//------------------------------//
// Day VII 
// Story: Celestia of Equestria's tonic experiment 
// by Acologic 
//------------------------------//

‘Oh, my beauties!’ Tirek cradled his cards as if they were a new-born baby. Cadence and Luna laughed. Celestia clenched her jaw.

‘Don’t get too attached,’ she said. ‘Any cheating, and they’re mine. Understand?’

Tirek stuck out his bottom lip. ‘Cheating? I never cheat! I’m shocked that you would suggest such a thing! I’m wounded, in fact. Wounded!’

‘If only!’ said Celestia. She worked her mouth sourly.

Luna grinned. ‘Still no signs. This is going very, very well. I’m counting down the days, Sister! And also, I’ve been thinking – would a diamond be too pretentious? A crown has to look good after all.’

‘I could have sworn Sombra’s subjects responded more violently to the stuff,’ said Cadence matter-of-factly. She turned to Celestia, shrugging. ‘Perhaps we misremembered?’

‘Nonsense,’ said Celestia dismissively, and she looked Tirek up and down, searching for symptoms of poisoning. ‘He will die. Yes, it may take a little longer than we expected, but I assure you the tonic will do its job in the end.’

Tirek, seemingly uninterested, shuffled his deck.

‘So,’ he said. ‘Anypony for a game of blackjack?’

Cadence agreed immediately and summoned a DAG to hold her cards. Tirek dealt.

‘We’ll play tournament rules,’ he said. ‘Best of three. Winner takes all.’

‘Do you – do you want to bet?’ Cadence sounded a mite flustered.

Tirek grinned. ‘No, no, don’t worry – we play merely for honour. You know the rules, I take it?’

Cadence nodded. ‘Yes, I think so.’

Luna stepped forwards eagerly. ‘Come on, Cadence! Let’s see what you’ve got.’

Celestia glanced at Cadence’s hand, held between the DAG’s metal claws. King and six. Sixteen.

‘What should I do?’ asked Cadence.

‘Hit, of course,’ said Luna at once. ‘Sixteen’s rubbish. You won’t beat him with that!’

‘Thank you for telling me,’ said Tirek, smiling. ‘Very kind.’

‘Stand,’ said Celestia. ‘And if he wins, he’s cheating.’

‘What?’ said Tirek, sounding outraged. ‘How?’

Celestia pointed at his cards. ‘Let’s see, then.’

Tirek showed his hand. Ace and queen. Twenty-one. Celestia made a noise.

‘You see?’ she said. ‘Cheating.’

‘Because winning automatically means I’m cheating.’ Tirek reshuffled, then dealt again. ‘Round two. Let’s go.’

Cadence’s DAG held four and seven. Eleven.

‘Hit!’ said Cadence, and her DAG picked up another card. Nine.

‘Stand,’ said Cadence.

‘Stand,’ said Tirek. ‘I’ve got eighteen.’

‘Twenty!’ said Cadence triumphantly. Luna whooped.

‘Last round,’ said Tirek. ‘It comes down to this.’

‘Nineteen!’ said Cadence moments later.

Tirek smirked. ‘Twenty. I win.’

‘Either he’s cheating,’ said Celestia, ‘or he’s just lucky. But luck never beats the odds for long.’ She leered. ‘You’re going to lose our bet, Tirek. I hope you’re prepared. Your formidable talent for polishing is going to keep you occupied for a very long time.’

Tirek shrugged. ‘I’m prepared to take the risk. I wonder what I’ll purchase first . . .’

‘Enough!’ Celestia cut him short. ‘It’s tonic time!’

The DAG filled his tankard in seconds. Tirek cracked his knuckles.

‘You’re really getting the hang of this,’ said Cadence admiringly. ‘Quite frankly, I’m amazed you can still force yourself to drink it.’

Luna cackled herself hoarse. Celestia frowned. ‘Come on, come on! Hurry up!’

Chuckling, Tirek downed his tankard of tonic and, as always, smacked his lips.

‘I’ll see you soon!’ he called as Celestia made ready to pull out of T-Kam. She felt her eye twitch.

‘Yes, I suppose you will.’