//------------------------------// // Apples And Pears // Story: Tales Of Friendship // by Bluecatcinema //------------------------------// As the sun was setting over the Apple family farm, the Apples - along with one special guest - were on their way back home. Applejack, Big Macintosh, Apple Bloom, Granny Smith and Grand Pear had just returned from seeing the special tree born of seeds planted by Bright Macintosh and Buttercup (nee Pear Butter) on the night of their wedding. "I've seen a lot of things in my time." Grand Pear admitted. "But I've never seen an apple and pear tree before." He sighed regretfully. "There was even a time I didn't think it could be possible... or should be possible." "Yeah, our kids were visionaries, alright." Granny Smith agreed. "This was one amazin' day." Apple Bloom smiled. "We learned all about our parents, and got a new grampa inta the bargain! What more could we have asked for?" "Couldn't've put it better mahself, sugarcube." Applejack grinned. "Eeyup." Big Macintosh agreed. "And seein' ma and pa's tree was somethin' special. Really..." Apple Bloom yawned. "Special..." "Looks like it mighta bin too big a day fer you, young 'un." Granny Smith noted. "Once we get home, you'll be goin' straight tah bed after supper." "But Ah ain't tired..." Apple Bloom supressed another yawn. "Granny's right." Applejack declared. "We've all had a big day. And Big Mac and I have work tomorrow. So we'll all be going to bed early tonight..." "Eeyup." Big Macintosh nodded. "Okay..." Apple Bloom pouted... then perked up. "Grand Pear, you'll be staying for supper, won't you?" "How could I say no to that face?" Grand Pear chuckled. "Just don't expect many pear-based dishes." Granny Smith warned him. "Really?" Grand Pear frowned. "Because I sold Apple Bloom some pear jam just yesterday." "Ya did?" Granny Smith glanced at Apple Bloom. "First Ah'm hearin' of it..." "Yeah, funny story..." Apple Bloom shared awkward looks with her older siblings. "Ah look forward tah hearin' it." Granny Smith deadpanned. A short time later, the Apple family and their guest had finished their supper (the pear jam having been recovered from its "hiding place" under the kitchen floor and added to some toast). Apple Bloom had been put to bed not long after (stopping only to give Grand Pear a hug, to which he responded by giving his newfound granddaughter a kiss on the forehead), while Applejack and Big Macintosh were busy making their own preparations for sleeping, brushing their teeth and washing up, ready for their usual workload in the morning. Granny Smith was in the kitchen, washing the dishes, when Grand Pear entered the room. "Need a little help?" He offered. "Nah, Ah'm good." Granny Smith declared. "Bin cookin' an' washin' dishes fer years, and Ah ain't slowin' down yet... 'Sides, yer a guest here. Ya shouldn't be cleanin' anythin'." "I'm not a guest." Grand Pear pointed out. "I'm family, remember? And family help each other." "Okay, ya can help." Granny Smith chuckled. As Grand Pear took to cleaning another plate, she let out another chuckle. "Never thought Ah'd see the day you, of all ponies, would say yer part of the Apple family." "Well, it's true, isn't it?" Grand Pear pointed out. "Thanks to Pear Butter and Bright Macintosh, we're kinfolk." He sighed deeply. "Too bad it took so long for me to accept it..." "No point in beatin' yerself up over that." Granny Smith told him. "What's done is done, and it can't be undone." "Well, that sure doesn't make me feel better." Grand Pear sighed. "I stayed angry for a good long time. By the time I realized what a fool I'd been, I felt like it was too late to make amends. I abandoned my own daughter, and why? Because she'd fallen in love." He placed the now-clean dish among the others. "Pear Butter must've hated me for the rest of her life..." "You really think that?" Granny Smith frowned. "You really think yer daughter jest up an' hated ya all these years?" "Why wouldn't she?" Grand Pear frowned. "I made her choose between me and Bright Mac, and left her behind when I didn't like her choice." "Ah'd've thought a pappy would know his daughter better than that." Granny Smith shook her head. "Lemme tell ya a li'l story about what happened after ya left..." Many years ago... It was the dead of night at Sweet Apple Acres. Bright Macintosh and Pear Butter's not-so-secret wedding had been completed mere hours ago, and Pear Butter had joined her husband and mother-in-law at her new home. WIthin her bedroom, the younger Granny Smith found herself unable to sleep. The events of the last few hours weighed heavily upon her mind. Not only was the daughter of her oldest, greatest enemy now her daughter-in-law, but that same enemy had abandoned her for marrying, and staying with, an Apple. While the Apple family matriarch hadn't exactly held a high opinion of Grand Pear before that moment, she had never imagined he would have been capable of disowning his own daughter like that. Acknowledging her inability to sleep, Granny Smith got out of bed and made her way downstairs. 'That lousy Grand Pear.' She thought angrily to herself, still unable to take her mind off his actions. 'How could he just up an' leave his own daughter? Don't he even have a heart?' As she headed toward the kitchen (in hopes that some good, old-fashioned warm milk would help her sleep), she heard an odd noise coming from the living room. 