C’mon, silly filly, ya can do this. If ya can raise three little foals and help with Applebuck Season and the Confluence, ya can talk to yar father after all these years.
This was eating Pear Butter up for a while now. Ever since she and her honest stallion, Bright Mcintosh married, she’d figured she would be happy with everything she’s got. Why not? She’d had a family of farmers that were all willing to not mind the fact that she was Pear just to make her feel welcomed; she had the honor of being mother to a colt and two fillies who she believes will undoubtingly take after their parents when they’re older; and she had the best stallion that any mare would be lucky to have. But it wasn’t so.
Grand Pear was always stubborn and narrow-minded, she wouldn’t deny. He wouldn’t approve of her making “goo-goo eyes” at an Apple, and he’d be willing to move the whole Pear family to Vanhoover just to expand the business and get away from the Apples. It always bothered her how he never came for her take on such things or never considered her feelings over them, just doing something without anypony else’s say in the matters and putting the business before all else. But she had saw the worst of it on her wedding night, when he and Granny Smith caught their children marrying. At first, they were both in agreement to disagree over the wedding. But when Grand Pear told her she had to stick with her family, she tearily countered with the Apples being family now. What followed was perhaps the most disappointment she’d seen in her father’s eyes as he made her choose between the Pears and Apples. She loved her father, but she loved Bright Mac more. And when she stood by her husband, Grand Pear stormed off, clearly sounding like he’d never wanted to her ever again.
She was fortunate to have her husband and family keep her from being completely miserable. Bright Mac was always a gentlecolt, being there when she needed him and giving her a shoulder to cry on, and Granny Smith was the mother she’d wished to have known before she died of childbirth, taking her in after Grand Pear left Ponyville and protecting her when some Apples initially gave her the cold shoulder for her Pear bloodlines. Even her three children, Bright Mcintosh, Applejack, and Apple Bloom, were what made her happy to be a mother as she showered them with her love, and they returned with their own. And yet, she felt empty.
It started a month ago when the newspapers detailed the Pear business in Vanhoover skyrocketing a couple of months after they first moved into the city. When Pear Butter first saw it, she was happy for her father making out all right and dismissed it without much sorrow. However, Bright Mac and Granny were no fools to lies and they kept an eye on her as she slowly grew a bit more distant and downhearted until the only Pear in a basket of Apples finally cracked and poured her heart out on them, telling them how she wished to earn some closure between her and her father. After she let it all out, Bright and Granny left her to sleep for the night.
While they understood her pain, the two Apples were initially unwilling to cause an episode between them and the Pears after their years apart. Not wanting to let this go further, Bright Mac decided to give her a very special surprise for their anniversary together. After a night of dining and enjoying each other’s warm company, Bright presented to Pear his surprise: two tickets for a train ride all the way to Vanhoover so she could talk to Grand Pear with hopes of burying the hatchet. Once seeing them, Pear tackled her husband to the ground in tearful joy for his consideration, declaring her love for him over and over. That night, both parties rested easy with each other’s happiness.
Two days after that, the perfect pair were packed and ready to leave the farm for the Ponyville Train Station. In their saddle bags, they had enough snacks for the train ride to and back from Vanhoover, Pear’s guitar to keep them entertained and from falling under mind-numbing boredom, and “Granny Smith’s essentials,” which comprised of a crude map of Vanhoover, a hoof-made dictionary by her to help them understand some of the “hoity-toity language” they might hear, and plenty of apple-pear themed quilts and blankets “in case y’all wanna be more warm,” as she had doubly put it, much to the kids’ confusion and her son and daughter-in-law’s embarrassment. After saying their goodbyes to their family, they made their way to the station, leaving to catch the 2 PM train by nearly a half-hour.
