Spike sat across from Applejack and Sunset Shimmer as they sipped cocoa in the Sweet Snacks Café the following morning. Sunset’s mind strayed to the money he had given her, which lay on the table in front of them.

“I guess I owe you even more, huh?” she asked.

“Why?” Spike replied.

“Well, first trusting me with your allergy shot and now this,” she said, looking at the stack of cash. “I can’t pay you back right now, but I promise I will.”

“That was a gift,” he told her. “Don’t give it another thought.”

Sunset and Applejack smiled at Spike as several people walked into the Café, saw him, and then walked right back out. Ever since Spike had made Twilight cry, the guests (and even several of the other employees) were giving him a wide berth. Spike knew that he would have to find a way to make it up to them. Whatever it was, it would have to be something big, and he would have to do it fast... before the Resort started losing customers.

As for Twilight, she had been relegated to the lowest level of the casino’s hierarchy after her loss to Spike. After falling so far, it was going to be impossible for her to climb back up. That day, she had been forced to dress as a showgirl and prance around like a circus pony. She walked by the Café wearing a skimpy outfit, complete with a feathered headdress and matching tail feathers.

“I’m sorry, Twilight,” Spike apologized to her.

“Shut up!” she shouted. “This happened because of you!”

“No, this happened because you’re a cheatin’ snake,” Applejack replied.

Twilight stormed into one of the elevators and punched the button for the 31st floor. She was going to give the Flimflam Brothers a piece of her mind!

Flim and Flam were looking out their giant window, overlooking the Strip, when Twilight marched into their office. Spike and Applejack had followed her up.

“I see,” said Flim. “So, you’re saying that since you’re just a dealer, you should only be doing the work of a dealer?”

“Is that what you’re telling us, Miss Sparkle?” Flam asked.

“Yes, that’s correct, Sirs,” Twilight replied.

“Well, that’s perfect then!” Flim said.

“Is it?” Twilight asked.

“Really?” Spike and Applejack added.

“Come in!” Flim shouted to the door behind them.

The doors opened and the Resort’s new favorite/top Bunny Girl entered.

“Fluttershy?” Spike and Twilight asked.

“Fluttershy has a lot of potential, but she’s still rough around the edges,” Flim began. “We want you to take her under your wing, polish her up, and make her shine like a diamond!”

“You want me to train new recruits?” Twilight asked.

“That’s right,” Flam replied.

Twilight seemed hesitant about the idea.

“What’s the matter?” Flam asked. “Didn’t you say that you would rather stick to dealers’ work? Training new dealers fits that description, does it not?”

“Well, I guess you’re not wrong,” Twilight replied.

Flim grabbed a rolled up poster that had been sitting on his desk.

“Oh, I almost forgot,” he said, “Cherry Blossom is having her grand debut at the MGM arena next month and I see our star cellist opposite her in the ring.”

He unrolled the poster to reveal a picture of Octavia Melody, one of the Resort’s musicians, dressed in a suggestive purple bikini in an advertisement for several sporting events, including Foxy Boxing.

“‘Mud, Oil, AND Jello Wrestling’?” Spike read the captions out loud.

“It’s what’s in now,” Flim explained.

“Octavia doesn’t strike me as the fighting type,” Spike commented.

“You haven’t seen her get into a catfight with Vinyl,” Applejack told him.

“Well, I’ve always wanted to train a new recruit,” Spike said to the Brothers.

“Very well,” Flim replied. “We’ll leave Fluttershy in your care.”

“You’re all dismissed,” Flam added.

Spike and Applejack left with Fluttershy as Twilight stood dumbfounded at what just happened.

“Why is this happening to me?” she thought. “Why to me? How did I fall so far? How did it come to this? What did I do? Why me? Why?”

Spike escorted Fluttershy to the High Rollers’ Lounge, which was empty, so she could show him her card skills.

“I am so excited to be out of the Café right now, you have no idea,” she said.

Spike did have an idea. In fact, he knew exactly what she was implying.

She was thinking about the Paradises’ out of control kids.

The junior staff had been plagued by them since the day they started work.

Yesterday alone they had made a baking soda and vinegar volcano in X Sushi, which covered the entire restaurant in bits of crab meat and other raw fish; made Starlight Glimmer drop her serving tray in the Café, pantsed Discord in the center of the lobby, crashed the Flimflam Brothers’ personal golf cart into a row of slot machines in the casino, which caused said machines to topple over like dominoes; used Zephyr Breeze as a piñata, ran a luggage cart full of suitcases into one of the outdoor swimming pools, and rigged the computer at the front desk to short circuit and blow up. And when Fluttershy went to their parents to suggest that they “keep a closer eye on them,” they just brushed her off saying, “They’re just boys being boys.” But it didn’t stop there. Chef le Grand personally came out of the kitchen after the waitresses relayed one too many complaints.

“Is everything to your satisfaction?” he asked.

“I don’t like the fries!” one of the boys stated.

“They’re awful!” added the other.

“Why are they ‘awful’?” Chef asked.

“They’re the wrong shape!” they complained.

“They get everything cooked the way they like it at home,” Mrs. Paradise told the Chef.

“Oh, do they now?” Chef retorted.

“Yes, and it’s better than this garbage!” one of them commented.

“These eggs look like you laid them!” the other added.

“They’re rather highly strung,” Mr. Paradise said.

“Yes, they should be,” Chef replied.

“They’re the wrong shape!” they complained again.

“Well, what shape do you usually have?” Chef inquired. “Wilhelm Wombat shape, unidentified flying object shape, smart-mouth shape, poke-in-the-eye shape?”

It escalated until the twins finally threw their food to the floor and called Chef le Grand stupid! It took the combined strength of Starlight, Pinkie and Sugar Belle to haul the Chef back through the swinging doors to the kitchen.

“Don’t worry, Chef,” Starlight told him. “Those brats will rue the day they came to Las Pegasus!”

