Get a hold of yerself, Bright Mac! This’ gonna work. It just has to! For Buttercup’s sake.
Family can often be a pain for whatever reasons. It can be over some handling over money; it can be over how one member does something that doesn’t sit well with another member or the rest of the family; it could even be over bad blood. Which was something of the third case for Bright McIntosh.
He was never one for holding grudges and carrying a torch of hate for anypony ever in his life. He was always very friendly with everypony he ran into, but he was smart enough to avoid being taken advantage of and be cautious about those who’d be anything but nice. Such an example would include Filthy Rich himself. He held no animosity towards him, but Granny Smith didn’t raise him to let the Riches decide how to do business between the two families. And, of course, despite being so far apart from most of them and having some disagreements over harvest and business, Bright Mac always treated each of his relatives with the utmost love and respect, especially for “his Buttercup.” No family drama has ever plagued his little slice of life.
That is, until he married Pear Butter.
Any interactions between him and Grand Pear was often met with hostility from the latter. He often saw Grand Pear before on occasion while he was working the apple fields and he could see the Pears doing their own chores and responsibilities. But the first time he ever had an up-close-and-personal encounter with the head of the Pear family was that day of the water silo incident. Unwilling to let his future wife take the fall for his mistake, Bright Mac rushed over and let his honesty do the rest. It earned him both one of Buttercup’s lovely smiles and Grand Pear’s scolding for another silo. A second and final interaction between the stallions was the wedding night. When Pear tried to split him and her apart for Vanhoover, Buttercup stood her ground, standing by her new husband’s side rather than leaving with her father. He could only watch in silence as the Pears argued amongst themselves until Grand Pear finally snapped and left Ponyville for good that night.
Since then, Bright Mac harbored responsibility for not doing more that night. He wanted to do more than stand in the wings, but he felt it was respectful of him to let Buttercup fight her own battles. But a day hasn’t gone by when he doesn’t think about reaching out to Grand Pear and hoping to convince the stubborn old colt to drop the bad blood and get with the new blood. Seeing Buttercup cry sorrowful waterfalls on her wedding night was a felony in Bright’s eyes. Heck, seeing her cry sorrow ever was a felony of gargantuan proportions. Felonies that Bright would never let go unpunished, especially when Buttercup showed signs of depression, forcing him into action.
After stacking and saving enough bits, Bright Mac introduced to his darling wife quite possibly the best anniversary gift he would ever give her: two tickets for a train ride all the way to Vanhoover to make amends with Grand Pear. And he was rewarded most affectionately.
Two days later, after packing their essentials, plus extra precautions from his own mother, and saying goodbye to her and their three children, the perfect pair made their way to the Ponyville station for the 2 PM train to Vanhoover, finding the station jampacked with ponies of all kind making their ways in and out. Not surprising since the Summer Sun Celebration in Ponyville was just recent. By some miracle, the two of them were able to finally find an open bench space for them to rest their hooves upon and wait, next to a pale amber Pegasus mare. Some minutes of silence passed before Bright decided to make out the easiest route to Grand Pear’s barn, leaving Pear Butter on her own.
However, it wasn’t the entire truth.
As much as he hated himself for lying to Pear, he really needed to be alone. He did need to figure something out; it just wasn’t a route around Vanhoover, but instead how to approach his father-in-law. He looked behind him for Pear, only to see that he was completely submerged in the ocean of bustling ponies and out of her vision, which he used to get out of the station and work out his plan for Grand. Once squeezing his way out, the cowcolt immediately found himself a small space behind the station that was secluded enough for him to process his thoughts.
He looked around his surrounding to see remnants of the Celebration still in play for other ponies to enjoy. Not far from his current spot, he could even see and hear some kids laughing and chasing each other, which only served to remind the stallion of the times he spent playing around with Big Mac and Applejack before they were old enough to start helping around the farm. Before he could get lost long in his nostalgia, Bright shook his thoughts back into the department of Grand Pear.
He remained in silence as he thought of the ways to approach his father-in-law. Would he call him sir? Dad? Just by his name? How would he break the infinitely thick ice between him and Pear? Would he manage to keep his cool if Grand proved to be rather too stubborn for his own good? All there blaring questions did nothing but frustrate Bright as he banged his head against the wall in rhythm with the word “Danggit.” He banged his head again but didn’t retract as he looked down on the ground with forlorn eyes. He honestly never had much experience of a father-son relationship with his own father since he died in a plowing accident at an age Bright was too young to remember. How could he make peace with a father if he has never spent time with his own?
Whatever he thought, Bright Mac couldn’t turn away from this opportunity. He was doing this for the sake of making peace, but above of all, for Buttercup’s happiness. If everything goes well and ends well, he can-
“Uh, you okay there, buddy?”
