, hoof on the ground but all his weight on his other three hooves. "There, that should be good." he said, looking around at the cave and giving a low whistle. "It's dark." he said uselessly.

Muggo' laughed at her suggestion and coy smile, returning it with a grin of his own. "We were all young an' impulsive back then, with only a few bits between us. Couldn't have afforded a trip on an airship if we'd wanted. Besides, where's the adventure in that?" he joked. It had definitely been dangerous, but they'd been young and not very smart about those things back then. They were never in any real danger...they'd packed enough to make it through the desert safely, but not much in the form of good medical supplies. But in hindsight, Muggo' did agree with Caramel: it hadn't been the smartest of plans to go out like that at all. Still, he didn't regret it one bit, and would do it in a heartbeat if he went back in time and had to do it all over again...although maybe with some more medical knowledge to make sure they didn't push Snowshoe as hard and could get over the mountains. "An' nowadays, I'm busy quite a bit. I plan to take some time off eventually, try to visit there again." he continued with a self-assured nod. He had the bits, he just needed to make time. At the question of whether he kept in touch with his old friends, he nodded. "Aye, when I can. Wingtip's still a mailmare, so if she's passin' by the post office an' I happen to be there I'll drop in to say hi. Snowshoe joined up with a loggin' company an' went up north to Stalliongrad, but we send letters back an' forth regularly." he explained. He hadn't seen the latter in a long time, in person at least. He took a few bites from his other skewer, then looked up at her. "What about ya? Any interestin' stories of yer own ya'd want to tell me?" he asked. He figured she'd have to have at least one or two to tell.

Dapper Dan smiled when she complimented the cleverness of the chair. It was quite clever, he agreed, and made it easier than having multiple chairs and all that. He nodded. Two hoof-widths. Simply enough. He combed through her tail, looking out at the other ponies. "Well, glad to hear that I'm needed for the town." he said with a laugh. "And will do...although I've never seen a buffalo around." he mused, using a hoof to push his glasses up his snout a little. "Do they come to town often?" he asked. He'd been there not that long, but long enough that he figured he would have seen a buffalo if they'd come by in the town.

[Addendum at the top for quick viewing: Bowsprit did send out flyers across the Strand area, and this trip is to Manehattan, around the bay to Hoofington, then back down to the Gallopocus Islands, with an estimated travel time of 10 hours.] The morning came and Bowsprit was up rather early. His ship had to have some maintenance done a few days ago, and he hadn't been able to get on the water or do some tours, and it had made the Earth pony a little antsy. But now the Tub Toy II was ready to sail again, and so was Bowsprit. He'd been up late the day before making sure the rigging was set right, because he was the only crew on the schooner when it set sail, and he wanted to make sure it ran flawlessly so he didn't have to interrupt his tours by running up and down the deck and up the rigging all the time. The tour building was rather unassuming. It was next to the beach, and it was a nice little wooden cabin, with a hoof-painted sign over the door that said "Bowsprit's Sea Tours", painted with a few other generic nautical-themed images, like a red-and-white striped life-preserver ring on one side, and a stylized blue fish on the other. That same sign was seen in various places across the island, with accompanying arrows to point the ponyfolk to Bowsprit's cabin. He had even gotten flyers distributed across the area to advertise the place, because the upkeep up the cabin, no matter how small, and the schooner bobbing in the wake off the dock at the back, was pretty significant. The flyers even contained the schedule for his trips, just so that people wouldn't have to waste time coming down to find the ship gone, or going on a tour they didn't want. The ship in particular was Bowsprit's pride and joy. A beautiful two-masted schooner, a little longer than most ships he was used to sailing alone, with a dark blue hull that had a white stripe, about a hoof-widths large, going all the way around the middle of the ship. The wood was oak and well kept with varnish and the like, and the nameplate on the stern was made of brass with the ship's name embossed on it, courtesy of his mother. She had even made the dedication plaque of bronze that rested against the steering wheel, which bore the ship's name again, then Captain Bowsprit (which always made him smile) and a quote his father had found in a book once, which he thought fit Bowsprit to a T: "All I ask is a tall ship, and a star to steer her by." The only other personal touch his unicorn mother had given the ship was a brass bullhorn fitted near the ship's wheel, so that Bowsprit's voice could be amplified, a little magically too, for all on board to hear. For now, the Tub Toy II rested against a dock that jutted out from the sand behind the cabin, gently rocking in the wake against its bumpers and the dock, but in two hours, it would soon be out to sea again. Bowsprit, the captain of the ship, sat in the cabin. The front half held the small office which had a map of Equestria with various coloured arrows pointing out the various tour routes, as well as prices and times. The prices were, in his mind, rather competitive, consider he was, to his knowledge, the only one to provide this service. In the back was a small living space. The door was closed to that, and Bowsprit sat on a chair in front of the door, looking out over the counter and wondering when the first customers would show up. Yeah, sure, he was young, but he was an expert at a ship's wheel, and everypony who'd taken a tour with him before knew that. "Gah, I'm bored..." he groaned, resting his head against a hoof on the counter.

