"Girl's night!" called GamerLuna, skipping as she strolled down the street. "We're going for a high score!"

Announcer Luna quirked an ear at her smaller double. "It would be difficult to avoid that. If this is a game, this is our first session."

"Says you." GamerLuna thrust out her tongue at her larger copy. "Now what shall we hit first?" Her eyes went to Fleur. "Any ideas?"

Fleur's eyes were wandering. Las Pegasus was filled with so many bright lights and attractions, all vying for attention, her attention. "Oh mon… Mon amis, there is so much to choose from." She turned her head to the smaller of the Lunas. "How did you get them to agree?"

GamerLuna could not look smugger if she tried. "I didn't."

AnnouncerLuna applied a hoof to her face. "You said you were handling it!"

"What they don't know won't hurt us." The smaller luna skipped forward and pointed suddenly to the right. "Since you're not sure, I say we try that." She was pointing to what appeared to be a great arena of sorts. "I hear they have all kinds of competitions. Go-kart racing, golfing, baseball… They even have bowling alleys! I bet you two could keep up with that."

Fleur smiled gently at the idea. "Bowling? That does sound fun, oui."

"It would appear we are decided then." The larger Luna started forward at the new target. "But if we get in trouble, I will say, rightly, that I thought you had gotten permission."

Fleur wrinkled her nose. "I thought you were a grown pony. If you want to go somewhere…"

"I am," thundered Announcer Luna. "I can go wherever I do please." She turned up her nose. "Tonight, that is bowling."

"Score." GamerLuna thrust a hoof, accelerating in her step. "I bet I'll score more than both of you, put together."

Fleur laughed gently, though she sped to keep up. "Don't be so sure, mon ami. Neither of us are poor with our eye horn coordination, oui?"

GamerLuna spun around. "Nuh uh."

Announcer almost tripped over her smaller self. "No what?"

"No horns." She pointed up at her smaller one, at least compared to the two larger ponies she was with. "Hooves only. We play the traditional way." Her brows began to waggle with unspoken meaning. "And I'm still gonna win!"

Fleur nudged aside at the larger of the Lunas. "She's being very confident, is she not?"

"We will show her the folly of her ways." They met, one hoof to hoof in a loud clop as they advanced as one, a unified team.

The arena was a din of noise, much like the casino they worked out. It focused a lot less on personal games and distractions and far more on competitive sports. GamerLuna was quick to point at the sound of struck pins. "There! Just to soothe the ache of your loss, I'll pay for the first round." Her bit purse came floating free. "But only the first one."

Fleur's hoof came down, blocking the path of the purse. "Why don't we make it interesting?" She leaned in with a smile. "Whoever wins gets the glory, oui? But also pays."

GamerLuna rolled her eyes. "Isn't that exactly what I said?" So confident she was in the fact that she would be the victor. "Prepare to go down!" And off she went in a scamper.

Announcer Luna walked at Fleur's side. "She is excitable. I was never that excited to play a game."

Fleur raised a brow at that. "I hear you were quite the eager participant at your first Nightmare--"

Luna slapped a hoof over Fleur's mouth, blushing intensely. "It was a new thing! I have since regained my composure. I would thank you not to bring that up."

Fleur waved it away gently. "Not another word. I am certain you will do better tonight, hm?"

They arrived at their lane, sneakers adorned over their hooves that made little squeaks instead of clops as they moved around. With horns forbidden, they were up on their hind legs, bowling ball held in their forehooves in a cradle.

GamerLuna gestured grandly. "Go on. I can wait."

Fleur took the offer, advancing as she switched the grip to her right hoof. "I have not played in a while."

But someone else had, nudging at her. Eric had played bowling, and offered to lend a hand. Fleur did not resist as he came to the fore, their grip shifting subtly.

They drew the ball back smoothly as they advanced, turning to an arc that sent the ball flying down the alley, rolling wildly. With a loud crack, the ball impacted with the pins, sending them tumbling and flying. A strike, every pin brought along in the avalanche. Fleur pumped a hoof with a merry laugh. "A lucky shot, perhaps. Or a sign of quite the game."

GamerLuna scowled, but did not move, instead looking to the larger Luna. "If you insist." Announcer advanced much as Fleur had, but there was too much spin to the right, the ball hitting the gutter before it could reach the pins. "Curse it…"

Even as Gamer advanced for her turn, Fleur slid in beside Announcer. "You know… Us humans have experience bowling, um, a lot of us, not all of us. You should ask your other."

The larger Luna huffed, but her thoughts did turn inwards. "Human!"

"I have a name." James was clearly awake and paying attention. "What?"

"Are you any good at this game?" Luna looked around slowly, knowing James saw what she saw.

"I've played it before." Dripping with confidence, Jame was not. "Better than your throw at least."

"You take that back!" barked Luna, out loud. She colored in shame, lowering her voice back to an internal one. "Can you help? That little rat thinks she can show off."

GamerLuna knocked five pins out. "I can still go for a spare," she haughtily claimed with a frown, grabbing her ball when it returned to her from the chute. "Watch me!" She hurled her ball with a fury, bashing three more pins aside. Eight pins in total, not a bad showing, but… "Lucky shot." She was glaring at Fleur. 8 was not a strike.

