Smoke

It was quite late when our train finally arrived in Manehatten. Morning, but sunrise was hours away. With Bright Jade in tow and looking all around as we walked, I quickly navigated the city’s streets, taking us straight to The Tall Tail. I had no place else to put Jade, so I was just bringing her with me for the night, to my place over the club. The success of the business allowed me the luxury of owning the floors above as well, and while I could’ve gone for more room, or a nicer part of town, the classy stage and bar of my cabaret were my real home; leaving for the day had never really suited me. Unlocking the door, I ushered Jade in and locked it back behind us.

To my surprise, we’d no sooner entered than we were greeted by a rather nervous Pirouette, hurrying down the stairs from the office and my suites. Orange, with a dark red mane, a ballerina’s cutie mark, and the signs of encroaching age, she was the club’s choreographer and general manager. And she didn’t really have any reason to be there at this hour—the cabaret closed at midnight during the week.

Answers could wait until morning. I didn’t want to give any for the strange crystal pony standing next to me just then, and waiting on demanding explanations from Pirouette would let me just get to bed. The train ride had left me tired, but what I’d done with that attendant had really taken it out of me. “Pirouette? What’re you still doing here? It’s late. Go home.”

Pirouette’s laugh was nervous, and the former ballerina shook her head. “It’s not that late, Done! I, uh, was just planning out a new act for the girls! I needed to be up on stage to sort out the steps, that’s all!” Pirouette took a few light steps and gave a twirl, demonstrating. I wasn’t buying it.

“Well, you’ve managed that. You came down from the office, not the stage. So you can head home now.” I started walking toward the back. Really, after an exhausting train ride, all I wanted was to sleep, maybe have Jade get me off. I didn’t need mystery so late at night.

Pirouette moved to get in my way. “Ah, wouldn’t you like a drink, Done? You know, relax a bit after the long ride. It’s no good to hop in bed stiff and sore, you know!” She gently pushed me toward the bar. “Come on, I’ll rub your withers!”

I sighed. This was not going to plan, and the more Pirouette talked, the less I bought her story. She was a hard enough worker to stay late on her own, but the only times she’d offered offered a massage before were when she needed me buttered up for bad news. Something was coming. I let Pirouette lead me to the bar, Jade still in tow. Pirouette had worked for me for years; I considered her a friend more than a hireling. The thought crossed my mind to try bringing up my smoke again, but if anypony was safe from that, it was Pirouette. She did good work and treated me well. Why fix what wasn’t broken?

Pirouette sat me on a stool at the bar and headed behind it, disappearing below to come back up with a bottle in her mouth and a mug in her forehooves. As she sat the mug down and began to pour, she spoke around the bottle. “Ah shee ya mae a frien’ up ‘ere! Wassh ‘er ‘ame, issh?” I propped my forehead on a hoof and leaned against the bar. This was exactly what I didn’t want to deal with tonight.

“I’m Bright Jade. Mr. Deal said he’s going to find me some kind of work here.” Jade hadn’t taken a seat. If I wasn’t getting around this, then I wasn’t getting around this. I patted the stool next to me, and she took it.

“Some kind? So no real experience?” Pirouette had set the empty bottle down and pushed the mug toward me as she spoke with my mare. “He must’ve seen something in you. He never hires anypony who can’t do the job.”

I wasn’t enjoying being spoken of as if I weren’t there. Pirouette was back to her usual manager self, which was a relief, but she was still hiding something. And, I noticed belatedly, she’d changed her manestyle—one eye was covered by bangs. “She’s a looker, and no place else in all of Manehatten, maybe all of Equestria, has a crystal pony performing, Pirouette. I figured she could wait tables or tend the bar while you see if she’s got what it takes for the stage. If not, well, a pretty waitress never hurt business.”

I saw Pirouette’s lips draw for just a moment. She was getting past the age of being looked at, and it bothered her. New girls tended to make her feel threatened, despite how much she obviously loved working with them. Mares. “I like what you’ve done with your mane, by the way. Nice and mysterious.” I downed my cider in a single long pull.

Pirouette’s visible eye widened and she looked away, suddenly nervous again. I’d hit on what she was hiding, or come close. “Thanks, Done… ah… oh, right! Your wither rub!” Hurriedly, Pirouette came around the bar and laid her hooves on my back, starting gently. This pony was up to something.

I let her work for a moment as Jade watched quietly. As much as I enjoyed the massage, I wanted my pillow. Unless Pirouette were willing to continue up there… I banished the thought. She was a friend; I wasn’t going to do that to her, but this little charade had gone on long enough. As Pirouette worked my withers, I spoke without turning. “Alright, Pirouette. Spill it. We’ve been friends almost as long as I’ve been your boss, but you don’t rub my back unless you want something. Right now, it looks like you want me down here instead of in bed. Spill it.”

Pirouette increased the pressure on my withers, coaxing a groan out of me as she hit an especially tense spot. “Whatd’ya mean, Done? I’ve given you the odd massage before!” I didn’t have to face her to know that she’d been looking at the floor as she said that. My fillies knew my tells, but I knew theirs, too.

