Rave at the Electric Mane[Finished]

[RainbowFoxxy]

 

The DJ's hooves worked their magic over the turn tables as she waited to see what her new friend would want to do. Her answer made the white unicorn's heart jump! She was happy to hear Flux was into her. Vinyl turned to her sound board for a second, making sure there was a good mix pumping through the house. Then she stood up and danced along with the other mare. She continued to moved step by step closer, coaxing her new friend to back up.

Once she was backed up to the side of the booth Vinyl continued to move closer. She nuzzled Flux on the cheek for a little bit, both of them still dancing.

"This is turning out to be a pretty cool night. I'm really stoked you showed up tonight." She spoke smoothly into the mare's ear before giving it a little nip. "You've kept this rave really interesting for me." She took a half step back, flipped her sunglasses up between her ears, and gave the unicorn a coy wink.

"I hope you're enjoying yourself as much as you seem to be." She smiled and then moved in for a kiss.

[Zeig]

 

With all due fairness, Inkbrand was trying.

Really, trying.

But, still in all fairness, it was bucking difficult not to break out in snickers and chuckles as he continued to catch snippets of Razor and Clandestine's conversation - which, despite Zelda's whispered reassurances, did nothing to install any sort of confidence in either of them. The hesitant mumblings, consisting of, is this alright? and how about a cheek kiss? and other such things, were almost enough to cause him to lose it, on a good number of occasions. It was a near thing.

At the very least, the ex-REA wasn't clambering to hold him up on his offer during the speed rave, and indeed, she seemed to be enjoying herself around Razor. Probably because he was just afraid of her as she was of him. All in all, Inkbrand was rather pleased with himself, as if he'd both dodged a spear and set up the most amusing romance in Canterlot's history, and he let it show as he clicked his glass against Zelda's own. "I hear that," he crowed, "l'chai-yim!"

A good third of the glass was emptied by the time Inkbrand pulled his face away, lips smacking in satisfaction, and just in time to feel a body take a seat next to his own at the bar. In one smooth motion the tattoo-clad stallion had settled his back against the bar, hind legs facing the dance floor while his elbows rested on the tabletop behind him. The new position kept Zelda firmly within line of sight, but also gave him access to the other body that had hemmed him in - another griffon, and one that was vaguely familiar. Even more interesting, by his own humble reckoning, was the griffon's appreciation for the ink that spread across the grey stallion's entire body.

Well, what could he say? He was the most interesting pony at this joint. A stallion only needed to look at the griffon plastered to his side to affirm it.

"Cheers," Inkbrand replied gleefully, raising his glass upwards in a semi-salute to the brown griffon's obviously classy tastes. "Ever think of getting one yourself? Drop by Inkbrand's parlor in Manehatten, I guarantee you won't live to regret it. Ain't that right, baby," the tattoo-clad stallion couldn't help but gloat, leaning over to wrap one leg around Zelda's waist, eyes once again drifting over the blue ink twisting over her claw.

Buck, he was good.

Engrossed in his ink wrapped around Zelda's skin as he was, it took Inkbrand another moment to realize that Flying Brick had wandered from the dance floor again, and was in fact the mare the griffon was chatting it up with. Interesting. Inkbrand would have almost paid to see Flying Brick dance circles around the griffon, but hey. The night was still young, and they were only one drink in. A fact the tattoo-clad stallion felt inclined to rectify as he tipped back his glass for another long drought.

Didn't take a genius to figure out where this was going.

 

 

 

 

 

[ShadowWalking18]

Razor had felt he almost had a break through in placing his wings back on his sides. They bent slightly to closing and he felt a thrill of victory....

 

..until it was shattered by Clandestine's next few words.

 

A peck on the cheek? He was assuming she meant a kiss. The very idea that he could willingly kiss a girl, even on the cheek, was such a flustering idea that his wings shot out again. Buck.

 

He looked at Clandestine with wide eyes, and he gulped as he tried to keep a steady breathing.

 

"C-contact info? P-peck..uh..y-yeah I can do that." He said, nervously. Though frankly...he wasn't sure he could.

 

How did one kiss with a beak anyway? He supposed he could try something. Taking a steady breath, though he felt like his heart was going to burst at the second, Razor leaned forward toward Clandestine slowly as he placed his beak against her cheek and nuzzled it gently. Despite himself he purred in delight at the ability to commit to such an intimate act. Normally he couldn't even bring himself to go half way to a kiss.

 

He slowly leaned back, his face hot, "Uh...I that's...I mean...beak and all, kissing is...a little different for griffons then ponies....uh but...I tried."

 

Did he screw up? He felt sure he had screwed up. He always somehow screwed up!

 

He quickly tried to move on from this train of thought though as he realized he had another thing to give.

