Author's Note

This chapter was commissioned by BonusPoints.

Gray

Ember tried very hard not to yawn.

Yawning was probably not sexy, and she was supposed to be looking sexy. She also tried to not shift uncomfortably in her lacy pink lingerie. Supposedly, it set off her teal green mane and tail. She wasn't sure about that, but Madame Rosie had insisted. All her girls wore the skimpy, frilly outfits, in whatever colors the Madame thought suited them, and that was that.

The stallion currently looking over the room full of mares stared at Ember for a moment. She was not only the tallest one there, she was quite definitely the only changeling. Most of the stallions who came to the brothel gaped at her for a while. Most of them then went on to pick somepony else. Indeed, this particular stallion headed for one of Ember's co-workers, and soon had vanished into the back with her. Ember didn't resent being passed over at all, though. She got at least one customer most nights, and that was all she really needed.

The taste of her client's emotions was delicious, and the easing of her constant urge to mate was wonderful. She went whole weeks without really being bothered by it now. She was also starting to feel more confident about imitating famous ponies. She was sure her imitations were far from perfect, but her clients didn't really seem to mind. Mostly, she didn't need to talk much anyway.

The sex itself, she had to admit, was sometimes a little boring. Without the love bond she had with Far Gaze or the close friendship she'd developed with Fancy Pants and Fleur de Lis, sex sometimes seemed a little bit mechanical. She could taste the passion her customers felt, and it was good to quench her own need, but after three months working at Rosie's, sex itself just wasn't that enticing. It was a vaguely pleasant necessity, that was all.

Which probably explained why the clients with fetishes were starting to be the ones she enjoyed the most. Their odd variations on sex were so interesting! And those variations seemed to come in an endless variety. Some of them were more work to satisfy than others, and some she found she herself liked more than others, but they were all completely fascinating. Ember was delighted every time she encountered a new one.

Tonight, she'd already had one unfortunately boring stallion who'd simply wanted to have sex with Princess Celestia. She did Celestia a lot. She did Princess Luna a lot too, though not quite as often. She'd long ago resolved that if she ever met Princess Luna she would absolutely never mention that particular fact to her. Though maybe Luna already knew. If she was the Princess of Dreams, she probably saw a lot of erotic dreams. I bet she knows more about sex than any pony alive, thought Ember with an inward giggle. I've learned so much in less than a year. She's hundreds and hundreds of years old, and has been watching dreams all that time.

She was drawn from her amused thoughts by a hint of unpleasant flavor in the air. It wasn't strong, the pony in question couldn't be that close to her, but the taste was so distinct, so instantly recognizable that it drew her attention. It was the dark, almost herbal flavor of self-loathing. It was a bit like anise, but not really in a good way. It held hints of the acid taste of guilt and the bitter flavor of sadness, resulting in an unpleasant, rotten bouquet. Ember wrinkled her nose involuntarily, despite that expression being very un-sexy, and looked around for the source.

Immediately she saw a unicorn stallion who had to be responsible. Madame Rosie had just ushered him into the room, and the blank look on his face matched the bleakness of the emotion she tasted. He was of fairly average build, perhaps a bit on the pudgy side, with a gray coat that looked like it hadn't been brushed in weeks and a slightly untidy brown mane and tail. His cutie mark was a trio of stacked bricks, and his eyes were grass green.

Those eyes were fixed on Ember, but he didn't look surprised to see her. He said something, pointing a hoof at her, and though Ember couldn't quite make out what he'd said, she suspected he was telling Rosie he'd chosen her for his night's entertainment.

Indeed, a moment later Rosie was escorting him to Ember's side. "Ember will take good care of you," Rosie was saying as the stallion halted next to Ember. That unpleasant taste was stronger now, it was definitely coming from him. He didn't meet Ember's eyes, but just mumbled something under his breath.

"Let's go somewhere more private," said Ember with a smile, trying to sound reassuring. She wasn't sure exactly what to do. She'd tasted bits of shame and sorrow on clients before, but this was worse than usual.

"Okay," said the stallion. Ember rose to her feet, towering over him. Some clients didn't like that. This one barely seemed to notice. Ember frowned faintly, then tried to smooth her expression, remembering the things Rosie had told her about customer service and trying to always seem pleasant.

