Spike At Your Service

Spike loved many things. He loved music, adventures with his friends, reading his comics; it was all fun to do. In work, he loved doing a good job for others, that bought him a sense of self-satisfaction when they genuinely appreciated the effort. He loved when someone would see he'd gone the extra mile entirely for their sake, just to make their day a little easier, the honest thanks received was a boost in his step and a pleasant flutter in his midsection.

In this sort of work however, it was all the more powerful.

Tempest's deep moans and long hums of pleasure echoing off the walls of the small sound-proofed office as his winding tongue pulsed within her and flexed back out, reaching places a normal tongue couldn't, was speaking volumes as to her sincere appreciation of his effort and abilities only he could offer her.

Also fingers were a thing.

Throughout his life growing up and even when he was quite small, he had been very aware of the sheer fascination that ponies had with the few species that bore fingers, on hands or paws, but they were far more interested in soft digits with no sharp claws or talons. Perhaps it was from something of a safety point of view as gryphons had sharp talons and didn't tend to clip them, that example he could understand. He himself had decided very young that he would soften his image as he grew to be more... consistent with a pony lifestyle, so soft and curvy, and in turn he was sure it only increased interest in the fact his hands were very gentle, and his talons were simply smooth filed-down nubs.

It was only as his own sex drive came into being and his body changed to be a great deal more effeminate that he realised that a very little part of that deep interest came from a sexual desire at his uniqueness. One that Tempest had made clear on several occasions, before she had finally made it crystal clear she actually wanted to fuck him; the hints had simply gone from subtle to brazen when they hadn't hit their mark, as he was rather scatter-brained about these things sometimes. Looking back he could see the delicate words spoken while others were around had heavily insinuated something under the surface.

The dainty fingers she'd been hintingly curious about were now very openly splaying her pink folds apart as they drove into her slick depths, carefully stroking around inside her lucious walls and adding to the heavy assault his tongue was mounting upon such a sopping velvet fortress.

Unless he wanted to pay her a compliment, he didn't need to pause to speak with Tempest during this part anymore; she orchestrated his movements with squeezes of her thighs and blissful moans, or the stroke of her fingers over his head spines. If he had been doing something she wasn't fond of then she would sharply tug on them, or her horn would spark and he'd find himself poked in the side, and he would change form and try a different approach. That was all long past now as she was an excellent teacher, and their rhythm was perfectly in sync at every step, so he knew just how to keep her on the brink of orgasm until he could feel her need in how she squirmed and dug her hooves in.

Sometimes she'd just want him to see her off with a lovely long string of consecutive orgasms that kept her in mind as it left his jaw and tongue aching for a day or so after, and oftentimes she just wanted a few quick ones to perk her up every couple of hours. Sometimes though, she wouldn't be specific and he'd purposely draw it out after giving her one or two, teasing her until she became so wanting that she would command him to push her over the edge, and he'd mercilessly go at her until his tongue was starting to poke against the ring of her cervix and she cried out in ecstasy.

Today was one of those days to him, she seemed quite tense.

Tempest hadn't been disallowing him from touching himself, so while one hand had been fingering her, the other had been straddling his cock as his arousal made it slick with precum. Now he moved that up past her vulva, to rest upon one of those lovely mounds above her engorged labia. She breathed in as his tongue quickly withdrew for barely a second as he dragged it over her heavy teats, before plunging his wet muscle back into her and continuing his ministrations, and gently massaging each teat in turn as he slowed to roll the fat nipples between his index and thumb.

"That's good..." Tempest whispered from above, he looked up and was filled with satisfaction at her half-lidded eyes accompanying the words. "I really needed this, the past few days have been terribly overburdening. It's nice to have some time for us..."

Tempest's head went back and a low groan of enjoyment vibrated through her as his only response was to gyrate his meaty tongue inside her hot passage and gently pinch her puffy clit to perform the same massaging treatment he was giving to her nipples, occasionally switching between stroking the sensitive spot and easing his digits back inside of her. He used the mess of saliva and marely arousal to lightly tease her tight puckered ponut with the tip of his spade tail, something of a new area they were exploring together, which Tempest had acquiesced to after noticing Spike really couldn't help but stare at the gorgeous and tantalisingly thick ring of muscle.

He gently stroked and teased the sensitive flesh, his tail tip caressing and pushing just so, not penetrating, that wasn't on the cards yet, but certainly hinting at the fact enough to tease the extensive amount of nerve-endings nestled within the ring. His tongue came out of her glistening marehood and lavished the pronounced ponut with attention, Tempest shifting in response to the new area he was treating and reflexively pushing her hips up to the delicate zone being touched upon. His wet muscled organ forced past the extremely tight defence with its strength and slipped inside for just a single unexpected moment, a loud exclamation of both surprise and intrigue issuing from Tempest. The tip of his fleshy tongue was constrained by the taught vice of her puckered muscle, moving it within her for the moment he'd been able hadn't been as easy as with her marehood that he was now moving back to. It was definitely something to test later on, just how enjoyably deep he could go, and how wide he could make his range of movement within the far tighter passage?

Attending to her beautiful flower again, he continued his rapid oral pace and let his work speak for itself as the room was filled with nothing but her wet sounds and pleasurable moans, gradually building her up as she rose to the crescendo, to then quickly halt the pace and change rhythm to throw her off. He felt himself smile while his tongue danced within her silken snatch at an agonisingly leaden crawl, as her hips thrust further forwards onto his slick muscle in clear expectation.

He acquiesced and carefully began to resume the previous speed, then slipping fingers back into her and heavily stroking the textured interior, continuing the motion as he sunk in and out to the knuckles, her inner passage greedily grabbing at his fingers as well they could with his tongue dancing around. His ample length gave a short twitch as he continuously delved his digits within, he really wanted to feel her pulsing warmth all around his drakehood, but he also knew the longer he held off the greater both their satisfaction would be.

Spike really did love eating her out too, it was just so incredibly wonderful to be this deep within a mare's most sacred of places and reduce her to a blissful shuddering mess that couldn't form sentences while her lust-fogged mind rebooted. He enjoyed the cloying taste, the deeply clean smell of feminine arousal, the thick rolling tightness that squeezed with want and need. He rose to the point where he almost kept on so hard that she achieved orgasm, and only just managed to stop himself short as he felt her body tremble with every flick of motion his appendages made, causing Tempest to gasp in both pleasure and disappointment at her thwarted climax. He knew her body well enough at this juncture that he could tell exactly when she was upon the precipice. Sure, a mare could have several orgasms within a short space of time, but that didn't mean he couldn't really draw them out.

