As it turned out, Claybourne and Gusty both were wearing lacy lingerie. Tight bodices or corsets or whatever they were called were cinched around their bodies. Holly had never worn anything like that and she wasn’t sure what they were called. They were also wearing fishnet stockings over their legs. They both looked amazing and Holly could understand why they kept flirting with one another.
She was giddy with anticipation about seeing Alfredo.
The Stony Scary Cinematic Revue was a bit odd so far, but it wasn’t bad. There were two strange ponies with stranger names; Brad and Janet. Holly had a vague recollection of what a brad was. It was a small nail with a tiny head. Why anypony would be named ‘Brad’ was a mystery. One might be mistaken for a pinhead with that sort of name.
The audience kept hooting and hollering. It was a very different sort of show. Holly was under the impression that with most theatre productions, the audience was expected to keep quiet. With this audience, they were expected to interact. Everypony was dressed up and Holly could not help but feel a little self conscious and out of place. But nopony seemed to mind… everypony was far too busy having fun.
One of the mares on stage was a lot like her. That is to say, the mare on stage playing Columbia had a full figure. She was also smoking hot and Holly couldn’t help but feel a little attracted. It wasn’t often that she saw a full figured mare being shown in such a positive light. She moved as though she was weightless, her dancing was indescribable, beautiful, and perfect.
When Claybourne hooked his foreleg around hers and gave it a tug, Holly glanced at him. His lipstick was a little smeared. He was grinning a crazy grin and he waggled his eyebrows at her.
“Here we go, Holly!”
The music swelled and Holly could hear Alfredo’s unmistakable voice as he sang, “How d'you do, I see you've met my faithful handypony... he's just a little brought down, because when you knocked... he thought you were the candypony…”
Holly’s mouth fell open in shock and she felt her nethers clench. Alfredo as Doctor Wienerschnitzel was absolutely stunning. He too, was wearing a corset lingerie thingy, and fishnets, and his mane was all done up in curls. Whatever crush or sense of infatuation that Holly had been nursing ignited into a full blown lusty inferno—a five alarm fire. The reaction was so strong that it scared her. A fire like this one demanded a good hosing.
“...don't get strung out by the way that I look… don't judge a book by its cover... I'm not much of a stallion by the light of day, but by night I'm one hell of a lover!”
The outfit, Alfredo’s strong singing voice, the music, the lights, the heat and smell of the bodies all around her, it was almost too much. Holly felt herself swooning. She started sweating, she couldn’t help it, but she couldn’t muster up enough concern to feel self conscious about it.
She couldn’t help but feel that Alfredo was singing to her. He was looking right at her, at least, she thought he was. She was right there in the front row and there could be no doubt, he was looking at her. He was looking at her and singing to her.
There was a loud squeal that made Holly’s ears stand up and it took her several long seconds before she realised that she was the squealing like a filly. Her cheeks blazed, almost matching the warmth in her nethers.
“I'm just a sweet transvestite from Transexual, Tramplevania, ha ha!”
At that moment, Holly discovered that she could, in fact, have it all. Alfredo was the perfect stallion, and when dressed up as a mare, something about him mashed all of the right buttons. It was the perfect storm of attraction, no—of lust. Her heart fluttered in her chest and she was perched on the edge of her seat. Claybourne was still holding her foreleg and she could hear his deep, throaty laughter.
Holly wasn’t certain she could bear watching the whole show with her heart in her throat.
The show was exhausting. Holly had laughed, she had cried, she had screamed a few times, and every muscle in her body ached from sitting on the edge of her seat and trying to balance. Now, she was in some sort of hazy afterglow. The heat from the lights, from the bodies all around her, the sound, the overpowering sound… she felt dizzy and her ears were ringing. She could feel the blood flowing through her veins and she could not recall a time she had ever felt more alive.
Alfredo and the others were bowing while receiving their accolades from the audience. Holly felt like she was a mess. Her mane was plastered to her neck and she felt absolutely knackered. The roar of the crowd was almost deafening. And no matter how he moved, she could not help but feel that Alfredo was still looking right at her.
And she stared back. There might be other actors on the stage, but Holly couldn’t see them. She didn’t see the set. There was only Alfredo… even though he was as sweaty and disheveled as she was, he still somehow looked fabulous. His curls hung limp around his face and neck. His ears were slick with sweat—salty sweat—and Holly found herself wanting to lick one.
And then, without warning, the curtain closed…
The hallway was long and narrow. Holly recognised it as a fire hazard without even thinking about it. It was so narrow that the doors that opened up into the hallway blocked it completely. The roar of the crowd was behind her and there was laughter ahead of her. Claybourne and Gusty herded her along down the hallway as they followed after an understudy that had come out to fetch them.
The hallway opened into a vast space behind the stage, a hidden place, the place where the magic happened. Stage and set pieces were everywhere. There were ponies laughing, congratulating one another, and drinking. The nose tingling scent of champagne was heavy in the air, along with sweat and the sickly sweet smell of clove cigarettes. The area was dim, lit only by a few lanterns and a whole bunch of beeswax candles. After being under the searing lights of the stage, nopony wanted electric lights back here.
There was no sign of Alfredo. Holly came a halt and stood there, looking around, uncertain of what to do next. Claybourne and Gusty didn’t stop, but kept going. The pair of them approached a zebra mare who had been in the play, and she laughed as they approached. She was still sweaty and her mane was strange and rope-like. Holly knew there was a name for what she saw, but she couldn’t remember what they were called. A big pair of white framed sunglasses were still perched on her nose.
