"Erm, what do you have? I...uh, don't know the terms for these..." she asks, nervously.
>>143743"We have a decent assortment of beers, mixed drinks drinks, and hard alcohols, as well as a few wines. Would you like me to get you a drink menu?"
>>143744My throat's so dry, I don't want to wait...."Um, I'll have a...mixed drink, what that pony is having over there." She points to a nearby table.
>>143745She looks over at the table, and then back to Amber. Her expression conveys skepticism more than anything.
"Sure." She says, and unless Amber says anything to the contrary, she walks off
>>143746With that distraction out of the way, Amber can focus back on the music.
>>143747The visual imagery - and one could almost swear that this were not a griffin, but a unicorn performing such magic - the imagery is of so many dots, popping in and out. Perhaps dragon flies over a pond, so many humming birds moving about amongst the flowers, or even the finer points of an aurora in the night sky.
The waiter returns, and places an ungarnished drink near Amber
"One 'Hurricane.'"
>>143748Amber gasps. She has no idea why there are such great performances so late at night in an obscure place like this, but it blows her away.
She picks up the cold glass and sips the cocktail, only to put it down very quickly. The fruity concoction is unlike anything she's ever tasted before; it looks like juice but she hasn't eaten any fruits that have tasted quite like this. Moreover, the unfamiliar flavor of the rum leaves an aftertaste that is still slightly perceptible past the fruit components, though she cannot differentiate between them. She opens and closes her mouth a few times, trying to get used to such an exotic and strange blend, not unlike the music.
She takes a second sip.
>>143749The music plays on, slowly settling much the same way as sediment stirred up in water slowly falls back to the bottom, leaving clear and still water.
>>143750As the music relaxes in tone so does Amber. She still keeps her ears focused toward it but she looks around the room. Having accustomed herself to the strange, but oddly pleasant, taste of the drink, she holds it in both hooves and takes another gulp.
>>143751"Amber?" A familiar voice calls from behind her
>>143752"Hmm?" She looks behind in surprise.
Okay, I think that's about where I have to stop for the night
>>143754She turns around to see a colt she can recognize as Mustard Trim, trying to smile, and still wearing the clothing he wore as a waiter earlier in the night.
>>143769"Hello" He keeps the same, awkward smile, standing next to and looking at one of the seats near Amber
"So... are you working here?" He asks
"Huh? Oh no, I don't work here, I was told to relax and listen to some music. Please, join me." She pats a seat next to herself.
>>143771He pulls the seat out next to Amber, and sits down, silent for moment
>>143772"I, um, was offered a drink by the owner. Would you like one too?" She gestures to the tall, shapely glass of bright orange liquid.
>>143773"Uh" He pulls his lips up, again in a sort of awkward smile. "Sure"
>>143774She waves to the waiter again. To Mustard she says,
"I say, it's a pleasant surprise to see you come here. I mean, I wasn't expecting you to show up, I was unsure of coming here myself...."
>>143775The waiter, passing by, raises her eyes and comes closer.
Mustard Trim says,
"Well, you said you wanted to meet me here, so I came by after my shift. What makes you unsure? Isn't this where you like to spend your Friday nights?"
>>143776Amber blinks in surprise.
"Oh. Uh, this is the first time I've ever come here. I was invited, you see...and, um, an invitation so late at night made me kind of nervous, so I had to let somepony know where I was going and you were the only pony around I could trust. In case, you know, I was foalnapped by changelings." She says the last word almost in a whisper, as if uttering it too loud might cause one to burrow out of the floor.
>>143777If any changelings are sharing the room with Amber, they haven't made their presence known.
He smiles again, and this one is a bit more expressive of pleasure
"Heh. I see. Well, I'll keep those changelings away as best I can." There is a pause, and he adds "Who invited you?"
>>143778Amber looks around, then leans in, as if to share a close secret.
"The owner of this club, Dark Denizen. I was invited on 'special business.'"
>>143779Is Amber going to do anything with the summoned waiter?
"Oh" Mustard Trim says, moving his head up in a nod as he says that.
"Can I... ask what's special about it?"
