Lily Glamerspear

---

For Specialist Lily Glamerspear, life was pretty good. She was going to the Grand Galloping Gala, she’d been on the Moon, and she was learning a crazy (and dangerous) new kind of magic. She liked her exciting job, she liked her loyal comrades, and she liked her smart commander.

Everything was rosy.

Or... Lily.

‘Nah, that doesn't work.’

Sparkshower was such a pegasister that she actually had an argument with Glamerspear about resuming her shift once she got back from delivering Anon's letters. After taking over Sparks' job guarding her Very Important Pony -- who wasn't actually a pony -- for his meeting with the probationary criminal Songwell, Lily was perfectly content to keep it up until the four-o'clock shift change. Artemis was having none of it, though, and when she found out that Glam hadn't gone for a lunch break on account of the meeting time, well, that gave her the upper hoof in the argument; the pegasus had hit up the chow hall for a quick bite before reporting in, so she insisted on returning to duty. Even though Lily owed her more than just a few hours' relief for what Artemis went through for her -- and what she was, to an extent, still going through -- the unicorn could tell she wasn't going to back down.

So it was Morning Dawn, Evening Dusk once again as they changed places. Anyways, it wouldn't have been nice to argue loudly in front of the Royal Engineer. Especially over something so silly as who should have the honor of guarding him for the next few hours.

Or maybe he'd have taken it as a compliment? A couple of young mares tussling over who gets to stand guard in front of his doors had to be a little flattering, right?

‘Heh.’

Pushing open the door to their shared chambers, Lily found them just as empty as they’d been when she and Sparkshower had left earlier. Honour didn't seem to have gotten back from the library, and Eb wasn't back from her Rookery run, either.

‘Oh, well. Looks like I’m still on relief standby.’

‘Guess that means it's just me, my magazines, and my bellyful of mess hall lunch leftovers up here.’

"Urp."

‘Oof.’

She might've overdone it a bit back there. She was still dealing with a bit of undersleep after Tuesday's bender and Wednesday's early-morning sewing spree, and that had a tendency to make her hungry. She needed to make sure to get some good rest tonight.

Tomorrow, she had to deal with Valiant Kilfeather in all his ‘glory,’ and Lily needed to be in top mental shape. Even if the Royal Engineer's browbeating two days ago had left him subdued, she knew it won't be long before he got on her nerves again. Lily held no illusions that a single dressing-down, no matter how firmly it was delivered or how tall and imposing the hairless biped was who delivered it, would keep Val in his place forever.

As she casually removed her helmet and telekinetically tossed it onto a cushion, Lily loosened the straps on her main cuirass, pulled it off, and draped it over the back of the sofa. May as well keep these close at hoof in case there was another call for help downstairs; it wasn’t like there was anypony else in here to complain about her stuff being strewn about in the common room.

Lily lay down on the sofa and tucked into the latest edition of 'Canterlot Match.’ It was the pre-Gala issue, of course -- a special Thursday edition with all the rumors and gossip heading into the weekend. Who's going with who, who's bucking who, and dozens of shots of assorted pre-Gala parties. Monday's issue would be full of colour spreads of the main event.

Who knows? Maybe one of them, or at least their VIP, would wind up in one of those photos. Canterlot Match thrived on a good scandal, but their bread and butter was covering the ordinary lives of Equestria's upper crust.

As she perused glossy articles about wealthy socialites, mostly unicorns, partying in their very-good-but-not-quite-best outfits, a few stories stood out in particular.

"The D'Image-Freehawk family feud finally boiled over when the D'Images planned a huge costume party at their new second-tier Canterlot mansion last weekend and refused to invite the Freehawks, having been victim of Freehawk-enforced snubs up until now. It appears that old money couldn't stand the idea of being left out of an event this big and eventually caved; after a social call, the families are apparently reconciled and there will no longer be a split in the city's grand events."

‘Unicorn nobles playing games like fillies in a schoolyard.’

‘Typical.’

Blue-blooded ponies really weren't any better than ordinary red-bloods.

"A unique show was on display Tuesday night-"

‘This had better not be about the Royal Engineer and our drunken escapade!’

"-at a vacant warehouse down in the docks district, turned into a pop-up party with eclectic performances and avant-garde art for the city's elite. Canterlot Match has been told several prominent unicorns were in attendance, but as masks and mark-coverings were mandatory we can only present photos without names."

