I feel relieved when Ace taps the speaker button, as I’m too frozen to move.

“Roseluck, it’s Ace,” he says calmly. “Caramel is here with me.”

“Oh, thank Celestia!” Roseluck exclaims. “Please, you’ve got to hear me out!”

“We’re well aware,” Ace says before she can continue. “I’ve already had a metal rod dropped on my head.”

“Wait… you’re not agreeing with him, are you?” Roseluck nearly shrieks

“You’re the second pony this week who thinks me mad,” Ace says, deadpan.

“Oh, okay, so you’re not.” She gives a quick, relieved sigh. “Um… look, I can get out of here by nine thirty tomorrow. I’m expected to do some flower arranging. He won’t be expecting me until later.”

There’s the sound of a motor in the background. “Look, I’ve got to go now,” Roseluck says quickly. Just tell me what to do.”

“There should be an eleven-thirty train straight to Canterlot,” Ace tells her. Buy tickets for it, but don’t go on it. Then buy the eleven o’clock to Canterlot via Dodge Junction. That’s what we’ll be going on; might take us two or three days longer, but I’m trying to throw him off.”

“Thank you so much. Please wait for me, Caramel… and Ace. Thank you.”

The phone clicks off again and there’s silence.

“I don’t care what time she gets there,” Ace says. “If she doesn’t make it on time, I’m not waiting for her.”

We finish our packing and I go to lay down with Ace for the first time in a week. It’s not by command, and neither of us are actually in the mood for any intimacy. Ace is likely sweating out what’s going on tomorrow and I’m worried that I’m in as much trouble as Ace, and if Roseluck gets herself involved things could be a lot worse if Blackjack views it as betraying him.

The next morning, Ace and I wake up from an uneasy and short-lived sleep. We do simple things like brush our teeth and comb our manes and tails. We straighten our clothes so that they look neat and presentable – Ace dons his black fedora – and we assemble our baggage at the door of the suite. By nine, we’re at the door of the hotel lobby and flagging down a cab to take us downtown.

The black structure of Blackjack’s 21 Casino stands tall over the Historic District and casts a long shadow over the roads. It looks like a glimmering black crystal jutting out from the ground, and I half expect to see places where the ground has cracked from the force of it rising out of the ground. In the morning sun it looks even blacker than before, the buildings around it displaying so much light but the dark, oily black seems to absorb all color and not even the oranges and yellows of an early morning can give any light or color to it.

None of it means well to me.

We arrive at the casino at five minutes to nine thirty. Ace strides across the lobby to the elevators and jabs the button impatiently. We wait for only a minute before getting inside the elevator and Ace presses the button for the top floor. Another pony tries to get inside, but Ace shoves him out the elevator and jams the button so the door shuts.

The entire ride is taken in silence. I dare not bother Ace, as I can see him thinking. He has the look of determination on his face he had at the poker game. He’s deep in thought and even if I tried to speak with him he would act like he wouldn’t hear me. Sometimes, when he’s like this, I’m not entirely sure if he can.

The doors open. A few ponies are doing construction work in the hall trying to replace a window, and a few iron pipes almost as long as my arm lay scattered around the hallway, but Ace ignores them and moves on. We approach the gold plaque on the door and Ace raps the door with his knuckles three times. A few seconds later, there is a click from the door and Ace takes one more moment to sigh. He reaches for my hand and wraps around it.

“No worries,” he tells me quietly. “I won’t let them.”

I don’t know what he’s saying, but I can’t tell him that. Before I can think of a response, he slips his hand away from mine and opens the door. Blackjack is sitting with Fine Print, and he must compose himself. Ace and I come in and take a seat in the chairs across from Blackjack, of whom I can see nothing of in the early morning sun other than his muted red eyes and the sharp point of his unicorn horn.

“So, you’re here already,” he says impassively. “Have you made your decision?”

Ace nods slowly.

“Well, what is it?” He’s not impatient. It’s slow and controlled.

