//------------------------------//
// Chapter 52: Cards With Cray 
// Story: The Magical Quest Starring Mickey Mouse: The Equestrian Adventure 
// by wingdingaling 
//------------------------------//






	Chapter 52

Cards With Cray


Nothing was seen through the veil of deep darkness that had suddenly overcome Goofy. But, he felt a lingering sense of doubt and dismay like he only had during the worst days of his life. Whatever joy he previously felt had gone, and left him sulking in a dark funk.
Though he couldn’t see, he knew he was alone. He was far from the lounge, his friends had gone, and worst of all Max was nowhere to be found.
Try as he did, he felt he was nowhere nearer his son than when he started back in Trottingham. For all his efforts, Max eluded him. Everywhere he was guided, it was nowhere he could be reunited with his boy.
Sinking deeper into sorrows, he cursed the light that guided him. Once so sympathetic to the being who had given its last to help him on his way, Goofy knew now it had chosen the wrong goof to fulfill its task. Because of it, his son was in danger, and it was doing little to help him.
Magical quest or not, he was going to rescue Max. Then, he would do whatever it was that he was brought to the strange world beyond the mirror to do.
“Goof?” Dash’s voice distantly called out.
“Huh? Dash? Yuh there?” Goofy replied.
“Goof! Wake up!”
A sudden impact hit the back of Goofy’s head.
“HOO-WHUH!?” Goofy yelped, as he jumped many feet into the air.
“Jeez!! What the heck are you tryin’ to do!!?” Creep asked, standing on shaking knees.
“Heh-heh. I don’t know who jumped highah. You or the goofs,” Cheepskate said, idly flipping a playing card between his fingers. “Mighty fine jump, seein’ how they’re all tied up like that.”
“Huh?” Goofy said.
Usually slow on the uptake, Goofy wondered how even he could have missed how he was tied to a chair.
Behind him, Dash was bound to another chair, and was jumping up and down against her ropes to escape
“Aw, give it up, goofs. You two are all trussed up like a couple o’ toikies ‘bout to be roasted,” Creep said.
“Yeah! Laugh it up!” Dash grunted, as she struggled so hard that she knocked her head against Goofy’s again. “We’re gonna trash you like we did in Trottingham!”
“Ain’t that a hoot? The way I remembah, it was me an’ my little bro who put a jackhammah inta ya gut back there,” Cheepskate cackled.
“Lucky hit! That’s all!” Dash growled. “Even if you got us tied up, me and Goof here are still gonna turn all of you into coats!” She and Goofy both started inching closer to the weasels. “And then--We’re gonna--find Pinkie--and finish this quest!”
Knowing full well the two goofs were capable of the most unpredictable things, the two weasels readied to draw their weapons.
“Not ‘til we--find my son!” Goofy said.
“Yeah! We’ll get him--while we’re--doing all that other stuff!” Dash replied, inching toward Creep.
“No! We’re doin’ it--now!” Goofy said, shuffling to the door.
“What are you doing, Goof?!--We still have to--”
“Hafta whut?” Goofy said, as he struggled against Dash trying to steer another way. “Ain’t no real reezun fer us tuh be here--”
“We know why we’re here!--We’re here to--kick flank--and smash evil!” Dash said, suddenly swerving in the same direction as Goofy, and spinning him to the direction she wanted.
“Mebbe that’s whut yer here for--I was told that I wuz brought where I wuz needed!--Well, my son needs me!--An’ I’m goin’ tuh find him!”
The weasels stood back and watched the spectacle before them. Between the two of them, they shared a devious chuckle. Catching the goofs was sweet enough. Watching them fight against one another was pure ambrosia.
With one last heave, Dash and Goofy fell over. At the exact same time, the door squeaked open, and in walked Cheet.
“Whaddaya doin’? Cray said to make sure these goofs didn’t move,” Cheet said.
“They ain’t goin’ anywhere like that,” Cheepskate said, pointing to Dash and Goofy.
“Well, get ‘em up. We got everything set, an’ that selfish shellfish wants them in his room. So, let’s quit dilly-dallyin’ an’ haul these goofs,” Cheet said.
And as one, the three weasels lifted the goofs into the air, chairs and all.
The trip was nauseating, to say the least. Quick as a breeze, the weasels ran. And with such coordination that even as the goofs struggled, their captors didn’t miss a step. Every turn was done on a dime. Every step was perfectly coordinated, and moved as if it had been rehearsed.
