The Rusty Horseshoe

Sweet Dreams walked down a worn path fighting the strong winds and the freezing snow with only a thin scarf for protection while looking for shelter for the night, as she looked out into the distance she sees a small old tavern, thinking of a warm bed and hot food she quickens her pace."The Rusty...Horseshoe?...strange." Running inside she closes the door and uses her magic to put her scarf into her saddle bags that covered her flank as she makes her way to the bar and orders a drink.

~~~OC: Thunder Gust~~~

"Yeah!? Check this out!"

Thunder Gust tossed an empty whiskey bottle up into the air, stopping its fall with the tip of his horn and then balancing it, no magic used. He took a second to make sure it wouldn't fall, and then once again spoke to the Earth Pony in front of him, not taking his eyes off the bottle for a second.

"Hah! Beat that!"

The Earth Pony chuckled. "All right, all right, ah don' think ah can beat that." A grin formed on the pony's face. "But now try drinking' while doin' that."

"Psht! I drink just about as often as I breathe! Easy peesy!"

Gust reached around the nearby counter blindly with a hoof for a second before grasping a full, unopened bottle of alcohol. He carefully opened the bottle, and then took a sip of the liquid inside, being careful not to drop the second bottle that was still being balanced on his horn. Unfortunately, his attempt only lasted a second or two: Not long after he began drinking, he tipped his head a bit too far back, and the bottle he was balancing fell backwards.

Kink...crash!

Uh oh. Gust turned around, while his newly acquired acquaintance quite dramatically whistled and turned away from him. When he looked back, the Unicorn saw a mare who had apparently been sitting behind him, and whose head the empty bottle had seemingly just hit.

"Oh, jeez!" Gust laughed lightly. "You alright, miss?"

Sweet dreams looked around in a bit of a daze seeing two of just about everypony before shaking her head and rubbing the tip of her horn where the something that looked strangely similar to an empty bottle had hit "I...I think so...I don’t think anything is damaged" To make sure of this she uses her magic to pick up what indeed was an empty bottle and places it onto the bar.

"I...I think so...I don’t think anything is damaged." The mare picked up the empty bottle, which had surprisingly not shattered when it had hit the floor, and placed it on the bar counter, all with her magic.

"Hehe. Sorry, that wasn't supposed to happen." Gust noted that the bartender was preparing a drink. "Hey, ya ordering something? Here, I'll pay." The Unicorn used his magic to float over a bag of bits from the nearby counter as he said this.

Sweet dreams looked at the bag of bits and pushes it back towards the unicorn stallion while she shakes her head "No its ok you don’t need to do that...you already said you were sorry"
She watches as the bartender sets a glass down in front of her full of purple and red liquid.

"No its ok you don’t need to do that...you already said you were sorry."

He shrugs. "Alright, whatever you say."

Gust reaches over to grab the whiskey he had been drinking a second ago, turning back to the mare once he grasps his drink. He observes the strange drink she had been given for a second, and then speaks again to the mare.

"Say, what's your name?"

She stops as she was about to take a drink from her glass " My names Sweet Dreams but my friends call me Sweets so you should to.....how about you what’s your name?" She asks as she takes a drink slowly from her glass draining it then sets it down just out of reach, a good thing too because a few seconds later her eyes shrink to small dots as her horn sends sparks of magic into the air, as her mane and tail stand up into the air with static."T-that’s a good Whiz-bang!" She says as she orders another.

"My name's Sweet Dreams, but my friends call me Sweets, so you should too.....how about you, what’s your name?"

"Alright then, Sweets. My name is Thunder Gust, though you can just call me Gust."

The Unicorn takes another sip of his whiskey, and watches as the mare quickly drains he own drink. He couldn't say he expected the effects of the consumable to be what they were. Essentially, the mare looked like she had just been shuocked by lightning. The effect lasted a few seconds, but then the pony recovered, and returned to normal.

"T-that’s a good Whiz-bang!"

Whiz-bang, huh? Can't say I've ever heard of that... Sweets ordered another one, and Gust decided to try one too. "Bartender, I'll have one too!"

The snowy weather had little effect on Misty Howl as she strolled to the tavern she had been to once before. Her horn glowed and soft heat waves distorted the light around her. The snow under her hooves hissed and melted slightly with each step, the flakes dissolving almost the instant they hit her body. She wore nothing in the ways of warm clothing, she didn't need to. Misty Howl wasn't very experienced with fire magic, but keeping her body warm was fairly easy. Her eyes also glowed the same deep green as she used her magic to keep her eyes from being hit from the snow. Breaking glass was heard as she neared the door to the creaky building, causing her to smirk a little. Once again, ponies had either decided to seek shelter here, or warm their bodies with drinks. She took a deep breath to calm her nerves, and pushed her way through the door.