“I’ve known you for many years,” Ace says. “All that time, you’ve been a friend to me, as well as one I’ve looked up to and respected. You took me in and helped me when I was new and starting out and had nothing. You gave me shelter and a place to stay in addition to giving me a job.

“But I’m afraid I can’t take this job, Blackjack. It goes against even what you yourself had taught me. I considered you a reasonable stallion, but it seems to me that you’ve dropped reason for greed. I cannot take a job that is motivated simply by greed, nor one that is justified by flawed reasoning.”

Blackjack nods slowly. “Very well, then. I’m afraid there’s nothing I can do. You are free to go, but I’ll be watching you, Ace.”

Ace nods. “However, I have one more request.” It seems harder for him to get the words out, as though he’s choking on them.

Blackjack smiles piteously. “One last request for an old friend,” he says sadly. “What do you want?”

“Do not harm Caramel,” he says. He’s breaking down and sniffs a little, but he soon draws it back in. “Caramel… is nothing but a stage hand. I want him to play no part in whatever you have planned for me.”

For a long time, Blackjack does nothing. Then, he nods.

“As you say,” he says. “I will not lay a hand on Caramel.” He turns to me. “Where do you live?”

“I was going to finish up this tour with Ace,” I tell him, “and then I would return to Ponyville.”

Blackjack nods. “When your tour is over, go home to Ponyville and I and my men will not lay a finger on you. I’ll keep my word to Ace that you shall not be touched. I… understand it won’t be as exciting, but I wish you luck at home. Fine Print, take note of this in a formal, binding, legal document.”

The tan pony nods and immediately begins drawing up a form from a briefcase nearby.

“I’m afraid I have other work,” Blackjack says, “so at least you were punctual. But now, I’m afraid I must bid you good-bye.”

Ace nods and gets up from his chair. “Caramel, come on. We have to catch our train.”

I get up and follow Ace out the door. He closes it behind me and I can hear the click of the door as it locks behind us. We’re halfway down the hall when he stops.

“It’s the least I could do,” he tells me.

“You don’t mean to sacrifice yourself?” I say.

“No. I won’t go willingly. But I had dragged you too far into this already. I couldn’t leave you to suffer what they intend for me.”

I find myself throwing my arms around Ace in a hug and for a moment he’s too shocked to do anything in return. “Don’t speak like that.”

“I don’t expect you to go to the ends of the earth for me, Caramel. But I’ll do what I can to keep you safe. I don’t want you to go, but if that’s what must happen, then so be it.”

Ace continues walking to the elevator, and I follow him. He presses the button and we wait for the elevator to come.

There comes a sudden shuffling down the hall a short ways away; when we turn to look, I see the three construction ponies get up and start heading for us. One has a crowbar, the other has a wrench, and the other has a hammer. They’re all looking at us rather intently.

“Blackjack says we’re not allowed to let you leave,” the lead pony, the one with the crowbar, says. “He already gave you his last chance.”

“So soon, gentlecolts?” Ace replies. He sighs… rather more theatrically than I would have expected. “Shall I at least perform one last trick?”

The lead pony slackens his grip on the crowbar and nods.

Ace pulls off his hat and shows the inside to them. He places the hat so that the opening faces upwards and reaches his hand inside. One of the metal pipes begins to glow bright red, suddenly disappearing into nothingness, as Ace pulls a rather similar-looking pipe out of the fedora. When the entire length is withdrawn, he puts the hat back on his head and holds the pipe in both hands like a sword.

Everyone who isn’t Ace is astounded.

“Now,” Ace says, “I think the odds are a little more even. Riposte!”

With one smooth swing, Ace knocks the crowbar out of the hooves of one of the construction ponies before anyone can even respond. I go to pick it up as Ace thrusts the pipe like a rapier at the pony with the hammer.

I don’t know what exactly to do except for stand idly by. But then I see the pony with the wrench going for a hit to Ace’s head and I’m filled with anger that almost blinds me. I smack the crowbar hard into his side and the pony goes flying into the wall. I hit him again and he goes sliding backwards before crashing into a door and falling over, knocked out and with two large bumps already forming on him.

