//------------------------------// // Best Worst Night Ever (Part 2) // Story: Maul-verse // by AntiBronyBenSwolo //------------------------------// The chariot glided graciously in front of Canterlot Palace, where the Gala was to be held and landed beautifully with the rest of the chariots dropping off their guests. Out of the chariot came Jeeves and Darth Maul as the two "gentle-ponies" entered the large castle and dazzled Maul with bright lights that rivaled the dark of the night. "It truly is a sight, isn't it, Mr. Mandarin?" Jeeves asked the disguised Maul. "Indeed," Maul commented, though not for the same reasons. A couple of ponies followed Jeeves and Maul to a large, and beautifully decorated table, where Maul was to serve his products to other guests. "Oh, Thank you for your assistance," Maul said to the pony helpers, as they unboxed the grape juice bottles and placed them on the table, one bottle at a time. "Right, everything is all set. The only thing left to say is to wait for the other guests to arrive, and enjoy the Galla." Jeeves explained as he and his assistance ponies left Maul to his table. "Very well then," Maul grinned as he sat by his table and waited. The minutes ticked by, and Maul flashed back to his Sith Apprentice days. "You heard me very clearly, Maul. I said wait, and that is what you are going to do," Darth Sidious explained, pointed his cloaked finger on the younger Zabarak. "But Master..." Maul protested, "I'm afraid I cannot wait any longer. There is a small group of Jedi I could kill, just outside the outer rim, and when the Jedi find them dead, they'll believe it was the work of the Hutts," Maul said, scheming his latest scheme. "And what will you do when the Jedi find out it wasn't the Hutts?" Sidious asked. Maul stared back, struggling to think of a follow-up move to if that were to happen. Alas, nothing came out. "I understand your blood-thirst. Many Sith before you have felt the same way, yet they all learned to rely on patience, or else they'd all be exposed." Sidious scolded at his apprentice. "However, if you are that bloodthirsty, there is a group of smugglers that could use some elimination," Sidious said, revealing a hologram of the galaxy, with a red dot in the Outer Rim. "Very well, my master," Maul said, taking a bow and heading off to execute some criminals. "Ah, excuse me?" A voice called out from beside Maul. "Hmm? Yes?" Maul asked, turning his head and finding a face he thought he wouldn't find in a place like this; Applejack. "How much for one bottle?" Applejack asked Maul, as Maul re-arranged his disguise making sure it wouldn't come off. "Oh. Uhh...They're 15 bits each." Maul said, remembering his initial price. "That seems a bit expensive, isn't it?" Applejack asked "Well, yes. But if I'm to start a company to make more of these, they might have to be at a high price to start off," Maul explained. "Ah, I see. Well, I'll be sure to see your company around." Applejack said, buying a bottle from Maul and turning around to go back to her stand of selling Apple Pies. Maul looked around to see if any of Applejack's friends had arrived as well. It's clear he flashed back for a bit. As Maul regained concentration on selling his drinks, his attention, as well as everypony else's attention was turned to a pony trying to pull off incredibly absurd dance moves. "It's all I ever...dreamed?" Pinkie Pie said, attempting to dance, though everyone stared in disgust and confusion. With the exception of Maul. Even though Pinkie Pie was considered an enemy by Maul, he couldn't help but feel amused. And why couldn't he? Pinkie made herself look more like an idiot than Maul thought she'd be. Maul chuckled to himself as groups of glamorous ponies lined up to buy samples of Maul's drink. As Maul sold drink after drink, Maul whistled the time away, sitting back in his chair, and daydreamed about his future company, and how he plotted to use the company to fund an army large enough to conquer Equestria. His daydreaming, however, was stopped when yet another familiar mare ran into Maul. "Oh. I'm sorry. I thought you were a rare type of bird. My..My mistake," Fluttershy muttered embarrassed, as she exited the large regal room. Before Maul could comprehend how his new enemies are even here, another one of the mares came to Maul's stand for a drink. "Pardon me if I seem rude, but you seem familiar. Have we met by any chance?" Rarity asked as a stallion stood by her side. "Oh no. I can see where you'd make the mistake though," Maul lied as he chuckled. Rarity handed Maul the fifteen bits and gave Rarity and her companion a bottle of his drink. Rarity and his companion