"Hey! Hey new girl! Hey!"

Ambrosia smiled, watching from her perch above the VIP room as employee after employee rushed on over to Gilded Thread to welcome her to the family. Ambrosia had always enjoyed the Golden Star's method of welcome. She'd made it herself, specifically to enjoy the bewildered faces. She loved watching their confused reactions to each of the other employees' procedures.

It was standard practice in the Golden Star for each section to introduce themselves in different ways. Some of them had to do multiple parts to their introduction. Consorts had the simplest and possibly the most direct method of introduction. A full kiss on the mouth, although just how far they went on that action was left entirely to their discretion. Ambrosia's current favorite consort, A petite pegasus mare named Caress, was just about to introduce herself, and Ambrosia knew it was going to be good. The little purple mare, sure to Ambrosia's expectations, went all out, planting her lips over Thread's in an eager, and probably very intimate kiss. Beside her, Bubbles was reading off a clipboard. The moment Caress began her physical introduction to Thread, Ambrosia held her hoof up to silence Bubbles. Bubbles, curious as to what Ambrosia wanted silence for, looked out, following the red mare's gaze. As both of them watched, Caress didn't bother with any pretense of subtlety. It was quiet obvious her tongue was, by this time, very busy, and Thread looked very, very uncomfortable. But, true to Ambrosia's hopes, she didn't pull away. Slowly, Caress pulled away, her tongue sliding back into her mouth at the last second, a string of saliva breaking as Caress said something and bounded away.

"Continue," Ambrosia said quietly, as her head chef, a quiet pegasus mare with a white coat and purple mane named Valinor. As kitchen staff, Valinor was expected to present the new pony with a small item of food specific to them. Valinor had presented Thread with a small, elaborate looking canape.

"Yes mistress... Our friends in the Night Guard have passed us some information."

"Oh?" Ambrosia said, only partly listening, "What is it that Blits and Star have for us?"

Morning Star and Blits Brazier were frequent customers. Both members of Luna's Night Guards, and thus both Thestrals, they tended to come in during the daylight hours. In exchange for their VIP status, Ambrosia demanded information rather than money. They occasionally sent tidbits of non-classified info that might help her in business. They were married, but were rather open about their relationship and tended to come together, but leave separately.

Bubbles read the note quickly and frowned.

"Apparently, there's going to be a crackdown in health inspections in our industry, and the department of Commerce has apparently been petitioning Princess Celestia for tougher inspections of industry books. If that's true, we're going to have to double check our books for discrepancies. Any problems in them might cause us to be closed pending an investigation, and if they find something they don't like, they'll shut us down."

Bubbles paused momentarily, nervous. Below them, The two main bartenders for the Star, Twin brother and sister earth ponies Kai and Oil, were showing off, much to Thread's entertainment.

"Ma'am, we've already had ex customers accuse us of theft, if anypony in the Guard hear about that, it'll give them enough excuse for a warrant to search us."

"What would it matter?" Ambrosia asked indifferently, watching now as the staff all raised a toast to the newest member of the family, "What would they find? The back exit is hardly hidden and it comes out in an alley where we take out the trash. There's nothing here they could incriminate us for."

"You're forgetting some of the backgrounds of our girls. Caress is a pickpocket, convicted twice and sent to Juvenile detention once. Cherubim was tried by assosciation to a drug lord. The fact that she was found innocent won't mean anything to them if they're determined enough. Some of our clients demand special needs be met. Vinyl Scratch asks for some questionable aphrodisiacs and hallucinogens, some of them not legal. We have a small amount of them on storage here for her visits. Laurette Blackhoof takes a shot of a Cabergoline variation. Due to the dangerous potential nature of it, it's considered unethical and illegal in Equestria."

"Let me guess..." Ambrosia sighed softly, "We have a small supply on hoof."

"Yes," Bubbles responded, "But only small. That, at least, is a minor concern. That particular variation is incredibly popular on the streets. It gained popularity after a minor noble was caught using it two years ago. We might even make some money."

"Interesting..." Ambrosia replied. Despite this, she was still worried, "Worst case scenario?"

"Arrest pending investigation," Bubbles answered, "And if they find what they want, the worst they could do is lock us up."

"You and I?" Ambrosia asked softly. It was common knowledge in the Star that Ambrosia ran the bordello jointly with Bubbles. Or rather, with the help of Bubbles. The sole owner was still Ambrosia.

"No... All of us."

Ambrosia went silent. For a long time, the pair of mares watched from above as the rest of the employees celebrated the growth of their family. The festivities below no longer held any joy to them, and Ambrosia's eyes were sad.

