Pear Family Gatheringby Mirror StarChaptersIntroInvite to Pear Family GatheringGrand Pear and Sugar BelleStarkrimson Pear and Red BartlettFather and SonIntro(Flashback) In the house of the Pear Family, a young Pear Butter is asleep in her bed, supposedly dreaming of her and Bright Mac. While she’s sleeping, somepony is rubbing her head in order to wake her up; it worked. As she is rubbing her eyes, she notices a pony in a brown hood that is covering his face; but Pear Butter already knew who this is. “Sorry to wake you like this, but I just wanted to say goodbye.” Pear Butter said noticing a bag next to the hooded pony “So, you really are leaving?” “Yeah. I can’t stay here any longer, not with “him” and not with this stupid feud getting the way. However, I wanted to say goodbye to you first.” “I understand. You want to achieve your dream and you can’t be here for that.” “I would take you with me if you wanted.” “I can’t.” “Because of your boyfriend?” “Yeah. He may be an Apple, but I still really, really, like him.” The hooded pony said before giving Pear Butter a hug “That’s fine with me; you have my blessing. As long as he “really, really” likes you back, I don’t have a problem with that. I have to go now; I’ll write to you as soon as I’m able to.” (The hooded pony sneaked out of the house while Grand Pear was asleep; but not before grabbing three books from the cabinet and leaving a note on the table. After he took care of that, he walked away from the farm. While he is walking away, Pear Butter is watching him leave from her room.) “Good luck, big brother.” (End of Flashback) At the clubhouse of the CMC, Apple Bloom is going over some recent letters and request from ponies from different parts of Equestria who want to sign up for the next full session of Cutie Mark Camp. She has to do it by herself since Sweetie Bell is with Rarity in Manehattan to help with one of her stores and for a photo shot and Scootaloo is with Rainbow Dash and her family on a beach trip for a few days. While she is working, she hears a knock on the door and decided to answer it. At the door is a green pegasus pony with blue eyes and pink mane and a green earth pony with blue eyes and a brown mane. “Excuse me, are you Apple Bloom?” “Yes.” “I’m Sonic Gale.” “I’m Pyrus.” “We’re twins.” “Ok. Nice to meet you. Are you here to sign up for Cutie Mark Camp.” Pyrus said before Sonic Gale bops her on the head “Yes.” Sonic Gale said before giving Apple Bloom an envelope “No. Well, yes and no. You see we were told to give you this first and then we can ask you if you could help us with our cutie marks.” Elsewhere, Applejack is getting off the train after she finished delivering some apples to The Tasty Treat in Canterlot. As soon as she got off the train, a yellow pegasus pony with a long blue mane, blue eyes, a brown jacket, and a falcon cutie mark on her flank, stopped her from going anywhere; she also has a pet falcon sitting on her mane. “Can I help you?” “You’re Applejack, correct?” “I am. Who wants to know?” “My name is Falcon Eye; this is my pet falcon, Elizabeth.” “Nice to meet you.” “We’re here to give you this.” “What is it?” “It’s an invite to a family gathering my husband is having with some of the members of his family.” “What does that have to do with me?” “Read over the invite and you’ll find out; however, you already know about my husband’s family already. By the way, do you know where I can find your brother?” “If you’re looking for Big Macintosh, he’s at my house baking with his girlfriend, Sugar Belle. If you want, I can give you his invite.” “That would be much appreciated.” At Sweet Apple Acres, Sugar Belle and Big Mac are getting a few apples for a big order that she has to do which requires a lot of apples and pears. They’ve managed to finish about half the orders, they still have a long way to go. While Sugar Belle uses her magic to get the apples, Big Mac is bucking the trees to get them. Big Mac said after bucking the apple tree of its apples “Is that enough apples?” Sugar Belle said while holding the bucket of apples with her magic “Yes, this is plenty; now all we need are the pears. Are you sure your grandfather doesn’t mind use getting pears from his farm?” “I already asked him yesterday and he said it was ok.” “Alright. After we get the pears we need, how about we take a break?” “Sure. I’ve been meaning to ask, who is this order for anyway?” “It’s for somepony that placed his order under the alias, The Emerald Mustang.” “The Emerald Mustang?” “Yeah, I was confused by that alias too.” Sugar Belle then notices somepony in a brown hood walking toward the pear trees on Grand Pear’s land. “Big Mac, is Grand Pear expecting any pony?” “Nope.” Big Mac and Sugar Belle head in the direction of the hooded figure to see where he or she is going; they made sure to follow this pony in secret to make sure not to alert him or her. While they followed him, Big Mac realized that they are going in the direction of his parent’s apple-pear heart tree. When they arrived at the location near the tree, they watched from behind the apple trees as this hooded pony looks at the tree and starts to say something. “I don’t know if you can hear me, but if your spirit is somehow connected to this tree in any way then it’s good to see you again, Pear Butter. Even though you told me about this spot, I never would have guessed that your seed and Bright Mac’s seed would grow into such a lovely tree. I’m sorry that I didn’t do more; I should have been able to do more for you. I don’t know if what I’m about to do is going to make this up to you in anyway nor do I know if you’re angry at me for not doing something sooner, but I will make things right. I love you, little sister.” The hooded figure says to Big Mac and Sugar Belle “I know you two are there, so you can stop trying to hide behind the trees.” Sugar Belle asked as she and Big Mac came out of hiding “How did you know we were following you?” “I have special skills that make it easy for me to tell when somepony is following me, miss.” “It’s Sugar Belle; my name is Sugar Belle.” “Nice to meet you, Sugar Belle.” He says to Big Mac “So, is she your girlfriend, Big Macintosh?” “Yep. Wait, how do you know my name and how do you know my mother?” “Because we’ve met before. You don’t remember me because you were just a foal at the time.” The stallion took off the hood, revealing himself to be a light amber earth pony with brown eyes, black cut short mane, and a shield with a pear emblem on it cutie mark.” My name is Roast Pear; I’m your uncle.” Invite to Pear Family Gathering(Back with Big Mac and Sugar Belle) "My uncle?" Roast Pear said before showing Big Mac and Sugar Belle a picture of himself and Pear Butter hugging each other when they were younger "Yep. I know it's hard to believe, but I'm telling you the truth. Your mother was my little sister; this is an old photo of us." Sugar Bell said looking at a young Pear Butter "She's looks beautiful." Roast Pear said "She was. Anyway, since you (Big Mac) are here now, I might as well tell you myself." Big Mac asked "Tell me what?" "Me and some of the Pear Family are hosting a family gathering and we want you and your sisters to attend." "Really?" "But of course. You are Pear Butter's children; you have a right to attend this gathering. And you should know that not all of the Pears sided with Grand Pear." "I believe you." "I have to go now, but I look forward to seeing you and your sister's at the gathering. He said to Sugar Belle "You can come too if you like."" "What about Grand Pear and Granny Smith; can they come with us?" Roast Pear reluctantly said "They can attend, but at their own risk. And tell Grand Pear, that nothing has changed between us." Roast Pear left the area after his conversation with Big Mac. As he leaves, he says to himself "I really hope they (Grand Pear and Granny Smith) don't show up; I can restrain myself around them enough, especially him, but I can't speak for everypony." Later that night, Grand Pear is setting up the table since everypony is coming over for dinner tonight at his house. While he's been over at the Apple family's house for dinner a few times, he decided it was about time that he have them over this time. While he's adding the finishing touches on the dinner table, he hears a knock on the door and decides to answer it; it was Apple Bloom. "Apple