Lily Glamerspear

---

Specialist Lily Glamerspear was not hung over.

She did, however, have a headache.

And she was a bit groggy. And her mouth was awfully dry.

Not to mention how hard she was finding it to concentrate right now.

What was she thinking about again?

Oh, right.

The aftermath of yesterday's drinking party was this: Lily felt like crap. And somehow Sparkshower, despite being a lightweight who couldn't tell a vodka martini from a regular one, looked like she was doing just fine. What the hay was that about? Sparks didn't drink that much less than her, did she?

Or was it because she ate half a box of saltines afterwards? LILY’S saltines, specifically. How the heck did Artemis even know where to find those under her bed? Damn thieving pegasi, fluttering in and grabbing whatever they want.

And how was she just sitting there, fully dressed in her armor? At least she left her helmet off.

"I don't know how you can wear that stuff all the time, Sparks. Doesn't it weigh like a hundred pounds?"

She looked up from her paper and quill. "My armor? No, it's only about forty."

That sounded pretty heavy to Lily.

"That sounds pretty heavy to me."

Artemis just shrugged. "I've gotten used to it; it bothered me a bit in the beginning, after horseshoe camp, but now I don't mind it at all. I'm so used to it, sometimes I almost feel undressed without it."

‘'Undressed' without forty pounds of bronze on her, yeah right.’

Lily glanced at the pegasus’ piece of paper. "Still trying to write that letter to your coltfriend?"

Sparkshower nodded, frowning at her task. "Yes... It's a little tricky coming up with the right words."

Lily nodded, understanding her predicament a bit. "What kind of colt is he?"

Artemis looked up at her sharply, a flash of concern and fear on her face.

‘What was that about?’

Oh; did they get to talking about her coltfriend last night, maybe? That would probably do it. Lily hoped she didn't say anything too intrusive.

Lily just smiled and nodded. “I mean, what does he like? What's he into? Books, music, culture, you know?"

Artemis softened her frown. "Oh... Uh, well... He's kinda... traditional, I guess?"

Lily kept nodding. "He likes things plain and simple?"

"Yeah, I suppose."

"How does he feel about big cities like Canterlot?"

Lily saw one side of Artemis’ lip kinda curl up.

"I don't think he's a fan of them."

"Prefers the quiet of the countryside, huh?"

"He seems to, yes."

Lily paused for a moment. Artemis just sat there, motionlessly holding a quill. Licking her lips, she leaned in towards the pegasus.

"So how are you going to get your traditional country colt to come to the biggest, most extravagant party this big city throws?"

Sparkshower slouched in her seat, as if defeated by the question alone. "I don't know. I just want him to come for a few nights, but I can't think of the right words!"

She looked pleadingly up at Lily. "But he's got to come! I asked Anonymous for two tickets! He's got to! And it's the chance of a lifetime!"

That it was, but Lily knew the old saying: you can lead a colt to water, but you can't make 'em drink.

"How about you try being specific? The Gala's a big event. What do you want him to do the most?"

Lily’s junior comrade took a deep breath and pushed herself back up in her chair. Licking her lips, she put her forehooves on the table, and Lily saw some color creep back into her cheeks.

"Well... I'd really, really, really like to dance around one of the great Maypoles. With a ribbon in my mouth, my partner by my side..."

Artemis smiled, looking up and waving her hooves around, as if she was actually there. "We'd weave our ribbons together, and then circle around the Maypole, wrapping our pair around it, encircling the other ribbons and being encircled in turn."

Hmm, if he was a traditionalist, well, it sure sounded like she was, too. The Maypole was at best a secondary feature of the GGG; a relic from a time long ago.

"Maybe that sounds a bit foalish, but it's something I've always wanted to do, ever since I was a little filly, even before I knew what having a coltfriend meant."

Okay, that was kinda adorable.

Lily nodded her head at Artemis. "So talk about that, then. Tell him you want to tie a ribbon around the Maypole with him. It's kinda romantic, in a traditional kind of way -- and you said he's a traditional colt, so..."

