Lily Glamerspear

---

Specialist Lily Glamerspear literally could not believe what she was seeing right then. Instead of purging the unclean and ordering her to kill the vile, mutant batpony that stood before her, Anonymous, Royal Engineer to the Twin Princesses, had done practically the exact opposite.

He'd invited the beast to come clothing-shopping with him.

And the violet monster smiled back at him! "If the Great Lord wishes this, I am bound to follow them into Tartarus itself."

Her purple VIP laughed in response. "Hah, I've heard about 'dying for fashion', but I don't think we need to go that far for a decent wardrobe."

‘Wait, purple VIP?’

‘Anonymous isn't supposed to be purple.’

Squeezing her eyes shut to clear them had no effect; when Lily opened them again, he still looked purple to her. Blinking repeatedly, she looked out the window. The sky was purple, and the clouds were purple too.

She turned back to the room before her. Everything and everyone had a purple tint.

‘I’m manaburning!’

That was the only explanation that fit, although it still didn’t make much sense. As eager as Lily had been for a fight, she hadn't done more than keep her horn at an elevated standby level. And the modest trickle of mana that required shouldn't be doing that to her.

While she pondered the problem, Lily had a passing awareness of Lieutenant Violetta giving a salute and heading toward the door. Without thinking, Lily straightened up and pulled it open for her, rendering a detached salute as her Lieutenant departed the room. Meanwhile, Anonymous headed behind the partition wall that divided off his bed and dressing area, and Lily heard him shut the door to his washroom.

As the door closed, Sergeant Ebonshield looked over in Lily’s direction. And the instant she did, Lily felt her blood boil over again. The bat was going to try to do something monstrous now that the Lieutenant was gone, she was sure of it!

The urge to strike first was almost overwhelming. But if Lily really was manaburning, then she had to shut everything down, or else things would get much worse for her. She’d just have to take a chance that the batpony didn’t recognize her weakness. Reluctantly, Lily relinquished her grasp on the arcane flows. Like a sledgehammer to her brain after a late night drinking binge, she was instantly struck by a throbbing headache.

Oh yes, she was definitely manaburning, all right.

And now she was suffering withdrawal. The pain was so intense that she couldn’t help but let out a quiet moan, putting one hoof up to her brow and wiping away the sweat that had already started to form.

"Are you unwell, Specialist Glamerspear?"

‘Buck, she noticed!’

‘Act casual.’

"I'm fine, Sergeant."

Ebonshield didn’t seem to buy it, as she walked right up to her, putting her face right in front of Lily’s, just as she’d done with Corporal Bound. It’s like she was a foal trying to get a reaction out of a pony on Silent and Still guard duty at the palace gates.

"If you are unwell, I can accompany the Great Lord to retrieve his clothes alone."

As if! Instead of lying to her again, Lily decided to try turning the tables. "Why do you keep calling him 'Great Lord'? Nopony else calls him that."

Sergeant bloodsucker blinked her eyes and withdrew her head slightly. "The Royal Engineer sits on the greatest council of Lords in Equestria. Does that not make him a Great Lord? Or have I been misinformed?"

Wow, she just had no clue about how society worked these days. Well, that's what you get for sleeping in a coffin for hundreds of years. If Lily couldn’t lay the smackdown with magical spears, she might as well drop some knowledge bombs on her instead.

"You're right, but nopony uses the term 'Great Lord' any more. Even referring to him as 'Lord' is stretching etiquette in the modern era. Ponies in positional lordships like his are addressed by their job title, like Chancellor or Royal Engineer, not their noble rank. Or you can just say 'sir' or 'ma'am'."

"I see..."

Lily’s eyes went wide as she watched the vampire bow her head to her.

What the buck! What kind of Sergeant First Class bows to a Specialist?!

"... Thank you for correcting me on the Equestrian customs current, Specialist Glamerspear."

Corporal Bound was right! Not only was this vile creature of the night lacking in the essential training of how to handle Very Important Ponies, she didn't have a clue about how to behave in polite society! It was going to take everything Lily had to keep her from embarrassing the three of them once they stepped outside the castle.

As Ebonshield took up a position flanking the other side of the door, Lily found herself overcome with anxiety over what should just be a simple visit to a shop in town. What if she said something appalling to one of the other guards on the way there? What if she did that weird get-right-up-in-your-muzzle-to-talk-to-you thing to somepony not under orders to just stand there and take it, and a fight broke out?

What kind of scandal would she cause just walking outside amidst the public! Lily vividly pictured terrified Canterlot citizens fleeing in panic before their group. Buck, what if she tripped up in front of everypony in the tailor shop and they kicked Anonymous out before he could even get his stuff?

‘Wait…’

A minute ago she wanted to turn the bat into a bloody smear on the carpet.

Now she was desperately worried about social gaffes?

