[Appleoosa] Meet the team [Pm to join]

[ZephyrBurst]

Zephyr nodded at Silver's comment. "I'll do it all." Zephyr got ready for the mare's attacks when suddenly, he too noticed the crowd and comments coming toward them. He watched and heard Max take bets on the two of them. How dare he use them as some silly show ponies. Zephyr was here to do work, not perform for some bored townsfolk. His fight was with the mare and was nopony else's business. Zephyr's attention snapped back to Silver as he caught her move out of the corner of his eye and he got back into a defensive stance, ready to block her attacks, but she was simply approaching Max. He waited and watched.

Zephyr gritted his teeth when he heard what Max had said. He was too upset to notice the wink and turned his attention quickly to Silver. There's no way Max could actually be proposing this. He hadn't done anything wrong and opting to replace either of them in this seemed silly. He heard Silver's offer to him. Zephyr wanted that key, but when he thought about it, there was no way Max could actually be considering letting Zephyr be on this project without it. He didn't want to go back to jail either. However, he wasn't about to be some showpony for him.

He narrowed his eyes on Silver. "I want that key, but I will NOT be some show here! We practice just like you said. Don't hold back, I'm a tough pony, just hit me with everything you have." Zephyr lowered his center of gravity and got ready for the mare to strike. If they didn't fight, neither of them could win or lose. He hated the mare, but Zephyr had a lot to lose by being tossed out of this project. He suspected the mare might as well. If it was just as serious as his dilemma, then he understood what she must be feeling right now. Though for some reason she seemed oddly calmer than she should be if that were the case.

[Appliance]

Silversword listened to Zephyr, quietly contemplating on what he had said. It was sound logic, certainly, but there was something that irked her greatly. She could not continue training until this issue was solved, and she trotted up to Zephyr, eyes slightly narrowed. With a jangle of the necklace, she lifted her head to speak in Zephyr's ear, softly so as to keep the others unaware.

"It appears that we must work together, for the time being. I require my employer to respect me, and he is attempting to display us like proud show ponies. Once this problem has been solved, I will teach you whatever it is you wish to know."

Silver frowned slightly, and continued speaking, turning her head away from him and watching Max with her flame-colored eyes.

"That being said, please work with me in order to preserve our dignity and let the unicorn know that we are not his playthings."

With that, she quickly trotted away from him, standing in the center of the little crowd that was eager to watch the two Pegasi fight.

Her eyes were cold and calculating, and she sat back on her haunches, a pose which, oddly enough, merely made her seem imposing and unfriendly. By sitting when she was expected to fight, she was quietly defying Maximilian's wishes.

"I am afraid that we must disappoint you all, Appleoosans. The Pegasus Zephyr Burst and I are not show ponies. We are training for a trip which may call for defensive or offensive maneuvers." She spoke calmly, her tone neutral despite the aggressive movements of her tail. When she finished with her statement, her gaze was directed at Maximilian; eyes glittering as she watched him appraisingly.

"Despite the mutual dislike that the Pegasus and I have for each other, we both feel that this is wrong. This is both insulting and humiliating," Silversword said clearly, focused on the Rockefilly, her tone polite despite the cold words.

"Maximilian, I must urge you to kindly reconsider and give these ponies their bits back. Zephyr and I will continue with our practice, without being prodded and riled by you all. If this displeases you, you may discuss it with us in private, but in a respectful manner. Just as we respect you, you must respect us as well." At this point, Silver had gotten up and ambled over to Max, speaking for his ears, and his ears alone. It did not matter if the other ponies heard, for it was the Rockefilly who had insulted their dignity.

Finished, she glanced around and spoke to the small crowd. "If you have placed any bits on this.. 'fight', then I suggest you take them back. We are not a business venture for our employer, and we do not function to entertain crowds."

"Now, I bid you all a pleasant day. Zephyr and I must practice our blocking." Silversword waved a dismissive hoof at the crowd, hoping that she had not over-stepped her boundaries, and that the crowd would disperse.

She respected the unicorn, still, but felt that she must show that she was to be respected as well. If he let them continue working for them, she would remain loyal and dutiful to him.

Once she had finished with her little speech, she frowned and trotted back to Zephyr, a slight frown on her features, her tail still flicking.

"I apologize for the wait," she muttered curtly. "Now, if you are ready to block and deflect, I will start.."

And she leapt at him.