Trailing off, Lily shrugged, and her pegasus bestie nodded. "Yeah, that's a good idea. I'll do that. Thanks, Lily!"

Well, at least one pony in the quaternion woke up in a good mood. Sergeant Ebonshield wasn’t even awake yet -- maybe she was still trying to adjust to working daylight hours?

Just as Sparkshower started to put her quill to paper, the hallway door flew open, and Corporal Bound came hustling right over to the card-table.

"Sparkshower, I need a favor."

Instantly, the pen was out of Artemis’ hoof, and Lily could see her hold back the urge to assume parade rest. "Yes, Corporal? Is everything all right?"

Up close, Lily got a better look at Honour. Was she sweating? The mare looked nervous. What just happened? By Lily’s reckoning, she’d only been on duty for all of ten minutes.

"I need you to cover my shift. I'll make it up to you whenever you want."

‘Huh?’

Was she hungover even worse than Lily was? Not that Lily was hungover.

Nooo, not hungover.

But she was a bit... y'know... hung... over.

Not like Sparkshower, next to her, who was pert and attentive.

"Uh... Sure, Corporal, I can do that! Are you feeling sick or something like that?"

In an uncharacteristic hurry, their Corporal nodded and booked it straight for her room. "Yeah, something like that, Artemis. And thanks."

Huh, she didn’t usually use first names, either. The sharp closing of her door was as usual, though.

‘What's going on here?’

Lily pondered the question as Artemis scrambled out of her chair and strapped on her helmet. "I guess the letter has to wait for now. Thanks for the advice, though, Lily!"

In her present, sluggish state, she barely had time to wave the pegasus off before she was out the door. Now that was some strange stuff. Too bad Lily was not in any kind of brain-state today to deal with it.

The door to Sergeant Ebonshield's quarters opened, and a very drowsy-looking batpony poked her head out, squinting in the morning light. "Specialist, was that the Corporal returning just now?"

She was whispering, so Lily got up and walked to her door, whispering back. "Yeah, Sarge. She just asked Sparkshower to cover her shift. She might be sick."

Rubbing her eyes with both hooves, the quaternion's most recent addition yawned and then shook her head. When she was done, she was no longer squinting, and looked almost more awake than Lily was.

‘What the Tartarus is this?’

Had everypony gotten less drunk than her? Besides maybe the Corporal, she supposed.

The wall-clock softly chimed half past the hour, and Lily was suddenly reminded of her daily appointment. “Uh, Sarge? I have to report to medical in fifteen minutes for a horn checkup. Are you able to back Sparkshower up?"

She nodded, staring at Honour's door. "Yes, I'm awake, you can go."

Lily followed her gaze. "Should I bring the Corporal with me, maybe? She didn't actually say she was sick; it was just sort of implied."

Ebonshield inhaled sharply, tilting her head back. "No. Go to your appointment. Leave the Corporal to me; I will check up on her shortly."

Lily nodded. "Sure thing, Sarge."

She headed for the door, hopeful that the medics would be taking off her spellbinders today, so she could get back to work.

It was probably because of her temporary unemployment that she’d suggested that little drinking party yesterday. If it was a mistake, and she was pretty certain it was, at least she felt a little more comfortable around everypony else now -- including, she would grudgingly admit, the batpony outsider.

Hopefully they felt the same way, too.

---

Purity Ebonshield

---

Suggested background music: Justin Bell - 'Spires', from 'Tyranny' [2016]
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i8f_hDms7yI

---

Sergeant First Class Purity Ebonshield was now fully awake. Glamerspear had left for her medical appointment almost an hour ago. While Corporal Bound had remained in her room, Ebonshield had taken a shower, gotten dressed, and even had a hot meal from the staff kitchen.

Nopony had taken any notice when she’d strolled into that basement room. Perhaps the time was still too early in the morning for them, or perhaps she simply looked like she belonged there.

