Far Gaze held the quill lightly in his field as it scratched across the paper before him. He was busying himself during a lull in business. There were no customers in just now, and he didn't have anything else to do, so he was writing. His current project was a children's story, and while it didn't require that many words, he felt like each one had to be perfect, so he had thus far re-written the tale four times. It might never be "perfect", and he knew eventually he'd have to decide it was good enough, but for now he had nothing better to do.

When the door opened he tucked the paper away. It seemed a bit wrong to leave the text of a foal's tale out while dealing with one of Ember's customers; those things were both fine apart but didn't quite go together.

"Welcome to Ember's. How may I help you?" He regarded the pony before him curiously. The prospective customer was a unicorn, with a cream-colored coat and untidy brown mane and tail. His eyes were green, and were marked with bags and wrinkles that made it look like he hadn't slept in days. Perhaps those bags aged him a little, but he certainly wasn't a youngster. He was wearing a pair of earmuffs and a scarf, with a pair of saddlebags draped over his back.

It had been a fine summer's day, and now was a clear, warm evening, so the scarf and muffs were more than a little odd. Also odd was the newcomer's aura. It was very busy, full of small, darting lights, yet it was also very patterned, the colors and glows of it in neat ranks, the flitting lights corralled into order. Far had seen auras like it before, but never on anyone he knew well, so he wasn't sure what exactly it meant. Obviously, though, this was an unusual pony with an unusual mind.

"I am here to make an appointment," the newcomer said, in formal tones. He was standing stiffly, yet not still, his tail twitching, a hoof scuffing, his body rigid but in motion, very much an echo of his interesting aura.

"Ember is free at the moment, if you would like to simply go in directly."

"Ah, yes, I had rather hoped that would be the case, it is so much simpler that way."

"That'll be a hundred and fifty bits, then."

"Of course." The unicorn pulled them out of his quite full saddlebags without needing to hunt, obviously knowing exactly where every item within was kept. Far tried to not be too nosy. This fellow was very unlike the usual clientele. He would have to ask Ember about him later, though sometimes she wouldn't talk about particularly sensitive issues with him.

The bits having been deposited on his desk in a careful, tidy stack, Far said, "Through the door right there, then," and with a nod the unicorn went to the door and vanished through it.

An interesting one, observed Ember in his mind, but then her attention was elsewhere as she directed it towards the pony that had just come into her sight.

She had seen him through Far's eyes already, of course, but she took a moment to take in her own impression as he stepped inside her parlor.

The first thing she noticed was that he didn't meet her eyes. Like all ponies, he looked at her as he caught his first glimpse of her, in her changeling form, tall and dark and elegant, lounging such that she showed herself off to best effect. But though his eyes flicked over her, they avoided meeting her own. Shyness, perhaps?

He wasn't trying to hide behind his hair, and didn't hesitate on entering the room, though. He just walked in, simply, straightforwardly.

The next thing she noted was the taste of his emotions, as they began to tingle across her tongue. The faintly acrid taste of nervousness, not as bitter as true fear, but not a pleasant flavor all the same, was present, as it often was with first-time customers. Also present, the difficult-to describe taste of determination, a flavor that reminded Ember somewhat of a sharp cheese, and the spoiled bite—faint but very distinct—of shame.

"Welcome. I am Ember." She smiled at him, a warm smile that nevertheless showed her fangs. The nervousness grew no stronger, he didn't seem afraid of her or what she was. "Please, be seated, and tell me what I can do for you."

"Hello. My name is Flux Field." The unicorn settled himself on the opposite couch with a series of too-careful motions, obviously self-conscious. It was made more awkward by his quite full saddlebags. She wondered at the contents. Had he brought something specific to what he wanted from her? Or where they there for some other reason? "I have come here due to certain ways in which I am different from other ponies. I understand if you are not comfortable with those things. I'm quite willing to leave, no questions asked, and I will not hold it against you."