headed to none other than Twilight Sparkle, after the two sampled the drink. "Twilight, darling, you simply have to try out this new grape juice this one pony is selling. It's practically criminal." Rarity commented as Twilight walked over to Maul's stand. "Hey, may I have one?" Twilight asked Maul, as Maul looked in his box and found the last bottle in his stock. "Fifteen bits, please. You're lucky to get the last one," Maul said as he passed the bottle after receiving his money. Now that the Sith Lord was 100% sold out, he had everything he needed to pave the road for Maul's rise. "Thanks. I feel like me and my friends haven't been having the time we've been expecting," Twilight vented to Maul, before leaving and returning to Princess Celestia, whom she had been with for the whole night. With no bottles of grape juice to sell, Maul felt it was time to sit back, relax, and... "Hello there," Obi-Wan Kenobi said, interrupting Maul's peace and quiet. "Kenobi. I hope you're not here to make me look crazy. I've just sold out of my products," Maul acknowledged as he cleaned his table up and bagged his money. "There is something I found that you should see," The Kenobi Hallucination informed Maul. "How can you find anything, anyways? You're a figment of my imagination teetering on the brink of actual life," Maul insulted, keeping quiet about his secrets. "Did you forget how to trust the Force?" Kenobi asked. Maul sighed. "No," Maul said, snarling at the ghost in his mind. "Then come with me," Kenobi said, leading Maul outside of the castle, and into a hedge maze. In there, Maul managed to find the center and find a large statue of an unidentifiable creature. As far as Maul could tell, it had a horse head, a lizard body, mismatched legs, arms, and horns. Maul sensed the statue had some sort of connection to reality as if it were alive. Maul and Kenobi examined the statue further. "I sense...a connection," Maul commented as he touched the snout of the statue. "A connection to what?" Obi-Wan asked. "The Elements. Not just the Elements of Harmony, but to the Elements of the Dark Side," Maul explained. Maybe whatever this statue is could help Darth Maul figure out what the Elements of the Dark Side could do, even though he used them before. Maul continued examining the statue until he was confronted by a couple of stallions in golden armor. "Excuse me, sir? You're not allowed to be in here." One of the stallions explained. "Oh. My apologies. I just needed a breath of fresh air, and I got lost." Maul fibbed, as the guards breathed a sigh of disappointment. "This way, sir," The other pony said, as they escorted Maul back inside the palace, where they found a huge mess everywhere, much to the surprise of everypony, including on the inside. the room was covered in mud and pie. And in the center of all this chaos was none other than Twilight Sparkle and her friends. Everyone stood in shock and disbelief. "Well, I certainly had an eventful evening. Now, I think it's time the Galla was over and we left these menaces be," Maul said, gaining the attention of all the ponies there. Most of them nodded and followed Maul out the door as they all headed home. Those who didn't were in complete shock. "Who's he to call us 'Menaces'?" Rainbow Dash yelled, as the other 5 ponies, as well as Princess Celestia, were either filled with rage, or pain. "Well, that certainly wasn't nice of him. Well, I apologize for not having this night live up to your expectations," Princess Celestia commented. "It was just plain bad before, but now that...that..." Fluttershy tried to explain, before collapsing into tears. A few minutes later, the seven mares sat down and had sandwiches together, in an attempt to make it up for the horrible night that had just occurred. "Anybody find it odd that the stallion who called us 'menaces' was the same one selling us the grape juice?" Twilight pondered. "Twilight, it doesn't do a pony good to dwell on bad memories," Princess Celestia commented. "Actually, now that you mention it, he did look familiar," Rarity replied. "And I think I recall the guy talking to no one before heading outside," Rainbow Dash pondered along with her friends. "I'm calling it now. That guy's Darth Maul!" Pinkie Pie explained, slamming the table. The other ponies looked at each other and laughed in response to Pinkie's claim. "No wonder you're the Element of Laughter," Rarity said, laughing so hard, tears were coming out. The only two who weren't laughing were Pinkie and Celestia. "I'll...keep that possibility in mind," Celestia remarked, returning to her sandwich. Everyone then all had a good laugh and returned to their sandwiches.