She stepped with a calm poise through the game room. Noise erupted from all sides. Ponies were pushing cards forward and rolling dice at different tables. "Fleur! Looking good!" called out a stallion just before he reached for a card.

Fleur smiled back, saying nothing, not that she had to speak. Her walk was a statement.Her clothing, also a statement. Eyes were upon her, and she ate up every moment of it. She saw a pony swear, throwing down their cards in abject failure.

"It will turn around," Fleur gently assured, pressing against the mare and blowing across the casino guest's hooves.

That got a smile from the mare. "Thank you." And she got back to playing. Not that Fleur's breath had any prophetic ability, but ponies liked to think it did. The presence of Fleur was a good luck charm. Things could turn around. That mare would spend more in the casino. Fleur's job was being done.

The noise shifted as Fleur stepped free of the gambling portion of the casino into the rambunctious gaming theatre. Arcade games beeped and screeched with wild abandon, beckoning ponies to come spend their bits for a chance at prizes, or just to entertain themselves.

An explosion rumbled to Fleur's right. There was a two player setup, two ponies occupying it, each holding a gun up. One of them, a smaller Luna. Still as tall as most, but that was the odd part. Luna was typically larger than most ponies. This one was their size, smaller than Fleur. She had a cap on at an angle, tongue sticking out a bit.

The gun was held securely in her magic as she lined up shots at the screen. Next to her, an earth pony was holding the gun in their arms, one wrapped around a large trigger to squeeze out shots. They were both fully invested in the game, sweat trickling down their brows. A crowd had gathered to watch it, cheering wildly at the two as they proceeded on, a contest of two skilled gamers.

But that was not where Fleur was headed, strolling past them calmly despite the riotous explosion of the crowd. The earth pony fell to his knees. "Noooo!"

Luna's cap turned in her magic as she turned away from him. "Nice try, but you'll have to practice for a few years before you can outmatch us!" The crowd was cheering wildly as Fleur walked away.

There, at the front of the casino, the owners were standing side by side, barking their wares. Those wares were, however, ponies. Fleur, to start. "Gentlestallions," she greeted, dipping her head at one, then the next. "The day fares--"

"And here's one of our fantastic--"

Flam took right up with it, the two coming in on Fleur from either side. "--marvelous"

"--spell-bindingous!"

"--Star studded mares!" finished Flim with a grand wave as confetti exploded outwards from them into the passing crowd. "Come on in. Play with them--"

"Play against them!"

"Play alongside them!"

Flam leaned forward, eyebrows waggling. "Play with them." A repeat, technically, but the meaning was sufficiently different.

A few ponies diverted from the stream, an uptick in the traffic that was already flowing into the casino full of eager ponies. "Great job," gushed Flim.

"Really knocked it out of the park." Flam motioned as if swinging a bat for an imagined fence in the distance. "

Flim looked Fleur up and down. "But shouldn't you be getting ready for your next show?"

"Oh ho!" Flam made a dramatic look of shock. "The ponies will be upset if you're not there to knock their socks off!"

Fleur glanced aside at a rather large clock on the wall. The wall was outside the casino proper. The inside had very few time pieces, all the better for ponies to lose track of themselves. "I have time enough. I wanted to ask about the after hours."

Flim inclined his head. "We have a--"

"--Very--"

"--well paying stallion lined up for you today!" Flim nodded with vigor. "A longtime fan, but he never had to bravery to walk up and say--"

"--hello!"

Flim nodded. "Exactly that. You'll treat him right, hmm?" Both of them were leaning in towards Fleur with their bright smiles.

Fleur considered a quiet moment. "They were a fan of… the other Fleur, I do presume?"

"Of course," both echoed at once.

Flam leaned in a bit more. "But, after today, we imagine they will be a specific fan of yours, Miss Lee."

Both began to giggle, ribbing one another as if they had just come up with some witty joke. Fleur did not see it. "I will be back to my duties then." Without further todo, she turned to stroll back through the arcade.

"Lookin' good." Not a call of a customer. Fleur's smile was genuine at the young adult mare that waved at her. "Want a snack?" There was Apple Bloom, operating the food court with good cheer. "We workers gotta keep fueled up, ya know."

"Certainly true." Fleur accelerated a little to close the distance. "What is the special of the day?"

"Glazed carrots with radish garnish." Apple Bloom nodded along with her own words. "Surprisingly delish, lemma tell ya. Let me get ya some." And she got right to preparing a plate for Fleur. "Saw ya talkin' to the bosses. Anythin' new?"

Fleur accepted her plate. No bits changed hooves. One perk of working there, they got their lunches on the house. With it floating beside her, she nodded at Apple Bloom. "You know how it is. They planned out my evening for me without checking with me about it." She rolled her eyes with an equine snort. "They have few manners."