“Is it wrong to say that you hate someone if they’re only eight years old?” Fluttershy asked Spike as he closed the doors behind them.

“Well, Applejack caught them peeing in all four of the swimming pools yesterday, so I’m going to say no,” he replied.

“Have you even met the parents? They actually think that we like babysitting their little monsters all day!”

“I hear ya. But we’re here now, so how about we run a quick exercise and you can show me what you’ve got?”

Fluttershy shuffled and reshuffled a deck of cards while Spike watched her. She started with a simple overhand shuffle, one of the easiest to accomplish after a little practice, gradually transferring the deck from one hand to the other. Then she smiled as she did a riffle before fanning the cards out on the table in front of her and flipped them over in one swift motion.

“Wow. I don’t think I have anything else I can teach you,” he told her.

“No!” Fluttershy yelped. “I still have a lot I need to work on!”

“Well, you passed on your shuffling skills,” Spike replied. “Now, I’ll show you how to work the Roulette.”

Spike and Fluttershy joined Sunset, Applejack, Pinkie Pie and Rainbow Dash at the bar in the casino. Spike ordered a Coke and rum while Fluttershy picked up her serving tray and prepared to bus drinks around the room.

Spike downed his drink and walked across the casino straight to the table with the platinum Roulette wheel. There was only a sprinkling of gamblers at it, playing small. Fancy Pants was one of them, and he smiled as Spike took his place behind the wheel.

An elderly balding man with dead eyes asked, “What’s the maximum here?”

“Five thousand,” Spike replied with a smile. “Let’s get started. I wish you all the best of luck.”

He picked up the wheel’s matching platinum ball as he noticed a young man with sandy-colored hair and wearing a sharkskin gray suit and glasses standing across the table. He held a stack of black casino chips in his right hand and a ring box in his left hand.

“What’s up with him?” Dash asked.

“Poor guy,” Sunset said, “looks like he’s too scared to propose to his girlfriend, so I guess he’s thinking about betting the engagement ring.”

“Betting the ring?” Fluttershy asked.

“Would you like to place a bet, sir?” Spike asked. “It’s your turn.”

“Oh, um, I can’t seem to make up my mind,” he stuttered. “It’s actually really important.”

“Oh, I see,” Spike smiled again. “Well, aren’t you the lucky one. It’s all riding on you, then.”

“Did he just talk to the ball?” Dash asked.

“Yup,” Sunset confirmed.

“Eeyup,” Applejack said.

“Eeyup!” Pinkie repeated.

“Mm-hmm,” Fluttershy added.

Spike blew on the Roulette ball and whispered to it, “Make our friend’s wish come true,” then he let it go.

There was a buzz of conversation around the table and several more people drifted up and stood watching. Spike felt their curious eyes upon him, but he only looked across the table into the eyes of the pit boss—Sassy Saddles. They were as friendly as they were intrepid. He smiled at her as the Roulette wheel whirred and the little ball set off on its journey.

“Excuse me, sir,” Spike said to the indecisive young man. “I don’t mean to be rude, but if you’re having trouble choosing a number, might I suggest that when looking at the table, you picture your loved one. If you trust your feelings, then I’m sure they’ll lead you to victory.”

The young man nodded and placed his stack of chips on Red 23.

Spike hardly looked at the wheel as it slowed down and the little platinum ball rattled into its slot.

“And the winner is Red 23!” he announced.

A pretty young woman with brown eyes and a brunette Pixie cut approached the Roulette table.

“What about 23?” she asked. “My birthday’s on the twenty-third. Sorry I made you wait so long.”

The young man wrapped his arms around her, kissed her on the cheek, and asked, “Comet, will you marry me?”

“Can we afford that?” she replied.

Spike raked in a few losing counters and casino chips and tossed some money down the table to the winners, before pushing 20 stacks of black chips (each worth $100), ten high, towards the young couple.

“I guess we can,” she said. “I do!”

“Yes, thank you!” he cried.

Fancy Pants, and everyone else around the table, clapped and Spike said, “Congratulations, you two.”

“It’s all thanks to you,” the young man replied. “Thank you for the advice.”

“Come again,” Spike told them.

Applejack, Sunset, Pinkie and Fluttershy smiled while Rainbow Dash stared, almost dumbfounded.

“What just happened?” Dash asked.

“Spike breathing on the ball must have inspired it to grant that guy’s wish,” Sunset said. “I guess he really is a living good luck charm.”

“Nice one, Spike,” Applejack added.

While this was happening, a suave, flirtatious young singer with brown hair, skin the color of light gold, and dressed in black slacks and a black vest with gold accents, checked in at the front desk with three lovely ladies in tow. One of them was a blue-eyed blonde dressed in green, one was a brunette with violet eyes and clad in red, and the third girl wore blue and had pale blue eyes and hair.

“Ah, summer in Las Pegasus. There’s nothing like it in the world,” the singer said. “Wouldn’t you agree, my beloved Dear Darling?” he asked the blonde.

“Oh, Feather Bangs, you’re so amazing!” she exclaimed.

“I knew you’d say that, sweetheart,” he replied. “It’s basic science and logic. There’s a purpose to everything and nothing in this world is coincidence, just as it was no coincidence that my path crossed with my lovely fan girls... It was fated!”

“You’re the best, Feather Bangs!” the three women cried.

“Now then, there’s no time to lose,” he said. “Can you feel Destiny calling us, babe?”

They entered the casino and approached a group of men in suits surrounding one of the Craps tables.

“Seven! Seven! Seven! Seven! Seven! Seven! Seven!” they chanted.

“Not very stylish to have such an unbecoming scowl on your face while you play,” Feather Bangs said as he grabbed the wrist of man who was about to throw. “Cast the dice like you’d cast a bottled love note out to sea. Like this.”

Feather Bangs let the man’s wrist go and sure enough, he rolled seven.

