The Last Casino

by WeirdBeard

Chapter 3- The Pit

"C'mon!"

"No."

"Pleaseeeeeee!"

"I said no."

"You suck, Jack," Fang grumbled. The cobalt-scaled dragon plopped down hard onto the floor and pouted, glaring at the sofa. His spikes bristled as he breathed heavily and frowned. "She probably won't even feel it!"

Jackpot groaned from the implications of his assistant. They had barely arrived to the stallion's apartment with the unconscious Vinyl Scratch; Fang having done nothing to help carry her there. Not even five minutes had passed from entering the modest dwelling when the dragon proposed... less-than-honorable actions with the mare. The gray earth pony loosened his tie and collar, finally replying, "For the last time, no. Even if it wasn't unethical, we don't know all of the consequences that could result. What if she has some sort of disease?"

His assistant huffed and leaned back onto his elbows. "Doesn't matter, ponies can't transmit to dragons. C'mon, Jacky, I'll be super fast!" Fang protested.

"Of that I have no doubt," Jackpot quipped. The dragon's expression was puzzled a moment before he realized that he had been insulted and immediately fumed. Before he could respond, though, the stallion continued. "Besides, don't you have that special someone down at Gemstone? You can pay her a visit when we stop by there later. Now, would you kindly grab that orange flask out of the fridge?"

Fang mumbled something incoherent about quality over quantity, but proceeded to the kitchen. Jackpot neared closer to the sofa and examined the newest guest of Trace. "Strange. What in Equestria is she doing here? Down on her luck... or something more?" the stallion questioned himself. The large pane windows revealed that night was giving way to day, but only some light trickled in through the thick smog. The few beams shined upon the lithe form of the resting white unicorn. Her electric blue mane was rather disheveled and her tail was in much the same state. What Jackpot curiously noted, however, was a curious aura of innocence about her.

His musing was soon interrupted as the dragon re-entered the room. Fang held the peculiar concoction in his outstretched claws, sickened by the repulsive smell. "Ugh! What in the name of all things holy is this?!"

"Careful. I only have a few of those left from AJ," the earth pony stated as he retrieved the flask from Fang. Jackpot shook the beverage gingerly about and eyed the milky liquid inside. "This is a little something she calls The Next Morning." He uncorked the flask and held it beneath the unicorn's muzzle, gently wafting the aroma around.

The reaction was almost instant. Vinyl sprang frantically back to consciousness. Her magenta eyes darted around her surroundings before settling on Jackpot and Fang. "Wha-how-why-wha-owwwwww," she slurred together until she rubbed her temples. "My head," the unicorn moaned.

Jackpot pushed the flask toward her again. "Drink this, it will ease that headache," he explained. Vinyl leaned away from the offered beverage, but fear gave way to pain as she levitated it towards her with magic. She frowned, but sipped the foul concoction. Her eyes bulged and she about retched, but managed to keep it down. The stallion looked back at Fang and asked, "Will you grab some bread for her?"

"Are your legs broken or something?" the dragon retorted before exiting.

Vinyl drank a little more of the mix and looked around the apartment slowly. She pushed herself up to a sitting position on the couch and asked, "What happened?"

"I was going to ask you the same thing," Jackpot responded. When the mare didn't reply and stared at him bewilderingly, he continued. "Let me see if I can guess your little sob story. Ponies stopped liking your music and you've been a washed-up musician ever since. You've been bumming around, having a pity party, but got sick of it. So you've traveled around, disguised as a zebra, and stumbled upo-"

"First off, ponies still like my music!" the unicorn began, assertion kicking in her emotion. "I'm not a wash-up, I'm just going through a phase. I'm gonna come back bigger and better than ever! Hype up my fans!"

The stallion rolled his eyes. "See, here's where I know this is all bogus. Despite how far out this city is, I still know what's going on in Equestria. You're more popular than ever, there's no phase. You just took my false accusation and proved that you're lying to me already. So, that makes me wonder," Jackpot coolly replied, not taking his gaze away from the unicorn. "Why are you really here?"

Vinyl shuffled anxiously from his stare. Luckily for her, Fang returned with a loaf of bread and tossed a slice to the mare. She glanced at it nervously while the maturing dragon gulped down the rest of the loaf. "Thanks," she muttered, taking a bite of the slice. When Jackpot's cold expression didn't change, the unicorn shrugged. "I'm just looking for inspiration."

