-Because Opposites Attract!
Applejack lowered her head to her pillow. She hadn't seen Rarity in four weeks and nothing was ever explained to her.
She would see Rarity's mother come by at the usual time each week to pick up some apples, but Rarity never came with her and neither did her father.
The little filly was worried that Rarity had lost interest in her. What if that was the case and Applejack's feelings were only toyed with all this time?
Maybe it was something she should discuss with Granny Smith, but how would she tip-hoof around the fact that she was in love with the white unicorn? It would be nearly impossible to not add that small detail, but would it be better to stay quiet about her feelings forever?
Applejack knew that she couldn't handle keeping it to herself. She needed somepony honest to talk to about her feelings, but she just couldn't talk to anypony in her family. She just couldn't. \
The little filly looked up to the class picture that was displayed on her dresser. Her eyes fell straight upon Rarity who was timidly hiding in the back row.
Applejack sighed with remorse and with one tear, doze off to sleep.
---
Rarity's eyes drooped lower and lower with each second, but she would quickly slap her cheeks, attempting to wake herself up once again.
She hadn't slept in weeks. There was just no way she would. There was just no way she could. The little unicorn was determined to get herself out of this mess that she had created. Her parents had kept her home ever since she confessed to them, and they treated her as if she were not ever their child. Rarity was getting sick and tired of it. She needed to see Applejack now, but how was she going to do that?
The filly wasn't exactly sure how to answer any of her pressing questions. Her mind was letting reason talk to her.
Rarity trotted over to her sewing station. She sat down in her chair and stared at her sewing machine intently. Resting her head on both of her hooves, she began to brainstorm all the different possibilities.
She didn't just want to see Applejack, she also wanted to be accepted for loving Applejack and she wanted the same for the farm filly. She just didn't know how she would be able to convince both her parents and Applejack's family that their love was worth rooting for too just like any other ponies.
"Please Celestia. Help me find a plan..." Rarity whispered.
The little unicorn lowered her head upon the table. She was on the verge of just giving up. She had been at the same thing for weeks now and she was unable to figure out a plan. What made tonight any different from all the rest?
Rarity opened her eyes slowly just enough to see a piece of thread laying out before her. It was a bright orange and she had never even noticed she had owned an orange threading before. But as she began to pull herself back up, Celestia answered her silent prayer.
---
Rarity's eyes slowly began to open. Sun light seeped through her curtains and her heart began to race as she finally realized it was morning.
Today was the day that her mom would go get the apples, but only this time Rarity was prepared.
She knew that today her father was going to go along with her mom to help her with a heavier load of various fruits and vegetables. She also knew that they would make her stay home, but Rarity had other plans in mind.
She lifted her head to see that she had fallen asleep in front of her sewing machine. She smiled happily as she stared at her hard work and all the love she had thrust into it last night.
This was it. There was no turning back. And all Rarity could do was pray and hope that her plan would work.
"Rarity! Come eat some breakfast." Rarity's ears perked to the sound of her mother downstairs.
The unicorn covered her product and began her way down to her mothers voice. She tried to hide her smile and act as if there was nothing special about today at all. Just act like she had been acting these past four weeks. Depressed.
"Me and your father will soon be going, okay?"
Rarity didn't lift her eyes to her mother. She couldn't look her in the face anymore.
"Okay?" Her mother kept persisting. Rarity just wanted them to go already.
All the little filly could do at the moment was nod her head slowly as she pretended to eat down her food. She wasn't hungry at all though and her heart was throbbing with anxiety.
"You ready?"
Rarity could see her father walk from around the corner. He was whispering as if it were forbidden to talk about Sweet Apple Acres around the filly. This was of course annoying to her and there was nothing worse then knowing her parents were trying to sneak and tip-hoof around her as if she were some sort of fragile doll.
"Yes."
"Well, we will be off then. You stay inside, do you hear?"