And what a good idea. When they arrived, the station was jampacked with ponies as the Summer Sun Celebration had recently passed and Ponyville was the second most popular place after Canterlot during that time. Trains were coming and going filling and emptying with ponies faster than one can keep track of. Within the tsunami of colorful manes and coats were Bright and Pear able to find an open space on a bench for them to wait for their train to arrive. To their right was a pale amber Pegasus with cerise eyes and a moderate raspberry mane curled from the flowing end and three flowers embedded onto her flank.
After a while, Bright decided to make out the easiest route to Grand Pear’s barn once they arrived at Vanhoover, leaving Pear Butter on her own. As she remained alone, Pear had been plagued by possibilities and worries of how her reunion with her father would turn out to be. Scenario after scenario, she tried to think of a positive outcome, only to come up blank, leaving nothing but a somber expression on herself. She was now considering the whole idea a waste of time if grand pear was simply going to be no different than last time and, realizing how lost a cause it was shaping to be, broke her dam and unleashed the tsunami upon her freckled cheeks softly.
“Oh my goodness, are you okay, dearie?” a voice called from Pear’s right. The farm mare turned her head to see the Pegasus looking at her with a concerning tone and expression.
“Yah. Ah’m-.” Pear was about say before she made full eye contact with the mare. She scanned the Pegasus over completely and, judging from both her soft-spoken voice and the kindly-shy look into her eyes, she could easily tell that the mare was somehow interested in her well-being with some concern. Why wouldn’t she? She certainly just saw Pear crying her eyes out a few moments. But then she noticed something in those eyes that was anything but apathy. She honestly looked sympathetic over her well-being. Deciding to appease the Pegasus, Pear finally answered with the honest truth: “No, ma’am, Ah’m something of scared.”
“Oh no, what’s wrong?” cooed the mare as she cautiously scooted closer to Pear, extending a comforting hoof. When she connected with Pear’s coat, the latter flinched slightly and made the Pegasus squeak.
“Oh, Ah didn’t mean to scare ya. Ah just didn’t expect it.” Pear quickly defended. She looked to see the mare’s concerned face slowly turn to a warm smile. Now given the all-clear, the Pegasus moved in for a comforting feel onto the Earth mare’s shoulder.
“If it’s alright with you,” the mare offered, “would you like to tell me what’s wrong?” This earned yet another look from Pear, whose face conveyed confusion. Seeing this, the mare quickly regretted her offer and was about to remove her hoof from Pear. However, she didn’t get far when the farmer wrapped a hoof around her own. The mares locked eyes with each other, and the other mare saw but insistent warmth within Pear’s turquoise eyes. Matching that warmth, the mare returned her hoof to Pear’s shoulder.
A few seconds of silence passed between the mare before Pear Butter decided to break the ice and come clean with the mare. She went on to tell her how she been feeling the want to make amends with her father after all these years and how Bright Mac arranged to have a train straight for Vanhoover.
At the end of her summary, Pear broke down and cried softly. The very thought of her father still furious with her was heart-wrenching beyond the farm pony’s imagination. Soon enough, Pear felt a pair of hooves wrap around her and stroking her coat softly. She sobbed on, shaking in the mare’s embrace.
“That’s it. Let it all out, dearie,” the Pegasus said as she continued stroking. Shortly afterwards, Pear had finally stopped shaking and looked into the mare’s face, and all she saw was comfort and kindness. “Feeling better?”
“Much,” Pear acknowledged as she wiped some stray tears and sniffled a bit. “Thank you,…uh, Ah’m sorry, we’ve haven’t had proper introductions. Ah’m Pear Butter.”
She waited for her comforter to share her name, but all she got was the mare looking down and making circles on the bench, darting her eyes away from her. Finally, she opened her mouth to speak. “I’m Timid Blossom.”
Pear maintained a smile as she tried to catch any of that but caught none of it. She cleared her ears of any wax before leaning in more. “I’m sorry. Could you repeat that?”
“Um… My name is… Timid Blossom.”
“Emmet Opossum?”
