A Quick Errandby CrackedInkWellChaptersPart 1Part 2Part 3Part 4Part 1You unlock this door with the key of imagination. Beyond it is another dimension. A dimension of sound. A dimension of sight. A dimension of mind. You’re moving into a land of both shadow and substance, of things and ideas. You have just crossed over into... The Twilight Zone. “Don’t you two worry none,” Granny Smith told the couple, “Ah can take care of these two until Y'all get back.” The mother didn’t seem convinced. “I’m not sure, Applejack can get quite cranky if she wakes up from her nap too-” “Hon,” the father interjected. “We’re jus’ gonna go to the market ta get some cherries, not a trip around Equestria.” The yellow stallion smiled, “After all, it’ll take, what? Twenty minutes? Half an hour? C’mon Buttercup, we’ll be back before ya know it.” The orange-maned mare glanced over to where her red son was. He was playing with the pillows on the couch. “Are you sure you can handle it?” Granny waved her green hoof dismissively, “Of course Ah can! Ah’ve raised Bright Mac after all, so lookin’ after yer colt is gonna be a walk in the park. Now go on both of ya, Ah need them cherries for ice cream later on.” “Will do Ma,” the yellow stallion, with his saddlebag placed on him said before he and his wife headed out the door. The couple began their journey to town, walking past the gate that they’ve built, they trotted down the dirt path between the rows of apple trees. Bright started to notice how quiet his wife was so he began, “It’s a good day to get out huh?” But she made no reply, “Buttercup?” “Hm?” she snapped her attention towards him. “Oh, sorry, I just got distracted back there.” The yellow stallion’s smile drooped a bit, “Somethin’ wrong?” “No, no. It’s nothing serious, just a thought I have.” Her husband paused for a moment to reach into his saddlebag to pull out a gold coin, “Bit fer yer thoughts?” With a giggle, she pushed the coin back to him. “Really, it’s nothing.” “Is it about the baby?” Buttercup put a hoof other her stomach. “No, it’s not that, it’s just…” She felt a hoof over her shoulder, a subtle gustier from her love that he was listening. “Hon, do you really think we make good parents?” Bright Mac’s eyes widen, “Now where did this come from? Of course, we are! We’ve been takin’ good care of our kids' jus’ fine.” “I know we are,” she smiled at him. “Really, I do love them both… only…” she hesitated. “What do you think that they’ll be like when they grow up? I don’t mean what cutie marks they get or stuff like that. I mean, would they be good ponies?” Her husband opened his mouth but found himself for loss of words. After scratching the back of his red-maned head, he answered, “Ah… Ah don’t really know. It would be shocking if they didn’t after all the love, time and work we put into bein’ with them apart of takin’ care of the farm. But that’s all in the future, somethin’ that hasn’t really happened yet. So who knows, maybe we’re worryin’ over nothin’.” “Still, aren’t you the least bit curious to see how they would turn out? I mean, like just hop a couple of years to see what they would be like.” She sighed, “Makes me wish that we could do that.” “Ah would be lyin’ ta say that Ah wouldn’t do the same. That would be interestin’ ta see what kind of stallion our Big Mac becomes.” “Or what kind of mare our Applejack will be… Or even to know if I’m gonna have a filly or a colt.” Buttercup mussed as they started to walk down the dirt road again when suddenly, “Oh! I’ve completely forgotten!” “What?” “We need my bag to put the cherries in,” she faced hoof. “Oh, I was worrying so much that I’ve completely let it slip out of my head! We’ve got to go back.” Bright raised an eyebrow, and after glancing at his saddlebags asked, “Could we store them in mine?” She shook her head, “Not unless you want to risk your bags from getting stained and sticky if they get squished. Come on Bright, let’s turn around and get it real quick.” The farmer watched his wife turned around and began to trot back home. With a sigh, he followed right behind her. Presented for your consideration: A mother and a father’s natural worry of their own children’s future while they raise two foals and one on the way – and a wish that they could sneak peek a glance into what lies ahead for their family. It is a passing wish, for sure, and a simple “what if” for any parent who wonders about the well-being of their own children. But in just a moment, they are about to get their wish. As they start to return to their farm, together they take a journey, into the Twilight Zone. Bright Mac and Buttercup walked close together underneath the warm, June sun. Making a conversation to fill in the serene silence of the countryside, until the mare spotted the farmhouse, “Okay, just let me run in real quick to get my bag and we’ll be back on our errand before you know it.” Her husband snickered, “You just wanna see if AJ starts crying again, aren’t ya?” “No,” she snickered. “Just wait here, I’ll be right back.” A grin of his own formed on the yellow farmer’s face as he rolled his eyes while his wife galloped up to the farmhouse. But as he did so, his eyes caught on the whitewashed gate overhead. His amusement morphed into confusion as he noticed that the paint was peeling in some places. “Huh, weird. Ah could have sworn Ah’ve painted this last week. Was it the brand that Ah-” “Bright!” he heard his wife shout. “Bright! Get in here!” The stallion went into a full gallop. From her screaming, it sounded like something had gone unexpectedly wrong. Grim scenarios flashed through his head from Granny had a heart attack to one of the children getting hurt as he quickly reached the front door. “Sweetheart, what’s… wrong?” He blinked, “Who rearranged the furniture?” It was true. Nearly everything from the couch to the pictures on the wall has been moved. Not only have they moved, but there were new additions that neither of them could recognize. There were pictures of ponies that didn’t look familiar to the couple, along with the lamps, carpet, and even the knick-knacks that lay on the bookshelves. “Ma!” Bright called out. “Ma, is this one of yer jokes?” “How did all of this happen?” Buttercup asked in total confusion. “Maybe it’s jus’ this room. Go on up and get yer bag hon.” However, whatever rational, reasonable explanations that he had about why the living room was rearranged was suddenly ceased when he heard his wife called out, “What happened to our room!” “What are ya talkin’ about?” “There is no room!” Now perplexed, he rushed up the stairs and went straight down the hall to where his wife was standing in the door to find that their bedroom has been replaced by a storage room full of boxes of seasonal decorations. “The hay is going on?” the mare asked. “Where’s all our stuff? Our bed? Our… everything?” “Somethin’ weird is defiantly goin’ on.” Bright Mac said as he looked around. He flipped open one of the boxes, “This stuff says ‘Hearths Warming,’ but Ah don’t recognize half of this stuff.” “Do you think the rest of the house is like this?” Buttercup inquired as she caught something moving from one of the windows. She motioned her husband to come to take a look, “Have you seen him before?” Out by the orchard, a stallion that was about the same built as her spouse was heading towards the barn, pulling a wagon full of apples. Her husband raised an eyebrow, “Can’t say that Ah has but…” Bright Mac squinted his eyes. “Hold on… there’s somethin’ really familiar about that fella… Ah’m gonna take a closer look.” Big Macintosh unhooked himself from the cart, his head warm and nearly out of breath from pulling such a heavy load of the farm’s crops to the storage barn, he wiped the sweat from his brow and proceeded towards a sink. The sink itself was in one of the stalls that held some of the farming tools like a hose, rakes, and shovels. After turning it on so he could let the icy waterfall over his head and taking a drink from it, he heard a voice. “Hello? You anypony in here?” At first, the red-coated stallion as perplexed as he was certain that voice was both unfamiliar and familiar at the same time. Turning off the sink, he called out, “Hello?” “Where are ya?” it was a stallion’s voice no doubt that had an Apple country accent. Yet, somehow, it wasn’t one that didn’t resemble any of the relatives that Big Mac knew. “We wanna ask what you’re doin’ on our farm.” Now he was confused. The red Apple farmer walked out of the stall to see who had entered. However, before he could ask what he meant by that statement, he froze. There before him were two ponies… ponies that he knew. A mare that had a carrot orange mane with a peach colored coat and sea blue eyes – while the other, a stallion, had the same color scheme as his youngest sister that had… jade green eyes. And on his head, he was wearing a familiar looking Stetson. “There ya are,” he said as he took a few steps forward. “What ya doin’ on our farm son? Did Granny hire ya as a farmhoof that we didn’t know about?” However, Big Mac backed away, too stunned to even speak. “Speak up boy, who are ya?” The red stallion only shook his head. Buttercup craned her neck over to the side to get a look at the stranger’s cutie mark. “Hon, look at this. Does his cutie mark look an awfully a lot like our son’s?” Puzzled, Bright Mac too looked over and spotted the same green apple that he had seen every day. “Hold on…? That’s Big Macintosh’s mark. But…” He looked at the stallion in front of him. “But that’s impossible. Nopony else has a mark like that… or a coat as red… or…” His eyes went wide, “Big Mac? Is that you?” It was here that the scarlet stallion found his voice, “W-Who‘re Y'all?” The mare stepped forward, “Mac? It’s Buttercup and Bright Mac.” “No…” Big Macintosh shook his head in disbelief, then his eyes went spearhead sharp as if his gave were like knives. “Who are ya two, really?” he questioned them, saying the last word through his teeth. Bright Mac took a step back, “That’s our names.” “That ain’t possible.” Still keeping that glare, the ruby stallion marched forward. “Ah don’t know who you two are, but if this is y’all’s idea of a joke, this isn’t funny.” He hissed. “What are ya talkin’ about?” “Do any of you think Ah’m that stupid!” he yelled. “If you think that either of you could convince me that yer really Bright Mac, or Buttercup, mah parents, Ah ain’t buyin’ it!” His fuming face was right up at the yellow stallion’s. “Get out, both of Y'all. And if ya try to pull somethin’ like this again on this farm, or with any of my family, Ah will get the police to arrest ya fer traspassin’. Now, out!” “Sweetheart,” Buttercup said, backing her husband away with a hoof. “Let’s get out of here.” “But he’s kickin’ us out of our-” “Bright,” she interrupted, eyeing at the fuming stallion. “Let’s, go.” With a frown, and giving the red stallion a look, he obeyed his wife and walked out of Sweet Apple Acres. Part 2“Just who does he think he is?” Bright said, letting out a fuming snort. “The nerve Buttercup. Ah mean the sheer nerve of kickin’ us out like that!” His wife didn’t reply right away, she craned her neck towards the apple orchard. “I don’t know what’s going on. You don’t think that really was Big Mac, do you?” The yellow stallion gave a skeptical look. “How can he? He’s twelve years old sweetheart.” “But I could have sworn that he looked just like him. He’s got the exact shade of red, cutie mark and everything. After all, he did that the names we gave him were his parents.” Bright Mac stopped for a moment to rub his temples. “Even if that were remotely true, why would he get upset over us for? For Celestia’s sake, he threatened to call the police on us.” “Maybe we need to find Granny,” his wife offered. “Have you noticed that we didn’t see her anywhere in the house? What if she stepped out or something?” Taking in a deep, calming