Bloom, you made it." Apple Bloom said after giving Grand Pear a hug "I wouldn't miss this for Equestria, Grand Pear-Pear. Applejack and Granny Smith will be here soon; Granny Smith is just waking up from her nap." "That's ok; I'm almost ready anyway." "Do you need any help with anything?" "Not really, but could you get the food from the fridge for me." "Sure. " "So, how was your day, Apple Bloom?" "Pretty busy. Other than looking at request for ponies wanting to join our next session of Cutie Mark camp, I helped out two ponies who said they were my cousins." "Really!? What were their names?" "Pyrus and Sonic Gale." Grand Pear said recognizing those names "Pyrus and Sonic Gale!? It can't be." "You know them, don't you? They said that they're part of the Pear family, or as they called it the "New Pear Family"." (Applejack and Granny Smith come in) Applejack said "That's what they call themselves on the invitations too; at least that's what it says on mine, and I assume yours and Big Mac's invite. " "Who gave you your invitation, Applejack?" "A mare named Falcon Eye." "That's Roast Pear's wife and your aunt-in-law. I only met her once; she can be a bit serious and cold at first glance, but she's nice. Was Roast Pear with her?" "No; she said that he was taking care of something else at the time." (Big Mac and Sugar Belle walk in) Big Mac said "We ran into him; he was visiting mom and dad's tree. " Sugar Belle said "He was talking to the tree, or in that case talking to your mother; he was apologizing for not doing enough for her." "He says that he's our uncle." "He is. Roast Pear is my eldest son." Granny Smith said "Oh yeah, I remember him now. He ran away to join the Royal Guard didn't he?" "He did. I didn't approve of it of course, but he didn't listen to me. Can't say I blame him since I let a feud effect how I raised him along with Pear Butter." He asked Big Mac "How is he doing and what did he have to say about me?" Big Mac said "He said "Nothing has changed between us"." "I see. I shouldn't be surprised about that." Apple Bloom said with a worried tone "Grand Pear-Pear, you want to patch things up with Roast Pear, don't you?" "Yes. I couldn't make peace with your mother in time, but I want to at least make peace with Roast Pear while I still have the chance. I wanted to try many time but he didn't want me anywhere near him or his family" Applejack said "Then you should come to the family gathering with us." Big Mac said "He did, in his own way, invite you and Granny Smith; albeit he said you can attend at your own risk which sounded pretty uninviting if you ask me." Sugar Belle said "It kind of did." Applejack said "Either way. You want to make peace with him, well now is the time." "And we'll be there with you." "Ok" Elsewhere, Sonic Gale and Pyrus are playing with Elizabeth outside while their parents are inside going over the final preparations inside a big green house. Falcon Eye said while looking at a list in her hoof "Judging by the looks of it, we almost have everything here for the family gathering. All that's left are the desserts, the cameras, the game pieces that we still need, the pear juice, the magician for the fillies and colts, and the music; all of these things will be here a few hours before the actual gathering." Roast Pear said “Excellent. Now we can sit back and relax." "Not yet, we still have something else to take care of." "Like what?" "Like how you and the rest of the (immediate) Pears attending this gathering are going to react to your father and Annie Smith (Granny Smith) being at the gathering." "I told them that if we were going to invite Pear Butter's children, odds are that they would bring their grandparents no matter what we said; even if we told them not to bring them they would still bring them or they would simply not come. We've agreed to at least tolerate their attendance as best we can but that's it. Ultimately, this is about getting to know Big Macintosh, Applejack, and Apple Bloom and welcoming them into the family like we should have a long time ago; Sugar Belle too if she and Big Macintosh get married in the future." "I'm holding you to that." Grand Pear and Sugar BelleA few days later, The Apples, Grand Pear, and Sugar Belle headed for the place where the Pear Family gathering is supposed to take place. They had to take the train to get to the gathering. According to the invitation the Apple Siblings received, the gathering is taking place at a country club located in a place called the Windy Plains; the name of the Country Club is called Pearopolis. Before they left, Applejack talked to Rarity about this place and she explained that this is a very exclusive country club where only the very rich and elite can attend; even she hasn't been invited to be a member just yet. While on the train, Applejack and Big Mac left their car to find Granny Smith since she said that she noticed an old friend of hers and they want to make sure they haven't fallen asleep while talking and Apple Bloom went to use the bathroom; this left Grand Pear and Sugar Belle all alone. Grand Pear is looking out the window with a worried look on his face about seeing his son after such a long time. He hasn't seen him since he found out about Pear Butter's death and the last words he spoke to him were: Congratulations, she's gone now because of you and her(Granny Smith); I hope you're happy now. As of right now, you really don't have any more children who love you.". He started to let out a tear because of those words. Sugar Belle noticed this and got his attention. Sugar Belle asked "Grand Pear, are you alright?" Grand Pear said trying not to concern Sugar Belle "I'm fine. Nothing for you to worry about." Sugar Belle asked "Are you sure? Is this about Roast Pear and the rest of your family?" Grand Pear said "Kind of. To be honest, despite my grandchildren saying that I should go with them to this gathering, I know that I don't really deserve to attend this gathering. My family, my son, doesn't want to see me." Sugar Belle pointed out "But you want to see him and them, right?" Grand Pear said "Of course do, but it still won't wash away the sins I committed against them and him. When they learned about Pear Butter and what I did, they cut me out completely; along with a few other family members who were stupid enough to agree with me back then. I didn't believe them at the time and thought to myself that they would get over it eventually and see things my way. But when we found out about Pear Butter and Bright Mac's fate, they truly cut me out completely and believed them; some of them even went as far as saying that I was the reason that she was gone." Sugar Belle said "When I noticed a picture of Big Mac's mother, he brought up how nice she was and how heartbreaking it was to learn about what happened to her; he even went on to explain what he know about the accident about his parents. And while I may not know what happened exactly since this is all that he knew (or was willing to share with me then) it wasn't your fault; there was no way for you to know that would happen to your daughter." Grand Pear said before Sugar Belle cut him off "Maybe. But if I had been there, like I should have been, then maybe she would still be alive. If anything, I could have taken her place that day and........" Sugar Belle shouted "Don't say stuff like that!" (Then suddenly, for just a few seconds, Grand Pear saw Pear Butter right in front of him where Sugar Belle is supposed to be and saying the same thing.) Sugar Belle said "If you hold on to that type of guilt too long you'll never be able to live in the now or even move on. I may not have known Big Mac's mom, your daughter, but I don't think she would want you to think such a thing; neither would your son-in-law(Bright Mac), Big Mac, Applejack, Apple Bloom, and even Granny Smith." Grand Pear said "Your right; I shouldn't think that sort of thing. However, you sound like somepony who's experienced that type of regret." Sugar Belle said "Mine didn't involve the life of another pony, but something I did a long time ago affected somepony I knew in my past." Grand Pear asked since he didn't want to continue this any further if Big Mac didn't know before he did "Does Big Mac know about what you did?" Sugar Belle said "I told him about it during one of our dates. He's helping my find this friend of mine so