Everyday Life With Guardsmares
Chapter 109
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Corporal Honour Bound couldn’t remember the last time she’d ever been so completely relaxed. Reverend Sister Lucretia, that big-tufted batpony priestess, was a genuine miracle-worker with her hooves.
"Unnhhhh."
Honour had long since closed her eyes and surrendered her consciousness over to the Lunar’s incredible massage. And, mercifully, having recognized the corporal’s incapacity for conversation, Sister Lucretia had let up on her questioning and continued in silence. The same was not true of Honour’s VIP and his masseuse, the Reverend Mother Superior herself.
"How wonderful! I hope one day to see this marvellous device of yours. And how quickly did you say it can go?"
"Oh, about sixty kilometers per hour, if the road is smooth and flat. But if I can craft a proper internal combustion engine, we could easily do double that. We could even build a machine that can fly."
Carmen leaned in, spreading her wings wide for balance as she rocked all four of her hooves back and forth on his shoulders.
"A machine for flying? I'm imagining a great metal beast with flapping wings."
Anonymous, though obviously enjoying the massage, was nonetheless doing a good job maintaining his presence of mind. Better than Honour was, at any rate.
"Not quite like that. Imagine holding your wings out straight, and then having a powerful fan blow you forwards."
Suddenly, the earth pony heard several sets of hoofsteps at the door.
"Your Reverence, please forgive the interruption."
Lucretia didn’t let up with the hoofwork as Corporal Bound turned her head to see who was there. It was another Lunar mare, accompanied by two hooded colts.
‘Huh, so they do let the males in here.’
Carmen didn’t sound happy to see the group, however. "Oh, really now, what is this? I left specific instructions that I was not to be disturbed for at least an hour."
The mare, presumably some other Reverend Sister, bowed deeply. "My sincerest apologies, Reverend Mother, but the Eighth of Meteors has arrived at the Sanctuary. He wishes to speak with his imprisoned Six immediately. He has invoked the Privilege of Consultation."
It was another Lunar who spoke flawless Equestrian with a Canterlot accent. At this point, Honour was sure they all did.
Turning her head again, she saw Carmen roll her eyes in exasperation.
"Of course he does. And of course he has..."
Sighing, Carmen stepped daintily off of the VIP's back. "...Great Lord, please accept my most regretful apologies. A true Lunar massage takes at least an hour, and I have, to my great disappointment, only been afforded half that meager time."
‘It's only been half an hour? Seriously?’
Honour felt like she’d spent the whole night there. Lucretia kept going on her back, and she closed her eyes in delight once again, as the muscles that had been worked so hard -- first by the Royal Engineer's demanding training, and then by Marcos' abrupt interruption -- were kneaded back into submission.
Well, it was time well-wasted, at least -- but she realized she should still pay attention to this.
Honour opened her eyes again to see Carmen shaking her head, her brow furrowed in frustration as she administered a few final hoof-prods to her VIP. "And for such a powerfully-built creature as you, my Lord, I think closer to two hours would be required for the massage to fully penetrate."
‘Two whole hours?’
Honour had been on the verge of falling blissfully asleep after just thirty minutes. Two hours would probably have rendered her so fluid she’d melt right into the water like a blob of jelly.
"After the outrageous incident earlier tonight, I must attend to this matter personally. But I insist that after your next training session with the Stellar Seven, you come to the Sanctuary again. Night or day, and regardless of whatever privileges a Star may be invoking at the time, I will see to it that you experience the Well of Life as our Great Mother intended it."
Lifting his head somewhat, the Royal Engineer turned to look up at the Reverend Mother. "Of course, Your Reverence. But your excellent massage has been so relaxing so far, I fear that I'd fall asleep halfway through such a lengthy affair."
Carmen smiled. "That is the objective, of course; the Sanctuary accepts the Rookery's tired and worn, who later leave here refreshed and well-rested." Spreading her wings again, she flapped them once and hopped back to the outer pool deck.
