Spike awoke in his suite from the best sleep of his life. It took him a full minute just to open his eyes.

He reached over to the nightstand next to his bed and picked up the framed picture of his birthmother. Her name was Barbara, and she was as beautiful as she was kind. Growing up, Spike never understood why anyone would want to hurt her. She was killed when Spike was only four-years-old and he was placed in the custody of Dragon Lord Torch, his godfather, until Celestia adopted him.

He had attended Celestia’s School for Gifted Youths, but he didn’t come from money and his classmates never let him forget it. He only attended there by the grace of Celestia’s charity, which contributed to the chip on his shoulder.

Now, at the tables he felt himself healing from the wounds of the troubled time before Torch took him off the streets. In the ballroom, on the dance floor, he felt at peace, and those years began to feel like a distant nightmare.

Suddenly, he heard Pinkie Pie knocking on the double doors to the hall.

“Hey, sleepyhead!” she called. “Get up and come grab breakfast with us!”

Spike wearily opened his eyes as he pulled his head from his pillows. He went into the bathroom and splashed cold water on his face before starting his morning ritual of combing his hair while listening to a song on the radio.

Spike joined Pinkie Pie, Rarity, Sunset Shimmer and Soarin for breakfast in the Sweet Snacks Café.

“I’ll have the chocolate chip pancakes with chocolate sprinkles, whipped cream, and extra butter,” Pinkie told Sugar Belle.

“Ham and cheese omelet, side of bacon,” Soarin said.

“Scrambled eggs with wheat toast,” said Sunset.

“I’ll have a double-vanilla latte to go, darling,” said Rarity.

“Just a hot chocolate to go,” Spike said.

“Do you want whipped cream on that?” Sugar Belle asked.

“Always,” he replied.

Sugar Belle wrote down their orders and skated off to the kitchen. Spike bid them all a good day and he and Rarity went to the register to pay. Sugar Belle brought them their to-go cups just as Zephyr Breeze walked in.

“Hey, what’s up, Godzilla?” he asked Spike.

“Whatever it is that makes you feel comfortable enough to call me names like that... shouldn’t,” he replied as he left.

“Nice outfit, Front Desk,” Zeph directed at Rarity. “You’re certainly dressed to make seventy percent of what a man in your position would make.”

“You should know,” she quickly countered. “You’re seventy percent of a man... if that.”

“Well, that backfired magnificently,” he said.

“Especially since Flim and Flam are equal opportunity employers,” Rarity added as she walked away.

She relieved Coco at the front desk and Discord dumped more work on her almost immediately.

“Have you made up the bill for Room 1212, Rarity?” he asked.

“No, I haven’t,” she replied.

“Well, they’re in a hurry,” he told her. “They said they didn’t get their wakeup call. Why didn’t they get their wakeup call?”

“Because I forgot to give it!” she snapped. “I am so sorry that I am not perfect! I’m sorry it’s not all done by magic...”

Spike was teaching Fluttershy swing dancing when a mousy woman, who worked as the Brothers’ secretary, entered the ballroom.

Her name was Moon Dancer. She stood five-six, had red hair, wore glasses, and had a model’s body hidden beneath a black suit coat and matching skirt. She came from a grounded family, had a healthy, preppy upbringing, was a triple major (science, history and economics), and would fit wonderfully at his mother’s table next Hearth’s Warming. But Spike had already set his sights on Applejack.

The sides of her mouth turned up into a smile as she spotted Spike across the ballroom. He noticed her enter and approached her.

“Welcome to my most humble, dishonorable establishment,” he said. “My worthless, useless services are at your disposal.”

“Well, thank you,” she replied.

Spike returned to Fluttershy in a twirl.

“And to finish, the splits,” he told her.

He and Fluttershy both did the splits and he could hear her joints cracking as she went down.

“Now, rise,” he said.

She grunted as she pulled herself off the floor.

“That’s it for today. Until tomorrow, why don’t you try to channel some anger into your dancing?” Spike suggested.

“But I’m not angry,” Fluttershy replied. “I don’t get angry.”

“It’s one thing to know the steps, but to express raw emotion while doing them is something else entirely,” he told her. “I do it all the time.”

Suddenly, Discord poked his head into the ballroom.

“Fluttershy, emergency lunch shift in the Café, now!” he shouted.

“Lunch shift on your afternoon off, angry now?” Spike asked Fluttershy.

“Not at all,” she said through her teeth.

After his dance lesson with Fluttershy, Spike joined Rainbow Dash on a brisk jog up and down the Strip, which eventually turned into a full-blown run.

“That was good,” she said as she took out her earbuds when they returned to the hotel. “Too bad you couldn’t keep up with me.”

“It wasn’t that I couldn’t keep up; I was just enjoying the view,”

“You couldn’t keep up. You didn’t even know I stopped for gelato,”

Spike smiled as he took a swig from his water bottle. Applejack came over from the front desk, carrying a big brown envelope under her arm.

“This just came for you,” she told Spike.

He asked her to open it for him. She did, and pulled out the latest issue of Mistress Marvelous, his favorite comic.

“Thanks, Applejack,” he said.

“You’re welcome, Sugah. Hey, do you want to grab lunch this afternoon?” she asked.

“I’d love to, but I volunteered to help Pinkie in the Café then,” Spike said as he took the comic in his free hand and headed for the elevator, “maybe next time.”