“Oh, Feather Bangs, you’re so amazing!” his fan girls cried.

“What can I say? The numbers on my side,”

Then he approached a woman sitting at a slot machine.

“Today is not my day,” she said.

“May I offer the lovely lady a little luck?” he asked.

She giggled as he inserted a coin into the machine and she hit the jackpot.

“I’m sensing a low Engel coefficient, so eat, drink and be merry!” he stated.

“Oh, Feather Bangs, you’re way too kind!” his groupies sighed.

Sunset, Pinkie and Rainbow Dash approached the platinum Roulette wheel.

“Check out Mr. Smooth,” Spike whispered to them as Feather Bangs stepped up to one of the billiard tables.

He picked up a cue stick and sent three balls into different pockets on the same shot.

“Find the coefficient of friction and factor in momentum, trace the angle of incident against the perpendicular plane,” he told them. “My equations are perfect, like me.”

“Oh, Feather Bangs, you’re so cool!”

“Time to stop showing off and get to work,” he thought. “Where are you?”

He heard a loud crash of glass and saw that Fluttershy had dropped her serving tray.

“Are you all right?” he asked.

“Yes,” she said as he bent down to help her. “I can clean this up, please don’t worry about it!”

“Oh, Feather Bangs, you’re so thoughtful!” his groupies cried.

“It’s fine,” he told Fluttershy. “I aim to please.” He winced as he cut a finger on one of the shards of broken glass. “Don’t you worry a single precious hair on your head; the wounds of love cut deep, but I would gladly suffer pain a thousand times greater if it meant keeping you out of harm’s way.”

“There! Good as new!” Fluttershy said.

Feather Bangs looked down at his hand and saw that she had wrapped the end of his middle finger with a Band-Aid. She apologized again and he thanked her for the bandage. That’s when he saw Rarity out of the corner of his eye, dealing at one of the Blackjack tables.

“There she is!” he thought with a smile.

“Ahem,” Feather Bangs cleared his throat as he strut up to the table. “Is this seat taken?”

“It is now,” Rarity replied. “Welcome, sir.”

“My name is Feather Bangs,” he introduced himself with a swish of his hair. “My two great loves are numbers and women.”

“Feather Bangs, you’re fantastic!” said Swoon Song.

“Your boyfriend is a pretty lucky guy,” he said to Rarity. “It’s not every day I meet a woman with such a warm and inviting personality. Now, give me a card and let’s go.”

Rarity smiled.

“Every girl I meet falls in love with me. It’s inevitable!” he went on. “You feel the same, don’t you?”

“I’m flattered, but--”

“It breaks my heart, but I have no choice,” He took her hands in his. “I could feel the hands of Fate pulling us together!”

“Ugh, he did not just say that!” Spike said. “He’s so cheesy I need crackers just to listen to him!”

“And why does everything he’s saying sound so familiar?” Sunset asked.

“‘Cause he’s using lines straight from that old movie ‘Rainbow Gate’,” Dash said. “What a doofus!”

“As my sister Maud’s boyfriend, Mud Briar, would say, ‘Technically, it wasn’t a movie, it was a TV show,’” Pinkie added.

“Okay, he can’t get away with using unoriginal lines to hit on Rarity,” Spike said. “That’s beyond wrong!

“It’s like trying to pass off a knockoff outfit as a designer,” Sunset told him. “Rarity hates it when people do that.”

“He is so going down!” Spike swore.

“Hey, we all down for movie night in the theater tonight?” Pinkie asked. “Cheese Sandwich has the whole collection of ‘One Thousand and One Movies You Must See Before You Die.’”

“Really?” Dash asked. “That’s awesome.”

“Does he take requests?” Spike inquired.

Pinkie nodded.

“In that case, I’ll definitely be there,” he said.

Later in the day, Fluttershy and Starlight Glimmer joined Rainbow Dash in Room 520 while she was cleaning it.

Starlight was going through the closet, which was full of the most beautiful gowns and dresses she had ever seen.

“Okay, whoever this woman is, she has seriously good taste,” she said. “We should borrow some to wear to the movies tonight! Let’s try some on!”

We can’t do that!” Fluttershy exclaimed.

“Why not?” Dash asked. “She’ll never know.”

“And there might be cute guys there,” Starlight added.

“What if she notices they’re gone?” Fluttershy asked.

“She has 27 dresses,” Starlight counted them.

“We’ll have them back before she even notices,” Rainbow Dash added as she pulled a yellow dress over her head. “Uh, guys, I think I’m stuck.”

“Ooh, this one would look so pretty on you!” Starlight said to Fluttershy as she held up a strapless green number.

“Oh, don’t tempt me!” Fluttershy said. “I’ve got to get back to work.”

“Guys, I’m serious, okay? I am stuck in here!” Rainbow Dash shouted.

Meanwhile, out in the hallway, Applejack (in her lifeguard uniform) knocked on the door to the room. She was on her way down to the outside pools when one of the people that had been on the elevator with her passed gas. She stepped out with another one of the guests, and when she breathed in the fresh air, she heard the sounds of female laughter coming from one of the suites.

Female laughter that sounded a little too familiar.

“Shh, shh! Someone’s at the door!” Fluttershy whispered.

“Get it off! Get it off me!” Dash told them.

The door to the suite opened.

“Can I help you?” Dash answered.

“What’s going on?” Applejack asked. “I heard a ruckus.”

“A ruckus?” Dash repeated. “I don’t know anything about a ruckus.”

Applejack heard the sounds of girls giggling behind Rainbow Dash.

“Is someone else in there?” she asked.

“No, it’s the TV,” Dash said, which wasn’t entirely false. “The guests must’ve left it on.”

“Tourists,” Applejack said with a roll of her eyes.

She started to walk back toward the elevator, and then turned around again. She pointed to her eyes using the backward V-Sign. Then she pointed those fingers at Rainbow Dash. The universal sign for, “I’m watching you.”