'Oh, ya gotta be pullin' mah hoof.' Granny Smith growled. 'Don't tell me we got burg'lars on toppa ev'rythin' else tonight...' As carefully and quietly as she could, Granny Smith picked up a shovel, and crept into the living room, and switched on the lights, in hopes of catching the supposed burglars red-hoofed. But instead of any number of criminal ponies, she saw her new daughter-in-law, Pear Butter, sitting on her couch. "Oh..." Pear Butter sniffed. "Hello, Mrs Smith." "What in tarnation are ya doin' down sittin' here in the dark, in the middle of the night, missy?" Granny Smith frowned, putting the shovel aside. "Ah thought ya wuz- wait." She took a closer look at Pear Butter, noticing that her eyes were red and her cheeks were wet. "Have you bin cryin'?" "...Maybe a little..." Pear Butter sniffed again. "It's about yer pa, isn't it?" Granny Smith asked gently, joining Pear Butter on the couch. "Yes." Pear Butter nodded sadly. "Why aren't ya with Bright Mac?" Granny Smith inquired. "This is yer weddin' night, ain't it?" "I crept down here after he fell asleep." Pear Butter declared. "I didn't want him to see me like this. We're husband and wife now. And this is supposed to be a happy occasion. I don't wanna ruin that for him..." "That's what marriage is all about, dearie." Granny Smith placed a comforting hoof on Pear Butter's shoulder. "Sharin' ev'rythin' with each other. Both the good stuff, and the bad. Bright Mac's father was always there for me, no matter what problems Ah wuz facin', big or small. And Ah know Bright Mac would be more than willin' tah do the same for you." "It's a little late for that right now." Pear Butter shrugged. "He fell asleep the second his head touched the pillow. Guess the day caught up to him in a different way." "Well, ya can always talk to me." Granny Smith offered. "...Oh, I don't want to impose..." Pear Butter said awkwardly. "It ain't no imposition." Granny Smith told her. "As long as yer under mah roof, yer problems are mah problems, and Ah've bin a problem solver at heart. Besides, Ah've bin havin' trouble sleepin' mahself tonight. Might as well do sumthin' tah pass the time... so, what's the matter?" "It's... well... it's about my father." Pear Butter sniffled. "I knew he wouldn't be happy about me and Bright Mac getting married behind his back, but I never thought he'd force me to make a choice like that." "Me neither." Granny Smith scowled. "He may have been a smug, stubborn, lousy, prickly pear- no offense." She caught herself sheepishly. "None taken." Pear Butter smiled weakly. "Mah point is, him an' me may have had our differences, but Ah never thought he'd ever do sumthin' like that." Granny Smith declared. "That back there wuz the most low-down despicible thing Ah've ever seen. Abandonin' his own daughter? For shame!" "I know." Pear Butter nodded sadly, her eyes tearing up. "And if I had to make the choice again, I'd choose the same. But he's still my father. And now it looks like I'll never see him again..." "If ya ask me, it's his loss." Granny Smith said firmly. "If he's willin' tah put his pride above his own daughter, then he don't deserve to call himself yer father!" "Please don't say that." Pear Butter pleaded, tears streaming down her cheeks. "I don't regret choosing Bright Mac over my dad, but that doesn't mean I can just forget about him. I'll probably miss him every day for the rest of my life." "Oh." Granny Smith said regretfully. "Ah'm sorry..." "It's okay." Pear Butter replied. "I know you only ever saw dad's worst side. But there was another side to him that you never saw. A kind, caring, loving, fatherly side. A side I may never see again..." "Maybe it ain't all bad." Granny Smith consoled her. "Who knows? Maybe he'll see the error of his ways, and come back tah make amends sumday?" "If only." Pear Butter sighed. "Like you said, dad can be really stubborn." "Well, whether he comes back or not, yah'll still have Bright Mac." Granny Smith pointed out. "And me. Ah promise, Ah will always be there for ya, sugarcube." "You really mean that?" Pear Butter asked hopefully. "Of course." Granny Smith smiled. "Ya said it yerself before: the Apples are yer family now, too. An' this is yer home. It don't matter what happened between our two families. As far as Ah'm concerned, yer an Apple now, all the way down tah the core." "Thank you, Mrs Smith." Pear Butter beamed. "None a' that, now." Granny Smith said firmly. "As of tonight, we're family, so ya'd better start callin' me 'ma'. Ya got that, Pear Butter?" "Yes... ma." Pear Butter nodded. "Just so long as you call me 'Buttercup'. I'm an Apple now, not a Pear. For better or for worse, this is my home now. Besides, I've always liked being called 'Buttercup'." "Glad tah hear it, Buttercup." Granny Smith hugged her new daughter-in-law. "Welcome tah the family." "Thanks, ma." The newly-renamed Buttercup returned Granny Smith's hug, happy that she still had a family to call her own. The present... While Granny Smith had told the story, she and Grand Pear had made themselves some tea, and moved to the living room, which was where she concluded the tale. "...So ya see, Pear Butter couldn't bring herself tah hate ya." Granny Smith finished the story. "Even after the two a' ya parted ways the way ya did, she still loved ya. An' she may not have said it out loud, but Ah could tell she always held out hope that one day, you'd come back tah her." "But I didn't." Grand Pear