“Alright…” Trixie said as she slid the mold out of Aria’s rear, “You can pull your pants back up, we’re done.”

Aria pulled her jeans back up, her face a bright red as she sat down next to Adagio.

“Alright, did you just want a rubber plug, or did you want it to be metal?” Trixie asked, looking up at the two of them.

“Rubber’s good,” Aria said, shaking her head, “The one I had before was metal.”

“Alright. And do you want it to be able to vibrate or not?” Trixie asked.

Aria couldn’t even believe she was going through this kind of a process. She exhaled, keeping her composure, “Yeah, I’d like it to vibrate.”

Trixie wrote the measurements on a sheet of paper and stood up straight, “Alright. It’ll be about twenty minutes. I’ll be back. You two waiting here?”

“Yes we are, Trixie,” Adagio smiled.

Trixie nodded and retreated into the back room, leaving Aria and Adagio alone.

Relaxing a little, Aria leaned back in her chair, wringing her fingers against her stomach. She glanced around, looking toward the small table of magazines. Naturally, they were outdated by a few months. She rolled her eyes, then picked one up and flipped through it.

“Trixie’s a nice girl,” Adagio smiled, crossing her legs and sitting back, “Very discreet.”

“I guess with this kind of business, you’d have to be,” Aria remarked.

“I don’t just mean with others,” Adagio chuckled, “It takes quite the self control to be so collected when you’re prodding at pretty girls all day.”

“Maybe she’s desensitized to it by now?” Aria guessed with a little shrug.

Adagio shrugged, “Probably. Has more resolve than I ever would,” she chuckled.

“Please, you get grabby with your wait staff. Normally that’s frowned upon in business,” Aria snorted.

“You can get away with anything when your employees love you,” Adagio snickered, “It’s not sexual harassment unless they object.”

“...Good point,” Aria nodded, “But I mostly meant by principle. But I guess that’s as good a reason as any.”

Adagio smirked, “Oh no. Mistress Adagio loves playing grabby with her girls.”

“What if you get an employee who doesn’t want that?”

Adagio shrugged, “I said it to Sunset Shimmer, I’ll say it to them. I’m not going to fire you for telling me to keep my hands to myself.”

“Figured,” Aria tossed the magazine back onto the table, “Stupid tabloids. And now I’m bored.”

“Aw,” Adagio pulled Aria closer to her, “Poor baby.”

“Baby… You know, speaking of baby,” Aria looked at her curiously, “Why does it mean so much to you when Sonata and I call you Mommy? I know it’s a fun game you like, but it just… What’s all that about?”

“I didn’t really think much of it at first,” Adagio said as she cuddled Aria closer, “After a while, Sonata slowly got into the habit of cuddling up and calling me Mommy. Even during sex. I thought it was adorable. Then… hmm… there was one time Sonata got really really sick. She was exploding out of both ends and turning the apartment into a noxious gas chamber. She was actually afraid that I was going to kick her out. Afraid that I didn’t find her attractive anymore and so I was going to toss her aside…”

“Like… I thought you were going to?”

Adagio nodded, “Anyway, she didn’t tell me this until later, but while I was making her some soup, I told her I loved her. Like I always do. She said ‘I love you too, Adagio.’”

Adagio paused for a minute, her lips pursed.

“...That hurt. And I didn’t expect it to hurt. She’d been calling me Mommy for months, and then she just called me by my name. It’s like if someone uses your full name. You just get the feeling that something is wrong. I asked her why she’d done that, and after a while she told me what she was afraid of. I eventually convinced her that she wasn’t going anywhere, and she hasn’t called me Adagio since,” Adagio explained, “...I love it. She’s like my little girl... and you are too. I can’t really explain why, I just… like being Mommy.”

Adagio took a breath as she wiped her eye and gently squeezed Aria’s shoulder.

“...Is there more to it than that?” Aria managed to ask, bringing her arms around her, “I mean, I know you love it and all, it makes sense. You’re a real motherly kind of woman, so I can see it. Just, you know… seems like it’s more than that.”

Adagio brought her arms around Aria’s shoulders and kissed the top of her head, “Well… I suppose… are you sure you want to hear this? It’s not exactly conversation for a sex shop.”

“...You can tell me when we get back,” Aria gave a little nod, “It’d be easier.”

Adagio shook her head, “No. Sona will be there, and she shouldn’t hear this,” she conceded, pulling Aria closer, “I always thought that, no matter what I ended up doing with my life, that… I’d be a mother. In fact, as much as I focused on school growing up, I was always daydreaming about what my own little girl would look like. One day, it actually happened. Before I came out of the closet, I lost my virginity to a boy from school-”

“How old were you?”