Or, perhaps they had seen her kind before and simply did not care. There were rumors that some members of the Night Guard had been violating their morning curfew, and sneaking themselves late-morning snacks before returning to the mountain rookery. Whatever the case, trekking all the way into her usual dining room just for breakfast, when she needed to be on station to support Sparkshower, was obviously not feasible.

Ebonshield had simply taken a quick serving of some hot porridge in a bowl with a secure lid, and ate her meal back in the communal area of their quarters. If nothing else, the sound of her spoon clattering against the bowl would let the Corporal know she was up and about.

But she had not stirred from her room.

Was she truly sick?

Hmmm...

Walking in very quickly, speaking firmly and emotionally, and going straight to the bedroom rather than the washroom or even the infirmary… Those were not things that somepony physically ill would do.

No, this was definitely another kind of problem.

Corporal Bound had already had an hour to stew by herself, so now was time to stir the pot. Pushing her bowl away, Ebonshield got up and headed for her room. With one tufted ear leaned up against the wooden door, she softly knocked.

"Corporal? This is Sergeant Ebonshield. Are you all right?"

She could hear the creaking of bedsprings, the rustling of sheets, and then hooves on carpet.

"Yes, I'm all right."

The hoofsteps almost reached the door, and Ebonshield pulled away so as not to make the truth obvious that she was listening. Even though she was just on the other side, Bound did not open the door or say anything else.

Was she going to hold the door closed against her?

That would be surprisingly childish.

And Ebonshield was not in any mood to try to force her way in, anyways. She decided to stick with diplomacy. "Your comrades are concerned for you. May I come in?"

Even without listening closely, the batpony could hear her take another step forward.

"No..."

The handle rotated, and Honour Bound pulled the door open.

"... I'll come out."

Ebonshield looked the Corporal over. She had shed her helmet and her sabots, but not the rest of her armor. There were no signs of any illness, though.

She pointed with a wing towards the living room. "There is a bottle of fresh coffee on the table. Would you like some?"

The Corporal nodded, and while Ebonshield turned to get the mugs and the carafe, Honour Bound slowly made her way to the sofa, sitting down on it as if there were a heavy weight on her back.

Ebonshield remained impassive as she served the drinks and took her own seat in the club chair. Honour lifted her cup and sipped the hot drink, and Eb watched her carefully. The earth pony in charge of their quaternion was hunched forward, staring down through the table before her at something a thousand yards away.

Hmm, but she looked resigned, not afraid -- like a child who knew they had done something wrong, and was merely waiting for the sabot to drop.

After Honour had sipped some of her coffee, Ebonshield spoke up. "I hope you can forgive the 'Maestro Cazador' for cancelling your shift this morning. He is a very agreeable liquor when drunk in moderate quantities."

That brought a small smile to the Corporal's face, but she shook her head, still staring at that imaginary, far-away thing. "My hangover's not that bad. And it wasn't yesterday's drinking party that ended my shift."

Ebonshield took a sip of her own coffee. This really was an acquired taste, and she had not acquired one quite yet. With a beverage of such bitterness, drinking hers neat was a bit of a struggle. Still, she persevered -- the corporal was known to take hers 'black', after all. And the corporal sounded like she wanted to talk about that morning, so Ebonshield got straight to the point.

"What happened?"

Honour took a deep breath. "I refused him service."

‘Shadow, that was cryptic.’

Leaving the question of 'why' behind, Ebonshield cocked an eyebrow and decided to first focus on the denouement. "And so he dismissed you?"

She shook her head. "No. I trotted out, saying I'd get him somepony else."

Ebonshield nodded. "I see..."

Trailing off, she gave Honour a moment before she got to the root of the problem.

Surprisingly, Honour spoke first. "Sergeant, yesterday during the audience with Her Majesty Princess Luna, did you notice anything?"

That's a curious question, with several possible answers. But she was pretty sure she knew what the corporal was referring to, and Ebonshield chuckled, stretching her wings a bit.