Don’t you dare mess with him, or I’ll kill you.

I turn back to the others and see the pony that used to hold the crowbar with an arm around Ace, choking him. Ace is flailing around swinging the pipe at the pony with the hammer, but he can’t reach far enough to hit him. I go over and swing the crowbar across the head of the pony who used to own it and watch as he lets Ace go. Ace turns around and swings at the pony with the hammer while I pull the crowbar up and push the other pony with it back into another door. The pony hits the door with a thud and his arms try to reach for my neck, but I go and push the pony into the door so that he falls down.

I turn around to see Ace still dealing with the pony with the hammer. The hammer is quicker than Ace’s pipe, so I thrust the crowbar in and throw it backwards, causing the pony to lose his balance. He slams into a wall and loses his grip on the hammer, and just for good measure I kick at him with one of my hooves, knocking him forward and causing him to sprawl out on the floor unmoving.

I go to help Ace with the last pony, but neither of them are moving. But Ace is looking directly into the eyes of the pony who used to hold the crowbar and a single card is gently swaying back and forth between them – notably, the ace of spades.

“That’s it,” Ace says, his low tenor whispering almost seductively into the pony’s ear. “Just follow the card and feel yourself relaxing and breathing in time with the gentle sway…”

Already the pony is becoming putty in Ace’s hooves; he’s not moving, his eyes are almost pinpricks with his entire attention on the card. His eyes do a gentle sway from left… to right… to left… to right… His breathing is in time with the card’s movements, and Ace’s words are so close that they’re all he can hear.

“That’s it, just enjoy this peaceful relaxation, enjoy this moment of bliss. You feel warm and relaxed, your body feeling heavy and limp. Let the spell and the sway of the cards relax you even further, the gentle motions adding to your peaceful state.”

I see the arms of the construction pony drop to his sides like a rag doll, and his eyes begin to droop as Ace keeps their eyes locked together. His head is completely still and unmoving as he slouches down, caught in Ace’s trance.

“You enjoy this relaxation. You enjoy following the card and begin to let go of all your stresses. All your cares. All your worries. You enjoy just relaxing and watching the ace and staring into my eyes. No need to worry about anyone or anything else right now; your eyes beginning to feel slightly heavy as you become completely relaxed all over.”

The pony droops himself down even more. I can see his legs shaking, struggling to stay upright under the relaxing effects of Ace’s trance. I almost feel like I’m entranced myself, watching the whole thing mesmerized by seeing it from another point of view off the stage… Ace’s own voice being like an addiction I just can’t break out from.

“Now, in a moment, I’m going to snap my fingers” – Ace does so, a sharp, quick sound that makes the other pony jerk slightly. – “just like that. And when you hear me snap my fingers” – Ace does it again, and but the jerk is lessened. – “you’re going to find that your eyes are locked on the card, and no matter what happens, you must follow it.

“Ready? One… two… three…”

Ace snaps his fingers once more. The card begins making longer arcs so that the pony must actually move his head, then his body to follow the card. Ace keeps swinging the card in wider and wider arcs, keeping it in the same position. I don’t know what I’m mesmerized by more; the way Ace still has the pony in trance or the way he’s swinging the card in such a way that the other pony is constantly ramming his head into the doors on either side of the hallway.

Ace finally does a final flick of the card and a snap. The card disappears from sight completely and the pony’s eyes roll up into his head and he falls limp on the floor with a bloody gash in his head.

“What the hell was that?” I almost scream.

“He’ll wake up in a few hours,” Ace says. “Not sure about his companions, but you did good with them. Come on; we need to get our stuff from the hotel and get to the train station.”

Ace drops the pipe with the others and I follow suit with the crowbar before launching ourselves to the elevator. We jam the button and feel the elevator drop down the fifteen stories to the lobby. Once we’re in the lobby, Ace and I bolt across the floor and down the street to hail the nearest cab.

“Salt and Sea Hotel and Suites,” Ace says. “As fast as you can.”

The drives steps on it and we’re back at the hotel in ten minutes via the main roadway. We jump out of the cab and run up the steps back to the hotel.

