The Watering Hole (Open- Read Rules at Bottom)

[Hippo]

The pony sitting with Macintosh seemed immediately disappointed with his drink. He was expecting much more of a rush, but apparently the pony still had several brain waves connecting with one another void of any pleasure of separated understanding, a little to the sigh of Big Mac.

Macintosh was staring around the room, look at all the other ponies, and more notably for himself, eyeing some of the mares that were entertaining themselves and others with their social presence. He wouldn't stare long, but he enjoyed seeing all the colorful mares gathering at a place like this, enjoying the company of whoever they were with and whoever they met. Almost all of them looked happy, and it made Macintosh happy.

With just enough concentration, Macintosh heard his table-mate ask if Big Mac was his name. "Eeyup." Big Mac said before taking another slow sip from his mug. This was actually kind of nice. A not-so-loud environment sitting at a table close to the wall, having the ability to watch every pony do their thing. This is what Big Mac enjoyed the most. Observation was his expertise.

And that's when sister would come up to him. He noticed right away Applejack was a little buzzed from whatever it was she was drinking. He knew her as a mare who could hold herself well, so it was an interestingly entertaining sight to see her head sway ever so slightly. She asked if Apple Bloom and Winona were watching the farm. Of course, by watching, that meant pretending to safe guard the orchard from the friendliest town in Equestria. "Eeyup." Big Mac took another drink, and scanned the bar of its patrons once again. Big Mac would probably enjoy a mare coming to him to talk, but he would never vocalize it, and would resist admitting it should any pony ever convict him about it.

​

[moonshineTheleocat]

Once Java finished his drink, he placed it down, and took note of the old fashioned country draw of an Eyyuup. But there was also something else to it. Was the pony before him now a girl? No... no, Java distinctly remembered the feminine pony before him was actually a very bulky stallion. What the hay was going on right now? He heard yet another voice, and tried to turn his head around, only to quickly find that everything was moving in a very speedy blur. The world was swirling heavily around him. He still could think very rationally, and could hear very well. But his balance was currently shot, and the world felt like it was on some kind of schizophrenic see saw with a rusty hinge.

"No wonder they called it cannon fodder," Java grumbled to himself, his words now much slower, and lazily slewed out. He figured it was time to get another drink... but perhaps something weaker this time around. He raised up a hoof signaling the waitress back over. "Two... please..." he slurred as he tried to gesture it out, but his hoof was going pretty far off to the side instead. "Something... different... I don't know... surprise.... me?"

Once the waitress nodded and went away, he looked back to Big Mac, who still for some reason, looked like a sultry mare now! The miracles of a country side drink. Though the pony was now VERY curious about what he had just ingested. "You know..." Java began, thumping a hoof on the table. His eyes squinting as he tried to make out BigMac from the blurry background. "You're a really cool guy you know that," Java hummed, now slumping his head against the table.

Even when laying down, the world felt it was about to tilt upside down in a whack carny ride.

"You have no need for words... each word... each eeyuup... is like..." The pony lifted up his head for a moment and dropped it down, "An orchestrated paragraph all condensed down to just one single sound. That's all you need. Mhmm..."

[Mojo]

Tex Critter smiled at Fluttershy's words, trying to cover up for his beaver friend revealing something he shouldn't have to the lovely pink maned Pegasus mare. But the cowpony stallion's smile quickly vanished by Rarity's refusal to sign his autograph book.

"Well ma'am, ain't no pony gonna force ya ta do somethin' ya don't wanna do," he said to the elegant unicorn with a forced grin before turning his attentions back to Fluttershy.

"Some of these here critters have been around me fer so long, they kinda know me really well. Guess I've always had that gift ta understand'm, since I was a foal! Don't know how I got it, I jist know that I've always been able ta talk to'm, and I reckon that's why so many of'm follow me around everywhere I go. From what I hear, you've had that gift all yur life too! Ain't it great?"

Using his unicorn magic, Tex Critter floated his guitar over in front of him.

"Say Miss Fluttershy, wanna hear me sing ya a song? I'm real good at performin', maybe ya heard about me being on tour last month around Equestria. I ain't no Saphhire Shores, but I gotta admit, lots of ponies out thar love mah music."

[brianblackberry]

Martini Paradise was willing to walk the young mare Presteza all the way back to room she was staying at in order to make sure she was safe, as well as make sure her nosebleed didn't cause her any issues. Turned out one of the cream colored unicorn's friends caught wind of what happened and volunteered to take over the duty of assuring Presteza a safe journey to bed. Who was Martini to argue with white maned filly's friends? Presteza would surely feel more comfortable with somepony she knew anyway as Martini had only met her that night. She noddle as she deferred to the pegasus, "alright, well just made sure that bleeding has stopped before she lays down, we don't want it interfering with her breathing while she sleeps." With that advice Martini stepped back to let the ruddy pegasus take over. The pink unicorn though couldn't help but chuckle, wondering if the self-proclaimed artist will remember her or any part of their conversation come the morning.

Martini returned to her stool next to the one other pony she had gotten to know, Applejack, who was looking a little tipsy but still determine to continue their little contest of shots. Martini flicked another glass of the hard cider with her hoof the earth pony's way as she listened to Applejack's advice about acquiring loans; a humorous topic given the atmosphere of the place. "I'm going to be candid hon, I haven't really figured out how much it would all cost yet, as I have no doubt I am a long ways off from even having enough bits even if I did have the loan, let alone the know-how." Martini took her drink and poured another, waiting for the orange mare to finish her's, "at this point in my life it is a long term dream, first thing first, before business plans or loans, I need to make sure I have enough steady work to build my saving of bits, and get more experience managing."

As interesting as discussing starting a business may be, the change of topics back to relationships felt more comfortable in the informal, friendly establishment, especially with the amount of cider both mares were consuming; hardly the ideal conditions for calculating loan amounts or figuring out business action plans. Still Martini was quite surprised, perhaps even a little taken aback by Applejack's candor when it came to her past intimate relationships. Was it the drink, or was the farmer mare always so forthcoming when it came to such personal topics? It wasn't that Martini was embarrassed or prudish about intimacy, she just wasn't used to others sharing such details so freely to somepony they just met, unless they were drunk. "Well hon, I don't think previous experience counts for a whole lot when it comes to a successful relationship, some ponies end up staying together for the rest of their lives with the first pony they fall in love with, others could search all their lives and never find that special somepony. It almost seems like a roll of the dice, but it's chemistry far more than arbitrary luck." Was that just bar room philosophy? Martini chuckled, she always seemed to reverted back to the bartender with advise, well it always worked for her before, so why change it now even when not behind the counter?