“Sixteen,” Adagio explained, “And I got pregnant.”

“...Is… this the one you mentioned to my mother?”

Adagio nodded, “I’m fertile, but… I can’t carry children. I learned that the hard way. The very, very hard way. I gave birth and… he didn’t cry. He didn’t move. He didn’t even breathe,” Adagio took a shaky breath as she hugged Aria tighter, “My son had died before I’d even gone into contractions.”

“...That’s horrible,” Aria murmured with shock, reaching over to hold her hand, “I’m so sorry. I can’t even imagine how you feel.”

Adagio squeezed Aria’s fingers as she held back tears, and nodded, “Afterward, they did some testing and… I can’t carry a child to term. There’s a 96 percent chance that it’ll die in the womb.”

“Wow… even after all that, you can’t even have your own child,” Aria murmured, nuzzling her comfortingly, “I mean, I know it’s not the end of the world, but… that’s not fair. Women should have the option, even if they don’t want it.”

Adagio squeezed her shoulders and kissed Aria’s hair, nodding, “But it’s okay… I have you girls, and you two just light up my day…”

“...That’s good to hear,” Aria sighed a bit, snuggling her, “So listen, if it means that much to you… I can go ahead and call you Mom. I guess… it’s nice that it really isn’t some creepy fetish.”

Adagio pulled back and looked down at her, “...Really? Are you sure?” she asked, her voice soft and cracking ever so slightly.

“I’ll interchange, but I’ll call you Mom in addition to your name,” Aria nodded.

Adagio pressed her fingers to her lips, and Aria actually saw a tear slide down the side of her face as she leaned in and kissed Aria’s forehead, “...Thank you, Aria.”

“Sure thing,” Aria blushed a bit, “And hey, don’t worry, I won’t tell Sonata about it. I know exactly what’s gonna happen if she knew about it. She’d be beyond devastated.”

Adagio nodded, nuzzling Aria under her chin, “Mmhmm… that’s something she doesn’t need to know. I love you, sweetie.”

“I love you too,” Aria nuzzled her, “...Mom.”

Aria felt Adagio’s heart racing in her chest as Adagio squeezed her tighter. Their moment was broken, however, when Trixie cleared her throat.

“Oh, sorry Trixie,” Adagio let go and approached the counter.

“Is that everything?” Trixie asked as she held out a bag with several items in it.

Adagio nodded, “What’s our total?”

“Let’s see…” Trixie ran through the register as she run up each item, “Two pairs of vibrating panties, that’s forty bits. A standard dildo, that’s twenty-five bits. And one custom fitted anal plug with vibrator built in… that’s a total of seventy-four hundred bits.”

Adagio nodded as she swiped her debit card through the machine, “Lovely.”

“Uh, you know, it’s okay,” Aria spoke up, “I can just take the dildo and panties. No need for the butt plug.”

Adagio ignored her as she keyed in her PIN. After a few seconds, Trixie stuck the receipt in the bag and handed it to her. Adagio turned and laid the bag into Aria’s hands, “Shall we?”

“Yes, but…” Aria didn’t get a chance to answer as Adagio was making her way out. Disgruntled, Aria followed her, “Adagio! Adagio, wait up! ...Mom!”

“What’s wrong?” Adagio asked, turning around.

“Nothing, it’s just… Over seven-thousand dollars on sex toys? Just for me?” Aria said, looking at the bag, “It’s not that I don’t appreciate it, but I just… it’s too much!”

Adagio took hold of Aria’s hips and lifted her up to set her on her waist, pulling her in and kissing her fiercely. Aria melted into the kiss and wrapped her legs around Adagio’s waist. After a few minutes, Adagio pulled back and nuzzled Aria’s nose.

“There’s no such thing as too much for my babies,” Adagio purred.

“...Okay,” Aria conceded, nuzzling her, “Fine, I won’t say anything. But don’t expect me to keep my mouth shut if you’re on the verge of debtors prison.”

“It’s a deal,” Adagio smirked, carrying her over to the car.

Adagio sighed as she poured over her papers. The club was empty save for one or two patrons who had paid for personal dances late into the night. Adagio sat at the bar as she continued to work out her math.

She’d planned to get Aria and Sonata very nice gifts for Christmas, but also both a gift and a bonus for all of her employees. The only problem she was having was the total. The whole plan was going to cost her upwards of twenty thousand bits. And she couldn’t withdraw that much from her business account. She was going to have to find a way outside of the club to come up with the majority of the money.

