Game of Chance

by TheEngineer

A new kind of game in town

Game of Chance
Chapter 1: A new kind of game in town

Twilight Sparkle was getting herself ready to leave the house, making sure that absolutely everything was in order.

"Alright Spike, how's the checklist coming along?" Twilight asked her number one assistant.

"Make sure Spike has food for dinner, check. Close windows so that the night breeze doesn't chill the library too much, check..." Spike read aloud, muttering quietly to himself as he skimmed through the lengthy list, "And lastly, give Twilight a bag of exactly one hundred bits."

"Check." Twilight finished for Spike, drawing out a small pouch from a hidden wall compartment.

"Whoah, since when did we have that?" Spike questioned in surprise.

"Ever since we came here..." Twilight replied disappointedly, realizing her sloppy mistake of revealing her secret money compartment to Spike.

"And when exactly were you going to tell me this?" Spike interrogated in slight annoyance, he had always assumed transparency with his foster 'sister'.

"Um, never. But now you know, so you can be relieved by the fact that there is no longer any secrets between us!" Twilight replied quickly with a nervous grin. Spike cocked an eyebrow at Twilight, "Look, I'm about to fall behind schedule; how about we talk about this some other time?" Twilight offered.

"Fine, we'll talk about this when you come back from that money drain." Spike scoffed, giving Twilight a goodbye nuzzle before leaving for the kitchen.

Twilight watched as the purple baby dragon walked off before quietly leaving the library and into the chilly breeze. "Bye Spike! I'll be home before midnight!" Twilight called behind her as she checked her saddlebag and trotted slowly down the dirt path.

It's really starting to get cold out here, I'll need to start wearing a scarf sooner than later... Twilight thought to herself as she made the short fifteen minute walk to Sugar Cube Corner.

Twilight was on schedule to her rendezvous with her friends. A casino has opened up in Ponyville and the six friends eventually decided to try it out for the sake of trying it out, after all, they didn't want to have watched that casino being built for eight months for no reason at all.

Soon enough, Twilight arrived at Sugar Cube Corner at seven o'clock sharp; Rarity and Applejack were waiting out front. "Hey girls," Twilight greeted as she approached the two mares, "Where are the others?"

"Heya Twilight!" Applejack greeted, giving the lavender mare a quick, friendly hug.

"Hello Twilight dear," Rarity greeted with a slight flick of her fashionable scarf, "I can't say where the others are now, but I'm sure we could wait for a few minutes."

"Uh, where's Pinkie Pie? Doesn't she work here?" Twilight suddenly questioned.

Rarity nodded, "That she does, but I can't say that I've seen that silly mare at all today." she said with a thoughtful expression.

Twilight seemed a bit irked, "Ugh, I thought we all agreed to meet up at Sugar Cube Corner at seven o'clock... No earlier and certainly no later." Twilight ranted with her uncanny sense of punctuality in mind.

"C'mon now sugarcube, ya can't expect everypony to arrive on time every time; especially with a mare like Rainbow. Let's all jest get ourselves a seat while we wait for the rest." Applejack offered, receiving nods of agreement before heading to the outdoor seating so thoughtfully provided by Sugar Cube Corner.

The three mares waited for around ten minutes when a polychrome contrail became visible in the distance, Applejack could just faintly hear the sound of screaming in the distance. "Y'all hear that?" the orange mare inquired seconds before a cyan Pegasus landed a short distance away in a rather unceremoniously ungraceful manner.

Rainbow Dash sprinted towards the three mares as soon as she spotted them, she was panting heavily, "Hey guys!" Rainbow greeted, pausing for breath, "I." more panting, "Came as soon..." another pause for breath, "As I saw I was going to be... Late." the cyan Pegasus finally declared.

"Well, you sure made it seem like you care." Twilight commented genuinely... No really, she wasn't being sarcastic.

"Thanks..." Rainbow replied, suddenly looking around, "Hey, I thought I was late, where's P-"

Rainbow Dash didn't manage to finish that question as a pink blur suddenly rammed into her. "Oh dear, Rainbow Dash, are you alright?" an exasperated yellow Pegasus apologized as she arrived.

"Heya Dash!" the Pink blur greeted Rainbow who was currently pinned on the floor, dazed and confused.

"What... The hay just happened?" Rainbow asked in despair as a pair of massive cobalt-blue eyes stared in unrestrained excitement right into the pit of her soul.

"Hello girls! Are we ready to head out?" Rarity asked, almost completely disregarding Rainbow Dash's situation.

"Pinkie, could you pl-"

"Yeah! Let's go!" Pinkie interrupted, leaping off of Rainbow Dash and already beginning her hopping trail to the new casino. Everypony simply shrugged off Pinkie's antics as they began to follow the excited pink mare, Rainbow soon managed to get to her hooves and slowly trotted her way to the group.

