The doors opened.
There wasn't a ominous silence as everyone stared to the newcomer, or dust to announce her. They just threw a glance to the mare and her dog, then kept doing their own thing.
"Hallo?" she asked. Winona barked friendly to add weight to her voice.
"Hi", said someone she couldn't see.
Or maybe someone else said something else she didn't hear or understand. She wasn't quite fluent in the region's language yet, or even remembered how was the language called. Something like Anwl? N'wah? no, the dragons were the ones whose languages were made of short syllables. Ponies liked normal words better.
She walked to the bar's counter, keeping a wary eye in the others but not much else. It didn't seem like the kind of place that produces big brawls-- maybe a small, lighthearted one from time to time, as if wanting to affirm its identity as a non-fancy bar with a tenacious, if desperate, pride.
"Strong" she asked to the bartender, who was cleaning a glass cup with the sleepy mania of the terminally bored "Have coin from Atalaya. Worth here?" she rummaged in the small bag attached to her shoulder, near the neck, and showed one of the coins in question to her. It was a silver disk with a small ball of nigh indestructible glass in the center.
The bartender nodded, "Ten yallans" she said in her tongue "beer turulane-sira"
Applejack watched her silently, trying to make sense of the words. A trader she had traveled with a day before had called some foals shanta-sira, and she already knew that shanta was pony.
Was she trying to sell her beer made with some thing's babies?
"No, no" Applejack shook her head in exasperation "Am not carnivore"
"'Scuse me, miss" someone tapped her shoulder before the bartender had time to answer "Are you from Equestria? I'd recognize that accent anywhere"
Applejack turned to the griffon, a smile in her face, "Finally! I was starting to think no one here knew Equish"
He nodded "I am a traveling merchant. It's nice to see one of you here, too," he offered a claw with the closest thing to a smile a beaked creature can make "But you are pretty far from home"
"Don'tcha tell me" she laughed and shook it "Can you give me a second? back in a jiffy" she turned back to the bartender, who had apparently fallen in a stasis in the interim "Vegetal bear? With..." she paused for a moment to remember the words "...plants or roots on it"
The griffon addressed her again, "She offered you larvae beer. Very strong and poignant, with a sweet aftertaste, made with fermented silk. Don't drink it if you want to wake up sober"
Applejack turned her head to him, giving him a look from under her stetson.
"You want to bet on it?" she asked with a grin. Winona barked happily again.
"I... assume you want to celebrate something?" he asked cautiously.
"That I am about to reach a big part of my travel!" she exclaimed happily "I'd buy a round for everyone if I had the money for it"
He nodded, "If you don't want to ruin your celebration, drink something lighter" he warned "If you want to talk over the drink I'll be sitting nearby, drinking something that my liver won't cry about"
She slammed ten yallans in the counter, and the bartender served a thick liquid in the cup she had been cleaning.
"And food for her. Meat if you have" she gestured to Winona, then dropped other ten coins to the counter. If it bought the best (Or strongest, at least) alcohol they had, it'd get her Winona a damn good meal.
She had helped her quite a lot along the way, after all, and deserved to celebrate as well.