Chapter 2: Losing streak
The six mares left the Equestrian Hoof'em table and began finding their way to the casino's bar, the only one out of the six that had actually gained from that game was Fluttershy. Of course, nopony with her was cross with that fact since she was the one treating them all for a few drinks.
"That was quite an exciting game. Fluttershy, you certainly turned the tables on everypony with that last hoof." Rarity commented as the six mares walked around.
"Thank you Rarity, but I just so happened to get really lucky just then, I'm sure you would have won since you know the rules far better than me." Fluttershy replied modestly.
Everypony simply nodded, not really knowing what else to say. The six mares found the bar and took their seats.
"Welcome to the Aurora Iceberg, what can I help you with?" the bartender stallion called to all six of the mares, Rainbow Dash immediately plastered a goofy grin on her face.
"Do you serve Appletinis here?" Rainbow asked, trying her best to maintain a straight face as soon as she began to speak, Applejack stared daggers and short swords at Rainbow Dash.
"As a matter of fact: we do!" the bartender replied, seemingly not noticing Applejack's fuming, "Would you like an apple slice on the glass?" the bartender offered.
"Yes, make it a red one." Rainbow ordered, almost losing control of herself, almost.
"RD, what did Ah ever do to ya to deserve this?" Applejack asked with bared teeth, Rainbow simply stuck her tongue out at the orange mare who, in turn, cracked a smile.
"Admit it, it's kinda funny." Rainbow responded at the sight of her friend's smile.
"Ah guess..." Applejack said with restrained giggles. The bartender served Rainbow's drink and placed a small, red apple slice on the brim of the glass.
"What can I get the rest of ya?" the bartender asked charismatically.
"Can Ah get an 'over the rainbow' please?" Applejack asked with a mischievous grin, Rainbow appeared stunned to have her joke thrown back at her so quickly.
"From Manehatten, are we? Sure, wait just a moment." the bartender replied, "Oh, what are the rest of you getting?" the stallion asked politely as he stopped in his tracks.
"I'll have a glass of hard cider, please." Fluttershy asked timidly.
"I'll try the Trottingham ale." Twilight said, glancing at a nearby menu.
"Cider for me." Pinkie said briefly.
"Alright, and you?" the bartender said, now looking at Rarity.
Rarity held her hoof to her chin, deep in thought. "Surprise me." the cultured mare said with a mysterious grin, the stallion simply nodded and walked off to serve the orders.
"That was odd of you." Twilight commented on Rarity's choice.
"Twilight my dear, ponies have to live a little now and then; having a little adventure today should suffice for me until a few weeks from now." Rarity responded as she gently ran a hoof through her mane.
"Alright, I guess." Twilight said unsure of Rarity's explanation and then proceeding to rest her head on the bar as she sat and waited for her ale.
...
"Trottingham ale for the lovely lavender mare; two hard ciders for the yellow and pink ones; an 'over the rainbow' for miss Manehatten." the bartender hoofed over the drinks to their respective drinkers, giving Twilight a slight wink, which in turn gave Twilight a slight blush.
"You haven't forgotten about me have you, handsome?" Rarity inquired innocently, fluttering her eyes at the stallion.
"Of course not." the bartender announced, quickly sliding a drink down the bar and passing a blowtorch over it, setting the drink ablaze as it stopped right in front of the white mare; leaving everypony stunned. "My special 'torch me pretty' for you. Wait for the flames to die down a bit before you drink." the bartender said with a slight bow, placing a straw in the flaming drink before walking off to serve other customers.
"Wow, fancy." Applejack commented stoically.
"It... Certainly is." Rarity replied in a mixture of shock and awe.
...
The six mares patiently sipped their drinks as the talked about various things, mostly just catching up on the past few days. Rarity commented that her drink tasted a little like raspberries and happily continued drinking after the flames died.
"Hey Rainbow, I bet I can drink mah liquor faster than you can drink yers." Applejack challenged after a mere sip of her drink.
"The hay you can! Chugging contest on the count of three!" Rainbow retorted quickly.
"Alright." Applejack accepted.
"Alright then, one, three!" Rainbow skipped two and immediately tipped her glass over into her muzzle, Applejack did the same and the other four mares simply facehoofed.