"Come with me." Ember led the way out of the room, down a door-lined hall, and into a baroquely decorated bedroom. This room was hers, so Ember had been able to set up some things the way she wanted, but as with the lingerie, Rosie had insisted on a certain style of decor. It was not at all to Ember's taste, but she put up with it.

Inside, with the door shut, Ember settled herself on the floor. "So, tell me what I can do for you, sir," she said, still keeping a pleasant smile on her face.

"They said... well, they said you can turn into any pony?"

"I have to know what they look like, so not any pony. But I can do most celebrities, or anypony you have a good photograph of."

"Well, I guess she'd kind of a celebrity. Could you do Twilight Sparkle?"

Ember smiled. "It happens that I've met her once, so yes, I could."

"That's what I'd like. I know it's stupid. I know I shouldn't be here, wanting this. She's the Element of Magic and Celestia's special student and has saved Equestria like three times, and I'm nobody. She'd never even talk to me, I'm sure. I just... really want to know what it'd be like. If she did. Sorry."

Ember tilted her head curiously. "What are you apologizing for?"

He looked away from her, and the flavor of self-loathing grew even stronger. "For being so pathetic I have to be here, wanting this from you. You probably don't want to have anything to do with me either."

"That's silly. There's nothing wrong with wanting to be with a pony who seems unattainable. That's what I do. I wouldn't have a job if lots of ponies didn't want that kind of thing. Nobody comes and asks a changeling to turn into somebody they're actually dating, you know."

The stallion blinked at her, as if he'd never thought of that. "Most stallions can at least talk to a mare, though. They probably just come here after they get shot down. I can't even get the balls to do that."

Ember shook her head, thinking of being Celestia again. "I really don't think so. I suspect most of them have never asked." Then, deciding that they should probably move forward, added, "So what do you want to do while you're here? Anything in particular? Many clients just want straightforward sex, which is quite fine, but if there's anything else you'd like, I'd be happy to oblige."

"Oh. Uhm. I'm not sure about sex." He actually blushed a little bit, which Ember found rather charming. "I thought we could maybe... talk? Or go out on a date? I don't know if you do that."

Ember shook her head. "I wouldn't go out in public as somepony else. It's possibly illegal, for one thing, and it has the potential to cause trouble. I only imitate ponies in private. But I'd be happy to just sit here and be Twilight and talk to you. In fact..." Ember gathered her power, picturing Twilight, remembering how she looked, how she sounded, everything she could recall from their one brief encounter. Green flames washed over her and a moment later the tall, dark changeling was gone and a short, lavender unicorn stood in her place. "There." She smiled brightly at the stallion. "Hi! I'm Twilight Sparkle. Nice to meet you."

The stallion blushed even more, ducking his head shyly. "I... uhm. You can call me Gray, I guess. Uh. Er. It's nice to meet you."

Ember climbed up into the bed and sprawled in a slightly graceless way on the silk coverlet. She wasn't entirely sure, but she'd gotten the impression that Twilight was a little physically awkward at times, and she was trying to work on imitating those sorts of things more accurately. "Come sit next to me," she said, patting a spot on the bed, "and tell me about yourself."

"Er. Okay." Gray was even more awkward than Ember had been as he climbed into the bed, and he sat perched on the edge of it, leaning a little bit away from Ember.

"Hey, I don't bite," said Ember, and scooted closer to Gray.

He gave a sort of nervous chuckle, and didn't move away, at least. He was still sitting very stiffly, though, obviously tensed up.

Ember patted his shoulder. "Relax a little. Tell me something about you. How did you get your cutie mark?"

"Oh, er, that's not really very interesting."

"Come on, everypony's cutie mark story is interesting to them, or it wouldn't be their cutie mark."

"I guess. I was just playing with blocks as a foal. It's not like I can do anything special."

"Hey now, don't put yourself down like that." Ember smiled warmly and turned her patting into a rubbing motion, trying to get him to relax.

"It's true though."

"I don't believe it for a minute. I'm sure you have a talent. Do you have a job?"

Gray shrugged uncomfortably. "I build things. Any pony could do my job. I'm just a nobody."