"Tell me about it." Apple Bloom pointed at the floating plate. "Go on! Try it. You'll like it or I'll eat mah ribbon!"

"You'll do no such thing," firmly commanded Fleur, but she did take a bite. A little appreciative noise got a grin from Apple Bloom as Fleur began delicately attacking the provided lunch. "You are quite the talented chef, Miss Bloom."

"Jus' doin' mah part." Apple Bloom tipped her head with a giggle. "Got a clear shot to the stage today." She pointed across the way where the stage could be seen beyond all the people and games, but it was a clear line. "Gonna watch ya do what ya do good."

"That's quite charming of you." Fleur set the plate down where it could be taken care of. "With your support, I have little reason to doubt."

"Aw." Apple tossed a hoof. "Ya'd do fine without me, but I'll cheer, uh, when it's the right time." A sudden whoop during a quiet part of the show could throw things off. "G'luck!"

"To you as well." Fleur departed her younger friend with a gentle smile, feeling better. Perhaps a little lunch had been exactly what she had needed? Facing the world with renewed energy, she stepped back onto the casino floor, the portion devoted to games of chance and mental skill.

"You were right!" There was that mare from earlier. "It's turned around!" She displayed her cards to Fleur before slapping them down.

The dealer pushed a small stack of chips towards the grinning mare. She whooped with joy. "See? You are truly an angel, descended to take pity on us."

Fleur dipped her head gently, but said nothing. Quiet and powerful worked better with the customers. She was back in her goddess mode, every step a broadcast of her quiet power over the area around her. Of course, she knew, eventually the mare would overextend herself. If the customer was lucky, and smart, she might stop before she lost all her winnings.

More likely, the mare would leave with far fewer bits than she had started with. The house, well… It always won.

Fleur advanced right past her, leaving the grinning gambler to her fate. She had other business to attend to. She grabbed a glass of clear alcohol from a platter being carried past her and dropped it right in front of another pony. Their eyes met for just a moment, the stallion laughing nervously.

A little gift, it helped the casino and herself. He'd tell tales of how it happened, how she picked him out, what she gave him. Maybe he'd make up some words she said, but she hadn't said a thing, and that was part of the magic.

Fleur advanced into darkness, the tight hallways out of sight. A few turns and she came out into the ready room just behind the stage. "Break a leg," called out a mare in sparklers and a smile. "I warmed them up, knock 'em dead."

With a nod, Fleur checked herself over, plucking and tugging at her dress until it sat properly on her frame just so. She checked her cards before tucking them away. All her bits and bobs were where they needed to be.

"--De Lis!" came an announcer's voice, filtering through the heavy curtain as Fleur stepped out to the clops and cheers of the ponies that had gathered to see her. Some of them had come specifically to see her, to witness what she bought for them.

She was in charge, and that was exactly where she wanted to be. The curtains pulled up, revealing their eyes, their thunderous approval. She bowed to them gently, the cheering only growing louder. So much louder than they had ever cheered for Eric. She began to saunter across the stage, her horn flashing with the display beneath her hooves that exploded upwards in a show of power and bedazzlement.

Fleur had their eyes, following her, each and every motion. Every touch of her hooves to the floor was met with approval, stares. She ate it up, rearing up onto her hind legs. That always got a fresh round of attention, seeing her get even taller than she already was. "Bon vivant," she called, one of the few lines she delivered. To live well, to live completely. To consume the moment before you. It was quite the saying for a casino, matching it as her tongue curled, falling back to all fours.

A sharp whistle caught her attention. Not a stallion. Not… a mare, exactly, at least… Well, they were a mare, an older one. There was Granny Smith, hooting and hollering in approving shouts. Even older ponies liked a show, it seemed, and who was Fleur to deny them? No, she wandered in that direction as if she hadn't actually seen, just a happenstance.

"Shake it while ya got it!" called out the older mare, clopping the table before her as Fleur did give a little wiggle of her bottom, enough to stir the crowd to a new level, fascinated by her.

She was the god of that stage. Everything was going perfectly, far better than in the past, by herself. Fleur frowned faintly, where had that come from? She worked for the casino, a fine place, filled with talented people, and those desperate to be in their presence.

With a clop of her hooves, she drew them apart to reveal a long collection of flowers, cards woven between the stems and thorns. She extended one stem, held in her magic in a slow sweep across the crowd. She said nothing. Nothing needed to be said.Ponies grabbed cards as they went past, some in hooves, some in magic. Granny grabbed hers in her teeth, still cheering wildly. "Ace of clubs, that's a good'un!"

A few other older ponies patted Granny on the back, apparently in agreement in the good fortune of her pull. Good, that meant they'd go off and play games. She had done her part. Fleur turned away from the crowd as the curtains began to fall. "Give it up for Fleur De Lis, spreading the magic across the stage!" boomed the announcer as she went as quietly as she came.

Author's Note

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