I can make peace with her. I rather not go into it now." Grand Pear said understanding her feelings "I understand." Author's Note I know this chapter is short, but I figure I bring this interaction out now for all of you to enjoy and so I could use it for something later along the line. And if anything, I think Grand Pear having this interaction with his (hopefully) future granddaughter in law would be refreshing too. Starkrimson Pear and Red BartlettA few hours later, The Apples, Grand Pear, and Sugar Belle arrived at the Wind Plains train station. As soon as they got off, Falcon Eye and Elizabeth are waiting for them. Falcon Eye said "Good, you all made it." Applejack said "Aunt Falcon Eye. I didn't know you were meeting us. I can call you that, right?" Falcon Eye said to Big Mac and Apple Bloom "Of course; you two can call me that as well. Now come on, we better head to the country club." Grand Pear asked "So, where's Roast Pear?" Falcon Eye said while leading them to the club "Making sure that everything is running smoothly. We may have finished with overall preparations, but he wants to make sure that nothing goes wrong and everypony is having fun; he's also making sure that there isn't a repeat of last time." Big Mac asked "What happened last time?" Falcon Eye said with an embarrassed look on her face "I don't feel like sharing that, but you were there when it happened." Apple Bloom asked "Big Mac, you've been here before?" Big Mac said while scratching his head "I don't think so." Falcon Eye said "You were just a foal when Bright Mac and Pear Butter brought you here." Granny Smith asked"That was a long time ago. How often do you have these gatherings?" "Not as often as we should. The Pears live all over Equestria and have made themselves very busy; that's why we don't have these gatherings as often." Falcon Eye said showing them the big white country club with a pear sign on it "Well, here we are." Sugar Belle said "Wow, this place is huge." Applejack said "Rarity was right about it being fancy. Apple Bloom asked "Who owns this place?" Said an elderly green earth pony with yellow eyes starkrimson pear cutie mark along with a orange earth pony with yellow eyes and three red-green pears cutie mark"That would be me, my great-niece." Falcon Eye said "Big Mac, Applejack, and Apple Bloom, this is your Great Uncle, Starkrimson Pear and your aunt/his daughter, Red Bartlett." Applejack said before she, Big Mac and Apple Bloom are grabbed tightly by Red Bartlett"Nice to meet......" Red Bartlett said with an excited tone "It's so nice to see all three of you. I've known about you for a long time and have been looking forward to seeing you all at last; especially you Big Mac since I only saw you when you were just a foal." Apple Bloom asked "Um, Aunt Bartlett, could you let us go? Your crushing us." Red Bartlett said after letting them go "Oh, sorry. I've been so excited to meet the three of you, that I went overboard with my hugs again." Applejack said "Your hugs are just as strong as my friend, Pinkie Pie." Sugar Belle said"Her hugs are powerful." Red Bartlett asked "Who are you?" Sugar Belle said "I'm Sugar Belle; Big Mac's marefriend." Red Bartlett said before Elizabeth attacked her "Ahhhh! It is so nice.......ah, hey, stop is Elizabeth" Falcon Eye said while calling Elizabeth back"Don't even think about it, Bartlett. Why don't you and Uncle Starkrimson take them to see the rest of the family" Red Bartlett said taking the apple siblings toward the club "Fine." Sugar Belle said to Falcon Eye "Thanks; I think." Falcon Eye whispered "When Roast Pear brought me here during their last family gathering, I was greeted by her the same way. She likes the idea of new family members. " Sugar Belle said"New family?" Falcon Eye pointed out "Well, Big Mac is a Pear by blood so he is part of the Pear family; if you two get married one day then you would be a part of the Pear family." Sugar Belle said "Big Mac and I get married?" Falcon Eye said "Don't think about that sort of thing too much; you two still have time to think about that sort of thing." Grand Pear asked "Falcon Eye. I know you said that Roast Pear is making sure everything is going smoothly, but where do you think I might find him?" Starkrimons pointed out "The golf course; I saw him head there." Grand Pear said "Thank you." Starkrimson said stopping him from going"And what makes you think I'll let you walk around these ground unsupervised?" Grand Pear said firmly "You can come with me if you like; there is nothing stopping you." Starkrimson said looking at Granny Smith "Fine. But she can't walk around unsupervised either." Granny Smith shouted "I can take care of myself." Starkrimson said to Granny Smith "Not the point. We invited Pear Butter's children, not you." Falcon Eye said "If it makes you feel better uncle Starkrimson, I'll keep track of her." He responded with a happier tone "It does." "Falcon Eye. Tell my grandchildren to have fun and that he'll see them later." Granny Smith said "I didn't need you to step in like that, but thanks." Falcon Eye, Sugar Belle and Granny Smith finally caught up with the others. Apple Bloom asked where Grand Pear and Starkrimson Pear went and Falcon Eye said that he's going to go look for Roast Pear. She wanted to head back and help him since they promised to help him and be at his side during this gathering; Falcon Eye told them that Grand Pear wanted them to have fun and he would meet up with them later. While the apple siblings were reluctant about this, Granny Smith assured them that Grad Pear would be fine. At the golf course, Grand Pear and Starkrimson Pear are looking for Roast Pear; right now they are at hole 5. While they are looking for him, the two begin a conversation. Grand Pear asked "So, how have you been?" Starkrimson said "I've been fine. I'm just about to retire from running the club and let Seckel Pear manage it while I play golf and spend time with my grandfillies." Grand Pear said "Congratulations." Starkrimson said "It was only a matter of time anyway; I only regret not doing it sooner. What about you? Apart from spending time with your grandfillies, what have you been doing?" Grand Pear said "Nothing. I just want to be their for them; I've gotten to know them ever since I left Vanhoover and the pear jam store." Starkrimson asked "Who runs it now?" Grand Pear said "Some ponies that worked for me for a long time; they run the store and they keep me informed about it every week." Starkrimson said "So, your leaving that store in the care of strangers. Tell me, if she were still alive, would you leave it to Pear Butter or Roast Pear?" Roast Pear said appearing before them "I know I wouldn't want it; I don't want anything from you." Inside the country club, Red Bartlett and Falcon Eye is taking everypony to the ballroom where the rest of the Pears are. While they are heading to the ballroom, Apple Bloom notices a picture of her father holding a foal Big Mac with a few other ponies. Apple Bloom said "Hey Big Mac. It's you and dad." Big Mac said looking at the portrait "It is." Applejack pointed out "Well, they did say that you've been here before." Red Bartlett "That's the new family portrait. We always have an artist paint a portrait of every new family member that we meet during the family gathering. This usually includes spouses and fillies." Applejack asked "How come you're not in it, Falcon Eye?" Falcon Eye explained "Because this was taken long before Roast Pear and I got married. This year, you and Apple Bloom will be included in the portrait with me, Pyrus, Sonic Gale, and the rest of the new family members." At the ballroom entrance, a green stallion with red eyes and a green milkshake cutie mark comes out and notices the Apple Siblings with Falcon Eye and Red Bartlett. He then opens the ballroom door and says: Hey everypony, they're here; Bright Mac and Pear Butter's children are here. Father and Son(Flashback) At the Pear farm, the mail pony left the mail in the mailbox. Pear Butter came out of the house to get the mail and bring it in the house. Pear Butter said to Roast Pear and Grand Pear "Mail's here." Grand Pear asked "Anything good?" Pear Butter said "From the looks of it, letters from family and a few order request." Roast Pear asked "Is it here? Did it come in already?" Pear Butter said giving him a red book "You bet, Big