Gangs of Manehattan

Tempest looked after the Fluttershy as she left the door when she returned, the pegasus nearly running into her. Fluttershy really way a cutie. A natural beauty of the kind that looked best without make up, that shy kindness that just made one want to ravish her even more... "Sooo... how did you hook her?"

The dragon shrugged as he told the story. "A week ago. She tried to play the hero when one of the local two bit gangs tried to rob somepony.”

“Annoying idiots!” Tempest Shadow fumed!

“Fluttershy, or the two bit criminals?” He laughed.

Her answer was non-committal. “Yes.”

“Anyway,” Spike continued, “it were one of those that were using drugs similar to the ones we intercepted back then. You know... And I ended up interfering.”

"Oh~” Tempest teased him, “Always the gentledrake, eh?"

Spike snorted. "Don't read too much into it. Yeah, I didn't like what was going on, you know that. And you know why we mainly keep ourselves out of that as well! You take out one group, four more start fighting to fill the gap and the all it nets us is an increase of police cars in the area.” He shook his head before he continued. “But I also wanted to avoid any major police investigation in the area. Especially after she shouted that she was a cop! Would've been a pain to deal with that..."

Tempest Shadow went quiet for a moment as she processed what he'd just told her. Then, she blew a fuse. "Wait... A COP?! YOU DIDN'T TELL ME, OR ANYONE ELSE, THAT YOU INVITED A COP HERE?!"

He winced when she blew up at him, knowing that she had a point. And an angry Tempest was a frightening sight to behold. "Sorry! I kinda forgot about that! You know that there was a lot to do, with the preparations we've been making and so on!"

“What if those idiots talk? Did you think about that?!” She asked him through gritted teeth.

“Relax! I am not THAT dumb!” Spike told her in, a reassuring voice, “In the few moments I had when I left, I told them in no uncertain terms that they'd regret mentioning me. In prison or out of it.” He smirked dangerously. A grin that, had Fluttershy seen it, would've shocked her. “As is, they threatened and assaulted an officer, carried illegal drugs plus an attempted robbery. Bad, but not nearly as bad as it could be if they involved me directly. We know more than enough to put them away for a lifetime! And we have a few friends on the inside... so for them to shut up was the best option, even if police uncovered their other operations...” Then, he also added, “And whoever is selling those drugs certainly wouldn't want to risk them talk. Not, with their effects!”

They both shuddered, especially as they tried to imagine their effects if they got more refined. Tempest let out a sigh. “To be honest, I like that they are gone! Might keep the area a bit quieter for a while!”

“Oh, believe me, so do I!” He agreed with her, but added with a disappointed tone, “Too bad that we both know that that hole will be filled again soon enough...”

Tempest had to agree, but did offer a glimpse of positivity, “True, but at least, for a short time, there should be some peace. Maybe we can clog the hole this time?”

“Who knows... anyway, back on topic!” Spike brought the topic back to Fluttershy, “After the fight, I tried out one of Zecora's new cigarettes. You know? The ones that make non-dragons feel all relaxed and fuzzy and a bit horny? Took a deep breath and kissed her, blew the smoke into her lungs.”

He let out a short chuckle and continued, “The way she looked afterwards, the effect showed! Like in one of those shows, when the girl finally gets kissed by her dream guy!” Spike thought about it, “Showed so much in fact, that I wonder how much of that was just Fluttershy herself instead of the effect of the cigarettes! I mean, they aren't that strong, just something that makes one relax and slightly horny! The way she looked, I think she would've reacted like that even without it!”

“So,” Tempest said, shaking her head dismissively, “You helped her and gave a try of our new feel good stuff why? Because she's a cute face? I hope it was worth trying to keep the club a bit more... socially appropriate.”

"Well, yeah...” Spike admitted and then elaborated, “And I have the feeling that she's pretty nice and someone like her? Cute, shy, kind, but probably with a really naughty side buried deep down? She'd earn a lot here! And you know... I've wanted a reliable insider in the police for a while now! Paying some cops off is fine, but not quite as reliable as I'd like, especially if other people start to throw around cash. Getting that Fluttershy hooked on this experience, showing her that sexuality is something to be embraced, not buried so far down that the moment some sweaty asshole grabs you, you melt in his arms because he gives your body what it needs!"

"Oh, I love the way you think! Really, when we've made it to the top!” She looked nearly ecstatic as she heard the first part of his trail of thought. Then, she snarked, “Wouldn't call you a sweaty asshole though... do dragons even sweat?"

“Hardihar, Tempest! Maybe you should perform stand-up at some point...” Spike snarked back at her. “Also, I did get some intel on her afterwards, just in case you think I went into this completely unprepared. From what i've seen... I think she's just a genuinely kind pony trying to do good. And with ponies like Cozy, I think it'd be good to have somepony like her around to keep us from going of the deep end...”

"What do you mean with that?” The unicorn asked Spike with a raised eyebrow.

“Money and success can do the strangest things....” He sighed, “What's the saying again? 'Power corrupts...' and so on?”

Tempest nodded, she knew what he meant. A few of the ponies she'd done business with on behalf of the gang had gotten too big for their britches and thought they were the big bosses now. Didn't end well for them.

With all that cleared up, she grinned a naughty smile at him. "Wanna continue were we left off before?" Then, she kissed him.

"I'd love too... but I'm calling it quits for the night. One quick tour through the club and then I'm out,” he threw her a weak smile, “Wanted to get a nice massage and then go home. Also have something to do there..."

"Oh... how disappointing!” She pouted for a moment, “It's not even 10 PM!”

Spike placed his hand on her shoulder. "I'll make it up to you."

In reply, she grabbed his ass and, teasingly, told him, "I bet you will!"

"You think you and Sunset can handle the club for the rest of the night?" He asked her.

Tempest glared at him and continued with played indignation "We've been working together for how long? I've handled the affairs for how long? Who was managing the club before Sunset joined the gang?"

The dragon raised his arms in defense! "Calm down! You've made your point!"

The mare burst out in laughter. "You should've seen your face!"

