As the sun set on the horizon and the lights of the city began to illuminate the darkening sky, a small band of ponies approached the entrance of the brightest place around. The Crimson Club, as it was called, had fantastical red lights strewn all across its outer walls. Its sign shone against the darkness of encompassing night, acting as a beacon to customers of all walks of life. It appeared to be managing its customers quite well, though the worst had yet to come.

"Identification, please," the stoic pony guarding the door commanded.

"Of course, mister bouncer," Nano replied, presenting the ID cards of his friends in a levitation spell. "This isn't our first time."

The bouncer looked over the cards for a few seconds, subtly nodding his head. "You're good to go."

Nano lifted his chin in pride. "Thank you. Come on guys, we've got data to collect," he winked.

Wish and Midnight followed closely behind, eager to get to the main event.

The sound of ponies partying was audible even from outside, accompanied by colorful flashing lights. When they entered, the moody lighting caused these things to be amplified even further. It could almost be described as an attack on the senses. The loud music, the hazy visuals caused by smoke machines, interrupted by colorful spotlights directing all focus to the strippers on stage.

Wish's eyes went wide as she tried to take in everything at once. "Woah! This is way better than anything I've ever hosted!"

"That's one way to put it," Night mumbled, staying behind Wish for comfort.

Scanning the room from their spot near the door, they were able to identify where the stages, bathrooms, a bar, and several little sheltered seating areas a comfortable distance from any performance were.

“So, where do you guys wanna go first? The bar? Straight to a stage? Straight to lap dances?” Nano asked energetically, trailing off into thought at the end.

“Uhh, well…” Wish mumbled, looking back and forth at her friends. “Seats should come first. If anyone gets lost, we need a place to come back to.”

“Alright, that’s fine,” Nano nodded. “C’mon!”

Without a moment to spare, they started towards the seating area across the room. While there were seats next to them, talking could be heard from all directions, and none of them were bold enough to bump into strangers in this environment. A sheltered area directly across from a stage was somehow completely empty, luring them forward despite the distance.

Nano found it difficult to look in the direction they were walking due to his proximity to the stage, being especially lured in by one mare in particular. Bearing the appearance of a bat pony, one of the dancers ruthlessly teased audience members with close-ups. The fire in her eyes spoke to him, hypnotizing his already horny mind into falling for her entirely.

Midnight quickly made it to the shelter, leaving Wish to deal with Nano’s unprofessional behavior.

“Hey! Equestria to Nano!” Wish half-shouted, waving a hoof in his face.

"Huh? I'm listening. I'm here," he defended hastily.

"Well then hurry up! I don't want to have to put you on a leash to keep you in line!" Wish commanded, stomping a hoof as she headed for their seats.

Nano silently obliged, sneaking a glance back toward the fervent dancer. In that moment, it surely looked as if she noticed him, even shooting a flirty wink his way. Before his body could get any more aroused than a blush, Wish pulled him back by the ear with a levitation spell. Midnight had gotten quite comfortable on the couch, lying in such a way that she could still write down her findings without needing to reposition entirely.

Upon finally making it to the seats, Nano hesitantly got on the couch alongside Night, awaiting Wish’s orders. Wish stayed standing, tapping a hoof on the ground as she tried to come up with a proper game plan for the night. She found herself walking towards Night and her sketchbook, which had been filled with a few templates to make her research easier. Wish gave a small appreciative nod towards her ability to actually have a plan, as always.

"What're your plans for tonight, Wish?" Midnight asked innocently.

Wish smiled. "I'd like to try and have a conversation with all of the dancers here, but I don't know if I'll get the opportunity,” she said, rolling her eyes in frustration. “There’s way more ponies here than I thought there’d be, and by the looks of it, those dancers are never going to get a break.”

"Yea, they've gotta be understaffed," Nano agreed. "Normal strip clubs have upwards of ten dancers to call in for work. Yet, I only see like… three."

Once again, upon saying this, he began to trail off as his thoughts drifted toward that same dancer. Only, this time, it appeared that she was wrapping up her show. She collected the money that had been scattered around her stage into a saddlebag and casually hopped off. Nano bore a look of confusion, though he assumed that it was common practice to end shows whenever.

“Are you still eyeing them?” Night asked, mildly annoyed.

Nano paused for a moment before countering. “Yes. Yes I am,” he smirked, chin raised. “I’ve decided that I will be conducting most of my research on her tonight.”

