Oh My Sweet Carolina

"You had to see it, Chiffon. It was the most wonderful thing ever." Pear Butter grinned at the memory.

Her best friend popped her head out of the cupboard that she was looking in for flour and sighed. "Yes, Bright Mac. How could I forget his rippling muscles and his blood red mane strolling up to take credit for flooding your father's pear fields. Honestly, I'd be mad about that too but that's just me. Now, the pears."

Pear Butter rolled her eyes and gave the nearby bowl stacked full of pears. "Well, I was mad at first but then he said he did it cause he was distracted at how pretty I was and then I thought that was cute."

Chiffon Swirl ran a hoof through her pink mane. "That's code for he was checking you out, but go off I guess. Now what kind of decoration should Spoiled Milk's cake have? I was thinking flowers made out of pears and then covering that in some fondant and-"

Pear Butter sighed. "Are you even listening to me?"

Her friend nodded. "Of course, but you know how much of a pain Spoiled Milk can be and she gets it from her mother so while I'd love debating the merits of colts and their fancies, I'd rather not have the Milk family come up and spoil my day because their daughter's engagement to the richest young bachelor in town wasn't the most memorable thing ever. Now did Bright Mac come up and rail you right there or not?"

Pear Butter blushed at the thought. "I mean that'd be a bit much. I mean we've only said so many words since our families can't stand one another but that doesn't sound all that bad though that's just a lot to take in."

Chiffon scoffed. "That's why I don't date. You think I have time dating eligible colts when I am trying to build Sugarcube Corner into something good? And anyway its not like baking is a common profession with colts."

Pear nodded. "Oh of course, but there has to be someone out there to share the load. I mean Carrot is a good match."

Chiffon Swirl facehoofed. "I'd rather be dead. Not that he's awful. It's just his mother is a lot to deal with."

Pear giggled and stomped around in mock disapproval, the image of Angel Cake staring daggers into her friend, her shrill voice echoing in the pair of young mares. "I mean she scared my dad straight when he tried to be nice and throw a few extra pears in cause he felt bad for her family situation. . ."

Chiffon sighed. "I almost feel bad for Carrot. Though it seems like all the adults are a mess."

***

"Bright Mac, I keep telling ya to mind those goshdarned Pears and stay on our side of the fence!"

Bright Mac carefully backed away from his mother as she walked with purpose into his room. "Mama, I was just racing Burnt Oak and then one thing led to another and-"

Clivia Smith stared at her son and wished Jonagold was here for a brief moment. She swore llightly under her breath as she tried to calm down. "I don't care what happened. You broke the fence again. I don't like them rotten Pears and Bartlett and I can't see eye to eye about who runs this here town but we agreed that that fence was a compromise. We stay on our side and they stay on theirs. But you took a plow through their fiddle faddling fields and broke their water tower. You know how plum mad Bartlett was?"

Bright Mac knew. He had stared down that stallion, feeling the wobbly feeling he always felt when he saw Buttercup. It was the most scared he had been in a while. At least in the cases where his mother wasn't involved. She would always win out with how scary she could be, but Mister Pear was pretty scary too. "But you told me to not lie and he was blaming Butter- I mean, blaming Pear Butter for the field and I felt awful about it."

Clivia sat their for a moment in silence. "Well your father would have been proud, I guess. But it still wasn't right. I mean she's a Pear. And its been quite a while since Apples and Pears saw eye to eye. . ."

Bright sighed, ready to hear the family tradition of when Great Grand Apple met a Pear for the first time for the hundred billionth time. He could recite the story by heart and bet that Buttercup could tell the Pear version with all the twists and turns the story had, but he tuned out his mother and stared out at the Pear fields. He could almost see Buttercup's pretty flanks and glowing mane in the dim evening light.

"And that's when the evil Pears stole all your Great Grandpappy's Cider and sold it to Celestia. . ."

"Mama, that was like three generations ago. . ."

The green mare stared daggers at her son for the sheer blasphemy that was coming out of his mouth. "That was a long time ago, but each and every Pear has a real mean streak to 'em, just plum terrible."

Bright Mac almost laughed. The thought of Buttercup even having a bad bone in her body was a thought. A dumb one. She was more an angel given pony form and just the cutest mare ever and had a rather nice touch on that guitar of hers but like bad bones? Nah. He just slowly listened to his mother, her anger dulling her senses. He never truly liked listening to their parents fight amongst each other, but the pair were so good at pushing each others buttons that Buttercup and him usually snuck off without a soul noticing their absence.

He tuned out his mother and quickly composed a letter to Buttercup in his head, his hooves slowly tapping out Morse Code in his mind, the one odd hobby he had. He had needed to find a way to hide some of his more racy missives and love letters in some fashion so her father didn't burn down the Apple barn. It wasn't his fault that he was madly and deeply in love with her, she was a pear he could not have.