Ember blinked, her head tilting in a mild puzzlement. Ask him to leave simply because he was different? The taste of shame was hovering around him now, and she wondered what exactly he meant by that. Whatever it was, it seemed to bother him quite a lot. "You're very welcome to stay," she said, searching for the right words. "I'm quite different from a typical pony myself, after all, so I have no objection to ponies who are atypical. Though I'm not sure I understand what you mean by that. Would you feel comfortable explaining?"

"Oh. Uh. Yes, of course. Forgive me. I am neurodivergent. I, ah, don't think like other ponies."

Ember hesitated for a moment, wanting to ask for more details, but not sure it would be appropriate to pry. She couldn't resist asking, though. "In what way?"

"Well, uhm," Flux fidgeted, though he'd never really stopped moving at all, he seemed physically quite restless. "I, ah, I interact socially in different ways?" His ears went down, and he added, "I'm not terribly good at it, truth be told. I hadn't anticipated your asking, forgive me the awkward explanation."

"It's fine," said Ember immediately, moving instinctively to reassure. She smiled and repeated, "It's fine, really," realizing that it was fine. Ponies who were socially awkward in some way actually made up a fair percentage of her clientele, given that such ponies naturally had difficulty finding satisfying sexual relationships and thus sometimes resorted to people like her. She wasn't sure she'd ever had a client exactly like Flux before, but she had at least some idea of what he meant, and it really was fine.

A hint of tension left Flux, though he was no more still than he'd been before. But much of the flavor of nervousness from him vanished, and his stiff pose became marginally less so. "That's good."

"So why don't you tell me a little bit about yourself, and about what brings you here to me?"

Flux nodded. "I have always been the way I am now, so connections are difficult for me to form. Despite that, my first attempt at a romantic relationship seemed to go quite well. But eventually, as we spoke more, and I explained the way I am to her, things fell apart in a quite catastrophic manner. She said that she was not comfortable being with someone who was 'abnormal.'" Ember tasted another sudden spike of shame from Flux, and felt a stab of sympathy with it. She knew how hard it was to have strangers call her freakish and strange for being a changeling. To have someone she had cared for say such things would be crushing. "I feel," continued Flux, "that after that experience I am not yet ready to venture a second attempt. I find speaking with ponies at all to be quite draining and stressful. Even coming here, for what is a quite formalized situation where I feel on firmer ground since I am paying for a service, was still difficult. Even buying an apple at the store can be difficult. Speaking to ponies socially is so drastically draining for me, though. I don't know if you can understand."

"Not entirely. For me, of course, being around ponies is rather literally the opposite of draining, since I feed on the emotions of ponies." She smiled reassuringly at him. "I understand somewhat, though. My partner, Far Gaze, says socializing is hard work, and often tells me, after working at the front desk all night, that he's done talking for the day, even when he's only had to speak to a small hoof-full of customers. We have something of a bond, and I can tell how exhausting he finds it. He's as worn out, in his own way, as if he'd done hard, physical labor, but it's a tiredness of the mind, and in some ways that's much harder to cope with than tiredness of the body."

"Yes, just so!" Flux bobbed his head up and down in a repeated nod. "Just so. There is a constant strain and a stress to merely walking within sight of other ponies, knowing they are there, that I must seem as normal as I can in front of them, and needing to talk is even more tiring! Yet it's not merely tiring, it causes anxiety, nervousness, even fear."

"It's a performance," said Ember gently. "And you experience something like stage fright."

"Yes." Flux nodded again. "It is a performance. It's a pretense, a mask, that I have to put on. Most ponies simply interact. They speak, the mingle, they make small talk without even needing to think about what to say. But I have to consciously examine every word I come up with, even were it merely about the weather, lest I come across as too inequine, too strange. And more than that, I find understanding ponies difficult, so I must examine everything they say too, seeking nuance and subtext. It is a constant task, every second I'm around another pony. Not to mention that I must worry about suppressing the way I move and the way I want to hum to myself. I've been told that the humming is quite annoying to many ponies, but it's so difficult not to! I catch myself at it all the time, any time my mind wanders, so it requires such intense focus to refrain. And then there's trying to remember to use appropriate facial expressions so that other ponies will be able to read me, and all the while I need to converse the way anypony else would." Flux came to a halt, his voice having risen slightly as he'd poured out the litany of troubles. His tail was switching and his ears were back slightly beneath their muffs.