"Bastard... L-let me..." She hissed in a moan, not really all that angry.

He suppressed his amusement, his tongue pushing in again and repeating the process harder. He continued in a similar fashion for quite a considerable time, until his tongue started to ache again from the intensity of how much he was forcing it inside her, and her eyes were practically facing the ceiling as her eyelashes fluttered. She'd dragged him forwards at some point during his servicing and her wonderfully thick muscular thighs enveloped him in warmth as they wrapped around his head, her hindlegs meeting around his back and her forehooves pushing into the arms of her chair as she vigourously mashed her cunt against his face through her audible pleasure.

She kept tensing as he played around, and decided to let her go right to the edge a few more times before he relented and went to eleven. Tempest was partly surprised though quickly and eagerly pushed her hips up, going with the newly set pace as a hand moved to support her by grabbing and sinking into the supple flesh of her hefty bottom. Not that she needed it with her muscular haunches around his head, but kneading one of the wonderful half-globes of her buttocks wasn't something to pass up.

He pushed further, making his tongue go into a full ache again as he wildly writhed the organ inside the tight confines of her sex, rapidly withdrawing just enough to grind it against the winking clit or catch the tender nub between his pouty lips and suck on it as the fleshy pearl taunted him every few seconds. She was fucking herself on his slick muscle as much as he was doing her service, pulling herself into the seat just off his pulsing flesh and bucking forward as quickly as he dove in to have it reach inside again, as much as she could with her strong legs gripping his head anyway.

He kept his wild pace as her breathing grew heavier, and her movements more desperate, enjoying the scaling sounds as she let herself fully build once more without him making any attempt to stop giving. He savoured the moment she cried out in an extremely deep moan of satisfaction as her orgasm came in hard and fast, more akin to a warriors roar, which he smiled around while working her body through, as it was racked with the pleasure of his fingers and tongue playing merry with her contracting snatch. His tail carefully taunted her backdoor as her tensing made the trembling ring of flesh that much more sensitive, and he repeatedly lashed his tongue tip against the winking node from where it pushed out of her inner depths.

His mouth filled with pleasant marecum as his reward while his broad tongue deftly and deliberately flexed in every part of her that could be reached, she shook as he slowed the coiling movements and she kept up her small cries, her insides rippling and tensing around his muscle, with his slickly coated fingers lovingly caressing through her like a delicate instrument, his other hand joining it to play with her as she eased down. He languidly dragged his tongue up against her clitoris again even as she sharply bucked at the oversensitive nub being touched, and trapped it then in his mouth for the final play, gently drawing it in and pushing against it. He utterly surrounded it with the full might of his tongue and his pouty lips while his fingers slid around the inner edges of her entrance, keeping her senses completely enraptured as she wound down in an overstimulated shiver.

Letting himself relax a little as he swallowed what she'd given him, he lightly stroked around her vulva and inner thighs, massaging as he lapped at her still-dripping marehood, Tempest groaning deeply as she fully collapsed back into the seat. She breathed quietly for a few minutes in her afterglow for a while as she let him absently play, twitching occasionally as his tongue lightly flicked across her clit.

"Excellent work, boy. I think that an... intimate reward is in order," she said almost breathlessly, lightly panting from her exertion.

His lips curled up as he looked up and met her eyes. "I'd really like that, Mistress."

Getting up quickly, he felt her magic over his lower body as he went to pull his jeans down a little more, trying not to giggle at the weird sensation as he and his clothing were cleaned of any dried substances. She winked at him as she gave a glance to the clock behind her above the desk, smiling and looking back at him expectantly. They had plenty of time apparently, Tempest kept people to her schedules with military precision to the point they'd never been interrupted so far, although that was also likely due to the fact that the secretary at the front desk was also part of their specific dynamic and was under Tempest's spell as much as he was.

Aurora Ember was a pretty nice pony, all things considered, even if she was broody and barely spoke to him when Tempest asked them to work together, to which he had a feeling that Tempest was seeing how they got along. Spike did quite like the other mare even with the distance she kept. There were times where Aurora would purposely come up to 'deliver' something to Tempest and spend time in her office much the same as he would, his enhanced sight allowing him to see exactly what they got up to. She'd look his way upon exiting with a certain look that maybe suggested she was doing a better job of things.

Thoughts aside, he smiled as Tempest gave a nod, stretching her hindlegs a bit wider for him. "Come now, you've really worked me up for more and you'll need to remedy that, boy."

Spike blushed at the lovely sight of her dripping snatch and nodded, his engorged member quite clearly standing to attention. He stepped forward on his dainty feet and gently teased the tip against her glistening slit with barely held anticipation. He was going to savour this, he'd built himself up enough and treated Tempest enough that he would get to take his sweet time with it. He loved to go slow and deep, truly feeling her warmth constrict and squeeze him as he kept to a languid pace that made them shiver equally.

Her delicate inner lips were flushed with her arousal, the gentle folds of her pink vulva harmonious with the slightly darker purple of her surrounding puffy mons. He joyfully pushed his length up between the ridges, the slick flesh parting around his partially exposed glans as her engorged nub winked out, she tensed with it so her thick clit would stay for a moment longer as the underside of his shaped glans mashed against its sensitive apex. Her low moan and smile told him this was a pleasantry she'd allow, he really enjoyed the sensation of his glans and her clit kneading together as it built his anticipation.

He teased himself on the precipice of her marehood, his member not penetrating more than his meaty tip, his lust building higher as her drooling slit clung to his flesh as if to drag him in while he moved. Finally he relented, leaning forward towards her and supporting himself by placing his hands securely around her croup as she reached her forelegs around his neck, and their lips met in a passionate kiss. His tip pressed down, her tight satiny depths sliding over the head of his cock as he lowered into her, the tight walls of clenching muscle eagerly inviting him as his foreskin was pushed back and his deep moan of pleasure joined hers as his thick length spread her apart the further he sunk.

She eased her hips up while he moved his hands down, and gently lifted as he lowered his cock deeper, every fold and bump grasping at his member like her military bodysuit would have fit to her as a second skin, the muscles further twitching in their need as he pushed deep. Her wet tongue wrestled with his own as he eased for a moment to let her acclimate to his size, the kissing a wonderful accompaniment to their activities, their breaths for air between the moments their lips parted and met making Spike's heart flutter as he took oxygen into his lungs. He broke their passionate embrace and leant down to kiss at her neck as she chuckled gently, her lavender perfume working its way into his head as she thrusted her hips upward to entice him onward.