"Thanks for waiting..." Rainbow muttered as she readjusted her saddlebag.

Twilight suddenly spoke up in realization, "Pinkie, you're the only one of us without a saddlebag, where are you keeping your money?" she asked tentatively.

Pinkie paused in midair, craning her head back to Twilight before landing on the ground quietly, "Right here, Twipie." she said as she pulled out a bag of bits from her mane before placing it back and continuing her hoping trail to the new casino. Twilight blinked, slowing her pace ever so slightly before regaining her composure.

You just had to ask, Twilight Sparkle. The lavender mare chided.

"Ohmygosh! This is going to be so exciting! Games games and games everywhere and all of my bestest friends are going to participate!" Pinkie Pie exclaimed mostly to herself, each syllable punctuated by a hop.

"Oh my, I still don't know about this. Do any of us have any actual experience gambling?" Fluttershy asked, feeling very unsure. Suddenly, all eyes turned to Rainbow Dash.

"What?" Rainbow stared back, giving everypony indignant looks, "I've placed wagers before but I've never done any actual gambling before." the cyan mare defended.

"We know that dearie, a pony like you could never be the likes to play such games of chance... No offense of course." Rarity added, everypony now looked at Rarity.

"Rarity? Have you gambled before?" Twilight asked innocently.

"I... Um... Maybe just a few times on a business trip to Las Pegasus, it was nothing really." Rarity replied nervously.

"Well, that's certainly more experience anypony else around here has. What's it like?" Applejack asked curiously.

"It's like watching your bits disappear really, I mostly went in for the other forms of entertainment." Rarity explained quickly.

"Could you tell us a bit about the games they have? I'm not very familiar with what they have." Twilight continued as the mares made their way down the path.

"Well, there's Equestrian Hoof'em... That games requires one's ability for self control and hiding emotions, they call it 'having a poker face'..." Rarity delved deeper into the rules of the games and how they are played in casinos.

"That slot machine sounds like a scam to me." Twilight commented thoughtfully after Rarity finished her explanation of what goes on in a casino, "I don't think that would be the kind of game that would give you much of a chance if you were to play it."

Pinkie Pie suddenly stopped, "Hey, Rarity! When you said that you went to one of these places for the other forms of entertainment, what did you mean?" the pink mare asked excitedly, genuinely hoping that they had cupcake eating contests inside.

"Well, um, they had... Um." Rarity flustered, Rainbow Dash grew a sly grin.

"Did ya go for the 'special' services I hear some of those places provide?" Rainbow asked with a growing grin.

"Well, I never!" Rarity retorted in an offended expression, "This mare shall never stoop so low as to hire somepony else for something like that!.... I may, however, had gone to see some... Exotic dancers." Rarity finished quietly, a faint blush appearing under her pearl white coat.

"What? You mean like zebras?" Pinkie Pie asked obliviously.

"Um, there was a zebra, yes." Rarity answered politely. Twilight's eyes lit up in understanding.

"Oh! You meant male dancers?" Twilight asked innocently.

"Yes." Rarity replied in shame.

"I've always wanted to see what those are like, did you enjoy it?" Twilight continued asked, deeply confusing the white mare.

"Twilight, my dear, you do understand what I'm talking about, right?" Rarity questioned, she was sure that a mare like Twilight would disapprove of such a thing.

"Of course I understand, I've read a few books on the subject; it's a form of erotic dancing performed by either gender to arouse the audience, who in turn tip whichever dancer appealed to them the most. You said you saw a zebra there?" Twilight continued.

"Wha-?" Rarity's jaw could have hit the floor if she was Pinkie Pie.

"Oh my, a zebra? W-what was that like?" Fluttershy asked timidly, jumping into the conversation.

"It... Was... Well, it was a pleasant surprise really. I never would have thought that a stallion could be so flexible, but there he was." Rarity replied, feeling slightly less awkward in this conversation.

"I bet it was, I heard that zebras have really hu-" Rainbow Dash was suddenly interrupted.

"Rainbow! That was not at all what I meant!" Rarity yelled at Rainbow indignantly, her eyes shooting daggers at her. Rainbow just cocked an eyebrow at her. "Maybe just a bit what I meant." Rarity then said in defeat.

...

The six mares arrived at their destination, it was already after dark and the casino was displaying an impressive light show and a banner that announced to all of Ponyville: 'Grand Opening!'

"Oh boy! We're here!" Pinkie exclaimed as she approached the front door.

"We can see it Pinkie." Rainbow muttered.

"Well, somepony had to say it, and it sure wasn't going to be Fluttershy." Pinkie Pie explained.

"Um, I-I c-could have." Fluttershy defended. Twilight just shrugged and walked past the three mares and into the luxurious building, closely followed by Rarity and a quiet Applejack.