[Bannhammer]

Maximilian stood there silently as Silversword and Zephyr openly defied him and his attempt to blatantly profit off of them. The knight even went to far as to speak to him directly and basically told him that he could rut himself if he thinks he can just use them. The Rockefilly looked upset, even insulted, but he was pleased. He had assumed that they would stick up to him, but he never thought that they would do so together and so strongly.

The crowd of Appleoosans converged on the rich stallion, and he quickly complied with their demands to return the bits. Max didn't even mind losing the potential profit, he was mostly pleased with the attitude of the two Pegasi. He would have loved to let them in on his true intentions, but they had already returned to sparring.

It was a good start, at least the two ponies had enough mutual respect that they wouldn't let Max use them however he liked. Also, they didn't hate each other enough to succumb to the first opportunity to get rid of the other. The fact that Zephyr didn't immediately just attack Silver for the key was pleasing, and that Silversword refused to strike him down upon hearing that she could be rid of him also made Max feel a bit more confident about the future of the duo.

If the pair of ponies that hated each other could at least manage to resist killing each other, then maybe there was a chance that he wouldn't have to fire them both.

[ZephyrBurst]

Zephyr stayed in his defensive stance as Silversword approached him, ready for any cheap shots she may have. She did no such thing and Zephyr listened intently, though he still wasn't convinced and observed her carefully. He had struck her twice already and wasn't sure how much of a grudge she had for that or the sand in the face. The mare had surprised him with her words and even agreed they should not be Max' profit gains.

Even more surprising was the way she handled the crowd and her words to Max. It gave him a newfound respect for her and he felt that maybe his hate for her was mistaken and misguided. She had a way with words that Zephyr found would be impossible for him to articulate properly. Zephyr's method for making the crowd go away would have just been to yell at them, telling them to go away, and threaten them that they would be next. He definitely wouldn't mind hitting a few more things.

Luckily the crowd mostly dispersed after they had their bits returned to them and Silversword was ready to start right away. "I'm always ready!" Zephyr hadn't even finished his response to Silver before she leapt toward him. He quickly returned to his defensive stance, keeping an even weight adjustment among all his legs, and his wings snapped to his sides. Hopefully the knight wouldn't hold back.

[Appliance]

If there was something positive to be said about Silversword, it would be that she was honest, and she was unwavering in her beliefs on honor.

While she didn't enjoy preaching to others, if there was something that must be said, Silversword would say it.

Hoping she hadn't overstepped her boundaries and angered her now-silent employer, she focused on the new task at hand: practice with Zephyr.

He was strong and agile, but his fighting tactics were disappointing. He relied on brute strength and dirty moves, from what she could see. Perhaps she could teach him something. Fighting wasn't simply about who was bigger and tougher, but rather who used their strengths and weaknesses wisest. It was about strategy.

There was a certain finesse to fighting that Silversword loved. She loved getting the feel for the fighting style of another and learning how best to fight against them.

But, there were things that she was flawed at as well.She was not a social mare, and, recalling Maximilian's words, this was something she could be taught by him. She could also learn from the green one, she was sure of it.

Maybe, she thought to herself, he was a strong flyer? Silver would have to find out somehow, and perhaps watch him in flight, taking tips for herself.

But.. She must focus on the matter at hoof.

Noticing Zephyr's sturdy placement of his hooves upon the ground, she opened her wings at the last moment and zipped past him, recalling his words.

"Always ready.." she murmured, before pouncing onto his back from behind.

[ZephyrBurst]

Silversword was finally into the action and even though Zephyr was supposed to be on the defensive, as Silver zipped past him, he tried to strike her. She was too fast for Zephyr to hit from his stance and her sudden quickened speed around him gave him a surprise. During their earlier tussle, Silver didn't do much in the way of retaliation and he was beginning to wonder if Silver was actually going to go through with this. Honor or not, surely she wanted to get him back for what she considered a cheap shot earlier. At least Zephyr saw it that way.

Those worried thoughts were put to rest when the situation changed and Silver was on his back. The added weight nearly brought him to his stomach, but his sturdy build and stance kept him from being toppled over. Having some pony on his back like this left uncomfortable thoughts and vulnerabilities. Even though this was practice, he couldn't help but feel threatened by the act, and he immediately attempted to buck her off. It failed and the mare stayed on. It took a lot of energy to do that with a large weighted pony on his back and he still felt threatened. Zephyr had trouble trusting others, especially those which he held in low regard and respect for. He wanted the mare off his back and he shifted his weight to one side quickly and with a lot of force. The end result having Silver racing toward the ground and with Zephyr rolling on top of her, though he was belly side up. He didn't hear what she said to him when she ran by, and it didn't concern Zephyr.

