[Appleoosa] The Good Ol Hoedown [open]

[Boss_Hoss1]

The town had been buzzing for days over the news of Maximillian Rockefilly's plans to turn Appleoosa into a trade hub and build a Summer Home there. Now that negotiations were in the final stages locally, the town councel decided a Hoedown to celebrate was in order.

Banners and streamers were strung around town, with an area marked off with ropes and haybales for the dance as soon as Celestia's sun sets.

Signs were hung at the railroad station directing anypony who arrives late toward inns if they didnt' want to join in on the fun.

The stage is brighty lit as the band and the dance caller gets ready for the hoedown.

Thorn brays happily as he delivers the punch to the buffet table and heads back to the Bed and Breakfast.

Watching the last minute preperations from her front window, Madam Caramel Bistro nervously checks her dress. she literally cannot remember the last time she had a "date" date and is fretting with her dress, a vanilla flower haircomb in her styled mane...

[Mojo]

Walking towards the howdown area was Sheriff Silverstar, the rugged lawpony dressed in his finest vest. Flying down from above was a brown Pegasus mare in a very elegant looking yellow and white dress.

"I'm here, Sheriff!" Louise Lamare neighed as she gentle landed on her four hooves in front of the stunned mustached stallion.

"Miss LaMare!" he neighed, "you look plumb purty in that thar fancy dress!"

"Thanks Sheriff. After all, this is our first real date together and all."

"Jist remember, I still gotta call the square dance later on. It's my sworn duty as Sheriff!"

"That's fine. Sheriff, who's those three ponies following behind you?"

"Oh yeah, that's our band fer tonight! Came all the way from the other side of Equestria by train this afternoon, the Hay Family!"

"The Hay Family?"

"Y'all called?" a brown stallion with red mane, dark brown hat and vest asked. "Yep! We're the Hay Family Band! I'm Hayseed, that's my big sister Haymaker and my little sister Haywire! Pleased ta meetcha!"

"Don't mind my brother, he's the excitable type," Haymaker said sternly as the white colored taller mare with the red make, gray hat and vest continued to pull a small cart with the band's instruments behind her. "Funny, this cart seems a lot harder to pull now."

"Think I know why, sis. Hay Haywire! Git outta thar and say howdy to the folks!" the stallion neighed as a rust colored blonde filly with a purple bow in her hair jumped out of the cart.

"Darn it! Almost got a free ride all the way to the stage!" Haywire snorted before turning towards the Sheriff and Louise. "Howdy! I'm Haywire! I play the juice harp while my brother's gonna play washtub bass and my older sister saws away on her fiddle! I'm the cute part of the band!"

"Settle down, dear sister, we got a jig tonight! Real money too, right Sheriff?" Haymaker asked.

"You'll git yur pay, free room and board at Madam Bistro's too! The city's sparin' no expense to make this the best danged howdown this side of Canterlot!"

[Bannhammer]

Maximilian Rockefilly Jr found himself wandering the dusty streets of Appleoosa. He had already spent some time in town, and he felt the settlement really growing on him. It wasn't a bustling metropolis, like Manehattan, but be actually liked it that way. The rich unicorn was sporting something very casual, for him, anyway. He wore a maroon sports jacket and bright white undershirt, the combination was a bit rustic, but he found himself trying to appear less stoic his fellow Appleoosans. 

The stallion approached the center of town, where it seemed that the whole town had gathered to celebrate his recent decision to live with them. Max found himself in a new place, with many ponies that had equally large reasons to dislike him, yet the Unicorn never felt out of place or like he wasn't welcomed. 

The party was in full swing by the time Maximilian arrived, and he trotted around, curtsying to everypony he passed and giving a firm hoofshake to the fellow stallions.

"Good evening, everypony."

He spent most of his time simply going around and admiring the beautiful decorations. He also searched for the few ponies he already knew, mainly madam bistro and the sheriff.

[brianblackberry]

Braeburn had missed all the excitement about the rich visitor who had grand plans for Appleoosa. Something about a new rail hub and business for the town, which was great of course, but he knew none of the details. The truth was - as much as he wanted to be in on any major happenings to his beloved town, it was the final days of the apple harvest. Startin' aford sunrise and on till well after sundown, he was bucking, checking, packing, and shipping apples. By the time Braeburn was done, whatever events that caused the celebration to be scheduled had expired.

