At home, Nano lay on the bed, smirking shamelessly with his forehooves resting behind his head and his legs spread apart as he allowed the cool air to flow around his uncovered body. Amid the apparent peacefulness stood Wish, who sought to turn this moment into a work of art. She approached his side of the bed with a slightly relaxed, but clearly excited smile and bright eyes that spoke of some off-the-wall plan she would soon share with the world.

Nano opened an eye to look over at her, immediately recognizing the familiar expression and letting out a defeated sigh. Knowing the kind of antics he was likely about to get wrapped up in, his stallionhood preemptively began to slowly grow out of its sheath, prompting him to quickly sit up and rub the sleepiness out of his eyes to conceal it. Wish’s expression turned a little more smug as she recognized that same behavior from him, knowing that meant he was subconsciously on board even if he hesitated at first.

“Hey!” she chirped. “I thought of a little something I’d like to try on you, it’ll be quick and easy!”

“Oh, what’s that?” he replied, returning to his usual cool demeanor.

Wish’s smugness went away as she tried to appear calm and professional, still unable to hold back a smile. “Just lie back down and go along with what I say.”

“Can do.” He dropped back into his initial position, prepared to go along with anything.

"So, if I touch your foreleg…" she began, softly placing one of her front hooves onto Nano's foreleg, which still laid beside his head. "You can probably feel a little pressure, but not much else."

Nano nodded, his eyes closed once again.

Wish’s professionalism began to slip away as her smile grew. "But as soon as I start to rub it…"

A very slight feeling of tension crept in at those words, causing his eyes to open and shift to look at the placement of her hoof.

Without delay, she began to rub it around in circles, pushing a bit of his skin around with it. "You might start to feel the slightest bit of pleasure," she cooed.

Nano nodded, consciously taking deeper breaths to keep himself from getting completely aroused so quickly. "A little, yeah."

Wish's confidence kept up. "Now, without even changing my tone, when I lick your shoulder, you should feel much stronger sensations."

Nano's eyes widened a bit in surprise as he watched his friend lower her body slightly, bringing her head close to his shoulder on the same foreleg.

She paused briefly to look up at his ever-so-slightly tense pupils, locking eyes with him for a few seconds. In that time, she extended her tongue just barely enough to be visible, causing him to preemptively grit his teeth in preparation for the sensation. Wish caught this immediately, grinning brightly in triumph.

"Look at you! I haven't even made contact yet and you already look like you're about to cum!"

Nano huffed, his stallionhood retreating as his feelings turned from arousal to alertness. “What? No! We’ve barely done anything, how would you guess that!?”

Wish grinned, giggling behind her teeth. "I mean, look at you. After that tease, you’re an itty bit shaky, your pupils dilated as you stared at me, I think I even caught you gritting your teeth! I don’t even need to look at your cock to tell how horny you are."

He struggled to regain composure. "Well I… I mean, you… you are very good at what you do, so it wouldn't surprise me if--"

Wish gave his shoulder a quick, cute lick.

Nano, previously looking straight ahead due to being afraid of making eye contact in his state, looked down at his friend in confusion.

"What?" She asked innocently.

He couldn't think of a response.

Wish smiled again. "I thought you were turned on by me licking your shoulder? Or could it be that you were really turned on by the anticipation?"

Nano stared emptily, furrowing his brow. "That… sounds about right…"

Moments later, Midnight emerged from around the corner, presented with a scene of Nano lying on the bed fully exposed. Wish bore a proud expression, surprisingly standing closer to his head than his pelvis. Nano himself had his smug look shocked right off of him, indicating to Night that Wish was being ‘artsy’ again.

Her eyebrows raised for a moment, but after assessing the scene, she quickly calmed back down. “Ah! Am I… interrupting something?”

“Nono, you’re fine. I was just practicing some stuff on Nano,” Wish assured. “And by the looks of it, I’ve still got it!” she declared, puffing up her chest proudly.

Nano sat up in his spot, his eternal smirk returning to his face. “I’ll say. You almost had me there! Any more of that technique, and I would’ve had a horny itch all day!”

Wish’s eyes narrowed a bit in confusion. “Well, I wouldn’t call it a technique as much as I’d call it a rule. Teasing and tempting is how you make someone crave sexual pleasure. That’s what it really means to be horny,” she grinned, speaking her final sentence with extra confidence.

Midnight performed a fake cough to remind her friends that she existed. “If I may, I’d like to remind everyone that The Wishmaker has a performance in six days, but no plan and minimal experience,” she said sternly.

Nano and Wish looked between each other nervously, like foals who’d been caught skipping class.

