“Babs, ya okay?”

“Totally… Why d’ya think I’m not?”

“Hmm, let’s see? Maybe because ya’re lying on the ground?”

“I’m an earth pony; I feel better when I’m close to the ground…”

“Ya’re drunk!”

Babs stood up and gave Nightcap a nasty glare. “I’m not,” she whispered. “Okay, maybe a little, but that’s the trick…”

“Another trick?” Nightcap shook her head. “Ya pull too many tricks. It ain’t gonna end well.”

“Remember the deal?” Babs asked. “Ya give me socks and this…” She looked at her outfit. “...dress, I’m teachin’ ya tricks, right?”

“Right,” Nightcap replied.

Babs sighed. Few weeks ago, she’d never even think about bothering herself looking at Nightcap when meeting her on the street. Now, they were spending the Friday night together, exchanging informations.

After beating White Dove and the subsequent nasty talk with the principal, Babs promised herself to change. She started to regularly attend school. She avoided getting into fights and began spending more time at home. She didn’t even hang out with her friends anymore.

From what she’d heard, Cracker’s trial was soon going to an end; the lawyers hired by Golden Sunset’s parents basically ate his public defender for breakfast. It was still unclear if he’d killed Raspberry, but Babs suspected that they were going to charge him with that too.

Hedgehog was no longer with her. They didn’t break up; they just stopped seeing each other and one day she’d heard from Raz that Hedgehog was now with the new vocalist of his band – a bright pink pegasus who, from what Babs heard, couldn’t sing to save her life. She didn’t even care about that.

Just like before the Cutie Mark Crusaders, she was alone. Only occasionally she’d meet Raz, but he was too busy with his work to talk with her. If he ever wanted to talk.

It was probably in the restaurant where Raz was working where she’d first met Nightcap – a thin, navy blue unicorn with black and white mane whose cutie mark was, well, a nightcap. Babs first met her on a Friday night, coming back from some party – while she usually slept at home, she still liked to party on Fridays, even though she had no money. Nightcap had no money too and that was why they’d started to talk in the first place.

Nightcap’s story was similar to many stories Babs had heard. She wasn’t much older than Babs. She used to live in some small village – Babs didn’t remember the name – trying to make money by making nightcaps, only to find out that no one wanted to wear them. She then moved to Manehattan, hoping to find work in the fashion industry, but quickly found out that the only job the town could offer to her was the oldest job known to the ponykind.

“And it seems that I’m not good at it,” Nightcap told Babs on that Friday night. “I barely can afford that dirty shithole I call my place…”

“Oh, come on,” Babs replied. “It’s not that hard… It’s like with stealin’ – ya need to find a right client…”

“How d’ya know how to find one?” Nightcap asked. “Have ya ever–?”

“Once,” Babs replied. “20 bits for a blowjob and 50 I took from the guy’s wallet afterwards. Then I discovered that muggin’ is much funnier… Till recently...”

“What happened?” Nightcap asked.

“I’d rather not talk about that,” Babs replied. “Since then I don’t rob other ponies… But if ya want, I can teach ya a few tricks…”

Two weeks later, they were both walking down the streets of Manehattan wearing short dresses and socks. Babs felt the alcohol buzzing in her veins, but her mind was clear – she looked at the ponies around carefully. It was yet another thing that was helping her survive in the big city – just by looking at anypony, she could assess how rich and how dangerous they were.

“First lesson,” she muttered to Nightcap. “Never rob the locals or regular customers. My... friend screwed up that way. That leaves the rich guys who came here on business… They won’t look for ya and they’ll never admit…” She swished her tail. “...that they got robbed by a blank flank who they wanted to fuck…”

Nightcap nodded. In the distance, they saw the railway station. Several bored prostitutes were standing next to the taxi stand. “We’re late…” she said.

“Don’t worry…” Babs said and lit a cigarette. “I look like a sixteen-year-old who looks like young-looking eighteen-year-old; ya look young too… It turns many stallions on…Just like blank flanks…”

“Eww…” Nightcap shuddered. “Seems that every guy is a perv…”

“Hey, it wasn’t me who wanted to be a whore…” Babs replied. “A propos: do ya have something to defend yourself?”

Nightcap lowered her voice to a whisper. “I have a small gun in my purse…”

“Crap,” Babs muttered. “Lots of noise, cases, bullets, not to mention that the guards are usually interested in the guys found with a large hole in their heads… I prefer knives.” She patted the sock in which she had her balisong. She knew that it wasn’t wise to still carry it – she’d stabbed Golden Sunset with it – but she liked it too much.

“But it’d be a self-defence…” Nightcap said.