"Dunder, don't make me climb out o' this pit an' douse ya 'cross the snout, b'y." Muggo' Ale called up when he was called fat. He wasn't fat, he was just an Earth pony. He didn't know how bad his leg was injured, but it felt like just a sprain. However, his old adventure with his friends out to the griffon lands told him that a simple sprain could be a lot worse. So he lay there, on his back, his back left leg outstretched to not hurt it too much. "I'm not hurt that bad, b'y. An' I don't know if this ledge can hold all of ya." he said, not having seen what the others did when the light shifted. He was still looking right up at the entrance. Muggo' watched as his fellow Earth pony and one of the pegasi, Dusty, flew down to meet him, carrying with them the flickering light of a torch. "Welcome down to me hole. Trust ya had a pleasant flight?" he asked casually, not wanting to straighten up until he had a splint on his leg. "Before anypony else comes on down, somepony get one of them fire logs. Might need to make me a splint." he called up.

Muggo' thanked the waiter, then looked at his own plate. He appraised it not with a fine eye, but with a hungry one...he was quite hungry, and having grown up in a bar, was used to eating the less fancy kinds of food. Still, it looked delicious. He curled a fetlock around one of the skewers and carefully went to pull a grilled green pepper from the end, until he realized it would be hot. He gently blew on it, then looked up at Caramel when she wanted to hear both stories. He chuckled and nodded with a smile. "It's a good one." he assured her, neatly plucking the green pepper from the tip of the skewer and setting it back down as he chewed. He swallowed it before starting off the story. "Starts with me an' me buddies Wingtip an' Snowshoe. Wingtip was a mailmare, an' she'd said she'd gone as far as Las Pegasus but never farther out. An' of course, leave it to a group'a young colts, an' well, a filly, to figure we cross the desert an' see what the eye can see. But as me father always says, wait a fair wind, an' you'll get one. So we waited an' we got our fair wind, an' packed up our stuff an' made our way out to Pegasus on the train, not two days after bouncin' the plan around." he began, pausing to take another vegetable off the skewer, this time a mushroom. When he was done with that, he continued. "We set off the day after we got there, trottin' fast to get across the desert. This was before Appleloosa was built down there, so we had no stops. An' of course, like idiots, we went through the desert, not 'round the mountains to the south an' cross the plains. Was a hard run...took us most of the day but we finally reached the mountains just on the other side of Rockwin'ton. We were beat to the Moon an' back, with sunburns an' parched mouths around. Snowshoe had managed to get his hoof caught in a gap in some rocks, so we were slowed down too from him limpin' around." another pause, another vegetable, this time a piece of zucchini. "So we wake late the next day, 'cause we're all exhausted, an' we look up at the mountains. They were a bit shorter than the others so we figure it wouldn't be a problem. By this time Snowshoe's hoof's better, so we start the climb. Celestia t'underin', I wish I was a bit more of a poet, because that view as we came to the top of the mountains..." he trailed off, looking out the window for a moment as if reminiscing. "Granted, it may be a bit rough..." he looked back at Caramel to continue his story. "When compared to places around pony territory. But by Celestia, it was nice. We saw this rocky valley below us, endin' in this incredibly deep canyon. An' on the other end, these high flyin' mountain's that disappeared into the clouds, an' this quaint little town, just nestled there against one of the mountains. We sat there stunned for a bit, then made our way down to the river an' the canyon. Now that's a sight to behold, I'd never seen a canyon before that. Just this deep gash in the ground, an' a flowin' river runnin' through it." Yet another pause from Muggo', and another vegetable off the skewer. "So we cross this bridge leadin' over the canyon, figurin' that yeah, griffons ain't friends to ponies but at least we might be able to stop for the night. We were tired from the harsh desert an' the steep climb up the mountains. They didn't like it but they let us stay...one day I'd love to go back to Rockwin'ton." he said with a chuckle. "It's gorgeous. Like a griffon version of Hoofin'ton. Little shops dottin' the place, sellin' whatever tickles yer fancy. Sadly, that's where the tale ends." he explained. "When the mornin' came we tried to get up over the mountains. It's no problem for griffons, they just fly, but us, we had to climb. Well, Wingtip could fly, but she kept respectful an' with us. Well, we make it about halfway up this incredibly tall mountain when Snowshoe's leg starts actin' up again, an' bad. We learned later it was worse than a sprain, an' he'd gotten a bit of a fracture that'd gotten worse with all the walkin'. So we mucked him off to the hospital in town, an' stayed for a few days before the griffons helped us back as far as the edge of the mountains on the far side of Las Pegasus. They're not bad folk...a little on the meaner side, but all in all, great people." Muggo' said. He shrugged a shoulder with a bit of a sad sigh. "Never got to even peek at the West coast of Equestria. If it wasn't for the maps, would think it never existed." he finished. "One of these day's I'll try an' go back...or so I keep tellin' meself." he said with a bit of a sad laugh.

