BrightButter

BrightButter is the het ship between Bright Mac and Pear Butter from the My Little Pony fandom.

Canon

Bright Mac and Pear Butter's history was revealed in the Friendship is Magic episode "The Perfect Pear." Bright Mac was born to Ponyville's Apple family, while Pear Butter was one of the Ponyville Pears. Though their families were locked in the midst of a bitter feud, Bright Mac and Pear Butter befriended one another. During their first encounter, a discussion over flowers led Bright Mac to dub his new acquaintance "Buttercup", a nickname he would continue to use for her throughout their lives.

As they matured, their friendship blossomed into romance. On one occasion, Bright Mac was in the midst of a race with his friend Burnt Oak when he spotted Pear Butter working on her family farm next door. Distracted, Bright Mac went off course and ended up crashing into a water tower on the Pear farm, flooding the area where Pear Butter had been working. Pear Butter's father was about to blame Pear Butter for the accident, unaware of Bright Mac's involvement, when the young stallion stepped up and admitted that it was his fault.

Pear Butter was obviously impressed by Bright Mac's honesty and touched by his speaking up to save her from undeserved trouble. Though her father spotted signs of her interest and expressed his disapproval, Pear Butter's interest in Bright Mac had begun to grow. When she gave him a shy smile as they departed, Bright Mac was hopelessly smitten. It wasn't long before Pear Butter began to reciprocate his affections, with the two beginning to interact with as much secrecy as possible.

Chiffon Swirl, a close friend of Pear Butter's, later stumbled across the pair on a picnic, during which Bright Mac attempted to present Pear Butter with a bouquet of buttercups. He ended up sneezing the flowers all over Pear Butter, but she ended up being amused rather than annoyed. After sharing a laugh, the pair were about to kiss when they became aware of Chiffon Swirl's presence. When the other mare commented on their interactions, the two ponies blushed; Chiffon Swirl promptly agreed not to speak of the matter.

Unfortunately, the three were then stumbled upon by Bright Mac's mother, who was no more pleased to see her son in the company of a Pear than Pear Butter's father had been with Pear Butter's interest in Bright Mac. Bright Mac soon found himself being dragged away, though he passed Pear Butter a wink and received a farewell wave in response. Chiffon and Pear Butter discussed the matter briefly, and Pear Butter was soon staring off after Bright Mac in obvious infatuation.

During another rendezvous, Bright Mac would place a buttercup in Pear Butter's hair and announce that it was the anniversary of the first time he ever called her Buttercup. This made Pear Butter blush, and she surprised Bright Mac by pulling out a guitar with a coy smile. She then began to play "You're in My Head Like a Catchy Song", expressing her feelings of affection for Bright Mac. Among the scenes of their relationship that appeared as she sung were:

• The pair exchanging a drawing, with Bright Mac drawing Pear Butter and Pear Butter drawing Bright Mac next to her with a heart around them, using a messenger bird.
• Sneaking away from their respective parents in order to share a milkshake, with the pair unintentionally bumping their noses together as they drank.
• Dancing with each other from across a crowded square.
• Walking together through various seasons and weathers, with the pair sharing a scarf in winter and Bright Mac using his cowboy hat to shield Pear Butter during a rainstorm.
• Bright Mac trying to wave to Pear Butter as she struggled to pull up weeds, and her returning to the spot the next morning to find Bright Mac asleep and the remainder of the invasive plants pulled.

Caught up in the flow of her song, Pear Butter would end up confessing her love to Bright Mac, causing them both to blush. However, Bright Mac was quick to reciprocate her feelings, and the pair teased each other briefly before he showed her his present: a rock into which he had carved both their cutie marks surrounded by a heart. Deeply touched by the gesture, Pear Butter nuzzled into Bright Mac, and the pair shared a kiss. Unfortunately, their burgeoning romance soon came under threat when Pear Butter's father announced that their family was moving out of Ponyville.

Heartbroken over the news, Pear Butter met Bright Mac at the rock and confided in him as to what was happening. Bright Mac embraced her comfortingly but then questioned whether she intended to let this be the end of their relationship. Helplessly, Pear Butter reaffirmed her love for him but added that she felt the need to remain with her family. As Pear Butter left in distress, an obviously distraught Bright Mac watched her go. Then, as he contemplated his carving and touched it with a hoof, a look of determination came over his face.

