The Royal Flush
By: Grasshopper Keller
*****
Prologue
If there was one way to fully describe how his life had been for the last few years, since the beginning of his middle school years, then Casino Truecard would have taken a lot of time to tell someone (even a complete stranger, as a last resort) how much he hated what went on in his past.
During the beginning months of his middle school years, long after being transferred from a school in Las Pegasus, he was picked on by bullies of all kinds. Taunts, jeers, laughs, nasty rumors, the whole works were there. But if that was not enough, he would always come home at the end of the day with scratches, bruises, swollen eyes, and the smallest drops of blood. But to add on to his suffering, his lunch money would be mugged from him by the same kids that he only wanted to befriend. But apparently, apathy was the normal attitude for those as weak as he was.
His parents were also having the worst time of it all in the seaport city of Manehattan. The father, Irving 'Spade' Truecard, was once a lawyer who had a bad record of seeing more criminals being released into the streets than being thrown in the cells, because of how corrupted the system was in the city at the time. And all while the mother, Samantha 'Honey' Truecard, was doing her best to help the homeless in the streets by feeding and clothing them in a shelter that she once ran. But as it turned out, some of the same people that were being released from the cells had already taken refuge in that same building. This had no doubt given the family a big reason to trust no one. And they had truly suffered on both of their ends with their careers going down. When the Assistant District Attorney had Irving sacked for incompetence at his job, they were all at a loss for how they were going to get by. But the sucker punch that really delivered the blow against the Truecard family was when the same homeless shelter had been burned to the ground by those miscreants.
If there was any indication at all that they were poor, then Casino was also having just as much of that suffering as they did. And nothing could have made the young man any angrier, unless the memories of Tirek High School could add up the stress level. It had always been known to be the breeding, slash, training grounds for all types of felons that were waiting to happen. And only so few people could escape from the clutches of that place, and without having to pay anything at all in advance. The same teenager was already well-taught in his school years before, earning A's on his report cards while the rest of his classmates would blackmail their teachers into giving them an 'A', lest they find a reason to use medical leave.
It had seemed that there was no hope for the Truecard family. With no money to spend, no friends to go to, and no jobs or a good school to go to, all that was handed to them was a Joker card.
A pathological, bloodthirsty, homicidal Joker card that even made the DC rendition look like a kiddie sideshow.
But just when everything seemed lost, hopeless and out of the grasps of the Truecard family.... a miracle had finally entered into their lives. In their minds, it was a Royal Flush. But what made it really stand out, apart from how it showed them a way out of their darkest hour.... was how it played out twofold.
The first part had been shown by how much the family members had reconnected themselves. And this was all thanks to another family that had been through the same plight as them: The Fairbanks family. An extensive family, second only to the Truecard's in numbers, were well known throughout all of the city of Manehattan. Like the Truecard's, they were just the best family to know outside of one's own. And this was especially true if the ones who knew them had been introduced to them back then as children. One of the members of the family, Coach Tyrone Fairbanks, was one of the people that could actually set the children straight from out of the streets.
And Casino, while troubled at best, was in desperate need of straightening up. After much bullying was done against him, the young boy (back then at the age of ten) had finally snapped. This resolution had resulted in many of his bullies being almost severely bruised. But it was through many errors through the hard trials with the coach that the progress, as far as he knew, was so doubled by his efforts. And when he was introduced to the matriarch of the clan, Granny Marmalade, he had been opened up to the real reason as to why his former path was a bad one. This had gone on throughout his junior year in his old school. And he became a much better person. Still flawed? Yes. But he was now capable of being nice to others. Why? Because he would get such a beating from Granny if he got into trouble.
The final part of the great hand being played by fate had been shown when Casino had heard that his three uncles had already bought a house for their troubled sibling, along with the promise of a new flat for him in the city of Canterlot. The only thing that was required of the heads of the house was to move to the new destination. This was because of how, after going through their references, they were able to find new jobs for them.
A part of Casino's mind was deeply saddened because of how much he was truly going to miss his best (albeit only) friends in Manehattan. But it was quickly overcome by his praise to some holy deity playing their cards to lift him and his family out of their metaphorical, if not literal, hole.
