Lily Glamerspear

---

This sucked. With no magic due to mana suppressants, Lily Glamerspear had to do everything with her hooves. Which, while she could manage it -- she was no tenderhoof unicorn, unable to do anything without telekinesis -- was not ideal. She had no interesting duties with Anonymous, or even basic training today due to medical leave, so she was stuck upstairs, bored out of her mind. And the next issue of Cosmoponitan wouldn’t even come out for another two weeks.

Glamerspear had no best buddy Sparkshower to chat with, since she was on duty. Instead, she was left with a tight-lipped Corporal Bound over at the four seat table, with her snout buried in a book. And Sergeant Ebonshield was still asleep, somehow.

‘What time did she get back last night??’

Sparkshower probably knew, but she’d already gone on duty by the time Lily woke up. The unicorn specialist wouldn’t find out what the pegasus knew until she went off-duty for lunch. And Lily wouldn't even be able to enjoy lunch, just like she wasn't able to enjoy breakfast, because the mana suppressants blunted the taste of everything so it tasted like sandpaper!

GAH!

At least last night with Captain Mailedhoof had gone well. Things weren’t too busy in the Officer's Club, so she got to relax a bit after her exhausting day. And Mailedhoof was all smiles and charm, though she could tell he really wanted to move on to the next step in the game ASAP. Poor colt would've taken her right then and there, if she’d let him.

But Lily had standards.

Drinks only got him an icebreaker.

Dinner would get him a first taste.

After that, it was salt bits for salt licks. And he looked like he had some good licks in him.

‘Ughn.’ She put a hoof up to her forehead. In her present condition, thinking about sex just gave her a headache. Another potential side-effect of the 'horn juice,’ according to the medical slip.

So with all those restrictions, there she was, lying down on the sofa, reading 'De Magia Unicornis: On Unicorn Magic.’ A classic tome -- and it really was a tome, from the size of the thing. She’d borrowed it from the palace library that morning after breakfast. Sure, it was old and some of the sections were a little outdated; the chapter recommending the consumption of certain herbs, the inhalation of strange alchemical mixtures, and the performing of certain exercises said to increase the size and girth of one's horn were particularly laughable.

Besides, everypony knows it's what you do with your horn that counts, not how big it is.

But when it came to basic theory and the practice of channelling magic through a unicorn horn, it was still hard to beat. And since this was the second time Lily had manaburned herself into what should have been unconsciousness, she figured it was worth a good read.

Newbie unicorns could mana-burn themselves just by opening a door with inefficient technique. It said something about her that she’d done it in the course of accomplishing extraordinary feats. Maybe with some practice and a closer examination of her capabilities, she could get closer to being able to repeat them without almost killing herself. That was a worthy goal that made it worth dealing with the archaic language and excessive word count of the old treatise.

Suddenly, there was a knock at the door, interrupting both the specialist and the corporal. Without waiting for an answer, Lieutenant Temper Violetta walked in.

"Good morning, guardsmares. Don't bother getting up. I'm just dropping off your new duty roster."

Oh, nice. Now Lily would be able to figure out who she had to trade with to get some Grand Galloping Gala action.

Lieutenant Violetta looked around the common area. "... Where's Sergeant Ebonshield?"

Lily nodded at her bedroom door. "Still asleep, Lieutenant."

That answer did not please Violetta. Lily smirked internally.

"Still asleep at ten-thirty in the morning…?" she furrowed her brow and shook her head. "... What kind of soldiers are they training over there in the Night Guard?"

Composing herself, she snorted dismissively, and walked over to the old duty calendar hanging on the wall. In one quick motion, the Lieutenant pulled their new calendar out of her saddle bag and swapped it for the old one.

Then she turned to face Bound.

"... Whatever the case, Corporal, I want you to see that she's up and ready for service after lunch. She's on deck for the evening shift."