“Hmm…” she said to herself as she jotted down additional business prospects.

A contact came to mind, someone from Ponyville. A businessman, known as Filthy Rich. He owned a lot of land in the town, as well as investing within many growing stocks, and following in his grandfather’s footsteps. Making a deal with him wouldn’t be too much of a problem, to be sure. Her eyes scanned the room and, sure enough, Filthy Rich was sitting in one of the chairs. He didn’t have a dancer tending to him. He never did. Filthy Rich would come in, drink, and observe the stage dancers, but he never paid for a private dance.

Adagio narrowed her eyes as she signalled to one of the remaining waitresses, pointing to Filthy Rich and making a “come here” motion. The waitress nodded as she made her way over to Filthy Rich while Adagio returned to her paperwork.

Not two minutes later, Filthy Rich stood up, going over to where Adagio was, smoothing out his business suit and offering a smile.

“Good day to you, Miss Dazzle,” he said, nodding to her, “What can I do for you?”

Adagio smiled and shook his hand, “Mr Rich, I’m in a bit of a jam. I’ve been planning to give all my employees a bonus and a nice gift for christmas, but I just can’t round up enough spare bits to pull it off. I was wondering if you wanted to buy some shares of my club. My stock does very well.”

“Hmmm… interesting,” Filthy Rich said thoughtfully, “I’ve done little studies of your club’s stocks and they do look very promising. But as a businessman, I do want to make sure I get my money’s worth. You understand, right?”

“Oh of course,” Adagio smiled, “What else did you want to know?”

“Well, I do invest in a number of night clubs and bars, but one thing I always look for is this. How do they stand out? What can they offer that others won’t?” Filthy Rich gave a warm chuckle, “You have a very unique club, a nice location, and it has a very warm and inviting feel to it with a lot of class. I do appreciate that. Tell me, though, would you be willing to offer a certain kind of… service, were I to buy shares of your club, and even throw in a nice bonus?”

Something clicked in the back of Adagio’s mind as she watched Filthy Rich for a minute before, leaning forward, “And what sort of service are we talking about?”

“I will be frank, Miss Dazzle,” he said, taking a seat, “You are an absolutely stunningly beautiful woman. I have not seen such a woman with a raw sex appeal as you in a long time. Not to get personal, but my wife and I have just gone through a messy divorce. I seek companionship at times, if you know what I’m getting at.”

Adagio’s eyes narrowed as she glanced up toward the observation window, seeing the shape of Sonata watching from above. This wasn’t the first time she’d been propositioned by a patron, and usually it was swiftly made clear that she was untouchable. However, now Filthy Rich had caught her between a rock and a hard place. If there was one weakness Adagio had, it was her girls.

Turning her gaze back to Filthy Rich, she sat up straight, “Why don’t you spell it out for me?” she said with the slightest hint of venom in her voice.

Not the least bit fazed, he gave a kind smile, “If you allow me to take you to bed and have sex, then I would be more than happy to buy some shares for your club. As well as a very handsome bonus.”

“You do know that I’m gay, don’t you?” Adagio cocked an eyebrow.

“I’m aware of that,” he nodded, “But that’s my offer. You’re free to take it or leave it, Miss Dazzle.”

“Give me a moment,” Adagio said, standing up and retreating to the storeroom, closing the door behind her.

‘Ugh, that lousy, skeeving little… I  must say, he saw an opportunity and he took it...’

Then up popped the hateful little angel on her shoulder that always talked her out of buying a cheeseburger when she wanted one, ‘You can’t go through with this! Who knows what he might do to you? And if word get’s out that you’re willing to sell your body, you’re going to be flooded with this kind of thing. Any time you need a loan, you’re gonna be extorted for sex!’

As if on cue, the hateful little devil popped up on her other shoulder, ‘Oh please! This is bigger than that. You wanna do something special for your babies, right? And all the girls that put up with grabby customers on a daily basis?’

“I’m somewhat surprised that the little devil is saying that,” Adagio remarked.

‘Okay, think about this? What if he gets you pregnant? Are you really willing to deal with that again?’

Adagio shuddered, “That’s below the belt.”

‘I know.’

‘Look, haggle. You need twenty-eight thousand bits to make all this happen, see what you’re going to have to do to get it.’

Adagio nodded and returned to the bar, “Alright, Rich,” she said, dropping the formality, “I need twenty-eight thousand to make this work for my girls. Why don’t you walk me through what I’m going to have to do to get it from you?”