“But-but-but-I-I-I--” Applejack attempted.

Rainbow Dash stood beside Applejack and put an arm around her shoulders.

“Applejack Smith, you have just been branded with the mark of friendship,” she said. “Not a bad idea though, using food as an excuse to get close to him.”

Dash followed Spike and they almost ran into Zephyr Breeze, who was pulling his luggage cart through the lobby, when he saw a woman in a bandana and a dress the same color as Spike’s eyes walk by.

“Hey, did you see that girl that just got on the elevator?” Zeph asked Spike.

“No, I didn’t,” Spike replied.

“You don’t have to pretend you don’t see other women,” Dash told him, “at least when I’m around.”

“Okay, red dreadlocks, grayish-violet eyes, big, bushy eyebrows, probably shaves nothing?” Spike inquired.

Zephyr Breeze nodded energetically.

“What, you didn’t get her bra size?” Dash asked.

“Stupid question,” Spike replied. “She’s a hippie; they don’t wear bras, they burn them.”

“It’s no stupider than your little white magic gloves,” she retorted.

“Dash, the gloves are not magic. I am magic when I’m wearing the gloves,”

“Regardless, you wear them every time you play cards,” she said. “Why do you do that?”

“Because the one time I didn’t, I lost,” he answered.

“She’s an angel,” Zephyr said.

“Well, I don’t know who she is,” Spike told him, “but I think she’s staying here at the hotel.”

Zephyr Breeze kept watching the elevator bank, hoping to see the woman with the red dreadlocks again. He was so focused on them that he didn’t even notice Rainbow Dash drop her headphones. She bent over to pick them up and when she did, her bike shorts split and Spike saw everything! Spike was so hypnotized by the gaping hole between her legs that he didn’t watch where he was going and he walked right into one of the potted palm trees.

“I’m okay!” he shouted to no one in particular. “I’m okay!”

“Why can’t I be the girl that splits her pants and makes guys walk into things?” Applejack thought.

The elevator doors opened and Spike came face to face with the Dazzlings. Aria was leaning against the wall, Sonata was holding a box of tacos, and Adagio was carrying a basket of laundry.

“Hello there, Spike,” Adagio said huskily.

“Hi, Spike!” Sonata added chipperly.

Aria didn’t say anything, although she did manage a smile.

“Ladies,” he replied.

He stepped into the elevator with them and they rode it all the way to the 26th floor—Spike’s floor.

“Oh, look, Spike, you made me drop my panties,” Adagio flirted as he stepped out of the elevator. “Can you hand those back to me, please?”

Forgetting that he was holding his bottle of water in one hand and the comic book in the other, Spike attempted to do so, but eventually managed to slide his foot through one of the holes. It wasn’t difficult since the pair that Adagio dropped was barely even a thong. He lifted his foot to her and she took back her panties.

“Thank you,” she said with a smile.

As the elevator doors closed, Adagio puckered her lips at Spike. After they closed, Spike went into his suite, took off his running shoes and proceeded to throw them into the fireplace. He went into his bedroom and found a black T-shirt, a pair of dark blue jeans, a pair of black Chuck All-Star shoes, and a black Perfecto 613 leather jacket sitting on his bed.

After he changed into them, he went into the bathroom, greased his hair with a generous amount of pomade and combed it into a pompadour. Then he headed back down to the Café.

In the casino, Celestia and Fancy Pants were playing Blackjack against Twilight, who seemed to be in a rather glum mood.

Ever since Spike bested her the other day, Twilight’s aura seemed darker and the customers were always weary whenever she was around. Her mood lightened more and more with each win against the tourists, but inside, she was still cursing Spike for outcheating her.

Normally, the screams of the riders of the Wild Blue Yonder would make her head throb as they whizzed around the upper part of the casino. But since the roller coaster had been shut down (at least temporarily), everything had been moderately calm. At that moment, she was showing the Jack of Hearts.

Celestia hit on eleven—the Six of Diamonds, the Five of Hearts—and got the Two of Spades, for thirteen, and decided to stay. Twilight’s second card was the Six of Clubs. She drew a third card: the Four of Diamonds.

“Dealer shows 20. You lose,” she told Celestia.

Fancy Pants turned his attention to the Sweet Snacks Café and saw Spike (dressed as a greaser) and Pinkie Pie, Fluttershy, Starlight Glimmer, and Sugar Belle (in their carhop uniforms and roller skates, standing on either side of him) all swinging, jiving, swaying, and thrusting their hips to “Rock This Town!” on the jukebox. He smiled at them, wishing he could join in the fun.

“What a difference,” he thought. “Well, I suppose it’s a matter of taste.”

After the lunch rush was over, Spike congratulated the girls on their routine.

“That was exactly what I was talking about!” he told Fluttershy.

“Wow! Channeling your anger into your dancing really does make it better,” she said. “Who knew?”

“Me!” Pinkie replied.

“I did,” Sugar Belle said.

“Ditto that,” Starlight added.

“Well done!” Moon Dancer told them. “Spike, Applejack wants to see you.”

Pinkie, Starlight and Fluttershy all followed Spike to the front desk, where Applejack was talking to Rarity.

“I’m sorry I wasn’t able to have lunch with you,” he apologized.