Braeburn had the final batch of apples packed - a gift to his family in Ponyville. They were fresh apples from Bloomberg, the tree his cousin Applejack gave him as a gift for his new orchard. At this point, Braeburn might normally have skipped the hoedown, tuckered out as he was, no matter how much he loved a good wild west dance. The call of his bed was so strong now that everything was finally done. But no rest this time - no, he'd made a promise to an attractive earth pony mare he'd met just the other day as he was delivering apples to town, one Caramel "Madam" Bistro. In fact, one could call it a date! If there was one thing an Apple did, it was keeping their promises. Besides, how often did he really get to take a mare to a hoedown? Well, it wasn't uncommon, but it surely was something special, all the same.

Braeburn placed on his best hat - a nice black Stetson - along with his silver bolo tie. His good ol' vest would have been inappropriate; at such events he always wanted to impress, especially the mares. Of course, as he wasn't going alone, he was going to take that extra step - a bouquet of desert flowers for his date.

Trotting up the street with a prance to his step, feeling refreshed and having a second wind - or was it his third wind? - he could see that the party had already started. He wasn't late, though - the dancing had yet to begin! As he reached the door of Madame Bistro's place, he placed the flowers along the wall, just out of view as a surprise, before knocking with his forehoof. "Oop!" he softly said to himself, taking off his hat and holding it to his chest. He'd almost forgotten his manners! He smiled warmly as he waited for her to answer the door.

[DJpinkypie]

Turns was new to this town. Appaloosa if his memory served him correct. He had heard that this was going to be a new trade hub. The prospect of a new area to visit excited him, if he had a passion other than parties and being a DJ. It was seeing new areas and new towns. He wasn’t as experienced an adventurer as his friend Val but he had some trekking skills, mostly from being a cross-country runner in high school.

This new town was great. Simple and pleasant, certainly he could see how it would be a lot more appealing to ponies than city life, even though he made his living in the hustle and bustle, he enjoyed escaping every now and again.

He had heard about the towns hoedown, as they called it, through the grapevine, Well actually his manager had suggested that he go check out the town. Turns had been extremely busy for the last few months and his manager suggested that it would be a great place to releave some of the stress of his work. Turns didn’t always mind the work but it was still a lot more stress than usual.

Across the way he could see some more ponies. One wore a hat and a silver star it looked like. “Hello you must be the sheriff, my name is Turns, this is quite the town you guys have here.”

[WillowWisp]

It was going to be a big surprise. Willow Wisp hadn't been back to Appleloosa since the adventure in the desert. And well, she wanted to surprise one of her fellow adventurers with a gift. She'd finally gotten the whole report on the event written up and she had a copy just for him. One of the firsts printed. She'd even signed it with a little dedication to the Earth Stallion.

'To the stallion without who I would have never gotten such a chance to see into the life of Spirit Lanterns. You're always welcome to join me Braeburn.'

She had the book tucked in her saddlebag as she stepped off the last train heading into the town for the day. It was rather long to go from Ponyville to Appleloosa but she wasn't about to rest. After all she slept most of the ride there.

To her surprise the town seemed to be having some sort of party. She trotted over to where ponies were collecting and looked around. She wasn't at all dressed for such an occasion and she felt out of place. Maybe she could just find Braeburn and give him the book before hiding away in the local in.

"Looks like I picked an odd time for a surprise visit... I don't have anything to wear."

[Boss_Hoss1]

Caramel Bistro moved around the main room fretfully, even jumping when Thorn trotted back in from delivering refreshments.

He looked at her with a wry smile

"Would you like a soothing tea, Madam?"

She waved him off

"No, I'm fine Thorn, just a little nervous."

The mocha mare suddenly turned at a knock at the doorway, where she saw..

"Oh Braeburn! I am so glad to see you!"

Her eyes went wide as she saw the elegant black stetson andmatching bolo tie. His usual vest was not present, showing him off at his best.

"Oh my!"

Thorn chuckled and shook his head

"Ponies..."

[Mojo]

Upon spotting Mr. Rockefilly, Sheriff Silverstar excused himself and galloped up to him.

"Mr. Rockefilly! We are plumb honored that you've decided to attend our big ol' Hoedown!" the mustached stallion neighed as he offered to shake his hoof. "We're hopin' fer a big turnout! This'll give ya a chance to git aquainted with all the townfolk here!"

Louise walked over to the stage, where the Hay family was setting up their instruments in preparation for providing the music for the night.

