> Split Apple
>  by David Silver
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

> 1 - Fractured Life
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

With newfound power, Big Mac threw open their wings, sending the winged muffins flying in all directions. It was time to battle, and they were full of the might needed to do it. Big Mac had no hesitation to spare in coming to the defense of Ponyville and the greater Equestria beyond it. They would not allow the Tantabus to leave the dream.

The battle was magnificent, and everypony lent a hoof. On some level, how could they not? They were a dream, and if a pony couldn't give it their all in the safety of a dream, where could they?

But all battles ended ultimately. One had to wake up from dreams, eventually. It was simply the nature of things. What Big Mac didn't expect was to open her eyes and see what she saw. Before her, Big Mac, the original Big Mac. He slumbered peacefully and quietly on a bed, chest raising and falling in the still symphony of the night.

But there she was, Princess Big Mac, watching him with enormous eyes. Somehow, she had woken up and was still dormant. The figure before her was clearly her, still asleep, but so too was the form she was in. She was an alicorn, a princess! She could feel the power in her wings and in her horn, waiting to be called upon, to smite evil and bring justice where there had been none.

But it wasn't just a dream. It wasn't just a passing fancy. "Nope..." She was an alicorn. She was likewise a female. A quick peek confirmed this uncontroversial fact. She was... "A princess." It was a harsh whisper, stepping back away from her sleeping body. "Ah'm a princess!" It was hard to miss the hints, if one could even call them that. She was still a large pony, wide and strong, but also just as clearly female in every way.

Breathing hard, she looked to an apple she, he? He had left it for her to find. The disconnect between the two was confusing, but she looked at her male form, anyway. They were both her, but separate? She felt... like that. She was that sleeping pony, but she was also her unique thing.

She wanted the apple, and it came to her. Her horn grabbed it with its magic and pulled it over as if she was born with it. Perhaps she had been? She couldn't prove it or not, but the apple tasted just as sweet and crunchy as she had imagined it. Was eating in dreams possible? Was she even asleep? The sleeping Big Mac was still snoring quietly, lost to the world.

"Has to be." There was no other reason that made sense to her. She was dreaming of being an alicorn princess with a great big crown and a jeweled necklace. She just had to be.

She took a slow breath and climbed up onto the bed. There was solely one solution that came to mind.

She went right back to sleep.

He woke to a start, the bright sun of the morning shining through his window. The dreams of the night before, easily forgotten.

He was a stallion, as he always had been. There was work to do, and he was set on getting it done. "Ayup."

Getting a lot of work done made Big Mac pleased with himself. He got to eat a good meal made by Granny Smith and with fatigue, but a good kind, he went to his room. A pity there was already a pony on his bed. Big Mac swallowed back his startled sound instead of alerting the entire house. There, slumbering, was his female counterpart.

How had he not seen her? Did she sneak in? That seemed unlikely... He had rushed out the morning in his hurry to get to work and forget the oddness that had visited him the evening before. He had just missed his visitor. "Nope." He reached out and poked at her gently, which turned quickly to more firm nudges and shoves.

But she would not awaken. She barely made little noises of discomfort at the attempts and was still asleep. Big Mac had a big problem on his hooves and had did not know to even approach it. He looked over the pony who was him, if he had been born a she, with wings, and a horn.

She was wearing a crown on her head with a big apple on it, and a jeweled work collar much like his own, though he had fewer adornments. Big Mac reached out to feel along one of her wings. It was soft and long and didn't belong on a Big Mac. Was she a Big Mac? What else was she? He was in her head.

He was without words or ideas, but he was tired from a long day. With a soft grumble, Big Mac crawled up next to his doppelgänger and flopped out.

The princess awakened with widely spread wings and a scramble to her hooves. "Ah can't stay here." Talking felt safer when doing it as a female. She was not Big Mac, not entirely, and the promises he made didn't entirely apply to her.

She hurried to a window and nuzzled it open as gently as she could. With a glance back at the sleeping form of her male half, she launched out of it and took flight. That she could fly at all was a miracle all on its own, but the less she thought about it, the easier it seemed to be.

With folding wings, she landed at the only light she had seen in the sleepy village. It was a singular house that held a single pony, maybe two? She inclined her head at it with consideration before knocking gently. "anypony at home?"

The music inside paused its rhythmic thumps. Hoof steps were coming closer and a magic aura wrapped around the door, casting it wide open to reveal a unicorn with her head bopping to the music as if it had never paused.

She had found Vinyl Scratch doing her curious work. "Hello."

"Hey." Vinyl looked the female Big Mac over with her guarded eyes, making following their motions quite hard in the gloomy lightning of the evening. "Need anything?"

"Ayup..." Big Mac pointed to herself. "Ah'm a princess."

"Yep," agreed Vinyl. It was hard to argue with the facts in front of her. "Need anything... your liege?"

Big Mac blushed at the title assigned to her. "Ain't here to boss ponies around. More lost as anythin' else. Can ah... help?"

"Good to hear." Vinyl leaned forward, her head bobbing to the music only she could hear through her big headphones. "So are you a cool princess, like Luna?"

"Yeah!" Like Luna! Even partially dream powered, sort of... "Ready to make thin's right."