“Well, what are you doing later tonight?” Applejack asked. “Maybe you’d like to play a little Poker with us?”

“‘Us’?” he replied.

“Yeah, a few of us try to get together at least once a week,” Pinkie said. “What do you say?”

“Sure,”

“And Fluttershy, you and Starlight are more than welcome to join too,” Rarity put in.

“Thanks, but I think I’m just gonna soak in the tub and then turn in early,” Starlight said.

“And I don’t know how to play,” Fluttershy added.

“Don’t worry, we’ll teach you,” Applejack told her.

“I’d like to come, if that’s all right,” Moon Dancer put in.

“The more the merrier,” said Pinkie. “Seven o’clock, the board room overlooking the dolphin pool.”

“See you then,” Spike replied.

And they all went separate ways.

If Moon Dancer had glanced back over her shoulder, she might have seen the tall woman in a black pants suit, with dark cerulean hair and narrow harlequin eyes, watching her from the balcony overlooking the casino.

“Now I’ve got you,” she hissed.

Spike stood in front of the mirror in his bedroom, admiring the wads of cash attached to his body.

Twenty-five thousand dollars in hundreds, strapped to each thigh. Another fifty thousand in a Velcro bag taped to his chest. Fifty thousand more stuffed into the pockets of his suit jacket. And another hundred thousand nestled against the small of his back—Two hundred and fifty thousand altogether. And he stuffed the pockets of his pants with orange chips.

It was a staggering amount, but it all belonged to him.

He dressed in his usual vest and slacks ensemble, and as he pulled on his white gloves, he glanced down at his concealead carry (a little single shot derringer that was on the end of a chain he usually draped across his vest) and decided to leave it. He hadn’t seen any “No Weapons Allowed” signs on the entrance doors the day he checked in, and he already knew that several of the staff had concealed carrys and hidden blades, but he wouldn’t need his. Not tonight.

Spike put on his jacket, exited his suite, and hit the elevator call button. When the doors opened, he saw Zephyr Breeze standing in it, sans luggage cart.

“Were you coming to see me?” Spike asked.

“Come on, you think I have nothing better to do than to hang out with you?” Zephyr replied.

“Basically, yeah,” Spike answered.

“Well, you’re wrong. I’m riding up and down the elevators in hopes of running into my dream girl again,” he said.

“You know Discord’s gonna kick you out when he eventually finds out you’re not working, right?” Spike inquired.

“No, he’s not. I explained my situation to him. Turns out he’s a real romantic,” Zeph said as Spike got on the elevator. “I don’t know, there’s something special about this girl, she could be the one.”

“Well, best of luck to you,” Spike told him.

The board room Pinkie had mentioned was located halfway down a hall in the most recently renovated part of the hotel.

There were no weekends per se for the Resort; most of the employees got a day and a half every nine, which meant they were never the same days. There were sign-up sheets in the staff locker room, so Spike and the girls tried to get the same downtime, and that’s why they were together on a Wednesday night in early June.

Just as he reached the door, it opened from the inside. Spike recognized Applejack (who pulled the door open), as well as Sunset Shimmer, Fluttershy, Rainbow Dash, Pinkie Pie, Rarity and Moon Dancer (who was wearing a peach colored dress and holding a stuffed bear in her arms. She looked more like she was ready for bed than a game of cards).

The next thing Spike noticed was that the window shades were pulled, the yellow fluorescent ceiling lights bathed the walls in stragely shaped shadows, and seven chairs were arranged around a round table in the center of the room.

The women had finished sharing a dinner that could nourish only the very young: beer, hard cider, burgers, potato chips, and coleslaw.

Rarity stood up from the table as Spike entered.

“Welcome to Draw Poker, Mister Drake,” she said. “We’re all thrilled you could make it.”

Spike thanked her. He took off his jacket and draped it over the back of the chair between Rainbow Dash and Applejack. He sat down and rolled up his sleeves so that he would not be able to hide any cards up them.

They sat around the table so that (going clockwise, starting at six o’clock) it went Rarity (who wouldn’t play, but act as dealer), Pinkie Pie, Fluttershy, Sunset Shimmer, Rainbow Dash, Spike and Applejack. Moon Dancer stood off to the side, saying she was just going to watch.

“We’ll begin with Five-Card Draw,” Rarity said as she shuffled a deck of cards. “Everyone remember Five-Fard Draw?”

They all nodded.

Also known as the Cantrell draw, it was the simplest variant of poker (as well as the basis for video poker) and often the first learned by new players. Although, it was not as popular as Seven-Card Stud or Texas Hold ‘Em and was commonly played in home games and rarely (if ever) in a casino or tournament.

“Jacks or better, nothing wild, everybody ante,” Rarity said.

They all tossed one black chip ($100) each into the center of the table as Rarity dealt each of them five cards, one at a time, all face down, and placed the remaining deck aside. Spike and the girls picked up their cards, being careful to keep them concealed from each other, and Pinkie, being the player first to Rarity’s left, opened the betting round by wagering another $100.

Fluttershy looked at her cards—the King of Hearts, the King of Clubs, the Two of Spades, the Three of Hearts, and the Four of Spades—and said, “I’m in.”

“In,” Sunset added.

“In,” said Dash.

“I will see your one hundred, and raise you two,” Spike said to Pinkie.

“Call,” Applejack said, betting two hundred more.