>>143782She looks at Amber, and then back to Mustard Trim
"What do you want to drink?" She asks
"Uh, just water will be fine." He answers. She accepts this answer, and walks away
>>143783Inwardly she breathes a sigh of relief. No more debt for today, at least....
>>143781He looks at Amber, raises both ears, and tilts his head
"What?"
Then his head returns to normal position
"Well I read that the city is taking a stand against fire hazards in nightclubs, bars and other places. So maybe it has something to do with that."
>>143784Small victory!
>>143785"No, she told me that's just an excuse they used to distract from some bad things they did. She wants me to deliver some sort of package to them, I think. I don't know why, I've never been a mailmare before...." She takes another gulp of the drink. Although its peculiar taste is probably better cold, Amber doesn't know why anypony would drink something that chills one's stomach like this. Despite the frigid temperature of the drink itself, she feels a pleasant warmth along her nose, ears, pasterns and even tail.
>>143786Strange magical drinks. Hopefully they don't deduct too much from Amber's pay for it.
"Oh. Well that doesn't sound too bad. They probably want you to deliver a present to a foal's birthday party or something. It's good that you're able to get little jobs like that. I used to be able to do little things like that back home."
>>143788"Well.... Maybe they'll play it again." He says
After a moment's pause, he adds
"This isn't really what I was expecting. For the music, I mean."
Think we have time to continue today?
>>143792The last reply to Spark was
>>143563
>>143563"Then you must know that things one day will be back to the way they are supposed to be, or at least close."
>>143794"Well... I don't know about that. But I am glad to see that Makade is here and safe."
>>143795"I heard you call him another name. What's the story behind that?"
>>143796Ply Press probably should have referred to him as "Lyka" in >>143795 rather than "Makade""Well... When we took him in from the Pratt Wolf School in Riverside, he was called by his Celestial name, 'Lyka.' It's from mythology... I think. But we knew his birth mother named him 'Makade,' which I think has to do with his dark colored fur."
>>143797"Neat. I never heard of a wolf school before."
>>143798"Well, they mostly exist in the North and the West. You see, tension between the wolves and ponies has been a problem for, well, centuries, really, so the government made a program to try to integrate wolves into Equestrian society. Let them learn the language, the culture, and grow up to use trades. Get them young, so Equestrian culture is the only one they know. So they made boarding schools for many of them, especially orphans, or those in broken families. That's where we found Makade."
>>143799"So, what made you decide to adopt from the school?"
>>143800"Well, after our son Mild Mirth... well, we were older and it was hard enough having a child the first time... we decided to adopt. It was Petal Dew's idea to try for a wolf. Special challenges, special reward and all. Our ranch would be perfect to raise one. We had been thinking about selling it but that changed that. Lyka was older than they usually recommend for adopting. He had been living at the Pratt school for a while. He was known to be precocious. Very intelligent, rather strong and capable. Strong willed, other wolves would follow him. But he was becoming a bully. We figured we could guide him, put him in a family. And so we took him as our own."
>>143802He smiles
"Well thank you."
Elsewhere, Petal Dew seems to be trying to talk to Waabishki as Makade sits and listens
>>143804Petal Dew:
"Yes, Cyananthus got deathly ill a few years ago. We all thought she was done in. Had to stay down here at the general hospital. But she pulled through. Almost couldn't believe it....."
>>143805Spark wonders who this Cyananthus is.
>>143806They continue talking, with Waabishki displaying anxiety, and nodding occassionally
>>143807Spark turns back to Ply Press.
"Who is Cyananthus?"
>>143808"Oh, she's a pony Petal Dew knew at the mane salon back up north."
>>143810"Close friend isn't quite how I would describe it. But you get to know everypony around pretty well when you live out in the wilderness. She's a pony we knew in town."
>>143811"Ah. Then it must have been pretty lonely moving to a place like this, with no familiar faces."
>>143812"Well" He forms a smile that nears a wince
"Kind of..."
>>143813"Well, I know I'm just a stranger, but I hope you will come to find me a friend."
>>143814He smiles
"Well for now, make yourself comfortable. Why don't you join us for dinner?"
>>143815"Of course. Thank you for your generosity."
>>143816"Oh it's the least we could do. Do you need any tea, coffee, hot chocolate, cider?"