It took the Truecard family exactly a week to get to Canterlot City. The first three days were already spent in driving from Manehattan to get to their new home, with the end result of reaching the city limits on the third day. When the night had fallen from that day, the rest of the week was spent with the parents getting trained up for their new jobs as they resided in a hotel room while the son had been waiting patiently within that same room with them. When the sixth day had passed, the whole family had become ready to face the challenges that were to head their ways. And now, it was the seventh day, thus completing the week for them.
They now had a new home. Well, a home for the adults and a flat for the teen. But that's close enough.
Chapter 1:
Reshuffle & Repeat
*****
The roaring of the SUV had eased down to complete silence when the Truecard family had finally stopped at an empty spot in the parking lot of the new high school called Canterlot High. When the brake screeched lowly to indicate their stop on the marked pavement, it shook Casino up from his sleep. But the shaking was not too bad, considering what had happened to him in the past. He was only a little bit startled before he sighed with a big amount of stress being released from his chest as he exhaled.
“We're here, son,” Irving announced to his son from the driver seat to the middle row behind him and his wife.
“And with a few hours to go until you see your new flat,” Honey reminded him, trying her best to keep her excitement down.
“Thanks, Mom and Dad,” Casino smiled warmly, remembering that he was given a new place to live on his own. Before he heard that he was going to get his own place to live in, he was told by both of his parents and his uncles that he needed to make sure that he kept his grades up in order to keep it. It was with a scoff that he complied to their wishes because of how he kept his grades to, at least, an 'A-'. The reason for that was because he never liked showing his intellect too much. To do so would be the death of whatever social life he could muster in the brand new school that he was about to transfer into in a few moments. The kin before him gave themselves a small laugh from how true his words were. That was how the whole family rolled, apparently.
“You're welcome, son. You know, it's a good thing that my brothers got you the place so that you won't have to listen to us in the mornings,” Dean said with a chuckle that grew into a small laugh. “And even better than that, you won't have to worry about your mom here slapping you around to remind you of what you need to do.”
“I can't even go one minute without you talking about Mom like that, who so happens to be here with us,” Casino reminded his dad with a scowl on his face. He was always the kind of person that paid a lot of attention to the situation around him. But that did not divert his attention to some of the rituals that his mother had already drilled into his head since he was little. With everything that was already set in motion, he would need to pay attention to how his own entire flat had to be in top shape.
“Well! It's a good thing to know that least someone appreciates what I do for the family,” Honey scoffed at her husband while smiling at her pride and joy.
“Hey, I also appreciate what you do, but I'm just saying that maybe we should just consider the fact that our son needs to learn how to live on his own,” Irving countered. But his reply was only half heard from what was said next.
“Your dad says anything more, he gets the couch tonight.”
Casino smirked with an almost evil grin from the comeback that his mom made.
“Aw, come on, Samantha!”
The opening and slight slamming of the vehicle door had been mixed with the light laughs that Casino had allowed himself to have in his dad's expense.
“See you later, yous guys! Love you lots!” he waved to them with a small smile and wave before moving himself from the car to the sidewalk that showed the front courtyard of his new school. With a quick stretch around his whole body, he became satisfied with a few cracks that echoed in his head.
Casino's height was at exactly six feet and two-point-five inches high, making him taller than his entire family. His black colored hair was cut short enough to make a field of spikes all over while not going over the top as it complemented his onyx black eyes while showing a few ruby red highlights. And his whole body, though one couldn't tell from his clothes, was quite built up from his mixed martial arts training. And the good eating that he had in his past life had really helped make him look healthy and buffed. The same self defense classes that he took since the age of eight allowed him to be more than capable of defending himself at his age. And all of his time spent in the bad city had taught him how to deal with those who would bully others weaker than himself.
But even with the times hardening his heart and sharpening his skills, he was still a big softy inside his heart. This was very well the case when there was a person, or even some group in the rarest case, who he perceived to be much weaker than him being bullied by others who would 'put the weak in their places'. He too was a victim of such troubles. But he was not going to start any fights, given that he had always believed in his heart that only the really strong people of the world would use their strength to protect those who cannot protect themselves.