 

"Oh right...contact um well..." He said, rubbing the back of his head nervously, "Well I don't live in Equestria per say. My home is back in Aquilla...Rockwington. Its a big manor house away from the town, in the cliff sides. The Iron Manor, looks kinda like a fortress then a manor really. But that I sort of kinda travel around a lot so...I'd probably have more success finding you then you me. But I do pass through Ponyville a lot..."

[tacobob]

 

Ho Boy. Zelda continued to keep her eyes away from Razor and on the 'prize', but even with Inkbrand in her full view, her excellent bird vision could still make out her griffon friend through the corner of her eye. And in the reflection of the metal napkin dispenser that rested on the bar. If this were a cartoon, she would have probably heard an loud 'Boing!' as the poor bird's wings came undone. Generally this happened to both Pegasus ponies, griffons and other winged creatures when they were scared or excited. And try as one might, this was something that was perfectly natural and could not be stopped! This had been a useful trait back in the olden days. When danger was near, quick spreading wings were useful for survival. Now they were just embarrassing. Poor Razor.

 

Thankfully the dark coated mare she had seen back at the donut shop popped in to break up her wandering mind. She had a thick Stalliongradian accent, much like another mare she knew as Tankena. She found a seat nearby with one of the black griffon's former 'speed-date partners, the rather cute little bird known as Hawkeye. The blacksmith had picked up a few words and phrases during her little adventure in the old city.

 

"Rat teebya veedet", she greeted the mare, hoping she got the wording correctly. While her name technically was Griselda, she preferred her nickname, "It's Zelda. Formally of Rockwington, now a happy little resident of Canterlot." Apparently the poor girl was suffering from a minor tummy-ache as to order an digestif. Her strong stomach, most likely tempered in steel from years of drinking hard Stalliongrad vodkas and plum brandy, or Slivovitz, probably felt a bit odd after tasting to far weaker pony drinks. She extended a smile and a nod to the mare's date. She couldn't help but notice there were more than a few physically gifted mares in her presence. Razor's date was obviously an solider, while Flying Brick had the build of an dancer or acrobat.

 

Zelda, who was in turn aided by the flirty inker, held up her marked front leg as her date spoke of his business to the griffon. "Inkbrand's a real artist, and can guide you into getting a inking just right for your personality. No silly heart tattoos with mom written In the middle, or any battleships." With a free claw, she lifted up her glass and finished off her old favorite as she leaned a little closer into the stallion. She allowed her tail to find a few spots on the earth pony to gently caress. Hopefully he was not ticklish.

[PyroBlaze]

Flux smiled slightly at the change in the mare's emotional energy. Yay! The mare liked her suggestion! Flux smiled widely at Vinyl as she came back over for dancing. The disguised changeling didn't really know what she wanted at first, though she soon figured it out and backed up towards the side of the booth.

It was coming! Yay! Flux was practically vibrating with excitement as she listened to Vinyl's words, nodding vigorously in response. She was so excited that she began speaking after the white mare had finished.

"Yeah! This place is great! I've been having lots of fun! Making new friends, seeing old ones again, dancing, and meeting you! This might be the best night of my li-" She babbled, cutting herself off as she leaned in during a movement, making their lips connect. Flux instantly relaxed into the kiss, one of her hooves coming up to cup Vinyl's cheek.

[Blueblood]

Maybe it was the loud booming noise, or perhaps some mistake in the inflection, but Zelda's initial greeting left Flying Brick without enlightenment.  "Eh, perhaps we speak in Equestrian, da?  Can understand you better!"  Laughing over the cultural cross purposes, the earth pony mare slammed down her drink with a gusto that gave the lie to the notion that there was anything wrong with her stomach.  To tell the truth, bitters and soda was the closest thing a bar usually sold to a sports drink, without the unnecessary sugary calories.  The dancer kicked up enough of a sweat without guzzling down diuretics all night.  After all, you didn't see professional performers downing vodka right before going onstage!

 

Speaking of performances and art, it seemed that Zelda's date was displaying his own.  All over the griffon's skin, it looked like.  Well, not all over, that kind of coverage was on the artist himself.  Still, Flying Brick was duly impressed.  "Do not surprise yourself, zherebets, if I drop by your studio perhaps for ink.  Be surprised if I have bits to pay, though!"  Humor of a slightly bitterer kind suffused her laughter, as she turned back to Hawkeye.

 

"I am dancer.  A professional, I mean; a performer.  Ah, but I never joined troupe, see, and life is hard for solo artist.  Is not myth that they starve, catbird."

