A Princess’ Conundrum

Chapters

The Princess and Her Guardian
Duty
It’s the Little Things
Training Grounds
Formalities
...and Normalities
You Shook Me All Night Long or Spike’s Very Own Chapter

The Princess and Her Guardian

Princess-trainee.

The temporary title induced an embarrassed blush across Twilight’s cheeks. She pushed her anxiety aside and focused on her book fort. Surrounded by tomes on political policy and laws of governance, she barely had any time to herself. This meant she had even less time to address her other responsibilities. How was she supposed to find a captain for her royal guard when there was so much studying to do?

Shortly after the coronation, Princess Celestia provided her with a list of tasks she needed to complete as a new princess. She did appreciate the list, but some of the items on it befuddled her to no end. Line items on specifying a favorite cake, a favorite tea, a favorite royal bathing hall, and most annoyingly, selecting a captain of her guard.

She groaned and slammed her head into the weighty tome in front of her. She’d almost forgotten about finding a captain. She didn’t know anyone in Canterlot besides her parents and the Princesses which made the task near impossible. Her wings tingled uncomfortably as her mind listed every single thing she needed to do—the stress, the horror!

It’s okay, Twilight. Calm down. You just need to take things one step at a time. Have some tea. That’s what Celestia does.

Luckily, close at hoof was a cup of tea and a slice of cake. She’d insisted on just the tea, but Celestia, in her wisdom, suggested the cake would prove useful during the long hours. Her eyes drifted over to the frosting-covered confectionary and her mouth watered. How long had it been since she had a snack?

She could’ve sworn she already consumed a slice of cake for the day. Any more and her flanks would slowly trend toward Celestia’s. She giggled. Her friends all noticed the monarch’s slow plumping of the flanks. Not that they looked bad. In fact, they looked very stately.

Her hoof eased its way over to the silver plate and pulled the slice of cake close. She deserved this cake. She’d been studying hard all day. Plus, she could go for a flight afterward to stay healthy and to stretch her wings. “Stretch them twice a day,” Rainbow had suggested to her, and she intended to stick by it.

Normally, she’d consult a book for such advice. Of course, Rainbow happened to be an all-around fantastic flyer, if her accomplishments hadn’t driven home this fact already.

Twilight suddenly realized the cake was gone. She puzzled over how it could just disappear. She ran her tongue around inside her mouth and detected just a trace of chocolate.

Ah. I’m running on autopilot.

This usually meant it was time to stop studying, especially since she just mused her slice of cake away. She sighed—lamenting over cake was definitely not very princess-like. However, the deed was done and the cake was gone. She sighed again. Her concentration was completely shot. Pulling herself off the cushions, she stretched her limbs and flexed her wings. So far so good. She trotted over to the library balcony and gazed out over the beautiful city of Canterlot. In the distance, she could see the twinkling lights of Ponyville.

A surge of emotion washed over her as she started to reminisce. Part of her wanted to stay in Ponyville. The little town felt so safe compared to the bustling city. Her friends would be there for her. Heck, Pinkie might’ve dropped by already with a “cake emergency” package. She glanced behind herself quickly but was disappointed. No Pinkie, no cake.

Perhaps she could just fly there and see them? It was a novel idea, but it was a little late. As much as her friends loved her, she didn’t want to drop in uninvited. With that in mind, she took off. The wind whistled against her ears and tossed her mane back. She added a touch of speed with a few more flaps and augmented it with a hint of magic.

After a few loops, rolls, and the usual tricks, she felt much better. Flying was a simple pleasure she’d grown fond of. During the first couple weeks, she’d only been allowed to fly with a partner. Rainbow graciously volunteered her time and services. However, after a few weeks, Rainbow deemed her capable enough to fly solo—or, in Rainbow’s words, “Wow, that was awesome.” She blushed slightly. Getting praise from Equestria’s best flyer was quite a boost to her confidence.

“Watch out!”

Twilight veered to the left abruptly at the shout and nearly smacked into a patch of clouds. A rainbow blur sped past her. Huh. What a coincidence. She righted herself and hovered in place as the prismatic trail looped around and returned to her. “Well, what are you doing out here so late?” She crossed her hooves in mock annoyance.

“Heh, sorry Twilight, I didn’t expect any pony flying out here this time of night.” Rainbow blushed and rubbed the back of her head in embarrassment. “I saw your tricks though. A little basic, but you’re executing them super smoothly.” Her eyes trailed to Twilight’s wings and she blushed a little harder. “I’m a little jealous of your wingspan. You could pull off some pretty amazing moves with them.”

“Checking out my wings?” Twilight smirked and leaned forward. “And you still haven’t told me why you’re flying out here at night.”

Rainbow blushed and glanced away. Avoiding the first question, she answered the second. “Oh! Well, it’s easier to fly at night when there’s less air traffic. Less chance for collisions, right?”

“I don’t think that stopped you from flying in Ponyville during the day. I clearly remember consistent collisions with my library.”

“Um...”

Twilight smiled and pulled Rainbow into a hug. “Sorry, I can’t help pointing out a logical fallacy when I see one.” She squeezed the pegasus firmly before letting go. “It’s good to see you, Rainbow. If I knew you flew at night, we could’ve flown together.”

“Really?!” Rainbow caught herself and toned down her excitement. Calm down, it’s totally normal to want a flying buddy. “I mean, that’s cool. I thought you were extra busy being a princess and stuff.” She shrugged. “I didn’t want to bother you after we wrapped up your flying lessons.” Her eyes met Twilight’s briefly before darting away.

Twilight smiled reassuringly at Rainbow and gestured at the moon and stars all around them. “Really, I’d love to fly with you. It can get very lonely in Canterlot. I thought I’d be okay with just my books.” She smiled wryly. “But I guess I’ve grown fond of being around you and all the girls over the years.”

She reached out and gently tapped Rainbow on the chest. “So, why are you out here in the middle of the night so close to Canterlot instead of Ponyville?”

“Well...” Rainbow swallowed nervously. Her real reasons were embarrassing, so she did the next best thing—a white lie . “I heard the Wonderbolts do a lot of endurance runs. So, I fly a couple laps each night to get myself into top form.” She realized this would also explain why she nearly ran into Twilight. Mentally, she gave herself a pat on the back. “I was flying back so quickly, I nearly ran into you. Sorry about that!”

Twilight narrowed her eyes and looked Rainbow over unconvincingly. “Why haven’t I seen you flying back and forth between Canterlot on other nights then?”

“Um...bad luck?” Rainbow chuckled nervously. She needed to change the topic before Twilight caught on, and fast. “But, since I bumped into you tonight, want to do some flying?”

Twilight’s look of doubt gradually shifted into a smile. “So, you want to go for a flight?” She grinned. “I’ll race you to that cloud over there.” She traced her hoof across the sky and pointed to a fluffy cumulus formation in the distance. “Ready, set, go!” Without waiting for Rainbow to respond, she took off into the night.

Rainbow watched Twilight fly off as her mind churned slowly like syrup. Something about Twilight being lonely, her unexpected appearance, and a race. A race! “H-hey!” She shook her head to clear her thoughts and took off after her friend. Many seconds later, she zoomed by Twilight and slowed down just enough to throw out a choice taunt. “Don’t think I’m going to let you win just because you’re a princess now!”

Twilight giggled happily. “I didn’t expect you to!” She winked at Rainbow and her horn glowed ever so slightly. Half a second later, she was several lengths in front. “You’re going to have to catch me if you want to win this race!”

“Hey! You’re not supposed to teleport in a race!” Rainbow gritted her teeth and pushed herself forward harder. If Twilight was going to make it a challenge, she was more than happy to rise to the occasion and show off her stuff.

They jockeyed for position back and forth in their dance across the sky. Twilight always remained a few hoof-lengths ahead with a combination of powerful wing strokes and well-timed teleports. Rainbow started to suspect this wasn’t even a real race. Her friend just needed some fun after long days of endlessly studying alone.

Of course, it was still a race to her and Rainbow wasn’t going to lose to Twilight. After fifteen or so minutes, she realized Twilight’s teleports were more than well-timed—they were predictable. Smiling to herself, she lured Twilight over to the cloud formation which served as the finish point through a series of loops, turns, and dives. Her friend followed along, completely oblivious to the trap laid.

Right as they passed over the cloud, Rainbow waited for Twilight to teleport and aimed herself at where Twilight would reappear. Her instincts were correct as she flew right into Twilight as the princess reappeared. She wrapped her hooves around Twilight and drove their bodies right into the cloud. They impacted together and in a mass of white fluff.

Twilight laughed harder than she had in ages in the clouds. She didn’t feel like a princess-trainee anymore. She felt like just another pony with friends who she could have fun with.

Rainbow panted heavily above Twilight with an exhausted blush streaked across her face. “Gotcha. No one plays cat and mouse with me and wins. I always get what I want.”

“Just like you always wanted me as your flying buddy, right?” Twilight smiled.

“What?”

Twilight’s smile slowly warmed into a slight blush. “Well, I remember how happy you looked when I first got my wings. And then all the times you snuck glances over at my wings while you were guiding my first few tricks. Now, I find you flying around Canterlot—waiting for me.”

Rainbow swallowed nervously. “I wasn’t waiting! I just wanted to be there for you if you were lonely.” She paused and glanced away. “Look. Flying is great, and I love the rush. But, I’ve always wanted to fly with a pony who shared my enthusiasm. That’s why the Wonderbolts are so cool. They live to fly.”

She smiled with uncertainty. “And, well, when we went flying together the first few weeks, you were so excited. I’ve never gotten that from any of our other friends. So, I guess I kind of wanted more...if I could get it.”

“So...how long have you been flying around Canterlot, Rainbow?” Twilight’s smile grew wider as the truth started to unfurl—along with Rainbow’s wings.

“Not that long! Just in the evenings after my weather work. Maybe a few days after I gave you the go-ahead to fly on your own. I just wanted to be there for you, y’know?”

“Yeah. I understand, Rainbow.” Twilight reached up with her hooves and rested them gently on either side of her flying buddy’s neck. “Thank you for watching out for me. You’ve been my guardian pegasus ever since I got my wings.”

“N-no problem, Twi.” Rainbow fumbled with her words. “You don’t have to get all mushy on me. I’d do it for any of my friends. You just happened to be the one flying the most.”

“I just realized something, Rainbow. I’m not so alone in Canterlot. I still have you and the girls. Even if you’re all far away. If I need help, you’ll be there.” Twilight pulled Rainbow a little closer. “Would you be willing to be my guardian?”

“What?”

“I was out here tonight because I was trying to get my mind off of a tough problem. I need to find a captain for my royal guard. I didn’t know where to look. But it’s so simple now.” Twilight blushed ever so slightly at her silliness. “Rainbow, you’re a natural leader. Brave. Devoted. You would make a great captain of the guard.” Twilight winked. “Plus, an existing position in the military as a captain would look pretty good to the Wonderbolts.

“So...what do you say? Will you be my faithful captain of the guard?” Twilight swallowed and closed her eyes.

Please say yes. Please don’t let me down. I need you, Rainbow Dash.

She felt a hoof touch her cheek. It was so gentle she could scarce believe it was Rainbow’s. She slowly opened her eyes and found herself gazing deeply into her companion’s eyes. She couldn’t tell if Rainbow was receptive to the idea or not, and her heart started to thud with worry. “Rainbow...sorry, you don’t have to. I know you already have a happy life in Ponyville. I just thought—”

“I’ll do it.” Rainbow grinned confidently. “I’m not sure if I can stick around forever since I still want to join the Wonderbolts, but you’re right. This will help. As for the weather, I’m not the only pony handling Ponyville’s clouds. They’ll be able to manage.” She leaned down and nuzzled Twilight gently. “Plus, you really need some help right now. I can’t turn you down.”

Twilight’s eyes widened as the she processed the good news. She squeezed Rainbow close with her hooves. “Oh, thank you! Thank you! I’ll do everything I can to make this an easy transition. You’ll make a great captain.”

“On one condition.”

Twilight’s expression dropped.

“You have to remember I’m more than just a captain to you. Just like you’re more than just a princess to me.” Rainbow winked. “Can you do that?”

Twilight’s face instantly lit up and she pulled Rainbow close. “Absolutely, Dashie. I’ll never forget it. I Pinkie Promise.” As she squeezed her captain and guardian close, she realized things weren’t so bad after all. She may still be a princess-trainee, but she wasn’t alone. No matter what happened...

Dashie would be with her every step of the way.

Author's Note

This chapter, and future chapters are based on images created by lostzilla on deviantArt. I will publish new chapters when more images are available and I find the time to write about them. I hope you enjoyed reading the start to what I hope to be a very heartwarming tale.

Duty

Twilight dotted the “i” in Rainbow’s name with a smile. With practiced ease, she picked up the document magically and trotted down from her tower to the dining hall for breakfast. Taking her spot across the table from Luna and to the right of Celestia, she placed the captaincy nomination safely away from the foodstuffs.

“Good morning, Princesses.” She acquired a piece of toast from a ready-made pile, desperately hungry after spending half the night galavanting in the clouds with Rainbow.

“So, Luna...” Celestia began with a thoughtful tension as she procured a slice of early-morning cake and reached for her tea. “How was your night? If I recall, it was particularly beautiful.”

Luna kept her eyes forward and took a single sip of her tea before answering. “Sister, my nights are always beautiful.”

“I don’t doubt it. You are an artist of the skies, Luna. Surely, you would be pleased if you discovered ponies relishing your work.”

A blueberry danish floated over to Luna and the Night Princess took a few bites. “If you are fishing for information, Celestia, you are asking the wrong princess. What ponies do in my night is between them and me.” Luna looked across the blueberries and cream to Twilight.

“Don’t be coy, Luna. You saw something. I can tell from the way you’re avoiding eye contact with me.” Celestia slid her cake across the table toward her sister. “Perhaps this will change your mind?”

“Ha! You expect to divulge a pony’s personal moments for a mere slice of cake? You’ll have to do better than that.”

Twilight bit her lip as she watched the exchange. Her wings started to twitch after the pointed look she received from Luna. She knew. She probably saw the whole thing.

“Very well, Luna,” Celestia said. “You strike a hard bargain. What do you want? The upstairs washroom for a week? First choice of the stallions or mares in the royal harem? A personal favor from me?”

“T-there’s a royal harem?!” Twilight blurted out in surprise as her butter knife clattered to the table.

“Calm yourself, Twilight, my sister is merely jesting,” Luna assured. “Unless she is hiding something, too.” She glanced over at Celestia briefly before returning her attention to her danish. “Very well, if you are going to be so generous, I’ll part with a little tidbit of information in return for a personal favor from you.”

Twilight’s heart pounded against her chest. This was it, once Celestia got word of her little play-flight with Rainbow, she’d never hear the end of it.

Celestia swigged the rest of her tea in a single gulp and slammed the upon the table. “Agreed. Now, stop being so evasive!”

Luna winked at Twilight and polished off the rest of her danish. “If you must know, I spotted Twilight giggling quite profusely in a cloud last night. This was after a particular rowdy little flight through my night sky.”

Celestia turned to Twilight with a wide grin. “Is this so, Twilight? Have you been having midnight snacks of a different kind?”

The blood rushed to Twilight’s face. Now the puns would start. She needed to nip the problem before it could bloom into full blown euphemisms at every single meal. “N-no, nothing of the sort, Princess! I was just working out the details for my captain of the guard.”

“Working out? Is that what ponies call it these days?”

Twilight looked to Luna for help but received nothing more than a knowing smile. “Princess! Please! This is important. I even filled out the nomination form. Look!” She picked up the document in a rush and dropped it in front of Celestia.

“You’ve decided on a captain for your royal guard?” Celestia unfurled the document and scanned over the text. “Twilight, I only know of one Rainbow Dash, and she is rather young to be a captain, don’t you think?”

Twilight pressed her hooves together and looked away. “Well, yes, but she has all the qualities of a good captain. Brave, loyal, and charismatic. You can train a pony with combat skills, but natural qualities are hard to find.”

Celestia laid the document down upon the table and sighed. “Twilight. I know how much you miss your friends in Ponyville. But recruiting them into the military, even in peacetime, isn’t the most elegant solution.” She pressed her hoof down upon the document.

“Celly, if I may. I’d like to call that favor now.” Luna piped up with a devious smile.

“What? You can’t be serious.”

“I am. I’d like for you to allow this. Surely you trust Twilight’s judgement and my own? Rainbow Dash is an extremely capable pony. I’m sure she will rise to any challenge she may face as captain.” Luna winked at Twilight.

Celestia sighed long and slow. “Very well, consider your favor spent. I’m going to allow this single exception. Twilight, if you next come to me with requests to make Applejack your personal chef, and Rarity your personal dressier, and Pinkie your personal party planner, and Fluttershy your personal pet caretaker, you can’t have Luna calling in more favors for you.”

“Thank you, Princess!” Twilight clapped her hooves together happily and smiled at Luna. “And thank you so much, Luna! I’ve never seen Celestia taken in like that. How did you do it?”

