//------------------------------//
// 9 Bridge 
// Story: Alternate Beginnings: Year Three 
// by Doug Graves 
//------------------------------//

April 10th, 995

"No, Diamond Tiara, you have to leave the cards turned over."

"Ugh, but that makes it hard! Why does this game have to be so difficult!"

Miss Cheerilee forces a smile on her face, watching the two foals argue, "Come now, girls, you know the rules."

Diamond Tiara squats down, folding her forelegs in front of her chest. She huffs, looking over the cards before massaging her head, "But I don't remember which card was the other four!"

Silver Spoon patiently explains, "Well, but that's the point of the game, right Miss Cheerilee? We're supposed to work on 'membering which cards are where."

Miss Cheerilee nods, "Yes, Silver Spoon, that's correct." The gray earth pony filly can certainly be precocious at times, quickly picking up the game Miss Cheerilee had introduced. Her magenta sister, Diamond Tiara, on the other hoof...

A high voice comes from across the room, "Tiara, dear, it is unbecoming of a Rich pony to whine. Learn the game as it is supposed to be played, and keep your comments regarding the difficulty to yourself." Diamond Tiara's dam, Spoiled Rich - an earth pony with a pink coat and dark purple mane - walks over to the three ponies, holding a tray of apple slices. She places the tray down, pointing a hoof at one of the cards, "But if you must know, it is this card here."

Diamond Tiara reaches over, flipping the card to reveal the missing four. The filly looks up, scratching her head, "I knew we flipped that card over before!"

Spoiled Rich nods, "Yes, it was the third card you flipped over."

Silver Spoon asks, "But, how did you remember that?"

Spoiled Rich lifts her head up, "A Rich lead must notice and remember everything, Silver Spoon. It would be wise to keep that in the front of your mind during your lessons." She glances at Diamond Tiara, "And it appears somepony else has been slacking in theirs. Diamond, after this game, report to Randolph for an extra thirty minutes of training before dinner."

Diamond Tiara huffs before saying, "Yes, Dam."

Spoiled Rich turns, "Make it forty minutes for the smart mouth."

Tears fill Diamond Tiara's eyes as Silver Spoon puts a comforting hoof on her. Randolph always makes her polish the really high silver when she is being punished, and now she wouldn't be able to get an ice cream with Silver Spoon! Well, she can just tell her sister to bring her a scoop, hopefully she can get it soon enough so it doesn't spoil her dinner.

The two fillies finish their game, Miss Cheerilee packing the cards up. Silver Spoon heads to the front door while Diamond Tiara goes off in search of their butler, Randolph. Miss Cheerilee sets the slippery cards on the designated end table before taking the empty tray to the kitchen. She remarks to Spoiled Rich, "You certainly have a very good memory, that was impressive."

Spoiled Rich nods, "Years of honing will do that. Where did you learn this game? Is it popular back in Canterlot?"

Cheerilee shakes her head, "I learned it from some of the fillies here." She glances over at Spoiled Rich, who is raising an eyebrow at her, "Are you interested in more like it?"

Spoiled Rich stares down her nose at Cheerilee, "Hmm, it seemed a little simple, but I suppose picking up a few more games the foals enjoy would be acceptable."

Cheerilee shrugs, "Well, he did mention one that would be too complex for the foals. Would you be interested in learning it with me? I was going to go over there once I finished here."

Spoiled Rich pauses a moment before saying, "Let me inform Filthy, then I suppose I shall come along." She turns, finishing her work in the kitchen before walking towards Filthy's study.

Cheerilee smiles, walking over to Silver Spoon and asking the filly, "So, did you like the game you were playing?"

Silver Spoon nods as they walk to the front door, "I liked how you had to remember things. I like that, but I don't think DT did as much," as the two walk out the door.

One ice cream cone, one ice cream to go, and one pleased and soon to be extra hyper filly later, Spoiled Rich and Cheerilee are walking down the main road of Ponyville. Spoiled Rich asks, "So, what is this game you were talking about?"

Cheerilee looks from side to side as they leave town, "Well, I don't really know, to be honest. It's called bridge, and I haven't heard of it before."