Spike sighed. "I'm just a bit worried. I've heard rumors from Wallflower..."

"That new information broker you've told me about?" Tempest's curiosity had been peaked.

"Yeah, I've made a deal with her that keeps important information limited to us for a while...” He shook his head, thinking about that unassuming, well, wallflower. “I swear that mare can make herself nearly undetectable... ,Anyway, she told me that a few new gangs want to push their way in. Some from Fillydelphia, others more local, and some from other places! And a few of those seem to have serious money behind them!”

"Doesn't sound too serious, so far,” The mare wagered, “Wouldn't be the first time some idiots tried to shake down the club because they thought we'd be easy pickings. I think Big Mac still has that baseball bat he shoved..."

The dragon nodded, but just couldn't convince himself, "I know, It's just that new players always make the game more unpredictable. Or we have a bunch of arrogant new guys show up here, thinking they own the club and causing trouble...” Again, he shook his head, “With some luck, it won't be anything too big and maybe we can run them out of town before they can get a serious foothold. Maybe a temporary alliance with some of the other gangs... Maybe the dragons, or Chrysalis.” He shuddered at that thought.

Tempest shuddered as well. Few liked to think about doing business with the self-proclaimed changeling queen... Her eyes and ears were everywhere, and then, there were those rumors, of ponies, griffons, hippogriffs and dragons having been replaced by her spies. And it went even darker; Other rumors, about those that had been replaced, locked in dungeons underneath her headquarter, a venue that made Tartarus look like a wholesome family entertainment business, and turned there into her slaves, or even into more changelings! And then, there were her not inconsiderable magical and physical strength... Who knew how much of it was true? How much embellishment? And how much was just made up fairy tales? They better tread lightly, if they ever had to contact her...

Pushing those thoughts aside, Spike thought loudly, “Hmm... I need to find a way to strike a more permanent business relationship with Wallflower Blush... but how..."

"You could always use,” Tempest replied huskily, running her finger down Spike's chest, “Your... natural... charme..."

"Heh. Might just try that at some point." He laughed, then sighed "I hope the rest of the night stays quiet. If Idiots show up and you think you, Mac and Rumble can't handle them, give me a call."

Tempest Shadow gave him a nod. “I don't think that'll be necessary. Button Mash and Feather Bangs are also here, Night Glider is on call for either entertainment or bouncer work... Bluebell and Flash are out of town though. I think, Flash is visiting his family in Canterlot, Bluebell? Dunno. I think she said something about of a high school friend of hers getting married and the bachelor party is in Las Pegasus. And that's not all, as you know. And if we include the ones on service or entertainment duty, we should be set.” She thought for a moment and then added, “And don't forget that most of the entertainers are quite good at handling themselves, we made sure of that. Remember when Fleur-de-lis kicked that one asshole...”

Spike burst out in genuine laughter, finally having the tenseness he'd felt over the course of this talk, fall of his shoulders! “Yeah! I hope that showed the guy that a dancer with shapely legs has a good kick! Though the training we had them do probably helped as well!” Then, he wondered, “By the way, where is Fleur?”.

Tempest Shadow shrugged, “It's her day off, but I think she's on a date with that rich stallion that took a fancy of her?”

“Fancy Pants?” He suggested.

“Right!” Tempest called out, “She said something about maybe becoming his mistress or something! Didn't take him for a sub!”

“Not that kind of mistress!” Spike told her, “It basically means lover or something. Though I did look him up and he didn't seem to be married. So, I guess it was meant as 'Lover without relationship strings attached', at least for the time being.”

The dark mare scratched her chin thinking about this, “It'd be a shame to lose her...”

“True, but if she's happy...” Spike told her a bit subdued, but then he brightened up again, “And considering Fancy Pants met her here, maybe she could still work for us!”

“We'll see...” Tempest shrugged again. Then, she remembered something! “Before I forget it again! Any luck so far with finding somepony to design and make outfits for the club?”

The dragon just shook his head. “Unfortunately not. Those that have a style that might fit are either star designers who wouldn't look at us for anything but a short marketing gag, have no interest at a permanent arrangement or already are in permanent arrangements. Otherwise it's nothing I think would fit...”

“Too bad... We'll find one eventually though!” She gave him an encouraging smile, “Have a nice night!”

“You too!”

Spike left his office and looked at his bodyguard waiting there. "Applejack? You wanna come with me? You've been so stiff all day, a good massage would do you good!"

Applejack glared at him as she moved away from the wall and followed him to the ground floor, while she answered, "One: I'm your bodyguard. Of course I'm coming with you..."

"I know.” He replied dryly, as he waved at some guests. “And you know that I mainly need you or Mac or Tempest in that capacity when we're on "official" business!”

Then, she grinned, "Two: Which massage parlor?"

"The twins' of course!” Spike answered in a mix of 'isn't that obvious', and the tone of a dad telling his kids that they are going out for pizza.

“Yeah! I'm in” She proclaimed immediately when she heard it. Not that she had expected anything else, honestly. “And after I brought you home, I'll call it quits for tonight as well. Gonna get back here, see if I can have some fun, and then grab Apple Bloom and her friends and take them home. They're having a sleep over at our flat.”

“Sounds like they'll be having a blast!” Spike laughed, waving good bye to the three as he spotted them in the crowd. “You know? If Aloe and Lotus Blossom really wanna start a spa at some point, I think we should invest into that, might be a good, legal side income..."

Applejack gave her opinion on that as they walked to the Crusaders, “Well, financial stuff is more your, Tempest's, Sunset's, Starlight's and Quibble's responsibility, but yeah! Sounds like a good idea!”

Quibble Pants was the club's accountant, working closely with an old friend of Starlight Shimmer, the banker, and their money launderer, Sunburst. Quibble was currently dating Clear Sky, another one of the club's employees, though her daughter had yet to warm up to him.

“Hey now!” The dragon protested, laughing again, “Big Mac, if he had wanted to, probably could've become a first rate accountant, with his mind for numbers! He'd probably be better than Quibble!” Ah, it felt good to have something more lighthearted after the rather serious stuff with Tempest.