That concluded the first round of betting. Then they started dumping cards from their hands. Pinkie discarded three cards, Fluttershy discarded two, Sunset discarded three, Rainbow Dash took one, Spike took two, and Applejack one. The second round began with Pinkie, who folded, and Fluttershy and Sunset checked. Rainbow Dash bet $100, then Spike raised her $500, causing Applejack to fold, and Fluttershy called Spike’s raise.

Then they started showing hands: Fluttershy and Sunset both had Two Pair (Kings and Twos, and Kings and Threes, respectively), Dash had Three of a Kind (Sixes), and Spike had a Full House.

“Queens, full of nines,” he said as he showed them his cards.

Rarity gathered their cards, shuffled, and dealt again. They played five more games, and Spike won the last one with a Straight against both Applejack and Rainbow Dash’s Two Pairs—Tens and Aces, and Jacks and Twos.

“Are you kidding?” Dash exclaimed.

“What else would you expect from the guy that whipped Twilight?” AJ asked her. “He’s a juggernaut!”

“I didn’t even bring my A-game,” he smiled as he collected his winnings.

“What the Tartarus is going on here!?!”

They all turned and saw Twilight standing in the doorway. She must have just come off her shift, Spike thought, because she was still in her dealer’s uniform.

“You said ‘Tartarus’, throw a hundred in the pot!” he commanded.

“What?” she asked.

“Twi, we all had to,” Dash told her.

“You started without me?” Twilight asked Rarity. “And you are in my seat!” she told Spike.

Spike craned his neck and bent several ways to look at his chair from all sides, but he never got up from it.

“Sorry, I must have missed the brass plaque with your name on it,” he retorted with a smile.

“Deal me in,” Twilight said to Rarity as she approached the table.

“Darling, we already have six--” Rarity began.

“I’ll tap out,” Fluttershy said, and offered her seat to Twilight.

Pinkie said, “You can be on my team, Fluttershy.”

She scooted closer to Pinkie as Twilight pulled up a chair and took a seat between Fluttershy and Sunset.

As Rarity dealt the cards, Spike couldn’t help but gaze at Twilight. She had that prep school aura about her; studious, awkward, but also superior, as if she was used to being the smartest one in the room. A mathematical genius, and liked to prove it by playing cards. Now, she was acting like all that was being threatened. The next game began and Pinkie, Twilight, Sunset and Rainbow Dash all checked.

“Five hundred,” Spike said.

“What’s the first lesson in Poker?” Twilight quizzed her coworkers.

“Leave emotion at the door,” Rainbow Dash answered.

“That’s right,” Twilight replied. “Today’s lesson: How to draw out the bluff. That much money this early in the game, I’d say he’s holding nothing better than a pair of face cards.”

“I fold,” Applejack sighed.

“Two cards,” Spike said to Rarity after Pinkie folded.

Twilight took three cards and Sunset decided to up the ante.

“I will see your $500,” she told Spike, “and I will raise you another $500 of my own.”

“That is a very handsome bet, Sunset,” Twilight said. “But be careful. You don’t want to push him too high too fast. You want to keep him on his leash.”

“Call,” Rainbow Dash added.

“I see your five hundred,” Spike told Sunset, “and raise you two thousand.”

How they betted was their business. The challenge in Poker was to make everyone else think you were betting for a reason. The others were free to do what they liked, but Twilight was staying in. She thought Spike was trying to buy his way out of a bluff.

“A Flush,” she said.

“Four Sixes,” Sunset replied.

Rainbow Dash showed a full house.

“What have you got?” she asked Spike.

“Read ‘em and weep: four lovely ladies,” he replied.

Four Queens and an Ace—he won again.

As Rarity shuffled, Twilight reached into her vest and pulled out several golden chips, each worth one million dollars.

“Table stakes,” Rarity said. “I’m sorry, darling.”

“No,” Spike told her. “Give her a chance to win her money back.”

Spike fished around the inside of his shirt with both hands, and the girls wondered what he was doing. Then they heard the distinct rip of Velcro, and Spike’s hands reappeared.

The girls’ hearts thumped as they saw the rolls of bills at least four inches thick, all hundreds. As much as twenty grand was taped inside his shirt. Then he pulled the orange chips out from his pants pockets.

“Check,” Pinkie said after Rarity dealt.

“Check,” Twilight repeated.

Sunset and Rainbow Dash also checked.

“I’m in for fifty grand,” Spike betted.

“I’m out,” Applejack said.

“Me too,” Pinkie added.

“I see your fifty thousand... and I raise you five million,” Twilight said.

“Out,” Sunset told Rarity.

“Okay, Rainbow Dash, your bet,” Rarity said.

“I fold,” she replied.

“Spike, are you in or out?” Rarity asked.

“I’m in,” he answered.

Twilight stayed in as well.

“How many cards do you want, darling?” Rarity asked Spike.

“One,”

Twilight took two and asked, “What do you bet?”

“I bet two million,” he said.

“Okay. I see your two, and I raise you twenty more,” Twilight replied.

Pinkie’s jaw dropped as Applejack’s gaze shifted to Spike.

“I see your 20, raise you 25,” he told her.

Sunset tugged at the collar of her shirt while Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy’s eyes kept going back and forth between Spike and Twilight.

