Was he going to like her getting dressed up? Rainbow Dash shifted in her dress some as she looked at herself in the mirror while Rarity zipped the back of her dress up. Tonight was her and Soarin’s one year anniversary, commemorating when the two ponies started dating, and he had told her that he had a surprise for her tonight and seemed excited.
Rarity had just finished her dress for the night earlier that day, wanting her to look ‘like a glittering star that Soarin couldn’t ignore’.
“There we are! Gorgeous! Soarin will be one happy stallion when he sees you, I guarantee it!” Rarity puffed out her chest and smiled. She always did take pride in her work.
“Thanks Rarity. Can I fly in this though? It doesn’t feel very aerodynamic.”
“Darling, of course it’s not. The last thing you should do is exert yourself flying about trying to do tricks. You might get all-bleh-sweaty.” Rarity made gagging faces and shook her head. “It simply won’t do for a one-year anniversary, not with such a celebrity!”
“I’m a celebrity! In case you haven’t noticed, I’m a Wonderbolt too!” Rainbow cried, turning in her spot.
“Yes, but I don’t think Soarin ever squealed at the thought of meeting you, now did he?”
Rainbow turned a deep red as she covered herself with her wing. She squealed one time in front of her friends, and Rarity continued to bring it up.
“Oh, no need to be ashamed. Why, I do it to a new stallion about every week! Oh, what did you get him? Hopefully something thoughtful.” Rarity’s eyes narrowed and a smirk grew across her face. “Or, perhaps going someplace private for an after-dinner workout was your gift? Show him how good your dress looks on the floor after he helps you out of it?”
Rainbow turned a deep crimson. “No! He’s holding off until we’re married. I’m just having Applejack bake him a pie. I wish there was something else I could get him though. I’m not the best when it comes to gifts and he’s been hyping up this big surprise for weeks now! I don’t want to seem like I wasn’t trying.”
“Rainbow, don’t turn your anniversary into a competition. Whatever you get him, he’s sure to love. And whatever Soarin bought you, I’m sure it’s nothing too big.”
A ring. Spitfire’s mouth fell open as Soarin showed her a diamond ring in a box.
“Think she’ll like it?” He asked nervously. “I know a lot of ponies will say that I’m moving fast, but I don’t want to wait to start a family with her.” He chuckled to himself. “I love her, and I hate dating! I’d rather we’d be able to see each other every day, wake up next to each other every day, tell her I love her every day, have kids and have her tell me how much she hates me for putting her through that!” He sighed blissfully, thinking about the mare that had zoomed into his life and stolen his heart.
There was something infectious about being around her. A confidence that she exerted that made anyone she talked to feel like they could take on the world. Not to mention her tenacity. She was so willing to give anything, even things that she’d never tried before her all, from tricks to playing O&O with him and his friends.
“Yeah, yeah, I get it, Clipper,” Spitfire said. All she could think of as she looked at the ring was how much the media would eat it up. Two Wonderbolts dating was one thing, but a Wonderbolt Wedding? The team would be talked about for weeks in every publication. Fans would die when they found out.
Then, when Soarin and Rainbow tied the knot, it would be another few weeks of free press. Then the babies! Wonderbolt Babies! They could overtake the growing name of the Washouts easily with this!
“You, you show her a good night tonight,” Spitfire said. “And don’t lose the ring.”
“Oh, I won’t, I have everything planned! From a reservation at the Prancing Pony, to the song that the string quartet will play after dinner when they serve dessert! Trust me, nothing’s going to go wrong.”
He closed the lid and went on his way. There was still one thing he needed to get before he could tie the knot and get down on one knee, and that was to get a bottle of Sweet Apple Acres’ Apple Cider, Rainbow Dash’s favorite drink.
Rainbow Dash came to Sweet Apple Acres late in the afternoon. Waiting on the porch was Applejack, and with her a box containing Soarin’s pie.
“Oh thank goodness, you got it done in time!” Rainbow said, grabbing the box and opening it.
“Dash, I ain’t you, I know how to get things done on time.”
“Hey, I did get a present with an ahour to spare! Plus, now I owe you one!”
“You owe me more than one!” Applejack said, chuckling. “I just haven’t cashed in on all them favors yet.”
“Yeah, yeah!” She took the box. “Thanks again!” She trotted off into town and went to Sugarcube Corner to relax for an hour before dinner.
As she did, Granny Smith exited the house, carrying with her a bottle of cider.
“So how much you think we charge the boy for this?” She asked her granddaughter as she took a seat on her rocking chair.
“I say thirty bits, it’s fer Rainbow after all, plus, he hinted to me he’s planning on proposing tonight, so I thought I might as well help make this the most memorable night I can.”
“Thirty bits? This bottle should go for forty at least! I swear, sometimes them Friendship lessons ain’t good fer business. Still, better what Apple Bloom might have sold it for. She wanted me to let her negotiate the price.”
“Girl would give it away for free if she knew it was for a proposal.” The mares leaned back in their seats and waited for their customer to arrive.
Soarin landed at the farmhouse thirty minutes later, and found Granny Smith and Applejack out on the porch, a bottle of Apple Cider between them. He had a blank cheque ready to sign, all he needed to do was negotiate price.
“Ladies,” he said, bowing his head as he approached the porch.
“Soarin,” They said, with Applejack tipping her hat.
“Let’s get down to it,” Soarin said, letting out a breath that he’d been holding since he’d arrived. “How much for the bottle of cider?”
Applejack let out hums and hmms as she feigned being deep in thought. Granny Smith rolled her eyes and wished she’d get on with it. “Well, cider season ain’t supposed to be for another few months, but I suppose I could let you have a bottle early for say-”
“Two hundred bits!” Apple Bloom cried, popping out of the house, and rushing to Soarin. “Trust me, that’s a steal!”