“Thankfully, I’ve already taken the first steps,” she resumed with a more casual tone. “The club is closed today, but the owner has given us permission to use this time to practice inside. How fast can you guys be ready to head down there?"

After a moment of silent debate between each other, Nano and Wish both nodded.

“This is really the only thing we’ve done this morning, and neither of us have plans, so we can be ready now,” Wish declared cheerfully.

Night grinned. “Come on, then! No time to waste!” Without missing a beat, she hoisted her saddlebag over her back and headed outside.

Wish followed suit, grabbing her own bag and dashing down the stairs.

Nano, who sat on the other side of the bed managing the items in his bag, looked up upon hearing the door slam shut. “Hey, wait for me!” he exclaimed, picking up his bag with his magic and rushing out the door.

Inside the Crimson Club, things had changed dramatically since last night. The fog, dim lights, multicolor waving spotlights, and overwhelming music had all been turned off. For once, it was possible to see the interior under normal lighting conditions. Everything appeared to be somewhat worn out, almost like an arcade with janitors that put in the least amount of effort required. The sofas seemed clean and shiny, the stages were finely cleaned, yet the floors and disorganized seats made it evident that whoever cleaned up was terribly underpaid. Past those stylish red walls, the team of rising stars walked past the entrance with varying levels of excitement.

"Wow! So, do we really have this whole place to ourselves?" Wish exclaimed.

Night held her chin high with pride. "At least until later tonight, yup."

Wish didn’t waste a single second, her entire past as a stage performer flashing through her mind at the sight of the vacant stages. They seemed to yearn for some passionate pony like herself to take up the call and dance her heart out. She galloped towards the small stage, leaping up and spinning around the pole with one forehoof, her hind legs planted into the ground. All those months of being without an audience would soon finally come to an end, and her sense of passion would return stronger than ever, bringing the warmth and fulfillment of a feast.

“Oh, how I missed this!” Wish exclaimed. “It’s all coming back to me!”

She quickly became captured by the rhythm welling up in her mind, tapping a hoof on the ground and allowing her body to synchronize with the beat. Wrapping her other forehoof around the pole, she slowly slithered up into a tall standing position, proudly displaying her entire body. She couldn’t restrain showing a bright grin as she did this, stretching herself up a bit, before slowly sinking down until she ended up in a sitting position.

In this brief pause, she suddenly became a little more aware of her surroundings. Both of her friends had taken a seat in front of the stage, silently cheering her on. Midnight paid full attention similarly to how she had done with the other dancers from the night before, but it seemed Nano had only just come around after letting his curiosity guide him around the empty club.

Wish allowed her forehooves to drop to her sides, thinking of what move to do next. Immediately, a strange feeling she hadn’t felt since the last time she performed for a crowd began to fill her thoughts. The distant echo of a mind-consuming craving. Her changeling instincts wormed their way into her mind, causing her breath to become a little shallower, and her logic a little weaker.

Wish transitioned from a sitting position to lying on her stomach, followed shortly by rolling onto her back. She stretched out her limbs again to enjoy the feeling of freedom, appreciating the feeling of the cool air exploring the entire surface of her body while she prepared herself for the next logical course of action. Without warning, she raised up her back legs and somehow managed to plant them on either side of her head. Despite her spine being bent in an unbelievable C shape, she winced a slightly pained smirk, and winked her marehood twice towards the crowd.

Night recoiled in shock, her eyes going wide with confusion and worry. Nano felt similarly, but instead of recoiling, his pupils dilated as they had at her previous tease, causing his face to turn slightly redder than usual. After a few more seconds of the admittedly painful pose, Wish moved her legs back into a reasonable position, lying on her side as her eyes gazed eagerly back at the crowd. Not sensing much love in the air, her first instinct was to present her body again, perhaps even begin touching herself in order to hear their praises. Instead, she laid still in the restful pose for a few more moments, becoming conscious of her shallow breathing and making an effort to correct herself. Her smile quickly faded as she put a hoof to her face in regret.

“Sweet Celestia…” she mumbled. “I’m so sorry, I don’t know what came over me! It’s just, when I got on that stage, it’s like my brain went on autopilot!” she lamented with her hooves over her eyes.

Still recovering from the surprise, Night tried to comfort her friend. “It’s okay, Wish. I trust you, but I’m a bit worried.” She approached the stage, reaching out a hoof to comfort her. “I know how you can be, but that wasn’t your usual playfulness.”

Wish lowered a hoof to face her, and a smile quickly began to fight its way onto her face in turn. “Yeah…” she replied quietly, holding her hoof as she made her way down from the stage.

