Spicy Hot's phone played a retro game tune. He'd almost gotten rid of Butter Cup.
"That's either her ringtone, or his." Butter paused at the door and watched as Spicy's face went from eye-rolling boredom to shock and—if he was any judge of Spicy Hot—excitement. "Let me see."
"You won't want to, Butter." Spicy couldn't take his eyes off the picture.
Clean as a whistle and ready to be played
The follow-up message made things about ten times worse for Spicy Hot and his tight pants. He bit his lower lip at the raw desire the picture conjured. He could see Rainbow's collar, he could see everything except what made her female. It wasn't just that she'd gone to the effort of looking sexy, she'd gone to the effort of looking sexy just for him.
Butter leaned across the counter but made no effort to look at the screen. "Spicy, remember what I told you about wearing tight pants?"
Spicy looked down struggled to keep his composure. "That"—Spicy turned off the screen of his phone and put it aside—"is what she does to me with just a picture, Butter."
"Do I dare utter the L word?"
Spicy sighed and looked down again. "If you ask him, he'd use the L word a lot."
"I'll see you tonight, Spicy Hot, and your posse of lady friends." Butter Cup opened the door and sashayed out.
Aria Blaze had had enough of her sister. With Sonata as her example (though not a complete paragon of one), Aria had not heeded her older sister's call. Anger wasn't new to Aria, but peace was.
"You like that?" Aria couldn't believe she was not just smiling, but meaning it. Brushing out Nolan's hair brought her happiness.
"Y-Yeah." Nolan didn't dare move away, and he wanted to make sure everything Aria—his goddess had allowed him to use her name—wanted, Aria got. "It feels wonderful."
Her hands not stopping, Aria Blaze kept brushing Nolan's hair like she imagined humans did for their pets. "Good. It's time to try your theory out."
Tilting his head up, Nolan looked at the woman sitting on his couch. Happiness swelled in every part of him at just the sight of her—if he had a tail, it would be wagging. "Really?"
Aria tapped on the screen of the laptop beside her with one finger to pause the video playing, then she pinched and zoomed in on the people of the front few rows. Then the wave of magic radiated out again, and she watched as the crowd turned into pony people. Aria's attention, however, was on one particular girl.
Gossamer wings adorned Sonata's back, and combined with her ears she made a striking impression, but it was the flicker of red at her neck that Aria looked at. "We just need to find out where they'll all be together next, and encourage them to play. You said you found my annoying little sister?"
It took a moment for Nolan to realize Aria meant for him to respond. He whined softly.
"I asked if you remembered where you saw my sister." Adagio would have gotten angry with Nolan for his behavior, but Aria was of the firm opinion that getting angry at humans for just being human was a waste—she was saving up all her anger for her sisters.
Nolan's excitement built quickly. "She was working in a store called Canterlot Crops. I don't know why she'd be working like that. Couldn't she just make people give her money?"
Tolerant of Nolan's rambling (mostly because she accepted it as just something humans do), Aria tapped in the search field on the browser and typed in the name of the store. "Of course that hedonistic little wretch would work in a place like this." She clicked through the website's adult filter and saw a big banner pop up saying that if she had a code from the special party, to enter it. "A special party? Maybe they have a band playing?"
"I could go and check them out if you wanted me to?" Nolan ached to find something useful to do. When Aria's hand resumed rubbing his head, a burst of joy exploded in him.
"You're a good boy, Nolan, but no. I think I'll pay my little sister a visit personally—assuming she's there of course. Prepare your little device, however. I want to try something while I'm there, even if Sonata doesn't show her face." Aria Blaze felt anticipation flood her thoughts. She looked down at Nolan and contemplated his predicament. "Soon, Nolan, I'll have more pets. But you will always be special."
Rainbow Dash arched her back to stretch. The suit Rarity had insisted she get fit perfectly and let her move almost as well as shorts and a shirt. In deference to Spicy, she'd gone with a sports bra that made her already petite chest practically flat.
Looking into the mirror again, she reached up for the tie and undid it. "This ain't going to do." She loosened the collar of her shirt. She stood there in trousers, a shirt, and a vest and marveled at how androgynous she really was.
Turning to the side revealed that her wings were trapped under the shirt and her tail was fed down her left pants leg. If not for her pony ears, mane, and fur, she might have been just a normal guy dressed up for the evening.
Heavy makeup was out—not that Rainbow liked wearing too much of it anyway—but she did dust on some eye-shadow and applied a clear lip-gloss that tasted of blueberries. She rolled her lips together and ran her tongue over them.
The wimpiest horn ever struggled to get Rainbow's attention. If it weren't for Rainbow's pony ears swiveling around to catch the VW horn, she would have missed it completely.
"I gotta get him a real car." Rainbow Dash grabbed her wallet and tucked it into one of the roomy pants pockets and headed for the door. The clop of her hooves as she walked through the house completely drowned out further blasts of the horn.
Spicy's jaw fell open when he saw the "guy" leave Rainbow's house. His brain could make the connection between Rainbow's face and hair and the girl she was, but his libido just saw a hottie dressed up sharp.
