Lily Glamerspear

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Lily Glamerspear was mentally and physically exhausted. It was almost six-thirty in the evening, and her eight-hour shift had ended over two hours ago. Eight hours that mostly consisted of standing in front of the Royal Engineer's doors, and trying not to go insane as she kept lurching from one emotional extreme to the next.

So much for hanging on once they ditched the batpony and the public.

Lily thought it would be impossible for her mind to overstimulate itself in a well-appointed palace chamber with her VIP just scribbling away at his desk, but she was wrong. With nothing to seize on, the flushes of emotion only got stranger and more random, and it somehow got even worse when he sent her back to Bridle Path Clothiers with his sketches for the outfit.

Lily had snuck a glance at his surprisingly detailed drawings, and she knew that her VIP was definitely going to rock the Gala with that sharp outfit. Unwittingly, it also sent her down a rerun of her prior sofa nightmare, which ended with her feeling terrified that she wouldn't get to go with him.

After her shift finally ended, the unicorn had spent the next hour and a half waiting at the infirmary to see a medic. Now she was finally sobered up, thanks to an antimagic elixir. The potion was formulated to put a damper on her horn, but it also suppressed the manaburn blowback, too. Lily had been prescribed another twelve, once-every-four-hour doses, which she’d packed in her saddlebag case.

With her present lucidity, she'd realized just how much of a long shot being invited to the Gala would be, anyways. The Grand Galloping Gala was, for the most part, a polite event for the ranking members of high society.

And like a hat or cloak, a VIP's retinue of guards likewise got checked at the door.

The small area reserved for retainers was supposed to be a party and a half on its own, but the unicorn had her eyes on the bigger prize: full and unfettered access. Her only hope for that rested on Anonymous being both blissfully unaware of tradition -- which so far he had proven to be -- and that, being unattached, he would simply bring whoever happened to be on duty in as his "plus-one". Considering how he bought a ticket for Sparkshower to sit with him at the Sardinia Theatre, that was a pretty safe bet, too.

So long as nopony spilled the beans to him about what those kinds of gestures usually meant.

As she approached the door to her quarters, Lily hoped that Sparkshower was there. She was a pal, and the sick-leave chit in her other bag demanded that somepony else fill in for Lily’s shift tomorrow.

She pushed open the door. "Hey, anypony home?"

"Lily! Where have you been?!" Artemis Sparkshower, bless her heart for being concerned about her, was sitting on the sofa. "... Corporal Bound went down to relieve you over two hours ago! I've been waiting for you to get back so we could go to dinner together!"

Aw, that was sweet of her.

"Sorry. I had to report to Medical."

Unable to use her telekinesis, and feeling the weight of her armor after all the time spent in it, Lily got on her hind legs and leaned back to shut the door behind her.

Sparkshower hustled over toward Lily, wearing an expression of concern. "Oh, no! What's wrong?"

Lily waved her off with a hoof. "It's nothing too serious. Apparently, I'm still suffering manaburn blowback from the fight at Newstirrup."

"But that was two days ago!"

"Yeah, apparently the totem just spreads out the pain instead of neutralizing it. I bet Bound still has a few aches and pains, too. I'll be fine in a few days..." Grinning, she grabbed one of the potion-vials out of her saddlebag. "... the doc's got me hopped up on horn juice."

Sparkshower scrunched up her face. "Horn... juice?"

‘Right, she's not a unicorn.’

"Sorry, slang term. Mana suppressant. Temporarily makes it impossible for me to channel magic through my horn. Also eliminates the side-effects of mana-burn..."

Putting the vial away, she raised her eyebrows at the pegasus. "...Gets used all the time in 'shoe camp with newbies who don't know how to control their magic and go overboard."

Sparkshower looked worriedly at her, and Lily sighed. "...I guess what I did to Kilfeather makes me a newbie again, heh."

What should have been a self-deprecating joke just made Sparks look even more worried. "You don't regret fighting, do you?"

She watched Lily intently as the unicorn staggered forward toward the sofa, before she tossed herself into it. "No, I don't regret it. But I do feel a bit put in my place, that's all." After collapsing on the sofa, Lily started to strip off her armor pieces by hoof.

Her reassurance brought the smile back to Artemis’ face. "Oh, good. So what happens now?"

"Now, I take a couple of days off at least. Which means I need one of you guys to cover my shifts."

"I can take your shift tomorrow morning, Lily. You don't have to worry about that."

Lily was hoping she'd say that. She was a good friend, and a good soldier, too.

The unicorn gave Artemis a smile. "Thanks, Sparks. You're a real pal."

Artemis likewise smiled at the compliment.

‘Well, she deserves it!’ When Lily thought of all the incompetent, mean, or just plain dumb soldiers she’d had as squadmates before…

Scratching her head now that she wasn’t wearing her helmet anymore, Lily looked around the room, gathering her thoughts before speaking up. "... Captain Mailedhoof invited me for drinks tonight. I feel a little bad going while on medical leave, though."

Sparkshower picked up Lily’s helmet and held out her hooves for more pieces. "You should go! As..." Her expression turned more to worry. "... As long as it's just drinks, right? And alcohol doesn't interfere with the potion?"

Leaning back on the sofa, Lily yanked off her sabots. "It's just drinks. This is just our first 'date,' effectively. We'll just sit and chat in the Officer's Club for a little bit. He'll show me off as a 'friend' of his, at first."