“Timid Blossom!” Timid corrected rather loudly than she wanted, as she caught the attention of some ponies passing by or those who were just standing and heard her shout. Seeing their directed attention, she covered her mouth with her hooves, blushing profusely.
“A shy one, ain’t ya?” Pear Butter noted as she broke into a small laughing fit. “Ah didn’t mean to make you shout like that.”
“It’s alright,” Timid assured the farm pony. “I’m mostly that quiet, especially with the little one.”
“You have a child?” Pear asked, feeling some relief at trying to change the subject about her father to that of children. “I have three: one son and two daughters. They’re back at Sweet Apple Acres with my husband’s mother.”
Timid looked away slightly before replying. “Well, I have an older daughter and an infant son.”
“You must be proud of yourself, being mother of two children, watching them, protecting them, being there for them as they grow older and eventually find themselves in our hooves.”
“And when they do, they’ll only look back to see how brave they were back then than when they are older, such as brave my daughter was for going to Summer Flight Camp up in Cloudsdale.”
“Summer Flight Camp!?!” a voice squealed from behind the two mares, causing Pear to jump slightly and Timid to scream…well, at least tried to. It was more out-of-breath and barely above an audible whisper. The two mares looked behind their bench to see a pale cornflower blue Pegasus mare with a light scarlet and orange mane that looked unkempt and slightly spiked, with eyes that matched Timid’s in color, a small cloud blowing wind engraved onto her flank, and plastered on her face was an excited expression. She traded looks with the two bench mares before locking excited eyes on Timid.
“Did you just say your daughter was at Summer Flight Camp?!” the second Pegasus questioned Timid, who, while scared senselessly, merely nodded her with a timid smile. Upon that acknowledgement, the cornflower mare squeaked in loud excitement before taking Timid’s hoof and shaking it vigorously and breaking off on a high-speed rant. “My name is Windy Whistles, and my daughter is at the same camp as your daughter! I’m a huge fan of my daughter because she is meant for amazing things in the future, but I can say the same about your daughter, not that I’m playing favorites! My daughter is a huge fan of winning, the Wonderbolts, looking awesome while winning-!”
“Easy, ya energetic filly! Ya might take her hoof off!” Pear Butter pleaded, using both hooves to keep Windy’s from moving any further. Windy looked at Pear with a bewildered look before turning to see the petrified look on the shy mare’s face. Now knowing what she was doing, Windy removed her hooves from Timid’s and blushed upon knowing her mistake.
“I’m sorry for that,” the excitable Pegasus apologized. “My daughter just went on board the train to meet up with the other campers before going to the actual camp. I’m also her biggest fans!! Alongside my husband.”
“Yeah, ya kinda made that clear,” Pear cautiously restated as her eyes slowly turned away from Windy. Eventually, her eyes returned to Windy with her zeal for proper intros. “Anyway, hello, we’re Pear Butter and Timid Blossom,” she introduced as she gestured respectively to her and Timid. “And your name was Windy what again?”
“Whistles. Windy Whistles is my name. And I didn’t mean to act like I’m terrorizing you two.”
“Oh, it’s no trouble at all, Mrs. Whistles.” Timid assured as she rubbed her stomach. “We just didn’t expect you. So your daughter is in the same camp as my own?”
“Indeed she is! My husband and I can see it all so clear! Someday, she’s going to be the greatest and most awesome flyer to ever soar across Equestria and everypony will know her name!” Windy then let out a squeal of ecstasy as she flew in tiny circles up in the air, nearly ramming into other Pegasi taking off.
“Now now, Mrs. Whistles,” Pear Butter cautioned the excited mare down, who descended to station herself behind the bench. “I wouldn’t go praising every little good thing my kids do. They may think the world revolves around them and develop insufferable egos.”
“Oh, believe me, Pear, my daughter may grow up to be those things, but her loyalty will always come out on top of it all. It’s her best trait.”
“Plus,” chimed Timid, “I believe we should always support our children no matter what they set their hearts and minds to.”
