Princess Twilight Sparkle woke up with the weight of the world on her shoulders.
She glanced outside, and saw that the sky was still dark. As it would be every time she woke up from now on. With a sigh, she rolled out of her luxurious, enormous bed sized for an alicorn twice her size, and floated over the amulet gifted to her by Celestia and Luna.
It felt so odd to think of them as not being princesses anymore. As surreal as her coronation last week had been, it paled in comparison to seeing her idol and mentor relinquish her crown along with her sister. No matter how long she'd prepared for it, she still couldn't shake the feeling that they would walk through that door any moment and tell her it had all been a joke or a test, that all would be as it had been once again.
Twilight sighed. The High Princess of Equestria had no time for such idle musings. She focused her magic on the amulet, lowering the moon and raising the sun, as she'd done many times before as practice for this day. Using the device was second nature to oher now.
With that done, she quickly made herself presentable, putting on her regalia before heading out towards her private office.
Raven Inkwell was already there, waiting for her.
"Good morning, Twilight." The unicorn mare looked up from the clipboard held in her magic. "I hope you had a pleasant sleep." She looked as beautiful as she always did, with her black glasses perfectly framing her cute face, and her mane done up in its usual professional bun that nonetheless looked stylish in addition to being functional.
Twilight smiled. "It was fine, but it would've been even better if I got to wake up next to you. How are the plans for the renovation going?"
Raven flipped through a few of her papers. "The funds have been allocated from your personal allowance, and it's being listed as a recreational expense. For once, Celestia's penchant for modifying the palace to prank ponies is actually benefiting us. Everypony will just assume she put in this one final request, and with the right assignment of contractors, no one will be able to put together the pieces and figure out that the new secret corridor goes from my bedroom to yours."
"In the meantime, we at least get this half-hour together before Morning Court." Twilight glanced at the clock. "How long do you think we'll need to go over today's agenda?"
"No more than twenty minutes," Raven replied. She looked back up at Twilight, her eyes burning with passion that most ponies wouldn't know she was capable of. Her voice dropped low as she spoke her next words. "Which means we have at least ten minutes to allocate for distractions."
With that, she trotted up to Twilight, who leaned down to share a brief kiss with her beloved. That moment of connection and intimacy sent a thrill down her spine, banishing away some of her anxiety.
"If we cuddle while we go over the list, the decrease in efficiency should push us to the allotted time, given past observations," Twilight said breathlessly.
"That would be acceptable." With that, Raven took her hoof and led her onto the couch in the room. Twilight climbed up first, allowing Raven to rest against her barrel as they nuzzled one another, taking a moment to enjoy their quiet companionship.
Alas, they could only afford a moment, and Twilight was forced to clear her throat to bring them both back into the present. "Are there any changes to the schedule I need to know about?" She asked, staring into Raven's beautiful brown eyes.
The petite unicorn mare nodded. "There's been some delays with the Zebra ambassador's airship, so that meeting will have to be pushed back until tomorrow."
"That means I can make the first hour of Upper Crust's gala, right?" Twilight asked.
"An unexpected appearance there would be good for keeping the nobles on their toes." As she spoke, Raven traced slow circles against Twilight's belly with her hoof. It was a little tic of hers that only Twilight knew about, and she reveled in that knowledge as much as she did at the touch itself.
"Get Cross Stitch to pick out something for me, then, please." At Twilight's command, Raven scribbled down a note on her clipboard. Twilight waited a moment before continuing. "I'm expecting Fancy Pants to appear at morning court with a request for more funding towards his charity initiatives in West Canterlot. According to your reports, this will be the third time this year he's come to court asking for more money."
Raven's hoof stopped as she looked up at Twilight, her eyes sparkling with an intelligence that made Twilight's heart melt. "Are you worried about centralizing so much of the public funds in a private individual, or do you think there's an unacceptable amount of inefficiencies in his system?"
"Both." It felt so nice to Twilight to be able to confer with someone who understood her as well as she did. "I'm thinking of asking Rarity for help. She can help run some of the initiatives, which can help distribute control of the funds to more ponies, and if she can find a better way to do things, then that's even better, but..."
"You need a way to do it without being accused of nepotism." Raven snorted. "Which is what this is."
"She's the only one I trust, and she's friendly enough with Fancy that they'll be able to work together instead of against each other," Twilight argued. "Being the Bearer of the Element of Generosity and having saved Equestria multiple times should be enough justification to give her position."
"Rarity's virtue is undeniable, but compared to other candidates, she's very inexperienced with navigating the politics of Canterlot." Raven's tone was firm, unyielding. She didn't care that Twilight was the high princess of the realm — she would speak her mind when it came to what she thought was best for the nation. "However, her unique status could be useful to us, if we paired her off with somepony more experienced. I can prepare a list of candidates for you to review."
"Alright," Twilight said, capitulating. "In the interest of making things appear unbiased, someone else should make the offer to her too. You or somepony else."
"Noted." More scribbling on the clipboard. "After your morning court, you have the meeting with the Duke and Duchess of Maretonia. Once again, I would urge you to push for a mutual abolition of tariffs as soon as possible."
"No." This time, it was Twilight's turn to put her hoof down, bringing her full regal bearing to her expression. "My priority is de-escalating their tensions with Crystal Empire, and I can't afford to split focus. My decision is final."
Raven knew better than to push the point. "Very well."
A flash of guilt seared her heart, and Twilight leaned down to press a kiss against her lover's forehead, right under her horn. "Sorry."
Raven nuzzled Twilight's neck. "Don't be, Twilight. We both understand you'll have to stand your ground sometimes as high princess, and I respect that."
"I guess I should've expected a bit of awkwardness when I decided to date my aide," Twilight murmured. "Well, technically you were Celestia's aide when we started dating," she corrected herself.
"You knew I was going to be yours, though," Raven pointed out, equally pedantically. "In both senses of the word."
Twilight kissed her again. "I only knew that you'd still be the Royal Aide when I took the throne. You giving your heart to me was a surprise."
Raven shrugged. "I spent a decade pining for you. If I didn't say anything it would've been too much of a distraction and prevented me from doing my job at my best. Asking you out was the easiest way to get closure."
"Well, it worked," Twilight said. "You've been performing admirably."
A warm smile spread across Raven's muzzle. "Thank you, Twilight. It's nice to be appreciated." She cleared her throat. "We need to go over a few more things before you leave for morning court. Lady Golden Wish sent a letter this morning with a request..."
As Twilight lost herself in her planning with Raven, she felt a little of the tension leave her shoulders. Her breathing grew more relaxed, and a pleasant haze of affection filled her mind even as she made sure to keep her intellect sharp so that she could still serve Equestria as best she could.
Twilight Sparkle spread out her wings and wrapped them around her beloved and closest ally. The weight of the world was a heavy one, but it didn't seem quite so crushing when she had someone else to share the burden with.
And with Raven Inkwell, Twilight knew she would still be able to soar on wings of love.