“Yeah. Like the time a drunk ruined a big show while I was upstairs. Or the time a new waitress spilled beer in the mayor’s lap. Or when our star dancer quit. Ow!” Pirouette had suddenly pushed far too hard, and quit massaging altogether. “So that’s it; somepony’s quitting. Somepony allowed into my—Day Planner!”

I bounced from my stool and dashed for the stairs. Day Planner was the best secretary I’d ever had. I’d given her two raises in the last six months, and I made sure she never had to work late. How dare that ingrate walk out on me while I was on vacation? How dare she use Pirouette to try to cover for her! As my hooves thundered up the steps, they didn’t quite drown out Pirouette’s resigned, “Oh, ponyfeathers.”

I didn’t pause at the landing waiting area—my office door was wide open and I moved through without slowing down to find a harrowed looking unicorn arranging papers in the air. She’d been distracted enough not to hear me coming, but set the papers on my hardwood desk and turned to face me as I entered. I didn’t give her the chance to speak.

“You wanna explain to me why you’re quitting while I’m supposed to be on vacation, Day Planner? And why you talked Pirouette into trying to distract me?” I could feel the smoke roiling in me as I approached. Day Planner backed up a step, but didn’t look afraid. Instead, she just sighed.

“I’m sorry, Mr. Deal, but this just isn’t where I want to be. I should’ve waited for you to get back. I should’ve put in my notice. I just wanted to avoid this conversation.” Day planner brushed a strand of her black, bob-cut mane away from her eyes, and gestured toward my desk. “I was here late to get everything organized and easy to pick up for whoever you hire to replace me. It’s all very clear; I’m sure anypony can take over without causing you any trouble.”

The frown on my muzzle was deep enough I could feel it as I walked past Day Planner and sat at my desk. I forced myself to be calm. There were going to be repercussions, but I wanted to keep Day Planner, not have a shouting match. With a deep breath and hooves steepled in front of my face, I responded, the very picture of angry calm. “I see. I appreciate that you took the time to make sure I wouldn’t have any trouble, but replacing you at all is trouble, Day Planner. Another raise is out of the question; I’ve given you all I can justify right now. But I don’t think this is about the bits. So talk to me. What’s got you so eager to leave? I’m willing to make some adjustments; you’re a great secretary.”

Day Planner shook her head, the black of her mane and white of her face making a momentary gray blur. “That’s just it, Mr. Deal. I don’t want to be a secretary. I know I’m good at it. It’s definitely what I’m best at. But it’s not what I want to be.”

One of my steepled hooves dropped to my desk, and the other smashed into my face in frustration. So it was this again, then. “Day, we’ve been over this. You’ve got everything I need in a dancer except a sense of balance. If Pirouette tells me you’re just not improving, no matter how much she drills you, what am I supposed to do? Put my best girls on stage with somepony who can’t keep stay on her hooves? The song and dance numbers are our bread and butter. You know that.” We’d been over this at least once every few months as long as Day Planner had been with me. I had absolutely no problem with letting her try—mares who really want to dance in stage acts are few and far between—but she had no talent for it. It wasn’t an option.

“And I keep saying I respectfully disagree with her, Mr. Deal. It’s a moot point. The door to the career I want isn’t open here, so I’m leaving. Goodbye, Mr. Deal.” Day Planner turned to walk away.

I grit my teeth, narrowed my eyes, and felt the smoke swirling more chaotically in my heart. Fine. If that’s what it took to keep her, I was willing. The smoke formed on my coat, and I released it to sink to the ground and swirl toward Day’s retreating tail. Nopony walked out on me without permission! The tendrils of smoke coiled up each of Day Planner’s hind legs, dark against her pale coat, and from there up her flanks and back. The calendar cutie mark she bore was slashed through by a wispy, dark line. It had moved faster this time, and by the time the streaks of darkness reached Day Planner’s ears, she’d taken only a few steps. She took no more.

Rising from my seat behind my desk, I walked around to stand beside Day Planner in the middle of my office. Coils of smoke ringed her hind legs, torso and neck. If the smoke weren’t still flowing, worming its way from me up her body and into her ears and nose, she might almost have been mistaken for a zebra. She made no move as I stopped beside her; she merely stared forward and allowing the smoke to enter her body. The sight of my power, whatever form it took, seeping into the pretty white mare’s face began to stiffen me.

I didn’t want to give orders. I wanted to change a whole way of thinking. “What are you, Day Planner?”

Day answered, her clouded eyes unblinking. “A… pony.”

I shook my head, and physically turned hers to face me. “Try again.”

“A… mare?” Whatever was going on in her mind, enough was left for confusion. Good. This was supposed to be a learning experience, after all.

“No. What are you, Day Planner?”

Third time was the charm. As drowsily as before, Day Planner answered, “A secretary.”

“Good.” I walked around to Day Planner’s other side, the trails of smoke connecting us never coming apart. “Whose secretary, Day?”

“Yours…” Day remained expressionless, but I smiled. Progress.

“That’s right. You’re mine. And what does a secretary do, Day Planner?”