Celestia consumed her slice of cake in one fell swoop and stalked out of the dining room. “You two enjoy your breakfast. I think I’m going to look at some particularly boring tax forms to cool down.”

Luna waited for Celestia to leave the room before she leaned across the table close to Twilight and whispered: “I switched her tea to decaf.”

* * *

“It’s an emergency! I need some red cloth and some pink cloth!” Pinkie burst into Rarity’s boutique with nary a knock.

Rarity lowered the design she was in the middle of drafting and smiled nervously at Pinkie. “Whatever do you mean, dear? Is this one of your Pinkie-Sense emergencies?”

“No, silly! I was talking with Derpy this morning on the finer aspects of baking candy bits into muffins when she mentioned she couldn’t join me today for our bake-off.” Pinkie looked around with a wild look in her eyes. Spotting her quarry, she bolted over to a roll of rich red fabric.

“I don’t quite follow, Pinkie. What does muffins have to do with my cloth?” Rarity bit her lip and put herself between her prized fabrics and Pinkie.

“Everything! Well, almost everything! I asked Derpy what could be more important than muffins with candy inside, and she told me she had to work to feed her little muffin.”

“Little muffin?”

“Dinky!”

“Oh, her darling little unicorn daughter?”

“Yep! Anyway, I told her I totally understood, but I didn’t completely get it since today’s Sunday, and you don’t deliver mail on Sunday.”

“Okay...I’m following now. But you still haven’t explained the fabric situation.”

“I’m getting to it! Apparently, she has to help Rainbow move some stuff at her moving company job. Rainbow’s leaving us!” Pinkie sunk to the floor and drew frowny-face patterns with her forehooves.

“I see. This is all very sudden. Are you sure she isn’t just moving some things into storage?”

“Nope! She’s going to be Twilight’s captain of the royal guard.”

“C-captain?” Rarity stuttered and joined Pinkie on the floor. “Are you absolutely sure about this, Pinkie?”

“Absolutely? I don’t know, maybe ninety-nine percent sure.”

“How did you find this out if you only spoke with Derpy?”

“Well...I may have been up late last night feeding a cookie emergency. I had a sudden craving for triple chocolate chip cookies. And I may have heard Rainbow cheering herself on for making captain of Twilight’s royal guard.”

“That’s certainly does sound like our Rainbow.”

Pinkie nodded.

“Pinkie, you wouldn’t happen to have one of those cookies on you, would you? This is all very surprising, and I think I may need to restore my blood sugar.”

“Oh, sure!” Pinkie pulled a delicious cookie from somewhere and presented it to Rarity. “So, about that cloth?”

Rarity munched on the cookie as she considered Pinkie’s request. Something still didn’t add up. “Pinkie, why do you need red fabric and pink fabric?”

“To make a cape for Dashie! All the greatest captains in history have red capes. And since she’s Twilight’s captain, we should add the pink star from Twilight’s tiara onto the back of the cape.”

The remainder of the cookie disappeared. Rarity brushed the crumbs away from her hoof and contemplated the opportunity to design a fabulous cape. However, knowing Twilight, all the gear Rainbow needed was probably already accounted for. “Pinkie, dear, I’m sure Twilight can provide all the equipment and armor Rainbow needs. We should just be there to support them both.”

A long silence as the gears in Pinkie’s head seemed to turn. “Okie dokie lokie!” The party pony sprang up off the floor with the sound of a party favor. “I should put together one of my namesake get-togethers for Rainbow! Come by at two! I’ll have muffins with candy-bits!”

Rarity nodded and waved as Pinkie disappeared out the door. As the door clicked shut, she sighed and looked at the few scattered crumbs on the floor. “Damn, there goes my diet again.”

* * *

Rainbow stood at the threshold of Sugar Cube Corner and sighed. She spent all morning flying circles over Ponyville trying to figure out the best way to break the news to her friends. She didn’t want them to think she was abandoning them for Twilight. The thought of Twilight’s thankful expression brought an embarrassed blush to her cheeks. She’d have to tell them today and hope her friends would understand because Twilight was important to all of them.

She pushed open the door with her hoof and stepped in. The entire shop was pitch dark. “Pinkie, you there? I’m here to try out the muffins you mentioned this morning. Rainbow candy ones?” The breath was knocked out of her as she was tackled to the ground and the room lit up.

“Surprise!”

“Huh, wuh?” Rainbow sputtered on the ground, her eyes spinning in confusion.

“It’s a surprise party for you, silly filly! For making captain!” Pinkie shoved a muffin in Rainbow’s mouth.

Rainbow coughed and pushed Pinkie off her. She spit the muffin out and looked around in surprise at all her friends assembled inside Sugar Cube Corner. “Hey girls...I guess you all know then?”

“We do! Congratulations, sugarcube.” Applejack threw a supportive forehoof around her neck. “Twilight couldn’t have picked a braver pony. Though you better not go forgetting us when you’re a hotshot captain.”

Rainbow chuckled and prodded Applejack in return with a hoof. “I told Twilight the same thing when I agreed to be captain. She’s always going to be Twilight to me, just like you guys are always going to be my friends.”

Rarity swept in with the grace of a swan and offered Rainbow a glass of water. “Of course, dear. Your friends are always here for you. And if there’s anything we can do to help, please don’t hesitate to ask. I, of course, would love to design any uniforms you might need.”

“And I can help you take care of Tank if you want me to.” Fluttershy poked her head out from behind Rarity.

Rainbow gratefully took the cup of water from Rarity and gulped it down. “Thanks girls, and thank you Pinkie for the party. I packed up a few things this morning, but I’m going to keep most of my stuff here in Ponyville.” She smiled as gently as she could to Fluttershy, “And I’d really appreciate it if you could keep an eye on my house and Tank. I’d like to bring him with me sometime. I just don’t have time today.”

“What’s the rush, RD?” Applejack gave Rainbow a playful shake. “Have a date scheduled with Twilight this afternoon?”

“No! I mean, well, sorta. I’m supposed to fly in today and get my armor fitted.” Rainbow stuttered through her words as her ears burned. Her friends exchanged a knowing glance which only furthered her blush. She decided now would be a good time to make a hasty retreat. “So, yep! I gotta go! Thanks for the party girls. I’d love to stay, but I don’t wanna let Twilight down.” She scrambled to her hooves and bolted out the door, leaving a rainbow trail in her wake.

Pinkie peeked out of the door in the wake of Rainbow’s distinctive trail and grinned. “She’s gone. All right! Everypony know the rules? It’s ten bits to enter. The pony with the closest guess without going over wins the prize pool!” Pinkie donned a green dealer’s hat and whipped out a notepad. “Remember: The bet is how long it takes before Rainbow kisses Twilight.”

* * *

After a refreshing flight to clear her head, Rainbow landed on Twilight’s tower-room balcony. She glanced over her shoulders and checked her feathers to make sure they were aligned and presentable. Spotting a few out of place, she started to stretch out her wing to give herself a quick preening.

“Stop right there criminal scum!”

She spun on her hooves just in time to be tackled by a pair of pegasus guards. She squirmed beneath the rough set of hooves and glared up at her captors. “What the hay! I’m here to meet Twilight! Get off of me!”

“I advise you stop struggling this instant. If you’re here to see the princess, you don’t just fly right up to her private balcony and pay her a visit!”

“Why not? I’m her friend! Heck, I’m supposed to be her captain of the guard!”

The balcony door swung open with a flash magic and Twilight rushed out onto the balcony. “What’s all the commotion?”

“Twilight! Tell these idiots to get off me—ow!” She winced as a hoof kicked her side.

“Princess! We caught this intruder—”

“Get off her this instant!” Twilight stamped her hoof and rushed over to Rainbow’s side. “Rainbow, are you hurt? I told them to watch out for you and not accost you, but apparently it got lost in translation.” She sighed and fought down the anger in her voice as she leveled a glare at the guards. “I thought I informed the palace security Rainbow would be visiting me today.”

“Princess, we received that order, but we weren’t sure this pony was the Rainbow Dash.”

“Really?” Twilight pressed a hoof against the armored breastplate of the pegasus guard pinning Rainbow, pushing him off. “Just look at her. Of course she’s the Rainbow Dash. Not even a changeling would have her distinctive flight-trail.”

Free from under the heavy hooves of the guard, Rainbow pulled herself off the ground and dusted herself off. “Thanks, Twilight. I was afraid they were going to actually drag me off to the dungeons or something.”

Twilight leaned in and nuzzled along Rainbow’s neck until she reached her friend’s cheek. “I wouldn’t let that happen, not to my friends, nor to my captain.” She savored the shared warmth for a few lingering moments before drawing back. “You two are excused, and thank you for watching out for my safety. But I’d advise you to remember this pony next time.” She acknowledged their apologetic salute with a nod and waved them off.

Finding themselves alone once more, Twilight returned her attention to Rainbow. Her concerned gaze trailed over every inch of the pegasus’s body which earned her a blush from her companion.

“Twilight...” Rainbow’s words failed her as their eyes met briefly. The slow budding heat tickling up her spine to her ears forced her to look away into the distance in feigned disinterest. She scuffed her hoof against the intricately decorated tiles laid upon the floor of the balcony and sought for words to break the tension. Like a gentle breeze, a fluttering sensation drifted from the feathers of her wings into her mind. Twilight was trying to preen her wing.

“I’m sorry, Rainbow. I should’ve been more diligent with informing the guards.”

“It’s no big deal. I’m not hurt.” The words tumbled out with little thought. She winced as Twilight’s inexperienced touch tugged a little too hard on a pinion. Swallowing dryly, she extended her wing and watched her friend’s inexperienced lips stumble across her most-treasured feathers. “It’s alright. You don’t need to apologize.”

In the absence or words, actions spoke much louder. Rainbow raised her forehoof and touched it to Twilight’s cheek. She applied just enough pressure to encourage Twilight’s head back from her wing. She smiled wide to counter the look of uncertainty in the eyes of her princess.

“Did I do something wrong?” Twilight asked. “I did some research. My books said preening was one of the best ways to apologize to another pegasus.”

“You didn’t do anything wrong, Twilight. I should have come in through the front gate of the palace instead of flying straight to you.” Rainbow rose to her hooves and circled around behind Twilight. “Old habits die hard, I guess. But I’ll make it up to you.” She reached forward and coaxed Twilight’s wing open into her hooves.

She noted Twilight’s gasp of surprise, but didn’t let it deter her. With a practiced touch, she leaned her head down and brushed her lips expertly along Twilight’s stress-ruffled feathers. The tensed muscles within her grasp gradually eased, and she could hear Twilight’s breathing slow from the frenetic pace only moments ago.

By the time she moved to the other wing, she couldn’t tell if Twilight was sleeping or not. Whatever stress her friend carried was long forgotten. As she caressed along the last leading edge of the very last feather, she realized her mouth was filled with the flavorings of lilacs. She pulled away with a blush, thoughts of Twilight bathing with scented soap dancing in her mind. She took a few deep breaths to compose herself before nuzzling into Twilight’s neck, whispering a question into her ear: “Good, isn’t it?”

A long sigh escaped Twilight’s lips before she could respond. “Amazing. I wish I could do it that well.”

Rainbow chuckled and offered a hoof, which Twilight gratefully accepted. “I do have a ton more experience at doing it. If you’d like, I’ll give you some tips later.” She concluded this with a confident wink.

Twilight giggled. “I’d love that, Rainbow. Though, it’s going to have to wait. The armorer is expecting us soon. He needs to custom fit you with my royal livery.”

“I get my own custom armor? That’s so awesome!” Rainbow voice cracked in excitement as she pulled Twilight into an enthusiastic hug.

Twilight hugged Rainbow back briefly before pulling back. She trotted into her tower room and motioned for Rainbow to follow. “Yep! I just need you to fill out a tiny form and we’ll head down to the armorer.”

* * *

Rainbow hovered a couple feet behind Twilight down the stairs to the armory rubbing her sore jaw with a forehoof. “Sheesh, Twilight, a thirty page form is not tiny! I think I must’ve signed my name in fifty places!” She ran her tongue along her cheek and over her teeth. “Ugh, I think I can still taste the quill in my mouth.”

Twilight’s pace slowed until they came to a halt near the armory door. She turned around and looked up at Rainbow with large sympathetic eyes. “Rainbow, I’m really sorry. I tried to fill out as much as I could for you.” She bit her lip and looked away. “And there’s probably going to be more paperwork in the future. I understand if—erf.”

Rainbow dropped down onto all four hooves and pulled Twilight into another hug. “Twilight, it’s fine. I just wasn’t expecting so much paperwork on the first day. Have you seen the weather forms? They’re twice as bad as these forms. I can handle it. Don’t worry, I’m not going to leave you at the door all alone.”

She released Twilight and placed a hoof against the door. “But in the future, if I do get any more paperwork, I’d like your help.”

“I’d love to help in any way I can, Rainbow! You’re doing so much for me already. I’m definitely willing to do my best to keep you happy.”

“Thanks, Twilight.”

They opened the door and trotted into the armory together. A grizzled stallion behind the counter grunted a greeting and dipped his head. “Velcome, Princess. Vat can old Viktor provide you vit?”

Twilight smiled, nonplussed by the extremely over-the-top accent. “Good afternoon, Viktor. I’m just here to outfit Rainbow with her captaincy armor.”

“Ah. Dis izz zee Rainbow one, ja?” Viktor circled around from behind his counter and inspected Rainbow with a keen eye. “Vunderbar! Vat a magnificent body! Zee curves vill fit zee armor perfectly!”

Rainbow looked at Twilight with an unspoken message of concern, but Twilight merely smiled back with a weak little shrug. She yelped as a cold hoof pressed into her flank and she spun around. “Hey! Watch where you’re touching!”

“Vat? Izz part of zee measuring process. Viktor can remember Viktor’s first inspection.” He sighed wistfully. “Viktor vas part of zee personal guard. Every need zee Princess desired, Viktor gladly provided. Meine gott, Princess Celezia vas exquisite. You have made a fine choice, Princess.”

Twilight blushed and coughed. “Viktor! Please, Rainbow is here for an armor fitting, not an evaluation of her personal physique. Do you have the armor ready? Or do we need to come back tomorrow?”

“Ja, it’s right over here.” Viktor trotted into the back room and rolled out a set of purple armor with gold trimmings. The pieces interlocked together around the base of each wing and the tail, providing full body protection for the wearer. “Viktor shall assist the rainbow one vit gearing up.” He beckoned Rainbow forward.

Twilight watched intently and with growing fascination as Viktor fastened piece after piece of snug fitting armor onto Rainbow’s body. The polished sheen of the metal accented every curve of Rainbow’s figure and fit the pegasus like a glove. She reached up and adjusted the royal collar around her neck—it was getting a little warm in the armory.

The last piece clicked into place and Rainbow folded her wings back up against the armor. Twilight swallowed dryly as the pegasus did a little shake in the armor, giving Twilight a brief glimpse of everything in motion. It was exquisite. A silly grin filled her face as she committed the image to memory.

“Twilight? How do I look?”

“Huh—what?” Twilight blinked as Rainbow’s voice called her back to reality. She looked up and found herself gazing into the expectant eyes of her captain. Fighting back her blush, she trailed her eyes over Rainbow’s armored form once more. “Amazing. You look amazing, Rainbow.”

“Ha! Thought so! So, now what?”

“Hold still for a second, I need to personalize your armor.” Twilight trotted over to Rainbow and smiled. “Normally, one of the unicorn quartermasters does this, but, I want to do it for you.” Twilight closed her eyes and touched the tip of her horn to Rainbow’s breastplate. It glowed as Twilight infused the armor with magic, weaving her spirit and energy into the metal itself. When she pulled away, the simple purple breastplate was emblazoned with Rainbow’s cutie mark.

She wiped a few droplets of sweat from her forehead and admired her work. “Wow, I’m glad I managed to remember every little bit of the spell. Now, anytime you have that armor on, you’ll have a little bit of me and my power with you.” She raised her head and nuzzled Rainbow’s cheek gently. “Thank you, my captain.”

She took a deep breath. She could feel her cheeks heating up once more. “Rainbow... would you like to join me and the princesses for dinner? Er...since it’s your first night as captain, you know.”

Rainbow returned the nuzzle of affection. “Free food with my favorite Princess? I’m in.” She laughed and trotted out of the armory with Twilight following in her wake. “Come on Twilight, I’m starving! I hope they have cider.”

Viktor smiled. “Young love izz vonderbar...”

Duty by lostzilla

It’s the Little Things

Twilight nodded her thanks to the pair of guards as they opened the door for her and Rainbow. Trotting through, she led her now unarmored captain to the dining hall. As she approached the large double doors, the events of the morning replayed in her head and her pace slowed. Suddenly, the prospects of having dinner with Rainbow seemed a lot less innocent. She paused mid-step as her mind ground to a halt.

Rainbow nudged Twilight’s side gently with a forehoof. “Twilight? Are you alright?”