Misty Howl's horn and eyes ceased glowing when the door closed behind her. A few ponies looked at her quizzically, wondering how she could have walked all this way with no obvious protection from the cold outside. The blue mare avoided eye contact as usual and strolled up to the bar. "Anything blue raspberry, please." Misty Howl was not well-versed in alcoholic beverages. The bartender nodded, also looking at her with a raised eyebrow. The pony behind the counter mixed up her drink in a martini glass and slid it over to her. Rather than finding a nice corner table to sit in, Misty Howl opted to sit at the bar to enjoy her drink tonight. She used her magic to levitate the glass to her lips as she watched a pair of ponies who had apparently been the cause of the breaking glass, giggling occasionally as she listened in on the conversations around her.

"You have never had a Whiz-bang before?....then don’t drink it all in one go...you’ll regret it"
She said as she was now taking small sips from her glass. She uses her magic to put her saddle bags onto the bar as she starts looking through them. "Let’s see....ahh here we go!" She pulls out a small bag meant for holding bits She counts a hoofful out and gives them to the bartender.
"So Gust you from around here?"

"You have never had a Whiz-bang before? Then don’t drink it all in one go...you’ll regret it."

Gust simply waved the words of caution away with a hoof. "Oh, don't you worry. Can't be that bad."

The bartender comes back not long after he leaves, dropping off two more glasses of 'Whiz-bang' before moving on to deal with the order of another pony at the bar. Regardless of Sweet Dreams' warning, Thunder Gust opted to instead rather just gulp down the whole glass rather than do what was suggested. Nothing happened for about half a second after he had done so, but then the same effects that had been seen when the mare had consumed her drink were felt.

A slight shiver went through Gust's body, and then he felt the same strange effects that Sweet Dreams had demonstrate: his eyes suddenly grew dilated, all the fur on his body suddenly stood up as would happen with static electricity, and, more than that, the feeling that came with the consumption of his drink was well felt. Gust essentially felt like an explosion had happened inside him, though at the same time, he felt...great. It was a strange version of the feeling, but during that short moment under the effects of the Whiz-bang he just felt good all over.

"WOW! Haha, oh, that is good stuff!" Gust places his glass down on the counter and takes a second to recover from the effects of the drink, shaking his head a bit to clear it. Within moments he had returned to normal, though. "Bartender! Three more please, on the double!"

"So Gust, you from around here?"

Gust turns back to the mare next to him. "Eeyup, lived in Ponyville nearly all my life. Ah have been known to travel quite a bit nowadays, but Ponyville will always be my home. An' as for you?"

Misty Howl scooted over a little as the ponies she had been listening to came up next to her at the bar. Her ear perked at this new beverage she had not heard of before. "A 'whiz-bang?" she thought as she tried to remember if any of her acquaintances in Baltimare had mentioned such a thing. A smirk tugged at her muzzle as she watched the stallion throw back the drink despite the mare's warning. Misty Howl had just taken another sip of her drink when the effects of the Whiz-Bang hit, and the spectacle almost caused Misty Howl to laugh the drink out her nose. Luckily, she swallowed before the laughter hit, but directly after she was resting her forehead on her hoof and laughing.

Figuring by now the other ponies knew she was watching, and the fact that the light alcohol had relaxed her quite a bit, Misty Howl knew it was time to introduce herself. "Sorry for laughing, I just couldn't help myself." she said, still coming off of her giggle fit. "I'm new around here. My name's Misty Howl." A slightly nervous smile appeared on her face and she took another sip of her drink.

Sweets laughed at how eager Gust was to have more. She looked over when she heard another mare laughing and smiled at the mare as she introduces herself. " It's nice to meet you Misty Howl, my name is Sweet Dreams but you can call me Sweets and I’m also new around here."

"Sorry for laughing, I just couldn't help myself." Thunder Gust looked over Sweet Dreams' shoulder to get a look at the mare that had just spoken. "I'm new around here. My name's Misty Howl."

Sweet Dreams introduced herself first. "It's nice to meet you Misty Howl, my name is Sweet Dreams but you can call me Sweets and I’m also new around here."

"And I," Gust gestured to himself with a hoof, "Am Thunder Gust, though you can just call me Gust. And I also seem to be the only un-new pony in town here. Nevertheless, welcome to Ponyville!"

Taking another sip of her drink, Misty Howl responded, "Thank you for the welcome. You both can call me Misty." She elevated her voice over the low roar of voices, yet it still held a soft, shy tone. The mare turned in her seat to better face her new acquaintances, and spoke again. "I just moved here from Baltimare. Where are you from, Sweets?" While she waited for an answer, she focused on her glass and her horn glowed green. Suddenly, the surface of her beverage caught fire, burning for just a moment before going out as quickly as it had started. "I'm getting better at this."

