A few weeks after his and Chiffon Swirl's run-in with Bright Mac and Pear Butter, Pyre Fahren makes his way to the bookstore for work. He had neither seen nor heard from the happy couple since the incident; the only way he ever knew what was happening was through Chiffon herself, and even she was hearing from them less and less. The last story Pyre heard from Chiffon was about the anniversary of their first meeting, when she sang the most beautiful song they had ever heard.
Now, as he gets back into his daily routine, he cannot help but let his mind wander to his friends and what might have become of them. As he day dreams throughout the day, he almost does not notice when Chiffon sudeny brusts through the doors of the bookstore, looking around frantically.
"Oh, there you are Pyre!" she exclaims, "You'll never guess what's happened!"
"What in Equestria are you talking about?" he inquires.
"Oh, it's just awful!" she adds, "I saw Pear Butter in the orchard on my way to work this morning, and she looked devastated. As if she'd been crying all day."
"Oh my, that's terrible!" Pyre says, "What's wrong?"
"Well, um, I think she'd better be the one to tell you," Chiffon says.
"OK, my shift ends at two today," Pyre says, "So I'll be over in a couple of minutes."
Alright, but do be quick," Chiffon says as she exits the shop, "I don't know how much more suffering the poor dear can take."
* * * *
After clocking out, Pyre arrives at the Pear family orchard in record time and searches among the trees for his friend. He eventually finds her hidden away in a thick copse of trees, silently sobbing and sniffling.
"Pear Butter!" he exclaims, "What's wrong?"
She wipes the tears from her eyes as she looks up at her friend, "Pyre? How did you know I was out here?"
"Chiffon told me," he admits, "Now tell me, what happened?"
"Well," Pear Butter sniffs, on the verge of tears again, "My father just told me this morning that. . . .we're moving to Vanhoover!" she bursts.
"Oh, well, I'm sorry to hear that, but-" he says cautiously, "What's so bad about that?"
"Well, I told Bright Mac about us moving," she explains, nearly reaching her breaking point, "and he got mad so we fought for a while, and he suddenly called us off!"
"Wait, he did what?!" Pyre says, changing his mood on a dime.
"He said it would probably be better. .if. .we. . .w-went our separate ways!" The emotional strain eventually becomes too much for Pear Butter, and she bounds forward and hugs Pyre hard, crying into his shoulder.
"There, there," Pyre says comfortingly, "It's alright, it's alright. Tell you what," he adds, wiping the tears from her eyes this time, "I'll talk to Bright Mac and see what his deal is."
"T-Thanks, Pyre," she says gratefully and the hug each other one more time as they part ways.
* * * *
Pyre searches all over the Apple family orchard for sight of Bright Mac, but to no avail. He cannot believe that such a loyal and honest stallion like Bright Mac would give up on the best thing that ever happened to him. "I've certainly got a few choice words to say to that stallion when I find him," he says angrily to himself, "But, where in Equestria could he be?" he adds as he trots back towards town. Suddenly, an idea pops into his head, "He just might. . ." he adds as he races away in the opposite direction, headed for Whitetail Woods.
When he arrives, he finds Bright Mac just where he thought of: sitting in front of the stone he carved his and Pear Butter's cutie marks into as a symbol of their relationship, seemingly contemplating something.
"What in the wide world of Equestria do you think you're doing?!" Pyre exclaims, startling the cream stallion out of his stupor.
"Fahren? Wha-how-w-what do you mean?" he stammers in surprise, "Oh, I was just, you know. . ."
"You can save your breath, Pear Butter already explained everything," Pyre continues.
Bright Mac sighs heavily at this news, "Well, then I've got nothin' else other than to say that I'm right."
"How can you even say that after all that you two have been through?" Pyre asks curiously.
"Well, I-I" the cream stallion stammers, "B-Because you weren't there, man! When she told me about her moving and all, I tried to keep things together, saying that we'll work it out, but she was so adamant about staying with her family that I thought 'Well, if that's how it's gonna be, then I'm not gonna waste any more of my time arguing'."
"I can't believe you," Pyre says disappointedly, "Either of you. Listen, if you're truly not in love with that mare anymore, then that's it, you're done. But I've seen several instances over the past couple of months that lead me to believe that's just not true - am I right in assuming that?"
"Well, I-I guess," Bright Mac admits, "But how are we supposed to keep things the same if we're so far away from each other?"
"If you're really in love, then you'll work it out," Pyre continues, "My point is that you can't let anypony else dictate your true feelings and desires. So what if your families hate each other? So what if Pear Butter will be moving away? None of that matters in the long run. The only thing that does matter is how you feel towards each other. I may not know much about how love works myself, but from what I've observed from all this, I can tell you two still have feelings for each other, right?"
Bright Mac looks down at his hooves solemnly, "Of course I still love her; I wouldn't trade her for all the bits in Equestria."
"Then you can't let her get away, Bright Mac," Pyre says, "Don't let your families' issues come between you, because if you do, you'll be living with that regret for the rest of your life."
Bright Mac looks back up at his friend, eyes sparkling with gratitude, "Thanks, Fahren. You've always been there to ground me when I needed it," he adds as he stands up and pulls him into a hug.
"No problem, man," Pyre responds.
"And you're right; I'd be a rotten fool for letting Pear Butter go," Bright Mac continues, "But I'm gonna change all that, but I'll need your help, if you're up to it?"
"Of course, anything to help you guys out!" Pyre says.
"Good," he says, "then can you and Pear butter meet me at the edge of the Pear farm a week from today?"
"Sure, but, wait a minute," Pyre says, expressing some confusion, "That's the day before the Pears move. What are you getting at?"
"Just trust me, I'll figure it all out," Bright Mac says confidently, "Just make sure both of you are there?"
"I'll do my best," Pyre says as heparts ways with the cream stallion, pondering what he could have come up with on such short notice.