"You mean, did I notice that the roof and the walls of the room ceased to exist, that the day turned to the night, and that the stars rained down like dust from the sky above?"

Smiling, Ebonshield nodded. “Yes, I did notice this."

The Corporal, still hunched over, looked curiously up at her. "Have you been in Her Majesty's presence before?"

Ebonshield nodded again. "Sí, I have."

Honour’s eyes narrowed. "Many times?"

"Yes, many."

She sat up a bit, and licked her lips.

"How did it make you feel?"

Some very curious questions, indeed. Wasn’t this supposed to be about what happened this morning, and not the yesterday morning?

Ebonshield took a moment to think her answer over before replying.

"It made me feel..."

Inhaling deeply, she tried to remember specifically how the Mother-of-Stars' Presence affected her most recently.

"... Content. Gratified, perhaps."

These were common emotions, but this was a bit different, sharing the Mother's Presence with those who were not her Children.

"I felt assured of Her Majesty's plan, and the role I was playing in it."

Corporal Bound nodded her head. "Is that how you felt the first time?"

Ebonshield could not help but chuckle again. "Oh, no. The first time, I was completely enthralled..."

That was not quite the best way to describe this, but she could not manage one better. She shrugged. "Her Presence is still awesome even now, of course -- repetition does not diminish her -- but since I expect this, I can maintain my wits."

Honour put a hoof up to her chin, looking away again.

"Do you know what I felt? Pride."

The corporal nodded to herself, then turned back to the Sergeant, squinting. "More than anything else, once the experience was over, I felt proud of what I do. Proud to be in the Royal Guard. Proud to be guarding a Very Important Pony. Proud to be serving Princess Luna, and by extension, all of Equestria."

The corporal looked away and took another sip of her coffee, before shaking her head, looking wistful.

"... I haven't felt proud of what I do in a long time."

She glanced in Ebonshield’s direction. "Are you planning to stay in the VIP service once this assignment is over? Find another VIP?"

Ebonshield laughed awkwardly. "So far I have no complaints, but I think that for a batpony, this is a one-time opportunity only."

"Yeah... You'd better finish that 'VIP Service Training' course ASAP, though."

"And why should I do this?"

Her reply was matter-of-fact, and devoid of the emotion Ebonshield knew must be behind it.

"So you can take charge of this quaternion."

Oh, so they were going to have this conversation also? Well, getting this out of the way would be good, at least.

"Why should I wish to take charge?"

The corporal looked up, and Ebonshield thought she was about to say 'because I'll be gone,' but instead she paused and looked askance at her.

Yes, she had picked up on her innuendo.

"What do you mean, why? Those were Lieutenant Violetta's orders."

Deciding to still play a few games with her, Ebonshield stretched out a wing, wrapped the limb around forward, and nonchalantly scratched her appendage with a hoof. "Corporal, how long have you been in the VIP Service?"

"A year and a half."

"And you have served many different VIPs?"

"Six of them, so far."

"No doubt you have had to deal with many different situations in this time, yes?"

She nodded. "Yes."

"More than you trained for?"

"Sure."

With a sigh, Ebonshield put her wing away as if she had fixed whatever imaginary problem had been there. "And how exactly are a few hours in a classroom going to make me your equal?"

Before she could reply, the batpony shook her head and continued on. "No, Corporal. I will not attend the VIP Service Training. I will instead make the excuses to Majordomo Violetta, and follow somepony with experience in the VIP service -- somepony who also has lived in Equestria for all of her life."

Smiling, Ebonshield shrugged. "I will of course be happy if she does, on the occasions when this is appropriate, permit me to speak the advice."

Honour muttered her reply. "You might not have a choice."

This depression of hers was starting to become irritating! She was forcing her to take a most circuitous route to the truth. Ebonshield was able to follow the path, to be certain, but this was still a nuisance.

"Ah, yes? Because Majordomo Violetta will remove you for the refusal this morning? The refusal for the reasons unspecified, except that perhaps they have something to do with the pride?"

Then again, there was something amusing about unravelling a mystery.