“Ten o’clock,” Ace says. “We have time. Come on; help me grab this stuff and go.”

There’s an odd crinkling sound; we turn to look and find a folded piece of paper lying on the floor. It’s slightly crumpled at one end like it was shoved underneath the door or I stepped on it as we crossed inside. Ace picks it up and places it in the pocket of his black vest.

“We’ll worry about it later,” he says. “Come on!”

I grab a trolley and we pack the stuff on it. We use the elevator to go down to the lobby, where Ace makes a quick job of paying, and we’re soon in another cab and roaring down the main road to the station.

At the station, Ace buys two sets of tickets; one for Canterlot, and one for Canterlot via Dodge Junction. We race to the loading platform for the Dodge Junction train and see a smaller, rose-red convertible being loaded onto a flatbed just behind the engine, a large black steamer with a large-sized tender.

Ace and I ignore the convertible and take our cases and drag them down to the baggage car, where we each take out one small suitcase worth of basic luggage and items and hurry down the train to the car we need. The train’s whistle sounds once and the colts loading the car get off the train. The train whistles a second time as Ace and I get our ticket stubs checked by the conductor on board and are led to our cabin. Then, there’s a third whistle, and by eleven ten the train is slowly leaving the station and heading south through Baltimare.

Our cabin is cramped. Two twin beds sit in a tiny alcove off to one side, and there’s a table for two and minimal bathroom on the other side. I hate the closeness of the compartment given that it keeps me close to Ace, but at least we won’t be in the same bed.

Yes, Ace just bargained for my life and I’m worried about what will happen to him next. I’m not exactly a heartless bastard, but I just can’t let go of what I’ve learned about Ace so far, and it makes me wonder if he’s done any other morally questionable things.

Ace seems to sense this. “Don’t worry,” he tells me. “I won’t… do anything questionable.”

I nod. Ace gets in the lower twin bed and stretches himself out on it and I shove our cases underneath it. The train takes a gentle curve to the southwest and we begin heading for Dodge Junction.

“Any other stops along the way?” I ask.

“I think we just have to get to Dodge Junction,” he says. “Might have to stop there for fuel and supplies, but otherwise I don’t think there’s any other stops between here and Canterlot.”

I look out the window at Baltimare’s Historic District flashing by. Off in the distance, Blackjack’s 21 Casino watches us leave and casts a shadow over the tracks. “Do you think Roseluck made it on?”

“I can’t say I don’t care if she did,” Ace says, “but it was up to her.”

“Do you not care for anyone else?”

“I cared for some. They’ve either turned out mad or distanced themselves from me.” He gives me an almost pitiful look like he’s including me in the latter category.

I decide to change the topic off me. “…what of Janus?”

“My own mistake.” Ace sighs. “I should have listened to him on our meeting four years ago. He could see that I was going to get myself into trouble; tried to get me out before it hurt me.” Ace sniffs and rubs his nose with a finger. “Didn’t know he was talking from experience.”

The train gives a shrill whistle and starts to pick up speed. We’re now out of the Historic District and heading across a green plain with the occasional tree popping up here and there out of the rolling hills. The cool sea weather leaves and we’re treated to an almost dry heat that forces Ace to close our cabin window and the blinds to keep it cool.

Once we’re out of sight of Baltimare, Ace gets out of the bed. “Come on,” he says. “They’ll probably serve lunch about now. Non-stop to Dodge Junction.”

I follow Ace through a few cars until we hit the dining car. It’s a small thing with a few booths on either side, mostly empty except for one or two occupied by weary-looking ponies. Ace and I pick a booth away from the occupied ones and a young mare comes around with menus. We look through and order before sitting quietly in the booth.

“Caramel,” Ace says after a long period of silence, “I know you’re mad at me.”

“I’m not mad,” I tell him. “I’m infuriated.”

“Yes, well, I… completely understand. I was… stupid and irrational. I know you intend to leave as soon as we’re done in Canterlot, but I don’t want to leave like this.”