"We should have placed bets on who would have challenged the other first instead." Rarity said quietly.
"Eeyup." Twilight agreed, the four mares giggled at Twilight's uncanny impression of Big Macintosh as the continued to watch the two other mares finish their drinks.
"Ah won!" Applejack declared.
"No you didn't, I won!" Rainbow Dash protested.
"Oh yeah? Prove it." Applejack challenged.
"I will, wanna go again?" Rainbow challenged back.
"Hay yeah!" Applejack quickly accepted.
"Um, girls?" Fluttershy interrupted.
"Yes?" the two combating mares answered simultaneously.
"I hate to interrupt, but you're on my tab right now... I don't really want to pay for the two of you getting drunk." the yellow mare said politely, immediately deflating the competitive spirit in the two mares.
"Oh, sorry." Rainbow apologized.
"It's alright Rainbow, anypony could have forgotten that in the heat of excitement." Fluttershy said with a much brighter mood. The yellow Pegasus promptly paid off her tab and the six friends made their way to the center of the casino.
"So, what should we try next?" Twilight asked, Applejack and Rainbow glanced at each other challengingly.
"I think Applejack and I are going to try out those games over there." Rainbow announced, pointing to a randomly vague direction and sprinting back to the bar, Applejack in tow. Twilight sighed heavily.
"Well, besides more drinking games, what should we try next?" Twilight asked again, slightly irked by the fact that Applejack and Rainbow had to make a challenge out of everything they did.
"Um, I heard that they have a dance show somewhere here, Rarity and I want to go find it... If that's alright with you." Fluttershy said timidly, giving a sheepish smile soon after.
"Ugh, fine, go watch the dancers." Twilight sighed heavily, giving herself a second facehoof.
"Okay dearie, are you sure you don't want to come with us?" Rarity asked, quickly getting rejected by Twilight and Pinkie, "Alright then, we'll catch up with you later!" the white mare said as she walked off with the yellow Pegasus.
Twilight watched as another pair of her friends left before turning to Pinkie, "I guess it's just you and me Pinkie."
"Yup! Let's find another game!" the pink mare offered excitedly.
"It's rare that I would completely understand and agree with you, but yeah, let's." Twilight replied with a nod and promptly getting grabbed by the pink mare as she bounced towards a random direction. "Whoah! Pinkie? Pinkie! Let me down, please?" the lavender mare pleaded as she was helplessly dragged by her pink friend.
"Oh, sorry Twi. I got a little excited there." Pinkie apologized as she let Twilight back on her hooves.
"It's alright, let's just fi-"
"Look at those machines with the pretty colors and stuff!" Pinkie Pie interrupted Twilight and ran off, Twilight confusedly followed suit.
Twilight followed Pinkie Pie to a row of slot machines, the same ones Rarity had told her about, the ones that you were almost definitely going to lose money if you were to play them. "Pinkie, I don't think that playing on those machines is such a good idea." Twilight said tentatively.
"Twilight, the reason we're here is to spend money and have fun while you watch those bits disappear!" Pinkie reasoned as she entered a 20-bit chip into the slot machine, which seemed a little excessive to Twilight, and pulled the lever.
The first slot stopped at the cherry.
Chimey. Pinkie thought to herself. The next slot slowed into the lemon, but slipped past it and into another cherry.
Cherry. Pinkie thought to herself a bit more excitedly. Her fore-hooves began tapping softly on the counter of the slot machine as she internally cheered her luck on, her brow was beginning to break into a cold sweat . The last slot landed on a third cherry.
"Chonga!" Pinkie exclaimed out loud as bits started pouring out of the slot machine, everypony around her was confused as to why she exclaimed that, but gave a quick cheer once they realized that she had won at slots.
"Wow, didn't see that coming." Twilight commented, she never thought that such an improbable game could be won on the first try, that was a long shot even for that odd pink mare. "Okay Pinkie, let's find something else to play." Twilight pleaded, trying to drag her friend from the slot machine.
"But I just won! Just a few more minutes?" Pinkie protested.
"Ugh, okay Pinkie..." Twilight caught sight of something peculiar, "If you need me I'll be over there." Twilight informed Pinkie as she pointed at a table with a spinning circle in the center.