Brother. Amazing Creatures and Where to Locate them." Roast Pear said with an excited tone"Excellent. I've been waiting for this for weeks now." Grand Pear said rolling his eyes "I don't get what see in that stuff. Most of those creatures aren't going to be anywhere near a farm." Pear Butter said noticing an envelope falling out of the book "Huh? What's this?" Roast Pear said looking at the envelope "A piece of mail that got caught in the book; I doubt the mail pony noticed. Since it's for somepony in Ponyville, I'll go deliver it to them myself." Pear Butter asked "Who does it belong too?" Roast Pear said "Don't worry about it, sis; I've got it taken care of." Pear Butter said "Ok." Roast Pear said after Grand Pear took the envelope "Hey." Grand Pear said throwing the envelope in the trash "It's a letter addressed to the Apples." Roast Pear said getting the envelope out of the trash "That's low, even for you." Grand Pear demanded "What do you think you're doing?" Roast Pear said as he heads out"Dropping this off at their mailbox or giving it to one of them. It's not right to throw away their mail like that, regardless of your stupid feud with the Annie Smith." Grand Pear said before Roast Pear interrupted him "Son, those apples are....." Roast Pear said mocking him "Scoundrel farmers. Liars and cheaters. They'll destroy everything that we Pears love. Blah, Blah, Blah. I've heard it all before from you; it got old real fast." Grand Pear said "You need to take this feud more seriously." Roast Pear said "No I don't, because it's not only a complete waste of time but also it doesn't affect my future." (End of Flashback) Roast Pear and Grand Pear are looking at each other while Starkrimson Pear is watching. Roast Pear said"So, you decided to show up here after all." Grand Pear said "My grandchildren, your nieces and nephew, convinced me to attend." Roast Pear said looking at Starkrimson"Uncle Starkrimson, could you leave us alone for a while?" Starkrimson said to Roast Pear "Alright." He says to Grand Pear before leaving " I'll be waiting at Hole 10 for you so don't try to leave without me." Grand Pear said trying to start a conversation with his son "So, I heard from Falcon Eye that your making sure things are perfect for the gathering. But from what I can tell, your setting things up for the Pear Family Scavenger Hunt." Roast Pear said grabbing out a book "I am. It's going to be the second to last activity for the gathering. I've already hidden various items all around the area; I only have these 5 items left to hide in accordance to the clues that Falcon Eye made." Grand Pear said noticing the book "Isn't that "Amazing Creatures and Where to Locate Them?"" Roast Pear said "It is. This book served me well; however, given the current state of Equestria, it's out of date and is no longer useful. Now, all this book does is gather dust in my house and is going to be used for a scavenger hunt." Grand Pear said holding up a frame that contains a letter in it "And this? Why would you use this in a scavenger hunt; isn't it important?" Roast Pear said snatching it away from Grand Pear "It is; that's why I'm using it for the scavenger hunt. If I remember correctly, you hated this the moment you saw it." (Flashback) Grand Pear said holding up a letter with a Celestia gold seal on the front "What is this!?" Roast Pear said taking the letter from Grand Pear "A letter of acceptance into the Royal Guard training academy." Pear Butter said to her brother "Congratulations." Grand Pear asked Pear Butter with an annoyed-angry tone "You knew about this?" Roast Pear said "No she didn't. I didn't tell anypony about this." Grand Pear said "Your lying; you told somepony so you could do the application in secret." Roast Pear said "Maybe I did; Maybe I didn't. Doesn't matter anyway." Grand Pear said "There is no way I'm paying you to go to that school and be some lazy guard that does nothing around the castle; I don't care if it's to protect and serve the princess." Roast Pear said "Well, I got news for you. One, it won't cost you a thing since I managed to get a free ride into the academy; and even if it did cost me anything, I would pay for it myself without your help. And two, I don't intend to stay in the castle if I play my cards right; I plan on being in the Royal Guard Creature Hunting Team. They deal with wild creatures in Southern Equestria and other places that are considered important to the Princess. They only take the best of the best and I'm going to be one of their best. Basic training starts in three weeks." Grand Pear said getting in his son's face "And what makes you think that I'll allow this?" Roast Pear said getting in his father's face "What makes you think that you can stop me?" (Flashback Ends) Roast Pear said "Pear Butter broke us up before we could start an actual fight over this. You gave me three days to get over this "silly" dream of mine or else. But you remember that, don't you?" Grand Pear said "I do. I didn't want you to go because I wanted you and Pear Butter to stay on the farm and continue the tradition of farming. But you didn't have an interest in such a thing; you wanted to fight monsters and defend ponies like your favorite story book heroes and legends, like Flash Magnus for instance." Roast Pear said "So, you do remember my favorite legend?" Grand Pear said before Roast Pear interrupted him "I do. It wasn't that I didn't know, rather it was irrelevant to me because......" Roast Pear said "Because you thought I would be like you and become a pear farmer. You thought I could continue the tradition of the Pear family. Well, if it's any consolation, I could have found another way to do what I wanted and still carry on the tradition; or better yet, Pear Butter could have done that a lot better than I did. Even so, you mainly wanted us to be your tools to fight against the Apple family for your stupid, irrelevant, pathetic feud. And let me tell you something else, even if I hadn't chosen to become a royal guard and become a pear farmer I would have left anyway; the only difference from this scenario is I would have tired to convince Pear Butter and Bright Mac to go with me." Grand Pear asked "What does Bright Mac have to do with this?" Roast Pear said "While you weren't looking, I got to know him when he was fixing the water silo and a little bit after that. I didn't know him as much as Pear Butter did, but I knew well enough that he liked her. I also knew that he didn't like the feud either and thought how his witch of a mother treated us, especially Pear Butter." Grand Pear said with a confused tone "He called his own mother that?" Roast Pear said "No, I did that; I never said it to his face but I thought it. In my eyes, like you, she was the real monster behind this feud; not Bright Mac or the rest of his family. They were victims of her anger and stupidity; like how "our" family was pulled in by yours. " Grand Pear said "Son I........" Roast Pear shouted "Don't call me son! I don't have a father anymore; I made that pretty clear in that letter I left you. You may have come here to try to make amends with me but I won't except it after what you did to Pear Butter. But if it makes you feel better, if you somehow want me to forgive you and bury the past then find a way for her and Bright Mac to be here right now and for you and Apple Witch to be gone because they should be here instead of you two." Roast Pear walked from Grand Pear in anger with the rest of the scavenger hunt items. Grand Pear could only watch as his son walked away from him; he wanted to go after him, but there was nothing he could really say to him right now. However, he did let out a tear in his eyes since he could see the pain in his son's heart; not of his relationship with him, but the pain of losing his little sister. Grand Pear then headed for the direction of hole 10 to meet up with Starkrimson Pear. Starkrimson Pear said "Judging from that look of yours, you two didn't make up." Grand Pear said "No, but I'm not giving up on him." Starkrimson Pear said "He still hasn't been able to get over it. While he's able to hide the pain when necessary, he still can't get over the fact that he wasn't able to save her." Back with Roast Pear, as he continues to place the items at the designated spots for the scavenger hunt, he is crying too. He then says to himself: "I'm sorry, Pear Butter; I couldn't do what you asked me. I'm a terrible Big brother."