A tremour spread throughout her body as with every thrust her winking entrance pulsed out against his length, adding to her pleasure. His member forced against her soaking insides, her flowery depths so slick that there was almost no friction, and her muscles constantly closed around him to a maddeningly erotic degree. Her walls tightly embraced his cock, squeezing him with an almost painful ferocity as they massaged his length. He could feel the walls of muscle as they slid around him from the base to the tip, milking his generous girth for what her body naturally desired, gripping and kneading with a blissful pressure. It would almost have been painful if not for her exquisite canal, her hot, lubricous insides a purer feeling than the finest silks in Equestria, a wonderful texture that couldn't be matched.

He began to increase his speed to a seconds pause and breath in pace with each buck of his own ample hips, allowing him to luxuriate in the deep extent of her pink walls, each push in sucking him in, torturously pleasurable as the feeling spread through his length to his groin, and desperately clinging to him as he relented and released himself. His moans were equal in pitch to her own as their bodies met when his base met her flush folds, and her own joyful sounds were forced further as his chest contacted hers. The intimacy of the embrace left their minds fogged with arousal and wanting much more, Spike kissing at her again, pushing his tongue against her own in an attack, Tempest letting free a small giggle at his lust.

"Go faster, boy." Tempest whispered in his ear when the kiss was finished, placing a kiss on his neck and shifting her weight to get into a better position for it.

How could he say no?

Spike gripped the meat of her croup and buttocks, his fingers sinking into the pliable flesh as he pulled her up and himself deeper in, causing her to groan in satisfaction as his member speared into the tighter confines of her lavish sex, and positioned his stance so that he could lever himself out further. His thrusts went faster and within moments their lewd sounds were both at a heightened level, Tempest grunting in primal joy as he felt his glans push against a particular ring within her. His pace and reach meant his member pulsed throughout her and mashed against the entrance to her cervix with reckless abandon, and she loved the almost numbing ache it sent through her hindlegs. Her breath caught as she buried her face into his neck and cried out as she came hard, moaning as she rode out her orgasm with him pounding into her, the frenzied contractions of her cunt only adding to his enjoyment as the muscles tried to keep him inside and milk him.

He felt the pressure building in his groin, her marehood was causing him no end of delight, the light uplifting warmth in his core reaching a heavier peak as he neared his own climax, his passion driving him to a higher momentum. He could feel it coming, he was going to fill her with his draconic seed and-

A sharp intake of breath, surprise and anger from Tempest, at the buzzing from the intercom on her desk. The sound immediately drew Spike out his revelry and he knew something was wrong. He painfully ached on the edge of his crescendo as he quickly pulled himself free of Tempest's wonderful velvety tunnel with a lurid pop and struggled to pull up his tight jeans, focusing as he returned back to himself and onto the voice from the device.

"-bout ten seconds before he's there, asshole just went right past me."

Aurora's voice, someone was coming straight to Tempest's office.

He tugged the jeans up as fast as possible over his titanic hips and bottom with a little extra effort, Tempest quite enjoying the small show of him dancing into them despite the need to quicken the pace. She swivelled around and sharply pulled herself into her desk to hide her lower half as she cast a cleansing spell around the office, reasserting her mask of pure military seriousness as she no doubt fought to settle her pumping heartbeat. He was combating his own while it thundered in his chest from the pleasure he'd been building, and quelled his discomfort from the ache in his groin. He only just managed to tuck his erect girthy member into his cute panties, secure his tail-clasp, and put his top button across his jeans before the door burst open behind him, making him jump and squeak in a very unmasculine fashion.

"Poppy, my dear mare!" Exclaimed an infuriating voice Spike knew all too well. "Aha! So you did hire this sorry excuse for a dragon after all! Well I suppose he's far less brutish and offensive to the senses than most of them."

Spike stopped himself from scowling as he turned away and around from the newcomer ─as Tempest discreetly worked her magic to clean his front and do his zipper up─ gently closing the door behind the fit sable-grey earthen stallion that came swaggering into Tempest's office with all the self-assured dickishness that generally only being disgustingly rich could allow a creature. Like most businessponies, he wore a black half-suit, but his was obnoxiously embroidered with pure gold and silver threading in a pompous display of wealth. His jet-black mane was slicked back with expensive natural oils that permeated the air with a cloying scent of ebony-willow, and his stupid pointed muzzle and jade-coloured eyes always held an aloof air for most of the creatures around him. The overpriced icing on the I-am-a-massive-dick cake was his cutie-mark of a massive polished uncut diamond.

"I would appreciate it if you didn't insult my employees, Shadowmane," Tempest sharply spoke to the stallion called Shadowmane as her tail lashed, flicking her eyes towards Spike with a sympathetic glance before turning them back to him. "You're too early again, as usual."

Spike could see Tempest's annoyance flare briefly under her mask of calm coolness at the blatant disregard for her timekeeping and appointments, amazed at how quickly she'd brought her flushed state under control. He gave a brief nod to her as he daintily toed over and plucked the wrapper of her cupcake off the desk and made to leave, before Tempest held a hoof up.

"Spike, my pep is cold. Get me another, please. Would you care for anything, Shadowmane?" she said calmly, not taking her eyes off Shadowmane as he looked at Spike with a vague curiosity and somehow not noticing the lewd bulge or his semi-erratic breathing, before sitting down in the lounge chair across from her desk.

Shadowmane raised an eyebrow, regarding her as he sat himself back into a cushioned seat before Tempest's desk. "I don't suppose you have any Saddle-Arabian Velure around this office?"

"Not when it's nearly two-hundred bits per box," Tempest's eyes narrowed with a dismissive grunt of annoyance. "I'm not in the habit of spending good money on overrated exotic imports. The richest thing I have in the office is Equinisi Gold."

Shadowmane scoffed, but gave a wave of his hoof at Spike. "Go on then, it'll do. No milk, and a single sugar, please."

Spike collected the mug still half-full with a mostly warm drink, but understood the reason why she was making him make it fresh even though she still liked it cold. The more time she had to deal with Shadowmane uninterrupted, the sooner he would be out of her mane, her office, and her Plaza. It was likely that she was sparing Spike the stallion's snobbery, which he appreciated, and in a situation where Tempest wanted to generally deal with someone in a less than friendly manner she also preferred Spike not to be around as she didn't like him seeing her furious side. He'd take his time making her drink and come along after a general round of the office, as that was likely the best option.

