Yet another night in the Tavern

Icarus stretched a bit and opened the door of the Tavern, walking inside. "S-Shala? Y-You in?" He asked, not quite looking around inside the Tavern yet.

Shala was indeed in, and the tavern was dead. At these hours no pony usually came in at all.

Shala's boredom was rather evident as she layed, full sprawl on her belly, across the bar counter top with a bottle nearby.

"Hey Iccy..." She said with a smile. One of the few ponies she would smile for on sight.

Icarus gave a smile back and sat nearby Shala's face, laying his chin on the counter.


"B-Bit for your t-thoughts?"

"More like a lack of thoughts. There is no pride in this job. And most of it is just flat booooring." She played with a coaster using a hoof.

Icarus nodded, giving a sigh. "I k-know how that f-feels. B-Being a M-Mechanic i-isn't m-much f-fun either." He said, looking at the counter.

Then, like a rather large sack of potatoes, inspiration struck.

"S-Say, Y-You r-remember t-that C-Cider-m-making machine t-those t-traveling S-Salesponies h-had? W-What was it c-called, t-the Cider s-squeezy s-speedy 3000, o-or something?"

Shala nodded. "Yeah. But i thought the apple families cider was far better. I only have a 2 barrels left...." She rolled onto her head, propping her head up with one hoof. "...I think we may have just had the same thought....Continue."

Icarus nodded. "T-The Apple f-family is f-famous f-for that, Y-Y'know." He said simply, before giving a smile. "B-But, It's n-not t-too hard t-to make a B-Brewery, c-considering w-what T-They u-used."

Shala smiled greatly at that idea. She almost smiled too much. "That...sounds like a grand idea. A very very super grand idea." She hopped up on her hooves atop the bar. "Iccy, you are incredible. If you could really do that, i would be all over it like whiskey on ice."

Icarus nodded. "A-After s-seeing t-that machine, I-It's a-almost C-Child's p-play!" He boasted, posing tall.

"Ill just have to think of what to brew out of it. And what would it take to get that built? Can't be too much can it?" She laid on her back on the counter, looking up at Iccy with a grin.

Icarus nodded. "I-I'll need p-pipes. L-Lots of p-pipes. S-Some b-barrels t-too. A-And m-More..." He said, and tilted his head. "I-It'd a-also d-depend on w-what you'd w-want b-brewed."

Shala sprawled out on her back and expertly took a sip of her bottle upside down. "So....If i were to pay for this, what are we talking? Hundreds?.....Thousands?" She hesitated a bit more on the last word. That machine didn't look cheap, but she didn't mind saving up for something so promising.

Outside, a faint crash sounded as a full-grown Pegasus crashed into the side of the Tarven wall. "Ouch.." The pony grunted, pulling his nose off of the wall, rubbing his nose. "Heh, that's the third time.." He chuckled, clearly not that phased by the crash, and folded his wings to his sides, trotting into the Tarven. "Anypony here?" He called out, lightly tossing his gray and red mane out of his eyes, his black-ish gray gaze sparkling.

Icarus stared blankly. "C-Cost? W-Why would I c-charge f-for--"

A Crash interrupted Icarus' confused answer, Followed by a Colt's call. "H-Hey..."

Shala didn't bother to move from the counter. She actually sighed with reluctance and lazily waved a hoof at the new pony, not saying a word more.

"Howdy, there." He trotted over to Shala and Icarus, smiling. He blushed as he looked at Icarus, then looked at Shala, and cleared his throat. "I would ask if you could give a pony a free shot, but I'd rather not ask." He said, the blush deepening lightly on his face.

Icarus smiled weakly. "D-Drinks on m-me. S-Shala, D-Do you want a-anything?" He asked, Gently nudging Shala.

Shala took her bottle of questionable liquid and drank from it as if to answer Iccy. She hoped that this pony was not one of those dumb weird ones, or one that asked what time it was.

She got about to rolling herself over on her belly across the bar and looked to the new pony. "...What would you like?" She used her slightly less than blunt tone since Icarus was here.

"Just a scotch if you got any." The pony said, flipping his mane out of his face again. "Oh, by the way, name's Eryx."

Icarus hopped over the counter quickly. "A-Any way I-I c-can h-help?" He asked, Feeling a little guilty that he made Shala move.

Shala's interest was perked a little that this pony had picked a scotch. That was no simple request. Perhaps this pony had some taste. "No need to worry Iccy, ill get it." She slid off the counter over into the bar area. There was a crash as she failed to catch herself, but was quick to get back on her hooves.

"Guess i had a bit too much earlier...." She quickly put together a generic scotch and pushed it over the counter to the new pony. "Shala..." She said in reply.

"Glad to meet you." Eryx said, taking a drink from the glass, swishing his tail. "And, what might your name be, kind colt?" Eryx asked, turning one black-gray eye to Icarus.

Icarus gave a smile. "I-Icarus G-Gear." he answered simply, nodding.

Shala took her bottle and drank from it again, but it was empty. Dissapointed, she tossed it in the trash and looked to see what else there was to drink. Maybe she should lay off for a while.....Nah.

"Icarus Gear, huh? I think I've heard of you." Eryx hic-cupped a bit, and downed the rest of his scotch. He looked at Shala, and chuckled lightly, amused by the mare's actions.