Anonymous pushed his chest off of the platform and sat up, curling his legs up in front of him. Obviously, more to cover himself than to preserve any kind of heat; there was no need for that in this hot, steamy room.
"Your Reverence, before you leave, may I ask you another question?"
Halfway through one of the hooded colts helping her into her robes, Carmen turned around again and gave a small bow. "Of course, Great Lord. I am yours to command."
With his arms wrapped around his legs, Honour’s VIP furrowed his brow. "This Sanctuary, and this Well of Life... Are there others like it on the Moon as well?"
The Reverend Mother Superior grinned. "Ahh... You wish to know how we did things before returning here, eh?"
With a small chuckle, she licked her lips and continued. “Yes, each House -- what we call our city-states -- has a Sanctuary for its Lunars, which services both the House-members and any visitors as well. Though this is by far the grandest of all Lunar Sanctuaries, the others follow a similar layout and have similar features."
Fastening the clasp to her cloak with her wing-fingers, Carmen pointed a forehoof at one of the cascades of steaming-hot water. "This particular Sanctuary is unique not just by its presence here in Equestria, but also in that the Great Mother has blessed us with a supply of fresh, pure, hot water straight from the heart of the Earth. On the Moon, provisions are not so abundant."
She lowered her hoof, and turned to seize her crescent-topped staff, tucking it under one elbow as she continued with a more serious expression. "The Moon is a harsh mistress. Her depths are cold, and most of the available water is frozen in vast, underground glaciers. It is around these that the Lunar Sanctuaries, and indeed, the Houses themselves are built, for without water there can be no life."
Anonymous nodded. "And so the Lunars control the defrosting and distribution of that water?"
The Reverend Mother Superior returned a thin smile. "Yes, Great Lord, we are entrusted with that responsibility. It is why we must hold ourselves to the highest standards, and why I must leave now to keep the trust of the Stars. Not so much for life here in the Rookery, but for the rest of my Phase and my people still living on that other world. For whoever controls the ice, controls the Moon."
The threat of denying somepony access to water sure sounded like it would result in obedience. Then again, following through on that threat against somepony powerful -- like, say, one of the 'Eighths' of a Star temple -- would probably result in an armed uprising. Better to give 'basic' water away for free, no matter who asks, but promote upstream, 'special' waters as reserved for the elite -- the better to get those elites to agree to whatever the Lunars required.
Things were starting to make sense to the corporal now; so much sense that Honour had actually forgotten about the Sister still working away on her back.
Carmen hadn't, however.
"Lucretia, come along now. We can't have you servicing the Great Lord's concubine -- my apologies, his escort, rather -- when he himself is unattended. As for you, Great Lord, I invite you to stay in the Well of Life as long as it pleases you."
Honour was too mellow to complain even internally about that little slip.
Lucretia stepped off of the earth pony and fluttered gracefully over as Carmen kept her gaze upon the junior Lunar. "Go and see to it that an ample supply of towels are placed here at the entrance for the use of the Great Lord and his escort."
With a nod, Lucretia brushed through the curtains, allowing another blast of refreshingly cool air to come rushing in. The Reverend Mother Superior, properly attired with her staff in the crook of her left forehoof, looked down at Honour’s VIP, still sitting on the further 'massage island.'
"As for your plan to enlist the aid of the Guild of Blacksmiths in establishing a new foundry in Canterlot, know that it has my full and unequivocal support. I wholeheartedly endorse it, as I would endorse any plan like it which promises to peacefully bring we Children into contact with our Equestrian cousins. For only through such contact can we mend the rift that has survived for a thousand years. With your permission, I will inform the Great Mother and convey my feelings to the Rocks as well."
Anonymous glanced over at Honour. "I haven't actually informed Her Majesty of my plans quite yet; I was hoping to first impress both of Equestria's rulers with a demonstration of that steam-car first. If you would be so kind as to wait, I will send word once I have made the proposition myself."