She did it three more times before she walked away again.

“Okay, I really have to go,” Fluttershy told them after Applejack had left.

“You’re sure about the dress?” Starlight asked.

“Yes,” she replied. “You two are so bad!”

Spike stretched out on a chaise by the larger outdoor swimming pool, his biceps bulging as his hands were behind his head, his eyes shielded by wraparound sunglasses, as he waited for his mother to join him.

He saw Sunset sunning herself on a chaise next to Applejack’s lifeguard tower. She was wearing a sarong over the bottoms of her black bikini. Luckily for Celestia (who stepped out of the women’s changing room), they were also wearing dark sunglasses because she was wearing nothing at all. Celestia quickly ducked back into the dressing room and stepped back out again, wearing a skimpy, virgin white, barely-there, pretzel bikini.

Spike glanced across the pool at the postcard-perfect picture before him, and a tall beauty whose bronze skin complimented her sun-kissed hair. Then he glanced back at his mother, who reclined on the chaise next to his.

With curves in all the right places, Celestia was very much like a goddess. Spike’s eyes focused on her beautiful, perfect breasts; long, luscious legs; and amazing ass. He could clearly see the outline of her nipples beneath her swimsuit and his mind soared with thoughts about what else lay beneath.

Then he asked himself how he could be thinking about her like that. Sure, they weren’t related by blood, but she had raised him as her own after his mother died and he loved her for that.

“Spike,” Celestia’s voice broke him from his thoughts. “I can’t help noticing you’re taking more of an interest in the fairer gender lately. There’s something I would like to say about that. There comes a time in every young man’s life when he enters a garden of beautiful flowers. And he wants to enter that garden with the knowledge to let the flowers bloom...”

“Mom, if this is about sex, you can save yourself the embarrassment. I already know,” he told her.

“You do?”

“The Sex Ed course at your school is very thorough,” he replied. “Now, if you’ll excuse me, I see a young lady who needs help putting on suntan lotion.”

He stood up and walked the few feet to Sunset just as she untied her sarong and turned over to lie on her stomach. She rested her chin on her hands as Spike sat down beside her.

“Need a hand?” he offered.

Sunset nodded with a smile as Spike picked up the bottle of tanning oil and started rubbing some over her shoulders.

“So, guess what Cheese Sandwich is screening tonight at the theater,” he said as his hands worked their way down her back, “the first three episodes of ‘Rainbow Gate.’”

“You asked him to show it?” Sunset asked.

“More like bribed,” Spike replied. “I promised I’d wash his bus next week.”

“You know, you’ve been kind of obsessed with getting back at Feather Bangs since he hit on Rarity,” Sunset commented as she took off her sunglasses. “What do you care who she dates?” She gasped. “You like her! And you’re jealous of Feather Bangs!”

“I am not!” Spike protested.

“You want to kiss her! Admit it!”

“I’d rather kiss Twilight!”

“You’re washing a bus for her?” Applejack asked.

“No, I am doing this for the betterment of mankind and because women shouldn’t have to put up with cheesiness from guys, especially in the form of stolen lines!”

“Yeah, you definitely like her,” Sunset commented.

“Excusez-moi,” a new voice interrupted.

Spike’s head whipped around and he saw Fleur standing next to him, holding a white towel in one hand and a bottle of sunscreen in the other. Her French bikini barely covered her sensual figure.

“Sorry to keep you waiting for so long, Monsieur Drake,” she said as she took the chaise next to Sunset’s.

“Feel free to call me Spike,” he told her.

“Well, thank you for waiting, Spike,” she replied.

Fleur lay on her stomach after she handed Spike her SPF 100. She really didn’t want to get burned. Spike didn’t blame her.

She lifted her hands to her back, untied the knot in her top, and the strings dropped to her sides. Then she released the knot at her neck as well, and pulled her bikini top out from under her. She dropped it on the ground right at Spike’s feet and rested her chin on her hands.

Spike couldn’t believe it when Fleur reached down to the knots in the waistband of her bottoms and tugged them before dropping them at his feet too. She let out an airy sigh as Spike’s fingers touched her soft, smooth skin. He started at her shoulders, and then slowly worked his way down.

“So, will I see you at the theater tonight?” he asked her as he rubbed more lotion onto her back.

“Actually, I thought that you would join me in my suite,” she replied. “I could cook dinner, maybe share a bottle of wine?”

“That sounds like a roadmap whose destination is the boudoir,” he said as he moved his hands over her thighs so that they just barely brushed her posterior.

“But if a night out is what you want, then I would love to accompany you,” Fleur said. “I hope you’re taking notes,” she told Sunset. “Learn a little something about how to treat your man.”

Sunset went red in the cheeks, Applejack’s whole face went red as steam started to come out of her ears, and Fluttershy (who had been bussing drinks by the pool) saw the whole thing. She dipped her hand down the front of her uniform, pulled out her cell phone, and speed-dialed Starlight.

“I changed my mind,” she said. “I need that green dress for tonight!”

Just when Spike thought his situation couldn’t get any hotter, Chrysalis showed up. She towered over him in a royal blue sling bikini as he squeezed more sunscreen onto his hands.

“Would you mind rubbing some oil into my back?” she asked sweetly. “I won’t bite... unless you want me to,” she added in a whisper.

Her swimsuit slipped from her figure before she laid out her towel and lay down upon it, resting her head on her arms.

Spike positioned himself on top of Chrysalis so that he was straddling her thighs and she purred as he rubbed her bronze shoulders and caught a glimpse of the sides of her breasts on either side of her body, pressed under her weight. Chrysalis felt Spike getting hard and she clenched around his erection like it was a hotdog, sandwiching him between her buns.