"So, have you three been musicians for a long time?" the brown Pegasus asked.

"Actually, this here's our first jig playin' together," Hayseed said as he put his washtub bass down on the stage.

"What my brother means is that we've been playing music for a long time, but not as a group," Haymaker said, reaching for her fiddle. "Our hay harvest is done and all our hay sold, so we decided to travel as a musical group to make a few more bits to tide us over the winter. Besides, it's a lot of fun. Ain't that right Haywire? Haywire? HAYWIRE! WHERE THE HAY ARE YOU?"

The rust colored 'blank flank' filly had snuck away from the stage, sneaking up to random tables laden with food and swiping cookies, cupcakes and other treats while trying to remain hidden. The third time she reached up to grab a pie, her smaller hoof met the bigger brown hoof of the Sheriff.

"Now now, little miss. This here food's fer the party, and it ain't started yet."

"Yessir," Haywire said, trying to flash her 'sad eyes' face to gain sympathy. Suddenly, she felt a tug on her tail as Haymaker pulled her away.

"So here you are, little sister! Your brother and I brought you along on this trip because you PROMISED to stay outta trouble! You better not blow this here singin' gig fer us!"

"Okey dokey sis! I'll be as good as gold tonight!" Haywire neighed, putting on her classic 'sweet little angel' face complete with halo appearing above her head. (like the CMCs in that one episode of the show)

"You better be! Now come back over to the stage so we can practice and..." Haymaker's voice paused when she spotted Braeburn. The heart of the red maned mare began to race, her eyes bugged out as she stared at the handsome stallion.

"Uh, sis?" Haywire asked, waving her front leg in front of the face of her older sister several times, trying to get her attention.

[Bannhammer]

Max was approached by the sheriff, and the socialite quickie bowed in response.

"It would be a bit difficult to pass up such a 'shin-dig', one would say."

The unicorn adjusted his jacket and smiled at the mustached  pony in front of him. "It's great to feel so welcomed, and i'm really glad to be a part of Appleoosa. I hope that there are many more hoe downs to come!"

Max turned his attention to the band, and he couldn't help but stare blankly at them, watching the motley Crüe of ponies make their away around the party. He caught one of them staring, but not at him, at another pony. 

It was a younger stallion, a sort of light gold color with a shaggy orange mane. He seemed to be a bit younger than Max, and definitely younger than the sheriff. The outfit he wore was what really attracted the eye, and Max couldn't help but wonder why all the other ponies didn't dress like that.

The Appleoosan socialite leaned towards the sheriff and spoke in a hushed tone. "What's with the musical ensemble... and who is that dapper pony over there?"  

[Snowshoe]

A hoedown. Dapper Dan had to admit, he had never heard the term before. Well, it might have come up once or twice during a conversation in his shop, but having only been in Appleloosa about two months now, he'd never really...experienced one. He was going mostly because he wanted to meet the townsfolk a little better. Up until now, Dan had only met the colts and stallions that had come through his shop, and while that meant he knew some people, he'd never really met anyone else personally. Sure, he'd go into stores and such and say hi to all the ponies along the street, but Dan was still "the new pony".

He'd dressed well enough for the event, with a white dress shirt button up his front, and his usual hat, an old but well made gray tweed newsboy cap, which had been one of the many gifts his father had given him. It had been his father's hat, and now it was Dan's, now that it fit of course.

To be entirely honest, Dapper Dan had never been much of a partypony, and even if he was, the only style of dancing he knew were things popular in Fillydelphia...definitely not something an old-fashioned town like Appleloosa would have. He made his way to the party nonetheless, a smile on his face. The tip of his horn glowed a little as he fixed his glasses, which had slipped down his nose a little, and he took the time to look around. One thing he liked about Appleloosa was that everypony seemed to know everypony: conversations were a dime a dozen, between all the denizens of the town. He recognized a few of his customers, but nopony else.

But one caught his eye. A black pony with blue hair, with saddlebags on, looking for someone. Figuring he'd have an easier time chatting it up with a pony who was alone, rather than join in with a group, Dan walked over to Willow. "Evening." he said pleasantly, doffing his cap with a bit of magic.That was one old fashioned trick he'd picked up rather quickly, the tip o' the hat...it was something he did all the time back home. "You seem a little lost. Looking for someone?" he asked, smiling. Dan's voice was in transition...same tone, but the accent was placed halfway between the drawl of an Appleloosan, and the accent of a Fillydelphian. "I'm Dapper Dan, pleasure to meet you."