“Against a rich guy? If the family likes him, they’ll get an attorney who’ll convince the jury that ya raped him with your gun…”

“Same with a knife…”

“But at least ya have more time to run away…” Babs said. She didn’t want to delve into the details – she still remembered Golden Sunset. “Okay, time for lesson two – see those two guys?” she asked, pointing at two stallions who’d just left the station – a grey unicorn with glasses, wearing a green shirt, and his companion, a young purple stallion levitating a briefcase. They were eyeing Babs and Nightcap curiously.

“Smile,” Babs muttered. “The older one seems to like us…”

Indeed, the grey stallion was slowly approaching them. The younger one was blushing a bit, but was following his colleague. Babs went forward, bumping into several other prostitutes and stood in front of them.

“Hello,” she said, swishing her tail in such a way that it lifted her dress, revealing her flank for a moment. The older stallion licked his lips, but his expression remained unchanged. “Do ya need somethin’?”

“Well,” he said. “We just came here from Canterlot and we were looking for some… company.”

“Well,” Babs replied, trying to mimic his accent. “My friend and I are kinda bored…”

The stallion chuckled. “Seems that we have something in common, young lady…” He looked at Nightcap. “Also, my friend needs someone experienced… you’ll definitely fit his liking…”

Nightcap smirked, looking at the younger stallion who was now very interested in the pavement beneath his hooves. The older stallion nodded, smiling and trotted to the nearest cab. They sat inside.

When they were on the way to the hotel, Babs took a look at the grey stallion. His green and white attire looked expensive; same with his glasses. His Canterlot accent was practically screaming “I’m an awfully rich jerk; bow before me”. His companion also looked rich, but at the same time he was throwing nervous glances around. Babs was jealous – she felt that he wouldn’t last long.

When the receptionist in the hotel saw the stallion, he didn’t even say a word about Babs and Nightcap.

“Mr. Jet Set,” he said. “Nice to see you again, sir. Do you need, umm… something?”

“A champagne,” Jet Set replied. “And don’t disturb us.”

“Yes, sir,” the receptionist replied. Before they trotted to the elevator, Babs sticked the bubble gum to his desk. He didn’t even flinch.

Babs barely contained a curse when she saw the apartment. She thought that her parents would have to live three times to afford living in such place. Two bottles of champagne and four champagne flutes were already waiting on the table. On each side of the room there were doors to the bedrooms. Jet Set levitated one of the bottles and trotted to one of them. Babs followed him and sat on the large bed. She took a look at her socks – they were of two shades of pink, which was supposed to match her mane, but the effect was rather mediocre. There was a small bulge on the right one, in the place where she’d hid a knife.

“Just to clarify,” she said. “I take one-hundred fifty bits for a night. Always with a condom, no anal.”

“Sure, my lady,” Jet Set replied. “The money doesn’t matter…”

Babs nodded and looked at Jet Set opening the champagne and giving her the glass. She felt her stomach twitch – she didn’t like champagne, preferring vodka instead. She gulped half of the glass in one go.

“Sorry, I was thirsty,” she said, smiling sheepishly.

“Feel free to help yourself,” Jet Set said. “I’ll go to take a shower.”

When he left the room, Babs quickly finished her champagne. Then she poured herself another one, sprayed some of it on her dress and used the rest to pour the plant standing in the corner of the bedroom. She took a knife from her sock and put it under the bed, just in case. She saw the wallet the stallion had left on the nightstand. For a moment she thought about running away with it, but she didn’t want to leave Nightcap with them. Instead, she looked inside.

Her eyes widened when she saw the money. She’d heard about the 500-bits coins, but she’d never seen one in her life. Here, there were six of them; she could almost see her reflection in the gold. There was also a photo of some yellow unicorn mare with a pink earring. On the other side of it someone wrote “Upper Crust”.

Well, Mrs. Upper Crust, ya should really talk to your husband… Or give him a head... Babs thought, putting the wallet back on the nightstand. She undid some fasteners of her dress and lay down on the bed, spreading her hind legs a bit.

The door opened and she saw Jet Set. He’d gotten rid of his green and white clothes and was now standing in front of her naked. He looked at the champagne and smirked. Babs noticed that instantly.

“Hello, sexy,” she said in a tone suggesting that she was more drunk than she really was. “Wanna play?”

Jet Set sat on the bed next to her and wrapped his hoof around her. She exhaled, hoping that her breath, smelling of vodka, champagne, cigarettes, and bubble gum would discourage him from kissing her. He winced, but quickly relaxed, when Babs prodded his penis. It was already hard, but, as Babs noticed, not very impressive.

