During her following therapy appointment with Tender Soul, Rarity was eagerly recounting the events that had happened during lunch with her friends. She put emphasis on the fact that she could finally eat without the guilt that usually followed. 

    "Wow, Rarity," Tender Soul told her, wiping tears from her eyes. "I am so proud of you. As your therapist and your friend." 

     "Thank you," Rarity said, touched by Tender Soul's kind words. 

    "Well Rarity..." Tender Soul began. She trailed off, but stared at her notebook with a smile.

    "What is it?" 

     Tender Soul looked up at her with a sense of pride in her eyes. "You've passed 'Y' which means that you've finished the recovery method. Rarity, you did it. You have beat your anorexia."

     Rarity felt like she was about to burst into tears- happy tears. She was overcome with a mixture of relief, joy, and accomplishment. "I-I have?" she stuttered.

     Tender Soul nodded. "Yes, Rarity! You have. Congratulations. Your friends, your family... I am proud of you. Everyone is so proud of you for coming this far." 

     "Thank you!" Rarity cried.

    Rarity sobbed in disbelief and happiness as Tender Soul watched her with a gentle smile. 

    "Rarity, you have finished the recovery method," Tender Soul stated. "But you're always welcome to keep coming to counseling for as long as you think you need it."

     "I think a few more sessions would do me good," Rarity told her, heaving in between her sobs. 

   Tender Soul giggled a little. "Then I can't wait to see you next time, Rarity." 

   As Rarity wiped away some of her tears, she looked at the blackened tips of her fingers. "And I have ruined my mascara," she declared. "You know, I don't know why I don't just buy waterproof mascara. It's not much more expensive than the normal kind." 

    Tender Soul chuckled. "That's alright, Rarity. Do you need a tissue, so you can clean up?"

    "Yes, please," Rarity replied, her cheeks tinted red with embarrassment. 

    Tender Soul gave Rarity a tissue, so she could wipe her eyes. After Rarity had finished cleaning the black streaks of mascara off of her face, she inhaled deeply and exhaled in bliss. She couldn't believe she had gotten this far, but she knew she truly it owed it all to her best friends. However, there was one in particular she was desperate to see.

                                                                                                   *** 

    After Rarity had returned home from her therapy appointment, she'd texted Applejack right away, telling her about the new milestones she had hit. Applejack had replied with nothing but excitement. At once, Applejack signed onto the group chat and invited each of her friends to dinner to celebrate Rarity's achievements. 

     Now Rarity was preparing for the evening out with her friends. She was applying her mascara and fixing makeup that needed to be redone. As she was doing this, she saw the scale out of the corner of her eye. Once again, she felt temptations creep into her mind. I need to check my weight. I probably haven't done it in so long. What happens if I go out to eat and the numbers rise back up so high that I won't be able to get them back down again? 

   Rarity took a deep breath and turned away from the scale. "No, Rarity. Yearn for today in place of yesterday," she told herself. 

    Once Rarity had finished in the bathroom, she checked her phone to see that she had received a text message from Applejack:

we're here, come on out, so we can all see how gosh darn pretty you are in that outfit you chose ;) 

    Rarity felt a blush creep across her face when she read Applejack's message and her heart sped up with joy. She put her phone in her pocket and raced out to the car. When she got into the car, she climbed into her usual spot. 

     "Yay for Rarity!" Pinkie Pie cheered. "Look at her go with her cutie-patootie booty and her fancy jewels!"

    Rarity laughed and embraced Pinkie Pie from her spot in the back of the car. 

    "Heya, Rarity," Applejack said, her face a shade of pink. "Um..." she cleared her throat. "You look beautiful."

     Rarity smiled, feeling her heart pick up the pace. "Thank you, Applejack. So do you, darling." 

    "Now where are we going?" Rainbow Dash asked. "Not to ruin the budding romance between you two or anything, but I'm starved!"

    Applejack rolled her eyes, her face turning from pink to red. "We'll let Rarity decide. This is her celebration dinner after all." 

    "Well-" Rarity began. 

   "We're going to the Teriyaki House, aren't we?" Rainbow Dash asked.

    "Aww, you know me so well!" Rarity teased. 

    Applejack chuckled. "She sure does, sugarcube. Now let's get goin', so we can grab some grub!"

     The rest of her friends made sounds of agreement. 

                                                                                            *** 

    Rarity finally remembered what it was like to enjoy dinner: the smiling faces of her friends, the laughter they shared when they told funny jokes, the feeling of savoring the taste of the steak in her mouth. It was euphoric to re-experience the joy that came from a hearty meal in the company of loved ones. 