"... Is it possible for me to take responsibility? To deny their knowledge of any sordid operations and take all responsibility for myself?"

Bubbles hesitated, thinking over the answer for a long moment.

"I... I don't know. I'm sure there'd be a way, I'm just not certain how well it would work."

"We move all the illicit drugs to my room," She said calmly, "And put them in a safe, hidden in the wall or the floorboards or something similar. When they find it, they won't be able to tie anything to do with the drugs to either my customers or the girls."

"And what of the stallions?" Bubbles asked curiously. Ambrosia snorted.

"They're regular joes," She answered, "You have to be careful when you're hiring males into a bordello Bubbles, so I ran background checks more thorough than the Princess' own security. None of them have so much as a misdemeanor."

Bubbles and Ambrosia fell silent again. The ponies below were gathered around a large bowl filled with potato wedges. Around that in separate bowls was Sour Cream, spicy salsa and guacamole. Neither of the two administrative staff members particularly felt like eating at that point.

"... We can start on that tomorrow. Do we have any clients that are in the construction business?"

"Ah..." Bubbles paused, thinking over the clients that she knew herself, trying to remember, "I'm... not certain. I will check the records first thing tomorrow morning."

"Do that. I want to know if I can get a discount. We're not exactly rich."

"Of course. I'll see what I can do."

Monday. Why was it always Mondays that she woke up in a foul mood? Ambrosia sat up, blinking blearily at the world. This was not her idea of a good wakeup.

"... Bub-BLES!" She called out, trying not to let herself sound really pissed off. Almost instantly, her door busted open and Bubbles rushed into the room, a tray on her back and a clipboard under one wing.

"I'm here Mistress!" She said quickly, "I brought you breakfast! Tomatoes and mushrooms fried quickly and scrambled eggs, along with three pieces of toast and a glass of orange juice!"

She picked the tray off from her back and settled it upon Ambrosia's lap before flipping the clipboard out into her hoof.

"I looked into the client list," she continued quickly, "And I found somepony who might be easily bought, or persuaded for silence about the safe. He's a little too clever to believe that it's simply for hiding legal documents and records, but I believe he won't mind the reason if we give him a little incentive to forget."

"How much?" Ambrosia sighed, tucking into her scrambled egg.

"Oh, it won't need to be monetary," She said with a smile, "We have plenty that could persuade him. He's a VIP, and he is a bit of a ladies Zebra so..."

"A Zebra huh?" Ambrosia asked, a wry smile on her face, "What's his name?"

"His name is Zirqon. He's a carpenter by trade. Shall I find him and make him an offer?"

Ambrosia thought about that for a moment before nodding.

"Certainly. Actually, bring him to me. I want to negotiate with him myself."

"Of course mistress," She agreed, looking back at the clipboard, "There's still three hours before we open, Valinor is already in and beginning preparations for cooking today's VIP lounge buffet. Rusty arrived a few minutes ago, ready to start his day early. I think he's worried about you mistress, or worried about the girls."

Ambrosia rolled her eyes, swallowing a mouthful of tomato.

"Rusty Nail is a sweetheart," She said dryly, "He's worried about all of us, and he thinks we can't defend ourselves."

"For the most part, he's right," Bubbles responded, "Most of us can't defend ourselves. Not very well."

Ambrosia sighed.

"I know... He does his job, and he doesn't expect extra pay for his hour or two extra work."

Silence. Ambrosia continued to eat her breakfast, sipping on her juice quietly.

"I need you to get the girls ready for the day, and tell the zebra when you find him that I want him to wait until I arrive. He can eat or drink what he wants, so long as he doesn't mind paying. Give him a discount while he's here. if he's here, I want to make sure he knows it's worth his while."

"Where are you going?" Bubbles asked, confused. Ambrosia swallowed her food.

"I'm going out. I need to find a few things, talk to a few ponies. I might be gone for a few hours. Take care of the Star whilst I'm gone, okay? And make sure the new girl is dressed well. You know where the clothes are kept."

"Yes mistress. I promise the Star will run perfectly while you're away."

"I know it will hun," Ambrosia replied quietly, "Keep her safe."

Ambrosia walked the streets of Canterlot as though she owned the place, uncaring. Ambrosia didn't care about the common pony. She had her girls, and that was her main concern. She had the Star, and that was her main concern. The common pony was irrelevant to Ambrosia, unless they were spending money in her bordello.