“I know that.” Pear acknowledged. “I can’t imagine what my son and two daughters would turn out to be if something were to happen to me and my husband. I mean, they’d still have my mother-in-law to look to for guidance.”
“Just in-laws?” asked Windy incredulously. “Don’t you have relatives on your family side?”
That last question sent Pear Butter to stare bug-eyed for a moment before turning away and slumping her head down in shame. Seeing this, Wendy quickly reached out to comfort Pear, only to stop herself midway in regret and looked at Timid for help.
“Uh, you might need to refrain from that subject,” Timid told the uninformed Pegasus. “She and her husband are meeting her dad in Vanhoover to patch up… some old wounds.”
Upon hearing this, Windy winced in self-hate before turning to the downhearted mare again. “I’m sorry about that, Pear. I didn’t know.”
“Nonono, it’s okay,” Pear quickly reassured the frantic Pegasus as she looked up to face her. “You didn’t know. It’s all right.” She couldn’t help but release a small chuckle to herself, knowing that her family drama is ruining a good moment she is sharing with the unbeknownst mothers of Equestria’s greatest heroes in the modern age and future. Suddenly, she was throwing a small giggling fit that shocked the two Pegasi. “Sorry, girls. It’s just…I didn’t expect to be bonding with you two over daughters and family drama.”
Windy and Timid merely looked at each for a small bit before giggling shortly afterwards. Once they stopped, the three mares took a moment of silence, watching as train after train leave the station and ponies continued to make their way on and offboard said trains. As the silence stretched on, Pear Butter turned to face the station clock to find it eighteen minutes before the Vanhoover Express arrived. As much as she enjoyed Windy and Timid’s company, she couldn’t help but wonder where Bright Mac was currently. He wouldn’t take so long to plot out their way around a big city, but nopony ever knows. Regardless, she was rather concerned for him, thinking out possible, yet ridiculous scenarios to delay him. She even shot down the moronic idea of him running to meet another mare, knowing just how stupid it would be to think such a thing to happen to such a loyal married stallion like him. Either way, she wanted to look around the station to try and catch him in her sights.
“I’ll be right back,” she told Windy and Timid as she got down off the bench and stretched herself out before turning to her two newly made friends. “I’m just gonna look around for my husba-OOF!”
Her thoughts were interrupted when she felt the sudden impact of a pony ramming into her at a furious speed, sending her tumbling to the hardwood and causing Timid to gasp in shock and Windy to wince. As her legs rang into pain at the unexpected collision, she looked up with annoyance to tell the culprit off for ramming her down like that. Once she did, however, she found two mares instead of one.
One of them, a Unicorn with a mark of three cookies, two of which bitten out of, was coated in a full body color of pale fuchsia with a mane and tail of grayish indigo and persian blue. She worn a yellow ascot around her neck and earrings that matched that color. Her horn glistened in light blue magic as she levitated two suitcases that were the same color as her mane. Her eyes were glistened with cornflower blue like Windy’s coat, and yet they were mixed with annoyance, possibly over her ramming into somepony within the crowd jampacked within the station. Still, Pear could see that from the accessories found upon the mare, the Unicorn was sophisticated, just not in an extravagant sense.
The second mare, with three pebbles marked, was an Earth pony embedded in what the farm mare could describe to be “three possible shades of gray, minus her ensemble.” Her coat was light cobalt bluish gray with a grayish opal mane in a bun and her eyes, probably the brightest color to be found on this mare, were light arctic blue. She wore a black bib similar to Granny Smith’s and a pair of chained eyeglasses. And unlike the Unicorn, her face gave way to no emotions at all. She just looked down at Pear with the blankest look one could have ever seen.
Pear scanned the two mares up and down, waiting for either one of them to help her up. Eventually the emotionless mare did the honors by offering her hoof and extending it to the downed mare. Pear accepted it and was pulled back up onto her four legs.