Bright Mac’s head straightened and stiffened faster as a Vampire Fruit Bat diving for an apple at the sound of somepony’s voice, his neck going 90 degrees clockwise just as fast. His mind raced with thoughts on how to get himself out of his predicament, in fear of his wife’s reaction. She would clearly be upset for him lying to her and she would demand an explanation. Bright hated to see her upset and was prepared to comfort her and be more honest than he was at first.
All preemptive alerts were silence when he gazed upon the source of the voice. His body slackened when he saw that it was somepony completely foreign to him. It was instead a Pegasus stallion exactly of his build: strong legs, firm neck, and eyes once so young turned bagged in battles of child-caring with a five o’clock shadow in development. His fur was dimmed into a pale grayish blue in comparison to his creamy-yellow hooves, while his polychromatic mane and tail was fashioned as if he served time in an infantry not long ago, and his flank bared that of a horseshoe marked in front of a rainbow shooting through a cloud. The only article of wardrobe was a small light green shirt that could slip on the stallion effortlessly. Most would feel rather intimated by such a stallion upon initial glance unless they let him get the first word, which Bright did. And his voice revealed to be tired yet warm.
Bright Mac breathed sharply as his heart eased in pace. He was relieved to see that he was confronted by a pony he was completely new to and not the very special somepony he had recently lied to. A few moments more ticked by as his body returned to its normal pace before the foreign stallion questioned again: “Hello? Anypony in there?”
“Oh, who-what?” the farm colt stammered as he shook his head back to the ground. He then blankly looked at the stallion’s puzzled expression before realizing his mistake. “Oh, right. Uh,…Ah’m okay, thanks.”
“You sure? You seemed lost in La La Land a few moments ago.”
“Positive. Ah just had some things in mind. Don’t worry about me.”
Bright was hoping that the polychromatic colt would buy it, but one scan around the colt’s face snuffed that hope out as he only raised an unconvinced eyebrow. He opened his mouth to respond but failed to find the right words to say. Bullets sweated down the honest pony’s fur as he could practically feel the Pegasus’ gaze piercing him straight into the heart. Hoping for a way out, he could only think of two ways out: come clean and tell the Pegasus the truth or lie his-.
His mind halted when he thought of that three-letter L word he hated. To some ponies, it’s just an escape to avoid any uncomfortable situation or spare somepony’s feelings, but to others like Bright, it was just a betrayal of trust and understanding. Heck, he probably risked those two things right when he lied to Buttercup. He could still remember the one time he lied to Granny Smith when he was younger and made a business mistake with the Riches transaction and the scolding he was rewarded with once she found out. From that day on, he always came clean with any problem he had until now.
So he used his trademark.
“Actually, Ah’m rather stressed over some family dynamics,” he confessed. “My wife and Ah are waitin’ for a Vanhoover train to talk to my estranged father-in-law.”
“Oh,” simply replied the Pegasus. Bright could see him practically darting his eyes away as if he pressed on a sore wound, which he sorta did. “I’m sorry; I didn’t mean to make you uncomfortable.”
“Nah, it’s fine, Mr. …?”
“Oh, Bow Hothoof is my name,” self-introduced the Pegasus as he extended his hoof for Bright, to which the farmer accepted.
“Bright McIntosh,” the farmer copied as the colts shook hooves. “Ya wanted the truth, and one lie is enough for one day in mah life.”
“Ah, you hate lying?”
“One lie eventually leads to a mess, and Ah’ve practically sworn off the concept.”
“Practically?” Bow repeated with mild surprise as they departed hooves. “You lied on occasion?” Upon hearing it, Bright’s yellow fur tinged pink, and his face slightly turned away from Bow as he tilted his head down onto his face to hide its brightening face. He didn’t want to admit it, but Bow clearly asked, evident when he saw Bow intrigued. So he was left no choice but to answer.
“Just twice in mah life,” admitted Bright, “Once in mah childhood when Ah tried to reverse the zap apple jam Ah gave to the Riches by mistake with misplaced cider and just today to get away from mah wife and sort personal things out.”
“Oh. Well, I know this is rather abrupt, but you wouldn’t like to join me and some other colts for a few drinks and some support, would you?”
Bright blinked in surprise once Bow’s offer drilled its way into his brain entirely. He stared at his newest companion with rather quizzical eyes. The offer was sudden undoubtedly, but it was kind regardless. What would it apply though? On one hoof, it wouldn’t be smart to have “a few drinks” with a colt and a couple of his friends when he’s under a half-hour away from leaving for Vanhoover. Buttercup has seen him have more than Bright would admit, but the last thing she would want from him was to be so knocked off his flank on cider while they went to visit her father. Still, on the other hoof, he still had those paternal problems of his to think over, and Bow was willing to give support. He turned back to the station to see the clock read one-thirty-seven PM, just twenty-three minutes before the Vanhoover Express.