"Okey dokey lokey pokey anamolokey!" Pinkie replied, making Twilight cringe slightly at the vast ocean of made up words. With a slight shrug, Twilight made her way to the interesting looking game. There were two other ponies at the table along with the dealer.
I've seen those two mares before... Berry Punch and Rose Luck, right? Twilight thought as she approached the table.
"Ahem, would you like to play ma'am?" the dealer asked awkwardly, making Twilight realize that she had been quietly standing at the table for quite some time.
"Oh, um, yes.. I mean, uh, how do you play?" Twilight asked, stumbling over her words.
"Ah, a newbie huh?" the dealer observed curiously, he glanced over at the two mares that were currently playing, "Would you two mind if I teach this lady the ropes before we continue?"
"Shhure, I have all night." Berry Punch slurred, she had a drunkard blush across her muzzle that clearly indicated that she should have had trouble sitting upright, but somehow managed to not look very intoxicated until she spoke. The other mare, Rose Luck, simply shrugged and gave the dealer the go ahead.
"Alright, welcome to Equestrian roulette 101, miss..."
"Sparkle."
"Sparks, got it."
"Sparkle." Twilight corrected.
"Yep, Sparks, got it." the dealer continued, Twilight scoffed quietly but the stallion continued his lecture, "The basics of this very popular game is that I, the dealer, will spin this roulette wheel one way and toss this little white ball in the opposite direction. The ball will eventually stop and land at one of these numbers and it is your duty as the gamer to bet on where it's going to land."
"That's a whole lot of numbers... thirty-eight to be exact, how am I supposed to simply guess on where it will land?" Twilight inquired incredulously.
"Well that's where I explain the betting, no? There's a straight bet where you bet on a single number, if you win you would get the largest payout ratio of thirty-five to one..." the stallion continued his long explanation of the different bets Twilight could place and where she had to place her chips on the table for said different bets. Twilight suddenly realized something, she only had ten bits worth of chips left.
"Um, I need to go exchange some more bits." Twilight said sheepishly.
"Nonsense, this is one of the only games in this casino that allows bits to be played. Unless your purse is dry, you can still play." the dealer said charismatically.
"Oh, okay." Twilight replied with a tiny smile as she sat herself down, this dealer was a bit more talkative than the other one... His voice isn't as funny though.
The lavender mare looked at the betting table in front of her, her thoughts drowning out the world around her. Alright, a straight bet obviously leaves me with the least chances to win but also has the largest payout... I can also bet as many times as I want at a time, so I could make.... No, straight bets are too risky, corner bets quadruple my chances to win and still have an eight to one payout. I'll just make a corner bet and a column bet to start myself off.
Twilight placed five bits at the center of four numbers, a ten, eleven, thirteen and fourteen. With a quick thought, Twilight placed another five bits at the bottom of the first column. The dealer nodded in acknowledgement as the other two mares placed their own bets on the table and spun the roulette wheel. Twilight watched as the little white ball spun counter clockwise, rapidly going past the intervals of red and black.
For a time span that seemed to last forever; the white ball finally began slowing down, bouncing lightly as it passed from number to number. Fifteen, thirteen, eleven...... Ten.
"Yes!" Twilight let out excitedly as her first gamble in roulette turned out for the best, she quietly clopped her forehooves together before continuing her game.
...
Roulette isn't Twilight's calling, after that first win came a losing streak that brought her down to forty bits... That was already less than half of what she came in with. The lavender mare sighed heavily before stepping away from the table, the charismatic dealer and the drunken mares in search of something else to do in this place that now seemed like a massive money drain. Just like Spike had said before.
Twilight walked for just a few paces before she heard a very odd and cheery phrase: "Winner winner hay fries dinner!"... What?
Twilight looked around for the source of the voice that had said that.... That phrase that had somehow caught her attention. Sure enough, she had found the source of the phrase; it was another dealer who stood at a semi-circular table. Twilight didn't understand why, but she almost felt magnetized to the table. This game somehow felt different from the others in some inexplicable way, Twilight hates when she can't explain herself.
