"Promise..."
In the stillness of the morning, Bright Mac found himself alone.
His ears flicked at every sound. He fidgeted with the hat in his hooves. He gingerly cast his eyes upon the empty spot on the bed beside him and he looked at the open door to his room. Hugging his hat close, he edged himself off his bed and glanced out the window.
It was still dark.
Bright Mac turned his eyes to the sky as it was beginning to glow blue from the radiance of the sun. Twilight. It was still twilight. Gently propping the hat onto his head, he cast his eyes over to a grove of trees. Still feeling the butterflies churn in his stomach, he almost smiled. He quelled it before he could. He couldn’t smile. At least, not yet. There was really only one place he knew she could’ve gone.
Slowly, carefully, he left his room and walked down the stairs. He could still hear Granny’s deep breaths, and he held his own, not wanting to wake her. With his lumbering figure filling up the stairwell, he had to place his hooves just right to keep the creaks away. But he had been living in this house his whole life. The stairs were on his side.
He was almost there. He made his way across the living room and just about to the door before he flinched. Granny Smith had just called his name, and, folding his ears, he froze. A second passed. Then two. Realizing it was only her unconscious ramblings, he sighed. He quietly slipped passed the door to his house and his hooves connected with the soft soil below.
He could still feel the impacts she had made in the ground. The steps she had taken. Taking a deep breath, he relaxed, and felt his connection to the earth strengthen. His hooves tingled, and his mind raced. And even if he wasn’t an earth pony, he knew her well enough to know where she would go.
The first signs of morning activity had already begun thanks to the shallow light provided by the refracted rays of the sun. The sky had begun to take on a magenta hue at the edge of the horizon, but the sun was yet to rise. Birds had begun to chirp. The apples he took care of had begun to shine once more. Squirrels and chipmunks and honey bees were just waking up to the first signs of light.
Bright Mac trotted with purpose. If he was right… he should be there beside her. She… Bright Mac knew that she loved him, but he wasn’t sure if she would want him. If she was ready.
Already, his ears were flicking to catch the sound of quiet sobbing. His pace slowed. He adjusted his hat and took a deep breath once more. With a moment of hesitation, he nodded to himself, and he made his way through the bushes with expert silence.
The wind breezed in the small clearing around them. The serenity of the sound of grass and leaves rustling was broken only by the sobs of a newly-wed mare. Bright Mac could only look at her with his own remorse at having to make her choose.
“Buttercup?”
Bright Mac’s voice echoed softly, his words carrying gently in the small clearing.
Buttercup’s ears swivelled to the sound of his voice, and she glanced back at Bright Mac with eyes misty and tearful. Sniffling once, she turned back to the two hoof-sized mounds of dirt in front of a beautifully decorated archway.
Bright Mac approached her shaking figure, gently sitting next to her.
“Hi, Buttercup.”
If she heard him, she didn’t take notice. With his heart pumping with worry and longing to comfort his beloved, he joined her in looking at the seeds they had planted at the boundaries of their farms.
He took a breath. “I… I know this is really hard for you… and I-I know it’s partly my fault for making you choose between me and your family… and I’m sorry.”
There was only silence.
“And I… I know th-that you might not want me here, so just say the words and I’ll skedaddle like a chicken from a howling timberwolf. I’ll be out of your way and-”
He suddenly felt a pair of shivering forelegs wrap around him with tight fervency. Glancing down, he found Buttercup’s tears increasing as she nuzzled him and shook her head at the same time.
“P-please d-don’t l-leave,” Buttercup sobbed, “Stay with m-me… I d-don’t want to be a-alone…”
Bright Mac could feel his own eyes grow misty, and with a nod, he nuzzled her back. Wrapping his own forelegs around Pear Butter, he sighed and rested his head atop of hers. As Buttercup let her heart out, Bright Mac continued to hug her tightly. It was all he could do. They stayed that way for a time, long enough for the sky to start turning beautiful hues of pink and blue, the signs of an almost peaking sun breaking away from its prison underneath the horizon.
“I’m so sorry, Buttercup,” Bright Mac murmured raspily, his eyes beginning to tear up all on their own. “I made you choose. I… I made you leave your family… and you know me. Heh… family-f-f-family is e-everything to us Apples…”
As his own tears fell, he heard the shaky voice of Buttercup say something back to him, and her grip tightened.
“Y-you have nothing to be s-sorry for, Bright Mac,” she had said.
