My name is Buddy

I decide to let the girls deal with it their way. By the way they're yelling, it's like they've had this argument before. This music is better, that music is better. I personally don't mind the wubs that the DJ pony makes, but I do prefer the classical ponies style.

"Ever since college you've been playing that punk music that you say has a theme. How many awards have you won, again?" The glowingly snobbish Canterlot pony asks with her hooves crossed.

The other pony surprisingly stays quiet. I expected out of the two that she would back lash hard from something like that. Instead she bows her head down, and again to my surprise, the attacking pony apologizes.

"I'm...Sorry Vinyl." Her voice sounds as defeated as the other's face looks. "Go take a break."

Pretty soon after the white mare gets up, making her way to the counter, I get back to my scrubbing. I have been cleaning the same cup since I got in here...Maybe this should be my personal one, my trump card I could use to act like I'm doing something. Yeah, no one will fall for that. At this point, the other three mares are talking quietly in their spot, moving from the counter and stools to the back.

I casually stroll over to the white mare who has one hoof laid over the counter and the other holding her head up barely. "What can I get for ya, ma'm?" Keeping my voice nice and soothing; if I just had an argument with a friend, I'd want someone with a gentle voice to talk to me.

"Some real heavy stuff would do right now..." She mumbles in her hoof.

"Oooh...Well you see, this is a high class bar. We got nothing but the good stuff. A whole menu of heavy 'You drink it and you won't even remember if you asked the person sitting next to you in bed to come home with you' drinks." I say with a friendly tone.

She doesn't take too kindly to it though and just gives me a glare. "Alright, alright...How about...Some good ol' scotch?" I ask, giving her a grin. She doesn't nd, so I assume it's good enough.

As I'm pouring out some clean yellow Scotch, the other three ponies leave the bar, the pink one having to bounce out. Really odd girl, that one...

"Here ya are." I say sliding the large mug to her as it slyly gets cupped by her hoof. I lean on the tabletop. She looks so glum and awfully depressed like that. I know, even as a bar tender, that alcohol does not change your attitude from frustrated to happy. Especially the heavy stuff. I get paid to keep my mouth shut about what customers should and shouldn't drink though. "Drink everything!" Is what it's usually all about. I have a little more integrity than that...

"You know...I kind of liked your style." I say, giving a light shrug as I admit it. I didn't really like it, but I thought it was better than the majority of new music these days.

She leans her head up and stares at me with curious eyes. "Are you flirting with me?"

Oh shit...That is not what I meant at all, way to go loser. "Oh nonono, that's not at all. I just...Heard your argument, and if I had an argument with a friend...I'd like o hear some encouragement. friendly encouragement." Good save...

She drops her accusing look and sighs. "Yeah, all the 'Encouragement' I need is this right here." She takes a big swig from her mug. Judging by how easily she takes it down, I can decipher she drinks a lot, and I'm willing to bet most of the causes are from their arguments.

"So you two have known each other for a while? Since college?" Ufh...Come on man, don't be too creepy!

"Yeah...Do you have nothing better to do than listen to people?" She lays her head on the wooden counter, more or less smacking it actually.

I hold up the cup I've been washing for about an hour now, shrugging as I pull the rag out of it. "I get paid to do that." Smooth, not like that's gonna be any more cre-

"Heh...and I get paid to burn through hard liquor." She chuckles as she speaks, giving me a good sign I'm on the right path. So some dark humor does the trick for ya, huh?

"Don't let that hard liquor get to you too much, otherwise you're gonna be getting paid to be an organ doner."  That was just one of the worst jokes I've ever made...

"Pfft! I got nothing for that." She is really cracking up now, and I smile, seeing I got through. really good sign, now to see the problem.

"So I see you're a little brighter now." I give a smooth, friendly smile once again.

"Yeah...Can't get much whiter than me though." She says with a single raised eyebrow and looking at her pale white hoof. I can't deny, it was kind of funny. I can't even see her eyes, but I imagine one is scanning her hand like it has something deep in it and is attempting to study it behind those large, blue lensed glasses.

