The Line Between Fire and Light

by Stolenalicorn

29 Apple Story

She looked down at her smiling daughter cradled gently in her forelegs. She'd given birth to her weeks ago, but there were complications. While the rupture had been fixed she had gotten an infection that had now become blood poisoning. It had been back and forth if she was going to recover, but now there was finally an answer and she wasn't getting any better.

She knew she didn't have long left, but she was happy for so much of her life. The friends she had made, the family she shared her life with … except her father. Even now it hurt her to think of him.

She pushed the thought from her mind as she looked into her daughter's eyes. She knew something special was waiting for her.

Something, probably a pegasus, flitted outside the window in the corner of her eye drawing her back to where she was now. It was a quiet and beautiful day, she just assumed that the thunder last night was a mistake as there were no clouds to be seen. A warm breeze brought birdsong and the sweet scent of wildflowers. Her husband and her two other children were with her. No matter what had happened in the past or was yet to happen, she was happy now.

Her husband gently took the baby and cradled her as she slept peacefully.

Her eyes felt heavy and she could no longer fight the urge to rest. Her eyes closed and with the last of her strength she whispered. “I love you all.”

Pear Butter died on a Wednesday at three forty two in the evening, with her family close to her. She was survived by her husband and three children, one only a few weeks old. She died from blood poisoning due to a complication from foal birth.

Bright Mac soldiered on as best he could. He had his children to care for and his mother, though aging, was as tough and spry as ever. He knew at least that he wasn't alone.

Strength often brings with it stubborn persistence, and Bright Mac had both. There was rarely a day he didn't fall right to sleep when he got home as he had worked himself to exhaustion. And he never let a little pain slow him down. Even as his sides screamed in agony he didn't stop. He knew something was wrong, but he wasn't going to go see a doctor until his work was done.

Sweat drenched his mane as he fought through the pain. There was only one more tree to buck and then he was going right to the hospital. Maybe sooner. He thought as his head swam and he lost all sense of direction. The last thing he remembered before blacking out was the ground suddenly rushing up to meet him.

He had no idea what hurt worse; the news, the fact that he could have prevented this, or his children watching him die less than a year after losing their mother. This wasn't going to be quick and gentle like Pear Butter's had been. He was going to fight this but it was inevitable, the infection had already spread too far.

As he listened to his children talk about how they were picking up the slack on the farm he couldn't help but be proud of them. They left that night since they had to get to school in the morning. This was as good a time as any. He could swear he heard gentle crying as his eyes closed, and a pleading voice telling him to keep fighting. He wanted too, he really did. But there was something else about the voice drawing him in, even as it called to him to think of their children.

Their children … their children … that resonated in his mind. There was only one reason for it to be their children.

All too soon he knew the voice was his wife. He couldn't fight any longer, she was with him now.

Bright Mac died on a Wednesday at eight twenty two in the evening. He was survived by his mother and three children, the youngest not even a year old yet.

“It's okay.” A gentle, caring voice told Bright Mac. “I know you fought as hard as you could.”

“I'm afraid it was inevitable.” Came a man's voice. His tone was sympathetic and calm. “And no one is ever ready when it happens.”

Bright Mac was so happy to see his wife he nearly forgot that he had just died. But inevitably the realization sunk in and he felt guilty about leaving his family behind. “I don't really know what I was expecting. But I am happy to know that I'm with you Buttercup.” He quietly said. There was no point fighting what he couldn’t change.

“Well, it's not that easy Bright Mac.” Pear Butter said hesitantly.

“How so? What's going to happen?” The concern in his voice obvious. Was there the chance this was the last time he saw Pear Butter? Who could be so cruel as to reunite them for even this long if they were doomed to be apart.

“It's not that easy because I am an interloper.” James calmly said. “I managed to steal some time for you, to give you both something before you move on to a place I will never know.” The word steal was apt in so many ways here, both for ripping these two from their time as they died and for the powers he had literally stolen to accomplish this feat.

Not everything he was using was stolen, however, as he brought out a small black balloon. He'd custom ordered these to form to the souls of those who used them rather than have one shape the soul was forced into. It had put him back personally, but they were worth the investment. “Blow into this. I know it sounds silly, and it is, but this will allow you to come with us.”

“Where are we going?” Bright Mac asked nervously looking to the strange creature standing in front of him and his wife. He was tall and walked on his hind legs, had long blond hair that went easily to his legs. Even knowing nothing about him he could see exhaustion written all over the face of this creature.

“To see your kids, you deserve to know that they do well for themselves.” James added evenly.