[brianblackberry]

((OOC Note - I apologize for taking a while here, its been a very busy few days))

Waiting for the door to open at Miss Bistro's place, Braeburn couldn't help but look about at the area nearby that was set up for the event. It was rather a bit small, but that was more than adequate for such a small town. He probably wouldn't even think of it as small except that he'd just gone to the Grand Galloping Gala a few months ago. He could see that the band had already arrived, along with a few ponies he didn't recognize. There were the familiars too, like the sheriff, who always made sure to visibly attend every event in town. All seemed normal except, in the corner of his eye, there was a black pony approaching from the distance. He couldn't think, offhand, of any black ponies in town that weren't already here. If he didn't know better, he would swear it was Miss Willow, the unicorn mare that he had grown quite fond of. Oh Braeburn, that couldn't be her, she'd be back in Ponyville writing her latest story on all those crazy doings with the lanterns. He should be focused on the filly.

Just then, the door opened up with the familiar mocha-colored mare, Braeburn looked forward again and gave an elegant, but not too wide smile. He was wearing his good duds, after all! He had to act all respectable! He'd see how long that lasted ... "Good evening, Miss Bistro ... Caramel. I'n Ah might say, ma'am, y'all surely do make a purty sight." As he placed his black Stetson back over his long mane, his smile broadened confidently. "As ah promised, Ah'm here ter escort y'all ter the night's hoedown, even if'n 'tis just right round th' corner from yer place. Just one advantage of livin' in such a cozy, close-knit town as APPPPLEOOOSA!" He reared up proudly, his voice raising and his grin hitting its normal fantastic girth. Hrm, at least fifteen seconds. New record!

The goldenrod stallion gave a friendly wink as he came back down. "Oh! Ah have somethin' fer y'all!" He dropped his muzzle down to the side of the door and lightly picked up the bouquet of desert flowers he'd stashed there. Holding them rather proudly in his mouth with a proud grin grin, he offered them up to her, certain in the familiar beauty of the desert blooms.

[WillowWisp]

Willow Wisp had been scanning the area of the part to see if she could spot the pony she came to see. But honestly the last time she'd been in Appleloosa she didn't spend much time in the town at all. So she didn't even know where to look and as ponies were gathering she could only hope she'd spot him in the crowd.

"Ah," her attention was grabbed as Dan came up to her. After his introduction she nodded her head with a smile. "Nice to meet you. I'm Willow Wisp." She glanced around again. "I'm not really lost... just looking for somepony. I just didn't know the day I picked to drop in for a surprise would be a party."

He seemed like a newcomer but surely he would know Braeburn right? That pony was so friendly. Wisp was sure he probably helped welcome anypony who came to town. So there was just a chance Dan could help her.

"You see, I'm looking for a Stallion named Braeburn. I have something for him and I thought it would be fun to surprise him with a visit rather than just mailing it from Ponyville." A little blush came to her cheeks as she looked off to the side for a moment. "I just hope he's around. Otherwise I would feel silly."

Not too far off she could have sworn she heard his characteristic pronunciation of the settlement's name. She quickly looked around again but it was getting a bit crowded and hard to tell where sounds were coming from. Or for that matter, if she was hearing things or not.

[Snowshoe]

Dapper Dan smiled. He wasn't exactly the welcome wagon for town, least not officially. But he was so new to the town himself, and had felt so welcome when he first arrived, that he wanted to help other newcomers to Appleloosa feel the same way. He adjusted his glasses with a bit of magic while she spoke, chuckling. "Yeah, I know that feeling. I saw the advertisements around, but I'm a city-pony. I have no idea what a hoedown is, so I'm a little lost, ha." he said, smiling.

"Braeburn? Yeah, he's here. There's not a thing that goes on in this town that pony misses. If the hoedown is big enough to bring pretty much the entire town out, I'll guarantee he's around." Dan said. "I'd bet my horn on it."

Sure enough, before he'd even finished saying "Horn", he'd heard the familiar voice and the town's name. He'd never really met Braeburn personally, but he'd heard his voice enough times before to recognize it.

"If he's not here now, he soon will be. Want to find him, or wait until he gets to the party?" Dan asked.

[Boss_Hoss1]

(ooc: oops I seem to have been skipped while waiting on Braeburn. Let me catch up a sec... Been a busy week for me IRL too. Willow Wisp and Bistro expecting Braeburn? Let the comedy ensue!