The ground had given way with such suddenness that Muggo' Ale hadn't even realized it happened. One moment, he was examining a hole at a fair distance away, running a hoof along the edge. The next he felt his stomach having a visit with his brain and he saw nothing but darkness. Darkness that lasted an inordinate amount of time. He heard faint shouting which brought Muggo' back to the real world, and he blinked. All he could see was the square light above him, and four pony-shaped heads looking in. He heard a comment about his hardiness from...someone. There was a ringing in Muggo's ears and he couldn't figure out who was saying what. "M'alright!" he called up with a groan. He was on his left side on some kind of ledge. He tried to get up, before an intense pain shot through his back leg. With a gasp and a grunt, he fell back onto his back. "Scratch that. Dinged up me leg." he called back up. Part of him didn't dare to try and move further than this...not just from his sprained leg, but he had no idea how big the ledge was...and it was dark as all get out. He didn't want to find the edge the hard way. "Ya could always lower me rope down. Probably a safer bet than tossin' a pegasus here down with me. At the very least light a torch...Celestia t'underin' it's dark down here." he half-mumbled the last part, but figured it would carry up out of the hole anyways. By this time his ears had cleared up, and so had his head. Muggo' felt that his head was bare, and gently tapped his hooves around him until his found his hat a foot or so away. He gently brought it over and rested it back on his head. "Yeah, this'll make a fun story for the bar. Remember that one time Muggo' fell down a hole, b'y? That's a great one..." he complained a little, for having little else to do in a dark hole while he waited for his team to get him out.

Muggo' Ale was happy that she didn't seem to put off by his rambling, and in fact, wanted to hear of his travels. He chuckled at her compliment at the nickname. "Well, thanks. Haven't heard it in years, actually." he mused. After a few minutes, he tapped his right forehoof to his chin for a moment while he thought about a story to tell her. "There's one real excitin' travel that comes to mind, if ya got the ear for it." he said, shifting in his seat a little to get more comfortable. "It'll be a bit of a lengthy tale, so if ya get bored, just tell me." he said with a smile. "Unless ya want to hear about it later, of course. It's one of me last adventures, with a couple of old friends. We got bored one summer, decided we'd see how far out to the rarely-seen West coast of Equestria we could get. Didn't make it too far past the griffon territory, mind ya. But still, was fun." he said. Then with a chuckle, Muggo' Ale grinned. "An' then there was a recent one, where I ended up kickin' a manticore in the face...surprisin'ly, it's less interestin' than the trip to the West." he said with a laugh.