I still have a few bits to throw away. Twilight thought with a shrug she trotted slowly to the semi-circle and sat herself down without a clue as to how to play.
"Um, could I get a bit of a tutorial before I play? I'm new to this and I'm not familiar with the rules." Twilight asked sheepishly. The mare working as the dealer cocked an eyebrow at her.
"It ain't my job to teach ya how to play, ask somepony else." the mare spat in a heavy Manehatten accent.
"Uh, um sorry? Twilight replied confusedly, she didn't expect this dealer to be so nasty after being treated so kindly by another. Before Twilight could stand from her seat to find somepony to teach her the rules to this unknown game, a brown hoof placed itself upon hers.
"Don't worry about her, Merry, I'll handle her for you." the brown stallion sitting next to her announced in a peculiar accent before turning to Twilight, "You said that you're new to this, right?" he asked kindly.
"Yeah, yes I am." Twilight replied, beginning to regain her composure.
"This game is called Hoof-jack, the basic premise of this game is that you want to have a hoof value that is closer to 21 than that of the dealer, without actually going over 21. Other players at the table are of no concern. Your hoof is strictly played out against the hoof of the dealer. The rules of play for the dealer are strictly dictated, leaving no decisions up to the dealer. Therefore, there is not a problem with the dealer or any of the other players at the table seeing the cards in your hand." the brown stallion explained quickly, Twilight keeping track of the information with practiced ease.
"What about the card values?" Twilight inquired.
"Are we going to continue the game?" the dealer asked impatiently.
"Erm, you can go on without me." the brown stallion dismissed, "The ace card is valued as either one or eleven while the number cards of every suit counts as their respective number; that's two to nine."
"What about the ten?" Twilight asked as she spotted a ten of diamonds on the table.
"The ten, Jack, Prince and Princess are all valued at ten." the stallion replied, his eyes casually darting between Twilight and the cards being dealt on the table.
"So the suits of the card hold no meaning in this game?" Twilight inquired, the stallion shook his head slowly. "Do I need to tell the dealer whether I want the ace to be one or eleven?"
"Nope, it is always assumed that the value of the ace is the value that suits your hoof best..." the brown stallion continued to explain the details of Hoof-jack as the game before them came to a close, Twilight kept a neat set of notes on the game in mind, taking another mental note that she should write it down later.
"I think I got it now, mister..."
"Hooves, Doctor Whooves." the stallion introduced himself with a gentle hoof-shake. Twilight's face lit up.
"I've seen you around Ponyville before! I just never had the chance to talk to you since you always seem to be busy or running." Twilight said in response to this earthpony's name.
"Yeah, I tend to do a whole lot of running in my life. I guess trying a hoof at gambling is one of the few ways that I can force myself to sit and relax for a while." mister Whooves replied, rubbing his neck awkwardly.
"Well, it's nice to finally meet you. My name is Twilight Sparkle." Twilight said with an innocent smile as she motioned to the table, "Shall we begin playing?"
"Indeed, let's wait for this round to finish first." Doctor Whooves offered, not that the two really had a choice. Twilight nodded her head in agreement and watched as the Doctor examined each card that was being placed on the tabletop. What's he up to?
Twilight dismissed any trains of thought once the game ended and it was time for her game to begin. The dealer gave everypony a blank stare before dealing two cards to every player and herself. Remember Twi, the other players don't matter; just focus on your play and you'll get the hang of this in no time.
Twilight just shocked herself with that thought, she was thinking as if she were going to be coming back to this place. Twilight's plan was to come here once and never again, that was not about to change now.
"Um, miss?"
Twilight shook herself out of her thoughts to see the dealer glancing at her. "Yes?"
"Would you kindly make your move?" the dealing mare asked in a nasty tone. Twilight quickly looked at her cards that currently lay face up on the tabletop: a two and an eight. The lavender mare quietly placed ten bits on the betting circle as she pulled the cards closer to her, with some difficulty, for examination; she instantly felt the atmosphere around her getting tense.
"Um, miss Sparkle, you aren't allowed to touch the cards, and much less allowed to use magic in the duration of the game." Doctor Whooves whispered to Twilight, his tone was clearly nervous for some reason.