"That's just silly. Everypony is somepony or they wouldn't be a pony at all. You're somepony; you're the nice, interesting pony who's here with me." Ember leaned in and nuzzled Gray's cheek. He froze, going completely rigid. "The nice, really tense pony," said Ember with a tiny frown when Gray didn't respond at all. "I think you need a massage."

Gray blinked at her. "A massage?"

"Yes," said Ember firmly, nodding. "I've been learning how to give them, so the practice will help me out, too. I mean, you don't absolutely have to get one. But I'd like to give you one."

"Uhm. Okay, I guess."

"See? I told you that you were a nice pony. Thank you! Now lie down on your stomach on the bed." Gray stretched himself out somewhat hesitantly, repeatedly glancing back at Ember. She smiled reassuringly and settled herself straddling his legs. She leaned forward, letting her belly press against his rump as her hooves began seeking spots of tension along his neck and withers. She was discovering that she liked giving massages. They were a way to build a comfortable intimacy. She could taste her client's feelings, but that ran entirely one way, they had no such connection to her. The physical closeness of the massage created a connection, while remaining safely non-sexual until both parties were ready for it to become more intimate. Massage was a good way to deal with the nervous, and a good way to get herself wound up a bit on those nights like tonight when she'd already had one client and so wasn't desperate for release.

Feeling Gray's warm hide against her own false pony skin, Ember felt the first tingles of desire. As Gray began to relax a little bit she tasted a hint of spice from him as well. He wasn't turned on, not quite yet, but some brief thought of lust was almost certainly passing through his mind as she worked.

The foul flavor of his self-loathing was fading a bit, as well. It had eased slightly as they had spoken, and a little more as she began the massage. She wondered if she could do away with it entirely. Perhaps not, but it was worth trying. She didn't like the idea of a pony feeling so awful about himself, it didn't seem right. She shifted her massage down Gray's back, working her way to his rump, where she rubbed gently over his cutie marks. The taste of lust reappeared at that, making Ember smile. She worked over his rump for a while, thinking. She wished she could come up with some perfect plan, but nothing wonderful came to mind. Still, the taste of lust on her tongue and her own slowly waking desire sent her thoughts down one particular path. Perhaps if she merely showed Gray that he was desirable it might ease some of what he felt.

With her decision made, Ember slid her hooves up Gray's back to his withers. Then she bent over him, laying her body over his, and nuzzling at the back of his neck. "Feeling more relaxed?"

"Uhm." He was blushing again, and she tried not to giggle at it. "Yes?"

"Good." She ran her muzzle up a bit and nibbled at his ear, "I know you said you weren't sure about sex, but I hope you don't mind if I get a little bit... physical." She nipped his ear lightly, and smiled when she felt him shiver in reaction.

"I. Er. I don't mind. But you don't have to. I don't want to make you. I know it's just your job."

Ember chuckled. "You said you'd pay just to talk to me. I believe you. But I want more than just talk."

"With me? But... but... I'm not... I mean, I'm not handsome. I'm just a fat loser who can't even talk to a mare."

"You're here, talking to me," said Ember, and she nipped his ear again. He flicked it, and she could taste a half dozen conflicting flavors floating in the air around him as desire warred with uncertainty, and belief that she meant what she said fought against the self-loathing that told him she couldn't really believe it. She decided to lend desire a further hoof and lifted her head to nuzzle at the base of his horn.

He tipped his head back just a bit, instinctively, and Ember ran her muzzle up the length of it. It was awkward, though, she had to stretch out to reach it. Still, he seemed to quite like her attention there, so she decided to continue. She climbed off of him, and he looked at her with something like disappointment in his face. "Let's get comfortable, shall we?" she said, and re-settled herself next to him on the bed, laying with her legs tucked up neatly under her, her body against Gray's side, where with him still on his stomach, her head was at just the right height for her to reach his horn.

"You don't have to..." he started again as she settled into place.

"But I want to," she replied and then ran her tongue up his horn. This had the desired effect of both cutting off his protest as he let out a little, involuntary moan, and sending a spike of desire through him that she could taste, driving out most of the warring emotions she'd sensed.