[RainbowFoxxy]

 

"Yeah! This place is great! I've been having lots of fun! Making new friends, seeing old ones again, dancing, and meeting you! This might be the best night of my li-"

 

Vinyl smiled as she kissed the unicorn. So, she had successfully found a way to keep Flux from talking for a little while. Not that she minded, she thought the whole thing was funny..and cute. She felt the mare's hoof tenderly cup her cheek and took another step closer. She continued to kiss the unicorn, moving clser as she did so until she was able to wrap her hooves around the back of Flux's neck. Both mares continued to move to the music as the kiss continued. Vinyl's hips swayed back and forth as she moved back a step to catch her breath.

 

"Yep, best rave I've been to in a while." She smiled and pushed her sunglasses firmly up between her ears. After a sly wink, she moved forward again. As she did the music slowed.

 

"Good timing huh?" She smiled, wrapping her hooves back around the mare. This time she pulled Flux in close, dancing with her to the theme of the slower tune. She reached up and nipped Flux's ear lightly before going in for another kiss. Yep, this night was turning out a-ok!

[Zealot]

Indeed, Clandestine had meant for a kiss on the cheek. The obvious pun completely escaped her, she wasn't exactly one for social graces. Nonetheless, she did wonder how a griffon might kiss. She'd thought that they usually rubbed beaks. Over a particularly drunken conversation with a comrade they'd decided that perhaps it was more like prench kissing than mouth to mouth. Not that she'd particularly worried at the time, she'd never really met a griffon before. Well, once or twice. She'd never really managed to actually get to know one though. 

 

That didn't matter though, her eyes glazed over slightly as she recalled the conversation. She'd spaced out for a brief moment, images of a fireside and huddling together with... somepony? She blinked, gone in a moment. What was that? Ahh well, didn't matter. Her attention was taken up by the griffon's beak moving to her side. She jumped slightly as he did so, gasping for air like she'd just had a rather nasty surprise. Still, she held her ground and sighed, leaning up slightly to allow Razor to nuzzle into her cheek. She kept a stern gaze on him at all times though, after all, he was inches away from exposed neck. Still, the gesture was nice. She felt herself relax slightly, his purr making her fur tingle slightly. Clandestine sighed in relief though as he inched away. Strange, nice and also very terrifying. "Ahh, sorry... oh no. It's okay, I always thought well. I seem to remember having a conversation about it a while back. I can't really remember who with, or when... Either way, I suppose prench kissing might be possible," she admitted with a shrug. "Still... umm, it was nice. Thanks," she said with a slight smile.

 

With that Clandestine flagged the bartender once again. "One more whisky please," she ordered with a glance at Razor, absorbing the information. "Aquilla, Rockwington, big manor house. Gotcha. I can find that, easy," she said with a nod. "I live in Ponyville, as I said. Maple Street, number 23. Should see a sign for Clandestine, Security Contractor," she informed him with a sigh, looking around the bar for a moment. "And that's that I guess... I'm sorry I can't do more... really. Afraid if you're looking for a hook up then I'm the wrong pony to talk to," she chuckled at that, smiling at Razor and contemplating things. "I need to be a lot drunker for that, and... well I'm not really in the mood," she grumbled. "So yeah, it'll be nice to see you again. I'm real glad this trip wasn't a complete disaster. I mean, come on. I expected when I left the service that somehow everything was going to be okay. Now it's worse than ever..." she sighed at that, shaking her head.

[Hawkeye12]

Now this was more like it. Hanging at a bar with some (mostly) normal ponies and a mare that he hit it off with. He preferred tis over dancing any day, even though Flying Brick had halped him get over that... was it a phobia? No, more like a cause of social awkwardness, or whatever that was scientifically called.

 

But that didn't matter, since all was good now. In fact, Hawkeye went to prove that statement as certain, lifting his mug of cider in cheers just as the tattoed stallion did. He liked him already. As odd as it seemed, it was a rare occurrence to come across a pony that was 'just another guy.' Seriously, what was with Equestria and its feminine looking stallions? And better yet, the stallion invited him to stop by his shop. "Manehattan, eh? I'll check it out sometime," He said before taking a much deserved sip of his cider. Of course, not long after that the stallion was smothered in black feathers and fur, so Hawkeye decided to smirk a but and let them do their thing.

 

And with that the griffon turned back to Brick, and found himself grinning dumbly for just a moment. A professional dancer, of course she was a professional dancer! Funny how life worked like that. But that moment of irony quickly faded as the red mare spoke a bit more. A solo artist...so, a street performer? That explained the lack of bits. "Well hey, I'll buy you as many drinks as you want. We can even get some food or something later, if you'd like," That might have been some of the drink talking though. It wasn't like Hawkeye had all that much money himself. But hey, it didn't hurt to offer, right?

[PyroBlaze]

Flux murred a bit into the kiss she shared with the mare, smiling to herself as it continued. This night was turning out great! And she was really loving Vinyl's company! As the kiss broke, the disguised changeling smiled widely at the mare as she spoke. 