“Keeps… her boss… efficient.”

“Excellent. That’s right. You’re a secretary. You’re mine. You keep me efficient. What happens to that efficiency if I have to hunt for a replacement, Day?”

Day Planner seemed to be struggling with the more complex question. The smoke must’ve made reasoning difficult, but that was as much its power as its weakness. “It goes… down.”

I turned Day Planner’s head to face me again. “That’s right, Day Planner. You’re my secretary. Your purpose is to keep me efficient. But if you go, my efficiency goes down. If my efficiency goes down, and it’s your job to keep it up, what did you do, Day?”

“I… failed?” I smiled again. That was a better answer than I’d hoped for. I ran with it.

“That’s right, Day Planner. And somepony who fails is a failure. Would you rather be a failure, or a secretary?”

“…I… but…” I narrowed my eyes, and the smoke pouring off of me darkened. “A… a secretary.”

“That’s right, Day. You want to be a secretary. You want to be my secretary. But you failed. Do you want another chance?”

I could see hints of sadness in Day Planner’s eyes, clouded or not. “Please… I don’t want… to be a failure.”

By this point, my rod was fully extended. Holding Day Planner’s mind in my hooves was as much a turn on as anything in my life ever had been, and I could feel pre beginning to leak. “If I give you another chance, what will you do to keep me efficient, Day Planner?”

“Anything. Have to keep you… efficient.”

“If I’m horny, and it’s making it hard to work, what’s your responsibility?”

“I… you need to… come. I have… to help.”

I stepped behind Day Planner. “I’m horny, Day. You’re going to fix that, aren’t you?”

Day Planner nodded again. “Please… use me.”

I obliged, mounting Day Planner unceremoniously, and sliding my cock right into her slit. She was already wet, just as Jade and the mare on the train had been. That was a side effect I could live with. My shaft met no resistance at all, and I began to thrust with no prelude. Day moaned softly through her addled state.

“Ah, ah, ah, Day Planner. If you enjoy this, you can’t focus on getting me off, can you? That’s not efficient.”

Day actually blinked, and I pushed harder on the smoke again. I could actually see her nostrils flare now—her body wanted more; it was actually pulling the smoke into her as fast as it came.

“No. I shouldn’t… enjoy it. I… need to be efficient… make you come.” Day’s moaning ceased, and her vaginal muscles began to work my shaft harder. The smoke left Day Planner’s face slack and distant, but the slightest hints of concentration were visible in her expression nonetheless as she tried to work my cock.

To my amazement, she took initiative. “Please… sit. If you wear out… resting wastes time.”

Both eyebrows raised, I pulled my shaft out of Day, dripping her on the floor as I moved to my desk chair and turned it. Day Planner followed, lifting my dick with her magic as she gave another instruction. “Please… spread your legs.”

I did as Day Planner asked, and she magically guided my cock back into her soft folds, easing herself down into my lap. I gripped her flanks more for my own enjoyment than anything else, and she began to rock back and forth, taking me in deeply, then moving away again, all the while squeezing me inside with near-mechanical precision. She made no sound herself, but the sticky noises of her penetration filled the office as she moved with more and more intensity, and squeezed more and more tightly inside. I released her from the smoke, and it dissipated into thin air, but Day Planner continued stabbing herself with my dick, completely dispassionately.

As she rose one last time and squeezed my flare near her entrance, I moaned and squeezed her flanks, coming hard into her waiting tunnel. Free from my control and able to think more quickly, Day backed herself against me swiftly, sliding all the way to my balls. “Please come inside, Mr. Deal. A mess would waste time on cleanup.” It was all I could do not to laugh while I ejaculated. When the flow stopped, Day magically lifted her precision-cut tail, wrapping it tightly around what little of my dick wasn’t inside of her, and pulled it tight against her lips as she stepped away, wiping any drippings off of my rod and into her or her tail. Like that, I was nearly clean.

As I sat enjoying the afterglow and the power rush, Day Planner turned to face me. “If you’ll excuse me sir, I should clean up. May I spend the night at the office? If I use the dancer’s shower, I can be on time in the morning, despite the late hour.” Not a single thing in her expression or demeanor suggested the sex had meant a thing to her. It was part of her job, no more, no less.

I leaned back in the chair, putting my forehooves behind my head. “Sure. And I’ll let you keep that last raise. I don’t imagine you still want to quit, do you?”

“No, Mr. Deal. I don’t know what I was thinking. I’m your secretary.”

“Very good, Day. Go ahead and clean up. I’ll let you use a bed in my suites. If you’re stiff from sleeping on the office floor, you’ll be slower tomorrow.”

Day Planner nodded and turned to head downstairs, to the dancers’ dressing room. “A good point Mr. Deal. Thank you.”

In a much better mood, I followed her down to find Bright Jade alone—Pirouette had left for the night. “Come on up. The guest bed’s spoken for tonight, so you’re sleeping with me.”

Bright Jade voiced no complaint as she followed me to my rooms above the office, swaying her pretty green tail as if nothing were out of the ordinary, an appearance that never wavered as she climbed into bed with me, perfectly content.