‘Huh.’

It looked like a pretty crazy time. What else would she expect from a one-night-only affair, though?

As Lily flipped the page, there was a knock at the door.

"Coming!"

It couldn't be any of her comrades -- they'd have come right in. It couldn’t be the Royal Engineer, either -- he'd be accompanied by Artemis, who'd probably call out. A messenger, maybe?

Lily opened the door to find an attractive, middle-aged colt in full Royal Guard armor. It was Captain Montgomery Mailedhoof, her salt-lick. Unsure as to the circumstances of this visit, she gave a standard salute as she quickly scanned the corridor behind him.

"Captain, sir!"

The hallway was empty.

‘What's he doing up here now?’

"I thought you were on duty Thursday afternoons?"

Mailedhoof nodded. "I am on duty, Specialist." Grinning, he snickered. "But I can't stand being around all those mareish decorators nattering as they set up for the Gala. And I'm tired of tripping over all their reams of tapestries and running into all their ladders and scaffolds." He tilted his head backwards, looking the specialist up and down. "So I thought I'd get away from that for a spell to pay you a visit and maybe see what that rather oversized bill from Louis Valise has bought me."

‘So he's been driven away from his post by the party coordinators?’

Not a very good excuse; then again, officers in the Royal Guard, particularly nobles, and especially ones assigned to garrison duty, got away with it all the time. Common soldiers could get corporal punishment for dereliction of duty, but nobleponies generally got away with it with scarcely more than a slap on the fetlock. The thing was, Lily belonged to the former category, and she was Sparkshower's only backup.

"I can't go anywhere right now. I'm on hot standby in case they need me downstairs. And I'm the only one available."

He snorted. "Who said anything about leaving? I've got nowhere to take you anyways. My stateroom's been given over to some visiting dignitary, and with my family in Canterlot, I can't be seen with you, either."

‘So he wants into my quarters?’

She generally didn’t receive her salt-licks in her own chambers...

After all, they were supposed to be the wealthy socialites with mansions or staterooms -- or at least the biggest tent in the camp. She was the one with an enlisted soldier's bunk -- having an actual bed, not to mention an actual private room, was a real luxury upgrade here in the palace. And it wasn’t like she kept her room in a state to receive visitors. Not that it was filthy or anything, just, y'know, it didn't put her best hoof forward.

The colt noticed Lily’s hesitation and stepped forward. "Aren't you going to invite me in, Specialist?"

She swallowed. "I'm not alone in here -- well, I am right now, Captain, but the others could get back anytime."

Mailedhoof snorted with disdain. "What, is the lowborn specialist worried that her patrician captain will embarrass her?" He settled into a smirk. "Anyways, I just want to see the dress, and you in it. It'll be difficult to see you in it on Saturday, at least up close and in good light."

‘Well…’

‘Okay.’

Honour said she might not get back until dinner, and who knew when the Sergeant would emerge from the Rookery. It was the middle of the afternoon, and if Mailedhoof was only here for a quarter of an hour there was a good chance she wouldn't be interrupted. Lily nodded and stepped back, letting him in and shutting the door behind her.

Surveying the common room, Mailedhoof undid the chin-strap of his helmet. "I heard about your charge's little demonstration on Monday. Rumor has it the general staff were very impressed."

Smiling at the compliment, Lily led him towards her room.

The captain gave a slight smirk. "Not bad for only one unicorn, backed up by just two pegasi."

‘If he thinks that Eb is just another pegasus, that's good news for her disguise.’

Lily indicated the corporal's quarters with a nod of her head. "There's actually four of us, now, Captain. A full quaternion."

He just scoffed as she opened her door. "I know. And I'm sure the mudder pulled her weight, but that's all they're good for, anyways."

Lily halted for a moment and almost tripped over her own hooves, before carrying on as if nothing had happened.

‘He just called Corporal Bound, my earth pony comrade, the 'm-word.'’

‘Not to mention the rest of that offensive sentence…’

She’d certainly met her share of supremacist plot-holes in the rank and file of her all-unicorn 'cornfield' artillery regiment, but to hear a noblepony officer with a high station in the palace guard casually toss out such an insult was a shock.

‘And about one of my comrades!’