>>143817"Cider does sound pleasant. I'm going to have to fetch you some more supplies after all of this hospitality though."
>>143818"Oh, don't worry about it." He answers
The doctor asks
"How do you have chocolate and coffee?"
Receiving the answer
"We still have some stocked up from before the partition. We can spend it on special occasions, like guests."
>>143819Spark nods, but will get some more if he comes across the supplies.
>>143820Ply Press goes towards Petal Dew,
"Let me get some cider for our new friend here."
Petal Dew:
"Oh! And get out the salmon for dinner."
"Sure thing, honey."
Ply Press leaves, while the other creatures remain
>>143826Not mine, but I'm glad you like it.
>>143823>>143824Neat!
>>143825The waiter returns with the water, and almost under his breath, Mustard Trim says, "That was fast..."
And then he says to Amber
"A viol? Is that what that thing is?"
I hope Silver, Onyx and Brie are doing alright>>143829"Mhm! It's an older-style instrument that's held upright like a cello, though it's smaller and different in a lot of different ways. I've seen pictures but I've never actually heard one played before." She takes another gulp of her Hurricane; it's nearly spent at this point. Suddenly she perks up.
"Oh! I just realized something."
>>143830Silver and Onyx, sure. Brie, not so much...>>143706"Because there is not much left for me there. And because I would rather be far away from the parasites..."
>>143830He turns to her, making eye contact
"And what is that?"
>>143831Silver nods.
"I am sorry your first experience in coming to this half of Equestria was...that."
>>143833"No. No better than what I left. And there was one of those things here." He pulls his lips back in disgust.
>>143832He pulls his lips up in a somewhat embarrassed look
"Heh heh, yeah..."
>>143834"Those who did this to you and others are now dead or captured. In that there is difference. We are doing what we can to make things better."
>>143835"Then you have done more than most"
He looks around, and he pulls himself in what seems to be an attempt to sit up, though he must have decided against it.
"I do not know if this is our own fault, or if this is what we deserve." He says, at a lower volume
>>143834"Aw, you're too nice. It's reassuring, actually, because I came here for business and knew as much about it as you did...but don't worry, everything is fine now." She quaffs the rest of the drink and puts it down. For whatever reason her mind and perception feels a bit fuzzy, as if she was sleepy, but as a matter of fact she feels much less tired than before.
>>143837He smiles
"That's good."
Then he looks around
"This isn't too bad"
He takes another sip of his water
>>143839He maintains his smile
"I can understand that. I would help you, but... you said the owner has your tab?"
>>143841"Well that's pretty nice." He takes another sip
"A nice little perk"
>>143843"She's... well... we can get free soup sometimes, which is nice."
>>143844"Mhm. I know you like her. I mean, like like her." She smiles mischievously.
>>143847:"What? Heh." His smile is somewhere between amusement and embarassment
"No. Well. Maybe sometimes... but no. She does have big - but she's older, much older, and she has her own thing going."
>>143848"She does? Well, good for her, but I bet that doesn't stop your coltish imagination." She snickers, finding this oddly amusing.
>>143849"What? No. Don't be silly. When she turns around, it kind of just fills your whole field of view. It's not... it's not me trying to look you just can't not look."
>>143851"I don't! It just fills my peripheral vision. All of it. Until I kind of just zone out and she has to repeat her... self..."
Now it's more definitely embarrassment
>>143852"Doesn't she mind it when you put your face so close to her backside? I think any lady would." Amber is definitely enjoying this.
>>143853"She puts her backside close to my face!"
The waiter
probably couldn't hear this. But it's loud enough to wonder who else can hear it
"Could knock somepony over with it..."
>>143854"Wouldn't you like that!" She giggles hysterically into her fetlock, trying not to be
too loud.
"But you're right, it's impressive how she never knocks over any bottles despite moving so fast in the bar."
>>143855He's smiling as wide as Amber. But his head is crouched down low, near the table, and both ears are twisted and folded down
"Yes..."
"I bet you wish you could ask her out, have her say yes, go out to have vittles with her, hold those hips while dancin', and use her as a comfortable pillow when you get home. Am I wrong?"