Nano stood up from his seat in the row behind the front, making his way towards them with a hint of nervousness in his walk. “Yea, I have to agree with Night, I could tell that was a very different kind of performance than the stuff you do for me. You only ever act like that when you get hungry,” he emphasized. “...Are you?”

Wish grunted her frustration. “I certainly wasn’t when we got here, that I know for sure. It’s just… being on the stage. Even though my audience was only two ponies, and my best friends no less. It’s as if my brain remembers how much love there was when I used to perform in front of big crowds, and expected the same result here.” She sighed heavily.

“You analyzed that pretty quickly,” Night nodded. “Yea, I suppose that would make sense.”

“Problem identified,” Nano chimed. “Wanna give it another go and see if you can handle it better? I’ll be doing the same,” he encouraged, snickering and blushing slightly.

Wish let out a little giggle as her mood began to lift again. “I’ll take your offer, horny colt,” she teased. “I need to master this if I want to be able to survive that debut performance.”

As Wish ascended the stage once more, the front entrance to the club could be heard opening, grabbing the attention of the trio who’d been enjoying the privacy. Nano was the one to take initiative, leaving his friends in their places as he trotted towards the door confidently.

“Excuse me, but this club is closed. Come back in a few hours when the proper rave lights are visible through the windows,” he stated, somewhat jokingly as to not seem too harsh.

Before him was a mature-looking mare who stood noticeably higher than most. With a light red coat, and a mane and tail bearing the colors of sunrise, she held her chin high and suppressed a giggle. “I’ve heard about you, yet somehow, it seems you haven’t heard of me. My name is Searne Caco, and I’m the best thing that’s ever happened to this club,” she declared, and pushed him aside.

Nano immediately put up his guard, unsure of how to process such an introduction, but cautious that someone like that could easily spell danger. Behind her, a single companion followed. A fairly short stallion with a permanent, slightly uncanny smile that kept his eyes focused on Searne as he walked, hardly aware of his surroundings. He had a similarly red coat, but with a mane and tail of stone-gray, striped with dull purple.

Midnight stared at the scene, once again finding herself stunned to silence. Her sights quickly shifted over to Wish, who appeared similarly shocked. They quickly regained their bearings, feeling slightly defensive as the intimidating mare trotted directly towards them.

She pointed a hoof to the changepony on stage. “You must be Wish,” she reckoned. “I’ve heard quite some stories about you from the other dancers.”

With only a trace of stressful smog in the back of her mind, Wish welcomed the pony with a smile. “That’s me! What brings you here during downtime, Miss Caco?”

She couldn’t help but giggle at her remark. The thought that someone wouldn’t treat her with the utmost respect was just absurd. “Ah, it’s… nothing that would concern the likes of you,” she stuttered, looking to the side for only a moment before raising her chin in pride once more.

“Alrighty then!” Wish cheered. “I’m working on my dance routine for my debut, if you’re interested.” Midnight turned to face Wish with wide, alert eyes. She shook her head frantically to disagree, not yet having an ounce of trust for this pony.

Searne scoffed impulsively at Wish’s comment, her thoughts suddenly grinding to a halt as she was struck with a realization. She was well aware of her status as an upcoming performer, and that she had built a very positive reputation among everyone she’d interacted with the previous night. The idea of a challenger to her position at the top was not one she enjoyed contemplating.

“Show me.”

Wish backpedaled slightly, remembering how badly she’d messed up in her earlier performance. “Oh, well, it’s still a work in progress, so-”

“Show me what you have so far,” Searne interrupted bluntly.

Wish gulped. “Please take a seat.”

Searne obliged, placing herself directly next to Midnight, who was still more than prepared to act if anything went awry. The red earth pony that followed Searne around took up the seat next to her, maintaining the same expression while focusing on the stage.

Nano, who had stood stoic beside the rows of seats, approached the front row with a certain unbroken focus. He stood in front of the seat beside Night, putting his forehooves up on the stage and motioning for Wish to come closer. She reluctantly followed, leaning down to hear what he had to say.

Searne huffed quietly, deciding to be patient.

“Wish, you don’t have to do this. Just say the word and I’ll make sure she never bothers you again,” Nano whispered comfortingly.

She hesitated. “No, it’s fine, Nano. I’ve done this a million times before, this time is no different.”

Nano held eye contact to force her to take this seriously, but in seeing her smile, he couldn’t help but smile too. “Alright, but if I see you start to struggle, I’m making a move,” he whispered reassuringly.