“See your 25, and I raise you 100,”

“I think she’s got ya, partner,” Applejack whispered to Spike.

“She’s bluffing,” Spike whispered back.

Applejack didn’t bother to ask Spike how he knew, but he knew. The girls all had their Poker tells: Applejack bit her bottom lip, Fluttershy played with her hair, Sunset cleared her throat, Rainbow Dash tugged on her ear, Pinkie blinked twice in a row, and Twilight’s eyes twitched.

Every. Single. Time. They bluffed.

“How about it, Drake?” Twilight asked impatiently. “You in?”

Her eye twitched.

Spike’s gaze shifted to Applejack, who met him with a smile.

“Take her down!” she told him.

Spike promptly shoved the last of his pile into the center of the table and said, “Call! Showdown! What do you have?”

“I really should have kept my other hand,” Twilight thought. “Oh, well.”

She showed her hand: the Three of Spades, the Three of Diamonds, the Three of Hearts, the Eight of Spades, and the Eight of Hearts.

“Full house,” she said.

Spike grinned as he revealed his own hand: a King, a Queen, a Jack, a Ten, and an Ace—All Hearts—A Royal Flush.

“I hate you!” she thought.

“Well, tallying up what you bet, I’d say that you owe me no less than... one hundred fifty-two million and fifty thousand dollars,” Spike said to Twilight. “I would appreciate it now, if you don’t mind. You will be kind enough to pay up, won’t you?”

“I... can’t,” Twilight said.

“What was that?” Spike asked quietly.

“I... I don’t have it right now,” she said. “Please, could you wait a few days? I swear I only need a few days.”

Spike rose from the table and moved to the door. He paused against the frame and wondered why Twilight would be walking around with chips worth a million dollar apiece if she didn’t even have the money to back up her bets.

“I had fun, so fine by me,” he said finally. “Have a nice evening.”

And Moon Dancer followed him out.

Later that night, Spike and Moon Dancer walked down the sidewalk, through the garden behind the resort.

A full moon had risen in the sky and it shone a beautiful glow down upon them. They didn’t say much until halfway back to the hotel, when she turned to look at him.

“That was a pretty cool stunt you pulled back there,” she said.

“What, that circus act?” he replied. “Shuffle tracking and cuts give you a nice advantage, but they can’t be used too often. I only pull that stuff when the stakes are really high, more consistent—and a lot more lucrative.”

Spike watched her brush her red hair out of her eyes. She was both intrigued and disturbed.

“You know as well as I do that there are two major problems with card counting: one, your percentage over the house is too damn low. Even the most complex systems have an overall edge of two percent, if that. To make any money at all, you need an enormous stake, and that’s too easy a technique to spot. To take advantage of the highs and lows, you have to drastically raise and lower your bet, and moving that kind of money draws too much attention. Which leads to problem number two, it’s too easy for the casinos to figure out what you’re doing—and stop you from doing it. They catch you by watching your bet.”

Moon Dancer looked impressed.

“The whole idea of card counting makes me nauseous,” he continued. “The casinos like people to think that they can be beat—it gets them to the tables. But they don’t want people to know that they can be beat because then they would have to admit to all the things they have to do to keep the games in their favor.”

“Well, I’ve developed a system that takes care of all those problems,” she said. “I am going to hit Las Pegasus—hard—and I want you to help me.”

Now it was Spike’s turn to feel uneasy. Even if there was nothing illegal about making Blackjack beatable—it still seemed wrong. But it also thrilled him—deep down, in that part of his personality he tried to keep buried.

“The Flimflam Brothers have been scamming people for years,” she went on. “Their games are set up to give the house a hefty advantage. Anyone stupid enough to sit down and play is paying for all this neon and all those ‘free’ drinks. If anybody’s cheating, it’s the people that own the casinos. They set up the rules so that they almost always win. But if you’re smart, you can put the odds in your favor. Mowed Green proved that over seventy-five years ago, and many have been following his example for decades.”

Spike knew the story of Mowed “Bugsy” Green. He was a gangster who had an idea to build a city out of a desert stopover for GIs on their way to the West Coast... and the city he invented was Las Pegasus. He was a great man. A man of vision and guts... and there wasn’t even a plaque or a signpost or a single statue of him in the whole city. He got the back of his head blown off because he wanted too much of the take from his operations in Las Pegasus.

Gambling was the single biggest industry in Equestria, bigger than Carneighie Steel, bigger than automobiles, and the guys running it took great care to keep it running smoothly. Las Pegasus had gone through no less than five distinct periods since gambling was legalized in 1933. First there was the Mobster Era. Inspired by their success in illegal gambling parlors, infamous figures such as “Bugs” Green moved into town. Funded in part by two hundred and fifty million dollars, he built the first major casinos.

In the sixties, a moderately insane tycoon took over where the mobsters left off: adding an element of corporate legitimacy to the town through his business and political connections, while funding another building boom. Then, in the seventies, an architectural monarch gave birth to the first of the huge resorts with the construction of the first Maretro-Goldwhinnyn-Mareyer Grand in 1973. At a hundred and twenty million dollars, with twenty-one hundred rooms, the casino was the draw of the true Las Pegasus-styled entertainment complex and precursor of things to come.