“Nice…” she muttered seducingly. “C’mon, big guy…”

She felt his magic unfastening her dress and slowly freeing her from it. She barely contained a shiver; while some fillies she knew liked the warm touch of magic on their skin, she hated it. Still stroking his penis with her hooves, she lowered her head and licked its tip, expecting her stomach to twist.

Luckily for her, it didn’t happen. Unlike Hedgehog, Jet Set at least washed himself before having sex with her, so all she tasted was the smell of shower gel. She started to suck his stallionhood, moaning from time to time. She felt Jet Set’s hooves grabbing her mane and guiding her. She glared at him angrily and bit him gently, causing him to hiss.

“Naughty girl…” he muttered. “You don’t like to take orders, huh?”

Try to “break me” and I’ll bite it off, right before sticking a knife into your eye, Babs thought. Then an image of bleeding Golden Sunset appeared in her mind and she shuddered; she didn’t want to kill anypony again.

“I like to be… independent,” she replied, smiling widely. She got up and took the pack of condoms from the nightstand. She could hear Nightcap’s moans from the other bedroom – judging by how loud they were, Jet Set’s companion was a really bad lover.

Suddenly, Babs froze, feeling the touch of Jet Set’s magic between her hind legs. She looked at the unicorn, who smiled playfully at her.

“Not so fast,” he said. “I don’t want to leave my favourite blank flank unsatisfied…” He smacked one of her flanks.

So, it’s one of those… Babs thought. Just use my body to wank yourself to sleep, old prick, and let me take your money…

She relaxed a bit, still remaining in the same position – standing on the bed with hind legs slightly spread and her tail swished to the side. Jet Set’s magic was gently massaging her labia. Babs bit her lip and gave out a little moan. She could still hear Nightcap and that gave her the idea.

“Faster…” she muttered. She bucked her hips and moaned as loud as she could.

If her relationship with Hedgehog taught her something, it was an ability to fake orgasms. She grabbed the pillow with her teeth and rolled on the bed, panting heavily and spreading her legs.

“Fuck me…” she hissed between pants, spreading her legs and staring at Jet Set’s penis with what she hoped to be a lustful glared. His magic disappeared. Babs closed her eyes and gritted her teeth, feeling his stallionhood entering her. She clenched her muscles around it and embraced Jet Set with her hind legs.

Her mind slowly drifted away. She barely paid attention to what Jet Set was doing, instead thinking about her friends. Hedgehog was probably playing with his band. Raz was probably sleeping after a whole day of work. White Dove… who knew? She was probably doing whatever rich fillies were doing at that time. Or maybe she realised that she’d killed Raspberry and was now getting crazy over it. Maybe Manehattan would hear about the new Sleepless Killer soon… Or maybe they’d find her shattered body lying on the pavement below the skyscraper she lived in.

She heard Jet Set’s moan. She also screamed in reply, trying to synchronise her pants with his thrusts. An image of White Dove in her mind was replaced with Raspberry – gagged and panicked, just after they’d kidnapped her. She remembered how she’d followed her gaze and saw the motionless body of Golden Sunset lying in the puddle of blood.

“Are you okay?” Jet Set asked. Babs saw his worried expression and realised that she was crying.

“Y-yes,” she replied. “Continue…”

“If it hurts…” Jet Set backed away and lay down next to her.

“N-no…” she replied, wiping her tears. “I just thought…”

“You’d better go home,” Jet Set said. He took his wallet and gave Babs two hundred bits.

An idea appeared in Babs’ mind. “B-but I have nowhere to go,” she said, sobbing and hiccuping. “C-can I sleep here tonight?”

Jet Set’s expression softened. He patted Babs’ mane and wrapped her hooves around her. “Of course,” he said. Babs escaped from his grasp and lay down on her side of the bed, closing her eyes.

She started to listen carefully to what Jet Set was doing. He stood up, trotted to the table and poured himself a glass of champagne. She listened to him drinking it, wondering how long it’d take before he’d fall asleep. The noises from the other bedroom silenced; it seemed that Nightcap’s client finally gave up.

After a while, she felt that Jet Set lay next to her. He kissed her forehead before turning in bed. Few minutes later, he was snoring loudly.

Babs opened her eyes and carefully got out from bed. She could hear Nightcap’s muffled hoofsteps and realised that her friend was waiting for her. She looked at Jet Set and quickly took her dress, knife, and his wallet. Then, trotting as quietly as she could, she left the bedroom and closed the door.

“What took ya so long?” Nightcap whispered. “I managed to get three rounds with Mr. Earl Grey III… Two minutes each.”

