The knock came, once again, in the middle of Dust's study period. In truth, he hadn't really been paying much attention to the book in front of him. Despite the looming proximity of midterm exams, the pegasus just couldn't focus. He knew how much he needed a few "A's" to boost his grades this semester; nevertheless, he kept finding his attention and eyes roaming away, generally towards the door. Would tonight be the night he got another customer? Would they come early or late? Should he take the chance on going to bed earlier to be rested for his classes, or would he miss out on the funds that would make those classes worthwhile?

So, when the knock came, Dust was almost anticipating it. It was only about half-past ten or so, which seemed pretty early by Dust's reckoning, so perhaps it was just a dormmate looking for homework help or something.

The knock wasn't hesitant in any way whatsoever, so maybe it wasn't a pony here for illicit purposes. His customers thus far tended towards awkward, shy, and definitely not the type to let anypony else hear their knocking.

Put together, it almost threw Dust for a loop, but he recovered quickly enough, wiped clean and laid down the quill he was using, and trotted over to the portal.

Outside was a unicorn mare.

"Oh," Dust said, glancing around the hall to see if anypony else was there, maybe having just left after knocking themselves. "Well, I guess you're not here for—"

She smirked and held up the rather battered and dog-eared card.

"—okay you are here for that, then. Huh." Dust stepped back. "Please, come on in."

"Thanks," the mare said, trotting confidently into the room.

Dust was in a daze. What in Equestria is a mare doing in—wait, wasn't that the whole IDEA originally? She glanced around at the room and nodded in a quietly satisfied sort of way. Dust tried to figure her out, but found himself stymied. The ashen-grey mare was about the same size as he was, but her flame-red mane was cut short, wild and spiky, and fringed with a vibrant orange at the tips. Her flanks (which weren't bad looking at all, Dust noticed) bore a distinctive mark, a cherry with a starburst behind it.

He offered her a chair, which she declined. "Okay," Dust began, ritually, "so, what should I call you?"

She laughed, drawing a perplexed sputter from the pegasus. "Is that really how you do things?" she asked. "All clandestine and fake names and shit like that?"

Dust tried to keep up with the conversation that he was sure he wasn't in charge of anymore. "Well, generally, yeah. My clients seem to like the option of anonymity."

"Well, I couldn't care less," she said, tossing her mane and shrugging her saddlebag off in a way that made her rump shimmy. Dust swallowed and took a deep breath. "My name's Cherry Bomb," she said, turning back and putting her hoof out.

Dust bumped his lightly against it. "Nice. I guess you can call me Copper."

"Even though that so obviously isn't your name, right?"

"How would you know that? It could be!"

She chuckled. "Everypony who comes here knows where your room is. You know that anypony could slip a few bits to the registrar secretary and find out your name, right?"

"Perhaps."

"Heck, I could go next door and ask your neighbor your name."

"Probably, yeah," he retorted, grinning, "but how many ponies are gonna go to that kind of trouble?"

Cherry Bomb nodded sagely. "Hiding by implied hiding. I like it. It's subtle."

"Mostly just assuming that everypony else is too lazy to care, but thanks." Dust took the opportunity to sit down. "So, I assume you know why you're here, then?"

She nodded emphatically. "Of course."

"I, uh, I have a price list."

"Pfffft," she snorted in laughter, "are you serious?"

Dust's ears fell slightly. "Well, I just sorta made it a few days ago..."

"And you just wanted to show somepony your great work, right? What, no refrigerator to post it on?"

He turned to protest, but saw the huge grin on her face and the glint in her eye and knew she was playing with him. "Well, my mother is a long way away..."

She laughed. "Okay, let's see what you've got for sale."

Dust turned to his bedside dresser, opened the top drawer, and pulled out a small slate. On it was written out a list of services. He passed the slate over to his guest.

Rm 219 - Services

Base Rate (per hour) - 20b
Hoof - 5b
Mouth - 15b
Sex - 35b
Cum on - 5b
Kinks - negotiable
Coltfriend Special (all-inclusive) - 200b

Cherry Bomb laughed out loud. "Ha! This is awesome. Five bits extra to get cum on? Seriously?"