“Oh! Yes. Sorry about that, Rainbow.” The back of her mind prodded her to share the events from the morning, but wording it seemed nearly impossible. Groaning in frustration, she fluffed her wings and settled on the easiest approach. “I don’t really know how to say this elegantly, so I’m just going to be blunt.” She turned her head and smiled nervously at Rainbow at her side. “Celestia might have the tiniest impression that we’re together.”

Rainbow’s eyebrow arched and she tilted her head. “Yeah, so?”

“I know, it’s crazy—wait, what?” The unexpected response took her by surprise. She mused over the irony of her captain catching her off guard, but decided it was something best left to Pinkie. Composing her royal self, she prodded Rainbow lightly with the tip of her right wing. “Rainbow! I’m serious. She might try to get under our feathers.”

Chortled laughter echoed through the hall and she received a playful wing-prod in return. “Both of us now? I thought Celestia was only after you. I bet her bed is huge!” Rainbow laughed harder and draped a forehoof around Twilight’s neck. “Seriously, Twilight, I think I can handle a little ribbing from Celestia. You should, too.” She concluded this with a wink and nudged her princess forward. “Let’s get to dinner. I’m starved after flying all the way to Canterlot and getting tackled by guards—not to mention the most awkward armor fitting I’ve ever had.”

“Rainbow, you’ve never had an armor fitting before.”

“I know! That’s how I know it’s true. I’d be a terrible captain if I made a habit of lying to you!”

Twilight groaned and fluffed her wings again in irritation—mostly because Rainbow’s responses induced undesired blushes from her. “Fine, let’s just get to dinner. But don’t say I didn’t warn you.”

Rainbow placed a hoof on the double doors of the dining hall and looked back to her princess with a smile. “Relax, Twilight. This isn’t anything you and I can’t handle, so stop worrying. Celestia can think what she likes. I’m here for you. That’s what I promised, and I’m sticking with it.”

The pair of doors swung open and Rainbow marched boldly into the dining hall.

Twilight remained stuck at the threshold, a blush plastered across her cheeks. She stared out at the two princesses seated side by side at the table and her blush deepened. Rainbow just had to say that just before the opening the doors. Judging by the slight smile on Luna’s face and the larger grin on Celestia’s, the damage was already done.

Stupid Rainbow Dash and her timing.

“Captain!” Celestia called out gleefully from her seat. “How kind of you to join us. I was afraid Twilight would keep you tucked away all for herself.” Celestia said this while looking straight at Twilight.

Twilight stuttered and commanded her hooves to move. Slowly, she crossed the seemingly insurmountable distance between the door and the table before settling down on a cushion. She cleared her throat and took a sip of water to compose herself—a princess must always be composed—and smiled. “I’ve asked Rainbow Dash to join me for dinner tonight. I hope it’s alright.” She motioned for Rainbow to sit down on a nearby cushion.

“Of course, Twilight! I’m always happy to see your friends. Besides, it feels so much nicer now that you have a companion too.” Celestia extended a wing and lightly hugged Luna around the side. “Things have been so much better now that my dearest sister is back.”

Luna tipped her wine glass to her lips with her magic and sipped the fragrant red liquid. Her lit horn, however, grasped more than just the glass. Celestia’s wing shimmered with a familiar darkened aura and eased away from Luna’s body. The younger sister’s eyes glanced to the side and she quietly whispered, “Don’t involve me in this.”

Celestia frowned momentarily and folded her wing back up against her back. “You’ll have to excuse Luna. She’s always a little grumpy around dinner time. She likes to sleep in. I keep suggesting tea for when she wakes up, but she insists on wine.”

The wine glass clinked down against the table just loud enough to draw attention to the owner. Luna quietly retrieved a dinner roll from the basket and tore it in half. “Please, Celestia, I know Twilight enjoys your addiction, but I prefer my wine.”

Celestia snickered and waved over an attendant. “She says that, but somehow I think the irony is lost upon her. Or she is saying it specifically to be ironic. It’s hard to tell when she’s grumpy.” Celestia nodded to the attendant and gestured to Rainbow and Twilight. “In either case, knowing your fondness for cider and under the assumption Twilight would invite you to dinner, I’ve had some brought up from the cellar for you.”

Rainbow’s eyes widened as she eyed the three frothy mugs on the silver serving platter carried by the unicorn attendant. “Is that Sweet Apple Acres Cider?”

“Indeed it is! You’d be surprised how hard it is to keep cider. It may have grown a little aged over time. We do our best to keep it in a magically induced state of freshness, but magic can only do so much.” Celestia winked at Rainbow. “Still, I hope you enjoy it.”

Twilight looked dubiously at the mug of cider placed before her. “Um, Princess...can’t I just have some water or juice?”

“Nonsense!” Celestia declared and raised her own mug of cider in a toast-like fashion. “Tonight is a happy occasion! We should all have a good drink with each other. At least Luna will have some company then.”

“You’re welcome to drink whatever you like,” Luna responded coolly. She glanced to the side at Celestia. “And must you press every questionable act upon Twilight?”

“It’s fine! I’m happy to drink if everyone else is,” Twilight responded out of turn and gripped the mug of cider with her magic.

“Wonderful! Bottoms up!” Celestia grinned and tipped the mug of cider to her lips, drinking deeply. Rainbow followed suit, needing no further encouragement. Twilight took a deep breath and winced. The cider was a little sharper than she recalled in the past. Steeling her resolve, she brought the mug to her lips and gulped down a few mouthfuls. Moments later, she felt much warmer and a lot more relaxed.

Rainbow’s empty mug dropped to the table and she licked her lips. “Mmm, that’s really good! Not as strong as Applejack’s stuff, but still really good. What do you think, Twilight?” She looked over to her princess and found a reddening Twilight with a loopy smile. “Twilight?”

Twilight blinked a few times and set her half-empty mug down on the table. She turned and smiled widely at Rainbow. “Oh... hey, Rainbow. It’s really good. A little warm and a little tangy, but good! It’s kind of different compared to the fresh stuff during cider season though.”

Celestia grinned broadly and gestured to the attendant to refill their mugs. “Twilight, have you ever had alcoholic cider before?”

“Well...no. I avoid the alcoholic stuff. It really impacts my studying.” Twilight grasped the mug before the attendant refilled it and downed the rest. The sweet flavor on top of the sharp warmth afterward soothed her insides in the most delightful way. “Still, this aged cider is almost as good as the fresh kind. Maybe even better!”

Rainbow thanked the attendant for the new mug of cider. Moments later, more ponies trotted in from the door in the back with plates of food. Silver covers magically lifted away and revealed plates of hearty vegetables covered in a rich red sauce, dotted with herbs. Rainbow nudged the mixture with her fork and took in the rich scent.

“You’ll have to excuse the cook. I may have noted you would be here tonight, and he took the liberty of making something a little more hearty.” Celestia spooned a mouthful of the stew into her mouth and chewed with a delighted smile. After swallowing, she grinned. “Though I must admit, for something that sounds like rat and patootie, it’s quite good.”

Rainbow looked to Luna, expecting a response from her due to Celestia’s odd choice of words. Instead, she found Luna gleefully spooning the dish into her mouth, words and composure long forgotten.

Oblivious to all this, Twilight raised a hoof and waved over the attendant. “Another mug of cider, please! This stuff is really good!” She grinned lopsidedly and spooned a mouthful of the questionably named dish into her mouth. Everything was delicious, she was warm and happy, and Rainbow Dash was at her side. Things were perfect.

A hoof prodded her side.Twilight looked up from her dish right into the narrowed eyes of her captain.

“Twilight, are you okay?”

“I’m great!” Twilight exclaimed a little too quickly and levitated a dinner roll from the basket on the table. It wobbled partially to her and dropped unceremoniously to the table, rolling the rest of the way to Twilight’s plate. Twilight grasped it with a hoof and tore a portion of it away and stuffed it in her mouth. Her mug of cider arrived and she grabbed it with a small squeal of glee.

“My, Twilight certainly seems passionate about cider. Perhaps she’s found something else to adore besides books and flying,” Celestia commented from across the table. “I imagine you know how she feels, Captain.”

Rainbow looked away from Twilight and nodded to Celestia. “I guess. Are you sure it’s a good idea for Twilight to have that much to drink? I don’t think she knows her own limits yet. I mean, I love cider more than just about anypony, but even I know when I have to call it quits.”

“Oh? And when is that?”

“When I can’t fly straight anymore,” Rainbow responded in a small voice with a blush. “I may have had a few run-ins with the ground as a result before I learned my lesson.”

“Ah, a wise decision! I myself would stop then as well. And don’t worry about Twilight. Everything will be fine. Now’s a great time for her to learn her limits. Plus, I’m always encouraging her to try new things.”

Twilight’s ears perked up at the sound of her name and she looked up from the mug of cider she was nursing. “Right! Celestia is always asking me about stuff. I think she asked me if I wanted to wear stockings for my coronation! I told her it was too warm for stockings, but she told me it was to make others warm.”

She giggled and tipped the cider mug to her lips and gulped down a few more mouthfuls. Turning to Rainbow, she leaned against the pegasus and nuzzled her head against Rainbow’s side. “And then, another time she asked me if I had seen your rain—” Twilight didn’t finish her sentence. The voluminous amounts of cider she consumed finally caught up with her, and her eyes drifted shut. Moments later, she was purring quietly against Rainbow, her body off-tilt in the most adorably awkward position.

Celestia noted the warm streak of red across Rainbow’s face and smiled. “She’s quite the pony, isn’t she?” A gold-adorned hoof gestured to the napping Twilight resting against Rainbow. “Smart and gentle. Perfectly capable of facing down the greatest dangers only to sucumb to a little cider.”

Rainbow nodded and stroked a hoof over Twilight’s mane to straighten out a few loose hairs. “She’s awesome, and I’d be happy to face any danger with her. When she disappeared after that beam of light shot out of my element necklace-thingy into her, I felt terrible—like the world was slowly crumbling away. But now, she’s back and with wings, and she’s amazing already. I just hope she doesn’t pass us by.”

Celestia’s smile softened further and she gently pushed the mug of cider to the side so she could look unobscured at Rainbow. “Rainbow Dash, I’m sure you know that all ponies will grow and change. Twilight might have moved on to advance her studies here in Canterlot, and you might have left for the Wonderbolts. Change isn’t scary as long as you trust your friends. You weren’t scared when you left for the academy, right?”

“Nope. I knew I had it in the bag. The only time I was scared was when I saw Twilight and my friends plummeting through the air. I guess a little part of me realized some things are much more important.” Rainbow smiled as she looked down at Twilight. The alicorn murmured in her grasp but said nothing.

“I imagine Twilight went through a similar experience. She trusts you all very deeply. Maybe that’s why she smiled as the change overtook her.” Celestia flicked her horn and Twilight’s body rose into the air in a golden magical aura. “But for now, why don’t you take her to bed, Captain? I don’t think your princess is in any state to make it there on her own.”

Rainbow blushed and nodded. “Oh, sure. I guess I can do that. Captain’s duty and all.” She got to her hooves and grunted as the weight of Twilight’s body slowly lowered onto her back. Barely managing a salute to Celestia, she trotted out of the dining hall with Twilight mumbling upon her back.

When Rainbow disappeared from view, Celestia glanced over to Luna.

Luna held her stomach and groaned, a half-smile accompanied by a glazed-over expression locked upon her face.

Celestia chuckled and waved over an attendant. She whispered a few suggestions to the attendant on how to deal with her sister’s catatonic state. “Goodnight, Luna. I’m going to get some rest. I’ll see you at breakfast tomorrow.” She rose to her hooves elegantly and strode out of the dining hall, her face breaking into a huge grin as she walked past the last set of guards.

Switch my tea, will you? I hope you enjoyed your double helping of ratatouille, dear sister. You could never resist it. If Twilight and Rainbow are going to get together, they’re going to kiss under my sun. With Twilight sleeping, I doubt she’ll be any shape to do it under your moon tonight. Better luck tomorrow, Luna.

* * *

Rainbow grunted with exertion up the tower steps. She silently cursed whichever pony decided to situate the royal sleeping quarters at the top of towers. Thankfully, the guards left her alone after the incident on the balcony so she could focus on the precious cargo upon her back. Word must have traveled quickly, because every single guard seemed content to ignore the prismatic captain and her sleeping charge.

She clambered up the final few steps and pushed open Twilight’s purple chamber door with her body, her trembling limbs far too spent at this point to do little more than support the combined weight of her and her princess. Step by unsteady step, she carefully navigated through a minefield of books and parchment to the clear area next to Twilight’s bed. Siding up against it, she tipped her body a little and let gravity do the rest.

Rainbow breathed a sigh of relief as Twilight slid off her back and rolled into the awaiting assortment of cushions arranged haphazardly on the bed. Twilight murmured into her pillow and rolled over into what Rainbow assumed was a more comfortable position. Taking care not to disturb her princess, Rainbow grabbed the hem of the blanket and pulled it over the sleeping pony. She smiled when Twilight wiggled her body further under the covers to escape the slight chill of the night.

Duty completed, Rainbow looked around the room. Most of it was sectioned off into piles of books with sheets of scribbled notes next to them. Bookcases lined the walls with the occasional table set between rows of shelves. The most immediate problem was the lack of a couch and her rapidly dwindling desire to fly all the way back to Ponyville for the night.

She trod up and down on the carpet in place a few times, testing the softness, and found it to be quite comfortable. Plus, it seemed the massive bed Twilight slept upon offered no shortage of extra cushions and blankets. After a moment’s indecision, she shrugged and pulled a blanket and a few of the unused pillows off the bed. She positioned them around until she created workable but comfortable makeshift bed.

Looking down at the alluring pile of cushions, it finally occurred to her she’d be sleeping in the same room as Twilight for the first time. Alone. Sure, she dozed off in the library a few times, but Twilight was awake and happy to provide snacks when she woke up. This time was different. Sighing, she shook her head. If anypony asked, this wasn’t what it seemed like. She was just guarding Twilight. That’s what captains did, and she was intent on being the best guard she could be.

The last of her fears settled, she looked up at the elegant candelabra hanging from the ceiling of the room. She imagined Twilight would magically fizzle out the candles at night and re-light them when necessary, but the restful breathing coming from the bed meant Rainbow needed to employ a different approach. Taking to the air, she brought herself up to the glowing candles and extinguished them with a single practiced wingbeat.

She breathed a sigh of relief. Everything was done. She could finally get some rest. Landing next to Twilight, she looked at her princess one last time for the night. In the soft moonlight, Twilight’s well-brushed coat glowed with a milky sheen. Rainbow couldn’t deny how nice it looked given the circumstances. She leaned down over the sleeping form and whispered quietly, “Goodnight princess. Sweet dreams.”

“Mmm...goodnight, Dashie...” The response was quiet and partially moaned out. The latter explained the sudden rise of blood to Rainbow’s cheeks and the warmth which surged through her body. Her eyes rapidly adjusted to the dim light from the windows and filled her vision with an even more alluring view of her princess: eyes shut, a dash of red across her cheeks from the alcohol, and the sweetest little smile she’d ever seen. Rainbow gulped and leaned in a little closer. Everything felt like a fairytale now out of one of her books. Right before the hero drew in close and ki—

No! Rainbow pulled back suddenly, sporting a blush of her own. She was Twilight’s faithful captain, nothing more. Calming herself with long slow breaths, Rainbow drew away from the bedside and settled down on the cushions. She pulled the blanket over herself and turned her head so she could see Twilight sleeping in the moonlight. Satisfied everything was well, she closed her eyes and let the soothing thoughts overtake her.

No matter what happened, she was happy to be with her princess.

* * *

Far away in Ponyville, Pinkie stopped shuddering. Rarity’s mouth hung open, horn aglow, the fabric levitating in the air utterly forgotten. “Pinkie, are you quite all right? That was a nasty shake.”

Pinkie nodded slowly and plucked the fabric out of the air and passed it to Rarity. “Don’t worry your pretty head over it. I think a doozy almost happened, but didn’t. That was a pre-doozy warning shake! We best keep our eyes out for the real doozy!”

Rarity accepted the cloth with a smile. “Right...” Her voice wavered for a moment. “I certainly hope it doesn’t involve Rainbow Dash. Who knows what sort of trouble she could be getting into.”

“Fun trouble!” Pinkie declared with a grin.

* * *

The following morning, Rainbow Dash was definitely in trouble. She smiled sheepishly at Twilight surrounded by a mess of papers scattered all across the floor. In her daze the night before, her in-room flight swept several stacks of documents out of order. She wasn’t aware of her actions until the first trickles of sunlight woke her from her slumber.

At first, she didn’t realize the mess she was in until she saw the literal mess spread around her. Once she assessed just how much trouble she was in, all she could do was prepare and await the nerve-wracking confession and apology.

Twilight blinked blearily at the smiling face of her captain and gratefully accepted the glass of orange juice hoofed over to her. She sipped it slowly and took in her surroundings. Something didn’t seem quite right. After a few arduous minutes, her addled brain finally worked out exactly what was wrong.