This walk was done with less than a goal in mind, but more to think. Ambrosia always thought better when she was around wide open spaces, so long as there was still buildings and ponies around. She hated the country. Hated it with a passion. It reminded her too much of her less than ambitious parents. That was something that had always bothered her about her folks. They ran a small farm out beyond the outskirts of Spur's Hollow. it was a small town where, typical to small towns, everypony knew everypony. Her parents sold their produce in the town, and Ambrosia had sulked her way through most of her childhood, when she wasn't breaking the hearts on every young stallion that came near her that was.

She's always been good at that. Manipulation, making ponies love her, making them do as she wanted. That's where her talent lay. The only ponies she couldn't deceive or trick or manipulate was her parents. And it had made her so mad all the time. So she'd left. When she'd turned old enough to leave, she had and she hadn't looked back.

Not until now.

Left with the idea of losing her home, and the home for several of her girls, Ambrosia was thinking back, wracking her brains to think of something that she could do in that worst case scenario. She doubted that it would happen of course. The guard had gotten lax under the leadership, or lack of, of the new Guard Captain. Since Shining Armour had left, Ambrosia had found more and more of the guards visiting her establishment, and them getting more and more lax over time. It made things a little easier. But she also knew that she wouldn't be defended by her clients. Anypony can start a bordello, and the girls might even be cheaper next time than this time.

As she walked, Ambrosia became aware that she was heading for a small cafe. She smiled wryly. Of course she'd come here. The little cafe, named after a dish of roasted vegetables, was a quaint little place with wrought iron street lamps and cute tables. It was where Ambrosia went to talk about things she couldn't talk about anywhere else, and to get the inside news on everything else.

After briefly considering the possible consequences, Ambrosia walked inside. A small, silver bell tinkled cutely as the door opened. The place was almost empty, a young couple seated in the far right of the back half of the place. With slow, deliberate steps, Ambrosia walked over to and seated herself at a specific table. On the left side, fourth from the right. This table was special. The owner of the cafe was a less than scrupulous unicorn stallion who knew his way around Canterlot even better than the entire guard roster. This particular table however was less known to the general populace. The owner's cafe wasn't terribly popular, but it didn't really matter. He didn't make his money off of his subpar food, or his store bought coffee.

"Ah, Ambrosia. It's so nice to see you again."

Ambrosia looked up at the sleezy unicorn. Lanky, none too clean and with a dirty mane. She smiled.

"Stitches," She answered pleasantly as he sat opposite her, "You look well."

"Don't lie Amber," He wheezed, "You can't stand the sight of me."

"Only the look of you," She answered sweetly, "Not you yourself."

"hmph," he harrumphed, "It's flattering, that you'd say that. But we both know what you're doing here. Now tell me... what is it you're after, and when can I get to my price?"

This was what Stitches specialised in. This was how he made his money. He supplied everything from information to physical items. But for each item, there was a price, and the price went up the more the item gained in rarity, or the more difficult the information became to acquire. And his prices always varied, and he demanded instant payment. Payment before anything is given.

"Information," She responded plainly, "I know there's talk of a crackdown on businesses, especially ones like mine. What I want to know is whether or not it's going to get serious. The chamber of commerce, I can handle. But if Gild has decided to crack down on us, and he's thorough..."

"You know," Stitches smiled creepily, "I had a feeling you'd come by here, looking for that information. You're lucky, I have the information you're looking for. All I need is my payment."

Ambrosia sighed. In her haste to leave, she hadn't taken her coin purse.

"How much?" She asked. The sleezy unicorn grinned.

"Oh... I'm not after money, this time Amber. I'm after something.... physical."

Ambrosia froze, and looked at him cautiously.

"... How physical?"

"This information wasn't easy to come by you know," He responded slyly, "Worth a little more than a little touchy feely."

Ambrosia remained silent, glaring at him, thinking hard. He chuckled at her look.

"Come now Ambrosia, you know that you won't get my information anywhere else. Nopony can see us."

That's where this table became special. The table and chairs had been enchanted by the very same unicorn seated in front of her. That was his true talent. He stitched his magic into objects, enchanted them to do whatever he wished. In this case, this chair and table combination prevented anypony around them from hearing them, or seeing them in the case of the table. There were, of course limits. One had to be underneath the table to be unseen, and one had to be seated on the chairs to remain unheard.

"You mean nopony can see me under the..." Ambrosia began before pausing, "Oh you've got to be kidding."

Stitches smirked, stretching his legs subtly under the table.

"How important is this information to you Amber?" He asked smugly.

Ambrosia, for a moment, considered turning him down. But the more she thought about it... Was it really that much of a price? Certainly, what Bubbles had told her was only a worst case scenario, but if it was true....