Dust blushed. "I, uh—that's mostly to cover the costs of the laundry for my, uh, for my sheets afterwards."

"Wow, you've really thought this through then, haven't you?" she asked, setting the slate down on the dresser.

"Yeah..."

She stared at him intently. "So, you've done this before, right? I'm gonna get my bits worth, aren't I?"

Dust looked up quickly. "Oh, yeah, totally. I mean, not exactly, but yeah, I've done, uh... it before."

Her eyes narrowed. "Huh?"

"Well, see," Dust hedged, biting his lip, "the thing is..."

"...yes?" she asked, tapping her hoof.

Dust screwed his eyes shut, his ears falling flat against his head. "I'veneverhadamarecomeherebefore."

To his surprise, instead of hearing an irritated huff and hooves leaving, Cherry Bomb laughed. Loudly. He opened his eyes in surprise to find her front half flat against the ground, laughing and pounding a hoof on the carpet.

"You mean—" she gasped, fighting her laughter for air, "You mean to—tell me that—all your customers have been stallions?"

"Uh... yeah."

"Oh, Harmony, that's hilarious!"

"I, um—it is?"

"And you didn't put anything about that on the card, but you obviously—phew—you obviously didn't intend that, right?"

Dust blushed again. "Pretty much, yeah. It's just who showed up."

"Oh, Harmony, I can just see your face when the first one showed up, it's just too much." The mare began to regain control of herself, giggling and sniffing as she wiped tears of laughter out of her eyes. "So you—snrrk—I'm sorry, I really am. So this will be a bit of a treat for you then, huh?"

"Um..." Dust began, unsure of just what was happening to him at the moment. "Yes?"

"Well, good. That way we can both enjoy this. The Sisters know I need it..."

"Rough semester?"

She sighed, rolling her neck around. "You could say so. I've pulled too many all-nighters so far, midterms are coming up, my entire dorm is full of agitated, nervous, and frazzled mares—and I'm in desperate need of a good, hard, stallion. I guess I should just be glad I'm not in heat, too. That would pretty much round it out."

"That," Dust said, "is a pretty tempting offer. Why me?"

Cherry Bomb snorted. "Look, I'm not interested in a relationship or anything. Stallions always want to get attached. I don't know if it's me or if they're just afraid I won't be around when they need a turn, but whatever." She stared straight at Dust. "I'll make this really simple for you. You eat me out until I cum, and then you fuck me until I can't walk straight. I pay, everypony's happy. Good enough?"

Dust coughed into his hoof, taken back by the mare's extremely forward attitude. "I—wow, yeah, that's obviously fine with me."

She trotted past him and poked the bed with a hoof, evaluating it. "Oh, by the way," she added, "how's this place for sound?"

"I, um, what?"

She grinned in a distinctly naughty way. "I'm a bit of a screamer."

"Oh. Ohhh..." Dust tried to keep his eyes from widening, and tried extra hard to keep his erection from growing before he'd even started. "Um, not great, actually."

"It's cool," she said, her horn beginning to glow and brighten. "I know a soundproofing spell. We should be fine."

Cherry Bomb's horn grew in brightness, the reddish hue rippling along the length of it. Around, over, and underneath him, Dust noticed the walls, ceiling, and floor begin to take on a light red glow of their own. Cherry grunted lightly in effort, and the glow seemed to sink into the walls. Her horn dimmed.

"There. No problems now." She hopped up onto the bed, flopped down, and rolled onto her back, letting her hooves dangle over the edge of the bed. Dust had an uninhibited view of her body, and he could feel himself getting very aroused already. Something about the utterly take-charge nature of his customer had him raring to go. Also, she's a mare, Dust thought. That part's pretty nice, too.

"Well?" she asked, her head obscured as she lay back on the bed. "Get to work!"

"Yes, ma'am!" he responded, stepping up and taking a set between her hind legs.

