Two and a half years later... Maya wasn't kidding when she said she wanted to build the bar into something better than before. The reconstructed business sits in the same location as before, on the open land between Canterlot and the Crystal Empire. The large blast crater, left behind by the Apophis battle, has been filled with water by handy pegasi, and is now a small, pony-sized lake, filled with all sorts of freshwater fish. The reimagined bar seemed to be somehow suspended just above the water, with a wide, wooden bridge leading from the land to the front entrance. The new building was only one story, but wider, and modeled to resemble a dark stained wood cabin, with two front-facing windows on either side of the front door, complete with a stone chimney on the left side. On the inside, the theme continued, with the inner walls resembling the ones on the outside, and the bar and tables being made of matching, polished wood. The right side had a small, covered balcony, with a couple tables, and an ash tray. It was a well-known rule that those caught ashing into the water would be banned from the bar for the rest of the day. The inside was nice and spacey, with many tables scattered throughout the bar, and booths lining the entrance side, as one would expect. The bar counter was wide, and bar stools with fancy back rests were bolted to the ground in front. Shelves behind the bar counter were lined with countless bottles of booze from all over Equestria, and even other lands, like Saddle Arabia. Maya also had many beers and ciders on tap now, including Sweet Apple Cider, and a new brand, Weiße Mähne Lager, from Germaney. A door led to a kitchen and store room behind the bar counter. The building was kept fairly dimly lit, giving it a relaxed vibe. The left half of the bar contained three pool tables, two dart boards, and a jukebox loaded with all the music one could fathom, from the famous DJ-Pon3, to hip-hop artists, to classic rock, death metal, classical, etc. Even better, Maya was kind enough to allow patrons to use these entertainments absolutely free. Just past the entertainment area, on the left wall, was a stone fireplace, the flame inside kept low. Above the fireplace, a small note, playfully informing patrons that it had been a full six months since the fireplace had been thrown up in. The paintings from the original thread still remained, spread evenly along the entrance-side wall. There were a few TVs around, as well, always tuned in to Equestrian sports. Az had a fight tonight, and he's struck a deal with Maya to drag it out for a while, just to make it more fun to watch for the patrons viewing from the bar. On the right end of the bar, there were two doors. The one closest to the back went to a unisex public restroom, and the one closer to the front went to the balcony. The massive, diamond, snake-like skull of Apophis had been built into a stage, with thick plexiglass filling the lower jaw, and several thick beams of steel keeping the mouth from falling closed. The teeth had also been rigged to fire pyrotechnics when needed. This new stage sat a quarter mile to the left of the building. On the right side, there sat a one-story motel building, modeled similarly to the bar itself, containing twenty rooms. This was Maya's answer to the rooms no longer being a part of the main building. Check-in was to happen inside the bar during business hours, 11AM to 3AM on weekdays, 1PM to 12AM on Saturdays, for the reader concerned about time details. The area around was a grassland, with a few trees scattered about, imported from the Everfree. Closer to the bar, the trees became a little thicker, adding well to the proper cabin feel. It was Monday, January 1, the beginning of the new year. Dusty was off at home, taking care of Moondust, leaving Maya in charge of the bar, along with the resident sapient barstool, Windsor. After running through her morning duties, primarily dusting and checking inventory. 11AM, on the dot, Maya flipped a switch behind the bar counter, causing a sign to light up on land, near the bridge, reading "Maya's Bar & Lounge." The outside was cold, with the lake frozen over, and a light amount of snow coming from the overcast sky. Happy smile on her face, and a little bit of extra red in her eyes, she waited for the first customers of the day.
*Near the bar there was a large plinth, surrounded with trees and wildlife, but surprisingly clean and well-kept even though not many ponies visited it anymore to keep it this well kept, with plaques engraved with the names of those deceased in a battle against a mighty foe, Apophis the Snake God, with a carving depicting a cowering version of Apophis and the four types of ponies standing triumphant over it, and a rune that if pressed would open a door into another dimension, completely sealed off from the Universes except at this point, a pocket dimension that served as a graveyard and memorial for said deceased, inside of which was also a massive statue depicting the same thing as the plinth's carving, along with great plaques also engraved with the names of the deceased same as the plinth. Near this plinth, a small door had opened, and a rather tall humanoid stepped from it, brushing himself off, before this doorway closed* Rep: (to himself) Well that went much better than when the Architect tried to travel here, a few years ago. And it has changed immensely since I was last here. (Starts walking towards where the bar was in his last memory of the area.)
Maya's ear twitched as she heard a door open outside. She thought aloud, "Ooh, must be Rep. Been a minute since that dude showed up. What was it he liked again..?"