She sighed and, checking around the cafe to make sure she wasn't being watched first, she slid under the table. The young couple on the other side of the cafe didn't even notice.

Under the table was exactly as Ambrosia had expected. Dirty, cramped and the floor was hard. But a deal was a deal, and Stitches' price had to be met. She shuffled along the floor under the table to his side, sighing. The unicorn was already aroused by the look of it, his semi-soft shaft partly peeking out of its sheathe. There was a silver piercing through his sheathe. Experimentally, she sniffed him.

Surprisingly, he smelled clean. She blinked from between his legs in surprise and looked up at him. Being at the table himself, he smiled back.

"What, you thought because I look dishevelled that I'm not clean?"

Ambrosia shrugged, deciding to get on with it so she could go buy herself something or something similar with the money she saved on this. She licked the semi-solid shaft before her. It shivered under her touch and she smiled. She still had the touch. She started stroking him with her hooves, forgoing her tongue for a while. he shivered some more and sighed softly. He was growing under her hooves. He was almost at half mast now, and he was already quite large. Ambrosia was surprised, but didn't let him know. instead, she buried her muzzle in his scrotum, licking it a few times. he groaned as he reached full mast, quivering. Ambrosia couldn't help it. She giggled and glanced up at Stitches.

"It's been a while for you hasn't it Stitches?" She asked. He grunted irritably in reply. With a cruel smirk, she returned to work, now not hesitating to slather his cock in her saliva. He groaned as, ever so slowly, she dragged her tongue from the base of his shaft all the way up to the tip, and then closed her mouth over the top, suckling at the top with power enough to make him moan again. She felt his hoof tentatively touch the back of her head and she smiled around him, pulling away from him with enough suction to make a lewd pop.

"If you're lucky, I might actually let you do that."

He huffed, breathing heavily. it must have been some time since he'd had a mare, he felt close already. he was twitching like crazy. He had to be close. Without letting him answer, she returned to business, plunging back onto him. In response, he groaned lustily. Even his legs were trying to writhe under her ministrations, but he kept himself in check, stopping himself from moving around too much. His grip on the table and Ambrosia's head tightened and he grunted. Ambrosia immediately stopped, pulling herself off of him, ever so carefully stroking him to keep him excited, but not nearly enough to finish.

"Wh-what are you waiting for?" he asked her, struggling for breath and looking at her, annoyed that she stopped, "F-finish the job!"

"Give me my information~" she replied seductively, nuzzling the side of his saliva slathered cock with a smile, "And I will."

"Y-you know that's not how this works!" He hissed at her angrily, grabbing her head in both hooves. With sudden and almost clinical precision, Ambrosia had him by the balls.

Literally.

He froze, looking a little more afraid. Amazingly, his rock like erection didn't fade.

"N-now Amber..." He said cautiously, "Th-think about this for a moment..."

"Take your hooves off of my head," She said sweetly, a chilling note embedded in the words, "And give me my information. Do that, and then I will finish you off. Until then, I have all day here. Do you?"

Stitches hesitated, looking around as though his surroundings would provide the answer. He looked back down before yelping in pain as Ambrosia pushed on his jewels.

"Well?" She demanded. He whined.

"Alright, alright! Yes! Yes it's serious! Gild thinks he can run the guard as his personal police core! He's buying out as many votes as he can get to get his movements passed! If enough ponies vote for his movement, Celestia and Luna will have no choice but to allow him free reign! Now please! ple-he-he-hease.... let me cum...."

Ambrosia frowned, pausing for a moment much to Stitches' loud dismay. As an afterthought, she pushed his penis to point towards him, stroking him faster until, with a lustful groan, he climaxed, spraying himself with his own pearly white sperm.

Without so much as an afterthought, Ambrosia left, leaving the seedy owner of the cafe sprawled on his chair, covered in his own spunk.

Looks like I have work to do.

Author's Note

Oil and Kai belong to White Noize. Thank you for the use of your ponehs~♥

Valinor belongs to Kabuto315, otherwise known as Valinor and Psyga on here.

Blits and Star belong to Kaille! Thank you so much for your characters!

Laurette Blackhoof belongs to HarpoHooves. Thank you for the permission to use your character!

Zirqon belongs to Jay. Thanks buddy!

Spur's Hollow concept belongs to Sparky Sugar Junkie, creator and owner of Moondust and her friends over at askmoondust.

Oh, and Cabergoline is a drug that affects the body's dopamine levels. It's not actually illegal that I know of. In fact, I believe it's used medically as well. It has a lot of potential side effects though.