He turned back to face Bow’s nervous with his answer: “Ah can stick around for twenty-three minutes till mah train arrives.”
Upon hearing his answer, Bow’s face brightened with a smile as he turned his back on Bright and went on his way, Bright Mac not far behind.
The two stallions trotted in silence as they made their way through the more spacious roads of Ponyville. Ponies were still bustling to and out of the station, but it was only six feet of distance when the crowds split up and became more open for ponies to walk freely without feeling cramped in a small closet or opening in a fence. Fillies and colts were running around, nearly crashing into one of the wandering colts as they made their way towards wherever Bow came from. Bright couldn’t tell exactly, but he could see some Earth Pony colt standing by and watching the rambunctious little ponies scramble around and shouting out safety orders to them. As a father himself, Bright could tell that that colt were parents to those little ones. Seeing it just made Bright sigh in nostalgic forlorn, as it just reminded him of watching over his children when they were younger and how he never experienced that kind of protective talk from his father other than his mother.
Bow heard a sigh from behind and looked back to see Bright dividing his attention between the ground and his direction ahead. He couldn’t help but feel a little perplexed about what was going on with the farm pony. His “family dynamics” aside, what was going on in that stallion’s head that was making him rather difficult to get? Did something happen to affect his family so deep? What wasn’t Bright telling him? He may not know right now, but he hoped that he and his drinking buddies could help soften Bright’s shell.
Speaking of buddies, Bow saw his destination in sight and stopped in his tracks with Bright just a hair away from bumping into his newest friend. The farm pony looked ahead to see what Bow was seeing.
Before his harlequin eyes was one of the least likely places Bright Mac would want to associate himself with in his life: The Ponyville Hole. A public bar in early years, the Hole was once one of the most popular landmarks of the small town of Ponyville known for only serving the finest refreshments in all of Equestria from Canterlot to Fillydelphia, mostly on account of the mysteriously persuasive methods of the owner. Bright only heard of Mr. Watering Hole, the owner of the bar, when Granny Smith reminisced on how her father accepted an irrefusable offer that provided Hole with ten years of cider, an offer that didn’t last long when Watering demanded the cider recipe and cut ties with the Apple family after they caught him trying to sneak off with the recipe itself.
And what a mistake it was. As soon as that deal went south, so did business at the Ponyville Hole. Prices were forced to gradually go down, product shipments were frequently delayed, and Watering was acting up so much that he was deemed “too aggressive” to be running his business anymore, so he left town as he wasn’t gonna “take any more of Mayor Mane’s manure,” leaving the Hole in his apprentice’s hooves.
Bright was honestly surprised to know that some ponies continued to go to the Hole even after all that, especially with how the joint looked at initial glance. The walls were ripped and decaying, with holes in the ceilings that haven’t been patched in Celestia-knows-how-long and the front windows were cracked. The only thing Bright noticed unchanged were the saloon doors as he and Bow made their way inside the bar.
Once inside, Bright was nowhere near surprise to see that the interior was no different than the exterior. It was just as cracked and decayed as outside, it looked as if a bar fight erupted inside. The floorboards were fragile to the point one could bust through them, tables were turned over and broken, and chairs were standing around onto tables or shattered. Atmosphere wasn’t all. Dust had collected all over. Run a hoof over anything that bar and one couldn’t see their natural color under months to probably years’ worth of dust. Cobwebs were quilted into high into the supports and low into the unused chairs. One can even smell the noticeable smudges and spills found across the bar as much as they can feel them either dried or fresh. The only thing that seemed to really sparkle and stay that way 24/7 out of the bar was the bar itself, as Watering Joe, the owner/bartender, is constantly cleaning and wiping it down, while he is rumored to only clean the bar entirely once a year.
How ponies still come here I’ll never understand, Bright exclaimed to himself as he scanned the bar again for occupants. He found Including himself, Bow, and Joe, he counted eleven ponies in the bar: two colts kissing it off in the far left corner, a down-on-her-luck mare chugging her sorrows down on probably her seventh mug, a unicorn stallion playing darts to the right without his magic, and four occupants sitting up front as Joe obsessively polished the bar yet again. Bright wiped away sweat off his head since the interior wasn’t greatly air conditioned before following Bow up to the bar.