Of course Applejack mentioning past experiences brought up an interesting question in Martini's mind, "so those you been with before? Any regrets?" Of course for Martini, her own answer would "enough for a lifetime", but not all her past mistakes were bad, one did give her the most precious gift of all, her daughter, Sunrise Beach. When it came to Brazil Nut though, the jury was still out, she certainly hoped their on and off again relationship wasn't a mistake. "Well… Where do I start, Brazil.." She sighed, smiling, "we met at a bar far out west one night and just hit it off; he is a real charmer, although he would deny it. I guess I just got swept up in the fact he is this rugged adventurer, always rushing from one dangerous job to the next, dealing with all sorts of craziness and creatures. How could a mare not love a stallion like that?" She was pretty blunt about the types she liked, and why not if you knew what you wanted? "it isn't the fact he has to travel that is the problem, I guess because it is the fact both of us are itinerant, or maybe because neither of us have come right out and admitted our feelings. Not sure why really; I think we are both unsure it would work out, I mean the passion is there, but past that I don't know if we are ready" Martini pour the duo yet another glass, "I guess it all sounds very foalish."

[QueenChrysalis747]

The stallion replied quickly and politely to Rarity about the mare declining the Autograph and then turned back to Fluttershy, he seemed very nice and polite, though most ponies were. Come to think of it very rarely did she see a truely rude pony, like one without a reason, even if the reason was bad in the end. She then looked at the Stallion and smiled, it was a faint smile, but a smile none the less, she wasn't sure why, she just did, it made her feel good to smile to him.In fact he made her feel special, she wasn't sure why, he had done or said nothing really out of the ordinary, but something about him, well he was different and special, that's all she could figure out.

Fluttershy smiled as she listened to the Stallion speak, not just to be respectful, but because he was a very interesting Stallion at that. The stallion, Tex Critter, shared not only her passion of caring for animals and her love of all critters, but he also shared the unique ability Fluttershy possessed, he understood critter talk just as well as she did. It was amazing, all this time she spoke to her critters and she thought she was alone, not that it was bad as she was perfectly happy to speak with them alone, but to find another pony that loves critters as much made her heart leap, now there were two ponies to help all the critters in Equestria!

Then he asked her something, something that not only made her blush a bit, but made her a little nervous as well, it was just how he had asked it. He asked if she, and she alone, would like to hear him play a song, he explained that he did it as a casual thing, but still he asked her directly. It made her shy and nervous, she hid a bit behind her hair, her blush matching the soft pink hair she hid behind, her legs trembled a bit and butterflies filled her stomach. She couldn't figure out why she was so nervous around him, sure she was shy, but this was so odd, she slowly nodded, "Y..w..well, I..I mean I w..would like to b..but y..you don't have to, b..but if you w..want, i w..wouldn't stop y..you, i..i mean..w..well," she squeaked a bit, "yes"

[SteelEagle]

Applejack could out-drink any mare or stallion in town and it was due to one part of her that nopony who was around to argue differently knew about. She could keep her wits about her even as her body and eyes swam around in a salt sea of inebriated wonderment. Her focus was rarely off the prize in any situation, whether that was conversation or work. And as long as she had that focus, the fact that her body was slowly succumbing to the effects of the various hard ciders was less of a problem than it may have been for others. Slowly succumbing because she had the body of a Goddess who could handle her drink, not like her friends who took a whiff of a hard drink and got their consciousness back in the bed of another similarly impacted pony. So if Martini wanted to continue drinking then no matter how her eyes looked or head swayed, Applejack would be there step by step. She downed her drink and asked for two more, ready to drink this bar dry. Her head would be the vocal point of an internal storm all of tomorrow, but the fields were quiet anyway. No better place to have a hangover.

And no better topic than business. Applejack had a lot of hobbies and one of them was something that ponies didn't often attribute to her. Maybe she had picked it up from Twilight a bit, but Applejack liked to plan expansions for her farm. Expansions for her business, for her family- though that just needed a willing Carrot Fields or Carrot Fields and a cheap bottle of bourbon. She had plans upon plans back home in her study. Permit requirements, financial requirements, profit requirements, material needs, seasonal timing, it all mattered and she had it all lined up. Suffice it was to say that she knew what she needed to do locally at least to get the loans for her plans. If she had more information, she could help her new friend Martini as well. She may not be long into the thought process of what she wanted to do but anypony who succeeded knew that you needed to have an idea of what needed to happen in order to make dreams a reality, and you needed to start early. Applejack took her hat off and drove her hoof into it, finding one of the cards she had attached inside and then whistled loudly, attracting the attention of the bartender. She motioned for a quill and then nodded swimmingly back at Martini.

"Well, y'all might just be in tha dream phase but Ah know it takes work ta make yer dream somethin' real. Y'all don't wanna be ready ta move on just ta find out tha ya can't do a dang thing 'cause you didn't lay tha groundwork. 'Ere's mah card an-" the quill finally arrived, "an- and lemme just give ya my address. Send me some details on whatcher thinkin' an' Ah'll tell you what Ah think ya should do," Applejack offered as she began writing. Her hoofwriting and mouthwriting were both below average anyway, but drunk it didn't help matters. What was eventually pushed towards Martini was a barely legible piece of madness with a mare's address somewhere within as Applejack put the hat back on and downed in one gulp a shot of cider. Onward forever.

No better way to go forward than by discussing their love lives and associated bar room philosophy. Stick a few drinks in a pony and look as they became philosophers worthy of being recorded. Applejack had done it more than a few times and she recognized the signs in what Martini said, not that Martini was incorrect. Having two ponies who meshed together well was far more important than any experience, but little things were what made a relationship special. She didn't actually have experience in sharing some details of her life with others. There was this gray area between intimacy and friendship that a romantic partner lived in and she didn't know how to really handle that very well, not yet anyway. It was a problem in her mind but no point in going down that path much longer. Instead, her drunken mind decided to turn chemistry into a joke. Why not? She was a mare who left ponies rolling in aisles with her good jokes. Once or twice she had been able to make Big Mac chuckle, which was worthy of an award all on its own. Breaking that stallion's stoicism was legendarily difficult.

"Well, then Ah'm in for a world of hurt...'cause Ah was never very good at Chemistry in school!" Applejack raised her voice suddenly with the punchline, laughing uproariously at her own very funny joke. She downed another drink and then waved for two more. The barmare friend of hers would need to step her game up because this was one farmer who was tilling fields in another plane of existence at the moment.

Regrets came up. Applejack had a lot in her life buried under a terrible soil held in check by lock and key. It just didn't do a pony much good to really devote time to the negative aspects of the past. They were with you. They weighed you down bit by bit and would drown you in the seas of your own suffering if you allowed it, so Applejack made sure to not give them that power. When it came to relationships, things were much brighter. She hadn't broken any hearts she was aware of and her heart had never been broken either, and she had kept things on the level enough that any regret she ever felt was silly and of her own making. More serious regrets were littered across her life involving family, events, or poor advice, but her love life? Nah. It was smooth sailing for her in that regard.

"Can't say Ah have, sugarcube. Ah was always pretty open 'bout mah intentions so anypony Ah've been with has known what was up. Ain't nopony got reason ta regret bein' with me, and Ah'm tha same. Some mares can kill ya with a wink of their eyes and some stallions make yer knees weak but in tha end of tha day Ah've always been in charge of me. Can't regret that, naw can ya?" Applejack mused as she listened to her friend. these things were facts for Applejack but Martini's life was different.