That put her in a bad mood.

‘This had better be a quick show.’

Lily indicated her writing desk and chair while she opened her wardrobe and pulled out the bagged dress at the front. "Have a seat, Captain. Why don't I get changed next door?"

Mailedhoof shut the door behind him.

"Right here is fine."

‘Of course.’

‘Well, all right, then.’

‘The things I do for a Louis Valise…’

It was a gorgeous dress, but Lily was starting to wonder if she should have just gotten something last-season from the outlet mall at Hackney Trot.

‘No sense crying about that now.’

She telekinetically yanked the matching sandals out from underneath her bed. As Mailedhoof plonked himself down in Lily’s chair, dropping his helmet on her desk, she quickly slipped everything on. She’d already removed her armor earlier, so a few telekinetic manipulations and a quick flick of her mane had her all set. The only thing she hadn't taken off was her Silver Ram, but it went with the outfit. And besides, she was going to wear it to the Gala.

The Louis Valise was a black summer cocktail dress with cutouts at the side and a flared, translucent, accordion bottom, with matching three-ring gladiator sandals adorned with nickel-silver studs. A stunning look against her Prench-pink coat, and nicely complimented her teal-and-cyan mane and tail. It was an aggressively hot dress, and very summery, particularly for breezy Canterlot, but the weekend forecast called for heat, and who had ever heard of a busy late-night dance floor that wasn't positively tropical? If she got a few shocked looks from overdressed old mares before dinner, who cared? Her outfit would come into its own once the DJ started spinning discs.

Anyways, the unicorn had a few options for black scarves and shawls that matched, if it was too chilly or if she felt underdressed, and her regulation uniform's black foul-weather cloak would do just fine as an outdoor cover -- to be disposed of at the coat check as soon as she arrived, of course.

Lily turned sideways and looked over her shoulder at the leisurely-reclining colt who’d paid for the getup, pursing her lips and arching her eyebrows. Mailedhoof liked what he saw, she could tell.

And not just from the grin on his face.

He casually waved his left forehoof in a circle. "Let's have the full show."

His positive reaction put Lily in a better mood despite his earlier offences, so she proceeded to give an impression of a runway walk. Professional models probably didn't try to sway their hips and shoulders as much as she did, though. Remembering the poses she’d just done with Sparkshower, Lily tried out a few herself. Sitting on her haunches, one forehoof just underneath her tuft, staring dispassionately to one side. Then she backed up against the door and stood up on her hind hooves, forehooves pressed against the frame, and wearing a come-hither stare. Then she gave him the old classic of backing up against the chair, looking over her shoulders, and with a half-lidded smile of satisfaction, slowly bouncing her plot just in front of his crotch.

She felt a forehoof brush against her hindquarters, and playfully batted it away. "Ah-ah-ah, Captain, you're on duty."

Mailedhoof gave her a quick slap and leaned back in his chair. "But you're not. And a mare like you gets excited as soon as a colt like me walks in the room." He lifted an eyebrow, continuing, "I'm sure you feel the need to relax a bit."

Nodding towards the bed, he puts a forehoof at the base of his barrel. "Since I'm on duty, I'll dutifully keep watch."

‘Really?’

‘He expects me to just lie down and clop right in front of him, like I’m working at some red-light peepshow deep in the lower tiers?’

Lily furrowed her brow.

‘Can I really say 'no' to him, though?’

This was an awfully expensive dress, and she’d added on the sandals, too.

The captain knew he was in charge, and his smile started to fade. "I'm waiting, Specialist."

‘Fine.’

A few minutes of pretending to work and a few good squeals ought to reassure his ego that he was Celestia's gift to mares. Her horn lit up and she started to undress.

"Ah-ah-ah. Stay in uniform when you're in the presence of an officer, Specialist."

‘Seriously?!’

This time she talked back. "I don't want to get it dirty right before the Gala, Captain."

But he didn’t care. "You are dirty, Specialist. Filthy dirty, like Canterlot's gutters after the first rains." His expression turned mean. "And if you make a mess you can't clean, find a bucking drycleaner. It's only Thursday. Show me what I paid for."

The colt was dead serious.

