Romance and the Fate of Equestria

Chapter Sixty-Six

"Mmmm…" Twilight sighed, snuggling in closer to Joe under his bedcovers. "I am so happy I found you. I never imagined I would find such bliss here."

"I hoped I'd find you," he said thoughtfully. "But I really didn't think we'd end up like we have."

"What a wild week, huh?" she agreed. "Tell me: how exactly did you learn to make love so expertly? How does a pony figure that out?"

"Hey, I've just been tryin' to keep up with you," he said, shrugging. "You're pretty enthusiastic about sleepin' with me, I do my best to make it worth your while. I really wanna make you happy."

"I believe that you really do. I guess that's your secret." She kissed him, intending to only do it once, but found that she couldn't stop once she started.

It was a long minute before she pulled away and took notice of how sad he looked.

"Oh, babe," she said, pouting. "I know that you want more out of… us. But you know, with all that we've shared, magic does bind us together. That'll never change." She nuzzled him, her face to his.

"One week left," Joe muttered. "I don't want it to ever end."

"Neither do I," Twilight said. "But it must. Let's try to enjoy ourselves… and enjoy every minute leading up to our reunion." She kissed him again. "I hope I don't seem like I don't care. I do… I really think that meeting you here was the best thing that ever happened to me, Snick. I really do."

Joe sighed and averted his eyes. Twilight blinked slowly, then her jaw dropped in horror.

"No," she gasped. "Did I…? I just called you Snick."

Joe didn't answer.

"Damn me to hell, I did!" Twilight cried, jumping out of the bed. "I can't believe I did that, I… I am so sorry, I… I… AAAAAAGGGHHH!" She collapsed to her knees and covered her head with her hooves. "I am such a stupid and despicable pony. How could I? HOW COULD I? I should be—GAH!"

Furiously, Twilight's horn sparked. Out of nowhere, she conjured a huge metal hammer and twirled it in front of her own face, her obvious intent being to slam it into her own head.

"Whoa!" Joe cried out. He tackled her, batting the hammer away with a hoof. "It's okay," he said softly. "I honestly wasn't gonna say anything. No need to hammer yourself in the face. I know that you weren't gonna make a habit out of it."

She hung her head, tears dripping down her face. "How many times have I done that?" she said softly. "Tell me."

"Uh, that was the second time," Joe muttered. "Seriously, wasn't gonna say anything."

"Well, never let me do it again!" Twilight declared. "Once is too much! If I ever do that again, you tell me right away! And… and tell me how it makes you feel!"

"I don't feel anything about it," Joe said tonelessly. "These things happen. I completely understand."

She stared at him with a tilted head and a small smile. "You're so good, Joe," she said. "I mean, that's the only possible word for it. You're good. So, so good, and you're being so patient with me, and… I wish I loved you as much as you love me. I will. I know I will. I'm just not ready right now… and you're soooo good… and I don't deserve you… and I don't even know what else…" She shook her head and sobbed.

"Do you want to be with me?" he asked softly.

"Of course I do. Very much."

"Then you deserve me," he said simply. "You deserve to have whatever you want. You're 'good' too."

Twilight walked up to him. She held his face between her front hooves: she kissed the tip of his horn, then the place where the horn met his head, then finally his mouth. "That was smooth, Joe," she said. "Very smooth."

"Smooth?"

"And you don't even know how smooth you are," she chuckled. "I've gotta say that's refreshing after… you know."

"I don't wanna be smooth," Joe grumbled. "I wanna be real."

Twilight smirked. "You know… you don't have to be such a pushover."

"Huh?"

"I can't help but notice that I'm calling all the shots in this relationship," Twilight said in amusement. "I'm the one who thought we should sleep together, I requested that we be friends with benefits, not to mention the entire phrasing of our pact: every step of the way everything's been my idea. Why don't you take command a bit? Show me you're a strong stallion who doesn't take crap from anypony. You'd feel a lot better if you had a sense of control."

"Uh, okay," Joe said blankly. "Well, all right, here goes… you know what I'm gonna do? I'll tell you what I'm gonna do." He took a powerful step forward and glared into Twilight's eyes. "I am gonna give you what you want outta life, and I don't care what you say. I won't let you think badly of yourself. I just plain won't allow it. If… if you ever call yourself stupid again, if you ever try to put yourself down in any way, I… I… I WILL SHUT YOU UP!"

He continued glaring intensely for a few seconds before they both broke out giggling.

"You're good," Twilight said again. "You are so good. You're just… good." She sighed sadly. "We should have gotten together years ago. But… let's try to focus on what is. Let's see what we can blossom into in the next week. Something beautiful, I think… or maybe we're already something beautiful."