"Horseapples," the buck quickly rebutted. "You go to a park, you go to the beach, the mountains, Canterlot, everywhere but here to get inspiration. Nopony knows about this city and wouldn't merely come by accident. You're here by some higher power. Mind filling in the blanks?" Jackpot questioned, unfaltering in his advance.

"I don't know what you're talking about," Vinyl replied. She had regained some of her composure, whether by defense or by some foolish notion of bravery.

Jackpot sighed. "Forget it, I've already figured it out. You're spying for someone who wants in on the action here."

The unicorn stiffened for a split second, but immediately shook it away. "I already told you, I'm here becaus-"

"Cut the act, even I can tell you're faking," Fang barked. He stomped towards the sofa and towered over Vinyl. "Give me one good reason why I shouldn't jus-HURK!"

Jackpot quickly unsheathed his weapon, pointing it at the unicorn's horn while Fang grasped at his throat. Vinyl's magical aura glowed brightly inside the dragon's mouth while she still kept eye contact with the stallion. Tense seconds ticked away in near silence except for Fang's quiet choking. Neither side backed down. The earth pony calmly asked, "What do you want?"

"It's not what I want, Jackpot," Vinyl replied.

The gray stallion faltered slightly at her foreknowledge of his name. He quickly straightened back up, however, and pressed the stolen rifle against Vinyl's horn. Fang chortled louder from the unicorn's magic strangling his trachea. The two ponies continued their stare-down until Jackpot muttered, "Fine."

At that, he lowered his weapon and re-holstered it. When the unicorn didn't cease her magical hold on his assistant, Jackpot raised his eyebrow. "Is this how you normally make friends?" he snidely asked.

Vinyl pursed her lips, but finally released the aura surrounding Fang. The dragon collapsed onto the floor, chest heaving and coughing loudly. He glared at his assailant and snarled.

Before Fang was able to lunge at the unicorn, Jackpot raised a hoof. "Roof. Now. The lemons in the greenhouse will help your throat. Meet us at Morgue,' he quickly commanded. The dragon kept his coiled stance, but suddenly launched across the room and through the balcony doors. Jackpot watched his assistant take flight through the morning sky and stated coldly at the unicorn, "You're lucky he still listens to me."

"Celestia's tired of waiting, Jackpot," Vinyl began, bringing the stallion's attention back to her. "Your reports on the six show no sign of improvement, only retrogression. She gave you five years and it looks like you've wasted all of that time."

Jackpot glared at the unicorn. "Right, you clearly know what's going on here and what should be done. Especially with how well you handled yourself at Last Call. No wonder Celestia chose you," the stallion chided. He leaned back against the wall and pulled out a long, thin cigarette.

"First of all, that was a minor setback and I was still under cover. I could have handled the situation just fine without you," Vinyl retorted quickly, snorting back the smoke emitting from Jackpot's now lit cigarette. She narrowed her eyes and continued, "The princess chose me for a number of reasons. I shouldn't have to explain myself to you, but I cleaned out the lowlifes living in Manehattan even while undercover as the DJ."

"Lowlifes in Manehattan?" the gray earth pony asked, mirth dripping from his voice. He snorted and took another drag. "Those school fillies wouldn't last an hour here in Trace. How recent did you arrive at Applejack's before I did? Five minutes? Ten? You're in over your head, kid."

Vinyl stared evenly at the stallion's green eyes. She angrily swished her tail and replied, "Regardless of what you think, I am here in behalf of the princess and I will thoroughly examine your actions here. Now, if you would kindly lead me to Fluttershy's locatio-"

"Whoa-ho-ho-whoa, are you kidding?!" Jackpot half-shouted, half-asked. "I'm not taking you anywhere! I am gonna keep on controlling this operation and you are gonna trot your little tookis back to Celestia and tell her that everything is just dandy." His nostrils flared as he trotted toward the mare.

The white unicorn simply rolled her eyes and stated, "Wrong. Everything is not 'dandy'. You will show me what is truly going on here or we will shut this project down. So... what will it be, Jack?"

Jackpot fumed. At the beginning of the operation, he would have gladly walked away from all of it: Trace, the mares, even his assistant. Unfortunately, he was far too invested now. Not financially, he had plenty of funds and nothing monetary to worry about. Instead, the stallion had grown somewhat attached to the project. The impossible task seemed to drive him forward. If everything was to shut down without a proper solution, well... Jackpot didn't want that to happen. He wanted to see this through.

