Chapter 1
The city of Manehattan is always more beautiful in the night, you stroll lazily through the streets, admiring the big city lights. You've always loved the city at this hour, the mixture of ambient restaurant lights and the bright neon bar lights create an atmosphere you can’t quite describe. You slow down and pace yourself. It’s nice to enjoy this while you can.
You trot lazily up to the corner and turn around, your bags jingling as you make the turn.
‘Hmm, I sure hope I brought enough, I wonder how high the buy-in is here’, you think as you make another turn, this time away from the lights, down an alley. You start to trot a bit quicker, did they have to put the entrance in a place that looks so...creepy? Dangerous? Dark?
You turn your head quickly, looking for something, a door, a sign, anything.
Your mane gets in your eyes and just as you look away to brush it back into place, you stumble, and fall down a set of stairs.
“Ow.” You say, looking up where you landed on your head with all the gracefulness of a train, then you spot the sign. The bright neon sign that suddenly seemed to illuminate the entire alley.
‘The Aviary
-Mend your broken wings’
Picking yourself up and dusting yourself off, you push open the steel door covered in flyers and posters, and walk casually down a hallway, towards the bar-chatter coming from round a corner up ahead.
Suddenly the door to your left is thrown open, a very scared looking pony dressed in a black shirt decorated with a gold feather backing out of the doorway with the speed of a train.
“HEY! I’M NOT DONE WITH YOU!” A voice screamed from the room within
A large griffin hovered in the doorway, a broken bottle held in her claw, her yellow eyes promising pain for the terrified pony in front of her, grabbing a clawful of shirt she brought her face close to his;
“Seriously though, if I catch one more broken bottle of top-shelf stuff you’re out. No excuses.
Any idea how much Wild Pegasus costs? A lot, a whole lot, more than you make a shift.”
You've stopped to watch. Well you've mainly stopped just because the massive griffin is taking up the entire hallway.
Seeming to catch that thought, the griffon glances in your direction, scowling.
“What are you staring at newbie? Looking for a chewing as well?” she asked, scowling.
Wow, rude.
You correct her that you don’t work here, you’re just waiting for them both to step aside.
“Huh. That takes out the grinding then,” the griffon said back, dropping the pony who scrambled back through the door. “Still, you’re a newbie. I know everyone at the Aviary.” She said with a smirk, wiping her claw on her feathers. “If you’re looking for the bar and poker section that’s down there.” pointing in the direction you were going. “Everything else down here,” she went on, waving a hoof at all the stained metal doors in the hallway. “Is staff only. Got that?” She said with a very malicious grin.
You just simply sigh, thank the clearly crazy griffon with what looks a deep fondness for being mean, and continue on your way. Only glancing back when you hear her scream again;
“AND CLEAR THIS CRAP UP!” Diving back through the door holding the broken bottle.
Wow, rude, mean and she swears. You’ll fit right in!
* * *
You walk into the open bar room, wow this place was a lot bigger than the outside suggested.
The Aviary bar room is incredibly open spaced, you trot down a large set of stairs to arrive on the ground floor. Looking up you can see the roof a good ten, maybe twenty feet above you, the wooden rafters held the centre of the ceiling up in a spire, other beams crossing over forming benches and chairs for airborne occupants of the bar. You see pegasi and griffon sharing drinking sat around the rafters, laughing and chatting idly.
The walls of the bar are decorated in a jazzy red and black wallpaper, creating a shadowy feel as smooth jazz played from speakers set all around the walls and rafters, aside from the wallpaper, the walls are decorated in neon art signs, old road signs, posters and dusty pictures. A deep purple sign reading drinks set over a bar and shelves catches your eye. You trot up happily, studying the various bottles on the shelves.
“Hi!” A cheery voice proclaimed happily, she damn near screeched in your direction.
You recoil in shock, your vision covered in a mixture of grey and yellow that struggled to resemble a face. Your brain and eyes finally recovering and looking at the grey mare who doesn’t know what personal space is. You take a step back, and she instantly steps away as well, blushing furiously.
“Oh, heh. Sorry, don’t normally get new people around the Aviary,” she murmured, shuffling her hooves and looking at the ground. “Anyways welcome to the Aviary. What can I get’cha?” Her smile returning.