He still had to make Shadowmane a coffee, though as costly as it might be to waste even a single mug of the exotic import, he was sure snubbing Shadowmane by deliberately lollygagging so he couldn't drink it in time before he left was also a small part of Tempest's scheme. He wasn't surprised the rich bastard thought Equinisi-bean imports were beneath him, even with them costing seventy bits a box at the cheapest supplier, and that was at a business discount. It was one of the few pricey things Tempest gave to the office as a small perk of working for her.

Curious eyes met him after he exited and closed the door with the trolley before him, the cart hiding his now semi-flaccid cock that tented his jeans. He gave them an annoyed shrug and a few quietly talked amongst themselves about what a massive arse Shadowmane was. He wasn't here often, and Spike had only met him twice before in passing; once when Shadowmane had come to see Twilight at her castle with a business proposition, spending most of that encounter making odd remarks towards Spike's nature or trying to butter up Twilight, and the second had been when he'd first come here a few months back for his job interview, and Shadowmane had been on his way out the lobby to then comment on Spike's unprofessional state of dress and that he should carry himself better.

He was a giant of industry when it came to cigars and cigarettes, making him insane amounts of money so he could dip into other ventures too. Spike had seen several billboards dedicated to Shadowmane around Canterlot that promoted products like his cancer-sticks to things like shampoo and pet food. Spike didn't like any of the brands he owned, they were overpriced for what they were, and while produced inside Equestria rather than being foreign-made for the lowest bit, they still catered for a more 'discerning' class of people.

Shadowmane was as aggravating as they came, and Spike hoped the bastard would get taken down a peg one day. Bad ponies weren't villains but they were pretty close in his books, sometimes cartoonishly petty like in his Power Ponies comics. He knew Tempest could handle him though, as if she could handle a giant Gorilla-Ape-whatever-the-Storm-King-had-been then a single stallion was no issue at all. With his breathing a little more even, he hummed to himself as he went down to the kitchenette, giving a half-smile to Gaillardet as stopped in passing next to the gryphon to pick up his large mug for a refill, whom of which then eyed the way near Tempest's office and frowned.

"If there is something I dislike, it is a creature with more power than decency. Truly, what a vicious brute you are, all beak and talon." Gaillerdet said in a low tone, glancing at Spike and drinking in his appearance.

"Yeah, thought you might have heard that." Spike pouted back over his shoulder.

"Gorgeous, I believe the entire top three floors heard that," Gaillardet dryly remarked, snaking his clawed hand forward and stroking near the base of Spike's tail, gently brushing a thumb down the inner edge of one of his curvaceous cheeks as he squeezed the great moon-halve as he went, idly caressing the length of the tail as it trailed along and enjoying the sight of Spike's plump posterior. He lifted up the spade tip and delivered a small kiss to its flat as he kept gaze, Gaillerdet's beak somehow softer than Spike would have expected it to be. "That stallion is quite blind not to see such clear beauty."

Spike gave a half-shrug with a small blush as Gaillardet released his tail, giving the gryphon a kind smile for his affections. "One guy thinks I'm not respectable, I can live with that."

Leaving to do his task and rolling the trolley along, he noted that there were a few eyes on him, courtesy of Shadowmane's loud outburst. Spike knew he was appreciated by people in the office, and it warmed his heart that there was concern for him and annoyance for the pompous stallion in Tempest's office. He collected empty mugs from desks as he went, just in case Shadowmane decided to take up more of Tempest's time. He'd rather not go back until he saw the stallion leaving.

"Thanks, cute stuff," said a red stallion as he left with both his paperwork bound for another office, and his mug. Spike jumped a little as the stallion delivered a slap to his backside that made a cheek jiggle. "Nothing offensive about you at all."

Spike smiled as he went on, finally coming to the kitchenette and setting about making the now dozen or so cups of tea, coffee, hot chocolate, or some mixes thereof that were wanted, and making Tempest's pep after retrieving the key from within his top. He hummed while the kettle boiled for a third time, the already made mugs of hot drinks wafting scented steam of their various differing blends as they sat aside on a special part of the counter to keep them at a piping temperature. It didn't matter that his hands brushed the heated warming plate as his scales were impervious to such a trifling level of heat, one small perk of being a dragon. An ear-fin raised as he heard a whistle from his left, smiling with fondness at the familiar scent of a stallion's mixed flowery aroma heralding a new arrival into the kitchenette.

Button inclined his head in a bow as he trotted over. "Ah, well hello there, beautiful. Diligently doing your job, I see. Thought I might stop by and make my own coffee as you were on the other side of the office."

"Sorry, I was going to come around soon after giving Poppy her drink." Spike apologised.

"No no, quite alright, you can't be everywhere at once," Button waved off, horn igniting and grabbing a packet of his beloved Equinisi Gold from the cupboard. Button smiled at Spike after a second of working. "I'm trying to picture something more wonderful than two of you, but nothing comes to mind at the present moment."

"Flatterer," Spike coyly smirked, recalling that Shadowmane did ask for an Equinisi Gold coffee as well. Much as he didn't like the stallion, he still had to do his job. He toed over and leant up to grab a packet of the exotic-import from the cupboard, as one came out before him in a hazy green telekinetic grasp. He took it and smiled back at Button. "Thanks."

He grabbed another mug and added the beans to the coffee grinder specifically put aside for the Equinisi-beans, as they were far stronger than normal types of coffee and tended to pervade the taste of all others, while pouring out the boiled kettle into four full mugs and making up some more drinks, just managing to fill up Button's too. He added them to the warming plate, not needing to strain these four as they'd all been tea, and let the bags steep while he refilled the kettle for the last batch that would go out.

Button sided up to him, upright for a moment, and gently placed a foreleg around his waspish waist, as his jade magic strained his own strong-smelling mug of Equinisi Gold. On his hindlegs, he stood a head over Spike in height, almost as tall as Gaillerdet, and he nudged the drake with his hip as he spoke up.

"I thought of something far better than two of you actually, though I'm afraid voicing what it is in the workplace might be rather unprofessional of me." Button whispered in his ear conspiritally as his hoof moved down and cupped one of his supple cheeks.

