Poker Night in the Sky.

[Blueblood]

If the Prince had been a pupil of military tactics, he might have realized that aiming an indirect attack on one target always brought with it the risk that the torpedo would score a direct hit on some other target. Apparently, he'd been too subtle for his own good. Honestly, it was enough to make a stallion feel like giving up on this whole "trying to be smart" thing.

Still, if he couldn't go for wit, he could always try politeness. After blinking a bit to clear his head from the unexpected return fire, he replied in a conciliary tone, "My dear lady, I had no intention of insulting you. I only said that, regardless of whether an outside pony was able to tell or not, there is a distinction in quality among examples of your particular genre. Even if a pony doesn't have a taste for a thing, doesn't mean it all tastes the same. You know how good you really are, even if others can't tell." Paired with one of his, admittedly, most charming smiles, Blueblood might have actually managed to smooth the situation over entirely, if some perversity in his overall manners hadn't compelled him to add, "Of course, whether or not such things leave you too deaf to carry on a civilized and intelligible conversation is quite another matter."

As for the hypocrisy of deploring cheap shots tight before levelling two at his taste in dress and his musical ability (the first being completely untrue, the second a gross exaggeration), well, that didn't even deserve comment. In any case, the exchange of fire didn't seem to make much of a difference in the overall state of the table, nor in the respective principal's opinions of each other. The next round of cards were dealt, the betting begun again. The Prince would stay in again for this one.

[moonshineTheleocat]

Java watched as the Prince tried to assualt him with some sort of passive maneuver by pulling someone else onto his side. The stallion actually wanted to reach out and stop Blueblood, but doing so would probably be seen as an effort to cheat. So he just stayed put. He leaned back in his chair, and rested his head in his hoof.

He watched the situation light up. It seemed like Ms Scratch wasn't going to take any of the prince's bull-rot today. Even though that he didn't intend her any real harm. The stallion slowly drew a hoof to his face as he tried to hold back his laughter.

Finally, Java decided to pipe in. Raises the hoof he used to cover his muzzle. “Eh, just ignore what he said Scratch. He's trying to make a song, and struck the wrong chord.” The stallion leaned in a bit closer and placed his hooves on the playing table. His eyes going back to the set of cards that were still in, along with the two folded pairs from himself and Blueblood.

“Blue-buck,” The pony stated casually. All since of malice now gone as he actually tried to lay down a bit of advice for once. “Comparing a science and art is a recipe for disaster. Two different monsters. One which is backed down by fact. And the other is backed by... well who knows. A lot of things really. Relies on the beholder.”

The pony sighed for a moment.

"Try judging a concert like a wine bottle, and someone might buck your teeth in."

[ShadowWalking18]

Razor kept his beak closed as he watched the prince and Java go at each other, and he couldn't help but smirk behind his cards when Vinyl put in her two bits at the prince. Still, this was pony stuff so he didn't feel he needed to add anything to this.

"Well, I gotta say, you all seem to get along just fine." He said with some sarcasm. Actually, the whole conversation reminded him a lot of how some griffons argued with each other.....

Well....without the roaring, biting, clawing and fighting. Though if it ever did come to that, his money was on the unicorns. Darn magic, was a cheap move it was.

Tapping his beak as he pondered his next move for the game, he looked over at Blue Blood and said, "So..you're a prince? That makes you related to Princess Celestia right? How exactly, you adopted or something? Also are you somehow related to Princess Cadence as well?"

Since he had this opportunity, he figured he could figure out a few things of the Equestrian Royal family. Who knows, maybe he could get a few good humorous stories to talk about in the taverns back home. Everyone loved a little gossip here and there.

[tacobob]

“Tell me about it.”, the stallion grumbled, “Some of the head staff back in school were so dang old, they referred to folk music, as ‘modern day devil music’. Your shows must have blown the dust from their ancient noggins.”, he grinned before glancing down at his cards, “I’m sure most of them still refer to Princess Celestia as a filly.” Pocket Change’s sense in music was rather old fashioned, but he couldn’t help but love the changes house music put his ex-filly-friend through. She would normally be worn out and tired from her well paying, but criminally tedious job she had in the weather factory. But once the DJ started to spin and the lights started to get all bouncy, she was reborn and the energy returned to her legs, wings and hinder. He nodded his head in agreement with the party pony about the ‘entertainment’. He just hoped there would be more to it beyond watching the good Prince and his Game-master squabble like an old married couple.

The unicorn couldn’t help but get involved into the main conversation. “Eh.”, she shrugged his shoulders, “Music is music. It’s not what the music is, or it’s style, it’s what the music brings you after its finished. It’s like wine. You can have just as much fun with a bottle of cheap elderberry wine as you can with an vintage Prench 'Vino Veramente Costoso Che Non Può Permettersi'. If interesting conversation, friendship and mare smooches follow, I'm a happy guy.", Pocket Change couldn't help but look pleased before his eyes squirmed back to his cards.

One thing the little griffon said caused him to look up. "Yes, that always bothered me as well. Princess Luna had been in exile for a good thousand years or so, and has only been free for the last year or so. Not enough time to have an adult child, obviously. Almost reminds me of the little cartoons they show before movies with Elmer Eagle. He has nephews, but they never show his brother or sister, or even imply that he has any."

"Oh good!", his spirits were fully restored as a young serving mare entered the room followed by floating notepad. "Please bring me a Manehattan. Dry."

[Blueblood]

(Deleted)

[SunsetSombra]

This guy was really something, Vinyl had to give him that - his thoughtless commentary was only making him look more like some kinda stiff-flank buffoon moreso than some fair noblepony. Of all the things Blueblood was posturing on, his idea of a conversation about Music was leaving a rather sour note. Still, Vinyl wasn't the kinda mare who'd just get up, mid-game, and sock him outta his seat in public...she could just let the cards do that for her, no problem. Had this been a club scenario though, she probably might have done things differently...good for him, then, that this was his own controlled environment and not hers.

At least it seemed like he wasn't getting any real support from the crowd, though - that was pretty much fine with her, always was great when a crowd voiced it's displeasure at something deserving of it. At least now she knew that no matter what happened, she couldn't let herself be beaten in the game by Blueblood...if she couldn't achieve a physical victory over this jerk, she'd just have to go about it the long way and play his own game against him. The cards didn't care if you were royal or not - they'd offer the same riches and disasters to anypony who would wield them in the game, no matter what kind of pony you were or rank you held...fortune favoured the bold, but it could just as easily punish you for pushing your luck and boundries in a heartbeat.

Vinyl didnt mind all that much if she lost after that, but she wasn't about to let herself be taken out by prince dorkblood over there. Throwing in to meet the current betting requirements, she simply offers a grin to all.

When she saw her opportunity to do so, she flags down the waitress in order to make her own request for a drink - Cinnamon Whiskey...not a drink she figured most would peg her for enjoying, but she was pretty fond of it - during a game where trying to decide how well you knew your opponent was critical, it was usually a good plan to throw folks off the scent by having a few surprises close to hoof.

" Well, I dunno about you guys... " she says, taking a brief pause and a stretch. " But I have a pretty good feelin' about the rest of the night from here - how 'bout you? "