The streets of Canterlot were dark, lit only by the moon and lampposts as Merry Day headed to her apartment. Her shoulders stung slightly and there was a dull ache in her hooves from pulling such a long shift at the castle. Right now she wanted nothing more than to get home so she could rip off her maid’s outfit, a light blue dress and a white apron, and soak in her tiny bathtub until morning. So much so that Merry was willing to take a shortcut down a semi-deserted street just to save about seven minutes.

Some might think this to be a stupid idea to take such a short cut. Merry, however, saw things differently. It was Canterlot after all, the capital of Equestria. Out of all the cities, there’s held one of the lowest crime rates in the entire nation. The only times when it wasn’t safe to walk the streets was when there was an invasion of some kind. So, for now at least, the streets were safe.

As Merry walked past a closed shop, there was a loud clamor of noise behind her. Gasping in shock, she turned around with her horn lit to provide her with extra light. For a moment she held her breath as she examined the streets, yet found nothing that could have created the noise. As she took a tentative step backwards the noise happened again, followed by a cat racing out of an alleyway like it was being chased by Discord.

“Stupid cat,” whispered Merry as she allowed the light of her horn to die. Slowly she turned around, yet paused as she noticed her reflection in the mirror. A frown appeared on her face as she noticed that her normally bright yellow coat was in desperate need of washing and the pink hair from her mane had multiple strands sticking out everywhere. Her eyes moved down her lower body which was slightly plumper than the average pony, but not as bad as it had been last month. Slowly Merry turned to the side, noticing that her diet was starting to take effect. Which was a good thing? She had less than six months to lose twenty pounds so she could look stunning in her wedding dress. And it would be all he worth it to see Tick Tock’s face as she walked down the aisle looking as beautiful as he made her feel.

“Excuse me,” said a deep voice behind Merry, causing the mare to give a startled yelp before turning around. Her eyes widened in surprise to see what might be the most attractive stallion she had ever laid eyes on. He wore fine black pants and a white shirt that matched his coat color perfectly. The shirt, she couldn’t help but notice, was open, allowing her to see his muscular form. Merry licked her lips as she pulled her eyes away from his chest and into the most perfectly chiseled face she had ever seen on a unicorn before. And his long, luscious mane that went down to his shoulders looked like it was made of pure silver

A single lewd thought crossed Merry’s mind causing her to blush. However, the mare quickly banished it as she did her best to compose herself in front of the smiling stallion. Merry would not have that nor was she that kind of mare. She was to be married so to her fillyhood sweetheart, something that she had been waiting for several years to happen. They were both working hard so that they could get an actual house in Canterlot after the wedding!

“Forgive me for startling you,” said the stallion as he reached over to cup Merry’s cheek. “But I was wondering if a pretty mare like you would like to get some coffee with me.”

Merry opened her mouth to say no, but the words wouldn’t come out. She just stared at him, never noticing the green mist like energy that was coming out of his hand and towards her eyes before they snaked their way into them. Nor did she see the green glow around his horn that matched his eyes. All she could see at that moment was this perfect stallion as the desire to be with him, to serve him took root in her mind. With each breath she took, Merry found herself willing to do whatever it took to be near and please him. Her wants, dreams, and desires had no meaning compared to him.

There was a voice, however, that cried out in the back of her mind. It sounded like her own, telling Merry that this was wrong. It urged her to remember Tick Tock before ordering her to run away as fast as she could before it was too late. Whatever the voice was, its…presence began to fade quickly as it felt like it was being dragged away to some dark corner of her head. The further away it felt, the more Merry wanted to give herself to this stallion whose name she didn’t know. If he desired her body, Merry would strip down in a heartbeat, even here on the street. She would be willing to do anything for him, including things that she had refused to do with…whatever his name was like anal or deep throating. And, eventually, the voice that had objected to him was gone.

“I would like that every much,” whispered Merry as a tear rolled down her cheek. Why that happened, she had no idea, nor did she really care.

The stallion smiled in a way that turned his normal appearance into something darker, more twisted and evil. But Merry didn’t seem to mind it at all, just staring at him with a smile that belonged to a love struck school filly who had just been kissed for the first time. “Then let us be off to my place, Miss…” he began.

“Merry Day,” supplied the mare, who was not even slightly fazed by this slight change. She then bit her lower lip. “I, ah, can I please know your name?”

The stallion gave her a nod as he pulled her in close. “My name is Prince Charming,” replied the stallion as he looked into her eyes. “Now, let us be off to my home for some coffee.”

