Marshmallow Fillying

Joe wearily made his way down the stairs and into the kitchen where Sweetie Belle was hard at work. He looked out the window at the looming darkness that was approaching. “Huh, looks like it’s going to rain soon. I hope your sister is gonna be o.k.” said a slightly downtrodden Joe.

“I’m sure Rarity will be just fine. Its not like she’s never been out in the rain before. Besides, I heard some older ponies talking about how wet manes were really cool or something.”

Sweetie made some dramatic sweeps with her hooves and finished off her drawing. “aaaand Done!”
Sweetie Belle stood from the table and held the picture behind her back. She cleared her throat and began to blush a little as she nervously approached Doughnut Joe. “*Ahem* I - I drew this for you.”
Her hooves began shake and she was far too embarrassed to look Joe in the face as she handed him her freshly created masterpiece.

Joe took the heartfelt creation from her hooves and had to fight to hold back tears at what he saw. It was the same drawing that she had drawn before, only with a few added changes. Rarity was now in the background with the rest of Sweetie’s friends, and a large, globby, red heart had been painted over Sweetie Belle and Joe’s head with the words “Best Friends” written in the middle.

Sweetie managed to make eye contact with Joe just long enough to nervously squeak out a question. “So, um, do you like it?”

Doughnut Joe got down on two knees and embraced Sweetiebelle with an affectionate hug.

“I-is that a yes?”

The two remained in the same position for as long as their legs would support them. In the time it took them to hug, the clear skies above them had been completely replaced with storm clouds, and rain had began to pour. Soon the skies were filled with lightning and thunder and everypony had taken shelter within their warm cozy homes. Well, almost everypony.

The storm eventually got so violent that the one of the numerous lightning strikes eventually made contact with the town's power plant and all of ponyville was left without electricity, including Rarity’s boutique.

The two ponies within the boutique were still caught in a hug of sorts, but now for a completely different reason than before. Unbeknownst to Doughnut Joe, Sweetiebelle had a long history involving fear of the dark. She had gotten it mostly under control, except of course for when she was not expecting it. And this just so happened to be one of those occasions.

Sweetie’s hug had transformed into more of a death hold and Joe was finding it harder and harder to breathe. “Sweetie...*ack*...could you please...*gasp*...lighten your grip?”

Sweetie released her unusually powerful vice grip and returned to her previously embarrassed blushing self. “Oh, umm sorry about that. Im...sort of afraid of the dark. I WAS afraid of the dark I mean! But that was a long time ago! It...was a very bad time for me. I’ve gotten over it i swear! well, mostly gotten over it. sorry.”

“Please Sweetie, I completely understand you. I’ve got some unresolved issues with the dark as well”

Sweetie’s face lit up with bright curiosity. “You’re afraid of the dark too!? but, your all grown up? why would you be afraid of the dark?”

Joe lightly scratched the back of his head “well ya see, it’s actually sort of a recent fear. Not too long ago Nightmare Moon returned. And when she did, she made sure to block out the sun throughout all of Equestria. I was in a very sunny location when that occurred, and i just so happened to be hauling my doughnut cart down a flight of stairs. So when the sun went out and it became dark, I was completely unable to see where i was going and fell the entire flight of stairs. So now i get a little bit nervous whenever i have to walk around in the dark.”

“D’aaawwww poor wittle Joe.” Sweetie nuzzled up against Joe. “Well don’t worry Joe, I’ll make sure to keep you safe from the dark, as long as you promise to do the same for me.”

“Done deal. Now you wouldn’t happen to know where I could find any flashlights or candles do you?”

“Sure. Rarity keeps candles all over the house. I think she just likes them for their weird smells, but they should still work. There’s actually a whole bunch of them lying around my room, C’mon lets go light them up.”

The two ponies made their way over to their staircase, and Sweetie noticed Joe’s hooves starting to shake as he approached the stairs. Without saying a word Sweetiebelle locked hooves with Doughnut Joe and led him up the stairs and into her room.

Sweetie brought Joe to the closet wherin a plethora of various scented candles awaited him. He began setting them up all throughout the room and setting them ablaze with his magic.

He turned to look for Sweetiebelle and saw her climbing under the covers of her bed. she crawled around for a bit before poking her head out from under the covers. “When I was a little filly, I was much more afraid of the dark and of Thunder, and I would always hide under the covers of my bed like this whenever the lights went out or there was a storm. I would just sit under the covers and cry. But one day Rarity joined me under the covers and just held me as I...cried. She used what little magic ability she had at the time to create a little orb of light to protect me from the dark. And after that day, I wasn’t as afraid of the dark anymore, because I knew that I had somepony out there who would keep me safe. That there was somepony who really loved me. I...want you to feel the same way that I did that night. So come join me under the covers.” Sweetie then completely re-disappeared under the covers.

Joe’s heart beat became erratic and his breathing got heavy. He cautiously made his way over to the bed. Then he paused. He paused for a very long moment. contemplating what what might go on underneath those covers. What she would do. what he might do. He let out one last long breath, then he headed inside the covers.

It was dark inside. He could barely see his own hooves in front of him, but he completely submerged himself into the bed regardless. Then he saw a light. A little light violet ball shined brightly before him. Sweetie was trying with all of her might to light up the bed. Her eyes were tightly shut and sweat could be seen dripping from her forehead. “S-see Joe? I w-won’t let anything h-hurt you. I-i’ll keep y-you safe.” The ball began to grow in size, but fluctuate in its stability. “B-because I c-care about you. B-because I-...I-...I Love you”

The little ball began to shine brighter than anything Joe had seen before as it took the form of a heart. The ball then burst into a bunch of tiny heart shaped particles as Sweetiebelle fell over from over exertion. Joe lit up the sheets with his own magic as lightly stroked the mane of the now panting Sweetiebelle. He lifted up her chin and looked her dead in the eyes. “Sweetiebelle, that was...this is...” Joe was at a complete and utter loss for words. But after looking at that beautiful filly, her amazing smile, her flawless mane, her marshmallow like coat, and the true feeling of joy and compassion that could be seen in her eyes, the words seemed to effortlessly flow out of his mouth: “I love you too”.

The two ponies gazed into each other's eyes for a moment, smiling and brimming with true happiness, before bringing their bodies together and kissing in a passionate embrace, with the only the faint glow of their horns to light their special moment.