Romance and the Fate of Equestria

Chapter Sixty-Eight

Another week passed.

Five friends gathered in a lobby at the edge of the Bazaar, waiting to get beamed down to the grassy hills outside of Las Pegasus.

"So, we're waiting on Twilight?" Fluttershy said to break the silence.

"Yeah," Rainbow grumbled. "What the heck is she doing? We're gonna miss our train…"

"Rainbow, be patient," Fluttershy whispered. "These are her last moments with Joe before he leaves for almost five years… she must be in a lot of pain."

Twilight burst into the lobby, her eyes at half-mast and wearing a broad ear-to-ear grin. "Hiiiiii, everypony!" she sang blissfully, twirling and prancing into the building like a ballerina.

"Wow, you're right, she's miserable," Rainbow remarked.

Joe followed Twilight in, looking a bit embarrassed.

"Hiii-iii," Twilight said again, looking around at her friends. "Hey you guys…"

"What's with you?" Applejack said, amused.

"Oh, I had more sex last night than in the whole rest of my life combined," she said dreamily. "Sure, that's not saying much, but as thesis statements go, it's pretty impressive in principle, and I'm probably never going to get to say it again, so… yeah, I just had to share that…"

Joe blushed as some of the mares' amused gazes turned to him.

"So… this is goodbye?" he said to Twilight.

"Yeah," Twilight said. "I mean, no! No, it's not goodbye… it's just the beginning."

Twilight and Joe faced each other, not speaking or touching, just gazing into each other's eyes from a few feet away, until Twilight burst into tears and raced over to him, nuzzling him desperately.

"I've changed my mind," she sobbed. "I want to be with you now. I want you to stay in Equestria… with me. But… but don't!" she added, pulling away hastily. "Don't stay… go with the Bazaar. Make all of your dreams come true. And come back to me… come back from your incredible journey, wise, and rugged, and rich, and with the whole Bazaar in your pocket…" She laughed a little through her tears. "And hey, I'm sure I'll have made a few changes to Equestria in that time. I think you'll be very surprised just how much I can do to the place. And… and we'll be together."

Joe's lips trembled, and tears started dripping down his face as well. "Twilight… being with you would be my dream come true."

"I know," Twilight choked out. "But I'd never be able to forgive myself if I took your adventure away from you. Because… because I love you. I love you. And sometimes, love has to mean being selfless enough to let the one you love do what's best for them… even if they don't want to. Please don't stay here just for me. Go out there and accomplish something great, like you always wanted."

He pulled her into a hug. "You'll write to me?"

"Every day, if I can," she replied.

Joe nodded. "I love you too, Twilight. Ever since we were foals. I'll count the days 'til we can be together."

"We will be together, my love," Twilight said confidently. "My academic record depends on it."

They laughed together, then sighed and went back to staring longingly into the other's eyes.

"Um," Twilight said softly, "do you think we have time to run back to your apartment just one last time? Make it really count?"

"Oh, for—" Rainbow began. Rarity and Fluttershy, in unison, clamped their hooves over Rainbow's mouth. She struggled and threw them off. "Get off me! Twilight, come on. We've got a train to catch."

"Do whatever it is you need to do, darling," Rarity said firmly.

"Okay, fine, but make it quick," Rainbow snapped. "Don't expect your five single friends to hold the train for you if you show up at the station late because you took the time for one last nookie."

"Take all the time you need," Fluttershy assured Twilight.

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The train started chugging out of the station just as Twilight raced into the car where the rest of her friends were lounging around.

"Hey," she said, collapsing into a seat, breathing heavily.

The others returned her greeting with varying degrees of enthusiasm.

"So," Twilight said casually, "apart from the fact that you all hate me now, how's everypony doing?"

"We don't hate you," Rarity said quickly.

"I might hate her a little bit," Rainbow said, holding up a hoof as if volunteering.