Honour nodded, and the Lieutenant continued, muttering under her breath, "... We'll soon see what this 'bat-pony' is made out of."

With a quick salute, returned by both Specialist Glamerspear and the Corporal, Lieutenant Violetta departed the room and closed the door behind her.

Lily looked over at Corporal Bound. She had immediately been entirely reabsorbed by the enormous book she had in front of her. Whatever it was, that thing dwarfed even Lily’s ancient tome.

Figuring that there’s no time like the present, Lily got up and headed over to check out the calendar. It looked like the Lieutenant had pulled Lily out of the rotation for the next few days due to her medical leave. Instead, Corporal Bound was back on first-shift duty.

Didn't she just get off duty?

Lily turned her head to look back at Honour. "Looks like you're up for tomorrow morning, Corporal."

She didn’t even lift her head from the book. "I know. I asked for it."

Lily watched as she calmly turned the page.

‘Weird.’

"Didn't you just come off the rotation, though?"

"Yes, but I'm not going to let Ebonshield get the day shift until I'm sure she can handle it."

Sounds like the corporal didn't trust the sergeant any more than Lily did.

‘Good. I mean, really, sequins on a cocktail dress? What is this, last year?’

‘And going out clubbing on a Monday?’

Returning to the calendar, Lily lifted up the page to get into the roster for next month, and found the day of the Gala, thankfully, unmarked. It had Honour scheduled for the day shift and Sparkshower for the evening.

‘Damn!’

Hesitating for a bit, Lily let the page drop -- casually, so as not to arouse suspicion. Nopony must know that she was interested in a particular date. Otherwise it wouldn’t take much for the rest of them to figure out why. Returning to her place on the sofa, Lily positioned herself back in front of her book. But her eyes just skipped the words, and she aimlessly lifted her hoof to turn the page she hadn’t really read.

She had to get her hooves on the evening shift! That's when all the drinking and dancing would happen, and when the party really opened up!

‘Hmm....’

Sparkshower did like mingling with high society. But she didn’t seem like the kind of mare to really be into that sort of night-spot activity. After seeing her in that dress of hers, Lily figured Artemis’ idea of a cool nightclub probably involved a square dance and a bluegrass band. And she seriously doubted that Corporal Bound gave two clops about a big, social event like the Gala.

So, in theory, she could take the evening shift from Sparkshower in order to get in on the party at night. And Sparkshower could take the morning shift from Honour in order to get in on the society hobnobbing during the day. The only question was, how should she approach this with Sparks?

Sweat started to form on her brow as she considered the alternatives.

Should she come clean from the start? What if she said 'no,' though? This could be her only chance! Hardly anypony brought their saltine to an event like the Gala. But if Lily lied to her friend and cheated her out of her shift, what would she do if she found out? How quickly could Lily convince her to trade with Honour instead of being angry with her? Would she even feel good about herself afterwards?

Either way, she had to make her move as soon as possible.

Today, even. Any later, and the Gala would be wagging on every tongue across Canterlot. Even their morose corporal might cling to her shift.

Amidst all of these lingering questions, Lily didn't even notice that she had aimlessly turned to the next page using her horn's telekinesis alone.

‘What am I going to do?’

---

Ebonshield

---

For Sergeant First Class Ebonshield, now was the time to go to work. The excursion yesterday to the coltswear store of luxuries had merely been a pleasant diversion. And sampling last night of the nightlife of Canterlot city was a payment she had not yet earned. She had been hoping that the Majordomo would not slot her in until next week, giving her free rein to fully discover the city, but that was perhaps asking too much of fate.

At least the Majordomo had put her on the evening shift, allowing her to continue with her activities nocturnal. All she had to do was wait until after her job was done.

And what fun there was to at last get out of the stifling rookery!

Unfettered and unescorted access to the Canterlot, at any time of the day, without any need for permission especial or a mission assignment específica. That had been Ebonshield’s only demand when the request came in for a volunteer to immediately join three ponies of the Guardia Real on the duty of 'VIP bodyguard.'

