RariTwi Group Collab

by Anonymule

Affairs by Mr Apathy

Affairs

By: Mr Apathy

~~~~~<>~~~~~

Silence.

Rarity glanced up from her reading. Twilight was hunched over at her desk, glowering at the scroll that was supposed to be her report for Ponyville’s state of affairs. Why the alicorn wasn’t tasked with handling most of the town’s paperwork immediately after rising to princess status was anypony’s guess. Maybe it was all in the castle?

Or the mayor just suddenly realized having a princess around gave her an excuse to delegate responsibilities, never mind that delegation was something usually meant for superiors and not subordinates…

Deciding to bookmark her place for the time being (cheap, dime-a-dozen romances could only distract for so long), Rarity let her gaze wander around the study. Compared to Golden Oaks, the new castle’s aesthetic was much more befitting of Twilight’s royal status. There was still plenty of touch-up needed to give it a homier feel, granted, but it was still a step up from the much more humble abode from before.

But at the same time, the newness coupled with the sheer suddenness of Twilight’s forced relocation couldn’t have been anything short of stressful. And judging from her groaning, the paperwork only served to make matters worse.

“Writer’s block, darling?”

“Yes,” Twilight grumbled. “You’d think a simple state of affairs report wouldn’t be so hard to write when you have all the information you need.” She lifted a stack of documents with her magic to emphasize her point. “It’s like this thing just doesn’t want to be written!”

Rarity got up from the chaise lounge (a contribution she herself made to the study) and trotted over to the alicorn’s side. “It doesn’t need to be finished by tomorrow, does it?” she asked as she sat down.

“Well, no, but…” Twilight sighed. “If I get behind on this, I’ll probably end up falling behind on my other affairs. We’ll need a lot of ponies to keep the castle in shape, so I’ll have to start hiring soon. I’ll also need to replace all the books I lost when… Well, the point is they need replacing.”

“True enough,” Rarity said, “but I’m sure that the other princesses—”

“At least the new castle came with its own furniture. Can you imagine how much money I’d have to spend if it didn’t?”

“I could only ever guess, but—”

“Oh gosh! I just realized something: without Golden Oaks, Ponyville won’t have a library! Do you think it would be better to have a new one built, or just use the one here in the castle?”

“The castle library’s just fine, darling. N—”

“Great, thanks. But that still leaves the state of affairs, the other papers the mayor gave me, and I’m pretty sure I still need to pay the last taxes for my old home.”

“… Twilight, you’re a princess. Do you even need to pay taxes?”

“I don’t know, but I’m not taking any chances! Even with everything else to take care of, I still can’t just—Ah! Oh. Ohhh…”

Rarity gently rubbed a hoof up and down Twilight’s back. She smiled at the sight of the princess visibly relaxing and scooted closer so they could lean against each other.

Twilight smiled back and wrapped a wing around her marefriend. “Thank you.”

“Think nothing of it, my dear.” Rarity gave her a kiss on the cheek. “I can only imagine how stressful this all must be for you. Honestly, I’ve half a mind to share words with the mayor for dropping her paperwork on you at a time like this!” She was mostly joking, but there was no denying the slight edge in her tone.

Twilight shook her head. “It’s not too bad.” She nuzzled Rarity’s neck. “I’ll just have to remember to take a break every once in a while and tend to more personal affairs, if you know what I mean.”

Rarity giggled. “All too well, my darling Twilight. All too well.”

~~~~~<>~~~~~