breath through his nose, Bright replied, “Yeah, Ah guess yer right. But maybe we need to get those cherries first, and then go find Ma. Knowin’ her, she won’t drop why we haven’t done our errand in case we do run into her.” As he and his spouse resumed their walk towards Ponyville, his wife inquired what if they couldn’t find her. “Then we’ll get somepony to help us straighten this out.” And so, the couple proceeded onto the path towards Ponyville. However, as they rounded the hill that descended into its streets, they both froze as they looked ahead of the town in front of them. “Is this even Ponyville?” Buttercup wondered aloud at what she was seeing. Not only there were a few buildings that were certain weren’t there before, but they were stunned to see that in the near center of town there was a giant crystal structure that looked something of a cross between a castle and a treehouse. “What in tarnation is goin’ on around here?” Bright asked, looking just as perplexed as his wife. “Where did all these here buildings come from?” He felt his wife leaning up against him, “Hon, this is starting to scare me.” “You and me both,” he nodded. “But first things first, we need to get some cherries, then get some answers.” “Do you think that we’ve moved somehow?” The orange-maned mare inquired as they began to move forward. “How could we? We were jus’ takin’ a walk before we headed back. Maybe this is all jus’ a huge prank and we’re in the middle of some huge joke.” “And if not?” Bright hesitated, “Let’s go find the market first.” It was official, something was definitely going on. The very moment they walked into town, there were some ponies that were not only staring right at them, but many had taken double, triple, even quadruple takes. There was nervousness in some of the ponies’ eyes that steered away from them. Almost as if they were all surprised, afraid and in awe, all at the same time to even see them go by. “Ah really don’t like any of this,” Bright Mac muttered. “Tell me about it,” Buttercup looked over her shoulder as a mother shooed her children away from going near them. “Is it me, or is everypony here afraid of us?” “Now why would that be? Everyone in town knows us; we ain’t criminals or anythin’ like that. And it ain’t like we’re feudin’.” “But it does make you wonder why they’re acting like that.” “There’s the cherry booth,” Bright pointed towards the stand where it had a cherry sign overhead. The couple approached the stand where the owner had his back against them, scooping the red berries into large, glass jars. Buttercup cleared her throat, “Hi, are you busy?” “Give me a sec,” the stallion behind the counter said as he scooped up the last amount before placing on a shelf. “There we go, so how can I help…” He turned around to which he faced the couple that was addressing him. The owner’s face paled, “P-Pear Butter? Bright M-Mac?” “Yes, hello,” she smiled. “We were hoping that we could get some…” Buttercup trailed off as she took notice of the owner’s face. “Excuse me, but are you alright?” The Pegasus from behind the counter backed away, agitation on his face, “Oh Celestia…” “What’s gotten ya shaken up son?” Bright Mac asked. “It looks like you’ve just seen a couple of ghosts in a graveyard.” “P-Please don’t hurt me.” This taken the couple completely aback, “What?” the wife asked completely baffled. “I-I’ll give ya anything you want,” the owner backed away until his flank bumped into the row of shelves. “Just don’t hurt me.” “We just here for cherries-” but before Bright Mac could finish his sentence, the pegasus was practically slamming jars of the fruit on the counter. “Take them all!” he yelled. “Leave me alone!” Then before they knew it, he flew out of his booth in terror. The couple blinked, “Okay, that’s it!” the husband said, throwing his hat to the ground. “What in sam hill is goin’ on around here?!” “I know, this doesn’t make any sense.” Buttercup took one of the jars before reaching into her husband’s saddlebag to fetch the proper amount of bits to be left on the stand. “There’s something not right happening, but what? What has gotten everypony shaken…” then her eyes trailed off as she spotted someone familiar. A blue mare with a yellow apron and a pink swirly mane was buying candy canes. She immediately went after her, “Chiffon Swirl!” she called out. Ms. Cake immediately looked around; partly in surprise that somepony was calling out her maiden name. “Chiffon, how're things between you and your fiancé?” She located where the voice was coming from, and immediately her mouth dropped to the ground. “Pair Butter?” “How’s it been?” she went up and hugged the stunned mare. “Sorry I couldn’t make it for our outings last week, Jackie needed to be looked over and I couldn’t find a foalsitter for her. So how’s it going for you?” Buttercup pulled away and took noticed of Ms. Cake’s shocked expression. “Hey, are you okay?” “Pair? Is that really you dearie?” She looked at her confused, “Of course it is. What’s gotten into you?” “And everypony else fer that matter,” Bright Mac added as he too walked up to them. “Ever since we got inta town, everyone has been actin’ real funny around us.” “You look pale,” the wife pointed out to her friend. “Won’t you tell us what’s wrong?” For a moment, the baker was a loss for words, “Wha… How are you two here?” The couple blinked, “Come again?” “How in Equestria are you here? Don’t you even know what happened to either of you?” Bright Mac looked at her confused, “Ma’am, we don’t have a clue what yer referin’ to. Did we accidently break a law without realizin’ it?” “The laws of nature for one!” Ms. Cake exclaimed, “I mean, both of you are dead, how are you still around?” Husband and Wife exchanged blank stares between their friend and each other. “Pardon?” they asked in unison. “With all due respect dears, I remember being at your funeral twelve, thirteen years ago! I saw your bodies and everything.” “Afraid that there must have been some mistake,” the yellow farmer objected. “We’re breathin’, still walk around, and feelin’ a bit thirsty, so we must be alive. Side’s even if there were remotely true, Y'all think that we would at least remember dyin’.” “But… don’t you?” “No…” Buttercup said. “Say, a change in subject, do you happen to know where Granny is? We’re about to go look for her about a problem we’re having.” Ms. Cake told her that she had indeed seen her; she was selling their Apple products at her usual booth. After thanking her, the couple began to navigate through the marketplace. “Ah don’t believe it,” Bright Mac muttered. “What?” “Well… what she said back there. About us bein’ dead and all,” he shook his head. “Ah mean, that’s gotta be a whole load of nonsense if Ah ever heard such. Thinkin’ we’re like livin’ ghosts or somethin’.” “Then how do you explain all the looks we’re getting?” his wife asked as they round a corner. “Admittingly, no clue,” he replied. “Ah reckon that once we find Ma, then maybe things might be- Ow!” he felt something ran into his flank. Turning around, he saw a filly that had fallen over with a spilled basket of golden delicious. A young filly that offset him for a moment as she had the exact same shade of yellow coat and red mane as he. She had a pink bow and a cutie mark that looked like a shield at first glance. “Sorry!” she squeaked as she quickly tries to put the apples back into the basket. “Ah didn’t see Y'all there.” “Let us help,” Buttercup offered as she and her husband began to put the spilled apples back. “Again, sorry about that,” the filly apologized. “Ah’m in a hurry ta get these here apples to Granny.” This caught both of their attention, “As in, Granny Smith?” Bright inquired. “Yeah, turns out we’ve got everythin’ except golden delicious. Thanks anyways,” she told them as the last of the apples was back into the basket and she hoisted it onto her back. “Do ya know where she might be young trotter? We’re kinda lookin’ fer her.” “Yeah, she’s just down here. You two can follow me over.” The couple thanked her as they headed towards the booth where an elderly green mare was, pitching for her jars of apple jam. Part 3“Come back soon,” Granny Smith waved as her latest customer just bought a jar of their apple jam and a bundle of Fuji apples. The old mare looked up and down the row of stands, “Where is she?” she muttered. A couple of minutes ago she had sent her youngest grandchild out to make a run for the farm to get some more golden delicious that she had run out. There were still ponies that were waiting on her for their order of that particular fruit. Every so often they would come by to inquire about it, but each time that happened she kindly told them that it was coming and it should be here any moment now. Then she spotted the very filly that she had been waiting on, but at the same time, she also noticed that there were two more ponies that were following behind her. It gave the old mare pause at what she was looking at the couple, her memories started to kick in. But for a moment, she couldn’t put her hoof on who exactly they were until the yellow stallion with the Stetson lifted the basket of Golden Delicious off of Applebloom’s back and said, “There ya are Ma, we’ve been lookin’ fer ya.” Granny blinked, “Bright Mac?” After he placed the basket off the counter, he took out a glass jar of red berries. “We’ve got those cherries that you needed fer tonight. But right now, we’ve got a problem on our hooves. There’s somepony on the farm that jus’ kicked us out, and even threatened to call the police on us.” “Are the children with you?” Buttercup asked. “Where’s Big Mac and Applejack?” The old mare rubbed her eyes in order to get a closer look at the couple. “Granny? Do you know who they are?” Applebloom asked as she went around in order for her to get behind the counter. She didn’t answer her question as she got up and went over to them. The green Apple narrowed her critical eyes at first the couple. At their cutie marks, their manes, underneath Bright Mac’s hat, she inspected both of them. “What did ya say yer names were again?” Both husband and wife exchanged puzzled looks, “What are you talking about?” the orange mare asked. “It’s us, Bright and Pair?” Applebloom took a double take, “Wait, what?” “C’mon Ma, you know,” the stallion lifted a hoof. “Bright Mac and Pear Butter? I’m yer son Ma.” Granny sat on her haunches, “Prove it,” she demanded. “Tell me somethin’ that only the real Bright Mac and Pear Butter would know.” “Are we really doing this?” Buttercup questioned. “Apparently,” her husband sighed as he thought for a moment. “How about this: when Ah was nineteen, you grounded me fer a month because Ah tried to sell cider outside of the farm, and a week after Cider Season was over. You scolded me for hours when you found out.” He snorted with a grin on his muzzle, “Shoot, Ah remember that you wouldn’t let me near yer apple fritters and that you had me go on real long deliveries that took days ta get done during that time.” “Was that why it took longer for you to send me any letters?” Buttercup smirked. “Eeyup,” Bright replied. “Granny had taken away my messenger bird so Ah had ta force mahself ta sneak over to yer folk’s farm so Ah could deliver them to ya.” With every passing word, the skepticism on the old mare’s face eroded away. With every detail, doubt about whom these two ponies were suffocated. As the story unfolded, described down to the exact sequence of events that she found that matched perfectly with her memory until she knew for certain, “Oh mah Celestia,” she said softly as she hugged Bright Mac. “You came back.” “Granny?” Applebloom began, “Are ya really sayin’ that they’re-” “Yer Ma and Dad,” Granny Smith confirmed it with tears in her eyes. Buttercup’s eyes went wide, now her attention was towards the jaw-dropped filly behind the counter. “Wait, what?” And before she could think any