Yellow coat, a simple pink mane, a false Cutie Mark of a smiling sun, unicorn, of course, with a suitably middle class robe of yellow. Celestia trots down there street in this form, taking a moment next to a shop to reflect on her disguise in the moonlight. A slight smile, suitably friendly, but not enough to attract attention. Slightly wider eyes, as mortal ponies do during the night. Ensure each hoofbeat is suitably slow enough to not be in a rush, but also not so slow as to slow down any other late night trotters. Slightly wrinkle the robes to show use, and now it’s all good to go.
Celestia grins in her smaller disguise, turning and trotting down the street once more. The cool night air blows around her, ruffling her robes in the wind, feeling quite pleasant on her disguise’s fur. She comes to a stop rather quickly, having reached her destination. A simple building, constructed of stone and wood, a sign above its door reading ‘El Mercenario’s Bar’. A quaint location, perfect for an unassuming, middle class appearing, mare to find a drink in.
She trots in, instantly being washed in the warmth of the cozy interior, the bar having a large fireplace that not only makes it pleasantly warm, but casts a rather romantic light on the interior. She scans the room, accessing the various options for seating. There are stools right at the bar, but those are much too exposed. There are tables in the dark corners of the room, but those are all taken up by dark figures, probably novice adventurers who believe themselves to be mysterious. There are many tables scattered around the room, but those are being used by some sort of ‘speed dating’ for nerdy mares. Then, finally, she spots the perfect table. Up against the wall, but not in a corner, a booth with appropriate cushioning, and not in use. With a smile, she trots over there, taking her seat.
As soon as her flank touches the seat, a staff member appears in front of her table. A unicorn with a crooked horn and insectoid wings, ruby red eyes looking at Celestia as she pulls out a notebook. Descendent of a Changeling mercenary she hired four centuries ago, one who enjoyed increasing the population of Canterlot. The unicorn clears her throat, smiling, “What will you want to drink, ma’am?”
Celestia smiles back, ensuring her disguise’s green eyes don’t look directly into the server’s, “I’ll have a whiskey, two shots of vodka, and a White Mare.”
The server blinks, and grins, “Understood, ma’am, I’ll get those out real soon.” She turns and trots away, moving to socialize with some of the speed dating mares, a unicorn with wide brimmed glasses and a Pegasus with a die on her flank. Careful not to stare too long, Celestia turns to look at the wall, idly musing over the map posted there. Certainly not one of Equestria, nor one of the world, looking hoof-made, but expertly detailed. Tel’la De Rus, the map proudly declares, and as she looks more, Celestia realizes many of the city names on the map are plays on real names. Axeington, Low Mane, even one called ‘Comelot’, along with some more odd ones, such as Gone Door.
She smiles in mild amusement, examining the map with piqued interest. Before she can look too much longer, she’s brought out of her thoughts by someone sitting across from her.
She quickly turns her head, seeing a cute thing sitting there. A unicorn, wearing some small glasses on the end of her muzzle, her mane a blonde color, brought back into a rather cute ponytail, her coat a slightly light purple, and her eyes a light blue color, like that of the sky. She smiles upon seeing Celestia look at her, “Mind some company?”
Celestia slightly smiles, averting her disguise’s eyes, “Well, I came here alone for a reason, but I suppose some company wouldn’t hurt.”
The mare grins happily, offering a hoof across the table, “I’m Teardrop Exalted.”
Celestia looks up, taking and shaking her hoof, “Sunshine Smiles. A pleasure.”
Teardrop smiles, “The pleasure goes both ways, Smiles. You have a very unique look.”
Celestia slowly raises an eyebrow, “Oh?”
Teardrop nods, “It’s in your eyes. When you look around, or look at something, you spend a moment to study it, and memorize. What’s north of Low Mane?”
Celestia takes a moment to pause, as if thinking. While she could have easily answered immediately, it would be quite suspicious of a regular pony to do such, “I believe it was… Gone Door.”
Teardrop grins, “You studied it, and memorized it, and it took barely even a minute. Let me guess, you’re an artist?”
Celestia coyly grins, “Something like that.” The server comes back with her drinks, laying them down before her, then trotting off again to socialize. She picks up her whiskey, taking a sip, keeping her eyes on Teardrop, studying her face for a moment, then putting down her drink, “Teardrop Exalted, a very unique name. The name of a writer of a sort.”
Teardrop smiles, “That is super cool, how you can just tell that from my name. But you weren’t quite on the mark.”
Celestia pauses, raising an eyebrow, “I wasn’t?”
Teardrop grins, “Nope. I’m actually a mage, though I aspire to be a poet someday. Magic and poetry are very similar, you know, both are just making art out of languages.”
Celestia smiles slightly, “An aspiring poet who is a mage? Normally those things would be reversed. Poets are, of course, valuable and powerful in their own ways, but mages have the abilities to change the world, literally. Mages have the ability to manipulate, the ability to destroy.”
Teardrop smiles back, “Well, you know what they say about destruction and creation. The pen is mightier than the sword.”
Celestia chuckles a tiny bit, taking another sip, then putting the now empty glass down, “Well, Teardrop, if I am to be faced by ten angry Griffon knights, I would choose the fireball before pen or sword. Though I mostly joke, there is truth there.”
Teardrop grins, “Okay, okay, sure, fireballs are useful and cool, but have you ever read? Reading is so awesome, and books are cool, and honestly it’s just such a unique thing to sapient creatures. Maybe a mage can create a big ball of fire, maybe a mage can kill a few more Griffons, but a poet, Smiles, a poet can sway ponies. A poet can stop a war, a poet can cause a revolution, a poet can bring understanding, and enlightenment. Show me the last time a fireball made someone realize that they live in a tyranny.”
Celestia grins, picking up and downing her vodka, looking Teardrop dead in the eyes, “Mæcedes.”
Teardrop pauses, “Shit. Well, umm, that doesn’t count. Because all that fireball did was kill the tyrant, it didn’t make the zebras realize that they should rise up, nor did it make Mæcedes change his mind.”
Celestia smiles, “I think his mind was changed quite a bit.” She downs her second vodka, floating over a napkin to wipe her mouth, smirking, “From solid to gas.”
Teardrop blinks, slowly smiling, and then breaking out into giggles. She snorts in her laughter, and smiles widely, “Okay, okay, I trotted into that one, Smiles, you’ve got me. I concede, mages are cool.”
Celestia smiles back, genuinely, “This wasn’t anything more than fun, I hope you know, Teardrop. Poets are lovely, and on average, are much cooler than mages and wizards. And no, we’re not counting the Star family, they make it unfair.”
Teardrop looks back at her, and smiles more, “Thank you, Smiles. Hey, you’re pretty cool yourself, you’ve got a pretty good sense of humor.”
Celestia grins, “I do try to keep my wit sharp, usually by playing Knip’s Advocate during discussions. I find it fun to disagree, for the pure sake of disagreeing, at times.”
Teardrop nods, “I know how that feels, myself, but I usually just stick to my actual beliefs.” She then switches to a smile, “I can tell we’re going to make good friends, Smiles, but it’s probably time I go, it’s getting late.”
Celestia smiles back, “Do return home safely, Teardrop. You are a very entertaining mare to talk to.”
Teardrop grins, and stands, “Oh, one more thing, Smiles. When are you going to be here next?”
Celestia looks over at her, “Hmm… tomorrow night. I hope I’ll see you here, you make good company.”
Teardrop smiles widely, “Oh, I’ll be here, Smiles. Enjoy the rest of your drinks!” She turns and trots off, Celestia’s eyes looking at her backside for a moment before she turns back around, lifting her final drink, and downing it.