//------------------------------// // Chapter 74 - The Candy Casino // Story: A Pony Displaced: Homeward // by NoLongerSober //------------------------------// It was a brisk autumn afternoon as Barrier ducked under the slice of a wooden sword that had almost stuck him in the back of the head. Quickly spinning about, Barrier moved aside and fired a magical blast at the attacker who vanished in a flash. In a second flash, Barrier raised a shield at his side that blocked the assailant’s follow-up blow.  On the other side of the lawn, Spearmint was attempting to dodge some powerful strikes while delivering some of her own to her attacker. Both managed to dodge more than they took, but there was no question that her opponent had managed to land a few more blows than she did. A flash appeared in front of Barrier, his opponent was too close for him to be able to raise a shield in time to stop the sword from striking. “Time out!” A little filly’s voice rang out through the front yard, making the quartet of sparring ponies come to a halt. Swift’s practice sword was mere millimeters from Barrier’s snout while Spearmint had just managed to push Verdant away. The eyes of the four shifted to Wind Whistler as she walked over to Barrier with High Stakes at her side. “Hi, Uncle! Hi everypony!” she cheerfully said as the four fell into relaxed stances. “How goes the sparring?” “Well, I’m getting a handle on teleportation,” Swift answered as she planted the wooden sword into the grass. “Now I only feel a fair amount of nausea when I teleport rather than vomiting.” “And I’ve gotten a fair bit quicker,” Spearmint chimed in as she rotated her foreleg. “I’m more than a little sore, but it’s a good workout.” “Hope you’re not hurt,” Verdant said as he stretched out his legs. “Nah, I’m good,” the shamrock mare replied to the verdant stallion. “Honestly, I’ve felt worse stuff back in high school.” “Say, Mr. Barrier,” Stakes spoke up, drawing the unicorn’s eye downward. “There’s something I’d like to ask you.” “If it’s a story about the guard, I don’t think I could tell you much. In part due to a majority of them being classified, but also because I can’t think of many that wouldn’t be too gory for a pony your age,” Barrier stated, making the foal roll her eyes. “It’s not that. It’s about the business Wind Whistler and I’ve been running.” With a flare of pale blue light, her saddlebags rose off her back and landed in front of her, where she began to sort through it.  “Things have been doing so well that I want to expand the business and I figured your front lawn would be a prime location for me to set up.” She continued to rifle through her bag, pulling out a bag of bits and a granola bar. “Would it be okay to set it up here? We’d only need the one half.” “Hmm…” Barrier looked away, giving her a proposal a brief thought. “Alright, seems fair…” Just as he finished, he saw a piece of paper floating in front of his face, encased in Stakes’ aura. “What is this?” “It’s a contract,” she said as if it were blatantly obvious. “I want to have our deal in writing. Could you check this over?” “Very well.” Barrier rolled his eyes tiredly before looking over the contract. Party of the first part, blah blah blah. Party of the second will pay fifty bits a month for rent and utilities, yadda yadda yadda. “You do realize this wouldn’t be legally binding, right?” Barrier asked as he looked down at her. “I’m well aware. I’m too young, I don’t have a notary, etcetera etcetera.” High Stakes dismissively waved her hoof. “It’s more just to show we have an agreement about all this stuff in writing rather than just going with a verbal contract.” “And I thought the war made foals grow up quickly,” Barrier muttered as Stakes held a pen up to him in her magic. Taking the pen, Barrier quickly inscribed his name. With that done, Stakes snatched the pen away and placed a ribbon on the ‘contract’. “Thank you for your cooperation, Barrier,” she said before tossing her bag of bits towards him. “Here’s the first rent payment. We’ll set it up tomorrow.” “Alright, take care then,” Barrier said as the two fillies scampered into the house. “Right, shall we continue from where we left off?” “I believe we should move on to practicing with the paint arrows,” Swift said as she pulled the practice sword from the grass. “Sure thing, just give me a minute to get on the roof,” Verdant said before darting