Nopony else had stepped up, despite the origin of that call-to-the-arms.

Since she was the sole candidate, Ebonshield had felt entitled to propose a few terms. She was surprised at how easily the modifications had been accepted, but then again, her demand had been easy to rationalize. After all, an escort was expected to occasionally also serve as a courier.

In any case, the decision to confine her kind to the caves was so far proving to be unnecessary over-protectiveness. The salesponies in the coltswear store had not blinked an eye at the batpony in their midst. Although perhaps that had been because she was escorting a large and yet more alien-looking creature.

But her experiences last night had gone the same way. Ebonshield had provoked no riots merely trotting into a nightclub. Certainly, there was the feeling that some ponies were avoiding her general area, and she turned some heads also. But there was no drought of company on the dance floor or at the bar. In any case, everypony gawked at a new face, dress, mane, tail, or pair of wings in a nightclub.

What a shame that none of the colts had really caught her eye last night.

Ah, well.

Going clubbing on a Monday was bound to result in the pickings slim.

At the end of the week, the Friday and the Saturday, there would be more life. And she would have plenty of time to think on the subject for the next eight hours.

Arriving downstairs at the chamber doors of the Great Lord Anonymous, Engineer Royal, Ebonshield knocked on the door. Specialist Sparkshower immediately opened one door wide, obviously expecting at that time to be relieved. But, since her new patron had taken lunch in the city for a meeting, she had not been informed of the change of schedule.

And, as a result, the pegasus appeared a little shocked to see her.

Ebonshield looked her properly in the eyes. "Specialist Sparkshower, I hereby relieve you."

"By the pea-Oh, uh... I stand relieved, Sergeant."

‘Strange.’

Looking a little confused, she stood at the position of attention and nodded her salutation. Ebonshield returned the gesture, though it still felt unnatural to do. Had she expected her to say something different? Perhaps there was some special ritual phrase the Guardia Real used for the changing of the shifts?

No matter. She would ask her about this later.

After the greeting, the specialist trotted out past her, permitting Ebonshield in.

The room of the Engineer Royal was as she saw yesterday. Except now the Great Lord himself was sitting at his writing desk, scribbling away with a quill.

Holding the handle down so as to avoid the latch making any noise, she took up her position and silently closed the door behind her. Now came the more boring part of this new assignment. However, this assignment, she was no less boring than standing around in the rookery all day. And with the promise of the rewards far more exciting.

Over at the bureau, the Engineer Royal glanced up from his papers. "Good evening, Sergeant. I didn't realize the Lieutenant was going to put you into the rotation so soon."

"Great Lord, with the Specialist Glamerspear on temporary medical leave, your majordomo has assigned me so as to avoid overworking the rest of the cuaternio."

That was the formal word for a group of four bodyguards in her native language, but she could not remember the translation correct. Ebonshield remembered the word was similar, so hopefully she would be understood.

"Ah, I see. Carry on, then. I'm just going over some marketing materials that the publisher has sent over."

‘The publisher? The publisher for what?’

But Ebonshield was not there to pepper the Great Lord with questions that she ought to be able to answer herself, so she made herself to remember and simply to ask one of the other guardsmares about it later. Recalling what Glamerspear told her about addressing the Royal Engineer, she answered as if everything he said made perfect sense.

"Yes, sir."

Anonymous paused in his quill-work and looked up at her in earnest. "I suppose you may have heard this from the others, or gathered it from what I said to you yesterday, but please feel free to speak up, in private, of course, if you ever believe that I need some education in Equestrian customs."

Ah, alas, he is not very likely that she would be able to help him much about the customs Equestrian. Still, after having heard the whole story from Specialist Sparkshower yesterday, she did already have some ideas.

Turning on her hooves to face him, she bowed her head. "If the Great Lord wishes, I have two things that might be said, based on what I have heard of his experiences so far."