Honour Bound opened her mouth to say something, but Ebonshield cut her off. "We have avoided together this subject for a few minutes; let us continue to avoid her for a little while longer, and see where she leads us."

The Corporal chuckled, and a smile -- a genuine one -- crept onto her face. She seemed to relax a bit, the tension partially relieved. There was a long way still to go, but reaching the end in this manner would be better..

"How old are you, Ebonshield?"

Ahh, there was a question very loaded. The corporal thought Ebonshield had no ambition, perhaps? That she must be an old nag, to so easily be broken to her reins? This was not true, but Ebonshield’s answer was not likely to change her mind.

"This summer, I will be forty-three."

Honour exhaled sharply, shaking her head. "Tartarus. You're old enough to be my mother, though you don't look it." Scoffing, she raised her eyebrows. "But forty-three's a bit old for a Sergeant First Class."

Ebonshield nodded in agreement. "Yes. This is as I told the Majordomo: the Night Guard has no such rank system, so 'Sergeant First Class' was simply chosen as the most appropriate. They made this known that you are a corporal, and I did not wish to greatly outrank you, nor appear to be obviously lying."

Corporal Bound seemed to accept this, tilting her head back to finish her coffee cup. "Fair enough. And if I hadn't asked, I wouldn't have thought differently."

As Honour reached over to grab the coffee container, Ebonshield smirked. "And how old is my would-be daughter, the corporal, then?"

She poured herself a second cup, more energetically than when she first sat down. "I 'celebrated' my twenty-fourth birthday just before this assignment."

She blew on her drink to cool it, but far more forcefully than necessary. "... As if I had anything to celebrate."

Suddenly, she shook her head and put the coffee down.

"... Sorry. I don't mean to be so negative, I just..."

The corporal grit her teeth, and Ebonshield could tell she was holding back tears. She could prompt her to continue, but Ebonshield knew she would do so, in her own good time. So, she sat and waited.

A couple of thin wet streaks did appear on her cheeks, despite her attempt to fight them. Casually, Bound lifted a hoof and wiped them away.

“I got into this racket -- the Royal Guard, I mean -- with too much optimism for my own good. When the boring, stupid reality hit, it hit hard."

She sighed again, relaxing further as the tension was exhausted. “Pretty soon, I wanted out. I learned that the VIP service was the best way to have work lined up after End of Active Service, so I went for it. And as much as I tried to lower my expectations, the pointlessness of the job far outstripped them."

Honour licked her lips and picked up the coffee-cup, taking a quick sip before the cup was placed back down on the table.

"You know Anonymous is the first VIP I've ever had who said more than two words to his guards? Most VIPs don't even acknowledge we exist. We all walk in saying, 'Corporal So-and-so reporting for duty,' but eventually it gets to the point where you don't even get a nod or grunt in response, so you don't even bother saying hello any more. You just quietly show up and sit by the door and look impressive, while the VIP goes about their pointless bullshit -- and I do mean pointless bullshit. Bureaucrats sitting behind desks don't get VIP bodyguards, which is a shame, because I could at least respect a bean-counter. That's what I thought Anonymous was, in the beginning."

She paused again -- paused on the subject of Anonymous, Ebonshield noted -- so she decided to lead the Corporal along. "What kinds of VIPs do receive Royal Guards?"

The question seemed to infuse new life into her.

"Well, your typical single male VIP is a wealthy playcolt with a healthy disregard for anypony but themselves. They're a noble who's too young to have their own household yet, but are attending court anyways, or maybe they're in the military service; either way, they're pretentious and utterly useless. I almost hope Kilfeather gives their like a solid bloodying with his 'Pas de Sabots' on that other bridge."

After another sip -- again, putting the cup all the way down on the table, instead of holding her drink in her hoof; a sign of nervousness? -- she gave a wry smile. Despite her tight-lipped demeanor, she really could be quite talkative when she was in a mood for the words.