What was going on with her mood swings today?

Taking a deep breath, Lily shut her eyes. She recalled the symptoms of acute mana poisoning, in order of severity, as they were drilled into her:

Blurred vision, purple haze, exhaustion, headaches, emotional instability, nausea & vomiting, seizures, coma, and finally, sudden death.

'Emotional instability!’

Even though her horn had been cold for a full minute now, Lily was still manaburning. Today she’d done little more than levitate a few things and maintain high magical readiness for half an hour. Yesterday, she barely used any magic at all, although she remembered drawing on a steady trickle to help with a general feeling of exhaustion.

Two days ago, of course, there was the massive over expenditure during the fight with Kilfeather. But that was supposed to have been abated by the MXP Games totem. Then again, unicorns usually didn't go so far overboard with magic during the Games. Maybe its protective effects didn’t work on mana poisoning?

Behind the partition wall, Lily heard Anonymous' washroom door open again. It wouldn’t be long now until he was ready to go. Lily racked her brain trying to figure things out.

And then it hit her. After the ceremony when she'd been inducted into the Order of the Ram, Lily remembered chatting up a colt with a cute jawline at the reception, one who had been a hero of the Games. He described taking what should have been a fatal blow during a match, and then having a constant, dull pain for days afterwards. As if instead of receiving one deadly blow, he'd received hundreds of merely painful ones, spread out over time.

Did the totems just... draw out an injury, instead of suppressing it? So instead of seizures, coma, or death, Lily was just going to have to deal with the lesser symptoms for a few days?

Symptoms that were made worse whenever she used her magic. Ugh.

The throbbing in her head kicked into high gear, as if to confirm her thoughts. In the span of an hour, she’d had a roller-coaster of excessive fear, paranoia, hatred, and anxiety. At least now that she was aware of the problem, maybe she could deal with it.

"Well, I'm ready to go. How about the two of you?" The Royal Engineer stepped out from behind the partition, now fully dressed and ready for the public.

"Your escort is assembled, Great Lord."

So much for Sergeant Fang-Tooth over there taking Lily’s advice.

"I hope it's appropriate for me to have asked you to join us, Sergeant. I must admit, I'm still not entirely used to the idea of having retainers at my beck and call like this."

"It is the privilege granted to your Lordship, sir."

Oh, so now she uses the correct term? Whatever.

But her answer didn't seem to be quite sufficient, and Anonymous looked expectantly in Lily’s direction. "Specialist? I'd appreciate some more of your candor."

That got her a strange glance from the Sergeant, which Lily ignored. She took a moment to collect herself, and for once, there was no overriding emotion imposing itself on her thoughts.

"Sir, most of the time, one or two of us will be scheduled to be on standby duty upstairs, waiting for your call. Otherwise, we're never more than half an hour away, occupied with other light duties..." She shrugged. "... To be perfectly honest, sir, if you're going out into the city, you'd often be doing us a favor calling upstairs for the rest of your escort. Speaking for myself, I'd rather be out working with my VIP, than idling back at the palace."

Crossing over to pick up his hat and walking-stick from the rack by the door, Anonymous seemed pleased by her answer. "Really? Now you have me curious to find out what the others think. But for now, I think two escorts should be enough. Let's go."

With that, the Specialist and the Sergeant both pulled open the doors and headed out.

---

Once they got out into the city, Lily was still able to hold it together, but only barely. The moment of emotional calm as she’d left the Royal Engineer's chambers had been all too brief. The feeling had started creeping up as she was walking the halls of the palace itself. With Anonymous in tow and Sergeant Ebonshield beside her, she’d felt them.

Eyes. Eyes all over her.

Ordinarily Lily enjoyed being the center of attention, but this wasn't like that at all. These were judging, questioning, cruel eyes. Every side hallway seemed to have a group of guards eyeballing her, whispering dark things amongst themselves.

It wasn't true, she told herself. It was just the manaburn blow-back screwing with her mental state. But actively trying to disbelieve what her own, sick mind was trying to tell her could only get her so far. Worse still, knowing that the paranoia she was experiencing was just a symptom of an illness made her want to take up the Sergeant's offer and report to medical. And that just fueled delusions of dire consequences for her career if she did so, or for her VIP if she left him alone with the vampiric creature.

Exiting the palace had brought a merciful end to the side corridors and random groups of guards, and, therefore, a gradual relaxation from the feeling of being watched. It was still early enough in the day that only a few ponies were out and about in the streets of Canterlot. Those who were generally had their muzzles to the ground, more interested in getting to where they needed to be than to paying attention to a unicorn, batpony, and tall, hairless monkey making their way to Canterlot's fashion district, Poole Street.

Still, being in public brought its own emotional horrors. Instead of the madness of being watched by everypony, she had to deal with the terror of being spotted. Visions danced in Lily’s head of just one or two of those citizens lifting their heads for just a moment and crying out once they noticed her group.