"Well, this is a nice change of scenery." Rarity commented as she observed the lavish decor of the main lobby.

"How many bits did it take to build a thing like this?" Applejack said in a strange mix of awe and outrage.

"Many, but I'm sure they'll start making a profit soon." Twilight replied, remembering the slot machines Rarity told her about. Pinkie Pie, Fluttershy and Rainbow Dash came in soon after another group did; catching up with the other three mares.

"C'mon, let's get this show on the road." Rainbow Dash announced as she carelessly bounced her bag of bits on her head. Rainbow had disconnected herself from that money long ago, now she wouldn't feel too hurt if she were to lose it all to gambling.

The six mares approached a stallion in a gray suit standing behind a large desk, they saw the massive crowd of ponies behind him. "Welcome to the Aurora casino of Ponyville, I will have to ask you to hand over any weapons before I let you in." the stallion announced in a charismatic tone.

"Does it look like we would carry weapons?" Twilight retorted in a suddenly annoyed tone. The stallion merely pointed at Applejack, "Sir, I don't think my friend counts as a weapon." Twilight reasoned, the stallion behind the desk facehoofed.

"Not your friend, what's on your friend." he said, motioning to the rope tied on Applejack's tail.

"Hey! It's just a lasso!" Applejack protested.

"Sorry, rules are rules. Just sign the thing in and you'll get it back when you leave." the stallion replied with a shrug.

"Fine." Applejack huffed, hoofing over her lasso and undoing her ponytail in the process. "Now ya got mah tail all messed up." Applejack complained.

"Applejack, dearie, I never thought you would be one to care about your own looks within this lifetime." Rarity commented with a hopeful grin.

"Ah just like it that way is all." Applejack retorted, avoiding eye contact. The stallion behind the desk cleared his throat to get everypony's attention.

"Thank you, you may go inside and trade your bits in for chips at the booth." the stallion informed, seemingly unaffected by Applejack's seething glare. The six mares walked past the stallion, albeit Twilight magically dragging Applejack in tow, to where most of the games are.

"Why do we need to change our bits into chips anyway?" Twilight asked incredulously and she set Applejack back on the ground.

"Who knows dear, it's just custom." Rarity dismissed as she turned to a mare inside of a booth, "I would like to exchange twenty-five bits please."

"That'll be twenty-five bits." the mare replied with a smirk.

"Oh ho ho, I see what you did there madam." Rarity giggled at the mare's joke, after all, what else did that mare do other than exchange bits to chips and vice versa? Rarity pulled out twenty-five bits from her money pouch and floated them over to the mare on the other end.

The rest of them followed suit, exchanging just a few of their coins to chips in case they wanted to spend some money on the other things this place had to offer.

"So, what do we do first?" Rainbow Dash asked excitedly.

"Oh! Let's try Equestrian Hoof'em! It's right over there!" Pinkie Pie exclaimed, quickly disappearing to an empty gaming table. The rest of the mares sat at the table, filling it up completely with the exception of the dealer. The mares were simply playing against each other for their first game, most likely to test the gambling waters.

...

The dealer turned out to have an olden times announcer's voice, it made Twilight's mood really light and, in turn, made the learning process of a new game really fun.

"Small blind of one bit for miss Rarity and big blind of two bits for miss Dash." the dealer announced.

"Oh ponyfeathers." Rainbow complained quietly as she looked down at the small button.

"Relax dear, we all have to pay the blind every now and then." Rarity soothed with a coy smile, she had gained a total of ten bits out of her friends.

"Yeah, yeah. Are you gonna deal us some cards or what?" Rainbow said, shooting a glance at the dealer. The gentlestallion simply shrugged and dealt the hole cards to the players, Fluttershy immediately shrunk back at the sight of her cards.

"Call." Applejack announced stoically, placing two-one bit chips on the table.

"Raise!" Pinkie announced.

".... To what amount?" the dealer asked confusedly once he noticed that Pinkie wasn't doing anything.

"Three bits!"

"I guess I'll call on you Pinkie." Twilight announced.

"I... Um, can I fold?" Fluttershy asked quietly.

"Fluttershy, dearie. You haven't had a turn where you didn't fold, you won't win if you don't risk yourself just a little." Rarity encouraged.

"Oh, well, in that case... I'll raise for four bits." Fluttershy called, everypony gaped at her in surprise. The stares earned everypony a small grin and an even smaller squee from Fluttershy. The dealer nodded and dealt three cards at the center of the table for everypony to see.

Hello and welcome all to the 1976 Equestrian zeppelin races. Twilight thought in the voice of the dealer, giving a slight grin but shaking the silly thought away as soon as it came. Focus Twilight, focus!

Everypony looked at the cards on display: a ten of hearts, a jack of diamonds, and a prince of spades.