"Oh, be quiet," Rarity said. She was in the seat directly in front of Twilight, and stood atop her seat and turned around to face her. "Yes, Twilight, perhaps there's a bit of jealousy here among us, but we are quite willing to put that on hold and extend our sympathies and support."

"I might not be able to put my jealousy on hold," Rainbow offered.

"…Shut up," Rarity said calmly.

Twilight tilted her head. "Why would I need sympathy?"

"Darling, your romance studies are now taking you down one of the most difficult roads known to ponykind," Rarity said seriously. "You're about to try and keep a long-distance relationship alive for five years. Can you turn two weeks of passionate sex into something strong enough to withstand such a trial?"

Twilight slouched in her seat nervously. Clearly, she hadn't given much thought to the exact implications. "Um… uh…"

"Of course you can, darling," Rarity said, touching her gently. "Because you have command over the magic of love. But that doesn't mean it'll be easy. There will be a lot of hard work, a lot of ups and downs. But we'll be here to support you."

"I might not be there to support her," Rainbow said loudly.

Fluttershy gasped. "Rainbow, surely you're not that jealous! How can you even say that?"

"I dunno, the rule of three?"

Twilight laughed. "It's okay, Rainbow. But please… enough about me. How did you all enjoy your time at the Bazaar?"

"Oh, it was such an adventure!" Fluttershy said breathily.

"You learn about yourself on these things," Applejack said enthusiastically. "I know I did. And I hope Apple Bloom did too. Havin' her big day up there… I gotta say, y'all, that was pretty magical. I loved it."

"Best vacation ever," Rainbow Dash said glumly.

The others turned toward Rainbow in confusion, but she waved them away dismissively.

"Well, I don't know about me," Rarity said, "but I know Pinkie Pie had a great time, and has no reason to be jealous. She got a boyfriend out of this trip!"

"I did?" Pinkie said, seeming pleasantly surprised. She was twirling a lock of hair in her hoof, then paused in concern. "What's this? Is something in my hair?" She reached deep into the poofy mass of her mane and pulled out something smooth, gray, and feathery. "Oh look, a mourning dove."

The bird warbled casually.

"How about you, Rarity?" Twilight asked.

"Oh, why would you want to know how I feel?" Rarity said with a small smile. "I don't matter."

"I want to know because you still say things like that you think you don't matter," Twilight said dryly. "You do matter, Rarity. That's what frustrates us, just as much as it makes us sad. You still don't have any confidence in yourself?"

"No, no… sure I do," Rarity said. "Look, I had an amazing time. Life is good. Please don't worry about me. I'll overcome this in my own time."

Twilight stretched. "Mmm, it's gonna be a weird adjustment, going back to Ponyville. That was quite the vacation. Now we have to go back to our normal lives… it's weird, but that sounds like the hardest thing we've ever had to do." She shrugged, laughing. "Ah, well, if that's the worst thing coming our way, that's a blessing. We can handle it. We can handle anything."

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Endnotes

Hey, you know what's terrible? How I made fun of the notion of our characters being able to go off on a two-week vacation and then had them do it anyway. Yeah… also terrible is how I've repeatedly had the characters refer to the time period since the beginning of the series as three years, despite knowing, and occasionally confirming, that it's been less than two and a half years. But hey, if you've been here for 68 chapters and still haven't figured out that I'm a hack, I'm not gonna be the one to burst your bubble.

So… I promised that the Bazaar would bring about a romantic situation for all six characters. Not all of these were as obvious as the out-of-nowhere pairings that you guys have dubbed Joe/Light and Pinkie/Pants. I consider the promise fulfilled: for Rarity, she spent the first week hoping that she'd be the one to end up with Fancypants, and had to deal with that expectation falling apart. Fluttershy had to confront Iron Will's feelings and make peace with him. And Applejack had a moment of awakening brought about by her attraction to the giant scary dudes, discovering her desire to meet somepony. That leaves Rainbow Dash. All I can say about that is that seeds were planted, which will bear fruit very soon. Later!