After only a few turns, though it seemed many to Dash and Goofy, they came to another door, which Cheet opened.
Once they were hauled inside and dropped to the floor, the captives were able to see where they had been taken.
It was a room very much like the casino they had previously been in. Only, it was much smaller, and with only a few tables that were set up for games. At the side, almost an entire wall was made of glass, revealing a massive aquarium with a mirrored backside.
And with a thud, Cheet and the Klepto brothers dropped the goofs in front of the blackjack table.
“There!” Cheet said, dusting his hands. “Now, we just gotta wait, ‘til the boss gets here.”
“Yeah? Well you better hope he gets here real slow! ‘Cause, when your boss gets here, I’m gonna pick him up and beat you all with him!” Dash threatened, thrashing against her ropes.
Behind her, Goofy tried to keep the seats steady. Unsuccessfully so, as the two chairs toppled over once more.
The only thing keeping them from falling completely over was Goofy stretching his neck out and chomping his buck teeth into the edge of the blackjack table.
Without missing a beat, Dash continued her struggle, and Goofy kept his grip on the table. And all the while, the weasels laughed at their predicament.



Somewhere in a nearby room, a door rattled on its hinges.
On top of the catwalk in the room, two weasels jolted at the noise.
“Uh-oh. That’s Cray,” Theef said to Sneek.
“Razzum-frazzum, piece of junk!!” Mr. Cray’s voice sounded from the other side. “Who was the bean-brained bozo who decided round door knobs would be the standard!?”
Not wanting to incur the wrath of another minion of Yen Sid, Sneek darted down the stairs of the catwalk and turned the doorknob.
The moment the latch clicked, the door burst open, slamming Sneek against the wall.
Mr. Cray shoved his way in, dragging a small chair behind himself. Afterward, he was followed by Miss Argente and Max.
“Both of you, get in here! And stay put!” Mr. Cray ordered, slamming the chair down in front of the enormous aquarium. “Kid! You get on this chair, and watch through that glass! You’re about to see the show of your life!” he said, as he returned to the door, slammed it shut and locked it, revealing a flattened Sneek. “Miss Argente!”
“Yes, Monsieur Cray?” the silver cervequin said, shrinking at the sudden address.
“You stay here and keep your eyes on the kid! And don’t you dare let him move from that seat! Or it’s going to be you in that tank!” Mr. Cray said, pointing to the aquarium. “Weasels!”
“Yeah!” Sneek and Theef said at once.
“You make sure these two stay put! And keep a hold on that goof up there!” he said, as he stomped around the corner of the aquarium. He stopped when he reached the door. “And somebody open this door for me!! I lose enough money replacing these stupid things every week!!”
“On it!” Sneek volunteered, cracking himself like a rug and resuming his normal shape.
He darted around the aquarium and opened the door for Mr. Cray, who stormed past him without even looking.
Had the crustacean been looking, he may not have knocked Sneek over, and slammed the door in his face when he left.
The door locked with a heavy click, and the four were now trapped in the room.
Max looked up and stepped as far back as he could from the tank. He had heard there was a goof up there, and his heart fluttered at the idea of seeing his father again.
“Dad!” he called.
There was no answer. And he could see nothing atop the catwalk, but Theef sitting next to a winch.
“Yer old man ain’t here, kiddo. Just keep lookin’ through the glass. You’ll see,” Theef said, smiling deviously.
Though Max feared the creatures in the aquarium, he climbed atop the chair that Mr. Cray had brought in and warily peered inside.
Next to him, Miss Argente waited to pull Max away, fearing that her employer had expounded his cruelty and tossed the young goof’s father into the tank. Always on guard to turn Max away from a gruesome sight, she too looked through the glass at what was about to unfold.



Mr. Cray stomped down a hallway. And at the third door down, he started trying to open it.
Between rage, frustration and anticipation, he couldn’t bother to get somebody else to open the door for him.
“That’s it!! I won’t be bested by some malfunctioning piece of tin!!” he shouted.
Inside the game room, Dash, Goofy and the weasels all glanced toward the source of a loud crash.
With a burst of splaying metal, Mr. Cray’s claw busted through the door, and sliced around the latch like a can opener.
The room shook when the door slammed open, and Mr. Cray stomped toward the goofs.
“You two!” he shouted. “You’ve been a pain in my shell for too long! First, you stow away on my ship! Then, you harass my customers! You mug my waitresses! You trash my theater! You skip the bill on hundreds of peus worth of drinks! And you still got the nerve to put a dent in my blackjack table!” Mr. Cray yelled, grabbing Goofy’s nose in his claw. “Anything I missed!?”