    Rarity knew that the absence of her guilt wasn't the only notable thing about that night. Twilight and Pinkie Pie had announced that they were officially a couple, sending the group of friends into glee and excitement. After they had made that announcement, Rainbow Dash naturally took the spotlight and shined it on her new relationship with Fluttershy. Everybody had reacted with eagerness to that news as well. If that wasn't enough to make everybody go home with spirits higher than the heavens above, Sunset Shimmer confessed that she had feelings for somebody that they had interacted with in the past: Wallflower Blush. Immediately, the group of friends began to concoct a plan for Sunset Shimmer to ask her on a date. 

    After finishing their meal, Applejack drove all of the girls back to their respective homes. In a matter of time, Rarity and Applejack were the only two left in the car. At first, an awkward silence was present, but then Applejack decided to break the ice.

     "Rarity, ah know how hard this whole eatin' disorder has been on ya, so ah just wanted to take a moment to tell ya how proud I am," Applejack stated. "Workin' up the courage to face the demons in your head is one heck of a task and ya did it with the strength of a bull in a rodeo ring." 

    Rarity tittered at the analogy that Applejack had used. "Applejack, I am so flattered by your words. They truly do mean the world to me. Thank you so much."

     "You deserve it, Rarity. Ah'm not kidding. Ah am serious. You have gone through so much to get to where ya are now. My cousin couldn't even come out of her eating disorder with this much strength and happiness. You have pressed forward harder than ah have ever seen anybody do before. That's a gift, Rares. You should be proud of that." 

    "Oh, Applejack!" Rarity exclaimed. "I am. You are one of the sweetest girls that I have ever met! I love you!"

     The overwhelming silence that followed Rarity's confession of not just a schoolgirl crush, but true and pure love for Applejack was uncomfortably stifling. Her face turned beet red and she squeaked in embarrassment as she hid her face in her hands. "Sorry..." she uttered.

    Applejack merely smiled as she pulled up to Rarity's house. She climbed out of the car and walked over to the back, opening the door and holding it for Rarity. "Let me walk ya to the porch."

     Reluctantly, Rarity unbuckled her seatbelt, took Applejack's hand, and began walking side by side with her to the porch. 

    "Ah don't know why you're so embarrassed, Rare," Applejack told her with a chuckle. "You already know ah had a crush on ya since I asked ya out to the Fall Formal." 

    "But that's a crush," Rarity claimed. "I admitted that I am in love with you, Applejack. And I don't know how to feel about that." 

     The two girls reached the porch and stood by the door. Applejack turned to Rarity with a smile. "Well ah know how ah feel about it."

    "How do you feel about it?" Rarity asked her, nervousness creeping into her chest. 

    Applejack moved a strand of Rarity's hair behind her ear and moved closer to her face. Rarity could feel her heart pounding as Applejack moved in, but she didn't flinch. In fact, she didn't want to pull away in the slightest.

    Rarity's heart leapt into the air as she felt Applejack's lips come into contact with her own. She stared at Applejack for a moment in surprise and wonder, but slowly decided that she knew her heart lied with Applejack. All the confusion she had felt about Applejack slowly melted away as Rarity closed her eyes and gave into the kiss. The kiss lasted for several minutes, neither of the girls wanting to pull away. 

    Finally, Applejack broke the kiss, pulling away gently and lovingly. Rarity could feel her heart pounding and felt blood rushing to her head, yet she felt so euphoric. Applejack's love had completed her story. She had beat her anorexia and now she had Applejack by her side. 

    "So, uh... does this mean we're dating now?" Rarity asked with a nervous laugh. 

    "Depends," Applejack replied with a chuckle. "Is that what you want it to mean?"

    "W-well, yes, I would like it to," Rarity said, sputtering. Her feelings were jumbled and the words fell out of her mouth, scrambled and all over the place. 

     "Well then, ah would be honored to call ya my girlfriend," Applejack said, warmly. 

     Rarity leaned in to kiss Applejack one more time before heading inside. It was much shorter this time, but a bit more passion was involved. 

     "Goodnight, Rarity," Applejack said. She gave her a tender embrace. "Ah'm proud of ya. And ah love you too. More than words can express."

    Rarity returned the embrace, feeling the rush of joy and euphoria come back as she snuggled Applejack's chest. 

     Applejack waved goodbye as she went back to the car. Rarity watched Applejack leave with a loving sigh. Conquering anorexia was conquering one of her worst fears, but with Applejack by her side, she felt fearless.

(A/N: OHHHHHHH. MY. GOOOOOD. We're done, you guys. I'm going to get so emotional! Oh goodness gracious! Okay, so now that we're finished, make sure to check my announcements. I don't know if you guys will like it as much as this story, but it's related to this story's universe. So go ahead and check it out! Thank you so much for the love and support as this story has reached its end.)