"You look fine." She gives a cool sigh, leaning back on the stool and nods appreciatively. I'm getting good at this already! "If it's not too personal, and I hope that drink there isn't influencing your opinion over this, but...Why do you two argue like that?" I really have to keep a gentle tone here, because she doesn't seem like the type that let's anyone into her personal things. She does however take in a deep breath and begin, so I take my Que and lean forward and listen attentively.

"We've been friends for a while. Met at college and were roommates. I played my kind of music more often than she played hers, but...She didn't really mind it. I even found her moving to my sexy wubs sometimes. I figured she was just embarrassed, caught in the act, ya know? We both were taking musical classes, and...Well, I think she just got a little weird. More secluded from me and stuff. Since we've been doing gigs together for a while, and the past two years been working here for entertainment, all of the beef comes from the same thing...differences in music taste. I dunno, I think her music is cool. She just doesn't get me, I guess." That sounds pretty typical...Back when I was a kid, we argued about who had cooler baseball cards. Now it's over music...Guess every generation has their pet peeves.

"I feel honored you would tell me that...But I think there's a deeper reason you two argue like that." going on a bluff here, but their arguments sound like husband and wife and not two friends bickering.

She looks at me with narrowed eyes, then looks around the bar for a moment. Empty...No surprise, it's midnight. She leans in on the counter and nods a couple times, sparking a smile. "You're good...What are ya, a therapist?" Her voice is more friendly and playful before. Is that a sign she trusts me? I'll take it.

"I'm just being natural." This is me being natural, but I can't help but be more curious than usual. Plus, I would much rather have cool headed co-workers than two hot heads.

"Natural, huh? You should've gone to school for that." She sighs in a solemn mode, and I begin to speak in an apologetic tone, but I'm not able to utter a word. "Alright, alright...I'll cough it up." She throws up her hooves and I crack a smile. I'm getting really good at this. Or maybe this really is natural for me?

"Well...We weren't roommates for any reason. we dated the entire time we went to college, and a bit into our gig here. It was nice...err, emphasis on 'was' there, bud. A few dilemma's here and there, double sided opinions, bias bitching, and...I kind of screwed it up." A filly fooler? Wait no, two filly foolers? Wow...That's something off the bucket list. Wait...Did she say bud? If only she new that's actually my real name.

"Hmm...Personal indeed...It's not my place to put my two cents at all, but I think I could give a bit of advice." I take my hoof off my chin and lay both on the counter. I should look confident in my next proposal, because I sure ain't.

"At this point..." She begins, looking into the bottom of her glass. "I'll take anything you got." She let's out a sigh, looking to the ground now. This mare sure does flop her mood a lot...As long as she listens.

"I think it's that you both like each other..." Immediately she turns her head with a huff. "Now here me out! You both like each other a lot...But have a lot of pent up aggression that you haven't been able to get out. Maybe...Sex? Or, you couldn't bring yourself to tell her some criticism on her music?"

She just glares at me, really narrowing her eyes and clutching her glass. That...Is not good. "Feel free to punch me in the mouth." I offer, leaning my face forward/

She makes an audible huff after a quiet moment, and nods slightly. "You nailed it. Real good, detective. Real good..." She sighs in defeat and let's go of the half full glass. Is it half full? Half empty...? Hmm...

"Want to know something?" I begin, going on a limb here. I get her attention though, so I continue, "That there glass...Look in it."

She gives me a questionable look, and I just nod, reassuring it's nothing stupid. She sighs, and hovers her face over it.

"You see yourself, right?" I ask, and she nods, staring straight into the drink she just consumed earlier. "Do you think it's half empty...Or half full?" So cheesy, but if that joke earlier got her going, this can't be too bad.

"...You going to give me a lesson on philosophy?" She asks after a few moments of silent, only the other ponies' melodies filling the room.

"Did you not say you'd take anything just a minute ago?" She sighs and nods. Good...Now for the sinker.