"Oh!" Twilight quickly placed the card back where they were, this time without magic, "Sorry." Twilight apologized, briefly thinking about why it was so difficult to pick the cards up with magic in the first place and then turning back to the game at hoof.
"It's alright, just don't let it happen again." the dealing mare forgave in a much softer tone than before, she too was somewhat nervous for a reason Twilight couldn't decipher. With a shrug and a sheepish grin, the lavender mare tapped the space behind her cards to signal for another. The dealer placed another card next to her pair, it was a six.
"Ponyfeathers, that lowers my probability of winning." Twilight whispered harshly at herself before tapping the space behind her cards once more, another two. Eighteen, if I hit one more time I'm likely to bust out, I should just stay where I am now.
Twilight waved her hoof horizontally over her cards, making sure not to touch them this time, to signal the end of her turn. She turned to watch the Doctor's turn being played. Before the brown earth pony lay an eight and a three, Doctor Hooves tapped the space behind his cards and was dealt a prince of hearts... Twenty-one.
"Twenty-one." the dealer echoed Twilight's thoughts before turning to the last two players on the table who both stopped at seventeen. The dealer then took her turn, revealing an ace after the eight that was already there but Twilight was too distracted to notice before.
Why are you so oblivious to your surroundings all of a sudden Twilight? That eight should have been no surprise to you... Maybe it was that Trottingham ale getting to you.
Twilight watched as the dealer collected her bet of ten bits, the dealer had beat her by a single point... Just a single number! The lavender mare proceeded to watch as the brown stallion next to her received a strange purple chip as his winnings, Twilight's jaw almost dropped once she saw the value imprinted on the chip: five-hundred bits.
"How could you win that much?" Twilight asked dumbfounded.
"By betting two-fifty?" the Doctor replied with a smirk, "Don't worry, one day you will win as much as this high-roller." the Doctor said before taking all of his chips and leaving the table.
"Man, that guy really busted the bank today." the dealer commented in awe.
"How much did he win?" Twilight asked curiously.
"Twenty." the mare began.
"That sounds a bit low to me." Twilight commented incredulously.
"Thousand." the dealing mare deadpanned, leaving Twilight to take in that information.
"I don't think I've ever had that much money at one time." Twilight commented.
"Some are just lucky, I guess." the mare shrugged before turning back to the other two players, "You two going to keep playing?"
The two players nodded and Twilight decided to stick around for a bit longer, she still had thirty bits to spend. "I'll stick around too, I guess."
...
Twilight had a massive grin on her face. Sure, the dealer had an ace on her hoof, but Twilight had a fully fledged twenty-one on her side. Before Twilight lay a princess, six and a five. "I've got this one in the bag." Twilight declared triumphantly, she had bet her last fifteen bits on this round and expected to win with this hoof of cards.
"Hoof-jack." the dealer said monotonously as she revealed her second card to be a jack. Twilight's smile instantly fell, she had lost it all. The dealer didn't show any emotion as she collected everypony's bets.
"Well, it was a good match." Twilight said in defeat to nopony in particular before sliding out of her seat and beginning her attempt to find her friends. Where could they all be?
Twilight's first guess as to where Rainbow and AJ could be was at the bar, so she headed there first. Twilight weaved between a sea of gambling ponies before reaching some empty space to see where she was going...
"Twilight!"
"Huh?" Twilight looked around for the source of the call.
"Over here Twi!" somepony called, Twilight spotted a pink hoof in the crowd. Oh, there's Pinkie.
Twilight waited for Pinkie Pie to reach her, "Hey Pinkie, how did the slots game go?"
"Oh, I won the first time, but the meanie pants machine made me lose every single time after that. I was sure that fifty bit bet would have won me something." Pinkie replied casually. Twilight did a double take.
"Fifty bits? Why would you bet so high on a game like that?" Twilight questioned in surprise, almost assuming that madness was the only reason for such an action.
"I was feeling lucky." Pinkie said with a shrug. Twilight gave herself a quick face-hoof for the third time that day.
"Anyway, did you find the other girls yet?" Twilight inquired.
"Nope, I was going to ask you the same thing!" Pinkie replied without the slightest concern.
"Well, let's go looking for them." Twilight urged as she headed towards the bar.