Suddenly, Chrysalis unclenched as she, Spike, Fleur, Celestia, Sunset, Applejack and Fluttershy heard music coming from the other side of the pool. They saw Feather Bangs, fully clothed, following Rarity. He was trying to charm her by playing guitar and singing “She Loves Me.”

He followed her around the pool, singing and playing all the way, until they walked up the steps to the high dive, and Rarity pushed Feather Bangs off the diving board and into the pool.

“Well, there’s something you don’t see every day,” Spike told Applejack after she’d helped Feather Bangs out of the pool. “You’re coming to the theater tonight, right?”

“Uh, y-yeah, yeah,” she replied.

“Great, see you then,”

And then he left.

Applejack turned to Sunset and asked, “Um, did he just ask me on a date?”

“Uh, I don’t think so,” she replied.

“I think he just asked me on a date!” Applejack said.

Sunset wrapped her sarong around her waist as she got up and thought, “Oh, man, this could be a weird night.”

Only about 20 people (including Spike, Fleur, Applejack, Sunset, Fluttershy, Pinkie Pie, Rainbow Dash, Twilight and Starlight) were at the theater that evening. Even Feather Bangs showed up... with Rarity on his arm.

Cheese Sandwich was selling tickets at the box office while Soarin and Zephyr Breeze worked the concession stand and a young woman with moderate azure eyes, pale olive skin, strong cerulean hair with arctic blue highlights, and tiny glasses ushered people into the theater. According to the usher’s nametag, her name was Juniper Montage.

Spike had chosen to go casual, in dark navy Wranglers and a black T-shirt, as did Fleur (except her shirt was pink and her jeans were tight enough that they cupped her heart-shaped derrière). Applejack and Sunset were also dressed in jeans and T-shirts (red and orange respectively), Pinkie was decked out in a hot pink tank top and miniskirt (no surprise there), Rainbow Dash wore a yellow dress with spaghetti straps, Fluttershy wore a strapless green ensemble, and Starlight was wearing a pale, low-cut heliotrope number that was extra short in the skirt.

“Hey, did anyone see what’s playing?” Spike asked.

“Oh, yeah, tonight’s showing is the first three episodes of the short-lived, early-2011 series ‘Rainbow Gate’!” Cheese Sandwich announced.

Feather Bangs’ eyes went wide for a moment.

Then he said, “Hey, Rarity, we can’t really talk at a movie. So, why don’t we go get some frozen yogurt or something?”

“What? You can’t just walk away from ‘Rainbow Gate’,” Spike said. “You are really going to love it,” he told Rarity. “Enjoy.”

He returned to Fleur, who was looking at Starlight.

“Is something wrong, Cherie?” he asked her.

“I have that dress,” she said. “I thought it was a one-off.”

“I know. Don’t you hate it when that happens?” Starlight chuckled. “Hey, why don’t you guys go in, save us some seats, and we’ll get the refreshments after we, uh... powder our noses?”

“It looks really crowded,” Feather Bangs replied. “We probably won’t even get in.”

“No, I really want to see this,” Rarity said. “Please? It looks really good.”

She batted her eyelashes at him and made a cute little face that he couldn’t say no to, while Starlight pushed Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy into the ladies’ room and locked the door behind them.

“Girls, the guest we borrowed our dresses from, is Fleur,” Starlight told them, “Spike’s Fleur!”

“I told you! I knew this was a bad idea!” Fluttershy said. “We can’t go in there now!”

“Well, I want to see Feather Bangs’ face when he gets busted,” said Dash. “Spike told me how he plans to do it, and I love it! And besides, what’s the worst they can do, fire us?”

“Hmm, good point,” Starlight replied. “Let’s go.”

They exited the restroom and got in line for the concession stand. Fluttershy ordered a small box of popcorn with butter but no salt, Starlight asked for salt with no butter, and Twilight took her kernels plain (no salt or butter), complaining that they always made her fingers greasy.

Applejack followed Spike and Fleur to the center of the theater and they sat in the middle of the row, Applejack on his right, Fleur on his left. Then Sunset sat right of Applejack. They sat in the row behind Feather Bangs and Rarity.

Juniper Montage had personally shown them to their seats. Sunset and Applejack noticed her smile at Spike, and longingly gaze at him, until he took his seat. They both glared at Juniper and then smiled as her face went red with embarrassment and she went back to the lobby. Spike sat behind Feather Bangs while Rarity sat to Feather Bangs’ right. Twilight and Starlight entered soon after, Twilight glancing around for Spike (trying not to be too obvious, but was). They took their seats in the row behind him, and Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy sat in the row behind Twilight and Starlight.

Normally, Spike would have pulled the armrests down, but now, as he sat between two beautiful women, he decided to let his arms rest at his sides, in case someone (namely Fleur) wanted to cuddle.

The theater went dark as the screen widened and the first episode began.

The male lead on the screen spoke.

“Your boyfriend is a pretty lucky guy. It’s not every day I meet a woman with such a warm and inviting personality.”

“Didn’t you say that to me this morning?” Rarity asked Feather Bangs.

“No,” Feather Bangs chuckled nervously. “I don’t--I don’t think so.”

Halfway through the episode, Spike offered some of his popcorn to Applejack.

“Aww, thanks, you’re sweet,” she said as she reached into the box.

She glanced down at the coating of luscious topping.

“Salt and butter?” she asked.

“Naturally,” he replied. “What good is life – and popcorn – if you don’t enjoy it?”

Applejack smiled as she devoured two handfuls and then licked her fingers.

Twenty minutes later, the second episode began and the man on the screen looked at his love interest with kind eyes.

“The wounds of love cut deep, but I would gladly suffer pain a thousand times greater if it meant keeping you out of harm’s way.”

“Now, that’s a great line,” Spike whispered. “Wait, haven’t I heard that somewhere before?”

“Usher!” Feather Bangs shouted. “There is someone talking behind me!”

Everyone in the theater shushed him.