"Foreigners? You might think a foreign ambassador would have some manners, and they do, but they also come with or hire their own guards. The VIP service gets the visiting dignitaries who don't have their own travelling retinue, and they're basically the equivalent of the locals who would have received bodyguards here, so it's all the same, except they're even more likely to treat other ponies like dirt because it's not their country, after all."

She sighed, and looked like she almost wanted to spit. "It honestly made me wonder why Princess Celestia even bothered with the whole setup."

Ebonshield finished her coffee, and slowly put the cup down on the table in front of her. Honour noticed this, and grabbed the carafe to pour her another, but Ebonshield waved her off. Honour looked lost in thought once more.

This time Ebonshield gave her a shove rather than a gentle push. "And you thought that the Royal Engineer, despite being a 'bean-counter', would be much the same?"

The question seemed to put her on guard, and she licked her lips, glancing sideways at the batpony.

"Yes."

She went on, but she still could not bring herself to look Ebonshield in the eyes.

“But he's not. He's doing things, doing work. Writing a book about his own world's science and industry, number-crunching with the Chancellor of the Exchequer, bringing in greedy miscreant landlords to face justice, getting his hooves -- hands, I mean -- dirty building who-knows-what contraption, though I'm sure it's wonderfully useful. I'll even give him credit for having the backbone to stand up to Kilfeather; most VIPs would have surrendered Sparkshower and gone on their way."

Ebonshield nodded agreeably. To be honest, she knew almost nothing about the work of the Royal Engineer. She had heard a little through Sparkshower when she had discussed the 'Pas de Sabots,' but the pegasus herself knew few of the details. And anyways, this had not been necessary that Ebonshield should think highly of Anonymous; the Mother-of-Stars thought highly of him, and that was enough. But, that she should find herself thinking as Her Majesty did was good.

Honour finished her second cup before continuing. "Working for him was just barely starting to make up for all the terrible VIP's I'd had to serve. And then Princess Luna visited yesterday."

She paused, but not to collect herself -- this was for emphasis, and she looked straight at Ebonshield again.

"It was enthralling, as you said. And it was gratifying, and contenting, and assuring, as well. She made me feel good about my job again. And she made me feel good about myself, too."

Then the Corporal stalled once more, and Ebonshield could easily guess what the next subject was to be.

"But Anonymous this morning has done something to make you feel bad again."

Ebonshield saw her suck her lips in, and the corporal shook her head slowly. "Yesterday, while we were up here drinking, he had teams of workponies in his chambers, moving furniture, taking out documents, and bringing in tools and other materials."

‘Hmm, is he not allowed to do what he pleases in his own room?’

"This is not permitted?"

She grimaced, as if speaking the next words physically hurt her. "Strictly speaking, no. There's supposed to be somepony with him as an honor guard whenever he's alone or in public company. Technically, he doesn't even have permission to dismiss us as he did; we're supposed to have full responsibility for our schedule, and it's our heads if he's ever unguarded. But I was so stirred up by Luna's visit, when he said he'd do fine alone in the afternoon and evening, I didn't even think to ask him if he had any plans."

Ah, yes, the frustration most classic: to be angry at one's self for allowing another to abrogate their own responsibilities.

"What he did yesterday... it's not actually that big of a deal, though this morning I made like it was."

‘The plot thickens!’

Ebonshield resisted the urge to put on a sly smile. But she could not resist the urge to ask an amusing question. "If we suppose that the Royal Engineer had a guest most private in his chambers, or visited the same somewhere else, during the working hours...?"

The Corporal got her meaning. "If we can't stay in the room, then we're supposed to stand watch outside the door."

"Of course."

There was another, awkwardly long pause as Honour worked herself down into seriousness again.

"He joked about the arrangement as well. Said he'd always felt safe walking around the palace halls anytime of day. I said that what he did before was irrelevant. And then..."

She sighed.

This was the one, the root of the problem. Ebonshield almost held her breath in anticipation.

"... He said having guards almost sounded like 'an inconvenience.'"