Carmen bowed gracefully. "Of course, Great Lord. I would not wish to upstage you in this matter."
Smiling gently, she raised her right forehoof and the three newcomers exited the room behind her. "Now, spend as long as you wish in here, and leave at your pleasure. Lucretia will be back soon with towels for when you are ready to depart, and will check in regularly to see that you are still enjoying yourselves. You have water to drink, but would you prefer something else? Or are you hungry? Shall I send for refreshments?"
The Royal Engineer shook his head. "No, thank you, Your Reverence."
With a final elegant flap of her wings, she lifted off into the air. "Then until we meet again, O Great Lord." Holding her wings steady, she floated mysteriously back out through the curtains, coasting on the stream of hot air that followed her.
‘There she goes again, showing off her physical abilities with a fancy trick like a backwards coast.’
Honour just barely heard Carmen’s hooves contact the tile floor outside, before she was on the carpet again and the room fell silent.
Turning her head back towards her VIP, Honour saw Anonymous deep in thought.
"Is everything all right, sir?"
He nodded. "Yes. It's just been a busy day -- a busy night, rather."
Unfolding his arms, he turned sideways away from her and scooted towards the edge of his little massage-island. "First the training, then an actual fight..."
Leaning back, he slipped into the water, then turned around to rest his arms on the platform. "...And then half an hour being massaged by the leader of the batponies in Equestria, while she pumped me for information about my activities."
Honour had noticed that. She wasn't going to say anything about it just yet, but since he'd brought it up...
"You knew, sir, and you went along with it anyways?"
The Royal Engineer shrugged. "Why not? I don't have any secrets. Plenty of ponies have already seen the carriage. I serve the Equestrian public. The whole point of my position is to develop science and engineering for Equestria as a whole."
"I suppose that's true."
There was another rush of cool air, and Honour saw Lucretia returning with a hooded colt who was flapping away behind her, his forehooves clutching a tall pile of neatly folded white towels.
"Great Lord, here are towels for you when you have finished. If there is nothing else, I shall retire for now to leave you to your bathing. If you require the restroom, there is one just outside on the right. I will return again in a quarter of an hour."
The Royal Engineer nodded in acknowledgement, and the colt placed the towels down on a small bench nearby, before the two Lunars turned and exited the room once more.
Returning her attention to her VIP, Honour saw that he once again seemed lost in thought.
"I'd like to rest here for another half an hour so, if that's alright with you, Corporal."
"Of course, sir. Are you still sore from the exercise?"
He shook his head. "Not really. It's a mental exhaustion, I think. That was the first real fight I've actually been in."
She hadn't considered that. Despite his imposing stature and considerable physique, Anonymous himself claimed not to be a soldier or fighter. Out of concern that he'd be defeated, he'd refused to fight in the pas-de-sabots at Newstirrup Bridge, although he'd wound up helping Glamerspear later anyways. To say nothing of his precision inspirational speech to Sparkshower beforehoof. And then there was the way he’d refuted Honour’s own arguments, later, about whether the fight was a good idea to begin with.
The point was, for a colt who wasn't a soldier, he sure did a good job of faking it. But still, there was a difference between behaving soldierly outside of a fight, and behaving that way in one. The batpony Meteor he'd helped knock out had been trying to kill him, after all.
"You did well, sir. In the Royal Guard they teach us to fight in teams, whether ranks of earth pony javelin-throwers, pairs of pegasus wing-mates, or even groups of anti-air-unit gunners and shield-casters. I was holding off an enemy, and you took advantage of his disorientation and an open field to flank him. It was a textbook 'hook' maneuver."
He took a deep breath. "Just before I grabbed his foreleg, I remembered I was only in bronze armor, while he was wielding steel blades. That made my heart skip a beat."