“I’m sorry for that, ma’am,” the Unicorn spoke up in an aggravated tone as she rubbed the bridge of her muzzle with her hoof. “I didn’t see you there and I was eager to get as far away from her as possible.”
“It’s okay,” Pear sincerely assured the annoyed mare, “Ah just didn’t think ya’d be coming up so fast.”
The Unicorn offered a small and sincere smile. “Thank you. I-. Wait, don’t I know you from somewhere?” Hoof to the chin, she then looked Pear over for a few moments with a puzzled expression that never faded from her face for short. Pear turned slightly to face her new Pegasi friends, only for them to be as skeptical as she was. While noting how unhelpful it would have been to go to her, she then turned to the emotionless Earth pony, who merely looked in slight confusion at her companion’s curiosity. Finally, the Unicorn broke her face and replaced it with a realization.
“Oh, wait, now I remember. You’re that mare I saw helping that Granny Smith mare during Zap Apple Season, aren’t you?”
“That’s me, every year actually,” Pear Butter cautioned with a worried edge in her tone.
“Good, I promised myself no more memory lapses this month, and I’d curses myself to Tartarus if I didn’t recognized your face. It must be something of a hassle to help that poor old mare with all of those chores and stops she makes just for another season for apple products.”
“Zap apples?!” Windy exclaimed suddenly. “You mean you help with the production of all of those zap apple products, especially the jam itself!?”
Pear, along with the other mares, was taken aback by Windy’s outburst as she broke out of her excited stature and looked at Pear with such an expression. Unable to find the right words to answer, the farm mare simply nodded. This only made the excitable Pegasus squeal in high pitched tones as she engaged in another high-speed rant as she elevated herself off the ground. “Oh my Celestia! What do you and her mom do to make the jam so tasty? How do you know if the apples are ripe? How do you even make the rainbow apples? Why are they called zap apples? Where do those apples come from?”
The born Pear was so overwhelmed by the questions Windy shot at her that she was flabbergasted. She looked to see the other three mares, even the stone-faced mare herself, calmly intrigued in contrast to Windy’s interest. She wanted to answer Windy, but she couldn’t. Reason being was that it was a long-time Apple family secret, and she was sworn into secrecy when she first helped with the season that she’d never share it with anypony besides family.
So, looking Windy in the eyes, Pear offered a small smile and gave her answer: “Sorry, Windy, but it’s an old family secret and I can’t share it unless any of y’all are Apple family.”
“Oh, come on,” groaned Windy as she brought herself back to the ground. “Can’t you make an exception here and spill? Please?” She then proceeded to stick out her bottom lip and whimper like a dog while her eyes went wide as dinner plates.
Pear snorted in laughter for a brief moment. “If Ah told y’all about the family secret about the why of those apples, Ah’d be neck-deep in trouble.”
“Well, whyever the reason,” spoke up Timid, “I find it very sweet to help your mother like that.”
“I think it proper of us to respect her family secret,” a voice suddenly requested behind the farm pony. Her eyes widened, Pear herself was familiar with all of the mares’ voices except for one: that of the gray Earth pony herself. She looked behind her to see said mare looking at her with a pair of confused eyes. “What? As a farm pony myself, it is only wise to respect such a thing.”
“Oh, ya work on a farm too,” Pear questioned the rock-hard mare a smile. “Where and what’s your product?”
“The Earth pony only gave a quizzical look, causing Pear’s smile to grimace into a cringe before she replied. “With my four daughters and husband, I, Cloudy Quartz Pie, run a small rock farm in Rockville, Western Equestria.”
A small beat of silence passed between the mares before Windy broke it.
“Oh, I get it. You live on a rock farm in Rockville and you’re as hard as a rock!” The excitable Pegasus went on to laugh in hysterical fits as she toppled off the bench railing. She proceeded to pound on the wood in her fits, clearly seeing no end in the joke that she herself only found funny while the other four mares merely stare at her in annoyance or telling her to quit it. She soon opened her eyes to see the mares faces and her laughter trailed off as she wheezed big breaths of air, trying to speak. “You know… because… she’s…” Pear and the Unicorn both gestured Windy to stop now as they could see a scowl forming onto Cloudy’s face. Finally empty of laughs, Windy wiped some stray tears and cleared her throat before blushing with a simple: “Sorry.”