 

When Vinyl moved back in, Flux wrapped her hooves around the DJ like she was wrapping her hooves around her. She enjoyed the tender moment, giggling a bit at her words about the timing of the music change. She danced slowly with her partner even as she was engaged in yet another kiss. She returned the kiss tenderly, the slow kiss fitting with the slow music as the disguised changeling absorbed a little bit more of the emotional energy directed towards her.

 

After a bit, she broke the kiss for air, giving a small pant before smiling at Vinyl. She gave the mare a tender nuzzle before nibbling on her ear gently like the unicorn had to her previously. This was possibly the best day of her life, that she could remember anyways.

[Zeig]

 

Despite the silky mass of black feathers pressed against his side, Inkbrand couldn't help the light snicker that escaped from his lips.

Not that he had any idea what the buck she was saying, no, but for all intents and purposes, it seemed as if Zelda had attempted to greet Flying Brick in her own native tongue - and, judging from said Earth Pony's less than enthusiastic response, the Griffon had failed pretty badly. Buck all if he knew. Whatever Zelda had said sounded similar to the words Flying brick inserted into common Equestrian, but maybe there was a regional difference interfering with the two. Or an archaic form no longer spoken without modern slang.

Or Zelda had spoken complete gibberish, who knew.

But whatever, Flying Brick hadn't flown off the handle at the language mishap like some ponies tended to do, so Inkbrand only laughed as he leaned in even closer to the griffon, the foreleg around her waist idly stroking through the smooth and soft feathers on her hip. "It's all good yeah?" the tattoo-clad stallion claimed, grin widening a bit as he felt Zelda's tail sneakily trailing across his thigh. "Drop on by and we'll work something out." Another raise of his glass acknowledged Hawkeye's comment, before Inkbrand downed the rest of it, head tipped backwards to drown every delicious drop.

Even as he was pulling the glass back with a satisfied smack of his lips, Inkbrand couldn't help overhearing the ongoing love saga of the two phobia-stricken pals sitting two stools over at the bar, and his ears swiveled on their own accord even as his eyebrows raised upwards. For a mare that had some deep emotional issues stemming from service in the REA, Clandestine had little to no filter when it came to giving out highly personal information to a veritable stranger. Such as, oh, her address? Maybe she felt confident in the sleepy, generally quiet town of Ponyville, but Inkbrand was still surprised at how forthcoming she was with that information.

It did mean, though, that Razor was gettin' it on with his impromptu date, and the grey Earth Pony felt a brief surge of…pride?…for the Griffon, some sort of stallion-esque bonding that cheered for a fellow stallion getting his rot together enough to make a move on a mare. If Clandestine's back had been turned towards him, Inkbrand wouldn't have hesitated to flash Razor a wink and a waggle of eyebrows - but seeing how that wasn't the case, he honestly wasn't all too interested in a repeat of the speed dating disaster.

He had plans for his foreleg, after all.

Instead, Inkbrand made the much safer and all around more pleasurable choice of returning his attentions onto Zelda, one foreleg still lazily resting low around her hip. "'Ya know," he murmured, shamelessly leaning into her personal space to speak right up against the side of her head again, "you never did tell me about your other speed dates from yesterday, babe. Any of 'em here?" Inkbrand questioned, leaning back to wave a hoof at the bartender for another drink even as he settled a cheeky look on the Griffon. "I may have some flaunting to do, see."

Not that he, hadn't, done any flaunting since showing up, judging from the occasional looks that got thrown Zelda's way. But hay, there was always room for more flaunting.

 

 

 

 

 

[Blueblood]

Hawkeye's generous offer did not go unappreciated, if Flying Brick's smile was anything to go by.  "You are a good zherebets, catbird.  I promise not to bankrupt you."  Her voice and expression had something different from the brash and smoky confidence the griffon had seen from his date earlier.  For just a moment, the window of her eyes had opened, and he could see frank relief.  You could be poor and happy, and this earth pony was, but it would be a mistake to call her life an easy one.

 

Still, the moment didn't last long.  A rave was not a place for melancholy tenderness, and even the slower beats from the DJ's booth couldn't dampen the mare's spirits for long!  Especially with Inkbrand's running commentary.  "Eh, you're quite at the flaunting and the flouting.  Is form of art with you!  As for me...."  She looked first at Hawkeye, giving him an appraising look that indicated that, on the whole, griffons were a thing very much worth flaunting.  Her eyes soon strayed, though, looking for her own speed-dating partners.

 

It didn't seem that Soarin was anywhere to be found, which made sense.  The stallion was a Wonderbolt, and would have been mobbed to a dangerous extent in a place like this.  Razor was currently busy with his own affairs, and Flux... "Hahahaha!  Well, it looks like I won't be making anypony jealous today, eh?"  She pointed a hoof to where, in the booth silhouettes, the group at the bar could see Flux and Vinyl making out.

