Duty
By
Outcast9851
“Company! Attention!” The cadets quickly fell into formation, some still shivering from the cold mountain air but for the most part ignoring it on behalf of their officer’s order. “Present arms!” Instantly, the group threw their right forehooves into a salute, a tribute to the mare walking in front of them.
Twilight Sparkle paid them no mind as she continued her march into the Wonderbolts Academy proper. The heat and power of her own rage served as more than enough insulation, and the nip in the air hardly seemed to bother her. From behind, she could hear the company shuffle about, wondering amongst themselves how long they should hold a salute to a princess who didn’t seem to have any intention of returning them to rest.
When the princess burst through the doors, she was met with all the opulence the Air Force could afford. It wasn’t much, just a lot of banners from graduating classes of the academy. There was a display showcasing various medals and commendations won by several of the Wonderbolts and an entire wall covered with photographs of the showteam meeting with celebrities. The sheer quantity was enough to blow a new recruit’s mind away.
In fact, if she had been in a better mood, Twilight would have taken the time to admire the decor, as she always did when visiting the academy, but then was not the time. Ahead of her was a T-intersection, with a single guard standing post in the center of the two hallways. Good, the alicorn thought to herself. He would serve her purposes just fine.
Upon noticing her, the guard quickly snapped to attention. “Afternoon, ma’am.” The generic greeting would have to be forgiven, as it was the only thing he was technically allowed to say to her without being spoken to.
“Captain Spitfire, where is she?” Twilight’s words were quick and decisive. The tone was concise enough to get the point of urgency across, but not so desperate that the airpony would start asking questions—a skill she had mastered since embracing her new role as a military commander. One more thing, she reminded herself, that she would have to thank Spitfire for when this was all over.
“The captain has asked to not be disturbed, ma’am.” Twilight shot him a look—that “do what I say or I’ll bash your skull in with my mind” look— and the stallion quickly caught on. “She’s in her office, ma’am, down by the ASF bay. Would you like an escort?”
While the guard was quaking in his boots, Twilight couldn’t help but feel sorry for him. It was difficult to limit one’s rage to the pony they’re angry with. In an effort to somehow make up for the lack of compassion, she quickly looked at his rank patch and responded. “No, thank you, Staff Sergeant. I’ll be fine.” She turned down the right passage, leaving the poor thing cowering behind her.
Navigating the Academy was a difficult matter at first, before she started spending at least a day out of every week there. These days, however, finding the good captain’s office was a simple, dreadfully boring affair. Thankfully, time flew by easily as she wandered the halls, eventually coming up on the door she was looking for.
Equestrian Air Force
Spitfire, Captain
Academy instructor/HAWC liaison
Twilight brought a hoof to the door, ready to knock, but decided against it. Best to not let her quarry know she was coming. Instead, she lowered a hoof to the doorknob and steeled herself. Turning it quickly and barging into the room, the princess almost screamed to the captain seated at her desk inside. “YOU’RE GOING WHERE?”
Spitfire quickly brought herself to her hooves, as did the stallion sitting across from her. “Princess, ma’am,” the pegasus began, stuttering slightly as she tripped over the words. “I wasn’t told to expect you. I would have prepared a formal greeting.”
Twilight caught herself from melting at the voice just in time. “Don’t play dumb with me, ‘Captain’!”
The captain let out a long sigh. “Sergeant Major, you’re dismissed. Report back to the ASF at 0800 hours tomorrow.”
“Acknowledged, ma’am.” The stallion left the room, softly closing the door behind him. Alas, the two were alone.
“I missed you, too, Twi.”
“Why didn’t you tell me you were going to war?” Twilight’s resolve was faltering, tears building in her eyes.
“Why didn’t you tell me?”
Spitfire chuckled a little. “Probably because I’m not going to war.” She saw her marefriend’s confused expression and continued on. “It’s a three month command assignment organizing patrol missions over the changeling border. I’ll hardly even be in the air.”
“Oh…” Twilight began. “I got the letter saying that you were going to be on duty, and I know you’re technically with the Air Force, so I just assumed that…”
She was silenced by the golden hoof on her lips. “No war, Twi. Not on my watch.” She lifted her hoof and gave the royal a small kiss. “It’ll just be three months. And I know that our anniversary is in there too. So I promise I’ll make it up to you when I get back.”
In that short little speech, Twilight had heard Spitfire address every last concern that she had, but something still didn’t feel right about three entire months of separation. “What if I went with you?” she proposed, prompting a questioning look from the airpony. “I could go out to the border and be a base commander, or something, and then we’d be together still for our anniversary. Win-win, right?”
“Two things wrong with that, the first being fraternization. You’re worth my job, but not if it can be avoided. Second, you know as well as I do that this isn’t your duty—it’s mine. So when I leave in two weeks, you need to do me a favor and hold down the fort while I’m gone. And do try to be waiting for me when I come back.”
Twilight let out a tear as she jumped on her marefriend, pulling the pegasus into an almost bone-crushing hug. “I’ll be counting down the seconds.”