Muggo' Ale noticed that, compared to his compatriots, he had relatively over-packed on his gear. Still, he'd heard stories all the time in his bar...things adventurers had needed, or wished they'd had, and when he packed, he'd made sure to remember as much of it as he could. Hence, his over-stuffed saddlebags. Still, at least that meant they had stuff and wouldn't get in trouble if they needed things that nopony had brought. He glanced up in time to see Midnight smiling at the locket she was putting in her bag, and it made him smile a little. He looked up at Dunder, shrugging a shoulder. "I didn't see the birth date on the tag...looks old though, b'y." he commented, trotting over to the hole in the middle of the room. "Somethin's tyin' me tail 'round bad with this. There's somethin' not natural about this hole, like somepony made it." Muggo' said, running a hoof along the edge of the hole nearest to him.

"Nope! Chair's of my Dad's design. He was a fan of keeping things nice and simple." Dapper Dan informed Candy. There was a click as his left forehoof came down onto a pedal, which unlocked a swinging cover over the slot at the back of the chair. His horn glowed with the same soft red ochre light, which then surrounded Candy's tail and helped thread it through the slot at the back. "How much off the tail again?" he asked casually. He looked over at his other guests and grinned. "Well, I wish I could say my choice was that exciting. When I got here, the town was already up. Kinda makes me feel like a freeloader, y'know?" Dan said, shrugging. He still felt like he was doing something, out here on the frontier in a fledgling town. Like he was helping pave the way for something, even though he was just a barber. "You're welcome, Sheriff. And good luck." he said with a smile.

Muggo' Ale saw the dogtags and felt a twinge of sadness, which deepened at seeing the wedding ring. Who were these unknown griffons, he found himself wondering. Did the woman who's claw that ring was destined for know what happened? He trotted over and examined the dogtags, then out of respect, went to one of the logs. He rolled one a little bit away from the rest and stood it upright in the dirt. He turned his head to take the knife from off his saddlebag and, holding it between his teeth, carved the initials of the griffon on it. The next bit took a bit more time, but he managed to cut a small gouge in the log, which made a perfect place to rest the chain of the dogtag, so it hung from the old log. With a click the knife returned to it's sheath. "I dunno, if he died here, but least the b'y's got a marker." he said. Sure, griffons may be antagonistic to ponies at times, but still. The dead deserved respect. He looked back as Midnight set down her bags and suggested they set out their items. He did the same. In his bags were two canteens of water, a first aid kit of his own that was slightly better off than Midnight's containing bandages as well as the antiseptic and medicine. "Here." he added, kicking that over to Dusty. In addition to that, he had some flint and steel, a coil of thick rope, a few day's worth of trail rations in small burlap pouches, a sharpening stone for his knife, the bedroll on top of the bags, the knife itself, a simple compass, and a small, battered journal and pencil.

Muggo' smiled, nodding. "Aye. I live with me father. Used to be me father and me mother, but...well, she passed about six years back." he said. He, for once, lost a bit of his usual cheer saying that. It still hurt, even though he knew it was better...she had been incredibly sick before she had died. "The Pony's been a family business since me grandfather opened it with his wife an' me father, when he was just a wee b'y. Me father, Stout Ale, helps out as best he can, but he's gettin' up in his years, so he usually just hangs out with the old regulars, shootin' the breeze." he explained. "An' like ya, been here most of me life. I travel as much as I can, used to do it a lot when I was a colt...not that I'm that old, mind ya!" he said with a laugh, his regular cheerfulness back. "Mane's been grey since birth. They used to call me "Old Boy" when I was younger...I'd be underfoot all the time, runnin' menus around, an' folks would always ask for "Old Boy" to come get drink refills or somethin'." he reminisced...and found that he himself was rambling now. With a laugh Muggo' shook his head. "Sorry, not tryin' to bore ya or go out on a trot like that. I get that way sometimes, tellin' stories like that."