Here she was, in the privacy of her own room, in the middle of the afternoon, being forced to obey the commands of her forceful salt-lick. What was Lily to do? Turn him out, and risk the consequences of crossing a powerful noblepony officer? And what if he refused to go? Would she have to get physical? That could lead to even worse consequences.

As much as Lily wasn't in the mood to do what he asked, it wasn't completely out of line for a saltine-and-salt-lick relationship. Like every other enlisted unicorn kept on a tight leash by their drill instructor, she knew a couple of basic spells to get stains and smells out of clothes. Even if she had to send it out to be cleaned, there wasn't any real risk of her showing up to the Gala with a dirty dress.

It just felt disrespectful to dirty it before wearing it on the big night.

Yeah, Captain Mailedhoof paid for it, and Lily bought it intending to show it off to him, but it was her dress now, and maybe she was planning to show it off to more than just the colt with the letter of credit. But here he was, insisting on leaving a mark, like claiming her, or at least it, as his property.

‘Whatever.’

She climbed up on the bed and rolled over onto her back.

‘Just get this over with and he'll be gone.’

Mailedhoof would be too busy to see Lily again until after the Gala, and if she still felt sore about this, she could break things off then if she wanted. The specialist wriggled a bit on the bed, trying to get comfortable, and also trying to keep as much of the skirt out of the way of any possible mess.

"Quit stalling. You know you want it."

‘Yeah, yeah.’

With a deep breath, she closed her eyes and lit up her horn. Lily couldn't fake the whole thing -- this couldn’t possibly be the first time Mailedhoof had made a unicorn partner pleasure herself for his amusement; he'd know what the real deal looks like. So she started for real, delicately probing around with her telekinesis, looking for the right spot.

‘Ahh--there it is.’

She brushed her force against it.

‘This is wrong -- this isn't how I want to do this.’

‘Just lay back and think sexy thoughts.’

‘Handsome colts with bulging croups and powerful hips.’

‘And just the right size of instrument to hit the right places inside you.’

Lily’s mind wandered back her first field posting after 'shoe camp. A fortified regimental camp out in the wilderness, packed full of cramped tents.

With co-ed showers.

And guardscolts with not much more to do but drill and work out all day. Those bulky earth pony colts bursting at the seams with muscles, the toned pegasi colts who could flap all night long, and the unicorn colts who didn't need telekinesis to sweep a mare off her hooves. Oh, how Lily and the other fresh-faced private Miss So-and-sos used to gawk and titter. She remembered the hot summer nights, and the search for a few moments of privacy somewhere inside the palisade walls.

A few moments of privacy for a few moments of pleasure.

If it hadn't been for easy access to contraceptive herbs, Lily was certain every mare in the camp would have been pregnant. And for a lot of them, it would have been impossible to identify the father, too.

"~Ahhh~"

She let out a breathy moan as if she’d just hit the next level. Which was not to say she wasn't starting to enjoy herself, but it was going to take a lot more than just some hot memories to make up for the low she’d started at. At least there was plenty of lubrication now. But that just made her more self-conscious about spillage onto the dress.

‘No, Lily, come on, just focus on finishing this up.’

‘Mailedhoof wants a slutty little mare winking and dripping at the mere thought of him, so give it to him and be done.’

"~Hhh~"

Lily switched up her stroke a bit and a tingle shot up her spine, resulting in another squeak of pleasure. In spite of herself, she started to work faster.

Maybe the easiest way to fake an orgasm would be to have a real one. Last time she’d clopped like this, it was after Mailedhoof had left her unsatisfied. Her thoughts had turned to the Royal Engineer.

‘Mmm…’

She thought of him working all night in the carriage house Sunday night, his hairless skin slick with sweat. And the way he suplexed the Sergeant… He could lift any of them, easily, in those big, strong arms. But he wasn't just some brutish minotaur; he had finesse. Sparkshower said he'd easily picked up the Lipizzaner Waltz steps. She said he 'glided' around the patio.

‘Gliding, that's the word.’

Smooth and slick, but just coarse and firm enough to make things interesting. Lily imagined having her flanks squeezed, his arms wrapped around her barrel.

"~Nnn~"

That got another moan out of her, and she went up another level. Now she was panting, and she opened her eyes, turning to see that Mailedhoof was starting to sweat a bit at his brow. Looking away, Lily shut her eyes and returned to fantasy, further quickening the pace.