"Fine," the gray earth pony muttered. He flicked his spent cigarette upon the hardwood floor and gingerly stomped it out. He noted Vinyl's disgust at his action, but he brushed it aside. "But not in that pathetic zebra outfit you had. Everything went from bad to worse as soon as you opened your dumb mouth."

Vinyl Scratch bit her lip in irritation, but humored him. "Then how am I supposed to get in without causing alarm, Mister Expert?"

Jackpot rubbed behind his ear for a moment in thought. Nothing came to his mind, unfortunately, until he spotted one of Fang's prized possessions in the backroom. His grin grew slowly until it completely spread across his muzzle as he looked at it and Vinyl.

The unicorn balked slightly, unsure of how to take his reaction. "...what?"

The young minotaur stared skeptically at Jackpot and his companion. "Seriously? Aren't they usually smaller?"

"That's right, Kano, but they get bigger down south. Lemme tell ya, I've seen one as giant as your ol' Papa. Took me and Fang a good two days to capture this one," the gray stallion explained.

Kano scratched his chin, but at last shrugged dismissively. "Whatever, go ahead then. Fluttershy is in the throne room watching the fights."

"Thanks," Jackpot said, tossing a few coins in the air to land in the minotaur's hands as they walked past. It was midday by the time the pair had arrived at Morgue, Fluttershy's hangout and the local fight pit. She imported in several exotic and dangerous creatures to wage combat in her arena. Usually, feral beasts against one another for mere entertainment and betting, but occasionally she would accept challengers into the pit to fight for money. However, there hadn't been many willing recently that wanted to risk their lives for so little. So the pegasus instead used it as a form of punishment for those who wronged her.

As he trotted, Jackpot gazed at the dank and crude hallway and then back at the creature following closely behind him. A pony-sized cockatrice glared at him and muttered, "You're enjoying this, aren't you?"

"Oh no, not at all. Quit yammering though; cockatrices can't speak, remember?" the earth pony replied, hiding his smile.

Vinyl grumbled quietly, but kept silent as they trotted through the hallway. It was a rather clever disguise that the mare truly despised. The hide that fit snugly around her frame was that of a larger cockatrice that Fang had indeed discovered in the distant southern deserts. He hadn't spared it, however, killing simply because he could. It was also modified by the unicorn's magic, almost meshing herself with the taxidermied carcass to make it look alive.

Morgue was designed much like the arenas of ancient times. Gladiatorial weapons and markings covered the walls as they neared the throne room. As they passed the entry-way, Fluttershy's second-in-command suddenly appeared before them. The beta of the Hornets from that night at the docks still looked as deathly serious as ever. Its crimson fur was soaked with fresh blood, probably releasing some stress in the pit earlier.

Jackpot eyed the beast carefully, raising an eyebrow. "Evenin', "Papa". Mind stepping out of the way? I have business with your master."

Papa towered over the stallion and the disguised unicorn. He snorted harshly, but he remained still and said nothing. A loud voice came from behind him, shouting, "Oh, just let 'em in already! You're missing a good show!"

The duo peered around the minotaur. A giant bear carcass was centered in the room, trophies and the heads of several creatures surrounding it on the walls. Papa stepped away and led Jackpot and Vinyl toward it, huffing loudly. The front of the room revealed an expansive view of the open arena. Scattered rays of sunshine tried to light the pit, but the smog-covered sky strangled all attempts at any sort of 'day.' Instead, torches lined the tall pillars and columns that supported the arcing roof. The gray stallion looked back at the bear, now realizing it was stuffed as a chair for the mare sitting on it.

"Long time no see, Jackie," Fluttershy sneered. The yellow pegasus smirked at him, but her gaze quickly shifted to Vinyl. "Cute. A dragon wasn't enough so you decided to adopt a cockatrice for more protection?"

Jackpot rolled his eyes. "It's good to see you, too, Fluttershy," he replied. Out of all the mares, Fluttershy was the most difficult. She was sadistic, masochistic, scornful, vicious, and just about every word that could describe her cruelty. Oddly enough, she wasn't prejudiced against any particular species like the other mares. Instead, she hated them all equally.

"I was wondering when you were going to show up and cheer for your little assistant," the pegasus chided. At the stallion's questioning look, she pointed her wing lazily toward the arena. Jackpot glanced ahead and realized that Fang was indeed fighting within the pit. Shouts and jeers echoed around the stands at the dragon, several diverse spectators watching the carnage.