But even then, Casino was not a real Manehattanite. He was born in Las Pegasus as a child that was quite smart for his age. This had been the beacon for any and all bullies to come up and beat him up, while torturing wasn't far from their feeble minds. He was broken, both physically and psychologically. But it was his own family, along with the Fairbanks helping him out, who were able to help him remember that no person in the world deserved to be bullied the way that he was.
And now, as he walked to the door of the school, Casino had resolved to not use his strength to pick on those weaker than him. Before he could even pull the door to get inside, he heard a tiny crackling below him. He looked down fast to the concrete and saw a single sheet of paper. But what was on the paper surprised him:
On the paper was a Daring Do key chain, a blue balloon, a bookmark, a cowboy tie, a diamond-cut sapphire hairpin and a guitar pick with a red and yellow sun on it. But those six items stood out more than the flier, as the tall guy could see. The same flier was showing a volunteer advertisement for an animal shelter.
After looking at the items, Casino carefully picked them up and looked closer at them. Even he was able to know that they did not belong to him at all. With a slight push, the door had opened to show the inside of the school. And what he was seeing before him... had made him chuckle a little bit. But before he could even gander at his new classmates, he needed to find a place to place the items at.
The trip through the front door was too mundane for Casino's taste, even with how the other students were making a few gasps at his somewhat towering appearance. The groups that he had seen back at his old schools were known for wanting to know who would make the first move against him. But these soon to be classmates, as he saw with fresh eyes, were a lot more on the side of being cautious about him. Even being near him for a welcome was advised against. Casino could only roll his eyes with a chuckle before making his way to the board where the map was at.
'You Are Here!' was the phrase that was on top of the red spot where every student would find themselves needing to use the map. After having successfully read where he was, he spotted the Principal's Office at Room 24 on the ground floor just to the left side of the left hallway.
“Ah. There it is,” he nodded to himself as he lifted his backpack a bit and moved from the map on the wall. “Now to find the Principal and Vice Principal, get my schedule, get to my classes.... and get to my new apartment after school,” he muttered the last part as he made his steps to the intended destination.
As he made his way to the office, various conversations were floating about. If none of the students were talking about what was always to be known in their groups, they would make small whispers behind Casino's back. But as far as he was able to hear, none of the whispers were bad at all.
But as he found the door, he reminded himself to be rid of the items that he was carrying from the bottom of the stairs near the door in his hand. And it only took him a moment to knock on the door and peak his head inside to find the Principal.
“Ahem. Hello?” he called out in his indoor voice.
“Ah, Mr. Truecard,” a warm and motherly sounding voice greeted him. As the teen looked to the source, he saw a woman sitting at the desk with a small pile of papers on her desk. She looked to him with a bright smile that was accompanied with amethyst purple eyes that complemented her bright pink, blue, green and purple hair that looked to be flowing. And the other part that he was able to notice was how her skin looked almost alabaster white. “Luna and I have been waiting for you,” she said as she pointed to the seat in front of her.
“Luna?” the young man thought to himself in wonder. He then looked to the right and saw another woman who had the same resemblance, but with a bluer tone of skin, blue on blue hair with varying shades, and teal blue eyes. She was also giving him a smile that was in the same degree of warmth as her sister. “Oh, I see! These ladies are sisters!” he concluded in his head before smiling to himself.
“Please come in and take a seat so that we can get started,” Luna commanded him with her own warm voice as she too held out her hand to point to the seat.
“Yes, ma'am,” Casino nodded to them as he entered the room and took the seat in front of the desk. “So, are the both of you the Principal and Vice Principal of this school?” he asked, knowing that the answer would be said almost immediately.
“Indeed we are, Mr. Truecard,” Luna confirmed for him. “Did you have any difficulty finding our office?” she then asked him, wanting to know if the student had that kind of trouble.
