The Life I Never Had
“It started with a letter.”
Dear Dad,
Well it’s been about a week since you left for Vanhoover. You got almost everything from the house and left without saying a word. At least with what was left of the house me and my husband were able to make do with what we had and make it our own. We got all kinds of fancy new furniture and after a lotta hard work; we made it into our own special home. Don’t worry about the home fields now that we’re still taking care of it, we’re even planting all sorts of fruits and vegetables, which does include both apples and pears. Everything’s great here in Ponyville, well as great as it can be without you.
I really miss you dad, and I want you to come back. I understand why the Pears hated the Apples for so long, but it’s time to bury the hatchet and accept me and our new family. Even Granny Smith took me in, said the moment you stormed off from the wedding she felt sorry for me and her son and invited me to the family. If she can accept me and Bright Mac for who we are, then so can you. I hope you can see this someday.
Love your daughter,
Pear Butter
“I didn’t know what my daughter wanted from me. But she could forget about me listening to her after that stunt. So I kept working on our new fields. But every month she would send a new letter.”
Dear Dad,
Last time I wrote to you, I told you that I was pregnant with our first-born child. I’ll admit it was a little scary being a parent and all, but with Bright’s and Granny’s help we were able to bring our son Big Macintosh into the world. Now I’m excited as I’ll ever be on becoming a parent. I only wish you could see him right now, he looks so much like his father he even got his eyes. I just know he’s going to grow up to be healthy, strong and handsome just like him.
Speaking of, Bright Mac wanted me to tell you that if you’re still miffed at him for marrying your daughter, he apologizes for everything he has done to make you angry. He was never involved in the feud anyways, and he always wished that we could get along one day.
Now I’m not sure if you still don’t like him, but like it or not he’s your step-son now. Sooner or later you need to realize that and accept him as part of the family.
Love your daughter,
Pear Butter
“Like clockwork. Every month.”
Dear Dad,
Hey it’s me again writing to you again. Don’t know what you’ve been doing, but I guess you were too busy to see your second child being born. How are things in Vanhoover anyways? I never hear from you and none of our relatives don’t know much about you either. All they tell us is that your part of the pear business is flourishing even better than it did in Ponyville. Which is great and all but I really wish I heard it from you instead of our relatives.
Anyways, I wanted to tell you about our daughter Applejack who was born just a couple weeks ago. She has orange fur kinda like you and me, and her mane’s a wonderful blonde. I just adore how her green eyes shine in the light, and I know I’m not the only one who loves her. Her brother is already taking a liking to her, always wanting to help us out when he sees her little sis crying. He’s really turning to be a great big brother.
I’m happy to have a family like this, I just hope one day you can be a part if it too.
Love your Daughter,
Pear Butter
“Until one day…she stopped. Of course I was too stubborn to think much of it. Maybe she finally gave up. That last letter must have been her saying she understood we were through…right?”
Dear Dad,
It’s sometimes hard to believe that it’s been ten years since I married my lovely husband. Bright Mac and I recently had our ten-year anniversary vacation away from the farm. While Granny took care of the farm and the kids, Bright Mac and I traveled to Manehatten to get a taste of the city-folk life. It was pretty crowded and all the commotion made me a little sick, what with all these Ponies moving so fast and frequently. Fortunately Bright Mac cousins lived there, and they were kind enough to help get used to everything. We got ourselves a fancy hotel, saw all the wonderful sights, and ate all sorts of food we never had before. I have so many picture of all the Landmarks and I can’t wait to show you one day. Bright Mac definitely knows how to show a girl a fun time, it was the best anniversary ever.
When we got home we were surprised at how amazing our kids been doing since we left. Ever since Granny taught them all she knew about farming a few years ago, they’ve been working real hard to keep the farm in business. Applejack is great at bucking the trees and herding the cattle around. Big Mac, thanks to how strong and healthy he’s grown to be, been using his father’s yoke to work on the fields. I think he’s really attached to it as much as AJ is attached to Bright’s hat.
By the way, there’s something that’s been bugging me since we left Manehatten. Every time we had breakfast, the hotel would serve our Pears and Apples. As much as I’m happy that the Pear and Apple family brand’s been getting around, seeing them in the same place together just makes me a little sad. Please come back home.
Love your daughter,
Pear Butter
“That must have been it. I was expecting…hoping the last letter was about how angry she was at me for never writing back.”
Dear Dad,
Yesterday we had our third foal. She’s healthy and full of life just like her siblings. You’d love to see her, she’s the cutest thing ever. We decided on naming her Applebloom.