further, a yellow blur slammed against her withers, knocking her over. By the time her mind caught up with her, she realized that she was being hugged tightly by this filly as if she hadn’t seen her in… Then she felt something wet on the fur of her coat, “Are you okay?” Applebloom looked up, tears in her eyes and a smile on her face, “Ah’m so happy ta have you back.” “Uh… Ma?” Bright Mac began, “What’s goin’ on?” Applebloom had a pretty good idea where her older sister was. Being a Thursday, she would find her practicing Buckball at the park with three of her friends. The young filly was galloping as fast as she could down the dirt paths, frantically searching for any sign of Applejack. She called out her name over and over until she finally spotted her. She founded her gulping down ladles of water and sweating underneath her red playing clothes. “Applejack!” the yellow Apple called out as she slowed down. Wiping the sweat from her brow, she took notice of her, “Hey sis, is somethin’ wrong?” However, by the time she was able to catch up with her, the little sister was out of breath, “Applejack… come home… now…” “Why? What’s goin’ on?” she handed Applebloom a ladle of water, in which she quickly gulped it down. “You’ll never guess… who jus’ came home…” she said between breaths. “Who? Is it some relative that jus’ got here?” The yellow Apple shook her head, “They’re alive… Ma and Dad… alive.” This had gotten her older sister’s attention. In fact, Applebloom could have sworn that at least a full minute had gone by before Applejack could respond with, “What did you jus’ say?” “Pear Butter and Bright Mac, they came back.” Another minute of silence. “Are ya lyin’ ta me?” “No,” Applebloom shook her head. “Ah’m dead serious that Ah’m tellin’ the truth. Ah’ve no clue how, but somehow, they’re back.” “Hey AJ,” the two sisters turned to the other three ponies waiting for the orange Apple. The one that spoke up was Rainbow Dash, “You coming or what?” Applejack told them to call it a day. When inquired why she told them that something had come up that is in need of her attention. After apologizing, she and her sister left to return home, back to Sweet Apple Acres. ‘There ain’t no way,’ the older sister rationalized. ‘They can’t be here. Ah was there when they died… Maybe it's ponies that happened ta look like them. That’s gotta be what it is. If so, why did they come here for?’ Such thoughts came to mind as Applejack followed her sister out of town and towards their farm. Up hills and through orchards, they finally came across the red farmhouse. Before she could open the front door, she heard voices. Some came from her grandmother and older brother, and two others that sounded vaguely familiar. “Ya know,” a stallion’s voice said. “It’s kinda weird that yer considered the quiet one. Why, when we saw you last, you were really quite the chatterbox – talkin’ pretty much everythin’ and anythin’.” “Thank AJ for that,” Granny Smith replied. “She was the one that he oughta talk less and listen more.” Applebloom was on the steps by the time she pushed opened the front door. Through it, the two sisters stepped inside, and the orange Apple froze in place at who she saw that was sitting on one of the couches. Buttercup stood up in amazement, “Jackie?” But Applejack didn’t move, even when the orange-maned mare came up to her. “Oh look at you,” she exclaimed as she hugged her. “All grown up!” “M-Ma?” She glanced over to her elder brother and grandmother. “Are they really-” “Ah’ve tested them,” Granny Smith interrupted. “Ah’ve questioned them of everythin’ Ah ever knew about yer parents inside and out, up and down, sideways and backward. Their cutie marks are certainly real. There’re voices match up. Even their hoof signatures are genuine.” “We’ve done everythin’ we could think of,” Big Mac said. “And…” he glanced at his father. “They’re back. They’re really back.” It was then that Granny Smith, Big Macintosh and Applebloom saw something from the orange Apple that they hadn’t seen in years. If anything, they were both amazed and worried at the very sight of it: Applejack was crying. Just as instantly, Bright Mac got up and hugged his daughter from the other side of his wife. “Jackie, it’s okay,” he said softly. “Really, it’s all fine now.” “Applejack,” Buttercup began, “Tell us what’s wrong.” “Ah’ve missed you,” she choked. “A-Ah didn’t think… Ah thought… y’all were gone… fer good.” Both parents hugged her tighter, “Now now,” the yellow stallion told her. “It’s all gonna be okay. There ain’t no reason ta cry now.” However, he and his wife knew instantly, that if what the elderly mare told them was true, and that they had died a long time ago… then there was a good reason why their daughter was reacting like this. They excused themselves as they took Applejack up to her room, for it was her turn to have a talk with them and so that she could cry in peace. It took several minutes until their daughters were ready to speak to them, “So,” she began softly. “How?” Bright Mac shrugged, “Can’t say. One minute we were goin’ ta fetch some cherries fer ice cream because Ma said we jus’ ran out, the next we had ta turn back, only ta find that everythin’ changed on us. Suddenly, everythin’ is older and, fer whatever reason, we’re not around no more.” “Still,” Applejack’s mother said, “whatever happened, it seems that we’ve got quite a bit of catching up to do. But do forgive us, we didn’t mean to make you cry, Jackie.” “Ah know,” she sniffed. “It’s jus’ that… Ah’ve missed ya both so much. No, we all did. But, havin’ ya here now… Ah really don’t know where ta start. So much has happened in the past thirteen years that neither of ya would believe.” “Understandable,” Buttercup nodded. “While I don’t exactly know where to ask either, it is getting close to dinner, so I’ll tell you what – as long as we’re still here, we’ll cook dinner for all of you, and we’ll all talk as long as we need to so we can see what else we’ve missed.” “Oh Ma, Y'all shouldn’t-” “We insist Jackie,” her father told her. “After all, if we do somehow go back, at least we want to be sure that all of ya are taken care off before hoof. It is the least we could do.” The yellow stallion smiled reassuringly. “Tell ya what, we’ll get started so it’ll give ya plenty of time ta think things over what you want ta say to us. Okay?” Applejack sniffed, “Fair enough…” then an idea came to her, “Hey Ma, ya mind if Ah go bring somepony over here fer dinner? Ah know someone that would be itchin’ ta get some last words with ya.” “Anything you want,” her mother patted her head. But just as she stood up on her four hooves, she paused. Buttercup looked down at her stomach, “I’ve a kick,” she said. “What are ya talkin’ about?” their daughter asked. “The baby, I felt it kick just now.” She sat on her haunches again and her husband reached over to feel it. “Do you feel it?” Bright Mac nodded, “You think that might be our Applebloom in there?” “Wait, what?” Applejack blinked. “Ma, yer pregnant?” She nodded, “When we left, we just have you and Big Mac, so I assume that Applebloom might be our third…” she trailed off. “Wait a minute, if they’re only three of you here, and I’m carrying a baby around, then that must mean…” All three Apples knew what it meant. Not only will they be going back, but they have calculated an estimation of how long they might live. “You know what, don’t worry about it, you take care of whatever it is you need to do, and we’ll go ahead with making dinner.” “You sure Ma?” Applejack asked, concerned. “We’ll be fine Jackie. Now go ahead and do what you have to, I think we’ll have things ready by the time you get back.” Although she knew that what her mother said wasn’t exactly true, she did head out of the farmhouse to find a particular pony that she felt a visit from was long overdue. Part 4For the first twenty minutes, neither husband nor wife had spoken a word since they began their work in the kitchen, preparing for dinner. Of course, they weren’t the only ones cooking. Granny, Applebloom and Big Macintosh lend a hoof into preparing the meal – yet, the uneasy silence between the adults didn’t go unnoticed. “Is something wrong?” the old mare inquired as she measured out the cinnamon glaze over some roasted apples. “You two had gone awfully quiet.” “Huh?” Bright Mac looked over his shoulder from the boiling potatoes. “Oh, sorry Ma, it’s jus’ that we have somethin’ on our minds right now.” “How so?” Applebloom inquired while she was setting the table. “Was it something that Applejack said?” Both Bright Mac and Buttercup glanced at each other nervously. “Not really,” the mare confessed. She was next to her husband trying fritters over a frying pan deep in oil. “We’ve just realized something that’s rather… uncomfortable.” Their son raised an eyebrow from the salad bowl. “Why? What’s wrong?” His father sighed but hesitated. “What would any of ya do, if you’d jus’ found out, that you might not live fer very long?” Granny’s expression drooped, “Did AJ told ya how you’d… pass away?” Buttercup shook her head, “No. She never said anything about that. We just figured out that, if this really is the future, and Applebloom is our third child, that also means that she’s the last.” “That means,” Her husband added, “As soon as she’s born, the clock will be tickin’ down fer us. Ma, the truth is, Ah don’t know how we’re gonna die, and frankly, Ah don’t think either of us wanna know.” “It’s going to be hard when we go back,” his wife nodded. “Now that we know that our time is precious,” she placed a hoof over her belly, “Give or take a couple of months. It’s tragically funny in a way, we wished to look into the future to see how your children would be like, and not only that, we found out that we’re not going to be alive for much longer.” “Jus’ like the old sayin’,” commented Granny. “Always be careful fer what you’d wish fer, you’d end up gettin’ more then what ya bargained for.” “Ain’t that the truth,” Bright Mac stirred the pot of potatoes. “Pa, you’d know what Ah would do?” the red stallion spoke up. “Ah mean, if Ah knew that mah time was limited and all. Like say Ah have like a year left – not that Ah do, but jus’ fer pretend is all.” His father told him that he was listening. “Ah guess, that the first thin’ Ah might do is…” he gulped, with a touch of pink on his cheeks. “Is purpose ta Sugar Belle while Ah still can.” Both parents paused at this; Big Macintosh’s mother was the first to respond, “Who’s Sugar Belle?” “She’s a gal that lives up North,” Applebloom explained. “Ta a village where he delivers apples to every so often. She’s his first real crush that he has on.” “Oh?” Bright Mac slunk over to his son’s side, “When did this happen? That you’ve found yerself somepony special?” His son blushed and silently nodded. “Couple of months now, Ah tried ta visit her whenever Ah could get ta.” “Now this Ah’ve gotta hear when we get all this done. After all, Ah need some time ta come up with a few good lines ta tease ya with,” the father chuckled. “Ah ain’t finished yet,” Macintosh said meekly. “Ah was gonna say that if Sugar Belle does say yes, Ah would spend every bit Ah have ta make her as happy as Ah could while Ah’m still livin’. Not only that but set aside some of the bits to Applebloom fer college so she might be able ta go without gettin’ inta debt. Then, befor’ Ah die, Ah would find somepony that would work as hard as Ah do ta keep this farm afloat.” His mother smiled, “That sounds very selfless of you.” The red stallion shrugged as her husband returned to check on the potatoes. “That’s somethin’ Ah would do, after all, Ah can’t take the money Ah’ve made when Ah go. So why not give it to the ponies that would need it most if Ah’m not around.” Buttercup turned to her husband, “Did we ever write up a will?” she whispered. Bright Mac thought for a moment, “Horseapples, Ah don’t