//------------------------------//
// Thorax's Story - Part 8 
// Story: Meeting His Heroes 
// by origami 
//------------------------------//

"YOU were in Las Pegasus?!  The unofficial party capital of Equestria?!"

Pinkie gawked wide-eyed at Thorax, hearing the changeling had visited the one city that she had wanted to more than any other.

"I did," Thorax answered, "and that place was just a bit too wild for my liking."

"Ah can imagine," Applejack said with a chuckle.  "Them folks aren't of the 'early to bed, early to rise' sort."

"No, they aren't, and they certainly aren't of the sort for quiet reading either."

"Hay no!" Rainbow exclaimed.  "That place never sleeps.  All the games, the food, and the entertainment.  A changeling could probably sustain itself on just the overall atmosphere."

"You have no idea how right you are, Rainbow Dash.  I was surprised that I didn't see any drones there when I passed through."

"I know it isn't quite the right scene for you," Rarity interjected, "but surely you found something to enjoy doing there."

Thorax became a bit sheepish and looked away.

"Well... I did get kinda good at playing the card games."





Wandering around Las Pegasus, I was taken in by all the lights.  There had to have been thousands, maybe even millions of them all across the city!

Fortunately, I'm not overly photo-tactic, but to say they didn't get my attention and hold it every few seconds would be an outright lie.

Ultimately, I decided to keep my field of view lower to the ground, lest I be standing there for so long I lose my disguise and cause a panic.  I trekked along, looking at the names for some of the places:

The Hot Hoof

The Princess's Parlor

Lucky Duck's

Dueces Wild

I blinked for a moment as I took in the names.  What kind of things went on at these businesses?  Were they on the level, per se?  Could I get in with no problems?

But most importantly for me - Would they be able to identify a changeling, even through a disguise?

I couldn't just walk through this place and not see something; it would be a wasted opportunity.  So, with that in mind, I picked a place that looked like some of the other ones, but was a fair bit smaller.

The name on the sign out front said The Velveteen, with a large rabbit standing behind it, its paw waving with a carrot held in its grip.  I walked through the door and was greeted with a large floor space, and on that space were rows of tables, each of them having some kind of game being played at them.

There was one where a large wheel spun, another with a smaller wheel built into the table, one with walls that players threw a pair of dice at, and several tables with a variety of different card games going on.

"Need some help, sweetie?"

I jumped a little and turned towards the voice.  It was a mare in what looked like a pair of gardener's overalls, but the legs in the back were far too short for that.  In fact, if I didn't know any better, I'd think they were made to accent her backside.

Shaking my head, I answer her question.  "It's my first time being in a place like this."

"A newbie!" she said as she moved a little closer.  "Well, how about I give you a little tour, hmm?"

"Uh, okay."

"Great!" she exclaimed as she then led me by the hoof past all the tables, explaining each game.  The first was called roulette, where a small wheel was spun and a white ball was tossed in.  Players would then guess which color or number the ball would fall on, and stake a chip down on their guess, like a sort of money wagering.

Next was the large wheel, which was a game called Big Six.  In that game, players guessed which number or color a needle would land on when the wheel was spun.  If you landed on it, you got all the chips wagered on the table.

The dice game was called... well, it's not a nice word, but the mare did tell me it was sometimes called seven eleven.  To play that... well, the rules are pretty complicated, but the general idea is you guess the outcome of the dice and wager on it.  Some rolls are considered good, and others aren't.

After those were the card games.  The first was stud, where you were dealt an amount of cards, and had to decide whether your hand was good enough to beat other players, or if you needed to get new cards to build a better one.  There was also one called Hold 'em, where you were dealt two cards, and then assembled your hand from a community of five cards held by the dealer.  There was also blackjack, where the goal was to get as close to 21 without going over, and closer than any other players.  You were dealt two cards, and had to decide whether you wanted an extra card by telling the dealer "hit me", or if you felt you were close enough that you didn't want to risk going over and held.  In that one, if you got a king, queen, or jack, along with an ace, you won right away.

There were some other ones, but I didn't pay a whole lot of attention to them.  In truth, I had seen the chips being placed on the tables, and players calling out excitedly when they won a large collection of them.

"Over here's the cage, where you get your chips for the games."

I was brought back to the mare leading me on the tour, realizing I had become too distracted by the fun that was being had by everypony in the place.  Her hoof gestured directed me to a window in the wall.  Set into the window was a set of holes in a sort of hexagonal pattern, and directly behind it was a mare wearing similar overalls to the one giving me a tour.  She was taking a stack of bits from a stallion in a rather plush looking coat, and after a moment, produced a stack of chips on a tray, placing them inside a box and pressing a button, causing a door to open up and allow the stallion to get his chips.

I watched the exchange and was still confused as to why the use of chips, until I saw another stallion with a big stack of chips walk up to the window and set them down.  He said something to the mare, who nodded and pressed the button, allowing the stallion to place his chips inside the box.  The door then closed and the mare took the chips, counting them and then walking away for a moment, returning with a small sack that she placed into the box.  Once it opened, the stallion collected the sack and looked inside, then gave a nod and walked away, a very clear jostling of bits audible to me as he passed by.

It finally clicked in my mind; this place was a gambling parlor, and these ponies were playing these games to win money.

"Curse Nightmare Moon's flank!" I suddenly heard, directing my attention to a stallion who was walking away from a roulette table, where the pony running it was raking a pile of bits towards them.

"Sorry, sir," the pony called to him, "but maybe you'll come back and have better luck."

"And maybe Princess Luna will appear in your dreams and scold you for rigging the game!" the stallion spat back, still upset at his sizable loss, or at least what I thought was probably a sizable loss.

"Some folks just can't take losing," the tour mare commented as she then walked over to a set of stairs.  "These lead up to the hotel.  If you need a room, I'd go up there and book it while you still got bits to book it with."

"R-Right, thanks."

The mare walked away as I went and got the room I would keep for the night, but I didn't actually sleep; it was too loud to even fathom falling asleep.  Rather, I spent darn near the whole night sitting on a bed, partially in the disguise I was using, and then in my natural form after I had closed the window blinds, wondering whether I should stay here for a bit and try to have some fun, or move on before I got in over my head.





"So did you?"

Thorax looked up to see Pinkie looking at him, her head cocked to the side like a puppy.

"I did, but I didn't stay long."

"How come?" Rainbow Dash asked me next.

"Well, part of it is because I was getting overwhelmed from all of the excitement, but the other part..."

Thorax trailed off, looking a bit nervous.

"It's okay, darling," Rarity reassured me, "you can tell us."

Looking around the table, the other mares gave him reassuring nods as well.  Taking a breath, he came out with the truth.

"Part of me leaving was getting overwhelmed, but the other part?  Well, I got on the bad side of some ponies."

"You got on the bad side of ponies?" Twilight asked in confusion.  "What ponies?"

"The Scelus Familia."

Everypony at the table blanched upon hearing the name.

"Y'all got in trouble with them..." Applejack started, but didn't finish.  Thorax, however, finished for her.

"Yes, I got in trouble with mobster ponies."