“Rainbow, why are my notes scattered all over the floor in what seems to be the aftermath of a windstorm?” Her words started off slow and quiet, but it was not to last. “Because I see the windows are closed and I don’t feel a draft.” She hobbled to her hooves and invaded Rainbow’s personal space. “Seeing as I don’t remember tripping over any pages last night, perhaps you can offer an explanation?” She pressed her head forward and bumped her nose against Rainbow’s.

“S-sorry?” Rainbow smiled wider and took a step back, her wings partially flared outwards. She nearly tripped over another pile of notes, but a familiar magenta glow grabbed her and pulled her back in. Escape was impossible, and she’d have to admit flying wasn’t always the best solution. “I’m really sorry, Twilight. You were out of it last night, and I managed to get you to bed. But I couldn’t turn off the lights because they were really high up in the room! So, I just flew up there and put them out! That’s it!” The words tumbled out of her mouth as she struggled against her magical bonds.

Twilight took a deep breath and brought her foreleg to her chest. She extended it away and breathed out slowly. After a few iterations, she smiled and set Rainbow down. “Thank you, Rainbow, I think I overreacted just a little bit.” She blushed and looked away. Her gaze fell upon the scattered pages and she realized all her notes were categorized—fixing the mess would be easy. “However, if you wouldn’t mind helping me gather these up, I’d appreciate it. All my notes have a header and page number. Just gather them up and put them in order.”

Glad to be free from the magical grasp, Rainbow nodded briskly and started picking up pages from the floor. “No problem, Twilight. It’s like when I helped you in the library back in Ponyville.”

“Precisely! Though I think you napped more than helped.” Twilight giggled and levitated several stacks of papers from the floor to a table on the far side of the room. “Still, you were a great help when you weren’t sleeping.”

“Well, yeah. I need my energy, but when I do something, I go all out!” Rainbow responded as she picked up a few more pages and stacked them on a nearby desk.

“I’m not surprised, you do get pretty lively when you get into something. I’m the same way, though maybe a little less physical.”

“Twilight, we all know that intense look of concentration you have. When I’m flying and doing some really cool trick, I look exactly the same! I might make it look easy, but that’s only because I’m concentrating really hard and I’ve practiced a ton.”

Working together, it only took the pair a brief amount of time to get the room in working order and all the documents safely stored away from the floor. Rainbow stretched her limbs and glanced at one of the documents in front of her. “Huh... this has my name on it.” She picked it up swiftly and yelped. “Ouch!”

Twilight rushed over to her side and grabbed Rainbow’s hoof. “Rainbow! Are you alright?”

“Yeah. It’s just a papercut. It stings like crazy though.” She tried to pull her hoof away, but Twilight’s grasp was firm. And warm. And rather comfortable.

“Oh...I hate papercuts. You would not believe how many I’ve gotten in the past. Here...” Twilight leaned her head in and gently kissed Rainbow’s hoof.

Rainbow didn’t even have a chance to react. A blush filled her cheeks as the touch lingered and Twilight nuzzled into her hoof a little closer. She opened her mouth to protest—to reiterate how she didn’t like ponies touching her hooves. That seemed like an outright lie at the moment—apparently she did like ponies touching her hooves if that pony was her Princess Twilight.

After a minute or so, Twilight pulled away and opened her eyes. “There, how does that feel? Better?”

“Y-yeah...” Rainbow stammered out and looked away.

“Great!” Twilight beamed and pulled Rainbow in for a hug. “When I got papercuts as a filly, that’s how my mom treated them. She said the love made them heal faster.” Looking over to the document Rainbow cut herself on, she read it over and grinned. “Oh! This thing. You signed it yesterday. You’re starting combat training today with magic blades!”

“Wait, what?” Rainbow exclaimed and pulled her hoof away.

“Magically created blades! Don’t worry, no pony has ever been sliced in half by one. They’re purely for training!”

Rainbow gulped.

Papercut by lostzilla

Training Grounds

“And in the year six-hundred-sixty-nine, I headed a diplomatic mission to the Griffon Kingdom in secret,” Celestia narrated. Her voice contained the slightest touch of excitement from a long untold tale.

Twilight scratched her quill idly across the notepad. Staring at her quill, which happened to be blue, she wondered why it was so difficult to pay attention today. Normally, she loved Celestia’s weekly “unwritten history” sessions, but this week all she could think about was Rainbow’s nervous smile on the parade ground at the start of training. She caught herself and forced her mind back into line—no daydreaming!

Her face contorted to an odd smile as Celestia donned the traditional garb, at the time, complete with poofy bundles of fabric around each limb. Twilight mused as to why Celestia would keep such old clothing around, but it was irrelevant as the lesson continued.

“Full traditional clothing at the time was a terrible decision. It was particularly warm that time of the month, and the heat combined with the corset was completely unbearable. So, seeing no alternative at the time, I parted myself from the cumbersome clothing. It ruffled quite a few feathers.”

A knock came from the door and a guard stepped in. A sort of half-laughing, half-choking sound escaped his lips as Celestia demonstrated her previous statement by dropping all the clothing off herself in one swift motion, retaining only her crown and shoes. It took a moment, but he composed himself quickly and threw up a quick salute. “I apologize for interrupting your weekly get-together, but Princess Twilight’s captain is currently in the infirmary.”

Forgetting the flaring blush upon her face from Celestia’s energetic display, Twilight leapt to her hooves in surprise. “What? What happened?”

“The doctor wasn’t specific. Something about soreness in the morning and an injury to the posterior.”

Celestia chuckled and leaned down next to Twilight’s ear. “Twilight, you really should be gentle with your captains—especially your first night with them.”

Twilight shifted through several shades of red. “N-nothing like that happened! Rainbow simply took me to bed when I wasn’t able to myself. I...” She stuttered as her overworked brain reprocessed what she just said.

The blood rose to her ears involuntarily when the alternative interpretations of her statement dawned upon her. She looked to Celestia and then to the guard, finding both of them with barely suppressed grins. Not wanting to embarrass herself any further, she made for the door. “I think I’ll go check up on Rainbow!”

“Twilight, let me know if you want to borrow some of my special balm!” Celestia called out after her as she briskly made her way down the hall toward the infirmary.

She trotted swiftly through the castle, her heart pounding. By the time she reached the infirmary door, she was a little more worn and weary than need be, but at least her blush had finally faded. Taking a deep breath to recompose herself, she pushed open the door and walked up to the nurse manning the front desk.

“I’m here to see my captain. I’ve heard she’s been injured in training.” Twilight winced at the coldness of her tone. She did her best to rectify with a smile. Deep down, she felt a little guilty for not being there with Rainbow. She definitely didn’t want Rainbow getting hurt on her account.

The nurse didn’t seem to mind and smiled back. “Certainly, Princess. She’s currently resting in room C-4. It’s on the left. Would you like me to show you the way?”

Twilight shook her head unconsciously. “Oh, no, that’s quite all right. Thank you.” She turned away from the desk and walked down the hall. She turned her head left to read the placards on each of the room doors. Finding the room, she raised her hoof and knocked lightly on the door. “Rainbow? Are you alright?”

The door was slightly ajar and creaked open as her hoof made contact. Her jaw gradually dropped as she beheld Rainbow resting upon the bed. The spectrum-hued tail hung down from Rainbow’s upturned bottom raised high in the air, the mess of colors tucked neatly between a pair of well-toned blue legs. A large packet of ice rested on Rainbow’s buttocks. Twilight gulped as the heat rushed to her face. Her next response was to yelp in surprise at the unexpected sight of Rainbow’s blue butt in the air, sending her wings into the air immediately after.

Rainbow spun around in surprise and yelped as well. Her own wings shot into the air due to the sudden noise and intrusion into her room. When she lowered herself down, she winced in pain and was forced to raise herself back up into the air. She stared at Twilight, a blush of her own forming upon her cheeks.

A scurry of hooves rushed down the corridor and skidded in front of the open door. The nurse looked at the blushing princess and then over to the blushing captain. A look of realization filled her face and she slowly backed away from the scene.

“Um...hey, Twilight. I guess one of the guards told you about my little accident, huh?” Rainbow tried to play it cool. She rested her head on her hooves and backed up on the bed a little so she didn’t feel quite so revealed.

Twilight nodded blankly and attempted to pull her eyes away from Rainbow’s posterior. After a few difficult seconds, she finally made eye contact with her captain. “S-sorry about that. I spaced out after seeing you...hurt. Are you alright? How did this happen?”

Rainbow sighed and gestured over to a chair in her room for Twilight to sit down. When Twilight settled in, she launched into her story. “So, this morning was pretty normal. We lined up like my days in the Wonderbolts Academy. Then, Spitfire showed up and yelled at us for being terrible pegasi and then left Soarin’ to do our training. I was pretty surprised to see her, but she didn’t even acknowledge it was me. I guess they have to be fair and impartial or something.”

Rainbow shrugged and continued. “Anyway, training was pretty ridiculous. They each gave us a pie and told us to guard it. Pretty straightforward, right?”

Twilight nodded slowly. “But why a pie?”

“I have no idea, something about them having delicate constitutions like princesses. I don’t pay attention to metaphors when I’m training.”

“I’m surprised you know what a metaphor is.”

“If it weren’t for you, I probably wouldn’t. But I’m getting off topic. So, they put the pie on the cloud and Soarin’ tells us he’s going to try to assault the pie. I wasn’t sure what he meant until he dived past the first rookie face first into the pie.” Rainbow suppressed a snicker. “When my turn came up, I wasn’t about to lose to some pie-diving Wonderbolt, so I grabbed the cloud and took off with it. Soarin’ was pretty worn out trying to chase down my pie. He never got it, so I was feeling pretty good.”

Rainbow paused to take a breath before continuing. “Spitfire comes back, looks at the totally exhausted Soarin’ and back to me and muttered something about a record. Then, she gave this long boring speech about being constantly vigilant since attacks could come from the sky and it was up to us, the pegasi, to watch out for them. It all wrapped up with some silly little motto Soarin’ chipped in with: ‘Keep your eye on the pie.’”

Twilight face-hoofed. “Really? I was starting to wonder if things had gotten lax since Shining Armor took off for the Crystal Empire, but this just seems downright silly.”

“I thought that too!” Rainbow groaned and rubbed at her mane with her forehooves. “Boy, was I wrong. You know who showed up next?”

“Who?”

“That Viktor guy from the armory. He trots in with a few unicorn guards and pointed to different locations on the training ground while yelling ‘Put teleport here!’ It was totally confusing until he asked us to get spears from the weapon rack.”

“Oh, I can see where this is going.”

Rainbow nodded and reached behind herself to adjust the ice pack on her sore bottom. “Long story short, fighting a unicorn talented in teleportation really sucks. I managed to get a couple hits in on his armor before he nailed me good from behind. The guy felt pretty bad afterward since it looks like it’s going to bruise.”

Twilight craned her neck and tried to look at Rainbow’s injury but Rainbow blocked her view with an extended wing. Pouting, Twilight got up off the chair and nuzzled at Rainbow’s cheek. “Just a little peek?” she pleaded.

Rainbow sighed and rolled her eyes. “Oh fine, just don’t laugh.”

The wing fell away and Twilight stared at the patch of blue hair under the ice pack where the injury was supposedly located. She giggled and rubbed the back of her head with a forehoof, “Oh, heh, I guess I can’t really see bruising under your coat.”

“Ya, think?” Rainbow snickered and ruffled Twilight’s mane with a forehoof. “But, thanks for checkin’ up on me, princess. I’ll be fine.”

* * *

Paperwork sucked.

Twilight could’ve sworn there was an entire shadowy bureaucracy dedicated to generating more paperwork for the princesses. She couldn’t quite figure out why a simple land allotment for crops required multiple signatures across multiple forms. It wouldn’t be so bad if she had some company. But, Rainbow was training every single day and Spike was managing the library back in Ponyville. Her only companions were paper, ink, tea, and surreptitiously provided cake from an unseen source.

She pushed the papers away and stared at the clock hanging on the wall: three o’clock in the afternoon. She groaned and banged her head against the desk. Rainbow’s training wouldn’t be done for another two hours, and she was already bored out of her mind. Normally, she’d default to reading about tax code, diplomatic intrigues, or something related to governance. She just couldn’t find the concentration to do so.

For the past month, every time she tried to focus on reading her thoughts would drift to Rainbow. Internally, she felt a little guilty for all the unmentioned bruises, the slight limps, and the way Rainbow’s wings twitched in pain from the strenuous training. Even under so much pressure, her captain never complained once and determinedly soldiered on. This brought a slight blush to her cheeks as she realized Rainbow was doing this all for her. If only she could help out more, she’d feel a little less guilty.

A knock at the door interrupted her thoughts and forced her upright in her chair. She grabbed her crown quickly and placed it atop her head (she still wasn’t used to it). “Come in, please.” The door swung open and Viktor stepped in.

“Princess Tvilight Sparkle! Ve need to discuss your captain,” Viktor started immediately.

“Rainbow? She isn’t hurt, is she?” Twilight’s voice cracked at the end as she leaned forward in her seat.

“Nein, she is vell, but her training. It is...not so gut.”

“What? Why? Rainbow tells me she’s doing well when I ask her how things are going.”

“Ja, but she lacks ze passion!” Viktor exclaimed loudly and threw his forehooves up for emphasis. “Ze rainbow one is fast, is strong, is smart, is many things. But, she lacks ze flare in her eyes to be true guard. I vant you to come and help. You have ze magics!”

“Me? What can I possibly do?”

“Viktor vill explain if you agree to help. Keep in mind Princess, ze rainbow one needs you.”

Twilight narrowed her eyes at Viktor. “This isn’t going to be dangerous, is it?”

“Nein.”

“And you promise this is for Rainbow’s sake?”

“Ja.”

Twilight sighed and pushed aside her paperwork. She didn’t want to do it anyway. “Alright. It’s the least I could do for Rainbow since she’s training so hard.”

“Wunderbar! Follow me, Princess Tvilight Sparkle.”

* * *

Twilight rehearsed the shield-spells in her head as she followed Viktor to the castle training grounds. The plan was simple and incredibly clichéd: Viktor would instruct Rainbow’s unicorn trainer to simulate a dangerous situation targeted at Twilight. Hopefully it would snap Rainbow out of her self-conscious bubble and force her to act on instinct. Given the right conditions, Rainbow would perform admirably and gain the confidence to reach her full potential.

Of course, that was the plan. Twilight gulped as she watched the veteran unicorns demonstrating the magenta-colored magi-blades to the recruits. Several straw-pony mannequin halves later, Twilight felt far less comfortable. Suddenly, postponing the plan seemed like a great idea. It would give her more time to practice her protection spells, give Rainbow some more time to train, and provide her with the opportunity to find a suit of dragon scale armor.

“Attention! Ve have a very special vizitor today! Princess Tvilight Sparkle vill be observing!” Viktor’s heavily accented voice echoed out across the parade ground and all eyes turned upon the princess.

Alas, Twilight thought as she forced out a smile with a little wave of her hoof. The hordes of expectant eyes upon her only increased her discomfort. The only familiar face in the crowd was Rainbow’s, and Twilight couldn’t quite tell what Rainbow was thinking. One thing was apparent though, Rainbow wasn’t smiling. In fact, she looked rather confused by Twilight’s appearance.

“Princess, please take a seat over there. Ve vill begin the special training for the rainbow one as soon as you are in place.” Viktor gestured to a raised wooden platform a couple feet off the ground.

Twilight tore her vision away from her captain and made her way up to the wooden platform. Settling down on the seat provided for her, she watched the recruits take up their positions. Each one paired up with a unicorn and stood stiffly at attention. Viktor trotted down the line adjusting their posture and handing out spears until they were all armed. When he got to Rainbow, he pointed toward the wooden platform and exchanged a few words with the unicorn trainer. Rainbow nodded and traded spots with the pony directly in front of her platform.

She wanted to offer a word or two of encouragement to her captain, but the determined look imprinted upon Rainbow’s face stole the words from her mouth. With nothing to say, she could only stare at the blue form before her. The view from behind was immaculate. Rainbow’s colorful tail stood out brightly against her taut muscled body. The firm che—. Twilight shook her head and fought back the blush rising to her own cheeks. Caught up in a flurry of inappropriate thoughts, she barely noticed Viktor taking up position next to her on the platform.

“Ve begin!” Viktor called out and raised his hoof to the unicorn trainers across the parade ground. On cue, all the trainers present saluted before turning to face their respective partners. The grounds filled with magenta blades and the sound of magic on steel. She watched in fascination as Rainbow danced through the air with her spear, dodging the blades directed at her time and again.

Unfortunately, Rainbow couldn’t keep it up forever. Taken by surprise from behind, she grunted and thudded against the ground. Her spear dropped with a lifeless clunking sound against the dirt. Twilight rose to her hooves instinctively to help Rainbow up, but the pegasus pulled herself up while muttering to herself.

“Again!” Rainbow called out gruffly. She spread her wings and held the spear in a defensive position.

The unicorn trainer nodded and lit his horn once more. Twilight bit down on her lip. She could scarcely bear to watch. The magenta-colored blades soared through the air. Rainbow deflected the first, but the flat of the second one thudded against her hoof and sent her spear tumbling to the ground. Rainbow cursed under her breath and shook her hoof, most likely to ease the pain, before picking up her spear once more.