As they moved up, the honest farmer looked to see the four gentlecolts thoroughly. From left to right were a Unicorn, an Earth Pony, a second Unicorn, and a Pegasus. The first Unicorn, baring a mark of a football thrice, was coated in light gray in contrast to his dark brown mane and brilliant cerulean eyes and was built in the same strong and firm body as Bright and Bow themselves. The Earth Pony was gift-wrapped in quite possibly the dimmest colors imagined to match his pilgrim hat and tie collar, his amber eyes and coat colorized from brilliant to moderate, his gray mane and sideburns fused from light and medium, and his single pickax cutie mark and his dry, stoic face acting as the bow on top. Coated in azure, the second Unicorn was sporting two waning crescent moons, a big yellow moon and a smaller white one, as his amber eyes were the brightest trait about him in comparison with his dark phthalo mane. And lastly was the Pegasus, recoiling slightly behind his pale grayish malachite green-coated wings and barely covering his grayish turquoise eyes and with his curled light-amaranthish-gray cloud-like mane while marked with three clouds. And they were all looking at him and Bow.
“I’m back, guys,” Bow announced to the quartet of bar occupants, “with a friend.”
Bright felt his face burning up at the sudden attention directed to him. He looked around and saw the colts’ expressions directed to him. Both Unicorns looked rather pleasant enough, not having much an issue to have him around. The Pegasus was still recoiling in his chair, as if his mere presence were frightening. Finally, the Earth Pony still held onto his rock-hard face, no other emotion than stoicism present on his features. Standing stiff for some seconds, Bright freed his immobilized hoof and greeted them with a simple wave.
“Howdy, everypony,” he greeted, his confidence slowly coming back to him. “Ah’m Bright McIntosh of the Apple Family.”
“Pleasure to meet you,” responded the bigger Unicorn as he extended his hoof, which Bright accepted. “Name’s Hondo Flanks.”
Once Bright and Hondo released themselves, the former turned to the faceless pony himself. He’d be lying (again) if he’d said this colt scared him. The colt just had a blank, pale, emotionless face, with only his amber eyes the brightest feature. He simply cringed a smile for show.
“It is pleasant to meet another pony in the farming business, as one myself,” dryly stated the Earth Pony. “Only mine farms rocks instead of fruit. Mister Igneous Rock Pie in your presence.”
After explaining his profession to him, Bright felt somewhat more comfortable around the other Earth Pony as somepony he could relate to. Heck, farming is a profession taken on by most Earth Ponies, so it wasn’t so surprising. “Ah, it’s nice to see somepony who understands the fine labor of farming,” Bright chuckled slightly as the two colts take each other’s hooves.
Next on the greeting list was the second Unicorn who went right for the shake, grabbing Bright’s hoof and shaking it rather vibrantly. “My name’s Night Light and it’s a pleasure to meet you.”
“Likewise,” replied the still-shaken farmer after Night released his hoof, trying to stabilize his body. Lastly was the second Pegasus himself who was now itching away in his chair as Bright turned to face him. He could tell that he was going to have to break the ice with this final colt, so he did with: “Um, you okay there, sir?”
He could only watch as the Pegasus opened his mouth to speak, but nothing came through. The farmer pony stood there in wait for something to happen, biding his time by looking around the other colts, seeing if they were going to say or do something. Instead, he was met with their waiting faces while Bow had a big, toothy grin plastered on. Bright could only wait as the Pegasus finally mustered the courage to speak loud and clear.
“I’m Fluffy Breeze,” the Pegasus introduced himself with a timid smile as he shakily followed the others’ gesture and breathed deep as Bright shortly accepted it with his own smile.
“So, where did you come from, Bright,” questioned Night as he turned back to face the bar. Bright looked around and found an empty seat between Igneous’ and the one Bow has recently taken. He waited for his newest friend to be situated before taking the empty chair for himself. Once that was over, he turned to answer Night’s question. Before he could talk, however, Bow beat him to the punch.
“I found him in front of the train station. He was beating himself up over… ,” explained the polychromic Pegasus before he trailed off once he looked to see Bright’s downcasted expression. Glancing up with a small blush, he refused to continue with his explanation with the truth. “Anyway, I stumbled upon and offered him to come here and think about those problems over a few drinks.”
“That so?” questioned a melancholy deadpan voice in front of the colts. Bright shot up to see Hole’s apprentice Joe standing behind the counter in front of him with a disheveled face of dead eyes and non-shaven face. “Well then, how would you like a Manehattan?”
“Uh, no thanks, Joe,” Bright quickly denied with a panicked edge in his tone. He looked to see Bow and his posse staring with surprised faces before turning back to Joe who kept on to his deadpan. Fighting back against his blush, Bright spoke again with a weak smile: “Ah mean, Ah’ll just take mah family cider if y’all still have it.”