Anonymous would be a caring lover, she was sure of it. He was too nice not to be. But when he got riled up, like how he shut down Val…

A gentle hoof, but firm when it needed to be.

Lily imagined his hands on her mane, fingers running through it. Would he know to give a tug now and then? Or to place one hand just so under her chin, so she could feel each potent thrust all the way from her back to her front?

She didn't like it too rough.

Sparkshower, kinky as she was, would want to have the sex choked and beaten into her, Lily was certain. The unicorn just wanted it done with emphasis, that's all. The slight sense of surrender to power, tempered with the reassurance of tenderness. And he wouldn't stop until she was satisfied. Even as he came closer and closer -- reaching the limits of his endurance inside of her. He'd find a way to last, or if he couldn't…

If he couldn't resist releasing inside of her...

"~Mmmmm~"

Panting and gasping for air… He'd come back with a second shot.

Or maybe…

Maybe he could use those fingers of his to finish the job. Those delicate, probing, digits.

Lily bit her lip and went full speed.

"~Unnnn~"

Each telekinetic flick was from his fingers.

The bed beneath her was his firm chest.

The warm breeze blowing in the window was his hot breath.

She heard him whisper into her ears, how he wanted her, how he needed to satisfy her, and how she satisfied him.

"~Nnnng!~"

All thoughts of the unicorn’s present situation disappeared entirely as she lost herself in the wonderful scene.

‘Remember, Lily, he can gallop for hours.’

"~Mnnnnffff!~"

‘Hours and hours and hours--’

Lily couldn't breathe.

"~Aaaahh! Mmmmmnnnnnnggnnngfngnnn~"

Clenching and breathless, she rolled over to face the wall.

‘Celestia.’

Never mind the mess from the clop, the cold sweat at her withers would really do a number on the delicate fabric of the Louis Valise dress.

She felt something brush against the back of her mane.

‘Not yet, Anon, I need a minute.’

‘Wait--’

Opening her eyes, Lily turned her head to find her mane gently held in Mailedhoof's silver, telekinetic grip.

He stared at her with an excited grin. "That was pretty good. You must really want it. Come over here and I'll give you a taste."

She felt a telekinetic pull towards him.

‘Seriously?’

A clop show wasn't enough; now he wanted to be serviced, too. Rolling back over, Lily dismounted the bed and quickly fluffed her mane back in place.

‘Fine, a quick suck ought to do it.’

With the method-acting performance she’d given, he must be ready to burst at this point, anyways. She sat down on her haunches in front of the chair and lowered her head towards the Captain's drawn sword.

"Just hold it there. I'll get you what you need."

‘What's this now?’

A telekinetic glow captures his erect member -- and it wasn’t Lily’s.

‘He's just going to jerk himself off in front of me?’

‘What's the point of this?’

She felt a second telekinetic grasp around her head, and a third one pry her jaw open. As Mailedhoof rubbed himself out, Lily was forced to sit there with her mouth open, ready to receive. He didn't even ask, just grabbing her like she was some cheap whorse.

‘Buck!’

‘My Silver Ram!’

She was still wearing her Order of the Ram medallion! The dress was bad enough, but she was not going to let him soil that! Lily lit up her horn and started to undo the clasp behind her neck, only to find another telekinetic aura countering hers.

‘No, no, no!!’

"Wait! I don't-"

"You want this, whorse, you want this! So take all of it!"

As he spewed the denigrating words from his mouth, Lily was forced to receive thick spurts of his hideous load. She shut her eyes but his magical grip prevented her from turning, and she felt the spray splatter on her muzzle, in her mouth, and down her neck.

‘Not on the medal!’

‘Not the one thing that reminds me I’m worth something!’

‘No…’

When the squirting was done, Lily was briefly released from his telekinetic grasp, before being roughly shoved backwards against the bed. Mailedhoof immediately got to his hooves and collected his helmet. Then he left, shutting the door behind him without saying another word to her.

Lily sat in shock.

‘He didn't…’

Trembling, she looked down.

He did.

A gob of that monster's vile discharge dribbled down her Silver Ram.

Lily was overtaken by a sudden feeling of utter revulsion, and scrambled towards her wastebasket.

"Huuuuuuuugh! Blurghghhh!"