“What are you, leaky tires?” Spike asked them.

That quickly shut them up.

As the minutes passed, Applejack leaned closer and closer to Spike. She leaned in so close that her breast grazed his bicep. He smelled good to her, like body wash, fresh from the shower. She recognized it from a sample that came in one of Sunset’s magazines—it was the body wash Spike was spokesmen for: Dragon Wolf. It was like a combination of exotic spices and a campfire that had been just put out; two of her favorite scents.

“Oh, sorry, do you need more space?” Spike asked her.

“No, I-I just, uh...”

“Oh, I was gonna get up anyway,” he said.

When he did, Applejack leaned toward Sunset and whispered, “This wasn’t a date, was it?”

“No,” Sunset whispered back.

While the ladies’ room was a place for chatting, primping, and various “woman mysteries”, the men’s restroom was dedicated to speed and efficiency. When using a public bathroom, men observed general unspoken rules that dictated behavior and sped up the process of using the facilities. And the biggest rule of all, the one that should never, ever, be broken, was keeping any and all interaction to a minimum. And that meant absolutely no talking!

But while Spike was washing his hands, he couldn’t help but ask Feather Bangs if he was enjoying the show.

“You’re getting some kind of sick enjoyment out of this, aren’t you?” Feather Bangs asked him.

“You have no idea,” Spike replied with a smile.

“Wait, how did you know that ‘Rainbow Gate’ was playing tonight?” Feather Bangs asked. He gasped. “You didn’t! You bribed the guy out front to run it! I am so going to get you back for this!”

“I’m so scared!” Spike chuckled sarcastically as he exited the restroom.

He, Feather Bangs and Rarity returned to the theater as the third episode began. After five minutes, Fleur put her hand on Spike’s thigh. Then she started tracing it with her finger and sighed into his ear.

“What does he even see in her?” Twilight whispered to Starlight.

“Maybe she’s a good conversationalist,” Starlight whispered back.

Neither one of them even remotely believed that.

Spike was having a hard time (pun unintended) trying to focus on the screen so that he would be ready to bust Feather Bangs at just the right moment.

“Well, this was fun,” Feather Bangs said abruptly. “Can we go now?”

“Wait, my favorite part’s coming up!” Spike said as he planted his hands on Feather Bangs’ shoulders, forcing him to stay in his seat.

“I could feel the hands of Fate pulling us together!”

“You stole all those lines!” Rarity shouted at Feather Bangs.

Spike released Feather Bangs as Rarity ran out of the theater and they both went after her. She ordered a large box of nachos with extra cheese from the concession stand, and Soarin obliged.

“Rarity, I know what you’re thinking, but this is all a misunderstanding,” Feather Bangs said.

“Oh?” she replied. “Well, here’s what I think of your cheesy lines!”

And she slammed the nachos onto his head.

Spike and Fleur were immediately at Rarity’s side with handkerchiefs.

“I’m so sorry!” Twilight said. “Is there anything I can do?”

“Thanks,” Spike gritted through his teeth. “But we’ve got it.”

“Come on, Rarity,” said Fleur. “Let’s go. Oh, and if those dresses are mine,” she added to Fluttershy, Starlight and Rainbow Dash, “the three of you will be more than fired!”

Spike and Fleur took Rarity to the Sweet Snacks Café and ordered her an emergency ice cream sundae with extra sprinkles and whipped cream.

“We have to get these dresses in Fleur’s closet before she gets back to her room!” Starlight exclaimed.

And she, Fluttershy and Rainbow Dash took off for the elevator bank.

“Um, where did everybody else go?” Pinkie asked.

“Who cares?” Sunset replied. “They were giving me a headache.”

“Guess we’re on our own for the rest of the evening,” Applejack said.

Starlight, Fluttershy and Rainbow Dash changed clothes while they washed and dried Fleur’s dresses and returned them to her closet. When Fleur returned to her suite later that night, she found the three dresses hanging in her closet exactly as she had left them.

The next morning, Applejack, Fluttershy, Pinkie, Rainbow Dash, Starlight and Rarity were all relaxing by the larger outdoor pool while Spike was swimming laps. He pulled himself out of the water and toweled off just as Feather Bangs and his three groupies walked out from the hotel.

“Did you have a nice swim?” Feather Bangs asked rather calmly.

“Did you have a hard time washing the cheese out of your hair?” Spike countered in reply. “What do you want?”

“I said I would get you back for last night,” Feather Bangs replied, “and well, you have something I want... a certain card?”

He reached into his vest pocket and produced a playing card with a sapphire number three on one side and the Sun on the other.

“My friend here is so lonely,” he said.

Spike couldn’t believe it.

“A Gate,” he breathed. “You’re a Gate Holder?”

“That’s right,” Feather Bangs growled in reply. “And I challenge you to a Gate Battle!”

Several guests and employees clamored as they crowded around them. Many of them had heard about Gate Battles, but none of them had ever seen one with their own eyes, especially since they were so rare.

“But I wouldn’t be surprised at all if you didn’t want to fight me,” Feather Bangs added. “Taking up arms to defend the woman you love so dearly, why it brings a tear to my eye. Fate is such a cruel mistress!”

Spike guessed Feather Bangs was talking about Rarity, but he didn’t care.

“I accept your challenge!” Spike shouted.

Suddenly, the ground started shaking.

“What’s happening?” Spike exclaimed.

A giant Roulette wheel rose from the pool. It was so large that a yellow bowling ball served as the Roulette ball. Pinkie Pie reached into her hair, pulled out a microphone, and spoke into it.

“Ladies and gentlemen, Flimflam Brothers Resort is proud to present a once in a lifetime showdown ultimate Roulette Gate Battle!” she announced. “Every dealer wishes to be a Gate Holder. Those who have Gates not only fight for themselves, but for the dreams of dealers far and wide! Anyone who can’t handle that burden doesn’t deserve to be a Gate Holder! Seizing the title of strongest dealer is a victory for hope itself!”