Everypony's gaze remained stoic, albeit Rarity's eyes bulging slightly and Fluttershy cringing just a bit.

That was called the flop, right? Twilight thought to herself. She soon realized that it was her turn to bet again, she quickly called on the bet since she had a jack in her hoof. The rest of Twilight's friends made their bets and the dealer announced the 'turn' in that funny voice, almost making Twilight smirk. The dealer revealed another ten.

The next round of betting ensued, Applejack folded after Rainbow raised the ante to six bits. Twilight decided to stay on the round since she still had a chance. The dealer finally revealed the 'river' card, it was another jack; Twilight tried her best to not reveal any emotion.

Rainbow Dash started sweating in the final round of betting and folded, leaving just Pinkie, Rarity, Fluttershy and Twilight. Everypony just called on the previous bet.

"Would everypony still in the game reveal their hoofs." the dealer announced.

This must be the 'showdown' Rarity talked about. Twilight thought to herself.

Pinkie Pie revealed her cards to be two aces, two of a kind.

Twilight revealed her cards to be a jack and a prince, a full house. Twilight decided that now was the time to smile, and she most definitely beamed at her friends.

"Not so fast Twilight dearie." Rarity intervened politely, revealing her cards to be two tens, "Four of a kind." Rarity beamed, all eyes fell on a shivering Fluttershy.

"Miss Shy, would you please reveal you cards?" the dealer asked politely, almost sensing how fragile this pony really was.

"Um.." Flutteshy then gave a small squeak before showing her cards. The yellow Pegasus revealed an ace and a princess, a royal flush. Rarity's demeanor quickly deflated as her head landed softly on the table with a small pout, nothing can beat a royal flush. Fluttershy was clearly confused, she didn't understand what was going on.

"And miss Shy takes the pot." the dealer announced.

"What? I won?" Fluttershy asked in confusion.

"Dearie, you just threw down a royal flush; nothing can beat that." Rarity said in defeat.

"Congrats Fluttershy." Twilight commented as a squeeing yellow Pegasus took the large pile of chips into her saddlebag.

"Thank you Twilight, but I think I'm done with this game right now. Who's up for a few drinks? It's on me." Fluttershy offered, getting massive nods of approval as everypony stood and made their way to the casino's bar.

---------------------------

Author's note:

Well, there's the beginning to what's to come! Fluttershy owns a poker, Rainbow is the first to use the bluff to no avail, and Rarity likes erotic dancers! I hope you will all stick around for the ride, I have high hopes for this story after all.

Comments

[Night Sky]

twilight should be reading a book on how to count cards in that picture

[Celentinia]

It sounds really interesting! Can't wait for more

[lucluigi]

Haha, Cool little story.

[fallen starr]

Its good. I'm certainly interested in what happens next. I think you got everything pretty well, but Fluttershy would have listened when the rules were explained I think. The rest of it was spot on though. I loved the part with the dancers.

Anyway, can't wait for the next update.

[TheEngineer]

1117384
She would be reading up on counting cards if the game she was playing was blackjack ... Not to worry, I'll be sure to include the other casino games that are known far and wide. There's also going to be the dramatic and dark side to this story nearing the climax and such, as should be expected from a somewhat lengthy writing project .
1117558
I dunno, I guess she did listen but didn't really understand the order of the most valuable cards and such. I for one still can't really keep track of the combinations that win above the others, you know, since I'm not actually a gambler and such , I had to have the rules for Texas Holdem in another tab to write that scene.

[Rabuiods]

The cover pic is my cell phone cover.

[Night Sky]

1117624 then she should read a book on figuring out ponies facial expressions, considering she just lost her big crown thingy

[TheEngineer]

1118178
Dude, it was the only good cover art I could find on google... I'm not basing the story on what the art shows, I'm trying to be a little more original than that
Trust your dear author when I say this though, what will happen in the future will be much better than Twilight becoming a gambling addict and losing everything.

[Night Sky]

1118214 yay

[Harwick]

The original source for the cover artwork: http://harwicks-art.deviantart.com/gallery/#/d4j5zr3

The story is off to a fun start! I enjoyed the prying of details out of Rarity on the walk over, and the showdown with Fluttershy. I also enjoy the non-judgmental attitude Twilight has about trying new experiences. Looking forward to seeing where you go with this.

[the other sans]

Hmm... interesting... Gambling in Equestria... My only question is; Why is this labeled as Dark? So far I see no elements that contribute much to Dark... unless something happens in the later chapters that is...

[Appleloosa2011]

Thumbs up

[Lunar-Flare]

Heh heh, I liked how fluttershy won without knowing it, she might have even won every round but folded every time. I was a bit surprised by raritys love of 'exotic' dancers (though not all that much). I didn't read chapter 2 yet but I can only wonder if applejacks element gives her a really bad pokerface. (like this )