[tacobob]

 

The griffon was a little surprised, not completely, but still, a little surprised that the mare did not understand her formal Stalliongrad greeting. Maybe it was just a little too old school for the active mare. Or knowing her luck, it probably meant 'kiss my fuzzy behind' in the old language, and the ponies she traveled with in the old city and had taught her a few 'choice' sayings, were just having a little fun with the black bird. One thing that bothered her was what she had said to Hawkeye.

 

Is not myth that they starve, catbird.

 

One of the many things she loved about Equestria was that while there were the very rich. and the what could be considered less than fortunate, even the poorest still did well. There were no ponies living in the streets, and definitely nobody was starving. Even with the occasional changeling or barbarian caribou attack, they were probably living in the safest, most prosperous time one could have lived in. "Starving? If I may ask, where do you normally perform? Griffonstone?", the curious blacksmith asked.

 

And while she had been trying not to hear what her old friend and the military mare had been talking about. Zelda did hear the pony mention Razor's address. Wow! Things were moving very quickly. How long would it be before the wedding invitations were sent out? Did Inkbrand even know she lived? Like the stallion, the griffon lived in the same building she had worked in. This was not always the case, as she did at one time rent an apartment, but the big bird spent so much time in her smithy, she ended up dropping the apartment. Which saved her a ton of bits. This probably wouldn't seem odd to the earth pony, as he too lived where he worked.

 

Thankfully the marked pony got her back in the right direction. Away from Razor and back to her happy little group.

 

"Er, Huh?", the bird shook her head, "Oh yeah, the other ones..", she tapped the tip of her beak for a moment before continuing, "There was the cute Goth girl, writer pony. Foxglove. I don't see her here.", she quickly glanced around the room to see if the mare was there, "Lovely eyes. And a mane that made me wish griffons could sport something beyond our said little natural coiffure that gives us nothing to work with..", she glanced up at the puff on her skull and casually puffed away at the fuzz on her forehead, "I mean, griffons are strong, fast, and we have these awesome claws, useful for scratching behind pony's ears, holding hammers and a few other interesting interactions a certain stallion will be experiencing rather soon..But we don't get manes or tush marks."

 

Knowing she was starting to stray once again, Zelda quickly got back onto track. "There was also Hawkeye.", she nodded at the other griffon, "A true gentleperson.", she did not feel comfortable talking about a fellow who was sitting right next to her. "And finally, there was a very handsome stallion I was with...", again with the tapping of her beak, "Can't seem to remember his name. Was a bit too clever for his own good. Might have already forgotten the name, but will always remember the bod. How about you?"

 

OH HOW SHE HATED the fact that she could have ended up with Soarin' and or Rainbow Dash if only the 'Speed Dating' event was just a little longer. None of that would be too serious, but she could at least get to blab that she got to 'date' two very famous heroes. Little Wind Walker would have been so jealous!

[RainbowFoxxy]

 

The music pulsed through the DJ booth and the unicorn found herself dancing close with her new friend. She enjoyed the nuzzle and nibble on the ear the dark unicorn gave her. After a while she backed up a little bit and fixed her gaze on Flux. Then she walked forward and whispered into the mare's ear.

 

"This has been really fun. It would be great to see you again Flux." She smiled and let the shades slip back into place over her eyes. It was time to get this party pumping again. There were still lots of hours before day break.

 

Vinyl made her way back to the seat in front of the sound boards and let her hooves go to work. She slowly picked up the beat until it was pumping fast again. Then she nodded to Flux, indicating the edge of the seat she was on. "Come on, let's do this together!" She smiled and offered her new friend part of the boards to control.

[ShadowWalking18]

Razor blushed, and still felt a bit uncomfortable with the 'kiss'. He wasn't even sure if he did it right, and the bringing up of Prench kissing did make him feel he had messed up in expectations.

 

Still, Clandestine didn't seem to have mind, so maybe it wasn't a complete lost.

 

He nodded as she gave him her address once more, and he took a moment to process it. He blushed though when she made the mention of a Hook up.

 

"Uh, that...is...I wasn't really...expecting things to go that far so no worries. Besides, I'm not drunk enough yet for that either." He said, rubbing his head uncomfortably, "I mean, just having talked was more then enough, it was nice."

 

He also ordered up another drink, and looked back to Clandestine. He listened as she spoke, and he frowned when she seemed to start feeling down.

 

"I think it would be nice to meet you again as well. You're easy to talk with and understand. And don't put yourself down, things always have a way of getting better when it seems bad. You're a nice girl, and you just have to look for others who can understand you and your limits. Don't focus on all the defeats, but think about the victories, even if they seem small in comparison. Dozens of small victories sometimes matter more then large defeats...at least that's what I learned in the military academy."

