Dancer

Moondancer sauntered out through the curtain, purple cape draped haphazardly over his back. "My most precious of treasures!"

"Oh, knock it off," a white mare laughed, kicking her hooves over the side of the platform. "We all know you don't need the practice."

Moondancer sighed exaggeratedly, sitting down beside her. "Can't blame me for training!"

Around them, a large group of mares - and a few stallions - milled around, waiting for the five-to-nine mark when the club opened. The mares wore long white dresses, adorned with white feather-and-glue wings. A few of them had golden wires braided into their manes, but most had simply brushed their manes out and pushed them back with a jewel-studded headband, matching the colors of their eyes. The looked beautiful rather than lusty, and Moondancer frowned.

"What's with all the get-ups, Twinkles?"

"Twinkleshine." The mare corrected, shifting her own false wings to a more comfortable spot on her shoulders. "I heard we've got a private party tonight. The theme is guardian angels after what happened last night."

Moondancer mumbled thanks as somebody passed him a set of wings. "What happened last night?"

"You didn't hear?" The pink-maned mare replied. "The Mare in the Moon returned to Equestria, and guess who stopped her from creating eternal night?"

"Princess Celestia?" He guessed.

Twinkleshine laughed. "Nah! Rumor is, she was locked in the sun for the whole event! It was that one purple girl who never came to your parties, and five ordinary ponies from some backwater town in the middle of nowhere! They used some ancient power called the Elements of Harmony to banish the darkness and release Luna, Celestia's little sister. It was pretty crazy."

"Backwater town... where have I heard that before?"

"We've even managed to get the makeup crew to do the Elements on some of us. Everyone loves rutting a national hero. See, over there?"

Moondancer looked across the room, spotting a group of six mares who looked rather uncomfortable under what must have been layers of makeup. The purple mare with the darker mane was a costume he recognized - she hadn't come to his last party, or any of them, really - but the other five seemed new. There were two Pegasi, one yellow with a pink mane and the other blue with a rainbow mane. There was another Unicorn like the purple one, a white with a styled purple mane, and two Earth Ponies, one pink and pink, and the other orange with a blond mane.

His eyes lingered on her Cutie Mark for a moment. "Apples... apples! That's Applejack!"

"I thought you said you didn't know what happened."

"I didn't! Applejack is Big Mac's sister!" Moondancer got to his feet, snorting. "He'll be away all summer if she's off doing other things!"

"He's away every summer, Moondancer. Hey, maybe you should work more like us and get a new partner for those long times apart. He'd never know."

"That'd be wrong! I love him!"

The five-minute warning bell rang out, and ponies filled away to backstage. A few of the actual Pegasi flew up to the cages above. Twinkleshine got up, trotting down the walkway and out of sight.

"I do love him, don't I?" Moondancer mumbled, following her.

Moondancer hung around behind the velvet curtain, hoofing through some particularly provocative magazines that had been left out to get the dancers in the right mood. Someone snorted impatiently, and Moondancer glanced up. A white stallion with a royal blue mane and tail stood in front of him, huffing through a thin mustache. A golden watch chain dangled from the black vest he wore.

"That watch's going to get stolen if you keep it hanging out." Moondancer quipped, looking back at his magazine.

The stallion snorted. "This has been booked for an all-male party, and they've requested female dancers. You'll be offstage all of your shift."

"But I need the extra money to pay for my house!" Moondancer protested. He left out that paying a prostitute fifty bits for no action had scraped his monthly funds dry.

"Well, you'll have to do better on our regular days!" The stallion snapped.

"But Fancy Pants, boss-"

"They've booked an all-female cast and an all-female cast is what they're going to get!" Fancy Pants roared, stomping a hoof. "I see one stand of your hair on that stage and I'll make sure there isn't any left to do it again!"

Moondancer lifted his hooves in surrender, blowing her forelock out of his face. "I get it, I get it!"

Fancy Pants glared a moment longer before storming away. Moondancer sunk back into his chair with a timid sigh. Twinkleshine walked up, resting a hoof on his in sympathy before trotting out to the platform.

He sat back, hooves itching to get out there, hair on his neck standing up as he heard the din outside. He tapped a forehoof idly, trying to focus his attention somewhere else.

The clock on the wall turned faster as he looked at the ceiling, mind wandering into the void, and snapped back to Equestria as Twinkleshine poked his hoof.

"Moondancer, they're requesting new ponies."

"So?" He rolled his eyes, turning his muzzle away from her.

"So, we don't have any mares left. Moondancer, Mister Fancy is gone, and we all know he won't be back." Twinkleshine pleaded with him, "if you play it up, they'll take it as a joke and won't complain."

Moondancer took a deep breath, getting to his hooves. He flicked his tail, rolled his shoulders, and exhaled. "Get my song going."

Moondancer was met with hoots and laughter as he strode out onto the platform, swinging his rear in time to his music. Decked out in one of the other mare's white sleek gown and a pair of white wings, he reared up, grinding passionately into the pole.

The stallions laughed and went to their drinks, giving Moondancer the rare chance to scan the faces in the crowd. There were a few he had seen before, along with Thunderlane - it was always dubious whether he knew the pony throwing the party or stole in through the back - and a few he hadn't seen before.