Not saying a word, Joe went or work. He grabbed a glass mug underneath the counter and made for the barrel barely marked with the Apple crest, mostly due to ages. The bartender held the glass underneath the valve, pulled the switch down, and held onto it until the glass was filled to the brim of overflowing. Placing it down, Joe grabbed a small scraper from a drawer with his teeth and used it to scrap the foam of the mug into the sink. Finally, the cider was brought before Bright Mac who had exchanged three bits for it, which Joe systemically accepted before walking off.
After looking around at his cohorts for some moments, Bright then took a small swig of his drink, smacking his lips slightly for the aftertaste. His face morphed into a slight cringe at the taste of the aged cider.
“Not that good?” questioned Hondo.
Bright turned to the white Unicorn with an answer of disgruntlement. “Not completely terrible, but Ah’ve honestly tasted cider better aged than this.”
“Complained the farmer who sells apple products,” mused Igneous, a muse that earned a round of chuckles and laughs from the colts while Bright looked at the Pie with a playfully unamused smirk and chuckle.
“Well, now that we’re all covered,” Bright gestured to all of them, mug in hoof, “what do ya gentlecolts want ta talk about?” He looked to his sides at all five colts who exchanged wonderment, waiting for somepony to suggest a subject for discussion. Eventually, one came of interest.
“On the subject of apples,” Hondo brought up, “I’ve been in Ponyville all my life and I’ve wondered what life is like up there?”
“Oh,” simply mustered the farm pony. A small silent stretch passed over the colts before Bright finally found something to say. “Well, it’s just a simple farmer’s life, ya know. We buck trees for apples, we make treats and cider out of them all four seasons around, we make a living out of them, we start over all year around. It’s not much of a complicated life.”
“Really, that’s it?”
“Pretty much, yeah.”
“So, no drama? No tensions? No nothing?”
“Nnnope,” replied Bright in a manner that will be taken up by his eldest child years later. “First thing y’all need to know ‘bout me is that Ah’m honest. So when Ah say what Ah say, Ah tell the Celestia-dang truth.”
Moving at blink-and-miss speed, Night Light clutched Bright’s face in his glistering glitter of pale cornflower. Before Bright could free himself, he was brought up close and personal towards Night, who had a concrete concentration within his eyes. He scanned the much larger stallion for any deceptive detail, his eyes darting faster as a parasprite, while Bright merely stood still in total discomfort as his space was disregarded without a care.
Finally after what felt like minutes, Night released Bright and turned to the others with a smile while somehow failing to notice their uncomfortable expressions for his most recent act. “He’s telling the truth.”
Doing his dangest to brush off what just happened, McIntosh violently shook his head back straight before speaking: “So um, anything else?”
“Unless you know how to mentally prepare yourself for the arrival of another foal in nine months,” offered the unenthusiastic Hondo as he took a big swig of his mug before talking again, “not much else to talk about.”
Bright looked at the Unicorn with some concern. “You don’t sound excited for it.”
“Oh no, I am. It just wasn’t planned. Raising one little filly was work enough, but now with a second coming, I’m not sure if I can keep up.” After airing his fears, the Unicorn hung his head low in uncertainty.
Upon hearing his concerns, the other five colts looked around each other for any of them to say anything regarding this matter. Being a father is one of the greatest achievements in a colt’s life, but it does undoubtingly have its downsides as many of its upsides. It’d take a strong, strong stallion to bear the pressure and responsibilities of caring for just a foal; an even stronger stallion to care for more than one. The five colts continued exchanging looks until Igneous got out of his chair and calmly walked over to Hondo who looked up to face the emotionless colt. Without speaking one word, he placed one hoof onto Hondo’s shoulder and finally broke the silence.
“From an experienced father of four,” he explained to the ill-confident stallion, “I’ll assure you that it’s no cakewalk at all, but it’s all worth it in the end. More children means the more of a legacy you’ll leave behind when you’re gone. You’ll be teaching them everything you know to make it through life. And you’ll love them both as much as you love your own wife. It is scary at first, but it isworth it. You can either brush it off and run away or be a stallion and stand by your family. Whatever you do is your call, but it will hugely impact your family.”
Hondo looked down again, but this time in thought upon Igneous’ words as he continued. They radiated within his head as he took the full meaning behind them. He never considered the role of a father being of such magnitude until now.
“You even need to be patient with them. They may not understand most of the things you do when they get older, such as grounding them, making them do work, or feeding wisdom to them. With time and being pushed in the right direction, they’ll come around and appreciate all that you’ve done for them, no matter what.”
With that, Igneous waited in patient for his words to fully sink into his Unicorn whose face now conveyed more confidence than it did before.
“I never really thought of it that way,” admitted the bigger Unicorn. “I just thought being a father was mandatory in life.”