"That sounds like a lot to have to deal with," said Ember, feeling a deep sympathy. She remembered, suddenly, what it had been like when she'd first come to Canterlot as a lost underqueen, stranded during Chrysalis' invasion. She had been able to taste emotions, but having no experience with ponies, she hadn't known what the flavors she tasted meant, and she'd been completely unable to understand why they did most of the things they did. The world had seemed terrifying and confusing, and she'd felt as though the ponies around her would see through her act and call her out as "other" at any moment. What would it be like to live that way all the time? "I'm sorry you have such a struggle. Please don't feel that you need to worry about expressions, or not moving, or humming around me. I don't find the latter annoying at all, and I have the benefit of being able to taste emotions, so I don't need to see your expressions to understand."

"Thank you," said Flux, nodding. His tail swished again, though less in agitation and more just a steady motion, and he shifted slightly on the couch, his hooves tapping against each other as he did. Ember smiled, glad to see this sign that he seemed to be relaxing further. The initial taste of nervousness from him was now just the faintest hint, and she couldn't taste shame at the moment at all. That was good. What she could taste, now, was just the faintest possible hint of desire as he looked in her general direction, still not meeting her eyes, but letting his gaze occasionally flick over her. The faint flicker of warm spice was pleasant as always, and as always, Ember wanted more.

"I am sure it took some effort to come see me," she said, nudging him in the direction of perhaps telling her more about what he hoped to get from his visit with her.

"Some, some, yes. As I said, the simple, transactional nature of things here makes it a bit easier for me to come." He cleared his throat, his front hooves tapping against each other again, rhythmically, then resumed speaking. "I spend so much mental energy simply getting by, dealing with the required interactions with my co-workers at work and at our weekly restaurant visits, that dating is out of the question for me right now. But though there's an idea, a stereotype I suppose you might call it, that ponies like me are so disconnected from other people that we have no desire for sex, this isn't true at all."

The hint of lust became a strong, burning heat on her tongue, and with it came a flush across Flux's cheeks and the bitter-spice nutmeg taste of embarrassment. "I think about sex quite a lot. Perhaps too much. I want the connection and physical release as much as anypony else. So, well... Here I am."

"I'm delighted you've come," said Ember. "Sex is certainly something I think about all the time as well, and not merely because it's my job." She smiled. "There's no shame in wanting it. It's a very natural thing, regardless of how social you may be."

Flux simply nodded this time, his hooves still tapping gently together. They moved in a regular pattern, right hoof tapping against left twice, then left hoof tapping against right twice. Tap, tap, shift, tap, tap, shift, tap, tap... Ember could understand why a pony might find the sound irritating, but she wasn't going to complain.

"So, before we continue, is there anyone in particular you'd like me to become for you? My performance isn't always perfect, but I can look like anyone you want."

"Oh, no, that's not needed. I, ah, actually quite like the chitin."

"Wonderful." Ember's smile widened a bit. She didn't mind becoming other people, but it was always nice when she could remain in her own form. "Is there anything else in particular that you'd like me to do, or that I should be aware of before we begin?"

Flux shook his head. "Only that touch is difficult for me, and it will take a while for me to work myself up to actually, ah, doing anything. So if we could start very slowly. I could watch you perhaps, or use my field to help you with a toy?"

"That sounds like a delightful beginning." Ember rose to her hooves and smiled down at Flux. "So, shall we begin?"

