//------------------------------// // Fear and Loathing in Las Pegasus Part 1 // Story: Why Did I Choose to be Trixie? // by Mike the Red //------------------------------// It took another two and a half weeks to make it to Las Pegasus. Once again we were in a large city full of ponies, but the ocean view was magnificent. We had built our savings up to over 9,000 bits and were feeling pretty good about ourselves. We set up our stage to do some performances for the ponies of this city in various places and it was during one of those performances when we were noticed yet again, this time by a promoter who wanted us to do our act in one of the casinos. "Hello, I am Silver Streak, and I represent the Las Pegasus Association of Professional Casino Performers," a light-grey unicorn stallion stated, hoofing me a business card. "Are you an intermediary between a performers' guild and casino owner/operators?" I asked, flipping the card over to see if there was anything printed on the back. "You could say something of the sort, yes," he offered, forcing a smile. "Trixie and I would be interested in performing our act in a few casinos here, but we would need to discuss financial matters with the casino owners or their business associates prior to making any hasty agreements," I stated flatly. "Then I'm just the pony you need to talk to!" he said excitedly. "If you two would be kind enough to accompany me, I can show you the casinos I register performers with." "I'm sorry, Silver Streak, but Trixie and I would like to tour the strip by ourselves. I believe the two of us would be able to make arrangements with management in certain casinos," I responded, eyeing the unicorn suspiciously. Trixie stood by my side, watching the exchange with an expression of pure boredom on her face. Silver Streak frowned at me. "Suit yourself, but keep in mind, you will need a booking agent, and I'm one of the few who are respected enough to get you two into the better casinos. Without my help, you'll have to start at the Brown Stallion and work your way up from there. With my help, you'll be able to work at the Visage, the High Roller, or the Pink Swan." "Tell you what, Silver -- Trixie and I will be here for awhile, taking in the sights and scenery. We might run into you again, or perhaps you might catch another of our performances. We need a little time to think this over first, if you don't mind." "Very well then, Amethyst. I will see you around," he stated stiffly, trotting off with his nose held high. "What a contemptible bastard," I whispered to Trixie, who chuckled softly at my insult. "Come on, Trixie, let's tour the strip, why not?" "Trixie is interested in seeing the casinos up close." We pulled the caravan toward the main strip, parking it off in a grassy area under a tree on a lot not far from the Canterlot Casino. The Canterlot was a one-half scale replica of Canterlot Castle -- even so, it was still very large. On the opposite side of the strip sat the Four Alicorns casino. We trotted along the strip, passing the Colt's Hoof, the High Roller, Coltligula's Palace, the Pink Swan, the Clown's Pocket, Ponies in Mares' Plots, the Brown Stallion, the Visage and few others I couldn't quite remember. Trixie and I trotted back towards the spot where we had parked the caravan before we reached the Four Alicorns casino. "Let's try this one, Trixie," I stated optimistically. "Trixie doesn't have any money on her," she said glumly. "I suppose we can take a little of our savings, if you want," I offered. "Just be careful, okay?" "Trixie will be careful, Amethyst," she smiled as she galloped to the caravan and retrieved a small pouch of bits. My objective was to meet with the owner or one of his business associates. I figured this casino would be a good place to start. Trixie made her way to the slot machines to try her luck there. She got a fairly large payout right off the bat and cashed in, taking her winnings to the blackjack table. "Excuse me, ma'am," I asked the security guard by the cashier. "I would like to talk to the management about a business opportunity." "Wait right here, I'll contact somepony for you," she replied in a gruff tone. As I waited, there was a commotion from another part of the floor. "The Great and Powerful Trixie demands you unhoof her at once!" came a very loud voice from my left. Three rather burly stallions were carrying the show-mare, who continued to shout insults at them. They passed by me and when Trixie caught sight of me she shouted at me to help her. "What's going on here?" I asked one of the security stallions. "She was cheating at the blackjack table," he responded angrily. "She is not allowed back in here. Do you know her?" "Yes, I do, and I shall accompany her upon exiting this casino," I stated flatly. "Do you know anything about her cheating?" "No, sir, I don't -- I had no idea she would resort to that. I was under the impression that my wife would behave herself. I humbly apologize for her actions." "The