Hey everypony, uh.... Sorry I've never done one of these before.
Being here today made me think of the word "Reprise."
Same song, different pitch.
That's all a reprise is. The same song, sung a little differently, in a different place. With a different voice. All of a sudden it becomes something completely new. Something beautiful.
This song I'm about to sing may sound familiar, but I swear to you, it's a whole new arrangement.
It started out at the end of a practice. We had an extra on the group today. It was a five part arrangement, so Fluttershy had shown up to lend a hoof.
The stage was under repairs, so we were practicing at Sweet Apple Acres. This meant that me and Big Mac were outnumbered four to two. With Fluttershy, Rarity, AJ, and my wife, we were the only two guys in the house.
Okay, there was my son, but Down Beat was a little traitor.
The colt LIVES for attention, and he's constantly looking for new ways to get it. Right then he had four mares telling him how adorable he was, and he was loving every second of it.
He is pretty cute. He takes after his Mom (thank Celestia), red mane, eggshell coat. He's got my eyes though, and if I'm reading him right, my sense of humor.
If this keeps up he'll be better with women than I ever was, because they had their eyes locked on the little guy. We were going to be here until Beat got tired, which was going to take quite a while.
I made frantic eyebrow signals to Big Mac. He seemed to take the hint and we snuck out to the barn for a beer.
We didn't notice Fluttershy had been in the kitchen.
"Hm?" Fluttershy asked. "Where are you two going?"
"Ah!" I started to panic. "Yes. We were heading out to the barn to... help slop the hogs!"
Big Mac remained completely silent. Not an "Eeyup" of solidarity to be found. He was just looking at Fluttershy. Gaze unbroken. Turning even redder than usual.
"Oh," Fluttershy smiled. It was obvious she could see right through us."Go ahead, then! Oh, and Big Mac?"
"E-Eeyup?" He said shakily.
"Thank you for your help at the cottage yesterday." She smiled at Mac. "It was very thoughtful of you!"
Looking at Mac I thought he was going to pass out. I think he was trying to force out another "Eeyup," but by the time he could breathe again Fluttershy had gone back to the baby worshiping gaggle.
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When we got to the barn, I opened my beer and finally asked. "Alright, spill. How long?"
"What?" Mac responded.
"Your in love with Shy," I reasoned. "Sweet Celestia did that look familiar."
Big Mac slumped. "Eeeyup."
"Sweet Equestria!" I got one right! I got one right and Torch was inside! Dammit! "Like I said, man, for how long?"
"Oh, let's see," he looked up. "She moved here eleven years ago. AJ met her a year after that..." He slumped. "Goin' on ten years now."
My jaw dropped. "Ten years? You've been sitting on your feelings for this filly for a whole decade?! I kept from telling Torch for about two years, that nearly killed me. And I nearly lost out on the best thing that ever happened to me! You've gotta say something."
"Nnnope."
There was something about the way he said that. It wasn't a normal denial. There was a lot of weight behind it. This isn't something he was saying out of panic. He had thought long and hard about this decision.
It took me aback. I sat down on a bail of hay and looked right at him. "Why?"
He looked up at the barn's ceiling. "It'll end in heartbreak. It always does."
"Not always," I said. "Look at me and Torch. We have no plans of splitting."
"Nnnope," Mac said again. "That ain't what I mean."
I'd never seen him this sad before. He looked like a thousand painful memories had been coming back to him all at once. I could swear I could see him start to tear up. "Mac," I finally said, "What happened?"
He had a soft smile. "My parents were about as close as you could ever get. They'd known each other since they were foals. Mom always had Pa's number, he was grateful for that. Then-" Mac choked for a moment, then composed himself. "Then Ma got sick. I'll be damned if he wasn't there for her every step of the way. The farm nearly went bust because of the hospital bills. When she finally passed away..." Mac shook his head. "Nopony home. My dad just shut down. It's like he wasn't my father anymore. In a way he died with her.
"So my question is this," Mac turned to me. "Why should I go through something where the best case scenario is watching somepony I love die?"
I looked down. I won't lie, I'd thought about the question. The morbid thought had occurred to me that, if everything worked out the way I wanted it to, Torch would watch me pass, and Beat would watch his mother pass. It was a hard thought.
"That's not it," I finally said. "That's not how you should be thinking of it."
Mac looked straight at me.
"It's not to watch them die," I said. "It's so they don't die alone. It happens to all of us, one way or another, and sweet Celestia, that prospect scares me. I am in no rush to get to it, believe me. But when I get there, the only comfort I'll have is Torch. With her and Beat there I'll know my life wasn't wasted. I'll feel better about the whole thing. If, Celestia forbid, the opposite happens, I'll be there for her. She deserves nothing less..."
Big Mac started looking at the ground. Lost in thought.
"You love this girl," I said. "Don't you think she deserves to have someone there when it's her time? And if she does, do you honestly think that anyone could do a better job then you? Does anyone else love her that much?"
Mac thought for a moment, and then he gained a look of pure determination. "Nnnope." He made for the barn door. "Come on, we've got work to do."
I suddenly became very nervous. "Why? What work? Mac? Mac?!"
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We had the stage set up for the next night. Mac said that the only way he ever found for really expressing himself was singing. So he shanghaied me into a duet.
This seemed needlessly complicated. But hey, he was the one who got me to tell Torch I loved her.
Private performances are always the hardest for me. We only had three audience members that night, Shy, Torch, Beat. On stage was just the two of us, and a karaoke track.
We killed that night.
After a while, Mac went off to talk to Shy alone. And they didn't come back that night.
I heard a frantic clapping from the stands. I looked over to see my foal happily clapping for me. His mother smiling softly at me. "You know, you are really sweet."
"I try," I smiled. I walked over to my wife, kissed her on the cheek, and sat down next to her. "A guy loves a girl, doesn't want to lose her or see her get hurt, doesn't say anything until a friend talks some sense into him. Why does this sound familliar?"
"It's an old song." Torch leaned her head on my shoulder. "I never get tired of it.'
I laughed. "Neither do I."
"Never sounded better coming from you though." She smiled at me. "It was the song I needed to hear."
I looked straight into those huge magenta eyes. "I never stopped singing."
We kissed for a while, but it was interrupted by tiny snores.
Torch looked down at a sleeping Down Beat. "We should get home," she said quietly.
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When Mac asked me to make this toast, I wasn't sure what to say. I'd known him for so long I could have filled this whole thing with funny stories about him from practice and performances
Then I remembered that night in the barn.
Mac was so worried about how it was going to end that he forgot the important thing. However this ends, they'll end it together. I know that.
I've heard this song before, but it never gets old. It's still as sweet as when I sing it, and Mac and Shy's voices work perfectly together.
And I encourage you all. Sing it if you have the chance. It really is a beautiful song.
I suppose I should finish this up by saying: To Mac and Shy, the happy couple. May they have a long happy life together from when they leave this church.
And may they hear an endless reprise of their song.
Cheers, everypony.