"Uh- get back here!" Taps swung a hoof to try and snatch the bird out of the air, a defiant tweet being heard as the toy thing swooped underneath the pony's leg and fluttered further away, "I said come here!!" Without really thinking about it, Taps found himself leaning further and further over his counter as his hoof went this way and that in an increasingly angry attempt to capture the toy bird or whatever it was, the bird managing quick and well executed dodges in the air as Taps constantly grabbed hold of nothing, this of course only frustrating him further and further.

"Uh oh, Bubo!" Haywire spoke up with a small giggle as the bird eventually hovered behind his head for some form of cover from the enraged bartender, "Looks like he's it! Code Recess Games! Defence!" The bird, evidently named Bubo, managed a split second salute in mid air with one of his wings as Haywire, oblivious to the ill temper of the bartender, believed this to merely be a game, even Taps' climbing onto the counter and subsequent dive through the air to capture Bubo not doing much to rob him of this idea. Even if the dive was to go straight through him if it hoped to reach the bird beyond.

With a short roar Taps launched himself forward from the counter, Haywire ducking in time to allow the larger stallion to soar over him while Bubo merely increased his altitude to avoid the attempted capture, Taps swinging both of his front hooves outwards then back in to try and tackle grab the toy, his "Aha!" quickly morphing into a concerned cry as he caught nothing and instead went onwards to fall onto the floor, his plan obviously not having been very well though out beyond the "I'll just catch it" stage.

Thankfully he wasn't hurt, his twisting in the air causing his side to come into contact with the ground first, a particularly slippery part of the ground as well as he didn't stop there, a puddle from the storm outside having leaked enough water onto the floor to allow him to hydroplane his way onwards and slide into one of the booths occupied by a pair of mares. Both were given a small start as their seat was shaken from the impact, but their surprise and concern were quickly sugar coated with a small chuckle shared between them once Taps sprung back to his hooves none the worse for wear.

"Get your toy under control!" He demanded, more attempts to snatch at the bird hovering nearby to see if he'd been alright meeting with failure despite how agressive they'd become, his now wet limbs flinging drops of water onto everything nearby.

Haywire giggled again and shook his head, "Thanks for inviting me, but I'm too tired to play," was the infuriating reply, Taps now wondering whether he'd be able to keep himself from throwing the little stallion out of the tavern storm or no after this. Either he honestly believed this was a game, or he was intentionally trying to anger him, which he was doing a gosh darn good job at so far!

As his attempts to capture Bubo became more like a mission to bring order back into the tavern, Taps found himself swinging his hooves out wildly, climbing up and around empty and occupied seats and making little hops and jumps to try and reach the airborne menace. Through all this the other ponies trapped there due to the storm watched, a few with a tired look of indifference while others chuckled at the struggle between pony and machine and more still started placing small bets on what the outcome would be.

The mug balancing and gruff stallion refusing to give up his seat to the storm found himself needing to quickly duck his head to avoid a fleeing Bubo after things had escalated pretty far along, his mug somehow managing to defy gravity and remain in it's place in the air without spilling a drop for the half a second needed to avoid the incoming metal bird, his head returning to wearing it like a hat soon after as Taps climbed up and onto the back rest behind him. By this time the two playing cat and mouse had managed to have the other ponies in the building divide into two sides, one shouting encouragment for Taps to succeed in taming the unruly bird while the other cheered fro Bubo to successfully escape, or at least continue to keep away so that things would remain interesting.

"Come on, Taps, get that can opener!" a stallion shouted, a small pile of bits gleaming in the tavern's lights on the table beside him as the betting had continued, between himself and those still interested nearby.

"Pfft! There's no way that bartender can keep up with you, Bubo! You got speed and agility! You can fly circles around him!" the other side claimed, Bubo's constant avoiding of Taps' grabby hooves being plenty evidence of this as Taps balanced his way around the crescent moon shaped back rest of the seat he'd chased his prey up and over.

All the while during this Haywire hadn't taken a side as he had continued to assume that the two were just having fun. Aside from answering a few questions asked by some of the more curious ponies watching the antics playing out before them, Hay had just watched and felt happier seeing how the ponies around him were being more lively and laughing instead of staying so quiet and looking as down as they were when he'd arrived as the positive mood had been infectious. He had been in the middle of explaining where Bubo had come from to a mare - telling her about how he was an inventor normally stationed in Canterlot and about how he had, in fact, built Bubo himself - and was giggling at how she had told him she liked his goggles when the chase quickly brought itself to a close.