“Ace, we’ve known each other for a year, but I didn’t know you until a few weeks ago. Either way, we’re gonna leave like this because I can’t tell who you are or even what you wanted with me – specifically me – in the first place.”

“Well, at least you’re not disposable.”

I look up. To my surprise, Roseluck is standing next to our table, and she soon sits herself down next to me. “That zebra of Blackjack’s forgets that roses have thorns,” she says. “So, might I ask what you two are thinking of doing?”

“I’m heading to Ponyville once I’m done with this tour,” I say. “I want nothing more to do with this bastard.”

“Right… you never did explain the circumstances of your employment, did you?”

“And neither did you yours,” Ace replies. “What’s the big deal, leaving Blackjack so suddenly?”

“I came to realize I was no more than a disposable resource,” Roseluck replies back. “Once he was finished with me and I was no longer novelty, I’d be gone as soon as anyone else he wanted. I figured that out once I heard you were old friends and he decided he was going to offer you that job.”

“What business of yours is it what Blackjack wants with me?”

“If he wanted to kill you, then how soon would I be gone?”

Ace remains quiet.

Roseluck turned to me. “So, how exactly did you meet Ace?”

I sigh. “He… he hypnotized me. Placed me under a trance to do whatever he said.”

Roseluck looked at me strangely. “Really…?”

“Yeah. I… I think I’m starting to bre—would you cut out that infernal coughing, Ace!?”

“Starting?” Ace says incredulously. “You do realize exactly why you’re here?”

“Because Blackjack’s gonna kill me otherwise!”

“And because you can’t bear to leave me. My fault, I will admit, but it’s the truth. And you must remember what I told you our first day: hypnosis is not infallible, but it only works if you’re willing. But just how willing are you? That, to me, seems as important a question as to why you’re still here.”

I hate it when he pins me like that. I can’t actually give him an answer, even one that supports what he says, but I can’t say a thing against it. If I had any actual sense, I wouldn’t even wait until the tour is over. I’d just go back to Ponyville right now and not be bothered by this anymore.

Instead, I stick here, and why? Because, I have to admit, I’m concerned for his safety. He’s in danger and so I willingly place myself there with him because I want to see him get out of it. Almost like it’s another magic trick or that it’s some sort of illusion placed on me by his hypnosis. I have to break him out before I can.

“You know,” Ace says to Roseluck, “if you wanted an example for yourself, I could show you what exactly we’re talking about.”

Roseluck shakes her head. “I think I’m fine.”

“Oh, I’ll give it to you anyways,” he says. He turns to me, a sly smile on his lips and a half-lidded look in his eye. “Caramel won’t mind, would you?”

“I will mind!” I should at him, reeling back as though he’s hurt. “I do mind! Ace, for the love of Celestia, stop!”

Thankfully, I’m able to ignore Ace somewhat as our food comes – Roseluck seems to have ordered when we weren’t paying attention – and eat. It’s simple, but we’re promised a larger, late dinner when we get to Dodge Junction and spend the night for refueling before the waitress leaves. Trying to turn the conversation away from myself, I look over to Roseluck.

“So, how did you get involved with Blackjack?” I ask.

“Well, me and my sisters used to go to Las Pegasus all the time for gambling. Blackjack enjoys gambling himself and said he thought I was pretty good. We got to talking and he was… he was such a gentlecolt. He took me out to dinner at one of his restaurants and the place was so good and inviting and I ended up having a drink or two. There was no one else with him but me.”

“So, no Untakhan or Fine Print?”

“Oh, I’m sure Fine Print was somewhere in the background, but I never saw him, then. After a while, we left Las Pegasus and headed back to Ponyville. I thought I’d never see him again when suddenly he turns up at my doorstep and asks if I want to come with him to travel Equestria for a time before heading to Baltimare with him. And so, four months ago, I went.”

“He treated you well,” Ace says. “He rarely does that. He must have trusted you.”

“Apparently.” Roseluck takes a bite of food. “Surely you saw the car being loaded on.”

“I might have noticed it,” I say.