Muggo' Ale smiled as she talked about the farm life and the business she ran. Contrary to what she thought, it wasn't boring him at all. As a business owner himself, he knew the intricacies of running a business and how difficult it could be at times...although, while she was busy with the shipping end of things, Muggo' was always busy with the receiving end. Almost every day, or on average every other day, sometime between 8 and 8:30 in the morning, he'd get some shipment, be it food, alcohol, or just general bar supplies, because they ran through all three at an incredible rate. When she caught on to the fact she was rambling a bit, he laughed along with her, not minding one bit. If he was caught talking, Muggo' could go on for ages. "No worries." he said sincerely. "Me accent?" he added at her question. "Well, me grandfather's from Hoofin'ton." he explained. "He had an accent like this, an' so did me father. Guess it just passes down the line, even though I wasn't born in Hoofin'ton." he said, sipping his water with a shrug. "I've never heard anypony else from the area with an accent like mine, but then again, ponies with strange accents pop up everywhere I guess." Muggo' commented. "Luck o' the draw type thing. Like when I was down in Ponyville, not a long bit o' time ago, I was down at that farm there, Sweet Apple Acres. Of all the ponies there, yer one relative, with a bit o' freckles an' three apples as a cutie mark, had an accent thick as me own, an' nopony else I met there did, an' I met a good bit." he explained. Another shrug. "But then again, I'm not exactly the most well educated when it comes to the matters of genetics and linguistics." he said, adding a bit of drawn-out emphasis to the words to make them sound a little fancier. "Keep me behind me bar, where I don't have to do much thinkin'." he said with a chuckle. "So what about ya? Ya born here in Fillydelphia?" he asked casually, wanting to know a little bit more about his date.

Muggo' Ale was a little distracted, still looking around while he sang. "Well there'll be music all around ya, ya should see the way it feels...come on off we go now, heel an' toe now, to the jigs and reels..." he continued, trailing off on the beginning of the chorus when he saw the cave. "Oh-oh-oh....Oh." the last 'Oh' being a surprised sound from the Earth pony, instead of the slightly rising musical 'oh-oh-oh'. "Well then." he said, looking over the cave. He agreed with Midnight, there was something not right at all about this cave. "Don't touch the bags." he cautioned Dusty. Even if they weren't traps, there could be some dangerous critter, like a snake or spider, underneath them. "Or if ya do, check under 'em first." he said, trotting around to the firepit. He wanted to see how recent the camp was. He nudged his hoof along the ground, looking for...anything. Some still smoking embers, sniffing the air for the smell of recent smoke. After a moment he looked up at the dugout in the back. "Woo. Now that there's makin' me nervous."

Muggo' assumed his position at the back of the column once they started the move out. He made a mental checklist of what medical supplies he'd brought...and he hadn't brought much. Some basic items like bandages and some basic medicine, but probably nothing that could fix a broken wing. He stayed quiet at the back of the group for a moment until the darkening morale got to be a bit much, so he started to hum a little, trying to keep the spirits of the group up. "Well come gather all around me, there is somethin' you should know..." the humming had eventually become quiet singing, which was partially lost in the crunching of gravel and dirt under their hooves. "There is no place quite like this place, if we get it on the go..."

Dapper Dan nodded at what Candy said, grinning. "Well there's your answer, gents." he said, the scissors finished the first bit of trimming, then coming back again to get the rest of the mane hair Dan was cutting off. He didn't want to do the entire hoof's width first, lest he make a mistake. He laughed at their little exchange. "Well, I must say congratulations anyways, Sheriff. You two seemed fairly happy at the hoedown." he said. At the question about business, Dapper Dan gave a shrug. "Bit slow. Y'all-" for the first time that day, he'd ended up using one of the Appleloosian vocal tics he'd started to accidentally pick up, drawling just a little on the word "-are my first customers today. And I suspect the hot weather's a bit of the reason why, but hey, I can't even think of a day I've been here where it hasn't been ridiculously hot. I dunno how you Appleloosians do it." he teased, laughing. "I don't mind it though. It's a nice change from Fillydelphia, that's for sure. But hey, how are you two doing?" Dapper Dan added, putting the scissors away and levitating up the straight razor. He pulled a strop tight with a front forehoof, then ran the razor on it a few times before using it for the very precise job of cleaning up the edges of Candy's mane, around her ears and the like. All that done, he closed the razor and set it down, then levitated up a mirror so Candy could see the back of her mane through the mirror ahead of her. "How's it look?"