Applejack's victories were not those of her friend. She had a bit more of an odd relationship with another one of those weird adventure types who flew around Equestria wrecking all good order in their wake. Applejack liked the idea and admired the tenacity, but they were doubtlessly the greatest source of heartbreak in the land, relatively speaking. But she couldn't deny the dashing romance of it all, even if it was silly. So was love.

"Well, Ah'm not one ta talk. He sounds like he could be a good stallion, though. Anypony willing to go 'round and adventure is ten times more likely ta go down inta tha dirt with ya ta make sure yer safe. Now if only y'all could just meet up, admit yer feelings, make some love and get on with it. Then y'all wouldn't have anything ta worry 'bout. Hey Big Mac, ya reckon that adventures make for good lovers? Ah bet they would. All rough and tumble like, good times, hehehe," Applejack said loudly, pulling her brother in verbally. Getting him talking about matters of love and romance or at least watching him react to the discussion was worth the price of admission. She pulled her brother in physically, herself looking out at the slightly drunk...well, very drunk stallion who couldn't even get his head up. She leaned with amazing grace and ability on her chair, fully tilting it until she could see past her brother's massive form and see the drunken stallion that Java was playing this afternoon.

"Y'all right over thar, sugarcube?"

[StaticPinks]

How many drinks was it? Five? Ten? Copper didn't know, nor did he care at all really. Copper was still in the same place as he had been, a second bottle of hard apple cider now in the presence of the first. His horn slightly faded in colour and strength as Copper picked up the glass full with the amber liquid. His magical grip stuttered as his concentration was very obviously hindered due to how inebriated he was. Copper was actually quite the strong drinker, never truly being affected by the alcohol or showing any symptoms to anypony, but even an old stallion accustomed to the double-bladed ichor could fall to the solution, it all mattered about the limit an individual could take, and Copper had reached his limit. That wasn't going to stop him though, a throbbing headache was the only bad it would do to him, and a head-splitting hangover that he had many mornings in many towns.

Copper tilted to glass to his mouth for the umpteenth time and drained the sweet liquid, savoring the taste of apples and wine before clattering the shot glass rather loudly, dropping it instead of placing it onto the table as his magic failed him at the last second.

"...Ugh, for Celestia's sake," Copper cursed under his breath at the noise and noting the way the alcohol was affecting him. His magic was certainly fading out as it was getting too hard to focus and lift anything, but that didn't mean he could stop drinking. He had the whole night ahead of him still, why stop here due to the loss of a luxury? At any time he could pay the bartender and head to the closest inn for the night, there was no rush. He really had nopony to talk to or meet with tonight, he would do that in the morning or even the day after, when he survived the biggest hangover known to ponykind. He had all the time in the world, all to himself.

Copper grabbed the glass in his mouth, moving it to a position he could more easily reach. He then balanced on the stool underneath him and lifted both of his arms from the seat and reached over the the half-empty bottle like he had seem many non-unicorn ponies do, so it couldn't be too hard, even if he was moderately buzzed and clearly not thinking straight. Copper tilted forward on his stool, tipping the bottle into his glass to capture the liquid gold. Copper managed to get only a few drops in before he leaned too far on his stool, letting the stool tilt and slip underneath him, bringing both Copper and the bottle with it. Copper let out a surprised grunt as he landed on the floor with a crash that did not surpass the crash that came from the bottle of hard cider he was holding, now broken with shards of glass and the precious amber liquid slowly spreading across the floor.

Copper on the other hoof, managed to land on his back, sending a wave of fire through his entire being, grimacing at the unexpected dose of pain and crying out on instinct. He lied sprawled on the ground, legs up as his head swam in the sudden burst of pain and a rush of sickness engulfing him due to the alcohol. He closed his eyes, a wave of embarrassment hitting him almost as hard as the floor did. Of all the places and times, he had to fall out of his stool like a colt tasting his first beer for the first time. Copper cursed himself at his stupidity to let his feelings and stubbornness take over him over like this. He must have looked like the most pathetic drunk that night to all the patrons of the bar. Hopefully he could just get up, clean the mess and hope the other ponies ignored his blunder.

[SunsetSombra]

The sounds of raucus enjoyment and laughter rung from the establishment like a beacon to all - 'all' being a world full of equines, griffons and other such critters, even those of a slightly less 'light` nature.

Sans Comique, a fledgeling horror comic artiste in her own mind, had found her way here after many a recomendation from friends and school associates alike...it's reputation of being a rather interesting place to allow inspiration to hit was apparently quite prevalent, and the young Aerion couldn't help but find her curiosity piequed to get inside and see just what kind of environment to expect...although if it were anywhere like some of the places she'd heard of elsewhere, she probably wasn't sure that going in on her own was a wise idea.

Still, fortune favors the bold, and if anypony was bold, it was Sans 'Jeepers' Comique, horror comic writer extraordinaire...in training - sure, perhaps she wasn't exactly publishing or making anything yet, she had no problems in believing that every experience in life would give her something new to work with. Where most ponies would see the light in everyday situations, Jeepers had a tendency of seeing a little of the dark...be it the idea that Cider was in fact a potion created by the apples to keep ponies buying from them for the rest of their lives, or the one where Mayor Mare was in fact an ageless Vampirepony who would eat her opposition alive - literally. Sure, they were all silly stories that she'd dreamt up here and there, but it was something she loved to do - taking the concept of the very ordinary, and turn it into something that was about as far away from ordinary, mundane and trivial as it could be!

Pushing the door open, she makes her way to the inside, where she just about catches the tail-end of the sound of a crash nearby...her ears perk up slightly and she looks around to see just where such a noise had originated, settling down once she saw that it was some ways away and because of some silly pony or other...she wasn't about to ask after the incident.

Still, it was her first timn truly venturing into a place such as this - oh, she was old enough and fully aware of the situations that could take place, but she wasn't experienced in handling them directly - as such, it was probably likely that she stuck out like a sore hoof. Ah well, such a thing was life that something like this should very well be tried once just to see what it would resonate within the one experiencing it - she wasn't exactly sure yet just how this particular locale would 'resonate; with her, but if it lended any shred of inspiration for something she could write later on, then she was all about giving it the old college try, and see just where the dice landed upon doing so!

She heads to the bar, knowing that she had a few ample bits to have herself something to drink...although, she realised, now she needed to figure out WHAT that would be!

Welp, this was awkward...she stands there by the bar, looking to see just exactly what she should acquire for her first real 'drink' in a place like this - rubbing her muzzle in thought as she searches high and low for some kinda menu that would lend her a hoof in this, a most perplexing of puzzling problems the likes of which she had never had to make before!.

[Mojo]

Tex Critter smiled as Fluttershy approved of his offer to sing for her. Taking a deep breath, the cowpony unicorn stallion began to sing as his guitar magically accompanied him.

"There ain't nutin' in the sea, thar ain't nutin' in the sky,

That kin match the beauty, of the lovely Fluttershy!

I've seen the world up close, and I've seen it from afar,

But if life here was a stage, then Fluttershy would be the.. star!"

