"Ah mean, Ah figured the Pears moved, but Ah didn't know all that stuff happened before with Granny and Grand Pear." Applejack said as she felt like she was on the edge with her siblings and new boyfriend.
"It must have been really hard on our parents." Applebloom frowned.
"Oh, it was." Mrs. Cake frowned as she poured an ingredient into the bowl, already full of ingredients.
The flashback soon happens again.
"We're moving?! To Vanhoover?! But it's so far." Pear Butter frowned to her father.
"It's what's best," Grand Pear glared at first before smiling in delight of their family fruit. "There's acres of untouched land and a warehouse to make our jams. We'll get to expand our business and get away from those gosh-darned Apples."
Pear Butter's eyes instantly filled with tears and she flopped her face into her pillow as her father left.
"Pear Butter was devastated, but seeing no way out of it, she did what she had to do." Mrs. Cake narrated, but she said nothing more of that.
We are soon shown another scene and we see Pear Butter and Bright Mac hugging as she had told him the bad news.
"So that's it?" Bright Mac asked after the hug.
"What do you want me to do, Bright Mac?" Pear Butter frowned as she teared up. "We're movin'. I love you, but I have to stay with my family."
"Then Bright Mac did the most romantic thing I've ever seen anypony do." Mrs. Cake then narrated as Pear Butter left and Bright Mac touched his boulder gift before looking determined.
The flashback ends there as she brought out a pie from the oven.
"What? What did he do?" The Apple siblings and Clark asked.
"We'll need one more pony to tell that story." Mrs. Cake smiled.
"Aw, no!" Clark complained. "No!"
"I'm sorry, Clark, but yes," Mrs. Cake chuckled as he was just as into the story as the Apple siblings were. "We'll need to go see Mayor Mare for the rest of the story."
Clark gulped as he remembered the mayor being at the strength contest. They soon went to go see the Mayor of Ponyville. Clark froze in place as the others walked off.
"Clark, you comin'?" Applejack asked. She noticed the look in his eyes and remembered that Mayor Mare was at the strength contest and could understand why he froze in place. "Aw, Clark, Ah know yer a bit nervous, but come on..." she then said softly. "Ah'm sure Mayor Mare's already forgotten 'bout what happened."
"You're right," Clark smiled. "Maybe she's already forgotten."
They soon went to speak with Mayor Mare.
"Mayor Mare, you knew our parents?" Apple Bloom asked as they came into a room filled with filing cabinets.
"Not as well as Mrs. Cake, but I did play a part in their love story." Mayor Mare replied as she turned to them before catching a glimpse of Clark.
Clark waved at her with a soft smile, although he could tell that Mayor Mare still remembered what happened. "Um, maybe I should go." He frowned.
"Why don't you stay?" Mayor Mare asked. "I can tell it means a lot for the Apple family that you join in."
Clark stopped himself from leaving as he could tell that Mayor Mare didn't hold what happened at the strength contest against him. Mayor Mare smiled with a nod as she knew Clark didn't mean to do what he did to Strong Hoof, but was actually happy that the former Pony of Steel was gone.
"I'm sorry... Really, I am... I know I can't take it back, but I ask for your forgiveness." Clark then said.
"All is forgiven," Mayor Mare assured with a smile. "I'm glad that mean old Pony of Steel is gone though, so thank you."
Clark smiled back.
Mayor Mare soon focused back on telling the Apple parents' love story. "Now, where was I?" she then asked.
"You helped with the love story." Clark prompted.
"Ah, yes," Mayor Mare smiled. "The night before the Pear family moved, Bright Mac asked me to meet him at the edge of Sweet Apple Acres."
Flashback continues at the edge of Sweet Apple Acres as Bright Mac brought Pear Butter there for a certain ceremony. Mayor Mare was seen at the end of an aisle with a traditional wedding gazebo and waved to the forbidden couple decorated with both apples and pears.
"Ah don't want to be apart from you. Ever," Bright Mac told his fillyfriend. "A'm not sure what we'll do, but Ah'm sure of us. So sure that Ah'd marry you today." He then held out his hoof to her.