“All right, then,” Rich said, wringing his fingers along the countertop, “Tomorrow evening, I’ll take you to dinner. That’s how I prefer to treat my ladies, you understand. I tend to bring them to hotels, this being due to the fact that my daughter often spends her time at home when she isn’t at her mother’s. I don’t engage in degrading fetishes, but I do enjoy certain kinds of… play with my ladies. Should you satisfy me, I will compensate you as fully stated. No fine prints.”

“So, act like a date, and get you off, that’s it?” Adagio asked, cocking an eyebrow, “And how do you propose I do that?”

“Precisely. Dress in a lovely, formal outfit, especially if it offers a sexy perspective,” Rich looked her over for a brief moment and nodded, “Be yourself, but it won’t hurt to see your lovely smile, either.”

“And what about when we retire for the night?” Adagio asked.

“Once all is said and done, I’ll take you home. It will be very discreet. If you would rather leave the next morning, that’s no problem,” Rich said with a light wave of his hand.

“Don’t play coy with me, Rich,” Adagio snorted, “I meant specifically. What am I going to be expected to do?”

“I’m sure you’re familiar with roleplaying? Perhaps the use of toys?” He said, leaning back a bit.

Adagio nodded, folding her fingers in front of her face as she eyed him, her gaze saying ‘tread lightly.’

“However, I don’t engage in the latter all too often,” he went on, crossing one leg over the other, “I expect my ladies to dance, to strip, and adhere to whatever I may ask them to do. If there is more than one woman, you can expect I would have them engage with one another as I watch them.”

Adagio briefly glanced down at his lap and then back up to his face, “...Alright Rich, you’ve got yourself a deal. One thing, though. It’s not going in my ass, and you’re going to wear a condom.”

Rich chuckled, nodding, “I’m not unreasonable, Miss Dazzle. But that’s fine, I don’t tend to prefer anal play, and I always use a condom. I cannot risk getting my ladies pregnant or anything of that sort. I also have no STD’s, I continuously get tested and use protection.”

“Alright then,” she extended a hand to him, “I’ll see you tomorrow evening then.”

Rich shook it, giving her a charming smile, “Absolutely. Have a good day, Miss Dazzle. I’ll pick you up at seven-thirty.”

“And shower extensively,” Adagio added, “If I’ve got to put that thing in my mouth, I don’t want to be tasting sweat.”

“Why won’tcha tell us where you’re going?!” Sonata whined.

“Because Mommy has business to attend to,” Adagio replied briskly as she carefully touched up her makeup, “Be a dear and zip up Mommy’s dress?”

Aria exhaled, coming behind her and zipping up her dress, “You sure are looking...glamorous.”

“Pwease, Mommy?” Sonata pouted, kneeling beside her on the floor and looking up at her with puppy dog eyes, “I wanna know…”

Adagio made a point to not look directly at Sonata’s face, “I’m sorry, Sona-baby. Mommy can’t tell you everything.”

Sonata whimpered like a puppy, placing her hand on her thigh. Aria snickered, in spite of her own curiosity.

“Sonata, you are such a puppy,” she teased.

“Sonata, that’s final,” Adagio said firmly, but reached down to pet her hair all the same.

“...Okay…” Sonata sighed, looking downward, “Fine.”

“Hey,” Aria gently pulled her up, “Don’t give attitude, now. I’m sure she’s got her reasons, you know better than that.”

Sonata exhaled and then hugged Adagio around the shoulders, “I’m sorry, Mommy. I didn’t mean to be such a brat.”

Adagio smiled and patted her head, “That’s alright, sweetie. Give me a kiss.”

Nodding, Sonata gave her a little kiss, and getting a bit of lipstick on her lips. She noticed this in the mirror and giggled, “Oopsie!”

Adagio giggled and kissed her cheek, leaving an imprint, “Oh you’re just precious.”

“Hee!” Sonata gave her a hug, kissing her cheek back, “I love you, Mommy.”

“Mommy loves you too,” Adagio grinned, nuzzling Sonata’s hair, “Mommy loves you so much…”

“Me too!” Sonata nuzzled her hair back.

“And what am I? Chopped liver?” Aria quipped with a laugh, coming over and joining the hug.

“No,” Adagio giggled, bringing an arm around Aria’s shoulders, “Mommy loves you too, Aria.”

“Love ya, Ma,” Aria nuzzled her and gave her a hug too.

“Mistress Adagio,” came the bouncer on the intercom, “Filthy Rich is here.”

Adagio sighed as she pulled away from her girls, “Let’s get this over with, I guess…” Next Chapter: Don't Drink From That Estimated time remaining: 6 Hours, 24 Minutes