She was so caught up watching Rainbow’s training (and other parts of Rainbow), she completely missed the knowing nod between Viktor and the Rainbow’s unicorn partner. Several seconds later, a pair of bright magenta blades soared in her direction without a single shielding spell between them and her exposed form.

Normally, when a pony sees danger coming and has adequate time to prepare, the most obvious solution such as forming a quick shield spell would be reasonable. Sadly, Twilight was in no such position and the rapidly approaching blades combined with the previous demonstration set off all the alarm bells in her head. She screamed and dropped onto the wooden platform, covering her head with her forehooves—dreading the moment of impact.

* * *

“Heya Derpy! Here for your afternoon muffin?” Pinkie popped up from behind the counter of Sugarcube Corner. She quickly wiped a trace bit of frosting from the side of her mouth (she worked there, she could sample all she wanted)!

“Hiya Pinkie! Yes, please!”

“Which one do you want today? Blueberry? Banana nut? How about this apple pie one?”

“Oh, they all look so good.” Derpy’s eyes wobbled slightly as she stared at each one. “I can’t choose! I’ll just close my eyes and point at one.” Derpy closed her eyes and swayed her hoof through the air in the general direction of the massive assortment of muffins awaiting her selection.

Pinkie watched in fascination, but suddenly, she was overwhelmed by an even more exciting sensation. “Oh my gosh! Something amazing is about to happen!” Pinkie shouted as various parts of her body convulsed. “Hang on just a sec! I need to get something!” Pinkie rushed away from the counter leaving a very confused Derpy. Several loud bangs from upstairs later, Pinkie returned with a thin package. “I’m back! Did you pick out a muffin?”

Derpy opened her eyes and stared at her hoof, it wasn’t pointing at a muffin at all. Her smile faded as she stared at the unappealing loaf of bread in front of her. “Aww, that’s not a muffin at all...” Her ears drooped and she dropped onto her butt.

“That’s okay!” Pinkie held her package out to Derpy along with half a dozen muffins in a box. “Could you deliver this to Twilight in Canterlot, please? You can have these muffins as a delivery fee.”

Seeing the box of muffins in front of her, Derpy perked right up and leapt up onto her hooves with a mock salute. “You got it! I’ll get these muffins to her lickety split!” She paused and rolled her eyes up in deep thought. “Wait...I meant I’ll get this package to her right away!”

“Thanks, Derpy! Enjoy those muffins too!”

“I will! Thanks, Pinkie!”

Pinkie waved Derpy goodbye as she flew out of the shop. She dropped down onto her chair behind the counter and sighed happily. She was wondering why she woke up one morning covered in cider bottles at Vinyl’s place. Now, she knew why. And it was going to be spectacular.

* * *

“Twilight! Are you okay?”

Twilight groaned as a hoof pressed against her cheek and nudged it a few times. She opened her eyes blearily and stared straight up into Rainbow’s eyes. She could see nothing but concern and worry in them which filled her cheeks with an embarrassed blush. She’d completely botched the plan.

“Twi? Talk to me, I know I landed on you pretty hard...”

The words came clearer now and Twilight could faintly make out the colors of Rainbow’s mane tickling at the peripheral of her vision. “R-Rainbow?” Her mind waded through the series of events up until the blades were nearly upon her. A flash of blue and a grunting sound. Her head smacked against the back of the platform and everything went black. Aside from a slight headache, she felt all right. But what happened to the blades?

“Oh no! Rainbow! What happened to the blades? Are you hurt? You’re on top of me, that must mean—oh no...”

“Twilight, relax, I’m fine. Sure, it hurt a little, but I knocked the first one away with my spear. The second one smacked me on the butt, but nothing I’m not used to.”

“But... but...I saw the blades. They cut that straw-pony in half!”

“Twilight, that’s just a demonstration of real blades. They wouldn’t use those during training.”

“Oh, yeah. That makes sense. But Viktor...”

Rainbow groaned and rolled off of Twilight. “In case you haven’t noticed, Viktor is a little nuts. I don’t know why he asked you out here but I promise you, I’m doing fine.”

“But he said you needed help and you didn’t have that spark or something.”

“Twilight, once again, Viktor is a little nuts. Just because I’m not lusting after the princess constantly—” Rainbow paused and her mouth clamped shut. She looked away as the heat rose to cheeks.

Twilight blushed in response as well and stared off into the distance. “So, let’s not discuss this particular incident ever again?”

“Deal.”

“Princess, ve all saw vut just happened.” Viktor chimed in with a wide toothy grin.

Twilight groaned and buried her face in her hooves. Being a princess was hard.

* * *

A guard knocked on the Twilight’s door. “Package for you, Princess.”

“Come in, please,” Twilight called out from behind her desk. After her incident on the training grounds, she’d taken solace in hiding in her tower away from just about every single pony in the palace. She still missed Rainbow every day and wished she could spend more time with her captain, but she decided it was best to let Rainbow focus on her training without any more distractions.

The door swung open and the guard deposited a thin package on Twilight’s desk. He saluted smartly and took his leave.

Twilight peered at the package curiously. From the colorful wrapping paper, it was pretty obvious that Pinkie was the sender. She flipped the package over a few times in her hooves, inspecting it for any possible pranks. Finding nothing beyond a small note on the backside of the package, she flipped it open: “Share with Dashie.”

Not completely sure what that meant, she shrugged and tore open the package to find nothing more than a simple cardboard insert with a record inside. “Well, that’s interesting,” Twilight mused quietly to herself. “I guess I’m supposed to listen to this with Rainbow. I guess it’ll have to wait until after dinner.” She put the record to one side and half-heartedly returned to her books, her curiosity nibbling away at the back of her mind.

By the time dinner finally completed, she nearly pushed Rainbow up the stairs to her room. She was so eager to hear the contents of Pinkie’s record. She ignored the small possibility it was another giggling compilation or one-hundred-and-one-ways to tell ponies to smile. She rushed into her room and excitedly picked up the record with her magic and showed it to Rainbow.

“It’s a record, Twi.”

“I know! But it’s from Pinkie! It could be fun!”

“Or it could be prank record.”

“Rainbow, you don’t sound so enthusiastic about this...”

“Oh, I am. I’m just really, really, extremely, tired.”

“Maybe this record can change that!”

“Well, put it on and let’s hear it.”

Twilight nodded and dropped the record into the record player. A combination of guitar and drums filled the room. “What is this?”

Rainbow’s tired smile slowly spread into a grin. “No way. Did Pinkie make us a training montage record?”

“Training montage?” Twilight tilted her head curiously as she listened to the hypnotic beat.

“Yeah. It’s the music that plays in movies when they want a bunch of stuff to happen and to show the characters getting more awesome! This song is one of the classics!”

“So, we’re supposed to listen to this while training?”

“Yep. It’s totally pump-me-up training music. In fact, you should bring all your stuff down to the training grounds and train with me. This way we can listen to it together.”

Twilight’s mouth dropped open as she processed Rainbow’s suggestion. It was so simple, so elegant, so...silly it hadn’t occurred to her. “Of course! I’ve been stressing this whole time over not seeing you enough! I can just pick up my books, quills, and papers and take them outside! I don’t have to be in my tower all day.”

Rainbow laughed and ruffled Twilight’s mane with a free hoof. “Wow, Twi, for a pony as smart as you, sometimes you miss out on some of the simplest things.”

Twilight blushed and sighed. “I guess I’m a little silly at times. I get really caught up in the process of being a princess.”

“That’s okay.” Rainbow lowered her hooves and wrapped them around Twilight in a hug. “You may be silly, but you’re my silly princess.”

Twilight blushed in pleasure and nuzzled into Rainbow’s neck. “Thanks, Rainbow. I’m glad I have you as my captain.”

Training Grounds by lostzilla

Formalities

Twilight Sparkle was a pony dedicated to her routine, and her routine dictated her morning start with a cup of coffee. Holding her cup aloft with magic, she sipped the aromatic drink and mentally patted herself on the back. She could still brew a damn good cup of coffee. The first item on her morning wakeup routine satisfied, she relaxed against one of the many windowsills in the kitchen and allowed the hot drink to wake her groggy mind.

From her vantage point, she could easily see the moon resting just above the horizon complete with its accompanying stars. It took a moment for her to recall she was awake far earlier than usual. Today was a very special day, after all. She smiled and stared out at the night sky. It filled her with a sense of comfort she didn’t have a few months earlier.

“Enjoying the view?” Luna whispered from the shadows before walking into view.

Twilight yelped and nearly dropped her coffee. Steadying herself against the wall, she turned around with a flustered smile. “Princess Luna! I didn’t expect to see you in the kitchens.”

“It’s quite alright, Twilight Sparkle. I’m used to your company when the stars are out. Though, usually you’re stargazing outside instead of in a kitchen.”

Ruffling her feathers, Twilight blushed and returned her gaze to the pre-dawn sky. “Well, I woke up really early, and none of the cooks were awake. I really needed a cup of coffee, so I came down here and brewed a pot myself.”

Nodding, Luna strode forward to the window arched her head up toward the sky. She placed her mostly eaten slice of cake on the window-sill and smiled at Twilight. “It’s lovely.”

“Oh! Yes! I love your stars, Luna. They’re always so pretty. Even Rainbow thinks they’re nice. She said something about how they twinkle on my eyes.”

“Twilight, you misunderstand. I meant this.” Luna raised her own coffee cup and winked at Twilight. She brought the cup to her lips and sipped a little more of the warm beverage. “I must admit, I’ve always prefered my coffee a little stronger. But, I’m finding the smoother taste with a touch of sweetness to be very enjoyable. No wonder my sister seems particularly keen on sampling it. She’s going to be jealous when she learns I got the first taste.”

“First taste of what?” Celestia plodded into the kitchen still adorned in her pajamas and nightcap. Yawning widely, she wandered over to the pot of coffee and poured herself a sizable cup. She leaned down and inhaled the rich flavor deeply, the snappy scent slowly waking her from her morning haze. Satisfied with the aroma, she brought the cup to her lips and sampled the beverage. Her eyes widened in surprise as she tasted it again. “This is really good, did you make this, Luna?”

The barest hint of a smile spread across Luna’s lips as the she shook her head. Taking a long meaningful sip of her coffee, she leveled her gaze at Celestia. “Sister, I’m surprised. Have you not tasted Twilight’s wonderful coffee for yourself? Even though you’ve been her mentor for years?” She waited just long enough for the implication to sink in before adding, “I find it absolutely delicious.”

The liquid in Celestia’s cup quivered ever so slightly. Her irritation tempered by centuries of practice, Celestia responded smoothly and at a measured pace. “Luna, my dear sister, I can understand why you might prefer the first cup of coffee because of its freshness. But, I would rather have a matured cup of coffee.”

Twilight shuffled uncomfortably between the two princesses in the midst of a verbal fencing match. It was obvious Luna was a little grumpy from being up all night and Celestia was a little grumpy from having to wake up to raise the sun. The combination of the two always led to interesting breakfast conversation. Except, this time, the focus somehow revolved around her simple desire to have a nice cup of coffee.

Not wanting to be caught in what might be a solar-lunar-pocalypse, she scurried between the two princesses to defuse the situation. “Luna, I’m glad you like my coffee, but wouldn’t you like to get some rest after handling Night Court?” Twilight spun around the other direction. “And Celestia, the sun really needs to be raised. Ponies will wonder why the sunrise was late.”

Luna sighed and glanced away. “I just wanted some coffee, seeing as I must stay up for Rainbow Dash’s ceremony later on today.”

Celestia nodded in agreement. “And I was on my way to raise the sun when I smelled your wonderful coffee, Twilight. I thought we could have a nice friendly chat on the progress of your studies before my duties.”

Flustered, Twilight backed up a few steps and eyed the exit to the kitchen longingly. “Oh! Well...that’s considerate of you, Luna. I’m sure Rainbow will appreciate it. And I’d love to stay and chat, Celestia, but I really need to go see Rainbow, since it’s her graduation day. So, if you don’t mind...”

Celestia nodded with a smile.

“Thank you!” Twilight nearly galloped to the door. “You two are welcome to the rest of my coffee!”

After Twilight disappeared, Celestia directed her smile back to Luna. “Luna, I thought we agreed only I would be allowed to tease Twilight.”

"We did. But I’m not teasing Twilight, I’m teasing you,” Luna responded with a smirk.

“Touché, my dearest sister. However, seeing as today is Rainbow’s graduation, a truce?” Celestia extended her forehoof toward Luna.

“Agreed.” Luna grasped Celestia’s hoof with in her own and shook vigorously.

“Wonderful! Now to have my morning slice of cake and raise the—” Celestia stopped speaking abruptly and she raised her head over the door of the refrigerator. “Luna, have you seen the slice of strawberry cream cake I was saving?”

Luna giggled and dropped the now empty cake plate into the sink. Skipping out the door, she responded in her best sing-songy voice, “Truce!”

* * *

The two pegasi guards at the entrance to the barracks watched Princess Twilight’s approach with a touch of apprehension. As they raised their hoofs to salute her and announce her presence, she raised her own hoof to her lips to shush them. Confused, they glanced at one another before back to the princess.

“I need to get inside, quietly. So, if you don’t mind letting me pass?” Twilight blushed ever so slightly and smiled her most innocent smile.

Nodding dumbly, they held the door open for the Princess and she disappeared inside with the softest of giggles. Once the door was safely shut, the guard on the right spoke up while keeping his eyes forward. “What was all that about?”

“I think it’s the new captain.”

“The rainbowed-maned one?”

“Yep. Apparently the princess and the captain are good friends.”

“Huh, could’ve fooled me. Are all alicorns this nutty?”

“Shh! Not so loud, you’ll get us in trouble.”

Luckily for them, Twilight was well out of hearing range and sneaking her way across the barracks. All around her, sleeping guard ponies snored and stirred in their beds just before sunrise. She snuck toward the back of the barracks, fully intent on surprising Rainbow on the morning of her graduation. That is, if she could find Rainbow. She peered through the low light looking for any sign of her captain, but it was rather difficult to distinguish colors with so little light.

Feeling her frustration building, Twilight picked up the pace of her search until her golden shoe caught on one of the floorboards. Twilight tripped and flew through the air directly onto a sleeping pony. Her crown clattered to the floor and she lost two of her other golden shoes in the process.

Woozily, she raised her head and found herself face to face with a blushing orange pegasus stallion. She blinked her eyes and stared into the blue eyes of the wincing stallion beneath her—her mind frozen for the moment. Coming to her senses, and not wanting to crush the poor guy, she tried to find some footing in the bed with her hooves but a pained yelp from the stallion beneath her halted all her movements. She glanced back and noticed her left rear hoof rested in a very peculiar spot between the stallion’s legs. A blush filling her cheeks, she tumbled back off the bed and landed on the barrack’s floor with a resounding thump.

“Sorry!” She winced and glanced at the bottom portion of the bed and back up at the still wincing stallion. “You aren’t hurt, are you?”

“I...I’m fine, Princess,” he responded weakly before collapsing back into his pillow.

Twilight sighed and gathered up her crown and adornments with her magic. Still no Rainbow. And if things couldn’t get any better, she nearly crushed some poor stallion’s...she couldn’t finish the thought and shook the offending hoof uncomfortably. She didn’t want to think about it anymore, and instead focused on looking for Rainbow.

“Twilight? What are you doing in the guard barracks?”

Busted.

“Oh! Hey, Rainbow...sorry for the commotion. I wanted to be the first to congratulate on you on your graduation day.” Twilight blushed and looked at the groggy pegasus who seemed completely unaware and was in the process of rubbing her eyes with a hoof. “And, I guess I just wanted to say thank you. For sticking through it all. It was a lot of work between combat training and officer school.”

Rainbow grinned and waved a hoof casually. “It was no biggie, Twilight. I promised you.” She climbed out of bed and grasped Twilight’s un-shoed hoof within her own forehooves. “And I stick to my promises.” The closeness they shared at that moment might have contributed to the slightest blush creeping onto Rainbow’s cheeks, but she brushed it off. Even if they had spent nearly every free moment together for the past few months, she was just Twilight’s loyal captain. And Twilight was just her beautiful princess.

Drawing back from Rainbow, Twilight smiled and nodded. “I understand. You’re welcome to join me for breakfast. All of our friends will be coming from Ponyville to watch you graduate. I wrote the letters and mailed the tickets myself.”

Still blushing a little, Rainbow bounced on her hooves excitedly. “That sounds awesome, Twilight! Though, maybe we should probably continue our conversation some other time.” Rainbow glanced around and smirked. “I think your fall and our conversation woke the whole barracks.”

* * *

“Oh my gosh! This is so exciting!” Pinkie leaned her head out the window of the train car and sniffed the passing air. “I can almost smell the excitement from here!”

Applejack pulled her hat up over her eyes and looked out the window dubiously. “Pinkie, just what does excitement smell like?”