Fang thumped his chest at the crowd and roared. Corpses of the arena's creatures littered the sand around him. The dragon didn't even look tired, a fire blazing within his pupils as his adrenaline coursed through his body. He spat a plume of blue flames high into the air and shouted, "Next!"

Jackpot shook his head and groaned. He noticed Vinyl's frame shiver a bit and whispered, "Be thankful that he relieved his stress here."

"So, Jackie! Why are you bugging me on this lovely day?" Fluttershy questioned irritably. Papa had moved to her side and knelt down for the pegasus to stroke a wingtip against his back. He relaxed, but immediately tensed when she smacked a hoof at his head. Strangely, the process continued on while Jackpot and Vinyl watched in confusion.

The stallion shook off his daze and replied, " This would have been avoided if you had just come to the meeting. Do you have your reports?"

"Hmmph. Is that really all you're here for?" Fluttershy asked. Jackpot didn't answer, simply staring at her pointedly. "Fine. Papa, get the papers." At her request, the minotaur shifted to his left and retrieved the item from his... posterior. Vinyl shuddered slightly again, only Jackpot fortunately noticed her shiver.

The stallion examined the data held by Papa, glancing over the figures of imports and revenue brought in from the gamblers. He questioned, "How abou-"

"I haven't seen the girls, no. It's been forever since they've come over to play! I can't imagine why they wouldn't come," Fluttershy interrupted, brushing her wing against her forehead in mock distress.

Jackpot shook his head. "Yeah, it's a mystery. Just keep me posted. Is there anything that you need from me?" he asked begrudgingly.

The yellow pegasus tapped at her chin, jokingly thinking over what she might desire from the stallion. "Now that you mention it, your dragon has cost me quite a few of my little friends!" she exclaimed while glaring at Jackpot.

"Hey, if you don't like the game, then don't play it," Jackpot stated calmly. He looked back at Vinyl and trotted slowly away. "Come on, pet, we're leaving."

Fluttershy raised her hoof and shook it dismissively at the stallion. "Ah ah ah, nope. You can't pull lil' Fang out of his big fight now. He still needs to face Mister Scaley!"

Jackpot looked back at the arena. "Who the hell is Mister Scaley?"

In bizarre timing to his question, a loud, bestial roar echoed from the end of the pit. Fang lowered his arms and turned around to take on his next challenge. A low rumble emitted from the cranks and gears lifting a stone door revealing four sets of green eyes that glowed from the darkness. Vinyl fell back hard on her flanks and whispered, "No... no way."

Climbing out of the cage, an enormous hydra soon clambered heavily toward Fang. Its long necks towered over the dragon, nearly reaching over the open roof of the giant arena. Jackpot had seen hydras before, but this one made the rest look like pitiful baby alligators. Sharp, poison dripping fangs protruded from the mouth of each head. It snapped hungrily and bellowed once more.

"Fang! Get out of there! We gotta go!" Jackpot shouted. He rushed to the front of the balcony and yelled again. "FANG!"

The dragon looked toward his friend and grinned. "No can do, boss. We're mounting this sucker on the wall!" Fang shouted, spreading his wings wide. He sprang upwards and ascended quickly around the hydra.

Jackpot slammed his hooves on the framework and grunted angrily. He turned back to Fluttershy and commanded, "Call it off! NOW!"

"Ohhh, scared that your widdle dragon is gonna get hurt?" the pegasus mocked. Her face contorted to a cruel sneer. "Sit back and watch, Jackie. He's actually holding up longer than most challengers, go ahead and look."

The gray stallion whipped his head around to view the fight. Sure enough, Fang was weaving between the hydra's necks and scorching it with his fiery breath. Two of its heads snapped forward to bite him, but barely missed his wings. The Hornets spectating the fight continued their hollering, bets being made left and right. What bothered Jackpot, though, wasn't a lack of faith that Fang would be able to hold up on his own. It was that his survival rate was literally dropping drastically. While Jackpot could see the telltale strands of luck flow over the pit, he could do nothing to tip the odds in his friend's favor. He grunted, pondering how to help Fang.

"Hey, Jackie. What's soaking wet and clueless?" Fluttershy asked loudly over the din of the crowd.