Spike's heart beat a little faster at the insinuation, and forward contact. Apparently Button was moving past their word games and trying to be as forward as Gaillerdet commonly was. It was quite thrilling, actually. Thankfully the dapper gryphon wasn't here either, otherwise he'd be getting intimately fondled from both sides by two taller strong males, and the mere thought of it hazed his mind and flushed his face a little. He felt his member tingle and harden too, trying as he might to banish the mental image of the two lavishing him with attention, they both did quite enjoy playing with his titanic bottom. It wasn't as if he often thought about being the subject of focus from the same sex ─not that he wasn't slightly curious─ but he was still very horny after his impeded orgasm with Tempest, and this was not helping him at all to dispel such piqued feelings.

"Oh dear," Button grinned to himself, taking full notice of the situation and moving his other hoof down as he partially turned, stroking over the obscenely obvious bulge in Spike's taut jeans. "I didn't quite mean to excite you so much, my lovely."

Spike took a deep breath and exhaled as Button deftly moved back to making his coffee just as quickly as he'd been playing with Spike, his pleased smirk evident on his features. Spike was painfully aware of his glaring erection, and of Button's fat shaped tip poking free of its large sheath, his eyes focusing on the lewd flesh as the stallion's natural scent became far more powerful and made his head swim. He pulled his vision free of the stallion's groin where those large heavy orbs lay between his hindlegs ─How did stallions even manage such things, seriously─ and returned back to his task, the kettle finally clicking as it finished bubbling to boiling point.

"See you later, gorgeous." Button winked at Spike as he left with his coffee in tow, the mug hovering behind him as trotted away, his tail covering his rear.

Calming his state of mind at Button's newfound approach, he sorted the remaining drinks and placed all of them onto the trolley, once again a miracle of an implement that hid his immodesty from view as his body settled. By the time he'd finished serving everyone and rolled around to Tempest's office to knock on the door, he expected that maybe Shadowmane might have gone while he hadn't been paying attention, but upon entry he saw both he and Tempest had no such luck. She and Shadowmane were still engaged in conversation, the scent of his ebony-willow fragrance overpowering Spike's nose. The stallion turned his head to the door as Spike came in with the cart, and back to Tempest as he continued on.

"And you know I have connections to a few noble houses that also dabble in printing around Equestria; a good word here and there can do wonders for career advancement or money making opportunities," Shadowmane smiled, almost kindly. "It's not unfeasible that you might want to expand beyond the Plaza and Canterlot one day, surely?"

"Naturally," Tempest nodded, accepting her Pep from Spike along with another cupcake, as she took a sip and allowed herself a slight sigh of contentment. "But as I say; Naturally. I don't want to expand into a sector that I haven't felt out for myself. I don't want to make any deals at the mere toss of a stone that I don't fully know every detail of. I most certainly don't want to have you muscling in on my areas or thinking you can ask of me simply because a good word directed some nobility towards me. Besides, nobles like to have an awful amount of caveats and addendums to their contracts, and they adore when they're given preferential treatment by businesses. I offer no such terms to the rich and powerful for favour, I already did that once and it got me nothing but misery."

"I understand, Poppy," Shadowmane nodded, not exactly pleased. He accepted the mug of coffee from Spike and took a sip. He didn't comment, returning his attention to Tempest, so it couldn't have been bad. "I know you prefer to do things your own way, it's just that it only gets you so far before you find that such tactics don't get you past the doors that you want."

"When one door closes, another opens." Tempest dismissed him.

Spike made to leave, but Tempest beckoned him back over with a hoof. He obeyed and lightly stepped towards her as her magic put down the silk pillow she kept. He hesitated for a second, his eyes briefly flicking to Shadowmane, yet understood her wishes and complied, quickly kneeling down on it and remaining silent unless he was spoken to while keeping his head down and listening to the conversation at hand. Interestingly, Shadowmane didn't comment, possibly assuming it was a disciplinary action of some kind. Spike kept his eyes mostly towards the floor as he never really knew where to look when ordered to kneel on the pillow, simply resting as Shadowmane continued.

"How many of these lesser doors will you walk through? How many chances of higher progression will you snub on principle because you dislike the idea of someone richer than you letting you have a small favour? It might be in their favour, but you know you don't get something for nothing. If anything you can surely see that as a business transaction?"
Shadowmane glanced a quick eye at Tempest running her hoof through Spike's soft head-spines after asking the question, not deeming to comment on the definite oddity of it which Spike found slightly bewildering.

"If it was only that, and fair. Certainly," Tempest sighed, pausing her attention to Spike and rubbing her temples. From what Spike knew of Tempest venting to him during a few of their oral sessions, this was a moot point the two businessponies argued over time and time again. "You know there are always games to be played, and I don't enjoy the pussyhoofing around. If I accept a noble's deal, then suddenly hidden in subtext of a contract I wasn't shown that is linked by a single line to a five-hundred page contract I was shown and took a week to get through, specifically crafted by hired lawyers to be deceptive so I can't weasel out of it; I am then required to give ten percent of all future earnings in this deal directly to them, and not the business venture we agreed to partner in."

"That's a very colourful scenario you've created." Shadowmane rolled his jade eyes.

Tempest frowned. "I am only building off a real-world court case that Princess Twilight Sparkle had to personally deal with between herself and a noble house. It happens, and I will not be misled and fall for such tricks. The best way of course is to entirely deny nobles any attention whatsoever."

"And have I not said that there are nobles I refuse to deal with because of these sorts of tricks?" Shadowmane said, waving a hoof. "Not all nobles want to syphon off of you."

"Just ninety-five percent of them." Tempted smirked, returning a hoof to Spike's head.

Shadowmane sighed, tapping a hoof on the chair. "Look, we're clearly getting nowhere again. However, I do come bearing a proposition this time around."

"Oh here we go..." Tempest sighed, taking a deeper sip of her Pep and then straightening her back. "Go on."

"There's an upcoming event at the Royal Palace, very respectable, a formal affair of course with a strict dress code. It's a semi-open sort of event catering to both nobles and business entrepreneurs, upcoming or otherwise well established, and specifically created by the Princesses so ponies like yourself can bump flanks and find new opportunities." Shadowmane smiled as he paused briefly to take another sip of his coffee. "You could come along and not even have to talk to a noble, just other titans like yourself. It never hurts to have a few friends, you know."

"I know you, Shadowmane. You want some part of my enterprise in return for entry to this event. I'm not interested." Tempest growled, the eyebrow of her scarred eye shooting upward.

"You wound me, Poppy," Shadowmane touched a hoof to his chest in mock upset. "No, I want nothing of your printing ventures, at least not anymore, I assure you. I recently came to own a few mainstream newspaper outlets, and acquire and produce quality books under a personal label for public consumption. I'm well involved in printing now, so I have no need to dabble in smaller items nor try to attain a percentage of your capital. No no, what I want from you is far more innocent."