 

Razor scratched his head, not sure if this was the best way to word things. He just hoped it helped make Clandestine feel better. If he could do that, he could say that tonight wasn't a failure.

[PyroBlaze]

Flux smiled at Vinyl as they danced together, enjoying the moment and the emotions she could feel coming off of the white mare. Her smile only grew as Vinyl backed up a bit and came forward again to whisper in her ear.

 

"Yeah, this has been a great time!" She responded as Vinyl backed up again and went to the booth. Flux watched for a little bit as the DJ sped the music back up before turning to look at her. She smiled widely at her invitation before bouncing towards the chair, sitting down in it next to Vinyl and wrapping one hoof around her, the other moving to the board.

 

"Yay! Time to party!" She said happily, giggling slightly as she gave Vinyl a peck on the cheek and played with the sound of the music a bit. She was really loving this time up in the booth, it had been getting better and better as time went on!

[Zealot]

Indeed, Clandestine hadn't minded Razor's 'kiss' at all. In fact, she'd quite enjoyed it. Perhaps she didn't really show it, but hey, she was still trying to relearn how to actually display those sorts of feelings. Heck, she probably couldn't even process it quite yet. Perhaps subconsciously, all she felt really was awkward. Was that her phobia though, or perhaps herself. She had no way of knowing. The mare simply sat and radiated calm, even though she was rather confused in her head. She was a soldier after all, a professional who knew how to keep calm under pressure. Unfortunately, pressure for Clandestine wasn't what normal ponies would get stressed by. Instead it was this, normal everyday interaction. She didn't know how the other ponies did it, and some part of the mare resented them for that. They'd had a normal and boring life, something she'd never had. A strange thing to wish for something ordinary.

 

The soldier downed her whisky in one quick gulp, shaking her head and breathing out with a sigh at the bitter after-taste. Clandestine chuckled, pushing the glass away and turned to Razor. "Yeah, no problem. Well, I was just saying," she said with a slight shrug. Indeed, she'd meant it. Heck, she didn't even know how far she could get if she tried. 

 

Still, Clandestine seemed a bit happier for Razor's words. She supposed they made sense. She was so focused on what her problem was, she often forgot to celebrate the victory. She'd come a long way, hadn't she? She'd managed to kiss him and the mare was sure she might be able to manage a hug at some point. She was getting better ever so slowly, but it frustrated her that she'd yet to make too much progress. "I suppose," she admitted. "Yeah... I... Well I guess I do need to lighten up. Heck, I've had a good evening. Here I thought I was going to end up leaving in my usual pit of misery. Guess I was wrong, I really enjoyed talking to you. What can I say? You saved my evening?" she asked with a chuckle, glancing around.

 

With that the soldier scooted off her barstool, stepping down in her old dress. She no doubt looked slightly unsteady and a little awkward in the attire. "Well, I should get going I guess. Had enough of all this noise. I'll see you again, you can count on that. Just not tonight," she said to the griffon with a hint of a smile. "Seriously though, I had a great time. It was nice to meet you."

[Hawkeye12]

The griffon took the opportunity of almost awkward silence to take another sip of his drink, placing the mug down on the bar with a satisfying flick of his tail. All the while though, he was listening to bits and pieces of the others' conversations. Hawk's cat-like ears perked a bit as he heard Zelda mention his name, obviously talking about his other dates. He already knew that neither Rainbow Dash or Martini were here, since both of there bright colors probably would have been spotted a long time ago. 

 

But his attention quickly went to the DJ booth, where the pony in question as well as another mare seemed to be... enjoying themselves. Hawkeye snickered a bit to himself, watching curiously as they parted from the kiss and began mixing some more music. "Nope, I guess not," Come to think of it though, him and Brick seemed to be the most... involved couple? As awkward as that sounded in his head? But still, there were the two in the DJ booth, and not to mention Zelda practically being a blanket for the tattooed pony. Heck, even Razor and the REA mare were hitting it off better than anyone would've thought.

 

...Of course, Hawkeye was always one to make a competition out of nothing, so this was probably just one of those moments. Still, the question of 'what now?' still bounced around in his mind, and so he spun his barstool a bit to face her more. He wanted to say something, but nothing came to mind that wasn't an obvious flirt, so he just smiled his usual crooked smile. People did say his face had some sort of childish look when he smiled, but oh well. So what if he just looked like a happy kid, it was all good.

[Blueblood]

Well, perhaps 'starving' was a bit of an exaggeration.  Flying Brick wasn't in danger of actually dying, but she did live purely hoof-to-mouth, with no provision for the morrow.  It was in one respect a liberating lifestyle, as it did not tie a pony down to any local obligations, thus permitting a wide berth of travel.  On the other hoof, it permitted no holidays.  You worked, or you didn't eat.  It felt like having to run as fast as you could, just to stay in one place.  Exciting, yet exhausting...