“Be glad I had a few words with him first.” Pear Butter said with a grin, before turning a glare on James. “He made it sound like you was all dyin'.”

“And I am either good or completely terrible at helping others feel better. There is no middle ground.” James said with a sheepish grin.

As Bright Mac blew into the balloon there was a curious popping sound and he felt a little strange. The balloon was gone and it felt as though he were covered in what he could only think to describe as a thin apple skin. It wasn’t entirely uncomfortable, but he wouldn’t care to repeat the experience. If he ever had to.

There had been something he was avoiding, something his mind told him he didn't want to look at, but he knew he had to. He could call it a dream if he only didn't look. Slowly he turned around and saw his dead body laying in the hospital bed. It almost looked as though he were sleeping, but he knew better. This was no dream.

With a gesture they left the hospital, there was nothing there for them now. The vehicle James led them to was unlike any they had known before. It had it's own wings was vaguely teardrop shaped and had a dome over the passenger compartment.

Bright Mac hesitated, hoping for some kind of explanation but got none. James only helped them in and began showing them the lives they would now be missing. The lives their children had without them. They only got to see a couple things here and there, big events in their lives.

It hurt that they couldn’t interact with what was going on, but that was outweighed by the pride and joy they felt as they saw their children grow and become the ponies they always knew they would be. They cheered as they watched as time and again Applejack saved Equestria along with her friends. They found comfort in Big Mac steadily working on the farm, being steadfast and reliable. Quietly crying as he found love.

They encouraged Apple Bloom as she struggled to find her way, smiled as she found her friends, felt pride as they helped others find their way and selflessly helped others. They heard Applejack tell Apple Bloom how proud their parents would be of her.

“We are sugar cube.” Bright Mac said. “We’re proud of all of you.”

Pear Butter wished more than anything at that moment that they could run out and hug their children. Let them know just how much they loved them all. But they couldn’t, James made it clear that they couldn’t. Bright Mac nuzzled her as she cried, offering a sympathetic smile.

It had been nearly a week just watching their children grow. James let them know that he could only get them a little more time and there was one last thing that they needed to see. They knew it would end far sooner than they wanted, and it felt so much shorter now. Only one week to experience the lives of their children, and not even all of it. Apple Bloom was still a foal with her whole life ahead of her. But they both knew that no matter what she did they would be proud of her.

The Epoch touched down in Sweet Apple Acres near a part of the orchard that didn't see much care. But the two recognized it immediately, this was where they had been married. The stone with their cutie marks had nearly been taken in by the two intertwined trees. The reminder of their still living love continuing long beyond them.

They heard a rustle in the nearby bushes and wondered who would be coming out here. The looks of this part seemed more a forest than orchard as Granny Smith probably let it go wild, not realizing that her son’s vows were sealed in more than words.

Bright Mac and Pear Butter were speechless as they watched Granny Smith and Grand Pear walk from the bushes, followed closely by Big Mac Applejack and Apple Bloom. Pear Butter couldn't help but begin to cry at the sight. Her father had finally come back, but it had been so long. She was never going to get the chance to talk to him.

Bright Mac placed his foreleg over her shoulders and held her as they watched their family finally reconcile. The silly feud finally ended. He wished it had ended while they were alive, Pear Butter had spent so many nights upset feeling like she had abandoned her family as Grand Pear had made her choose that night.

This was the evening James had been building up to, the reason they were here at all. He smiled as he looked at the two. “Go on. I got you as much time as I could and you've got important things to talk about. You've got until midnight, that's all I can do.”

Pear Butter's eyes went wide at the revelation that this had been building up to her getting to say goodbye to her father. She looked to James astonished, he had spent so much time telling them that they couldn’t go and meet their children. That if they did it may cut short what time they had. Now he was telling them to do exactly what he had warned them against.

James nodded as he spoke. “And if they ask … there's no need to tell them about me. This just needed to happen.”

Pear Butter wasn't going to waste another moment as she ran from the bushes to her family with Bright Mac following close behind. Granny Smith and Gran Pear both cried as they watched their children running from the woods. If this was some trick of old age it was a terrible one.

Bright Mac’s hug dispelled that notion quickly as he greeted his mother, and Pear Butter finally got to hug her father again.

“Ma … Pa …” Applejack said breathlessly before Pear butter dragged her into the hug too.

Apple Bloom had no idea what to say, she could barely remember either of these two ponies, but she knew they were her parents.

“I wish we had more time, there’s so much I want to talk to y’all about.” Pear Butter said. “And so much I would love to do with you too.” She said as she picked up her little foal, no longer the baby she had once been.