“Hey, not at all,” Casino shook his head. “I was actually able to find it easily, but I had to walk by myself,” he also said with his thumb pointing to himself. “And I don't know if my parents were able to give you the info, but I was just given my own apartment to go to,” he spoke to them, anticipating whatever answer would come as he placed his hand on top of the other.
“Actually, your parents gave us the information as we met them for your transfer here,” Celestia said with a little giggle that made the other two grin. “It must be quite nice for your parents to let you have your own place.”
“Heh... Yeah, it is,” he nodded. “So, um... which classes am I going to be in for this and next semester?” he asked, wanting to know what his parents scheduled for him from the classes that he would hear about. “I figured that I should at least know what I'm in.”
“Well, let's just let you see what is on your schedule, hmm?” Celestia suggested as she pulled out the schedule for him.
Sure enough, the schedule showed his classes, as well as the lunch break and homeroom, while also seeing that his grade number was 11. He sighed again with some stress being released. A while ago, he had to speak to his parents about being held a year back so that he would be able to start over as a new student. And after a lengthy conversation, he got his wish. The only clincher that was provided was that he was expected to work just as hard as the seniors would. And he agreed.
The first class was Algebra Level 4 with Ms. Harshwinny in Rm. 402. Then, it was Gym Class with Coach Spitfire in the gymnasium for the second period. The third period was AP Chemistry Level 3 with Dr. Whooves in Rm. 171. Fourth period was Economics with Mr. Flow Chart in Rm. 201. Then, Lunch break. Fifth period was Social Studies with Ms. Chit Chat in Rm. 405. And the final two periods, Sixth and Seventh, were Auto Mechanics and Homeroom held by Mr. Fuel Pump in the Garage and Ms. Cheerilee in Room 174.
“I must ask you, Casino: Why take all of these classes when you can have two to three free periods?” Principal Celestia asked him curiously.
“Indeed, Mr. Truecard, why take more?” Luna echoed the question.
“Well, the clincher to keep my brand new flat, the same one that I'll be going to right after school, maybe, was to agree to take more classes and study hard. And if I can keep my grades up, then I'll be able to stay in there,” he answered them truthfully.
“Hmm,” Luna hummed as she scratched her chin in thought before speaking up. “That actually sounds reasonable,” she nodded while looking at her sister in her contemplating stare before looking back to the teen. “And here I thought that most students would seize the chance to have less studying to do.” Her own words made her giggle lightly, given that it was always a dream for any student to never have to study again.
“I'd rather not have more classes to take, but I need my own flat to eat and sleep in,” Casino deadpanned.
“Just make sure that you follow the rules, Mr. Truecard, and we'll have no problems at all,” Celestia reminded him with the same tone while smirking.
“Yes, ma'am,” Casino complied as he rose from the chair. After folding the schedule to fit into his pocket, along with putting his new provided planner into his backpack, he made a short bow to them for his farewell. “I do hope that, when next we meet, that I'm not in any sort of trouble,” he said to them with a nervous grin.
“We'll see what happens,” Celestia smiled at his words. “Have a wonderful day today, and I hope that your time in Canterlot High with us will be great,” she bade to him in a farewell.
“And the both of us will be here for you if you need someone to talk to,” Luna added as she also bade a farewell to him.
“Thanks,” he thanked them. Before the door was opened though, the teenager's gamble had been completed in his head. He knew what to say to them before it burned a hole in his brain. “Oh, um... I do have one last thing to ask you before I go to my classes,” he called to them with a hand up to them.
“Oh?” Luna looked to her sister with a new curiosity.
“And that is?” Celestia raised her brow at him.
“Do you two know where the lost and found might be?” Casino asked them. “I found these items at the bottom of the stairs near the door before I got in,” he explained before showing them the same items that he had to turn in.
“Well now. It seems that you have done a good thing today, with you turning these items over to us,” Luna grinned at the young man.
“These items, and this brochure, belong to seven of our students,” Celestia said without looking at them again. “And it will help you to make some new friends if you can return them to their owners,” she stated proudly.
“Seriously?” he raised a brow in surprise.
