CHAPTER 4: BONUS - NEVER CON A 'BAGS

---

Later that afternoon, Elora and Bianca found themselves sitting at a small mushroom table of a pony restaurant, enjoying some much-needed coffee while watching the ponies work on setting up a construction site on one of the buildings Spyro had damaged during his rampage; they were halfway through their mugs when they heard a most peculiar set of sounds: honking, beeping, and all sorts of other bizarre but clearly mechanical sounds firing off in an almost musical pattern.

They and the ponies nearby looked up to see something large and red coming up over the hill and rolling into town. As it made its way up to the restaurant, it revealed itself to be a large vehicle of some sort: it resembled a giant sleigh mixed with a car locomotive, with a cow grate on the front, two giant wooden-spoke wheels in the front and two smaller metal wheels suspended in the back on extensions. It had a large, almost factory-ese machine built into the back, which had two steam stacks, a number of hollow glass containers and electric bulbs, and a large golden funnel attached to a hose and barrel akin to a giant vacuum. And in the front of the machine, set between the two giant front wheels, was a fancy red couch to seat the operator of the machine.

And seated in that very couch, his rump big enough to use the entire thing as a single chair, sat the pleased Moneybags at the wheel (which looked as if it had been built in outside of the machine's plan), wearing a hat straight from Coney Island and surrounded by giant bags stuffed full of bits.

"A fine afternoon to you, ladies!" He announced as he pulled his newfound machine up next to their table. "This is certainly a charming new world, is it not?" He eyed the building nearby. "I see Spyro's making a name for himself already!"

Elora and Bianca could only gape in speechless confusion.

Until the former shook her head clear of the distractions, giving the Ursa a stern glare. "Where in the realms of Tartarus have you been?!" She exclaimed. "We could've really used your Dragon-Proofing skills just a few hours ago!"

Moneybags gave a chuckle, taking a handkerchief to his monocle. "My dear Elora, you should know me well enough by now to answer that yourself." He stated as his cleaned his trademark looking glass, placing it back over his eye when he was done. "When we found the World Gate, I wasted no time scouting out the new world and all the wealth it had to offer. I found train tracks that led me to Manehatten, a grand city, and learned quite a bit about this world and its workings, which I'm sure Spyro will find very useful."

Bianca cocked an eyebrow. "And that misshapen carnival ride of yours?" She asked.

"Well, while in Manehatten I came across a presentation hosted by two unicorns showing off their new invention." He patted the wheel cover next to him. "They called it the Super Speedy Cider Squeezy 6000, a machine capable of producing large amounts of high-quality apple cider. The two were obviously con-artists; fast talking, fancy words, excited charm, all the works. They took one look at my suit and tried to swindle me into a business venture with profits split in a way that wasn't even remotely fair." He scoffed a laugh, smugly brushing his knuckles against his top. "Amateurs to a fault if I ever saw them."

Elora knew Moneybags well enough to know that the fact he had the machine was proof that those amateurs had made a bad mistake. "So what did you do?" She asked.

The bear looked astonished, placing a paw over his chest. "Why, my dear! What do you think I did?" He asked with a grin. "What any true business man would do in the situation: turned the tables and gave them a taste of the their own medicine." He laughed deep and hardily. "Smooth-talked them into a game of dice and won everything you see before you: their machine, their bits, even the clothes off their backs!"

The faun scowled. "Of course, not once did they realize you were using enchanted dice, did they?"

Moneybags smirked coyly. "Consider it a lesson that they desperately needed to learn." He told her, tapping the side of his snout with a finger claw. "Never con a 'Bags."

---

That following night, In the back alleys of Manehatten on a bed of dirty newspaper, a naked unicorn wearing a barrel suddenly sat up with an epiphany. "I do believe that bear was using enchanted dice." He told his twin.

"Oh, shut up and go to sleep, brother." The second unicorn snapped bitterly.