two of you had better not show your faces in this casino ever again!" one of the other security stallions shouted at us as Trixie was unceremoniously tossed out the door. I had exited through another door at the same time. "How dare you treat the Great and Powerful Trixie as though she were a common street tramp!" she shouted at them through the glass doors. "They told me you were cheating, Trixie. So what did you do?" "Trixie used her magic to get 22 straight blackjacks," she grinned. She showed me a large pouch with a lot of bits in it. "They only got suspicious when the ace of diamonds came up for her 16 consecutive times." "You ruined our chance of getting a steady gig in that casino," I glared at her in disapproval. "Trixie can get lots of bits by doing that! She just needs to be more careful about which cards get pulled," she giggled. She galloped back to the caravan to stash some of her ill-gotten gains and returned with a small pouch again. We trotted up the strip to the next casino on this side, which was the High Roller. "Don't ruin my chance again, Trixie," I admonished her as we trotted in through the front door. Security greeted us just inside and slipped a ring on our horns. "This is to keep you unicorns from cheating at our games," the guard stated flatly. I could feel the ring inhibiting my magic power, which felt kind of odd at first, but then it felt like my power was being drained away. "I'm not here to gamble," I stated nervously. "Please remove the ring, I have a business proposition to make with your management." "No can do. Company policy is to prevent cheating, so we place inhibitor rings on everypony who enters our casino. That includes earth ponies and pegasi as well as unicorns. If you have a business proposal, you need to contact the concierge in host services for that. It's over there," he stated, pointing a hoof to his right. "Around the corner from the gift shop." I trotted over to the concierge as Trixie made her way to the gaming floor once again, still confident she could win. "Hello, you are the concierge, correct?" I asked her. "Yes, I am Lucky Clover, the concierge for the High Roller casino. How may I help you, sir?" she smiled. She was an aqua colored earth pony with a kelly green mane and tail with streaks of gold running through them. Her cutie mark was a four-left clover, which seemed appropriate. "My wife and I are magic performers -- we have put together a half-hour program of magic displays mixed with comedy, dance, and song. We would be interested in partnering with your casino to provide entertainment for your guests, for a small stipend, of course. We would also desire food and lodging during our stay while we perform as well." "Do you have a booking agent? Our management requires any performers to have an agent to represent them as an intermediary between the potential employees and casino management," she stated, maintaining her plastic smile. "Do you know of a pony named Silver Streak?" I asked her. Her eyes lit up and her smile widened quite a bit. "Yes, sir, I do! He's quite well known here in Las Pegasus -- did you agree to have him as your agent?" "I told him I would think about it. I suppose I should track him down and agree to hire him as our agent," I stated, some disappointment tinging my words. "Please wait here a few moments -- I will contact my management supervisor. She'll be happy to talk to you about having you perform here," the mare stated, her smile never leaving her lips. I waited for what seemed like fifteen minutes, wondering where the concierge had gone. I continued to wait, but the inhibitor ring was making me feel very nervous. I did not like the feeling of having no magic power -- it made me feel exposed and vulnerable, sapping away at my self-confidence. Another fifteen minutes of waiting was rewarded with nothing. It was shortly after that that Trixie trotted over to me. "Amethyst, I need some more money," she whined. "Don't take any more than 500 bits, okay? We need that money and wasting it here is not a good idea." My wife grinned at me and left the casino to return to the caravan, but returned about five minutes later with a shocked expression on her face. "Amethyst -- Trixie's caravan is GONE!" she wailed. "You mean, gone, as in -- somepony stole it?" I asked with incredulity. "Yes," she said meekly as tears started to trickle down her cheeks. "I thought we'd placed it in a safe area," I mused. "We're gonna have to track it down." "Trixie wonders how you can remain so calm -- Trixie's whole life is in her wagon!" "We'll get it back. I promise you that," I stated confidently. "Let's go -- I need them to take this damned ring off my horn." As we were about to leave, the concierge finally returned with a dark brown unicorn stallion who was at least four hooves taller than me. I politely told Lucky Clover that we had an emergency to deal with and that I would return as soon as it was dealt with. The big stallion eyed me and glared in