Shortly thereafter, Bright Mac led Pear Butter to a spot between their families' farms, where she was stunned and touched to see the venue for a wedding ceremony set up. Also present were Mayor Mare, as officiant, and Chiffon Swirl and Burnt Oak as witnesses for their friends' union. Bright Mac then informed Pear Butter that, though he wasn't sure what they would do about her family moving, he was sure of his love for her-sure enough to marry her. Pear Butter agreed, and the ceremony commenced.

As part of their exchange of vows, the two lovers planted a pear seed and an apple seed right next to each other. Just as the ceremony was nearing its conclusion, Bright Mac's mother and Pear Butter's father both arrived on the scene. In response to their inquiries, Bright Mac informed the older ponies of his and Pear Butter's affections. He also informed them that they were all but married, and the act was completed with Mayor Mare's pronouncement that they were now husband and wife.

Though Bright Mac and Pear Butter basked briefly in their new life together, the happiness was interrupted by the predictable outrage of their respective parents. However, when Pear Butter's father attempted to insist that she come home to her family, Pear Butter pointed out that the Apples were now her family as well. This remark gave Bright Mac's mother pause, and Bright Mac quickly stepped back to his wife's side as she and father confronted each other. Pear Butter's father demanded to know whether Pear Butter was choosing the Apples over the Pears, and Pear Butter tearfully questioned whether he would make her choose.

When her father responded in the affirmative, Pear Butter sadly but firmly declared that that she chose her new husband and his family. Bright Mac promptly threw a hoof around her shoulders and laid his head on top of hers comfortingly. He would repeat the latter action as Pear Butter's father stalked away. Fortunately, Bright Mac's mother proved quite welcoming to her new daughter-in-law after seeing all that had transpired.

Bright Mac and Pear Butter went on to have three children together but never told them of where their mother came from. Pear Butter's nickname of "Buttercup" was universally used by all their acquaintances, and her jar of pear butter cutie mark was indistinguishable from apple butter. By all appearances, Pear Butter settled in firmly as an Apple. However-as revealed in Friendship is Magic #72 from IDW Publishing-she would continue to pay tribute to her heritage by including a single pear in her Apple pie recipe, though she kept this fact concealed from everyone.

Eventually, the two passed away under unknown circumstances. They would not be forgotten, however, with their daughter Applejack stating in "Crusaders of the Lost Mark" that their parents would be proud of her younger sister Apple Bloom if they were present to see her. In the episode "A Royal Problem", Applejack dreams of being held by both of her parents as an infant. Bright Mac and Pear Butter's story was not quite finished, however.

Pear Butter's father, Grand Pear, eventually moved back to Ponyville in order to meet his grandchildren, having come to bitterly regret turning his back on his daughter so many years previously. His first encounter with the youngest, Apple Bloom, led Bright Mac and Pear Butter's children to learn the full story of their romance. The three soon introduced themselves to their grandfather and then brought him to see their maternal grandmother, leading to a reconciliation between the two old foes. All five ponies then visited a memorial to the ponies they all loved: a tree that grew both apples and pears, grown from the seeds Bright Mac and Pear Butter planted at their wedding.

In "The Big Mac Question", Bright Mac and Pear Butter's son Big McIntosh laments that his attempts to propose to his girlfriend Sugar Belle have not turned out as well as his parents' courtship. Sugar Belle is quick to point out, however, that his parents had their own struggles which they overcame and voices the hope that she and Big Mac can do likewise. The two ponies propose to each other beneath Bright Mac and Pear Butter's tree and are later married there just as Big Mac's parents were. In the series finale "The Last Problem", Applejack remembers her parents among various notable figures in her life, with Pear Butter smiling affectionately up at a smiling Bright Mac.

Children

Big McIntosh

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Applejack

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Apple Bloom

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Fanon

Applejack's parents were a point of interest in the fandom long before their introduction, undoubtedly based on the fact that Applejack and her siblings were known to live with their grandmother as opposed to their parents. Various fan works featured fan designed versions of the pair in various stories. Such works often explored the fates of the pair, with some form of tragic early death being a common theme. With the official introduction of Bright Mac and Pear Butter in "The Perfect Pear", the two remain quite popular.

The ship is the most popular for both of them. There are 9 works featuring it on AO3.

Fandom

FAN FICTION

Bright Macintosh/Pear Butter tag on AO3

Trivia

• In the episode "Apple Family Reunion", a pair of shooting stars appears twice over Sweet Apple Acres. Sabrina Alberghetti, a storyboard artist for the episode, noted that these stars are meant to represent Applejack's parents.