She frowned again, waving a hoof for him to continue.

"You are quite a name in certain upper circles, Tempest, and I know that you know it," Shadowmane regarded her with a gentle tilt of his head. "Your... previous occupation, of capturing those going to great lengths to stay hidden, accompanied with your ruthless prowess in your more recent endeavours after the fact, marks you as a pony of great interest. There are a number I've spoken to, nobles or otherwise, that of course want to meet you, but you keep yourself to yourself and don't ever go looking for them," he shifted as he leaned forwards a smidgen. "Essentially, you have not had your time in the spotlight, as it were, and to be able to introduce you into it, to be the stallion that introduced you into it as one that has your ear on some very small scale at least... That very innocent action alone would, as I'm sure you're quite aware, set many wonderous future prospects up rather considerably."

Tempest nodded, her Pep now half empty as she drank. "It gives you clout, I get it. It's just not my 'scene'. I'll give you the benefit of the doubt this time and assume you're innocently trying to broaden my horizons, however if I spend any amount of time at one of these dreadfully dull functions I'm liable to knock somepony out and you know it."

"And that's the beauty of it," Shadowmane gave a small grin. "The shrewd nobles that weasel up and oftentimes try to be sly aren't going to come within a lance's length of you. The actual businessponies and other aspiring would-be's will either respect your might or be sensibly fearful-"

"Those are not mutually exclusive."

"-and they will strictly talk business or just want to chat instead of trying to entrap you with deals and schemes. They're there to meet people, others in the sphere. Very few deals are worked out at these events, nopony with even half a brain jumps into a business proposition the same day it was laid down without knowing all the details and having them ironed out first, and knowing if the partner is solid," Shadowmane scoffed, leaning forward just a tad more. "You know that obviously, but you can at least trust that I am not trying to steer you into a den of wolves, surely? Not that you yourself wouldn't be the wolf in that situation..." he trailed off, scoffing again as he regarded her. "If I was out to get you, I would not treat with you. It's no fun being at the top when I have no friendly rivalries, and you are quite possibly the only single other I would consider to be my equal despite your current position within the business world."

"You really want me as a rival?" Tempest shot back coolly, Spike smiled inwardly at the idea that Shadowmane could actually stand hoof-to-hoof with Tempest. "But... yes, for all your grandiose, you are thankfully fairly candid. I'll give you that you've always been frank in our meetings and heated discussions."

"Naturally," Shadowmane smirked, echoing the word usage back at Tempest. "Transparency is the reason why you and I have so efficiently carved ourselves a slice of Canterlot that others have been unable to touch upon. I always notice such details. A secretive and dishonest tycoon will, without question, inevitably find their dirty laundry being aired out sooner or later. All of their dodgy deals and their stitch-ups, all of their unknowns they want hidden from the public spotlight. You know I have my hooves in many ventures, but they're true to what they are, there is no misdirection or deceit in my empire. Celestia's graces; I even make sure the cigarettes I sell show exactly what they'll do to a creature's lungs right there on the packet. Bloody awful things, but they're still apparently wanted by everyone, so why not give them high quality nicotine products that only marginally harm them as opposed to the further-so chemically laden rubbish that comes cheaply from abroad? It is other fools that say they promote health and wellbeing, and they soon shall fall to their hubris as the public comes to see such proclamations as falsehoods."

Spike had never really heard Shadowmane talk before. He had no idea why Tempest wanted him to stay during this conversation between them beyond that she wanted him to actually have a feel for how the sable stallion was outside of being insulting to the drake. Spike did have to admit that from how Shadowmane spoke and how Tempest spoke with him, he was quite charismatic, and wasn't as dishonest as he might have believed. Still didn't mean he wasn't a massive dick with too much money, or that he wasn't using his power to further interests that didn't have negative consequences...

"Back to the subject matter; this is a rather exclusive event of course, being hosted by the Princesses in their own joint court. A minor rarity when they both make their appearance together, but with the lovely Princesses Sparkle and Cadance both attending it's becoming more common as of late, and the excitement of Princess Sparkle still hasn't quite worn off yet," Shadowmane explained. "Getting a place isn't easy. Of course, you couldn't buy an invite with a diamond the size of a storm creature's testicle, but I got my hooves on a couple."

The comment hung in the air as Shadowmane likely expected a small amount of appreciation for his efforts, though the insinuation he hadn't realised caused Tempest a smirk that spread across her features, and Spike blushed as he met her amused eye with a cute grin. Then Shadowmane caught on.

"Of invites!" He quickly corrected himself. "Look, do you want in or not?"

Tempest tapped a hoof on her desk. "I'll think about it, alright? When is it held?"

"End of the month, so this is quite time sensitive," Shadowmane sighed, rolling his shoulders and he shifted. "There are a number of ponies that would gladly-"

"Oh, quiet," Tempest cut in with a wave. "You want me there specifically for your clout, don't try to impress upon me that you're going to entertain others. I'll think about it, and it won't take me over three weeks to decide. You'll have plenty of time to find some others to sell these tickets to in some faustian bargain if I don't accept."

Shadowmane composed himself and nodded. "Yes, well... Good. I'm pleased that at least for the first time in a long time, we've managed to reach an accord on something."

"That makes two of us. It wasn't as horrendous as the last time, so there's that. Just as long winded though." Tempest smiled, finishing her Pep in one go.

Shadowmane finished his coffee despite its likely heat and placed the mug on the desk, flashing Tempest a winning smile as he got to his hooves. "I'll see myself out. Have a pleasant day, and I'll see you later."

He walked past the cart and opened the door, a final nod in Tempest's direction and a short glance at Spike, regarding him momentarily before turning and stepping out, closing the door with his tail and once again leaving them in the soundproofed privacy of the office.

"He's not all bad, is he?" Tempest mused, patting Spike on the shoulder to indicate he was allowed to get up. "A shrewd bastard and a pain in my flank, but he has his moments."

"He sounds... fairly honest? He didn't seem to mind my staying." Spike said as he got to his feet, Tempest floating the pillow back to its place behind the desk.

"Similar working environments," Tempest said, a ghost of a smile on her lips. She breathed in and straightened up, meeting Spike's eyes. "Now, quite unfortunately we can't continue where we left off. Thanks to Shadowmane's lingering presence I'm behind schedule, and that's not fair on those waiting to see me."