Placing his hooves on her thighs, Dust took the opportunity to enjoy his first truly intimate look at a mare. Of course everypony generally didn't wear concealing clothing unless it was cold, but all the same, there was something different about a mare offering herself to him. Dust rubbed her legs as sensually as he knew how, leaning in to take a deep, surreptitious sniff. The scent of a mare was so wildly different from that of a stallion. It was, if anything, even more enticing. Dust idly wondered if her cum would taste better, too. It could hardly taste worse, he thought sardonically.

He brushed his muzzle against her lower lips, causing her to squirm. "Hey, come on, no fair teasing!"

"I know you're paying, but I handle this part," he retorted, sounding more in charge of himself than he felt. In deference to his customer, though, he stuck out his tongue and swiped it slowly across her sex from bottom to top. Cherry gave up her first moan. Dust took note of it, pleased. It was just better than a male's throaty sounds. It was husky and breathy and, well, feminine.

Dust decided the taste of Cherry's body was far and away better than a stallion. He went to work in earnest, lapping his broad tongue across the outside of her lips, tracing down the joint of her hips with his muzzle, and nipping his teeth lightly at the soft, velvet-like fur surrounding her nether regions.

On the bed in front of him, Cherry was practically purring. She must really need this, Dust mused. A gentlepony would oblige her, of course.

He pressed his tongue more firmly, parting her sex. The tip of his tongue traced up along her cleft, drawing a long, low moan from above. She wasn't terribly wet, but she was rapidly growing moreso as he licked. Cherry shifted, hooking her legs over his shoulders.

Dust pressed on, deeper. He paid careful attention to the way her body twitched and shook as he touched her insides in different ways. Removing his tongue, he ran it firmly from her navel all the way down to her tail until it ran across her anal opening.

Cherry gasped and pulled his head tighter with her hooves. "Ah! Ah, no, no, Copper. Oh, Harmony, you naughty pony. Not this time." She panted, growing breathless. "Maybe on a return trip."

Dust chuckled, his hooves growing a bit wobbly. Shouldn't I be used to this by now? he wondered. I swear, I feel just as fluttery as I did my first time. Maybe even more...

"Something to look forward to, then," he said, keeping his voice quiet to prevent it breaking. Dust set back to his task, licking tenderly and firmly at her now-dripping mound. Cherry writhed, her moaning practically constant as he ate her out harder. He dug as deeply into her body as he could, enjoying the way her insides clenched against his tongue.

Dust's tongue ran up, allowing him some breathing space, and he felt it run over a small but firm nub of flesh that he hadn't noticed before. Cherry's gasp turned into a loud, husky moan.

Hmmm... I bet that's her— He licked it again. Hard.

Cherry actually screamed, practically bucking her mound against his chin.

Yup. Found it. Grinning almost predatorily, Dust pressed his muzzle back against the wet fur and lapped at the mare's most sensitive part unrelentingly.

"Yes! Oh, Harmony, Copper, yes! Ooohhhhhhh... Ah, eat me, you little—AHHHH!"

The unicorn's lithe body shook and spasmed as Dust kept his teeth clamped gently on her clitoris, tugging it. Thank the Sisters for that soundproofing spell! Why couldn't I have been born a unicorn...

Releasing the swollen button, Dust went back to lapping intently at her sex, always hitting her clitoris as he went. Cherry's legs were wrapped tightly around his neck, and her body curled up as her moans and screams cut off. She grabbed Dust's ears like handles and pulled his muzzle hard into her mound. Dust licked for all he was worth, hoping she would climax before he ran out of air.

Thankfully, he didn't have long to wait. Cherry's body curled up almost all the way to a sitting position as she shook, biting her lip. Surprisingly, her climax was almost perfectly quiet, especially after the way she had screamed during the act itself. Cherry slumped back, gasping for air as she released Dust with all four hooves and went limp.

Dust reached around the end of his bed and pulled out the new towel he had purchased for just a time like this. He wiped his muzzle down and tried to massage feeling back into his ears. I think they might actually be longer now. Celestia's mane, but that mare's got a good grip.

"Oh, wow, oh—wor—worth every bit..." Cherry panted, fighting to roll her body over. "Dammit, Copper, get up here and fuck me, now."

Dust raised his forehooves to the bed rail. "Should I be using protection or anything?"