Feather Bangs glanced at Spike’s board shorts.

“Raising the stakes?” he asked. “I’ll join you!”

And he tore his clothes off, revealing a black Speedo underneath.

“Oh, Feather Bangs, you’re so sexy!” Dear Darling, Fond Feather and Swoon Song cried out. “That six-pack is to die for!”

“So, what do you think?” Feather Bangs directed at Rarity. “Do you find my body intoxicating?”

“I’m certainly overwhelmed,” she admitted.

“The audience sure is eating this up,” Fancy Pants observed. “Well, I suppose a Gate Battle is a fine excuse to loosen up a little.”

“The rules are simple,” Pinkie told Spike and Feather Bangs. “One of you will throw the ball and the other will bet. It comes down to a straight bet between red and black. If the person betting bets correctly, they win. If they bet wrong, the winner is the person who threw. Got all that?”

“Yes,” Spike stated.

“Oh, I’ve got it,” said Feather Bangs.

“And Fluttershy, you will be the dealer,” Pinkie added.

“Wait, I’m not ready!” she protested.

“Fluttershy, you’ll be fine,” Spike told her. “All you have to do is choose who will bet and who will throw the ball.”

“After you,” Feather Bangs said. “Whatever you want is just fine by me.”

Spike was taken aback by this.

“Really?” he asked. “Are you sure?”

“Of course I’m sure,” Feather Bangs replied. “Either way, it’s still a 50/50 chance, so the odds will be even. So, what do you desire? Well, besides Rarity.”

Spike thought for a moment and said, “I’ll bet.”

“Then I will gladly throw the ball. I’ve never played Roulette under these conditions. A few practice throws would help. Do you mind?”

“Go ahead,” Spike said.

“How naïve,” Feather Bangs thought as he picked up the ball.

Feather Bangs was no ordinary gambler; he was a Gate Holder. On top of that, he was good with numbers. He could make the ball fall into any pocket of his choosing, even if it was on a giant Roulette.

The size of the wheel was irrelevant, only the speed of its rotation and the timing with which Feather Bangs threw the ball were important.

“Rotation speed, 2.5 yards per second; ball weight, fourteen pounds; internal slope of the Roulette, 32 degrees...” he calculated in his mind. “Oh, I almost forgot to include the cut on my finger into the equation.”

One final calculation: (1+i) 4 = (√2) 4*ei π-4

“Now it’s perfect,” he whispered. “Black two!” he called out.

He threw the ball down the alley and it shot up the tube leading to the top of the Roulette wheel. Accelerated by the tube, the ball passed through the ramp in seconds and into the wheel... and it landed on black two.

“Red fourteen!” he shouted on his second practice throw.

It landed in red fourteen. After that he called out “Black 29” and once again it went into the corresponding pocket.

“Perfecto,” he said. “I’m ready whenever you are,” he told Spike.

“It’s going to take a lot more than some big talk and a few fancy throws to make me back down!” Spike countered.

Feather Bangs picked up the ball and got ready to throw.

“The players are in position,” Fluttershy announced. “Let’s begin!”

And the Roulette wheel spun.

“Accounting for wind resistance,” Feather Bangs thought. “I’ll release this 14-pound ball with an initial velocity of 32 at a 45-degree angle!”

“All right, Spike, time to place your bet,” Fluttershy said.

“Which one?” he thought. “Red? Or black?”

Feather Bangs released the ball and it shot up the tube. As it went, the ball’s velocity increased by 20 percent.

“Victory is in my grasp!” Feather Bangs thought as he looked over at Spike. “Every variable is accounted for. And in any outcome, you’re destined to lose!”

“I choose Red One!” Spike declared.

The ball bounced around the wheel and it stopped on...

“Red one,” Applejack said. “Right on the dot.”

“He did it!” Starlight shouted.

“Oh, my gosh! That was super-awesome-amazing!” Pinkie cried.

“Yeah, Spike!” Rainbow Dash hollered.

“Woo-hoo!” Fluttershy screamed.

“What the Tartarus!?!” Feather Bangs yelled. “Impossible! Every calculation was accurate!”

He looked down at his hand and saw that the bandage Fluttershy had wrapped his cut with was gone. It had come off when he threw the ball.

His calculations had been thrown off by a fluke.

It felt like a sucker punch to the face.

“You have got to be kidding me!!” he shouted.

“The numbers smile on those who love the game,” Spike told him.

“And Spike is the winner of this Gate Battle!” Fluttershy proclaimed.

The masses cheered, but they were quickly drowned out by an explosion... from inside the resort. Spike bolted inside and saw Sunset emerge from X Sushi, which was filled with smoke.

“What happened?” he asked.

“Someone stuffed the microwave with salt and pepper packets!” she said with a cough.

“That. Is. IT!” Spike shouted.

Spike reached behind one of the lobby’s potted plants and pulled the Paradise twins out from their hiding spot.

“Where are your parents?” he demanded.

“The casino,” one of them answered.

“Hurt us and we’ll sue,” the other added.

“That is a risk I am more than HAPPY to take right now!” Spike told them.

And he dragged them by their ears as he led them, the resort’s staff, and the crowds to Mr. and Mrs. Paradise.

“I believe these belong to you,” Spike stated.

“What is going on here?” Mr. Paradise shouted.

“I don’t want to criticize your parenting skills, but I will,” Spike said as he threw the kids at their parents’ feet. “For the past two weeks, your little brats have been running wild, terrorizing the guests, assaulting the staff, and causing Faust knows how many dollars in damages! I don’t give a damn if it does cost me my job for saying this but get out! Get out of this hotel!! Get out of this casino!!! GET OUT OF LAS PEGASUS!!!!”

“Well I never!” Mrs. Paradise exclaimed. “You can’t talk to us like that! This is our third summer here, and we will not be returning!”