“We, uh...W-We tracked sum soot ontuh yer carpet downstairs…” Goofy meekly answered. “OW!!”
Mr. Cray tightened his hold on Goofy’s nose, and turned a brighter shade of red as his temperature rose. With a heave, he pulled the goof’s teeth from his table, set him and Dash upright and released Goofy’s nose.
“You goofs are in deep! Everything that’s been going wrong around here’s completely your fault! And I’m going to have you pay out the nose to compensate!” Mr. Cray said.
Dash started jumping in an attempt to turn the chairs around and face Mr. Cray.
“You wish! Even if we had the bits, we wouldn’t pay you horse apples!” Dash said, as she struggled to turn.
“You’ll be paying with that big mouth, if you don’t comp me!” Mr. Cray threatened. “I already have that pink party favor of yours! And she’s not leaving, until she’s worked off everything she owes!”
“Pinkie!?” Goofy said, as he tried to face Mr. Cray. “Whudda yuh mean yuh got her? What’d ya do tuh her!?”
“Nothing. Yet. Unless she agrees to work off her debt, she’s fish food!”
“Give her back! Now! Or I’ll--” Dash demanded.
She was cut off when Mr. Cray clasped his claw around her open mouth.
“Or, what!? You’re in no place to negotiate with me, you squawking blue jay! And unless you want to join your friend, you two are going to get to work on this ship, until your debt’s paid!” Mr. Cray shouted, throttling Dash.
“Forget your stupid debt! Where’s Pinkie!?” Dash demanded.
“You really want to know?” Mr. Cray said.
He grabbed the backs of each chair with one claw, and dragged the goofs over to his massive fish tank. Heaving them both over his shoulder, he plastered their faces against the glass.
From their side, they only saw the simulated underwater world, and the mirrored glass at the back of the tank. On the other side, it was a completely different show.
A smile blossomed onto Max’s face when he saw who was pushed against the glass.
“Dad!” he called out, and started slapping his palm onto the glass.
For as excited as Max was, Miss Argente feared that the force of his blows may crack the glass. Try as she did to settle him, there was no stopping the young goof.
“Dad! I’m here!” Max shouted.
Gradually, he relented, when he started to feel as though his father couldn’t see or hear him. And through the glass, he saw Cheet take a two-way radio out of his pocket.
On the catwalk above, a beep and a crackle was heard.
“Hey, Theef! Boss man says to drop the goof!” Cheet’s garbled voice said.
“Roger that. 10-4. An’ you got it,” Theef answered.
“Hang on,” Sneek said, before running to look through the glass. “I wanna get a front row view o’ this show! Let ‘er rip!”
And with a simple slap of his palm, Theef released a latch that made the winch unspool.
To all who stood below, a horrifying spectacle awaited. Dropped into the aquarium, bound, gagged and weighted with a lead diving belt was Pinkie Pie.
The pink mare struggled against her ropes, kicking up clouds of silt and sand as she did. During her struggle, she turned so that she could see her friends’ faces pressed against the glass.
A mass of bubbles escaped her mouth, as she tried to call out to them. But, the more she did, the more she felt her chest was going to implode from a lack of air.
She could see her friends shouting for her, valiantly trying to free themselves to rush to her rescue. Then, Pinkie saw them pause for a single moment. And even though Pinkie couldn’t hear their words, she recognized the way their lips were moving.
“Behind you!” they were saying.
Pinkie twisted around. At first, she saw nothing. Then, she noticed it.
In the rows of the simulated kelp forest, something was moving. She could barely make it out through the pinhole spaces between the giant leaves. All she could tell was that it was big. Very big. And following its shape, she could see the very tip of a mouth. But like no mouth she ever saw.
What looked like a parrot’s beak with two sharp points on the upper and lower jaws jutted out. But, that wasn’t all. On the lower jaw, a third protrusion was seen. Not at all like the others, it looked metallic and rusty.
And a short way behind that was the massive eye of the beast, looking right at her.
With another burst of bubbles from her gagged mouth, Pinkie swung herself out of the way, just out of reach of the snapping jaws.
When she dodged, Pinkie could see that the unnatural protrusion was a massive metal hook.
The giant fish snapped to the side, bumping Pinkie out of the way with its head when it tried to bite her again.
Another snap, and Pinkie saw the hook was slicing toward her.
She bent her back and moved clear of the slicing instrument.
