Just as Rarity always feared, coming home turned out to be more difficult than just showing up. She and Applejack had always been a couple with a lot of fireworks and she expected to fight with her on some things. What neither of them considered was that, while they had hashed out old issues, they had not talked about their lives apart.
Applejack’s face turned as red as the barn she was pacing in front of, “what do ya mean ya dated Royal Pin!?”
“He worked with Hoity briefly in Trotham while I was there finishing up a wedding dress! It was a brief fling, AJ” Rarity sighed.
“A ‘brief fling’ with the guy whose daddy is trynna buy my farm out from under me!”
“Oh how was I to know that Royal Pin was related to Crown Royal?”
There were many such arguments. Rarity had been worried about returning, it actually made her a little sick to her stomach, but actually doing it left her feeling very out of place. Everyone on the farm had some type of chore or job, Rarity was effectively useless. Even Crispin had picked up affection for farm work over the summer. Unable to assist in the day to day work, she buried herself in transferring her boutique her associate Coco Pommel. When she was not on the phone, she was working to set up a new store in Canterlot. Progress was slow to come and her unstable relationship with AJ frayed her nerves.
None of the properties she looked at suited the vision she had for her new boutique. And then, there was a nagging in the back of her head that something was bothering Applejack. Sunset, ever the empathetic ear, looked over properties and made price charts for her but even the hunt could not fully stop the unease she felt. As the weeks passed and everyone fell into a new rhythm on the farm it became more and more apparent that something was amiss.
Rarity and Applejack shared a bed, they sat next to one another at dinner, and they had even begun parenting the boys as a unit. But they did not fit. They did not fit into the spaces they had filled for one another when they were young. Rarity had learned to rely on herself to cook and do the heavy lifting. Applejack had learned to keep her own temper in check and no longer needed someone to remind her to rest and relax. They still loved as fiercely as they had as teenagers but, the fact was, they were no longer teenagers.
About three days after the uncomfortable silence began to spread to the rest of the family, there was a breakthrough. They were alone in the house by some fluke… or maybe by Granny’s design. The Apple family matriarch had demanded she be taken to the new Batman movie and the rest of the family had jumped at the chance to go. So, they were alone, sitting in the living room in a way that would be cozy if not for the tension between them.
“I don’t think I can do this,” the words sounded shaky as they left AJ’s throat. “It ain’t working.”
Unbidden, and completely out of her control, tears began slipping down Rarity’s face. “I- well, I suppose it’s a good thing I didn’t buy a new location for my boutique…” more tears, “I’ll have myself and Crispin packed post haste.”
“What in the hell are ya talkin about?”
She sniffled and swiped at her eyes, “you said you can’t-”
“I can’t pretend that it’s simple anymore, darlin’.” She tugged Rarity back into the seat next to her and wrapped her in a side hug. “So, it ain’t as easy as I hoped. We’re older, we’re different now but that doesn’t mean I wanna give up. Why is it you always jump straight into break up mode? Help me fix this, honey. Let's do something... Let’s go on a date, start over a little. There’s a lot you missed while you were gone and I bet I missed a lot too. What do you say?”
“A date?” Rarity blushed a little and gave a shy smile that Fluttershy would be proud of, “I think I’d like that very much.”
Two weeks later, Applejack takes her to a nice restaurant, the same place they had their first real date. They eat good food and they talk, really talk, for the first time in a while. They discuss all that happened while they were apart and it feels like coming home. Applejack teases and Rarity pretends to be offended. Rarity, likewise, turns up the drama and AJ responds as placidly as ever. It isn't quite like being seventeen again, but it feels right.
“I’ve missed this,” Rarity murmurs, reaching out to stroke the back of her paramour’s hand. “I think it was good for us to be apart but I’m really glad I finally listened to you.”
“Me too, you should listen to me more often.”
“So is this our happily ever after then?”
“How about we just shoot for a happy today?”