Apple Bloom was not expecting Soarin to agree to such a price. She was expecting him to name his price, and then her sister could haggle from there. Unfortunately, she made one very crucial miscalculation. Soarin was very well off. One might even say loaded. And so, his response shocked everypony.
“Deal!” Soarin shouted, thinking Apple Bloom had gotten him a deal. He had heard that aged cider was worth a lot of bits, five hundred at the very least, and it was likely that for the proposal, Applejack had procured him such a beverage. He was wrong.
“Wait-!” An old, decrepit hoof swung and covered Applejack’s mouth before the mare could say anything.
“Hush Sugarcube, jus’ let this happen.”
Handing Granny Smith a cheque, Soarin thanked his hosts, not knowing that he had scammed himself into paying one hundred and seventy bits more than he needed to, and flew off to the restaurant. He greeted the owner, and his best staff, and gave them the cider to chill and the ring.
He had bought out the venue for him and Rainbow, so they wouldn’t be hassled by fans. Not that he hated fans, he just wanted to get down on one knee without being asked for a picture or an autograph, just for tonight.
He sat down outside, in an area that was surrounded by large trees that blocked the town save for the night sky that now hung overhead and waited. Forty-five minutes later, Rainbow Dash came walking into the field in the most beautiful dress he had ever seen.
His heart skipped a beat as she approached him. He began to fumble his words as he tried to think of something anything to say. But all he could say as she sat across from him was, “You look awesome.”
“Not so bad looking yourself,” She said, smirking as she put down her present. “Oh, and I talked to the waiter, I have dessert covered.”
“Is that a pie?”
“You bet your sweet flank it’s a pie!”
“I love you so much right now!” Soarin calmed himself. “But first, let’s just enjoy ourselves, we have the whole night ahead, right?” First came the appetizers, battered and fried cauliflower with sweet and spicy dipping sauces, one of Rainbow’s favorites.
Next came dinner, a simple quiche for him and a vegetable stew for Rainbow Dash. They ate with gusto, going over their day and talking about how their friends were doing. Then, after a palate cleanser, Rainbow Dash opened her present.
Soarin nearly squealed in excitement, but caught himself at the last moment. The waiter sliced the pie and gave them each a healthy portion. “So, think your surprise will measure up?” Rainbow asked, smirking.
She was turning this into a competition. Soarin could only grin widely at her. He would play her game, and win easily.
“Yeah, I think it will.” He motioned for the waiter, and suddenly the string quartet began to serenade them. The waiter left and returned with a bucket of ice containing the cider, before he left again.
“No way!” Rainbow cried.
“I know, and it wasn’t cheap either! Your friend can haggle!” Soarin chuckled. “And it’s gonna get better.”
“With a drink this good, I doubt it!”
He took out a bottle of cider from the ice bucket and turned away from her. The waiter brought over two crystal glasses, one holding in it the diamond ring. Soarin filled up both to the brim, and the waiter served them both before leaving once again.
He lifted the glass. “To us. Happy anniversary, Rainbow Dash. I love you.”
“I love you too,” She said. “Happy anniversary.”
Soarin tipped back his drink, closing his eyes. He wanted to open them and see the look on her face, holding the ring in her hoof, her wing, or even her mouth. He would take it back, dry it off, get down on one knee and finally ask, ‘Rainbow Dash, will you marry me?’
He put down his glass, sighing happily as he opened his eyes. Rainbow Dash was right, it was an amazing cider. He smiled at her, her hair and eyes shimmering in the moonlight, and looked at her hooves expecting to see a ring and a shocked face. He saw neither. He looked at her glass and his smile faded. It was entirely empty.
“You drank it all?”
“Yeah! In one gulp! You’re the best!” She pulled him over the table and gave him a long kiss. They pulled apart, and Rainbow Dash saw the shocked expression on his face. “What’s the matter? Did I do something wrong? Hey, you brought the best cider in the world so-”
“I want to get married,” Soarin said, looking her in the eyes. “I was planning on proposing to you tonight.” Soarin said, after he was released.
All joy from her face faded. Her eyes went wide and there was a sudden tornado of emotion welling inside of her. “What?”
“Yeah. Rainbow Dash, I love you. I want to spend the rest of my life with you. I want to have a family with you. Grow old, that kind of thing.”
“Oh my goodness!” She shouted. She began to breathe heavily as tears welled in her eyes.
“Okay, okay, okay. Yes! Yes! The answer is yes!”
“Rainbow I-”
“Right, right! You need to get down on one knee! Okay, go for it! The answer is yes, by the way.” It was like there was a dam that was about to burst. She was going to cry. She was going to bawl her eyes out, and she wasn’t going to care who saw. How was she supposed to contain herself? She was about to be engaged!
“Okay, but I don’t have the ring anymore,” Soarin admitted.
“What? You lost the ring?! How could you lose the ring!?”
“Thing is, the proposal and the ring, that was the surprise I had for you,” Soarin said, rubbing the back of his head.
The color drained from Rainbow’s face. “No, no, the cider was the surprise,” Rainbow said, pointing to the bottle of Apple Cider, praying that he was not about to say what she thought her fiancé was about to say. “That was the second-best gift you could have gotten me behind getting on your knee. Just tell me it was stolen or that you lost it, please.”
“Rainbow, I’m so sorry, but I put the ring in the cider.”
Rainbow’s loud string of cursing could be heard all the way in Canterlot.
The two Wonderbolts retrieved the ring three days later and were engaged the next day, after it was thoroughly washed.
Most everypony laughed at the story.
Rarity was disgusted.