The beast rushed her with its mouth open.
Pinkie spun herself aside, and was only bumped by the beast’s head. And it continued to bump her, as she bounced down its length.
After the fish passed, she began to feel herself growing dizzy from a lack of air. As best she could, Pinkie struggled to free herself. Though her efforts were valiant, Pinkie couldn’t escape. All she could do was keep swinging, and hope that the beast didn’t catch her.
“Ah-ha-ha-ha-ha! This is fer tryin’ to scrub my nose off back in Trottingham!” Theef guffawed.
Much as he wanted to see his father again, Max could no longer watch the frightening scene.
Noticing his distress, Miss Argente tried to take the young goof to another part of the room. Before the first step away was taken, she found herself facing the tip of a silver straight razor.
“You heard the boss. You two stay put. Unless you want my friend here to fix that pretty face o’ yours,” Sneek said, threateningly brandishing the blade.
With little other choice, Miss Argente stayed. Though she averted Max’s gaze from the sight.
As much as Theef was enjoying himself, his fun was about to end. His radio crackled to life again, and Cheet’s voice sounded once more.
“Alright. Boss says to hoist her up,” came the message.
“Aw, nuts,” Theef said, before he started cranking the winch.
From Mr. Cray’s game room, Dash and Goofy kept shouting, until they saw Pinkie get pulled rapidly upward.
The monstrous fish took one last snap at Pinkie, managing only to get a chunk from the front of her mane, before it relented and swam back into hiding.
Once the tank was empty of life, Mr. Cray dragged Dash and Goofy to the middle of the room.
Nothing the two goofs said could be made out, as they shouted over one another at Mr. Cray. Before they went on too long, the crustacean knocked both of their heads together.
“Zip it!” Mr. Cray shouted. “You goofs aren’t going anywhere, until you pay up! And if you can’t pay, YOU WORK!!!”
There was clearly no negotiating with their captor. For a moment, neither goof said anything. Until Goofy spoke up.
“Whut can we do tuh get out o’ here now?” Goofy asked.
Then, it was Mr. Cray’s turn for silence. His face morphed from rage to intrigue, and his clenched claws loosened.
“Well...Since you put it that way,” he said.
And with a swing of his arm, he lifted Dash and Goofy into the air and sliced through the ropes that bound them.
Both captives fell to the floor.
Dash was the first to stand, and saw Mr. Cray walk behind the nearby blackjack table. Once he was there, he took a pack of cards from underneath.
“You get one hand to play. Normal blackjack rules: you both have to beat the dealer. And if one of you busts, you both lose,” Mr. Cray explained.
Goofy tried to get up by using Dash’s back as a prop. Before he could, Dash approached the table, sending Goofy back to the floor.
“What kind of stakes are we playing for?” she asked.
“You win: you go free. All three of you. You never have to see me, or this ship ever again. You lose--” Mr. Crays face suddenly shifted to a sadistic smirk, “--I keep the pink strumpet to work off her debt, and you goofs become muckasaur bait.”
“Whut!!?” Goofy shouted, as he pulled himself up with the table. “Yuh just said we’d have tuh work for yuh before! Whut’s the big idea changin’ cunditions like that!?”
“You’re playing for a bigger win, you run a bigger loss? Are you in? Or out?” Mr. Cray said.
Goofy exchanged glances with Dash. Neither sure precisely what to do.
When he didn’t get an answer right away, Mr. Cray glared slightly.
“How about this? For every hand you don’t bust, I’ll answer any questions you want. And I’ll elaborate on it for as long as I feel like. Doesn’t matter what you want to know: how much fuel this ship uses. My shoe size. Family. It’s all on the table,” he offered.
At the word ‘family,’ Goofy’s mind went immediately to his son. If there was any chance of learning where Max was, he was going to take it.
“Alright. I’m in,” Goofy said.
“Me too!” Dash declared.
“Great. Let’s deal,” Mr. Cray said.
“But--” Goofy interjected.
“But what?” Mr. Cray said, suddenly agitated.
If there was any chance to win, Goofy knew he had to eliminate all chances that Mr. Cray would play dirty. And there was something he had been sitting on since he woke up in that small room earlier. Something Dash had given to him, and he had passed off to his own reflection.
Reaching into his back pocket, Goofy produced his own pack of cards.
“But, we’re usin’ my cards,” Goofy said.
“*Ulp--*” Cheet, Creep and Cheepskate all gasped, when their edge suddenly ebbed.