Midnight stifled a laugh. “Whatever you say. Just make sure you get some actual info, too.”

Again, Nano nearly managed to speak his epic rebuttal, but something stopped him. Physically. A set of leathery bat wings had been flown over his eyes, gently pressing down on them.

“Guess who?” the batpony asked, pressing her chest into his back affectionately.

“W-wha? Are you--” Nano fussed, inspecting the wings on his face with his hooves. “You’re here? For me!?”

The pony sat directly behind him on the couch, releasing her wings and gently running one through his mane. “I could be, if you’ve got the bits,” she grinned, her eyes lit with devious intent.

Nano, nearly subdued by her tricks playing to his horniness, stood his ground. “Alright, name your price.”

“How much you got?” she stared into his soul, still rubbing his head.

He smiled. “200 bits, but you don’t seem to be worth all that,” he feigned without missing a beat. “How about we start with a lap dance for 20, then we’ll see about going further.”

The batpony smiled just as hard, her expression unwavering. “You really just lied to my face, didn’t you? Okay, tough guy. Let me let you in on a little secret. If you couldn’t tell, we’re a little short on staff right now, meaning I make a barrel of bits just by putting my junk in ponies’ faces on stage, ‘cause they’ve hardly got any other option. By leaving the stage, I’m missing out on big money. Pay me something that can match that, then we’ll talk.”

Nano’s pupils shrank, shattering his facade despite his best efforts. The batpony left behind the ruffled unicorn and strutted off to another group of potential customers. Meanwhile, her slot on stage was overtaken by a gray earth pony mare who had previously been wandering in search of customers.

Nano just sat there, jaw hanging open.

Wish’s eyes went wide in surprise at what just happened. "Uh, alright then. Good luck with her," she commented. "If you wanna follow me, I'll be checking out the rest of the place."

As she headed off, Midnight pushed his jaw closed and patted him on the back. She smiled quietly, unable to think of the right words to comfort him. Nano stayed put on the safety of the couch to collect himself before trying to talk to anyone anytime soon.

The fog generated by the fog machines continued to impair Wish’s vision. It was a fun effect for most customers that were just there to let loose, but for being on a search, it was a little annoying. Thankfully the flashy stage lights removed much of that burden by drawing attention to the important part of the room, the stages. Three medium-sized stages meant for only one or two performers took up the center of the room, with a much larger stage at the back. The dancers cycled between shifts to give each other a break and allow the customers looking to get into a VIP room more than one option. If there were more employees they’d have significantly more freedom in choosing when to be on stage and when to roam.

For now, the bat pony from earlier went around picking out customers, while three others kept to the stage. A strong earth pony with a beanstalk green coat and stylish choker kept the most viewers at the time. A slim-looking, deep blue unicorn wearing some sort of tutu trailed just behind with an equal amount of tips. The basque, or skirt-like part of her outfit, frilled out into a large circle, drawing all attention into her exposed marehood. The third mare was mostly gray with a few greenish highlights in her eyeshadow, skirt, and big boots. She especially seemed to show her age compared to the rest of the cast, explaining her smaller audience.

She continued her walk around the area, finding herself paused in front of the very first stage. Something odd stuck out to her about the blue unicorn’s performance. Somehow she had the most money scattered on the floor of the stage despite having the most clothes on. Her dance didn’t seem to be especially unique compared to the other options, and yet…

Wish took one of the few empty seats set directly next to the mare’s stage to improve her focus, and immediately saw the reason. While her outfit was able to draw a lot of attention to her most favorable areas, something inside made it even more alluring. A string of sky blue lights surrounded the innermost part of the outfit, where it collided with her rump. This highlighted her marehood even further, making it look as appealing as possible.

She went for an exaggerated stretch, pointing her flashy rump directly in the face of her highest paying fan and gave a wink, prompting more bits to fly onto the stage. She ignored their offerings for the moment, taking the time to ascend the pole and majestically spin downwards. Slow and steady, the lights in her dress had a chance to capture the minds of everyone watching, milking even more bits from a few watchers.

When she finally reached the ground and took a moment to collect some of her earnings, she noticed that one pony hadn’t given a cent. With only a curious glance, the dancer resumed her routine, paying her respects by giving the higher paying customers a bit more time. After circling the entire stage again with teasing and seductive tail swishes, she ended up back at Wish. Up to this point, she hadn’t even realized how much she stood out among the crowd.