An unhealthy dollop of the mess hall's leftovers wound up inside, but after holding her muzzle over that first wad for a few moments, she mercifully didn't feel the need to completely unload.

Lily collapsed to the floor in tears.

‘What did I just let happen?!’

‘He just…’

‘Used me.’

The truth was suffocating.

She didn't sign up for this.

Being a saltine was supposed to be fun.

Fun for both sides.

Drinks, parties, baubles and fashion, and rolling around in the hay.

Now she’d just been used like a disposable prophylactic, and just as unceremoniously discarded.

It was deliberate, too.

In his own words, she was nothing more than his filthy gutter-whorse. And for what?

Another expensive dress to stuff into her already full-to-bursting wardrobe. And this one was ruined, if only by the horrid memories.

‘What the buck am I doing with all this?’

Wiping her tears, she sat up. Struggling a bit, she took a look at her chair, soiled by Mailedhoof's presence alone. With a single telekinetic blast, she shoved it to one side and stepped up to her desk.

Lily looked at herself in her makeup mirror.

‘You're disgusting.’

‘Pathetic.’

‘This is the best you could do?’

‘An enlisted soldier, not even a noncommissioned officer, whorsing herself out to jerkwad noblecolts?’

Lily gazed at the reflection of her desecrated medallion. That was the only thing she had which was really worth something.

It wasn't just some expensive trinket.

Even if she hadn't really acknowledged it until recently, it was the one thing Lily could cling to, to say she had accomplished something in her life.

And that bastard had sprayed his seed all over it against her will.

Lily delicately removed the medallion and, sniffing back tears, immediately lit up her horn to clean and polish it. In short order all physical traces of the goop were obliterated.

It looked as good as new.

But in her mind, it had still been irrevocably defiled. 'Centurion of the Order of the Ram' was supposed to mean a pony who had stood up for Equestria in the face of extreme danger. Now it had been made a badge of shame and weakness.

‘Buck, why am I even in the Royal Guard?!’

Her mom scraped and saved enough to send all three of her older brothers to college, and was ready to do the same for Lily, but no, she had to rebel. She didn't want books and study, she wanted action and adventure.

‘Well, here's your action, Lily Glamerspear.’

‘Aren't you enjoying your adventure?’

Staring at herself in the mirror, she telekinetically grabbed a tissue and quickly wiped the rest of the mess off of her coat. As with the medal, the fluids were gone, but the mental stains remained.

‘You could've made something of yourself.’

‘When you put your mind to learning a spell, you’re great at it!’

‘Look at how you did gunning down Val at the Pas-De-Sabots, or liquidating all those batpony 'meteors' when they ambushed you! And even if you can't remember it, you must've done something fantastic during the Changeling Invasion to have earned the Silver Ram.’

‘But when you lazed about…’

‘Then you got caught flat-hoofed by some bucker who could strongly TK four things at once and didn't give two bucks what you thought about anything.’

Reverently, Lily reached a hoof over to her medal's presentation case. She flipped it open and placed the Silver Ram inside, folding the ribbon just as it had been when she received it. She was done wearing that for today.

She turned her gaze once more to the mirror.

‘I can be better than this.’

Who said she had to stay a soldier in the Royal Guard the rest of her life? She had another year left in her enlistment; she could cash out and go to college instead of just re-enlisting, if she wanted to. Buck, if she learned more of this Shadow-magic from Ignacio, she could probably do more than just attend college. There was probably some way to leverage that into an actual career -- teaching, demonstrating, that sort of thing. Maybe even still within the Royal Guard, if she still wanted the uniform and the action..

Well, whatever else Lily might decide, she knew for certain she was done with Montgomery Mailedhoof.

And done with the business of being a saltine, too.

What did a mare need with more shiny baubles, anyways, if in the end the only thing of value she had was her Silver Ram? Or even more than that, her faithful comrades-in-arms? Lily still owed Sparkshower for being possessed on her behalf. And she’d owe her more if she did it again for another lesson.

"Hey! Anypony here?" The pegasister in question called out as she entered the common room.

Lily took a deep breath to settle herself down. "Just a minute, Sparks!"

Quickly, she scrambled out of the soiled dress, and gave it a quick once-over.

‘Yeah, there isn’t much mess. My own magic should be plenty.’