“Fine,” Mr. Cray said.
“And if anypony in the room’s caught cheating, they get thrown to the muckasaurs!! Same if there’s any outside interference!!” Dash quickly added, pointing a hoof at Mr. Cray.
“Alright, already! Let’s play!” Mr. Cray said, as he sliced through the pack of cards he held with his claw.
He took Goofy’s cards, and threw six cards onto the table. Two for Dash, two for Goofy, then two for himself.
The first card had been played face down. The second was up for them all to see. Dash had been given an ace. Goofy had been dealt a three. And Mr. Cray had also been dealt an ace.
“What’s it gonna be? Hit? Or stay?” Mr. Cray asked.
“Hit me!” Dash said, as she turned her face down card over, revealing a two of diamonds. “Yes! I’m already closer to 21 than you! This game’s in the bag!” she boasted.
“You really don’t know how to play blackjack, do you?” Mr. Cray said. “You just played your hole. Now, you’ve got thirteen, and another card coming.”
Dash’s confidence waned slightly when the next card was dealt.
With a flick of his wrist, Mr. Cray dealt a card Dash’s way.
When it was examined, Dash found it to be another two.
“Two. Fifteen,” Mr. Cray said. “What about you, goof? Hit, or stay?”
Goofy looked at the measly three that had been played for him. Knowing that even if he had an ace or a face card, he was not likely to win with only a maximum of fourteen.
“Hit me,” he said.
Upon those words, Creep took a club from his jacket.
Before he took the first step forward, his brother stopped him, and silently signalled for him to put his weapon away.
Suddenly recalling what was said about outside interference, Creep put his club away.
Goofy was dealt his card, and found it to be a four.
“Four. Seven,” Mr. Cray said. “Ya didn’t bust. So, ask your question.”
Dash opened her mouth to interrogate the shellfish. But before the first syllable was spoken, Goofy blurted out his question.
“Where’s my son!?” he demanded.
“Hm,” Mr. Cray said with a sudden smirk, “Going right for the big money questions, eh?” He pointed his claw to his side. “He’s here. Right now.”
With a growing sense of alarm, Goofy saw that Mr. Cray was pointing directly at the massive aquarium where Pinkie had nearly met her end.
“Keep your shirt on. Even I’m not that cruel. The back of that tank’s made of one-way glass. Anyone in the room on the other side can see our whole game of cards,” said the crustacean.
“Maxie?” Goofy said.
He rushed from the table back to the glass wall, and peered through. Pressing his nose against the glass, he tried to see past the screen of kelp, but only saw the reflective backside.
On the other side, Max could see his father’s lips moving. And he knew it was his name being called.
“Miss Argente! Look! He knows I’m here!” Max excitedly said, before he started pounding on the glass again, “Dad!!”
“Max! Please, stop!” Miss Argente said, taking hold of Max’s hands.
Before Max could ask why, he saw what she was looking at.
The beast in the tank was slowly drifting into view. And its one visible eye was set squarely on the source of the disturbance in its watery home.
Suddenly shaken, Max relented his assault.
To their side, Sneek smirked, as he whittled a tiny block of wood with his razor.
Once the monstrous fish had passed by, Max saw Mr. Cray walk to his father’s side.
“In case you’re wondering, your son can see you right now,” Mr. Cray said.
“Huh?” Goofy said.
When he looked to Mr. Cray, he saw the broken door past him. If he could somehow overpower the shellfish and his weasel goons…
“Ya’d never make it, goof. By the time you reached that door, my boys would give the signal to drop your friend in the tank for old Chopper. And your son would be long gone from that room,” Mr. Cray said.
Glancing over, he saw Cheet standing at the ready with his radio. Weighing his options, Goofy opted to play by his captor’s rules.
“We got another hand to play, goof,” Mr. Cray said.
“Alright. But, if I win, would my son leave with me?” Goofy asked.
“You’ll see. If you win.”
And the two walked back to the table, where Rainbow Dash was eagerly awaiting the next play.
“Next round. Hit, or stay?” Mr. Cray said.
Dash and Goofy both looked at their cards.
Dash was already in deep at fifteen. But, she knew that if there was any chance of winning, she had to risk the highest possible sum.
“Hit me,” she said.
“On fifteen? You’re as good as chum right now!” Mr. Cray guffawed, as he dealt the next card. When Dash turned it over, his smile faded. “Four. Nineteen.”
Dash was starting to feel invincible. She was now only two away from a perfect win.
“Hit,” Goofy said.
