Center Stage

Gemini was so distraught that she nearly forgot to change before leaving the privacy of her apartment. Such a mistake would quickly ruin her image as a model pony and popular dancer. Her mind was a jumbled mess as questions flooded her conscience, all demanding immediate answers.

How did Luna know who she was? When did she find out? Was she going to turn her in? If Luna knew she was a changeling, why wasn’t she bothered? All she had was the princess’ letter, and reading it over and over again did nothing to make her feel better.

Gemini felt sick.

Her stomach churned and broiled as she walked down the streets of Canterlot. A few friendly ponies that recognized her would smile and wave, but Gemini brushed them aside. Normally, she didn’t mind being approached by her fans, but today, she was in no mood to be social. The next time she saw Luna, if she ever saw the princess again, she’d be sure to find out precisely what she meant by ‘continuing to impress her’.

She came up on the Colt’s Club, and the bouncer was outside the front door. “Hey, big guy…” Gemini tried to force a smile as she greeted the towering stallion. “You’re looking as scary as always.”

The bouncer gave her a short bow as he opened the door. “Good morning, Miss Gemini. Onyx is waiting for you inside.”

Gemini nodded her head and thanked him as she stepped through the door and into the building. She was early today. No music played yet, and the floodlights were still on, giving the club floor a very different vibe than. The first few dancers were readying themselves to climb onto their stages for ‘quiet’ performances.

In a few minutes, the doors would be open to the public, and they would have to be prepared to entertain anypony that walked inside. As she walked past the tables, Gemini’s eyes glanced to her left, towards the bar, and her dream began to resurface. Remembering the way Luna had held and molested her, Gemini’s hand drifted slowly to her slit.

The dancer never took her for a lesbian, but Luna was a professional, knowing just how to touch her and where to kiss in order to make her scream. Gemini cursed silently as she came back to reality, shaking the thoughts of Luna out of her head. She retracted her hand a continued her way towards the back of the club floor. Just like the bouncer had said, Onyx was in his office, seated behind a large desk.

When the stallion looked up from his work and saw her, he smiled and motioned for her to enter. “Gem, good morning! Come in and sit down.”

The desk was littered with papers, forms, and other executive documents Gemini found boring. Such things were beyond her pay to give a modicum of care, but one paper stood out. It was the newspaper, sitting face up. To Gemini, the words were upside down, but she could still make out the headline, written in a big, bold font.

—- Canterlot Occurrences —-

Monsters Among Us! Changeling Discovered Masquerading As Pony Arrested!

Her eyes narrowed as she read the headline. How appropriate it was, sitting before her like that, but Gemini kept her mouth closed. She had her own problems, like keeping her own identity a secret. “Why am I here?”

Onyx didn’t seem to notice her negative tone, or if he did, he payed no attention to it. “I want to talk to you about your performance last night, the special treatment you showed Princess Luna.”

Once again, her mind drifted to the bar, where she got to know the princess a lot more than she ever thought possible.

“You. Were. Sensational.” Gemini looked up at last, finally meeting the stallion’s gaze. “Her majesty has already contacted me. Not only will she be visiting regularly in the future, she wants to make a private appointment. It seems she’s crazy about you, Gem.”

Crazy… That was one word Gemini might use. Lunatic was more like it. The dancer chuckled quietly at her own joke, earning a strange look from Onyx. The stallion cleared his throat, getting her attention. “You’re already booked for a private session with Emerald, the client you requested, but Princess Luna has asked for the same time slot.”

Gemini raised an eyebrow. “Today? You mean she wants me today?” She had almost forgotten about Emerald.

The dancer had been looking forward to seeing him again, but she didn’t want to pass up the opportunity to see Luna again. Maybe, she’d have her questions answered, and just maybe, she’d get to make her dream a reality. Then, a filthy thought entered her mind, and Gemini began to fantasize about having both clients at the same time.

The notion was quickly dropped, though. Something that lewd would be impossible to orchestrate. She’d need the consent of both Luna and Emerald, and Gemini found it unlikely that either member would be game for such an activity.

“I explained over the phone that you’d be busy on stage after your fulfilling your contract with Emerald, but she was rather insistent. I could refuse her request, but we don’t need to get on her bad side now that we’ve just entered her good graces.”

It was obvious to Gemini that Onyx was afraid of the princess, rather, he was afraid of her power and influence. Luna’s review of the Colt’s Club could either give the establishment bountiful success and a steady stream of business, or it could put many dancers out of jobs. Gemini rubbed her fingers against her head, wondering how she put herself in this position. It was as if the entire club depended on her and her ability to please everypony she came into contact with.

“If you drop Emerald’s contract, you’d be able to have Princess Luna. Do you understand, Gem?”

So, that’s what this little meeting was all about. Onyx wanted her to replace one client for another. He didn’t care who she had sex with in the private room, only the client’s status.

“Onyx, I can’t just… I can’t drop Emerald’s contract. You’ll have to tell Lun- I mean… her majesty to reschedule.”

Onyx’s eyes widened at her sudden willingness to turn Princess Luna down. “Gem, please reconsider. You’re not understanding the gravity of effect this may have on the Colt’s Club.”