think we did.” “We’ve gotta take care of that as soon as we get back. Now that we know we won’t be around for much longer, we’ve got to take care of the children.” The yellow Apple agreed in doing so. About twenty minutes later, when the food was prepared and the table was set, Applejack came through the front door. “Ah’m back! And Ah’ve brought grandpa with me!” This piece of news surprised the couple, “Ma,” Bright Mac said. “Ah didn’t know you’d remarried.” Granny exchanged a confused look, “Whoever said Ah did?” “So what exactly is the surprise you keep mentioning?” an elderly voice inquired. Buttercup took an immediate reaction as her ears perked up and turned her head towards the front door. Although it was clearly aged, the mare knew exactly who it was. Entering into the kitchen, was not only her daughter, but a stallion that although his mane and tail have turned gray, and there were wrinkles on his light tan coat – the pear cutie mark and green bandanna gave it away who it was. “So where exactly is my…” he trailed off as he spotted the living ghosts by the dining table. “Dad?” the orange mare was bewildered, practically mirroring the old stallion’s expression. Bright Mac, however, snorted with a flash of anger across his face. “What are you doin’ here?” “Ah invited ‘em,” Applejack objected. “Since you two are here, Ah figured of givn’ him a once in a lifetime chance to patch things up while Y’all still could.” “Applejack,” her father said, “You don’t know this stallion as well as we do.” “Pear Butter?” the elderly stallion stepped further into the kitchen. “Are you really…?” The Apple’s mother nodded. “Hey, dad… long time no see…” There was a pause between father and daughter, “Pear… Could I… Speak with you for a moment?” “No wait for just a-” Bright Mac was about to object, but his wife lifted a hoof. “Let me take care of this.” “Hon, you do know that he-” “Yes I do,” she interrupted. “Bright, just finish setting up the table. I can handle dad, just give us a few minutes.” Buttercup and her father went around towards the back door, wherein the light of a porch light, they sat against the door of the farmhouse. Overhead, twilight stars emerged while the orange glow of the sun disappeared with every passing minute over the apple trees. For a moment, neither of them said anything underneath the spotlight overhead. Pear Butter waited on her father to make the first move, and he knew it. But for a minute, he looked as if he was about to start, only to close his mouth to think of something else. “You know,” Grand Pear said at last. “Even with given this second chance… I still have no idea where to begin.” “Besides the whole, ‘By Celestia, you’re alive!’ thing?” He laughed weakly, “Yeah… How did you-” “We’ll explain this over dinner,” she interrupted. “But I don’t think that’s what you want to talk to me about, isn’t it? There was an awkward silence for a moment. “Pear Butter…” he began slowly. “I’m… I’m so sorry. This is entirely my fault.” “Dad, no-” “It is! This whole feud came about because of me. Everything that had happened was because I couldn’t keep my mouth shut. This brouhaha could have been prevented altogether and… things might have been so much different. And I would have known that I have grandchildren from the Apples a good deal sooner…” Pear Butter placed a hoof on her father’s back, “But what about the letters? I’ve been trying to reach out to you every month.” His ears folded back against his head. “Pear… the truth is, I didn’t bother to read any of them. Each time one came, I tossed it into a drawer. Almost like clockwork whenever your name on an envelope came, I throw it away in a dusty old desk for years until… it stopped altogether. I honestly thought you had given up on me, that I was hoping… maybe your last letter was saying that you’re through. It wasn’t until a couple of months ago that I bothered to look at them, really look at them to see what they said.” He put his hooves over his head. “I didn’t know about Big Mac, Applejack or even Applebloom until I started to read those letters. I didn’t even know you… passed away until it was too late. Far, too late.” He gave an uneasy breath, “I have been the worst father that ever lived.” “Dad, don’t say that ” her daughter said softly. “I meant every word. Pear, I’m not asking for forgiveness. Dead or alive, you still have every, single right to be angry at me for disowning you like that. For letting my anger and prejudice take over what I thought was best, and ended up taking you for granted. If anything, I deserve all of this, but I am sorry. So sorry, for everything.” The elderly stallion felt a hoof wrapped around his neck, in which he found himself being hugged by his daughter. “Dad, I’ve already gotten over it. Nopony said that I’m upset with you, if anything, I’ve forgiven you before Big Macintosh was born. All I wanted was for you to get to know the family I and Bright had created, I guess it’s better now than never huh? So, how about we go back inside, and try to make up for all that lost time while we’re still around.” Grand Pear smiled, trying to fight back the dam of tears. “Thank you Pear Butter, for having the heart to forgive an old fool like me.” “C’mon dad,” his daughter got up. “It’s time for dinner, and I can’t wait to hear all the stories that my children have to say.” And there were many stories that were told that night around the dining table. Of vampire fruit bats, to a nearly disastrous family reunion on the farm, from Applejack taking up the call to be a national hero, to the tale of how Applebloom and her friends got their cutie mark, and even Big Mac’s plan to take up the disguise of Orchard Blossom – comedy and tragedy weren’t spared as the family spun a story for the parents of their lives. They shared with them many details, even showing them the family scrapbook that helped Bright Mac and Buttercup to catch them up to date. All except for one detail that both parents had specifically told them to leave out: their death. Eventually, the dinner plates were cleared off, and Bright Mac was about to reach for the jar of cherries at the suggestion before the youngest Apple made a suggestion. “Do you think we oughtta show them the tree?” Both husband and wife looked in confusion, “What tree?” “The one that we’ve shown Grand Pear a couple of weeks ago,” it took a moment for the Apple siblings to click at what she was talking about. “Oh! That tree,” Applejack nodded. When her mother asked her what they were talking about, she responded. “Well, before y’all left fer got… Ah remember that you’d shown us a tree that grows on the farm, somethin’ that you two left behind.” Bright Mac raised an eyebrow, “Which one? We’ve planted several trees in the past.” “This one is special,” Big Mac explained. “It’s somethin’ that helped us a good deal so that we’d feel closer to ya. In fact, you’d even know the place.” Curious, the couple asked if they could see this tree for themselves. So grabbing some lanterns, and still tossing his saddlebag over himself, Bright Mac and his wife followed their children into the nocturnal orchard. Behind them were their elderly parents who seemed to know something that they didn’t. Apart from the lantern, a full moon was the only other source of light that flooded the farmland underneath a blue light. While this part of the orchard seemed unrecognizable at first, there were little clues to the couple to help them indicate where they were going. A fence here, an oddly shaped boulder there, husband and wife tried to recall of the significance of this part of the farm. “Wait a minute,” Buttercup spoke up as the landscape became familiar. “We have been here before, haven’t we?” They heard chuckling from behind. “Y’all should.” This came from Granny Smith. “It’s from the most important day of yer lives.” Only when they reached a clearing did their memories clicked at not only to where specifically they were but also at what was growing in the very center of it all. It wasn’t just one tree, but rather, two of them that had intertwined, becoming inseparable from one another. An apple and a pear tree growing side by side. “Ain’t this the spot where we got married in?” Bright Mac blinked. His wife looked around. “It is! Those rocks and how the land slopes too…” she trailed off at the fused tree. “I can’t believe that it’s still here.” “You know,” Applejack rest a hoof on the bark. “Fer a long time, we couldn’t figure out how this tree came ta be. Especially when half of it was a pear tree, we thought it was jus’ a freak of nature. Fer a while, we try ta press it ta Granny ta get it removed or somethin’ but she wouldn’t allow it, only until recently that we found out why.” “It’s better than any tombstone if you ask me,” Grand Pear commented. “And even a fitting legacy.” The couple went up to the three; they too placed a hoof on the bark to feel it. The yellow farmer smiled, “This is perfect.” “I couldn’t agree more,” Pear Butter wiped a tear from her eye. “Thank you, kids. This is really touching.” No response. “Kids?” they turned around, only to find an empty space with no sign of their elderly parents nor their children. Turning back to the tree, they too saw that the three had unexpectedly grown a good deal shorter, but still intertwined. Bright Mac scanned the trees, “Where did they go?” His wife looked around until her eyes rested upon the moon that was now a crescent. “Did… Did we just go back?” She took several steps back from the tree. “I think we must have, this tree is much shorter now.” The yellow husband looked back towards the farmhouse. Only one way ta find out.” “Hello?” Buttercup called out. “We’re home!” “Ma! Dad!” they were immediately tackled at the front door by a much younger Big Macintosh. “Where’ve ya been? Y’all has been gone fer hours!” “Is yer Granny around?” Bright Mac inquired, and his question was immediately answered. “What in yer grand pappy's beard took ya?” Granny Smith entered from the kitchen with a small, sneezing Applejack on her back. “Ah think the dearie is runnin’ a cold. You’d said that you’ll be back a good five hours ago! What took ya? Have ya got the cherries at least?” “Oh!” the yellow stallion reached into his bags and pulled out the jar, “Yeah, got it right here.” “Ma,” the red colt called out for his mother’s attention. “Where’ve ya been? We’ve been waitin’ forever.” She embraced him in a hug. “I know, and I’m sorry. Have you eaten?” “Yeah, jus’ leftover soup from last night.” “Well come on, let’s dish up some ice cream.” “And while we’re at it,” Bright Mac added. “How’d you like it if we take a trip someplace. Don’t matter where just ta have some fun fer a while.” His green mother looked at him confused, “What for? You’d know that them trees need sprayin’.” “But we’ve been workin’ way too hard Ma, let’s go somewhere fer a bit. Ah promise that Ah’ll get somepony ta look after it, but fer now,” he looked over to his wife. “Let’s try ta spend as much time with our family as we can.” As they start to enter into the familiar kitchen, Buttercup paused as she felt another kick. “Just a few more months my little filly,” she said to herself. Her oldest son looked at her confused, “Filly? What makes ya say it’s gonna be a girl?” “Oh… I have a feeling. Now come on, I’ll make that hot fudge you like.” Big Mac rushed into the kitchen without question, leaving his mother with a smile on her face. Bright Mac Apple and Pear Butter Apple, a couple that had wished to look into the future to see what their children will be like and ended up with more than what they barged for. Even knowing that their own time is limited, they will spend the rest of their lives to make the most of it. Both for each other, and their family, they gain a newfound dedication to the service of happiness up to their dying breaths. It is a small, simple lesson to be learned, even from the boundaries of the Twilight Zone.