He slid off the couch and bounced to his hooves eagerly, awkwardly, and Ember's smile only grew wider as she tasted the continuing flavor of lust coming from him. "Yes," he said, and he followed swiftly behind her, though not—like some stallions she'd been with—close enough to touch, and he made no moves to nip her flank or otherwise begin things early.

Inside her room, Ember went to the closet where she kept her toys. There were shelves full of boxes there, but she didn't have to rummage through them, she knew exactly where to find the one she wanted tonight. Her magic grasped it securely, and she smiled. It was smaller than many she owned, sized to a perfectly average stallion, but shaped a bit differently, with a pointed tip for easier insertion and some interesting ridges on one side, while pebbled bumps textured the other.

When she stepped outside of the closet, she found that Flux had shed his saddlebags, and the earmuffs and close-wrapped scarf. He stood in only his own hide, still fidgeting, but radiating at least as much anticipation as nervousness.

"My favorite," she said to Flux with a smile that split the difference between reassuring and alluring, and he took it from her, his magic brushing hers with a warmth that was both distant and intimate at once as he did.

She climbed into the familiar expanse of her bed, big enough for three or four ponies at once, and stretched herself out comfortably just to one side of the middle. She patted a spot beside her and said, "Come, sit by me."

Wordlessly, Flux did, his tail twitching as he stood beside the bed, and a renewed taste of nervousness in the air. His magic glowed brightly, clutching the dildo with perhaps more force than necessary. Ember said nothing, only continued to smile and stretched her whole body, arching her back sensually and spreading her hind legs further apart as she did. A renewed wave of lust washed over her senses and she sipped it, sampling the spicy heat of it.

It was good, and she half-closed her eyes, sighing in soft pleasure, and slid a hoof down her body. Flux watched as she caressed herself, her hoof ending up between her legs, stroking for a moment, Ember teasing herself gently. She looked at Flux, her eyes still lidded, and said, "I think I'm quite ready for my favorite toy, now."

Flux swallowed and nodded, his magic floating to toy to her. He hesitated a moment, and she slid her hoof up, her legs spreading just a tiny bit further. "Right here," she said.

He floating it closer, the tip prodding hesitantly at her. She nudged it with a hoof, helping guide it to the right spot, the right angle. "There, just like that. Push it in slowly."

Flux nodded again, still wordless, and began to sink the toy into Ember. She tipped her head back and let out a long, low moan as it gradually filled her. When it hilted she said, "Ah, yes. Hold it like that." Then she clenched down on it, feeling the way it filled her, and began to rock her hips slowly, while Flux kept the dildo pushed in deep.

Ember moaned again, letting her eyes close. "Yes..." She thrust herself up onto the toy, and her hoof returned to its spot over her clit, her body pushing against that as well, sending pleasure washing through her. She knew she was lucky in this, that she came easily. Not all people could, whether pony, gryphon, changeling or whatever race. But for her it had always been easy, and she felt the pleasure begin to build.

"Thrust now," she murmured breathlessly, and Flux did so, pulling the dildo back and pushing it in. Ember lifted her hips to it, and soon Flux found a rhythm, his magic moving the toy in time to Ember's own motions. "Can you... Ooo... Can you pull it back further? Long thrusts?" she asked, and Flux obliged. He managed to pull it all the way out for a moment though, interrupting the rhythm. Ember bit back a whine of disappointment and only held still as Flux lined the toy back up again. He returned to the steady stroking, each thrust long, but not so long as to come out again, and Ember moaned, "Yes. Oh yes..."

Her hoof returned to her clit, just above where the toy moved in and out in Flux's field. She threw her head back, clenching hard on the toy, concentrating entirely on building pleasure, and taking in another heady, spicy draught of the taste and energy of Flux's lust.

Ember's own lust was reaching its peak, and she closed her eyes and clenched down harder, moaning, and then, with a final cry of "Ah, yes!" she came, her body shuddering as pleasure raced through her.