disapproval. "Is that purple stallion the one who offered a business proposal?" he asked the concierge. "Yes, Coffee Break, that's him," she pointed a hoof at me. "We don't want any trouble in our casino, dude. You'd better get going," he growled at me. Trixie and I trotted toward the entrance, the big burly stallion following us at a short distance to ensure we left. I asked for security to remove the inhibitor rings, but Coffee Break told them not to. I pleaded with them, informing them that since we were leaving the casino, they should remove their property. "Consider it our gift to you," one of the security ponies chuckled. "Oh, and don't try to remove it yourself -- that would be bad." "How am I suppose to have it removed, then?" I asked, panic starting to creep into my voice. "We charge a fee of 500 bits to remove it," the guard chuckled. "I'll be back," I stated angrily. Trixie whimpered as we left the casino, inhibitor rings still weighing heavily on our horns. We trotted over to where we had parked the caravan, and sure enough, it was gone. "Who would have taken it?" she cried. "Well, I think this might be property belonging to the Canterlot Casino, so let's talk to the management there and see what has happened." We trotted to the casino entrance but were stopped by security before we could get too far past the front doors. "Hold it, you two. We heard about what happened across the street at the Four Alicorns," one of the security ponies stated flatly. Every security pony was garbed in replicas of Royal Guard uniforms, which made things seem really creepy to me. "I need to have a word with Princess Celestia about having this inhibitor ring removed," I said flatly. "I also need to know what happened to the blue wagon Trixie and I were pulling through town and parked in a grassy lot across the street from the backside of this casino." "Heh. He wants to talk to the Princess!" the security pony chuckled. The other ponies working security started laughing quite hard at our predicament. "This casino is just a replica, not the real thing! The Princess doesn't live here!" "Does she visit? It's rather important," I stated. I received even more laughter at this question. "Okay, would you be kind enough to remove my inhibitor ring then?" "You didn't get that from our casino -- you will have to return to the casino you got it from. As for that little blue wagon parked out back, we had it towed to the police station -- it was illegally parked." "And where is that?" I asked in exasperation. "The police station is across town -- but you will have to pay the tow fee and the impound charges in order to retrieve it." "Come on, Trixie, looks like we've got some more traveling to do." Tears continued to stream down her cheeks. The ring on her horn sapped her magic power, and the feeling of helplessness for her was overwhelming. "Trixie wants her home back!" she wailed. I pulled her close and gave her a quick kiss on her muzzle. "The sooner we can get to it, the sooner we can get some of our savings to take care of this mess," I said calmly, trying to reassure her everything was going to be okay. We left Canterlot casino and headed along the strip, attracting some odd stares from some of the ponies we passed. We trotted past the end of the strip and into a commercial area of the city, then into the business district. We located the police station a short white later and entered the front door. The police in this town seemed to wear khaki colored uniforms, as though the city were a bit more relaxed about the appearances of uniformed pony officers. Trixie and I approached the front counter to talk to a receptionist. "Excuse us, ma'am, we were informed that a certain blue wagon had been towed here?" I asked the receptionist. "Just a moment, please," she said stiffly. She pushed a button on a box and informed an officer of our presence and the nature of our visit. A tan colored pegasus stallion approached us at the desk. "Are you two the owners of that blue wagon you parked behind the Canterlot casino?" he asked. "Yes, sir, we are. We would like to retrieve it, please," I stated respectfully. "There's the small matter of paying some fines. The tow fee is 100 bits, the illegal parking fine is 250 bits, storage is 25 bits per day, and administrative fees will be 175 bits." "Our savings are in the caravan, so if we can access its contents, we'll be able to pay your fees," I offered politely. "I will escort you there," he stated flatly, leading us through a back door to a dry dirt lot. Along a wall to the left we spotted the caravan, looking none the worse for wear. Trixie entered it, looking for our stash of bits. It took several minutes, but all Trixie was able to find was a small pouch that had been extremely well concealed. Our large bag with our savings in it had been confiscated. Trixie exited the wagon with a dour expression. "This is all Trixie was able to find," she said dejectedly. She spat the pouch out on the ground and