Intro(Flashback) In the house of the Pear Family, a young Pear Butter is asleep in her bed, supposedly dreaming of her and Bright Mac. While she’s sleeping, somepony is rubbing her head in order to wake her up; it worked. As she is rubbing her eyes, she notices a pony in a brown hood that is covering his face; but Pear Butter already knew who this is. “Sorry to wake you like this, but I just wanted to say goodbye.” Pear Butter said noticing a bag next to the hooded pony “So, you really are leaving?” “Yeah. I can’t stay here any longer, not with “him” and not with this stupid feud getting the way. However, I wanted to say goodbye to you first.” “I understand. You want to achieve your dream and you can’t be here for that.” “I would take you with me if you wanted.” “I can’t.” “Because of your boyfriend?” “Yeah. He may be an Apple, but I still really, really, like him.” The hooded pony said before giving Pear Butter a hug “That’s fine with me; you have my blessing. As long as he “really, really” likes you back, I don’t have a problem with that. I have to go now; I’ll write to you as soon as I’m able to.” (The hooded pony sneaked out of the house while Grand Pear was asleep; but not before grabbing three books from the cabinet and leaving a note on the table. After he took care of that, he walked away from the farm. While he is walking away, Pear Butter is watching him leave from her room.) “Good luck, big brother.” (End of Flashback) At the clubhouse of the CMC, Apple Bloom is going over some recent letters and request from ponies from different parts of Equestria who want to sign up for the next full session of Cutie Mark Camp. She has to do it by herself since Sweetie Bell is with Rarity in Manehattan to help with one of her stores and for a photo shot and Scootaloo is with Rainbow Dash and her family on a beach trip for a few days. While she is working, she hears a knock on the door and decided to answer it. At the door is a green pegasus pony with blue eyes and pink mane and a green earth pony with blue eyes and a brown mane. “Excuse me, are you Apple Bloom?” “Yes.” “I’m Sonic Gale.” “I’m Pyrus.” “We’re twins.” “Ok. Nice to meet you. Are you here to sign up for Cutie Mark Camp.” Pyrus said before Sonic Gale bops her on the head “Yes.” Sonic Gale said before giving Apple Bloom an envelope “No. Well, yes and no. You see we were told to give you this first and then we can ask you if you could help us with our cutie marks.” Elsewhere, Applejack is getting off the train after she finished delivering some apples to The Tasty Treat in Canterlot. As soon as she got off the train, a yellow pegasus pony with a long blue mane, blue eyes, a brown jacket, and a falcon cutie mark on her flank, stopped her from going anywhere; she also has a pet falcon sitting on her mane. “Can I help you?” “You’re Applejack, correct?” “I am. Who wants to know?” “My name is Falcon Eye; this is my pet falcon, Elizabeth.” “Nice to meet you.” “We’re here to give you this.” “What is it?” “It’s an invite to a family gathering my husband is having with some of the members of his family.” “What does that have to do with me?” “Read over the invite and you’ll find out; however, you already know about my husband’s family already. By the way, do you know where I can find your brother?” “If you’re looking for Big Macintosh, he’s at my house baking with his girlfriend, Sugar Belle. If you want, I can give you his invite.” “That would be much appreciated.” At Sweet Apple Acres, Sugar Belle and Big Mac are getting a few apples for a big order that she has to do which requires a lot of apples and pears. They’ve managed to finish about half the orders, they still have a long way to go. While Sugar Belle uses her magic to get the apples, Big Mac is bucking the trees to get them. Big Mac said after bucking the apple tree of its apples “Is that enough apples?” Sugar Belle said while holding the bucket of apples with her magic “Yes, this is plenty; now all we need are the pears. Are you sure your grandfather doesn’t mind use getting pears from his farm?” “I already asked him yesterday and he said it was ok.” “Alright. After we get the pears we need, how about we take a break?” “Sure. I’ve been meaning to ask, who is this order for anyway?” “It’s for somepony that placed his order under the alias, The Emerald Mustang.” “The Emerald Mustang?” “Yeah, I was confused by that alias too.” Sugar Belle then notices somepony in a brown hood walking toward the pear trees on Grand Pear’s land. “Big Mac, is Grand Pear expecting any pony?” “Nope.” Big Mac and Sugar Belle head in the direction of the hooded figure to see where he or she is going; they made sure to follow this pony in secret to make sure not to alert him or her. While they followed him, Big Mac realized that they are going in the direction of his parent’s apple-pear heart tree. When they arrived at the location near the tree, they watched from behind the apple trees as this hooded pony looks at the tree and starts to say something. “I don’t know if you can hear me, but if your spirit is somehow connected to this tree in any way then it’s good to see you again, Pear Butter. Even though you told me about this spot, I never would have guessed that your seed and Bright Mac’s seed would grow into such a lovely tree. I’m sorry that I didn’t do more; I should have been able to do more for you. I don’t know if what I’m about to do is going to make this up to you in anyway nor do I know if you’re angry at me for not doing something sooner, but I will make things right. I love you, little sister.” The hooded figure says to Big Mac and Sugar Belle “I know you two are there, so you can stop trying to hide behind the trees.” Sugar Belle asked as she and Big Mac came out of hiding “How did you know we were following you?” “I have special skills that make it easy for me to tell when somepony is following me, miss.” “It’s Sugar Belle; my name is Sugar Belle.” “Nice to meet you, Sugar Belle.” He says to Big Mac “So, is she your girlfriend, Big Macintosh?” “Yep. Wait, how do you know my name and how do you know my mother?” “Because we’ve met before. You don’t remember me because you were just a foal at the time.” The stallion took off the hood, revealing himself to be a light amber earth pony with brown eyes, black cut short mane, and a shield with a pear emblem on it cutie mark.” My name is Roast Pear; I’m your uncle.”
Invite to Pear Family Gathering(Back with Big Mac and Sugar Belle) "My uncle?" Roast Pear said before showing Big Mac and Sugar Belle a picture of himself and Pear Butter hugging each other when they were younger "Yep. I know it's hard to believe, but I'm telling you the truth. Your mother was my little sister; this is an old photo of us." Sugar Bell said looking at a young Pear Butter "She's looks beautiful." Roast Pear said "She was. Anyway, since you (Big Mac) are here now, I might as well tell you myself." Big Mac asked "Tell me what?" "Me and some of the Pear Family are hosting a family gathering and we want you and your sisters to attend." "Really?" "But of course. You are Pear Butter's children; you have a right to attend this gathering. And you should know that not all of the Pears sided with Grand Pear." "I believe you." "I have to go now, but I look forward to seeing you and your sister's at the gathering. He said to Sugar Belle "You can come too if you like."" "What about Grand Pear and Granny Smith; can they come with us?" Roast Pear reluctantly said "They can attend, but at their own risk. And tell Grand Pear, that nothing has changed between us." Roast Pear left the area after his conversation with Big Mac. As he leaves, he says to himself "I really hope they (Grand Pear and Granny Smith) don't show up; I can restrain myself around them enough, especially him, but I can't speak for everypony." Later that night, Grand Pear is setting up the table since everypony is coming over for dinner tonight at his house. While he's been over at the Apple family's house for dinner a few times, he decided it was about time that he have them over this time. While he's adding the finishing touches on the dinner table, he hears a knock on the door and decides to answer it; it was Apple Bloom. "Apple Bloom, you made it." Apple Bloom said after giving Grand Pear a hug "I wouldn't