Pear Butter felt touched and soon took his hoof back. "I would, too!"
"I think that's my cue." Young Mayor Mare smirked as she held a book.
The scene soon turned to night with fireflies as the lanterns to keep the wedding lit.
"I had the honor of officiating your parents' secret wedding, and it was perfect," Mayor Mare narrated as the wedding began. "Bright Mac knew Buttercup wouldn't want a big splash."
"Reminds me of somepony else Ah know." Apple Bloom's voice smirked as her parents traded seeds in the place of rings.
"Eeyup." Big Mac's voice chuckled in agreement.
"So they had a special way to seal their vows." Mayor Mare narrated as the Apple parents buried the traded seeds in the ground.
"I now pronounce you-" Mayor Mare was about to say.
"What is goin' on?!" Granny Smith's voice snapped which startled everyone. "What's with all these here candles?!"
"Pear Butter! Where are ya? You're supposed to be packing!" Grand Pear's voice added before he saw his daughter with Bright Mac and looked grim and firm. "What are you two doing?"
"Ma, Grand Pear, Buttercup and Ah are in love!" Bright Mac told Granny Smith and Grand Pear before smiling at Pear Butter.
"What?!" Granny Smith and Grand Pear gasped.
"And we'll be married as soon as Mayor Mare says..." Pear Butter firmly added before smiling to her special somepony.
"Oh!" Mayor Mare gasped and soon did the final part to make the wedding close. "I now pronounce you husband and wife!"
"Doesn't that feel nice?" Pear Butter smiled before kissing Bright Mac on the lips.
The two of them soon kissed longer before stopping with smiles.
"What are you talking about, married?!" Granny Smith hissed as she came between her son and the young mare. "You two can't be married!"
"Finally, something we can agree on," Grand Pear grumbled. "Pear Butter, enough of this nonsense. We're movin'! And you gotta stick with your family!"
"But the Apples are my family now too." Pear Butter frowned as she didn't go with her father.
This made Grand Pear suddenly stop and look back at her as Bright Mac walked away from his mother. "You can't be serious," The older stallion glared at his daughter. "Are you choosin' to be an Apple over being a Pear?!"
"Are you makin' me choose?" Pear Butter asked with tears in her eyes.
"Yes. I am." Grand Pear said firmly while Mayor Mare looked shocked.
"Then, yeah, I guess I am." Pear Butter replied with tears in her eyes.
Bright Mac soon put his hoof around her as she welled up.
Grand Pear took a long look and soon spoke again. "Fine!" He then stormed off as his daughter cried and Granny Smith couldn't help but feel sorry for her.
The flashback soon ended there.
Apple Bloom was hugging Big Mac and he patted her on the back while Clark held Applejack in his hoof.
"Ah can't believe Grand Pear just up and left Ma like that!" Applejack frowned with her boyfriend and siblings. "No wonder Granny never told us about any of this."
"These things are never easy." Mrs. Cake explained with a frown.
"And it's hard to know when it is a good time." Mayor Mare added.
"It seems to me that now's as good a time as any." Applejack said.
"To talk to both our grandparents." Apple Bloom added.
The four earth ponies soon went to talk with Grand Pear.
The elderly stallion appeared to be closing his stand.
"Excuse me? Grand Pear?" Apple Bloom spoke up.
"Ah'm Applejack, and this here's Big Macintosh," Applejack introduced herself and her brother. "But you already know who we are, don't ya?"
"Sure do." Grand Pear confirmed.
"Did you really move back to Ponyville for a change of pace?" Clark asked him.
"No." Grand Pear frowned.
"Then you came here because you're sorry and that you wanted to get to know us, too?" Apple Bloom asked tearfully.
"I'm... So sorry," Grand Pear said sadly. "I-I-I was just so angry, and... Well, I-I never..."
"It's in the past, Grand Pear." Apple Bloom told him as she hugged him.
And where soon, Applejack and Big Mac joined in the hug.
"Oh, can Ah call you 'Grand Pear-Pear'?" Apple Bloom smiled sheepishly to Grand Pear.