Having chased Bubo around to the edge of the back rest, Taps, left with nowhere else to go, made another rash and not very well thought out decision to attempt to fly through the air himself to try and catch the bird that continued to evade his grasp, his back legs propelling him into a leap forward and off of his ellevated position, his jump being so high as to nearly cause him to touch the cieling as he reached for the bird. This time he'd at least managed to touch Bubo before rapidly beginning his descent, Bubo being knocked for a small tumble in the air he was forced to recover from while Taps was headed right for a table. Shouts were made by ponies to clear the way as Taps was quickly given space to land, and to his credit he did indeed land on his hooves. He had just landed on one of the smaller and less sturdy tables in the tavern, which meant that his landing was a very brief one as the platform toppled over and sent several mugs of leaked water from the cieling splashing every which way. Mostly on him, though. Of course.

Landing with an "Oomph!" having the wind taken out of him, and now finding himself to be even more soaked with water tha before, Taps just lay there on the ground exhausted and feeling a small bruise forming on his shoulder. The other ponies watched for a few moments to see if he was alright to continue, but when it became clear that Taps had no more gas left in the tank to keep going they erupted into cheers. A victor had been decided! And those who had bet on machine would find themselves going home a few bits richer that night. Taps was helped to his hooves by a couple of his supporters, him grumbling as he refused to admit to his defeat while Bubo hovered his way back to his creator and settled down on Hay's head, his new fans crowding around to bombard the two of them with questions, Haywire wearing a large grin and happily answering while Bub looked to shyly nestle into his short brown mane at the continued attention.

"Hey!" a stallion was heard shouting from another part of the tavern, him alternating his attention between a window and the other ponies in the building, "The storm! It's finally let up! Oh thank Celestia, we can finally get out of here!" A very enthusiastic murmer of relieved approval washed over the others, most of whom immediately trotting for the door as they left to go home regardless of their curiosity over the mechanical bird while others only paused long enough to collect their winnings from the betting pool. The tavern was quickly being emptied as ponies were finally able to start making their way home, the storm outside indeed having broken and died down. In fact, from how it was looking, the storm seemed to have ceased its incessent raging against the land some time ago, the distraction provided by the bird and the bartender evidently having done a pretty darn good job at getting their minds off of it, something everypony was happy to realize as they said quick goodbyes and hurried along to find their nice and comfy beds waiting for them back home.

Taps waited until most were gone, him keeping his narrowed eyes on Haywire and Bubo the entire time in a grumpy show of his continued dissaproval while Hay eventually found himself to be the last patron lingering within the tavern, him seeming to be discussing somethign with Bubo as he prepared to head out himself. Taps stood up from the seat he'd taken and slowly, tiredly walked over to the small stallion, Haywire noticing and shining another one of his gosh darn happy grins his way while Bubo appeared to tense up as if expecting another round of tag to start up. Once close enough Taps just sort of stared at the two for a short while, Hay never appearing to have it dampen his smile in the slightest, until finally he reared back onto his back hooves and looked about ready to try and strangle one of them, Bubo stretching out his wings at the same time in preperation for another attempt being made to capture him. Nothing came of it, however, as Taps soon just sighed and lowered himself back down.

"... Your drinks on me..." he said, tilting his head towards the mug of apple juice Haywire had forgotten about earlier that night, "... I'm going to sleep..." and with that Taps turned on his hooves, trotted right up to one of the now wonderfully empty booths and collapsed into the cushioning of the seat, snores almost instantly being heard as he kept his promise.

Haywire gave a small gasp in realization as Bubo relaxed, the small stallion returning his attention to his drink, it now a touch warm after having been ignored but otherwise fine. He snatched it up in his hooves and gulped it down, Hay then wiping his muzzle dry with a hoof and giving a satisfied sigh before looking up towards Bubo.

"Ready to go?" he asked, Bubo giving Taps one last look before chirping a yes, him looking forward to flying about outside a bit now that the rain was gone.