“I just can't imagine him working as accountant! Seeing him in the suit as bouncer is already weird enough!” Applejack laughed heartily, as she hugged her younger sister. She quickly told the Crusaders where she was going and so on, and then, together with Spike, got moving.

As they left the club behind them, her face darkened. Spike had seen her like this a number of times since they'd met. “I just can't help it,” She whispered, “Despite living here for a few years now, I can't see Big Mac in anything but his work clothes... None of us ever thought we'd do anything but work our farm. Raise foals there, and so on...” She let out a depressed sigh.

Spike laid an arm around her shoulder to console her. “Come on! A nice, relaxing massage, and Equestria will look much brighter!”

“Yeah, you're probably right...” She sounded not quite convinced. “It's just... I'm a farm pony at heart. You and the others help, but I just don't really feel at home here, in the big city. I miss seeing the stars at night, miss being woken up by the birds... The smell of the air...”

“Hey, A. J...” he tried to comfort her, but didn't really know what to say. As they arrived at Spike's car, a black muscle car with green-lined flames on it, he had to admit that, after he'd ordered it, it had felt cliché even to him, he told her, “Come on, let's go. Let's see if Aloe's magical hands can improve your mood!”

Applejack checked the car and when she didn't find anything suspicious, replied, “Yeah,” She gave him a sad smile as she took the driver's seat. Applejack, when acting as bodyguard, insisted to drive,“Let's hope so...”

The two drove off into the night.

Fifteen minutes later, darned traffic, they arrived at a somewhat run down building with a large, illuminated sign, “Twin Massages”.

It looked small and unassuming, maybe even a bit grimy, but they'd been customers since it opened. The twin sisters, Aloe and Lotus Blossom being one of the business owners that had a really good relationship with the gang, after they drove off a bunch of racketeers trying to get the twins to pay protection money.

After those goons had been dealt with, the sisters had been quite happy to pay a somewhat lower amount of protection money to Spike and co. The gang also got a discount on their massages, but in turn also gave generous tips. The two profited from one another.

Applejack parked the car in front of the building, luckily a parking spot was free, and the two went inside. The reception was not occupied, so Spike hit the bell on the desk. A few moments later, two near identical earth pony mares hurried from somewhere in the back, they were wearing quite short robes that showed off their bodies nicely. The area being what it was, they had to be creative to get more clients. Their main difference was that the colors of their fur and mane were swapped: Lotus Blossom was blue with a pink mane, and Aloe the reverse.

“Hello, Mr. Spike!” Aloe greeted the dragon.

“Hello, Ms. Applejack!” Lotus Blossom greeted the ex-farm pony.

Then, they continued in unison as they bowed slightly, “What can we do for you this evening?”

“You have time to give us a massage? Spike asked them, adding, “We could use it...”

Shooting the two a big smile, Aloe answered, “Of course!”

“For you always!” Her sister agreed, as they proceeded to lead the two to a backroom with two massage tables.

“And...” Aloe sighed as they walked, “It's not as if it's a busy night anyway... Just like last night. And the night before that...”

Her sister padded Aloe on the shoulder, “Cheer up, Aloe! Getting the money for the spa is slow, but at least, we're not making a loss!”

“Huh, having a downer evening yourself?” Applejack wondered. “Same for me. I've gotten a bit homesick before we got here!”

“It's just that, sometimes, it feels like we'll be stuck here forever.” Aloe sighed again, “Just not enough clients here. Then again, being only two with a part-time receptionist means we probably wouldn't be able to handle too many customers anyway...”

They entered a room in the back, two massage tables with a room divider between them in the middle, a few shelves and cupboards to store oils and other supplements. “Maybe we should try to find investors?” Lotus suggested.

Aloe shook her head, “Who'd invest into our little massage parlor?”

“Who knows,” “Spike laughed, "I might just do it, when we all are in a better financial position!”

The two perked up in surprise and elation. They couldn't quite believe it, surely, the dragon had to be joking! “Really?!” They had to ask.

“You two are great masseuses,” he told them with not a hint of joking in his voice, “and I'd honestly believe that, if you two opened a big spa, can get it started and get good employees, you could make a lot of money!”

“Well, let's see where the future takes us!” Lotus brought them back to why they were here, “Please, Mr. Spike, Ms. Applejack, strip out of your clothes and put here!” She pointed at a white cupboard at the wall to the left of the massage tables.

Aloe finished the instruction for her sister, “And then, please lie down on the massage tables!”

Quickly, the cupboard was covered with their clothes. Jackets, shirts, pants, shoes on the ground before it. Spike stood there in black boxer shorts as he looked at Applejack. Her muscular arms, her six pack and the underwear covering her nice tits and ass. She actually was wearing bra and panties with apples on them. One on each cup, a small one on the front of the otherwise white panties and a bigger one, spanning both her ass cheeks, on the back.

“Huh, nice underwear, Applejack!” He laughed, shaking his head, “You and your apple fetish... ever even tried a pear? Or apricots? Nectarines?” It did look kind off nice, but still.

“Nope! Never!” Applejack replied in a chipper voice! “And proud of it! Granny told me that the Pear family was feuding with the Apples for ages! And,” she added teasingly, “don't act you don't like THESE apples!” As she said that, her hands played with her e cups.

Spike replied by putting his arm around her hip and pulling her close to him. “I'd be lying if I said that!”

Then, Aloe and Lotus Blossom cleared their throats. “Please, lie down on the tables for your massages!”

“Alright! Alright!” Applejack laughed as she and Spike walked over. “You can put the divider away by the way. We don't mind seeing each other!”

Lotus hastily pushed the thin piece of furniture away. She wished they had more rooms for massages, instead of having to have two customers share the same room, even when, such as in this case, they didn't mind it. When she turned around, their customers laid face down.

Each of the twins put a number of massage oils on a tray and placed them next to their clients. Then, they started to work their magic. Well, almost. “Ms. Applejack? Do you mind if I unclasp your bra?”