it came open. There appeared to be about 100 bits in it. "Trixie, what happened to our savings?" I asked, my voice climbing an octave as fresh worry returned in full force. "It's gone," she replied sullenly, her eyes wide with fear. "Trixie does not know what happened to our bag with over 9,000 bits in it." It was at that point that I fell to my haunches, holding my head in my fore-hooves, openly sobbing. "Somepony stole all our money!!" I shouted, falling back into sobs. I turned to the officer. "Is there some way you might be able to contact Princess Celestia in Canterlot?" I asked him. "We will have a pegasus fly there with a message from you two. I'm sure she can resolve the matter to your satisfaction. It will take two days' flight for our pegasus, and I'm not sure how long it will take for a response from the Princess to arrive." "That means we'll have to go around with these inhibitor rings on our horns for the next few days," I said glumly. "Your caravan marks you two as traveling performers. Perhaps you two can perform your act --" the officer began. "We require the use of our magic for the performance," I interrupted. "Without magic, our act loses an awful lot." "Then perhaps you should return to where you were given those rings and work out an arrangement with them," the officer stated. "We will need your names and address so we can send your message." We went back into the police station and gave our information to the receptionist, who then forwarded it to her supervisor, who then wrote a letter to Princess Celestia. This was given to a pegasus who was instructed to fly to Canterlot castle. She balked at the prospect of flying for two days to get there, but was told of the importance of the task. Trixie and I left the police station, satisfied that help was going to be on its way before too much longer, so we trotted back to the High Roller casino. On the way there, we chanced to meet up with Silver Streak again. "So, did you two change your minds about hiring me as your booking agent?" he asked, flashing a very smug smirk. "We need your help, Silver. I apologize for blowing you off earlier. We need to return to the High Roller to have these inhibitor rings removed, and once we get that matter taken care of, we'll be able to perform our act again," I offered, grinning sheepishly. "Yes, well, there's just one small problem with that. I require my agent's fee up front, and considering your, shall we say, less than acceptable attitude toward me when we first met, my fee is now one thousand bits. Up front." "Um, somepony stole all our money earlier," I stated, crestfallen. "I'm sorry to hear that, Amethyst, but without my booking fee, I cannot help you." "And we can't perform our act with these damned rings on our horns!" I said almost angrily. "That's not my fault. You should have allowed me to escort you two, but no-oh, you had other plans. I have other business to attend to, so, I'll be seeing you," he chuckled and trotted off towards the commercial district. Trixie and I sighed heavily as we continued to trot towards the High Roller casino. I was just hoping I'd be able to talk them into working out some sort of exchange to have the inhibitor rings removed. ----------------------------------- Trixie and I sullenly trotted, very slowly, I might add, to the High Roller casino. I was apprehensive, to say the least. "What if they refuse us entry?" I silently asked myself. "Trixie hopes they let us in," she stated flatly. "She does not want to have to make a scene." We passed the boat in the water on wooden planks, being passed by other ponies who were also in various states of depression. Across the strip was Coltligula's Palace, but we paid it no heed. Our destination was the next casino on our side of the strip and we trotted up to the front door. Security was there to greet us. "So, do you have the money to have those rings removed?" one of the stallions from earlier asked, grinning. "No, sir, we don't -- we were wanting to make an arrangement where we could work in the casino or hotel to make enough money to pay to have the rings removed," I stated flatly. "Hold on, let me get our security chief." The stallion went into the casino and disappeared for several minutes. He returned with Coffee Break, who was none too happy to see us. "What brings you two back to see us? You want your rings removed?" the burly stallion asked gruffly. "We were wanting to work out a deal," I offered politely. "Hmm. Well, I need to talk to management about that," he replied. He disappeared into the casino and was gone for a good half-hour. Trixie and I tried to wait patiently but grew bored. We sat on our haunches in the vestibule of the casino, watching patrons enter and leave, many of them having their rings removed seemingly free of charge. "Why do they get their rings removed for free?" I asked a security officer. "We heard about what happened next door at the Four Alicorns," he responded. "We put a special removal fee