Walking up to what she considered a collapsed pile of metal on wheels, Rainbow opened the passenger door and climbed inside. She noticed a lot of what looked like show-bags on the back seat as she got settled. "Hey th—" Spicy's lips caught her unprepared, though she was quick to take advantage of the situation.
The smell of Rainbow excited Spicy even further. She smelled great with cologne and a musky deodorant on. Despite them needing to get to the bar soon, he decided to take his time with the kiss.
Feeling more aroused than submissive, Rainbow was right there with Spicy for every moment of the kiss. She pushed back with her own tongue and even leaned into him a little.
When they broke apart, Rainbow's libido was ready to shove into high gear. She looked down from Spicy's face to follow the line of him, and found his pants sitting flat.
"Dancer's belt, you naughty little colt. Had to wear it tonight—should have been wearing it today after what you sent me."
Rainbow blinked a couple of times rapidly. "Oh! So it keeps my little pepper in stealth mode?"
"Stealth mode? Little pepper?" Spicy almost cracked up laughing, but Rainbow's hand reaching to his belly and running down between his thighs silenced any laughter he might have had. When her fingers searched for and traced out his bulge under the belt, he let out a little sigh of contentment.
Walking her fingers back over Spicy's thigh and pulling her hand away from him completely, Rainbow smirked. "Later. Let's get to this party."
For just a moment Spicy would have agreed to skip the whole thing and go inside with her if Rainbow had asked him. "You're right—tempting as it is to bend you over and fuck you on the hood."
As the car pulled away from the curb, Rainbow snorted. "Spicy, this is a VW. The engine's in the back. You don't have a hood. When my car's finished, you have my permission to bend me over that." Looking over her shoulder, Rainbow spotted again all the bags in the back seat. "What's all this?"
"Gifts, toys, advertising, and ideas. Figured since everyone's getting together, might as well be a bit generous. I ordered something new today I want you to help me with. They should be ready later in the week." The road was mostly deserted, which suited Spicy well.
"New? Whatcha getting?" Ignoring the feeling of going slow was hard for Rainbow, particularly since they were.
"Bridles. Actual bridles. Those bondage ones are fine and all, but except for that one that changed with you, there's nothing that's going to fit people. And I figure there's going to be more ponies around soon." Spicy grinned. "Besides, I want one too. We can both be pretty ponies."
"You're joking, right?" Rainbow's question got a sideways look from Spicy. "You're not a pretty pony. Look at you with all the dark colors and bat wings. You're all gothy."
"Gothy? Gothy?! Rainbow! This is punk-rock! Nope. This isn't going to work out. You can't be my tomboyfriend!" Spicy tossed his head dramatically.
"Tomboyfriend?" Rainbow Dash chuckled. "I kinda like it. Anyway, I still think it's gothy."
Spicy Hot pulled into the street where the club was. "I'm going to have to teach you the difference, aren't I?"
Purring a little, Rainbow felt playful. "Will it involve a whip?"
"No. For a whole week you'll dress how I tell you." Spicy pulled into the car park nearest the club (that he avoided last time because of the other patrons) and turned the little car off. Looking across at Rainbow, Spicy tried to gauge how she felt about the idea, but drew a complete blank. "Well?"
"Well what?" Rainbow asked.
Spicy rolled his eyes. "Are you cool with that?"
"I've punched literal monsters in the face. You think I wouldn't tell you if your bit of fun got up my nose sideways? Come on! I'm not submissive all the time." Rainbow climbed out of the car. "Besides, if you want to play dress-ups, I'm your doll."
Barking a laugh at Rainbow's choice of words, Spicy opened the back door on his side and grabbed all the bags up under one arm. "Is this a friend of yours?"
Rainbow turned around and froze. She watched Aria walking toward her and widened her stance a little. "No, Spicy, it isn't. Call the girls."
"Wait!" Aria called. "I'm not here to start anything!"
The seriousness of Rainbow's tone and the stance she took hastened Spicy. He dropped the bags he'd been carrying and pulled his phone from his pocket. He sent a text first, held up the phone and snapped the camera before punching send.
"Right. Just like you didn't start anything at the school. Drop the act, Aria, I'm not dropping my guard." Gesturing with one hand, Rainbow pointed at Aria's throat. "And without your little necklace, you're nothing but an annoyance."
"You gave Sonata a second chance!" As soon as the words left her mouth, Aria knew she'd found her angle. She detested the power these humans held over her, but she could keep her vengeance simmering until she regained her magic. "I just don't know what to do anymore? Adagio won't stop!"
Spicy's phone rang before he could dial anyone. "Rarity? I'm at the club. Rainbow just freaked out at—"
"Aria. We're on our way. I'll call the rest." The whine Rarity had been expecting to make at being interrupted died in her throat. "Sonata?"
Hearing her name, Sonata jerked from the scene they were playing in and dropped back into reality. "W-What's wrong?"
"Aria is at the club."