***

Buttercup tapped a hoof on her family's pear stall, the old and familiar wood a comfort for what was coming. She glanced over at the Apples own stall, stealing a glance of Bright Mac's chiseled features, her heart aflutter with how his smile made her feel.

"Look at those Apples."

Pear Butter sighed. She knew that sound in her father's voice. She could hear the scorn in it. Quickly figuring how long the rant against his most important of enemies, she quietly waved at Bright Mac, who had a similar sense of annoyance in his eyes. She felt her insides go aflutter and she stepped away from the stall. She would normally feel bad, but her father- and Mac's mother- has decades of experience so them dragging their kin to sell their produce was more of a teaching exercise for foals. Bright Mac was eighteen, hardly a foal and she was seventeen. It wasn't like the pair didn't know how to sell fruit. Just dealing with their parents was a bit much.

The young lovers snuck away to their spot in the woods, used to timing their short trysts and talks to their parents rants. She could see the adults rant as a good thirty minutes so she didn't worry about being late.

***

Bright Mac traced a hoof in Buttercup's mane, the feel of her curls always surprising him. He wondered if that was what a cloud felt like- velvet and airy with a slight hint of give. He quickly tabled that thought for later. He could ask Thunderbolt about it in passing, the stallion was in the weather team and he knew exactly how to shape those rain giving clouds so well. He breathed in the scent of Buttercup, the slight tang of her was always a bit of a rush to him. "Wish our parents didn't have to fight."

His smaller mare curled into his shoulder and sighed. "Yeah, but that wouldn't have fixed the issue. Daddy still doesn't talk to-" Buttercup breathed out, the thought of her mother hard to think of at that moment. It had been a decade since she saw her, her face now only frozen in time in small, unseen pictures in the attic or hazy memories when she was little. "-her. And I think your mom reminds him of that."

Bright Mac laughed, his voice rich and deep like honey to Pear Butter. "Doubt it. My mama's more a hornet's nest than whatever your mom had to be. I mean she had you and you can't hurt a fly." He squeezed his love tight and looked up at the tall trees surrounding them in their hideaway.

Pear Butter laughed and leaned into Bright Mac. "Just think if our parents got together. . ."

The pair laughed at how patently ridiculous that thought was, the two adults so used to bickering back and forth that the idea of those two ever seeing eye to eye and stopping their feud any time soon was preposterous.

Pear Butter stretched and got up slowly, quietly brushing the grass and flowers that were in her hair, her stallion smiling as he watched her do it. "While I love our little talks, I can't just stay here all day/ Neither can you. . ." She rolled her eyes as Bright Mac pouted. "Yeah, yeah." She leaned in and kissed him covertly on his lips.

Pear Butter always loved the reaction she got out of Mac when she did that. He always tensed up like he had been struck by lightning, then he reciprocated the touch with a kiss of his own, tender and sweet. She broke the kiss and felt heat on her cheeks as she turned away.

***

"So Thunderbolt, how do clouds feel?" Bright Mac blushed. It had been a rather difficult night for him, images of Buttercup dancing in his head, the thought of her as a cloud keeping him close to waking each and every time. He had fell into a fitful sleep by midnight, which messed up his morning, but it was worth it. The memory of Pear Butter kissing him was just too nice for him to be mad.

Thunderbolt popped his head out of the cloud he was napping on. A shock of white mane atop a gray coat made Mac always think of the rainclouds that his pegasi friend sent his way. Thunderbolt grumbled as he saw his eagerly grinning friend. "Feels like cotton in a way. Electrical cotton. What with how I usually am the one that makes the clouds on rainy days." He stared intently at the large Apple stallion. "Now why do you want to know what clouds feel like? Not like an Apple cares about the process of weather making. Nah, just the fruits. So what has your mind up in the clouds?"

Bright Mac breathed in slowly. "Just curious, is all. Nothing to it."

Thunderbolt rolled his eyes. "You lie like I drink. Terribly. Now what's the real reason. Knowing you, it'd be either a mare or you grew wings. And I don't see any wings." The gray pegasus smiled as he saw Bright Mac falter. He had been a good friend of the stallion since they both were colts.

"It's Pear Butter. She kissed me. I mean we've been going at it since spring."

Thunderbolt zipped off his cloud and walked up to the taller stallion, carefully staring into his face. "You've been fucking Pear Butter under her dad's nose? Are you daft, he'll skin you alive and then kill the rest of your family out of sheer spite."

Bright Mac blushed and held up a large hoof. "No, no. Celestia no. Just going off and spending time together. Picnics. Exploring the woods. Normal things. I knew I should have asked Carrot about these things. He deals with emotions better."

