The night laid still and quiet over Equestria. During this hour most ponies were home, sleeping in their beds. The spring had arrived about a week ago and because of that most ponies were filled with all the beauty and warmth that came with it. Everyone was in high spirits, thinking about what they could do now when the snow was gone. In Ponyville, every citizen was dreaming of the wonders and joy of spring. In the Everfree forest every creature dreamed pleasant thoughts. Even in Canterlot, Princess Celestia herself had dreams of her own. Dreams of warmth, beauty, colors and joy filled the night like stars.
However, there was one pony that didn´t share any of these dreams. Oneside, a young earth pony with a dark blue coat and green mane and tail were quietly walking through the streets of Manehattan. The streetlight was off in the city this late at night, but because of the moonlight it didn´t matter. Oneside perfectly navigated his way through the city carrying a saddlebag loaded with money.
He smiled to himself. He was a gambler symbolized by his cutie mark, a coin surrounded by a bright light and he was really good. It was now about a month since he´d come to Manehattan and he had already gain the reputation as the unbeatable master of games, a title he found really fitting. Of course it was nothing new. Oneside had traveled across Equestria for several years and not once had he ever lost a game. Poker, roulette, dice games even something as simple as coin tossing, he was the master of everything.
Unfortunately, being the best comes with a price. Because he always won, his reputation usually spread fast around the cities he visited. Once he had the master title, nopony wanted to play any longer. Not that it was any problem with making a living; in fact Oneside had already won enough money to survive for years if the game would come to a standstill. The money in his bag was only a nickel compare to everything he had won over the years. However, gambling for him wasn´t about money, it was about winning. In his otherwise boring life Oneside had found only one thing that filled him with joy and that was the sweet taste of victory. To see another pony break down as he claimed his price and to completely crush there fighting spirits. It was moments like that he lived for. He was a better player than any other pony in Equestria and no pony would ever take that title away from him.
Oneside gave a small giggle as he walked on. A lot of fine memories began filling his head. Memories of every poor looser that had gotten the nerve to try and destroy his reputation. Being a pony that never loses Oneside had been accused of cheating countless times. Many fools had thought that was the only explanation for his winning streak. Naturally it was them that the joke was on in the end because proving that Oneside cheated to win a game was impossible.
Not that it was entirely false though.
While thinking that, he finally spotted what he had been looking for.
“Taxi,” he called as a chariot drawn by a yellow Pegasus with brown mane and tail passed in front of him. Luckily the Pegasus seemed to have heard him as the chariot stopped and the driver began to walk towards Oneside.
“Good evening, mister” the Pegasus said with a smile. “Do you want to order a ride somewhere?”
“That depends, do you know of some other towns around here?” Oneside asked. “You see I´m looking for someplace to live for a while”.
“Why, Manehattan is a wonderful city this time of the year” the Pegasus said still smiling. “You see, I was born here and I can honestly say that there is nothing that even comes close to seeing spring return to Manehattan. Not to mention the great spring festival that’s hold here every year, I´ve heard that…”
“Thank you, but I´m not interested” Oneside interrupted while trying to hide his feeling of annoyance. “Now can you recommend any other cities in Equestria?”
“Well, let me take a look”. The Pegasus took a map out of his saddlebag and started to inspect it.
“Canterlot is always a nice city to visit and I´ve heard that Princess Celestia herself is planning a celebration to welcome spring. Then of course we have the Cristal Empire which I would say is probably the most beautiful city in Equestria this time of year and though I haven’t been there myself my wife says that Fillydelphia has a wonderful flower blossom right now”.
Oneside gave small sigh as the Pegasus continued to ramble. All of the cities that where brought up where places he had been to relatively recently. By most chances his reputation would not have gone away and as long as he was known as the unbeatable master of gambling his chances to get any opponents was zero. He gave the map a closer look himself, carefully watching every corner of it. There had to be some city he hadn´t been to in a while, he just needed to find it. Then after a quick search a small city suddenly caught his attention. Ponyville, that was a name he wasn´t familiar with in fact Oneside didn´t think that he had ever been there.
“Excuse me, do you know anything about this place”. Oneside placed his hoof on the map at the location of Ponyville.
The driving Pegasus stopped talking and gave the map a quick glimpse.
“Oh Ponyville, well that’s a wonderful little town” he answered. “I was there on a driver meet-up once and the citizens there are very friendly towards other ponies. It doesn’t have that much to offer in forms of culture but if you want to stay in a peaceful town I would say that Ponyville is a good choice”.
“Hmmm, can you tell me how many ponies that live there”.
The Pegasus got a little confused at the question and he didn´t really know what to answer.
“Well,” he began while scratching his head. “I guess there a couple of hundred ponies there. Like I said it´s not the biggest town in Equestria”
Oneside wasn´t pleased with the answer. Few citizens meant that his reputation probably would spread fast and if he was unlucky he might only get a week before every opponent was gone. It was also most likely that a little town wouldn´t have that many gamblers to begin with which made the chance of getting opponents even smaller. However it was better than nothing and if luck was on his side he would probably get to have some fun. When his mind was set he once again turned to the Pegasus.
“I want to go there, how much is it?” Oneside asked politely.
The Pegasus smile once again rose as he started to do some calculations on a paper.
“Let me see, the flight should take about 5 hours with the direction of the wind and with the current weather. The price is 15 bits per hour so 75 bits”
“Alright we got a deal, let’s go”
Oneside jumped up into the chariot as the Pegasus began to prepare to take off.
“So do you have a name mister” the Pegasus said as he finished putting on the equipment.
“My name is Oneside”.
“Oneside hmm, nice to meet you. My name is Marty. So are you ready to go”?
“Yes and could we please not talk under this flight I´m a little tired” Oneside said while giving a small yawn.
“Alright, now hold on tight”.
With those words, Marty took flight and the chariot soon lifted off the ground. Looking down, Oneside could see all of the houses as most ponies still in their sleep dreaming of the joys of spring. Oneside thought of this last month he spent in Manehattan and all of the sweet victories he had gotten the pleasure of experiencing. He smiled to himself. It was all thanks to his secret weapon that he could live such a perfect life. It was a gift like no other that he had possessed since birth. Something that always would guarantee him his victory and as the cherry on top of the cake, it was undetectable.
Oneside gave off a small giggle and then closed his eyes to sleep, dreaming of all the fun that awaited him in Ponyville. But then suddenly just as he was to fall asleep he felt a sudden twitch in his tail and before he knew it his head was hit by a big dose of hail. He woke up and quickly began to look around. Once he confirmed it was nothing more he gave a small sigh.
“Not again” he whispered while looking at his tail. “You just don´t know when to be still, do you”?