miss this for Equestria, Grand Pear-Pear. Applejack and Granny Smith will be here soon; Granny Smith is just waking up from her nap." "That's ok; I'm almost ready anyway." "Do you need any help with anything?" "Not really, but could you get the food from the fridge for me." "Sure. " "So, how was your day, Apple Bloom?" "Pretty busy. Other than looking at request for ponies wanting to join our next session of Cutie Mark camp, I helped out two ponies who said they were my cousins." "Really!? What were their names?" "Pyrus and Sonic Gale." Grand Pear said recognizing those names "Pyrus and Sonic Gale!? It can't be." "You know them, don't you? They said that they're part of the Pear family, or as they called it the "New Pear Family"." (Applejack and Granny Smith come in) Applejack said "That's what they call themselves on the invitations too; at least that's what it says on mine, and I assume yours and Big Mac's invite. " "Who gave you your invitation, Applejack?" "A mare named Falcon Eye." "That's Roast Pear's wife and your aunt-in-law. I only met her once; she can be a bit serious and cold at first glance, but she's nice. Was Roast Pear with her?" "No; she said that he was taking care of something else at the time." (Big Mac and Sugar Belle walk in) Big Mac said "We ran into him; he was visiting mom and dad's tree. " Sugar Belle said "He was talking to the tree, or in that case talking to your mother; he was apologizing for not doing enough for her." "He says that he's our uncle." "He is. Roast Pear is my eldest son." Granny Smith said "Oh yeah, I remember him now. He ran away to join the Royal Guard didn't he?" "He did. I didn't approve of it of course, but he didn't listen to me. Can't say I blame him since I let a feud effect how I raised him along with Pear Butter." He asked Big Mac "How is he doing and what did he have to say about me?" Big Mac said "He said "Nothing has changed between us"." "I see. I shouldn't be surprised about that." Apple Bloom said with a worried tone "Grand Pear-Pear, you want to patch things up with Roast Pear, don't you?" "Yes. I couldn't make peace with your mother in time, but I want to at least make peace with Roast Pear while I still have the chance. I wanted to try many time but he didn't want me anywhere near him or his family" Applejack said "Then you should come to the family gathering with us." Big Mac said "He did, in his own way, invite you and Granny Smith; albeit he said you can attend at your own risk which sounded pretty uninviting if you ask me." Sugar Belle said "It kind of did." Applejack said "Either way. You want to make peace with him, well now is the time." "And we'll be there with you." "Ok" Elsewhere, Sonic Gale and Pyrus are playing with Elizabeth outside while their parents are inside going over the final preparations inside a big green house. Falcon Eye said while looking at a list in her hoof "Judging by the looks of it, we almost have everything here for the family gathering. All that's left are the desserts, the cameras, the game pieces that we still need, the pear juice, the magician for the fillies and colts, and the music; all of these things will be here a few hours before the actual gathering." Roast Pear said “Excellent. Now we can sit back and relax." "Not yet, we still have something else to take care of." "Like what?" "Like how you and the rest of the (immediate) Pears attending this gathering are going to react to your father and Annie Smith (Granny Smith) being at the gathering." "I told them that if we were going to invite Pear Butter's children, odds are that they would bring their grandparents no matter what we said; even if we told them not to bring them they would still bring them or they would simply not come. We've agreed to at least tolerate their attendance as best we can but that's it. Ultimately, this is about getting to know Big Macintosh, Applejack, and Apple Bloom and welcoming them into the family like we should have a long time ago; Sugar Belle too if she and Big Macintosh get married in the future." "I'm holding you to that."
Grand Pear and Sugar BelleA few days later, The Apples, Grand Pear, and Sugar Belle headed for the place where the Pear Family gathering is supposed to take place. They had to take the train to get to the gathering. According to the invitation the Apple Siblings received, the gathering is taking place at a country club located in a place called the Windy Plains; the name of the Country Club is called Pearopolis. Before they left, Applejack talked to Rarity about this place and she explained that this is a very exclusive country club where only the very rich and elite can attend; even she hasn't been invited to be a member just yet. While on the train, Applejack and Big Mac left their car to find Granny Smith since she said that she noticed an old friend of hers and they want to make sure they haven't fallen asleep while talking and Apple Bloom went to use the bathroom; this left Grand Pear and Sugar Belle all alone. Grand Pear is looking out the window with a worried look on his face about seeing his son after such a long time. He hasn't seen him since he found out about Pear Butter's death and the last words he spoke to him were: Congratulations, she's gone now because of you and her(Granny Smith); I hope you're happy now. As of right now, you really don't have any more children who love you.". He started to let out a tear because of those words. Sugar Belle noticed this and got his attention. Sugar Belle asked "Grand Pear, are you alright?" Grand Pear said trying not to concern Sugar Belle "I'm fine. Nothing for you to worry about." Sugar Belle asked "Are you sure? Is this about Roast Pear and the rest of your family?" Grand Pear said "Kind of. To be honest, despite my grandchildren saying that I should go with them to this gathering, I know that I don't really deserve to attend this gathering. My family, my son, doesn't want to see me." Sugar Belle pointed out "But you want to see him and them, right?" Grand Pear said "Of course do, but it still won't wash away the sins I committed against them and him. When they learned about Pear Butter and what I did, they cut me out completely; along with a few other family members who were stupid enough to agree with me back then. I didn't believe them at the time and thought to myself that they would get over it eventually and see things my way. But when we found out about Pear Butter and Bright Mac's fate, they truly cut me out completely and believed them; some of them even went as far as saying that I was the reason that she was gone." Sugar Belle said "When I noticed a picture of Big Mac's mother, he brought up how nice she was and how heartbreaking it was to learn about what happened to her; he even went on to explain what he know about the accident about his parents. And while I may not know what happened exactly since this is all that he knew (or was willing to share with me then) it wasn't your fault; there was no way for you to know that would happen to your daughter." Grand Pear said before Sugar Belle cut him off "Maybe. But if I had been there, like I should have been, then maybe she would still be alive. If anything, I could have taken her place that day and........" Sugar Belle shouted "Don't say stuff like that!" (Then suddenly, for just a few seconds, Grand Pear saw Pear Butter right in front of him where Sugar Belle is supposed to be and saying the same thing.) Sugar Belle said "If you hold on to that type of guilt too long you'll never be able to live in the now or even move on. I may not have known Big Mac's mom, your daughter, but I don't think she would want you to think such a thing; neither would your son-in-law(Bright Mac), Big Mac, Applejack, Apple Bloom, and even Granny Smith." Grand Pear said "Your right; I shouldn't think that sort of thing. However, you sound like somepony who's experienced that type of regret." Sugar Belle said "Mine didn't involve the life of another pony, but something I did a long time ago affected somepony I knew in my past." Grand Pear asked since he didn't want to continue this any further if Big Mac didn't know before he did "Does Big Mac know about what you did?" Sugar Belle said "I told him about it during one of our dates. He's helping my find this friend of mine so I can make peace with her. I rather not go into it now." Grand Pear said understanding her feelings "I understand." Author's Note I know this chapter is short, but I figure I bring this interaction out now for all of you to enjoy and so I could use it for something later along the line. And if anything, I think Grand Pear having this interaction with his (hopefully) future granddaughter in law would be refreshing too.