The Engineer Royal raised an eyebrow and put down his quill. "Oh, really? I'm all ears, Sergeant."

She lifted her head again. "The first one is more of a suggestion than a lesson, sir. I understand that the Great Lord considered participating in the Battle of Newstirrup Bridge when his group was accosted by bandoleros..."

Anonymous put one hand up to his chin, giving her his full attention, so she felt entitled to address him directly.

"... However, according to Specialist Sparkshower, you chose not to fight because you have never been trained in combat. I suggest therefore that you undertake such training as soon as possible, in case you are ever accosted in such a manner again."

Her VIP shook his head and waved one of his hands in a gesture of dismissal. "I'm an engineer, not a soldier, Sergeant. I'm not here to fight with anyone. And anyways, surely, with your comrades having so soundly beaten Lieutenant Kilfeather's squadron, nopony will challenge them, or us, again."

If he thinks as such, then the Engineer Royal definitely is as he says -- not a warrior.

"With respect, Great Lord, I find that it is typically the opposite. I understand that the First Canterlot Air Superiority wing was regarded as being a most potent force, with many great victories on their record. Now that the retinue of the Great Lord has overcome such a group thought to be 'the best,' this will merely invite new challengers seeking to obtain such a title for themselves. The Lieutenant may also try for a re-match, and it would be wise to have new tactics prepared."

Leaning back in his chair, the Engineer Royal indicated to her. "I suppose that does make sense. But as for new tricks, I do have a fourth soldier, now. Which brings a question to mind, actually. I'm curious, how do batponies fight?"

This was the wrong question to ask, and almost a little offensive. But she had anticipated this, and anyways, the Engineer Royal could not be expected to know anything about her kind.

She bowed her head again. "We fight in many manners, Great Lord, just as the other members of your retinue cannot all be said to fight similarly..."

Lifting her head, she looked him in the eyes and decided to offer a little of the cheek. From what she had seen of him so far, she thought he would appreciate such a slip of the tongue.

"... But if the Great Lord meant to ask how his newest servant fights, perhaps that would best be demonstrated directly, on the training field."

The Engineer Royal chuckled, and Ebonshield felt satisfaction to have read him correctly.

"Hah, all right. I'll think about it, Sergeant. I suppose I could treat it as exercise, at least."

She nodded respectfully. "I trust the Great Lord will make the correct decision in this matter."

Gathering up a few papers and then pounding their edges on the desk to arrange them neatly, her charge cleared off the space in front of him.

"There was a second thing you wanted to say, as well?"

‘Ah, now for the more sensitive matter.’

"It is more of a question for the Great Lord, based on what I have heard."

As she spoke, he turned his chair and poured himself a glass of water from the jug on a small sideboard up against the window behind him.

"A question? A question about what?"

Having a sense of humor was one thing. The other was knowing if this creature was as prudish as so many of the ponies Equestrian seemed to be. The Specialist Glamerspear yesterday, for example. She so obviously fantasized about the Engineer Royal, yet she pointedly denied being his marefriend.

If that was the way she felt about him, then why did she not do something? Perhaps she was merely under the effects of this 'manaburn' illness afflicting her at present.

That would be a convenient excuse.

"I am simply wondering when the Great Lord will make his selection from the guardsmares which have been given to him."

Turning back around, her VIP held a glass of water in one hand with a detached look on his face.

"And what am I supposed to be selecting?"

As she answered, he took a drink.

"Which of the mares to bed, sir."

The Great Lord Anonymous, Engineer Royal of Equestria, jolted forward in his chair and sprayed the mouthful of water he'd taken all over his neatly-stacked pile of papers.

Wiping his mouth, he looked up at her, incredulous. "I beg your pardon??"

She may have misjudged.

`¡Ay, sombras malditas!`

Next Chapter: Chapter 29 Estimated time remaining: 32 Hours, 48 Minutes