“GOOD!!!!!” Spike yelled.

The Paradises emptied their rooms and checked out, and when they did Sunset threw her arms around Spike.

“Oh, I could kiss you for that!” she exclaimed. “In fact...”

Sunset put her hands on the sides of Spike’s face and planted a big, loud kiss on his lips, forcing her tongue down his throat, and when she finally broke the kiss her lips left their mark in red lipstick.

Another round of applause erupted from the guests as well as the staff.

“Thank you!” they all cheered. “Thank you so much!”

“You know, I have to give you a strike for that, right?!” Discord shouted so that the angered former guests could hear him.

“Do what you want to me,” Spike replied. “I’m taking this one for the team.”

Discord smiled.

“That’s my boy,” he said proudly. “Between you and me, someone should’ve kicked their butts out years ago!”

The staff and guests thanked Spike almost one by one and then departed until only Feather Bangs and his groupies remained.

“What do you want now?” Spike asked him.

“I just wanted you to know that I am hereby never using stolen lines on women again,” Feather Bangs said.

“Why?”

“Well, I’ve come to realize just how much you care for your friends, and after seeing how you stood up for them just now, I realize how wrong I really was. And I don’t want any of you to be upset with me anymore,”

“I got to say, Feather Bangs, I’m impressed,” Spike admitted. “On behalf of all these ladies, I congratulate you.”

“Thanks,” he said.

“How about a friendly game of darts,” Spike offered, “and if you win, I’ll teach you how to score. But if you lose, then you three ladies have to spend the night with me,” he told Dear Darling, Fond Feather and Swoon Song.

“Sounds like a bet!” Feather and his groupies said.

Rainbow Dash smiled as she pulled out her phone and dialed her brother.

“Hey, bro, you can forget about coming to pick me up,” she told him.

“Is everything okay?” he asked.

“Yeah, I’m okay,” Dash replied. “There’s a guy here who I think is gonna make this summer very interesting.”

Feather Bangs didn’t stand a chance against Spike, and even though he lost the dart match, Spike treated his new friend, and his three groupies, to dinner – the traditional shrimp cocktail and prime rib – and gave him a few pointers on how to strike up positive conversations with women.

After dinner, Spike took Dear Darling, Fond Feather and Swoon Song up to his suite. He took out his key, opened the door for them, and closed it behind him after he followed them in. After they entered his bedroom, Spike couldn’t help but wonder what the exactly nature of their relationship to Feather Bangs was... if there even was a “relationship” to speak of.

“Tell me something about Feather Bangs,” he asked, “does he love you?”

The three women blushed.

“He loves to win,” Fond Feather said.

“So you’re just companions? Why do you do it?”

“He pays us,” Swoon Song answered.

“Is that all he pays you for?” Spike inquired.

“And for being seen with him,” Dear Darling added bitterly.

“Just seen?”

“Just seen,” the three women stated.

“That makes me so glad,” Spike thought as he smiled.

Feeling overdressed, he quickly disrobed and sat on the edge of his bed.

“Lie down,” Fond Feather said softly.

Spike did as he was told and sprawled out across his bed. The three women were blushing furiously as they began to shed their dresses. Spike looked at their beautiful faces, lovely smiles, and unselfconscious bodies. Then he noticed the fear in their eyes, but also a look of submissiveness and longing.

The women climbed onto the bed; Dear Darling on Spike’s left, Fond Feather on his right, and Swoon Song in between them, in front of him. Spike tried to make himself look in control, but he felt like a gladiator in the coliseum with three lionesses and they were about to devour him. And ‘devour him’ they did. They surrounded his cock and took turns stroking and licking it. He watched them as if he were hypnotized while their tongues caressed him.

“It’s so hard,” Dear Darling said, almost to herself. “Doesn’t it hurt?”

Spike smiled again as he shook his head.

“It’s been a long time since we’ve met anyone like you, Spike,” Fond Feather added.

“We have all night,” he said to them. “So don’t be greedy and take your time, okay?”

The three women nodded, tears of joy forming in their eyes.

“We want you to come, we really do, but not too soon,” Swoon Song said. “If you feel you’re getting close, tell us and we’ll slow down.”

Spike nodded in agreement as Swoon Song climbed atop him to kiss his lips before sliding back down his body and started to suck him off while Dear Darling licked Swoon Song’s pussy and Fond Feather ate out Dear Darling.

After a few minutes, Spike reluctantly moved away from them, indicating that he was about to erupt, and the girls changed positions. Fond Feather squeaked as Spike mounted her doggy style. Dear Darling lay in front of her and Fond Feather ate her out while Swoon Song sat on Dear Darling’s face and she licked Swoon Song. Spike thought he couldn’t get any harder, but he was wrong.

After that, Swoon Song mounted Spike. She guided him inside her while Dear Darling positioned herself over his face. Fond Feather took Spike’s cock out of Swoon Song and sucked off some of his juices before shoving it back inside Swoon Song. Then she sat between them, on Spike’s abs, and started kissing and licking Dear Darling. Swoon Song shuddered as she tightened around Spike and Fond Feather and Dear Darling came onto his abs and into his mouth. They got as much as they wanted and then some.

Their smiles never faded.

Of the three women, Spike found the brunette Swoon Song to be the most attractive, so he made sure she ended up lying in the middle with him. If his bed were a chess board, he would have been the king, she would be the queen, and Dear Darling and Fond Feather would have been the bishops.

They all snuggled up close to Spike as he glanced over at the Fabergé egg on his dresser... and the two Gate cards inside it. He had two of the thirteen now: Number Seven and Number Three.

“Another step closer to my goal,” he whispered to himself as he smiled and fell asleep.

Join us next time when Spike becomes friends with a couple of girls he meets on the tennis court and he learns a secret about one of the resort’s employees. Elsewhere Zephyr Breeze grows a soul patch.