Honour still didn't quite understand this whole steel-versus-bronze distinction, especially since her bronze-equipped crew easily beat their opponents, but if the Royal Engineer was concerned about the difference, then she’d take it as a serious matter.
"You kept your nerves, though. And he wasn't expecting that straight punch to the brisket you gave him, or else he would have tried to make it a glancing blow."
"I think his failure to react was more due to the menace of your spear in his face, Corporal."
Honour chuckled. "As we say in the Royal Guard, sir: a kill's a kill. If we were counting, you'd get the credit with the assist to me. Although as the officer in charge, technically you'd be credited for the fight as a whole."
He grunted noncommittally, but didn’t reply.
She saw him take a few deep breaths before he ran one hand across his brow, brushing away the sweat and condensation. He took another deep breath, slower this time, and glanced down -- almost seeming to avoid Honour’s gaze.
"Corporal, there's something I wanted to ask you about. From before the fight, during our training together..."
‘Is he looking for some feedback?’
Sergeant Ebonshield had been barking instructions and advice the whole time, but Honour didn't have the chance to say her piece about it.
"...The, ah, brief incident with Specialists Sparkshower and Glamerspear, before Marcos arrived..."
‘Oh, that.’
Honour took a breath as she recalled the 'incident' in question.
‘Of all times for those two bucking 'shoes to get aroused…’
The Royal Engineer hesitated. "...Is that, uh, common? In the Royal Guard?"
He wanted to say 'normal;' she was sure of it.
Honour cleared her throat. "Ahem. No, sir, it isn't typical of the Guard. I apologize for their interruption, and I will speak to them about it afterwards."
That was just the formal response of a senior non-commissioned bodyguard to their VIP. Anonymous was more than just an ordinary VIP, though, and she owed him a little more.
"However, among Equestrians, pegasi have the greatest reputation for being 'rough-and-tumble' and ready for battle. Although Specialist Sparkshower is young, and has yet to discover the full extent of her combat capabilities, I think that fighting spirit is strong within her. As for Specialist Glamerspear, she has in the past vocally expressed a certain... enthusiasm for battle."
That was a polite way of saying that Sparkshower was a desperately lovelorn young mare, while Glamerspear's lust for violence bordered on depravity. Though that depravity was shockingly effective, particularly when combined with an incapacitating smoke-bomb. She wondered if Ebonshield herself packed a few of those under her big, black cloak.
However, Anonymous didn’t seem entirely convinced by Honour’s explanation, and actually looked a little worried.
"I see. And I wasn't doing -- I wasn't doing anything inappropriate? During our training? Grabbing at, uh, the wrong parts, or, uh..."
‘Really?’
‘He's worried about propriety during a combat exercise?’
The gentlecolt who politely sat with a heartbroken Sparkshower for three hours and talked about relationships without even thinking of making a move on her? The colt who turned down Ebonshield's offer of free sex, no strings attached -- to say nothing of the Reverend Mother's offer, as well? And without even mentioning the make-up flowers he’d sent to the corporal after she’d started an argument with him? At this point it was almost inconceivable that he would even be capable of crossing that sort of line.
Honour furrowed her brow and shook her head. "No, sir. You didn't do anything inappropriate. You can trust that I would have spoken up if something was wrong. And I do have armor down there, sir." She chuckled awkwardly.
This wasn’t the kind of thing guards ordinarily talked about with their VIPs. But really, what was ordinary about this assignment? Smiling to herself, still lying on her belly, with her hind legs stretched out behind her and her fore legs out in front, Honour watched her Very Important Pony, who wasn't at all pony, look wistfully up at the ceiling.
He licked his lips, then spread his arms wide, planting his hands on the platform before him.
"Corporal, I have another question, and please don't hold anything back in your answer..."
He stared at her with a mixed look of confusion and concern.
"...Am I physically attractive? To ponies, I mean?"
‘What?’
‘Where's this coming from all of a sudden?’
‘Oh, of course.’
