[Ponyville] Time at the Bar

[Inkwell]

Inkwell's original plan was to head home and curl up in his bed, sobbing his eyes out and hiding in his room for the rest of the day, or the rest of his life, if need be. But on the way there, he caught something out of the corner of his eye which made him stop, sniffling in front of it like a lost child. It was a tavern, a bar, whatever you wanted to call it, and it was something Inkwell was sort of surprised to see in Ponyville.

After a moment's deliberation, he trotted into the bar and looked around. It was a fairly nice place, not exactly the classiest, but not all that seedy, either. There was nice wooden furniture everywhere, and the walls just consisted of wooden planks, with no paint or wallpaper. He noticed a few booths and tables; the place was probably a restaurant, too. But right now the place looked sparsely occupied.

He took a seat at the bar, leaning his head on the stool, and waited for the barkeep to notice him. The bartender was a plain-looking unicorn mare with a brown coat and an olive mane gave him an odd look, a bit surprised at seeing a prissy-looking unicorn like Inkwell in that sort of establishment. "What'll it be?" she asked him.

Inkwell sniffled and looked up, remembering that he'd never had so much as a drop of liquor before now. "I don't know," he admitted in a choked voice.

[Dio]

Diomedes

The Apple Bark seemed to be more of a hangout spot for hipsters and artists, but Diomedes still found it rather charming. The Pegasus could overlook the dingier aspects of the establishment given dim lighting and an emphasis on the real centerpiece: the bar. The bar seemed to be carved from one solid piece of hardwood, pitted and stained with use, but still possessing years of life. It gave it a comforting well-worn feel, not dissimilar from Dio's saddlebags after years of service with Pony Mail.

"Bartender, Talonopolis Bourbon on the rocks," he said, raising a hoof. The unicorn mare nodded and went to fetch his specialty liquor. Griffon alcohol didn't normally find its way east, which is partly the reason Dio still frequented the Apple Bark after work. If there was one thing the Apple Bark did right, it was stocking their liquor shelf with everything a stallion could possibly have taste buds for. The bartender gave him a smile as she slid the glass to him.

As Dio began to sip at his drink, relishing the complex notes and mild bite of the Griffon whiskey. He almost didn't notice the dejected-looking unicorn walk in. He sat down at the bar, head still drooping, and mumbled something to the bartender, who reacted with a quizzical expression.

"Just get him what I'm having," Diomedes said, rapping his hoof on the bar. "I think he'd appreciate it."

[Inkwell]

Inkwell looked up at this stranger who just bought him a drink, giving him a wobbly, unsteady smile. "Th-thanks," he said as the unicorn started to mix up his drink. "I've never really been in a bar before, so I don't know what drinks to order!" His voice cracked before he finished the sentence, and he found himself collapsing into a sob, burying his muzzle in his forelegs to mob up his snot and muffle his crying.

The sound of a glass sliding across the counter made him look back up again. That bourbon stuff stopped right in front of him, a glass of amber liquid suspending a large chunk of rough-cut ice. He levitated the drink in front of his face and took a sip, making a face at first, then pouring the glass back and draining. It had a really strong flavor that made him think of rotten fruit, but he'd had more unpleasant-tasting things to drink before. "Bleh. I don't know how ponies drink this stuff." He swallowed a few more times to clear the taste out of his mouth, then started licking the ice in the glass.

[Dio]

Diomedes

Diomedes flinched. Never been to a bar before? What the hay kind of response was that? Did he just inadvertently order up a drink for a minor? The pegasus gave Inkwell a good hard look. Well, he was scrawny, but he was definitely not a foal. Besides, what kind of foal would have the gumption to walk into a bar and even try to order a drink? The bartender probably would have clopped him in the face for even suggesting it if she thought the unicorn was underaged. Dio shrugged.

"That's Talonopolis Bourbon, pride of the Griffon lands," The big pegasus chuckled as Inkwell made a face at his drink. "It's meant to be sipped, not shot!"

"I'm Diomedes, by the way," he continued. "But you can just call me Dio."