Rarity barely made any movements. She made it appear that she had agreed but she truthfully just shuffled lightly in her seat. It wasn't as if she were lying or anything, they just misunderstood her, that's all.
The door shut behind them and as soon as she heard them trotting off, Rarity quickly jolted from the table and flew upstairs. She had to prepare everything before they got there. Everything needed to be timed perfectly and for that to happen, Rarity had to move as swiftly as possible but not so much that she would mess something up.
No matter how precise everything had to be, Rarity was an expert at preciseness and she knew exactly what she was doing. She had planned this out all night long and now it was time to put her thoughts into action. Now was the time to let herself be heard and not let herself be locked away.
Love was love, and that's all Rarity wanted her parents to understand. More than anything, that was what she wanted in this world.
The little unicorn began to quickly dress and grab her things. This plan was going to be perfect, she knew it had to be.
---
Applejack's eyes were nearly glued shut. She could barely stand on her own four hooves and she had to rest against Big Macintosh before she could regain herself.
She stood side by side with her brother and Granny Smith. Today was the big load up day that Granny Smith had been talking about so much.
Applejack wasn't exactly sure what that meant, but Big Mac seemed to understand. Her big brother stood tall as he always would, but his silence was almost sickening. Applejack wanted somepony to break the silence around hear, and it obviously wouldn't be her big bro. She decided that maybe she should.
"Granny Smith?" The little voice called out weakly.
"Yes?" The green old mare turned her head widely over to the little filly.
"What's the big "load up" day?" There wasn't really much else to talk about, but she was kind of curious as to what was so special about today.
"Well today is the day that most ponies come to buy all the last of the harvest for the season. We usually put a discount since it's the last of the batch and so ponies come in and buy what's left so we can start fresh." Granny Smith answered with such enthusiasm.
As long as Applejack has known about how to grow, harvest, and sell apples, she never knew that they had a day like today. Granny Smith and Big Mac both seemed as if they had known of it for their whole lives. Maybe Applejack had just never noticed before today.
The little fillies mind was momentarily subsided to a different topic, but as soon as she heard the voices of Rarity's parents approaching, her heart began to ache once again as there was a lack of Rarity among them.
"Well, howdy!" Granny Smith shouted out when she noticed them as well.
"Good morning, Apple family!" Rarity's mom sung as she trotted happily over to the stand.
Applejack muted everything else out. She couldn't stand to hear them talk. It reminded her too much of Rarity, and she was once again not present.
Applejack can barely remember the last time she ever saw Rarity. She remembered it well but at the same time she couldn't. At the time, she didn't know that would be the last time she every saw the white unicorn again. If she knew that then, she probably would have done things...differently...
This whole time all Applejack could think about was how she never had the opportunity to really cherish her last moments with Rarity. If she only knew that would be the last time. If she only knew then...
Her green eyes dropped in desperation. She was finally defeated. There was nothing more anypony could ever say to convince her that she would be alright. There was nothing anypony could say to chear her up. She finally gave up trying to fight it and she just let go. There was nothing she could do in her power to see Rarity. She didn't know enough about her to find where she lived and what she was doing and why she never came back to see her.
Maybe Rarity just played with Applejack the whole time. Maybe she never meant any of the words she had said to her and she was at home now with her friends laughing about it. Maybe Rarity really never loved Applejack and it was all just a game to her. That would make sense of everything. If Applejack were to accept that then she wouldn't have to be in the dark about everything all the time, but if Applejack accepted that then she would never be able to move on forward ever again. So with the little hope that she had left in her body, Applejack kept on hanging on to that dark that she was given.
She could now see that more ponies were entering into Sweet Apple Acres to get their share of the last of the harvest. They were surrounding the barrels full of various vegetables and fruits and some were already paying their due bits for what they were buying.
Applejack never lifted one hoof to serve anypony. She never lifted her voice to speak or direct as she normally would. She had no more strength left in her to say or do anything. All she could do was fall silent upon everypony including her family.