As he continued to sing, all of his animal friends hummed, as if they were trying to sing backup for him.

"Oh Fluttershy, Fluttershy, ya stole the heart of this ol' guy!

You have a beauty none can match, hope you like this small repass,

One look into those lovely eyes, for any stallion, yur a prize!

Oh Fluttershy, Fluttershy, fairest of the earth and sky!

No wonder critters all love you, guess that makes me a critter too!"

"Well, I make this here song up on the fly, Miss Fluttershy, what do ya think?"

[QueenChrysalis747]

Fluttershy closed her eyes to listen and smiled warmly, he had a lovely singing voice and the critters added a nice touch to the song, but it was clear he was mentioning liking her. She opened her eyes to seem him smiling st her and asking about his song, this left her speechless for a moment unsure what to do or say. She shuffled a hoof as her face began to turn red as she blushed, thinking of the exact words he said, mentioning about being a critter cuz they loved her and things of that sort. She looked up and hid behind her hair, "I..it was, oh..nice, v..very nice, and oh my, I..I um," she said stammering and blushing quite a lot and turning away a bit.

So there Fluttershy stood, with a handsome stallion that may have been hitting on her, well his song had its suggestions, and all she could do was stammer and become so shy. She sighed to herself, unsure what to do, what to say, how to feel, the song made her feel special, but odd all the same. The odd feeling wasn't bad, it was like a flittering in her belly, making her unsure and shy, mostly toward Tex Critter, she could barely look at him right now! She slowly turned back, "i..um liked it a..a lot" she said softly with a nod.

[Hippo]

Java started spinning in his chair. He was obviously getting drunk. However, Big Mac seemed to pay more attention to the painting the wall. His body was mostly turned away from the rest of the bar at the moment, he could only hear the song-singing and rough drunken yelling behind him, and when he tuned it out, not even then. The painting on the wall was a picture of Ponyville from one of the valley's ridges. The town looked so small from way up there, assuming the painter was giving an accurate portrayal of the size of it all. Big Mac's deep thoughts about how insignificant the world is gave an interesting perspective of the activity in the bar, most notable the ones with a few drinks.

And speaking of interesting perspectives, Java was on the floor. He barely had the cognitive power to speak it seemed, until he finally spouted something about how liked the way Big Mac talked. "Eeyup," was all he could say in response, to such a shallow, unproven compliment powered by the affect of losing a few brain cells. It was ok though. Big Mac liked Java. He liked most company, even if they never got the message that he appreciated it.

And that's when Applejack yelled from across the room. Something about adventures and love and dying. Big Mac didn't really understand, but to humor her, he figured he might as well go along with it. He got up, took his glass in his mouth and walked over to wear Applejack and Martini were sitting and sat down himself. Big Mac tilted his head towards the bar while looking back at Java who was on the floor. He should come with him. No pony else was going to be able to look after the poor fella. Macintosh looked towards his sister and blindly agreed. "Uh, yeah." He took a long sip and emptied his first drink. Applejack was three or four rounds ahead of him, or behind him depending on how you looked at it.

​

[brianblackberry]

Martini Paradise’s horn glowed green, and the napkin took on a similar green aura as she took it from Applejack, giving it a glance. “Well, thank you,” she said, before taking a second, longer look. Martini studied it for several moments, tilting the napkin to the left, and then tilted her head to the right in a vain hope of reading the scribbling. Well, that was definitely a ‘W’. She re-oriented the napkin and studied it. Unnnnless it was an ‘M’. She turned the napkin over and studied it some more; unless … It was an E. She turned it on its side, and bit her lower lip as she tried to read it …

Martini suddenly snickered at the situation as she looked up at the orange earth mare, smiling, “why thank you! I’ll keep this on me for later of course”. Floating the card into her saddle bag next to the stool, the pink unicorn mare couldn’t help but continue to smile; she was definitely winning this contest of who could down the most hard cider. Imagine, beating an earth pony, and a pony that produced cider at that! It made her feel all warm inside, oh wait, that’s from the buzz she was getting from drinking all that cider; still, she was definitely in the lead here!

Applejack’s rambling definitely showed that she was suffering from that rather common ailment; the only doctor’s prescription for it was to be cut off; or to get drunk under the table. Only one way to find out as Martini flicked another small shot glass Applejack’s way, “that’s seven now..” Or was it eight? Maybe nine? Oh who cares, she was still winning over the orchard mare! An observation made even more apparent with Applejack’s completely nonsensical joke that for no apparent reason Martini found funny enough to laugh along with.

Among Applejack’s mostly incoherent ramblings about any romantic regrets, the conversation segued back to the topic of Brazil Nut and the turbulent, irregular, and unofficial relationship he and Martini had going, “indeed, he is a good stallion, in more ways than one! Don’t you worry about the passion part; everything is just fine there as every evening we get to spend together attests, just not enough evenings together”. Did that make sense? Sure it did, she wasn’t drunk or anything, “ uhh… Where was I? Oh right, just been hard talking about where we want to take our relationship, or if we should have one; I guess… I guess its complication, er complicated. I,uh, I don't want to give him, er it up” Ugh, why is this so hard to explain, even more so than normally! She really didn’t want to think about all the nuanced reasons behind why she and Brazil haven’t figured it all out yet between them, not right now at least, mostly because she was having a hard time thinking…

Another downed shot, another pair of glasses, one for her, one for her new friend; was that eight or ten now?

Martini just smiled and blushed as she recounted mentally, as best she could, the last time she saw the adventuring stallion and all they did together, day and night. Her sensual thoughts only broken by the loud thud nearby of an older rust colored unicorn stallion who looked to have too much that night already, not an uncommon sight, except this time Martini didn’t have to clean up after him. None the less she used her magic to at least lift him back up on all of his fours. Normally she’d move him to a stool and sit him down upon it, but it was unusually hard to concentrate and her green aura sputtered away as soon as the cooper pony was back up. Hopefully he wouldn’t fall down again, she wasn’t sure if she had it in her to pick anymore ponies up, at least for the next few minutes.

At least the area was becoming more interesting, a young brown earth stallion, a larger red one who Applejack knew and looked pretty ruggedly handsome, and whoa was that one of those bat ponies?! What were they called Air… Air.. Aerions! Yeah! She never had seen one before! She was as cute too! First thing first though, “so Applejack… Have another drink; you’re one behind me…. And uh, and uh, who’s your handsome big red friend?”

Time for round ten! Or was it eleven?

[moonshineTheleocat]

Java’s spinning head only continued to grow worst as he laid there. Seriously, what kind of bucking drink did he just swallow!? This isn’t a beverage you’d have at a bar, it’s more like for somepony you just want dead. Or the intention of a party is for everyone to go home wrecked, and face planted firmly in dung on the side of the street. But at least the sweet words of concern dawned on his ears. And from Apple Jack no less. Ah such a sweet mare… Java only wished he could actually see straight, and not some fuzzy bouncy world.