“You should know this by now!” Applejack replied, half annoyed, half amused, “No, I don't mind, just unclasp it!”

A few minutes into their massage, and both she and Spike made it sound like they enjoyed the massage very much. Aloe, meanwhile, was thinking about how it always felt a bit weird to massage a dragon, with their rather hard scales... It had taken them a bit of practice to get it right, but now, it was just as much routine as ponies and others.

She'd worked her way up his arms and down his back already, causing Spike to proclaim, “Oh, this is good! Should've come here sooner!” And, judging by the sounds she made, A. J. was enjoying her massage as well. “Yeah, this is heaven!”

Aloe was about to move on to his lower body, but found that the shorts were still getting in the way. “Ahm, Mr. Spike? Your shorts are in the way, do you mind, if I...?”

Spike rose up a bit too allow the masseuse to pull the shorts down his thighs, then lied down again and raised his legs. Aloe got a good look at his hard-on as he did that. She smiled a little as she put her hands around the dragon's thighs.

Another while later, they both heard again from Applejack, a loud moan this time. “Oh! Lotus!”

“I think my sister might've started... to massage Ms. Applejack's lower regions...” Spike's masseuse told him. He tried to twist his head around to try and see it, but he only managed to catch a bit of a glimpse, Lotus' arm disappearing between Applejack's thighs.

He grinned.. His back was now relaxed enough, other parts of his body on the other hand was pressing against his belly rather hard. With a voice that said it all, he spoke up. "You know, Aloe... there is one more part of my body that is quite... 'stiff'.

“Of course, Mr. Spike!” The masseuse giggled, “Would you please roll over so that I can massage your chest and... other areas?”

“My pleasure!” Spike answered her, turning onto his back.

“Let's start with the chest...” She told him, putting her hands on his pecs. “It always surprises me how you dragons can look so slight, but hide such muscles under those scales!”

Her sister, had, obviously, overheard, and added her own two bits, “It seems to be different from dragon to dragon, or maybe an age thing. I've seen a few who looked far more buff than him!”

Spike let out a disgruntled sound, but Aloe, who had started to massage his chest muscles, shared her own opinion on this as well. “But, Mr. Spike, we think you look just perfect! I don't think a much buffer stature would suit you, really!”

“I have to agree with my sister!” Lotus Blossom, replied, “It was just an observation. Also, most of those buffer dragons seemed to be rather unpleasant...” Applejack let out a loud moan as Lotus did something between her legs.

The dragon felt his cock twitch. “Hey, Aloe? I think my chest is good now! But...”

She smiled at him and then, he saw how the masseuse covered her hands in some sort of oil or cream. Aloe's hand carefully closed around the dragon's member. Firm, yet also soft, the massage oils coating the shaft. Spike hummed contently, when the masseuse began to stroke.

Aloe took a few steps down the table, stopping next to his crotch. Her right hand around his cock, her left now carefully massaging his balls.

He saw, how Lotus, with her back to them, was rubbing her thighs together. “Ms. Applejack? Would you please turn around?” She asked her client. Applejack quickly did so.

Now, it was Lotus Blossom's time to massage her client's breast. “Always so soft and squishy, Ms. Applejack! They really are a great size to knead like this!”

And the noises Applejack made seemed to imply she also enjoyed the feeling, “Oh yes! My tits feel good!”

“You know... Aloe?” Spike now contemplated, “You're seeing my dick... Shouldn't you give me something to see as well? Come on! Get your tits out!”

Her answer was a fairly confident, “The customer is king. If you wish, Mr. Spike...” Spike had expected her to just pull the robe back a bit, to allow her own twins to pop out. Instead, she opened the belt and let the robe slide down completely. And Lotus did the same. Ah, If those two ever managed to open the spa they wanted, instead of this run down massage parlor, he'd really invest in it! Their employees would, hopefully, be as good, and good-looking, as them. And as naughty!

Aloe constantly changed up her game, from stroking, to massaging shaft and tip, to the slightest, caressing brushes with her fingers. And it all felt good.

Her sister meanwhile had stopped playing with Applejack's tits and went back to her pussy, her fingers doing good work “massaging” A. J.'s insides.

A short while later, they both came. Spike's cum splashed against Aloe's face and covered her fingers, the rest running down his dick also covering her other hand on his balls. Applejack squirted her juices against Lotus' belly, the fur on her hands thoroughly soaked.

Aloe lead her left hand to her mouth and cleaned it, then, their hands covered, the twins swapped clients. In sync, they asked, “Would you be interested?”

Without answering verbally, both Spike and Applejack licked their hands clean. There was a faint taste of whatever was used for the massage, but most of the supplies and such they used was safe for consumption anyway.

“Aaaah!” Spike exhaled, “That was needed!”

“Eeeyup!” Applejack agreed, imitating her brother.

“You certainly felt like you needed it, Mr. Spike!” Aloe chuckled, as she used a paper towel to clean the dragon up.

Lotus Blossom looked at them. “Do you wish to...?” She asked them, knowing how the dragon and his buddies appreciated the... after-massage services they provided to the gang. Not that they offered that to anypony visiting them! It was only for special guests!

“Sorry, not tonight,” Spike replied, his voice showing a hint of regret, “I want to be home somewhat early!” Then, he grinned, seeing the little piece of modern art he had left on her sister's face, “Also, Aloe, your face is still covered!”

“Yeah, and I have to drive him, and then pick up my sister and her friends after that, so I have to go too!” Applejack agreed.

“Alright,” Aloe sounded a bit disappointed. Then, in“We hope you've enjoyed our service!” They both bowed again.

“You will find out on your own?” Lotus asked, her voice sounding more polite than the choice of words would indicate, and she giggled when she continued, I have to clean up my sister!”

“What about your money?” The ex-farmpony asked them.

“Just put it on... no, not on the counter!” Aloe replied, quickly rethinking, “Somepony could come in and steal it!”

