"Have a seat." Octavia pointed at Fleur's bed. "Get comfy. We have things to discuss." She did not move for a bed herself, sinking to her haunches facing it instead. "I will start with what you need most to hear right now."

Fleur's horn glowed as she pushed the door shut behind herself, already moving at a gentle walk to climb up and sink down on the bed. Her eyes were on Octavia solidly. "You speak in grave tones..."

"This is a very serious matter," assured Octavia with a nod to back it up. "Let us begin, shall we? You are not insane."

Why did that feel so... Fleur could feel a tension escaping her that she had failed entirely to notice had been mounting. Her vision went blurry as a few tears escaped. She wasn't sobbing, far from it, but the rush of pressure escaping her left her overwhelmed for a moment. "Pardon." She couldn't explain it. Even as she wiped her face with a fetlock of a leg, she could feel a tremble roll through her. "Is there more?"

Octavia smiled, just a hint. "That is enough for a moment. Fleur, I do mean what I said. Go ahead and decompress for a moment. Take in what I said."

Fleur fidgeted a little in place. "You have said what is to be said, mon ami. Why are we not moving on? If I am… not taking leave of every sense, why do I imagine these things?"

Octavia was quiet a moment, offering none of the answers Fleur wanted until several quiet moments had passed, "You are not alone."

"You have them too?" Fleur leaned forward off the bed, ears pricked bolt upright.

Octavia took a slow breath, her midsection swelling before it came out in a soft even sigh. "Most of us do… We whisper quietly, share the pieces." She raised her hooves. "But let us stick to the self-evident. We have hooves." She pointed at Fleur's forehead. "You have a horn, both comely and functional. Some have wings. None of these things are debatable. None of this can be questioned. They are facts."

Fleur reached up one of those named hooves, running it gently along the spiral of her horn. "Facts, yes…" Surely she could feel the texture of the horn, and the sensation of her hoof against it, especially against the center of it, her frog. "Why am I troubled with memories of things I do not have now?"

"I couldn't say." Octavia moved to rest a hoof against her propped cello case. "But you are neither insane, nor alone. These are two things you need to accept, deep inside. We, the mares of the casino, stand with you." A faint smile. "We're all just as perplexed, but we stand together." Only the briefest of pause. "You want to see it?"

"See it?" Fleur quirked a brow. "See what, mon ami?"

"Follow Spitfire. When her eyes seem to lock onto something and she wanders away from her duties. It is a singular trait of hers and hers alone. Follow and watch closely. Not at her, exactly, but what it is she's focused on." Octavia turned away from her instrument. "But only if you are prepared to be rattled."

"Mon ami," Fleur breathlessly got out. "At this moment, I feel sufficiently rattled. More than enough!"

"Then don't. I wouldn't blame you." Octavia sprang suddenly, landing on her own bed. "You had a busy day. We both did. Let's get some sleep. We'll have more work to do in the morning, no doubt."

Fleur willed the lights off, plunging the room into darkness save the crack of light seeping in under the door from the hallway. She laid down, drawing the blanket up. It was soft and warm, normally comforting. That was not an evening for comfort. "How?"

"Close your eyes." Octavia's eyes were already shut, but she could speak despite that. "And think of something calm and gentle. You favor it, why not my music?" She began to hum one of her favorite pieces, the gentle raises and lows.

Fleur was tense at first, but a smile came gently. Her friend was singing her a lullaby. That Octavia cared meant so much at that moment. Before she knew it, she had let go of the world, and sleep came to her.

Fleur stepped from her room with a smile. A new day, filled with possibilities. Sleep had been exactly what she needed! Knowing she had such good friends, like Octavia, was high on her mind. She was a blessed pony, surrounded by bounties that couldn't be counted like bits.

"Pardon me." A mare almost crashed into her, pulling up short in just the nick of time. "Sorry, ah get lost back here all the dang time."

All the time? Fleur had never seen the mare before, looking her over. "Applejack?"

The earth pony mare inclined her head. Atop her head, she had no hat in the usual style of AJ, but the rest of her was dressed as a casino dancer or waiter, much like Fleur was. "That's the name, right?" She frowned as if not entirely sure of that, but it passed quickly with a nod. "Something wrong, Fleur? Ya done look like a cow done missed bucket time."

Fleur shook her head as she circled around Applejack. "Nothing… Non…" She hesitated a moment. "Where is it you are going?"

"To mah room, which is…" Applejack turned in place. "Consarnit. Ah'm all turned about t'day. Ah swear, Ah'd lose mah hat--" She reached up to tap the space no hat existed. "Oops… Already happened." A frown spread over her features. "Just not mah day. Ah'll get it together, sugarcube. You go on and keep 'em happy."

She pulled out a bundle of clothes. "Though since ah have ya. Where do I put these?" She was holding a set of clothes, draped across her arms. "Some guest just left 'em! What kinda pony does that?!" A set of jeans and a brightly iconed T-shirt. A leather belt coiled through the loops of the jeans.

Fleur shook her head. "How very strange. Allow me." She took the bundle in her magic. "I will drop them off at the lost and trouvé. You take a moment." And off she went towards the waiting crowd.