The wonderful wave of it passed all too swiftly, and Ember sighed, then said, "stop now," to Flux, who immediately withdrew the toy. The taste of his lust was tinged with just a hint of sharp, nervous uncertainty.

"Was that okay?" Flux asked as he set the toy down on the nightstand.

"It was wonderful." Ember sighed again and gave Flux a smile. "Now why don't you come here in the bed, and we can continue to get to know each other?"

Flux smiled back, meeting her eyes for just a moment, then climbed into the big bed. Ember stretched, reveling in the warm afterglow of her climax. The lust she tasted from Flux was intense, he was obviously on fire with need, and his cock was out of its sheath, rampant beneath his barrel, yet as he settled himself in the bed there was still a hint of that nervousness, both on her tongue and in his expression. He looked over at her, and Ember reached out and touched his side, running a hoof down his side, then around to the base of his spine, pulling him in.

He flicked his tail again, but responded willingly, cuddling up to her. She sighed happily as the warmth of his body melded against hers.

Ember continued to stroke along his side with one hoof, and he responded, turning further towards her and running his own hoof over the smoothness of her chitin. She pressed a little closer, feeling his erection make contact with her belly, and snuggling into that contact. He made a tiny, breathless sound of pleasure and stroked his hoof over her flank. She continued to caress him, pressing close to him now, and shifter her legs to tangle them with his.

He snuggled just a bit closer in response, and his cock was now pressed along the length of Ember's belly. She ground against him and also tipped her head to him, nuzzling at his cheek. He nuzzled back, his breath coming faster, the taste of lust now fire on Ember's tongue, strong and hot and wonderful. She felt her own arousal building again, and knew she was wet. She wanted him, and wanted his pleasure. There was no rush, though, and so they lay there for a time, exploring each other, sharing the warmth of their bodies.

Hooves caressed slowly, Ember's running over Flux's flanks and stroking his cutie mark, his stroking down her spine and along the filmy texture of her tail. Ember rocked her hips, grinding sensually against the hot hardness of Flux's cock, and nuzzled at his cheek. He nuzzled back, pushing his body even more tightly against hers, his cock trapped between them, slicking Ember's belly with pre.

Flux eventually shifted slightly to press his lips to Ember's, and she kissed back heatedly, trying to keep from pushing to far, but wanting more all the same.

Apparently Flux wanted more too, for with a breathlessness that was now desire more than nervousness he said, "Can you... Can you give me oral?"

"Yes," said Ember instantly, eagerly, and she didn't hesitate a moment before sliding down the bed, swiftly resettling herself so that her muzzle was level with Flux's cock. He hardly had time to register her actions before her tongue drew up the length of it. He gasped softly at the contact, then drew in a long breath as Ember swirled her tongue around the head of his cock, lapping over the flat top of it, tasting the pre that beaded there.

Ember made a sound of her own, a soft, muffled sound of contentment and pleasure, and took Flux's cock into her mouth. The feel of a cock filling her mouth was good, as always. She loved giving oral, and she lost herself in the sensations as she worked back and forth of Flux's cock, taking it as deeply as she could, relishing even the way she nearly gagged as it pushed down her throat, taking pleasure in her skill, in knowing how good her throat around it must feel, and then sliding back, breathing in time with her motions.

Flux was obviously very worked up, for Ember hardly had to work at his cock for any time before she felt the way it began to flare in her mouth and tasted a higher, brighter spike of lust that meant he was about to come. That only excited her more, since it was the thing she liked best in all the world, to bring a pony—stallion or mare—to their peak. Bitter-salt semen spurted out onto her tongue and she drank it down eagerly.

"Ah! Oh Ember... Please, can you kiss me? Don't swallow!" Flux's exclamation was breathless and a little incoherent, but Ember managed to grasp the important part, and she stopped drinking the cum that flooded onto her tongue and held the last few shuddering, pumping spurts of it in her mouth. She waited a moment longer, making certain she'd gotten it all, then pulled back from Flux's cock and slid up to kiss him.