Lotus Blossom had an idea, “There are some envelopes in one of the counter's drawers. Put the money in that and place it back into the drawer, please!”

“Roger that!” The dragon nodded. “I wish both of you a nice night!”

They again replied in unison, “Thank you, Mr. Spike! We both wish the same to you two!”

Before they left, Spike checked the drawers and found the envelopes in the third. He put the usual fee in plus a generous tip for both. Then, he and Applejack got back into the car and drove off.

Sometime later, they came to a hold in front of a somewhat run-down looking apartment building. “Applejack, I expect you here tomorrow at 1 pm,OK? And be on call. I might want you to come over earlier!” Spike told her as he got out of his car.

“You know, you could just walk, or take the bus...” A. J. replied with a grin, gently patting the steering wheel.

“I could,” he conceded, “But I don't want to. Especially since I want to get my car back. Big Mac's driving the one you and him share back to your home, right?”

Her answer was a bit grumpy, “Yep! It's so annoying how long I have to wait for mine to be delivered...”

“You never told me...” Whatever he wanted to say, he cut himself off, as his gut feeling made itself noticeable.

She was confused by the unfinished sentence, “I never told you what?”

“Let me guess... Pick-up truck?” He asked her dryly.

“How did you know?” A. J. wondered, realizing what she had wanted to say before, “Yes! I ordered a four-door pick-up! Apple red! Wasn't cheap, but we did make good money recently, and the club really helps with, you know...” Of course he did. The club was quite useful for money laundering after all. And making a profit with the normal business as well.

He grinned, “Call it intuition... Anyway, good night! And remember what I told you about when I expect you at the latest!”

“Yeah, yeah, yeah!” Applejack not hiding the bit of annoyance in her voice as she drove off.

The dragon entered the building, passing through the graffiti doors into the entrance which also certainly had seen better days. At least there weren't any leftovers lying around and the trash in general had reduced a lot since he moved in. Spike checked his letter box. He hadn't been home since Monday. “Bill. Bill. Add. Crap. Shit. Damn, I need to get one of those 'no ads!' stickers!” He checked two more letters, “Bill. Bill. And I should call Starburst tomorrow, to transfer the money for those bills...”

Starburst was their banker and he'd been doing a great job at running their accounts and laundering their money. He better, while they considered him a friend and partner, he did charge a a price that he called 'fair'. Probably helped that he was a childhood friend of their lawyer, and the two still seemed to have some feelings for each other.

Luckily, his apartment was on the lowest floor, considering that the elevator had been out of service for a week now. Thinking about how he'd have to talk about that to the owner, he opened his door.

The inside would've caused whiplash to anyone entering. Most ponies would've assumed the apartment to be run down shit hole, but Spike had invested good money to make it nice and comfortable. He hadn't even tried to completely turn it into a luxury suit and instead, his large 4k television, state-of-the-art sound system, kitchen and so on fit themselves into the old rooms with an actually nice contrast! For the living room, he had removed the paint covering the bricks, which gave it a nice look with the furniture... yeah, it was good living!

Although, he had to admit, most of the flats in the building he'd seen were rather nice looking, if obviously low income. A lot of the tenants here, though Spike himself wasn't really a tenant, he'd bought the apartment, were quite close, the whole building actually being a bit sure, some were a bit grumpy, could be somewhat of an assholes, but overall? He liked them. Even the janitor, an old donkey named Cranky Doodle, and his wife Matilda, who also had an apartment in the building.

When he had moved in, he quickly had been visited by some of his new neighbors, invited for tea and some snacks, and he'd more or less befriended most of them, or at least considered them good acquaintances. He was happy, however, that he had improved the sound-proving of his bed room...

Also, one of his favorite snack shops wasn't far away, a donut shop creatively called “Donut Joe's”, run by a stallion called... Joe. Reasonably priced, good quality, long opening times... perfect for a stop after a night of deeds of disputable reputation!

Spike hung his jacket on a coat stand next to the door and went straight to the bathroom. He really had to take a leak. After he'd washed his hands, the dragon checked the boiler. Highest temperature. Good, he hadn't forgotten to turn it up. He hurried into his bedroom and grabbed a pair of grey sweat pants, a grey t-shirt and a fresh pair of boxers. “Time for a shower!”

Back in the bathroom, he threw his current clothes into a rather full basked. Soon he'd have to take them to the laundry! Maybe he really should by a washing machine...

Then, he stepped into his shower. It was only a few months old. He had hired craftsponies to install a completely new shower, large enough for two, or even three, at a squeeze when he had visitors.

The dragon let out a sigh as the near-boiling water hit his scales! It would've scalded any pony, griffon or hippogriff that stepped into the shower. But for a dragon? It was quite pleasant. Could've been a bit hotter, but at that point, he probably would've only gotten steam! Maybe he should visit one of those dragon spa's with their lava baths...

After a relaxing shower, he turned the temperature down again, one never knew when he had guests, and he didn't want them to suffer any second degree burns or worse. He put on his short and sweat pants, opened the cupboard behind the bathroom mirror and grabbed a can of deodorant.

Spike sprayed a generous amount under his his arms, put the can back and closed the cupboard again. Then, the dragon took a short look into the mirror, giving himself a cocky smile. But he ended up continuing to stare into the mirror, thinking about his life so far, telling Fluttershy about it had brought back memories.

The first moments he could remember.. there had been a smell. A pleasant, calming smell. A smell, he'd never smelled again and something soft he had cuddled into. The next moment, there had been a loud crash and he'd flown through the air and landed somewhere on a street and waddled away. When he'd been told where he'd been found, coupled with the little memory he had, he had often wondered what had happened, how he had ended up there. Had he been exposed by somepony who didn't want him anymore? Why had, apparently, no one ever looked for him? Such questions had gnawed on him for a few years, but he had made his peace with them. So he thought, at least.