She made a soft, humming sound of satisfaction and drew her tongue up Gray's horn once again, slowly this time, tracing along one of the spirals. He tilted his head slightly, turning his horn towards her a bit. She swirled her tongue around the tip, feeling the smooth hardness of it, enjoying the faint not-quite-taste of his magical field that tingled on her tongue. The hardness of it made her think of other things, and she felt the heat of her desire starting to build further. "Stars, I want you, Gray," she murmured, her muzzle pressed against his horn. She felt him shiver, and she couldn't name the taste of the emotion that caused it, though the spice of lust was blended with it.

Her eyes half-lidded with desire, Ember took the tip of Gray's horn into her mouth. He groaned softly as she sank down, taking as much of his horn as she could. She worked her tongue along it, feeling its grooves and ridges. She knew she was getting wet as she started working back and forth on Gray's horn, tasting the fizzing tingle of his magic as she did. That taste blended with the growing taste of his desire, which in turn seemed to be merging with the heat of her own lust.

The pace of her motion along his horn increased and Ember closed her eyes to better focus on what she was doing. The dual tastes of lust and magic were growing stronger, and she knew that Gray might spark soon. A little part of her remembered the last time a stallion had done that in her mouth, and she thought maybe she should stop, the sensation could be a little painful, especially if the stallion's magic was strong.

But she didn't really want to stop. She wanted the reward of Gray's pleasure, the blissful release of magic that meant she'd done everything just right. Perhaps she could time it perfectly, and pull back as he sparked. But she was likely to get it wrong, she wasn't all that experienced with this particular act yet.

With a kind of mental shrug she threw caution to the wind and committed to seeing this to the end. She hadn't lied when she said she wanted Gray. She wanted this; wanted his pleasure, wanted the taste of his lust, and the hardness of his horn in her mouth. She wanted even more than that, if he was willing. So she continued with fervent intensity, her tongue caressing, her lips sliding up and down, seeking the increased tingling that meant she was doing it right.

Suddenly Gray himself pulled away from her with a low cry, and a fountain of sparks shot from his horn, showering over her in little flecks of silvery light that crackled like static, almost painful but not quite. She sighed happily as she saw his blissful expression, and tasted his pleasure, feeling almost as if she should purr in contentment.

"Wow," said Gray after a long moment of silence.

"Mmm hmm. That was very nice," said Ember, just a little smugly.

There was another long pause, in which Ember tasted a mix of things. She caught a hint of that unpleasant flavor again, and Gray said, "I guess I should go."

"Nope," said Ember.

Gray blinked at her. "Huh?"

Ember leaned forward, aiming somewhat lower than the horn this time, and kissed Gray right on the lips. When she drew back she paused a moment, hunting for the right words, and finally said, "I said I wanted you. You can go if you really want to, but what I want is for you to stay. I want more than just your horn. I want you. All of you. I want you to take me, ravish me, have your way with me, however you want to put it. I want you, Gray."

"I..." Gray swallowed, hard, and a wave of sudden lust rolled off of him.

Ember kissed him again, and this time he kissed back. When she pushed her tongue into his mouth he answered, twisting his tongue with hers passionately. She moaned softly into the kiss, her need rising. She'd waited long enough, she didn't want to wait any longer. She turned as she lay beside Gray and wrapped her hooves around him, then pulled him to roll atop her. He let out a little startled squeak, but when she pulled him down for a kiss, he pressed his body tight to hers willingly.

The curve of his stomach pushed against her belly, and she felt his erection pinned between them, a hot hardness that only fanned the flames of her desire higher. Her hooves roamed his body, feeling and touching and pulling him hard against her, her lips locked to his.

He broke off the kiss, panting, and shifted, trying to line his cock up. Ember immediately moved to help, guiding him with her hoof so that the head of his member pushed against her entrance. She spread her legs, shifting her own hips, seeking just the right angle, and then—oh so wonderfully—he pushed in at last, sinking into her wet heat easily.

She moaned, and she heard him groan faintly as well. He started to move in an instinctive rhythm. She locked her legs around his hips, holding him tight to her, encouraging each stroke to go deeply within her. "Oh, Gray," she said, wrapping her forelegs around him as well. The taste in the air was now pure lust, with nothing else to taint it. He thrust into her faster, his muzzle buried against her shoulder. She tipped her head back, moaning, her hooves digging into his shoulders as she grabbed him hard. Everything was intense and wonderful, as good as she'd hoped it could be.