on those who get a reputation as cheaters." "But I didn't use my magic to cheat," I protested. "No, but you associated with a cheater, therefore you get the same treatment, regardless of whether or not you actually cheated. Keep in mind that every casino on the strip now knows about you two and you will receive the same treatment in those establishments as this one." "Trixie, I hope you are willing to apologize to me for all this," I said, frowning at her. She turned to me with tears in her eyes, then stared at her hooves, trying to choke back her sobs. "Trixie did not know," she responded, just barely above a whisper. "Amethyst, please forgive Trixie." "I forgive you, but I just hope we can get out of this city before too much longer." Coffee Break returned, accompanied by a unicorn mare, who introduced herself Golden Brace. She eyed us with an expression of boredom. "Coffee, are these the two who were interested in working for us to get their inhibitor rings removed? I find the purple one intriguing -- he has a very interesting cutie mark," she stated. "Yes, Golden, these are the two trouble-makers." "You, the purple one. What's your name?" "I am Amethyst Flame, and this is my wife, Trixie," I offered. "Well, Amethyst, how well do you dance?" she asked, flashing a smile. "Depends on what kind of dance we're talking about -- I don't have much experience with that." "Well, we have a night-club in our hotel and we're looking for attractive stallions to dance for our more privileged clientele," she stated, her smile widening a little. Trixie turned to me, a look of uncertainty on her face. I nodded at her and she frowned in response. "I am willing to give it a try, though I hope I can make enough money to have our inhibitor rings removed." "We will work out the details on that later. Trixie? We need housekeepers in the hotel to change room linens and clean the rooms after our patrons end their stay with us. We also have openings in the kitchen, either as cooks, wait staff, table bussers, or dish washers. We also have a gentlecolts' club, and we can always use mares as exotic dancers..." Trixie's eyes went wide and she formed a scowl on her face. She tried to light her horn and received a sharp burning sensation in her horn as a result of trying to use her magic, bringing a fresh round of tears to her eyes. "The Great and Powerful Trixie is not a common street tramp! She will NEVER debase herself in front of other colts for their puerile pleasures! She will never debase herself to work as a common domestic! Trixie is a magic performer of the highest caliber and the greatest talent! You dare mock the Great and Powerful Trixie? Shame on you!" I facehoofed at her outburst. "Trixie, you're not helping our situation," I said sullenly. "Amethyst, you are welcome to work for us, if you like. Trixie, I have no openings for you. We cannot use somepony who shows such disrespect for opportunity. I'm afraid I must ask you to leave, oh 'Great and Powerful' Trixie." "Trixie is not leaving without Amethyst," she stated angrily. "Trixie, how are we supposed to get these rings removed without their help? No pony else can do this for us. Where are we supposed to sleep? How are we supposed to get food to eat? How are we supposed to get our caravan out of the impound lot? Have you not thought about these things?" I asked her in exasperation. "Trixie does not want to be without you, Amethyst, but if you will not go with her, she will go by herself to find help. Trixie has traveled by herself in the past, and she can do so again." "Look, Trixie, it's just for a couple of days until the Princess takes action to help us," I said softly trying to calm her. Golden Brace cleared her throat. "Amethyst, have you made up your mind? You can stay as long as Trixie goes somewhere else -- but the two of you cannot be here together in our casino. She is not welcome here." "Please give her another chance," I begged. "Our situation is dire -- somepony stole all our money and our caravan was impounded." "I'm sorry, sir, but your wife made her point very clearly. We are willing to provide you with employment, but not her." I turned towards Trixie, giving her a quizzical look. She sighed and shook her head sadly. "Ma'am, she is pregnant. We are traveling performers -- usually we use our magic to impress ponies as part of our act. Trixie and I are capable of pyrotechnics, weather manipulation, telekinesis, illusion magic, and quite a bit else. It was never my intention to use my magic to deceive any pony for improper financial gain." "That sounds like a very interesting story, Amethyst. What does your cutie mark signify?" "I used to be an Alicorn -- and as such, I was able to raise and lower the Sun," I stated flatly. Every pony's jaw dropped when I mentioned this. Trixie just smiled. "Um, if you don't mind my asking," Coffee Break stated. "Why did you give up being an Alicorn?" "My love for Trixie was what made me sacrifice my Alicorn status," I