As his lips locked to hers she pushed the remnants of Flux's load into his mouth, and felt him shudder in her embrace as he took it and swallowed it. The taste of his lust was a heavy spice, hot to the point of pain, in the way that too much spice can be, but Ember still savored it, thrilled to have pleased him so well.

They both lay in the big bed, panting, for a long moment after that laden, intense kiss.

Ember nuzzled Flux's cheek with a happy sigh.

Flux echoed it, but she felt a tension in his body, and tasted a renewed flicker of heat on her tongue.

"That was lovely," she said, but then added, "Do you want more?"

"Uhm. Yes? If that's okay?"

"It's more than okay." Ember smiled as she said it, and Flux gave her a tentative smile in return.

“I’d like to, er, mount you this time. Do you think you could bend over the bed, please?”

“My favorite position,” said Ember, sliding out of the bed even as she spoke and arranging herself. Her hind hooves were still on the floor, but her chest and belly were on the bed, front hooves tucked up under her. Flux slid off the bed as well, circling around behind Ember. She arched her tail up once he was there, presenting herself, a classic pose in the racier sorts of pinups, and she heard him suck in a soft breath when she did, the taste of lust in the air spiking once again. She wasn’t drawing it in now, she’d had plenty of it already. She was eager for something else this time, for the seed that would temporarily quench the continuous fire of need that burned in her.

Flux didn’t hesitate at all, despite having come only minutes before he was already hard again. He reared up behind Ember, and his forelegs enclosed her barrel, holding her, while his cock nudged against her, his hips shifting as he positioned himself, looking for the right angle.

He found it, and began to sink into her, and Ember moaned with it, shifting to push back onto Flux’s cock. She expected him to rest there, to go slowly, to take his time on the second round, but he didn’t, he pulled his hips back immediately and thrust in again, and she let out a gasp at it. It felt amazing, the physical sensation and Flux’s eagerness both. Lust was a heavy spice in the air again.

Ember pushed back onto Flux’s strokes, tensed with eager anticipation as he bucked his hips, thrusting deep and hard. “Oh, yes,” she moaned, and clenched around him. She heard him give a grunt and the speed of his thrusting increased. The taste of lust was strong enough in the air that she knew he must be close, it burned on her tongue, and she clenched as hard as she could on his cock, wanting his pleasure and his seed both. “Yes, please.”

Then she felt it, sensed the pulse of pleasure, felt the slick heat within her, and she cried out as Flux came hard, filling her with what she so desperately needed. She tasted relief suddenly, cool mint, a sharp contrast to the hot flavor of need, and knew that Flux was feeling almost the same as she, the quenching of a desperate inner fire, and it was wonderful as the sensation washed through her and echoed from him.

He was panting hard, his muzzle resting on her shoulder, and she let out a long sigh of contented bliss, heard him echo that too.

Eventually he climbed off of her, and she rose from the bed and stretched luxuriously. Flux shook himself, then gave her a little smile and said, “Thank you.”

“Thank you. That was just lovely.”

Flux tilted his head curiously, and said, “Is that something you say to everyone?”

Ember chuckled. “It’s something I say to many of my customers, because it’s true. I do this job because I like it. But this one was particularly nice. So thank you.”

Flux stretched himself, and Ember noticed that some of the fidgeting tension was gone from him. That made her at least as pleased as the sex itself had. He donned his saddlebags, and earmuffs, and wound his scarf back around himself. She escorted him through the parlor and to the door to the waiting room. “I did genuinely quite enjoy myself. So do feel free to come back any time,” she said as he stepped through.

He gave her a small but glowing smile and replied, “Thank you. Perhaps I shall.”

Author's Note

This story was brought to you by a customer who wishes to remain anonymous. (And who was marvelous to work with, thank you, and thank you for the great ideas.)

It was also supported in part by my wonderful patrons on Patreon, who are really the only thing keeping me afloat some months. <3