You opt for a Buckweiser and take a sip, before asking the kind mare where the poker games are held.
“Oh it’s pretty much any table, except a few. I’ll find an open spot for you now.” She beamed, and before you had a chance to interrupt she took off, soaring through the open air above the bars, she stopped and hovered above a table with three occupants.
“Hey guys, do you mind if a newbie joins you for a couple of hands?” she asked sweetly... A little too sweetly if you ask yourself, which you did!
Seriously, what was her deal? You thought that bartenders were just grumpy stallions mixing drinks and pouring from bottles, muttering about some kind of singing career, or a big-shot cousin in Canterlot.
“Newbie!? Why didn’t you say so?” A cyan coloured pegasus mare asked, throwing her hooves behind her head cockily. “You might as well just be throwing bits at me here Derpy!” Oh that put a smirk on your face, you’ll see who’ll get the bits tonight, you think to yourself.
Your thoughts are interrupted by Derpy loudly calling the word ‘newbie’ and waving you over. Carrying your drink on your rump, you make your way to the table, eyes on the ground as other ponies looked at the newbie, you, and the fresh bits in your bag.
* * *
You sit in one of the vacant seats, and eye-up the other ponies sat around the table. The cyan coloured pegasus... With a really awesome looking rainbow mane, smiled around her cards.
Really. THAT’S her poker face? Who’s she gonna fool, a turtle? A blind pony?
You smirk again as you look at the next pony... That’s funny, ponies don’t normally wear clothes. The yellow unicorn stallion sat in the chair, looking at his cards with an eyebrow raised, mane red and white. The cards he was holding glowed a vibrant green. Yet the shirt he wore was blue and white, and the bow-tie was black! Yeah, none of this makes sense. It’s like he’s trying to replicate Cock-Pony’s hairstyle over there. But with clothes... Weird... Ponies, just look weird in clothes.
With all that mish-mash of colour he probably owns some kind of discount furniture store. You glance at his cutie mark for a second.
‘Crazy Uncle Apple’s Discount Sofa’s’
Yeah that sounds about right.
You look at your final opponent, another unicorn. Huh. That’s weird. She’s pinching the cards in her hooves rather than using magic, she deftly flicked the cards about in her hands, focusing with her tongue poked out, her blueish-greenish coat getting a drop of slobber on it as she tried... Something, with her hoof.
“So what’s ya name newbie?” Rainbow face asked.
You open your mouth to reply before she stopped you, “Actually, I kinda like ‘Newbie’ So we’ll stick with that for now.”
Before you could protest she points to the minty green unicorn, “This here’s Lyra, best musician I know from around Ponyville,” She quickly added a low whisper, “She also does weird things with her hooves, I saw you taking a peek. Just don’t mention the word ‘hands’ and you’ll be fine.”
Lyra’s ears instantly perk-up at the word, before she could say anything the pegasus went on. Loudly.
“Anyways! This here is Flim, and he’s uhhhh... What do you call it?” Tilting her head in mock confusion.
“An entrepreneurial salesman my dear!” He proclaims happily. Very ‘Crazy Uncle Apple’s Discount Furniture’ sounding voice indeed. Yet it seems almost... gentlemanly?
“Funny, I don’t remember saying that last time.” Rainbow replied.
“Oh yes, I remember the word ‘scumbag’ being used a whole lot more.” Flim replied, laughing.
“Well that’s a teeny bit more accurate.” She laughs and jabs Flim in the arm playfully.
“And me!” She sits up proudly. “Only future awesome Wonderbolt, winner of the Best Young Flyers Competition, only pony to have performed a Sonic Rainboom, twice! Rainbow Dash!” She finished as she sits down.
Huh, you’re not exactly a modest pony are you Rainbow Dash?
“Y’know that’s funny,” Flim said with a smirk. “I don’t know many Wonderbolts who drink and gamble their nights away.”
“Oh that’s funny because I can name about thirty scumbags who do that nearly every night.” Rainbow replied without missing a beat.
Flim chuckled openly, “Touché, Rainbow Dash. Touuu-chééé”
Author's Note
The Chapter ends really stupidly because it's where I stopped writing. I can't recall why.
Anyways, if anyone thinks this is worth continuing I'll finish up this chapter properly, and add a whole lot more.
Thanks guys,
--Jackarias