Granny Smith and Big Mac both noticed that Applejack was strangely quiet, but neither of them could bring it up now, not while there was so much business going on around them. It could wait, right?
Applejack could see Rarity's parents in the corner of her eye. They hadn't even looked at her once the whole time, and Rarity's mother had never spoken to her since Rarity went missing from her life. Did they have something to do with it, or were they not even worrying about something like that?
Either way, Applejack couldn't help but resent them for not giving her any attention or thought. Could that not at least tell her something?
Time seemed to be flying by but at the same time it was going at such a normal and slow pace. Maybe it was just Applejack that couldn't help but it feel like hours when it was merely seconds.
The commotion was loud. Applejack could hear various voices talking about various things in various places. Asking questions, counting bits, or simply just having small talk with ponies they knew. All of the voices were ringing through Applejack's ears and she couldn't stand to listen to it anymore, but there was nothing she could do about it.
Applejack stood there with no intention of living life the way she always had. She stood there with no more goals to accomplish. She stood there with an empty place in her heart that she thought could never be replaced, but as she continued to sulk in her on skin, her attention was brought upon an entering filly.
Applejack had noticed not one pony that had walked through those gates up until this point. She couldn't help but notice the filly and everypony else was feeling the same way.
There came a small whit unicorn walking through the gates of Sweet Apple Acres. A bright orange dress was fastened upon her waist, and large red sequins were lining the cuffs and edges. This little filly looked like a huge pumpkin straight out of harvesting season and nopony missed it.
Rarity approached the orange filly that she had longed to see. Applejack couldn't believe that it was actually her and she was walking towards her. What was going on?
"Rarity! Why are you here?" Both parents began making their way over to their bright daughter. Embarrassment and confusion were visible in both of them.
"Stop! You could at least let me say my farewells." Rarity lifted a hoof straight to their faces. Everypony gasped as they watched the scene with no idea what was happening at all.
Even Applejack was left clueless. What was Rarity doing here? Why had she suddenly disappeared and reappeared without notice? What really was going on?
Rarity's parents both began to stop in their tracks. They could feel their own guilt rising in their chests as they watched their young daughter approach the filly that she had told them she loved. They were afraid of this happening. This was their daughter!
"Rarity!" Her mother called out with one last plea but to no avail.
"Let me do this, or I will hate you forever." Rarity said harshly without putting an eye on either of them. Her eyes were set on the confused orange filly before her.
"Uh....Rarity?" Applejack said quietly as the unicorn stopped right in front of her. Everypony was watching as if it were some sort of movie.
Without a word, the filly pulled out two stuffed toys. These weren't any kind of stuffed toy that you could get anywhere else. These two toys were special.
"Here." Rarity hoofed one towards Applejack.
The orange pony wasn't sure what to think. She stared at the toy for a few moments before she realized that it was an exact likeness of Rarity herself. It was a white unicorn with small purple curls. Three blue diamonds were placed upon the toys flank.
Applejack slowly reached out and accepted the toy that resembled Rarity, however, she was still unsure of what Rarity was up to by all this.
"I have one too." Rarity showed the other toy that she was carrying. This one was orange with a blonde mane brought together in a loose pony-tail. A tiny brown hat was resting on it's head and three apples were shown on it's flank. It was a replica of Applejack herself. This made the filly look up with more amazement and wonder than ever.
"What is....."
"I love you, Applejack." Rarity said as loudly as she could for everypony there to hear. This of course brought everypony witnessing to an astounded state.
Applejack wanted to reply. She wanted to tell her that she was in love with her too. She wanted to ask her what had happened to her all this time, but Rarity continued without giving Applejack that opportunity.