Sparkshower spilled literally all of her saddlebag-spaghetti in front of him after Ignacio called out Glamerspear's horn-anteglow.
She looked the Royal Engineer up and down -- well, his top quarter, at least, since the rest of him was either underwater or covered behind the large raised platform.
No hot-blooded colt with a shred of self-confidence would ever ask that question in such a manner, and she’d never felt that Anonymous was lacking in that quality. It was tough to understand just where he thought he stood, though.
She decided to turn the question around on him before answering.
"You don't think that you are, sir?"
Anonymous sighed, and shrugged his shoulders. "Well, to be honest, no, I don't. Or rather, I didn't..."
He nonchalantly flipped his hands up, then rubbed them together aimlessly. "...When I arrived here by accident, I was still struggling to finally get over my disaster of an engagement. I wasn't really looking -- I wasn't actively 'dating' or anything like that. Obviously my first thoughts upon arriving here were on trying to get back, but when that turned out to be basically impossible, I had to find something worth doing, some purpose to my presence here."
Folding his arms over each other, he leaned forwards. "Engineering is what I came up with; it's what I did back on my world, after all. And after throwing myself into this role, eventually, my thoughts turned again to companionship, but looking at the facts, I had to face that it was probably unlikely."
He held up a hand and began to count off on his fingers. "I'm a biped, whereas you're all quadrupeds. I'm mostly hairless, whereas you're all completely covered. I've got hands and feet, whereas you've all got hooves. I have to wear clothes all the time, whereas a naked pony is generally not indecent. And I'm drably colored, whereas Equestrian ponies span the whole rainbow."
Lowering the hand, he continued. "The physical differences seemed to present a real barrier to physical attractiveness, no matter my wardrobe, and I never got any sense otherwise from the ponies I met." Anonymous shrugged. "Not that Equestrians have been anything less than open, friendly, and accommodating. But I didn't think any pony would ever think of me as a possible romantic partner, so I resigned myself to eternal bachelorhood."
He tipped his head sideways and lifted his eyebrows. "And there I probably would have stayed, if not for Specialist Sparkshower's outburst earlier. It made me reconsider my conclusion."
There was a lot of sense in what he was saying. But the crucial piece he'd left out was that really, until she and the rest of the quaternion came along, he probably wasn't seeing any mares on any kind of regular, friendly basis at all. That kind of frequent, extended contact could change ponies' attitudes, as it certainly had in this case. If Honour had just spent all of her time standing silently at the door, it wouldn't have turned out this way.
She wondered about his thoughts the other way around, however.
"I see. But what about yourself, sir? Do you find ponies attractive -- physically?"
Her VIP looked her over, and she suddenly felt very self-conscious about her position. She may have simply been lying down, but with her hind legs stretched out, her plot was a little raised up in the air. The kind of pose a colt might find in a magazine, the kind they read for the 'articles.'
Maybe she could have phrased that question better.
Anonymous hesitated in answering. "I... I think I'd sort of... unconsciously forced myself not to see ponies that way, to save myself from despair."
Turning aside, he smiled and laughed. "...Hah, you know, humans have a reputation even amongst ourselves for 'overactive' imaginations when it comes to sexual partners. I mean, you should see some of the fiction my people wrote, about falling in love with all sorts of creatures."
Anonymous looked down at the water to compose himself, then swallowed before meeting Honour’s gaze once more. "But you're right; it's not simple for me, either. Some things don't bother me much, like say the four hooves or the coats. But others are harder to get over. For example, on my world, we're the only ones who can talk! Equines over there are just simple, fairly dumb animals. That's a tough preconception to ignore."
He laughed again, with more abandon. "Heh, though I suppose the riotous colors help. Ponies here are colored almost nothing like ponies on my world. Pink! Green! Blue! Bright red! And the manes and tails, too! Why, the skin and hair colors of my people are pretty much just different saturations and brightnesses of basic ordinary brown, ranging from almost totally black to nearly completely white..."