 

"Oh, here, there, everywhere."  The mare waved a hoof to roundly indicate her wide range of venues.  "A street corner here, a dance floor there.  Throw your bits to the buskers, koshka ptitsa; make the world full of music and dance."  If she was being honest with herself, she had no one else to blame for the hard parts of her life.  She could have danced in the great Stalliongrad Ballet, if she had been content to spend her life under the drill of the director.  But she had chosen liberty over discipline, and this is where it had led her.  To DJ-PON3's electric rave, sitting right next to a handsome griffon.

 

*No regrets, comrade!*  Chuckling to herself, she downed her drink, peeking over to the phobic couple.  For a match so superficially unpromising, it seemed to be going quite well.  "Sto Lat!"  She called out in a toast to Razor, raising an empty glass, which the bartender promptly filled with a cocktail by that name.  Bemused, but not displeased, Brick sampled it and found it good.

 

Looking over her glass, she noticed Hawkeye looking at her like a colt drowning in puppy love.  She raised her brows at him, revealing magenta eyes sparkling with laughter and mischief.  "Ah, wait, do not tell me, let me guess... you are either wanting to kiss, or to dance.  Well, zherebets, I am up for both..."

[Zeig]

 

Well that moment was ruined.

Honestly, Inkbrand was pretty surprised that the Earth Pony had been able to hear his not-questions aimed at Zelda, considering he'd been speaking right next to the Griffon's head. Maybe he was louder than he thought? Or the music had gone quiet right at that moment, leading to an awkward and embarrassing silence that was a staple scene in any comedy. Not that he'd actually said anything embarrassing, or the music had suddenly dropped in volume...but whatever, the scene had been set.

"What can I say," Inkbrand said fake-earnestly, releasing his hold on Zelda to dramatically clasp one hoof to his chest. "It's a lost art form these days - somepony's got to keep the spirit alive. And it doesn't hurt none to have a helping hoof along the way," he added, with another lecherous grin thrown in the Griffon's direction.

Or a helping flank. Whichever.

Speaking of helping flanks, Zelda went on to answers inquiry - though in a lot more detail than Inkbrand had been wagering. Again, that little flare of not-something wove through his chest, but it was easier to ignore as the grey stallion wrapped one foreleg around the Griffon's shoulders, his other reaching to accept another drink from the bartender. He listened idly as Zelda spoke of her other dates, eyes automatically roving around to identify any of them on the dance floor - though, she quickly rectified any need to do so. Her first date wasn't here apparently, and her second was none other than Hawkeye.

Her third, however...

"Handsome stallion too clever for his own good, eh?" Inkbrand asked cheerfully, crossing his hind legs as he leaned further into Zelda's warmth and silken mass of feathers. "Where's this punk at? He sounds too sexy as all Taurtarus to leave alone. Can't have him snatching up all the fine chicks."

...Get it. Because chicks, and Griffons. Buck, he was funny.

Surprisingly, Zelda returned the inquiry, giving Inkbrand some pause in throwing back his glass of alcohol. "Didn't have any handsome stallions chatting me up at the speed dates, sad to say," the tattoo-clad stallion said sarcastically, though a sly grin soon overtook his face. "And I doubt you could flaunt me any better than I can - two of my dates are already otherwise occupied." This was said with a nod to first the DJ booth, and then subtly transferred to the ex-REA mare sitting not two stools down the bar. A wry raising of his eyebrows hopefully explained his feelings about that particular speed date, but they'd already somewhat discussed it during their own five minutes.

"...Oh," Inkbrand stated suddenly, as if the thought had only just occurred to him, "there was this Griffon too. Real hottie. Knew right away we'd be hittin' it off." The grin on his face didn't abate one whit as his golden gaze continued scanning the crowd, the hoof around Zelda's shoulders idly stroking her feathers.

 

 

 

 

 

[tacobob]

 

While managing to avoid looking directly at the pair, Zelda was able to catch what appeared to be the end of his little date with the formidable military-ish mare. And while she was not privy to the more intimate details, which she may or may not hear from her old friend, it appeared he made quite the impact on the girl, considering she had started this whole thing looking as miserable as one could be, and ended with a smile. Go Razor! She knew the bird well. He would have to tell somebody about this! Maybe Anastasia, or even Glimmer. Or possibly even both of them, as they did worry a good deal about the snappy griffon. Then she would find out the details from one of those blabber-beaks. Neither were very good at keeping a secret...

 

"I'll have to watch you perform one of these days.", the blacksmith knew that while ponies were not built for it, many were able to overcome their natural handicaps and do a most excellent job and hoofing on the dance floor. Inkbrand had been a prime example of this. She returned her gaze back to the stallion as the entertainer offered up a few choices for her griffon date.