“It smells like cookies right before they come out of the oven. It smells like fireworks right before they’re about to go off. It smells like the moment right before a kiss!” Pinkie giggled and shook the box of bits she carried with her.

“Right, if you say so, Pinkie.” Applejack smiled and shook her head.

“I must agree with Pinkie though, I’m feeling a little worked up myself.” Rarity retrieved a golden laced invitation from one of her many pieces of luggage. “Just look at how much time Twilight put into these invitations. Hoof-written and embossed. We must do everything we can to make this a momentous celebration!”

“Oh, I hope it won’t be too loud.” Fluttershy spoke up from the other side of the train. “I want to be able to hear the vows.”

“The vows! Of course! How could I have forgotten those?” Rarity swooned back in her chair and looked dreamily up at the ceiling. “It’s really romantic, to have a captain pledge her duty to her princess. I wish somepony would pledge something to me.”

Pinkie popped up next to Rarity and grasped her hoof with all the seriousness mandated for a vow. Leaning in just far enough to make Rarity a touch uncomfortable, Pinkie announced with absolute solemness, “I pledge to throw a stunnerific party tonight for you.” She kept the act up for a couple more seconds before snorting in laughter.

Rarity smiled and shook her head. “Pinkie, dear, that was very sweet of you. I’m sure we’ll all enjoy whatever party you have planned for Rainbow Dash’s graduation.”

The train whistled as it pulled into Canterlot station. A carriage arranged by Twilight waited for them just outside the station. When they arrived at the castle, they followed the crowds of ponies to the parade ground just outside the castle walls. Celestia stood at the front of the parade ground on a raised platform, with Luna and Twilight at her side.

Celestia took a few steps forward to the microphone set up on the stage. “Citizens of Equestria! I am proud to present the graduating class of the Royal Twilight Guard, formed following the coronation of Equestria’s newest princess, Twilight Sparkle.”

On cue, the massive doors leading from the castle grounds into the parade ground opened. Two veteran guards bearing the standards of Twilight and Equestria marched forward, the flags fluttered beautifully in the wind. The military brass band followed the honor guard, each of their instruments polished to a brilliant sheen. Finally, the recruits marched out, twenty unicorns with twenty pegasi flying directly above them.

The recruits marched forward and halted in front of the raised platform where the Princesses waited. Rainbow issued an order from the head of the column and all the recruits present rotated ninety-degrees to face the princesses. They stood and flew stiffly at attention in ranks two deep and ten wide.

Rainbow issued another order and every other pony in the front rank took a step forward and every other pony in the back rank took a step back. The pegasi followed suit, with every alternating pony in the front rank flying forward one and every alternating pony in the back rank flying backward one step. Rainbow shouted one last order, and all the pegasi landed in the gaps created by the unicorn guards below.

Princess Celestia cleared her throat and delivered a short speech on the values and convictions of the guard. Luna followed with a short speech on understanding subtlety and the honor of the guard. Finally, Twilight stepped forward with tears in her eyes and thanked the recruits for all the effort they put forth and how honored she was to have them as her personal guard. All the guard ponies saluted the princesses and the graduation ceremony was over.

Applejack looked around at the dispersing ponies and blinked. “Well, that was, um...”

“...rather anti-climatic?” Rarity concluded and looked up toward the stage, but Twilight had disappeared.

Fluttershy held up her invitation and pointed a hoof at it. “Girls? Maybe we’re supposed to go to this special ceremony on the invitation cards?”

“Of course! The princesses wouldn’t just invite everyone to a pledging ceremony. It’s a very intimate and special event for a captain and her charge.” Rarity looked around to gather her bearings. “We must make haste! Rainbow Dash would be awfully disappointed if we weren’t present for her big moment.”

“Miss Rarity?” A guard tapped Rarity lightly on the shoulder.

“Yes?”

“I’m your escort to the Hall of Vows. Please follow me.” The guard responded curtly.

The group followed the guard through the main entrance into the castle and up a grand staircase to the second level. After passing through a series of arched doorways, they entered a grand hall lined with stained glass and marble columns rising up to the ceiling. Celestia and Luna stood quietly at the far end of the hall with Twilight in the middle. Rainbow in full regalia stood at attention in front of Twilight.

“Please observe from here.” The guard whispered and halted just a few feet into the room. The heavy doors closed behind them, sealing them from the outside world.

“Princess Twilight Sparkle, please step forward,” Celestia articulated calmly.

Twilight took a few steps forward.

“Royal Guard Rainbow Dash, please step forward,” Celestia continued.

Rainbow took a few steps forward and faced Twilight.

“Rainbow Dash, please continue with your vows.” Celestia smiled and took a step back.

Rainbow took a deep breath and looked Twilight in the eyes. It was finally happening, after months of training, classes, and insane Viktor, she was finally here. Looking back, her experiences with Twilight was nothing short of extraordinary. She’d been worried she wouldn’t be able to remember her vows, but now, looking at Twilight, they resounded clearly in her mind.

“I, Rainbow Dash, swear to serve and protect Princess Twilight Sparkle through pain and hardship. If any harm may befall her, may it fall to me instead. I promise I will be faithful and loyal to my princess and never cause her harm. Before Celestia and Luna, I swear this creed. I am valiant of deed, true in friendship, and faithful in love to the very end.”

Celestia turned to Twilight. “Do you, Princess Twilight Sparkle, accept these vows and accept Rainbow Dash as your captain?”

Twilight breathed out slowly and stared at Rainbow Dash. The pegasus had adopted a bowing position and she could not see into Rainbow’s eyes. But every word spoken filled her with a warmth and comfort she didn’t know existed. Her cheeks burned and every part of her body wanted to rush out and embrace Rainbow. To thank Rainbow for everything she accomplished and everything she promised to accomplish.

With an unsteady voice, Twilight barely managed to whisper out her response.

“I do.”

Smiling broadly, Celestia fanned open her wings and showered them with a radiant light. “Then I pronounce you, Rainbow Dash, Captain of the Royal Twilight Guard. May the Magic of Friendship guide and protect you both.”

Rainbow raised her head and walked up to Twilight. Taking her princess’ hoof in her own, she smiled and blinked away the mistiness in her eyes. “I meant every word, Twi. A promise is a promise.”

“I know you did,” Twilight whispered back. “My captain, my Rainbow Dash.”

Formalities by lostzilla

Author's Note

The captaincy vow required far more conversation between my editors than I anticipated. What is actually published is an combination of all the different suggestions I received. If it’s awful, it’s totally my fault. I’m just not good with vows at all. Aside from that, this chapter was delightful to write and I hope it’s as enjoyable to read. Thank you!

...and Normalities

The punch was too sweet.

No, that wasn’t quite right. The pink bubbly liquid rolled off Rainbow’s tongue in an undeniable saccharine tang which left her with inexplicable tremors at the base of her hooves. Shifting her weight from one side to the other only seemed to exasperate the tingling. For a brief moment, she considered the possibility of the punch having a little more than advertised, but a quick glance around the room seemed to indicate she was the only one afflicted.

Frustrated, and perhaps a little annoyed, Rainbow downed the rest of her punch and discarded the empty cup in a nearby bin. Kicking herself mentally, she reminded herself to smile and have a good time. This wasn’t just any old party; this was a Pinkie Party, a Pinkie Party just for her and Twilight. She was a captain now. A captain with all the respect, power, and responsibilities a pony in her position ought to have.

But aside from the weight of the armor which rested upon her shoulders, nothing felt different. Rainbow couldn’t quite figure out what there was to celebrate over. Sure, Pinkie loved to have a good party over any little thing, but from Rainbow’s perspective, nothing really changed. Twilight was still Twilight, and she was still Rainbow, one of Twilight’s best friends.

Her eyes drifted across the room to her other friends laughing and having a good time. By the snack table, Pinkie tempted Rarity to sample another sweet treat, and although the unicorn liked to fret about her figure, she couldn’t resist a fresh baked Pinkie treat, hot from the oven. Applejack stood to the side gleefully encouraging Rarity to loosen up a little while partaking in a cookie herself. Naturally, Fluttershy was there, with her usual supportive smile full of warmth and sincerity

Rainbow smiled and exhaled slowly. Yes, everything was just fine—even if the punch seemed too sweet. She shouldn’t feel so anxious over something as trivial as punch. Even as she assured herself, something still felt off. Her eyes darted to her friends and then around the room. Her heart pounded and she had to steady herself. Where was Twilight?

The tingling in her hooves returned in an instant. She needed to find Twilight, to be there for her, to protect her. What good was she as a captain if she didn’t know where her precious charge was? Just as she was about to raise the alarm, she recalled they were in the middle of castle Canterlot, undeniably one of the safest places in all of Equestria. Even still, the nagging sensation in the back of her head made her wings twitch.

She longed to see the glimmer of Twilight’s eyes, hear the light-hearted melody of Twilight's laugh, and feel the comforting warmth of Twilight’s presence. Even if Twilight was perfectly safe, she wanted, no, needed to be there for her. Anything less would be letting Twilight down. Convinced, Rainbow trotted to the nearby balcony and spread her wings. The skies were her domain, and she would find Twilight without fail. A few experimental flaps cautioned against flying with a full suit of decorative armor. Without another thought, Rainbow shimmied the heavy armor off her body and took to the skies.

The endless expanse of the open sky greeted Rainbow Dash. The autumn colors of the impending sunset filled her vision and masked the obvious speck of purple she sought. Flying from cloud to cloud, she realized she took off without even asking any pony if Twilight was spotted leaving the party for a flight. She considered returning to ask, but as she searched the skies, she felt drawn to continue. Somehow, she knew, Twilight had to be out here.

* * *

“There she goes!” Pinkie exclaimed and rushed to the balcony only moments after Rainbow’s sudden departure.

Pinkie’s sudden disappearance resulted in the sudden disappearance of the pony Rarity happened to be leaning upon. Which in turn, resulted in a chain reaction involving Rarity tipping over onto Applejack, who backed into Fluttershy, who yelped in surprise, thus alarming the guards stationed just outside the room. A brief five seconds later, the double doors were splayed wide open, three sets of guards jostled for position at the entrance each seeking to protect their respective princess, and three friends lay in a compromising heap. Curiously, a large bite was also missing from the cake.

“Princess Celestia! We heard a scream—” The golden-armored guard pony’s words trailed off as he surveyed the room for any possible threats. Apart from the slight tilt of the triple-decker-cake, which seemed less structurally sound due a sizable bite in the middle tier, everything else seemed appropriate. Especially given that this was a royal party. Fighting the urge to roll his eyes, he cleared his throat and continued. “Is everything alright, princess?”

Just behind the Solar Guard, the Lunar Guard called out. “Princess Luna! Hath thy sister purloined thy cake once more?”

And, just to the right of the Lunar Guard, the Twilight Guard jostled for position. “Princess Twilight! Is everything alright? Did the captain tear another page in your book? We have book-paste and q-tips!”

Celestia shook her head wordlessly, her mouth hidden behind a lacy napkin wreathed in golden light. She raised her right forehoof to silence the clamor. Faintly, she could hear Luna’s sniggering in the background but ignored it. When the guards seemed unsure, Celestia checked around the room for possible unseen dangers which might’ve escaped her keen senses, but saw none.

In the absence of danger, Celestia motioned with her hoof to dismiss the guards. “We’re quite alright. Thank you all for being so diligent,” she declared firmly with a stern but benevolent smile which likely could have charmed a half dozen bickering nobles into silence.

Silence was exactly what Celestia got. Aside from Luna’s consistent snickering in the background, every pony seemed to be staring at her in total silence. The guards nodded in unison and backed out of the room slowly, their eyes trying a little too hard not to stare at Celestia. She breathed out a sigh of relief when the door finally shut behind the guards with a uncomfortable creaking sound.

Turning around sharply, she glared at Luna with as much rancor an elder sister can have for a younger sister. “Luna, must you snicker so loudly? Most ponies keep their amusement to themselves when unfortunate, but otherwise silly, accidents happen.”

Luna looked up at Celestia and opened her mouth, but failed to express any form of a intelligible rebuttal. Instead, she fell victim to another series of giggles.

Celestia’s lips trembled, the corners shifting down ever-so-slightly, just enough to suggest the beginning of a frown.

Noticing the beginnings of a pout, Luna raised her forehoof to forestall the incoming lecture. “Now sister, don’t be upset. One certainly can’t blame you for wanting to snag the first taste after the unfortunate cake incident this morning. But...”

A suspicious pause. Celestia’s eyes narrowed. “But...?”

Luna’s eyes shifted upwards.

A glimmer. It was faint, but if Celestia focused she could hear it in the background. Although Luna’s horn revealed nothing, wreathed in the shadow of her magic, Celestia only needed to look up to see the result.

A touch of icing, a few crumbs, and just enough evidence to condemn her. Celestia licked her lips and shifted to her most diplomatic smile. “Luna, care to explain why you have a smidgen of cake levitated just above my head?”

“You missed a spot on your cheek. Just being helpful.” Luna grinned back.

A furtive glance around the room was more than enough to confirm the truth. Busted. Celestia smiled wider and grasped at the remaining crumbs with her napkin. “Thank you Luna, for being so...” She paused and sighed out. “...helpful.”

“You’re quite welcome. Being nice to one another is important to keeping a truce together,” Luna responded quickly. “Perhaps you’d like to thank the baker for providing you with such a tempting target you were unable to resist in the moment?”

“Yes, that seems appropriate,” Celestia responded stiffly. The napkin crumpled and popped out of existence. A few moments later, the lunar surface happily received a bit of the Greatest Cake Ever in the History of Great Cakes courtesy of Pinkie Pie and Her Glorious Majesty of the Sun, Princess Celestia.

In a graceful sweeping motion, Celestia turned away from her sister, any hint of annoyance she might’ve had gone in an instant. After all, she wouldn’t have it any other way with Luna after being separated for so long. Striding forward, she made her way across the banquet room to the balcony.

The attention in the room shifted to Pinkie Pie, the source of the whole fiasco. The pink party pony was just outside the banquet hall, on the balcony, next to a pile of discarded armor. Her front hooves draped over the golden banister as she craned her head upward toward the sky. Every few moments she uttered a few gasps of surprise and her tail would twitch.

“Pinkie Pie,” Celestia began slowly, “I must compliment you on your baking skills. You’ve done a fantastic job with the celebratory cake.”

Giggling, Pinkie craned her head back and looked at Celestia upside down with the biggest grin that somehow looked like a smile even though it wasn’t right-side up. “Oh, it was nothing. Only the very best for my very bestest friends. And it’s not nearly as amazing as the show Rainbow’s putting on for Twilight right now!” Pinkie gestured up at the sky. Sure enough, colorful rainbow trails stretched across the eventide sky.

Applejack freed herself from underneath Rarity and trotted to the balcony. Propping herself up onto the banister next to Pinkie, she whistled at Rainbow’s colorful display. “Well, would you look at that? Can’t even sit still at her own party. Though, I don’t see Twilight anywhere. Are you sure Rainbow’s putting on a show?”

Gingerly picking herself up from the floor, Fluttershy trotted to the balcony door and peeked outside up toward the sky. She gasped at the sheer number of criss-crossing rainbow contrails in the sky. “Oh my, I hope everything’s all right. Rainbow seems really upset.”

“Whatever do you mean, dear?” Rarity joined her friends on the balcony.. “In fact,” Rarity looked up at the sky, “Rainbow’s trails are quite dazzling, amazing even.”

“Well...” Fluttershy trailed off as she focused on the multicolored bands across the sky. “It’s the way she’s flying. For as long as I’ve known Rainbow, when she flies, she always loops and turns in the air. It doesn’t look like she’s having much fun right now...”

The quiet but poignant observation settled on everypony gathered on the balcony and their smiles gradually faded. They couldn’t deny that Rainbow’s flying, though still impressive, lacked the usual brand of showiness. Unease filled their faces as the jubilation from the party faded.

“We can’t just stand there! We got to go help her then!” Pinkie exclaimed, her smile quivering on the edge of turning upside down.

“Worry not, my little ponies,” Celestia interjected. She draped a wing over Pinkie and smiled up at the sky. “I’m sure Twilight will come through. She’s never disappointed me in the past.”

“Beggin’ your pardon, but we don’t even know where Twilight is.” Applejack looked up longingly at the sky. “I’d go up there and talk some sense into Rainbow, but I doubt any of us could catch her right now. She’s flying faster than a hot knife through butter.”

“Perhaps.” Celestia smiled and glanced upward at the sky once more. “I’m sure Twilight knows where Rainbow is. And I’m fairly certain a display like this won’t go unnoticed for long.”

* * *

Twilight swayed to the left as she narrowly dodged one of the tall steeples of Canterlot Castle. Usually flying helped clear her mind, but as she flew around in circles just a few feet above the tallest tower, her mind kept drifting back to her responsibilities. Mentally, she noted she might’ve invented sky-pacing and added a note to do it more often to save on the significant wear-and-tear pacing did to her floors back at home.

Home. She winced internally at the word as she passed her tower room for the forty-second time. Where was her home now? The room in the tower might have been nice before Ponyville, but where was Spike? Her friends? Princess Celestia and Luna were great company, but it just didn’t feel the same. She might not have managed to stay in Canterlot for so long if it weren’t for Rainbow.