The unicorn gave some of the obvious spots a quick blast of cleaning-rays. Then she put it back on its hangar and hung it on the outside of the wardrobe door to air out. She was about to head for the door when she remembered she was still wearing her sandals.

‘Oops -- better take those off, too.’

When Lily finally emerged into the common room, she found Sparkshower in the process of removing her armor.

"Hi, Lily. Sergeant Ebonshield got back from the Rookery and relieved me a little early. Wasn't that nice of her? Seems like all of us want to guard the Royal Engineer!"

She’d dodged a cannonball with the batpony not having come up here first. A shiver ran up Lily’s spine as she imagined the discomfort of Ebonshield arriving while she was mid-moan.

Sparkshower tilted her head at the unicorn, furrowing her brow. "Are you okay? Were you having a nap? Sorry if I woke you!"

Lily shook her head. "It's okay, Sparks. I'm fine."

Glancing at the clock, she saw it was barely three o'clock. Ebonshield relieved Sparkshower a full hour early. But the pegasus wouldn't let Lily take over her shift almost two hours ago!

‘This disaster wouldn't have happened if I’d been on duty…’

Lily could hardly blame her for it, though.

Artemis sniffed the air.

‘Oh, no.’

"Hey -- Is that...? Are you sure you're okay? It smells like someone was sick in here."

‘No sense arguing with her sense of smell.’

"Yeah, sorry. I over-ate a little at lunch and had to let some of it out in the bin. I'll wash it out in a minute."

She didn’t buy that excuse. "Are you sure you're okay? You don't... You don't have the 'dawn sickness' too, do you?"

Lily grinned. "No. It's a little late for dawn, Sparks."

"Oh, right..." She furrowed her brow more and looked left and right. "...Uh... It's not the other kind of dawn sickness, is it?"

On the one hoof, Lily thought that was a ridiculous proposition, but on the other, it was heartwarming having somepony who was so concerned about her. "It's not morning sickness, either. I'm not dumb, ya know. I use protection and take the herbs."

"Right, okay! Sorry! It's just that back in the regiment, our first sergeant was always very specific in the weekend liberty briefs about being safe about... those sorts of things."

Lily chuckled. "Sparks, every first sergeant says that stuff. They know how much trouble the average guardspony can get into. But believe me, I'm not an average guardspony -- none of us are, or we wouldn't be here, ya know?"

Indicating the palace around her, Lily sidled up and elbowed Artemis in the ribs.

She laughed. "Yeah. Sorry, Lily, I was just worried you might be hurt."

"Thanks, Artemis. I appreciate it -- I appreciate you. I don't think I've said that enough."

‘Huh…’

It was only three, and the chow hall opened in thirty minutes… Maybe there was time for an evening excursion into the Rookery -- and maybe onto the Moon? Lily could use another lesson. Only if Artemis was up for it, though.

"...Say, you got anything planned for tonight?"

The pegasus smiled. "You want to go back to Ignacio and Aldonza again, don't you? I'd be glad to come along -- only maybe this time we can skip the part involving me and the Accursed Shadow? I can handle it, but I don't want to feel sick for the Gala."

‘Fair enough.’

"Sure, Sparks. Come for the company this time. And don't forget your camera! The papers'll trip over each other for those pictures if you can get them out past DADT. Now, why don't you finish getting undressed and we'll head to the mess hall for dinner?"

She screwed up her muzzle. "But didn't you just say you and your lunch...? You're really hungry?"

Lily shrugged. "I'm not. I think I'll be skipping dinner today. But you can eat, and I'll be your company."

"Okay! It's a date!"

Sparkshower headed to her room to remove the rest of her armor, and Lily lent a hoof by telekinetically lifting up the pieces, as she’d done before.

‘Yeah. Buck Mailedhoof and buck salt-licks.’

‘Ya know what? Buck Louis Valise, too.’

‘I’m worth more than all of that.’

What Lily needed were loyal friends at her flanks and a challenge to overcome. She had the first in Sparkshower and the second in learning to master batpony Shadow-magic -- not to mention seeing her genuinely noble VIP's plans to fruition.

---

Lily Glamerspear's theme song: Fifth Harmony - Worth It ft. Kid Ink
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YBHQbu5rbdQ

Next Chapter: Chapter 131 Estimated time remaining: 6 Hours, 7 Minutes