Madam Caramel Bistro tries to maintain her poise, but cant help smiling broadly and blushing as Braeburn greets her with a compliment, his hat doffed to her.

her tail swished happily as he placed his hat back on his head and spoke to her; "As ah promised, Ah'm here ter escort y'all ter the night's hoedown, even if'n 'tis just right round th' corner from yer place. Just one advantage of livin' in such a cozy, close-knit town as APPPPLEOOOSA!"

Bistro clopped her forehooves happily as he reared for her. "Thank you for the flattery, Mr. Braeburn, and I am proud to have such a handsome cowpony for my date this evening."

The elegant mare's eyes widened "Oh my!" She trotted in place in excited joy. "While I have rarely dated, it's even rarer for a date to have brought a boquet! And such beautiful desert blooms! Thank you, you handsome devil you."

Thorn chuckled and teasingly spoke in a stern, fatherly voice while he made the next batch of party treats. "Now, young sir, be sure and have our young flly back at a decent hour..."

Caramel snorted "Silly jack, You're younger than me!" and giggled at the silly antics of Thorn.

She offered her elbow to Braeburn and smiled "Shall we go, Braeburn?

[Mojo]

As Haymaker stared at Braeburn, she then turned her head and noticed all the other handsome, rugged looking stallions arriving at the Hoedown. The red maned mare's mouth hung open and her eyes 'bugged out' even more. Haywire, seeing that her big sister was now pretty much 'out of it' quietly snuck away, hoping to find some other foals to talk to (or some more unguarded goodies to swipe). The Sheriff now noticed the look on Haymaker's face and galloped over to her.

"Er, Miss Haymaker, are you feelin' alright?" the concerned lawpony asked.

"I am in HEAVEN now!" the earth mare replied dreamily.

"She's guy crazy agin'" her brother Hayseed laughed. "I'll snap'r out of it, Sheriff."

Picking up an apple from a nearby table, Hayseed tossed it in the air and then used one of his hind legs to kick it, propelling the apple towards his big sister, laughing as the flying apple went SPLAT on her head.

"HAY! WHY YOU ..." Haymaker yelled before giving chase to her fast moving brother.

"C'mon sis, I had to do somethin' to snap ya outta yur boy crazy trance!" he shouted while in full escape gallop.

"I'LL SNAP YOU WHEN I CATCH YA!" his furious sister neighed while in hot pursuit.

"What on earth are those two doing, Sheriff?" Louise LaMare asked.

"I don't know, maybe it's a race!" Sheriff Silverstar laughed as Haywire reached up from under a picnic table to snatch an apple pie.

[brianblackberry]

Braeburn just smiled broadly at the compliment he received for the flowers - it wasn't that much, really, but it certainly made the caramel colored earth mare happy. What was a couple of cactus spines in the hoof when it bought such a smile? "Y'all are most certainly welcome, although their beauty pales next ter such a lovely filly as yerself!" That may have been a little thick, but for Braeburn, there was no such thing as too many nice things one could say about a mare, especially if it made them smile and blush.

He swept his hat off again and gave a wink to Caramel Bistro before turning to Thorn with a faux seriousness. "Don't worry, Sir, I will take good care of her, and have your lovely young filly back before midnight!" Smiling again with his confident grin, the goldenrod stallion offered his hoof to her, leading her the first two steps down to the dirt street, then let her hoof go as he turned to walk, side by side with her, down the street and around the corner to the hoedown.

Braeburn finally got his first full view of the town square decorated for the hoedown. He always loved hoedowns, and getting to show one to Caramel just made him look at them with all new, proud eyes. All the lights and decoration had been meticulously laid out, a combination of desert and apple themes that was uniquely Appleoosa, to Braeburn's great pride. The smell of freshly baked apple dishes filled his nose, with a smattering other ripe and lovely fruits, vegetables, and a small table of sweets that was a foal's sweet-tooth dream come true. One the far side was the band - he didn't know who the members were, but they seemed set up and ready to go, though they seemed involved in horseplay at the moment, one mare chasing a stallion off the stage to the smiles of the others. Perhaps it was a pare of lovers playing.

It all felt familiar and wonderful, a safe and comfortable familiar feeling, like one felt returning to one's home from a long absence. As lonely as harvesting this past month had been, the rush of delight at this vista made it all worthwhile. And tonight, he had somepony to share the joy with! Sure, the date had just been a bit of playful banter, but it delighted him all the same.

