“Happy Anniversary, Applejack.”
Rarity looked down at the mare of her dreams. It had been a few weeks since she’d seen Applejack, and that time apart had nearly been too much to bear. But now they were together again, and Rarity could manage to smile just a bit.
“I made myself an absolutely divine Haute Couture dress for the occasion,” Rarity said, twirling around to show off the entirety of her gown. The many gems adorning sparkled and shimmered in the moonlight. Diamonds and rubies, a pairing meant to reflect their Elements. “You know I always have to be dressed to the nines for our dates. Heh, you seemed so embarrassed when I showed up to your family’s barn dance in my Grand Galloping Gala attire. But then, we danced away the night anyway. I had never square-danced before, but the fact that it was with you made it feel all too familiar.”
Rarity paused for a moment, kicking her hoof idly at the ground. Bits of dirt flew about, some landing on her alabaster coat. She looked down at the brown stains, then back to Applejack. “I used to be so afraid of dirt. Of manual labor. The idea of getting… filthy,” she said with a shudder, “used to absolutely repulse me. But… something changed when I met you.”
The seamstress chuckled. “I don’t know if it’s always true, but opposites most certainly did attract in our case. There I was, a mare obsessed with high society, falling head over hooves for someone the average Canterlot pony would look down on. A farm mare. But none of them could understand the passion and drive you have.”
Pausing again, Rarity stepped a bit closer to Applejack. Her horn lit up a faint blue, and a bouquet of flowers was wrenched free from under her dress. She examined them for a moment. Roses, tulips, dandelions, lilies, even some orchids. They were all peppered throughout. Bringing the petals to her snout, she gave them a good whiff and let out a sigh. One of pure content. “I know you’ve never been a big fan of flowers, but they’ve always reminded me of you. They love the outdoors. The sunlight. And they’re utterly gorgeous.”
The bouquet found its way towards Applejack, and Rarity released it from her magical grasp. “I do hope you enjoy them. I had Daisy specially prepare this bouquet for our anniversary.”
Falling back onto her haunches, Rarity continued. “Hard to believe it’s been thirty years since you said yes. I never in a million years thought you would. Sure, we were happy, but I didn’t think marriage was important to a mare like you.”
Rarity’s eyes scanned upwards to the ring on her horn. “... And I was right. You didn’t care about marriage or a big wedding or a fairy tale ending. But you knew that I did, so you provided me with all of them nevertheless.”
For a moment, Rarity said nothing. She simply stared at her wife. Falling for her had been so easy, and even right now, the love she felt was beginning to overflow in the form of tears. As they slowly broke free from her eyes and rolled down her cheeks, she couldn’t help but think back to that fateful day all those years ago. Of course Spikey-Wikey would forget the rings, and of course Applejack would sneeze right into her hoof during their vows and continue as if nothing had happened, snot still caking her hoof. Normally, Rarity would have been fuming. But she’d come to grow used to Applejack's quirks. They were a charming part of her.
“Since it’s our thirtieth, I went ahead and brought something pretty special,” Rarity said. Twisting her body around, she grabbed hold of a picnic basket and returned back to her normal position, plopping it down between the two. Reaching her hooves out to open it up, she plucked a rather large bottle from it. It was a deep green color, with a dark red liquid sloshing around inside. Setting it down gently next to the basket, she reached back into the box and pulled out two glasses.
Using her magic, Rarity popped the cork of the wine bottle with ease. “I traveled all the way to Manehattan to get a bottle of their finest. Don’t worry about the cost, nothing is too expensive for you, darling.”
Lifting the bottle up, she poured a bit into her own glass until it was about halfway full, then maneuvered it to do the same for Applejack’s. Once she was done, she set the bottle back down and pushed the cork back into the opening, sealing it for another occasion.
Rarity daintily grabbed her wine glass, raising it up. “To us. A couple of mares who, no matter the circumstance, would do anything for each other. Others may scoff at our relationship, but they’ll never understand just how alike we truly were. Passionate, driven, and willing to do whatever it takes to succeed. Sure, some may see our love for what we do as arrogance, but they don’t know the true Applejack and Rarity. So, to us!”
Rarity tipped the glass towards her muzzle, opening her mouth to let some of the wine in. It was tart, but absolutely soothing to the senses. After a few sips, Rarity lowered her glass back to the grass beneath her. Reaching down into the picnic basket again, she pulled out an all too familiar item.
“I wanted to surprise you. I spent some time the other day working on restoring your stetson to its original glory. You never went anywhere without this hat. ‘Honoring your father’, you’d always say. For a long time, I didn’t understand.”
Rarity lifted the hat up, placing it gently atop her head. Shakily, she lifted herself back onto her hooves. She looked down at Applejack’s grave, glass of wine and flowers sitting in front of it, and tipped the hat down.
“I’ll never stop loving you, Applejack.”