And after another flick of a wrist, Goofy saw what was dealt to him.
“Six. Thirteen. Ask away.”
“What do you want with Pinkie so bad?” Dash quickly said, before Goofy could steal another question.
“What do you mean?” Mr. Cray asked.
“The second you raise the stakes, you said that we go down, and Pinkie works for you! What does she have that you want?”
Mr. Cray’s face morphed to a devious grin, as if he had just struck gold and intended to kill all of his prospecting partners.
“Because, she’s got a sway over all of my customers that I’ve never seen. This nation alone is packed with half-brained, world-weary bozos who just want to escape. Your friend’s uncontrolled, overzealous, non-sequitur behavior is exactly what I need to draw them all in and keep them here. Because the more customers I get, the more of my product I move.”
“Product…?” Dash thought for a moment. “The mushroom drinks!”
“Bingo!” Mr. Cray said. “I need those freaks coming here to guzzle down my drinks.”
“Yuh won’t have much more, when we get word out ‘bout yer little ring here!” Goofy said.
“You really don’t get it, do you? They want to have it!” Mr. Cray said.
“I don’t need to be the Bearer of Honesty to know that’s a lie! Nopony wants to be reduced to a giggling doofus!” Dash shouted, slamming her hooves onto the table.
“Shows how much you know,” Mr. Cray said, pushing Dash back off the table by her forehead. “Everybody lives for happiness and enjoyment. It’s all they want in their lives. And if they can’t find it in one place, they go looking for it somewhere else. Those mushrooms I use to spike my drinks: they do nothing but flood the brain with happiness. Every thrill, every favorite food, everyone that they ever loved with all their heart; it all comes rushing back after a few sips. And when they have it, it’s hard to live without. So, they keep coming back to me. Until they stay here. Because once you decide you only want to feel happy, you block out everything else that inhibits that feeling. And you start to deny reality. I just help speed that process along.”
It was both disgusting and terrifying to learn about. Neither Dash, nor Goofy had given it any thought, but what Mr. Cray said was true. There were those who took their own happiness, enjoyment and comfort to such extremes that they simply blocked out all things that they perceived to be a threat to that. Goofy knew that there were those who wanted some of his earliest adventures to be blotted from history, and Dash knew full well that Pinkie embodied everything Mr. Cray was talking about.
But, they wouldn’t relent.
“It ain’t everywun who’s like that. Most folks got a good head on their shoulders,” Goofy said.
“You goofs are even dumber than I thought!” Mr. Cray chuckled. “Everyone wishes they could escape the turmoil of the real world. Look at the losers who imagine themselves as the hero in all the books they read! Or when they go to the cinema! Even when they’re playing games with each other! Some of them go even more extreme and write their own stories where the lead character has their own morals, values, personality, slang, clothing style, and even their own name! Or at least their initials! They never fail! They never do wrong! It’s an escapist fantasy! And the only regret they have is that they can’t actually live it!”
“Well, I wouldn’t trade my own life for anything!” Dash rebutted. “Yeah, I’ve done all of that! But, my real life is so much better than any fantasy! I’ve made real friends! Had real adventures! I even got to live out my dreams when I became a Wonderbolt!”
“Then, I guess I’d have a heck of a time convincing you to take any more drinks,” Mr. Cray said, before placing the cards on the table. “Hit, or stay?”
Goofy looked to his own cards, and saw what was dealt to him. He had a total sum of thirteen. Anything over an eight would bust him. But, with his son at stake, he was willing to risk anything.
“Hit me!” Dash said.
“HWUH!!!” Goofy shouted.
“Hey, fish! Looks like meat’s on your menu!” Cheepskate called to the fish tank.
“You’ve got to be joking! You got nineteen right now!” Mr. Cray said.
“Yuh heard him, Dash! Nineteen! Ain’t that enough!?” Goofy tried to reason.
“No! We need the biggest win possible to beat this guy! You think he’d play fair, even if he’s using our cards?” Dash rebutted.
For a moment, Goofy paused, letting his friend’s words sink in. Putting his trust in her, he conceded.
“Alright...Yuh heard the mare. Hit her,” Goofy said.
And with a devilish chuckle, Mr. Cray flicked a card at Rainbow Dash.
Dash stared at the face down card, her chest tightening at the prospect of what the result may have been.
Sweat perspired on her forehead. And with a hoof that she struggled to steady, she turned it over so that only she could see it.