"We can no longer see each other though. That is what this is. I made this for you, so you would never forget me. I made it so you would always remember that I once existed in your life and you were loved by me. I also made this one for myself. I never want to forget the way you looked. I never want to live a day without thinking about you and what you used to be to me. I want us to never forget each other even though this will be the last time we see each other." Rarity looked up to Applejack. Tears were streaming down her face as she poured her intentions out on the table.
Applejack's mind was spinning from all these words. Rarity was pouring out her heart. This was the last time they would ever see each other, but why? Applejack looked over to Rarity's parents. They were watching with no emotion upon their face at all.
Was it them? Was that the reason? It had to be. Rarity's parents were forcing them to be apart. There was nothing they could do about it considering they were still fillies and they had to obey.
This was the last time Applejack would ever see Rarity. This was the real last time. This time Applejack knew. This time she would do things differently.
"If this is the last time I'm going to see you.....please.....kiss me..." Applejack began to cry now. Her words were breaking up as her tears made it hard for her to speak. It was the first time she had cried in a long time. This was the first time for the last time.
Rarity, without speaking another word, leaned into the pony that she had loved the most and planted her lips deeply into hers. The two ate away at each others tastes. Their lips were sweet and untouched. They were the first to feel them and it felt nice for the few seconds that it lasted.
The two parted and they watched each other closely.
Everypony around was left speechless. All they could do was stare at the pair without making a sound.
Rarity and Applejack knew this was it for the two of them.
"Farewell...." Rarity said as she began to slowly turn around. She never lifted her eyes to her parents or anypony for that matter. She started off in the direction of home but something stopped her. A hoof clop.
Rarity turned around to see that several ponies were clopping their hooves on the ground as if to applaud her.
Soon these several hoof clops turned into the whole crowd stomping their hooves on the ground and sending Rarity and Applejack both respect. The two looked at each other from a distance as if to ask each other what was happening, but then Rarity turned to her parents to see that they too were clopping their hooves on the ground and crying tears of happiness.
Rarity was astounded. What was really going on? Had everypony actually accepted them just now?
Rarity looked at her parents with questioning eyes. The two of them smiled and nodded their head as if to give her permission to move forward back into the hooves of her lover.
It didn't take Rarity long to rush over to Applejack and hug her with all the strength she had left in her body. Everything actually worked out.
Applejack squeezed onto the unicorn as tightly as possible. There was no way she was ever going to let her disappear on her like that ever again. She would never let go of this filly, ever. She knew in her heart that she would always stay by Rarity's side for the rest of her days.
Rarity wiped a tear from her eyes as she completed her story. She moved over to Applejack and gave her a quick nuzzle.
"That was so.....SAD!!!!" Pinkie Pie burst into tears as she held tightly to Twilight.
"You had me worried there. I wasn't sure if you would ever get back together after that!" Twilight smiled as she comfortingly patted Pinkie's head.
"Never knew you were so sappy Applejack." Rainbow Dash grinned.
"Rainbow...." Fluttershy pleaded as she tried to stop her fillyfriend from teasing the orange mare.
"Same could be said fer you." Applejack threw back. This was enough to quiet down the rowdy pegasus.
"And that was so sweet of you to make those stuffed toys to remember each other by." Twilight continued.
"Oh, weren't they? They were genius! And so beautifully crafted for a filly of my age." Rarity boasted as she brought a hoof to her chest in pride.
"I 'member them bein' kind of ugly." Applejack snickered.
"As if you would know anything about being beautifully made." Rarity snapped back.
The two glared at each other as if they hated one another. Twilight wasn't sure which it was, love or hate? Maybe both?
"Now, now. No need to fight." Fluttershy calmly said as she pushed her way into the conversation.
"Oh we are not fighting, dear." Rarity reassured.
"We're just teasin' each other, right sugarcube?" Applejack said through grinding teeth.
"Right, darling!" Rarity spit back in reply.
"Why are you two even friends?" Rainbow Dash asked in confusion. She threw her arms in the air with frustration.
"Sometimes....we don't even know!"