"Okie dokie!" Pinkie exclaimed in agreement as she hopped behind Twilight's trail.
...
Twilight and Pinkie Pie arrived at the casino bar fully expecting Rainbow Dash and Applejack to be making a scene and drinking their flanks off... Only to be surprised by the sight of nothing unusual and no Rainbow or Applejack. "Where could they be?" Twilight asked herself with a tilt of her head.
"We could ask the bartender, I'm sure Dashie and AJ must have had a huge competition here!" Pinkie offered with a surprising amount of reason.
"G-good idea Pinkie." Twilight replied in surprise before approaching the bartender, the stallion noticed her before she greeted him.
"Hey, it's the lovely lavender mare! What brin-"
"We were wondering if you've seen a rainbow-maned Pegasus and an orange earthpony recently!" Pinkie Pie interrupted, the bartender stopped in his tracks and scratched his chin in deep thought.
"Yeah, as a matter of fact, I did." the bartender finally replied.
"Would you kindly tell us where they went?" Twilight asked.
"They left." the stallion replied simply.
"That's it? Where did they leave to? How long ago?" Twilight interrogated, utterly annoyed at this bartender's vagueness.
"Sorry, I can't keep track of everypony I see... They left a few minutes ago, you should still be able to catch up to them considering how intoxicated the two are." the stallion offered.
"Thank you, that was actually helpful." Twilight said before heading for the exit, Pinkie Pie in tow. The two mares made their way to the exit, ignored the friendly stallion at the front door and left, it was really dark out, but the moonlight was enough to look around. Twilight and Pinkie Pie did not have to walk very far before finding an orange mare collapsing on top of a cyan Pegasus.
"Ah-" *hic* "Told ya you would pass out before-" *hic* "Me! Who's the liquor champ-" *hic* "Now?" the intoxicated orange mare exclaimed, she was on the brink of passing out. Rainbow Dash simply replied by vomiting on the cobblestone road that she currently laid on. Twilight could only shake her head slowly before giving herself yet another face-hoof, that's four today.
"There they are." Twilight declared unenthusiastically, knowing that somepony would have to carry these two mares to a safe place.
"Poor Dashie, let's make sure that she isn't having trouble breathing through all of that pukeyness." Pinkie said worriedly as she trotted to Rainbow Dash's aid, Twilight followed suit.
Twilight levitated Applejack off of Rainbow Dash and placed her on her side, "Applejack, are you still conscious?"
"Yesh, Ah'm still heeeeresh." Applejack slurred, her eyes focused on nothing in particular. Good thing she isn't an angry drunk like Rarity is.
"Come on, let's get you home AJ." Twilight said as calmly as she could, lifting Applejack in a levitation cushion as Pinkie placed Rainbow Dash on her back.
"Oh my, what did Applejack and Rainbow Dash get themselves into this time?" a confused Rarity approached. Twilight turned around to see Rarity and Fluttershy join them. Fluttershy was keeping her wings fully extended in an attempt to hide the fact that her wings were stiff, Twilight saw right through that half-hearted attempt.
"Hey girls, Applejack and Rainbow took their drinking game a bit too far... Again." Twilight announced.
"Are you sure they aren't suffering from alcohol poisoning?" Flutteshy asked worriedly, promting Twilight to cast a quick diagnosis spell.
"Besides from the biggest headache of their lives, they'll be just fine." Twilight assured.
"Oh, good. Should we all just go home now?" Fluttershy offered with a sigh of relief.
"Yeah, let's." Twilight agreed quickly, nopony else argued otherwise.
"You would think that these two would learn after the first time." Rarity chided as the four conscious mares made their way home, Applejack and Rainbow Dash literally in tow.
"Or the third time." Pinkie added with a giggle. The other three mares gave an exasperated sigh.
"Where should we leave Rainbow Dash?" Rarity asked after a few moments of silent walking.
"I guess she could stay at my place this time, you three all had your turns already." Twilight offered.
"Oh, you remembered! How kind of you!" Rarity exclaimed in feigned surprise, the four mares laughed somewhat bitterly.
"I think we need to talk to them when they wake up, this kind of drinking is really unhealthy." Fluttershy offered, there were unanimous nods of agreement.