 

A few choice words spurred the pony into another little bout of boasting. The black griffon silently wondered if Inkbrand's tattoo business never got off the ground, would he have gone into acting? Or maybe even stand up? Whatever he would have done, she was sure he would always be an infinite source of entertainment. "Yup!", the big cat shuffled her eyes back and forth as if to show that the hunt was still on for the illusive 'chick-hunter'. "But have no fear as once I catch the punk, he will pay, oh yes, he will pay in more ways than one.", she cheerfully growled. "And this other griffon? I better get you to safety before she catches up with you...But where can we hide? On the dance-floor or maybe somewhere else?"

 

 

[RainbowFoxxy]

 

The night was going even better than the DJ imagined it. Even more ponies were arriving and the night hours were moving by way too fast. It was because she was having too much fun! This unicorn she had invited up into the booth was the best company she could have asked for. In fact she had hardly thought of Octavia all night. She couldn't remember the last time she had felt so good!

 

She watched as Flux took another turn at the discs. Sure she hadn't gotten everything completely right but she was really good for it being her first time. When the flow got interrupted a little bit the unicorn would reach in and get the groove back on. She had slipped in lots of little kisses and nibbles throughout the night and figured her new friend would be ok with her asking for a date.

 

Vinyl scooted in close and spoke into Flux's ear.

 

"So, this has been so fun tonight! You want to maybe hang out again? Maybe in a couple days from now?" She smiled winningly and waited for an answer.

[PyroBlaze]

Flux was having so much fun! This was the best rave she had ever been to! Granted, it was the only rave she had ever been to that she could remember, but it was still an incredible one! The disguised changeling was smiling from ear to ear as she sat up in the booth, enjoying Vinyl's company and taking her turn at being the DJ.

 

"You wanna hang out again? Yay!" Flux said, clapping her hooves together happily before continuing. "I'm always up to hanging out with friends, and others! This'll be great!" She finished, smiling widely and nodding in agreement.

[Zeig]

 

Now there was an image.

Unfortunately - or fortunately, depending how one looked at it - Inkbrand wasn't given time to dwell on the image of a crouching black griffon punishing him for his nest of equally sexy griffons, because Zelda inadvertently gave him a better image to dwell on. She might have spoken on good innocence, herself, but that hardly mattered as the tattoo-clad stallion stilled, sharp golden gaze resting heavily on the aquamarine gaze beneath his own.

"'Somewhere else'," he murmured heatedly, not breaking eye contact as he leaned his closer, lips just barely whispering past her cool beak. "I've got a much better hiding spot in mind - little place in Manehattan. You might know it."

Even if she came home with him to share a glass of wine then pass out on his bed while he sprawled uncomfortably on the couch, it was still a bold offer, especially considering that this was, technically, their first real outing together. But buck, he'd rubbed his hooves all over her once before, that had to count for at least three dates. At any rate, just getting out of the mass of broiling bodies was starting to sound better and better to Inkbrand, even if it would only mean sharing a goodbye with the griffon.

Hay. He liked to get wasted as much as the next stallion, but generally speaking and in his own professional experience, most mares tended to inversely correlate 'Stallion Sexiness' with 'Plastered out of his Bucking Mind'.

"C'mon, let's get outta here," Inkbrand half-requested, half-demanded as he slid down from the stool, one hoof resting against the counter, ready to reach around and steady the griffon as she stepped off. "Think I've had just about all I can take from - " an exaggerated eye roll towards the phobia-inducing couple made the grey Earth Pony's point well enough, but that didn't erase the cocky grin covering his face as Inkbrand waited for Zelda to follow his lead.

 

 

 

[[ Exit ]]

 

[tacobob]

 

"Somewhere else sounds like a place to be.", the large cat purred as the stallion suggested their next stop. Thankfully the blacksmith had finished her workload at the R.E.A smithy before she schlepped her way to Vinyl Scratch's club. So she could take a little trip to Manehattan and still have a job to come back to when she returned to Canterlot. Deciding she wouldn't mind having a few glasses of an old favorite when they got to Inkbrand's parlor and home, the black griffon ordered a bottle of 'Mare Brizard' to go. She tossed the bartender a few extra bits to wrap up the bottle for their little trip.

 

It would be a nice little train ride, one she had taken before. And knowing how she felt a the moment, she'd probably doze off in the middle of it. Hopefully she would be able to do so curled up with her favorite new little pony pal. "Shoosh.", she cooed, "I wish my pal all the luck in the world with this one..Or really any other..Guy needs some extra happiness in his life..Real soon.", she whispered.

 

Still, it was time for them to move on, and after waving goodbye to all of her friends, acquaintances and people she just met, Zelda scooped up her well packaged bottle and followed the stallion out of the club...

 

<Exit Zelda>