[Inkwell]

Inkwell looked back at Diomedes and gave him a bitter laugh. "I can't seem to do anything right, can I?" he asked, looking back at his drink. He had no idea how to properly enjoy a drink. Savoring it and nursing it would make sense, though; he'd done that with other foods like his beloved lemon praline cake. But in this case the flavor was so strong and unpleasant to his palate that he just wanted to get it over with.

"I'm Inkwell," he muttered, offering a hoof for Dio to shake. Hopefully he could stand the shake of the big, strong-looking pegasus with a weird name. What did "Diomedes" even mean, anyway?

[Dio]

Diomedes

'Well there, Inkwell, first one's on me, but you're on your own after that,' Dio said, shaking the kid's hoof. 'So having had no prior experience with alcohol, you just walk into a bar with the saddest face you could muster and try to order a drink?'

Dio's thoughts echoed his rhetoric. Inkwell wasn't a very tough-looking pony. His unassuming build and large glasses suggested that he was an indoors kind of guy. A student or an artist maybe? Whatever he was, something was definitely eating at him; what else would put him so far out of his element? Diomedes sipped his drink gingerly, enjoying the faint notes of coffee and allspice before the slow burn of alcohol set in.

'Must have been one hay of a day, kid. What's eatin' you?'

[Inkwell]

Now that Dio mentioned it, it was a pretty weird decision of Inkwell's to just go to a bar out of nowhere. He wasn't the drinking type and from what he'd heard of bars, they were full of miserable ponies who just wanted to forget their troubles with booze, not caring that it was a temporary solution at best. Coming here wouldn't accomplish anything, so why'd he do it? Because he belonged there; he'd ruined everything and he didn't know what to do about it. Forgetting his problems was as good an answer as any.

Inkwell just realized he'd stared at Dio for a good ten seconds without either of them saying anything. "What? Right, sorry. I don't think I'll be trying any more of whatever that just was. Tasted like... something. Got anything sweeter?" He asked Dio a question that should have reached the bartender's ears.

Oh, right, another question. "It's kind of a long story," Inky mumbled, having trouble with his tongue for some reason. "I visited Carousel Boutique because I wanted to meet the owner. I'm kind of an artist, and I like to make friends with other artists, so I thought I could get off on the right hoof with her. Went to the spa 'n everything."

He felt himself sniffling again. "But her sister was there, and she was covered in mud, and she made a mess of everything, and then her friend showed up and made it worse. They spilled water everywhere, and it got on my sketchbook, and I yelled at them. Then Rarity yelled at me, and her sister's friend yelled at me, and her sister started crying, and I got out like they all wanted me to."

His head ended up pressed against the bar, so that nopony could see his face again while he cried.

[Dio]

Diomedes

Inkwell stared not so much at Diomedes as straight through him. The red Pegasus cocked his head quizzically, waving a hoof in front of Inkwell's face. The unicorn jumped a little at the gesture as he snapped back into reality. 'What? Right, sorry. I don't think I'll be trying any more of whatever that just was. Tasted like... something. Got anything sweeter?'

'Bartender, see about getting this stallion a Vesper,' Diomedes laughed. He sipped at his bourbon before addressing inkwell again. 'Should taste like lemon water, but has enough kick to get you feeling happy in no time.'

Diomedes finished off his drink and rapped on the bar with a hoof for another one as Inkwell began recounting his adventure at the Carousel Boutique. His first few words come out slurred, as if his tongue were slightly too big for his mouth. Diomedes did his best to hide a smirk. The kid was a lightweight, wasn't he? The unicorn continued, absorbed in telling his own story; so absorbed in fact that he was probably reliving it in his head.

Inkwell sniffled at the mention of being chewed out by the Boutique's proprietor. Dio looked on bemusedly; Inkwell was like a child after he'd been scolded by his mother. The red pegasus didn't know whether to laugh or commiserate, but Inkwell was practically pouring his heart out. The poor unicorn looked like he was going to cry. Dio sighed. Everyone needed a pick-me-up now and then, didn't they?

'We all have days like that, kid,' Dio said, more sympathetically this time. 'But you know what? You can deal with that tomorrow with a fresh mind. Right now, put down a couple drinks with your bro, and stop thinking about Rarity.'