The dancer once again stared at her expectantly, slowly moving her display over to the next crowd member to not draw too much attention. The last thing she wanted was for customers to think that giving less money meant getting more attention. Wish continued staring blankly, perhaps even smiling in admiration, though looking creepy to an outsider. It was only after the performer moved her focus elsewhere that she finally realized her mistake.

She quickly opened her saddlebag and took out a few bits, tossing them onto the stage in front of her casually. Upon hearing the metal hit the floor, she briefly interrupted her routine to do another pole trick. This time, she jumped a considerable distance, grabbing onto the pole with a combination of her forelegs and hind hooves. By twisting around in a certain way, she was able to point her marehood towards the roof while gracefully sliding down the length of the pole.

The light from her outfit instead lit up the ceiling, now managing to catch the attention of a few stray customers that weren’t even attending her show. Her basque fell down to cover her body as she descended, looking a little silly, but still helping to direct attention to her sexual goods. When she landed, she did so in a headstand, allowing herself to fall seamlessly back into a standing position in which she leaned down to smile directly at Wish and collect her donation.

The dancer took a short bow and made her way off the stage. The audience showed their gratitude with applause, some even trying to throw a few more bits her way to get another show out of her. She simply ignored it, going on her way to find her replacement and give the signal. Before she could travel more than a few feet from the stage, Wish walked beside her and tried to start a conversation.

“Hey, I loved your performance just now! You got a minute to talk?” she asked, full of optimism. “My name’s Wish, by the way.”

The mare took a moment to respond, visibly tired from working. “Wish, huh? Alright, sure,” she replied, using a quick spell to detach the lower part of her outfit and attract less attention. “You can call me Typha, just keep it short, or I’m gonna have to start chargin’ ya,” she joked.

Wish just kept smiling. “Awesome! Okay, first off, I’m going to be working here soon, and I’d like to know if you have any advice for me,” she explained, gradually getting calmer as she continued.

“Ah, I see,” Typha nodded with a hint of excitement. “Well, I can only say so much, but there’s a lot to look forward to and a lot to worry about. That premier is not easy, for one. Only auditions with lots of creativity tend to make it around here.”

“Alrighty, I’ll keep that in mind! Anything else you’re willing to share?” she asked, repeating the advice in her head.

Typha thought for a moment, pausing her smile. “If you’re getting into this business I’m sure you already know to expect all sorts of touching and intimate situations…” she thought aloud. “Still, make sure you’re prepared to handle all kinds of customers. I remember one especially crazy time in which I spent time with married ponies, magazine writers, criminals, and political figures, all in the same night.”

Typha glanced to her side and noticed that they had ended up next to an empty seat, quickly deciding to lie down as their conversation drew to a close. As Wish prepared to reply, she noticed that they had ended up right back at the seat with Midnight, although Nano was nowhere to be found.

Midnight waved. “Hey! How’d it go so far?”

“Oh, hey!” Wish replied, still a little shocked by Typha’s words. “Pretty good, I think.”

“Mm-hmm,” Night hummed, smiling lightly. “Who’s that?”

Wish glanced back for a moment, as if to invite her to the conversation. “This is Typha, one of the performers here.”

Typha waved, grinning. “Hi, nice to meet you!”

Night nodded, still just smiling.

After a brief period of silence causing the blaring music of the club to come back into their senses, the performer started to get up. “Alright, well, if that’s all the questions you have, I’ll be on my way.”

“Go ahead, I’ve got a few more ponies to talk to anyhow,” she justified.

Typha nodded, making her way towards the next shelter. “Good luck with that!”

As she trotted off across the room, something caught Midnight’s eye. She continued to carry the bottom half of her outfit around on her back, folded up neatly. This wouldn’t be too odd, if it weren’t for the fact that it was clearly giving off light. It was hardly noticeable, especially from her distance, but it was bright enough to stir interest.

“Wish, do you see that? On her back,” Night inquired, blatantly staring as the mare walked away.

“Her outfit? Yea, what about it?” Wish looked back at her curiously.

Night kept staring, trying to concentrate and prove if it was real or her imagination. She was able to tell that the light seemed to come out in a sort of S shape in the same way it was folded, but possibly from inside. It was only after a minute of total staring that it occurred to her how lewd it may have looked to an outsider, but her intrigue would not be stopped.