Spike had no idea why he remembered that! He must've been a year old at best when that happened. His next memory was a few years later: A while after this first event, he'd been picked up by a pony family, father, mother, colt and filly, and, apparently, told him his name, at least that's what they had told him, who'd raised him like their own son! They had lived in a slightly better area than where he lived now, by now means affluent. Then, they moved. Their daughter had revealed herself to be quite the little genius and, younger than the vast majority of ponies, and supported by the mayor, had been fast-tracked for law school before! Her father had worked extra hard and gotten a good promotion and was making enough money to move into a better part of Manehattan.

But Spike made a decision he often regretted in the following years... He'd been what? Nine? Ten? Somewhere in that ballpark, maybe a few years older, he couldn't quite remember. But as far as he COULD remember, the part of Manehattan they'd been living in had been HIS place, he knew every nook and cranny, every hiding hole and every shortcut! And in youthful stubborn stupidity... He didn't want to leave. This was where the few friends he had lived. They'd told him about how much better their life would be once they moved, and that he could still see his friends and that he would make new friends! But no... Spike had to be an idiot!

The dragon ran away. He didn't want to leave this place, as much of a run down trash heap as it was. He couldn't remember their names. Their faces in his memory were barely recognizable, but their smells, just like in his first memory, were still there... they'd never officially adopted him, had wanted to do so once they'd moved... but, idiot as he was, he'd run away instead, he saw the Missing Dragon posters, but preferred to hide. Since they had never adopted him, they also couldn't really go to the police or he'd been carted off to an orphanage and the family probably suffered legal issues which could've threatened their foals' careers. And might've landed the parents in big trouble.

After a few weeks of hungering on the streets, begging for food and money, he'd run into the dragon who'd change his approach to life... a fat, middle-aged dragon con-artist, pick pocket, thief in general and so on, called Sludge. He ran his own gang of young, especially juvenile, runaways and orphans, teaching them how to steal, distract, lie, etc.

There, he'd also met Tempest Shadow, a unicorn who had lost half her horn in a fight. Now it was mainly good for explosions, though she had regained, through hard work, the ability to do some minor magic again. Levitating or cleaning small things... and orifices, luckily, considering how much they enjoyed sex.

However, after a few years, both of them had enough of Sludge. While never violent, he was mentally abusive. Not in a way that'd make them feel miserable... but in the way of making them completely reliant on him. He'd take the best parts, give them whatever was left, and kept them indebted and working for him. But Spike and Tempest had other plans! They wanted to make it big!

So, one night, they'd prepared a little set up for ol' Sludge. Police took him into custody and, thanks to a few well placed things, could connect him to a large amount of thefts. He was still serving his sentence and when he came out, if, he would be so long out of the game that he hopefully knew better than try to be an annoyance. Maybe they'd pay him a nice sum so that he could retire in Las Pegasus or wherever he wanted.

And then, he and Tempest started their own gang! Though for months, if not even a year or more, it'd been just the two of them, continuing basically the same things as they had under Sludge. Scams, thefts and so on.

But they began to get more ambitious. Some break-ins, some minor drug dealing... after one break-in, they ended up being chased by some police officers, and after their narrow escape, fueled by adrenaline, they did it for the first time. Did it in some dirty back-alley.

Despite the place, he still remembered it fondly. Maybe, partially, because of the place. Some dirty back-alley, the threat of somepony running on them any moment... yeah, there'd been a special thrill to it.

It wasn't that they had never been caught, but every time up until that point, the police never had had enough solid evidence. Worst case had been one or two 'couple of weeks' stints in the joint.

But that wasn't enough to keep them going, money wise. Both of them prostituted themselves for money a few times. Mares, Stallions, Dragons, Griffons, Ponies, Hippogriffs, Yaks. Didn't matter, as long as it made money. And Spike had to admit, he didn't hate being with other males either. Some of them were nicer, and even more caring, than a few of the females...

Over time, they managed to actually build their own gang. The start of it was pure accident! They had managed, over time, to build a decent network of informants, and early into their time with Sludge, they'd also, to their own shock, seen the death, murder, of two ponies.

While working odd-jobs at a warehouse, mainly hauling heavy crates, they ran into a big, musclebound stallion. Tempest flirted with the hunk, hoping to better her income a bit. But instead of a quick fuck, it turned into a rather deep after work talk. He introduced himself as Big Macintosh.

He and his sisters had moved to Manehattan after the foreclosure of their family farm near some small town called Ponyville. And what sounded like a sad story just got sadder! The farm had been struggling for a while, and so their parents had made a trip to Manehattan, hoping to forge new business opportunities. Instead, they never returned. Alive, that is.

They'd been shot in the open street, the police had ruled them accidental deaths during a gang hit and never found the culprits. With the help of their grandmother, the farm dragged on for a few more years, but then, the old, stubborn matriarch herself had passed on.

Big Mac, as he usually was called for short, and his younger sisters had no other choice. The farm had been used as mortgage for some bank credits and so, the bank sold it, though apparently whatever was going to happen there was still blocked by a load of red tape. At least they'd gotten a few bits out of that, enough to try to start over in Manehattan. Luckily for them, they had two pairs of relations living in Manehattan. Their aunt and uncle orange, though they were of a different societal level, and the family of their cousin Babs Seed, her sister Sunflower and their parents. They helped them to get a cheap, small but adequate enough flat.

His youngest sister, Apple Bloom, was going to school, where, despite horribly missing the farm life, she quickly found new friends, Sweetie Belle and Scootaloo, while his other sister, Applejack, had enrolled at the police academy. She was dead set to find out what really had happened to her parents. And so, it'd fallen to him to earn money, doing odd jobs here and there, mainly hard, physical labor.

He'd never gotten a formal education, having expected to work the farm for his whole life, and many employers didn't look beyond his frame and stature to see that, beneath those muscles, there was quite a bright brain with an affinity for mathematics hidden inside. The fact that he usually was not very talkative, probably didn't help either.

They became friends and, a week later, as the foreman was chewing them out over nothing again, they all quit on the spot. The duo had become a trio, with some serious muscle behind it. Again they took up their small crimes, this time with Big Mac as either the scary muscle, or the, apparently, gullible country bumpkin.