As if on cue, the bar-mare slid Inkwell's drink down the bar to him. It was clear liquid in a martini glass, garnished with a twist of lemon. The drink smelled faintly of juniper berries, but otherwise gave off no olfactory indication of its alcohol content. Dio knew from experience that this was one that would sneak up on you; tasted like water, took you out like a champion fighter.

'Your drink, sir,' the bartender said.

[Inkwell]

Inkwell looked up when Diomedes started to comfort him. He wiped his eyes and smiled at Dio. The big pegasus had barely said half a dozen sentences to Inkwell, and yet he was so nice and reassuring! If Inkwell were any drunker, he'd give his new best friend a great big hug. "Thanks guy," he said, holding a little too long on the "th" sound. "That meanssss a lot to me." Another wipe of his no doubt reddened eyes with his fetlocks, and he found himself able to sit up at the bar again.

Just in time, too. Dio had ordered a weird-sounding clear drink for him, and after the unpalatable taste of that whiskey stuff, he was hesitant to try the new one. But after a little sip of it, he had to admit it wasn't that bad. He loved lemon-based foods, and this was clearly based off lemons. It wasn't quite like lemonade, but it was close enough. He nursed it and smiled to himself, turning back to Dio.

"Heh. Just enjoy m'self, yeah. I will, Theo! But I'm not much of a drinkerrrrrrrrr, so I'm a little w-worried about that headachy thing you get." He shook his head and tried to look around at the spinning bar. "How do we get rid of that? Can't go into tomorrow with a fresh mind other...way."

[Dio]

Diomedes

Inkwell wasn't all bad. He looked like he was barely out of high school, just of age; still looking for his place in the world. That he would go to see Rarity as a fellow artist rather than a patron was most interesting. Diomedes didn't know Rarity personally; he'd never had a reason to visit Carousel Boutique, but he'd heard plenty from the townsfolk of Ponyville. Without any semblance of personal connection, he considered her much more an entrepreneur chasing the elusive bit rather than a visual artist in it for the craft. Dio shrugged. What did he know about such things? He was just a simple mail pony.

"Heh. Just enjoy m'self, yeah. I will, Theo! But I'm not much of a drinkerrrrrrrrr, so I'm a little w-worried about that headachy thing you get," Inkwell slurred. "How do we get rid of that? Can't go into tomorrow with a fresh mind other...way."

"That, my friend, is what you call a hangover!" Diomedes laughed. Inkwell was more of a lightweight than he thought he'd be! "But it shouldn't be a problem so long as you stop when you hit your limit."

Giving Inkwell a quick once-over, Diomedes was quick to add, "Though it looks like you're already on top of it. Only water from here on out, kid. You've got a lot to learn."

Without delay, two glasses of water slid down the bar, one stopping in front of each of the two patrons. Dio gave the barekeep a nod of approval before turning back to Inkwell. "So what flavor artist are you? I'm going to presume visual artist, since Rarity doesn't seem the type to sing, dance, or write; though she definitely seems the type to indulge in trashy romance novels. You're not one of those writers, are you?"

[Inkwell]

Inkwell giggled a little, pausing to push his glasses back onto his face after letting them nearly slip right off his nose. "Mmm, thanks, Tio. You're the awesome." He grinned and kept on sipping the last of his lemon drink until he ran out. "Jes' water for me, ma'am. Hope you got some back there, I'm parched."

The bartender got him a glass of water, which he proceeded to drink like a fish. As she poured him another, he listened to the pegasus's question about what sort of art he did. "I draw the pretty pictures," he answered. "I used to to to do a lot of illiminutions for books and magazzzines. Buthen I tried my hoof and paintin' and iss not as hard as I thought! Gotta use-a right brushes 'n colors 'n everythinnnnnnn." He giggled at the mention of trashy romance novels. "Nooooooooo. My sister's the writer. She dun' do that stuff thought. She does the scary stuff, stuff that makes yer heart beat fast and ya break into a sweat when she told 'em to me years ago."

He drank some more water and took a deep breath to try and clear his head. "She's got a book out, you know. I just got a letter from her."