“Being a father means way more than you think,” Night confirmed. “It’s more than a responsibility; it’s a gift. We are given the chance to be something more for those ponies we leave behind, just Igneous’ daughters or my son and daughter.”
“Or my own children,” Fluffy quietly yet confidently added.
“Or my own awesome daughter,” chimed in Bow with a raised hoof and proudful grin.
Hondo watched on with a smile. All of his friends gave their utmost confidence to him and his abilities as a father, using their own children as examples of what it really means to be a father. Minus one. Everypony waited, a tender silence hovering between them, in anticipation for Bright Mac to say something that would support Hondo, but nothing came with the recent addition to their pack. The silence stretched enough for them to get curious and turn heads to see Bright mimicking Hondo’s previous forlorn, deep in thought on something.
The silence stretched on until it was finally broken by the quietest colt among the sextet.
“Is there something wrong, Bright McIntosh?” questioned Fluffy as he looked at the farm pony with some discomfort in his eyes, hoping not to have gone far. Bright looked at Fluffy with some distraught of his own, a blush forming onto his cheeks for being jolted out of his near-vegetated state.
“Oh, dear,” gasped Fluffy as he held his his mouth in hoof, “I am so sorry for asking.”
“No, ya were just curious,” Bright quickly assured the fragile Pegasus, “It’s nopony’s fault, but…” He looked around to see the other colts, minus Bow, looking with equal curiosity. He didn’t want to ruin whatever pleasant moment the colts were enjoying before his addition, but now they were rapt with attention towards him. And they were in mood for an answer. Any other option out of his unwanted attention would be ineffective. Well, all except for…
No, not a chance in Tartarus! Lying was definitely out the window. Bright cursed himself for even considering the concept, even after doing so himself towards his own wife. Why was lying dominating his mind so much today? Is he trying to avoid something, or is he scared to face the hard reality of something? Whatever the reason, his most recent friends wanted an answer. And he’d kept them waiting long enough.
Sighing in submission, he finally spoke.
“Well…,” he started before biting his lips.
Bullets began pouring down his face as his inability to come clean became overbearing. That is, until he looked at Bow who offered the encouraging smirk and nod Bright needed. “The truth is that mah wife and Ah are bound for Vanhoover to visit mah estranged father-in-law, but after hearing Hondo talk about his problems and Igneous giving him new insight on being a father, Ah’m just nervous to meet him again. He left his own daughter behind ‘cause she chose me over her family. Can any of y’all imagine another father just upping and leaving his own foal behind for something rather stupid?”
He waited in rhetorical anticipation for any of the other colts to say something empathic, something even remotely familiar to what Grand Pear did that night. Their faces, however, were all the answer he needed. They all conveyed expressions of shock, sadness, and lack of thought on his question. Even Igneous was able to convey an emotion rather than deadpan. Another second passed before Bright continued: “Exactly what Ah’d thought. Ah don’t know what the Tartarus Ah’m doing asking y’all such a stupid question. Heck, Ah don’t know why Ah’m judging my pa-in-law! Ah haven’t had experience with fathers since mine died in a plowing accident when Ah was too young. Ah’ve pretty much learned anything paternal from both Grand Pear and on the job!”
“‘On the job?’” Night repeated after a small sip, too intent on Bright’s tirade. “So you’re a father yourself?”
“Of a son and two daughters,” answered Bright. “They’ve each taken after me and mah Buttercup. And they’re as hardworking and stubborn as us.” He then chuckled to himself as the thought of his children taking up much of his traits as their mother. His joyous smile died down shortly afterwards, however, when his demons came back to his mind. “But Ah don’t know what ta do with Grand Pear. Ah want everyone ta be happy in the end; Ah just don’t know how.”
Bow looked as his latest friend stared down at his drink with forlorn. He couldn’t sympathize with Bright’s situation. Heck, none of the colts surrounding the farm pony could. The Summer Sun Celebration was known for bringing different types of ponies from different parts of Equestria together in the most obscure means conceivable, whether any of those ponies like it or not. Such was the case for Bow when he first entered the Hole. He wasn’t expecting to meet up with any of his new colt friends as he bought a few drinks before preparing to leave until he met with Night Light and bonded with the Unicorn over paternal struggles and benefits. Shortly after came Igneous and Hondo who were respectively “passing the time” and “wanting to taste-test the finest beverage the Hole had.” Fluffy joined them with the short-lived fear of being surrounded with strangers after they reassured him.
