After dinner was over, most of the group went upstairs to explore their appointed rooms. Cherry Jubilee, however, decided to go explore the lounge that had been mentioned earlier. Upon arriving, she collapsed on the large, beige sofa next to the door.
She sighed, figuring out what could she do within the mansion other than go to sleep. Cherry sat up and looked at the entirety of the lounge room, looking for something she could do to pass the time. The amazing antique decorations of the room had caught her interest.
“Wow, the decorations certainly do look nice,” she mentioned to herself. She got up from the sofa and began gazing about the room, admiring everything from the small chandeliers to the tables each having a different game for one’s amusement. Cherry stopped looking around when she noticed Filthy Rich entering into the room. She began to pressing in parts of her mane to make sure that no part of it was sticking out from laying on the sofa.
“Oh, good evening, Ms. Cherry. Pleasure to meet you,” said Filthy, getting comfortable on the couch she had been sitting down only moments before, “Wow, what a comfy sofa.”
“Why, yes it is quite a comfy sofa indeed, Mr. Filth-, I mean Mr. Rich,” Cherry said, putting a hoof to her chin and looking away for a moment before continuing, “So… might I ask what brings a stall like you here at this time of the night?”
Filthy Rich looked up at the chandeliers and then down at Cherry, “I guess I just decided to take a stroll down to the lounge to see what they had. Just happens you were here.”
"Oh, I see," Cherry responded, the billiard table in the center of the room catching her eye. Following her line of sight, Filthy smirked, an idea coming to his head.
"Are you up for a quick game of eight ball?" He trotted over to one side of the billiard table and picked up a cue that laid on top of it. "It wouldn't be long. Just for a short while."
Cherry smiled as she trotted over to the opposite side of the table. She faced him and picked up the other cue and began eyeing the board for the cue ball. Filthy grabbed the rack overhead and placed it on the table, carefully filling it with the multicolored balls.
"Ready Ms. Jubilee?" Filthy said, trotting behind the head rail and placing the cue ball on the table. Cherry smiled as she raised up her cue.
"My my, I haven't played this hoot of a game in a darn long time. Let's see if I still got what it takes, huh," she said, trotting a few inches behind him. As Filthy lined up his first shot, Cherry looked on intently, secretly hoping he would scratch his first shot.
Filthy held the cue to his left hoof, lining up his shot. With the sudden movement of his right hoof, the cue ball sped across the table. It hit the balls head-on, scattering them in all directions. Surprisingly, not a single ball rolled into a pocket.
"Aw, nuts!" He sighed, accepting the fact that things weren’t going his way. Cherry snickered, stepping up to the rail for her turn.
He tossed the chalk onto the table for her. "It's for you to make a better shot." Filthy winked, and Cherry kept her smile while taking up the chalk to rub against the tip of her cue stick.
"Thanks," Cherry replied, heaving the chalk back to him. She looked at the four ball near the center pocket of the table, slightly blocked from her angle by the seven.
"Don't mention it," he said, putting the chalk into his side pocket. He looked on intently, hoping she would somehow miss her shot. She was steadying her cue when he asked, "So I hear you have a business going in Dodge Junction. Is everything still going fine for you?"
Cherry's smile had fallen away, washed away by words that caused her discomfort. She made her shot, sending the cue ball flying across the table into the seven, setting off the chain reaction that pocketed the four.
"W-Well ya know, it's doing quite fine. Except for the fact that-," Cherry paused, not sure if she was to continue her thought on the future of her business.
"The fact that what?" Filthy responded, a look of concern on his face.
"Except for the fact there's gonna be a huge drought that would bake my precious cherries faster than an oven can bake an appleberry pie!" Cherry turned to Mr. Rich, "If I don't find away to protect my precious cherries, I won’t have enough to sell and that might mean I won’t have enough to start up next season. An' I don't want all my years of hard work to go with the wind, ya know?"
Filthy gave a sympathetic nod. Cherry continued her turn, pocketing two more balls before scratching. Filthy stepped up to the table, only to scratch on his first shot.
"You know-," Filthy started.
"Yes?" she responded, trying to line up her next shot.
"I could help you with your problem. With the bits I own, I could help you keep your business by building a few greenhouses for you to grow your cherry crop so that you could get through the drought crisis."
Excited, she dropped her cue stick and hugged him, "Oh thank you kindly for such a great offer! I really appreciate your every bit a' kindness."
"You're welcome," -Filthy smile had changed into an expression of arrogance,- "But what would make me really glad right now is me defeating you at this game."
Cherry released her hooves from around him, leaned her head sideways and shot him cocky stare, "You could try, pumpkin, but no pony could defeat me so easily. You're gonna have ta work harder than that if you want a chance against me."
"Alright, we'll just see about that," Filthy trotted over to the right side rail of the table and lined up his next shot. Just as he was pulling back his cue, the phone in the corner of the room began ranging.
Distracted, Filthy picked up his cue. He started trotting over to the phone, only to be stopped by Cherry. "You go on and take your shot, hon. I'll answer the phone."
She picked up the phone as Filthy tried to line up his shot again. "Hello?"
She waited a few seconds, only to hear the other end cut off. "Welp, I guess the-," She was interrupted by a yellow cloud of gas hitting her in the face. As the gas hit her lungs, she began violently hacking. Gasping for air, she fell to the floor.
"Filthy..." She continued to cough loudly, "...H-Help..."
"Good Celestia, what happened!" Filthy dropped his cue stick to the floor and ran to Ms. Jubilee's side.
She was desperately gasping for air, trying to hold on for dear life. Despite her best efforts, it was mere seconds before she collapsed lifelessly in his hooves. Her last breaths were accented by the chimes of the grandfather clock in the foyer.
"Somepony help!" His panicked screams echoed through the halls, interrupting the otherwise tranquil evening. Unsure of what just happened, curious ponies began rushing down the stairs to the source of his voice.
Upon their arrival, they were greeted by a shocking scene. Filthy was holding a lifeless Cherry in his arms, eyes wide in horror. A few faces turned away in sheer horror, while even Pinkie Pie deflated, realizing the weight of the situation.
Twilight broke off from the group and walked up to Filthy. She placed her hoof upon her neck, only to confirm what they feared. She gave a disheartened nod to the group, and turned back to Filthy. "What happened?"
"I-I don't know. The phone rung, and she picked it up, and now she's d-dead!" Filthy broke down into tears. Twilight looked back down at Ms. Cherry and shed a tear for their lost comrade.
************
To be continued . . .