replied. "Doubtless you have seen the statues atop the four towers of the Four Alicorns casino?" asked Golden Brace. "Trixie and I have only toured the strip today. We didn't pay much attention to those statues." "You are not represented up there -- just Celestia, Luna, Cadance, and Twilight Sparkle, the newest Alicorn. Unless you have proof to back up your claim, I doubt your truthfulness," the mare stated flatly. "If Princess Celestia were here right now, she would most assuredly verify my claim. I intend to inform her of my travels, including my treatment here in Las Pegasus. I'm not sure how she'll respond, but if my theory is correct, I wouldn't want to be the owner of THIS casino." "We don't take too kindly to threats, so I must ask both of you to leave. Now," Coffee Break growled at us. "Mark my words -- Princess Celestia WILL be hearing about this. You may as well begin planning to get new jobs," I stated, smiling broadly at them as I left the casino, trotting proudly out the front door with Trixie trailing behind me a little, her gait showing not quite as much confidence.. "Amethyst, why did you do that? You had a chance, yet you sacrificed it for Trixie?" "Yes, Trixie, I did -- and as much as I would have wanted to work to make enough money to get these rings removed, being without you would make me miserable. I think there may be a train station here and if so, we should check to see how much a ticket to Canterlot would cost us. As much as I would want to wait for a response from Princess Celestia, a train ride would soothe my nerves right now." We trotted back towards the police station so we could inform them of our change in plans, but when we came across a set of train tracks, we followed them to the nearest railway station. I went to the counter and asked how much a one-way ticket to Canterlot cost and was told that it was 120 bits per ticket. Trixie grinned when she heard this. "Hey, Trixie, if you're thinking what I'm thinking," I said, smiling warmly at her. "Yes, Amethyst, a little work and we can get out of here," she chuckled softly. We trotted to Coltligula's Palace to see about getting short-term jobs. Once again we were greeted by security, but after explaining our predicament, we met with management and were given jobs on the spot. Trixie was given a crash course on being a croupier at a blackjack table and I was assigned to security, namely wheeling the cash cart around. We both worked an eight-hour shift and were given a meal and a room to sleep in for the night. The following day, we performed another eight hour shift and we each were given a pouch with 200 bits in it. We met up at the entrance and had a little discussion. "Trixie kind of likes being a croupier," she said. "It's kind of fun being the one dealing the cards." "I kind of enjoy what I'm doing as well," I offered. "You think maybe you might want to stay here a bit longer?" "Trixie is not sure." "Well, maybe we should work for a few more days and wait to see if we get a response from Princess Celestia?" "Trixie thinks a few more days wouldn't hurt." "Maybe we should inform the receptionist at the police station of a change of address so they know we're here instead of over at the High Roller?" "Trixie thinks that's a good idea." I trotted over to the security desk and informed my supervisor of my request and he agreed to send a pegasus to the police station to inform them of the change. When he asked me the reason, I told him of our predicament with our caravan and requested assistance from Princess Celestia. I asked him if we could continue working until we heard word from her and he assured me we would be welcome to continue our employment with the casino for as long as we wanted, being paid 100 bits per day for doing our jobs, which sounded like a fair wage to me. I trotted back over to Trixie. "Okay, things are looking good here. We can keep working until we hear back from the Princess, or even longer if we want," I explained. "Trixie likes the sound of that," she smiled at me. My supervisor trotted over to us and offered us another job opportunity, one that paid better money. I decided to listen to his offer, but Trixie stated she was happy doing what she was. I was once again entertained with the idea of being an exotic dancer for the mares who frequented the casino. I had noticed that the disparity between stallions and mares was still quite noticeable, though not as prevalent as in Ponyville. "Trixie, would you be okay with me doing that? The money would probably be quite good," I stated hopefully. "Trixie does not know, but if you can behave yourself, Trixie thinks she's okay with you dancing," she replied flatly. I asked my supervisor when and where and was directed to another section of the casino which had been set aside for entertainment of the guests. The entrance was through a door, so this was a separate room from the main floor of the casino. I was escorted to a dressing room along a corridor behind a black curtain. The