Now, they were flirting with the idea of “family entertainment”, with gaudy amusement-park-styled attractions and décor. Las Pegasus had already decimated the competition and emerged from the recession in part by reinventing itself as the world’s foremost adult amusement park, luring millions of conventioneers with a lax attitude toward the sex industry, and a new focus on the consumption-oriented middle class.

The city built by gangsters became Equestria’s premier vacation and corporate conference destination; an over-the-top world of excess and imagination.

“You don’t seem the Las Pegasus type,” Spike commented.

Moon Dancer blinked.

“What, you don’t think I’d look good in a rubber tube top?”

“No, I just never would have thought a straitlaced, hard-nosed business girl would be running around a city full of overeducated anarchists,” he replied.

“I found the thrill of gambling almost as addictive as consulting,” she said. “The idea of going up against huge corporations, finding ways to beat them in their own arena—it was a real high.”

Her eyes were bright as she spoke, but Spike shot her a look that conveyed he wasn’t convinced.

“Seriously, I found the atmosphere stimulating and I liked being able to play a different role—especially while I was going through Celestia’s School for Gifted Youths,” she said.

Spike didn’t get a chance to respond because he saw a tall lady, dressed in black, with narrow harlequin eyes and dark cerulean hair standing a few yards ahead of them, blocking the path.

She was flanked by two thin, young men dressed in black suits. Two more identical men approached Spike and Moon Dancer from behind. They all looked pale and malnourished. They were all grimy, with dirt ingrained into their skin. Spike recognized the pair in front of him as Thorax, his roommate from college, and his older brother, Pharynx.

“May I help you?” Spike asked.

“Nothing you can do,” the lady in black replied. “I have business with her!”

She pointed at Moon Dancer and one of the two men behind Spike tried to grab her. Spike grabbed him by the wrist, catapulted him over his shoulder, and slammed him into the pavement.

“Thorax, Pharynx, Cornicle, get her stuffed bear!” the lady in black shouted.

Spike backwards kicked the other guy that was behind him (the one called Cornicle), and then Thorax and Pharynx came at him together, shoulder-to-shoulder. Spike roundhouse kicked Pharynx and then, using an open palm, struck Thorax in the chest, sending him skidding back.

The fortune under Spike’s clothes (the heavy money belt around his waist and the bulging plastic bags strapped to each of his thighs) did nothing to help. One of the bags around his thighs was slipping down his leg, and the belt twisted around to his back.

“Why did I pack on so much?” Spike thought.

But the fight was over almost as quickly as it had started.

“Come on! Let’s beat it!” the lady in black told her minions.

The five scattered and ran and Spike asked Moon Dancer if she was okay.

She stared at him for the longest time. Then Spike caught something out of the corner of his eye. He turned and saw Applejack, Sunset Shimmer, Fluttershy, Pinkie Pie, Rainbow Dash, Rarity, and Twilight standing a few yards away.

They had seen all that had happened.

“That. Was. Awesome!” Dash exclaimed.

Zephyr Breeze dragged himself from the elevator the following morning.

He spent the whole night riding it, up and down, but he never saw the woman with the red dreadlocks.

“Any luck?” Bulk Biceps asked him.

“No,” Zephyr groaned. “Maybe I should give up.”

“No! You said this girl could be your destiny! There’s nothing more important than finding true love!” Bulk said.

Moon Dancer brought her teddy bear down to breakfast and to lunch, and she carried it with her wherever she went. After what happened last night, she didn’t feel safe leaving it in her suite upstairs.

“Let’s hit the tables,” Spike said.

“After we attack the buffet,” Pinkie said, “can’t play on an empty stomach.”

As they went through the line, Spike spoke to Moon Dancer about what happened the previous night.

“Do you have any idea why that strange woman was after your bear?”

“I don’t,” she replied.

“You’re not keeping anything from me, are you?” Spike inquired.

“I promise, if I knew, I would tell you,”

They ate their lunches and they saw neither hide nor hair of the lady in black, or any of her henchmen. The rest of the morning went by peacefully, until they hit the casino. Everyone from Flim and Flam to Fancy Pants and his escorts were there. And that’s when the lady in black reappeared, with Thorax and Pharynx by her side.

“You’ll have to forgive me for last night,” she said.

“What do you want?” Twilight asked them. “The dealer’s area is off-limits to non-personnel.”

“I admit that when I saw her, I couldn’t control myself,” she confessed. “I’d really prefer not to cause a scene, but given the location, we could settle this.”

“You’re looking to play a game?” Twilight asked her.

“Now you’re picking up what I’m putting down. My name is Chrysalis Queen,” she introduced herself. “I’ve earned the reputation as ‘The King Killer.’ I show no mercy, not even to young children.”

“My, my, this seems like quite a predicament here,” one of Fancy Pants’ escorts said. “You really should give Moon Dancer a hand,” she told Twilight.

“I can’t believe it,” Chrysalis thought. “It’s Fleur de Lis!”

“Flimflam Resort must truly be prestigious to have Applewood actresses wandering around,” she said aloud.

“Miss de Lis is right, Twilight,” Rarity added. “You remember the house’s motto?”

“‘The customer is always right,’” Twilight gritted through her teeth.

“But I won’t be playing against you,” Chrysalis told her. “I will be playing against him!” She pointed at Spike. “And just to show you that I’m not completely heartless, why don’t you name the stakes?”