“Ermm… yes… well…” Java began in thought. He started to think about his situation some. His body felt like it was hanging by his head… and something hard was pressed against everything just past his chest. His legs were sprawled out… and what he could barely identify as a glass… was sideways. Yes, he was perfectly fine if Tartarus was a wonderful vacation spot in this time of year.

“maybe… maybe not. I don’t know,” the engineering pony sighed as he tried to plant his hooves on the ground, and push himself back up to a sitting position. His efforts were slow but careful with a heavy touch of sloppy. At least his brain was still functioning somewhat properly. “I do know I regret my first drink choice…” he grumbled, He tried tilting his head, but the world quickly spun the other way almost sending the pony onto his side. "Don't drink the Cannon fodder," he whined out in warning as he heard the thuds of two more glasses of cider had been placed on the table.

The pony knew he shouldn’t. But he only reminded himself promptly at the thought of doubt, that this was his one day he scheduled to visit a bar. This was his night to destroy himself. So… after squinting, to try and steady his vision, he moved one hoof to slowly push one of the glasses to the much larger stallion. He then wrapped his forehooves around the other, and pulled it closer to him into a hugging embrace.

His eyes shifted about slowly, trying to make heads and tails of things before noticing a mare behind him. Or was she in front of him? Poor Java could hardly tell anymore. While as much of a drunken stupor the pony was, he was still quite observant, even if things are now sideways, upside down, or out of focus.

“Well…. Mac… I think it’s time for you to go get your mac daddy on…” the pony slurred as he lowered his muzzle down to his mug. He then paused, just a mere inch away from it’s savory contents. “No pun intended…” he added through a rasp. Mere seconds later… the pony’s head suddenly drop, dunking his muzzle into the contents, and sending some of it sloshing onto the table.

“This… is going to be a long night,” the pony mumbled in his cup as he slowly began to drink away.

[SunsetSombra]

Well, this was starting about as well as she'd expected.

With the odd sight of inebriated ponies around her, Jeepers couldn't help but feel slightly amused - even the bartender mare seemed like she was having some kind of fun, although she had apparently entirely missed the conversation transpiring between them. She wasn't really sure if she wanted to find out more about it offhand, but Sans figured if it came up out of the blue, she wasn't going to make a big deal of listening to it if there was something to be gleaned from doing so.

Rubbing her muzzle, she looked over her choices one last time before deciding that a manehattan sounded like the most obvious choice - it wasn't the most complex drink on the menu, but it seemed to be one that would make for an interesting first choice. She tweaks the shades on her muzzle with a hoof, before coughing loudly and speaking to whomever would be the one responsible for taking an order...or at least, she really hoped thats she was doing!

" Excuuuse me, uh - one manehattan with ice, please! " she says, placing a small bag of bits on the bartable. " not exactly sure how much one of those IS, but there should be enough in there. "

Sans had heard that drinks weren't always cheap in places like this , so she'd come prepared with hopefully enough for a couple of drinks and maybe some kinda eats if she needed any...right now, she didn't feel like she was in any immediate need of having something to munch on, but the option was there regardless and she'd ponder again on it should she have reason to.

All she could do now was wait for the appropriate response - she really should have at least tried doing this sooner than she had, but considering she'd been focusing on bunches of other things before this particular period of time, it honestly couldn't have been helped...besides, better late than never, eh? No point crying over spilt cider, afterall!

[Pretzelparty]

“her hon, hold that to your nose and lean on me, I’m going to take you to your bunk before anything else.. Unfortunate, happens to you. Now let us get to your bed.”

Once Martini came to the painter’s aid, Presteza gave her a smile and did as she was asked. Honestly, Presteza didn’t feel much pain besides a slight stinging sensation in her snout. She wound up inheriting her daddy’s constitution. The cream colored mare was a fairly resilient to most things with the exceptions being the cold and (obviously) pollen.

“Thanks, Martini! Remember ta look me up later in the mornin’ and we’ll talk details on the painting’ ya want!” said the mare with a cheerful tone in her voice that was a bit clashing with her current, bloody nosed state.

Soon Presteza and Martini were joined by the armor clad pegasus, Fire Walker. Presteza shouldn’t have really been surprised. She and Fire were rather close friends after all, having had a history together since foalhood.

, she turned to the young mare, "Use your magic to hold the cloth against your snout and I will take you to your hotel."

"Take your time Pressy, we're not in a race."

"We're gonna get you to your room, and out of those clothes. If your snout is still bleeding, I have something in my pack that will help, but for now, just worry about stopping that bleeding and putting one hoof in front of another."

"Maybe in the morning if you're feeling better, we can get together for breakfast. There's this little café in town that makes the best Prench Toast."

As the pair neared the door, Fire Walker called to the brown Pegasi stallion, "Dunders, could you get the door for us, please?"

"alright, well just made sure that bleeding has stopped before she lays down, we don't want it interfering with her breathing while she sleeps."

The mare couldn’t help but laugh a bit at all the attention and concern she was getting. She was sure she would be able to get to the inn on her own okay, it was just a slight mistake that ended in what was her opinion a minor injury after all. She supposed it was something that couldn’t be helped though by such good natured ponies, “Thanks, you two. I’m sure I’ll be fine come morning! And Fire, I’ll look forward ta that breakfast.”

"Let's get back soon, it's cold out here and I want to go talk to some of those mares."

Soon even Fire’s old flame, dunder wound up lending a helping hoof. Presteza was aware that in the past Fire and Dunder were very close but some turn of events lead to their separation but continued friendship. Presteza had figured that Fire still had some feelings for the stallion so once Dunder spoke some rather callous words the inebriated mare could only give the stallion a glare that could melt steel to show her disapproval.

Soon enough the painter was back at her room at the local inn. Before she hit the hay she bid farewell to her friend Fire and gave her a tight hug of surprising strength. The freckled young painter was eventually out like a light and fast asleep waiting for the next day to begin.

--Exit Presteza--

[tacobob]

"Don't worry Dunders. We won't be gone for long", Fire Walker managed to bite her bottom lip which prevented her from frowning, "I saw the inn while I was running my errands earlier and it wasn't far from here. Actually." The Ponyville Inn was just a short canter from the little pub they were just at. "It's just down the road. We'll drop off Pressy, and we'll get back to drinks for me, and hopefully smooches for you.", she added with a wink, "Actually, this might increase your chances of happiness back at the pub. I'm sure more than a few saw you helping Miss Presteza and I out of the 'Watering Hole' and might think, 'there goes an gentle-colt! One with a cute and fuzzy flank! If he comes back, I'll have to pay him a visit!'", she chuckled as they gently escorted the mare.

Once they arrived at the lodge, and after Fire found out what room she was staying in, the pair of Pegasus ponies and one unicorn entered the painter's room. The red mare gently removed any access gear and clothing that her old friend had on, and placed it near the dresser. Once the unicorn was tucked away in her bed, Fire took in the hug and gave her friend a kiss on her freckled cheek, "Get plenty of rest. If you need to sleep in, please do. We might miss breakfast, but there's always brunch, or lunch, or whatever. Just make sure to get plenty of fluids when you wake up. I will check up on you."