"See you out on the floor," called Applejack, left behind.

Fleur emerged into the noise. The casino was active and bustling with life. She was a part of that life. She gave smiles and nods to ponies as she went past them. The sway of her hips, the flutter of her lashes. They were watching her, and she felt like she had returned home.

A glimpse of a room, dark. No, no darkness. She was in the middle of the bright casino. "Somepony lost this." She dropped off the clothing at the last and found. "In case they are looking for it, hm?"

She turned away from the attendant. They weren't even one of the casino mares, an outsider, hired on. Perhaps, in time, they'd find another mare worthy of the name to replace them. For the time, they worked the desk, and that was fine.

With confidence rebounding, she mingled with the guests, giving them a Prench taste of culture in their stay. The guests ate it up.

"Fleur." There was Applejack, approaching through the crowd. "Sorry ta bother ya."

Fleur turned to Applejack. "We are all new once, are we not?" It was… a week, maybe three? It had been some time since Fleur had arrived, but not that long ago. She could remember the confusion. "We are here to help one another. Do not hesitate to approach your fellow mare."

"Right kindly of ya." She made a motion to tip a hat she still wasn't wearing. "Now, look, Flim an' I don't always see eye to eye, to put it nicely. But he says ah can make some nice bits to send home." She leaned in. "But ah trust you more than him, just 'tween us."

Fleur inclined her head softly. "They pay biweekly, ma petite jument. There was one bit of… confusion, but they have otherwise paid as they should." She paused a moment before nodding at Applejack. "If ever they are tardif, you tell the rest of us. We will not stand for it."

Applejack smiled at the encouraging words. "Aw, thanks. Right kindly. Good knowin' ah'm workin' with good ponies." She nodded with building confidence, but a furtive glance left and right interrupted it. "Pardon if this is a might rude t'ask, but how much ya gettin'?"

Not a question most of the other mares had ever asked before. "Two bits a day," she confessed. "Extra when I provide camaraderie." She rolled a hoof. "If you are new at that, you will not get much, but you can make a considerable sum." She had… lots…

Did she have practice? She was good at it. Ponies were pleased with her company, and she got good reviews and even tips. Surely… She shook her head free of the confusing thoughts. "Relax, and be as you are. The ponies, they come to see you, exactly as you are." She set a hoof on Applejack's snout. "Applejack, hero of Equestria. Bearer of le element of honnêteté! I am almost jealous. You are quite the star in more than one city, such as I."

Applejack blushed at the praise. "Aw, don't be like that. Ah ain't that special. Shoot, if this casino had a rodeo… Then ah could really…" She trailed off, noticing a pony across the way. "Apple Bloom?" She set off at a trot, forgetting Fleur existed.

"Ya sprouted up like a weed in good morning Sunshine!" Applejack went left and right at the bar in front of Apple Bloom, looking her over. "Did ya go and mess with that again?!"

"Hey sis." Apple Bloom nodded at her sister, the two rather close in size. "Did I mess with what? Oh, you joined? Neat!" She clopped her forehooves with a smile. "But ah got the experience, so I'm yer big sister here, hm?"

"Mah big…" Applejack shook her head with a scowl. "Now that ain't right. Apple Bloom's only this tall." She raised a hoof only a short way off the ground, even with the head of where she imagined Apple Bloom should be. "And yer all grown!" Her cheeks began to glow. "Do ya even now what kinda place this is?"

Her tone implied she hoped the answer was no. Alas, Apple Bloom shook her head, still smiling. "Where ponies come to have a good time." Her brows waggled. "Sometimes a really good time with a pony they fancy. If yer worried, don't be." She pointed at herself. "I'm not on that menu."

Applejack wheezed with sudden relief. "Well, good!" Her blush had not abated, however. "But if ya know…"

"I know what yer here for, ah huh."

Applejack sank miserably. "Ah'm ruined. Yer never gonna respect your sister no more."

"Don't be melodramatic, Sis. That's Rarity's job." Apple Bloom rolled her eyes grandly. "Lots of classy mares work here. Like Fleur." She waved at Fleur in the distance. "Ya were just talkin' with her, right?"

"Huh? Oh, yeah." Applejack nodded stiffly. "Yeah… She is a right fancy mare." She rubbed behind her head. "So… if yer not doin'... that… what are ya doin' here?"

Apple Bloom spread her hooves over the bar before her, filled with all kinds of appetizers. "Ah serve up a nice good meal to keep ponies fueled up and ready t' have more fun!" She grinned as she leaned forward towards her sister. "That includes staff, by the way. So when ya get that rumble, ya come on back here and ah'll chase it away, jus' like that!"

A little smile appeared on Applejack, deepening as she thought about it. "That ain't so bad… Good on ya, Apple Bloom… Still not sure why yer so… big…" She eyed her adult little sister. "But yer doin' good, raisin' money for the farm like that." It clicked suddenly. "Poor Big Mac, takin' care of it on his own. We owe him a big gift."

Author's Note

I feel some very important tidbits are offered in this chapter. Did you spot them?

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