Rainbow. Twilight sighed, her heart pounding as she thought of her now Captain of the Guard. Realizing the sudden change in her physique, she scoured the sky in front of her for a cloud to take a small break on. Apparently all the sky-pacing was wearing her out. Unfortunately, the sky immediately before her was clear and cloudless. Sensible, considering the grand ceremony earlier. Arching her neck upwards, she squinted up at the dimming sky for a cloud and the sight before her tore her breath away.

Rainbows filled her vision. The trails crisscrossed the sky in frantic unorganized brushstrokes of color. Conflicting emotions of surprise and yearning filled her mind, and she nearly forgot she was flying. It wasn’t until she felt the sudden drop in her stomach that she remembered to spread her wings and catch herself. She wiped the sweat from her brow with a forehoof and directed herself toward the nearest contrail. As she flew, she scanned the sky for Rainbow Dash, the only pony who could fill her world with so much color.

A little exhausted, Twilight grabbed onto the first cloud which seemed big enough to support her and sank into the misty surface. She panted heavily, catching her breath and letting the moisture of the cloud cool her body. As she rested, she scanned the skies for Rainbow, but the sheer number of trails in the sky made it difficult to pinpoint anything, much less a rainbow- and sky-colored pony.

Having caught her breath, Twilight pulled herself up onto her hooves and spread her wings. Just because she couldn’t see Rainbow didn’t mean she couldn’t find her. Always more than one way to solve a problem. In this case, she just had to chase the rainbow—figuratively speaking—and eventually the trail would lead her to her captain.

Pushing off the cloud with a little hop, she spread her wings and sailed over to where the rainbow trail started to fade. She lined herself up and began to fly. The path was easy to see and somehow flying in Rainbow’s wake felt easier than flying alone. Experimentally, she flew directly into the contrail, and the colors warped around her body before fading away. In their wake, she felt the undeniable tingling of magic in her horn. It filled her with warmth like a bubble bath.

She realized there was more to Rainbow’s contrail than color. There was magic too. Of course, Rainbow’s magic was latent, but for the first time she was feeling just how much latent magic trailed behind the pegasus when she left her tell-tale contrail in the sky. Momentarily, she wondered if she might be able to leave her own if she focused her magic, giggling at the thought of impressing Rainbow with her flying and magic aptitude combined.

Banking to the right, Twilight followed the mostly straight trail. She pondered as to why the path was so easy, so free of loops, sharp curves, and rolls. It was almost as if Rainbow was leading Twilight in a dance in the sky. And because Twilight was a beginner, Rainbow carefully added only a little bit of difficulty so Twilight could keep up. Still, looking around herself, Twilight realized even if she flew at her fastest, the trail seemed to never end. She might never catch Rainbow. She wanted to go back to the castle and wait for Rainbow there, but she just couldn’t. She wasn’t the kind of pony to quit, she knew Rainbow wouldn’t quit on her, and she was determined to give it her all.

Focusing her magic, Twilight felt the power seeping from deep within her heart to her horn before spreading through her body. She flapped her wings with renewed vigor and confidence. She may not be the best flyer, but if she had a chance, she had to take it. She smiled determinedly and surged forward. Her body lightened and she felt the forces of gravity fade from her. Feeling nearly weightless, every push of her wings sent her forward faster. Rainbow was at the end of this trail and Twilight was going to find her.

* * *

Failure.

Rainbow shuddered at the thought and pushed herself harder. She wasn’t a failure. She’d come close to failing many times, but she’d never let herself fail. The universe always worked out in the end as long as she kept giving it her all, and this was no exception. But no matter how hard she flew and how hard she looked, she couldn’t find Twilight.

Doubts clouded her mind, and she wondered if this was all for nothing. She should’ve thought things through and asked some of the guard under her command. Maybe set up a proper search party, coordinate a plan, all those things Twilight was good at. Shaking her head, she pushed those uncomfortable thoughts from her mind and focused on her flying. She wished Twilight was here. Twilight was good at those things Rainbow often overlooked. Together they shared an enthusiasm which few ponies could top.

Maybe if she focused just a little, she could come up with a better plan than just flying around in the Canterlot skies looking for Twilight. She’d checked everywhere over the city, but the setting sun made it hard to see below her. Slowing down a little, she felt an odd tingling at her backside. Glancing back, she could see her distinctive rainbow trail glowing, thrumming with energy she’d never seen before.

She squinted into the distance, and her heart did a little jump. Twilight was only a little ways away, her nose scrunched up in concentration, her eyes nearly shut, her wings flapping hard, and looking so very determined. She waved her hooves and beckoned to Twilight, but got no response.

“Watch out!” Rainbow shouted. Bracing herself, she caught Twilight in her hooves and sailed backward through the evening sky. By a stroke a luck, the universe worked out for Rainbow once more and she landed comfortably in a large patch of fluffy clouds. Catching her breath, she reached up and brushed the curled hair from Twilight’s eyes away with a free hoof. “Hey.”

A moment’s silence.

“I was looking for you.”

Twilight stammered and opened her eyes all the way. Right in front of her, inches away, was Rainbow. She blushed and tried to push herself away, but her tired muscles would not obey her. Instead, she found herself resting against the pegasus, panting and feeling warmer by the second. Bracing her forehooves lightly against Rainbow’s shoulders, she breathed out slowly and smiled. “I was looking for you, too.”

Maybe more words were needed, but magic was a funny thing. Twilight felt it in her horn as she flew through Rainbow’s contrail as much as Rainbow felt it in her wings as Twilight’s magic surged through her rainbow trail. A deep connection both mysterious and powerful that poets have searched for ages to describe.

It might’ve started that first night long ago when Rainbow ran into Twilight. Or maybe it was the time when Twilight ran into Rainbow in the infirmary. The universe might’ve conspired to bring them together. But, as Rainbow leaned forward into Twilight, their faces filled with a shared blush, their lips parted with anticipation, one thing was certain—

“Woo hoo! Way to go, Dashie!” Pinkie screamed at the top of her lungs, quivering the very foundation of Canterlot Castle.

Celestia withdrew her wing from Pinkie in surprise and coughed politely. She took this opportunity to wipe the thin strand of saliva growing at the side of her mouth. Turning her back to look into the party room, she grinned at Luna. “I believe this means I win the bet. The sun is still up, as you can see.”

“Nay!” Luna interjected, her muzzle buried partially in the now collapsed cake. “The sun seems to have set very slowly this particular evening. If anything...” Luna grinned and wiped the frosting from her mouth. “I believe this victory goes to twilight.”

Celestia nearly choked on the terrible pun. She pointed an accusatory hoof at Luna. “Luna! I thought we agreed to set aside our punnic wars after the third one!”

“Your blatant robbery of moon time to ensure Twilight and Rainbow’s amorous activities appear under the ambience of the sun dissolves said agreement! The puns shall last forever!” Luna cackled before quietly hoofing Pinkie twenty bits.

Pinkie, of course, had summoned her usual green-rimmed dealer’s hat and was in the process of tallying up the bets—the winner, of course, being Pinkie. Though no pony understood what she meant when she bet, “At Twilight during Twilight on Rainbow after Rainbow pledges to Twilight.” No pony was surprised when Pinkie burst out of her seat with a huge grin. “This is perfect! I’m just short the one hundred bits and we’ll have enough for the biggest supertasticiffic party in the history of supertastic parties for Rainbow and Twilight.” She did a full one-hundred eighty degree turn and looked at Celestia.

Coughing, Celestia forced herself to stop thinking about puns to slide a large bag of bits to Pinkie. She shrugged and smiled. “I thought I could win, but I didn’t expect intervention from Luna.”

Luna grinned and raised her hoof to the ceiling, “No pony expects the Lunar Intervention!”

“Indeed.” Celestia nodded. “In fact, you’ve eclipsed me twice already.”

“Ha ha! I...” Luna paused before falling back. “An underhoofed attack, dear sister! A com-pun-ment with dark intent!”

The mood utterly ruined, Twilight looked to her friends on the balcony, to her mentor enjoying the last of the cake, to Luna, before back to Rainbow. Both of them were still blushing heavily and rather startled by the sudden explosion of noise around them. She glanced up at her library tower just a few hundred feet away and winked at Rainbow. “Let’s make a tactical withdrawal, captain.”

“Yes, ma’am!” Rainbow saluted, and in an instant they were gone.

Safe and alone within the confines of Twilight’s library tower, Twilight snuggled up against Rainbow. Tracing back through the events of the past few months, she found herself amazed by how a little princess’ conundrum could lead to all this. She didn’t just find a captain of the guard, she found the bulwark to her life. And with her, she felt she could do anything and be anywhere and still be at ease.

She grazed her hoof idly over Rainbow’s wings and found the feathers uncoordinated and messy. She grinned at Rainbow and lidded her eyes. “How about a preening, my captain?”

“Only if you’ll allow me to preen you first, my princess,” Rainbow responded with a grin of her own.

“How about we preen together, then?”

“Sounds awesome.”

...and Normalities by lostzilla

Author's Note

Spoilers: Stay tuned for the epilogue.

You Shook Me All Night Long or Spike’s Very Own Chapter

Spike lived a perfectly normal life in an otherwise extraordinary world. The days were idyllic and filled with all the ice cream he could eat. The evenings were peaceful, the nights quiet, and no one ever interrupted his eight-hour long bubble baths—perfect for reading comics by firefly light. His only responsibility involved watching over a rarely patroned library in the small town of Ponyville.

Prior to Twilight’s departure, his newly minted alicorn sister handed him a long list of instructions detailing every possible thing he didn’t want to know about maintaining a library. The first month consisted of daily check-up letters which consistently interrupted his bubble baths and, on one occasion, left the letter sopping wet. But the letters mysteriously stopped about the same time Rainbow Dash quit the weather team. Spike didn’t concern himself with these little details, because life was peaceful. He liked it that way.

Not that Spike didn’t socialize with the ponyfolk of Ponyville. He regularly attended Pinkie’s parties, because parties meant delicious free food. Even the parties he missed due to ice cream-induced stomachaches resulted in later, “Glad You’re Better!” parties, so overall he didn’t mind missing a few parties here and there. He briefly recalled missing a party soon after Rainbow Dash quit the weather team, but the double-emerald and chocolate swirl special from Bon Bon’s the previous day was totally worth it.

Of course, that was before the triple-ruby and sapphire, cookie-dough, fudge-brownie extraordinaire a couple of days ago. He missed a train ride and another party in Canterlot, but since he grew up in Canterlot, he decided he wasn’t missing too much. Now, settling into a nice hot bubble bath after a hard day’s sitting around and reading comic books, he wondered why his scales seemed to tingle with a sense of dread. Maybe it was the dozens of rainbows crisscrossing the skies above Canterlot just outside the bathroom window, or maybe it was the double helping of rubies that afternoon, but either way, he wasn’t feeling his best.

Cutting his bubble bath short, and hugging his stomach, he plodded into the bedroom and sprawled himself out on Twilight’s old bed. For a moment, he missed Twilight, but the latest Power Ponies comic awaited him on the nightstand, and soon all was forgotten. Several hours later, Spike drifted off to sleep, his dreams haunted by the shadow of his perfectly peaceful life.

* * *

Spike woke up feeling pretty good. He rolled around in bed and stretched his limbs out, savoring the incredible sense of freedom he’d come to enjoy every day. He contemplated what to have for breakfast—of course, his meal options basically consisted of whatever he liked. This was a welcome change from the usual fare which had to be vetted from the “Equestrian Society of Meals for Ponies, Fourth Edition.” He settled for something that definitely wasn’t in the book: deep-fried gems covered in chocolate and whipped cream. Sugar was important for a growing dragon, and breakfast was the most important meal of the day. It made perfect sense!

Between sizable bites of ice cream and rubies, Spike perused the daily newspaper before adding it to the library’s collection. Usually the newspaper was boring, and the only redeeming section of the paper was the “funnies” section toward the back with the most hilarious jokes—at least Spike thought they were hilarious. He always had a soft spot for puns. However, today’s newspaper was different. Right on the front page, in massive script, the headline read: “Twilight Guard Officially Formed.” Below the headline, the newspaper printed a picture and caption: “Princess Twilight Sparkle and Captain Rainbow Dash of the Twilight Guard.” The cogs in Spike’s head turned and the pieces clicked into place.

“Oh.”

Trying to calm himself for missing possibly the biggest event in recent history, he took another scoop of his ice cream. It’d be okay. He’d finish his breakfast and write a letter to Twilight. He could carefully explain what happened while leaving out the details of his ice-cream-fueled absence and all would be forgiven. But try as he might, no amount of internal dialogue seemed to stem that warm anxious feeling from inside his tummy. He tried to swallow it down, but it only got stronger every time he tried. Trying to ignore it, he gulped down a spoonful of ice cream...and promptly belched out a massive plume of green flame.

A scroll landed in his breakfast. The spoon which held his ice cream bent under the heat. A second later after the flame dissipated, he realized the truth: there was no spoon. Sighing, he plucked the slightly sticky scroll out of his now melted ice cream and undid the purple “T” seal around the middle. Twilight’s neat horn-writing covered the inside of the scroll. Luckily, years of living with Spike and receiving dragonic scrolls meant Twilight knew to never write anywhere near the margins, and the ice cream did not cover any of the text. Idly, Spike picked up his bowl of melted ice cream and drank the contents as he read the letter.

Dear Spike:

How are you doing? Rainbow and I are very excited to share the news of the Twilight Guard with you. I’m sorry you missed the party. Pinkie said she tried to get you to come, but you weren’t feeling well. She wanted to save you some cake too, but unfortunately Princess Celestia and Princess Luna polished it off during one of their late-night philosophy discussions on the equal providence of Day and Night. Anyway, I’m getting off topic.

During breakfast this morning, I proposed a few ideas to Princess Celestia and Princess Luna. Both of which, they’ve readily approved. I’m happy to let you know I’ll be returning to Ponyville as soon as possible with the entire Twilight Guard. I’ll be in charge of safeguarding the borders with the Everfree Forest here in Ponyville and the greater surrounding area.

Sincerely,
Twilight

With that, Spike’s peaceful idyllic life came to an end.

* * *

Twilight arrived back in Ponyville with all the pomp and circumstance a small town on the outskirts of Canterlot could manage. A copious amount of glittering streamers, provided by the ever generous Rarity, lined the streets from the train station to the library. Lovely birdsong, directed by the ever charming Fluttershy, filled the air with harmonious melodies. And a tremendous afterparty planned by Pinkie, stocked by Applejack, and attended by just about every single pony in Ponyville wrapped up the event.

Of course, just when Spike thought things could settle down and he could figure out just where he fit with this whole Princess Twilight and Captain Rainbow Dash business, he found out he was wrong—mostly because some terrible creature escaped from Tartarus, sucked up all the magic in Equestria, and blew up his house. Not to mention his comic books. So he spent another day dealing with that business being trapped in some sort of magical void-bubble; a terrible experience altogether.

Just to top it off, a magical crystal box somehow sprouted magical rainbow powers and grew into a huge magical crystal castle on the edge of town. And because he was Twilight’s very best number one assistant, he was expected to stay in it. Which was fine, except it was on the edge of town and far away from just about anything and everything he’d like to eat, do, or see. But given the number of various adventures leading up to this, he probably should have seen it coming.

Regardless of his discontent, he did his best to stay positive. After all, Twilight was back and he had his own room. Which probably was for the best, because the last time he wandered into Twilight’s room to inquire upon her dinner selection, he found Rainbow sprawled out on top of Twilight’s back, both of their wings spread in some sort of odd exercise. From that day on, he opted to arrange dinner plans at breakfast and not interrupt the two of them in the evenings.

Of course, there were also other oddities which involved Rainbow. Spike found it kind of odd that it was always Rainbow guarding Twilight and nopony else. And for the most part, the castle remained unguarded except for a couple of the Twilight Watch stationed outside the castle. The remaining guard spent their time patrolling the expansive border of the Everfree Forest and helping civilians around town.

“Spike?”

Spike sputtered and shook his head free from where it rested on his arm. Looking up, he found himself face-to-face to Twilight. “Woah, hey, Twilight. What’s up?”

“That’s what I want to know Spike. We were having breakfast, and you sort of zoned out. Are you alright?”

“Me?” Spike puffed up his chest and tapped it with his right claw. “I’m better than alright. I’m great! Gemstones for breakfast every day? Delicious!” He reached into his bowl and stuffed a clawful of gems into his mouth. Swallowing the crunchy treat, he smiled up at Twilight but didn’t get a smile back.

“Are you sure? You’ve been really out of it ever since I got back to Ponyville.” A warm, feathery wing wrapped itself around Spike’s back. “If something’s bothering you, you can talk to me about it. I’m here for you, Spike.”

“Well...” Spike began, his claws toying the bowl of gems in front of him. “I guess...” He looked to Twilight and got a smile and glittering eyes urging him to continue. “I just feel a little left out. All these things have been happening, and I’ve just been sorta in the background. Like a background dragon. I can help too, you know!”