There was a very good chance that the mare might have missed most of what her friend said, as Presteza was well into her slumber, "Geez.", Fire whispered as she brushed the hair from her friend's face, "Wish I looked that pretty when I sleep.". The R.E.A guard had long harbored the idea that she too slept like an 'angel', but one photograph later disproved it all.

Once they left the inn, the mare spoke up, "I really wish I told you more about Pressy. She's one great gal. Been with me since we were kids. Back when I was a miserable and sickly foal, and even when I was a rotten punk during my middle teenage years. Lost so many of my friends during that time, but she stuck by my side.", there was a little bit of moisture around her eyes as she spoke, "And even when we were stuck on that weird island and I suffered through that bout of amnesia, I could only think of making sure she was happy. Still believe Muggo' and her would made the best couple.", she let out a dramatic sigh, "I'm supposed to be her friend, but we never get to really just sit and talk."

As the 'Watering Hole' rolled into view, Fire Walker had an idea. "Dunders. How about we have a little race? Last one to the pub, pays the tab!?"

She gave the stallion no time to respond, as the mare quickly darted towards the bar.

[Solaria]

Sun Drop watched her companion go through the familiar tirade of facial expressions, from one of an almost suggestive nature to something bordering on revelation. While he was occupied, the mare took the opportunity to look at a few of his inked adornments more closely. She'd always been fascinated by tattoos, and moreso the reasoning as to why ponies got them. For some it was symbolic. For others, it was almost an obsession, though she couldn't tell which fit her new friend yet. From the sheer number of them though, needle-induced mania couldn't be too far from the truth; she stifled a chuckle.

Could it be that the ponies that wore such organic badges wanted to emulate their cutie marks, but on their own terms? The unicorn glanced at her own winged marking. Such a thing was a symbol of the greatest purpose of each pony, but perhaps a tattoo allowed more control. They didn't define one's life or greatest talent, but they were expressive all the same. She shook her head a bit. It was easy for her to get philosophical when drinking.

When Inkbrand introduced himself and showed off a few more of his tats, Sun Drop responded with a salute of her own in kind.

"The best huh?" she teased lightly. "Always good to be the best at something. Doesn't that get a bit boring after a while though?" She flipped her empty mug idly through the air in increasingly more intricate patterns, a minor training exercise she'd come to do more as habit than anything. It kept her telekinetic magic flexible and active. "You're the only one that can challenge yourself at that point.

"I'd introduce myself, but you already know who I am, so that's just a waste of time," Sun Drop added with a smirk. "But as to what I'm doing here, I was practicing on some of the great cloud cover Ponyville had earlier. The giant swells are awesome and all, but sometimes I need something a little flatter and smoother to practice some of the harder stuff. Because, you know, I have to practice to become better. I'm not the best at what I do," she laughed.

She'd actually planned on leaving the quiet town earlier the next morning, but the longer she stayed awake the more fun she was having. The stallion didn't need to know that, because for some reason fans tended to get rather big-headed and excited when they knew a recognized athlete was having fun around them. The white pony didn't necessarily think Inkbrand would do something extreme, but his high level of self-confidence gave her just enough pause to reel herself in from being completely herself. Who knew? Maybe he'd prove her wrong and she could really cut loose later.

"If you're a tattoo artist, don't you have a shop or something to maintain? I mean from what you said, it doesn't sound like you set up base here. And I guess if I'm going to bring up the subject, what do your tats mean anyway? If that's not too personal a question, that is."

((Sorry for the tardy response, life was ridiculous for a while. I should be posting more regularly now.))

[Dunder]

From their time dating, Dunder could tell that he could have chosen a better sentence to use than the one he just said to Fire. He could tell that what he said had upset her, making a bolt of sadness pulse through his heart. And the glare from Pressy only reinforced the feeling. His ears flattened and he looked to the ground as he trotted behind the two mares. Fire, though, seemed to quickly change to actually supporting his escorting to get mares. Now he couldn't tell if the statement was genuine or not. Either way, it gave him a resolve not to flirt in front of Fire.

When they got to the hotel room, Dunder assesed the situation of Pressy's bleeding while Fire got her ready for bed. The bleeding seemed to have stopped, but a little extra help wouldn't hurt. He laid down his saddlebags and flipped one of them open. There he poked around for a moment before pulling out a small white bottle plugged with a cork. Dunder waited for when Pressy was already drifted off to sleep before uncorking the bottle. The pegasus took a deep breath. "I pray to slow the blood and cleanse the wound..." He muttered as he moved in to grasp the bottle in his mouth. He stood over Pressy and gave a quick drop into each nostril. The fluid slipped inside and quickly dissolved, clotting any wounds inside for good. Now, the wounds would be harder to open and she surely wouldn't choke on her own blood.

With that peice of mind, he quickly capped the bottle while he listened to Fire. He knew she was one to sell herself short of her natural beauty. The room was quiet enough for Dunder to hear. "You know, you are an angel when you sleep." He said. His mind quickly brought back memories of when they were together, late at night cuddling. How long it had been since Dunder felt a similar connection, he didn't know.

He followed her out silently, listening to her talk about Pressy. He smiled while she talked. It was good to have such good friends in the world. And at the mention of Muggo', Dunder missed his old friend. The pegasus hadn't seen the earth pony in an uncomfortably long time. "Hmmpph. Haven't seen Muggo' in a while. Maybe he went off and married that bar-maid of his." Dunder said as he followed alongside Fire. That's when she proposed they have a race. Dunder knew that there would be no countdown.

At the same time as her, the pegasus took off in a swift gallop. Heavy hoof-beats against the dirt road as they both charged to the pub neck-to-neck in their race. If he slowed down one bit, he knew he would lose.

[Mojo]

Tex Critter sat down beside of Fluttershy at her table. The singing cowpony could see that his impromptu song had made the lovely Pegasus mare uncomfortable.

"Gee whiz Miss Fluttershy," Tex said as he removed his hat, "I sure didn't mean ta embarass ya. But I haveta admit, your radiant beauty inspires mah inner muse ta write songs an' sing'm. Do you like ta sing? I'll bet mah hat you've gotta a wonderful singin' voice! I kin spot talent a mile away, am I right, ma'am?"

Sensing her discomfort, Tex's animal friends went into swift action. Soon, the bunnies and other animals had gathered up various flowers. The beaver in the group tied them together into a makeshift boutique and then presented them to Fluttershy.

"Well ain't that somethin'? Even mah critters wanna make ya feel more relaxed, Miss Fluttershy. Tell ya what, is thar a favorite song you'd like fer me ta sing ya? Jist name it an' if'n I know it, I'll sing it fer ya, or even with ya, if ya like."