Spoiled Rich hums to herself, "No, I haven't heard of it either. Do you think it is a memorization game?" She does a double take as Cheerilee turns down the road to Sweet Apple Acres, "Which foals did you say were playing the game before?"

Spoiled Rich and Cheerilee walk to the main gate, "It was Apple Bloom, Sweetie Belle, and Scootaloo. Why?"

Spoiled Rich merely sighs, walking up the porch as Cheerilee knocks on the front door. Rarity opens the door, smiling at Cheerilee, "Welcome, Cheerilee, I hope you brought a... partner," she stammers as she notices Spoiled Rich. Rarity quickly forces a smile, opening the door further, "Would you two like any refreshments? We have apple juice, cider, orange juice, or something stronger."

Cheerilee says, "Apple juice, thank you," before Spoiled Rich says, "Some of your sweet cider, crackers and cheese if you have any." 

Rarity nods, "Sure, I'll be right back; make yourselves at home in the dining room."

Spoiled Rich and Cheerilee make their way to the dining room, Doug's voice getting louder as he says, "Rarity? Are you ready, I thought I heard-" Doug stops in the doorway, looking between Cheerilee and Spoiled Rich. He says in a slow tone, "Voices. Miss Cheerilee, Spoiled Rich, I'm guessing you two are here to play Bridge?"

Cheerilee nods enthusiastically, saying, "Please, just Cheerilee is fine," as Spoiled Rich gives Doug a hard look. She takes her seat, a brief nod at Doug as Rarity enters the room with a tray of drinks, crackers, and cheese. She puts a plate of snacks in front of Doug and Spoiled Rich, a coaster and glass in front of each of them, and takes her seat. Doug takes the deck of cards on the table, saying, "So, either of you played Bridge before?"

Both pink mares shake their heads; Doug starts dealing the cards as he explains, "So, Bridge is played with a partner, two on two. Each of us starts with a hand of thirteen cards. Starting with one of the defenders or the pony who won the last trick, I'll get to who that is and how we figure it out later, we play cards in turn order. Each of us plays one card, following suit if able, and the high card wins. That is one 'trick', and then the player who played the high card leads the next one. The princess of the trump suit is the highest card, followed by the prince, the noble, ten, nine, eight, etcetera, with one of trump at the bottom. After that is the highest card of the suit that was lead - again, princess, prince, noble, with one again being the lowest."

Doug picks up eight cards, putting two face up in front of each pony. He quickly demonstrates the turn order, the high card winning, and that pony starting the next trick. "Alright, next up is following suit. For example, if somepony leads a club, and you have a club, you have to play a club. If you don't have a club, you can play any card that you want, but it won't win unless it is a trump card. The trump suit is determined at the start of each round, or hand, of cards. Actually, you'd probably call it a hoof of cards."

Rarity and Cheerilee shrug, Spoiled Rich staring at Doug impassively, as Doug taking a sip of his orange juice. "Bidding is probably the hardest part of the game, so for the first couple rounds we might just pick a suit and a declarer until we get a good idea of how to play."

Cheerilee asks, "What's a declarer?"

Doug nods, "Good question. So, the declarer is the pony who has picked the trump suit. They try to take as many tricks as they can. The declarer's teammate, or the 'dummy', places all of their cards face up, so that everypony can see them. The declarer then plays both their own cards and the dummy cards."

Spoiled Rich says, "Dummy sounds somewhat insensitive. Why do you call it that?"

Doug shrugs, "It's not supposed to be. The dummy just does whatever the declarer tells it to, it doesn't think for itself."

Spoiled Rich smirks, "Then shouldn't we call it a stallion?"

Doug and Spoiled Rich stare at each other, a worried look traded between Rarity and Cheerilee. A few seconds pass before a smile breaks out on Doug's mouth. He chuckles, slapping his hand against the table as Rarity and Cheerilee relax. Doug says, "Oh, that's a good one. Phew, yeah, we can call it a stallion."

Spoiled Rich smiles, "Glad to be of assistance. So, shall we get started?"