into the house. “Hey Swift, I was thinking after this, we could try this one pizza place I spotted this morning. I think it’s called Jungle Karma Pizza,” Spearmint said before spotting the carolina blue mare falling into a defensive stance. “Sounds like a good thing to try, now ready?” Swift replied before Spearmint took a ready stance similar to Barrier’s. *** The next day, Barrier decided to relieve his boredom with a long walk around town. It was a refreshing change of pace compared to his usual reading or solo practice. Practice for what, I don’t know. Barrier sighed and turned a corner, returning to the familiar sight of Starflower Street. What is the point? You don’t want to go back to the guard, and outside of the insanely unlikely chance that a griffin that tried to eat you is back from the grave, it seems utterly pointless. Before he could think of a mental counterargument, Barrier was snapped from his thoughts by the sight of a long line of foals carrying bags of candy that went past two houses that lead into his property past his open front gate. Curious to the cause of this line, Barrier teleported past a large chunk of the line and soon went past the gate, where he spotted a fairly long white tent with Wind Whistler, now sporting an intimidating pair of sunglasses, standing by the flap. Looking it over, he spotted a bright orange cord poking out from one of the tent’s corners, connecting it to the house. “Wind Whistler, what is going on?” The authoritative tone in Barrier’s voice made some of the foals nervously look towards him while Windy stood still like a trained guard.  “It’s our business, Uncle,” Windy responded, standing firmly before the much taller pony. “I’m acting as High Stakes’ enforcer, making sure only paying customers get in and that any troublemakers get tossed out on their flanks.” “Windy, I’d like to speak to her.” Barrier was barely able to keep a growl out of his tone. “Normally, I wouldn’t let a candyless pony in, but I’ll let you in due to being pretty much family and our landlord.” Windy picked up the corner of the tent flap before flying up, giving Barrier enough space to enter. “Go on through,” Windy said through gritted teeth. Without saying a word, Barrier stepped inside the tent. Upon entering, he saw a collection of lights hanging about a small set of tables where ponies were playing card games. What drew Barrier’s eye was the fact the tables seemed to have poker chips upon them. He was then surprised by what looked like a pair of large freezers with padlocks on them off in a back corner, guarded by two foals with sunglasses. “Hello, Mr. Barrier,” High Stakes voice drew Barrier’s eye down, where he saw the golden coated filly was wearing dark pants and shoes that contrasted her crisp white shirt and red vest. Her little ensemble was topped off by a black bowtie. “What can I do to help you?” “Stakes, would you mind telling me what exactly is going on here?” Barrier’s eyebrow rose as he questioned the unicorn filly.  “Ah. Well, let me tell you, this is a place I’ve been dreaming about for the longest time.” Her tone was practically dripping with pride with every word she spoke. “Magic Barrier, welcome to The Candy Casino!” “You’re… you’re running a casino?” Barrier was stunned by the little filly’s words. “Yep, and business has been booming ever since we started,” she enthusiastically said. “It’s given a place for foals to play besides the park or arcades, and we have been just raking in the profits!” “How in Tartarus is this not illegal?” Barrier’s brow quirked upward. “I’ve read up on modern laws, so this should probably break a ton of gambling laws.” A chuckle came from the filly as she smirked. “Well that would be a problem if it weren’t for two little factors, Mr. Barrier.” “And what pray tell would those be?” he asked as he lowered himself down to face her.  “Firstly, no actual money is being exchanged here. All wagers are held using candy that has been given a point value. I can provide a chart to see what the rates are,” Stake said as she started to reach into her vest. “I’ll pass on that. Now, what’s the other thing that lets you avoid getting in trouble?” “The simple fact is that my games always have some sort of payout.” Stakes sat down and wickedly rubbed her forehooves together. “Every game has the participants always receive a gumball as the prize. This technicality makes it that it doesn’t really count as a gamble since you’re guaranteed some sort of prize, kinda like with trading cards.” “I’m guessing that a gumball is the lowest value candy on your little chart?” Barrier’s inquiry was met with a nod. “How do you make a profit off this?” “I sell some of our excess candy back to stores for a tidy profit.” Stakes rubbed a hoof against her vest, as if she were polishing it. “How do you think I was able to give Windy a thousand bits and a briefcase for her birthday?” “I see,” Barrier said as he rose back onto his hooves. “Still, I’m not sure about having a gambling establishment on my property.” “Well, you did put it in writing that I’d be allowed to set up, so long as I paid my rent.” Stakes reached into her vest, pulling out their faux-contract. “One we established is not legally binding,” Barrier instantly replied. “True, but do you really want to have to talk to my parents about how you broke a written promise to a little filly?” She then put on a pouting puppy-dog face that would melt a lesser heart. Barrier gave her a flat look and a grumble. “However... I’d be willing to shut this place down and relocate… if you’re willing to wager for it.” A sinister smirk crossed her features. “Elaborate.” Barrier bluntly said. “It’d be foolish not to know all the details on this before accepting a bet.” “It’s simple,” High Stakes said as she looked up at the stallion. “We play some poker with ten chips each. First to lose all their chips loses the game. If I lose, I’ll shut this place down and set up elsewhere.” “And if I lose?” Barrier’s brow quirked.  “If you want me wagering my casino being here, you've got to wager something of equal value. How about... a million bits!” Stakes smiled villainously as she bounced up in front of him. “Not a chance, kid,” Barrier bluntly and firmly said. “Okay, how about…” She put a hoof to her chin as she thought for a moment. “Your soul!” “No.” Barrier’s reply was somehow even more blunt as he gave her a flat look. A grumble came from the golden coated filly. “How about if you lose, you've got to provide pizza for my entire class for a whole week. And not just a slice each, a whole pizza for all twenty foals in the class.” Barrier briefly remained silent as he considered her stakes. “Only if they’re small pizzas.” “Small, but not personal pan size and I get to pick the restaurant that provides them,” Stakes quickly added. “Only if the total cost is less than a thousand bits,” Barrier said as he leaned down towards her.  “Deal!” Stakes said before darting over to a table where a little green filly was dealing the cards. “After you finish your round, I’ll be needing this table for a bit.” The group of foals nodded as Barrier started to wander over.  “Melony, could you bring us a sealed deck and one of the ponies from the house to deal for us?”  “Sure thing boss,” Melony said before flipping over the five cards in front of her. “Ace high straight. House wins.” The foals at the table groaned as she pulled the chips over to her side before tossing each of them a gumball. The foals then happily moved to other tables while Melony left the tent. “This should be a good game,” Stakes said as she took Melony’s former place at the table. She tossed ten chips over to Barrier before setting up her own stack. After a minute or so, Melony returned with Swiftsword in tow. She then pulled a box of cards from her vest and paced it in front of Barrier. “Your deck, sir. Ready for you to inspect.” Barrier picked up the box with his magic and carefully examined it for any sign of tampering. The box and the plastic wrapping on it made it appear untouched. He then floated the box in front of Swift’s face. “Please open this and place the cards face up on the table,” he asked as she took the box in her aura. She then tore off the seal, opened the box and made a large fan of the cards. “It appears to be the standard deck with two Jokers and a card with rules for some games,” the sky-colored unicorn said as she pulled the rules card from the set. “Is this good enough to make sure this game is fair, Mr. Barrier?” Stakes asked as she put her forehooves together and rested her chin upon them. “Hmm…” Barrier carefully examined the cards, ensuring they hadn’t been cut to make some smaller. He then cast his aura over to them to try to see if there was some sort of hidden ink markings, only to turn up nothing. “Very well.” “Good.” A smile appeared on her face. “Shall we have Jokers be wild?” “I wouldn’t have it any other way,” Barrier replied with a cocky grin on his face. “Good. Miss Swiftsword, if you’ll please shuffle the cards so we may decide the turns?” High Stakes asked, her eyes seeming to be locked on the cards.  “I shall,” she answered as she took the card into a pile and quickly shuffled them. She then dealt a single card.  Barrier’s magic engulfed his card before turning it over. “Nine of Diamonds.” High Stakes’ magic coated her card before flipping it. “Six of Spades,” she said as she placed it on the table. “Right. Captain Barrier will go first then.” Swift lit her horn once more as she gathered the cards and shuffled them even quicker than before. She then dealt five face down cards to each opponent. Barrier kept his face blank as he picked up and examined his cards. He held the King of Clubs, Queen of Hearts, King of Spades, King of Hearts and the Queen of Diamonds. “I won’t exchange any of my cards and bet one chip.” His magic then levitated a single chip from his stack and placed it on the table. To his surprise, High Stakes seemed oddly relaxed. She calmly leaned back with a confident smile on her face. She didn’t bother to even pick up her cards before her magic pushed her entire stack of chips forward on the table. “No changes. All in.” Melony was stunned by what her boss was doing while Swift was merely surprised. “Nice try, kiddo,” Barrier said before having a light chuckle.  “What do you mean?” She tilted her head to the side as she looked at Barrier. “I mean, I’ve read GoGo’s Bizarre Adventure so I know what you’re doing. You’re trying to make me worry that you’ve got some sort of unstoppable hoof that can beat whatever I may have and make me panic.” Barrier leaned a tiny bit closer. “Trust me, it’s not going to work. I’m not making the same mistake Derby the Elder did.” High Stakes merely rolled her eyes. “You gonna call or are you gonna fold?” “I’m calling your bluff.” Barrier’s magic then pushed the rest of his chips forward. “All in. Now let’s see what we’ve got.” Stakes closed her eyes as Barrier started to lower down his cards. “Full house,” the two simultaneously said, to Barrier’s surprise. “Wait, how’d you—” “My turn,” she interrupted, keeping her eyes closed as her aura engulfed her first card and flipped it over, revealing the Ace of Clubs. Barrier’s jaw started to go slack at the sight of the other cards she revealed: The Ace of Diamonds, the Ace of Hearts, a Joker and the Ace of Spades. She then wore a victorious smirk. “Five of a kind.” It was only then she opened her eyes. “I win.” Barrier and Swift were left speechless at the cards Stakes played as she pulled Barrier’s chips over. “A word of advice, Miss Swiftsword,” Stakes said before pulling a stick of gum from her vest and popping it into her mouth. “Next time, shuffle the cards in a way that the players can't see them, otherwise there's a chance they'll know what cards are going to be dealt. I taught my dealers that trick already.” “What?!” Swift was rather incredulous as she looked at the filly. “I sincerely doubt you were able to do that, Miss Stakes. With how quickly I shuffled the cards, you’d only get the tiniest glimpse of them. I’m certain you were simply lucky.” The golden coated filly sighed and closed her eyes once more. “The next ten cards in the deck are as follows. Two of Diamonds, Five of Hearts, Jack of Clubs, Three of Spades, Seven of Spades, Six of Hearts, Four of Clubs, King of Diamonds, Nine of Clubs and Eight of Hearts.” Swift gave her a hard look of doubt before taking the cards from the top of the deck and placing them on the table. Her shock grew as she placed more cards on the table, seeing how it perfectly matched her call. “You played my game and you lost,” Stakes said as she jumped down from her seat. “How do you think I got my cutie mark?” Barrier let out a sigh as he stepped away from the table. “Right, I’ll go make the arrangements for the pizza week. What restaurant did you want?” “Jungle Karma Pizza,” the golden filly said as her horn lit up. A red colored gumball levitated up from a compartment under the table and floated in front of Barrier’s face. “And here’s your prize, Mr. Barrier.” Barrier grumbled a thanks as he grabbed the gumball and walked out of the tent, feeling humiliated by his loss to a little foal.