(RRRIIIIIINNNNNNGGGG!!!)
“It might be for the best that you get to your class immediately,” the Principal suggested as she pulled up a written slip to give to him.
“As you command, your highness',” he chuckled to them, resulting in a giggle that came from the two women, as he took the slip and put it in his front right jacket pocket along with the items. “Thank you for letting me into your school. Both of you,” Casino softly said to them with a smile.
“Have a wonderful day,” the ladies said at once to him before they both saw him leave.
The door had closed behind him, letting him sigh a sigh that spoke of how he was feeling much better about what he did than if he were in that old school of his. Unbeknownst to him, the women in the room were about to make a short review about his behavior. All in all, he was able to get them on his side just as he did for their good sides. And now that Casino had his schedule and planner with him, he swiftly made his way to his first class of the day: Algebra Level 4. As he walked to the room for his first class, he noticed how the other students had already made their way to their classes. With no time to waste, he made his way to the room.
(*****)
Meanwhile, a group of girls, who were appropriately penned with the name 'The Main Seven' by the other students in the school, had met at the entrance to the gym. Apparently, there was quite a bit of gossip to be heard today. And even Twilight Sparkle, the more recent student to become a Wondercolt after transferring from the Crystal Preparatory Academy, long after the Friendship Games, was also curious as to what her new friends were about to say.
“Girls, you really need to hear this! This news is bigger than when Twilight decided to transfer here! Uh, heh, no offense, Twilight,” Rainbow Dash, an athletic tomboy junior with a spectrum layering of colors in her short hair while wearing a cyan shirt with a white cloud accompanied by a lightning bolt of the same color scheme, apologized to her newest best friend.
“None taken, Rainbow,” Twilight smiled at her before moving her hand to make her continue. The purple on purple clad girl, who had a unique set of star patterns on her shirt, was the obvious nerdy type (also called an egghead, much to her aggravation) that always loved being able to have great grades. But more than that, she loved being able to apply her knowledge for her friends' benefits. “So what's the big story?” she asked with a curious smile.
“You won't believe this, but we actually have a new student who just transferred here from Manehattan!” Rainbow nearly shrieked. “Manehattan! The big apple city!”
“Wow, Rainbow! You really sound excited about this,” Pinkie Pie, the pink-on-pink girl who became very popular for her parties, among her cheery-nearly-sugary attitude towards life, grinned at her friend as she bounced around within her spot in the group. Her hair was a hot pink color that was in a curly puff that had the lifted up styling. Her normal clothing, consisting of a baby blue jacket under a white shirt, was pinned with a with a pin that had the symbol of three balloons on the left side of her jacket, which matched her eyes.
“And I suppose you'd likely believe that this new student might be from Manehattan High School, hmm? You need to be absolutely certain that this student might be from there,” Rarity, the elegant lady of the group, who wore her indigo hair with a perfect curl at the bottom that had three diamond-cut sapphires for her pin, had pointed out to Rainbow as she remembered the last time that her friend was very excited about something. “And you especially need to know for certain if this new transfer student is a male or a female! It is utterly important for you to know these things, darling,” she grinned, knowing that she was right about that part while sticking up a finger to emphasize her point.
“Well, I didn't hear that part, per say,” Rainbow admitted before clarifying the rest of the news as she pulled up her cell phone, “But I know that this new student is a guy. Lyra and Bon Bon both confirmed it to me from their Chirping pages.”
“You mean Ms. 'Secrets Are My Life' and Ms. 'Talking Ponies Will Rule The World'?" Pinkie giggle at the titles that were given to the mentioned informants. This had resulted in the other girls laughing a bit.
“I think we should stop laughing at those phrases, Pinkie!” Sunset Shimmer, a redhead girl with yellow streams in her hair and a half punk style of clothing, giggled with the others. The giggles then stopped almost immediately, allowing them to clear their heads.
“W-well, um... th-that is.... Is this student transferring here today?” Fluttershy, the shy and timid one with soft pink hair and teal eyes, who wore a white A-shirt and a light green and pink skirt, asked them in her trademark soft tone of voice.
