Lotus was in the living room going through the checklist Princess Twilight Sparkle helped her prepare. In fact, she had several dozen lists to go through. She would've preferred if Twilight took care of all of this herself, but she could handle it. She was honored enough that Twilight, the Princess Twilight Sparkle, was going to be her Mare of Honor! And Princess Cadence was going to officiate the wedding! Any couple would be honored to have one Princess helping out, but to have two was more than she ever hoped for.
As Lotus looked over the checklist, she sighed. "There's so much to do. How does Twilight stay so level headed with just one checklist?" She thought for a moment. "Oh right, she has Spike to help her out...though I guess she puts him through the wringer as well." She giggled. "Alright, let's see..."
Flowers - lavender for a really relaxing vibe: check
Guest List - all taken care of: check
Venue - the bridge by town hall: check
Decorations - spring colors: check
Food - Pinkie's got that covered: check
Dress - Rarity's taking care of it: check
"I think I've got everything taken care of. If there's anything else, I can go over it with Twilight since she's more organized than me. Right now, I better get ready." She placed the list on her desk and went to her room. Her horn lit up as she started going through her closet, trying to pick the best outfit. Rarity's creations hovered around her as she did her best to decide. There was a black sequin dress with a matching hair clip, a spring inspired dress from her In-Spire-Ation collection, a pale blue dress with sapphires decorating the hem (which she had to keep away from Spike), and a simple white dress. After much debate, she picked the pale blue dress with sapphires.
She set the dress on the bed and placed the other dresses in her closet before heading to shower. Standing under the shower head, Lotus let the water run over her as she grabbed her body wash and brush. Humming, she scrubbed herself down as the water washed the suds away. She picked up her favorite shampoo for her mane and tail. "This one always gets me mane and tail feeling like silk and it goes perfect with my body wash. He's sure to love it." She mumbled to herself, washing her mane and tail before combing through them. Once she was finished and toweled down, she went back to her room. Glancing at the calendar, Lotus couldn't help but smile. The date circled on the calendar was Saphirus' birthday and they were going on a special date to celebrate. They were going to have a picnic at the gazebo.
Lotus looked over herself in the mirror from all angles. She noticed that she looked a little bigger around her stomach, but it wasn't too noticeable. Checking the time, it was almost time for her to get things ready. She got dressed, did her hair up into a bun and gathered everything she needed. She had food she made, dessert from Sugar Cube Corner, and flowers from Daisy. Having all she needed and a picnic blanket, Lotus went to the gazebo.
*****
Saphirus made his way to the gazebo hastily. He had gotten off late from work and had rushed home to get ready and was now rushing to meet Lotus. He had been looking forward to this picnic all day. He couldn't disappoint her by being late. Once he got close, stopped and he panted heavily.
"I can't stop now. Lotus is waiting for me. But if I keep going, I'll look a mess." He mumbled. Taking a deep breath, he walked to the gazebo. Once there, he was surprised to see everything set up. One of his favorite meals (steamed vegetable soup), favorite dessert (apple spice pound cake), and lilacs all set up on a picnic blanket. Lotus was sitting on the blanket, smiling at him. "L-Lotus...you did all this?"
"Of course I did. It is your birthday, after all. I couldn't have you do all the work." Lotus smiled.
"You didn't have to do this. I mean, I could've helped out." Saphirus sat down next to her. "I don't mind. After all, you went out of your way to even prepare everything for our anniversary dinner as well."
"I don't mind it. I like cooking for you. And...since we'll be married soon...I'll be cooking for you more often." She blushed, poking her hooves together nervously.
Saphirus blushed, remembering his marriage proposal after their lust driven mating session. He looked down bashfully and he traced small circles on the blanket. "O-Oh. Right. I-I've been wondering about that. How's the planning been going? I mean, you have Princess Twilight helping you."
"Oh, it's going well. She's so organized, it's scary. She's left me with what seems like over 100 scrolls of checklists to go through." She giggled, picking up the soup ladle with her magic and poured them both a bowl. "It took me all day to get through at least...um...well I don't know how many. I stopped counting after a while."
Saphirus laughed a bit. "I can only imagine how that must be. Tell you what, I'll help out with that so it's not overwhelming." He offered, picking up his bowl with his hooves.
"That would be really appreciated." She smiled. They spent their time together talking about wedding plans, their lives together, and their future. With Saphirus working as a writer and Lotus working as a story reader for young children, they see their path together looking very bright. Once they got to dessert, Lotus didn't feel like herself. She purchased two slices of apple spice pound cake for them, but couldn't bring herself to eat it. Something just felt wrong. And when Saphirus asked about her eating dessert, she lied and said she was full.
"Let's go home, then we can talk on a more...personal level." She giggled, making Saphirus' face turn red up to his ears.
"Um..y-yeah. That sounds nice." He chuckled nervously. And with that, they walked home. A few days after the proposal, Saphirus and Lotus moved into a new home together and were as happy as can be still after almost 3 months of living together. It was big enough to accommodate their careers and hobbies. As soon as they were inside, Lotus attacked him with kisses. Saphirus was shocked at her sudden attack but let it happen. After a few minutes of this, Lotus coyly swept her tail under her mate's chin and pranced upstairs to their room with Saphirus following her. Wasting no time, Lotus undressed and lured her mate into another session of passionate kisses.
"I really love you. And I'm so happy you proposed to me." She smiled.
"I couldn't imagine my life without you in it. I knew that from the moment we started dating." He nuzzled their noses together.
"Such a romantic. I think it's time you open your present now." She grinned a saucy grin. She leaned up for a kiss and saw that Saphirus was ready and waiting for her. But right as she was close enough to kiss him, Lotus pushed him aside and quickly brought the small trashcan by her bed up and vomited; much to Saphirus' surprise as well as her own.