After they had gone into the restaurant and checked in with the hostess, they were lead to their table and given their menus.

   "Hmm, a meal looks pretty big, doesn't it?" Sunset Shimmer said. "Wanna split one with me, Twilight?"

   Twilight nodded. "That sounds good to me. Which meal do we want?"

   As the girls looked through their menus, Applejack looked over at Rarity and noticed that she was skimming over the menu with hesitation.

   "How about you split a meal with me, Rarity?" Applejack suggested. "It wouldn't be nearly as much food for the both of us."

   Rarity looked over at Applejack and didn't say anything. She just glanced back down at her menu.

   Applejack frowned. "What sounds good to ya? Fillet mignon and chicken? Fillet mignon and shrimp? Teriyaki chicken and salmon, maybe?"

   Rarity sighed as she set the menu down in front of her. "Whatever sounds best to you, darling. I wasn't very hungry anyway."

   "Alright, so ah'll get us the fillet mignon and chicken meal and we'll split that," Applejack stated. "Then we get the choice of either noodles or fried rice. Which sounds better to ya? Ah'm in the mood for the rice."

   "Then rice sounds good to me too," Rarity proclaimed. She sighed. "Applejack, dear, I'm not---"

   Applejack sighed. "Rarity, can ah talk to ya for a minute?"

   Rarity swallowed nervously. "Of course."

   Applejack and Rarity's friends looked at them nervously as they stood up from the table and went to a corner of the restaurant.

   Once they were in the corner, Applejack lowered her voice to a whisper. "Rarity, ah know you didn't eat before ya came. We all know. What's troublin' ya? Would ya be alright with telling me?"

   "I did eat---" Rarity started, but then she sighed. She felt guilt overwhelm her and she was tired of lying to her friends. "No, I didn't eat. I'm terribly sorry for lying to you girls."

   "Ah forgive ya," Applejack told her with a sorrowful smile. "Ah'm just... worried. Why aren't ya eatin'?"

   Rarity felt her eyes well up with tears. "Applejack... I... I'm too scared to eat."

   Applejack's eyes widened. Rarity had never had this problem before. Now recently, she was beginning to shun food. The only thing Applejack had ever seen Rarity consume in the past three weeks was water.

   Looking at Rarity closer, Applejack could see the effects of what not eating had done to her best friend. Her cheeks were sunken in from the weight she had lost, her eyes were glazed over and dark rings circled the spots underneath them, her lips were cracked, and her skin was even more pale than usual.

   Applejack finally realized the nightmare that they were facing. Granny Smith told Applejack stories about another relative who suffered with an eating disorder. Applejack was no stranger to the trials they knew they would have to face.

   Applejack felt tears begin to run down her face. "Rarity... ah'm sorry. Ah didn't know how bad it was."

   Rarity shook her head. "Oh, Applejack! Please don't cry. It's not your fault!"

   "Ah... just want to know why," Applejack continued. "What pushed ya to this point?"

   "I'm required to keep my slim figure," Rarity answered. "I want to be a model and I can't gain weight if I want to have that job!"

   "Oh, Rarity," Applejack breathed in sadness.

   Applejack was upset by the fact that models had to diet so excessively. The societal expectations had scared Rarity into thinking she wasn't enough. Applejack sighed and felt a determination spark inside of her. She was going to help Rarity break this vicious cycle.

   "Rarity, here's what we're gonna do," Applejack told her as she wiped tears from her eyes. "When we get our meal, you don't have to eat all of it, okay? But promise me you'll eat at least a little bit."

   Rarity was about to protest, but then she sighed and decided that she could do that for Applejack. "Okay."

   "Thank you," Applejack said, throwing her arms around Rarity. "Ah'll help ya get through this, ah promise."

   Rarity smiled as she felt the embrace of her best friend. Applejack's hugs were tight because of how strong she was, but in her arms, she felt safe, loved, and protected.

                                                                                                    ***

   After their meals were brought out to them, the girls began to eat their food.

   Applejack smiled at Rarity and took some of her meal off of her plate and put it onto hers. Now there was only some pieces of fillet mignon and chicken left on her plate.

   You made a promise, Rarity, Rarity told herself.

   Rarity lifted her fork and stabbed one of the pieces of fillet mignon. She brought it to her lips, but as soon as she did, she heard all of the voices in her head again.

   'Don't eat now! Nobody will think you're pretty until you lose weight!', they cried.

   Applejack watched as Rarity set down her fork and began to fiddle with the napkin in her hands. She sighed. She knew that Rarity was fighting an inner battle and pushing her was the last thing she wanted to do.

   Leaning across the table, Rarity took a sip of her water before picking up her fork again. This time, she stared at the food with an expression of conflicted frustration on her face.

   Applejack exchanged a glance with Rarity across the table and nodded. She mouthed encouraging words to her, 'You can do this'.

   Rarity sighed. Applejack was right. Rarity knew that what she was doing wasn't healthy. She just couldn't shake it. If Applejack was willing to help her, then she'd have to be willing to accept that assistance from her.

   Taking a deep breath, she finally ate the meal in front of her.

   'You'll have to exercise to get rid of those extra calories when you get home', the voices told her.

   I know, Rarity thought. But right now, I deserve better.

   Rarity's friends exchanged a glance of relief. Afterwards, Applejack sighed. She knew Rarity was starting to break her chains, but she also knew it wasn't going to be that easy. 

(A/N: I realized that this story is #5 in RariJack! Yay! Thank you soooo much, guys! I never thought this story would get as much as even... seventy-eight views. I realize now that's a little sad. XD But I really am grateful to you for reading this story. I can't thank you guys enough. 

I'm also planning new stories about overcoming mental illnesses. So far, I've got three in mind. They are depression, bipolar disorder (suggested by ohmyrarity or Bri), and general anxiety disorder (also suggested by ohmyrarity or Bri). Let me know if you guys would like to see these or not! I want to write the content that my followers would like to see. 

In the meantime though, have an ah-mazing day and thank you so much for reading!)