Anonymous gestured towards her, tears of laughter in his eyes. "You're almost the only pony I've ever met with anything approaching a 'normal' color scheme for a human!"
The uncomfortable spotlight she’d felt grew more uncomfortable still. Lying on the platform, she actually felt naked and exposed, which was absurd, considering her VIP was ultimately far more undressed than she was. And in the last hour, she’d seen both his front and back, completely uncovered!
The Royal Engineer calmed himself down, still smiling warmly. "But my people do dye their hair from time to time. And having been here for almost a year, now, I think I've grown accustomed to the new color palette, so that's not really a problem either."
He gestured at his upper chest. "There are other differences of course. Female humans don't have flat chests like males do; there's fatty-tissue breasts here that are a secondary sex characteristic. Sort of like Minotaurs, I guess. Mares don't have those, but, uh..."
Swallowing awkwardly, he looked away once more. "...Some of the, uh, things ponies do have are actually, er... intriguing, I guess you could say."
Honour was tempted to ask for details, but this conversation was awkward enough already.
Seeming to bring his thoughts to a close, Anonymous nodded as he looked her in the eyes.
"So, yes, I could find a pony attractive -- and I would, if I had any thought that the attraction might be mutual."
He really was uncomfortable talking about this; more than she was about being on a literal platform before him, spread out like a buffet dish. Honour really didn’t have the energy to stand up -- and jumping into the water would be another exercise in standing on her tippy-hooves.
To be fair to her VIP, love was rarely an easy thing to discuss. The corporal supposed she should just be happy he was discussing it with her, in the relative privacy of this Well of Life, rather than, say, speaking to Sparkshower or Glamerspear -- or, Celestia forbid, Ebonshield. The sergeant would probably not only tell him he was a certifiable stud, she'd insist on teaching him the proper sexual procedures to please any mare he ever met.
Putting that thought out of her mind, she returned her focus to the Royal Engineer, who was still awaiting her answer to his question from a couple of minutes ago.
"Sir, to answer your question honestly, and without holding anything back..."
She tilted her head and glanced aside for a moment, uncomfortable with even the idea of disappointing her VIP.
"...No, I don't think you are generally attractive to ponies."
His face didn’t betray any reaction.
"Oh."
Now that the harsh truth had set in, Honour took a deep breath. "But let me emphasize that this is an initial impression, sir. Attitudes can change when somepony knows you well. As you said, it's hard to overcome the physical differences, but it's easier when they're familiar, and no longer so foreign. And I think you do have a charming personality, sir."
She cleared her throat.
"...Since you deserve my full honesty, and since I think by now Specialist Glamerspear has more than proven her worth as a member of your quaternion, I might mention that three weeks ago, in the first few days of our assignment, she privately expressed a certain... distaste... for your physique."
Anonymous raised his eyebrows. "She said I was ugly?"
Technically, 'hairless monkey with ratty old jogging shorts' was not the same as 'ugly.' But, really, that's what she meant.
"Not quite with that blunt word, sir, and I won't repeat what she did say, but her meaning was clear."
Lifting her eyebrows, the corporal gestured with the bottom of one forehoof. "...Yet, here she was, earlier today, nursing an ante-glow from watching you trying to grapple me. And a day before, again in private, she expressed sexual attraction for you, sir."
The Royal Engineer's eyebrows went even higher. "She did?"
Last night's ruminations may have been those of a half-drunk mare who'd gotten bucked and then discarded by a worthless noblepony colt that was only interested in the next cheap whorse, but there was a grain of truth in them. To the point that if Anonymous started seriously coming on to Glamerspear, Honour didn't think she would put up more than token resistance, probably out of some fillyish desire to make things 'interesting,' or to 'play hard to get'.
"Yes, sir. And as for Specialist Sparkshower, well..."