Starkrimson Pear and Red BartlettA few hours later, The Apples, Grand Pear, and Sugar Belle arrived at the Wind Plains train station. As soon as they got off, Falcon Eye and Elizabeth are waiting for them. Falcon Eye said "Good, you all made it." Applejack said "Aunt Falcon Eye. I didn't know you were meeting us. I can call you that, right?" Falcon Eye said to Big Mac and Apple Bloom "Of course; you two can call me that as well. Now come on, we better head to the country club." Grand Pear asked "So, where's Roast Pear?" Falcon Eye said while leading them to the club "Making sure that everything is running smoothly. We may have finished with overall preparations, but he wants to make sure that nothing goes wrong and everypony is having fun; he's also making sure that there isn't a repeat of last time." Big Mac asked "What happened last time?" Falcon Eye said with an embarrassed look on her face "I don't feel like sharing that, but you were there when it happened." Apple Bloom asked "Big Mac, you've been here before?" Big Mac said while scratching his head "I don't think so." Falcon Eye said "You were just a foal when Bright Mac and Pear Butter brought you here." Granny Smith asked"That was a long time ago. How often do you have these gatherings?" "Not as often as we should. The Pears live all over Equestria and have made themselves very busy; that's why we don't have these gatherings as often." Falcon Eye said showing them the big white country club with a pear sign on it "Well, here we are." Sugar Belle said "Wow, this place is huge." Applejack said "Rarity was right about it being fancy. Apple Bloom asked "Who owns this place?" Said an elderly green earth pony with yellow eyes starkrimson pear cutie mark along with a orange earth pony with yellow eyes and three red-green pears cutie mark"That would be me, my great-niece." Falcon Eye said "Big Mac, Applejack, and Apple Bloom, this is your Great Uncle, Starkrimson Pear and your aunt/his daughter, Red Bartlett." Applejack said before she, Big Mac and Apple Bloom are grabbed tightly by Red Bartlett"Nice to meet......" Red Bartlett said with an excited tone "It's so nice to see all three of you. I've known about you for a long time and have been looking forward to seeing you all at last; especially you Big Mac since I only saw you when you were just a foal." Apple Bloom asked "Um, Aunt Bartlett, could you let us go? Your crushing us." Red Bartlett said after letting them go "Oh, sorry. I've been so excited to meet the three of you, that I went overboard with my hugs again." Applejack said "Your hugs are just as strong as my friend, Pinkie Pie." Sugar Belle said"Her hugs are powerful." Red Bartlett asked "Who are you?" Sugar Belle said "I'm Sugar Belle; Big Mac's marefriend." Red Bartlett said before Elizabeth attacked her "Ahhhh! It is so nice.......ah, hey, stop is Elizabeth" Falcon Eye said while calling Elizabeth back"Don't even think about it, Bartlett. Why don't you and Uncle Starkrimson take them to see the rest of the family" Red Bartlett said taking the apple siblings toward the club "Fine." Sugar Belle said to Falcon Eye "Thanks; I think." Falcon Eye whispered "When Roast Pear brought me here during their last family gathering, I was greeted by her the same way. She likes the idea of new family members. " Sugar Belle said"New family?" Falcon Eye pointed out "Well, Big Mac is a Pear by blood so he is part of the Pear family; if you two get married one day then you would be a part of the Pear family." Sugar Belle said "Big Mac and I get married?" Falcon Eye said "Don't think about that sort of thing too much; you two still have time to think about that sort of thing." Grand Pear asked "Falcon Eye. I know you said that Roast Pear is making sure everything is going smoothly, but where do you think I might find him?" Starkrimons pointed out "The golf course; I saw him head there." Grand Pear said "Thank you." Starkrimson said stopping him from going"And what makes you think I'll let you walk around these ground unsupervised?" Grand Pear said firmly "You can come with me if you like; there is nothing stopping you." Starkrimson said looking at Granny Smith "Fine. But she can't walk around unsupervised either." Granny Smith shouted "I can take care of myself." Starkrimson said to Granny Smith "Not the point. We invited Pear Butter's children, not you." Falcon Eye said "If it makes you feel better uncle Starkrimson, I'll keep track of her." He responded with a happier tone "It does." "Falcon Eye. Tell my grandchildren to have fun and that he'll see them later." Granny Smith said "I didn't need you to step in like that, but thanks." Falcon Eye, Sugar Belle and Granny Smith finally caught up with the others. Apple Bloom asked where Grand Pear and Starkrimson Pear went and Falcon Eye said that he's going to go look for Roast Pear. She wanted to head back and help him since they promised to help him and be at his side during this gathering; Falcon Eye told them that Grand Pear wanted them to have fun and he would meet up with them later. While the apple siblings were reluctant about this, Granny Smith assured them that Grad Pear would be fine. At the golf course, Grand Pear and Starkrimson Pear are looking for Roast Pear; right now they are at hole 5. While they are looking for him, the two begin a conversation. Grand Pear asked "So, how have you been?" Starkrimson said "I've been fine. I'm just about to retire from running the club and let Seckel Pear manage it while I play golf and spend time with my grandfillies." Grand Pear said "Congratulations." Starkrimson said "It was only a matter of time anyway; I only regret not doing it sooner. What about you? Apart from spending time with your grandfillies, what have you been doing?" Grand Pear said "Nothing. I just want to be their for them; I've gotten to know them ever since I left Vanhoover and the pear jam store." Starkrimson asked "Who runs it now?" Grand Pear said "Some ponies that worked for me for a long time; they run the store and they keep me informed about it every week." Starkrimson said "So, your leaving that store in the care of strangers. Tell me, if she were still alive, would you leave it to Pear Butter or Roast Pear?" Roast Pear said appearing before them "I know I wouldn't want it; I don't want anything from you." Inside the country club, Red Bartlett and Falcon Eye is taking everypony to the ballroom where the rest of the Pears are. While they are heading to the ballroom, Apple Bloom notices a picture of her father holding a foal Big Mac with a few other ponies. Apple Bloom said "Hey Big Mac. It's you and dad." Big Mac said looking at the portrait "It is." Applejack pointed out "Well, they did say that you've been here before." Red Bartlett "That's the new family portrait. We always have an artist paint a portrait of every new family member that we meet during the family gathering. This usually includes spouses and fillies." Applejack asked "How come you're not in it, Falcon Eye?" Falcon Eye explained "Because this was taken long before Roast Pear and I got married. This year, you and Apple Bloom will be included in the portrait with me, Pyrus, Sonic Gale, and the rest of the new family members." At the ballroom entrance, a green stallion with red eyes and a green milkshake cutie mark comes out and notices the Apple Siblings with Falcon Eye and Red Bartlett. He then opens the ballroom door and says: Hey everypony, they're here; Bright Mac and Pear Butter's children are here.
