“Companionship,” repeated Lex flatly.
“Y-yes,” answered Feather Duster, looking down demurely. Or at least, it might have been demureness. Given the way Aria was glaring at the maid from across the room, it could just as easily have been discomfort. Lex couldn’t tell either way. “I know that you’re a stallion of great…appetites,” Feather Duster continued haltingly, “and since Miss Dusk and Miss Newsy are gone, I thought that one mare might not be enough for you. So I wanted to…to offer my services…in their place.” Her face was bright red by the time she finished speaking, glancing up at him furtively before lowering her eyes again.
“Of course you did,” muttered Aria darkly, rolling her eyes. “And you absolutely had to pick tonight, didn’t you? Blondie and Sonata have been gone for days, but you made sure to wait until just now to make your move.” Huffing, she leaned back in the comfortable chair she’d flung herself into after Lex had insisted on seeing what Feather Duster had wanted, giving him a dark look. “Well? Are you gonna bang her or what?”
Lex resisted the urge to sigh, having no idea what was going on.
The entire evening had been one baffling scenario after another, beginning with Aria’s behavior. When he’d mentioned that Twilight Sparkle was returning, she’d reacted in a way that he’d presumed was an instance of fear. After all, according to what Sonata had told him, Twilight’s appearance had twice heralded Aria’s life taking a turn for the worse, even if she hadn’t been the sole factor behind what had happened. So naturally, he had done his best to reassure her that she had nothing to be afraid of; as things stood now, Lex knew that wouldn’t be able to win a fight against Twilight, but figuring out how to change that was his problem to deal with, not Aria’s.
But Aria’s reaction hadn’t been what he’d cautiously anticipated. Instead of reacting with relief or encouragement, her response to his pledging to protect her had been amorous desire. Even stranger, she hadn’t been aggressive or demanding in seeking his affection the way she usually was; instead, she’d acted with a submissiveness that was entirely unlike her. It had been baffling…though not unwelcome. Quite the contrary, in fact.
As bizarre as the situation had been, however, Feather Duster’s interruption had been even more unexpected.
Once he’d brought the maid inside – something done over Aria’s objections; after she’d slammed the door, he’d gone out there personally to see what was going on, ignoring Aria’s protests that she’d “taken care of it” – Feather Duster had reiterated her risqué offer, leaving Lex utterly nonplussed. He’d always known that he was no good at reading people, but Feather Duster’s statement of desire for him ran counter to every impression he’d had of her. And just to make things even more incomprehensible, Aria seemed to be upset with this particular development, in stark contrast to her usual prurience. Nothing was making sense.
The fact that Feather Duster had just mentioned Nosey, whom Lex had gone out of his way not to think about over the last several days, didn’t make things any better.
Not knowing what to do, Lex fell back on the one point that offered any semblance of stability. “This is highly irregular coming from a married mare. What about your husband?”
Aria’s eyes widened at that, sitting up straighter. “Wait, what?” She looked at Feather Duster in surprise. “I knew you had a kid, but a husband? When did this happen?”
Feather Duster flinched, as though the questions were painful to hear. But she recovered quickly, glancing at Lex again. “Tryout…I’m glad he’s alright, but…but he doesn’t excite me anymore. Not like you do.” The last few words came out so quietly they were almost mumbled, and for a moment Feather Duster seemed like she couldn’t keep going. But then she took a deep breath and straightened up, meeting his eyes once again as she took a small step closer to him. “You…you’re a powerful pony, the most powerful pony there is, now, and I want…I want to feel that power. To know what it’s like to…to belong to you.” Reaching a hoof up, she fumbled with the buttons to her uniform, biting her lip as she started undressing. “So please…take me. Take me and-”
“Oh you’ve gotta be kidding me,” groaned Aria. When she saw that her comment had drawn Lex and Feather Duster’s attention, she looked at the former and pointed at the latter. “Tell me you’re not buying this. I’ve heard better hot-talk listening to Sonata make a breakfast order.” Lowering her hoof, she turned her eyes back toward the half-dressed maid, her gaze cold. “You’re obviously not into this, so what’s your game? Did you come here on a dare or something?”
“N-no!” Looking panicked, Feather Duster glanced back and forth between Lex and Aria, as though not sure which of them she should direct her denial toward. “I’m here because…because I’m overcome with desire!”
“Please, you sound like you’re quoting lines from a trashy romance novel,” snorted Aria. Hopping up, she marched toward the other mare. “How about we make a little wager? I’ll bet you all the money I dragged out of that bank vault that you’re drier than a desert right now.” Sneering, she raised a hoof and reached out toward Feather Duster. “Get that tail up and let’s see!”
Yelping, the pegasus mare backed away, almost falling over as she lowered her tail over her rump protectively. “That’s not-, I mean, I don’t-”
“Aw,” cooed Aria mockingly. “Why are you running away? I thought you were offering us ‘companionship.’”
“ENOUGH!” bellowed Lex. “Both of you!”