She nodded, her nervousness subsiding slightly. They broke apart and Nano took a seat with Night, smiling towards the stage.

Wish smiled in turn, standing beside the pole once more and beginning to replicate the moves she’d done before. With deep breaths and a desperate desire to suffocate her changeling instincts, she used her forehooves to pull her body up the pole so that it appeared she was standing on her hind legs. She kept her eyes closed and only focused on smiling, stretching her legs out forward and to the side in rhythm.

After a minute of this, she settled down and began to allow her body to slide down the pole, ending up awkwardly lying on her back with her head raised at a sharp angle instead of sitting as she’d done before. As if under a curse, something in her mind called to her to spread her legs. She remained vigilant, and consciously decided to roll over to her side. This act of defiance put a smile on her face. So much so, in fact, that she decided to keep rolling around on the stage.

Night and Nano began to lighten up, giggling at her unique method of overcoming the awful cravings. This time it was Searne who recoiled, feeling as though she should join them in laughter for how ridiculous her performance was, but ultimately remained too confused to think of a proper response.

Wish sat back up with a single forehoof planted on the stage, facing the audience. Something about her pose with her legs out to the side seemed sexy to her, feeling those instincts creep back in again. With a noticeable amount of horny hesitation, she stood back up, trotting backwards toward the pole in the center of the stage. As she felt her rump hit the pole, she winced again, hesitating as a blush began to fill her face, but forcing herself to proceed.

She lifted up both of her hind legs at once, attempting to use the pole as a balance as she slowly inched her way towards it in the beginnings of a hoof-stand. When she reached the point that she no longer needed the pole for support, she looked forward at the upside-down crowd and smiled once again, concentrating on the image as her body redirected focus to staying balanced instead of aroused.

Sitting beside Wish’s supportive friends, Searne seemed to be suppressing a smile. She rolled her eyes, as a way to both assert herself as better, and to refocus her mind. “You got anything unique? Something you can do that the other dancers can’t?” she inquired firmly.

Wish allowed herself to come down from the hoof-stand, facing the crowd normally. She pondered for a moment, the only thought sticking out in her cluttered mind was, of course, the intrusive desire to leech love. She began to shake a little, in a mix of nervousness and her body’s anticipation. She forced herself to trot back towards the pole while still facing the crowd, closing her eyes as she wrapped her forehooves around the pole again. Her mind was nothing but fuzz as she oscillated quietly from side to side on the pole, doing everything in her power to not touch herself. “Come on, what can I do from here!?” she thought frantically.

Seeing his friend in this state, Nano’s mind immediately sharpened, calling him to stand up and act. “That was a fantastic performance Wish! You did way better than you did in practice!” he exclaimed cheerfully.

Wish opened her eyes to look at him and immediately felt some tension leave her body. “You think so?” she managed, too quietly to be heard clearly.

“Absolutely!” he replied. “Now come down here, you’ve been up there long enough.”

Wish’s smile grew much stronger as she fought to regain composure. “Thank you.”

Searne watched the scene unfold, once again at a loss for words. After a moment, she decided it was best to rise from her seat as well to properly confront her. In doing so, her companion stood in-turn as his focus shifted back to her. Chin held high once more, she looked down at the changepony with a small smile. “Wish, I’d like to wish you well on your debut. You seem capable enough,” she complimented. “But not too capable,” she remarked under her breath, feeling triumphant.

Wish’s smile grew stronger still, almost restoring herself to normality. “Thank you, I appreciate it,” she replied sincerely.

Searne closed her eyes and sighed quietly, thereby squashing the grain of stress that had been gnawing at her mind since she learned of this new competitor. “That being said, I need to practice for my own upcoming performance. You’re all welcome to return to your seats and enjoy the show,” she declared confidently, moving to ascend the vacant stage from the side.

Midnight and Nano returned to their original positions, leaving Wish to sit next to Nano instead of Searne’s previous seat. The mysterious red pony, who had previously silently watched the action unfold without moving an inch, saw the opportunity and moved to Searne’s previous seat, smiling a little brighter.

Searne trotted toward the pole with a certain determination not unlike that which Nano bore upon his initial reaction to Searne’s entrance. All distractions evaporated from her mind as she honed down on her performance, seemingly going through every individual step in her head with absolute accuracy. In this state, she grinned with great confidence.

Author's Note

After an extended hiatus due to life being busy and a bit of poor communication on my part, we finally begin the next arc! I only expect this one to be two parts, with the next chapter being the first to border on erotica. Here's hoping I can get this one out before Christmas.

This arc is once again being proofread by Kassaz! (NSFW)