Life's Left Hook

Some time later, you finally make it to the recital hall.

Octavia tells you to get off as she reaches her entrance.

"Okay, so the concert will start in a little over an hour. You three find your seats while I warm up."

"Sure thing! See ya!"

"Farewell."

"Break a leg."

With that, the door slams shut, and the three of you start your walk to the front door.

"Anonymous?" Trixie asks.

"Yes?"

"Remember something for me, while we're in there."

You raise an eyebrow.

"Uh, yeah, sure.

"A word of advice?"

"Professionals don't make the same mistake twice."

"Low blow, Trixie."

Trixie gigglesnorts, and Cadance shoots both of you a glare.

"You deserved it..."

She's right, you know.

Shaking your head and patting Cadance on the back, you finally find your way to the front door.

You swing it open, step inside, and step into the main auditorium.

"Trixie wants front row seats," the mare says in her unmistakable third-person exposition.

The three of you, agreeing, make your way down towards the front rows.

It takes a bit of searching to find seats that don't say 'reserved', but you do.

Fifteen rows back.

You squat down and rest in the luxurious chairs of the auditorium.

Nice, soft, smooth, and a royal red.

You have a feeling you would be seeing a lot of chairs like these over the next few months.

Not that you mind.

You stretch out, cracking your back on the back of the chair.

"-AAaaahhh..."

"Getting comfy?" Cadance asks, sitting to your left.

"...Eeyup."

You look to your right at Trixie.

"You really do remind me of... Oh, what's his name? The red one, at Sweet Apple Acres? The mute?"

"Big Mac?"

Trixie smiles.

"'Eeyup'."

The three of you have a collective chuckle, and you shake your head.

Well, at least Trixie was lightening up a little.

Suddenly, you feel a nudge from your left.

"Yes, Candy?"

"Anon?"

"Yeah?"

"My neck is stiff."

"You want me to rub it?"

"Kinda."

You shrug.

"Sure. Just lean over."

She nods, and tilts over.

You grab her shoulders, and start working at her lower neck with your thumbs.

"Your hands are amazing, Anon," she says with a sigh of relief.

"Thank you~"

"So I've heard," Trixie says.

"Later. Not in public."

"You haven't had problems with it before," Trixie says, snickering.

"And, I've learned."

"You've learned quite a bit, I know!"

God damnit, you're getting flustered.

"Okay, that's another low blow, Trixie."

"I'm not the only one dealing blows~"

GOD DAMNIT.

The two mares giggle uncontrollably as you massage Cadance's neck.

And you can't help but chuckle yourself.

"Okay, that was a good one."

"She's damn right," Cadance says, relaxing back.

She was.

"Of course it was, and of course I am," she says, chuckling.

"I bet you got more than an eyeful that afternoon, didn't you?"

"Yes, yes I did."

After a pause, you look over.

"Didja like what you saw?"

She looks down for a moment before looking back up at you.

"It -was- quite the show, I must admit. It's been awhile since I've had a hornjob..."

You chuckle, assuming that was a hint.

"Not a chance, sweetheart."

Immediately, she scrunches, glaring at you.

"Wh-... Anonymous!"

Cadance laughs out loud, and you work your hands up her neck.

"Someone's jeaaaaloooous," the pink mare coos, closing her eyes.

Trixie tries to retort, but fails to find words to say as she sits back down in her seat.

"Anonymous?"

You turn to Trixie.

"What?"

"I'm taking you somewhere after this. We need to have a chat."

"A sexual chat?"

"Quite the contrary."

She looks fairly disgruntled, actually.

"I suppose."

"Can I come?" the princess asks, butting her head in.

Trixie sighs.

"I'd rather Anonymous and I be... Alone."

"Ah. One of those chats?"

"I'm certain it's not what you're expecting, but it's important nontheless."

Great.

"Uh, sure."

"Cadance?"

"Yes?"

"I hope you don't mind me bringing Mr. Anonymous home late. Don't worry, he'll be safe. I know my way around cities well."

Cadance sighs, and it's clear she wants to object...

"I don't think that's such a good idea."

Cadance turns to Trixie.

"Detrot isn't safe for someone as new as Anonymous."

"Then a guide by an experienced mare should be a good thing for him."

"Not when the mare in question is a - HMMMF!"

You cover her mouth before she says something she'll regret.

"Careful, Cadance," you say. "Don't start another one of those damned fights again. I don't know if my dick could handle it."

"HMMMF!"

"I'll go with Trixie. I am going. Just calm down. I'll be fine."

"Hmmf..."

"I'll bring you back some animal crackers."

"...!"

She takes your hand off of her mouth, and looks up at you.

"How the fu- How did you know those were my favorite?!"

"I just did?"

"Okay, you can go."

"But you had BETTER bring me back some animal crackers."

You take your hands off of her neck and chuckle.

"Sure thing."

"What?"

"What?"

"Why'd you stop?"

You pause for a moment.

"I thought I did it for long enough?"

"No, no! Keep going! It feels great!"

You decide to go on with it, rubbing her neck.

Immediately, she goes limp again, relaxing.

And you can almost feel Trixie's stare as you work on Cadance's neck.

Seems like someone really is jealous...

Chuckling to yourself, you keep going, and the auditorium gradually starts to fill.

As the auditorium starts to fill, you take your hands off of Cadance to avoid attention.

