//------------------------------//
// Duty 
// Story: A Princess’ Conundrum 
// by CalmNQuiet 
//------------------------------//

	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