Father and Son(Flashback) At the Pear farm, the mail pony left the mail in the mailbox. Pear Butter came out of the house to get the mail and bring it in the house. Pear Butter said to Roast Pear and Grand Pear "Mail's here." Grand Pear asked "Anything good?" Pear Butter said "From the looks of it, letters from family and a few order request." Roast Pear asked "Is it here? Did it come in already?" Pear Butter said giving him a red book "You bet, Big Brother. Amazing Creatures and Where to Locate them." Roast Pear said with an excited tone"Excellent. I've been waiting for this for weeks now." Grand Pear said rolling his eyes "I don't get what see in that stuff. Most of those creatures aren't going to be anywhere near a farm." Pear Butter said noticing an envelope falling out of the book "Huh? What's this?" Roast Pear said looking at the envelope "A piece of mail that got caught in the book; I doubt the mail pony noticed. Since it's for somepony in Ponyville, I'll go deliver it to them myself." Pear Butter asked "Who does it belong too?" Roast Pear said "Don't worry about it, sis; I've got it taken care of." Pear Butter said "Ok." Roast Pear said after Grand Pear took the envelope "Hey." Grand Pear said throwing the envelope in the trash "It's a letter addressed to the Apples." Roast Pear said getting the envelope out of the trash "That's low, even for you." Grand Pear demanded "What do you think you're doing?" Roast Pear said as he heads out"Dropping this off at their mailbox or giving it to one of them. It's not right to throw away their mail like that, regardless of your stupid feud with the Annie Smith." Grand Pear said before Roast Pear interrupted him "Son, those apples are....." Roast Pear said mocking him "Scoundrel farmers. Liars and cheaters. They'll destroy everything that we Pears love. Blah, Blah, Blah. I've heard it all before from you; it got old real fast." Grand Pear said "You need to take this feud more seriously." Roast Pear said "No I don't, because it's not only a complete waste of time but also it doesn't affect my future." (End of Flashback) Roast Pear and Grand Pear are looking at each other while Starkrimson Pear is watching. Roast Pear said"So, you decided to show up here after all." Grand Pear said "My grandchildren, your nieces and nephew, convinced me to attend." Roast Pear said looking at Starkrimson"Uncle Starkrimson, could you leave us alone for a while?" Starkrimson said to Roast Pear "Alright." He says to Grand Pear before leaving " I'll be waiting at Hole 10 for you so don't try to leave without me." Grand Pear said trying to start a conversation with his son "So, I heard from Falcon Eye that your making sure things are perfect for the gathering. But from what I can tell, your setting things up for the Pear Family Scavenger Hunt." Roast Pear said grabbing out a book "I am. It's going to be the second to last activity for the gathering. I've already hidden various items all around the area; I only have these 5 items left to hide in accordance to the clues that Falcon Eye made." Grand Pear said noticing the book "Isn't that "Amazing Creatures and Where to Locate Them?"" Roast Pear said "It is. This book served me well; however, given the current state of Equestria, it's out of date and is no longer useful. Now, all this book does is gather dust in my house and is going to be used for a scavenger hunt." Grand Pear said holding up a frame that contains a letter in it "And this? Why would you use this in a scavenger hunt; isn't it important?" Roast Pear said snatching it away from Grand Pear "It is; that's why I'm using it for the scavenger hunt. If I remember correctly, you hated this the moment you saw it." (Flashback) Grand Pear said holding up a letter with a Celestia gold seal on the front "What is this!?" Roast Pear said taking the letter from Grand Pear "A letter of acceptance into the Royal Guard training academy." Pear Butter said to her brother "Congratulations." Grand Pear asked Pear Butter with an annoyed-angry tone "You knew about this?" Roast Pear said "No she didn't. I didn't tell anypony about this." Grand Pear said "Your lying; you told somepony so you could do the application in secret." Roast Pear said "Maybe I did; Maybe I didn't. Doesn't matter anyway." Grand Pear said "There is no way I'm paying you to go to that school and be some lazy guard that does nothing around the castle; I don't care if it's to protect and serve the princess." Roast Pear said "Well, I got news for you. One, it won't cost you a thing since I managed to get a free ride into the academy; and even if it did cost me anything, I would pay for it myself without your help. And two, I don't intend to stay in the castle if I play my cards right; I plan on being in the Royal Guard Creature Hunting Team. They deal with wild creatures in Southern Equestria and other places that are considered important to the Princess. They only take the best of the best and I'm going to be one of their best. Basic training starts in three weeks." Grand Pear said getting in his son's face "And what makes you think that I'll allow this?" Roast Pear said getting in his father's face "What makes you think that you can stop me?" (Flashback Ends) Roast Pear said "Pear Butter broke us up before we could start an actual fight over this. You gave me three days to get over this "silly" dream of mine or else. But you remember that, don't you?" Grand Pear said "I do. I didn't want you to go because I wanted you and Pear Butter to stay on the farm and continue the tradition of farming. But you didn't have an interest in such a thing; you wanted to fight monsters and defend ponies like your favorite story book heroes and legends, like Flash Magnus for instance." Roast Pear said "So, you do remember my favorite legend?" Grand Pear said before Roast Pear interrupted him "I do. It wasn't that I didn't know, rather it was irrelevant to me because......" Roast Pear said "Because you thought I would be like you and become a pear farmer. You thought I could continue the tradition of the Pear family. Well, if it's any consolation, I could have found another way to do what I wanted and still carry on the tradition; or better yet, Pear Butter could have done that a lot better than I did. Even so, you mainly wanted us to be your tools to fight against the Apple family for your stupid, irrelevant, pathetic feud. And let me tell you something else, even if I hadn't chosen to become a royal guard and become a pear farmer I would have left anyway; the only difference from this scenario is I would have tired to convince Pear Butter and Bright Mac to go with me." Grand Pear asked "What does Bright Mac have to do with this?" Roast Pear said "While you weren't looking, I got to know him when he was fixing the water silo and a little bit after that. I didn't know him as much as Pear Butter did, but I knew well enough that he liked her. I also knew that he didn't like the feud either and thought how his witch of a mother treated us, especially Pear Butter." Grand Pear said with a confused tone "He called his own mother that?" Roast Pear said "No, I did that; I never said it to his face but I thought it. In my eyes, like you, she was the real monster behind this feud; not Bright Mac or the rest of his family. They were victims of her anger and stupidity; like how "our" family was pulled in by yours. " Grand Pear said "Son I........" Roast Pear shouted "Don't call me son! I don't have a father anymore; I made that pretty clear in that letter I left you. You may have come here to try to make amends with me but I won't except it after what you did to Pear Butter. But if it makes you feel better, if you somehow want me to forgive you and bury the past then find a way for her and Bright Mac to be here right now and for you and Apple Witch to be gone because they should be here instead of you two." Roast Pear walked from Grand Pear in anger with the rest of the scavenger hunt items. Grand Pear could only watch as his son walked away from him; he wanted to go after him, but there was nothing he could really say to him right now. However, he did let out a tear in his eyes since he could see the pain in his son's heart; not of his relationship with him, but the pain of losing his little sister. Grand Pear then headed for the direction of hole 10 to meet up with Starkrimson Pear. Starkrimson Pear said "Judging from that look of yours, you two didn't make up." Grand Pear said "No, but I'm not giving up on him." Starkrimson Pear said "He still hasn't been able to get over it. While he's able to hide the pain when necessary, he still can't get over the fact that he wasn't able to save her." Back with Roast Pear, as he continues to place the items at the designated spots for the scavenger hunt, he is crying too. He then says to himself: "I'm sorry, Pear Butter; I couldn't do what you asked me. I'm a terrible Big brother."