“All right,” Spike replied. “If I lose, I will invite you to my suite, where I will strip down butt naked, and you can do whatever you want to me.”

“What?!” Twilight exclaimed.

“Three conditions, huh?” Chrysalis asked. “If that’s how you roll, then you must want something pretty good in return should you win.”

Spike smiled and said, “If I win, you have to strip down, after you tell us why you’re after Moon Dancer’s bear, and I get a job here at the resort!”

“Now, wait a minute!” Twilight shouted. “You can’t--!”

“We accept these terms!” Flim stated.

“Call a film crew!” Flam shouted at Moon Dancer. “Let’s record this...”

“And Spike,” said Rarity, “I’ve prepared a ceremonial outfit for you for such a grand occasion—Time for a costume change!”

“Doesn’t anybody care what I think!?!” Twilight screamed.

“NO!!” the whole resort shouted in reply.

Fifteen minutes later, several of the resort’s staff and guests assembled around a poker table in the center of the casino and Spike returned wearing a black suit and bowtie.

“He’s handsome,” Applejack said.

“So handsome,” Sunset repeated.

“Is that a tuxedo?” Fluttershy asked.

“Not just any tuxedo, a groom’s tuxedo,” Rarity said.

“Why’s he wearing that?” asked Dash.

“Oh, you’ll find out,” Rarity replied.

“This should be fun,” Pinkie commented.

“Even if Spike loses, we’ll have some epic footage to use in a commercial,” Flim said.

“Yes, but he’s going to have to win if we want to see Chrysalis naked,” Flam reminded his brother.

Spike approached the table and sat directly across from Chrysalis.

“Sorry I’m late... darling,” he told her.

Chrysalis erupted with laughter.

“I can’t believe this,” she said. “Life is one Tartarus of a sick, twisted joke!”

“Hmm?” Spike asked.

“A few years ago, just seconds before our wedding, my husband left me at the altar,” Chrysalis explained. “Ever since then, I’ve had terrible luck with men and been forced to live the life of a lonely bachelorette.”

“That’s sad,” Fluttershy said.

“Telling us this probably isn’t helping your prospects in that area,” Spike commented.

“You’ve pissed me off for the last time!” Chrysalis shouted. “I’ll tear your clothes off and make sure that you’ll never be able to get married! You are nothing! You’re nothing but a toy to me!”

“Well, now that we’ve got that out of the way, I will be your dealer,” Rarity said. “The game is a simple, single match of closed poker. You may exchange cards only once. Let’s get started.”

“I’ll show you exactly how I earned my reputation as ‘The King Killer,’” Chrysalis hissed. “Let’s do this!”

Rarity dealt Spike and Chrysalis each five cards and Chrysalis displayed her hand: the Eight of Clubs, the Ten of Hearts, the Jack of Hearts, the Queen of Hearts, and the King of Hearts.

“I’ll be trading in my cards,” she said.

She kept the King of Hearts and traded in the rest of her hand.

If Chrysalis had tossed the Eight of Clubs and gotten the Nine of Hearts, she would have a Straight Flush. Or, if she got the Ace of Hearts, she would have a Royal Straight Flush. But instead, she kept only one card.

“Wow,” Dash breathed. “That’s risky.”

“I’m gunning for four delectable Kings,” Chrysalis said. “They’ll come to me. All the men will come to me! They belong to me!! They obey my every word and whim!!! They are my slaves and I am their only mistress!!!!”

While it may have been true that Chrysalis was horrible with men, her luck in gambling more than made up for it.

Spike kept his hand concealed and traded in two of his cards. Then Chrysalis showed her new hand: all four Kings and the Nine of Hearts.

“Spike,” said Rarity, “let’s see what you have.”

Spike smiled and revealed his new hand.

“Four aces,”

Chrysalis’s smile slowly faded.

“I guess even four Kings weren’t enough to save you,” he told her.

“And the winner is Spike!” Rarity declared.

“Behold, the power of our newest employee!” the Flimflam Brothers exclaimed.

The crowd cheered for Spike as Thorax and Pharynx consoled Chrysalis.

“Our Mother is a fanatic for collecting stuffed animals,” Thorax explained. “It’s how she’s coped with losing her fiancé all these years. It’s the only thing that helps.”

“That bear is precious to me,” Chrysalis sobbed. “It’s an out-of-print collector’s item imported all the way from Belgium. I just wanted to hold it... and forget.”

“Kind of impossible since the tag says ‘Made in China,’” Spike replied.

“What? There’s no way!” Chrysalis exclaimed. “How could I have been fooled so easily?”

Spike walked around the table to Chrysalis and wrapped his arms around her so that they were chest to chest, heart to heart.

“There, there, it’s all right,” he said soothingly. “You don’t need to be alone anymore.”

“Now you’re just rubbing it right in her face,” Twilight said.

Chrysalis hugged Spike back and said, “I can’t thank you enough.”

“No way!” the girls all exclaimed.

“Way,” Soarin said.

“Is this really happening?” Rarity asked in disbelief.

“Awesome!” Dash exclaimed.

“Seriously?” Twilight asked her.

“And don’t worry about our agreement,” Spike told Chrysalis. “I’ll contact you later, when I plan to collect. Until then, I hope you enjoy the rest of your stay.”

“Thank you again,” she said happily.

And she walked off with Thorax and Pharynx right behind her.

