Nick and Jake were in the back of the family's minivan as they rode through a nearby city. their sisters Melissa and Anne were in the middle row, while their parents were up at the front. It was a pretty uneventul ride until they came to a stop light, when something caught Jake's eye.
"Hey dad, can we go see the ponies?" he asked.
"Huh?" His dad looked around, but they were in the middle of an urban area. All he could see were a bunch of buildings. "Where do you see ponies?"
"Over there." Jake pointed out the window to a big sign with pink neon lights that spelled out "The Pretty Pony." The building behind it had also had neon lights running around the edges of it, with a banner just under the roof that said "LIVE - GIRLS - XXX."
"Uh, Jake..." his mom tried to explain, "I don't think that's-"
"PFFHAHAHA!" Nick interrupted. "Yeah dad, can we go?" he asked with sarcastic enthusiasm. "I want to see all the ponies!"
His dad tried to stifle his own laughter; he could tell Nick knew what was going on. "Well, maybe when you turn 18."
"Awesome." Nick leaned back in his seat and smiled.
Dad chuckled and turned his attention back towards the light, but he could feel tension in the air. He cut his eyes to the passenger seat and saw his wife glaring at him. "...What?"
"You know what." She muttered to him in disgust.
"I said when he's 18!" he exclaimed and threw his hands up as he tried to defend himself. "Come on, you're not going to let him see some strippers when he's an adult?"
"Strippers? Huh?" Jake was confused.
"It's nothing sweetheart. Don't worry about it." Mom tried to reassure her youngest son before giving her husband the stink-eye.
"I just wanted to pet the ponies..." Jake still didn't understand.
Melissa started cracking up as well, "I'm pretty sure you have to pay extra to pet them." Nick and his dad burst out laughing again.
Mom turned around and looked at her. "Melissa, don't encourage them." She was trying her best to maintain order in the car.
But Nick thought of one more thing he had to add, "Hey, I wonder how much you have to pay to ride one!"
"NICK! Oh my god..." his mom buried her face in her hands and shook her head. She knew Nick was growing up and wasn't her sweet and innocent baby any more, but this was more than she was ready to deal with. Finally, the light turned green and she mumbled, "Go, just go..."
Nick, Melissa, and their dad couldn't stop laughing as they pulled away from the stop light. Jake still wasn't sure what was going on, but he was starting to realize that "The Pretty Pony" probably didn't have any actual ponies.