He did his best to keep this a secret from his sisters. Apple Bloom idolized his hard work ethics, and, even worse, Applejack was training to become a cop! It was difficult, but they did manage to keep at least the worst parts a secret from them, actually befriended them as well!

But then, one night they saw how he stared a picture. It were his parents, and they recognized the two as the ponies they'd seen gunned down back in the day!

More than ever, they wanted to help him out. Spike and Tempest Shadow cashed in quite a lot of favors from their contacts and, after a few weeks and time spent on investigation, they'd found the gunmen. Some small time gang, calling itself the “Ponies of the Apocalypse”, often working as hired muscle for more important criminals, and sometimes companies. When he had heard that name, Spike commented on them having quite a big name for some small time fries. There also had been things that implied that the deaths of Bright Macintosh and Pear Butter had not been a complete accident...

Big Mac told it to Applejack, he just had to, which caused Spike and Tempest to fear that she'd immediately run to a police station and lay it out, potentially causing trouble to themselves. Instead, to their own shock, Applejack resigned. She said goodbye to her classmates and said that familial issues had come up and that she couldn't continue.

A few days after that, Big Mac, Applejack, Spike and Tempest Shadow scooped out the gang's hideout. And the night after that paid them a different kind of visit. And it wasn't pretty. Big Mac and Applejack came down on them with a force that'd make a ton of bricks look like a single, dainty feather. Despite a certain numerical superiority, and the PoA having guns, they got decimated.

Unfortunately, the few that survived the initial assault either had no idea or didn't want to talk, though they'd let slipped bits and pieces, implying that the hit that had included the Apple Family's parents had been ordered by someone from the “legitimate” spectrum, rather than a gang.

Once the last few witnessed had been permanently shut up, they grabbed what they could, guns, drugs, money, did their best to hide their tracks and ran off into the night. The deaths of the PoA had never been solved, but were usually attributed to some of their rivals. This night, however, forged bands between them that would never be broken.

With their loot, they slowly managed to expand. No more scams, no more pick pocketing. Their success attracted new faces and slowly, their gang grew. Among the first new members were two stallions, Feather Bangs and Flash Sentry, quickly followed by another academy dropout, Night Glider, and her friend Cloudchaser, and it went on and on. Rumble and Button Mash, Inky Rose, Derpy and more! And, good payment aside, they were brought together by Spike's demand for absolute loyalty, trust, and, it turned out genuine affection for one another. Spike and Tempest Shadow had lost, or never known, their families. Applejack and Big Mac had lost their parents and their farm, many others felt lost or had other issues... and so, they became less of a gang and more of a family. A family of outcasts and other weirdos. Their ties only intensified by the fact that they all were quite attractive and so another thing that forged their bonds was the amount of sex they had with one another. Sometimes enhanced, given a little extra kick, by some drugs.

Now, none of them really liked drugs, but it made them money. But they had a plan: Once they'd gotten the talent and the equipment necessary, they'd make their own drugs. However, unlike most other drug manufacturers and dealers, they didn't want them to be as addictive as possible! Instead, they'd specialize in recreational drugs, aphrodisiacs and so on! And they'd sell them in their own club, where they'd amplify the experience! And when they ended up doing each other, they often tried some of their attempts. Quite a few times it went wrong, but at least they tried to keep the most damaging stuff completely out of their product. Better a useless product than dead customers. And addictive and damaging was a great way of getting the cops on their asses. Sure, it assured more short term profit, but long term, steady profit and a low profile was better in their eyes.

They managed to create a decent income network over time, based on prostitution, soft drugs, some work at strip clubs, illegal gambling, often rigged, of course and so on.

A year and a half before the current events, they had finally managed to really establish themselves and had become a recognized name in the area. They made good money, and were actually somewhat respected, and actually LIKED by the law abiding folks in the area. They had their rules of conduct which made some belief that they were neighborhood friendly, but Spike didn't like that. A lot of those rules came from a core of decency, but were more often mainly driven by pragmatism.

Prostitutes and strippers were to be treated well. No hard drugs, like crack, heroine or anything like that. No drugs to minors and pregnant females. No terrorizing of the normal folks. No killing, unless absolutely necessary (What had happened to the PoA had been enough for the founders for a long time). When stores pay protection money, we will protect them. Try to be on the locals good sides. Pay for what you want, don't just take it. Don't fuck with the cops. Leave the mares alone if they have no interest. Such stuff.

If nothing else, they were preferable and more predictable than the gangs they drove out. That didn't mean he and his gang couldn't be utterly ruthless when needed to. But that often aligned with keeping gangs that threatened the current status quo and/or would threaten to raise suspicion out of their turf.

A good number of their current employees were already part of the gang, especially in the muscle department, Rumble, Button Mash, Cloudchaser and more. One of the mares that had joined them, Sugar Belle, had even become Big Mac's girlfriend!

Their newest member before they acquired the building had been a young, orphaned mare named Cozy Glow. She looked like the most innocent angel, but, Spike thought, she was too clever by half and too ambitious to be healthy. She constantly pushed for dealing with hard drugs and to take the offense and so on, though it was rarely acted upon. But one night, she'd gotten a hot tip: A truck, apparently loaded with high-quality designer drugs, mainly recreational, was coming from Fillydelphia. Perfect for a little robbery.

However, what they found when they held it up wasn't just drugs. The back of the truck was loaded with briefcases full of drugs, and even money, but even more importantly: mares. Mares, that had been drugged up and turned into sex-slaves. The shipment was for a trafficker ring in Manehattan, with the drugs being dosed to keep them docile, probably also to be sold to their customers. Rich assholes, gangs, brothels.. Among them, there'd been a zebra mare, who hadn't broken down completely.

As she thanked them for the rescue, she introduced herself as Zecora... and she'd been the chemist that had created those drugs. The reason she was still in a relatively normal state of mind was that she'd tested her products on herself and as such had built up a certain resistance against it.