Part 1You unlock this door with the key of imagination. Beyond it is another dimension. A dimension of sound. A dimension of sight. A dimension of mind. You’re moving into a land of both shadow and substance, of things and ideas. You have just crossed over into... The Twilight Zone. “Don’t you two worry none,” Granny Smith told the couple, “Ah can take care of these two until Y'all get back.” The mother didn’t seem convinced. “I’m not sure, Applejack can get quite cranky if she wakes up from her nap too-” “Hon,” the father interjected. “We’re jus’ gonna go to the market ta get some cherries, not a trip around Equestria.” The yellow stallion smiled, “After all, it’ll take, what? Twenty minutes? Half an hour? C’mon Buttercup, we’ll be back before ya know it.” The orange-maned mare glanced over to where her red son was. He was playing with the pillows on the couch. “Are you sure you can handle it?” Granny waved her green hoof dismissively, “Of course Ah can! Ah’ve raised Bright Mac after all, so lookin’ after yer colt is gonna be a walk in the park. Now go on both of ya, Ah need them cherries for ice cream later on.” “Will do Ma,” the yellow stallion, with his saddlebag placed on him said before he and his wife headed out the door. The couple began their journey to town, walking past the gate that they’ve built, they trotted down the dirt path between the rows of apple trees. Bright started to notice how quiet his wife was so he began, “It’s a good day to get out huh?” But she made no reply, “Buttercup?” “Hm?” she snapped her attention towards him. “Oh, sorry, I just got distracted back there.” The yellow stallion’s smile drooped a bit, “Somethin’ wrong?” “No, no. It’s nothing serious, just a thought I have.” Her husband paused for a moment to reach into his saddlebag to pull out a gold coin, “Bit fer yer thoughts?” With a giggle, she pushed the coin back to him. “Really, it’s nothing.” “Is it about the baby?” Buttercup put a hoof other her stomach. “No, it’s not that, it’s just…” She felt a hoof over her shoulder, a subtle gustier from her love that he was listening. “Hon, do you really think we make good parents?” Bright Mac’s eyes widen, “Now where did this come from? Of course, we are! We’ve been takin’ good care of our kids' jus’ fine.” “I know we are,” she smiled at him. “Really, I do love them both… only…” she hesitated. “What do you think that they’ll be like when they grow up? I don’t mean what cutie marks they get or stuff like that. I mean, would they be good ponies?” Her husband opened his mouth but found himself for loss of words. After scratching the back of his red-maned head, he answered, “Ah… Ah don’t really know. It would be shocking if they didn’t after all the love, time and work we put into bein’ with them apart of takin’ care of the farm. But that’s all in the future, somethin’ that hasn’t really happened yet. So who knows, maybe we’re worryin’ over nothin’.” “Still, aren’t you the least bit curious to see how they would turn out? I mean, like just hop a couple of years to see what they would be like.” She sighed, “Makes me wish that we could do that.” “Ah would be lyin’ ta say that Ah wouldn’t do the same. That would be interestin’ ta see what kind of stallion our Big Mac becomes.” “Or what kind of mare our Applejack will be… Or even to know if I’m gonna have a filly or a colt.” Buttercup mussed as they started to walk down the dirt road again when suddenly, “Oh! I’ve completely forgotten!” “What?” “We need my bag to put the cherries in,” she faced hoof. “Oh, I was worrying so much that I’ve completely let it slip out of my head! We’ve got to go back.” Bright raised an eyebrow, and after glancing at his saddlebags asked, “Could we store them in mine?” She shook her head, “Not unless you want to risk your bags from getting stained and sticky if they get squished. Come on Bright, let’s turn around and get it real quick.” The farmer watched his wife turned around and began to trot back home. With a sigh, he followed right behind her. Presented for your consideration: A mother and a father’s natural worry of their own children’s future while they raise two foals and one on the way – and a wish that they could sneak peek a glance into what lies ahead for their family. It is a passing wish, for sure, and a simple “what if” for any parent who wonders about the well-being of their own children. But in just a moment, they are about to get their wish. As they start to return to their farm, together they take a journey, into the Twilight Zone. Bright Mac and Buttercup walked close together underneath the warm, June sun. Making a conversation to fill in the serene silence of the countryside, until the mare spotted the farmhouse, “Okay, just let me run in real quick to get my bag and we’ll be back on our errand before you know it.” Her husband snickered, “You just wanna see if AJ starts crying again, aren’t ya?” “No,” she snickered. “Just wait here, I’ll be right back.” A grin of his own formed on the yellow farmer’s face as he rolled his eyes while his wife galloped up to the farmhouse. But as he did so, his eyes caught on the whitewashed gate overhead. His amusement morphed into confusion as he noticed that the paint was peeling in some places. “Huh, weird. Ah could have sworn Ah’ve painted this last week. Was it the brand that Ah-” “Bright!” he heard his wife shout. “Bright! Get in here!” The stallion went into a full gallop. From her screaming, it sounded like something had gone unexpectedly wrong. Grim scenarios flashed through his head from Granny had a heart attack to one of the children getting hurt as he quickly reached the front door. “Sweetheart, what’s… wrong?” He blinked, “Who rearranged the furniture?” It was true. Nearly everything from the couch to the pictures on the wall has been moved. Not only have they moved, but there were new additions that neither of them could recognize. There were pictures of ponies that didn’t look familiar to the couple, along with the lamps, carpet, and even the knick-knacks that lay on the bookshelves. “Ma!” Bright called out. “Ma, is this one of yer jokes?” “How did all of this happen?” Buttercup asked in total confusion. “Maybe it’s jus’ this room. Go on up and get yer bag hon.” However, whatever rational, reasonable explanations that he had about why the living room was rearranged was suddenly ceased when he heard his wife called out, “What happened to our room!” “What are ya talkin’ about?” “There is no room!” Now perplexed, he rushed up the stairs and went straight down the hall to where his wife was standing in the door to find that their bedroom has been replaced by a storage room full of boxes of seasonal decorations. “The hay is going on?” the mare asked. “Where’s all our stuff? Our bed? Our… everything?” “Somethin’ weird is defiantly goin’ on.” Bright Mac said as he looked around. He flipped open one of the boxes, “This stuff says ‘Hearths Warming,’ but Ah don’t recognize half of this stuff.” “Do you think the rest of the house is like this?” Buttercup inquired as she caught something moving from one of the windows. She motioned her husband to come to take a look, “Have you seen him before?” Out by the orchard, a stallion that was about the same built as her spouse was heading towards the barn, pulling a wagon full of apples. Her husband raised an eyebrow, “Can’t say that Ah has but…” Bright Mac squinted his eyes. “Hold on… there’s somethin’ really familiar about that fella… Ah’m gonna take a closer look.” Big Macintosh unhooked himself from the cart, his head warm and nearly out of breath from pulling such a heavy load of the farm’s crops to the storage barn, he wiped the sweat from his brow and proceeded towards a sink. The sink itself was in one of the stalls that held some of the farming tools like a hose, rakes, and shovels. After turning it on so he could let the icy waterfall over his head and taking a drink from it, he heard a voice. “Hello? You anypony in here?” At first, the red-coated stallion as perplexed as he was certain that voice was both unfamiliar and familiar at the same time. Turning off the sink, he called out, “Hello?” “Where are ya?” it was a stallion’s voice no doubt that had an Apple country accent. Yet, somehow, it wasn’t one that didn’t resemble any of the relatives that Big Mac knew. “We wanna ask what you’re doin’ on our farm.” Now he was confused. The red Apple farmer walked out of the stall to see who had entered. However, before he could ask what he meant by that statement, he froze. There before him were two ponies… ponies that he knew. A mare that had a carrot orange mane with a peach colored coat and sea blue eyes – while the other, a stallion, had the same color scheme as his youngest sister that had… jade green eyes. And on his head, he was wearing a familiar looking Stetson. “There ya are,” he said as he took a few steps forward. “What ya doin’ on our farm son? Did Granny hire ya as a farmhoof that we didn’t know about?” However, Big Mac backed away, too stunned to even speak. “Speak up boy, who are ya?” The red stallion only shook his head. Buttercup craned her neck over to the side to get a look at the stranger’s cutie mark. “Hon, look at this. Does his cutie mark look an awfully a lot like our son’s?” Puzzled, Bright Mac too looked over and spotted the same green apple that he had seen every day. “Hold on…? That’s Big Macintosh’s mark. But…” He looked at the stallion in front of him. “But that’s impossible. Nopony else has a mark like that… or a coat as red… or…” His eyes went wide, “Big Mac? Is that you?” It was here that the scarlet stallion found his voice, “W-Who‘re Y'all?” The mare stepped forward, “Mac? It’s Buttercup and Bright Mac.” “No…” Big Macintosh shook his head in disbelief, then his eyes went spearhead sharp as if his gave were like knives. “Who are ya two, really?” he questioned them, saying the last word through his teeth. Bright Mac took a step back, “That’s our names.” “That ain’t possible.” Still keeping that glare, the ruby stallion marched forward. “Ah don’t know who you two are, but if this is y’all’s idea of a joke, this isn’t funny.” He hissed. “What are ya talkin’ about?” “Do any of you think Ah’m that stupid!” he yelled. “If you think that either of you could convince me that yer really Bright Mac, or Buttercup, mah parents, Ah ain’t buyin’ it!” His fuming face was right up at the yellow stallion’s. “Get out, both of Y'all. And if ya try to pull somethin’ like this again on this farm, or with any of my family, Ah will get the police to arrest ya fer traspassin’. Now, out!” “Sweetheart,” Buttercup said, backing her husband away with a hoof. “Let’s get out of here.” “But he’s kickin’ us out of our-” “Bright,” she interrupted, eyeing at the fuming stallion. “Let’s, go.” With a frown, and giving the red stallion a look, he obeyed his wife and walked out of Sweet Apple Acres.