"Understood, Ma'am. I'll get back to it." Spike nodded, facing about and going to the cart. Dropping the 'Mistress' moniker as it was back to business as usual. He blushed as a magical force much like a hoof groped at both his bottom and his groin in way of a goodbye from Tempest, and it tugged with more force as he reached the door.

"Do come back after your shift. I have something in mind." Tempest mused.

Spike's chest fluttered as he nodded. After leaving he gently closed the door behind himself and left Tempest's scent behind, going back to his deliveries as he contemplated what she had meant. With Tempest he was sometimes unsure with what she cooked up for him, but it always tended to be fun. He turned his focus to his work though, he still had a few items left that needed to go to the lower floors, and he hadn't been there for a few hours so it was more than likely that there would be paperwork to go elsewhere.

With any luck, with it being late in the day there would be less to go out. It was almost eight-thirty and most ponies would just be finishing up by now, though those working in later shifts and overtime were going to be going until ten, or slightly later. He rolled past the upper level desks without much in the way of attention as most people had gone, or were in the process of leaving. Gaillardet had already packed up too, the gryphon was quite high in many circles from what had cropped up in conversation, he had places to be.

He spied Button and Ribbon still working away across the wide office yet he didn't really have the time to see them and talk, however he might catch them before they left, assuming they were working until ten today. Spike continued along the carpeted path to the lift, a few curious eyes following him as he went through the floor with the trolley's wheels partially reverberating off the walls, even on carpet. He came to a stop and pressed the button, waiting for the lift to come, the other was currently making its way down to one of the lower floors. Spike grabbed the buds of his gem-player and placed them in, tapping the side of it to let it continue where he'd left off. No better way to pass the time, other than reading his comics.

After a few moments, the lift pinged and opened, and he paused when the doors slowly parted to reveal an extremely bored looking deathly pale mare. She possessed a heavily layered jet-black bob of a mane that partly ran across her vision in a fringe, wearing an equally dark gothic dress with metal-plated faux-leather boots ─of which the material was commonly referred to as faleath for short─ on her hindlegs that certainly wasn't office standard, and bore the heaviest application of eyeliner and eyeshadow around her amethyst-coloured eyes known to ponykind listlessly peeking out from under the fringe. Spike had seen her around the neighbouring offices in the building across from this one when he'd been pulling overtime as she did night shifts, and had never actually spoken to her as she was rather quiet and aloof. Rain? Mist? Omen? He was sure he'd heard her name in passing from others.

She blinked impassively at him and walked past with disinterest, a stack of folders in the purple aura that emanated from her horn, the scent of burned rosy incense resting on the air that he could smell coming from her. He felt a little snubbed that he didn't even get a smile in way of general acknowledgement, but really, what could be done abo-

Spike felt momentary surprise as he felt his entire self be tugged on as he found himself and the cart whipped around in her mauve haze, and a finned ear being freed of music as the mare fixed a now-curious visage on him as it continued to play in the quiet of the floor.

"Hex Fillies." she queried, a semi-monotonous voice sounding from her mouth that almost bordered on interested as she mentioned the name.

"I, uh, yeah," Spike nodded with his answer, clutching the trolley's handle with a slight flutter of surprise in his chest. It was usually only Twilight that could completely ensnare and lift him or others in magic let alone whole other heavy objects, and without warning... "They're one of my favourites."

Hex Fillies; a pretty good goth-rock trio from Mareschusetts, in his top ten of bands but he didn't have too much of their newer stuff. With the sheer amount of music he had on his gem-player it was pure luck he'd been on one of their songs.

"Marevanescence? The Sugarcubes? Sleep Party Ponies?" she quick-fired at him with a scrutinising and rather intense look.

"All on here, actually." Spike smiled genuinely, hearing names of groups he enjoyed.

His music collection was, well... a collection. Music in Equestria and beyond had exploded into being with dozens of different styles within a very short space of time within the last few years as technology and industry advanced. While there was certainly something for everyone he just kind of enjoyed everything because it was all unique in its own way, he just had a slight preference for something with gem-strike guitars or a pulsing synth beat.

She eyed him for another second, gave him a short nod of appraisal, and deposited him back down before resuming her walk in through the corridor, and likely in the direction of Tempest's office as he couldn't see any other reason for her to be up here. Spike was slightly bemused by the situation, following her with his eyes as she went, and wheeled his cart back around towards the lift. He couldn't help but notice her dress stopped at a certain point across her haunches before she disappeared around the corner, and she was quite well proportioned in all areas from what he could see, whatever wasn't hidden by her tail in any case.

Oh horseapples, he still hadn't gotten her name.

Well, they would most likely cross paths again in the future.

The lift door having remained open, he pushed the cart inside and pressed for a lower floor several buttons down. While he could take it further, within the remaining hour or so of work time he could only cover about five floors. This late, there were very few remaining assistants or interns as most had finished up around seven, and he was one of the few hired on for longer for his efficiency. It didn't take the lift any time at all to reach the level needed, and Spike quickly set his own pace collecting documents from drop-off points outside of cubicles or off desks. He made the rounds of three floors going between the lifts and collection within half an hour, making excellent time. In the morning, all the delivered paperwork could be picked up from a single designated point to be sorted where else it needed to go beyond him.

It took about another half an hour to do the remaining two floors nearer the top as a few ponies working overtime still remained, and making them a hot drink so they could save time and focus on their work was part of his own job. One of the mares may have also groped his bulge through his jeans, just a little bit, with her nose. Just one of those things, really.

By the time he came back to the top floor, he saw three ponies remained. Tempest was still in her office, the dim glow coming from inside the shadowy opaque crystal office hinting at her continued presence beyond his ability to see her faint silhouette. The other two were, surprisingly, Button and Ribbon. Spike smelled the two stallion's individual scents working through the office from a long day as he rolled the trolley over to them with a smile, and they turned to him as the sound of rolling wheels gave him away.

"Still working, guys?" Spike asked, looking to the stacks of forms completed for the newspapers that would be going out the day after tomorrow. He could understand why they stayed to finish it; the ponies working down in the printing section that put these forms into the papers needed plenty of them, and time to carefully put it all in as required, which generally took the better part of a day. Even with every building having three whole floors each dedicated to it, there were a lot of newspapers to sell after all. "Need a coffee or something?"

"Oh no, thank you my dear, I've had far too much caffeine for one day." Button waved a hoof, his smile waning.

"Uh, I'm good too," Ribbon said, drinking in Spike's appearance again and barely managing to keep his focus. "I think we're almost done here, actually."