[Appliance]

He tried to buck her off.

Silversword stopped herself from yelping in surprise, clinging to his back with sturdy hooves.

He was a large stallion, and she would hate to find herself at the mercy of his hooves, where he could surely trample her.

Zephyr's bucking didn't work, thankfully, and she was still perched on his back, wings outstretched, ready to hop off at a moment's notice. Thinking quickly, she noticed that perhaps her advantage here was her size and speed. She could possibly avoid his hooves if he tried to lash at her, and maybe she could make him dizzy if she ran round him.

Her thoughts were interrupted, however, when he fell onto one side, crushing her as he rolled up on top of her. She pushed him off and scrambled away from him quickly, thrashing about with frantic movements.

She couldn't stand being pinned, especially in such a way that her wings could be injured.

With a loud snarl, she shook herself off and launched herself at him, as he was belly up. She covered him from being able to kick her off with his hooves, and pressed her forehead to his, so he wouldn't be able to stretch his head and headbutt her.

Hopefully, she had him in such a way that he couldn't shake her off.

Zephyr was large, though, and this could easily go badly if he got her wings or a hoof in his grasp. As he was larger, he could trap her in his hooves if she slipped up.

Panting, she kept her hooves over his, wondering how he would react to being pinned.

Some ponies would lie still, feigning submission, until her guard was down and they either tensed up and kicked her off somehow, or scrambled away. Others wiggled around wildly, and her grip would slip.

Now, how will this one react?

He'll fight, most likely.

[ZephyrBurst]

Zephyr knew Silver didn't like that as she quickly pushed him off of her. A mental note was made for later reference. If this weren't practice, Zephyr would have rolled onto his hooves the moment he was able to, but he stayed on his back with a grin. Since Silver was a knight, he ranked her with the Royal Guard, and striking her in any way simply felt good. Showing any authority pony that they weren't above everypony always felt right.

The knight didn't waste any time and pinned him down as she snarled. His hooves her pressed down and he immediately thought to headbutt her to stagger her, but she pressed her head to his. It was rather impressive to see she had thought it all through. Apparently she had been in a situation like this before. There were a few ways Zephyr thought might work to break out, he could possibly push her off, or roll to the side again with as much strength as he could muster. Instead he waited to see what the mare would do, as he was curious, though nervous since he was once again pinned down.

"Now that you've got me pinned down, what are you going to do? Your hooves are being used and if you let up at all, I'll strike." He grinned, and thought about his words. It wasn't long though, for some reason, he felt bad. Given the chance, he figured he'd probably not strike her again... too hard. Maybe he was being a bit rough, it was just a sparing match. Whether he'd strike her or not, he wanted to see what her next move would be, so he waited and didn't squirm too much.

"What now?" He did think of another way to distract her, but no... that was simply out of the question, even if this was a real fight.

[Appliance]

Silversword had the larger pegasus pinned; which was an accomplishment on its' own.

Panting from the effort it had taken to get him down, she lifted a hoof and quickly swiped at her mane, which was falling onto her eyes.

Staring at him, a look of concentration upon her features, she idly wondered how to go from here.

They were at a stalemate of sorts: She could neither move and let him go, and he was trapped, lest he found a way to get her off.

This, she noticed, was very probable. He was a sly stallion, when it came to fighting at least, and he was larger.

Staring down at the pegasus, her wings unfurled quickly in case she needed to leap off of him at a moment's notice.

Silver knew it wouldn't be good for her if he managed to get ahold of her wings, which were weak as it was. They were useful enough, however, for quick getaways.

Zephyr asked her about her next move, taunting her, and she wanted to let go, flip him over and snarl at him for a bit.

But that would do no good, She reminded herself, still staring at him, holding her hooves steady, chest rising and falling quickly, heart fluttering, adrenalin going through her body with the thrill of a good fight.

"If my grip loosens and you strike, your stomach would be the target for my hooves," She stated curtly, holding fast.

This won't last long, Silversword told herself, focusing on Zephyr's movements. She would be ready for any moves of his..

She hoped.

[ZephyrBurst]

Zephyr had an idea that 'should' catch her off guard. "Then I won't give you that opportunity, and you better tuck those frilly little wings of yours in." As he neared the end of his short phrase, he wriggled his right forehoof out from her pin. It was just what he needed. Quickly, Zephyr brought his free hoof to Silver's head, possibly knocking her a bit senseless for a brief moment, but that was not his goal. He wrapped his hoof around her neck and pulled down as he, yet again, rolled to the side and forced her down. This time he had her on her belly. With his hindlegs now free, he lifted his weight momentarily and brought his hindlegs down on Silver's upper back and held her down, and did this in one graceful motion during his act of rolling her onto her belly.