The three of you sit in relative silence for the rest of the wait.

Cadance looks relaxed, and has a light smile on her face.

Trixie, although a bit irate, seems content otherwise.

This lasts throughout the show, where they played the same songs they did last time.

They have the same effect on you as last time; as the music plays, you start to fall asleep.

As do the mares to your right and left.

And, thankfully (or sadly, depending on how you look on it), nothing relatively sexual happens, other than you holding one of Cadance's hooves for a couple of the songs.

You don't know if you want to hold Trixie's quite yet, however.

So, you let it be.

The last thing you want is an angry Trixie.

Some time later, you feel Cadance nudge you.

You let go of Cadance's hoof to reach up and rub your eyes.

You can hear people around you shuffling around.

The concert's over.

"Come on, Anon," Cadance says, motioning for you to get up. "Let's get going."

"Yes, let's," Trixie says, standing up and making her way out of the row. "We've things to discuss, Anonymous."

Grumbling a bit, you stand up, still groggy.

The blood rushes to your head, since you've been sitting down so long, but you manage to keep your balance.

You make your way out of the row, Cadance close behind.

As the three of you make your way to the door, Trixie turns to you.

"Cadance. Let Octavia know that Anonymous and I are going for a quick stroll. Don't worry; she knows what I have planned. She won't worry.

Cadance squints, skeptical and concerned, but nods.

"Very well. But, mark my words. If I find out anything bad has happened to Anonymous, you're going to take the blame. If there's so much as a hair missing off of his head..."

Trixie just rolls her eyes. "He's in safe hooves. Don't worry."

"And, even then, I doubt anyone would want to attack a mare that's rumored to fight dragons and Ursa minors, alongside a human at least thrice the size of even the huskiest stallions."

Cadance pauses for a beat, and then nods. "A good point, but still. I-"

"Yes, Trixie is -well- aware of how much you care for Anonymous," she says, cutting her off. "...I know how dear he is to my dear Octavia, as well, and how he's sticking his neck out just to save mine."

"I think it's safe to say it's in my best interests to protect him."

Cadance sighs.

"Very well then. But, my point still stands. Be cautious. And bring me back some animal crackers."

"Frosted!"

"Righto, Princess," you say, turning to open the door.

You let the two mares pass through before you go through yourself.

Cadance takes a right, and Trixie takes a left.

After a light, stressed sigh, you take a left, following Trixie.

You look up at the sky.

The sky is dark. It's sunset, and you can barely see Celestia's orange blip on the horizon.

How long -was- that concert?

"Good. Glad we're finally going to have some more private time to chit-chat."

You nod.

"So, what exactly is it you wanted to 'chit-chat' about?"

Trixie looks around, noting all of the nearby ponies leaving the auditorium.

And, suddenly, it dawns on her.

She's in public.

Instantly, she stands taller and prouder.

"Trixie would like to find a more... Private place to discuss things. A place without nearly as many bystanders. This isn't because it's going to be a 'shady' chat, mind you, but rather, an... an embarrasing one," she says, hushing her tone.

"Ah. I take it it has to do with the whole fiasco with Cadance and Octavia?"

"Partially."

You nod.

"Gotcha."

You look around, and, due to the gradual change in the quality, size, and style of the buildings...

"We must be headed downtown, then?"

"Correct."

"Why're we headed downtown?"

"You'll see."

The air gets worse as the buildings do.

It gets smoggier and damper.

The neon lights of various parlors and clubs shine on the streets brighter than the borderline ancient streetlights.

Everywhere you look, there's either a sexy-ISH mare on a street corner, a stallion in a suit smoking a fag, or a creepy guy in a duster jacket.

It was a bit unnerving...

But you can't help but feel a little excited.

As you walk past some open doors, you hear the click click of poker chips, and the satisfying -thud- of a mug of cider hitting the bar.

Looking down, you step over a puddle of sewage as you cross another street.

As you're looking down, you notice something.

Trixie is keeping her head lower than usual.

Trixie never holds her head low out in public.

But, now, it doesn't seem like it's because of low self esteem.

It's because she's on edge.

You have no idea what has her so riled up, but you decide that she has no idea what she's doing.

She's standing next to a human.

She's going to get some odd stares, no matter what.

But, you don't say anything.

After chuckling to yourself, you look forward.

A neon sign of what you could only assume was a stripper on a pole shined ahead.

You hear the plucking of a cranked up bass guitar ahead.

Must be some sort of club.

"Yes, that's where we're going," Trixie says, noticing what caught your attention.

She turns into an alleyway alongside of the building where the music is coming from.

"...Here? Why're we going in here?"

"We're going to meet up with an old friend," Trixie says.

She reaches for an old, rusty side door that was the back entrance.

After a futile tug, you both find out the door was locked.

"Damn it to the moon," she curses, looking down.

"Looks like we'll have to go through the front... Ugh."

She sighs, turning around and making her way to the front door again.

She turns to you slightly, stating her next few sentences very boldly to get her point across.

"Stay back away from the crowd. Stay against the wall. Don't make much noise."

"And, most importantly, don't get anyone's attention. That's the last thing you'll need."

"Wait, what?"

"You're about to see a 'mare's night out'. Even though I usually enjoy the show, I'm afraid I'm not here for pleasure this evening."

With that, she opens the door, and...