Back in Fillydelphia, she'd gotten into the business due to a talent and passion for chemistry, but without the means to follow this in a legal area. She had started making exactly the kind of drugs that Spike and his gang wanted to make, and then she caught the attention of one of the bigger gangs. At first they had hired her, but after a while, she got locked into a lab and barely allowed to go outside without somepony accompanying her. In her own form of rebellion, she developed the mind breaking drugs those bastards wanted, but claimed that she couldn't do it any other way than the drug needing to be injected into the pony at regular intervals. In their cheapness, the shipment had been planned to be just one or two day short of needing their next fix!

Someponies had lost a whole lot of money on that. That gave most of them a grim satisfaction.

“Think about what we could do with this stuff!” Cozy had said as she looked at the cases full of syringes, powders and pills. Spike had rebuffed her quite harshly and the gang destroyed the stuff. They did find a few briefcases of money

Most of the captives didn't remember much of what had happened to them. Only that they'd been kidnapped, locked away and either been injected with or otherwise forced to take a drug. Some of the mares ended up joining them, like Fleur-de-lis, others did their best to reintegrate into society, and again others had had their minds damaged too much by experimental stages of the drug, usage of which Zecora had always heavily objected to, to successfully reintegrate. They could live normally well enough for a time, but they near constantly craved sex and so a lot of them ended up working as prostitutes, and Spike preferred them working for him, rather than other pimps in the area.

Half a year after that, they had finally made, and laundered, enough money to get to the next level. Spike and Tempest for a long time had had the dream of opening a club as base of operations, and now the time was there! It would be a great place to sell the drugs Zecora was making for them, all of which would mix well with a club atmosphere, dozens of creatures dancing to loud music, sweat, musk and pheromones filling the air, lust running high... The club would also allow them to branch off into other areas and give them a legal front. All of the gang's members that didn't have a real job already, so most of them, would officially work there. As bouncer, dancer, waiters and so on. They even hired Apple Bloom and her friends as waiters!

Spike wanted to a specific look for the club and, as fate would have it, the perfect building was just a few blocks away from the abandoned building they used as hideout at the time. It was an old, run down factory hall, over two stories high and with a basement. Perfect for Zecora to work in. They managed to acquire it and sank a lot of money into fixing it. During the renovations, they found that the basement didn't have just one level! Apparently, there had been three hidden lower levels, which just added to the usefulness! He would've loved to know for what purpose those secrets levels had been built though. There'd been files, but written in code... And another door they hadn't been able to open yet.

Zecora worked on the lowest level, and there were plans to turn the other levels into a dedicated strip club, if they ever got big enough to do so. Maybe he could finally convince Zecora to perform as well. He'd love to see how she moved!

They completely redid the layout of the building and, without magic, this probably would've necessitated tearing down and rebuilding the hall! The club would be a den of sin, that was set from the beginning. Of course, they'd be skirting legality a lot, but then, they'd been breaking the law for a long time by now anyway! Exotic dancers, stage shows, sex, booze, recreational drugs... everything was on offer! And quickly, it became popular! They hired more employees, many of which were primarily for the club and other legal side ventures, but sooner or later they most of them learned about the truth behind the scenes and decided to stay. Derpy for example. Spike and the others took the welfare of each other, their friends and the employees quite serious.

The first meeting with Diamond Tiara, and her friend Silver Spoon had happened a few months after the grand opening. As she had told Fluttershy, her mom had dragged her along, but was disgusted as she left. Tiara and her Friend however returned soon after and became regulars. But then, one night, curiosity got the better of them and they'd run in on Spike and some others having a meeting to discuss plans...

To their surprise, Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon were excited to see that. As Spike and the others tried to talk to them, they instead wanted to join them! Their normal lives were sooo boring, and it'd be a great way to stick it to Spoiled Rich as well! To show that they were serious, they actually had begun to strip! Probably inspired by some of the mares that performed sitting their in various states of undress... and maybe by the fact that Sugar Belle was sitting in Big Mac's lap while Spike and Rumble were getting serviced by Holly Dash and Cloudchaser.

They'd made it to their underwear when Spike and the others gave in, though they had to admit that the two looked very cute.

He wouldn't let them join on anything major, two spoiled idle rich girls would be far too dangerous to have tag along! But on some minor stuff they were allowed to accompany him and others. At times they even tried to seduce them, but because they had befriended the Crusaders, they considered the two as off-limits, to avoid any jealousy. They often complained about it, as did the Crusaders themselves! Because Apple Bloom was Applejack's sister, she was considered off-limits. Because Sweetie Belle and Scootaloo were her best friends, they were off-limits. And because Diamond Tiara and and Silver Spoon had become very good friends with them, they were off-limits as well.

Diamond Tiara even convinced her father to pay for the three to get a good education at the same school as Tiara herself, though didn't meet quite as often as they'd like outside of school, because Spoiled Rich often kept Diamond Tiara, and Silver Spoon by association, away for home tutoring, because, in her opinion, the school was too low class, or trying to get her daughter make contacts in upper class society. Nopony could understand how Spoiled could consider one of the elite schools of Manehattan “low class”, especially considering that the principal was Mayor Celestia's niece, Cadance. Maybe because Cadance wasn't a stuck up upper-class bitch like Spoiled herself?

Meanwhile, Apple Bloom and her friends complained about only being waitresses! They wanted to dance, show off their bodies and even spread their legs! It'd mean better pay, and they didn't like being left out of the fun part of the staff meetings!

Maybe, at some point, they could figure out what they were working on down there, Zecora and A. K. Yearling were at times trying to crack the code, Yearling's experience with old languages and even some modern codes due to her education and adventuring days being quite useful, but with little success, and make it to money. The club did earn an OK profit, but the main purpose for now came from its use for laundering their less legal gains. He loved running it, but its use as a front was a good part of its appeal to him

Spike looked at his smiling self in the mirror. Yeah, he was doing well... but what was that feeling... he should've been feeling like the king of the world, but instead... that hole inside of him made itself noticeable again

Maybe, he contemplated, he just wanted to know his family... or, families, depending on what had happened during his first memory. Anyway, he was expecting somepony.