Dream Girls

It was a rather uneventful summer, especially by the standards of Canterlot High. No threats to civilization. No magical beings trying to take over the world. The only thing CHS students had to worry about were the finals, the true bane of every student in all dimensions and universes.

But there was still a silver lining at the horizon. Before the finals came about, there was still a school trip to be had. It may have been a short lived relief, but it allowed the students to forget the impending doom nevertheless.

This year however there was something special going in the works. Vice-principal Luna had declared that, after the fiasco of the Friendship Games, the fun needed to be doubled. Nobody knew how, but she convinced Principal Celestia that a trip to Las Pegasus was actually a good idea.

Many students crafted theories about how this happened. The more reasonable ones included dark magic, blackmailing, sexual favors between sisters and the replacement of the principal with an alien or interdimensional counterpart. The silly ones thought that it could be an attempt to supplement the school’s finances. To their credit, the budget to fix damaged school property got stressed quite a bit over the last year.

But in the end, all that mattered was that there was going to be a trip to Las Pegasus. How Celestia and Luna got around the legal issues of taking dozens of teenagers to Las Pegasus remained unknown to the student body. Even though, nobody was surprised that they pulled it off.

When it comes to things like this, one has to remember that these two managed to cover up several incursions of magical beings. That they made up a nearly perfect fake identity for Sunset Shimmer. And managed to hide an entire motocross racetrack from hundreds of students for weeks before the friendship games started.

Nevertheless, the students might have learned the reasons if they had actually cared, or just asked. But as soon as they were informed of the destination, the how and why became rather unimportant to them.

The trip itself was a glorious success. One week of fun, sightseeing and breathtaking shows to behold. But our story isn’t about the trip itself, it actually start’s at the last night before the trip back to Canterlot, in a casino called Zebricana.

Scout stood next to the roulette table and watched the wheel spin. The metal ball lost speed and slowly dropped towards it. After a few seconds it dropped too far, hit one of the obstructions and made a dive towards the wheel’s colored compartments.

After the ball had settled and the wheel came to a halt the croupier nodded and announced. “Fourteen, red.”

He received his chips and a small smile creeped onto Scout’s lips. Without much thought he placed his next round of bets. Like the seventeen times before he placed five bucks on each number, except three. This time he didn’t bet on seven, fifteen and zero, which gave him a thirty-five in thirty-eight chance of winning.

A few moments later the wheel began to spin again and the croupier threw in the ball. After the third round he calmly stated. “No more bets.”

When the ball dropped and number thirty-one was hit, Scout grinned and claimed his eighteenth win in a row. Just as he was about to place new bets he felt somebody nudge his shoulder. He turned his head and saw Applejack standing behind him, taking a peek over his shoulder. “Whatcha doin’ there Scout? Never took ya for th’ gamblin’ type o’ guy.”

Scout shrugged. “I’m not really fond of games of chance, but here I can at least minimize the risk.”

Applejack cocked her head and looked at his stack of chips. “Did ya’ win anythin’?”

With a proud nod Scout crossed his arms in front of his chest. “I came with two hundred bucks and won another ninety.” When the blond girl gave him a skeptical look, he shrugged. “I know, it doesn’t sound much, but at least I didn’t lose anything.” He pointed at the roulette table. “Do you know the rules?”

Applejack looked at the table with all the black and red numbers and the fields for the different bets to place. “Ah’ll have to admit, Ah only know that ya’ bet on a number, spin th’ wheel and hope for th’ best.”

Scout cleared his throat and smiled at Applejack. “Well, that’s basically right, but there is more to it. For once every bet has a different value. The smaller your chance of winning is, the bigger the winnings become. If you actually win that is. For example, if you bet on a number and win you get thirty six times your bet back. If you bet on a color you only get double your bet.”

Applejack took a moment to watch at the table before she snorted and crossed her arms. “So the less risk ya’ take, th’ less win ya’ get. And ah reckon that th’ house always wins in the end?”

He nodded. “At some point you always lose, but the greedier you get the more likely you are to lose. I for my part bet on thirty-five numbers at once. Like this I have a relatively high chance of winning. If I do bet five bucks on thirty-five numbers it makes a total of 175 dollar. But if one of my bets wins I get 180 back, five dollar net win.”

With a heavy sigh Applejack shook her head. “That seems a mighty little gain for that much money on the line.”

Scout nodded. “True, but like this I can minimize the risk. How about you? Did you try your luck at anything?”

“Nah, ah’d rather keep mah money and get a new pair of work pants.” She pointed at her legs. “Rarity nearly threw a hissy fit when ah told ‘er ah would come here in the stuff ah got on me.”

For the first Time since she arrived, Scout actually took the time to examine Applejack’s attire. She wore essentially the same thing he always did at school, a white and green blouse, her jeans-skirt, the belt with the apple shaped buckle and all that completed by her boots and hat. “She’s a cowgirl through and through” he thought.