A loud pop startled Holly, she jumped, but then realised it was just somepony opening more champagne. She wondered where Alfredo was. She looked around, taking in the sights, this wasn’t all that different than the aftermath of the roller derby. A lot of ponies drinking, smoking, and congratulating one another. It didn’t smell that different either.
There was a squeal from behind a nearby door, followed by a giggle, and then the unmistakable sounds of two ponies celebrating in the best way possible. Holly blushed but couldn’t feel it. She had blushed too much already this evening and was too hot to even feel it.
After a few minutes of listening, Holly realised that there were two stallions behind the door, celebrating. She stood there, taking in the sounds, feeling more than a little aroused, and trying to imagine what must be going on in there. She closed her eyes so she could visualise everything just a little better.
“Holly?”
Opening her eyes, she turned her head and saw Alfredo. He was dripping wet and looked as though he had just stepped out of the shower. He was sleek looking, perfect in every way, and being dripping wet was somehow even more appealing. There was a very satisfied whinny from behind the closed door and Holly realised that she had been biting her lip this whole time.
“You were amazing,” Holly said in a voice that she almost didn’t recognise. She coughed, cleared her throat, and blamed the clove cigarettes as she tried again. “Alfredo, you were amazing.”
“I really felt the magic out there tonight.” Alfredo blinked a few times and then looked around as he flicked his waterlogged mane out of his eyes. He looked at his fellow actors and actresses. “Everypony gave it all they had and then some. I’ve never seen a production like this one.” He kept blinking and focused his squinty stare on Holly.
“You okay, Alfredo?” Holly took a step forwards, concerned, and feeling just a little bit of worry.
“I’m worn out and dazzled by the lights.” He blinked his eyes again and Alfredo smiled. “I got used to the gas lights at home… the electric lights feel so much brighter now. I’m exhausted, Holly… and truth be told, I don’t know if I am up for the post production party.”
“Oh, I don’t know, I think a little celebration is in order,” Holly said, sounding coy without realising that she was doing so. She batted her eyelashes at Alfredo. “Plus, you don’t want to go outside while you are sopping wet. Nopony wants a frozen noodle.”
When Alfredo chuckled, Holly froze, horrified by her own words. “I… I… I…” She stood there, stammering, feeling flustered and aroused. The sounds of the two stallions celebrating was distracting. “I mean, because of your name… Alfredo… I didn’t mean… I didn’t mean—”
“You stared at me the whole production.” Water dripped and ran down Alfredo’s sides. “There were other actors you know, fantastic actors who put on quite a show. You didn’t see them, did you?”
“No.” Holly bit her lip and then made little hoofy kicks, her hoof scraping over the old, worn out grey boards. “There were other audience members… did you see them?”
There was no reply from Alfredo, only an amused smirk.
“I knew it!” Everything around Holly faded away. The sounds, the scent, the cigarette smoke, she lost awareness of all of it. “You were staring at me.” Without warning, Holly was a filly again. She didn’t know what to say, she felt like she was going to hiccup or throw up, and she didn’t know how to talk to colts. She stood there, now mute, her tail swishing from side to side.
“Is it so hard to talk to me?” Alfredo asked.
“Yes!” Holly’s words came out as a filly’s whine. “Yes it is! You’re so beautiful and perfect and I’ve never met anypony like you and everything is complicated! I don’t know what to do and I don’t know what is right anymore.” She stood there, staring at Alfredo, unaware that quite a few ponies had fallen silent and were now looking at her.
“Is it because I’m the help?” Alfredo asked.
“Maybe.” Holly closed her eyes and shook her head. “It’s crossed my mind. I don’t know what the rules are and I didn’t want to risk our friendship.” She heard a soft sigh and opened her eyes. Much to her surprise, Alfredo was now standing inches away from her nose. She looked up at him and felt her breath catch in her throat. “I didn’t want you to feel pressured, or obligated, and I didn’t want to mess with your sense of professionalism because I know how much that means to you.”
“Doctor Wienerschnitzel, professional transvestite!” somepony shouted and there were giggles and snickering all around Holly and Alfredo.
“Quiet, you mug, this is serious!” a very husky but feminine voice responded. It was impossible to tell if the voice was male or female.
“Everything is so complicated,” Holly squeaked.
“It doesn’t have to be.” Alfredo’s voice was a soft whisper.
“How do we fix it?” Holly stared up at Alfredo with wide, expectant eyes.
Alfredo’s sides expanded as he took a deep breath. “How about we go out for a little dinner and a few drinks… we’ll make it a double date. I know a place right here in the theatre district. And then we’ll take it from there, okay?”
“Okay.” There was a pause. “Alfredo?”
“Yes?”
“I have a confession…”
“And that is?”
“I think I’ve grown up, Alfredo. It scares me. I don’t want a fling. I don’t want to fool around. I’ve never had a serious for realsies relationship before. I don’t know what to do or how to handle it.” Holly bit down upon her lip and made more hoofy kicks.
“It isn’t all that different,” Alfredo replied. “After a really nice night together, you wake up the next morning and you stay together.”
“Yeah, but that’s scary.”
“I suppose it is.”
“And you’re okay with this?” Holly looked Alfredo in the eye.
“I’m up for trying,” Alfredo replied.
“That’s fair and honest.” Holly nodded her head. “Now, how about dinner? I’m starving!”