Bright Mac looked at her with blurred vision. “But Buttercup…”
“No ‘buts’,” Buttercup said, “None of it was y-your fault. And n-none of it was my fault or Dad’s fault either… it’s n-nopony’s fault…”
“Buttercup…” Bright Mac murmured, nuzzling and stroking her mane. “I… but I…”
“We fell in love, Bright,” Buttercup sniffled, “Simple as th-that.”
“What about your Dad?” Bright Mac asked. “He left you behind…”
“I had t-to choose, didn’t I?” Buttercup said, wiping the tears from her eyes. “And I ch-chose y-you… if it’s anypony’s fault, it’s mine and mine alone…”
“I made you choose…” Bright Mac insisted, looking her in the eyes. “Butter, I made you choose.”
“It was bound to happen eventually, Bright Mac,” Buttercup whispered. “We love each other t-too much.”
Bright Mac could only tear up at her words and hugged her tight once more. “B-Buttercup… I love you so much, you know that…”
“I l-love you too, Bright Mac,” Buttercup weeped, “And yet… I still feel so so so angry and sad and regretful and a-a-and… I h-hate myself so much…”
“How could you hate yourself, Butter?” Bright Mac sniffled, “You’re beautiful… you’re amazing and wonderful and so many good things… how can you hate yourself?”
“Because of Grandpear!” Buttercup finally cried, letting go of their embrace. “It was really me that made him go away. It was our stupid family feud. It was because I’m a Pear and your and Apple and it was really truly because of me that he decided we were moving to Vanhoover!”
Breathing heavily, Buttercup gazed up at Bright Mac’s face with tear-streaks all across her face. “I t-told you, Bright Mac, it’s all my fault… and now… n-now Daddy’s g-gone and it’s all because of me...”
“Butter…” Bright Mac whispered, “Buttercup, c’mere.”
Buttercup nodded and stretched her limbs forward, her sobs wracking her body once more. As Bright Mac embraced her again, feeling and cherishing the warmth of her body against his, Bright Mac looked up at the sky and saw the cracks of light through the many orchards of apples and pears. The sun had finally risen, and the dawn’s early light cascaded through the trees and beamed through the archway onto Bright Mac and Pear Butter, warming them to the core. Seeing the light, Bright Mac found himself having an epiphany.
“Buttercup…” Bright Mac murmured, rubbing her back. “Buttercup, the night’s coming to an end now. It’s… it’s a new day.”
Buttercup sobbed and hummed, burrowing her face into Bright Mac’s coat.
“D’you know what that means?”
Blearily, Buttercup looked up and studied his face through her tears.“W-what?”
Feeling the words come to his mouth, his lips curved upward in soft happiness and realization. “A new start, Buttercup,” Bright Mac breathed. “I know you’ve just made a hard decision and I don’t want to disrespect the Pears, Butter, but… we’re family now. You and me. Against the world.”
Buttercup sniffled but was otherwise silent. Smiling just a little, she pulled away from Bright Mac and turned to face the rising sun. They both watched as the dawn grew brighter, illuminating both apple and pear trees on either side of them. The grasses and leaves glowed green, the sky turned into beautiful flames of purples and blues, and Bright Mac couldn’t help but turn his attention to her wife.
In the dawn’s early light, Pear Butter glowed with warmth. He studied her locks and the way they bristled and glowed in the sun. How her eyes now glinted with new meaning and love yet spoke of volumes of deep longing and regret. How her face beamed at the warmth of the morning sun and the small smile she had adorned. The way she leaned in towards the light. How close she was to him.
Turning his attention back to the warm morning ahead of them, he felt a hoof wrap around his own. Looking up the limb to Buttercup’s teary eyes and smiling face, Bright Mac smiled.
“Do you really mean that?” Buttercup whispered. He could see just how much more she wanted to say, but both of them knew she didn’t have enough words to put it into. “Just... you and me?”
“With all my heart, sugarcube,” Bright Mac hummed softly. “With all my heart.”
Basking in the sun a little longer, Buttercup rested her head on Bright Mac’s side. They both enjoyed each other’s company. They could feel their hearts filling with content and warmth. With assured happiness.
“Bright Mac?”
“Yeah?”
Buttercup sighed, hugging his hoof. Blinking several fresh tears away, she took a deep breath.
“I don’t want to… to feel alone like that ever a-again… W-will you promise me you’ll stay with me?” she whispered. “Stay by my side at all times?”
“Until the end of time,” Bright Mac replied. “I love you, Buttercup. I will be by your side until we both die and we’re sitting in our graves, and whatever life comes beyond.”
A serene silence lingered between them, and they radiated warmly as they loved each other like no other. Only one more word was spoken between them, and it was of a bond that would last the test of time...
“Promise?”
“Promise.”