In the time that passed before he brought Bright along, they had already shared their stories of their lives as fathers and their rewards. Fluffy was blessed with a daughter currently at Cloudsdale’s Summer Flight Camp and a younger son still too young to walk on his own legs. Hondo and his wife were expecting a second filly for their first daughter, who had a knack for fashion-making. Igneous kept his rock farm afloat with the great aid of his wife and four different daughters, the second youngest a stark pink in contrast to her grayer sisters. Night Light was currently supporting a family of three that consisted of his wife, his older son, and his younger daughter. And Bow himself was proud to proclaim his adoration of his own daughter who was also at Flight Camp, much to the brief discomfort of the other patrons in the bar. And they all had their own fathers to thank for how they turned out. And now there was this farm colt who too was a dad himself but deemed himself rather unworthy due to his lack of a dad himself.
Bow expressed a cringe for his self-loathing when he eyed Bright holding onto his negativity, forlornly chugging down his drink. The rest looked on in concern while desperately directing glares at each other just waiting for one of them to say anything. There had to have been something that Bow could say to make Bright feel confident with himself. What could the prideful Pegasus tell the honest farmer?
With a deep sigh and a lack of plan, Bow winged it: “Well, Bright, I’m not sure if this can help, but you should go to Vanhoover feeling confident with yourself as a father.”
McIntosh aimed quizzical daggers towards Bow. “How?” he simply asked.
“F-f-for starters,” explained Bow, a stammer of uncertainty in his voice as he spoke, “I think that, father or otherwise, you’d still end up the same stallion today. I mean, in just the fast twelve minutes you met us, you told us how you’ve been busting your rump 2-2-24/7 to keep your family alive and healthy enough after you and your wife are gone. A father’s first duty should always be to his family first and f-f-foremost.”
He looked at Bright who merely stared at Bow with some confusion. Seeing this made Bow froze in his place before he thought of something else to say. A few tense seconds passed before he broke out and continued with his statement. “Do you think that up until your wedding, Grand Pear was, in any way, a bad father to your wife?”
Bright stared straight at Bow with an expression of shocked realization. It was at that moment the honest farm colt himself developed an epiphany, as if he finally noticed something that was in the clear blue and he was completely oblivious to it. He thought back to all of the interactions he had seen between his wife and Grand Pear. Other than a few tense moments between them, none of them ended with either of them saying “I hate you” or any of the sort. Grand Pear was always fair to his daughter and treated her like she was just her age. They simply had a simple father-daughter relationship until the wedding night.
Once completely analyzing the data, he turned to Bow with his answer: “Nnnope.”
“Then I think you have nothing to worry,” assured the bigger Pegasus. “If anything, he’s probably regretting it up to this point. Any father who regrets his mistakes can’t be that bad, can they? A real father must be generous, kind, honest, loyal, a colt for good laughs, and, above all, magical in good spirits. He must put his family’s thoughts and concerns before his own. He must be hardworking, strong, and compassionate for them. He must be the best self he can be. You and your father-in-law, differences aside, in my opinion, fit that bill to a T. And if nopony can smell those qualifications surrounding a father, then who needs those guys? Do you understand?”
Bright’s ears were up and focused solely on what Bow was telling him. He registered those words to their fullest consent and heeded their gravity. Anypony would easily tell the differences between a good father and a bad father solely on how their children were raised. If Grand Pear were a bad father, Pear Butter would’ve be either miserable or worse than he’d had been. And instead, he was just stuck holding onto a pointless grudge with the Apples. And he was luckily nothing short of a hardworking colt who knew the value of responsibility and business. And half of those traits were passed onto Pear Butter.
His Buttercup turned out to be an amazing mare with a heart of platinum strong enough to support her family to the end of her life. She was compassionate to accept any help that comes her way, she didn’t take manure from anypony who would take advantage of her heart, she was modest enough to admit her own mistakes and shortcomings, and she didn’t care if she fell in love with a colt whom her father considered not right for her. She was patient, considerate, responsible, and, the best of them all, a mare who goes out of her way to put others’ needs before her own. There was no other mare that could compete against Buttercup’s beauty, inside and out. So if any father was good enough to raise a mare of Pear’s persona
With that in mind, the Earth Pony finally looked at the concern-looking Bow with a sincere smile that showed how much he considered the Pegasus’ statement.
“I do understand,” confirmed the honest father.
Upon hearing his answer, Bow’s concern was instantly replaced with satisfaction at Bright’s newfound perspective on life. Adding to the success more was the collective clopping surrounding the two stallions. McIntosh looked around to see the rest of their posse clopping their hooves together for the moment shared amongst them. The attention and praise directed towards him made Bright mildly blush in embarrassment for something so trivial, but it was comforting, nonetheless. Just for laughs, he took his hat into his right hoof and placed it over his chest as he took a small bow and extended his left foreleg out into the open, much to the other colts’ amusement.