Ruckus, rabble, and embarrassment followed. It made her want to kick her heels and burst into a gallop. But it also made her want to slink in the shadows, hug the walls, and glance nervously around every corner before turning it. The conflicting pulls made her headache even worse, but they were a bit easier to ignore that way.

Finally, they’d made it to the store; Bridle Path Clothiers, in Poole Street.

Despite the presence of a monster in their group, the salespony had been unflappably obsequious, welcoming Anonymous back like a dear friend. "Ah, Sir Anonymous, it is most excellent to see you again! I hope you will be able to spare a moment for a glimpse at our latest fashions this morning?" And so on and so on, paying absolutely no attention to Specialist Glamerspear or Sergeant Ebonshield. They were treating her like most VIPs treated their guardsponies, to be honest.

But in her current state of mind, that suited her just fine, and soon enough the Royal Engineer was in the change-room with a few, neat bundles of freshly-tailored clothes. In the reserved, quiet confines of a colt's clothing shop, Lily found some tranquil relief from the mana poisoning that had been driving her crazy this morning. The two salesponies on duty busied themselves with adjusting displays and re-arranging clothes, one of them softly humming to himself as he worked.

The windows were full of displays and decorations that gave dignified privacy to the mirrored fitting area. The musk of old wood and strong, coltish cologne mixed together to form a comfortable, reassuring aroma. Even Sergeant Ebonshield seemed thoroughly unthreatening at the moment.

Feeling able to relax, Lily took the liberty of hopping up onto one of the guest sofas.

‘Deep breaths. It'll all be over soon.’

Lily could get through today, and she could get through tomorrow, and she could get through as many days as it took for all of it to wear off. And then maybe, having consciously experienced the whole 'magical overload' thing from end-to-end, even if spread out by the totem's power, she could bring herself to actually wear her Centurion's badge.

That would be nice.

As Lily found herself reaching a zenith of calm and blissful optimism for the future, the Royal Engineer emerged from the change-room. Instead of his black three-piece suit, he was wearing a pair of white trousers with a colorful pair of red stripes on the sides that continued up into a white, long-sleeved T-shirt. It was a considerable upgrade from the ratty, grey jogging clothes he claimed to have arrived in.

"Well, how's this for cool-weather wear?"

Turning his back to Lily, Anonymous stood before the mirrors and looked himself over, adopting a few simple poses to check the fit.

It was a good fit.

A very good fit.

A very, very good fit.

Lily had to snap herself out of it when the Royal Engineer looked over his shoulder at her, and she realized she’d been staring at his plot the whole time.

"Uh, looks good, sir. Much more fashionable than what you had before."

"Excellent! Sergeant, any comments?"

Sergeant Ebonshield said something, but it just went in one ear and out the other, as Lily was back to gawking at her VIP. His new pants tightly wrapped around the shapely contour of his buttocks; every time he moved to adopt a new pose, she could see his taut cheeks flex and sway.

Like he was wearing nothing at all.

It was hypnotic.

Even his shirt hugged the form of his body, and Lily could make out the ripples of muscle around his broad shoulders and in the small of his back. When he turned to face her, she could make out a firm but flat chest that undulated as he took deep breaths.

Wow.

Her admiration for this upright hairless monkey's physical form was briefly interrupted when he donned a hooked pullover handed to him by the salespony. For colder weather, apparently. After pulling it on adjusting it properly, she got another, fantastic view of his plot as he did a little jogging in place to feel how it all fit together.

"I don't know, it almost feels like it ought to be let out a bit."

"NO!"

‘Buck, did I just say that out loud?’

Lily resisted the urge to slap an embarrassed hoof to her face. Anonymous lifted an eyebrow and turned around to look at her, and even the Sergeant narrowed her dark eyes slightly.

"... It looks great as it is, sir. Baggy clothes are extremely unfashionable."

There was nothing for it but to continue as if she were being sincere.

Rather than making her foalish attraction obvious.

The salespony nodded and spoke something in agreement with her, but Lily barely paid any attention. Struggling to regain control, she tried to look at something, anything else -- the other clothes on the racks, the salespony, the Sergeant a few paces away. But with Anonymous standing in the fitting area, even the slightest motion he made was mirrored six times over, and it was impossible to keep her eyes from snapping over to his movement.

‘Unf, you could bounce quarter-bit coins off of that plot of his…’

Lily started to feel sweaty and disoriented again, like when she first realized what was going on. Mercifully, just as the heat started to get unmanageably intense, the Royal Engineer headed back into the change-room. However, the removal of the visual stimulus didn’t grant her much of a reprieve from the 'emotional instability' ride.

If anything, it made it worse. Because her imagination took what she saw, and went wild.

