“You and Bright Mac? But– But–”
Chiffon Swirl’s eyes were still wide in shock. She spat out her next words with frantic hurt.
“But this is our spot!”
Pear Butter frowned, her own voice filled with guilt.
“I know! And I’m so, so sorry! I didn’t mean for us to end up here on our date but I couldn’t help it! It just sort of… happened.”
“Of course it did!” Chiffon stared daggers at her. “Because it’s nice, and quiet, and beautiful here. That’s why it was our spot!”
She stomped her hoof on the ground, and Pear Butter winced away.
“And I’m sure you just couldn’t help it, because of what he makes you feel, right? If only I was the one who was born into a family your family had been feuding with for generations. If only I’d been more complicated, huh?”
“I…”
Pear Butter forced her gaze back to Chiffon Swirl’s eyes looking at her.
“We’ve already talked about this, Chiffon.”
Chiffon Swirl melted away from her gaze, turning her head to look at the cake that she had strapped to her back. Pear Butter could see tears in her eyes.
“I know. And I know you told me we were over. I just thought that if I brought you your favorite cake, then I’d, well, not convince you, but…”
She sighed.
“I don’t know.”
She let the cake fall from her back and smash itself on the grass below. The piped decorations, the golden-yellow crumb, Pear Butter watched all of it get mushed into a scattered mess. She just stared at the cake’s remains, not knowing what to say until Chiffon spoke.
“I just…”
Chiffon Swirl wasn’t looking at her, and was just staring at her hooves.
“DId you tell him about us?” she asked her hooves.
Pear Butter just winced, which was answer enough for Chiffon.
Chiffon sighed.
“So he still thinks he’s your first kiss?”
Chiffon didn’t wait for Pear’s answer before continuing.
“I mean, that’s nice! A really beautiful, simple love story. And those are better when they’re not complicated.”
Pear Butter shook her head. Her voice was firm. “You’re not a complication, Chiffon. You’re why I have my cutie mark. You’re important to me in ways that Bright Mac will never be. And that’s worth more to me than a nice, simple story.”
Pear Butter closed her eyes and sighed.
“I’m so sorry I let myself get lost in all this. It’s not fair to you at all. I’ll tell him. The next time I see him, I’ll tell him everything, I swear.”
“No.” Chiffon said firmly. “Don’t tell him. That’s not what I want.”
Pear Butter opened her eyes to see Chiffon looking at her.
“I can’t have what I really want, can I, Peary?”
Pear Butter just frowned.
Chiffon Swirl blinked away her tears.
“And if I can’t, then I want you to have your beautiful, simple love story.”
She looked at the pieces of her cake now scattered on the ground.
“And I don’t want to remember today like this,” she declared. She then turned back to Pear Butter, a look of determination on her face.
“So I won’t! I’ll just forget about this part. Today I wanted to surprise you with a cake, because we’re real good friends, and that’s what real good friends do for each other. Then I saw you and Bright Mac being cute together, and right after that Granny Smith came and dragged him off by his ear. Then I heard you tell me for the very first time how you and Bright Mac had started dating, and I was nothing but happy for you. Nothing!”
Tears filled her eyes anew.
“That’s what–”
Chiffon gulped.
“That’s what I’ll tell your children.”
Chiffon looked at her with pleading eyes, as if begging for Pear to contradict her.
Pear Butter could not bring herself to.
“If that’s what you want to tell our children,” she simply stated.
A bit of the light in Chiffon Swirl’s eyes died, and she just stared at her hooves in silence for a few moments, during which the guilt would not stop eating away at Pear Butter’s insides.
Then suddenly Chiffon Swirl looked up at her again, the light in her eyes back and brighter than ever, almost manic.
“Just promise me that I’ll always be in your life, okay?”
Pear Butter blinked, taken aback.
“What?”
“Just promise! No matter what happens with you and Bright Mac and your families. Promise that I’ll always be in your life! And I promise. As long as I ever live. I’ll never, ever bring this up again, okay? It’ll be like it never happened!“
“I…”
Pear Butter gulped.
“Of course, Chiffon. No matter what, you’ll always have a place in my life. Always.”
Relief filled Chiffon Swirl’s face. Tears of relief.
“Good! Good.”
She smiled, and closed her eyes, her voice a whisper.
“Good.”
Pear Butter gave her a look of concern. A gentle frown on her face.
“You’ll find somepony too, you know. You can imagine it, right? Somepony who makes you feel how Bright Mac makes me feel.”
Her heart sank into her stomach before adding,
“Somepony who’ll make you feel the way I made you feel.”
Chiffon Swirl just stared at her, and laughed bitterly.
“Well let me tell you. It’ll take a lot more than some yellow stallion with a soft voice to make me feel that way.“
She shook her head.
“And if I’m being honest, no, I can’t imagine it. I can’t imagine anypony, mare or stallion, ever making me feel the way you do. You’re the reason I have my cutie mark. You’re the reason why I am who I am.”
Pear Butter did not give in. Her voice was filled with firmness.
“But Chiffon, we’re so young. Life goes on, for decades and decades. Anything could happen.”
Chiffon just looked at her, a cryptic look in her eyes. A smile.
“Yes, that’s right. Anything could happen.”