Braeburn looked back at Caramel with a charming smile. "What would y'all care t'do first, mah dear?" He blinked. Right past Caramel, he saw a dark unicorn again - and again, he felt a wave of nostalgia as he thought of the alluring and adventuresome Willowisp. But it can't be here, ye silly colt. She lives way over by mah cousins, or ye'd have asked her tae dance again! C'mon Bareburn, ye have a date, dinnae go thinkin' of some other filly just cause ye see one what looks like her! That's just rude! Braeburn shook his head slightly, trying to clear the tricks his mind was playing on him, as he focused again on Caramel.

[WillowWisp]

((ooc: forgive me for the slowness. had some compy troubles))

"Well I suppose if I just wait here for him then I'll be able to spot him." After all if it was a town event, then Braeburn surely would show. She just nodded to Dan with a smile. At least she got a nice little greeting.

"A hoedown?" She laughed. "Ah it's just like a well think of a down home country party. That's about what it means. They use to have them back in the small town I grew up in. Like for the Harvest Festivals and what not."

It was then, out of the corner of her eye she thought she saw him. She glanced past Dan and sure enough, not far off was Braeburn. She didn't really take note that he was standing with another mare, thinking she was just another party guest. Her eyes lit up and she smiled. "Oh there he is! Ah, I'm sure we'll bump in again during the party, Dan... Excuse me for now though."

Willow Wisp happily trotted over, ready to surprise the stallion with her presence and gift. "BOO!" She called out as she came up beside him. "Surprise, Braeburn! I thought I'd come by to give you a special gift... had no idea there would be a party though when I got of the train!"

[Snowshoe]

Dan chuckled. True enough...if there was a community event Braeburn wasn't far behind. It was like he was the town's spokespony. He looked over when she explained the hoedown, clearing it up for him. "Ah, I see." he said with a chuckle. He'd never had anything like that back in Fillydelphia. In fact, he'd never really danced before. But if they were common here, then he would probably get used to it after a little while.

Dapper Dan looked up when she pointed out Braeburn. "Of course. Talk to you later, Willow Wisp." he said to her, smiling and giving a small bow with his head.

Once she'd walked off, Dan decided to mingle and made his way closer to the party. He ended up nearby a group of ponies, one of them including Sheriff Silverstar. "Evening, Sheriff." he said, doffing his cap to him.

[Boss_Hoss1]

(I apologize for the delay in this and other threads. My sinuses have been really badly stomped by the weather for the last week or so)

Thorn laughed as Braeburn played along with his joke and went back to preparing more party treats.

Madam Caramel Bistro strutted proudly out into the Hoedown area with the handsome stallion, and turned to him as he asked his question. He seemed distracted for a moment like he had seen a ghost, then her own was taken by a mare chasing a stallion like a comedy skit.

She smiled at Braeburn "Well, untill the dance begins, perhaps we can get some refreshments and talk a while?"

As she waited for a response, suddenly there was a "BOO!", making her jump. She turned and saw a very unique looking unicorn mare sidle up to Braeburn, her eyes seemingly aglow even in the party lights.

She looked wide-eyed at Braeburn, and at the strange unicorn, and back again "OH! Um, Sorry, i got startled..." She was fighting to keep her voice from taking a frosty tone and hopefully succeeding. "Oh, Braeburn, Who is your.. friend?"

She thought to herself *..After all This handsome devil can hardly be a stranger to the ladies, right? ..And if I repeat that enough I might convince myself of that fact...*

[Mojo]

Sheriff Silverstar smiled as Dapper Dan spoke his name.

"Howdy!" the mustached stallion neighed. "Welcome to our hoedown! I'd like to introduce ya to Maximillian Rockefilly, Louise LaMare and.."

"YOU GET BACK HERE RIGHT NOW AND TAKE YOUR MEDICINE, BROTHER!" Haymaker shouted as she zoomed past the stunned Sheriff in her continued pursuit of Hayseed.

"Stop it, you two!" Sheriff Silverstar yelled, causing the two siblings to come to a halt "Quit horsin' around and git up on the stage! It's time fer the dance to start!"

"Yessir!" Hayseed neighed as the stallion galloped up to the stage.

"Sorry Sheriff," Haymaker said as the mare followed her brother. "Have you seen Haywire?"