main floor had an elevated cat-walk set about four feet above the floor which was festooned with various tables and chairs "How long before the clientele start showing up?" I asked. "Relax, you're not going to be up there all night -- unless you want to. There are private booths you may be invited to enter by some of the patrons. Keep in mind they're not supposed to touch you, but whether or not you let them is up to you. By the way, do you have a stage name?" asked the club manager. "Hmm. I guess you can call me Flaming Star," I chuckled. "That sounds good, a strong name, easy to remember. You can relax and have a few drinks if you like -- on the house, of course. We will let you know when you're to go on." "Thanks a bunch. I'll just have some water, please." "You need to place your drink order at the bar, Flaming Star. I'm the manager, not the barista." "Sorry, sir. Thanks again for the opportunity," I said humbly, bowing a little to him. "Pleasure's all mine," he chuckled. I exited the dressing room and made my way back to the bar. A few patrons had already entered, though I was a little surprised to see a few stallions in the room along with several mares. I had a glass of water, which I had to use both hooves to hold to my mouth. An older mare sidled up to me at that point. "What'cha drinkin', honey?" she asked in a sultry tone. This mare was a medium brown pegasus, rather heavy set, with a dark chocolate colored mane and tail. Her eyes were a deep brown to match her mane and tail, which had slight strands of grey in them. I silently wondered when the last time she actually used her wings to fly. "I'm just having water, thanks," I replied flatly. "What's yer name, honey?" she asked, leaning over into my face. Her breath reeked, causing me to nearly choke on my water. I pulled back a little to escape her halitosis. "Ma'am, I'd appreciate a little breathing room. My name is Flaming Star, and I'm one of the entertainers for tonight." She beamed a big smile and wrapped her right fore-leg around my withers. "Well, Flaming Star, pleased ta meet'cha! I'm Chocolate Sweetness, and Ah've bin lookin' fer some companionship! Mebbe we can hook up later!" "Hooking up depends on how much money you wish to spend -- my services are not free, especially since I'm married," I stated flatly. "Well, in that case, honey, Ah might be able ta persuade ya ta be MAH stallion! Ah've got money ta burn!" she grinned broadly. "I'm not ready to perform just yet," I protested mildly. "There are private booths in the back," she said coyly. "You'd better make this worth my while." She took a wad of notes out of her purse and flashed them in my face. I had never seen Equestrian paper money before now and doubted the validity of it, though it sure looked real. I was silently wondering if Princess Celestia had authorized the printing of fiat currency. "This good enough fer ya?" she grinned. "I don't trust paper currency," I said matter-of-factly. "Oh, yer old school, are ya? Ah'll show ya this paper's jest as good as the coin yer used ta," she said, frowning just a little. She got up out of her chair, showing me just how big she was. There was a part of me that checked out her hips, noticing her girth and the thickness of her flanks. "If I weren't already married to Trixie, I might be awfully tempted by her, as long as I could get her to freshen her breath," I thought. She returned shortly with a large sack filled with coin and showed it to me. "Well, Chocolate, you make a very persuasive argument there," I grinned. "You might be able to tell I have a ring on my horn -- but it's not a good ring. I'm looking to have it removed, so I'm willing to go along with you, as long as you don't ask too much of me." "Where did ya get that? They're s'posed ta take it off ya when ya leave," the pegasus said, showing some concern for my plight. "My wife and I were given these upon entering the High Roller, and they told us it was going to cost us 500 bits each to have the rings removed," I stated flatly. She chuckled softly, though it was not out of humor at my situation. "Ah know some ponies -- Ah have some connections. If ya come with me, Ah can get them ta take that ring off'n yer horn," she stated confidently. "If my wife sees me with you, she'll have a conniption fit," I protested. "She's working the blackjack tables -- there's a clear view, what with all the mirrors inside this place." "Ah wonder if they're gonna charge ya two even more ta have those rings taken considerin' how long it's bin since ya had them put on ya," she mused. "Tell ya what. You come inta the back with me and let me do some stuff with ya and Ah'll give ya enough ta get both rings removed, dependin' on how well ya do!" "Okay, I guess," I said half-heartedly. I silently wondered how much she wanted to do, hoping that it wouldn't be too degrading. "Ah KNEW ya'd see it mah way!" she giggled, trotting happily to a private booth in the back. I sullenly followed her, fearing the worst.