Bright Mac

Bright Mac, more formally Bright McIntosh, was the son of, husband of Pear Butter, and father of and her siblings.

History
When Bright Mac was a young child, the Apple Family and Pear Family were in the midst of a bitter feud, the reasons for which are unknown. However, Bright Mac didn't share his relatives' animosity, particularly when it came to young filly Pear Butter, whom he nicknamed "Buttercup" on their first meeting. As the two grew into adulthood, their friendship blossomed into a mutual attraction, which inadvertently led to Bright Mac destroying a water tower on the Pear farm. Seeing Pear Butter's father Grand Pear blaming her for the accident, Bright Mac admitted to his guilt, earning Pear Butter's gratitude despite her father's dislike of the younger stallion.

As Bright Mac worked to repair the broken tower, he and Pear Butter became more closely acquainted, even meeting for a secret picnic at which they were discovered by Pear Butter's friend Chiffon Swirl. Unfortunately, Granny Smith also stumbled upon the youngsters, and promptly dragged her son away by his ear. This did not deter the pair, who continued to meet and interact under the noses of their distracted parents, with Bright Mac even sneaking onto the Pear farm to pick weeds after seeing Pear Butter struggle. During one particular rendezvous, Pear Butter sang a song in which she confessed her love to Bright Mac, who then showed her his own expression of affection: a rock carved with a heart and their Cutie Marks.

Sadly, Pear Butter soon came to Bright Mac with the news that the Pears were planning to move to Vanhoover, leaving her without hope that they could remain together. In response, Bright Mac arranged for a secret wedding, with Chiffon Swirl and Bright Mac's friend Burnt Oak as guests and acting as officiator. Pear Butter eagerly accepted his proposal, with the two planting apple and pear seeds next to each other as they said their vows. Just as the ceremony neared its end, Grand Pear and Granny Smith stumbled upon it, at which point the pair confessed their love to their parents and Mayor Mare finished the ceremony.

The feuding parents were outraged, with Grand Pear demanding that Pear Butter leave with her family, only for her to respond that the Apples were her family now as well. Forced to choose between the two sides of her family, Pear Butter chose her new husband, and Bright Mac moved quickly to comfort his wife. As Grand Pear left in a huff, Granny showed kindness to her new daughter-in-law. Many years later, the story of Bright Mac and Pear Butter's love was revealed to their children after Grand Pear moved back to Ponyville, and Bright Mac's penitent father-in-law was welcomed into his grandchildren's lives. The seeds Bright Mac and Pear Butter planted grew together into a tree whose branches grew into a heart shape and bore both apples and pears.

Bright Mac and Pear Butter welcomed three children into the world: son and daughters  and. Applejack in particular remembered them with fondness, recalling an apple harvest they took part in after Apple Bloom's birth and also dreaming of being held by them as an infant After a disastrous marriage proposal attempt to Sugar Belle, Big Mac confessed that he hoped their relationship would be like that of his parents. However, Sugar Belle quickly reminded him that Bright Mac and Pear Butter had faced their own trials, but come through them by sticking together. Many years later, Applejack would remember Bright Mac and Pear Butter alongside many of the most influential creatures in her life.

Personality
Bright Mac cultivated a number of qualities that his children later developed, including a penchant for honesty and an appreciation for simplicity shared by Pear Butter.

Behind the scenes
In the the episode Apple Family Reunion, a pair of shooting stars that appear twice in the course of the episode have been stated to represent Bright Mac and his wife. Lauren Faust indicated that they were deceased by the time of the series' beginning, though she expressed doubt that Hasbro would ever explicitly state that they had died.