“Can’t remember exactly,” Ace responds.

“It’s mine. Forty-thousand-bit TVR Griffon 500. The other three are a ghastly black like his casino. But, I’ve got a rose-red one and it looks quite pretty.”

“You drive?” Ace asks, raising an eyebrow.

“Had to for flower arranging. Going around to seven places in one day. And it got me away from Untakhan.”

“Didn’t know a mare could drive,” he says. “I thought they still had to have someone else in the car.”

“Well…” Roseluck says tentatively, “police tend not to notice you if… you’re the marefriend of the leader of one of the biggest crime syndicates in Equestria.”

Ace tries not to act surprised. “Right… forgot about that…”

We finish our lunch in silence and are each offered a glass of water. The weather is getting hotter but we haven’t quite left the plains yet. We sit in silence for a few moments and Ace stares out the window for a time as though wondering what to do next. There’s not much we can do for now, but sit and wait.

“Caramel,” Roseluck asks me. “Do you… do you think we could talk for a minute in private?”

I nod. “Sure Roseluck.”

I get up from the table and follow Roseluck. She starts leading me out of the car towards the cabins for overnight usage.

“Caramel, listen to me.”

I turn around and see Ace still staring at the window. “What now?”

The sly smile returns to his face and I realize I just obeyed another command. “Caramel, come to our cabin in ten minutes.”

I nod before I realize it and continue to follow Roseluck out of the car.

“What time is it?” I ask.

“About one,” she says. “Six hours to Dodge Junction.”

“Well, then, hurry,” I tell her, “because I’ve got ten minutes.”

Roseluck nods and picks up the pace.

Her cabin is a few doors down from mine and Ace’s. Not quite at the other end of the hallway, but far enough to feel like it. She opens the door, motions me in, then closes it and locks it. She closes the blinds and does a last peek out the window of the cabin before speaking with me.

“What does he have planned for you?” she asks.

“Who? Ace of Diamonds?”

“No!” Roseluck growls. “Blackjack! I know you had another meeting with him; what does he have planned for you?” she repeats urgently.

“Um… look, I know he’s trying to possibly convince Ace to go to him. But, at our last meeting, Ace bargained for my life. I’m to finish the current tour then head home to Ponyville where he can’t touch me.”

Roseluck shakes her head. “Not good enough.”

“Come again?”

“That’s not fast enough. So long as you’re with Ace, you’re in danger.”

“What do you mean? He had Fine Print come up with some document saying I can’t be touched.”

“Do you think that will matter?” Roseluck nearly shouts. “Look, I know that Ace has you under some sort of hypnotism, but you’ve got to listen to reason. We need to get Ace to Canterlot, settle him down somewhere, then you’ve got to get back to Ponyville.”

“What? I’m just supposed to abandon the only pony I’ve really known for the last year? And I can’t just leave him that easily; he’s been placing me under for 45 weeks in a row. I didn’t even get hypnotized last week and I’m still listening to and obeying his instructions.”

“Dammit, Caramel! Your life is at stake! If you don’t leave now, you’re going to be in the crossfire. Please…” Roseluck’s tone changes to that of pleading. “I need to get out, as well, and I’ll go with you. I could… I could monitor you and make sure you don’t cave in again.”

“What about Ace? Can’t we get him to safety as well?”

“Ace only bargained for you to make it to Ponyville safely, Caramel,” Roseluck continues, her voice getting firmer. “Blackjack sees his head as a target. If you don’t shake yourself out of this, you’re going to be in big trouble.”

“Look, Blackjack has plans for Ace to put on a show to hypnotize all of Baltimare, and I’m sure he could have it go around to other towns. I don’t know what his plan is, but I’m sure it’s going to involve something to the effect of letting him and his men run free. If Ace is left alone, he’ll be caught, subdued, and this is going to take effect.”

“All very well and true, but look what he’s done to you! He’s like one of those snakes in the Everfree; he’s got you wrapped up so much you can’t feel your own limbs! It’s like you’d rather die alongside him than save your own hooves!”