Cherry raised her rump, practically whipping him in the muzzle with her tail as she flagged it aggressively back and forth. "No, I'm good. Just do me. Harmony, I need it bad!"

Immediately, Dust leapt onto the bed and moved to mount the mare. Sun, moon and stars, I'm actually going to do this! I finally get to bed a mare! Ha!

For the first time in his life, Dust got to feel the sensation of his cock entering something. He moaned, sinking easily into Cherry. She was so wet after her orgasm that it was almost frictionless, and Dust hilted himself inside her body in one smooth thrust. Cherry moaned along with him and pushed her rump back, forcing him as deep as he could get. Dust said a silent prayer of thanks that she was as wet as she was. If he had been able to feel anything more than he could, Dust probably wouldn't have lasted more than a few seconds.

Cherry wasn't any help to his stamina, though, as her needy moans and shaking body were almost enough to get him off without any other help. If Dust had learned anything about mares correctly, then she probably hadn't even properly come down from her first climax yet, so she must have been unbelievably sensitive down there.

Dust drew back as quickly as he dared and slammed his hips against hers. Under his body, Cherry bit hard into his sheets and screamed, muffled by the mattress. Dust took that as a sign that he was on the right track.

Instinct took over, and the pegasus started to rut the mare hard, slapping his hips against her body as hard and as fast as he could. His wings were so stiff they almost hurt, even though he didn't have room to really spread them. He pounded his length into Cherry's body, and she bucked back against him in a way that surely must have left bruises, but she never let up for a second. He felt her shake again, in the same way as she did during her first climax. Her forehooves were practically flailing, searching for something to grab on to. The unicorn was almost incoherent, alternating between moans and muffled cries of "fuck, fuck, fuck, yes, fuck!"

Amazed that he had lasted as long as he had, and all but certain that Cherry had had at least one orgasm already, he leaned over her body, tight to her back. "Cherry, I'm close," he whispered through clenched teeth.

"Yes, Copper, oh yes. Do it! Cum in me!"

Her remark was the final straw for the pegasus. He wrapped his wings around her body and hunched himself as deep into her as he could get. He felt his rear hoof lift, trying to get just that extra fraction of an inch more as he came.

Dust knew what his mare was feeling, having been on the receiving end multiple times already, but being in the top position was a new experience for him. His orgasm was intense and unrestrained. With a stallion, Dust hadn't yet felt that his own climaxes had been really satisfying, perhaps because he was still a bit embarrassed about being the one who was stuffed. There were no such compunctions this time, though. Dust could feel his seed sloshing around his buried shaft as he shot load after load, filling his mare as he nibbled at her ear.

Cherry's body shook, racked with pleasure as her inner walls grasped at Dust's stallionhood, milking it for all it was worth. Dust could feel the warm mixture of his own semen and her flowing marecum running out around his shaft and down her body. Together, the two ponies slumped, falling to the bed, both panting and gasping. Dust carefully rolled to the side, pulling himself out, and went limp on his back.

He glanced over at Cherry, a bit surprised to see that her mane was really none the worse for wear. I guess a short mane has its benefits. She looked up at him, her expression slightly glazed with the aftereffects of sex. She noticed him watching her.

"Oh, you're not going to get weird now, are you?"

He laughed wearily. "Hardly. I was just thinking that I might have to get my mane cut shorter, because yours looks pretty damn good after all that."

She grinned. "Good."

Dust climbed out of the bed and grabbed the towel, wiping down his underside. "Roll over," he told Cherry, who looked confused, but complied. Dust leaned in and began to lick the unicorn's mound clean, collecting any evidence of the tryst.

"Oooh," the mare sighed happily, "now this is service."

Dust chuckled and wiped her nethers clean with the towel. "Well, I can't do much about the smell, but at least now ponies won't instantly know who the smell is coming from."

"And if I don't care?" she retorted.

"Well then, we'll just call it professionalism."

"Okay, okay, have it your—oof," she said, climbing up from the bed and realizing how shaky her legs were. "Wow, you certainly lived up to your end."

"Well, you did tell me to make sure you couldn't walk straight."

"What do I owe ya?"