"Looks...Half empty to me." She brings her legs up,  laying her hooves down and lowering her head on the cup.

"Really? Cause I'm sure that the mare over there...Would disagree." I give a sly nudge to the pony on the stadium, lost in her music. The white mare in front of me lifts her head up, a ring around her forehead from the cup and she looks at her friend.

"Yeah...So what?" She gives me a grim stare after a moment. This is going to either win it or lose it.

"I'm sure if you saw it half full...Maybe you both could get along?" I propose, bringing a hoof up for emphasis.

She stares at me with a raised eyebrow, and after a minute of me holding my hoof up, she drops her glare and sighs. "Yeah...Sounds like me." She admits, dragging her hind legs on wood. She cootches back in her stool and lays her head down on her hooves.

I thought that would've done it...Uhh, think fast Bud..."Look at her." I begin, me too going to watch her play. The white mare perks her head up and seeing me already watching the cello player, she too joins me.

Her hands move so methodically over the strings, like it's just coming to her as she breathes. She's had her eyes closed the whole time, moving and swaying to the slow, calm sound. It's very gentle, very low key and simply nothing else like it. Only a real musician can bring such calmness in a pony's heart with a musical number.

"She's beautiful..." Confides the white mare, not breaking her locked stare at the other pony. I can't help it, she is gorgeous, but it's not my type to have a rich like accent.

"Now look at the glass." I say, I too turning my head and looking at it. It worked even for me, as it looks fuller than before.

"It...looks half full." She admits, curiously looking at it from different angles like some magic has happened. Perhaps some had just happened...But not by my doing. I'm just an ordinary colt.

I stay quiet, just looking at her with a confident smile. I think I was made for this job, should make my mark a beer mug already.

She glances up at me a few times with a dumbfounded look, then stops the third time, just shaking her head at me. "You are...Really good at this." She says, giving a good, heart filled chuckle.

"Now that's better...How about you go to her now that you both see the this the same way?" I offer, crossing my legs over my chest.

"Yeah...Yeah, I think I will." She gets up from her stool, dropping a few extra bits on the counter. I smile appreciatively, and she does as well, then begins to walk off. As I'm collecting the couple bits..."What's your name?" She asks, turning her head back to me.

Hmm...can't say Buddy, that sounds like a kid's name. Or Bud...too happy. I got it..."Mr. B." I say, cracking a wide smile.

She takes it in for a moment, surely she has to know quite a few names like myself. She then tips her hoof over her hair, like she would if she wore a hat. "Vinyl." She gives me a wink and walks back on the stadium. I don't mind that the gentle music stops for now, and instead the bar is whisked by a subtle conversation. I go across the bar, letting them have their privacy.

Well done, Mr. b...Very well done. I don't know if I'll be able to give great advice like that every time some pony comes in with a glum look, but if working the bar is this easy...I won't mind staying here for a long time.

As I'm cleaning out my personal glass like the crazy OCD stricken pony I am, I can hear a pony waltzing in once again. I walk up to the counter and find someone I've already met, the rainbow maned mare from earlier. I give a friendly smile like always and lay my glass down, putting my hooves on the counter.

"Wha-"

"Two beers." Well that was rude...Oh well, what can you expect this late at night. After a quick glance at the clock however, I can tell it's just hitting 1. So what's this little girl doing here?

"Comin' right up." I immediately turn around and cook up a couple beers. It's not that bad, it's no vodka or Jack Denials, that's for sure. So I assume she still wants to be able to make conscientious decisions. After a few minutes, I slide them right to her hooves, to which she scarfs one down in record time, I'd say. "Wow...You do that pretty good!" I say, immediately realizing how stupid it was...

"What's that supposed to mean?" She glares at me. That's been happening a lot to me tonight surprisingly.

"That you drink beer like it's kitten chow...?" I inquire sheepishly.

She chuckles and slaps her hand on the counter. "Kitchen chowder...Alright." I'm not about to correct her as she takes another swig, and instead go back to washing out my cup again.

"So you like dick?"

Uhh...This just got interesting...