Honour shrugged. "I don't know why, but that word just... stung me. He was joking when he said it, I'm sure, but it still hurt -- hurt my pride, my honor, my self-respect."

Once again, she turned away from Ebonshield, unable to carry on speaking to her face.

This was definitely something to get used to, the way these Equestrians liked to talk at a distance. Things were so much clearer when speaking muzzle to muzzle!

"Everything wonderful that Princess Luna had built up yesterday came crashing down. And it was as if all the positive things I'd thought about him snapped right back into the negative. He was just another arrogant, self-centred, miscreant VIP, undeserving of the Princess' grace."

She took one last deep breath, and then looked up at her. "... I told him as much. And now I'm upstairs."

Corporal Honour Bound lifted her forehooves up in the air and then let them drop down beside her. "But probably not for long. As soon as he reports the incident to Lieutenant Violetta, I'll be out of here, one way or another."

So this was the problem, then. Ebonshield suspected that she was perhaps overreacting, but then again, what did she know of Equestrian VIPs?

Heh, except that Anonymous was just as alien here as Ebonshield was, if not more so, what with not having any hooves, and not having grown up anywhere near their world. Though he’d been free to walk around for longer than she had.

Ebonshield was about to say something reassuring, when there were hoofsteps at the door, which swung open without a knock. Both of the mares looked up as Specialist Glamerspear entered the room. She still had the metal cone around her horn.

"Oh, hey Corporal. I'm just getting back from medical."

Honour nodded at the head ornament. "Still spellbound?"

The unicorn did not look happy about this. "Yeah. They said it'd be another day or two."

She paused, looking the Corporal up and down, looking in her direction as she closed the door.

"... How 'bout you? Are you alright?"

The Corporal shuffled slightly in her seat.

"I'll be fine."

Glamerspear did not look as if she believed Honour, but she declined to press the question further. "Good. Well, since I'm still basically off-duty, unless anypony needs me right now, I figured I'd go do some laps in the field."

The unicorn shrugged. "I mean, what the hay, this junk on my horn gets me a pass on PPT, but I'd still better stay in shape, right? I'll be back after lunch."

Honour Bound nodded. "Sure."

Before Glamerspear could turn around and head out, Ebonshield heard hoofsteps in the hallway, and there was a knock at the door.

‘Hmm, Sparkshower would not bother knocking.’

Looking over at Corporal Bound, she saw a look of serious concern on her face. Could that be Lieutenant Temper Violetta, already there to scold or dismiss her? A very quick turnaround if so. Unaware of the concerns of her Corporal, Glamerspear casually pulled the door open.

There was a clean-cut young pegasus colt standing at the door, with a violet cap and matching tunic. "Delivery for a Corporal Bound?"

"...That's me."

On the sofa beside Ebonshield, the recipient looked completely confused. She was also so lethargic that she did not get up, even as the pegasus was already reaching into his saddle-bag for the delivery. He delicately hoofed over a loosely-wrapped, conical package to Glamerspear.

"Here you are. Have a nice day." With a smile and a tip of his hat, he left.

Glamerspear shut the door again, then walked over to the sofa and chairs. "Special occasion today, Corporal? Did you have a birthday without telling us?"

The Corporal just shook her head, still confused.

Glamerspear put the delivery down in front of Honour, who slowly reached forward and pulled on the bow-knot of string holding the package together. Once so loosened, a large flap of the wrapping paper naturally unfolded itself. Inside was a nice bouquet of colorful flowers, and they instantly filled the room with the fresh smell of spring.

Honour stared at it, more confused than ever.

Her reaction just seemed to amuse Glamerspear. "OOOOH, looks like somepony's got an admirer! What's it say on the card?"

There was indeed a small white card visible just underneath the rest of the packaging. The Corporal picked this up, holding the card in both hooves, as she read the contents aloud.

"With sincerest apologies, Anonymous."

‘¡Guau!’

Next Chapter: Chapter 45 Estimated time remaining: 29 Hours, 40 Minutes