Poker Night at the Boutique

by The card holder


Farewells

You finish off your drink, laughing with everyone else at the bar. Medic's stories were quite gruesome, yet they were also gut-bustingly hilarious (literally, in one occasion). Strong Bad had gone back home already, probably too miffed at being beaten at poker again to have some friendly drinks with the competition. Everyone else, however, stayed. Mr. Foster came back not too long after you won, and sat down with you, Rarity, and Medic for drinks. A few of Rarity's friends came over, as well, and introduced themselves as something called the "Elements of Harmony". Some kind of secret weapon in the form of six ponies, or something. One in particular, Twilight Sparkle, had gotten into a rather enthusiastic conversation with Medic about biology of various creatures. You, meanwhile, had gotten into a debate with Rainbow Dash about whether or not poker was a game based entirely on luck (you said it was, but only half of the time). You wore your newly-won hat the entire time, but besides a few "Congratulations" for winning, no comments were made about it.

After Medic's latest story, you mentioned the last tournament, where you beat Heavy. This amused Medic, because, as he said, "no one has been able to beat him at ze base at all." Apparently you don't need a good poker face when you're able (and willing) to break every bone in your opponents' bodies. The whole time, the pony manning the bar (another of Rarity's friends, Applejack) kept you all going with drinks. Normally, you weren't much of a drinker, but having won another poker tournament, you feel you deserve the reward. Noticeably, nearly all of the ponies started avoiding Medic once he clarified that the stories he told actually happened to him, and he was the doctor in all of them, but he seemed used to that kind of reaction.

Eventually, Mr. Foster looked at his watch. "Ah, crap, I'm gonna miss my bus." Everyone said goodbye as he left. Medic was the next to go, when he said that his teleporter should be ready now. Shortly after, you realized that your bus was leaving, too, and you say farewell to all the ponies as you leave.

Getting on the bus, you look out into the night. It seems Mr. Foster had missed his bus, and was apparently going to hitch a ride with Medic to get back to London.

Once the bus starts moving, you think over tonight. It was a success, that much was obvious, but not just because you won. You might start coming to Ponyville more often, now. The quaint little town's growing on you.



And besides, Rarity probably has more hats she'll be willing to bet off.