“Does that… cloth thing… does it look like it’s giving off light?” She asked, still determined to get an answer.

“It’s her basque. And yeah, she put some kind of light on the inside to make her look extra attractive during her dances. I’m surprised you can tell from all the way back here,” Wish answered supportively.

“Weird, but cool,” Night admitted.

Wish looked out into the rest of the club once more, seeking her next target. There were two earth ponies and a bat pony, all with varying levels of interest from the customers. The green earth pony still seemed to garner the most attention, planting the idea that she might be the best out of her options. However, something stuck out even more. Although the bat pony had a slightly smaller crowd, her fans seemed to give a bit more in tips. Not only that, but there was even a familiar face among the rest that might be able to give her some insight.

“Did you know Nano was over there giving her money?” Wish asked, mildly worried.

“I did not,” Night answered calmly. “I told him to be nicer and that she was probably just playing it safe, to which he agreed and went off out of view. She wasn’t back on the stage at that time.”

“Joy,” Wish remarked sarcastically. “I’ll go check on him, just to be safe. Maybe I can catch the next dancer that comes down while I’m up close.”

Night nodded her approval, prompting Wish to make her way toward Nano through the terribly dense crowd of ponies. By sheer coincidence, something happened to glimmer for a moment in his peripheral vison, grabbing his attention just enough to make him turn toward Wish. Seeing her approach, he immediately decided to be friendly and help her over.

“Hey Wish! Walk around this way!” he shouted, waving a hoof at his side to signal at the smaller concentration of ponies near the edge of the stage.

"Hey!" She shouted back in return, awkwardly weaving through the crowd. "How long have you been here?"

Suddenly, the crowd burst into a chorus of cheers, overpowering their voices. The bat which Nano had been watching suddenly joined the earth pony mare on her stage! Although distancing herself from half of her viewers, this may have been part of the goal.

The pair of ponies locked eyes with each other and nodded, before the bat stepped back and allowed the mare to lower her forehooves in such a way that the bat could place her hind legs on them. In a single spectacular motion, the batpony was hoisted into the air, standing atop the mare’s legs and doubling her height.

The crowd cheered. Nano’s jaw dropped, and Wish was thoroughly impressed.

Now standing leagues above everyone else, the bat spread her wings and jumped from her friend’s hold, the mare below somehow holding her ground without a hint of fatigue from the impact of her friend’s takeoff. The bat flapped her wings to ascend to the very top of the pole, showing off all sorts of poses and tricks on her slow descent. On the ground, the earth mare did a quick, suggestive stretch, much more to tease than actually stretch.

The crowd continued to eat it up, bits beginning to fly onto stage from all sides.

As the dancers neared closer, the earth pony mare got back into position and prepared to catch her friend with her forehooves, standing on two legs. The bat saw her cue and immediately leapt off the pole, angling her path so that she would fall directly into her friend’s grasp with her hind legs. The impact nearly caused the mare to fall over, but they held together. To put the cherry on top, the bat impulsively decided to backflip off of her friend’s hooves, catching her off guard and very nearly causing her to fall into the crowd. The bat, however, managed to land perfectly on all fours, appearing very surprised and proud of herself. The earth mare not quite so much, but her mood was quickly lightened by the sheer number of bits they’d earned.

The earth mare took a slight bow, maintaining her humility and trying to collect the scattered money before it became too much to manage. The bat, on the other hand, moved to the other side of the stage to claim her chunk of earnings. She opted for the unusual decision of lying on her back, on stage, and making gold-angels with her legs, piling up bits between her limbs as a very showy way of claiming her share. The audience, of course, threw even more money at her, those positioned behind her receiving a serious feast for the eyes.

The earth mare looked over at her and contemplated for a moment, looked down at the gold covered stage, and made her own irrational decision of shoveling as much money into her bag as she could before getting back to her own, actual routine.

“Did-- did you see what they just did!?” Wish asked, full of energy. “How can that pony withstand that!?”

“Yeah,” Nano, in the midst of a battle with himself in deciding whether or not it was worth it to climb onto the empty stage in order to get a better look at the batpony due to guests filling every other route, replied. “Is it a bad idea to throw bits from all the way over here? Do you think she’d know it was me?”

Wish recoiled slightly and turned to look at him, blinking in confusion.

“I thought I could… no… no definitely not,” Nano admitted, losing confidence with every word.