At first, it started tame, with just the Royal Engineer jogging along in that incredibly well-fitted outfit, and Lily galloping by his side. But it was warm out, and she was panting. Beside her, the hairless ape with the fantastic plot was breathing heavily as well, his forehead glistening with sweat. With whatever magical ability he had that let him keep going for so long, she soon found herself falling behind, unable to go on. She stopped, lowering her head to the ground, her neck and chest covered in foamy sweat.

That's when she felt powerful arms wrap around her barrel. 'Come with me, Lily', he said, even though they were not on a first-name basis. With an enthusiastic, masculine grunt, the alien colt brusquely lifted her up and put her over his shoulder, as if she were just a sack of oats to him.

Sitting in the sofa in the coltswear store, she could almost feel Anonymous' hands supporting her croup and plot. She tried shifting her posture in the seat, but it didn't change anything; those nimble fingers of his were dangerously close to some very sensitive places, and she could have sworn she could make out every single one of them on her, even though the only thing beneath her in reality was just plushly-upholstered furniture.

Then her imaginary Anonymous resumed his jog, slowly at first, and then more vigorously, until she could feel herself bobbing up and down, riding on his broad shoulders. Closing her eyes, Lily put a hoof up to her forehead.

‘This isn't real, dammit! You're just sitting on a couch in a clothing store!’

She was most assuredly not being carried away on the shoulders of a tall, strong, sweaty beast with a plot that just wouldn’t quit.

‘Unf… No, wait!’

Even if she was there, at best, the Royal Engineer was just helpfully getting her back to the palace. He’d put her down once she’d had a chance to catch her breath. It wasn’t like he was going to jog right up the steps to the patio behind his office to sneak her back into the palace with him where nopony would see them together. And even if he did do that, it would just be because it was the fastest way inside.

BACK inside! The PALACE!

It wasn’t like he was going to passionately pull her off of his shoulder, kiss her deeply, lay her down on his bed, and-

‘No, no, no, dammit, stop going there!’

Just then, the Royal Engineer -- the real one, not her foalish, manaburn-fever-dream-induced colt -- emerged from the change-room once more, and her heart skipped a beat. Dressed in what the appallingly excellent tailors at the Bridle Path Clothiers had determined would be appropriate hot-weather exercise wear, Anonymous' second outfit left almost nothing to the imagination. A halter shirt exposed every inch of the broad, well-muscled shoulders of her dream. Tight, stretchy shorts exposed even more of his strong, firm hips and plot. And a large, ample bulge at the front sent her delusion roaring back into the foreground.

Now she was on his bed, muzzle down, plot up. She bit her lip in reality as his illusory fingers spread themselves across her flanks, running through the short hair of her sides and belly. He was bent over forward, his taut abdomen pressing against her back. His hot breath brushed against her neck as he nibbled playfully at her ears. She heard herself moan, and it took every ounce of concentration she had left not to make that part of the fantasy a reality. His left hand slowly slipped back, and instinctively, she felt herself lifting her tail to let him in.

"Now this is something, isn't it?"

Opening her eyes to reality again, the real Royal Engineer was admiring himself in the mirrors, pleased with the way he looked.

Lily found herself gulping for air in the brief reprieve that was afforded to her. Over on her left, Sergeant Ebonshield had either become aware of her incapacity for rational thought right now, or decided to simply speak her mind first.

"This outfit is most fetching, sir. I think that the Great Lord will turn many heads exercising in this."

"I didn't really have that effect in mind, but it's certainly very comfortable."

Anonymous began to pose again in the mirrors, performing a few squats, thrusts, and lunges, as the conversation drowned out in a blur. She was back in bed with him, and this time there was no question of innuendo or foreplay. One hand gripped her shoulder, and the other her hip, as her fantasy-colt passionately gave her the most indescribably orgasmic pounding of her life. Lily’s breath caught in her throat, both in reality and in the fantasy, as he continued inexhaustibly, sweat dripping from his chest onto her back.

On the sofa, she bit her lower lip, as on the bed, he lowered his lips and kissed her neck. Over on the fitting-room podium, the Royal Engineer said something to the salespony, but in bed she could only hear him moan and grunt with coltish passion. She felt him stop inside of her, in all the way to his hilt, and his hands squeezed her firmly. Unable to contain the figment any longer, she closed her eyes in ecstasy.

But at the very moment when he squeezed her tightly and achieved his blissful release, something snapped Lily back to reality.

"And would sir like to be fitted for his Gala suit this morning? Our availability is filling up quickly."

Her eyes snapped open and the reverie disappeared in a flash.

The Gala!

The Grand Galloping Gala!

The Royal Engineer would be invited to the Gala, and that meant she might be able to go with him!

Bucking awesome!

Next Chapter: Chapter 24 Estimated time remaining: 33 Hours, 35 Minutes