“Mr. Jet Set wanted to become a saviour of the little fillies who have to whore themselves for food…” Babs replied. “Let’s get outta here…”

Quietly, they left the room. There was nopony in the corridor, so they trotted to the elevator.

“Lesson three,” Babs said, and pushed one of the buttons. “The staff doesn’t see ya when ya’re with some rich wanker, but when ya’re in the hotel alone, ya have to be careful…”

The door of the elevator opened. Babs looked around and smirked – they were in the basement of the hotel, next to the laundry. After seeing that nopony was around, she put on her slightly mussy dress and trotted down the corridor, to the underground parking lot.

“Wanna steal one of those?” Nightcap asked, pointing at the luxurious carts visible in the dim light.

“I’d rather call it ‘redistribution of the goods’,” Babs said. “And no, we’re gonna get outta here by hoof…” She looked at the small door – an emergency exit. She approached it and pushed it open. After climbing up the narrow stairs, they found themselves in some dirty nook.

“We made it!” Nightcap exclaimed. “I got five hundred bits… How much did ya get?”

“At least three thousand…” Babs replied and saw Nightcap’s eyes widening. “And I need to throw up…”

“Did ya swallow or what? I told ya that–”

“No, he didn’t even finish…” Babs said. “It was just… Ya know, that’s why I prefer muggin’ ponies – ya just honestly hold someone at a knifepoint instead of all that... cheatin’... Nevermind, I got three thousand bits!”

“Geez, ya really was lucky…” Nightcap shook her head.

Babs took Jet Set’s wallet, produced three 500 bits coins from it and gave them to Nightcap. “Ya need ‘em more than I…” she said.

“I can’t take ‘em…” Nightcap backed away. “Ya made ‘em…”

“Listen, Nightcap...” Babs approached her, holding bits in her hoof. “I don’t like when someone doesn’t want to accept my offers… Ya’ll take those money or…” She made a move suggesting where the bits would end up if Nightcap kept refusing.

“Okay, chill out, Babs… I’ll take ‘em,” Nightcap said. “Though I had worse things there…”

They trotted out of the nook and headed to Nightcap’s place – Babs wanted to get rid of her ridiculous outfit before going back home. The tall, elegant buildings disappeared, replaced by old blocks made of bricks.

“Few more clients like that and I can end this,” Nightcap said. “Who knows, maybe I’ll try makin’ dresses again?”

“Yeah, maybe…” Babs muttered. She could still see Golden Sunset’s body and the scorched ruins of the old warehouse.

They turned into some trash-littered alley. The only light was coming from the moon and a single flickering street lamp.

“Give me yer money!”

Babs raised her head and looked around. She saw that someone hidden in the shadow was levitating a knife next to her throat.

“C’mon! Yer money!”

Nightcap reached to her purse unsurely. They could hear trotting of another pony standing behind them.

“I got this,” Babs whispered. “Hey, Hedgehog! Since when are ya muggin’ whores?”

“Since ya’re whorin’ yerself…” Hedgehog replied. The knife shook in his magic, but it was still close to Babs’ neck.

“Yeah, I know… Oh, how the mighty have fallen…” she exclaimed, rolling her eyes. “Now, would ya kindly fuck off and let me go?”

Hedgehog stepped into the circle of light. “It’s my street,” he said. “And ya shouldn’t whore yerself…”

“Why d’ya care?” Babs asked. “We’re not together; I can do whatever I want… And who did ya take with ya? Yer new marefriend?”

“Umm… It’s me…” White Dove muttered behind Babs.

“Oh, please…” Babs chuckled. “Dove, I’ve already let your dentist make some money… Don’t make me do that again…”

“Give me the money or…” Hedgehog said, waving the knife with his magic.

“Ya won’t dare…” Babs said calmly. “Dove stands too close to me. I’m gonna kick her and run away before ya…”

A wave of blue magic flew past her and hit Hedgehog who released his knife from his magic grasp. Babs turned around quickly and tackled White Dove. She didn’t hit her; instead she ran away, followed by Nightcap, leaving her two ex-friends rolling on the pavement.

“Nice shot,” Babs said when they stopped a couple of blocks away.

“I got tired of that asshole...” Nightcap smiled sheepishly. “Who the hell he was?”

“My ex,” Babs replied. “And he’s not an asshole… He’s just pissed that I left ‘em…”

“Nevermind,” Nightcap said. “I don’t think ya two would get together now…”

“Yeah…” Babs laughed. She looked around and saw that they were close to the Neighponese restaurant Raz worked in. During the Friday nights it was usually open, waiting for the hungry partygoers. “Wanna eat some noodles before we get home?” she asked.

“Sure, why not…” Nightcap smiled and they trotted to the restaurant.