"I have made a decision." Both looked to Announcer curiously. "I am not 'announcer'. That is a position. And a clumsy name. I am, instead, LunaClassic." She nodded with satisfaction. "A far superior name."

"I didn't say you could say that!" fumed Luna from inside her own mind.

James' reply came quickly, "But it's better than Announcer Luna. And it means you are the traditional Luna."

"There is that," allowed LunaClassic from within in a sullen tone. "You'd better perform well."

Fleur clapped, accepting the name without resistance. "Lunaclassic. How, as they say, classy. I love it. It is my turn." She got her ball and ran her hoof over it slowly. "Can I go for two? The odds are against it, mon amis, but I will try!"

She brought her arm back, ball dangling at her hoof in a feat that defied physics. "Voici!" And off it went, rolling smoothly, but veering to the left. It knocked a single pin over. "Quelle folie!" She applied a hoof to her face as she went back to the chute. "But it is not over. Hm. A few more pins would make quite the difference." She accepted the returned ball. "Harmony forfend."

The second ball was closer to the middle, knocking over four pins. The score board showed 15 for the first set, 20 for the second. "Not bad," she decided with a little smile. "I am ahead, mon amis."

"Now it is our turn. Don't make us look worse than we already do."

James took hold of the ball. "We can only go up from here." And off it went, a casual lob. Five pins collapsed. LunaClassic was back in the game!

The game went on, some of the tension easing as they began to laugh and taunt as they played. GamerLuna was the most on edge, seeing that she was not, in fact, scoring more than both of the others combined.

"Ladies." The next alley over, a stallion was waggling his brows. "How about a friendly game." He waggled a hoof. "Your team against ours." He gestured to his two other friends. "Three on three, that's fair."

GamerLuna suddenly beamed. "Sure!"

Fleur poked at GamerLuna. "You are trying to escape your loss."

LunaClassic laughed at it. "Let her. We are here to have fun." She smiled perhaps evily at the stallions. "Combined, we can show those stallions what they have coming to them."

The stallions laughed at the threat. One advancing, ball hovering in his magic. "I'm--"

GamerLuna thrust up a hoof. "We're playing traditional."

"No magic," added LunaClassic. "Hooves only."

The ball fell from the air into the hooves of the stallion. "Wow, that's old school."

The first stallion nudged that one. "What, getting cold hooves? C'mon! We can take 'em!"

The timber of the game changed dramatically. Playing with her friends instead of against them, GamerLuna was eagerly shooting cries of encouragement and tips with a big smile on her face.

"This game isn't that complicated. I think I have the grasp on it. Allow me to try." LunaClassic nudged herself forward in her mind. "Thank you for assisting."

Fleur took a deep swig of soda they were serving at the bar that served the bowling alley. "Oof, mon amis, this is quite the game!" She looked a little harried, but happy. It was a good sort of exertion. "We're close." She pointed at the two brightly lit score boards above the alleys.

One of the stallions grumbled out, "Only 'cause I'm not used to hooves."

"Hooves is the only way," loudly proclaimed his friend, who was an earth pony. Not like other than hooves was much an option for him. "It's good to see some classy unicorn ladies that get it." He waved his ball at them and stepped up to take his shot, laughing all the while.

The girls, in the end, lost, but not by a landslide by far. GamerLuna thrust out a hoof at the stallions. "GG."

The stallions looked a bit confused, but one of them got it. "GG," he echoed, meeting her hoof with his in a loud clop. "WP."

Fleur broke into laughter, getting the acronyms being used. Or at least Eric did inside her. "A quality game, new friends. We work over there." She pointed. "Flim and Flam's place?"

"Oh yeah!" The unicorn bobbed his head. "I heard about that place. Good drink, and better company." His eyes wandered over the mares. "Huh, they weren't lying."

The two teams dispersed. The girls paid up for their games played. Fleur covered that bill. "I did not expect to win, but I will pay. I would gladly play again."

"And lose." GamerLuna stuck out her tongue. "We were just rusty. You saw how we were doing. We were getting better the whole time!"

LunaClassic set a hoof on Gamer's head. "We had an agreeable time, that is all that matters in the end."

Fleur nodded at that. "Tout à fait. We should return before they miss us too terribly."

As it turned out, they were missed. Flim was out front, talking to a rather burly pony when they came up. He blinked, looking at them. "You're fired." He waved the big pony away. "Where have you been?!"

Fleur and LunaClassic pointed at GamerLuna without a moment's hesitation. "She said she talked to you," both agreed without prompt. They walked past the steaming Flim, leaving GamerLuna to her lamentable fate.

"We were just recharging," lamely defended GamerLuna. "We're ready to go now! We'll be ready for even more now."

Flim raised a brow at GamerLuna. "I need to know where my--" He paused, but there was no Flam there to keep going. "--mares are. I would thank you to never leave without telling us again, hm?"

"Yeah yeah…" GamerLuna scurried inside before she could be berated further.

Author's Note

Girl's Night!

Join the special community of folks who like my stories and/or get your own here at atreon!

Don't want to do an ongoing thing? You could

Join my discord to chat!