Sweets stared down at her drink for a minute or two before slowly answering Misty "I’m....I’m from Manehatten....but its not my home..." As she spoke her horn lights up with her magic seeming to do nothing a first before two transparent foals no bigger the shot glasses appear on the bar and begin to play with each other "So...So I left to find it" She looked over at Misty smiling somewhat sadly.

"Thank you for the welcome. You both can call me Misty."

"You're welcome, Mist! No problem!"

"I just moved here from Baltimare. Where are you from, Sweets?"

Gust watched as Misty suddenly stared intently stared at her drink. Within a few seconds of her doing so, the surface of the beverage suddenly caught on fire, the fire going out barely a moment after it started.

"I'm getting better at this."

"Haha, flaming shot! Nice!"

The Unicorn laughed for a second, before ending his fit and looking towards Sweet Dreams, awaiting her answer to the previous question asked by Misty.

"I’m....I’m from Manehatten....but its not my home... So...So I left to find it."

...Wha? Gust took a second to think about what that might have meant but he couldn't figure it out. I blame the whiskey.

"Welp, let's all hope you find your home here, then!"

Misty stared at Sweets for a moment before her eyes drifted down to the young ponies that had appeared on the counter. Her eyes turned soft and she placed a consoling hoof on the mare's shoulder, offering her a sympathetic smile. "My family wasn't exactly the Equestrian dream either." she muttered simply, keeping the smile on her face. Not wanting to spoil the mood, Misty took another drink and enjoyed the very soft heat from what little alcohol was actually in it. "So, what do you both do?" Her long tail swished from side to side on her stool, but she was careful to keep it lifted from the sticky floor.

Sweets looked over at Misty returning the smile and thinks for a moment before answering her with a bit of pride in her voice. “Well I guess you could say I’m a wandering performer/ storyteller." She took a drink from her glass as it was refilled for what seemed to be the fifth time that night as she watched her little creations, who have taken an interest in Gust's drink causing her to chuckle a bit.

Gust quickly finished his second Whiz-bang after adding a little whiskey to it as he waited for the moment between the two mares to finish. He was now prepared for the taste, however, and simply jumped a little when the effects hit this time.

"So, what do you both do?"

“Well I guess you could say I’m a wandering performer/storyteller."

"Coolio. I'm a DJ myself, been so for quite a while now. Stage name's DJ Rainbass, you might'a heard of me, might'a not." The Unicorn said this with a visible sense of pride in his voice. He loved his occupation, and always liked speaking of it.

Gust looked down as he heard a small splash emanate from the counter in front of him. As he did so, he saw that one of the miniature ponies that Sweets had summoned had somehow managed to fall into one of his glasses of Whiz-bang. Not long after the small creature had fallen into the liquid it popped out of the drink once again, hovering in the air while at the same time appearing to be electrocuted in a cartoon-y fashion.

"Uh, that still safe to drink?" Gust watched as the small pony went over to its friend, shaking itself off and hopping around a bit. "Anyway, how about you, Mist? What do you do?"

Misty Howl giggled as she watched the two miniature ponies splash around in the drink, watching to see if one or both of them would come out stumbling. "How did you make those two? It's not a spell I've ever seen before." she asked Sweets with a smile, impressed with the creations. She wondered if the two ponies were technically living, or if they were merely visual pictures of the thoughts in the other mare's head. The blue mare turned back to Gust as he asked about her profession, sipping her drink as she offered a small smile. "I haven't quite found my niche here yet. I'm very good with plants and ponies, I just haven't gotten around to figuring what I actually want to do with it yet."

Sweets smiled at Gust"Should be just fine" She smiles at Misty "Well its just a simple illusion spell
and a memory spell put together" She rubs on of the foals under the chin smiling slightly "You see every pony i make or have made with this spell i have met one time or another and all were very close friends" She smiles down at the two foals as they play more. "i guess you could say they are real in that sence"

"I haven't quite found my niche here yet. I'm very good with plants and ponies, I just haven't gotten around to figuring what I actually want to do with it yet."

"Awesome." Gust thought for a second on any ideas as to what the mare might be able to attempt, though he couldn't think of anything. "Well, got nothin' for you there. Good luck with that."

"How did you make those two? It's not a spell I've ever seen before."

"You see, every pony I make or have made with this spell I have met one time or another, and all were very close friends. I guess you could say they are real in that sense."

"I think that's pretty awesome. I might have liked to learn that, but I doubt my attention span is large enough to be able to grasp that." The Unicorn sipped his drink once again, easily finishing another glass.