Cheerilee nods, "I'll partner with Rarity, since you two have played before."

Doug shrugs as Spoiled Rich says, "Fine with me." Rarity and Doug trade spots, Doug dealing the cards. He watches as each pony picks up the cards with their hooves, Rarity and Cheerilee methodically sorting their cards while Spoiled Rich glances at her cards. Doug takes a quick look at his own cards before he and Spoiled Rich set their cards down on the table, reaching for their respective plate of snacks.

Doug explains, "So, bidding. Whoever is to the left of the dealer starts the bidding. Since I dealt this hoof, that means Cheerilee starts the bidding. You and your partner are trying to communicate only through your bidding, telling each other what suits are your strong ones. A strong suit generally is one with five or more cards, preferably at least a prince as the high card, if not a princess. A strong hoof of cards would have five or so face cards, preferably in the suits you or your partner has bid. At the end of the bidding, the declarer, or the first pony to bid the suit that is the trump suit, tries to take six tricks plus the number that they bid. You generally start at one of the suit of your choice. Any subsequent bids must be a higher number of tricks and/or a higher suit. The suits, lowest to highest, are clubs, diamonds, hearts, spades, and then no trump before it cycles back. With no trump, I guess obviously, there is no trump suit. Think you have it?"

The ponies nod; Doug stands up, holding his empty plate. "Rich, would you like some more as well?" The mare nods, getting up and following him to the kitchen. Discussion about bidding strategies can be heard from the two while Rarity leans close to Cheerilee.

Rarity says in a low voice, "Cheerilee, um, it might not be my place, but why did you bring Spoiled Rich here?"

Cheerilee looks puzzled, "Um, she asked me about the game your foals were playing. I taught it to her foals, and they liked it; she seemed interested, and I still needed a partner, so I told her about this."

Rarity nods, "Okay, I understand that, but, do you not know what happened last year?" Cheerilee shakes her head, "Well, she organized a mob of ponies to run Doug out of town. She didn't think he could be trusted, and told ponies not to interact with him."

"Well, they seem like they are getting along now." Cheerilee looks towards the kitchen, "Are you saying they can't be friends?"

Rarity shakes her head, "No, I suppose not." Rarity glances back to the kitchen as well, "They are certainly doing better than I expected."

Cheerilee smiles, "I hope it works out between them. Now, how do I bid?"

"One method - Doug calls it the honor count - Face cards are worth points. Princess is four, prince three, noble two, ten is worth one. A void, or no cards in a suit, is three points, singleton two points. Unless it is the suit your partner bid. You can open, or be the first pony to bid, if you have fourteen points. Maybe less if you have a very long suit, such as seven hearts. You can respond to your partner with nine points, maybe eight if your strength matches theirs with three or more cards in the suit that they bid. Otherwise you pass." Doug and Spoiled Rich return to the room, Rarity continuing, "For now, I wouldn't bid more than two or three. When we get more comfortable with the game we can talk more strategy."

Cheerilee nods, the four sitting down at the table and starting to play. The schoolpony is the stallion the first hoof, able to watch and get a better understanding of the game as Rarity proceeds to make their bid of two, taking ten tricks in total. Rarity smiles when Cheerilee says, "Good job, Rarity! How did you know that Doug had the prince of spades?"

Rarity shrugs, "Well, I didn't, actually. It's called a finesse; if Doug has the prince, and he plays it, I take it with the princess. If he doesn't play it, then I can play my noble and the noble wins. If Spoiled Rich has the prince, however, it doesn't matter what I play. I take the trick with the princess and her prince is now the high card, or I play my noble and she takes it with the prince."

Cheerilee nods, looking down at the cards in front of her. She awkwardly picks them up, trying to imitate Doug and shuffle the cards. She looks up to him for guidance and he shrugs, looking over at Spoiled Rich and saying, "I have no idea how to tell her how to shuffle; you know?"

Spoiled Rich quips, "Leave it to a stallion to not know how to explain something," but nods, taking the cards from Cheerilee, "So, try to hold the cards loosely in your hoof. You don't want to hold them tightly, or it makes it harder to shuffle them together." She takes half the deck and demonstrates, a tiny amount of space between each card, "Do the same with both halves, and push them together. Repeat until you feel they are shuffled." She shuffles the deck again, passing the cards to Cheerilee.