A few moments of uncomfortable silence between the five mares.
“So, anyway,” Timid spoke up, breaking the ice between them, “I couldn’t help but wonder how your know of Pear Butter helping her mother-in-law, Miss…”
“Mrs. Cookie Crumbles,” the Unicorn finally introduced herself to be as she lowered her suitcases and lifted her magic on them before sitting on the bigger case. “I know Mrs. Butter here because I live here in Ponyville with my husband and daughter,” she stopped for a moment to rub her tummy before patting it slightly a bit, “another one on the way.”
Every mare, minus Cloudy, gasped upon hearing the news and gathered around Cookie as they voiced their praise and congratulations for the soon-to-be-mother-of-two. Eventually, the praise died down and Cookie continued her tale.
“Anyway, my husband, daughter, and I just got off the train from Canterlot after the Summer Sun Celebration and then I ran into Mrs. Pie here on the way off the train. My family decided to go ahead without me so we mares could talk interests of the sorts-.”
“Until a stuck-up mare with a face that anypony would kill to have a good hit at came up to us and mocked us for being ‘lowly ponies,’” Cloudy finished for Cookie with an annoyed edge in her voice.
The others were shocked to hear such a reaction from the rather stone-faced mare. It may have been brief, but the short time the mares spent together was clearly enough they needed to know so much about them. And they never expected anger from Cloudy, but hey, when you get to know ponies, you know some things that aren’t part of your initial image of them.
“Uh, excuse me,” a mare broke yet another silence between the mares.
They all looked behind Cloudy and Cookie to see a light gray Unicorn mare. She had a moderate purple mane and tail with two streaks of white going down on end, her eyes were the same color as Cloudy’s, and her flank bared a trio of purple stars, the same symbol matching those on the saddle bags on her back. She spoke in a polite voice and looked to be interested in the mares and their little circle.
“Um…,” she trailed off before regaining her wordings, “I didn’t mean to pry, but that ‘stuck-up mare’ sounds an awful lot like that Spoiled Milk my husband and I ran into.”
“Ya know that mare,” asked the curious Pear.
“And as much as, for lack of a better word, a hater as you ladies seem to be.”
“Oh, well, I’ve only seen her around here when I’m either with my mother-in-law or husband, but she’s never heckled me or caused me any trouble.”
“Good,” proclaimed Cookie. “A nice mare such as yourself shouldn’t have to deal with that high-standard, egocentric mare. Speaking of which, what’d she do to you, Mrs. …?” She then trailed off, waiting for the unknown mare to introduced herself to the rest of them.
“Oh, my name’s Twilight Velvet,” introduced the sixth mare to join Pear Butter. “And she didn’t do anything exactly to me, but she just insulted a married pair of mares over there.” Velvet then gestured to the two mares walking together hoof-in-hoof, throwing clearly disgusted looks at the oh-so punchable face of Spoiled Milk as she walked off the station with an equally disgusting grin.
Cookie gagged in disgust at the sight of that mare. “Just the mere sight of that mare makes me sick.”
“Indeed,” Pear concurred. “I don’t normally say this sort of stuff, but Celestia help the colt that falls for that shallow piece of manure.”
She could hear Timid and Windy gasping in surprise for her language, Cookie and Velvet breaking into small giggles after a few moments of silence, and Cloudy was seen nodding her head in approval of that burn.
“I’ll count us all surprised if she has children,” commented Velvet, giving a sly look to her acquaintances, Windy and Cookie oohing at that burn. After some final laughs out of her systems, Velvet turned away from the mares and started to make her way back into the crowd of mares.