Part 2“Just who does he think he is?” Bright said, letting out a fuming snort. “The nerve Buttercup. Ah mean the sheer nerve of kickin’ us out like that!” His wife didn’t reply right away, she craned her neck towards the apple orchard. “I don’t know what’s going on. You don’t think that really was Big Mac, do you?” The yellow stallion gave a skeptical look. “How can he? He’s twelve years old sweetheart.” “But I could have sworn that he looked just like him. He’s got the exact shade of red, cutie mark and everything. After all, he did that the names we gave him were his parents.” Bright Mac stopped for a moment to rub his temples. “Even if that were remotely true, why would he get upset over us for? For Celestia’s sake, he threatened to call the police on us.” “Maybe we need to find Granny,” his wife offered. “Have you noticed that we didn’t see her anywhere in the house? What if she stepped out or something?” Taking in a deep, calming breath through his nose, Bright replied, “Yeah, Ah guess yer right. But maybe we need to get those cherries first, and then go find Ma. Knowin’ her, she won’t drop why we haven’t done our errand in case we do run into her.” As he and his spouse resumed their walk towards Ponyville, his wife inquired what if they couldn’t find her. “Then we’ll get somepony to help us straighten this out.” And so, the couple proceeded onto the path towards Ponyville. However, as they rounded the hill that descended into its streets, they both froze as they looked ahead of the town in front of them. “Is this even Ponyville?” Buttercup wondered aloud at what she was seeing. Not only there were a few buildings that were certain weren’t there before, but they were stunned to see that in the near center of town there was a giant crystal structure that looked something of a cross between a castle and a treehouse. “What in tarnation is goin’ on around here?” Bright asked, looking just as perplexed as his wife. “Where did all these here buildings come from?” He felt his wife leaning up against him, “Hon, this is starting to scare me.” “You and me both,” he nodded. “But first things first, we need to get some cherries, then get some answers.” “Do you think that we’ve moved somehow?” The orange-maned mare inquired as they began to move forward. “How could we? We were jus’ takin’ a walk before we headed back. Maybe this is all jus’ a huge prank and we’re in the middle of some huge joke.” “And if not?” Bright hesitated, “Let’s go find the market first.” It was official, something was definitely going on. The very moment they walked into town, there were some ponies that were not only staring right at them, but many had taken double, triple, even quadruple takes. There was nervousness in some of the ponies’ eyes that steered away from them. Almost as if they were all surprised, afraid and in awe, all at the same time to even see them go by. “Ah really don’t like any of this,” Bright Mac muttered. “Tell me about it,” Buttercup looked over her shoulder as a mother shooed her children away from going near them. “Is it me, or is everypony here afraid of us?” “Now why would that be? Everyone in town knows us; we ain’t criminals or anythin’ like that. And it ain’t like we’re feudin’.” “But it does make you wonder why they’re acting like that.” “There’s the cherry booth,” Bright pointed towards the stand where it had a cherry sign overhead. The couple approached the stand where the owner had his back against them, scooping the red berries into large, glass jars. Buttercup cleared her throat, “Hi, are you busy?” “Give me a sec,” the stallion behind the counter said as he scooped up the last amount before placing on a shelf. “There we go, so how can I help…” He turned around to which he faced the couple that was addressing him. The owner’s face paled, “P-Pear Butter? Bright M-Mac?” “Yes, hello,” she smiled. “We were hoping that we could get some…” Buttercup trailed off as she took notice of the owner’s face. “Excuse me, but are you alright?” The Pegasus from behind the counter backed away, agitation on his face, “Oh Celestia…” “What’s gotten ya shaken up son?” Bright Mac asked. “It looks like you’ve just seen a couple of ghosts in a graveyard.” “P-Please don’t hurt me.” This taken the couple completely aback, “What?” the wife asked completely baffled. “I-I’ll give ya anything you want,” the owner backed away until his flank bumped into the row of shelves. “Just don’t hurt me.” “We just here for cherries-” but before Bright Mac could finish his sentence, the pegasus was practically slamming jars of the fruit on the counter. “Take them all!” he yelled. “Leave me alone!” Then before they knew it, he flew out of his booth in terror. The couple blinked, “Okay, that’s it!” the husband said, throwing his hat to the ground. “What in sam hill is goin’ on around here?!” “I know, this doesn’t make any sense.” Buttercup took one of the jars before reaching into her husband’s saddlebag to fetch the proper amount of bits to be left on the stand. “There’s something not right happening, but what? What has gotten everypony shaken…” then her eyes trailed off as she spotted someone familiar. A blue mare with a yellow apron and a pink swirly mane was buying candy canes. She immediately went after her, “Chiffon Swirl!” she called out. Ms. Cake immediately looked around; partly in surprise that somepony was calling out her maiden name. “Chiffon, how're things between you and your fiancé?” She located where the voice was coming from, and immediately her mouth dropped to the ground. “Pair Butter?” “How’s it been?” she went up and hugged the stunned mare. “Sorry I couldn’t make it for our outings last week, Jackie needed to be looked over and I couldn’t find a foalsitter for her. So how’s it going for you?” Buttercup pulled away and took noticed of Ms. Cake’s shocked expression. “Hey, are you okay?” “Pair? Is that really you dearie?” She looked at her confused, “Of course it is. What’s gotten into you?” “And everypony else fer that matter,” Bright Mac added as he too walked up to them. “Ever since we got inta town, everyone has been actin’ real funny around us.” “You look pale,” the wife pointed out to her friend. “Won’t you tell us what’s wrong?” For a moment, the baker was a loss for words, “Wha… How are you two here?” The couple blinked, “Come again?” “How in Equestria are you here? Don’t you even know what happened to either of you?” Bright Mac looked at her confused, “Ma’am, we don’t have a clue what yer referin’ to. Did we accidently break a law without realizin’ it?” “The laws of nature for one!” Ms. Cake exclaimed, “I mean, both of you are dead, how are you still around?” Husband and Wife exchanged blank stares between their friend and each other. “Pardon?” they asked in unison. “With all due respect dears, I remember being at your funeral twelve, thirteen years ago! I saw your bodies and everything.” “Afraid that there must have been some mistake,” the yellow farmer objected. “We’re breathin’, still walk around, and feelin’ a bit thirsty, so we must be alive. Side’s even if there were remotely true, Y'all think that we would at least remember dyin’.” “But… don’t you?” “No…” Buttercup said. “Say, a change in subject, do you happen to know where Granny is? We’re about to go look for her about a problem we’re having.” Ms. Cake told her that she had indeed seen her; she was selling their Apple products at her usual booth. After thanking her, the couple began to navigate through the marketplace. “Ah don’t believe it,” Bright Mac muttered. “What?” “Well… what she said back there. About us bein’ dead and all,” he shook his head. “Ah mean, that’s gotta be a whole load of nonsense if Ah ever heard such. Thinkin’ we’re like livin’ ghosts or somethin’.” “Then how do you explain all the looks we’re getting?” his wife asked as they round a corner. “Admittingly, no clue,” he replied. “Ah reckon that once we find Ma, then maybe things might be- Ow!” he felt something ran into his flank. Turning around, he saw a filly that had fallen over with a spilled basket of golden delicious. A young filly that offset him for a moment as she had the exact same shade of yellow coat and red mane as he. She had a pink bow and a cutie mark that looked like a shield at first glance. “Sorry!” she squeaked as she quickly tries to put the apples back into the basket. “Ah didn’t see Y'all there.” “Let us help,” Buttercup offered as she and her husband began to put the spilled apples back. “Again, sorry about that,” the filly apologized. “Ah’m in a hurry ta get these here apples to Granny.” This caught both of their attention, “As in, Granny Smith?” Bright inquired. “Yeah, turns out we’ve got everythin’ except golden delicious. Thanks anyways,” she told them as the last of the apples was back into the basket and she hoisted it onto her back. “Do ya know where she might be young trotter? We’re kinda lookin’ fer her.” “Yeah, she’s just down here. You two can follow me over.” The couple thanked her as they headed towards the booth where an elderly green mare was, pitching for her jars of apple jam.
Part 3“Come back soon,” Granny Smith waved as her latest customer just bought a jar of their apple jam and a bundle of Fuji apples. The old mare looked up and down the row of stands, “Where is she?” she muttered. A couple of minutes ago she had sent her youngest grandchild out to make a run for the farm to get some more golden delicious that she had run out. There were still ponies that were waiting on her for their order of that particular fruit. Every so often they would come by to inquire about it, but each time that happened she kindly told them that it was coming and it should be here any moment now. Then she spotted the very filly that she had been waiting on, but at the same time, she also noticed that there were two more ponies that were following behind her. It gave the old mare pause at what she was looking at the couple, her memories started to kick in. But for a moment, she couldn’t put her hoof on who exactly they were until the yellow stallion with the Stetson lifted the basket of Golden Delicious off of Applebloom’s back and said, “There ya are Ma, we’ve been lookin’ fer ya.” Granny blinked, “Bright Mac?” After he placed the basket off the counter, he took out a glass jar of red berries. “We’ve got those cherries that you needed fer tonight. But right now, we’ve got a problem on our hooves. There’s somepony on the farm that jus’ kicked us out, and even threatened to call the police on us.” “Are the children with you?” Buttercup asked. “Where’s Big Mac and Applejack?” The old mare rubbed her eyes in order to get a closer look at the couple. “Granny? Do you know who they are?” Applebloom asked as she went around in order for her to get behind the counter. She didn’t answer her question as she got up and went over to them. The green Apple narrowed her critical eyes at first the couple. At their cutie marks, their manes, underneath Bright Mac’s hat, she inspected both of them. “What did ya say yer names were again?” Both husband and wife exchanged puzzled looks, “What are you talking about?” the orange mare asked. “It’s us, Bright and Pair?” Applebloom took a double take, “Wait, what?” “C’mon Ma, you know,” the stallion lifted a hoof. “Bright Mac and Pear Butter? I’m yer son Ma.” Granny sat on her haunches, “Prove it,” she demanded. “Tell me somethin’ that only the real Bright Mac and Pear Butter would know.” “Are we really doing this?” Buttercup questioned. “Apparently,” her husband sighed as he thought for a moment. “How about this: when Ah was nineteen, you grounded me fer a month because Ah tried to sell cider outside of the farm, and a week after Cider Season was over. You scolded me for hours when you found out.” He snorted with a grin on his muzzle, “Shoot, Ah remember that you wouldn’t let me near yer apple fritters and that you had me go on real long deliveries that took days ta get done during that time.” “Was that why it took longer for you to send me any letters?” Buttercup smirked. “Eeyup,” Bright replied. “Granny had taken away my messenger bird so Ah had ta force mahself ta sneak over to yer folk’s farm so Ah could deliver them to ya.” With every passing word, the skepticism on the old mare’s face eroded away. With every detail, doubt about whom these two ponies were suffocated. As the story unfolded, described down to the exact sequence of events that she found that matched perfectly with her memory until she knew for certain, “Oh mah Celestia,” she said softly as she hugged Bright Mac. “You came back.” “Granny?” Applebloom began, “Are ya really sayin’ that they’re-” “Yer Ma and Dad,” Granny Smith confirmed it with tears in her eyes. Buttercup’s eyes went wide, now her attention was towards the jaw-dropped filly behind the counter. “Wait, what?” And before she could think any further, a yellow blur slammed