Scout shook his head and took a look around before focusing on Applejack again. “Speaking of Rarity, I don’t see your friends anywhere. Are you on your own?”

Applejack shook her head and chuckled. “Nah, Ah’ wouldn’t have come ‘ere without th’ others. Rarity is watchin the entrance for new ideas for her dresses. Rainbow got bored because this ‘ere casino has no race track an’ nothin. She went to get hammered at th’ bar and Fluttershy tries to talk her out of it, Ah’ think. Twilight and Sunset drive th’ blackjack dealer mad ‘cause they win for two hours straight. And Pinkie is determined to taste any snack this casino offers.” She stated in an amused manner.

Scout gave the roulette table a look and shrugged. “I’m at this table since about one and a half hours and have 290 dollars in chips. Wanna get hammered too?”

Sudden laughter startled half of the people around the table enough so they almost forget to continue their games. When Applejack finally calmed down she wiped a small tear off her face and nodded. “Sure thing sugar cube, but let’s stay away from Rainbow.” She leaned in and whispered. “As tough as she may act normally. She gets really mushy and emotional when she’s drunk.”

This time Scout was the one who got all the stares for his sudden laughter. With a small glare from the croupier the two students grabbed his stack of chips and left the table for good.

Half an hour later, Applejack and Scout were sitting at a table in a rather old fashioned bar. Like everything else in Las Pegasus it wasn’t what it looked like, it was only made to seem like the real deal. But at least the drinks were good.

Applejack slammed her cider mug on the table and sighed in content. “Ah’ wouldn’t have thought that Las Pegasus had this mighty fine of a cider. Not quite what Ah’ would serve ya’all at home, but Ah’ had worse.”

“They have imported germane beer! I’m not complaining about this place anytime soon.” Scout stated as he put his mug down and pointed at a sign hanging over the bar.

Suddenly Applejack scrunched up her nose. The muffled tone of a bell could be heard and she started to fumble under the table. “Is anything wrong?” Asked Scout with a raised eyebrow and a slightly concerned look.

With a big smile and a triumphant “ah ha” Applejack pulled her phone from her pocket and held it above her head like a prize. She looked at the screen, brushed across it a few times until she finally managed to accept the call and put the phone to her ear. “Yeah? … No, we’ve already left. … Ya’all remember Scout? … Yeah that’s th’ one Ah mean. … We’re at this ‘country corner’ bar near the hotel. … Ok, we’ll wait.”

Scout looked from Applejack to her phone and back. “Ahm, would you mind telling me what exactly is going on here?” He asked with a curious look on his face.

The girl made a throwing gesture and put her phone away. “That was just Sunset and th’ others. The girls had ta’ bring Rainbow back to the hotel. She took a mighty fine puke all over the barkeeper after twelve tequilas and a few hard ciders. Oh and Pinkie is in a food coma or somethin.”

“I don’t really get what are we waiting for then. Shouldn’t we help them somehow?” The boy stated with a shrug.

Applejack giggled and pointed at the liquor on display behinds the bar. “They’re fine an’ all. Sunset said she and Twi want to come over for a drink too. They just have to drop off Pinkie and Rainbow. Fluttershy and Rares will stay with ‘em to make sure they’re alrigh’.”

“So, to sum that call up. We are waiting for Sunset Shimmer and Twilight Sparkle to get here and then get hammered together?” Scout asked with a raised eyebrow.

“Yep.” Applejack grinned and took another swig of her cider.

Encouraged by his companion Scout too took another swig from his. “I’d never thought I’d see Twilight drink anything stronger than punch or something.” He mumbled.

Fifteen minutes later, two girls entered the bar and plopped down at Applejack’s and Scout’s table.

Twilight was wearing a long blue dress with stars along the hemline, as well as light blue shoes and gloves. Her hair was pinned up to a bun and careful applied make up made her cheeks seem to have the slightest of blushes to them. Sunset on the other hand wasn’t nearly as dressed up. She wore her normal black boots, a blue jeans and a short turquois dress. She also wore her new black leather jacket on top of all that to hold off the cold. Overall she looked rather normal, but all pieces seemed to be a bit shinier than usual, like they were covered in diamond dust or something. Her hair wasn’t tied back in any way. It was smooth but somehow wild, giving off an aura of strength and authority.

Twilight’s attire embodied the cliché of a wallflower, beautiful yet all too easy to overlook. Sunset however was all but easy to overlook. All about her commanded attention. From her style and movements down to her confident smirk, she dominated the room with her very presence. Scenes like this made all too clear why she could rule CHS for three years without opposition. She was the bee’s knees and she knew it.

Sunset signaled the barkeeper and ordered a whisky, while Twilight settled for a martini. “AJ, how often did you have to deal with a drunken Rainbow when your family made cider?” The fiery haired girl asked as she leaned back.