"Yes, just a few more pages," Button nodded. Flipping around and getting back to his RTM, the machine's tacking somewhat louder in the emptiness of the floor. "Then we can at least go for a drink of something wonderfully fermented. It's been a while since we've had such a heavy workload."

"Well, a bit more than usual, yeah," Ribbon sighed, tearing his eyes away from Spike and returning to his work. "Most the time we finish at eight-thirty and sort things out the next day, or spread a project across multiple days." Ribbon then waved his hooves in the air. "But this was super urgent or some shit, Integer said it was an advertisement push for these Nipponeighnese businesses we've been typing up for."

"We get overtime so it's not all bad. We're over our forty hours." Button shrugged.

"Yeah but you lost my bet, so the drinks tonight are on you," Ribbon grinned at him, Button rolling his eyes. "Don't gimmie that, you said you could get tickets to the Knights volleyball game. I knew you couldn't."

"They are in high demand, I thought I had ample time." Button countered with a sniff.

Spike was a little lost, he didn't really follow sports, but the subject matter was certainly perking Ribbon up from his general fugue. "Knights?"

Ribbon craned his head back with a smile. "Yeah, the Canterlot Knights, best volleyball team in Equestria, and the sexiest."

"Probably a contributing factor to the ticket demand," Button added, looking at Spike with a sly smile. "I'd say Spike could probably try out for them."

Spike blushed and laughed, shaking his head. "What? No, I'm a dragon. Aren't most teams race-bound? Also... female only?"

"For buckball or something, maybe, on the first part at least," Ribbon said, nodding. "The general requirement is that you have hooves to buck with. Don't normally see gryphons playing it or whatever. But volleyball? It's a mixed bag even on the sexes. The Canterlot Knights are mostly ponies and mostly female, but they have a gryphon or two in there and a deer. Used to have a minotaur girl on the team, but the raw strength and reach she had really made things unfair, plus like with most minotaurs her tits were massive, huge distractions for both teams, they had this whole fiasco about it until she felt she had to quit for a different league with more minotaurs."

"I see," Spike giggled, enjoying the conversation. "Well I don't think volleyball lies in my future, I quite like working here."

"And it would be a shame if you left." Button said, then turning his attention towards Ribbon. "Also, as a point of interest, you should know that minotaur is the term for males. You're essentially saying 'male female' when you say 'minotaur girl' and implying that there's a penis in there somewhere. While dickgirl is certainly a popular category in Nippone, I've told you before, minobous is the term for females."

"I thought that was uh, bulls and cows?" Ribbon wondered.

Button gave a nod. "It is, the equivalent for us of course being stallions and mares, or tiercels and hens when it comes to gryphons. However, as with say, a gryphoness, calling one a gryphon isn't going to annoy her because that is the species name, and gryphoness is an accepted term from other cultures for their females. When you say minotaur in the general sense you mean to say minosan as that is the species name, as pony is our own, with minotaur for males and minobous for females. Don't ever call a minobous a minotaur to her face, will you? You might find yourself with a concussion afterwards."

"Okay whatever, po-tay-toe, po-tat-toe, so, history lesson aside and talking on volleyball I think that..."

The topic of conversation remained on the subject of sports for a while, with Spike asking a few questions, and Ribbon happily filling him in on the must-know information. Allegedly the Canterlot Knights had a feud with the Gem Knights of the Crystal Empire on account of their crystalline making themselves shinier and being a distraction, a common tactic that sometimes got the team in trouble yet not enough to get them disqualified as they never pushed their luck. Spike wouldn't have thought it mattered all that much as they rarely won against the Canterlot team anyway, but maybe it was just part of the fun rivalry Ribbon was going on about, he looked a great deal more enthused and wound down as he concluded the discussion.

"I'm finally done," Button sighed. "What a day this has been."

"Yeah I'm pretty beat." Ribbon yawned.

"Not so tired you can't enjoy a drink I hope?" Button gently poked his shoulder, getting up and packing his saddlebag. "I'm fairly certain that the Hooftapp isn't too occupied tonight, what with it being Friday."

"I hope that's sarcasm." Ribbon raised an eyebrow.

"Obviously," Button smirked back, then quickly looked at Spike. "Would you like to join us for a few drinks? I'm sure we could use the company."

Ribbon's eyes lit up at the prospect. "Hey, yeah! Why don't you hang out?"

The comment gave Spike pause. He'd... never actually gone out to drink before. Sure, he'd shared some mulled wine with Twilight during her coronation ceremony, but that was just a glass or two. It wasn't like he was too young to drink now, though the thought did feel exciting as it would be a new experience. Unfortunately for the two, Tempest had requested his attention, and she came first. Button and Ribbon were friendly co-workers, so he knew in future he'd be safe to go out with them. He gently sighed as he spoke with them.

"Afraid I can't," Spike pouted. "Tempest wanted to see me, it's likely I've got to help her with her workload for next week."

Ribbon shrugged. "Well shit, what can you do? Boss says jump..."

"Understandable I suppose, Poppy is a busy mare," Button nodded. "I do hope you'll find time to join us at some point."

"Least if Poppy doesn't work him to death first. The amount of shit she piles on you, always having you in there, that must really suck." Ribbon commented.

"It's not so bad," Spike mused, they had no idea. "Poppy is fairly kind once you get to know her."

"Yeah, right," Ribbon scoffed, glancing at the opaque office behind him. "Next you'll tell me she smiles. You can probably make friends with anyone, but I wouldn't like my own chances with the boss."

Spike laughed as they both got themselves finished up and ready to leave, waving them goodbye as they left their work area, and blushed as Button shot him a wink after a momentary discreet magical fondle before going off completely. After they left, the office floor was almost devoid of any sound other than the faint hum that came from the various gem lights around the office or the kitchenette's fridge.

He turned back to face Tempest's enclosed office space with pursed curiosity, and slowly toed his way over. He couldn't be stealthy about it, Tempest could see out of the room as clearly as if there were no walls, but his approach was still unrushed. He suddenly wondered if she would be peeved that he'd taken a little longer to get to her as he'd stopped to talk with Button and Ribbon, as she had said to come back after his shift, but she hadn't said directly after, so maybe...

"Come in, Spike."

Oh, he'd been standing outside the door in his own little world.

He jumped a little when the door flew open with Tempest's magical assistance, and felt himself pause completely as he stood in the doorway and laid eyes on her.

Wow.

He'd never seen her wear that before... just what did she have in store for him?