“Wait!” Pear Butter called out before Velvet could completely vanish. The gray mare turned back to see Pear with a small smile on her face. “Don’t you want to sit down and talk with us, if you want?” She then scooted over to the center of the bench and patted the empty seat with her hoof, offering it to Velvet. The Unicorn looked rather uncertain at the offer until she looked at the other mares faces. They were all willing to have her join their little circle of friends. A few more seconds passed before Velvet walked back towards them and the offered spot from Pear Butter.
“Well, I suppose talking to some ponies until my husband comes back won’t kill anypony,” Velvet voiced as she sat down onto the bench.
“Of course not,” agreed Pear as she gestured to the others while calling their names. “Me, Pear Butter, Windy Whistles, Cookie Crumbles, Timid Blossom, and Cloudy Quartz Pie, we’re all friends here, aren’t we, ladies?” She turned to see the other mares either nodding or voicing their agreements.
“So, um,” stammered Timid as she hid behind her mane, “what brings you and your husband to Ponyville? Only if that’s not a problem with you, Mrs. Velvet.”
“Oh, it’s no problem at all, Mrs. Blossom. This is the week of our anniversary and we’re spending it on a week-long cruise across Equestria via a zeppelin.”
“A zeppelin,” Cookie cooed. “I’ve always wanted to be on one of those. The view they offer is just amazing and the service, from what I hear, is spectacular.”
“They are, indeed. But they are very hard to book and pay for. Fortunately for me and my husband, our son and daughter and her foalsitter managed to pile enough bits for us to pay for the cruise.”
“The kids and a foalsitter paying for an anniversary week for the parents?” Cloudy summarizes, putting a hoof to her chin. “How old are your kids, Velvet?”
“My son’s the oldest and my daughter’s in elementary,” Velvet responded. This then caused Quartz to do something of the unthinkable: she cracked a smile. She literally cracked a smile in front of the five other mothers, much to their surprise. They’d never thought to have seen such a thing from the deadpan mare and it wasn’t a full smile; it was just a crack on the side. Regardless, it was… rather pleasant to see. Shaking herself out of the shock, Velvet openly pondered: “What’s the crack for?”
“Oh, nothing bad,” trailed Cloudy awkwardly. “It’s just that I find the older son setting up the anniversary cruise not just for you guys,” she then gave a teasing smirk that only shocked the mares further before finishing with: “but just to have some alone time with the foalsitter.”
Upon hearing this, Velvet’s face went from a dark gray to a darkened shade of red as she blushed profusely at the innuendo her fellow mother just made in front of the others. It didn’t drop their notice as well, but they simply found the circumstances to be funny, in its own sense, as they broke into yet another helpless fit of giggles and oohs at the notion.
Once the comical noises died down, Velvet regained her composure. “As possible as that might be,” she explained, clearing her throat while darting her eyes away, “I told him and my daughter not to do anything stupid and/or dangerous while we were gone.”
“Or…?” Timid trailed off, hoping there was more after that.
“Or nothing,” simply replied Velvet. “They usually listen and they’re so well-behaved.”
“Uh huh,” “Yeah, sure,” and “If you say so,” were among the statements made by the mares who still remained skeptical at Velvet’s assurances.
“Okay, make your little jokes, ladies,” the gray Unicorn allowed as she remained rather steadfast in her beliefs. “Anyway, we’re stopping here for a bathroom break before catching the 2:45 train in twenty-six minutes.”
Pear Buter’s eyes shot open in surprise. In all the talking and meeting up with new mares, she’ve neglected to check the time for the train to Vanhoover. Darting her head towards the clock, she found the time to be 2:19, leaving her with only eleven minutes before the Vanhoover train arrived and she and Bright Mac had to leave.
Her thoughts were interrupted by the sounds of Windy Cheering at the top of her lungs as she thrusted her hooves into the air.