It took a good minute of mumbling and calculating before Applejack sighed. “On average sixteen times per season, a few give or take. Why?”

“Well, she can be really obnoxious when she’s drunk. She wanted to start a fight with everybody who as much as looked our way funny. By the way, her definition of somebody ‘looking funny’ does also include ‘not looking at all’ and stuff. But when we asked her to calm down she immediately switched to pansy mode and thought we wouldn’t want to be her friends anymore.” Sunset explained with barely covered anger.

Twilight cleared her throat and pushed up her glasses. “Well, as far as I understand it, her most prominent character trait is her loyalty. If we consider the fact that alcohol tends to intensify emotions and lowers personal restraints it’s to be expected from her to be more protective of her friends and concerned about losing said friends when intoxicated.”

Sunset Shimmer gave the human counterpart of princess Twilight a glare. “We are awake for about sixteen hours by now. We had a few drinks in the casino and we had a two and a half hour brain workout at the blackjack table.” Her head slammed on the table. “And you are still able to give a spontaneous lecture on basic human psychology.” A strange mixture of admiration and accusation could be heard in her voice. Though it nobody could say which of those was the primary intention.

Even though she could have tried to defend herself, Twilight knew Sunset good enough already to know that she wasn’t in the mood for something like that. Instead she focused on the barkeeper who brought her martini and busied herself with that.

Together with Twilight’s martini arrived the whisky Sunset had ordered. She thanked the man with a gentle smile, took the glass and allowed herself a few moments to enjoy the scent. A nod of approval and a small sip later she gave off a contented sigh, relaxing visibly. “That’s what I needed. It’s been some time since I had a really good whisky.”

Three pairs of eyes were suddenly fixed on Sunset, all bearing the same question. “How did you pick up the habit of drinking whisky? I tried to get my hands on some stuff back in Canterlot, but all the good places don’t sell to students.” Scout asked with a puzzled expression.

A chuckle escaped Sunset’s lips, which bore a striking similarity to that of an adult listening to a toddler. “By now you all know that I’m not from this world, right?” All three heads nodded. “Now let me do a quick summary of my life. I was nine when I entered Celestia’s school for gifted unicorns. I became the princess’s personal student around eleven. Then I had another seven years until I graduated. I continued to study under the princess and found the mirror three years after that. The first opening of the mirror portal was roughly half a year after I discovered it. That was when I came here for the first time. The time between two openings of the mirror is thirty moons, roughly two and a half years. The second connection to Equestria happened around the Fall Formal, when princess Twilight first entered this world. So, now you can do the math and can take an educated guess of how old I am in Equestria.”

Since Applejack and Scout were a little too drunk to solve the problem in their head, they started to count on their fingers. Twilight however gasped immediately after Sunset had finished and gave the other girl a baffled look. “You are twenty five years old?”

“Roughly, yes.” Sunset confirmed and took another swig of her drink. “It’s not entirely accurate since this world hasn’t the same precise seasonal cycle that Equestria has, but I don’t think it’s more than one month off.”

Scout gave her a scrutinizing gaze and scratched his chin. “That still doesn’t explain how you get your hands on whisky. You need an ID or something.” He stated matter-of-factly.

Sunset grinned and blushed a bit. “Well, before Luna and Celestia handled the paperwork that concerns my very existence in this world, I sort of maybe had a fake ID.”

Before any further questions could be asked, Applejack grabbed her cider, downed the entire mug in one go and slammed it back on the table. “Hey, Twi, how did ya’ blackjack games go?”

Easily distracted by the question and the alcohol in her system, Twilight smiled and lifted her purse. “We got thrown out because we won too much.”

“They thought we cheated somehow. But after a ten minute explanation from Twilight, on how to calculate the probabilities of certain cards coming up based on the cards that were already dealt, they gave up and encouraged us to leave.” Sunset clarified.

Scout and Applejack exchanged an uncertain glance before the farm girl turned to her friends. “Say, how much did ya’ actually win?” Her voice came down to a whisper.

“I think we were at fifteen-thousand dollar when they threw us out. A few hundred give or take.” Sunset stated nonchalantly, with Twilight nodding a little embarrassed.

“Ok Sunset ah knew ya’ smart an’ all, but this is ridiculous. Ya’ aren’t tellin me ya’ can do that kind of fancy mathematics of the top of your head?” Applejack asked with a look somewhere between confused and angry.

Sunset shook her head and giggled. “I’m not.” She pointed her finger at Twilight. “But she is. And her body language is as easy to read as it gets.”

Within minutes the focus shifted from gambling to a debate over who was good at what and why. It was mainly banter between friends though, mostly snarky remarks accompanied by joyous laughter. All of which fueled by unnecessary amounts of alcohol and the unhealthiest food available on the menu.