"Oh! We could host an intervention party for them! I haven't done one of those in a while!" Pinkie Pie exclaimed with a bounce, almost letting Rainbow Dash fall from her back, but thankfully caught her just in time.
"That actually sounds like a good idea." Twilight agreed.
"Idea! I could make everypony intervention dresses for Pinkie's party!" Rarity pitched in, everypony gave her confused looks.
"Rarity, what would an 'intervention dress' even look like?" Twilight responded, Rarity scratched her chin in thought.
"Actually, I haven't really thought about it." Rarity replied with a slight shrug.
"I don't think we really need dresses for an intervention, Rarity. No offense of course." Fluttershy said nervously.
"Oh, none taken, Fluttershy dear. I completely understand." Rarity replied, wiping away an unseen tear.
"Anyway..." Twilight began awkwardly, "Did you two have fun?" Twilight asked tentatively. Fluttershy's wings immediately went back up again after finally going down a few minutes ago.
"We did, thank you." Rarity replied with a genuine smile.
"I can see that." Twilight said, noting Fluttershy's red face.
"There was a minotaur there... I'm not sure why, but he kept coming back to dance in front of me." Fluttershy confessed.
"That's... A rare race to see around Ponyville." Twilight replied with an inward wince, minotaurs weren't part of her taste. To her, four legs are much more attractive than two.
"I personally enjoyed the ponies from Stalliongrad.... Those muscles." Rarity muttered in desire, Twilight swore she saw a small line of drool coming from Rarity glisten in the starlight. No, a lady like Rarity would.. Never act so un-ladylike and creepy. Especially in front of others, right?
"Um, I'm glad you girls had fun too?" Twilight replied, unsure of how to properly react.
"Thanks! We sure did have loads of fun!" Pinkie replied, "At the cost of eighty bits, sure, but fun nevertheless!"
"You're one to complain, I lost all one-hundred of my bits today." Twilight said slightly annoyed at herself.
"Nor are you, dear. I spent nearly two-hundred bits today." Rarity added casually before tensing up at her own revelation.
"What!?" the three conscious mares exclaimed in shock. Rarity hung her head in shame, whether or not anypony else could see that through the darkness, she would never know.
"How did you lose that much money gambling? We were at the dance club for the majority of our stay." Fluttershy asked, being the first one to recover.
"I don't think she lost that much to gambling; she did say that she spent that money, not lose it." Twilight reasoned.
"It's true, what a miserable way to throw away my hard earned bits!" Rarity suddenly wailed.
"Throw away on what, exactly?" Pinkie asked confusedly, there was an intense silence before she managed to answer her own question, "Oh."
"That much for tips?" Twilight inquired, still surprised.
"Yes." Rarity answered quietly. Everypony remained quiet.
...
"Well, this is my road, bye girls." Fluttershy waved in the darkness. The other three mares said their farewells before continuing their walk.
"Hey, Twilight?" Pinkie inquired.
"Yes?"
"Since Dashie is staying at your place tonight, could you carry her instead of Applejack?" Pinkie offered.
"Sure, might as well do the switch now." Twilight replied, levitating Rainbow off of Pinkie Pie and placing Applejack in her place.
...
Rarity separated from the group to get to her boutique and Pinkie went off to drop Applejack off at the farm before heading home; leaving Twilight alone with her thoughts and an unconscious Rainbow Dash levitating close behind.
How did a normal pony like Doctor Whooves win so many bits while everypony else around him lost almost constantly with only minor victories? Well, maybe I can't consider him as a normal pony, but still... There must have been something more to that than just chance, there must have been something much more organized than luck at play here. What was that earthpony up to?
Twilight eventually arrived to her home, her library... Actually almost running into the door due to her deep thoughts. "Wow, close." Twilight muttered to herself before opening the door as quietly as she could, making sure not to wake Spike in the middle of the night. Twilight levitated Rainbow inside and shut the door quietly before tip-hoofing her way upstairs to the guest bedroom. She placed the drunken Rainbow on the twin-size bed, on her side of course, making sure to tuck her in nicely before tip-hoofing her way to bed.
Maybe there's another way to play Hoof-jack...