Gemini didn’t want to listen to whatever else he had to say. Her mind was made up. “If the princess was happy with my first performance, she’ll be happy to wait until I can spend some time alone with her. Just tell her to reschedule for another time. She’ll understand, trust me on that.”

Onyx’s eyes narrowed as he reached for the phone to his right. It was then that Gemini noticed the blinking, red light on line one. Somepony was on the other end, and they had been listening to every word they exchanged.

Onyx picked up the phone and held it to his ear. “Are you still there, your majesty?” The connection was fuzzy, but Gemini could hear a mare’s voice mumbling on the other end of the line. “Yes… Yes, your majesty. I’ll be sure to tell her. Thank you again, your majesty.”

Then, he set the phone down on the receiver and let out a long sigh.

He looked exhausted. “Princess Luna has agreed to reschedule… She wants the time slot for next week. We’ll hash out the details later, but for now, I want you on stage until Emerald arrives.”

Gemini felt relieved too. She was happy to be right about Luna understanding her predicament. This way, she’d be able to get to know her new friend a little better and keep the princess happy.

She stood and grabbed her duffel bag, which carried the outfit she would put on to dance in. “You got it.” Then, she walked towards the door, opened it, and stepped out of the office. Just a little ways down the corridor, her dressing room was waiting for her.

After spending a few moments inside, Gemini was dressed and ready to dance. She emerged from her dressing room in a tight, tense-piece suit that left much of her skin exposed. The leggings came down only to her knees and were a dark purple color. The top cut off just below her breasts and failed to cover her shoulders, showing off her modestly flat belly.

To top it all off, Gemini wore a headpiece made of a large arrangement of tropical-looking feathers and glitter. She wasn’t a fan of the outfit, the dark purple clashed with her golden mane and rose wings, but she couldn’t wear the same thing every time. The audience might get bored.

Gemini stepped out onto the club floor. Several tables were already occupied as she strutted past the seated ponies. It was still quite early in the morning, but there were quite a few stallions and even a couple of mares. In front of her own stage, a pair of ponies sat down, patiently waiting for the show to begin.

She didn’t recognize one of them, but the other had an unmistakable mane that looked as though it was on fire. The dancer’s eyes widened as she rushed to meet them, her breasts bouncing as she sprinted across the floor barefoot.

“Spitfire!”

The Wonderbolt’s captain turned at the mention of her name, and her eyes widened. Then, her shocked expression turned into a smile. Gemini stopped in front of her and her friends, breathing heavily as she fixed her headpiece. Spitfire looked her up and down, taking in all of the dancer’s curves.

“Hey, you’re… Gemini, right?” The dancer nodded her head. “Nice. It’s cool to meet ya’, Gemini. You’re all anypony ever talks about in this place.” Spitfire gestured to her left and right. “This is Soarin. He likes you pretty girls, but personally, I come for the studs…”

Gemini saw where she was pointing, at a tall, strapping stallion that had just removed his button-down shirt before tossing it away. When her eyes returned to Spitfire she was saying something to Soarin. Gemini didn’t catch it, but it sounded like they were deciding where to eat afterwards.

Then, Spitfire cleared her throat as she looked back up at the dancer. “So, what can I do for you, Gemini?”

Gemini collected her thoughts as she tried to figure out how to say what she wanted. “Well, I have a friend who will be showing up soon, and he’s… Well, he’s a huge fan of the Wonderbolts. He said he’s watched all of your airshows when he was younger. I was wondering if you’d meet him…”

Spitfire looked over at Soarin, and the stallion shrugged. “Yeah... Sure, thing. I don’t see why not.”

That was the answer Gemini was hoping for. She could imagine Emerald going crazy when he arrived, and the thought made her smile.

“… but I want something from you in return.”

Just as quickly as it appeared, Gemini's smile vanished. “Anything… What is it?”

Spitfire pointed towards the center stage. “I want you to show me why you’re so damn famous around here.”

Gemini cocked her head. The request was simple enough. She was going to get on stage anyway, but there was one thing that was nagging on the back of her mind. “I thought you were into stallions…”

Spitfire grinned as she sat back in her seat. “Oh, I am, Gemini, but I would never turn down a piece of eye candy like you.”

The dancer didn’t know what to make of her last remark, but she decided to take it as a compliment. Besides, if dancing for Spitfire got her to introduce herself to Emerald, that would be enough for Gemini. Without another word, she retreated to her stage and climbed on top.

Overhead, the lights dimmed a little. There was no track to listen to, so Gemini had to dance in rhythm with the music that was already playing. She swayed her hips gently until she found the beat. On top of her stage, she felt a cold draft as she stepped from side to side, circumnavigating the pole with one hand gripped around the shaft.

The music was slow. Coupled with the steady beat, Gemini found it easy to pull of some of her more fluid stunts. With both hands on the poll now, she expertly lifted her legs into the air, high above her head so that her body was as straight as an arrow.

Then, with her legs pointed towards the ceiling, she spread them towards Spitfire and Soarin, exciting them both. Gemini was getting a little aroused herself. Still upside down, she caught the opening of the main entrance out of the corner of her eyes. Emerald stepped inside and looked right at her, and Gemini looked back at him.

His eyes were wide.

Then, seeing the shock on his face, she fell from the pole, landing on her head.

***Up Next: More Than Friends***