Bar Talk

The frigid night’s wind blew against the shutters of the Prancing Pony. Anypony caught outside would seek refuge in this establishment, either for shelter from the biting cold or to fill up on warm drinks and camaraderie. Most would that is. Inside the bar was a wide assortment of characters, from lovers doing a night on the town, to regular patrons that hung out together after a rough week. Towards the back end of the bar rested a few lonely alcoholics, some who drank themselves half way to Tartarus out of boredom while the others attempted to numb broken hearts or quench their appetites for soothing, burning liquid.

A unicorn by the name of Spectre didn’t fall under any of these categories yet found himself seated at the bar, where the eager bartender served up mugs and mugs of with sparkling, golden liquid to the equally eager drunkards clambering for more. He was there more as an observer, one of his “hobbies” he would explain to anypony that dared ask and felt in the right mood.

The bar was the perfect place to heighten your attention, ironic given the reputation of the exact opposite nature. He could watch ponies interact, follow their body movements and gestures, and listen to the types of charms they used on each other. His specific target for tonight was a stallion that stood out just as much as he did, a greyish coat not too different from his own with red streaks running all over his body and through his mane.

The stallion in question held a fresh wooden pint filled with the same golden liquid, an eager smile on his face as he sadistically watched the pathetic stallions guzzle their own drinks with quick speed. He knew the headaches they would receive in the mornings would come with such ferocity and with such little remorse he couldn’t help but enjoy it.

“Enjoy it while you can, boys…” he said to himself before taking another sip, slowly turning in Spectre’s direction and making eye contact with the stallion.

The stallion gave Spectre a strange look before looking back at the rowdy stallions behind him. He pointed a feather towards them while furrowing one of his brows.

Berating himself for getting caught, Spectre shook his head, waving a hoof in dismissal and turning forward towards the wall of drinks.

“Guess that one was more aware than the others,” he muttered to himself, downing his small shot of clear liquid with purpose.

“Doesn’t help you made it so obvious…” The stallion said, appearing behind Spectre and suppressing his laughter when he watched the unicorn slightly choke on his drink. “Name’s Shadow by the way.”

Spectre wheeled around in his seat, coming face to face with the red and grey stallion. His bright red iris’ stared back into Spectre’s sea blue eyes, equally analyzing him just as he had done not so long ago.

“S-sorry,” the stallion stammered, all sense of confidence lost from his previous mutterings. “Didn’t mean to cause any harm.”

Shadow smiled and shook his head. “Nah, don’t worry about it. I don’t hold grudges for staring,” he smiled and leaned in, peering over his shoulder at a few mares seated just across the bar glancing their way, bursting out into a fit of giggles before returning to their drinks. “Helps if they’re easy on the eyes…” he smiled confidently, covering the right side of his mouth and whispering to Spectre.

A tinge of red showed clearly on his cheeks, his eyes looking at the mares for a quick second before looking away. “I-I actually wasn’t looking at them, I was…” he shuffled in his seat.

The stallion took up the seat next to Spectre and gave him a few solid pats on the back. “Dude, it’s cool, don’t worry.”

“I was actually…” he blushed at how this next part would sound. There wasn’t even a reason for him to be upfront with this stallion he just met, but something about Shadow made him feel somewhat comfortable. “Noticing how much you stood out, just like me.”

Shadow raised his arms and wings in the air a bit, looking himself over top to bottom as he heard Spectre’s reply. When the stallion concluded, Shadow picked up quickly. “Eh, what can I say?” He asked with a sly grin crossing his face, “It takes work to get this kind of look,” he concluded, his hoof slamming against the counter of the bar as he began to laugh at his own stupidity.

Spectre tilted his head in confusion, his face clearly displaying it. “You- you purposely made yourself like this? Why?”

Shadow shrugged his shoulders a bit before replying to Spectre. “I got my own reasons,” He sighed, taking a sip of his mug and sighing as the liquid traveled down his throat and warmed his stomach. “But let’s just say that I like to keep it as a reminder to myself…”

“I’d think looking like this would be reminder enough,” the unicorn sighed, knocking back another shot of what appeared to be water. However his reaction to the drink told Shadow it was otherwise.

“Looking like what?” Shadow asked, his head turning back to the midnight colored Unicorn. As he awaited a response, Shadow couldn’t help but look over the stallion himself. He was a large guy, much larger than the average unicorn. He didn’t really see anything wrong with Spectre that would warrant him feeling so depressed about himself.

Then again… there’s always a story with pages behind every cover. He took another sip of his drink.

“Well, like we do. Outcasts in this world,” Spectre sighed, rubbing his templates. “Trying our best to just fit in with the rest.”

“Pffff… Really?” Shadow asked, “Come on, dude. We’re not outcasts. We look different than everypony else, sure, but at the end of the day, I’m just the same as that one guy over there,” Shadow smiled, pointing a mug to a particular stallion at the opposite end of the bar. The stallion was drowning in his own saliva as his head rest against the table, eyes squeezed tightly together as he moaned and groaned in his alcohol induced slumber.

Spectre looked between the example and the stallion he was currently talking about. “Yeah, maybe by the end of the night,” he spoke flatly, waving down the bubbly barkeep. “Can I get my tab please?”

The mare nodded, giving him a forced smile, at least in his opinion, before going on her way to retrieve his bill. He sighed again. “Well it was nice talking to you… I forgot your name.”

“Rift…” Shadow said, holding out a hoof to the stallion, “Shadow Rift. Let’s try doing this again sometime, yeah?”

“Or not,” he shot down the idea rather abruptly, paying his tab along with tipping the mare, who wished him a safe night. “Have a good night,” Spectre got up off his stool, heading towards the entrance.

Shadow’s hoof returned to his chest as he watched the stallion trot off. He wasn’t exactly upset by the Stallion’s abrupt ending of their conversation, more as he was just confused by how sour things had seemingly become. He shook his head and shrugged his shoulders, turning back to the bartender and nodding as he finished his drink. Nothing he could do. “‘Nother round, Horseshoe…” Shadow smiled as he held out his empty cup.