[QueenChrysalis747]

As Tex spoke it only made her blush and looked down a bit more, it was so odd to be complimented like this, by a stallion who shared so much in common with her. He then began to appologize which made her feel odd, it wasn't bad his singing, not in fact it was amazing, it's just she never had a stallion sing to her, especially with a song so dedicated to her. She blushed and looked at him, hiding behind her hair, "N..no M..Mr Tex..it..it's jsut, I.." he was trying to say but was soon swarmed with the lovely little critters all clearly trying to make her at home and comfortable, which she was used to at home. so she smiled and pet a few of them, "t..that's so s..sweet you cute little ones," she said warmly. Then Tex asked her if he could sing her a song she liked and she shuffle d a hoof, "O..Oh mister tex..I don't know, I..I like th..the gesture, b..but I f..feel wrong asking y..you to s..sing, and um, i..it's so o..odd," she said, "h..having a s..stallion d..do something s..so special to me" she said looking down."

[SunsetSombra]

Brazil Nut:

It had been a while since Brazil Nut - Discoverer of many an artifact, treasure and knicknack from all over the Equestrian soils - had visited this l'il hole in Ponyville...it felt good to be in familiar territories, but at the same time he felt a penchant of unease. He hadn't seen Martini in a l'il while, having been too wrapped up with things in various places to keep a regular visitation going - it was a shame, really, he'd never really intended on staying away for as long as he had but when you're given the option of looking for items that you know full well aren't 'unknown' by other ponies, you didn't say no to the opportunity for fear of missing out on a genuine experience, and perhaps something of value!

Pushing his way in through the doors, he looks around for any immediately familiar faces...he knew Martini was usually around, and had hoped that potentially she'd happen to be around at the same time. If anypony deserved a hello and something of an apology, it was that one mare - things was always complicated when it came to her, and he wasn't really sure just how to take things. Oh, there was no doubt that he felt a great deal for the mare, and was fond of her adorable daughter...but his being away made life a little less easy sometimes, and he didn't wanna throw Martini into that kinda commitment with that hanging over them. He had absolutely no intentions of leaving them, of course, not if they were prepared to stick it through...so for now, he was mostly just enjoying the time that was being had, and keeping as grounded and as available as he could that wouldn't put his entire career in any true danger, metaphorically speaking of course.

Tipping a small nod to the aerion stood impatiently by the bar, he makes his way over...not entirely sure what he would find. Although there certainly was some drunken voices and laughter coming from someplace nearby where he was stood, and he could swear that one voice in particular sounded an awful lot like Martini, but he couldn't quite see where she was at quite yet.

Ah well, he waits at the bar...in no particular hurry - he was in Ponyville for the night, afterall, and going nowhere for the current moment anyhow!

[SteelEagle]

Heh. This barmare was a lot of fun to drink with but for the most part Applejack had this silly filly wrapped around her hoof. Applejack had drank more and was hitting at a lower ebb than she had started the night on but Applejack had a baseline of functionality that no amount of hard liquor could pitch her below. Her consitution wouldn't allow. She would never be a drunken mess, never fall over and smack her head on the table. Sometimes a particularly fierce bout of drinking would see to it that her decision making a bit worse but she knew plenty of ponies that'd say her decision making was terrible all the time anyway. No harm done. But this little baremare of her's was starting to fade away, albeit slowly. Some ponies could handle their liquor but few ponies could handle Applejack's liquor and they were all part of the resistant Apple family. Martini had a long way to go before she could threaten that certain throne. Applejack nodded her head as another round was ordered. She was actually one ahead of her friend, but hey, drunks couldn't do math properly.

"Well, Ah better catch up than. Don't wanna let a mare like you see me in mah weak moments," Applejack replied with a wink and a smile, downing another shot. She was swimming but this ocean was one of her choosing, one she knew well. There would be no drowning in her own arrogance here. She called for more shots- Martini would fall to the ground at some point, "an' that big block of muscle and stoicism is mah brother, Big Mac. Ten bits ta ya if you can get'm ta say somethin' oth than eeyup or nnope, hehehehe. I wish he'd get a new manecut though. Big Mac, yer mane looks like a ferret rollin' 'round tha mud. Get it fixed," She replied wistfully and with a sigh. When he put effort into it he could look presentable but some stallions were without a hope in the world and he was one of them. All well. Someday, some how, she'd get him a nice marefriend to shack up with.

"Yer stallionfriend sounds like a real hoot. Can't say that Ah'd be all 'bout adventurers mahself. Ah like mah stallions close on hoof, not boppin' 'round tha world. Carrot'd do well to not go on any crazy adventures while he is execting mah company! Good that tha adventurer of yers tickles yer fancy and somesuch, though. Complicatedshin or not, love is all ya need. The rest'll sort itself out," Applejack replied swiftly and as assuredly as she could muster, knocking her shot glass against Martini's and spilling some of the liquid as a result. Oh well, Such was the price she paid. She downed it and looked around, seeing two new faces. She could swear she saw one on a book's inside jacket somewhere and the other smelled of fun and trouble. Good times. She raised her empty shot glass to the both of them.

"Howdy! Come ta join tha party?" She said as the bartender cleared their table of the shot glasses...and dropped twelve more on it, six for each. She waggled eyebrows at Martini as Applejack grabbed at her shots.

"Ready ta give up, sugarcube?"

[Zeig]

 

Inkbrand had a feeling Sun Drop was doing complicated things, like being deep and philosophical and requiring him to use brain cells. Which was really kind of low of her, but the grey stallion gave it the old university try, eyebrows furrowed as he struggled to figure out the complex meaning of the unicorn's words.

 

"Hay no," he finally blurted, slamming his mug down onto the counter for a little more emphasis, "being the best is the best. Don't need," he paused, with another vague motion of his hoof through the air, "to get better if you're the best. That's why, hrm, you're the best, yeah?" And that made sense right?

 

It did in his own head, in any case. Customers that were getting ink permanently and irreversibly branded onto their bodies didn't want a tattoo artist who admitted he had a lot to learn about tattooing and wasn't the best at his job. No, they wanted the bucking best, to make sure they were getting exactly what they wanted for such a big decision. How awful would that be, a pony getting lavender instead of periwinkle blue for the portrait of their wife laying smack dab on the chest? Just the thought was enough to make Inkbrand shudder.

 

Though, he definitely couldn't argue that practice was required for maintaining skill. That was, just, common bucking sense. Inkbrand nodded along absently to Sun Drop's words as she expressed her desire for quieter and lamer clouds. Whatever man, he wasn't judging, though the grey stallion was sure he preferred the feistier, wilder clouds to other ones.

 

At least, he would, if he had a preference for clouds in the first place.

 

Inkbrand might have spent an obscene amount of time pondering over that very great conundrum - black clouds were always worse than white ones, weren't they? - if it hadn't been for Sun Drop's next questions, aimed at his business and…well, his life. The tattoo-clad stallion couldn't help the proud smile that split his lips as he nodded furiously, almost upsetting his rapidly depleting mug of alcohol from the bar countertop. "Sure do, in Manehatten," he answered, eyes drifting off a bit as he thought about the modest yet functional parlor on the first floor of his apartment. "Got a pretty good client base there, but been trying to expand. Ponyville's really not…'ya know. But it sees a buck load of traffic. Good for picking up business."

