Turquoise Edge had to make things right.
 
Here she was, on the Apple family’s doorstep, waiting for somepony to answer the door. No training regimen or even Hell Week could compare to what she was about to do: face her ex-wife.
 
As she waited for what seemed like a long, agonizing eternity, Turquoise felt the urge to gallop the other way grow ever stronger. The scent of apples in the air did nothing to calm her nerves. But she still loved Mel, and it was up to her to bring her broken family back together. To apologize and admit her wrongs. It was better now than never. So, keeping her hooves firmly planted on the ground, she braced herself as she uttered a prayer.
 
“This is for you, Dad.”
 
Soon enough, she heard hoofsteps approaching, and the door opened to reveal a tall, pudgy…unfamiliar stallion. He smiled calmly. “Good afternoon, ma’am. How can I help you?”
 
”Uh…” Suddenly, every heartfelt speech and sincere apology Turquoise had planned suddenly flew out of her mind as she gazed upon this stranger. “I-I’m looking for…P-Pristine Melody?”
 
”Alright. She’ll be coming right up.” The stallion turned and called into the house, “Mel, dear, we have company!”
 
Dear? That couldn’t mean-
 
“Comin’, Quilly!” A familiar southern twang rang out. In an instant, the mare Turquoise had come to see was at the door. Pristine Melody’s mouth dropped open in surprise at the sight of her, but quickly twisted up into a cheerful smile.
 
”Turquoise! Howdy! I see you’ve met my husband!”
 
Husband!? Turquoise suddenly felt as if she’d been shot by a cannon.
 
”Turquoise Edge, meet Cursive Quill, my husband. Quilly, meet Turquoise Edge, my…ex.”
 
Ex. That word stung even more.
 
”A pleasure to meet you,” Cursive Quill smiled and reached out a hoof. “I’ve met your daughters. Fine young mares; you’ve raised them well.”
 
Oh Celestia. Even the girls have met him. The girls who have barely talked to Turquoise, their own mother, in over two years. She really must have bucked up if they were choosing their stepfather over her.
 
Nevertheless, she plastered on a wide, albeit forced grin and shook the stallion’s hoof. “N-nice to meet you too! So…how did you two…get together?”
 
Cursive chuckled and held Mel’s hoof with the same one he used to greet Turquoise. “I’ll let my wife tell you all about it.”
 
”It was a night just like any other,” Mel began, “I was finishin’ up my show, leadin’ some fans around backstage, all that jazz…”
 
Just like the night their relationship had started.
 
”…when I met him. Cursive Quill. He was a news reporter, writin’ a special piece fer the Manehattan Times, when he asked fer a special interview with me. We did the usual interviewin’ stuff, but then we got talkin’ about ourselves. We hit it off real well. Turns out he’s been a fan for years.”
 
Just like I was, Turquoise thought.
 
“Quilly, remember that song o’ mine you said you really liked?”
 
”Yes I do.”
 
“Well don’t be shy! Sing it for me!”
 
“Of course, dear. Since you insist.” Cursive took a deep breath and started singing to her.
 
”I’m in love, with my best friend…”
 
Turquoise froze. That was her and Mel’s song. Mel had wrote it just for her when they got engaged. And now, here was this new stallion, singing their song as if it were his all along.
 
Not only that, but he could sing. As Mel joined in with him, they were in perfect harmony. Turquoise could never live up to that, with her gravelly, nails-on-chalkboard voice. The two seemed to be meant for each other as they sang. There was a connection between them that Mel and Turquoise apparently never had together.
 
After singing a few bars and laughing with her husband, Mel turned back to Turquoise. “So yeah, the rest is history. We just had our first anniversary last week! Now, since you’re here,” she added, almost like an afterthought, “what can I do ya for?”
 
Turquoise was now at a loss for words. What she was really here to do was make amends. To apologize and prove to the mare she loved that she could be the one she needed. But Mel had moved on, seemingly without a second thought. She had someone else who was infinitely better than her, who made her happier than ever before. And it was clear that she no longer had room for Turquoise in her life.
 
”I’m here to…” Turquoise fought to keep her smile from faltering as she glanced around, “…buy some apples!” She quickly slapped a hooffull of bits into Mel’s hoof and grabbed a basket of apples from nearby. “Looks like I got what I need! See ya!”
 
She quickly trotted off before Mel could say anything. And once she knew she was out of sight, she dropped the basket and broke into a full gallop before anypony could see the tears spill from her eyes.