Muggo' Ale looked through the menu, trying to decide on something that sounded good. He made his own mental choice shortly before Caramel Apple spoke. He set the menu down and smiled, listening to what she had to say. "I can't imagine that. I love workin' the bar floor, talkin' to me customers an' regulars, hearin' an' sharin' the stories." he explained. When he was asked about where the bar was, he chuckled. "Bit hard to find if ya don't know it, not very well marked. It's right on the edge of the dock district, near the business one." Muggo' said. "She's a bit unassumin' of a place. It's the three-storey redbrick buildin' two doors down an' 'cross the street from the post office, dock district branch." he added. It was a rather distinct building, and most ponies knew it by sight alone, even if they hadn't come in. Maybe after their dinner, if they weren't tired of seeing each other, they could go for a walk and he'd show it to her. "I should drop by one day to get me bushels in person, so ya can say ya got to see a customer for once." he teased, chuckling. The waiter arrived shortly after and asked for their orders. Muggo' ordered a plate of hay and some grilled vegetable skewers, then looked over at Caramel while he waited for her to make her choice. "So, just three of ya workin' an apple orchard, eh? What's that like? I can imagine it gets a bit on the hectic side at times." he asked after a short silence, trying to make some small talk. He figured it was going well so far but they still had an entire dinner to get through. Figuring he'd taken the chance to get to know her a bit more than just her work, he added, "Ya get a lot of time off to do...well, whatever it is ya do in yer spare time, I guess." he chuckled.

"Oh sweet Celestia." Muggo' mumbled, seeing the state of Dunder's wing. He didn't even have wings and that made him wince heavily, almost causing a phantom ache off to his side where Muggo' Ale would have wings, if he was a pegasus. He found himself truly wishing they had brought a unicorn, or a medical pony of some kind, with them. Because he had no idea how to treat something like that, beyond maybe lashing the wing to a split and hoping to keep it straight. "I agree. We need to get goin' at least to find some shelter." he said. "Dunder, keep the wing tight an' shut. Try not to move it much. Let's get somewhere a little less exposed, an' we can figure out how to fix the b'y's wing." he said, waiting for the group to get going. It reminded Muggo' Ale of a story he'd heard very long ago when he was just a colt. An old REA soldier had been sharing stories with a group of interested young mares and stallions at the bar. "Enraged phoenixes are quite a sight. We tried to patch up Wildfire's leg, but they wouldn't stop coming...we had to drag her to a nearby fallen tree to keep the birds off us for long enough for the medic to work his magic... Trying to patch up Dunder's wing here would keep them a bit too exposed, in his opinion.

Friend of mine saw I had Gmod installed, told me to check out this Gmod Theatre server. Basically, it let you play YouTube videos in a theatre with friends. We started out by watching 13 Ghosts in one theatre, then I went across the way because the movie was getting boring as all get out. Settled in at the top with everyone and I look at the movie queue (sp?). A couple random videos, an MLP YouTube Poop, and then, what's this I see? What's Bridle Gossip? Ostensibly the guy that stuck it up was trying to troll people (this was back when MLP FiM had just started getting huge in the spotlight and the haters were incredibly vocal). And while the immature folks in the server laughed at the racism undertones of the episode (I ignored them), I watched. It was like being transported back in time to when I was a kid and got up to watch Saturday Morning Cartoons that were actually GOOD. I wasn't convinced at first, but I told myself I'd at least give it a try, because it was getting stellar reviews from the fans. I kicked around the server for a bit, flopping between the actual movies in the one theatre and the random clips in the other, until someone stuck up another Pony episode: Dragonshy. I saw right up until their montage bit and had to log off. That night i booted up YouTube, finished that episode, and next thing I knew, I was on episode 4, smiling like a fool every time.