“Woo-oo! That means we got till then to chat it up!” She cried, earning herself a round of laughs from everypony, even Cloudy in yet another moment of open cheerfulness, as they were clearly not gonna argue with enjoying each other’s company, except for Pear Butter who had to leave for the 2:30 train. She looked around to see all of five mares happy to be spending more time with each other and was rather hesitant to tell about her upcoming train. But she had to let them know that she was due to leave very soon. She looked back to the clock just in time to see the minute hand strike further, giving her only ten minutes left before her departure from Ponyville. Another look around the mares’ faces, she decided to wait until her train came.
For the final ten minutes, all six mothers were in nothing but pleasant spirits with each other. They all compared their lives and occupations, shared some dark personal secrets, and told some very funny stories that drew the attention of some passing ponies. They even talked some bit about their families and how they met their stallions. Windy met hers within the weather factory he worked in, Timid and hers when she went shopping for gardening supplies, Cloudy when her family visited the Pie Rock Farm, Velvet back when she was in high school, and Cookie during a football game. When it was Pear Butter’s turn to share her love story, she was rather reluctant to share some key details with the others, but she went through with it. At the end, she had Timid and Velvet in tears by the end of the story…
…just as the train for Vanhoover pulled into the station. Once it screeched to a complete stop, fresh ponies came pouring out of it, carrying suitcases and adding more chatter into the cluster of babel among the Ponyville station. One of the last few ponies to come out was the conductor himself as he hollered, “All aboard for Vanhoover!!!”
Well, this is it, Pear thought to herself as she got off the bench and adjusted the straps on her saddle bags before turning to the friends she’ve made in a short period of time. She could barely flinch when she saw her newest friends’ happy expressions diminished into those of disappointment and she knew she didn’t have to tell them what happens next. She internally cursing herself for spoiling the moment. But as much as it pained her to say it, she had to stay true to her mission to her family.
A couple moments of silence had passed before it was broken.
“Ah guess Ah shoulda told y’all sooner,” Pear confessed, “but this is where we part ways… for now, at least.”
“For now,” piped Timid suddenly before her downed face turned upward. “You mean-?”
Pear giggled slightly at the expression. “Yes, Timid. We can always come together and hang out more whenever we have the chance. This isn’t goodbye. It’s just-.”
“Goodbye until next time,” Cloudy finished. Before anything else, she walked towards Pear and did yet another unexpected thing: giving her a hug. Pear’s eyes widened at the sudden display of affection, but returned it, nonetheless.
Once the two Earth Ponies parted, Windy and Timid walked up and both leaned in for their own hugs, which Pear recuperated. After Velvet had her turn to hug, Cookie was all that was left. Pear readied herself for hug, only for Cookie to her magic to fish a handful of bits out of her suitcase before levitating them into the farm pony’s hand.
“It’s just a little generous gift to you,” explained Cookie. “A little something needed more for you than for me.”
“Thank you,” Pear thanked as she moved in a hug and was pleased to feel Cookie return it.
The mares soon pulled apart just in time for Pear to see Bright trotting his way for the train. She quickly joined her husband’s side as they made for the train car. Before she fully entered the car, she looked back to see her five new friends and spared them one last wave goodbye until next time, to which they returned. She climbed into the car and found Bright stationed not far from the car doors. After joining her husband in the empty seat, the train immediately started up again and the perfect pair only managed a small glance of the station before they pulled away completely.
Pear Butter came to the station for a reason: travel to Vanhoover, find her dad, and try to bury the burning hatchet that started on the night of their wedding. When she first sat down onto that bench, she felt both nervous and scared at confronting her father after years of not seeing each other. Then she made her acquaintance with a shy Pegasus, which then set off a gathering of other mares who bonded with her over experiences as both a wife and a mother. Mares who would later have the knowledge of being mothers to Equestria’s greatest heroes in the future. She walked onboard that train feeling more confident in meeting her father again and making amends.
With her husband by her side and the time spent with the other mares, Pear Butter was standing tall, ready for anything.