Among them was the most handsome face he had ever seen.

He was aware that his dance was slowing and quickly picked it up again, barely taking his gaze away from the pony across the room.

The stallion was a copper-colored Earth Pony, leaning back and looking disinterested, brown mane pushed back from his forehead in a yeah-it's-messy-but-I-don't-care kind of style. He slowly noticed that Moondancer was watching him, pale blue eyes sparkling in the flickering neon light.

Moondancer tore his eyes from the stallion, returning to his dance with a newfound vigor. His false wings spread out behind him, he pressed his chest to the pole and spun, wrapping his tail around the pole and sliding his back up and down it. Another mare had appeared at the curtain, ready to get back out, but Moondancer kept her where she was with a darkened gaze.

He felt his own passion growing, and he took a short break, panting hard with the cold metal of the pole searing a line of ice down his back. His ears lifted as the ringing sound of coins on metal broke through his focus, and he shifted his stance to see the 'donation'.

The copper stallion stood beside the platform, a flirty half-smile across his muzzle. Moondancer stared for a few seconds before the colt turned back to the crowd, his short tail flicking away from his nethers for a mere moment.

Moondancer noticed his song had ended and slid back down the pole onto all fours, blowing a kiss to the crowd before swaying his way into the back hall.

He ducked behind the curtain, feeling his blood run neon. He sat down, leaning against the wall, and sighed happily.

His muzzle exploded with pain.

Sputtering and choking on his own blood, Moondancer scrambled to his hooves, looking through a bloody veil for his assailant.

Fancy Pants stood in front of him, lowering a hoof to the ground. Without a word, he lunged forward again, biting the base of Moondancer's mane and pulling him away as he backed up. Pain blurred Moondancer's senses as he was thrown into his dressing room, the back of his head cracking against the small table inside. He stared up, adrenaline pounding through his heart and not reaching his brain.

"I told you not to come onto the stage!" Fancy Pant's roar fizzled through the ringing in his ears, "you directly disobeyed my orders! You are a scourge to this business and a hindrance to me!"

Moondancer coughed, aware of blood running down his muzzle and his throat.

"It's only out of pity that I let you keep this job! Get your shit together, or you'll be out on the street like the filthy slut you are!"

He was dimly aware of the door slamming before the fuzziness in his head blurred out everything else.

beep

Moondancer took a deep breath, pain knifing through his chest. He opened his eyes slightly, staring at the ceiling.

beep

"Feeling better?"

beep-beep

That wasn't a voice he knew, but he could nearly picture it.

beep

"You were messed up pretty bad."

beep

"Who did that to you?"

beep

"Angry customer?" He laughed, and Moondancer felt a hoof touch his own.

beep

"Sorry, not really a good time for jokes, is it?"

beep

"Can you talk?"

"Y-yes." Moondancer croaked out.

beep

"My name's Time Turner." He gently rubbed Moondancer's hoof, sighing. "Your friend Pokey Pierce didn't believe I heard yelling from the hall."

"He wouldn't."

beep

"Is this... a regular thing? Getting beaten up?"

Moondancer hesitated.

beep

"Normally he tunes it out because we get customers back there sometimes."

"That angry?"

beep

"Have you even seen porn these days?" Moondancer coughed, tasting copper on his tongue.

"Don't hurt yourself."

beepbeep

"What's all wrong with me?"

"Broken nose, fractured ribs and the possibility of a minor concussion."

beepbeepbeep

Moondancer sat up, pain spiking through his chest. "Can someone shut this damn thing off?!"

beepbeepbeepbeepbeepbeepbeepbeep

The copper Earth Pony reached out and turned a dial, muting the noise. "Better?"

Moondancer settled back down with a wince. "Better."

"Now," Time Turner sat down, tucking his hooves into the awkward hospital chair beside the bed, "why were you beaten up?"

"What are you, a psychiatrist? Do I have to pay you for this?" He laughed bitterly, dropping his head down on the pillow.

"Well, I work with Princess Celestia, so I can bring down the heavenly fire itself down on whoever messed you up." He tapped a hoof patiently. "So, why were you beaten up?"

Moondancer weighed the options. "Doesn't matter."

"Look, you're severely injured and-"

"It doesn't matter!" Moondancer shouted, leaning over to spit blood into a nearby trash can.

Time Turner fell silent, moving to get out of his chair.

"Don't go."

He hadn't meant to say it out loud, and he looked away when Time Turner turned to him.

"I wasn't leaving."

"Y-you...?"

"In fact, I was only getting closer."

Moondancer's heart pounded as Time Turner leaned forward, drawing him into a kiss that would have sent that infernal machine into palpitations. Moondancer kissed back, ignoring his pain, and found his every nerve alight with fire.

Time Turner drew back first, eyelids lowered passionately. "I'll be waiting for you when you get back to work."

He turned and left, closing the door silently behind him. Moondancer sank into the stiff hospital bed, sighing.

The door reopened as Big Macintosh trotted in.

"Ah'm going back to Ponyville for the growing season." The farmpony rumbled. "Thunderlane's house-sitting for us while you're in the hospital. He'll come get you once you're better."

"I love you." Moondancer whispered, but Macintosh had already turned and left.