Chapter 5: The Hornet's Nest
It was dark outside, hardly anypony roaming the streets of Ponyville at this hour. Twilight was sitting in the library's kitchen, done practicing her counting method with her own deck of cards and ready to take on the casino's game. The lavender mare neatly put the cards back into the case, in numerical order of course, also organized from the suite she liked the most and the suit she liked the least. Satisfied with her work, she stood from her spot and made her way to the main hall.
This is it, day one.
Twilight quickly found a place behind a book to hide her deck of cards and made her way to the door, telekinetically putting on her saddlebags that contained the few bits from which her wealth would grow. She opened the front door, the chilly night biting the skin beneath her coat, earning a small yelp from the unicorn. Twilight quickly closed the door and searched for a light jacket to suit her needs.
Come on Twilight, the night won't last forever...
Twilight trotted up to her room and opened her wardrobe, everything she ever wears neatly organized for each season. She quickly found an adequate coat to put on top of her... coat. Twilight briefly chided herself for that silly thought, putting on the jacket and once again putting on her saddlebags. Twilight trotted in place for a moment to get some body heat into her garment before heading for the door again, ceremoniously locking the door behind her. She was now alone with her thoughts...
This is for Spike's treatment, he would understand.
Twilight trotted down the road, the walk to the Aurora wasn't too long, but it was dark and chilly out. Twilight was accompanied only by starlight and her own condensed breath.
Even if I am breaking a Pinkie promise...
Twilight made it to the Aurora, the walk felt like it lasted an eternity even if it was only a fifteen minute trot. With a deep breath of confidence and cool night air, Twilight stepped into the casino. Pleasantly warm air slammed into her face as soon as she telekinetically opened the door, she gave the stallion behind the front desk a tiny smile.
"I do hope you know that magic is prohibited in the Aurora." the stallion told Twilight coldly, he wasn't the same stallion from the other night... Twilight liked the other stallion's attitude a little better than this one's already.
"Y-yes I do, but I wasn't in the casino yet." Twilight replied meekly, shivering slightly. The stallion didn't seem to notice nor care.
"Well, the coat room is to your left, the exchange booth is just down that way. Try to enjoy yourself and," the stallion's previously impassive tone suddenly dropped to a whisper with a warning, "don't use magic around the ponies who actually care."
"Ookay, thank you." Twilight replied nervously, almost tip-hoofing her way to the coat room. Apparently, there was a fee to hold coats, and they were none too modest about the prices, Twilight walked back past the rude stallion and to the exchange booth to get some chips.
I'll just put my coat in my saddlebags later.
"One-hundred and fifty bits." Twilight announced as she hoofed the mare behind the booth a pouch of bits. The earthpony mare pulled out the bits and counted them at an incredibly fast speed, reaching over and pulling out seven 20-bit chips and one ten.
"Enjoy your visit ma'am." the earthpony mare said warmly as she gave Twilight the chips.
"Thanks." Twilight smiled, glad that not everypony working here today was as rude as the stallion up front. Turning on her hooves, Twilight headed to the casino's bar and spotted a seat from where she could see the hoofjack tables. "Now to find a table that isn't halfway through the deck..."
Twilight took a seat and watched the tables, seizing the opportunity to remove her jacket and neatly fold it so it could fit in her saddlebag. She saw the bartender stallion approach her through her peripheral.
"Hello miss, welcome to the Aurora Iceberg, can I get you something?" the charismatic bartender asked.
"Oh, no thanks, I'm just waiting." Twilight replied, sparing him a single glance.
"Oh hey, I remember you. I didn't think someone like you would be back so soon." the stallion stated in mild surprise.
"Someone?" Twilight questioned instinctively.
"I stopped saying somepony after bar tending in griffin lands for two years, a polite little habit I picked up." the stallion replied casually, "Can I ask what you're waiting for?"
"Um, no, no you cannot. Sorry." Twilight replied while keeping an eye on three tables in particular, "You said that you worked in griffin territory? How did you end up there?"
"Nice dodge," Twilight cringed a bit, she was caught off guard by the bartender's light tone, "Anyway, there was a massive drop in business in Equestria around four years ago. I got laid off like many bartenders did. Most of us quit bar tending, you know, because most don't see it as an honorable profession. Personally, I love this line of work, and naturally went to whichever bar that had an opening."
Twilight blinked, really not expecting to get this pony's life story out of her question. "Wow, so you just traveled all the way out of Equestria just to work as a bartender?"
"Yep, I enjoy listening to other conversations. I learned over the years that speech is more of a skill that you hone in towards perfection, listening to others helps me understand how speech works and also allows me to see more ideas. Did you know that griffin society is a patriarchy, as opposed to Equestria's Matriarchy?"
"I... Didn't know that. It does sound very interesting though, being able to see other points of view like that." she spotted one of the dealers begin to shuffle their deck, "Excuse me, I need to get going now." Twilight said quickly.
"W-wait!" Twilight turned around, "You forgot your saddlebags, miss...?"
"Twilight Sparkle." Twilight replied without thinking, "Thanks, mister...?"
"Barley Malt." the stallion gave a small bow, "Have a pleasant night, ma'am."
...
Well, he was certainly polite...
Twilight walked at a brisk pace towards the table, the dealer was about to start, well, dealing cards. Twilight quickly, and as nonchalantly as she could, sat down at the end of the hoofjack table, giving everypony a sheepish grin before pulling out two twenty-bit chips and placing them on her betting circle just on time.
This is it, the first step to helping Spike...