“Then I’d rather be the one he does that to than putting thousands of other ponies at risk.”

“It’s you versus a mob, then. What do you expect is going to happen? You’ll come out and be the hero? Please; the best you’ll have is both your legs broken and expect to pay a protection fee.”

“Alright. Maybe I’m in trouble. But I’m not leaving Ace. I… I can’t.”

Roseluck looks at me piteously. “You’re a damn fool, Caramel,” she says quietly.

I nod. “Yeah… I don’t want it. But… I need it.”

“You don’t need it,” Roseluck tells me. “You just think you do. You’ve been living with it for long enough you can’t understand living without it. You… you just have to take it one step at a time.”

I look at Roseluck. “It’s not because of who he is, is it?”

“I wouldn’t care either way,” she tells me. “It’s what he’s doing to you I have a problem with. I don’t even know who you were originally, but I can tell that Ace has been manipulating you for so long this isn’t you.”

I try not to say the words that are coming out of my mouth. “What… what time… is it?”

Roseluck looks at a watch on her hoof. It’s plain and simple with a nice, neat face. “One ten. Please, Caramel, you don’t have to…”

I shake my head. “I’d better go. Sorry Roseluck… but I just can’t leave him right now.”

“Caramel, please!” Roseluck shouts as I leave.

I close the door before I can hear any more. There’s a thump from the other side and I think Roseluck must have smashed into the door trying to follow me out. The sound of muffled expletives follows me down the corridor, each step feeling like I’m carrying a lead weight with my own attempts at resisting the command.

I can slow down, but I can’t stop myself. I soon find myself at the door of our cabin, a single hand on the handle. The handle squeaks as I lower it, hearing first one click, then two, then three as the lever slowly pulls out from the slot. The door slides open and I can hear the sound of the metal bottom screeching along the guide rail as I try to stop the door in one place.

I look through the half-open door and see half of Ace’s face standing in front of the window, now passing through a dry desert expanse. One, bright blue eye stares directly at me, piercing me. The face looks impassive, but I can tell he’s watching with interest, not saying a thing but wondering if I’ll actually manage to stop myself from following through with his commands. I grit my teeth and the door slows to a crawl as I see the other half of Ace’s face through the opening. I try to plant my hooves in place and even lean away from the handle, trying as hard as I can to not open that door.

So… why isn’t my body responding to my own commands?

“Caramel…” His voice is somber as his eyes start to water.

“Don’t you dare, Ace…”

“Just come in and let us talk.” It’s pleading, tugging at me.

The door slides open a little more, enough for me to walk through. “Please, Ace… Why are you doing this…?”

“Caramel, I’m serious. I just want to talk. About all of this.”

“Do you not trust me? Did you not think I’d come back eventually?”

“I want to talk to you and tell you something before it’s too late.”

“It won’t be too late,” I tell him. “Not with what you’ve done to me.”

“Caramel, release the handle and come inside.”

A red glow begins to envelop the handle. Not burning, but something akin to magic. I pull my hand away at the shock of seeing the red magic and instinctively jump away… into the cabin. I’m still looking at the door instead of Ace and watch as the trick is finished by the door closing and locking behind me without Ace ever even touching it.

I turn around to see Ace calmly leaning against the beds. He almost looks sad.

“Alright, you manipulative bastard… tell me what you wanted me for.”

Ace gets up from the beds. He comes over to me and looks me up and down. It’s almost the same inspection he gave me when he was inspecting me before he first hypnotized me. He looks straight at me for a long time, and I can feel his ice-blue eyes piercing into mine. I only now notice that the outsides are red.

“Caramel…” he says, and starts towards me.

I give him a hard shove. “No!” I growl at him. Ace slams into the window; his arms grasp for something to hold on to as he slides to the ground. “Please! No more! I’ve had enough of your hypnosis! I just want out! I want to be free to do what I want!”

“Caramel…” he says, his voice pained. “Please… just let me…”

“Dammit, Ace, can’t you see!? All this time you’ve been asking me if I want to go home and I said I was fine. Well, now I do want to go home. I want out. I want out before I die like some dog in the street. And now you can’t let go of me.”