“Yep! And the best part hasn't even been revealed yet,” Rainbow confirmed as she too felt the laughter being replaced with her desire to let her lady companions know the dish.
“You think that this student might be someone that could play for any of the teams?” Twilight ventured a guess, given how well she got to know the athletic girl, along with the other girls, during the last few months after her transfer.
“Well, we won't know until we find out ourselves,” Rainbow shrugged before saying, "But I really hope so! Three of the sports players are really making it hard for anyone to join the teams!"
“Hoo-wee, girl! Yer really making a mountain of that molehill, ain't ya?” Applejack, a blond cowgirl with three red apples on her belt buckle, shook her head at the jock. “Getting a new transfer student ain't all that big! Ah should know! After we all got here as freshmen, the only students that transferred here were the two 'a y'all!” she pointed to Sunset and Twilight.
“We know, Applejack, but this does sound kind of cool,” Sunset also grinned before looking at Twilight, who had the same curious smile.
"Me too," Twilight nodded. “I was just thinking the same thing, but I hope that this new guy will be a better person than the last three students that we had in this school,” she told them, remembering the trio of punk girls who called themselves 'The Sirens'. It was not a very happy memory, but the whole group learned a very valuable lesson after the Battle of the Bands a few years ago.
“I actually think that the new transfer student might be a good guy by four suits,” Pinkie spoke as she looked to the front door for a moment before meeting her friend's gazes.
“What do you mean, Pinkie?” Twilight asked her, confused by what her friend just spoke about. This piqued her curious nature.
“And do explain yourself quickly, won't you darling?” Rarity added to the inquiry, to which the hyper girl complied with a nod.
“He'll be more athletic than some of our jocks are with the martial arts training that he's taken since his childhood,” Pinkie began to say, “while being nearly as smart as Twilight is with the books,” she listed out while addressing the nerd bird who gave a small blush. “He'll also be as honest, loyal and generous as you three are,” she pointed to the jock, cowgirl and fashionista who each gave a smirk. At this point they all wanted her to end her spoken notions, but they all still listened. “And my last guesses are that he'll be wearing a jacket that was made from his whole family, and that he is probably a lot sweeter than he looks at first glance!” Pinkie rapidly said in her final speculation.
“But, um... how do you know all that, Pinkie?” Fluttershy asked her.
“Look over there!” Pinkie pointed towards the hallway, waiting for the rest of the group to look where she was pointing at.
And so they did. And as always, Pinkie was able to surprise them as the new sighted guy was exactly how he was described.
The new guy was wearing the same described jacket that worked efficiently to cover his muscular body while wearing a pair of blue denim jeans and white running shoes that had black and red patterns on them. His hair was black and parted to show a tasteful hairstyle that had red and white streams, and the eyes were a dark brown, almost black, color. But they soon saw a facial expression that matched Pinkie Pie's older sister, Maud: Neutral. But there was a scowl that showed that he was having a little struggle with something. He was looking at the map on the wall very far away from them while presumably mumbling to himself while scratching his chin.
“Well, even with Pinkie Pie surprising us with this information, it would be for the best if we disperse from here to get to our classes,” Rarity huffed with her own smile. “If any of us so happen to have a class or two with him, then we must pass on what we find out from him to only this group,” she then suggested before looking at a nearby wall clock after circling her hand around her friends.
“Got it,” the rest agreed before moving on to their classes.
“See you soon, darlings. Ta-ta!”
“See ya!” they chorused their goodbyes.
But as the girls dispersed to get to their first class, Sunset could not help but take a good look at the new guy who was making his way to, from what she was seeing, to Principal Celestia's office. But not only that, there was a sheet of paper that she did not recognize until the color was shown.
"I wonder what he plans to do with that brochure? Fluttershy always passes them out to the other students from a pile that she brings from that same shelter. But I am seriously doubting that he might be a great guy." Sunset doubted the guy in her mind as he was seen entering the room. "I better get to class before the bell rings, though," she finally instructed herself to do. Without a moment to lose, she made her way to her first class of the day before he did.