“Spike,” said a voice. “Over here.”

It was the Flimflam Brothers; Flam was holding the elevator doors open. He joined them and they took him to their office up on the 31st floor. They ushered him inside, closed the doors behind him, and told him to sit down.

“That was extraordinary what you did,” Flim began.

“Thanks,” Spike replied nervously.

“You really could have lost today,” said Flam.

“But you impressed us,” Flim went on. “And that’s why we want to offer you a job as our resort’s new dance instructor.”

Spike opened his mouth, but couldn’t find the words.

“Why?” he finally managed.

“Because you’re smart,” Flim said.

“You seem to have a good work ethic,” added Flam.

“You’re good with numbers,” Flim went on.

“And you’ve got the look,” Flam finished.

“‘The look’?” Spike asked.

“Polished, theatrical, and, with a little work, you could sit at a table of A-list celebrities and businessmen, betting twice as much as any of them and never appear out of place,” Flim explained.

The Brothers reached forward to shake Spike’s hand and a strange feeling came over Spike as he looked into the two pairs of pistachio eyes staring back at him. Obviously, they had been cooking this up for some time. They had been sizing him up for their team. The game against Chrysalis was a test of sorts—not to mention invigorating as Tartarus—and he had passed.

Spike shook hands with the Brothers and they welcomed him aboard.

“You’re in the casino resort business now, Mr. Drake,” Flim said, “not the hotel business, at least not the way we run it.”

“But not so far removed fom it, either,” added Flam. “We want you to work hard, but we don’t want you to work yourself to death. Just remember a few things: the guests have to be happy, because if they aren’t happy this place dries up and blows away; always know where your wallet is, and always show up.”

“And if anyone gives you a hard time, send them directly to us,” Flim stated. “Fail to do any of that and you’ll be out the revolving door so fast your head will spin along with it.”

Spike nodded.

“You’ll report to Discord tomorrow morning at 7:00 A.M. sharp,” Flim said.

“You’re dismissed,” said Flam.

Spike left their office and saw Moon Dancer standing by the elevator. And she was no longer holding her stuffed bear.

“What are you my shadow now?” he asked her.

“What can I say? I feel safer when I’m around you,” she replied. “I was just wondering if you had thought anymore about my offer.”

“I have,” he said. “I’m in.”

“Are you absolutely sure you want to get into this? I ask because I don’t want you sacrificing yourself for someone who may not be able to repay you,”

Spike was silent for a brief moment.

“This city is our, big, juicy oyster, and we are going to bleed it dry,”

Moon Dancer smiled at Spike and said, “Wonderful.”

They entered the elevator (Zephyr Breeze was leaning against the wall) and rode the elevator down to the lobby. When they got out, the woman with the red dreadlocks got on and Zephyr Breeze straightened up and dusted himself off.

“Hi, how’s it goin’?” he asked. “I’m Zephyr Breeze.”

“Tree Hugger,” she replied.

“Listen, this might sound a little crazy, but I saw you get on the elevator yesterday, and I thought we had a connection, so I’ve been riding it in the hopes of running into you again,”

“You’ve been riding the elevator for a day just to meet me?”

“Yeah, I’m sorry if I--”

She didn’t give him a chance to finish his sentence because she threw herself into his arms and started kissing him.

When the elevator doors opened again, she gave him a wink as she walked out. He could barely stand on his feet.

“Zephyr, are you all right?” Rarity asked.

“Yeah, I’ll be fine,” he said.

“Was that her?” Bulk inquired.

“Oh yeah,” he replied. “And I think we’re going steady, too.”

Later that night, Celestia found Spike tossing pennies into the water fountain out front.

“Spike! Flim and Flam just told me what happened,” she began. “Where have you been? I’ve been looking all over for you.”

“I just didn’t feel like celebrating,” he said as he skipped another coin across the water.

“Are you kidding?” she asked. “You get to spend the rest of your summer working in a casino resort. You got your wish!” She sighed and said, “Sit down.”

They both sat on the ledge of the water fountain.

“Spike... Remember when I first brought you here to Las Pegasus?”

“Yeah, it was shortly after you adopted me,” he fondly recalled. “We shared the bed in the suite, you wrapped me up in the blanket you quilted for me, and rolled me back and forth across the bed until I laughed so hard I cried.”

“Well, those days... they’re almost over,” she said. “I mean, how many more chances will we get to do something together as mother and son? I’m working more and more, and you’re growing up so fast that I hardly recognize you.”

Celestia seemed on the brink of tears as she spoke.

“Mom, you’re the headmistress of the most prestigious private school in the country,” he replied. “You’re important. I understand why you’ve been so busy.”

“I know. But that’s no excuse for me not spending time with my baby. That’s why I wanted you to come with me on this trip: for one more wonderful time together. What do you say?”

Spike smiled at her and said, “Okay.” They shared a hug. “Are you really all right with this?”

“Why? Did you want me to argue? Try to talk you out of it? If this is what you want, if it’s teaching people how to dance, I will support you. You’re old enough that you can make your own decisions, you don’t need my permission,”

“Thanks, Mom,”

And they hugged again.

Next time, the Resort hosts the Pillars of Equestria Tour (a of collection artifacts that belonged to Equestria’s greatest heroes) and Rainbow Dash challenges Spike to a game of pairs.