The pegasus crossed his hooves. "No he wouldn't. Dude's a bit of a wuss and telling that you are catching feelings for a Pear? I may be no silly Apple, but I live here. You are playing with fire dude. You do anything bad and the town splits apart."

"That's why we are being discreet about this."

Thunderbolt let out a high pitched laugh. "It's Ponyville. Not Cloudsdale. You aren't being discreet. Somepony probably already knows, or almost knows something."

***

Pear Butter stared up at the ceiling of the Golden Oaks library, silently lost in thought. She skimmed slowly over the music section, quickly reading different music books for fun. There wasn't a lot of guitar books. She sighed. Guitar music was just so difficult for some ponies- stringed instruments were more the domain of unicorns, their horns making it easier to do some of the more difficult music pieces.

And Ponyville, being an earth pony town made it so much harder.

"What are you looking at?"

Pear Butter turned and looked directly at Ponyville's Premier Prissy Princess. "Nothing, Spoiled Milk. How's the engagement going?"

Spoiled Milk smiled. "Wonderful, I mean Filthy Rich is just such a good match and all that. I can't wait to be part of the Riches. . ."

Pear Butter almost laughed at the thought of her tormentor being Spoiled Rich. How apt a name for somepony so full of herself. "Good. Now I don't want to be rude or nothing but uh, why are you talking to me? Cause you rarely say anything unless there's something in it for you- be it teasing me about things or just being a snooty pony." Pear turned, ready to leave since she had already looked at all the books in this section and she didn't want to be stuck anywhere near Spoiled.

Spoiled Milk let the slight fall right off her back and smiled. "You know. I was just planning on inviting you to my wedding. As a nice gesture. Since you are one of my best friends. , ,"

Pear Butter turned and stared at the pink earth pony. "You have got to be joking. You hate me for some reason. So spit out what this whole ruse is about before I just up and leave."

Spoiled Rich sighed. "Fine. Fine. But I was just getting into teasing you." She walked up closer towards the Pear and looked ever so slightly down at her, her voice going to a whisper. "Now I'm inviting you and your little fucktoy. And you two have to come to my wedding together else I tell your two parents what you two have been doing behind their backs."

Pear Butter's face flushed in anger. "We haven't been doing anything."

The pink pony smiled. "I guessed that. But you know what ponies do. They talk and talk and talk. And if I slightly mention it. Just a bit. Just think of how destroyed your two families will be. I mean an Apple with a Pear? What is this little town coming to?" Spoiled Milk smiled, the smile never reaching her eyes. "So friend, are you coming to my wedding or not?"

Pear Butter could only nod as Spoiled Milk left her side. She stood there for what felt like hours as she waited for the earth pony to leave. She heard Bookish Delight talk slowly to Spoiled, congratulating her on the coming marriage, the old mare talking happily about her own memories. Pear Butter breathed and crept to the edge of the bookshelves, careful to hide. She watched the one pony who was vindictive enough to destroy her walk ever so calmly out of the library.

Pear Butter looked out and saw the sky darken and cloud over, large raindrops hitting the windows with a plinking sound and she was terrified to move, worried that she was in a nightmare. She quickly gathered up her bags, leaving the books she had planned to read over and learn new melodies for Bright Mac. . .she hesitated, feeling a well of emotions come up and cover her. Fear, anger, sadness. She should have been more careful.

She stumbled out of the library and ran through the rain, her curly hair getting matted to her face as she ran as fast as her hooves could go. She had to talk to Mac about what to do cause she felt her heart in her chest beat hard and fast as she was running through the conversation in her head. He would know how to calm her down and deal with Spoiled Milk.

She slipped on the muddy road as she turned into the Apple lot, her world turning sideways as she felt herself get covered in mud. She sat there in pain as she stared up at the dark sky and felt hot tears roll down her face. She sat there in silence, feeling the rain soak into her coat and she would have laid there for quite a while if she didn't here one deep and rich voice.

"Buttercup? Are you okay?"

She shook her head and Bright's face covered her from the rain for a moment, his hair only wet due to his large Stetson hat.

Bright Mac carefully picked her up and led her to his house, the Apple Family farmhouse lit up like a lighthouse, warm and inviting. And terrifying.

"I know Mama told me to keep you on your side of the fence and all, but I think with one look at you. . .she might agree that an overnight stay might be nice. She'll probably have to tell your dad though, but with this weather I think he'd understand. Though that blasted Thunderbolt could have told me it was going to rain. . ." Bright Mac mumbled to himself as he carried Pear Butter into the farmhouse on his back like a wet and sopping earth pony bride, draped like a saddle over him. She clung to him like he was her only warmth and she smelled the faint hint of sweat and the tart smell of apples and she felt not so alone. Terrified, yes, but not alone.