Feeling a little better after his outburst, he smiled up at Twilight. When Twilight smiled back, he sighed in relief.

“Of course you can help, Spike. You’re my number one assistant after all.”

“So, you’ll include me in all the things you and Rainbow have been doing ever since you got back to Ponyville?”

“Um...what sort of things, exactly? Do you mean the—” Twilight trailed off, her face reddening.

Spike waited for a response. Seconds passed. Nothing. Then minutes; still nothing. He reached forward and shook Twilight a little. “Twilight?” He shook Twilight harder. “Twilight, snap out of it!” Panic rose up Spike’s spine. Any number of horrible and unlikely scenarios raced through his mind. He scrambled to snap Twilight out of her trance, but nothing seemed to work. He was just about to send an emergency message to Princess Celestia when Rainbow trotted into the room.

“Hey Spike, Twi, what’s up?”

Spike looked to Rainbow, fully decked in her captain’s armor, and back to Twilight, and realized this was a very bad situation for him to be in. He rushed over to Rainbow and grabbed her breastplate. “Rainbow, you’ve gotta help me! I was talking to Twilight, and suddenly she just froze. She won’t talk to me, move, or anything!”

Obviously concerned, Rainbow made her way over to Twilight and carefully looked her Princess over. Everything looked normal, aside from the slightly faster breathing, the slight blush on Twilight’s cheeks, and the tensed muscles. Grinning to herself, she casually placed a hoof around Twilight’s shoulders and turned to Spike. “So what exactly were you two talking about before she tensed up?”

“Nothing really, I just wanted to feel a bit more appreciated. Twilight’s always hanging out with you. She used to always hang out with me—not that I’m jealous or anything!”

“It’s no big deal Spike, it’s not your fault Twilight can’t resist my awesomeness. Especially in this getup.” Rainbow thrust out her chest plate and fluffed up her wings for emphasis. “But I can’t leave my Princess hangin’ like this. Watch carefully Spike, this is a field-tested, Twilight-approved maneuver.”

Spike crossed his arms and did his best impression of an unimpressed Applejack. “Seriously?”

Completely serious, Rainbow leaned in close to Twilight, her muzzle tracing the outline of Twilight’s ear.

“Uh...” Spike took a step back and looked away. “Are you sure I should be watching something like this?” When he didn’t get a response, he turned back just in time to see Rainbow nibble the tip of Twilight’s ear. Ignoring the urge to paint the floor with his breakfast gems, he watched in morbid fascination as Rainbow repeated the motion on Twilight’s left ear. It wasn’t long before he could see Twilight’s wings stirring. First her body relaxed, then her breathing slowed, and within minutes, she was fully leaning into Rainbow’s touch.

“See? Easy.” Rainbow chuckled and ruffled Twilight’s mane. “You should see how much she tenses when she stresses out. Half the time I have to work my way all the way down to her wings before she gets coherent again.”

Spike shifted uncomfortably on his claws. “So, you two...”

Rainbow Dash grinned.

“And Twilight here...”

Rainbow Dash grinned wider and draped a wing over Twilight’s back.

“Ugh.” Spike buried his head in his claws. “It’s all so obvious now! Is that why you’re the only one guarding Twilight all the time? Is this whole captain thing because you have a thing for Twilight?”

“Of course not! Sure, the helmet is pretty cool and it’s nice to be called Captain. But that’s not why I’m here. I’m here because Twilight really needed somepony back in Canterlot, and I happened to fit the job description.”

Rolling his eyes, Spike threw up his claws in frustration. “Forget it. I don’t want to get mixed up in all your mushy business. Count me out. If anything important comes up, let me know.” Grumbling, he sauntered off to his room.

Still grinning, Rainbow gave her princess a little shake with the wing draped over Twilight’s back. “Hey Twi, you okay there?”

Shaken back to reality, Twilight blinked a few times to clear her dry, blurry vision. “I think so. Is Spike alright? He asked a question that I really didn’t want to get into.”

“Already taken care of.” Rainbow replied with a cocky grin and a mock salute. “You can count on me, princess.”

Twilight smirked and firmly nuzzled Rainbow underneath the chin. “Did you now? And did you manage to do it without traumatizing him?”

“Define traumatizing.”

Sighing, Twilight smiled as she shook her head. “Rainbow, I know you mean well, but sometimes your methods are a little to rough.”

Rainbow waggled her non-existent eyebrows.

Twilight face-hoofed. “I mean, you don’t exactly express yourself with the choicest of words. You tend towards being more direct, which is great. But I think Spike needs a little more care.”

“What? No way. The little guy is way more mature than he lets on. I’m pretty sure he’s been caught in enough trouble with us to handle a little teasing.” Rainbow grinned.

“If you say so, Rainbow. But if he’s scarred for the next few weeks, you and I are taking him to therapy together.”

“You go it. But it’s not going to happen.”

* * *

True to Rainbow’s word, Spike was perfectly happy with the situation. Sure, it was a little weird that Twilight and Rainbow were doing whatever special someponys do together, but at least they did it privately—which left him plenty of time to relax with a nice comic book, some gems, and ponder what to do with his time when Twilight wasn’t asking him to do one errand or another.

By the time dinner rolled around, Spike had more or less forgotten the discomfort at breakfast. Instead, he was in the sizable castle kitchens, whipping up a pastry stuffed with vegetables and mushroom gravy. He carefully marked the one on the right with a claw mark before depositing them into the oven. He didn’t want Twilight to get the extra spicy one he made for Rainbow Dash. The spice was the perfect way to even the score and get Rainbow back for mix of weird feelings he was subjected to in the morning.

When the golden brown pastries came out of the oven, Spike was sure he was about to pull off one of the greatest pranks in the history of spicy food pranking. He arranged the food on the table and called for Twilight and Rainbow.

Naturally, Rainbow as at the table in a flash. The pegasus was always hungry, and when it came to Spike’s cooking, Rainbow had taken to it tremendously. Spike even went out of his way to make sure Rainbow’s portions were a little bigger than Twilight’s.

Twilight, however, took multiple promptings and a threat from Rainbow that her tea was growing cold before the frazzled Alicorn stumbled down the stairs. From the looks of it, Twilight was going over the tax codes again for Ponyville. Apparently when tax codes are written by a bunch of apple farmers from a couple hundred years ago, they end up containing a lot of references and anachronisms that could frustrate even the most studied scholar. But all that was forgotten in the face of Spike’s delicious Vegetable Pastry Pasty Bake.

Twilight leaned and breathed in the intoxicating aroma, her mouth watering. “Wow, Spike, this looks and smells delicious!”

Rainbow nudged her own with a hoof and nodded approvingly. “And so flaky, just the way I like it. If I had known Twilight was getting such good food, I’d have moved in ages ago.”

“Aww, thanks guys.” Spike puffed up his chest proudly. “I think I might open a little diner sometime and be the first Dragon chef in Equestria.”

“Mmmf—you should go for it,” Twilight agreed through a mouthful of vegetables and gravy.

“Argh!” Rainbow screamed and backed up from the table.

“Rainbow! You should be supportive of Spike, his cooking is delicious!”

Spike grinned and crossed his arms. “How do you like it, Rainbow Dash?”

Rainbow glared at Spike as she poured a glass of water down her throat. “How much pepper did you put in this?” Panting, she quickly poured another glass of water and gulped it down.

“Oh, not much, just a clawful toward the end. To get you back for this morning.” Spike shrugged casually. “You’re lucky I’m feeling generous, and I didn’t spice the whole thing. I was worried you were going to start from the wrong end, but it looks like it worked out.”

“Spike! Did you purposely do that to Rainbow’s food?”

“Sure did. You didn’t see what she did to me this morning. I think we’re even now.”

Rainbow carefully tasted the next mouthful for spice before chowing down. “It’s okay, Twilight. Second rule of pranking is to expect to be pranked back. It’s really tasty otherwise.”

“You’re welcome.” Spike nodded and and popped one of his roasted fire gems into his mouth, savoring a job well done. Or at least, he tried to savor a job well done, but it was not to be. Not five seconds later, a rush of flame shot out of his mouth and a scroll landed on top of his dinner. “Not again. Don’t ponies know it’s rude to message during meal times?”

Twilight carefully floated up the message from atop Spike’s gems and looked over the seal. Smiling, she passed it over to Rainbow. “It’s for you, Rainbow. From the looks of it, it’s pretty important.”

Rainbow looked up from another mouthful of pasty at the letter. “I’ll look at it after dinner. This is way too delicious to let go cold.”

Nodding, Twilight dropped the scroll on the table. “You’re right. Spike, you’ve really outdone yourself with this one.”

“Wait! This is from the Wonderbolts!” Rainbow dropped her food and picked up the letter. Tearing the seal away with her teeth, she unraveled the scroll and darted her eyes across the words. Her face gradually shifted from a grin, to a slight frown, until finally she dropped the letter on the table without a word. Standing up from the dinner table, she took to her wings and disappeared upstairs.

“What just happened?” Spike looked to Twilight, and to the letter lying on the dinner table.

“I don’t know Spike, I’ve never seen Rainbow so upset before.” Carefully picking up the letter in her magic, Twilight floated it over and read the contents. Frowning, she turned to Spike. “I’m not sure what’s wrong, but it says here that the Wonderbolts are inviting Rainbow to join her.”

“That’s amazing!”

“It sure is. I can’t think of it happening to a more qualified pony. But why is Rainbow so upset?”

“You should probably go talk to her.” Spike nodded and popped another gem into his mouth. “I can never tell what’s going on in her head.”

Twilight nodded. “It can be tough. I’ll go talk to her now. Don’t wait for us, it might be a while given the way Rainbow reacted.”

Spike nodded back before popping another gem into his mouth. Luckily for him, he was careful to stay out of issues like this one, and he liked it that way.

* * *

Twilight hesitated in front of Rainbow’s bedroom door. It was always open to her, she knew that, but the way Rainbow charged out of the room left her uneasy. She could understand the pressure Rainbow faced. It certainly wasn’t a pleasant sensation. Still, this was important; they had talked about it the very first night Rainbow had agreed to become her captain. Twilight was determined to set things right, no matter how difficult it would be.

Sighing heavily, she raised her hoof and rapped it lightly against the door. The door offered no resistance and creaked open. “Rainbow?” Twilight called out through the crack in the door. Hearing no response, she pressed her hoof forward a little more, cracking the door just enough so she could see inside the room. She found Rainbow standing at the far end of the room, staring out into the sky, her captain’s helmet clutched to her chest with one hoof.

“Rainbow?” Twilight trotted into the room, and eased up behind Rainbow. Laying a hoof across Rainbow’s back, she leaned in and nuzzled her captain’s cheek. She felt Rainbow quiver under her touch, so she drew closer, wrapping one of her wings around Rainbow’s side.

“Hey, Twi,” came the muted reply after a moment of the hugging. “I know what you’re going to say, but I can’t do it.”

Twilight shook her head and nuzzled Rainbow a little more. “I understand, but you should do this for yourself. I’ll be alright. You know that.”

“But what about the Twilight Guard? And you? I can’t leave you. Not after all we’ve been through.”

Squeezing Rainbow close, Twilight shook her head, “I think the guard will be alright for a while without a Captain. You can always appoint a temporary replacement. And me, well, I think we both know the answer to that. I want you to do this, Rainbow.”

Rainbow huffed and turned away. “Sure, I could. But they definitely wouldn’t be as good as me. And you don’t deserve anything but the best.”

“Neither do you, Rainbow! This letter?” Twilight waved it in the air. “It’s exactly the pinnacle you’ve been working for this whole time. The first night, when you agreed to help, we both knew that this day would come. And I’m okay with that.”

“It’s not the only thing I’ve been working toward,” Rainbow responded quickly, her eyes darting quickly between the letter and Twilight. “How can I leave now? We’ve been in Ponyville together less than a year! You just got your castle. I can’t leave you now. I’m your captain.”

“Rainbow...” Twilight trailed off, her heart thumping in her chest. She desperately wanted Rainbow to stay, too—but it was illogical. From the very start, they agreed this would be a step in the right direction to Rainbow’s dream. Even if Rainbow wanted to stay, Twilight understood this was just as important, perhaps even more so because Rainbow was her precious captain. She thought back to that first night without Rainbow, and she realized something.

“Let’s go for a fly.” Twilight set her jaw and looked to the darkening evening sky.

“What?” Rainbow said quietly.

“A fly. That’s what we used to do when we needed to think over something. I think it’s just what we need right now.” Twilight smiled ever so slightly and gestured to the window. “What do you say, Rainbow? Fly with me?”

Rainbow looked to the sky, and the sky called to her. It always called to her, but now, another called to her as well. Maybe they could be one in the same. Nodding, Rainbow dropped her armor to the floor. “You got it, Princess. Let’s go for a fly, together.”

Nodding to each other in agreement, they took flight from the castle balcony. They soared together into the sky, the darkness, the unknown, pondering if their decisions would be the right one. Life seemed to never be simple, and just as they once found solace in one another, they now found solace in their problem together in the dusky sky. Neither of them spoke, because they both knew at the end of their flight together, things would change.

But Twilight wasn’t convinced. Things didn’t have to change completely. The obvious solution was always there. Why not both? There must be a way to convince Rainbow she would be alright.

They wound through the surrounding countryside of Ponyville, to the outskirts of Canterlot, and to the grassy fields beneath Cloudsdale before turning back. No matter where Twilight flew, Rainbow was right there at her side. Occasionally, they’d share glances at each other, and somehow Twilight’s heart felt warmed with each passing minute.

As they made it back to Ponyville, Twilight’s muscles, pushed past their breaking point, shuddered and gave out. In a moment, Rainbow’s hooves were around her, and they glided safely to a cloud.

Panting heavily, Twilight wiped the sweat from her brow. When she had caught her breath, she smiled to Rainbow. “I remember when I nearly flew into you that night in Canterlot. I was lucky you were there. Just like tonight.”

Rainbow smiled back. “Of course, Twi. You know I always got your back, no matter what.”

“I do know that.” Twilight shuffled to her hooves. “You were with me the whole time, every second of it.”

“And that’s not going to change. The Wonderbolts can wait. I’m sure in a couple years, they’ll be even more eager to have me.”

“Rainbow, listen to me.” Twilight hesitated and glanced off to the distant, glittering lights of Canterlot. “I know you’ve made up your mind, but just hear me out. Just tonight, we flew nearly to Canterlot, Cloudsdale, and back.”

“Yeah, so? I do long flights at night all the time as a way to keep myself fresh. Remember? That’s how I bumped into you the first night back in Canterlot.”

“That’s exactly it, Rainbow.” Twilight smiled widely. “So what’s to stop you from accepting the invitation and flying back each day? It’s not that far, and I’m sure your lieutenants can handle the day-to-day. Thanks to the guard schedules I organized, you mostly just guard me each day.”

Rainbow paused, the gears churning in her head. Slowly, a smile spread on her face as she slumped down onto the cloud on her flank. “Wow, Twilight. I never realized.”

Twilight nodded. “Neither did I. I can’t believe I forgot how easy it was for you to fly to me the first night I was out.”

“So I can still be a Wonderbolt?”

Twilight smirked. “As if there was any doubt. You’ll be the best Wonderbolt, my captain.”

Nodding firmly, Rainbow drew Twilight closer with her forehooves. “You can count on it, my princess. I’ll meet you in the sky each night.”

Twilight leaned closer to Rainbow, savoring in the warmth of the pony next to her. “It’s a deal. Don’t keep me waiting.”

The response was easy and clear as the night sky. Rainbow leaned in and drew her princess into a deep kiss. Close to one another, they let their bodies express the emotions that words could not. At the end of the kiss, Twilight knew her conundrum was over. Not only had she gained a stalwart captain, she had also found the pony who complimented her in every way. Together, they could both achieve their dreams, for one another.

You Shook Me All Night Long by lostzilla

Epilogue:

Spike finally got the recognition he deserved and became honorary Captain of the Twilight Guard during Rainbow’s absences. He held no real power, didn’t do any actual commanding, and most of the work was done by Rainbow’s three lieutenants, but he did perfect his means of pranking Rainbow’s food with various kinds of spice to the point where Rainbow grew quite accustomed to spicy food.

Twilight spent countless days putting together plans for a new Wonderbolts training facility closer to Ponyville. Owing to the increasing influence of the town due to her presence and the significant amount of open air in contrast to Canterlot and Cloudsdale, the facility was approved. It remains a valuable addition to the Wonderbolts facilities and Rainbow Dash even drops by regularly to perform her duties there.

Rainbow Dash would go on to become not only a great Wonderbolt, but a loyal and loving Captain.

But that is a story for another time.

Author's Note

To anyone reading this, thank you for sticking with me through all the delays. I never intended to take so long, but life never lets things go to plan. A special thanks goes to my two editors, with me from start to finish. All three years. Also, a special shout out to the artist for inspiring so much in all of these chapters. This was definitely fun to write, and it’s been a privilege to share this with you all.