From here, he had Silver pinned down and his forelegs free. Zephyr nearly smashed his forehooves down on Silver's head, as it was the action he was so used to doing when he managed to pin in this position. He stopped himself and instead slammed his right forehoof right next to her face. Zephyr kept his weight on her and lowered his muzzle closer to her ear. "That could have been you... Are you holding back?" He was curious if she would try to break out of this, he was heavier than her, and had a good balance from this position. Maybe she would instead want to try again. He was pretty sure the mare was holding back. Zephyr had little respect for guards and knights, but he was sure they were better than this. She displayed that she could defend herself and showed some nifty techniques, but overall, Zephyr was not impressed.

[Appliance]

"Frilly.. little.. wings?!"

Silversword snarled, staring down at Zephyr in disbelief and anger, stretching her wings as far as she could to prove that her wings were not little, and most definitely not frilly.

She felt movement beneath her, and noticed that Zephyr had managed to get a hoof free. She blinked in surprise and prepared for the inevitable, knowing he had the upper hoof now, what with his size and strength.

A yelp escaped from her when he hit her head, dazing her for a second. Another moment, and she was on her back, muzzle pressed to the ground. Snarling, she prepared to scramble to her hooves, yet the stallion set his hooves on her back and pinned her.

Silversword struggled in vain against the stallion, her tail flicking wildly. Pink spots appeared on her cheeks, evidence of her shame.

She rarely trained with others, and was unaccustomed to this type of situation. Once she was back on her hooves, however, she would make Zepyr Burst sorry that he had embarrassed her. His forehoof crashed into the ground next to her, and she stiffened up, instinctively moving away, or as much as she could, as she was pinned down.

There was a shift from above, and Zephyr spoke into her ear. The pink spots on her cheeks deepened, quite bright at this point. Silver was now quite angry, that somepony would dare get so close, that somepony would dare hold her down like this!

Why, at this rate, she would be trussed up like a turkey in five minutes! The thought bothered her so that she tucked in her wings.

"That could have been you... Are you holding back?" He asked, his breath tickling her ear. With a low growl, her ears flattened quickly, and she stopped moving about.

No, Silversword would have to find a way to get out of this one. How glad she was that the crowd had left! It would have been much worse for her otherwise, as her pride was something that was quite dear to her.

Growling quietly, her tail stopped twitching erratically for a moment, stock-still for a few seconds, until slowly..

One of the perks of having a long tail.. She thought, grinning.

Is using it in times of need.

Quickly, her tail wrapped itself around the stallion's hind leg, gently enough so as to be ignored.

"I'll leave that decision to you, Zephyr Burst," Silversword murmured, leaning her head towards his hoof.

Without second thought, she bit his leg fiercely, unfurling her wings swiftly, tail tightening on his hindleg. Hopefully, he'd rear back, and the pull on his hoof would be enough to make him fall onto his back.

The trick would be hopping over him fast enough to stay out of his clutches.

[ZephyrBurst]

Zephyr was quite enjoying himself at this point. He could see the mare's embarrassment. This wasn't a sparing match anymore, the two of them seemed to actually be fighting at this point, and Zephyr didn't mind. It meant he strike her and get away with it since, to Max, it was probably still seen as practice. Zephyr was pretty sure Max knew nothing about fighting and if anything, he could simply excuse his behavior and say that both ponies are going to get at least a little roughed up in any sparing match.

The mare had stopped fidgeting about. Zephyr was pretty sure she was concocting some plan to get away, but he'd be sure to stop it. Though he struck the ground and taunted her a little, he thought about striking her at least once in this pose. How satisfying that would be. However, the mare suddenly bit his leg hard and Zephyr yelped out in pain as he reared up, away from her muzzle of teeth. Zephyr would be sure she regretted that as he aimed to bring his forehooves to her backside on his way back down. She'd never pull that again after this. She bit hard too, leaving a mark on his leg. Yes, for that, he'd be sure that she left this fight with a bruise and some pain. Just as soon as he stomped back down.

(( OOC: Sorry about the short post. Ball is in your court with this one now. ))

[Appliance]

How embarrassing! How.. brash! This stallion surely didn't know how cagey she was.

Really, Silversword was glad she bit him. He yelped; a rather pleasing sound, she thought, after his rude comment on her wings (which were certainly not FRILLY!).