At the same time, Pip was enjoying a moment to catch his breath. The last batch of drink orders had just gone out and, from the looks of it; most of the stallions were taking their time to enjoy their drinks while they chatted with each other. Desire had just finished up her second dance and had left the stage, meaning there wouldn’t be another public dance for at least fifteen. Candy Bliss was giving a normal private dance at the moment while Succubus was doing a VIP dance to some hot shot pegasus from Cloudsdale. The stallion had to be loaded since he was becoming a regular, demanding an hour with Succubus the moment he arrived. The only dancer he had left that was still out on the floor was Zahara, dressed in a fur bikini and bra as she chatted with several of the guests to keep them entertained.

A slight frown slowly found its way to Pip’s face. He could see several of the patrons were glancing at the clocks in the hope that the next dance would start soon or that a dancer would approach them. Pip could see that these long stretches of time were starting to become a problem. While nopony had complained or walked, it was likely a matter of time before that changed. Pip knew he would have to talk with Succubus tonight about hiring more dancers before that happened.

Out of the corner of his eye, Pip could see the door to the club open. When he looked over, he saw a frail looking pegasus stallion with a yellowish grey coat and a short cut brown mane heading towards him.

“Hey Featherweight,” said Pip with a smile.

“Hey,” said Feather when he got to the bar, placing something on the counter before sitting. Looking down, Pip was surprised to see that it wasn’t his camera. Even though he knew Rumble would have either refused to allow Feather in with it or simply confiscated it until he was ready to leave, it was still odd to see the head photographer for the local paper without it. Instead, what Feather had brought in was a very familiar magazine.

Before Pip could comment on this, Desire walked onto the floor wearing faux leather bra and panties along with matching gloves. As Pip began to make Featherweight his usual order, Featherweight had his eyes glued to the mare as she moved towards a group of stallion who had nicely tipped her during her last dance, swishing her tail back and forth as she did so. Without looking up, Pip knew she was giving the stallions each a hug before she would sit down and talk with them until they were ready to ask her for a more private encounter.

“I don’t know how you do it,” said a flustered looking Featherweight as he accepted his drink of cider. His eyes were darting downwards before he began to fidget in his seat, possibly to hide a sudden erection.

Pip smirked slightly. “Well, it’s like working at a candy shop,” replied Pip. “After you work there long enough, the candy just doesn’t taste the same. You just get used to it.”

“Lucky,” grumbled Featherweight before he began to gulp down some of his cider. When he set his mug down, Featherweight ran a hand through his brown mane while looking down at the counter. “Wish I had a hot wife who doesn’t mind me seeing other mares naked. Heck, wish I had a special somepony in general!”

“Well, you know I could help hook you up with one of the mares here,” said Pip. At the sound of that offer, Featherweight lifted his head a bit to look at his friend in utter disbelief as Pip continued. “I know that both Candy and Zahara are both single at the moment. I could butt in a good word for you since I know you.”

Pip watched as Featherweight looked down at the counter again, obviously considering it. For a moment or two he remained there before turning his head to look over at the two mares on the floor. Zahara had gotten up and moved towards another table to give some of the other stallions some attention. Meanwhile, Desire was leading a stallion by the arm towards one of the small private dancing rooms on the main floor. The stallion didn’t seem to mind this at all, staring at her flank as she sashayed back and forth for him.

At the same time, Candy was exiting one of the small rooms with her guest having just finished the private dance. The stallion she had been with had a face that was bright red and shirt looked a little wrinkled. Pip wasn’t worried about what it might look like to others. The enchantments that had been set up in those rooms would have alerted him if something beyond a strip tease occurred. Or, if he tried to touch her in a way that she didn’t want, Candy could have yelled out which would have brought Pip and Rumble running to help. Most likely Candy had been touching his shirt while she danced. Before they parted, Candy gave him a hug and a quick kiss on the cheek before heading back to the crowd to either keep them company or see who else wanted a dance. As she walked away Pip then heard Featherweight sigh before he turned back to face the pinto and shook his head.

“Thanks for the offer,” said Featherweight as he looked down at the magazine. “I…I really like them. Every time I talk to Zahara, I feel like she is listening to me and when she smiles she…” Feather paused for a moment. “Candy, she’s…”

Again there was another pause as Featherweight got a far off look in his eyes. Pip knew that expression well. He had seen it many times when he saw that Feather was trying to set up a shot for the school paper or when they were working on a school project together. After a bit, Feather’s focus returned to Pip.