against her withers, knocking her over. By the time her mind caught up with her, she realized that she was being hugged tightly by this filly as if she hadn’t seen her in… Then she felt something wet on the fur of her coat, “Are you okay?” Applebloom looked up, tears in her eyes and a smile on her face, “Ah’m so happy ta have you back.” “Uh… Ma?” Bright Mac began, “What’s goin’ on?” Applebloom had a pretty good idea where her older sister was. Being a Thursday, she would find her practicing Buckball at the park with three of her friends. The young filly was galloping as fast as she could down the dirt paths, frantically searching for any sign of Applejack. She called out her name over and over until she finally spotted her. She founded her gulping down ladles of water and sweating underneath her red playing clothes. “Applejack!” the yellow Apple called out as she slowed down. Wiping the sweat from her brow, she took notice of her, “Hey sis, is somethin’ wrong?” However, by the time she was able to catch up with her, the little sister was out of breath, “Applejack… come home… now…” “Why? What’s goin’ on?” she handed Applebloom a ladle of water, in which she quickly gulped it down. “You’ll never guess… who jus’ came home…” she said between breaths. “Who? Is it some relative that jus’ got here?” The yellow Apple shook her head, “They’re alive… Ma and Dad… alive.” This had gotten her older sister’s attention. In fact, Applebloom could have sworn that at least a full minute had gone by before Applejack could respond with, “What did you jus’ say?” “Pear Butter and Bright Mac, they came back.” Another minute of silence. “Are ya lyin’ ta me?” “No,” Applebloom shook her head. “Ah’m dead serious that Ah’m tellin’ the truth. Ah’ve no clue how, but somehow, they’re back.” “Hey AJ,” the two sisters turned to the other three ponies waiting for the orange Apple. The one that spoke up was Rainbow Dash, “You coming or what?” Applejack told them to call it a day. When inquired why she told them that something had come up that is in need of her attention. After apologizing, she and her sister left to return home, back to Sweet Apple Acres. ‘There ain’t no way,’ the older sister rationalized. ‘They can’t be here. Ah was there when they died… Maybe it's ponies that happened ta look like them. That’s gotta be what it is. If so, why did they come here for?’ Such thoughts came to mind as Applejack followed her sister out of town and towards their farm. Up hills and through orchards, they finally came across the red farmhouse. Before she could open the front door, she heard voices. Some came from her grandmother and older brother, and two others that sounded vaguely familiar. “Ya know,” a stallion’s voice said. “It’s kinda weird that yer considered the quiet one. Why, when we saw you last, you were really quite the chatterbox – talkin’ pretty much everythin’ and anythin’.” “Thank AJ for that,” Granny Smith replied. “She was the one that he oughta talk less and listen more.” Applebloom was on the steps by the time she pushed opened the front door. Through it, the two sisters stepped inside, and the orange Apple froze in place at who she saw that was sitting on one of the couches. Buttercup stood up in amazement, “Jackie?” But Applejack didn’t move, even when the orange-maned mare came up to her. “Oh look at you,” she exclaimed as she hugged her. “All grown up!” “M-Ma?” She glanced over to her elder brother and grandmother. “Are they really-” “Ah’ve tested them,” Granny Smith interrupted. “Ah’ve questioned them of everythin’ Ah ever knew about yer parents inside and out, up and down, sideways and backward. Their cutie marks are certainly real. There’re voices match up. Even their hoof signatures are genuine.” “We’ve done everythin’ we could think of,” Big Mac said. “And…” he glanced at his father. “They’re back. They’re really back.” It was then that Granny Smith, Big Macintosh and Applebloom saw something from the orange Apple that they hadn’t seen in years. If anything, they were both amazed and worried at the very sight of it: Applejack was crying. Just as instantly, Bright Mac got up and hugged his daughter from the other side of his wife. “Jackie, it’s okay,” he said softly. “Really, it’s all fine now.” “Applejack,” Buttercup began, “Tell us what’s wrong.” “Ah’ve missed you,” she choked. “A-Ah didn’t think… Ah thought… y’all were gone… fer good.” Both parents hugged her tighter, “Now now,” the yellow stallion told her. “It’s all gonna be okay. There ain’t no reason ta cry now.” However, he and his wife knew instantly, that if what the elderly mare told them was true, and that they had died a long time ago… then there was a good reason why their daughter was reacting like this. They excused themselves as they took Applejack up to her room, for it was her turn to have a talk with them and so that she could cry in peace. It took several minutes until their daughters were ready to speak to them, “So,” she began softly. “How?” Bright Mac shrugged, “Can’t say. One minute we were goin’ ta fetch some cherries fer ice cream because Ma said we jus’ ran out, the next we had ta turn back, only ta find that everythin’ changed on us. Suddenly, everythin’ is older and, fer whatever reason, we’re not around no more.” “Still,” Applejack’s mother said, “whatever happened, it seems that we’ve got quite a bit of catching up to do. But do forgive us, we didn’t mean to make you cry, Jackie.” “Ah know,” she sniffed. “It’s jus’ that… Ah’ve missed ya both so much. No, we all did. But, havin’ ya here now… Ah really don’t know where ta start. So much has happened in the past thirteen years that neither of ya would believe.” “Understandable,” Buttercup nodded. “While I don’t exactly know where to ask either, it is getting close to dinner, so I’ll tell you what – as long as we’re still here, we’ll cook dinner for all of you, and we’ll all talk as long as we need to so we can see what else we’ve missed.” “Oh Ma, Y'all shouldn’t-” “We insist Jackie,” her father told her. “After all, if we do somehow go back, at least we want to be sure that all of ya are taken care off before hoof. It is the least we could do.” The yellow stallion smiled reassuringly. “Tell ya what, we’ll get started so it’ll give ya plenty of time ta think things over what you want ta say to us. Okay?” Applejack sniffed, “Fair enough…” then an idea came to her, “Hey Ma, ya mind if Ah go bring somepony over here fer dinner? Ah know someone that would be itchin’ ta get some last words with ya.” “Anything you want,” her mother patted her head. But just as she stood up on her four hooves, she paused. Buttercup looked down at her stomach, “I’ve a kick,” she said. “What are ya talkin’ about?” their daughter asked. “The baby, I felt it kick just now.” She sat on her haunches again and her husband reached over to feel it. “Do you feel it?” Bright Mac nodded, “You think that might be our Applebloom in there?” “Wait, what?” Applejack blinked. “Ma, yer pregnant?” She nodded, “When we left, we just have you and Big Mac, so I assume that Applebloom might be our third…” she trailed off. “Wait a minute, if they’re only three of you here, and I’m carrying a baby around, then that must mean…” All three Apples knew what it meant. Not only will they be going back, but they have calculated an estimation of how long they might live. “You know what, don’t worry about it, you take care of whatever it is you need to do, and we’ll go ahead with making dinner.” “You sure Ma?” Applejack asked, concerned. “We’ll be fine Jackie. Now go ahead and do what you have to, I think we’ll have things ready by the time you get back.” Although she knew that what her mother said wasn’t exactly true, she did head out of the farmhouse to find a particular pony that she felt a visit from was long overdue.
Part 4For the first twenty minutes, neither husband nor wife had spoken a word since they began their work in the kitchen, preparing for dinner. Of course, they weren’t the only ones cooking. Granny, Applebloom and Big Macintosh lend a hoof into preparing the meal – yet, the uneasy silence between the adults didn’t go unnoticed. “Is something wrong?” the old mare inquired as she measured out the cinnamon glaze over some roasted apples. “You two had gone awfully quiet.” “Huh?” Bright Mac looked over his shoulder from the boiling potatoes. “Oh, sorry Ma, it’s jus’ that we have somethin’ on our minds right now.” “How so?” Applebloom inquired while she was setting the table. “Was it something that Applejack said?” Both Bright Mac and Buttercup glanced at each other nervously. “Not really,” the mare confessed. She was next to her husband trying fritters over a frying pan deep in oil. “We’ve just realized something that’s rather… uncomfortable.” Their son raised an eyebrow from the salad bowl. “Why? What’s wrong?” His father sighed but hesitated. “What would any of ya do, if you’d jus’ found out, that you might not live fer very long?” Granny’s expression drooped, “Did AJ told ya how you’d… pass away?” Buttercup shook her head, “No. She never said anything about that. We just figured out that, if this really is the future, and Applebloom is our third child, that also means that she’s the last.” “That means,” Her husband added, “As soon as she’s born, the clock will be tickin’ down fer us. Ma, the truth is, Ah don’t know how we’re gonna die, and frankly, Ah don’t think either of us wanna know.” “It’s going to be hard when we go back,” his wife nodded. “Now that we know that our time is precious,” she placed a hoof over her belly, “Give or take a couple of months. It’s tragically funny in a way, we wished to look into the future to see how your children would be like, and not only that, we found out that we’re not going to be alive for much longer.” “Jus’ like the old sayin’,” commented Granny. “Always be careful fer what you’d wish fer, you’d end up gettin’ more then what ya bargained for.” “Ain’t that the truth,” Bright Mac stirred the pot of potatoes. “Pa, you’d know what Ah would do?” the red stallion spoke up. “Ah mean, if Ah knew that mah time was limited and all. Like say Ah have like a year left – not that Ah do, but jus’ fer pretend is all.” His father told him that he was listening. “Ah guess, that the first thin’ Ah might do is…” he gulped, with a touch of pink on his cheeks. “Is purpose ta Sugar Belle while Ah still can.” Both parents paused at this; Big Macintosh’s mother was the first to respond, “Who’s Sugar Belle?” “She’s a gal that lives up North,” Applebloom explained. “Ta a village where he delivers apples to every so often. She’s his first real crush that he has on.” “Oh?” Bright Mac slunk over to his son’s side, “When did this happen? That you’ve found yerself somepony special?” His son blushed and silently nodded. “Couple of months now, Ah tried ta visit her whenever Ah could get ta.” “Now this Ah’ve gotta hear when we get all this done. After all, Ah need some time ta come up with a few good lines ta tease ya with,” the father chuckled. “Ah ain’t finished yet,” Macintosh said meekly. “Ah was gonna say that if Sugar Belle does say yes, Ah would spend every bit Ah have ta make her as happy as Ah could while Ah’m still livin’. Not only that but set aside some of the bits to Applebloom fer college so she might be able ta go without gettin’ inta debt. Then, befor’ Ah die, Ah would find somepony that would work as hard as Ah do ta keep this farm afloat.” His mother smiled, “That sounds very selfless of you.” The red stallion shrugged as her husband returned to check on the potatoes. “That’s somethin’ Ah would do, after all, Ah can’t take the money Ah’ve made when Ah go. So why not give it to the ponies that would need it most if Ah’m not around.” Buttercup turned to her husband, “Did we ever write up a will?” she whispered. Bright Mac thought for a moment, “Horseapples, Ah don’t think we did.” “We’ve gotta take