Dust's mind was slightly glazed over as well, but he shook his head and tried to do basic math. "Um, I'm pretty sure the total was seventy bits. Thereabouts, anyway. We were pretty efficient."

"Sounds good to me," Cherry said, walking slowly over to her bag and leaning down to dig through it. As she bent over, Dust could just see under her tail to the thin trace of white leaking from between her lips. He took a shaky, but pleased, breath.

Cherry shrugged on her saddlebag and passed Dust a small stack of denominated bits. He set them on the dresser, not bothering to count up the total in front of her. "You? You do good work," she said. "I will absolutely be back. Exams are a bitch." With a final hoofbump, Cherry dropped the soundproofing spell and opened the door.

Dust stepped out, unable to resist the urge to watch her walk away down the dorm hall. The single stallion out in the hall stopped dead in his tracks as she walked past him and stared at Dust, a slight grin cocked at the corner of his mouth.

Dust just grinned at him and went back inside, closing the door.

"There's... something different about you, dude."

Dust smiled quietly. "Oh? Do you think so?"

Breeze smacked his hoof on the desk in front of him in mock frustration and looked imploringly at his roommate, stretched out on the room's sofa. "Can you believe this guy? After everything we've done for him, he's gonna play coy with us!"

Saxus rolled over to face the conversation, his eyebrow raised. "Hasn't that been, like, at least half bad stuff we did for him?"

Dust laughed. "Oh, on a sliding scale, I'd say you two are closer to 'good' than 'evil'. Certainly no worse than the cafeteria staff, but not quite up to the level of the janitors who clean the dorm restrooms. Those ponies are saints."

The slate-furred earth pony sat up, rubbing his mane back into shape after his interrupted nap. "Seriously though, he's not wrong, Copper. What's up with you? You're weirdly happy."

"Is that a problem? Does my glee at life not rub off?"

Breeze rocked back and kicked his rear hooves up onto the desktop. "It's certainly unusual. You've just barely kept on the sunny side of 'angsty' lately."

Dust tried to neutralize his expression a bit. "Well, I guess it has something to do with the fact that midterm grades got posted today, and I passed with flying colors," he said, flaring his wings proudly.

Breeze beamed. "Nice!"

Saxus frowned. "That's great, but nope. That ain't it."

Coughing into his hoof, Dust regained his composure. "Okay, okay, I may have just paid off half of my debt for the semester."

Breeze almost fell over backwards, waving his hooves wildly to regain his balance.

Saxus simply leaned forward, staring at Dust intently. "You what? You made over six-hundred bits already?"

Dust preened a few of his wing feathers self-consciously. "Yeah. I topped six hundred just the other day, actually. And in only five and a half weeks."

"Sweet Celestia!" Breeze exclaimed, "how many stallions did that take?"

"Shhhhhh!" Dust flinched and waved his hooves in a "quiet down" motion. "Not so loud, I'm still incognito!"

"Don't you think that you're a bit... out there by this point?"

"Yeah, Shadow, I know. But there's at least five thousand ponies in this school who don't know what I do, and I'd prefer to keep it that way!" he hissed, glaring at Breeze. "But to answer your question, I think I've had four stallions and two mares."

Breeze whistled quietly, impressed. "Damn, you've done well, then."

"Well, that's pretty awesome, but how have you been?"

Dust looked over at him, bemused. "Me? I'm great!" Saxus simply met his gaze, and Dust had the distinct impression that Saxus could see right to his soul through his eyes. It was disconcerting.

"Are you?"

"To make six-hundred-plus bits for a combined, what, nine hours of work? No one else on this campus is making that rate. I'd bet not even the university president is making that!"

"Copper, money is great, but it's not everything. You stressed more about midterms two weeks ago than about the whole of your entire last semester, and you certainly didn't need your exams to boost your grades then, either. You've been slipping, and I've been worried about you. I think this whole thing is affecting you."

"Hey, I've been worried, too!"

"Breeze, your version of worried isn't quite the same. You worried about whether or not the cafeteria was going to bring back the pizza you liked, too."

Dust sighed, running a hoof through his mane. Saxus waved a hoof pointedly at it.

"You cut your mane short."