She scrambled forward, noticing Zephyr aimed to crash down onto her with his hooves.

Her plan, however, was well-thought out, however, because as she got to her hooves and galloped forward to avoid his hooves, he seemed to lose his balance.

Tails were quite useful in occasions such as these. With another quick pull, she felt him fall, and turning round, noticed that he was flat on his back. She grinned, eyes glinting, letting go of his leg and stepping back swiftly.

"Still holding back, am I?" Silversword asked, panting from the struggle of her "escape". Her wings were still opened, and she stretched them out, before tucking them in again and sitting various paces away from Zephyr, calmly preening, ears perked in order to stop if she heard any movement.

"Oh, yes. You might have a mark on that leg." She murmured calmly, her tail still except for the tip, which flicked from side to side like a pendulum.

Despite her careful composure, she was tense, ready to leap up at any moment if need be.

[Bannhammer]

Maximilian had been watching the fight without much interest. Mostly he just sat back and lazily tried to follow the action. He didn't feel as if there was really much going on other than a simple spar. Sure, it looked painful, but he was certain that scars and scrapes were what a pony was supposed to get in these practice sessions. Max didn't know for sure, it wasn't like he'd ever seen anypony fake fighting before.

The Rockefilly would get distracted and look around, but there was nothing of interest, and he was forced to watch the two ponies locked in what appeared to be fierce combat. As the battle raged on, he started to get worried. His fears and curiosity peaked when Silver decided to bite Zephyr. Maximilian was no expert on fighting, but he was fairly certain that such things were frowned upon.

He got to his hooves and trotted over, just in time to catch the two in another stand off.

"Ok, that's enough. I can see that you're both worthy fighters. I just hope the two of you learned a little something about each other, and will at least try to work together..."

Max sighed. "...but I'm not getting my hopes up,"

[ZephyrBurst]

It was perfect, Zephyr was about to trounce this mare into submission. However, all that was ruined when the mare suddenly got up and galloped ahead and one of Zephyr's hindlegs suddenly came with Silver for a brief moment. It was enough to send Zephyr falling to the ground on his back. He groaned as he hit the dirt beneath him and he looked ahead. There was Silver, slowly backing away with a sly grin, then suddenly, she sat back on her rump. Zephyr tried to figure in his head what had happened. The mare was not a unicorn, so she couldn't have done anything with magic. Zephyr rolled onto his front side and stood up to face the mare, who was a few paces away.

She did something... what was it? He pondered a moment and saw the end of her tail flicking side to side slowly. It suddenly hit him... 'Clever girl.' It was an impressive little stunt, but Zephyr was too angry to admire it. His fur stood up and he took a step forward. How dare she sit casually like that during a fight. He snarled a threat toward her. "You're going to regret doing that. I'll make sure you..." Zephyr was suddenly cut off by Max, who had stepped in to stop the fight. Just in time too, for Zephyr was about to charge at the mare and start a real tussle.

Zephyr calmed himself as much as he could and waited for Max to continue. He just looked to Max, there was no point in keeping his attention on the mare any longer. She wasn't the type to pull any cheap shots.

[Appliance]

Silversword's illusion of carefree pride was believable enough.

She hoped she didn't just look arrogant, however: she also had to be taken seriously.

Her wings shuffled, soft feathers rustling against her as she continued to preen. How silly Zephyr Burst seemed, now that he had been brought down!

Zephyr finally rolled onto his chest and came up to her.

The green one was angry, she could tell. Silver raised an eyebrow and watched as he bristled, approaching her.

"You're going to regret doing that. I'll make sure you..." He snarled at her, cut off by the clatter of hooves and noise of Maximilan approaching.

"You'll what? Roll onto your back?" The mare chuckled, eyes narrowed however, noticing that the unicorn arrived.

"Ok, that's enough. I can see that you're both worthy fighters. I just hope the two of you learned a little something about each other, and will at least try to work together..."

Ah, so the Rockefilly had finally decided to intervene! Where had he been before, when she had been wrestled down?

She snorted in annoyance, wings folding up as she stood, facing Maximilian.

"I believe this training session is done. Now what?" Silversword asked, never one to lay about idly during times such as these.

[Bannhammer]

Max straightened out his tux and took a deep breath before addressing the pair of ponies. He was a bit tired, and he thought that maybe a drink before bed would be best for all.

"I commend you both, and I believe now is the time for us to grab a nightcap before getting to bed."