"Sure can." Grand Pear chuckled.
This made all of them smile to him and he smiled back to them. They all soon went to Sweet Apple Acres.
"Now where'd you all get to?" Granny Smith demanded as she came out with Clark's parents. "Ah ain't seen hide or hair of ya's all day."
"We've been all over," Applejack replied. "Learnin' about our parents."
This made Granny Smith instantly nervous. "Guh... Y-You have?"
"And their grandfather." Clark told them.
Grand Pear soon came out.
"So... Yer back, huh?" Granny Smith eyed her rival.
"Sure am," Grand Pear grumbled before bowing his head. "Never should've left."
"Findin' you and learnin' more about Mom and Dad, Ah feel like Ah found a piece of me that Ah didn't know Ah had." Apple Bloom smiled at Grand Pear.
"Hearin' their story makes me feel closer to them somehow." Applejack added softly.
"Ah'm sorry," Granny Smith said softly. "I should've told you all about 'em sooner."
"And I should've been here," Grand Pear added. "Ah, I can't believe I let a silly feud keep me from my family."
"Nothin's keepin' ya from us, now let's not miss anythin' else." Applejack smiled.
"Applejack's right; welcome back, prickly old pear." Granny Smith smiled softly as she held her right hoof out to Grand Pear.
"Thanks, ya old crab apple." Grand Pear chuckled.
The two then shared a smile with each other.
"What a very happy ending." Clark smiled as he felt happy for the Apple family and Grand Pear.
"Now that we're all together, there's something we wanna show you," Apple Bloom smiled. "Mom and Dad left something to remember them by come on."
Grand Pear and Granny Smith smiled and soon followed after the young filly.
They traveled for a little while and soon came up to a tree that seemed to plant both apples and pears, and where it formed into the shape of a heart between both sides of the apples and pears.
"Whoa..." Grand Pear whispered.
"It's beautiful..." Granny Smith awed with happy tears in her eyes.
"It's... Impossible..." Grand Pear commented.
"If there's anything that's gonna make it through; it's Apples and Pears." Applejack told Granny Smith and Grand Pear.
Grand Pear chuckled to that with a warm smile. They all shared a group family hug altogether as they looked to the tree and Clark smiled, even if he wasn't a member of the Apple family. Seeing the tree gave Clark the perfect idea where to sing the song to Applejack. Applejack wiped tears from her eyes as she was overjoyed. Clark saw that and smiled warmly for Applejack before taking her hoof like he would hold her hand if she were a human. Applejack smiled back at Clark.
Soon enough, after the touching moment was over, Clark explained to everypony all about himself and what happened at the strength contest was an accident and that Strong Hoof was truly gone.
"So... You're not going to hurt any of us?" Fluttershy asked.
"I would never harm an innocent pony," Clark promised. "Unfortunately for Strong Hoof, he doesn't qualify."
Some of the other ponies laughed to that as Strong Hoof really deserved his comeuppance.
"And I have a song I would like to sing to Applejack and it's going to be at a special spot." Clark told them.
Applejack knew exactly where the song would be sung as they were just there a few moments ago.
"Would you two like some privacy, darling?" Rarity offered. "I mean, it sounds divine~..."
"I'd actually like for everyone, I mean everypony, to hear this song as well, so then Applejack knows how special she is and means to me." Clark smiled.
Applejack blushed to that.
"Well, of course we'll listen to your song!" Pinkie Pie beamed as she suddenly appeared right behind Clark. "I bet it's a lovely ballad! Like mine about frosting..." she then smiled and drooled.
Clark was unsure how to react of how Pinkie Pie appeared right behind him.
"Heh... Sorry about her... She's a little eccentric." Spike smiled sheepishly to Clark.
"I can tell." Clark told him.
"So, you were a superhero in your old town?" Spike asked.
"Yes, but I decided to leave that life behind me so my family and I could live in peace," Clark smiled. "I'm glad I came to Equestria though, it's all thanks to Atticus."
Atticus smiled bashfully from this.