"I thought she was with you, sis," said Hayseed before spotting the young filly. "Ain't that her over there gittn' chased?"

"WHAT IN TARANATION?" Haymaker asked as she and her brother looked on. The scene resembled a 'Benny Hill' chase scene as Haywire, holding a whole half eaten pie in her mouth, was being pursued by the angry baker pony she had just robbed. Passing through the crowd, the swift petite foal dodged past Mr. Rockefilly, leaping over Madam Bistro before hopping over Throrne, Haywire then slid between Braeburn's legs, sidestepped Willow Wisp before barely avoiding a collision with Dapper Dan. With his quick reflexes, Sheriff Silverstar managed to block the fleeing filly's path seconds after she tripped up Louise Lamare, causing the brown Pegasus mare to fall on her side to the ground.

"STOP IN THE NAME OF THE LAW!" the Sheriff's voice roared as he lowered his head to stop Haywire from escaping. "You are in a peck of trouble now, young lady! What have ya got to say fer yurself?"

"Er, sorry?" Haywire muttered, trying to give everypony her patented 'sad eyes - I'm so cute and innocent' look.

"Miss LaMare, are you alright?"

"Yes Sheriff, I'm fine. Just a little surprised, that's all."

"As fer YOU, little foal, fer now, git up thar on the stage cause it's time fer yur band to start playin' music. But after the dance is done, you, me and your brother and sister's gonna have a LONG talk about all this. Ya might be spendin' the next few days in the hooscow fer bein' such a bad filly. Now GIT!"

Haywire gave out a whine before scampering up to the stage where she got very mean looks from Haymaker and Hayseed. The three began to 'warm up' by playing a simple, slow country tune.

"Surry bout that little interruption, folks! Enjoy the hoedown! Dancin' will start soon! Till then, help yurself to some refreshments!" the Sheriff announced to all.

[Snowshoe]

Dan smiled and nodded, removing his hat as the Sheriff made the introductions. "Mr. Rockefilly, Ms. LeMare, a pleasure to meet you both." he said sincerely. He had seen Ms. LeMare around town, but never Mr. Rockefilly...he figured that he must have been from out of town or something as he had never once seen him around Appleloosa.

"Never been to one of these hoedowns before. It'll be-" Dapper Dan continued, hearing a shout from off to the side. He stepped out of the way as a white mare tore past him in pursuit of a brown stallion. He chuckled as the Sheriff berated them a little for their behaviour. Another group he'd never seen around before. He was meeting all sorts of new people here at this hoedown.

They sounded like Appleloosans, especially at the mare's outburst. Dapper Dan turned to see a little red blur of a filly running among the crowd. By the time he registered what was happening, he had to quickly take another step back, nearly stumbling into the dirt, to avoid having the filly run into him. He saw Ms. LeMare get tripped, but before he could walk over to ask if she was alright, she seemed to have come up okay. He chuckled again as he watched the trio of ponies get onto the stage.

"Well, it's certainly been an exciting night so far."

[brianblackberry]

((Apologies for taking a little while here, my weekend as it turned out, was extremely busy))

Braeburn nodded and was about to take Miss Bistro's - Caramel's - idea of getting some drinks as a reason to play the gentlestallion once again, a role that he reveled in, when suddenly he heard an all too familiar voice yell "BOO!" The goldenrod stallion quickly turned around and witnessed the pleasingly familiar but unexpected sight. "Willowisp!" he'd exclaim, a shock of pure delight running through him as he realized that the unicorn *was* the lovely filly he'd adventured with. "Ah never expected y'all ta be back here so soon!" His broad, eager grin spread wide across his face.

Then he realized his situation. For once, his brain locked up for a moment, and instead of talking nonstop like he normally would, Braeburn actually had no idea what to say. Miss Bistro's rather frosty tone didn't help the situation any. It wasn't as if he meant things to get awkward like this! Finally, he got it out as he felt a slight blush across his face, "Willowisp, this is Madame Bistro, she's new in town, and Ah'm escorting her to th' dance heah tonight. Caramel, this is Willowisp, a scholar of the supernatural who Ah had a grand adventure with. We danced at the Grand Galloping Gala." Why had he added that last part? Stupid mouth!