“I would love to get to know them both better,” said Featherweight in a defeated tone. “Especially Zahara. I don’t know why but I’ve got this thing for zebras. But, I’m not so sure I could take it knowing that the pony I’m dating is showing off her body for a living. I’m afraid that whenever we go out there would always somepony eyeing her up, making plans to have her give him lap dance later that night. I just…don’t think I could handle that. Do you think there’s a problem with that? I don’t want them to think I’m possessive or anything, but-”

“I don’t think that’s the case,” said Pip as he reached over the counter to place a hand on Featherweight’s shoulder. “Look, I made you that offer because I know you. You are a good friend that I know I can rely on and that you want a relationship, not a quick lay. But I do know that it can be hard on a relationship when one of you is working in this kind of job. So, if you don’t feel up to it right now there’s no worries mate.”

Featherweight visibly relaxed as Pip released his hold on him. “Thanks,” he said before picking up the magazine and holding it in front of him. “I think I’m going to do what you did and give them a try. I doubt I’ll get lucky and find somepony like Succubus, but you never know.”

“Trust me, there is nopony out there like Succubus,” replied Pip with a laugh. “And whoever arrives at your door, I’m sure she’ll be great. There might be a few bumps here or there, but if you put the time in it’ll work out.”

“Speaking from personal experience?” asked Feather as he opened up the magazine to a page he had bookmarked. Looking down, Pip could see several pictures of mares (all of them zebras) smiling in their photos with a three to four paragraph summary of them next to it. Pip could recall clearly from the days he was reading through that same magazine that those paragraphs contained information like a small biography, their likes, dislikes, and other things that would give the stallion an idea of what they were like.

As Pip opened his mouth to respond, there was a bright flash of purple light right above him. Immediately after it happened, a scroll landed between the two stallions bearing the cutie marks of both Princess Twilight and Luna. Also on it were both Pip’s name as well as Succubus’ with the word ‘urgent’ written underneath it.

“I’d better get Succubus,” said Pip, his hand shaking slightly as he picked up the scroll. “We should read it together.”

Without bothering to get somepony to watch the bar, Pip headed to the basement to get his wife. With each step he took Pip felt a growing sense of panic of what had just happened. He could tell by the color of the magical aura that Twilight had been the one to send him this scroll. Normally, if Twilight wanted to talk to him, she would have sent Flash or would have come herself before or after hours. The fact that she teleported the scroll into his club during business hours did not bode well for the young stallion. Not to mention that this scroll bore the symbol of two princesses, making it feel all the more important.

With each step Pip took down the stairway, his mind began to race with the possibilities. Was he in some sort of legal trouble? As far as he knew everything was up to code after his last inspection a few weeks ago. All of his dancers were old enough to be doing this and no minors had been able to get past Rumble, and not for a lack of trying. Was Kegger up to something? Last he had heard, Kegger had been trying his best to get the zoning laws changed so that he too could open up his own strip club in order to get rid of Pip. Those plans had failed since the mayor refused to allow a strip club that far into the town. Maybe Kegger was trying to change the laws so that Pip would be forced to close down and Twilight was trying to give him a heads up.

He hoped that was the case.

Once Pip was on the basement floor he turned left so that ‘An Exotic Rarity’ was directly behind him. Pip rarely had a reason to go into the small shop since, thankfully, Snips and Snails had behaved themselves. If the small stallion had to guess it was because the two knew they were at the end of their rope in the job department and if they got fired here they would have to leave town to find new employment. Something that he was sure they didn’t want.

Looking down the hallway, Pip could see a frail amount of light coming from out of third room. Quickly he strode towards the room as he quickly came up with a game plan for how to deal with the stallion she was with. Basically explain that there was an emergency and he needed to talk to Succubus. Pip wasn’t sure how much time was left, but he had a feeling their time was almost up. Hopefully the guest would understand and there wouldn’t be a problem. If there was, Pip knew he would have to compensate him as best he could.

As he drew closer, Pip could make out Succubus’s soft moans before there was a loud slapping noise that caused him to freeze in place for a moment. As the moaning continued, Pip turned to look behind him to see if Rumble was zooming down the stairs. When he didn’t see his friend, Pip felt some relief. There was another slapping noise that caused Pip to flinch.