The dealer mare began hoofing out the first round of cards, Twilight keeping count rather easily. One, two, one, two, three. Twilight's first card was a nine. The next wave came as soon as the dealer placed a card face down; four, three, two, three, four. The dealer then placed her second card face up, a princess... Five.
Twilight looked at her cards, a nine and an eight, her hoof was valued at seventeen... The first player made his decision quickly, "Hit me." and busted out with a prince. six. The mare next to him hit as well, turning her fourteen into a nineteen. Five.
There was a short pause, long enough for Twilight to look at the next player, a confident looking stallion who was clearly thinking very hard. He had a five and a six, a mere eleven. The stallion then added chips to his betting circle and with a small grin said, "Double down." the dealer mare nodded and added one more card to his hoof, a nine. Six, smart move.
The next player, a nervous looking stallion, simply stayed at eighteen. It was Twilight's turn now, gears were turning in her head as she decided what her move would be. Oh no, I bet too high at the very beginning, I should have waited until later to start betting higher... Only seventeen, that can't be enough to beat the dealer. But if my card is too high I'll lose anyway.
"Hit." Twilight said bluntly, almost visibly shocked at herself. She shut her eyes as the dealer went to place the card in front of her, opening them just enough to see what it was once she heard the soft slapping of paper on suede. A three...
*Squee!*
Twilight softly clopped her hooves together in celebration of her successful gamble, suddenly chiding herself once she got her forty bits. It's supposed to be a game of strategy, not gambling.
This was going to be a long night...
Twilight gently weighed the bag of casino chips in her hoof before cashing them in, she had lost count of how much she had won, at this rate, she could pay for half of Spike's treatment in two months or so.
The mare inside the exchange booth whistled as Twilight approached, "Having a good day today, aren't we?" she said appraisingly.
"Yeah, a very good... Night actually." Twilight replied, remembering that this was all because of what happened that very morning... Or was it yesterday? Twilight checked the clock inside the booth, it was already three in the morning.
"Well, let me change those into money that you can use outside of this place." the mare said warmly, counting Twilight's winnings.
...
One thousand... and one hundred-sixty bits. Twilight had expected to make a profit... but this was spectacular! She could pay for Spike's treatment in... Well, a relatively short time. Still, that was way too many bits for her to carry in her saddlebag, so Twilight asked for a banknote instead. She continued her way home, plodding home through a slightly shorter route through the alleyways. Twilight wanted sleep, and she needed to get into her cozy bed soon since she had to visit Spike before noon.
"Three months of winter coolness, and awesome holiday..." Twilight sang softly to herself, both to keep calm and because no pony was around to hear her. "We've kept our hoovesies warm at home, time off from work to pl-"
Twilight stopped abruptly, startled by the sound of wings flapping. She looked around the dark alleyway, seeing nopony...
"Hello?" nothing. Twilight stood still for a few seconds, sighing deeply and trotting to the end of the alleyway and making a turn into the street, bumping into somepony; her rump dropping onto the floor, leaving her sitting and dazed.
*Umph!*
"Twilight! I thought I lost you for a second!" a very, very familiar voice called out. Twilight looked up, focusing.
"Derpy?" Twilight asked in surprise, "What are you doing out so late?"
"I could ask you the same thing." Derpy replied darkly, then added with a light stomp, "I came with a message."
"A letter? Why couldn't you just drop it off at my mailbox?" Twilight questioned, not thinking too clearly through a mixture of tiredness and the small bump she had with Derpy Whooves.
Derpy shook her head, "No, a message," Derpy put her hoof to her chin in thought, "Um, a warning about the casino."
"A warning?" Twilight asked, alarms going off in her head.
"The Doctor sent me, said that he saw a spark in your eye and wanted to warn you about the ponies that run that... establishment." Derpy's eyes were dead focused on Twilight now.
There was a brief pause, Twilight's voice lowered, "Ditzy," Twilight breathed, the vapor clearly visible in the starlight, "What about those ponies do I need to be warned about?"
"That they're bad ponies with greedy intentions, they do not take very kindly to ponies taking their money." Derpy's eyes began going off in their own directions, but her expression was just as hard as before, "They almost hurt my Doctor, but he's very clever... Twilight, these are ponies who you don't want to get involved with, you could get into much more trouble than he did."
Twilight stared at Ditzy Doo, the ordinary mailmare who is now warning her, and possibly saving her life. "Der-" she didn't get to finish, a bright, blueish light began pouring out of Derpy's messenger bag.
"I'm sorry Twilight, I need to get going now!" Ditzy Doo lunged into Twilight for a hug and flew off in a moment's notice, effectively leaving Twilight stunned in the cold night.
Ditzy is right, going to the casino and winning too much could be dangerous...
Twilight opened the door to her home, tiredly closing it behind her, dragging herself upstairs to her room. Once there, she put away her jacket in its rightful place and placed tonight's banknote in the safe box she had previously kept her theory on card counting, and previously promised herself nopony would ever read it again...
Still... I have to go back, a librarian's salary isn't something to behold. I just have to be more careful.
Twilight set her saddlebag down next to her bed and contemplated brushing her teeth before going to bed, ultimately deciding that she would do so after the few hours she has to sleep.
*Yawn*
Very careful, that's not too hard to do.
Twilight heard the soft thud of a purple unicorn landing on a plush bed and instantly fell asleep...
...
Author's note:
Well, that certainly took WAY too long to write. I'm really sorry for the delay, Junior year in my Highschool doesn't necessarily scream with 'free time for all students!'
But enough about my life and its tragic shortage on spare time for sanity, enjoy your free entertainment!