It was an awkward moment indeed, and one he had never experienced, even with the reputation he seemed to have of being popular with the mares. It was more rumor than truth, though - he hadn't really been on that many dates in his life, he just always played the flirt and gentlestallion because it just came naturally. Not sure what to say next, the awkward focus on him was broken by a small red foal running through the group of them in a rather acrobatic and slaspstick fashion, desperately holding half a pie in her mouth. The little thief was stopped dead in her tracks by the sheriff, but not before accidentally knocking over the pegasus mare Braeburn met the other day at the entrance to this Bistro.

Braeburn saw his moment to get out of the situation, at least for a moment, as he quickly trotted over to the fallen tan colored mare and offered his forehoof, "Why, here, miss, please allow me to help y'all up!"

[Inkwell]

"Hmph, kent b'lieve yeh din't tell me 'bout this fing," Straight Arrow muttered. He glided through the air, his constant companion walking on the ground below him.

"I tol' yeh, Arrow," Shadow Boxer replied, looking down the main street of Appleloosa for the building where this hoedown was supposed to take place. He didn't really remember the details of where it was going to happen, as the prospect of attending sounded scary and unappealing to him. So he forgot the details until he accidentally let it slip to Arrow later that evening. "I don' wanna be wiv crowds. There's gon' be crowds there!"

"Ugh, this again?" Arrow asked, rolling his eyes and flapping his wings to regain altitude. "Yeh ent bein' very consisten', Boxer. Firs' yeh wanna introduce the two ovvus ta civilized pony socie'y 'n now yer all 'oh no, Arrow, don' make me do vis fing, dere's oodles a' funny-talkin' ponies wiv silly 'ats there, dey'll larf at meee!'" Both ponies wore gray pageboy hats, neither of them noticing the irony of the comment spoken in a broad riff on Boxer's deep voice.

Boxer just grimaced and flattened his ears. "I'm tryin', right?" he snapped, "I know it's daft, but I kent 'elp it, mate, I jes' freeze up 'n panic!" His eye started to twitch with the stress.

"Oy, calm down, mate," Arrow said, landing next to Boxer. "I'll be 'ere for yeh, jes' you wai'n see," he told Boxer, his voice softening to what he hoped was a soothing tone. "Deep breafs, mate. Deep breafs."

The two of them walked together until they finally came across the center of the town, where the ponies of Appleloosa appeared to be dancing, playing music, and laughing it up. Neither of the two recognized any member of the crowd. The one pony that they'd met before, Agate Pie, appeared conspicuous in her absence, though perhaps she was just blending in.

It didn't matter much to Arrow. He smiled, moved stray hair out of his face, and walked up to the hoedown. Boxer took a deep breath, like Arrow had suggested, and followed him in.

"'ello!" Arrow called out to the nearest merrymaker. "You lot got room fer two more?"

[Bannhammer]

Maximilian was about ready to cut short his merrymaking and head to bed. He adjusted his tux and looked around at the happy ponies before turning to head back to his house. He came face to face with two ponies, who had just asked him, with very distinct accents, whether or not he had room for two more. Their accent was definitely not Appleoosan, and the Rockefilly took a moment to look the pair of them up and down. He couldn't get much detail from them simply by looking, so he smiled and answered them.

"Well, This party has more than enough room for anypony willing to have a good time!"

The rich unicorn adjusted his tux again and looked between the pair of them. "I must say I've yet to see you two around here..."

He extended a hoof and smiled even wider. "Maximilian Rockefilly Jr, pleased to meet you! And you are?"

Old habits die hard, and Max found himself just a tiny bit suspicious of the gruff looking ponies, hopefully he could simply put that behind him and have a nice time.

[Mojo]

"Excuse me, Miss LaMare, but it's time fer me to officially git this here party started," Sheriff Silverstar said to the brown Pegasus mare as the mustached pony walked upon the stage. The instant he did that, the Hay Family stopped playing their instruments.

"Fillies and Gentlecolts! I'm Sheriff Silverstar and on behalf of the town of Apploosa, I hereby welcome y'all to this here hoedown! Shortly we're gonna have some good ol' square dancin' called out by yours truly here! Playin' the music fer us tonight are the Hay Family Band! On the fiddle we have the lovely miss Haymaker! Playin' the washtub bass is her brother Hayseed and the cute little filly on the juice harp is Haywire! Help yourselves to all the goodies ya want! The fine people of the town have donated a heap of good food for everyone to enjoy! So, mix and mingle, eat and enjoy! And before I furget, we got a celebrity in our midst tonight, all the way from back East, Mr, Maximillian Rockefilly! Take a bow, sir!"