“You’re such a naughty mare.” Pip could hear the voice of the stallion, Sky Rider, loud and clear from the room. Slowly, Pip began to move more slowly than before for reasons that he himself didn’t know. Once at the doorway, Pip peeked inside to see that Succubus was naked while holding the pole with one hand, her flank pointed at the stallion who was sitting in the leather love seat while drinking his hard cider. Pip watched as Succubus, whose body had a light shine due to the amount of sweat on her coat, rolled her flank around for the stallion while her tail swished back and forth. Still moaning, Succubus slapped her flank hard for the stallion’s enjoyment.

There, there was a buzzing noise coming from a clock in the room. As soon as she heard it, Succubus righted herself up and walked over to turn it off. Pip watched as she then approached the stallion with half lidded eyes and a small smile.

“Looks like our time is up,” said Succubus as she helped the stallion stand.

“Oh, can’t we continue for just a bit longer?” whined Sky as he stood up. “I’m sure nopony will notice you not coming up for another ten minutes or so. Just say you lost track of time.” Pip watched as the stallion then put his hands on Succubus’s hips and looked like he was going to lean back so that he could land back onto the couch with her in tow. Succubus, however, saw what he was doing and reacted by taking a forceful step backwards causing his hands to slip over her body.

“Naughty colt,” said Succubus as she leaned down a bit.

“Ah, don’t be like that,” said the stallion as he got up and moved towards Succubus, a small smile barely visible on his face. “Say, I got a better idea. How about you come with me and leave this dive? Just think, dating one of the rising stars of the Wonderbolts and being the envy of every mare in Equestria. Living the good life.”

“Sorry, but I’m spoken for,” said Succubus as she gently pushed Sky away with a hand. Sky frowned and his eyes narrowed a bit.

“Well, dump him,” said Sky simply, only to have Succubus instantly shake her head. “What does he have that I don’t?!”

“He’s a real stallion and not a naughty colt,” was all Succubus said. Sky’s fists clenched while his wings stood erect, clearly not pleased by this. Before the pegasus could do anything Pip moved into the doorway and loudly cleared his throat, causing the two to look at him. While Sky’s expression remained the same, angry, Succubus’s shifted quickly. Her eyes widened and brightened considerably, almost looking like they were sparking while a large fanged smile appeared on her face. The next either stallion knew Succubus flung her naked body towards Pip, wrapping her arms around his neck in an affectionate hug.

“Ah,” began Pip as he looked at a livid Sky as Succubus nuzzled him. “Your time’s up.”

Sky didn’t look like he wanted to leave. More like he either wanted to give them a piece of his mind or attack them both on the spot. However, he just stared at them for a moment as he breathed heavily. In the end he seemed to come to the conclusion that Succubus wasn’t worth anything that might come back to haunt him later. Sky stormed past the two, stomping his hooves like a spoiled foal.

“Pip, you’re here,” said Succubus happily once Sky was gone. She then pulled back and gave him a sly look. “Are you here on a break? I could give you a ‘special’ dance just for you.”

Pip rolled his eyes. “Only if you want Rumble charging in,” he commented.

“I wouldn’t mind,” replied Succubus as she moved behind Pip, pressing her bare breasts against Pip’s back. Pip could feel her nipples hardening through the fabric of his shirt while hands began to slip into his pants, ready to pull them down. But Pip stepped forwards and spun around as he raised the scroll up to his eye level.

“Sorry, but I don’t think we have time for that,” Pip said in a heavy tone, watching as Succubus eyed the scroll.

Back in Canterlot, Charming was sitting in a ratty chair as he looked out at the castle in the moonlight. The rest of the apartment seemed to be very much like his chair. The floor was littered with loose floorboards while the walls had wallpaper that was peeling off. There was a vile stench to the place, as if several cats had died in the barely standing dressers. However, Charming seemed to pay none of this any mind as he focused on the single saving grace that was the view this pit provided.

Slowly he sipped his coffee from a mug that had his cutie mark painted on it: a shattered heart with sharp, pointy edges. Behind him, lying naked on the dirty bed, was the mare he had picked up. He could hear her crying slightly in her sleep, but he paid her no mind. They all cried like this at first. Sooner or later it would fade.

“Soon, I will get everything I deserve,” said Charming softly, his eyes fixed on the castle. “And that day will be perfect.”

Author's Note

Special thanks to kalash93 for help with this chapter.

Keep on the look out for the next part in the Island series to find out what is happening to Succubus and Pip, finding out more about thestral culture, and the danger of Prince Charming!