Doug nods, "It still amazes me what you can hold with your hooves," as Cheerilee begins shuffling, able to keep the cards contained with each hoof.

"What, none of them have given you a hoof job?" Spoiled Rich smirks as Doug's eyes go wide and glances at Rarity. The unicorn looks back at him, shrugging her shoulders, the two looking back at Spoiled Rich. She takes her glass of juice, "Well, you should try it some time, Filthy really likes it." She takes a drink, putting the glass back on the table as a mortified Cheerilee begins dealing.

Spoiled Rich catches onto the game quickly, declaring the next hoof and smirking as she reminds Doug of his position as stallion. He takes it all in good humor, taking the opportunity to refresh everypony's drinks and greet Applejack as she walks inside, the three foals of Herd Apple close behind. The farmpony is more than a little surprised at Spoiled Rich's presence, Doug able to explain by the time the hoof is finished while he watches them play.

Doug sits back at the table as Applejack leads the three tired and dirty foals towards the bathroom. Spoiled Rich grimaces at the mess as Applejack walks up, towel across her back, and asks, "So, Mrs. Rich, you staying for dinner? You're more than welcome."

Spoiled Rich shakes her head, "Thank you for the offer, Applejack, but I need to head home. You know how important it is to have dinner with family."

Applejack nods, "Ah can understand that. It was good seeing you again!"

Spoiled Rich nods, "Indeed." She glances outside, the sun close to dusk, "I must be going. Rarity, Cheerilee, Doug, it has been a pleasure playing with you." She winks at Doug before walking to the door.

Applejack looks at Cheerilee, the mare still a little ashen-faced. Applejack says, "Cheerilee? You, uh, interested in staying for dinner?"

Cheerilee looks around, "Um, sure, I suppose. You need any help with the foals?"

Applejack shakes her head, "Fluttershy has them right now. Mare's been way more helpful around here, it's been nice." She walks into the other room, "Opal? What, did you not move at all from that spot? Come on, girl, let's get a move on."

Cheerilee tries to clear her head as Doug gets up, moving to the kitchen to begin dinner with Applejack while Rarity excuses herself to go check on the foals. None of the stallions back at Canterlot act like Doug, at least, none of the stallions that she considered asking out. Maybe a few of the geekier ones are willing to take barbs like he does, but what kind of self-respecting pony allows themselves to be insulted like that?

The foals are happy to see Miss Cheeriliee as Fluttershy leads them to the dinner table, Rainbow Dash showing up soon after. Applejack remarks, "Well, Rainbow, you'll never guess who came over today."

Rainbow Dash looks over at Cheerilee, "Um, Mayor Mare?"

Applejack shakes her head, "Spoiled Rich. Cheerilee brought her over as her Bridge partner, apparently the two had a pretty good time."

Rainbow glances between Doug and Cheerilee, "And?"

"Ain't saying anything. Just that they had a good time, and might be coming over more often. Or Doug and Rarity might go over to their place."

Rainbow gives Applejack a hard look before taking a bite of her salad. She chews slowly, her gaze unwavering from Applejack's eyes. She swallows, saying, "So, what, we're supposed to be friends now?"

Off to the side Rarity responds, "Well, no, not necessarily, but as Cheerilee remarked earlier, we shouldn't let one misunderstanding keep us apart forever."

Rainbow rolls her eyes, "Well, I have a piece of paper in my house that says otherwise. Do we expect her to just forgive Doug for being different and we all live happily ever after?"

Applejack shakes her head, "No, in fact Ah think the less we try to get a concession out of her the better. She expects us to try and canoodle our way out of it; if we just genuinely get to know them better and be friends then Ah'm sure it'll all work out."

Rainbow shrugs, "Well, keep thinking that," as she goes back to eating her meal. Applejack sighs; not having to worry about this feud with the Rich family would certainly be nice, if she thought that Spoiled could be trusted.