Jackpot shook his head, not looking at the yellow mare. "I don't care, I-"

He was interrupted as the pegasus dumped a bucket of water over his head and cackled. "Your face!" she shouted and slammed it down over his muzzle.

Vinyl almost silently gasped, causing Jackpot to ignore his reaction to Fluttershy and instead look back at the arena. The hydra had distracted Fang with another head while it swung its tail around. The heavy limb slammed into Fang and sent him crashing hard to the ground. Before he could jump back up, the hydra pinned him under its large foot. The cobalt-scaled dragon roared in pain before spewing more fire upon the scaly appendage. Fang's defense, however, didn't even seem to faze the hydra now.

Its heads lowered to the ground, tongues flicking out in anticipation. Fang continued to heave against the hydra's foot. Jackpot finally leapt over the railing and un-holstered his weapon. "Enough!" he shouted, ready to unleash all of the energy stored in the stolen rifle.

Unfortunately, he wouldn't get the chance as a large hand clutched his throat. The stallion chortled while being lifted by Fluttershy's large minotaur. Papa's grip tightened and pried the weapon away from Jackpot's hooves with his free arm. Fluttershy tsked loudly. "C'mon, Jackie, why would you interrupt my favorite part of the game?" she asked, smiling at the struggling earth pony.

The hydra's largest head struck down, biting into Fang's torso. He screamed in anguish as the head continued its initial tasting, venom seeping into the dragon. Jackpot watched helplessly as the hydra retracted its maw and and every head reared back to strike one last time. His hooves kicked against the minotaur holding him, but his attacks failed to free himself. He coughed and rasped, "Fang."

Fluttershy smiled wickedly and whispered, "Sudden death."

Just as the heads were about to lunge, however, a shrill scream stopped it and caused the hydra to glance away from Fang. Charging toward the gargantuan beast, Vinyl had removed her cockatrice disguise and hurled it with her magic. The hydra deftly swatted the projectile away and watched as the unicorn leapt forward. Whatever her idea had been was now short-lived as one head opened its maw and easily swallowed the mare.

Fluttershy started chuckling, but soon erupted into fits of laughter. "This is wonderful! Not only will Mister Scaley have your dragon as the main-course, but your little 'cockatrice' made the perfect appetizer, too!" she exclaimed. The pegasus sneered at Jackpot dangling from Papa's clutch, still kicking uselessly at his hand. "Guess that makes you dessert."

The gray stallion chortled, but managed to say something quietly. "What was that, dear? You're gonna have to speak up!" Fluttershy reprimanded and kicked his stomach.

Jackpot wheezed in pain. However, he regained his breath for a moment and choked out his reply.

"I said, your stupid hydra bit off more than it could chew."

In response to the mare's puzzled look, a loud rumble echoed from the stomach of the hydra. Its heads examined the pony-sized bulge as it began to glow. Almost instantly, the glow pulsed brightly and pressed outward on its entire body. The growth suddenly stopped, but instead exploded in a mess of gore and hydra flesh everywhere. Smoking bits rained down on the shocked Hornets. Even Fluttershy and Papa were baffled by the immediate turn of events. In the quick turmoil, Jackpot had managed to escape the minotaur's grasp, retrieved his rifle, and galloped towards the carnage.

Vinyl stood in the center of the hydra's corpse, breathing heavily and completely covered in its blood. She smiled slightly at Jackpot and muttered, "Told ya I could help."

"Shut up, we need to leave. Now," the stallion quickly replied, his voice rough and hoarse. All around them, Hornets were booing and readying themselves to attack. Jackpot heaved the severed, mangled foot off of Fang and shook him brashly. "Hey! Fang! Snap out of it, we need you to fly us out of here!"

The dragon's eyes stared aimlessly upwards, but his eyelids fluttered and he slipped into unconsciousness from the venom. Jackpot swore loudly and looked back at Vinyl. She appeared just as exhausted and on the verge of collapsing. More and more of Fluttershy's gang surrounded the three, several drooling in anticipation. Jackpot tried to drag his assistant to his feet, but the stallion's strength was just as sapped from the stranglehold of Papa. He couldn't even utilize his luck as their fate pressed inward.

"GET THEM!" the yellow pegasus screamed angrily. Just as the Hornets leapt forward, a green flash surrounded the trio and blinded the gang members. When their vision returned, their targets had disappeared; leaving only the grisly remains of the hydra.

Fluttershy fumed and breathed in deeply to scream. "RRRRRRRRRAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!"