care of that as soon as we get back. Now that we know we won’t be around for much longer, we’ve got to take care of the children.” The yellow Apple agreed in doing so. About twenty minutes later, when the food was prepared and the table was set, Applejack came through the front door. “Ah’m back! And Ah’ve brought grandpa with me!” This piece of news surprised the couple, “Ma,” Bright Mac said. “Ah didn’t know you’d remarried.” Granny exchanged a confused look, “Whoever said Ah did?” “So what exactly is the surprise you keep mentioning?” an elderly voice inquired. Buttercup took an immediate reaction as her ears perked up and turned her head towards the front door. Although it was clearly aged, the mare knew exactly who it was. Entering into the kitchen, was not only her daughter, but a stallion that although his mane and tail have turned gray, and there were wrinkles on his light tan coat – the pear cutie mark and green bandanna gave it away who it was. “So where exactly is my…” he trailed off as he spotted the living ghosts by the dining table. “Dad?” the orange mare was bewildered, practically mirroring the old stallion’s expression. Bright Mac, however, snorted with a flash of anger across his face. “What are you doin’ here?” “Ah invited ‘em,” Applejack objected. “Since you two are here, Ah figured of givn’ him a once in a lifetime chance to patch things up while Y’all still could.” “Applejack,” her father said, “You don’t know this stallion as well as we do.” “Pear Butter?” the elderly stallion stepped further into the kitchen. “Are you really…?” The Apple’s mother nodded. “Hey, dad… long time no see…” There was a pause between father and daughter, “Pear… Could I… Speak with you for a moment?” “No wait for just a-” Bright Mac was about to object, but his wife lifted a hoof. “Let me take care of this.” “Hon, you do know that he-” “Yes I do,” she interrupted. “Bright, just finish setting up the table. I can handle dad, just give us a few minutes.” Buttercup and her father went around towards the back door, wherein the light of a porch light, they sat against the door of the farmhouse. Overhead, twilight stars emerged while the orange glow of the sun disappeared with every passing minute over the apple trees. For a moment, neither of them said anything underneath the spotlight overhead. Pear Butter waited on her father to make the first move, and he knew it. But for a minute, he looked as if he was about to start, only to close his mouth to think of something else. “You know,” Grand Pear said at last. “Even with given this second chance… I still have no idea where to begin.” “Besides the whole, ‘By Celestia, you’re alive!’ thing?” He laughed weakly, “Yeah… How did you-” “We’ll explain this over dinner,” she interrupted. “But I don’t think that’s what you want to talk to me about, isn’t it? There was an awkward silence for a moment. “Pear Butter…” he began slowly. “I’m… I’m so sorry. This is entirely my fault.” “Dad, no-” “It is! This whole feud came about because of me. Everything that had happened was because I couldn’t keep my mouth shut. This brouhaha could have been prevented altogether and… things might have been so much different. And I would have known that I have grandchildren from the Apples a good deal sooner…” Pear Butter placed a hoof on her father’s back, “But what about the letters? I’ve been trying to reach out to you every month.” His ears folded back against his head. “Pear… the truth is, I didn’t bother to read any of them. Each time one came, I tossed it into a drawer. Almost like clockwork whenever your name on an envelope came, I throw it away in a dusty old desk for years until… it stopped altogether. I honestly thought you had given up on me, that I was hoping… maybe your last letter was saying that you’re through. It wasn’t until a couple of months ago that I bothered to look at them, really look at them to see what they said.” He put his hooves over his head. “I didn’t know about Big Mac, Applejack or even Applebloom until I started to read those letters. I didn’t even know you… passed away until it was too late. Far, too late.” He gave an uneasy breath, “I have been the worst father that ever lived.” “Dad, don’t say that ” her daughter said softly. “I meant every word. Pear, I’m not asking for forgiveness. Dead or alive, you still have every, single right to be angry at me for disowning you like that. For letting my anger and prejudice take over what I thought was best, and ended up taking you for granted. If anything, I deserve all of this, but I am sorry. So sorry, for everything.” The elderly stallion felt a hoof wrapped around his neck, in which he found himself being hugged by his daughter. “Dad, I’ve already gotten over it. Nopony said that I’m upset with you, if anything, I’ve forgiven you before Big Macintosh was born. All I wanted was for you to get to know the family I and Bright had created, I guess it’s better now than never huh? So, how about we go back inside, and try to make up for all that lost time while we’re still around.” Grand Pear smiled, trying to fight back the dam of tears. “Thank you Pear Butter, for having the heart to forgive an old fool like me.” “C’mon dad,” his daughter got up. “It’s time for dinner, and I can’t wait to hear all the stories that my children have to say.” And there were many stories that were told that night around the dining table. Of vampire fruit bats, to a nearly disastrous family reunion on the farm, from Applejack taking up the call to be a national hero, to the tale of how Applebloom and her friends got their cutie mark, and even Big Mac’s plan to take up the disguise of Orchard Blossom – comedy and tragedy weren’t spared as the family spun a story for the parents of their lives. They shared with them many details, even showing them the family scrapbook that helped Bright Mac and Buttercup to catch them up to date. All except for one detail that both parents had specifically told them to leave out: their death. Eventually, the dinner plates were cleared off, and Bright Mac was about to reach for the jar of cherries at the suggestion before the youngest Apple made a suggestion. “Do you think we oughtta show them the tree?” Both husband and wife looked in confusion, “What tree?” “The one that we’ve shown Grand Pear a couple of weeks ago,” it took a moment for the Apple siblings to click at what she was talking about. “Oh! That tree,” Applejack nodded. When her mother asked her what they were talking about, she responded. “Well, before y’all left fer got… Ah remember that you’d shown us a tree that grows on the farm, somethin’ that you two left behind.” Bright Mac raised an eyebrow, “Which one? We’ve planted several trees in the past.” “This one is special,” Big Mac explained. “It’s somethin’ that helped us a good deal so that we’d feel closer to ya. In fact, you’d even know the place.” Curious, the couple asked if they could see this tree for themselves. So grabbing some lanterns, and still tossing his saddlebag over himself, Bright Mac and his wife followed their children into the nocturnal orchard. Behind them were their elderly parents who seemed to know something that they didn’t. Apart from the lantern, a full moon was the only other source of light that flooded the farmland underneath a blue light. While this part of the orchard seemed unrecognizable at first, there were little clues to the couple to help them indicate where they were going. A fence here, an oddly shaped boulder there, husband and wife tried to recall of the significance of this part of the farm. “Wait a minute,” Buttercup spoke up as the landscape became familiar. “We have been here before, haven’t we?” They heard chuckling from behind. “Y’all should.” This came from Granny Smith. “It’s from the most important day of yer lives.” Only when they reached a clearing did their memories clicked at not only to where specifically they were but also at what was growing in the very center of it all. It wasn’t just one tree, but rather, two of them that had intertwined, becoming inseparable from one another. An apple and a pear tree growing side by side. “Ain’t this the spot where we got married in?” Bright Mac blinked. His wife looked around. “It is! Those rocks and how the land slopes too…” she trailed off at the fused tree. “I can’t believe that it’s still here.” “You know,” Applejack rest a hoof on the bark. “Fer a long time, we couldn’t figure out how this tree came ta be. Especially when half of it was a pear tree, we thought it was jus’ a freak of nature. Fer a while, we try ta press it ta Granny ta get it removed or somethin’ but she wouldn’t allow it, only until recently that we found out why.” “It’s better than any tombstone if you ask me,” Grand Pear commented. “And even a fitting legacy.” The couple went up to the three; they too placed a hoof on the bark to feel it. The yellow farmer smiled, “This is perfect.” “I couldn’t agree more,” Pear Butter wiped a tear from her eye. “Thank you, kids. This is really touching.” No response. “Kids?” they turned around, only to find an empty space with no sign of their elderly parents nor their children. Turning back to the tree, they too saw that the three had unexpectedly grown a good deal shorter, but still intertwined. Bright Mac scanned the trees, “Where did they go?” His wife looked around until her eyes rested upon the moon that was now a crescent. “Did… Did we just go back?” She took several steps back from the tree. “I think we must have, this tree is much shorter now.” The yellow husband looked back towards the farmhouse. Only one way ta find out.” “Hello?” Buttercup called out. “We’re home!” “Ma! Dad!” they were immediately tackled at the front door by a much younger Big Macintosh. “Where’ve ya been? Y’all has been gone fer hours!” “Is yer Granny around?” Bright Mac inquired, and his question was immediately answered. “What in yer grand pappy's beard took ya?” Granny Smith entered from the kitchen with a small, sneezing Applejack on her back. “Ah think the dearie is runnin’ a cold. You’d said that you’ll be back a good five hours ago! What took ya? Have ya got the cherries at least?” “Oh!” the yellow stallion reached into his bags and pulled out the jar, “Yeah, got it right here.” “Ma,” the red colt called out for his mother’s attention. “Where’ve ya been? We’ve been waitin’ forever.” She embraced him in a hug. “I know, and I’m sorry. Have you eaten?” “Yeah, jus’ leftover soup from last night.” “Well come on, let’s dish up some ice cream.” “And while we’re at it,” Bright Mac added. “How’d you like it if we take a trip someplace. Don’t matter where just ta have some fun fer a while.” His green mother looked at him confused, “What for? You’d know that them trees need sprayin’.” “But we’ve been workin’ way too hard Ma, let’s go somewhere fer a bit. Ah promise that Ah’ll get somepony ta look after it, but fer now,” he looked over to his wife. “Let’s try ta spend as much time with our family as we can.” As they start to enter into the familiar kitchen, Buttercup paused as she felt another kick. “Just a few more months my little filly,” she said to herself. Her oldest son looked at her confused, “Filly? What makes ya say it’s gonna be a girl?” “Oh… I have a feeling. Now come on, I’ll make that hot fudge you like.” Big Mac rushed into the kitchen without question, leaving his mother with a smile on her face. Bright Mac Apple and Pear Butter Apple, a couple that had wished to look into the future to see what their children will be like and ended up with more than what they barged for. Even knowing that their own time is limited, they will spend the rest of their lives to make the most of it. Both for each other, and their family, they gain a newfound dedication to the service of happiness up to their dying breaths. It is a small, simple lesson to be learned, even from the boundaries of the Twilight Zone.