Mr. Cray grinned when he saw Dash’s blank expression. And it only grew when he saw Dash slowly place her card onto the table with her hoof over the top of it. However, his expression quickly changed to confusion when he saw Dash’s face lighten.
“Ace…” Dash breathed, revealing the ace of hearts.
“WHAT!!?” Mr. Cray yelped.
The weasels took the revelation no better. Cheepskate throttled Creep’s neck. Creep whaled on Cheepskate’s stomach. And Cheet banged his head repeatedly against the nearest wall.
In the other room, Max was laughing hysterically at the sight of Mr. Cray’s distress. And even more at the weasels grieving over their loss.
It did Miss Argente good to see Max enjoying himself. But, with so much still at stake, she knew she couldn’t join the celebration.
Creep had started to turn blue. Cheepskate had become nauseous. And Cheet was starting to forget his parents’ names.
“KNOCK IT OFF OVER THERE!!!” Mr. Cray shouted.
Slowly, the weasels all collapsed, one on top of the other.
Once the row was over, the crustacean returned his attention to the game.
“Call it, dealer,” Dash complacently said.
“Ace. Twenty,” Mr. Cray growled, glaring contemptuously at Dash. “And you, goof?”
Goofy recalled what Dash had just told him. In order to beat Mr. Cray, they needed the biggest win possible. He was going to keep going, until he hit the highest number he felt he could reach.
“Hit me,” Goofy resolutely said.
And with mechanical motion, Mr. Cray dealt Goofy’s card.
“Seven. Twenty,” Mr. Cray said, less enraged than before.
“YES!!!” Dash and Goofy both whooped.
“Don’t celebrate just yet! Even if you stayed, you still have to play your card in the hole!” Mr. Cray said.
Goofy looked down, and saw that he had quite forgotten about the first card he had been dealt. Suddenly, he was overcome by fear and foreboding.
Dash too felt it. She looked anxiously at the card on the table and her nerves bristled at the sight of it.
“You still haven’t busted. So, why don’t you ask one last question, before you goofs sleep with the fishes?” Mr. Cray offered.
If they were going to go out, Goofy decided that he would rather go, knowing what his purpose in that other world was.
“Why are yuh doin’ this?” he asked.
“You’re being a bit vague there, goof. Doing what, exactly?” Mr. Cray replied.
“Any o’ this!!” Goofy exploded, “Kidnappin’ my son!”
“Stealing everypony’s magic!” Dash added.
“Terrorizin’ folk wherever yuh go!”
“Ruining everypony’s life!”
Mr. Cray simply sat back as he was bombarded by questions. When it was over, he simply stared at his two opponents.
“If you’re done, I’ll answer all of that,” he said. “I don’t really have any stake in all of this. There’s no reward in it for me. But, no loss either. It’s my boss who wants everyone’s magic taken.”
“So, what’s he want with it? Anypony with that kind of power wouldn’t take it for no good reason!” Dash said.
“You got that right. It’s my job to spread the kind of magic that him, me, and the goof here all use. Because the more that it spreads, the stronger he becomes. And the stronger he becomes, the more he can clutch this pitiful world and squeeze it for all it’s worth!” Mr. Cray said, illustrating by clenching his claw. “Everyone and everything that exists here will be his to control! He could create as he pleases! And anything he doesn’t want in his world is going to be erased from existence!”
“Yeah? Well, I’m not gonna let that happen!” Dash said.
“It’s happening now,” Mr. Cray said. “The stuff I make on this ship makes anyone who takes it feel that same joy as when they experience my magic. It makes them easy to control. Especially when the boss spreads his magic here!”
“Then, whut’s my son got tuh do with all this?” Goofy asked. If anything, he was going to learn the reason why he and Max were brought to Equestria.
“You want to know?” Mr. Cray asked. “Come here.”
He motioned for Dash and Goofy to lean closer to him. An urging that they obliged.
When they nearly met in the middle, Mr. Cray elaborated in a low voice.
“It’s all...a wild...GOOSE CHASE!!!”
When Cheet passed out, he depressed the talk-back button on his radio beneath his chest.
In the other room, Theef’s radio crackled loudly, as Mr. Cray’s shout screeched with feedback, making him jump.
Below, Max and Miss Argente both covered their ears.
Sneek had whittled his piece of wood into the shape of a shapely lady weasel in great detail. But, the sound of the radio made him jump so hard that he threw his straight razor and his figurine upward.
Above the tank, Pinkie lamented that she had no free hoof to cover her ears. And it became worse when she was pelted in the face by Sneek’s figurine.