 

The grey stallion nodded again, though his eyes lost their glazed over look at the unicorn's last question, for an instant becoming sharp and searing as he gazed down at her. Finally, a roguish grin split his lips as he turned back towards the bar, signaling the bartender. "'Suppose you could say that," Inkbrand ended up saying, throwing a flirtatious wink over towards Sun Drop - but he said no more about the subject, idly tracing the circular tattoo on his right hoof. "So where are you staying while you're here, hmm?"

 

[brianblackberry]

Martini Paradise watched as Applejack pathetically attempted to keep up, but she knew she was ahead, in both the number drinks and maintaining her sobriety, well relatively. As she took the next shot of the warm hard apple cider and placed the glass upside down she just gave Applejack a sardonic smile, "looks like I already seen you in your weaker moments, but you still have a few barriers up. I have a feeling only a few ponies have seen the real you, without inhibitions, without hiding behind that stoic mask you seem to have on, hmm?" Martini figured the orange mare always played up her strength and self-reliance, hiding her insecurities, hiding that side of her that only a few ponies would ever see, the real pony deep down inside. Of course the pink unicorn may be utterly wrong here in her amateur psychoanalysis and it is really just the drink talking.

Turned out the burly stallion Martini pointed out earlier was Applejack brother, well at least that means Martini wouldn't have to compete with the orchard mare in the flirtation game, a candid thought that made her giggle for a moment. "Well he quite the looker, is he a hit with the mares, or maybe the stallions?" Martini giggled again, she was losing her inhibitions and allowing her own weird, naughty fantasies tome to the forefront of her swimming head. Actually as good looking as he may be, what actually piqued her interest about the ruddy stallion was the wager Applejack placed regarding him. The pink unicorn thought for a moment, what could she ask that wouldn't result in a yes or no answer? "Say uhh.. Big Mac, right? How many siblings do you have anyway?" It wasn't the most creative or cunning of questions, but what did anypony expect after a dozen shots of hard cider? It didn't matter as long as he answers, unless he was too inebriated to answer…

Applejack herself returned the subject of discussion back to Martini's long and tangled love life. Unlike her blonde maned drinking companion, Martini wasn't confident enough in what her and Brazil Nut had to truly call him a "stallionfriend", at least she could say they did have a relationship, that is if you defined the word broadly and counted passion as the defining attribute. If one meant commitment, then it was considerably more problematic to consider the two of them in any true liason. "Well, I can never stop him from adventuring around the globe, but I wouldn't want to try. What kind of pony would ask another to try and abandon their destiny? That being said, it would be nice if he just told me where he was galloping off to, or write once in a while." Martini became more dour as she dwelled on it, and quickly took her thirteenth drink and slammed the glass down, "why I'd give him a piece of…"

Martini's eyes suddenly widened and her pupils shrank as she saw a familiar form, no it couldn't be, there be no way? What were the chances of? Martini shook her head as she tried to clear it of the illusion she must have been imagining before focusing again on the figure down the bar that looked all too familiar. Brazil?? How? Why? She had to be sure, "'Cuse me hon but I have to be sure, now don't go anywhere, we aren't done with our contest yet!" Martini hoped off the stool, well as best she could, and walked closer to what looked like a certain earth pony explorer. Her eyes never wavered although her mind was less sure, that is until she was literally standing by his stool and there was no way she could mistaken his identity…

Brazil Nut.

Martini Paradise magically took the stool and swung it around with considerable force, if there was one thing that could override her magic being inhibited by too much cider it was her volatile emotions. It was him! Martini just starred at him for a moment, her mouth agape in shock, then before the brown stallion could utter a word she socked him so hard with her right forehoof that the stool and the stunned stallion did a full spin, "that's for not telling me you were leaving! No letters, no nothing! You jerk!" She didn't give him a moment to respond before she grabbed his head with both her fore hooves and drew him close for one long passionate kiss that lasted several seconds before she finally let him go, "and that's for coming back you crazy stallion!"

[SunsetSombra]

Brazil Nut:

This was certainly not quite what he'd had in mind on a night like this...

As Brazil Nut found himself looking upon the mare whom he had travelled occasionally with and shared many a time with, barring his absences, he had never really considered the possibility that Martini possessed much of a violent nature, even when drunk. Of course, this little mistaken belief was soon rectified the moment he was lying muzzle down in, he mused, a puddle of what smelled suspiciously like a very cheap vintage of a whiskey. Of course, he didn't even get a break to reaffirm his mental bearings, as he was promptly pulled back into a very fiery kiss...one that was, after a few seconds of Brazils mind finally regaining some sense of time and place, entirely welcome!

Still, once the embrace broke and the mare made her exclamation about his coming back, Brazil cleared his throat as he vaguely realised that perhaps the little scene might have attracted a lot of unexpected attention in their direction - so much for a quiet night in what he'd remembered being a quiet town tavern at one point!

" Yes, I.... " he starts, a hoof rubbing himself on the afflicted punched area before resuming.

" Happened to have a few inconvenient setbacks on my return from the griffon territories - tough crowd, those featherhead beaurocrats! "

For Martini's sake, He decided to not really reveal the part about where he was stuck in a rather heated debate for hours with some locals about the plausibility of ponies researching griffon artifacts upon his initial arrival at the site, let alone the many days and nights of actually searching for something that wasn't even very well defined...some historic notes really weren't all that useful.

" At any rate, I shouldn't be going anywhere for a little while - at least not until I have some more leads on something else thats been recently explored...some caves in whitetail wood heralded a few unassuming trinkets that pointed in the direction of the badlands and near the crystal empire - I have no idea why they even were found there, and apparently nopony else does either! "

He looks around briefly and coughs into a hoof, clearly trying to shift the topic away from work, the cause of his currently throbbing jaw.

" Excellent punch you have there, 'Tini - and for once, I'm not talking about the beverage! " he says with a playful grin, slightly amused at his own joke. " Speaking of which, it seems like I really should place an order...but, uh, I'm guessing there's probably a couple of others waiting for those too! " he comments, noting Sans Comique. " Perhaps they should order their drinks first, I wouldn't want to jump the line, so to speak! "

Sans Comique:

Well, this was starting to look more like how she'd pictured it - sure, that wasn't quite a bar brawl but watching some poor stallion getting his clock cleaned from the mare whom had come over to see him got something of a reactive giggle out of the aerion, who then clears her throat lightly and just tried to not look like she didn't belong here....despite, well, being an aerion in a tavern mostly full of regular ponies.

Still, she watched the interaction for a moment, seeing as it was the closest one to her - whoever these ponies were, it was clear that there was some kinda association or general relations between them that she wasn't sure of - oh, it was clearly romantic of course, but she couldn't quite figure out just how deep that river ran...the kiss aside, it seemed as though there was some measure of distance between the pair, something that perhaps wasn't solidified and set in stone between them. Still, it seemed rude to get into their business, and since she knew neither of them her interest was lazily invested at best, dissipating once she decided she wasn't going to listen any further to something that wasn't her business.

She found the bartender was looking at her oddly - seemed as though he had returned from wherever...and was looking at her expectantly.

" I'll, uh, just have a cider....for now - sorry, I got distracted! " she says with a nervous chuckle - she really, REALLY needed to do stuff more often.