Grinning proudly to himself, quite certain that there had never been, and would never be, a more successful and well-designed advertisement than the one he had just finished installing, Roughshod scooped up what remained of his art supplies, a spring in his step as he carried them into the empty, silent bar, and up into the private quarters above, where he resided.

Once he was finished shoving the leftover tape, paint, glitter, cardboard and other detritus into his cupboard (and making sure to lean an empty crate against the door so that it remained closed), the grey stallion made his way downstairs again, whistling as he did so, his blue eyes appreciative and full of enthusiasm and positivity as he settled behind the counter, and took in the sight of the currently-empty bar: Clean booths, stools, chairs and tables, all ready for patrons, the multitude of kegs and bottles on display behind him, the wide glass windows letting in light and giving (now half-obstructed) views of the street, and, most importantly, trays of peanuts and other complimentary salty treats, lying neatly arranged on the shiny wooden bartop before him.

Everything was ready, everything was clean and organised, and, thanks to his incredible skills at artistry, soon the whole world would know of the Horseshoe's reopening.

Yeah, this was gonna be fun, even if Redrum would be along later to spoil his fun, and chew him out about some pointless thing or another.

With everything sorted, and the bar totally ready for the patrons who would no-doubt be pouring through the door within moments, Roughshod relaxed back in his seat, closed his eyes, snatched up a peanut, and crunched down on it with gusto.

Although he might have been expecting the patrons to pour in, even Roughshod himself was a little surprised by the speed with which his bar's first visitor had arrived, a young pegasi, no doubt in search of something to quench her parched thirst, and to cool off from the sun.

One the one hoof, Roughshod was glad that the bar already had a potential customer, but on the other, he was a little taken aback. After all, much as he disliked how she tried to second-guess every decision he made, Redrum was the one who needed to teach him how to actually RUN the place, being the only one of the pair with actual experience in its operation. And she wasn't here, the grey stallion having (quite as normal) ignored her advice by opening early.

Still.. It couldn't be THAT hard, right?

Grinning, the grey-coated stallion sat forward a little in his seat behind the bar, his blue eyes fixed on the pale-coated mare in the bar's entranceway, a hoof waved beckoningly in her direction as he spoke, tone welcoming and encouraging.

"Looking for a cool drink, Miss? You won't find cheaper, colder, or a wider selection, here in Canterlot!" Roughshod called out, gently putting out his current half-chewed cigarette, and standing behind the smooth wood of the bar as he did so, metal-shod hooves resting on the clean bartop, an action that would ordinarily have drawn the ire of his little brother, and, in his absence, would likely have attracted the wrath of Redrum.

Although he was cheered on by the pale-coated pegasi's decision to enter his humble establishment, and get away from the punishing sun outside, the grey stallion couldn't help but arch an eyebrow as she did so, his keen blue eyes quickly picking up on the movements of her own darker brown, and noting their steadfast refusal to turn in his direction, even as she approached the bar's counter, and spoke.

"Just water? Huh.. Not even sure we charge for that. Gimme a second, gorgeous, and I'll see if I've got anything colder than straight from the tap." The dust-grey stallion replied, shooting the rather serious-looking mare a flirtatious wink over his shoulder, as he turned and, humming softly, began to search through the nearby fridge, returning a moment later with a bottle of chilled water, and a simple, clean glass, the stallion setting them both on the counter in front of him, a faint smirk on his features as he spoke.

"So, what brings a pretty young thing like yourself into Canterlot City, this fine summer's day?" He asked, curiously, relatively skilled hooves quickly pouring the mare a full glass of the icy water, before with a gentle shove of his hoof, the glass slid across the sleek bar, stopping just before her.

Roughshod began to whistle softly as he left the pegasi mare to drink the cool water in peace, the stallion idly pushing a clean rag back and forth on the already-clean bartop, the simple action somehow rather comforting to him, the stallion able to see why it was an action that bartenders seemed to perform so commonly and so repeatedly, his head lifting from his pointless work to address the mare, as he heard the sarcastic tone in her final, quiet words.

"Oi, I'll thank you to remember that this is a grand RE-opening, miss. And I'd say it's going okay so far; barely a minute has passed, and beautiful mares are already arriving~" Roughshod replied, with a faint chuckle, the rugged grey stallion putting the rag aside for now, and settling on the counter with his forehooves, expression curious as he looked across the bartop at the pale-coated mare.

"So, you flew all the way in from another city? Must have taken some wingpower.. It's probably a good idea to make sure you didn't strain anything, before you start flying again. A nice massage is always good way to go about it, if you'd be so inclined.." Roughshod added, after a moment of silence, the stallion's tone (as well as the subtle waggle of his eyebrows in her general direction) making it clear that, although he certainly wouldn't mind if she accepted the invitation, he wasn't expecting it to lead anywhere, flirting with the young mare more as a method of passing the time in the otherwise-quiet bar.

Roughshod's half-smirk turned into a full-blown grin at the mare's apparent sense of humour, the grey stallion glad she wasn't the type to take offence at his light-hearted and half-joking advances, or at least not offence severe enough to prompt her to depart the Rusty Horseshoe, and the shade it provided from the sun.

"Awesome. I'd almost be willing to make that trade, although I think that might be detrimental to my ability to actually carry out any kind of massage." Roughshod replied, with a good-natured chuckle, his smile fading a little at her questions about the reason for the bar's initial closing, but, shrugging off his frown, the dust-grey stallion replied after a moment, tone neutral.

"The bar was my brother's until a little while back. He left the place to me, so I figured I owed it to him to keep it running." Roughshod replied, keeping his answer simple and to the point, not wanting to dwell on the events that had prompted him to return to Canterlot, as, noting the mare's empty glass, he smiled and spoke once more, gesturing at it with a hoof.

"Get you a refill, gorgeous? Or maybe something that actually costs money?" The stallion asked, an eyebrow raised in curiosity, a half-smirk once again returning to his features as he did so, the grey stallion clearly in good spirits, despite the fact that, so far, the Grand Reopening of the Rusty Horseshoe had yet to bring in a single bit.

Agilene's questions drew a mirthless chuckle from the grey stallion, taking back her now-empty glass and setting it aside, the bottle returning to the fridge, before he turned back to speak to her again a slightly forced smile on his face

"Where is he? Well, he's dead, Miss. I'm doing my best to make sure the bar stays running, even if it is a little emptier without him." Roughshod replied, his tone neutral, the grey stallion chewing faintly on an unlit cigarette as he spoke, clearly not particularly happy to be on this particular topic.

Setting the cigarette aside again, Roughshod shifted a little in place, readjusting his broad-brimmed hat as he spoke up again, tone more positive, as he changed the focus of the conversation a little.

"Don't believe I ever got your name, Miss. I'm Roughshod." He spoke, tone conversational, a metal-shod hoof extended in greeting towards the pale-coated mare, the stallion leaning over the bartop in order to reach out to her.

Roughshod responded to the mare's apology with a brief, non-committal shrug, clearly preferring that the topic be changed as soon as possible, her introductions providing that opportunity, even as she ignored the hoof extended in her direction.

"Nice to meet you too, Miss Agilene. You know, you never actually told me why you came to Canterlot, only how. Here to see the sights of the big city, or do some shopping? Where you from originally?" The grey stallion asked, eyebrow arched in curiosity, his metal-shod hooves resettling on the smooth bartop, after his offering of a hoof was ignored by the pegasi mare.