"Critter wrangler, huh? Now that sounds like it could be a fun job." Dapper Dan said, chuckling at her reaction. He could imagine, as an ex-city slicker himself, that being out in the desert for a few days on end without some of the comforts of home would make anypony a little weary, and happy to finally enjoy some of the simple things, like a manecut and a bath or something. The scissors floated up next, and he began to trim at the ends of her mane. The door opened and Dan looked up to see who was coming through...though he really didn't need to, recognizing the first voice in the heated argument, one he was brought into. Dapper Dan laughed, thinking it over. What would he get a mare as a gift? He was never really good with gifts, which he informed the two stallions. "But if I was to venture a guess, I would definitely not say soaps. Might give the wrong message, you know?" he said with a laugh. "I guess it'd depend on the mare in question. Don't want to accidentally offend her by giving her perfume...same problem as the soaps. But then again she might like a new perfume, if it's a really nice scent." he reasoned, shrugging a shoulder and looking back at Candy's mane. Even though he'd been looking at the stallions and still cutting away, he hadn't yet made a mistake. "Then again, can't go wrong with horseshoes. Nice and simple, really hard to imply the wrong thing with it..." a sudden realization hit him when he glanced up in the mirror and remembered just who's mane he was working on. "Candy, say you had a gentlecolt looking to impress you. What would you like more?" he asked. An actual mare's opinion in the matter might go a long way.

Muggo' Ale saw Dunder get hit and instantly was off, but Dusty and Midnight were closer. Muggo' skidded to a stop just short of the group, shaking his head. "Celestia t'undein' b'y. Ya give me another start like that an' I douse ya on the snout meself." he said, looking at the rock. The way it had come in... "Somethin's not right here at all. That didn't just fall." he reasoned, tapping it with his hoof for a moment. "I vote we move as fast as possible. An' we watch our steps, too." he added, looking up at the mountain. What the heck could have thrown a rock, if it was thrown? What was up there?

[in the immortal words of Derpy Hooves: Oups, my bad. My monitor colours are off, and I was going off your avatar image (not the actual app thread). Gotta get this sucker replaced...] "I'm just looking for any kind of adventure, to be entirely honest." Rain Maker said, looking back at Colgate. "I've got a book in the works, and I figure the only way I can really understand the characters and events is to live something similar myself." she explained, then looked over at Vacant when he answered her question. She grinned at the deadpan second portion of it. "Ha!" she let out with a smile. "I like this guy, let's keep him." she teased, looking back to her other companions and trotting along, a few steps behind Vacant. Then he slowed and she ended up pulling ahead. "Me? Leader? Bad idea, I don't know this place." she admitted, not stopping in any case.

Judging by the look he got from his compliment, she was just as un-educated in the etiquette of dating as he was. That was fine by him, there would be...well, maybe not less embarrassment, but at least they would be able to understand if either of them made a faux-pas at some point along in the evening. He followed along behind her to their seats, thanking the Maitre D' for their menus and sipping at his own water while she answered his question. The Apple family...why had that not clued in in his mind? For some reason, his brain hadn't made the connection between Caramel Apple, and the very same Apples he'd met (vaguely) at Winter Wrap Up a scant few weeks ago. "Seventy percent of apples..." Muggo' said, chuckling and letting out a low whistle of admiration. "That's a feat if I've ever heard one. An' I must say I'm sorry, I've met a few of yer relatives an' even been down to Sweet Apple Acres not long ago, but me brain didn't want to put two and two together. Yer farm's actually a regular supplier of mine." he explained. He did buy lots of apples from Tiny Apple Valley for use in creating hard cider and the like. "Me? I own a bar." Muggo' Ale said with a chuckle. "The Prancin' Pony, near the docks. Been in me family for...Never been good at that generation thing, is it three now? Me grandfather opened it in any case." he explained, taking a sip of his water. "Not as impressive as feedin' all of Equestria, mind ya." he teased with a grin, wondering just how big the Apple family would have to be to supply that much food. "But I like it, just the same."

Timbre Swing's reading of the sheet music was interrupted by a loud noise, followed by the scratching of a pick along the metal strings of a guitar. It took him by total surprise, and admittedly, made him grin like a fool. A huge minotaur, with an impressive guitar and jacket, was the player. While everybody was shocked, Timbre laughed when it was over and gave the stage a quick little thump with his forehooves. He appreciated impressive, loud, and energetic performances. Then again, he also appreciated all kinds of music. The musicians seemed to have been interrupted by the music, and that was fine by Timbre. Gave him a moment to greet his fellow musicians and get ready for the next song, once Iron Will was done...whatever it was he was doing. While waiting to see just what the minotaur would do next, Timbre Swing looked around at the crowd. Only a few more ponies had come in, but still, enough that this could be considered quite the get-together.