(Standing at the roads edge, and looking towards the bar, and thinking.) Wow. Things really have changed.
"Sorrowbird calling Paladin. I have eyes on the target." Nightshade stared down from her high treetop perch at the bull making his way through the woods, flanked by a pair of muscular bodyguards. Alister Ironhorn III, heir to a moderate fortune in some tiny country far to the south. He was just the latest in a line of would-be warlords attempting to unite the cattle against the Equestrian royalty. "Roger that, Sorrowbird. Is he alone?" Blackout was several miles away, at what remained of the camp Ironhorn had fled. The Night Guard had caught the cattle by surprise, but Alister had escaped in the confusion. "Negative. Two guards. I can take them." "We can't risk losing him again. We've been hunting this bastard almost a year." "Fine. Where's Nightmare? He can back me up."
The bodyguard to the left of the bull warlord looked up at the treetop Nightshade was perched on, giving a small grin and a quick wink. Their friendly shapeshifting abomination was nowhere in sight. This could only mean one thing. Maybe Asmo should have told somepony beforehand. "Surprise, *squee!*!" The left guard laughed as a round, wide wall of tentacles surrounded the trio, one falling and knocking out the guard on the warlord's right.
Maya perked up and happily waved from behind the counter. "Hey, dude! It's been a while. Come in, have a seat."
Nightshade dropped out of the tree, land on Ironhorn's back. "Hi there!" she said cheerfully, "you should surrender now!" The bull snorted, attempting to toss her off his back. "The Kine will never surren -OOF!-" Nightshade knocked him out with a frown. "You're boring. I hate boring." She glanced over at Asmo. "Nicely done. Tell me, did you ever get around to reading your basic procedures handbook, or...?" She shrugged. "Eh, it worked." She pressed her comm crystal. "Paladin, prepare transport for one prisoner."
In a flash of light, Asmodeus shifted back to his proper form, then gave the bull a small smack to the head for good measure. "I'll read that thing later. Hey! Me and Az are gonna head to the bar after his fight later. Got time to grab Metallibat and tag with?"
"Oh, I'm pretty good," Maya answered. "Been nice and peaceful since that big battle, had lots of time to keep adding onto the property. How 'bout you?"
Extremely busy. The Council's been running back and forth between planets and your government, but according to a few terms that was to be disclosed to all members of the public over the course of 8 months. Has it been? Then keeping track of an unidentified object zipping around Universes has kept some of us busy for a few decades of our time. But, alas, I get ahead of myself. As an individual I have been fine albeit bored.
Maya tapped her chin, listening intently to his story. After a moment, she came to a brilliant conclusion. "Sounds like you need a drink."
That sounds delightful. (Remembering something) Oh yes. I was to ensure this made it to you, unless you already received a copy, (hands Maya a flash drive) drink recipes from four other planets. Part of a trivial, to some, trade. Did you already receive such a drive?
"Oh, wow..." Maya looked at the drive in her hooves. "This is pretty bucking cool. I'll have Rave print these out for me later. Thanks, dude! Think you just earned yourself some free drinks." ~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Meanwhile, Azrael was at a gym in The Crystal Empire, warming himself up for the later fight. He was beating on a bucking bag, which had to be filled with metal to keep him from knocking it down. Even with this in place, he didn't dare throw a full-force strike at the bag. Ponies were forbidden from gathering around to watch, as it annoyed him. Most fighters went to fight 2-4 times a year, he went to defend his Equus Heavyweight title once a month. This caused ponies to wonder how he did it. Az understood this, but he still didn't like ponies gawking at him in the gym.
Nightshade nodded. "Sure. I was going to take Maya a few steaks, anyway." A trio of guards appeared from the direction of the destroyed camp. Nightshade helped them secure Ironhorn, and two of them led him off. The big bodyguard was still unconscious, and Nightshade prodded him with her hoof. "You know where to take this one. We don't need him."
Sounds good to me, too bad I'm going to need to have a talk with some people in positions of power...
"We should let him live," Asmo said seriously. It was a known fact that Asmodeus hadn't taken life he didn't need to take since joining the Guard. Having a real reason to go out into the world changed him. ~~~~~~ Maya frowned. "Aww. Guess you don't wanna show up drunk, huh?"
During the first day of his week-long break, Blackened decided to take a hiking trip up north. All the while, one location stayed fresh in his mind - Maya's Bar. Last he knew, the location was going through various renovations, but he never found the time to visit. At least, not until now. A few hours of hiking led him to the bar for the first time in years. _Well, I don't remember it looking this nice..._ he thought as he looked at the revamped building. Without hesitation, he trotted inside, wondering if a certain stoner pegasus would be running as per usual. She may have even had a drink or two ready.