“We’ve only got a few short hours.” Bright Mac said as he looked around the group.

“How?” Big Mac finally managed to ask.

Bright Mac hesitated for a moment before Pear Butter spoke up. “That’s not important now. Y’all are what’s important right now.”

James cast an invisibility spell over himself as he moved to a better location, watching as everyone hugged and cried. Even he couldn't keep his eyes clear at the happy reunion. Unfortunately all good things end and in the middle of the night James approached Bright Mac and Pear Butter. They had been preparing for this, overjoyed that they got to say one last goodbye but terrified that it could be the last goodbye.

With a smile the two hugged the strange man who let them know how their family had fared and began to fade away. They happily moved on without regret.

***

James sat in his den reading quietly to himself. He had been awake for the last two days but couldn't manage to get any sleep with his nightmares that returned each time he even began to rest. Realistically he knew he should use the Enertron or his dreamless spell, but he really didn't want to as even that didn't fully spare him. Instead he sat reading, hoping that the story from the book would supersede his mind and let him rest.

He never even noticed as the three ponies walked into his den.

“James.” Applejack said hesitantly. They all knew that he was the one who had brought them their parents for that little while to say goodbye. There was no one else who could do something so impossible, especially for them.

James looked up from his book and smiled. The three of them had never come to him at once before. “What can I do for you?” He was glad for another friendly distraction. If not for wishing that his nightmares would end he may have actually forgotten about them in that moment.

“You already did it.” Apple Bloom said as she walked up and hugged him. A tear came to her eye as she held onto the bizarre man who would move mountains and defy time for his friends. James carefully wrapped an arm around her and allowed her all the time she wanted.

“We just wanted to say thank you for letting us see our parents again.” Big Mac said, he couldn't keep his voice even as he talked. He was so happy to see them one last time but so sad that they were gone again. “Even if we'll never get the chance again.”

James was now quite confused. He hadn't done anything like that, he had thought about it but decided that it would be too painful for the family to actually meet them after they died. They might ask him if he could bring them back to life, which he just couldn't do. No matter how he may try.

The door to his den was wide open and James could guess what was going on inside. He'd lived it himself more than a week earlier. He listened as Big Mac tried to say what he wanted to say before James stepped in the room himself.

“He didn't.” James said as he walked into the room. He nodded to himself and pointed out the door. A gesture he had decided that would tell him that he would be filled in later when he lived this through the first time. “At least, not yet.”

James stood and patted his shoulder as he walked past, leaving himself alone with the three ponies.

“I guess now we can thank you?” Applejack asked, not fully understanding the situation. So often what happened with James wasn't what it seemed, and this appeared to be just another one of those times.

“If you like.” James said, his voice was even as he spoke. “But you should know, I didn't do this for any of you. Not for Granny Smith nor Grand Pear, not even for Bright Mac.” He took a breath before continuing. “I did this for your mother. She died that day thinking her family hated her, that her father abandoned her. She was overjoyed with you three and the total acceptance of the Apple family. But that didn't heal the wound left on her that night her father walked away from her.”

His voice wavered as he continued to talk, he couldn't stay cold to the situation no matter how he tried. “Once I knew the story, I thought about what I could do. I can't bring back the dead, no matter what it may seem. What I could do is give her a chance to see her children one last time to say goodbye, and to learn that her father still loved her.”

“How did you know our mother?” Apple Bloom asked, she'd heard a lot yesterday but was eager to hear more from anyone who would tell her.

“Through you three.” James answered with a smile. “You told me about her and your father. You told me the stories you've heard … Obviously I was moved to action.”

“Wait, we told you? But this is the first time we've seen you in days.” Big Mac said, confused by the strange man.

“You traveled through time just to do this, didn't you?” Applejack asked, understanding the only way this made sense.
James nodded.

“You did all of this for our mother, just so she could know how much we all loved her?” Apple Bloom asked, on the verge of tears herself.

James quietly nodded again.

Unable to say more, the three ponies walked over and hugged James. This was so much more than they could ever hope for, even the short time they had to say good bye and let their parents know how much they loved them was a special gift.

They couldn't put their appreciation into words as they hugged him. James quietly held on as they tried to thank him, but he knew already how they felt. They'd told him themselves later.

And that night, for the first time in nearly a month, when James closed his eyes the nightmares didn't come.

Author's Note:

Be sure to tell your family that you love them, even if they’ve done things you don’t agree with. Nobody deserves to live thinking their family hates them.