She rolled her head over to look at her younger comrade. "... That's how this usually goes. So I'm afraid you're on your own for dinner, tonight. I've got to have a shower and get changed."

Artemis shrugged. "It's OK. I guess it's just one of those days. I had to eat lunch alone, too."

That sucked. And who knows how many other creepos like Lieutenant Kilfeather were out there, trying to mack on Lily’s number one best buddy? She needed Lily’s around to help drive them off! She got to her hooves and, with Artemis’ help, walked her armor into her room and put it in a neat-enough pile.

"I promise you we'll do dinner together tomorrow night, Artemis." Giving her a friendly smile, Lily started to dig into her wardrobe. "... Now, where's the dress I was going to wear tonight? Ah, here it is!"

She pulled out a light, latte-coloured, mid-length camisole cocktail dress, with a 'bodycon' fit. Draping it over one foreleg to show it off, she turned back to Sparkshower.

"What do you think of this?"

Sparkshower’s eyes lit up, and it was hard to tell if she was impressed or scandalized.

"Holy moley! That's really pretty! But isn't it a bit... revealing?"

So it was both, then.

Lily waved a hoof dismissively. "That's the point, Sparks. There's no sense wearing a dress with ten layers or a big hoop skirt to hide my shape, when a pretty big reason I'm there is to show off my body, right?"

Eyeing the pegasus up and down, she put the same hoof up to her chin. "... You'd look good in something like this, believe me. Betcha you'd get your long-distance coltfriend galloping out to Canterlot if you send him a photograph of you in one, that's for sure."

Now Artemis was a combination of interested and scandalized. That was a delicious blend that set Lily’s mind in motion, and she started to imagine how she’d dress up her comrade to kill it at a nightclub.

"... Hmmm, but this isn't the right color for you. You'd want a bold primary, like green -- or blue, to match your eyes. We can go shopping someday when we're both off, I'll set you right, don't worry!"

Sparkshower nodded her head enthusiastically. "Yeah, I'd like that!"

Turning around, Lily pushed the wardrobe doors shut -- as shut as they could be with all the stuff she’d had crammed in there, at least.

"Anyways, I'm going to hop in the shower and get made up."

With Sparkshower leading the way, Lily stepped back out into the common area, still holding her dress. It was weird and somewhat cumbersome to not be using her horn to carry it, but she’d manage. For some reason, the washroom door was closed, and the light was on inside.

Sparkshower noticed Lily heading for the room and piped up. "Oh, Eb -- Sergeant Ebonshield, I mean; she said to call her 'Eb' for short -- is still in there. She's going out tonight, too."

Lily’s eyes narrowed. The batpony was going out to find somepony's neck to suck on, no doubt.

Suddenly, there was a clicking noise and the door opened.

Lily’s jaw dropped for the second time that day.

Sergeant Ebonshield emerged from the washroom, her hair styled up even further, held in place with a slightly glittery product. She'd put the same product in her tail, which was lusciously bushy but controlled. Her coat was clean and well brushed. As Lily blinked, she caught a glimpse of glittery eye shadow, applied sparingly enough that it was still tasteful. And Ebonshield was wearing a sequined, plum-coloured, backless bodycon dress that barely covered her backside. And to add insult to injury, she looked fantastic in it.

Looking her up and down, Lily couldn’t help but blurt out in shock. "What the hay is this??"

The batpony lifted a well-trimmed eyebrow up and looked Lily up and down in turn. "This, I believe, is a cocktail dress..." She glanced at the clothes Lily was holding, and nodded her head at the garment. "... Just like that?"

Still in shock, Lily couldn’t think of a coherent reply. So Ebonshield just stopped over to Sparkshower and, with a smile on her face, blew her a pair of kisses on each cheek.

"... Now, Artemis darling, do not wait up for me if I arrive home late."

Sparkshower smiled back. "I won't, Eb! Have a good time out!"

Finally, Lily’s brain was able to put together a few, dumbfounded words. "Where are you going in that??"

Ebonshield was fiddling with a small, matching hoofbag slung over one shoulder as she looked up at Lily, clearly incredulous. "I am going out clubbing. Where are you going?"

Lily could barely stammer out a reply. "I'm... I'm going on a date."

Sergeant Ebonshield stared at her like the idiot she, at least temporarily, was.

Shrugging her shoulders, she shook her head. "Then I wish you a good time. I will see you both tomorrow."

Before Lily could figure out anything else to say, Ebonshield trotted over to the door, waved a hoof goodbye, and left.

‘What the buck just happened here.’

"What the buck just happened here, Sparks?"

Now even Sparkshower gave her a strange look. "Sergeant Ebonshield dressed up for a night out? I don't understand what's wrong?"

Lily failed to reply, so she continued. "... She's a super nice pony, by the way. She couldn't talk about herself too much, because, you know, DADT, but I had a fun time today telling her some of my stories."

Sparkshower was swapping battle-tales with the batpony! The batpony who, apparently, could pull off a bodycon dress even better than Lily! And they were already on a first-name basis!

‘Bucking maverick Ginny-come-lately dark-horse tenderfoot sleeper-hit batpony stealing both your friend and your look!’

‘Buck!’

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Suggested interlude music: Katy Perry - 'Dark Horse' [2013]
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0KSOMA3QBU0

Next Chapter: Chapter 27 Estimated time remaining: 33 Hours, 6 Minutes