"Yeah," Dust retorted, "so what? I think it looks great on me!"

Breeze finally dropped his chair to all fours. "Are you saying he had some sort of motive for cutting his mane?"

Saxus shrugged. "I don't know. Did you?"

Dust snorted. "Dude, naw. Come on. Like I need a reason to change things up a bit." Saxus' stare was made of stone, and it seriously unnerved the pegasus. "Really." Dust shied away. "Okay, dude, you're freaking me out now."

"Look, Dust," Saxus replied, pointedly using Dust's real name, "I don't care if you don't want to talk, but I'd prefer it if you didn't treat me like I'm stupid. We're your friends, you don't need to lie to us."

Dust looked down at his hooves, unable to meet the older pony's gaze any longer. "Yeah, okay. I cut my mane down because it's easier to clean. And because if I have to go outside after..." He flinched. "...after a customer, it's not quite so obvious what I've been up to." Dust sighed. "And, well, to be honest it kind of accentuates the 'cute little pegasus' image, which seems to work for me. After the first three, my customers don't even bring the card by anymore, it's all been word of mouth."

"Copper," Breeze said quietly, suddenly concerned, "you're changing yourself for this... this job?"

"Do we even need to tell you how not healthy that sounds?" Saxus asked softly. "I see you changing. You were a wreck a few weeks ago, and now you're almost manic."

Dust took a deep breath, staring at his hooves. "I just don't think about it. I was a mess for a while, yeah, but I realized that might not be the best way to encourage business. I could play the role for a while, like Breeze had suggested, but by the time I got in the shower, I was usually crying. Not that it mattered; my customers were long gone by then."

"Sweet Harmony, Copper..."

"After the first time I had a mare show up, I thought I felt great about it. Like it wasn't such a big deal anymore, you know? Like it was just this thing that I did, and it didn't affect me or have anything to do with my life."

"So," Saxus said, "you just put the part of you that had sex for money into a metaphorical box?" Dust nodded. "Jeez, Copper. I wondered if this idea might be getting to you, but by the Sisters, dude..."

"Shadow," Breeze said quietly, "is it just me, or do you feel kinda shitty right now?"

Saxus nodded. "Oh, very much. Damn, Copper, is there any way we can convince you to give this up?"

Copper recoiled. "Give it up? I could have my tuition paid off with a whole month leftover! I could pay off next semester by finals!"

Breeze paled. "Next semester? Copper, you're not seriously going to continue this, are you?"

"What else do I have? I don't have rich parents to lean on, I can't pay off a loan on summer jobs. It's either this, or my life plan dies here and now."

"Do you even remember what your plan was?"

Dust glared at Saxus. "Who are you to tell me about my life's goals? Do you know what being in college means to me? Do you know what I had to do to get here? How many summers of remedial classes I had to attend because I got such a late start?"

Breeze stood, hesitant to approach Dust in his current mood. "Copper—Dust, please, we're not—"

Dust stood, his wings flared angrily. "I got beat up constantly! Everypony knew who I was, they all knew I was the one colt in school who couldn't keep up with the class! My day was planned around where I had to be to hide from bullies! It took everything for me to make it to the point where I could be accepted even to UE:M!"

Saxus' eyes were sad as he stared hard at Dust. "Dust, we know how hard you work! You spent almost every waking moment last semester in a book, and what are you doing to that now? Do you have any idea what could happen to you?"

"I'm saving my dream!" Dust yelled.

The room went deathly silent, Dust's panting almost echoing in the room between the three friends. Dust stared at his hooves. Breeze tried not to look at either of the other two. Saxus kept watching Dust, looking like he was on the verge of tears.

"Have you written your parents?" Saxus asked, his voice barely audible.

Dust's face darkened considerably. "Fuck you," he growled.

Breeze and Saxus said nothing. Dust spun around, stalked from the room, slamming it behind him, and took off, flying straight out of the door at the end of the hall.

Author's Note

Wow. That got dark in a HURRY. Seriously, I did not mean for that to happen. This was supposed to be a lighthearted romp with a mare for a change, and then BAM. Talk about your mood whiplash. I guess that's how it goes when you let the characters lead...

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