Both mares stopped where they were, Aria huffing and Feather Duster trembling. For his part, Lex could only grimace, convinced by the exchange he’d just witnessed that this nonsensical turn of events wouldn’t resolve itself the way he’d hoped it would if left to these two. Despite the fact that he didn’t know what to make of any of this, he’d need to solve it on his own.
But I can at least start by isolating the variables, he decided. “Aria, give us the room.”
“Seriously?” she asked sourly. “You’re not even going to let me watch while you do her?”
“Aria.” This time his voice was a growl, making it clear that his patience was wearing thin.
“Fine,” she muttered, making no effort to conceal her displeasure. Without so much as a glance at Feather Duster, she stomped over to the door leading to the bedroom, marching inside and slamming it behind her.
Once she was gone, Lex turned his attention back to the remaining mare. Feather Duster was still looking at the floor, holding her half-unbuttoned uniform like she wasn’t sure whether to put it back on or not. It didn’t escape Lex’s notice that, although Aria had left, she was still trembling a little. But none of that meant anything definitive that he could determine; she could have been shaking in arousal just as easily as fear or humiliation.
Instead, Lex focused on what he wanted. Both Aria and Feather Duster were subservient to him, which meant that his wishes were paramount. Whatever desires those two had were relevant only as much as he wanted them to be. And what he wanted…
For a moment, Lex seriously considered taking Feather Duster to bed. She wasn’t unattractive, and the prospect of enjoying her body was appealing on a visceral level, particularly since he was still feeling worked up from what had happened with Aria. If she was, as she’d said, overcome with desire for him, then why not reciprocate that?
Just like he had with Nosey.
The thought, borne from how Feather Duster had mentioned his former girlfriend – or rather, ex-girlfriend – earlier, immediately quenched any lust that Lex felt for the pegasus mare. This was too similar to the mistake he’d made before, following his desires and letting them lead him to what had ultimately turned out to be nothing but further pain and heartbreak. Nosey’s leaving him was still a frequent scene in his nightmares, and he had no wish to add to them by engaging in a liaison with Feather Duster now.
Besides, there was still the issue of her husband, as well as the fact that her daughter was one of his students. Even leaving aside the immorality of engaging in an affair with a married mare – such a thing wasn’t technically against his code of ethics, but that technicality depended on all parties giving their informed consent to such an arrangement, and there was nothing to suggest that Feather Duster’s husband was even aware of her being here, let alone that he was alright with it – there was no way to anticipate what the disruption to her parents’ marriage would do to Cleansweep. He had a responsibility to that filly and her friends beyond that of most ponies, and he couldn’t teach her about the proper use of power and authority if he was damaging her family just so he could satisfy his libido.
His decision made, Lex turned his attention back to Feather Duster. “Get dressed,” he ordered her curtly, “and then get out.”
For a second she looked like she wanted to protest, but then whatever strength she had seemed to flee, and she nodded, her expression miserable. Slowly, she pulled her uniform back into place, fixing the buttons she’d undone earlier. Once she was done, she turned toward the door…but didn’t move. Instead, she turned back around and threw herself down onto her belly, pressing her nose against the floor. “Please!” she begged, almost sobbing. “If I’ve upset you, please don’t take it out on Cleansweep, I beg you!”
“What?” The confusion that Lex had managed to dispel came back in force then. Her outburst wasn’t a complete non sequitur, since Lex himself had been thinking about the filly’s welfare, but for the life of him he couldn’t figure out why she thought that his being upset with her would have anything to do with how he treated her child. “What are you talking about?”
“She’s saying,” came Aria’s voice as the door to the bedroom opened, revealing her leaning casually against the frame, “that she was trying to whore herself out for her daughter’s sake.” Ignoring Lex’s shocked look, she glanced over at Feather Duster. “I should have put two and two together the moment I saw you. Did River give you this idea too? Tell you that if you put out for Lex, your daughter’s future would be secure?”
“What does River have to do with this?” demanded Lex, feeling more lost than ever now.
That impression wasn’t helped by the bemused look that Aria gave him then. “Oh please, you really think a girl this timid would wear an outfit with a skirt that short unless someone put her up to it?”
Lex was about to order Aria to be quiet and leave, certain that she had to be starting trouble for her own amusement again, when, to his astonishment, Feather Duster nodded. “It’s true,” she whimpered, her voice filled with shame. She made no move to get up, closing her eyes as the tension seemed to flow out of her. “It’s all true. I’m sorry.”
Sauntering into the room, Aria sat down across from the prone maid, a triumphant smirk on her face as she looked at Feather Duster now. She seemed to be taking an almost vindictive pleasure in what was happening, though for the life of him Lex couldn’t figure out why, save to guess that it was related to why she’d been so upset when the other mare had joined them earlier. But that mattered far less than what had just been revealed.
Aria seemed to feel the same way, pausing just long enough to toss him a wink before returning her attention to the pegasus. “Go on. Tell Lex exactly what you’ve been doing and why.”
And Feather Duster told them everything.