Dad, we’ve been through this song and dance for far too long. I send you letters telling you about our family, you ignore them all, and I send you more and it’s honestly getting old. Now I know you still don’t like what we did, heck sometimes I think that you’ll never forgive me for marrying an Apple. But ignoring your family like this has gone far enough. I need you to be a part of this family; I don’t want my kids to ask about their granddad and never get to actually meet you.
So Bright Mac and I decided that we’re heading to your home in Vanhoover. One way or another, you are going to see your grandkids even if we got to drag you by your tail kicking and screaming. Since it’s a little too expensive to travel by train we’ll be traveling by cart together. Sure it’s such a long way and it ain’t the safest way to travel, but if it’s the only way I can make you see our children then so be it.
We’re still planning out things, and I ain’t too sure how many more letters I’ll be sending. But we already told Granny what we’re gonna do, and she agreed to take care of the kids while we’re out. Hope AJ and Big Mac will be alright while we’re gone; we don’t usually spend this much time away from them.
All I can say is I was never mad at you. We were never angry that you couldn’t accept how things can change. I love you dad, and nothing will ever change that. Thanks for everything.
Love your daughter,
Pear Butter
“But it wasn’t. Her last letter was still about how much she wanted me to be part of her life again…just as stubborn as her old man. Letter by letter I learned about my grandchildren Big Macintosh, Applejack, and Applebloom. She wanted me to see them. Dumb fool I was…an unforgivable dumb fool.”
...
“So mom sent ya all these letters huh? And ya never replied to them even once?”
I looked upon my grandchildren, the three kids I’ve heard about for such a long time, but only seen with my eyes for a few short days. In those short days however I’ve grown so attached to them and learned so much about who they are. So when they discovered the collection of her mother’s letters in my bag, I had no choice but to tell them the truth.
“Yes Applejack…and as much as I want to say that I was angry about her choice, I realize now that I was too much of a coward.”
The youngest, Applebloom read through more of her letters. “But Grand-Grand Pear, why didn’t you respond to the last letter she sent ya? If it’s been that long since you got another letter, maybe you could’ve seen them again and she would’ve brought you home.”
I smiled at her innocence before giving her a small sigh. “That was a path I could’ve taken, but I foolishly chose not to. I was too scared to find out why she stopped writing me. Because of this my life became the one thing I feared the most. Regret.”
I heard a small and rough grunt from the young stallion before me. My first-born grandson, Big Macintosh sat there with his eyes shut and his forearms crossed. I could tell that he was angry, almost furious at my actions towards his parents. He looked as if he was going to lash out at me for all the pain he must’ve felt after all these years, but held himself back due to either his sisters being with him, or his the kind nature Pear Butter bestowed to him.
“Ah…can’t believe this.” Applejack said staring at me. “Not only did you shunned our parents like they committed some crime, but you ignored your own daughter’s letters up until it was too late. All because you couldn’t let go of some dumb ol’ feud, it’s a darn shame.”
I lowered my head too mortified to face them in the eyes. “I’ve been the worst father I could have been.”
“But maybe you can be a great grandfather?”
I glanced towards Applebloom who gave me the most sincere smile I’ve ever seen. “We’ve said it before, it’s all in the past. You may not be the greatest dad to our mom, but now that you’re here in Ponyville you can spend all the time you have with your grandchildren.”
Applejack was next to speak. “Little Sis is right y’know? You got a chance to be a great granddad now that yer here, and we all want to be closer to you. And I know that if mom and dad were here right now, they would’ve forgiven you without hesitatin’. Ain’t that right Big Mac?”
I looked back at my son, and after a second of looking among his siblings he smiled and extended his hoof towards me. “Eeyup!”
As I shook his hoof it was at this moment that I knew I had a second chance to reconnect with my family. I can now spend all the time I have left with the children I want to know more about, and the mare I once saw as an enemy that I now see as a friend.
Pear Butter and Bright Mac if you can hear me wherever you are, I promise to do all I can to take care of your children, and I hope you two can find in your hearts to forgive me if I ever see you again.
Author's Note
So I was really inspired by Edowaado's "The Perfect Pair" comic and it made me want to write something real sad. Or what I think is sad. Man I loved this episode, amazing how a show about cartoon horses and magic can give me the feels.
Be sure to check Ed's work and tell me what you think of this story.
(Also if someone can tell me an easier way to indent stuff other than the BB codes that would be great.)
