The Mystery of Applejack's Parents

by Musical_theatre_demon

12.

But before Bright Mac could leave, over to Sweet Apple Acres Grand Pear did go. With his plow, he sought to destroy all, if not most, of the apple trees growing in the apple orchard of the farm. Bright Mac felt like this was all his fault, so he ran himself into the situation.

"Hey! What the hell do you think you're doin'! This is my home as much as it isn't yours! I grew up here and it has a special place in my heart!" Bright Mac said. "I come to visit my fillies and colt and here you are destroying my very own apple orchards that my mother worked her flank off to plant! This ain't no rivalry no more - this is an enemy seeking revenge for his own benefit!"

"Out of my way! You had the nerve to marry my daughter against my will, and I will never forgive you for it, you goddamn Apple!" Grand Pear shouted. "And to make you pay, I am going to tear down all you ever loved."

"No, you don't have to do this!" Bright Mac said.

"Too late," Grand Pear said.

"Look at what you're doing! Would you do this on your own farm?"

Grand Pear took a good look around, demounting and bringing his plow back to Pear Farms. "I'm sorry. I overreacted," he said as he left. "But mark my words, Apple Family, the Pears will make a mark on sales better than ever before! You can guarantee it!"

The Apple Family just scoffed from inside the barn, Granny Smith holding up her hoof as to give him the middle finger - as much as a hoof could imply, of course.

Seemed like the feud would never end. Regardless, Bright Mac felt obligated and somehow hopeful to bring Pear Butter back here.

* * *

"What the hell? After that fiasco? No way! I ain't goin' back there!" Pear Butter said. "And when I say never, I mean never. I know you want me to be a part of your life and want to make me part of the family, but the hard truth remains. I'm a Pear and you're an Apple. Despite us being meant to be and star-crossed lovers who managed to make it this far, I'd rather not risk anything more."

Bright Mac sighed. "I understand. And I won't force you to go back if you don't want to." He smiled. "But Applejack, Big Mac, and Apple Bloom would be happy to see you."

Pear Butter considered it, following him to Sweet Apple Acres where they faced Granny Smith, just older and much weaker than before.

"Dang, your mother looks different," Pear Butter remarked.

"Well, what did you expect? It's been several years. She's not as young as she used to be, it's obvious to tell. And it's also common sense. Ponies get older, not younger."

"Gee, I was just making a comment," she said. "But I get where you're going."

Facing each other, they blurted out in unison, "You're the only one who ever truly understood me."

Blushing, they turned away from each other, creating an awkward silence between the two.

"Did I really say that? How is that even possible?" Pear Butter said, still blushing profusely.

"I know right! It's crazy! But sometimes something is so crazy, it seems too good to be true! Then it turns out to be true, and right before your eyes, life flashes and you're spending the rest of your life with somepony you've loved all along," Bright Mac said, also blushing profusely.

"Aw, stop it!" Pear Butter said, her face still more red than her natural peach color.

"You stop it!" Bright Mac said, chuckling, eventually tackling her down.

She laughed and laughed along with him as they wrestled lovingly. That was when Granny Smith and Pear Butter emerged from their farms. They couldn't believe their eyes - they were livid seeing those two like that. But Bright Mac and Pear Butter were too caught up in the moment to notice, and even if they did notice, did it even matter? They knew already, so there was no use in hiding it anymore.

Grand Pear and Granny Smith marched right up to them, tearing them both from each other.

"This is the last straw, Pear Butter! Step away from that Apple or I will do something I will regret!"

"You can't control me no more! I'm a grown mare!" Pear Butter said. "And I can make my own decisions, mind you! What you need to do is forget about this stupid rivalry!" She grunted in frustration. "It's so stupid how you argue day and night, day and night, for hours on end! Why do we have to endure it any longer? We deserve peace just as much as everypony else. Think about that - long and hard. Long down the road, you'll look back on this tomfoolery and conclude that your were a bunch of psycho dumbasses creating a utterly useless rivalry that's divided our families to the point where even we have to suffer." She turned around, embracing Bright Mac. "Think about it. I can't make the decision for y'all. You have to find it within yourselves to change."

Grand Pear and Granny Smith took desperate measures, Granny Smith replanting all her trees to recover her orchard while Grand Pear did nothing. There was nothing that would make him apologize - nothing at all. And Granny Smith wasn't determined to destroy the rivalry either.

* * *

A few months passed and the couple found themselves at Sweet Apple Acres once more. The apple orchard was back to its original prosperity, making not only the Apples happy, but Pear Butter as well. But still the families began to argue and violently threaten things they both would regret in the future.

Pear Butter and Bright Mac grabbed each other's hooves, tears streaming down their faces as they watched the divide. Seeing the divide, still holding hooves, they made their way to the roof of Sweet Apple Acres, jumping off to their deaths.

Grand Pear and Granny Smith ceased arguing, and looked around. They saw the bloody bodies and ran towards their son and daughter. Tears swelled up in their eyes, forgetting everything. Forgetting the rivalry as they looked solemnly at the lives that were given up that day. Grand Pear looked up at Granny Smith, who looked up at Grand Pear.

"All this caused the death of our foals?" Grand Pear said. "I never thought our rivalry would end like this - end in disaster. If I would've known, I wouldn't have been so hard towards you." He dipped his head low. "I'm sorry. Could you ever forgive me?"

Granny Smith raised an eyebrow. "Are we puttin' this silly rivalry behind us? If so, then I'm all for it. None of us asked for it to end the way it did, but I think it taught our families a lesson that all this fightin' just brings us further and further apart. Now that they're part of the family, I forgive you."

Grand Pear smiled, hugging Granny Smith. Together, the two ponies buried Bright Mac and Pear Butter. And that, was the end of the story.