sighed. "Not in time, at least..." "It ain't like any of us knew there wuz gonna be a time limit." Granny Smith pointed out. "We lost Bright Mac and Pear Butter so suddenly... We all took it so hard. Especially the kids. Big Mac was left speechless fer the very first. An' poor Applejack cried all night long." "I cried for what felt like forever when I found out." Grand Pear admitted. "I knew, right there and then, that I'd left it too late. That I'd missed my chance to make up for that terrible mistake. That I'd never have the chance to tell her how sorry I am..." He started to cry. "There, there." Granny Smith comforted him. "It's okay. Let it all out..." "I was a terrible father!" Grand Pear wept. "I should never have left Pear Butter behind. I robbed myself of so many good years, watching her be a wife, become a mother, and so much more. All because I couldn't see past my stupid pride!" "Ah know it hurts." Granny Smith said sympathetically. "But like Ah said, beatin' yerself up over the past ain't gonna fix anythin'. You should be glad Pear Butter led such a good, happy life." "I think you had more than a little to do with that." Grand Pear admitted, starting to calm down. "You took in my daughter with open hooves, accepted her as part of your family. And for that, I can never thank you enough." "It wuz mah pleasure." Granny Smith smiled. "Really. Pear Butter was sweet an' kind, she wuz always ready to help out around the farm, an' she made Bright Mac happier than Ah can say. She was a wonderful wife fer mah boy, and an even better mother fer mah grandfoals. When ya get right down tah it, Ah wuz proud to call her mah daughter-in-law." She nudged him gently. "An' ya know, she had tah have picked up all those good qualities from sumwhere. Ya had tah have done a mighty fined job of raisin' her, Grand Pear. A mighty fine job indeed." "Thank you kindly, ma'am." Grand Pear nodded gratefully. "And while I haven't known them that long, I know Pear Butter and your boy did a great job of raising those grandfoals of ours." "They surely did." Granny Smith grinned. "There's a lot a' their ma and pa in all a' them." "You don't have to tell me." Grand Pear declared proudly. "Those two kids of ours did something the rest of our families couldn't; put aside that silly feud once and for all. And their kids saw fit to forgive for the biggest mistake of their life. I'm proud to call them my grandfoals, and I can't wait to get to know them better... if that's okay with you, of course?" "'Course it is, ya ol' prickly pear." Granny Smith chuckled. "Let's let bygones be bygones." "Thanks, crab apple." Grand Pear lightly teased his former rival. "Don't be surprised if I drop by for supper more often." "If ya do, how about bringin' along more a' that pear jam?" Granny requested. "That stuff's actually kinda tasty." "Your apple turnovers weren't so bad either." Grand Pear admitted. "No surprise how you Apples have been able to stay in business all these years." "The lack of competition didn't hurt." Granny Smith smirked. "I'll bet it didn't." Grand Pear chuckled. "Hope you don't mind having an old business rival back in town." "Not one bit." Granny Smith grinned. "In fact, Ah've bin thinkin'; why don't we take a page from our kids' book, and work together?" "Together?" Grand Pear asked. "You mean, sell apple and pear products side by side?" "That's the idea." Granny Smith nodded. "That is, if yer up fer it?" "Granny Smith, it would be my pleasure." Grand Pear nodded. He held out a hoof. "Put 'er there... partner." "That's the spirit, pardner." Granny Smith shook his hoof. "Apples and Pears, working together." Grand Pear declared. "Never thought I'd see the day..." "That's the funny thing about life." Granny Smith declared. "Sumtimes, the seeds ya sow lead tah a pretty surprisin' harvest. An' before ya know it, things change fer the better." "Couldn't have put it better myself." Grand Pear nodded. "No more feuding from us, am I right?" "Never again. That's a promise." Granny Smith agreed. "See ya in the market tomorrow, pardner. Don't ferget tah bring yer best pear products." "Just so long as you remember to bring your best apple wares." Grand Pear replied. "Deal." Granny Smith grinned. "I should be headin' out now, though." Grand Pear stood up. "I got a new place, near to the market, when I moved back to Ponyville. So I'll get myself a good night's sleep, and be waitin' for you tomorrow, bright and early." "An' I'll be right with ya, jest as soon as Ah'm done with breakfast for those whippersnappers upstairs." Granny Smith declared. "Speakin' a' which, have a couple extra jars of pear jam ready tomorrow. Ah wanna know how that stuff tastes on pancakes." "Return the favor with some of those apple turnovers, and you've got yourself a deal." Grand Pear nodded. "Done." Granny Smith chuckled. "See ya tomorrow, prickly pear." "'Til then, crab apple." Grand Pear smirked. With that, Grand Pear departed from the Apple family homestead. After he'd left, Granny Smith took a moment to reflect on the fact that the stallion who was once her most hated rival was now a part of her family, and her new business parter. 'Apples and Pears, workin' together.' She smiled brightly. 'Life really is funny sumtimes. If only Bright Mac and Pear Butter coulda lived tah see this day...' Outside, the night sky was briefly lit up for a moment, as two shooting stars flew over Sweet Apple Acres, side by side.