She chuckled, biting her lip. "...I think her emotions are still in a strange place from her recent breakup. But I also think that she was being genuine earlier tonight, and there's no denying her, ah, physical display."
That was a pretty weak euphemism for an enormous, ten-hoof-wide wing-boner.
Anonymous furrowed his brow. "I understand about her emotional position. We had a good talk about relationships last night, though at the time I didn't consider it anything other than friendly chat. I don't think I'd be comfortable beginning a relationship with her at this point, given what's just happened to her. But you bring up an interesting point about physical displays. I had no idea that outstretched wings could signify attraction, for example. Or a horn... ante-glow, you called it?"
She nodded. "Yes, sir. As in the glow that comes before. A sign of arousal in unicorns, just as outstretched wings are for pegasi."
Anonymous simply nodded. "I see. And is there anything else I should be aware of? Any other secondary sexual characteristics, for example? Besides words or physical contact, how would I know if a mare was flirting with me -- is flirting even a thing, here?"
‘Okay, that's a kind of... adorable question to ask.’ The Royal Engineer was not some fresh-faced young buck; he was an accomplished professional, and someone who had already had his first love on his own world. But because he was a stranger in a strange land, he was asking the kind of questions foals and fillies asked when they started to hit puberty.
"Flirting is a thing, yes, sir. Besides words and physical contact, as you said, sir, probably the most visible sign a mare is being provocatively sexual is when they stick out their tuft."
"Their what?"
Of course he didn’t know that, just as she’d told Sparkshower last night.
Honour collected her legs and pushed herself up, turning to face him before sitting down on her haunches. It was hard to fluff out her tuft when it was all wet like this, but she still gave it a try, brushing her forehooves over it to quickly make it look as plush as possible. When she reached what she considered a passing score -- although it was nothing compared to Lucretia's front-stage shrubbery -- she looked back up at her VIP.
"Their tuft, sir -- the little bit of extra-long coat-hair here at the front. It's, uhm..." Feeling a bit flush in the cheeks, she looked away momentarily. "...It's more impressive when it's not matted and wet, sir."
Anonymous looked more confused than anything. "Is it... sexual? Like, to touch?"
Honour’s cheeks turned even redder at the thought of her VIP running his fingers through her fluff, but she kept things professional.
"Not really, sir. Not any more than touching anywhere else. There's just the implications of, uhm, having a colt snuggle your fluff, and what it'll lead to, that sort of thing."
The Royal Engineer just stood there, staring at her tuft. Honour didn't think anypony had really done that in a long while. Even Castlerook had the propriety to only occasionally sneak a glance -- sort of a little game he played with her, where he wanted her to catch him in the act. A way of letting her know he was serious about being interested in her as more than just a friend. But here was her VIP, appearing to pore over every single hair. It'd be flattering if she thought he understood what he was looking at. She didn't have a monster tuft like Sparkshower, but she’d never had any complaints from those few colts who had had the opportunity to enjoy it.
Anonymous finally averted his gaze from her tuft, looking Honour in the eyes. Then he started to speak, slowly, as the truth dawned on him.
"Corporal, am I mistaken, or did Reverend Sister Lucretia--"
She interrupted before he could finish that thought. "Yes, sir, she had an enormous fluffy tuft, and it was out front and center from almost the moment she arrived in the Grand Hall."
The Royal Engineer cocked an eyebrow. "I guess that makes things quite clear as to what Carmen had in mind for the second half of this 'massage' session."
Honour started to smile. "Yes, sir, it does."
He answered her smile with one of his own. "Alright, Corporal, I think I'm getting the idea."
Stepping out from behind the platform, he moved through the water towards the staircase. "If there's nothing else you think I need to know right now, then I think I'm done for tonight. Let's gather everybody up and head back to the surface."
That sounded like a good idea to her.
"Yes, sir."
Suggested interlude music: Huey Lewis and the News - 'Do You Believe in Love' [1982]
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BzIbyDbmsyg