With that, Maximilian turned and motioned for the pair to follow him towards one of the town's saloons. The three ponies push their way into one of the watering holes, and the crowd of stallions turned to watch them walk in and find a seat at the bar. It was completely silent as they were stared down, the gazes only moved once Max had taken his seat and nodded to the watching ponies.

The Rockefilly tapped on the bar three times, summoning the bartender. "I would like a shot of cactus juice and an Appleoosan sunrise."

The barkeep nodded and looked at the other two ponies, waiting for their orders.

[ZephyrBurst]

"You'll what? Roll onto your back?"

'She is so lucky that Max stepped in. She's got a lot of nerve saying something like that.' Despite the unwanted taunts from Silver, Zephyr was calming down. He knew he had to if he wasn't going to upset Max.

Surprisingly, Max only commended the two of them instead of reprimanding them for their actions, which was quite a relief as Zephyr didn't care to listen to Max go on about how Zephyr needed to be more blah blah blah. He was sure Max would come up with something and make it condescending. But no, instead Max had the two battling ponies follow him to the town saloon. Zephyr remained quiet during the walk over, never looking at Silver, and only glancing at Max periodically.

When the three of them arrived inside, Zephyr took notice to all the eyes on them. It made him nervous to know they were all watching him. He knew they were mostly staring at Max, but the idea of all those eyes possibly staring him down was still a bit nerve wreaking. When they sat and Max gave a nod, the eyes had all averted. It was almost as if Max had them all under a mind control spell, if such a thing existed. At least all that was over though. Zephyr thought back a moment on what Max mentioned. He said 'bed' and Zephyr really wanted one. To be more accurate, Zephyr just wanted to sleep, as he was tired. Especially after having that fight. Where he slept didn't matter, he had grown accustomed to being able to sleep just about anywhere.

Max ordered yet, another drink, and from the looks of it, he was waiting for the two of them to make an order. Zephyr gave an answer.

"I don't want anything to drink. But you mentioned a bed. I'd like to rest now." Zephyr looked upon Max with hopeful eyes. Sleep would be great and would get him away from these two for a bit.

[Appliance]

"You commend us for attempting to maul each other?" Silversword asked, her eyes wide, tone disbelieving.

"Of all the things.." She snorted and trotted away from them, gathering up her sword and cloak.

The Destrier mare had always been most talkative before and after fights, and she was voicing her opinions in a way she would have usually found extremely rude.

Once dressed, she trotted after them, followed into a bar.

They were watched by Appleoosans with judging stares and questioning eyes. They probably wondered who this odd pair with the Rockefilly were. What it meant.

Silversword had no answers.

She was just the hired help, and she watched them back with her fiery eyes that held no warmth for others, a slight scowl upon her features.

When the barkeep approached, and Maximilian and the green menace had explained whether they wanted or did not want a drink.

"The most bitter thing you've got, please." She said quickly, keeping her eyes on the ponies that had ceased to watch them.

Really, she would have preferred to drink some water, but she needed something strong to keep her awake. She was not tired, and she hoped to perhaps get some more flying practice..

She was sore, however. And her pelt wasn't as spotless as it'd been before, but she was satisfied. During her little.. sparring match with Zephyr Burst, she'd both managed to prove that she had a few tricks up her sleeves.

And that she would not be humiliated or intimidated by him. The stallion would not best her.

Her wings shuffled, and she found herself idly wondering about what Zephyr Burst would have done had the Rockefilly not intervened.

The green one seemed like the type that was quite dangerous if he lost control, and having pulled off a risky move, he would have probably been even angrier.

Her scowl was now a slight frown.

She must be careful with that one, and keep a close eye out for any potential trouble.

[Bannhammer]

The confusion and contempt radiated off of his company, and Max could easily sense it. It was obvious that the two ponies still weren't comfortable around each other, and a sense of despair set in on Maximilian. He wasn't the sort of pony to give up, but he sure felt like doing it right then and there. Without a second thought he gulped down his Appleoosan sunrise, only to follow it up with the cactus juice. The Rockefilly slammed the glass down and stared at the bartender, making it obvious that another round was in order.

"You'll be in bed soon enough, but let me get my money's worth first." His eyes seemed just a bit more tired than usual, and his usually commanding body language was reduced to sagging and leaning back in his chair with all the apathy he couldn't care to muster.

"And you'll both be rid of me, don't worry. I can tell that neither of you seem fit for this job. I'll make sure we get it over with, so I can hire some more competent ponies for the next assignment."

As soon as the second round arrived, Max grabbed the sunrise and held it aloft, ready to down it in one go.