The piece of wood fell into the tank and was promptly eaten by the monstrous fish within.
“Aw, I hope ya choke on a splinter!!” Sneek shouted to the fish.
For Pinkie, all was not lost. Something else Sneek had thrown landed in her bound hooves. Something small and sharp, which she could just clasp in her hooves. If she could manipulate it just right, she knew she could escape.
In the game room, Dash and Goofy stopped their heads from rattling.
“Whuddayuh mean, ‘wild goose chase?’” Goofy asked.
“I mean the only reason you’re even here is to chase your kid around all willy-nilly, with no other direction or purpose!” Mr. Cray elaborated.
“That can’t be it! Goof and his friends were brought here for a reason!” Dash said.
“Maybe the others were. The goof here was just dumb enough to tag along. The boss brought his kid here, just so he’d stay out of the way and not muck anything up! Fat lot of good that’s doing, though!” Mr. Cray said, glaring over at the awakening weasels.
It was a shock to Goofy’s entire system. He had been wondering as to his purpose on the magical quest. Now, he knew there was none. If there was any reason that he was to be there, it was to rescue his son. All other things would have to be put aside.
“I’m assuming you’ll stay your hand this round. But, you still have your card in the hole. Play it,” Mr. Cray implored, motioning to the face down card.
With a sum of twenty, any card was suicide. But, with one last look to the fish tank, his resolve was steeled.
Max watched in anticipation as his father turned over his card on the table.
Dash tried not to bite her lip off as the card turned.
Goofy’s eyes narrowed, and he lifted the card for himself to see.
“...A-hyuck…” Goofy said, with no tone or emotion.
“Don’t keep me waiting, goof. Show your card,” Mr. Cray said.
“ACE!” Goofy victoriously declared, slamming the ace of clubs onto the table.
“Yeah, it is!!!” Dash shouted, high hoofing Goofy.
“Ace...Twenty-one,” Mr. Cray said.
“And I’m staying!” Dash announced.
“No more hits. Dealer plays his card in the hole.”
Once more, Dash and Goofy stopped breathing as Mr. Cray flipped his other card.
“Ace,” Mr. Cray said.
“Ha! Two aces! That takes you over twenty-one! All you got now is a lousy two!!!” Dash declared.
“We did it! Hot dog, we did it! We beat thuh house!!!” Goofy shouted, taking Dash’s hoof and dancing circles around her.
“You goofs are even dumber than I gave you credit for,” Mr. Cray said.
“Huh?” Dash and Goofy said at once.
“Don’t be a sore loser! You said that if we beat you, we’d go free with Pinkie! So, pay up, gumbo!” Dash demanded.
“And you said that anyone caught cheating would be food for muckasaurs. Take a look at the cards!” Mr. Cray said.
Doing as instructed, they didn’t immediately see what he meant. Dash had the ace of diamonds, the 2 of hearts, the 2 of spades, the 4 of clubs and the ace of hearts. Goofy had the 3 of clubs, the four of hearts, the 6 of spades, the seven of diamonds, and the ace of clubs.
Looking at Mr. Cray’s hand, he had two identical ace of spades set beside one another.
“Why, yuh no good cheat!” Goofy accused.
“You called?” Cheet asked.
“Me, a cheat? It was your deck, goof! You’re the one trying to fleece me!” Mr. Cray said, jamming his claw into Goofy’s nose.
There was no arguing with Mr. Cray on that point. But, had Goofy known how he had gotten it from Dash, who had received it from Pinkie, who stole it from a weasel, he might have been able to make sense of the cheater deck.
“What’s happening out there? Why does dad look so worried?” Max asked Miss Argente.
The look on Goofy’s face was one that Miss Argente knew only too well. The same face of shocked hopelessness and defeat that so many had worn after meeting Mr. Cray. The very same as herself, when her husband abandoned her all those years ago.
She swallowed her resurgence of all those feelings, and tried her best to explain to Max what had happened.
“Max...I...don’t think zat you’ll be going home…” she choked.
Miss Argente’s heart broke ever so slightly when she saw Max’s face drop to the same defeated expression as his father’s.
“No…! It’s not true! My dad can’t lose!” Max said, before he resumed pounding on the glass.



“You goofs had your chance! And you lost!! The pink pony’s mine! And you two are chum!!” Mr. Cray said.
He slammed his claw onto a button beneath his blackjack table, and the floor beneath Dash and Goofy opened up, sending them plummeting back down to the depths of the Double Down.