“Caramel…” Ace says. “All I wanted… was to—”

“I don’t care what you wanted!”

“Caramel… Caramel, please… listen to me.”

I was about to yell at him again, but suddenly no words wanted to come out of my mouth. No matter how hard I tried, I couldn’t get anything to burst forth any more.

Ace grabs a hold of one of the beds and pulls himself up. “Caramel…” he says, almost like he’s tasting it. “Caramel… I wanted you to know that… that I don’t want you to go. But… I respect if you do. It’s your choice.”

He’s choking up again, and I see a single drop fall from his eye and darken a spot on the carpet. “I… for a time, you brought me happiness, Caramel. You were the body I’d reach out for at night and could not find, the constant companion that always was at my side. For just a short time, Caramel… I actually didn’t feel alone. I wish I’d gotten to know you better, and that you had gotten to know me; I swear I’m not actually like this. I just… had forgotten what it was like… to have somepony there…”

I feel my own self tearing up for a different reason. “But… is this the way you had to go about it?”

“Caramel… maybe someday I’d like to meet you again. Sometime later, when you’re not under a trance. Then maybe we could start over again. You’d… you’d forget me by then. But… but then, I could remember this day, and not fall into the same stupid mistakes I’d made before.”

I burst out crying and launch myself into his chest. I can’t help myself from crying, and the most Ace can do is steady himself before settling us down onto the bed, where he hugs me back. I can feel him stroking my back as I merely cry into his chest.

“I want out, Ace… I don’t want this anymore…”

“Ssh… I know, Caramel…” Ace sniffs, leaning his head on my shoulder. “I was a fool for how I thought.”

“Please, Ace… please make this stop… I don’t know what to do…”

“Caramel, what would you do if you acted without inhibition?”

“I would tell you… how much I hate you for what you’ve done to me…”

“…is that all?”

“I would tell you… how much…”

“Ssh… relax, Caramel, you can tell me.”

I couldn’t hold it in. “…I don’t want you to die, Ace. I can’t leave you to die.”

I don’t remember how long we stayed like that, me in Ace’s arms crying into his chest about how he was going to die because of Blackjack and how much I hated him but couldn’t bear to say that and have that indecency be the last thing I say to him before he dies. Ace might have been a manipulative bastard, but… I’d be even worse if I left him to die and the last memory he has before he dies is me telling him how a small part of me would be okay if he dies.

It makes me feel bad thinking about it.

* * *

I often wonder what it would be like if something different happened. Like… like maybe I was fine with Ace’s hypnosis. Or maybe I never was hypnotized at all and just worked with Ace of my own free will. Or… sometimes what happened if I had never met Ace of Diamonds. I dream about them every night. I think of what would happen. But… it’s funny. They all turn out to be nightmares.

Every single time, something turns out wrong.

It could be that I never met him, and life turned out boring. It could be that I was never hypnotized, but we got into a fight. Or sometimes I was fine with his hypnosis and lost my true identity. Even when I questioned if being with Ace is what I really wanted, I had these nightmares.

Ever since our first meeting with Blackjack in his 21 Casino, a different nightmare showed up: Ace, lying dead on the floor, a bullet hole in his brain. I’m gone, not even around to see him die. As much as I hate him, it’s still a nightmare that makes me bolt up in the middle of the night with sweat on my forehead, one that makes me take a look at his sleeping form and watch him breathing just to remind myself he’s still alive.

I may hate him. But, even as I feel the effects of his trance leaving me, a part of me still holds on to these nightmares. Because it makes me think I can do something about it. And sometimes, I think I understand. It’s not me becoming dependent on Ace and his hypnosis. It’s that, from the start, Ace has been dependent on me.

Because without me, he might have these same nightmares.

Without me, life for him would have been boring.

Without me, he would get into a fight.

Without me, he would lose his identity.

Without me… he’d probably already be dead.

Author's Note

flop = after a discard, the first three of five community cards in which all players may use to make their hand