//------------------------------// // 5. Night One Part Five // Story: Poker Night // by SvenFoxx //------------------------------// Five of diamonds and ace of hearts. Twilight put her cards down thoughtfully as Arkantos and Sly paid their Blinds. ‘When in doubt, go along with the first round,’ she decided, Calling. “What kind of things did your family develop for that book of yours?” Arkantos asked Sly, Calling. Sly glanced at him. “Now I know you aren’t trying to learn family secrets… right?” he asked, then smirked. “I Raise,” he said, pushing six thousand and eight hundred forward. Arkantos waved a hand as Twilight blinked. “Not details. I’m merely curious if there’s anything in there similar to the kind of training I received while in the Atlantean army. You know, standard guerrilla warfare tactics, battlefield wisdom, that kind of thing.” Twilight eventually decided to Call, matching Sly’s bet. Arkantos Folded. Sly tapped his cane on the floor in thought as Twilight dealt out three cards. Ten of hearts, jack of hearts, and five of hearts. “I guess there is a sort of wisdom test all Cooper children are given. We get taken aside, stood before a door, doesn’t matter what door, and told, “This test ends when you open the door.”” He threw some more chips into the pot. “I bet four thousand,” he said. Twilight knew she had a pair at least, and whatever else may come up from the next two cards. She had also realized by now that Sly usually bluffed when it came to big bets, so she was confident he either had nothing, or only a pair. ‘Here’s hoping for another ace,’ she thought, Calling his bet. She pulled out a four of hearts. Twilight suddenly realized that if Sly had any hearts, he had her with a Flush. Arkantos meanwhile was puzzling out the sentence Sly had said was a test. “Is the door barred somehow?” he asked. Sly grinned and shoved all of his chips into the pot. “All-In!” he exclaimed. He looked at Twilight. “Afraid of a little thirty six hundred bet like that?” he asked with a smirk. Twilight glared. “Call,” she said, shoving some of her own chips in to match it. Celestia sighed. “My student will lose if she let’s Mister Cooper continue to goad her like this,” she noted to Reginald and Kakashi. Kakashi shrugged. “She’ll learn, even if it’s the hard way. Besides, her buy in was waived tonight, remember?” “Indeed. Still, best not to let bad habits develop, no?” Reginald added. Sly and Twilight stared at the seven of hearts she drew from the deck. “Huh.” they mirrored in bemusement. Arkantos snorted, then laughed. “Ha! You two have tied more than beaten each other in this game!” They both had a Flush straight from the five cards on the table, and nothing that could top it. Wordlessly, Twilight split the thirty two thousand and four hundred chip pot with Sly, leaving them both with a sixteen thousand and two hundred gain. “This is not a good sign,” Twilight sighed. She did some math in her head. She had 46,900, Arkantos had 36,900, and Sly had the 16,200 he had just won. She wasn’t doing badly, but she wasn’t really doing well either. She was free-floating in the forty thousand area. “Anyways, what’d you say Ark?” Sly asked. Arkantos frowned at the nickname, before deciding he didn’t really mind it. “Is the door in the test barred somehow?” Sly tilted his head to the side. “Well, the door that was used for my test was just the door to the kitchen. Dad said all that was in the kitchen was the normal stuff when I asked. It wasn’t locked or barred either. I could open the door at any time I wanted.” “The test ends when you open the door. It’s not locked, and nothing of note is behind it,” Twilight murmured to herself in thought. She frowned. “Wait. The test ends when you open the door? You don’t pass the test when you open it?” Sly nodded at her. “Yep. The door opening was nothing more than the end of the test. In order to pass you had to do something not many people who are smart think to do. Something my father always told there was no shame in, and something most thieves rarely think to do.” “And what would that be?” Arkantos asked. Sly shrugged with a smirk. “Ask,” he said bluntly, making the two blink. “In particular, ask for help. By admitting you don’t understand the test and asking for help, you pass by proving your pride as a thief doesn’t rule you.” He twirled his cane. “The success of the Coopers in our thieving ways doesn’t come from skill, but from our willingness to work together towards a common end with friends and or foes alike.” “Wise words,” Arkantos and Celestia both said at the same time. “Truly, my struggle before my ascension would have been impossible if not for the friends I made during my travels and the loyalty they gave me. I owe then an incredible debt. If not for them, the people of Atlantis would have perished alongside our home,” Arkantos continued. He began shuffling the momentarily forgotten cards. Sly nodded. “I would have died in that first fight against Clockwerk if not for my friends,” he said softly. Twilight also nodded. “The friendship I share with my friends is what powers the Elements of Harmony, Equestria’s greatest force of Harmony and Light. Even then, they pulled me off of a road I had no idea I was travelling. I would have been successful as a powerful mage, yes… but I would also have been so very lonely.” She hugged herself. “I have nightmares about what would have happened had I not accepted their friendship.” Arkantos dealt out cards, and Sly and Twilight paid their Blinds. Twilight peeked at her cards. ‘Eights. A spade and diamond.’ “Call,” Arkantos threw in his chips. “Call,” Sly mimicked him. ‘I could bet. They probably don’t have a pair like I do… No, let’s just move the game along for now.’ “Check,” she said. Arkantos dealt out three cards. Queen of clubs, nine of clubs, and seven of clubs. Twilight smiled. ‘I just need a ten. Come on ten!’ she crowed mentally. Sly pushed a pile of chips forward. “I bet fifty six hundred,” he said calmly. Twilight immediately Called, matching his bet. Arkantos shook his head though, leaning away from the table. “I Fold.” was all he said. He dealt out a fourth card. Two of spades. Sly pushed the rest of his chips into the pot. “All-In,” he said. That was ninety four hundred chips. Twilight stared at the cards on the table, and considered. Was she willing to give up nearly ten thousand more chips on a low possibility of a ten? She slowly shook her head. No, but it grated on her slightly that she was backing down like that. “I Fold.” “Thanks for your business,” Sly grinned, pulling the chips in. He had won twenty four thousand and two hundred that time. Twilight simmered to herself, before firmly deciding she would try her hand at bluffing next round.