Wish giggled. “We can find a better way to get over there, ideally one that draws a little less attention.”

The earth pony mare, now doing a perfect split on her mostly coin-free side of the stage, glanced back at the batpony. She still appeared to be relishing in her ability to draw in money by doing next to nothing, shaking her rump in front of a customer that she assumed to be giving the biggest tip.

“Okay Drupe, if that’s all you’re going to do, you can go back to your stage,” the mare declared politely.

“Huh? Oh, oops.” The bat, in the middle of tending to her dragon’s hoard of bits piling up on the stage, looked back. “Alright, but you gotta help me get all these bits over there in one trip, Guiana. I don’t think my bag can hold all of this!” she exclaimed, slutty pride seeping through her words.

Guiana sighed. “Well mine’s already basically full, and I don’t think it’s a good idea to dump it on the floor to make room. Are there any other bags?”

“I think everyone just brought one tonight,” she replied.

Suddenly struck with the realization that her horny crowd was suddenly going without entertainment, she ascended halfway up the pole and performed another round of poses.

Upon hearing their problem, a lightbulb lit up in Nano’s head. Without hesitation, his horn lit up, quickly encompassing his entire body in his magical aura. In the short moment that Wish was looking the other way, he disappeared from view.

“I’m not sure if there’s any good way we can-- Nano?” she questioned calmly. “Oh no... please don’t be stupid--”

Nano playfully blew a raspberry at her remark. “I won’t!”

His comment, however, was heard by no one as he began to gallop past his friend’s hind hooves. Then her front hooves. Countless ponies standing around in a massive cluster still couldn’t get in the way of his goals, not at this size. With the power of his single most advanced spell, for better or for worse, he shrunk in size down to that of a small grape. Dodging and weaving through the crowd, he kept moving until he finally landed on a spot with ample room to begin returning to normal size. Amazingly, no one was hurt in this maneuver due to the space between ponies allowing them to get out of the way.

Now at normal size, and right next to the stage, he shouted. “Drupe! You can use this!” and immediately began to levitate his shirt off of his body.

Drupe looked over at the most likely crazy pony, very caught off guard. “Are you that same pony from before? I thought I made it clear that I don’t want anything to do with you.”

Before her words could reach his ears through the thick wall of pride in his head, his shirt had already landed neatly on stage before the two dancers.

Guiana looked down, inspecting the garment for any immediate red flags. “I mean, it looks clean. I think we can use this?”

Drupe inspected the shirt as well, refusing to take chances. She glanced back at the red unicorn in the audience, who was smiling awkwardly.

“M-my friends can vouch?” he pleaded.

Before Drupe could intervene, Guiana picked it up and began trying to tie up the sleeves and body hole with her hooves. “Yeah, we can totally use this. Thanks dude, we’ll give it back after.”

Nano beamed with pride. "It's no problem. I've got a million just like it at home," he boasted.

Without his noticing, the dancers completely tuned him out, collecting the last of the cash and preparing to continue their shows. Drupe jumped back to her stage, now with a satchel made of Nano's clothes on the far side.

"Hey wait, you gotta pay me back!" He complained. Wouldn't a… fine mare like yourself want to repay my kindness?" He taunted, not-so-secretly desperate for her attention.

"I thought you said it was no problem?" Drupe replied casually, before immediately ascending to the top of her pole and performing a slow and deliberate round of showy poses.

Nano grunted, briefly weighing his options before making his way through the crowd to get back to Wish.

“Well, that was a bust,” he sighed.

Wish stared at him emptily for a moment, deep in thought.

He shot her a suspicious glance, which Wish read as her cue to start talking.

“Hey Nano,” she began, emotionless.

He saw no reason for there to be a problem, not even looking her way. “Yeah?”

“I saw you help that mare on stage,” she continued, still neutral.

His eyes widened a bit, but he held his casual demeanor. “Y-yeah?”

“That was very selfless of you, I never imagined you doing something so nice for someone you barely know,” she smiled impishly, knowing her choice of words would get under his skin.

He recoiled slightly. “O-oh, well… I can be pretty nice, sometimes.”

“Just sayin’, that was very generous,” she replied, becoming calm again.

Author's Note

"After nine years three months in development, I hope it was worth the wait."

This chapter was proofread by Kassaz! (NSFW)
The third and final chapter of this arc, also proofread by Kassaz, will be posted soon!