Unexpected Reunion

It's been a while since Nar has been to visit his uncle Steve. Well, Steve isn't actually his uncle, but they have that kind of friendship. After a good month or two since his last visit, Nar has decided that tonight, he's going to go to the bar, and see how Steve is doing. The doors to Stinkin' Steve's are pushed open, revealing it to be fairly packed tonight. There's a Vanhoover Timberwolves game on almost every TV in the bar, which the majority of the patrons appear to be watching. It's quite lively, with the speakers on the stage playing the audio from the broadcast, rather than any music. Nar gives a wave to the portly, middle-aged earth pony stallion/man behind the counter, who pauses the conversation he's having to wave, and cup his other hand to his mouth. "Hey nephew! Come have a seat!" As Nar goes to sit at the bar, he can't help but feel the guy next to the seat he's about to sit at looks familiar. He's a pegasus with light-blue fur, a short, red mane/hair, and a black jacket with a single, deep blue horizontal stripe going around the middle of it. The wicked stubble on his face throws Nar off though. When Nar takes his seat, he thinks he catches a glimpse of the pegasus glancing at him out of the corner of his eye. For now, he thinks nothing of it, and converses with Steve for a while. Steve tells Nar that they need to plan to go bowling with his daughter, and girlfriend at some point, and Nar agrees. Steve tells Nar about a new menu item he's testing out, and invites Nar to stay after closing to try it for him, to which, Nar readily agrees. Then, after Steve's attention is pulled elsewhere, Nar is left to his own thoughts. Nar can't help but think he knows the pegasus sitting next to him. He manages to avoid glancing over at the guy, but eventually, his thoughts get the better of him. Nar turns slightly on his barstool to address the pegasus. "What a game, huh?" The man looks over his shoulder. At first, he doesn't respond, likely not realizing Nar was talking to him. Nar's friendly smile, and stare tells him he was wrong. "Yeah." He tries to turn away, but Nar speaks up again. "Think the Timberwolves are gonna win this one?" The pegasus looks up to the screen. The score was currently 0-3, Timberwolves, in the second quarter. "Probably." Nar continues, either oblivious to the man's annoyance, or purposefully ignoring it. "Not much of a hockey guy, huh?" The man lets out a quiet sigh, which Nar only barely picks up. "No. Not really." Then, Nar decides to just go for it. "Say, I haven't seen you around here before. Where are you from." The man's face contorts, and he grips the bottle of beer in his hand tightly. "Damn it Nar! Did you just come here to pester me or something?!" Nar blinks a few times. "Oh shit! It IS you!" Then, the man's face shifts again. Now, he seems perplexed. "Wait, hold on." He shifts in his seat to face Nar. "You mean you didn't recognize me?" Nar shakes his head. "I mean, I KINDA did, but I didn't think it was actually you. Shit Roy, how've you been?" There's a pause. The pegasus turns his head away. "Surprised you even want to talk to me. Remember the last thing you ever said to me?" The memory comes to Nar quite easily. He remembers being full of rage, and wanting to kill Roy when he kicked him out of the band, and his life. "Yeah... I do... But, I'm not gonna beat you up or anything now. 7 years too late for that." Nar's tone is jovial, but Roy doesn't seem to find his joke funny. "So, you still mad or something?" At this, Nar gets serious. "Roy. None of us can ever forgive you for what you did. But that doesn't mean I don't think you could have changed." Roy is silent for some time, before he downs the rest of his beer, and flags Steve down for another. "I don't get you, Nar." Nar lets out a small chuckle. "Sometimes, I don't get myself either." For the next 20 or so minutes, the two engage in standard small talk, with Roy consuming 4 more beers in that time. By the time he's on his fifth, he's clearly buzzed, and seems to be relaxing a good bit. "So... What have you guys been up to? Outside of the band. It's hard to not see your faces everywhere, and see news about you guys in every magazine." Roy cracks a small smile. "Things have been pretty good for us. I've got a girlfriend, and even adopted a daughter. Asuka's other ex, Ruby is staying with us for a bit, and Juno's dating Mandy Fullbright. Our new keyboardist, Scrappy wants to start writing songs, and Asuka's friend, Deena just started up her own flower shop in the city." At this, Roy nods, approvingly. "Good to see you guys have made good lives for yourselves." "What about you? I haven't heard from you in years." Roy shrugs his shoulders. "You don't mind me dumping for a bit, do you?" Nar shakes his head. "Hey man, everyone needs to vent every now and then." "Well. After I got kicked out, I sorta just coasted along for a bit. I tried to start up another band, but once we started gaining traction, they kicked me out. Lost my job, and my apartment, and had a really bad few years for a while. Got involved with some bad stuff, and even sold off the last thing I owned to fuel an addiction. Eventually, I learned that you guys were starting to gain traction in Vanhoover, and... Well, I realized how far I'd gone. I got cleaned up, got a job, and managed to make a decent life for myself. I just got bored of the endless monotony after a year or two. Bought a new guitar, didn't renew my lease, then I just hit the road. I've been a traveling musician for about two years now. Play some gigs in a city, earn enough money for motel stays, food, and a train ticket, then when I'm bored, I head off to the next city." "Damn, dude. You've been through it, huh?" Roy nods solemnly. "Yeah, but things are better now. Got no time to wallow in self pity." He then begins to smile. "I'm actually really happy for you guys. You guys made it. Number one on the national charts, each of you are millionaires, and you've got fans all over the world. Do I wish I was a part of it? Well, I did for a bit, but... Well, Attack on Mango isn't the band we started in junior year anymore. You guys made it your own thing, and it took off. I can't take any credit for all the hard work you guys put in." At this, Nar leans in, uncomfortably close. "Who are you, and what have you done with Roy?" For the rest of the night, the two talk like the old friends they once were. Roy getting more, and more inebriated as the night goes on. By closing time, Nar has forgotten all about Steve's offer to test his new dish, and walks out of the bar alongside Roy to wait with him for a taxi. The two exchange numbers, and promise to keep in touch. Despite this, Roy is adamant that Nar not try to introduce him to the rest of the band again. Nar makes no promises, and watches as Roy slumps into a taxi, and is driven off back to his motel.