At the age of 29 I first met Ray. Ray O’Sunshine was a designer, like me, but his passion was colts wear whereas I provided clothing exclusively for mares. I remember, we met at Manehatta fashion week, completely by chance as it would happen. We were sat next to each other and I remember exactly how he looked on that first encounter.
He was so handsome, his deep blue coat seemed to have been sewn together from satin and silk that would please even Princess Luna. His bright red mane, so bold and outstanding against the rest of his body caught everypony’s attention and was guaranteed to hold it for a while. He wore a suit, made by his own hooves and it fit him perfectly, a pure black jacket with matching waistcoat and trousers. His shirt was a dull grey, but it shimmered in the light like sunshine on a river. His piercing green eyes seemed to bore straight through you, completely missing you and going straight into your soul. He was without a doubt the most perfect stallion I think I have ever had the pleasure of meeting.
I remember my heart fluttering like a fledgling Pegasus when I first laid eyes on him, and I can only assume that every mare in the room had a similar reaction. But I maintained my composure. After all, was a professional designer, a true mare of business, not some little filly with a crush on a colt I didn’t even know. We sat together, both of us trying our utmost to maintain our highbrow attitude towards the fashion show. Even after ten years away, my accent was still incredibly thick and broad, but I felt that it identified me as a strong independent woman, rather than a scared little country foal.
“You know, I never really cared much for the formality of these events.”
His voice slid into my ears and nestled there like some tiny woodland creature. His accent was sweet and smooth, over exaggerating almost every vowel that he emitted. He was clearly from the Emerald Isle.
“Everypony here seems to think that they’re at a funeral or an opera. We all have fashion as our special talent, this is supposed to be a celebration. A coming together of like-minded ponies to share their love of fashion with each other.”
As I recall I was quite besotted with him pretty much immediately. I thank Celestia that he sat next to me that day. I felt lucky simply for having been allowed to share his presence. That is one feeling that I know never changed.
“I’m Applebloom, CEO of Hidden Gem. Pleased to meet you.”
We were packed in quite close together, so there was no room to offer my hoof for a hoof shake, but I felt that by inclining my head slightly I made our conversation private enough.
“Name’s Ray,” He replied, leaning slightly towards me. “Ray O’Sunshine, Chief of Design for Taylor Made. Pleased to make your acquaintance Miss Applebloom.”
We talked through the entire show, pausing only to compliment each others work and once or twice because a snooty unicorn in front of us turned round to shush us. Ray was always such a gentlecolt, something that I learned very quickly because he offered to take me to dinner after the show. I remember he took me to a small place called Starswirls Tavern. I’m not even sure if it still exists, it was only a very small café in the centre of Manehattan when he last took me but it ranks very highly on my list of favourite places. It was cozy and inexpensive and very quaint, but it reminded me so much of home and quite frankly I wanted a break from the fine dining expectations of ‘one of Equestrias most promising young entrepeneurs.’ It had been so long since I had just indulged in some simple home cookery and Starswirl’s was just perfect.
They served warm, spiced cider and the most delectable fig and lemongrass salad I think I have ever eaten. There was a gentle fire going in the corner giving a nice homely feel to the Tavern. Ray and I took a booth right beside it and just talked for hours. He told me that he was from Limerick, he had two brothers and a sister, he got into fashion at a very early age and that his favourite colour was yellow. I hoped silently that he couldn’t see me blush in the firelight as he said that. He also helped to found the Taylor Made company with his cousin, Brooke Taylor.
He span the conversation around and managed to get me to repeat my life story to him. I answered his questions as best I could, feeling a little bit lonely as I described Sweet Apple Acres, how the wind would whistle through the leaves in the summer and how the winter turned the orchard into a different world. I’m still ashamed to admit that when I started talking about my friends and family I did start to cry a little. But he was very kind and sweet to me and I felt safe having him there with me.
We barely spent a waking moment apart for the rest of fashion week as we became closer and closer. We were still only friends at this stage, but I doubt that either of us believed that we were actually just friends ever. I remember noticing Grace’s sly looks every now and again, but she was very good natured and was only trying to wind me up. Since Taylor Made had an office in Canterlot, Ray told me that he had managed to arrange a transfer for himself so that he could be closer to me.
There is no doubt in this swiftly aging mind of mine that Ray was the only stallion in the whole world for me. He was my first and last very special somepony, but he was perfect.
Life in Canterlot was better with Ray. He would bring me a coffee in the mornings in his way into work, every morning without fail and he always gave me a ride home every day. Having moved out of Grace’s apartment into my own house, sometimes I would invite Ray in and we wouold have an altogether more enjoyable evening. Waking up and seeing his face on the pillow next to me brought a happiness to my life that I had thought that I would never feel. We were always together at parties, conventions and shows, choosing to make our partnership public immediately. We were the hottest couple in the fashion industry.
Of course, we had our ups and downs, but no matter what problem arose we always managed to muddle through together.
And that was how my life with Ray was. For about two years we were regularly seeing each other and eventually I managed to convince Ray to move in with me full time. I loved him completely and I know that he loved me just as much. The number of times I found myself gazing at wedding dresses wondering when my turn to wear one was going to come. At 31 I was beginning to get a little bit restless and prayed that Ray would propose to me soon.
Perhaps I shouldn’t have been so hasty in the first place. Even at my age, patience is not a gift I have been blessed with and I fear that my actions drove Ray away. Drove everypony away. After all, there’s no one on this train sat with me, nopony who knows me. It occurs to me, sitting here, that perhaps if I were more patient then perhaps none of this would have happened. Perhaps I would be sitting in a nice little cottage in Limerick sipping a cup of tea with Ray instead of rushing back to Ponyville to say my final apologies before I leave this world. I can already feel that my time is coming to an end. I just hope that I have enough strength to finish my task.