The applauses finally died as Bright readjusted himself onto his chair and set his stetson back onto his red mane. But before he could fully be comfortable in his chair, he heard the creaking of leather on his right. He looked to see Night Light standing straight in his chair and raising his mug of cider in hoof. Why he was doing it he was ready to ask until Night’s next words rang true.
“Gentlecolts,” he proposed as he moved his head side-to-side to face all of his friends, “I propose a toast… to the gift of being a father, the joys of raising our children of the next generation-.”
“And the wisdom we pass down to them,” finished a rather bold Fluffy with his own raised beverage. His green face turned into a deep red when he saw Night’s surprised expression. The shy Pegasus was rather worried that he was rude for interrupting his friend. Luckily, his fear diminished when Night’s face morphed into that of appeasement, clearly showing some pride for Breeze to have finally cut loose out of his shell. Seeing this made Fluffy’s grimace break into a small smile.
During that moment, the other colts rose up from their seats and held their own mugs and drinks high in equal elevation with Night’s mug. With a clink and cheer, they celebrated their happiness.
The fathers of Equestria’s future heroes spent what was left of Bright’s time in Ponyville sharing various stories involving themselves and their time with their children. Igneous shared the tale of how he and his wife left the barn in the hooves of their eldest daughter while they made a quick run for more picks to replace their broken ones, and when they returned, they found it to be in chaos and now under the “rule” of their two youngest. Fluffy’s tale of how he found his daughter hiding under the carpet after breaking one of his newest lamp by accident when she was six while he was out rather too adorable for him to finish. Night Light remembered the one time where his daughter built a book fortress across the entrance to the kitchen and refused to let her brother pass until he gave the password. Even Hothoof himself shared with the colts all of the “momentous” achievements his own daughter was able to do as she grew older from simply speaking her first words to learning to fly.
Outside their exploits as fathers, they even reminisced on stories depicting them and their own fathers. Hondo was always very fond of the Buckball and Football games his father took him to when he was just a young colt, the star athletes he met, and the autographs he received from those athletes. A tour guide for visitors to the Cloudsdale Weather Factory, Fluffy’s father often let him stay with the ponies stationed with cloud sorting where, amazingly one day, he had gotten his cutie mark for his impeccable sorting and identification. Bow’s dad, like his own son, was a stallion who often praised, even the most minute, every good thing that’s ever happened in Hothoof’s life, such as towel hanging, being the first to finish his dinner meal, and proposing to his wife, regardless of what other ponies thought of it. Night Light’s father was a colt who was often stuck in the past, reminiscing on historical figures and events, while, in stark contrast, he was more of a future pony, looking ahead instead of behind, but they always were available for each other in the present. Courtesy of Granny Smith, even Bright Mac, despite his limited time, was able to speak positively about his own father, stating that his was just as hardworking as he is now (the most hardworking of his entire family in his time), had an amazing charm to him which helped him attract the younger Granny, and, apparently running in his family, was just as honest.
Eventually, the time for Bright to leave for Vanhoover has dawned onto the farm pony. While disappointed to just leave his new friends so soon, Bright had a responsibility to be there for his wife when they talked to Grand Pear. After paying for his cider, he said his prolonged goodbyes to each of the colts, promising them that they would meet again before he finally exited the Watering Hole back for the Ponyville Train Station.
Once making it back through the ocean of new ponies from the train, Bright Mac made his way straightforward to the train. On the trot, he smiled at the sight of his wife trotting her way towards him, a smile that he has always loved to see on her face. As he climbed aboard the car, he turned to his side and caught sight of Buttercup sparing a wave goodbye to quintet of mares, including the pale amber Pegasus mare, who happily returned the gesture. He made his way down the car until he found an empty seat in the second booth to the left. As soon as he situated himself into his booth, Pear Butter came trotting in and soon taken the spot next to him. The train doors then shut themselves and the car pulled forward until the chugging of wheels engulfed the air. The perfect pair managed a small glance of the station before they pulled away completely.
Bright McIntosh watched his wife resting her head onto his shoulder as his mind drifted to personal matters. He entered the Station with hopes to reconcile with his estranged in-law and fears of being seen as a bad father. He lied his way out of his wife to hopefully make sense of his situation before hitting a big rock with no hope of escape. That is, until salvation came in the form of a quintet of colts who were like him: ponies unaware of their daughters’ futures as heroes of Equestria, but most importantly, a father. While their time was short, it was worth it, as they gave him a newfound sense of being a father and reminded him that a stallion’s family must come before himself. From that point on, he was determined to always put what’s best for his family before anything else. He also promised himself to tell Buttercup the truth of what he was really doing.
As he looked out the window, watching the landscape rush by, he felt a surge of confidence within him that made him feel strong, responsible, and caring; the best traits of more than just a hardworking pony like him and Buttercup.
A parent.