Gray was panting hard, and there was something in the taste of his passion, in the way he was moving, that told Ember he was close. "Oh Twilight," he groaned.

For an instant that shocked her out of her passion, disorienting her. She was not Twilight. But of course at the moment she was. Someday she hoped she would get used to being called by other names. For now it was strange and jarring, but it didn't remotely ruin things, for only seconds later it was forgotten as she slipped back into her state of primal need. She wanted to bring Gray to his peak, to have his seed within her. That was the only thing that mattered.

It wasn't long before she got what she desired. With one last low cry Gray came, his hips tight to her, his cock pressing deeply as his seed filled her. A shiver went through Ember and she let out a soft cry of bliss at the sensation. It was absolutely wonderful.

After a long moment Gray slowly relaxed atop her. Ember sighed happily and stroked a hoof down his back. "That was very nice," she said, her voice drowsy and content.

"Mm," said Gray, a little incoherently. Ember shifted, rolling him off of her, and he cooperated, sliding to lie on his side on the bed.

"I think we need to clean up," said Ember with a smile. Her horn glowed. She knew the green would ruin the illusion a bit, but Gray didn't seem to mind as her warm magic cleaned his seed from his cock, and from herself as well.

When she was done Gray hesitantly said, "It really was good for you?"

"It was absolutely perfect," she replied, smiling warmly.

"Really?"

"Really. You can come back any time and I definitely won't mind." She tasted a mix of emotional flavors from the stallion, but she caught a hint of a deep pleasure, that went beyond mere physical satisfaction. It was sweet, the way love was sweet, and she drank it in.

"Maybe. I don't know. Being with you... with Twilight... it wasn't quite like my fantasy." He frowned faintly, trying to puzzle through some no doubt complicated thoughts.

"Reality never is. And this isn't all that real, as far as Twilight herself goes." Ember let her magic burn over her skin, returning herself to her natural form. "But it was pretty real as far I am concerned, and I did really enjoy myself."

"Well... I'm glad then." Gray gave her a soft, almost shy smile.

"I am too," said Ember. She rose from the bed and stepped towards the door. "Unfortunately even good things must eventually end, and I think your time is nearly up."

"Oh. Uhm. Thank you."

"Thank you," said Ember, still smiling warmly.

After Gray had gone, Ember thought about the experience she'd just had. The sex itself had been good, and it wasn't always good, some stallions really were bad in bed. Mostly the ones that had a "technique" that they swore by, in her still admittedly limited experience. Putting that aside, though, what she'd really enjoyed had been the way Gray had left feeling so much better than when he'd arrived.

Oh, certainly most of her customers felt better, but in a very superficial way, simply because they'd had sex and enjoyed it. Gray had come in feeling genuinely bad about himself, and had left feeling at least a little bit more confident.

She had helped him.

She hadn't just satisfied herself, or satisfied him, she'd actually helped him.

It felt good.

She'd tasted love. She tasted it every day, from Far Gaze. But the brief taste of whatever bit of positive feeling he'd felt had been somehow better than love to her, even though it wasn't as powerful or as good a flavor. A pony that had come in tasting of self-hate had gone out tasting of something that if she were to put a name to it might be called self-love. Not overwhelmingly so, she knew she hadn't fundamentally "fixed" him. But she'd helped, even if it was just a little bit.

The moment, some months past, when she had decided to choose a courtesan's cutie mark, had felt like an ending, like she'd finally figured out who she was and what she would do with her life. She changed to her pony form and looked back at that mark now, at the triskelion that she'd settled on as best symbolizing what she liked about the way she'd found to fit into the pony world. Perhaps picking that mark hadn't been an ending. Perhaps it had been just one step.

Now she'd taken another, and she had a sudden vision of a path stretching out ahead of her, with many more ponies to help as she traveled along her way.

She checked out of Rosie's at the front desk and began to make her way home, still mulling over that thought. When she arrived, with the gray of early morning beginning to brighten towards the dawn, she found Far Gaze only just arriving himself. They both stepped inside and kissed briefly, physically reaffirming their love.

Then Ember said, "I think it's time for me to start planning for the future. I have an idea about what I want to do with my life."

"I take it you had an interesting night?" said Far.

Ember chuckled. "Definitely."

"Well then, tell me all about it, and let's make some plans."