"Make things right..." Vinyl looked left and right slowly. "This town's asleep." She pointed up towards the mountain. "Canterlot. You want to be there. They got things going at all times. You'll like it there. Or Baltimare... Or Manehattan. Any of the big cities is better than Ponyville, where the only pony awake right now is me." She inclined her head faintly. "If you want to stop by one of my shows, that'd be cool."

"Right, yes." She had a target! "Thank you!" She put out a hoof and easily wrapped it around a cooperative neck. Soon the two were hugging gently, but it ended quickly. Vinyl had things to get to, and so did Big Mac. She crouched down and hurled herself into the sky in search of adventure.

Vinyl watched the receding form of Big Mac. "Totally crazy." With a shaking head, she closed the door.





As promised, Canterlot was a lot busier. Perhaps more surprising was how quickly she had reached it. It was a long distance to go, but it passed in the blink of an eye.

Big Mac perked an ear at a yelp and descended to see a mugger approaching a quivering stallion.

"Give up your bits." He slapped a heavy rock-filled bag against a hoof. "Or I'll beat it out of you."

"Please, don't!"

It was all that Big Mac needed to see. She jumped down between the two from her vantage point on the roofs.

"Somepony else wants to give their savings?" The mugger turned on her with a scowl.

"Nuh-uh." She wheeled around away from him. "Ain't letting ya."

"Yer facin' the wrong way." The mugger laughed as he came closer with the sap raised high. "Lemme help."

His approach stopped with two hooves against his chest, sending the grizzled pony flying away with a rough cry.

The pony that was being mugged fled with a yelp right down the alleyway.

The attacker pulled himself out of the mess of trash. "Big mistake! Usin' earth pony tricks on me like that'll solve everythin'!"

But she had more than powerful hooves, apple forged as they were. Her horn glowed its off-green as she brought in abandoned coils to ensnare the stallion. "Ya stay right there!"

"Hold it right there!" guards were just showing up in a crowd of four of them. Three of them were approaching Big Mac, peering at her suspiciously.

"He's ready to be taken away." She didn't stay to chat with them, instead launching away on powerful wings.

It was a fine night to meet ponies and stop crime! She did plenty of both. "Call me Orchard Blossom."

At least one pony had just asked and wasn't in the middle of running away from other dangers. "Nice to meet you, Miss Blossom."

But the day was approaching and she knew that Big Mac, the male version, had to get up and get to work. "This was fun an' all, but..." She found an out of the way little corner to curl up comfortably in and sleep came for her quickly.





"Sister." Celestia looked up over the rim of her newspaper. "Something is going on during your time."

"My time." Luna snorted with indignation. "I am monitoring ponies diligently. Nightmares are being controlled, and it... isn't that." She didn't specify what 'that' was. "It can't be my fault!"

"I didn't say it was your fault." Celestia turned the paper with her magic, offering it towards Luna. "Have a look."

Luna's eyes swept left and right. "I... see... Unknown princess shows up in Canterlot." She raised a hoof to her chin. "They harmed little, but we can't allow that sort of thing."

"It cannot." Celestia slapped the paper down. "They went by the name of 'Orchard Blossom'. Does that ring any bells?"

Luna's eyes widened. It brought a few things to mind. "It can't be... I will check, to be sure." She drained the rest of her coffee in a few great slurps. "I'll get back to you when I know for sure."

"I trust you will." She leaned forward, and they shared nuzzles gently. "I'm not blaming this on you, sister."

"I know you aren't." Luna drew back, chomping her breakfast pancake, prepared by her sister whether or not she was in the mood for it. "But this is important. Consider me on the task!"

Celestia sipped from her tea with a great deal less hastiness to her actions. "Finish your breakfast first and you can chase this down afterwards."

She held Luna from retreating by the simple request for civility that Luna obeyed. "Very well, sister mine. I will eat your pancakes and only then set off to discover the source of this cryptic mare."

"I should know of any new princesses." Celestia raised a brow at Luna. "Barring another born one, which this is clearly not. Who else do you think could have... Do you think they walked themselves through the astral? To take those ultimate steps is quite upsetting, to describe it in the kindest of lights. Having a pony there to escort them is practically a requirement."

Luna tapped at the table impatiently. "This is for me to discover!"
> 2 - Who Goes There?
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Luna landed before a startled pony. "Have you seen one Orchard Blossom?" The stallion shook their head quickly. "Blast it." Set on the task, Luna would not give up.

She had tried searching for the dream of Orchard Blossom directly, but not a single whisper of an Orchard Blossom came to her. It was as if they simply did not slumber, despite being a pony. They were a pony? One had to work on that assumption, or there was little to begin with. Luna grunted as she landed before a mare. "Where is Ochard Blossom?"

"No idea, ma'am." She bowed courteously to Luna, even if she didn't have the answer.

"You can't hide from me forever." Luna turned away from the pony and stomped in a new direction. "You!" A stallion blinked at her. "Yes, you tell me all you know of Orchard Blossom!"

"Oh, she saved me." Finally, a pony that knew her and well if one had to work from his expression. "Why?"

Luna flashed a bright smile. "Lovely. I was hoping to have a little chat with her. Where would I find her?"

"I don't know." He shrugged gently. "She just showed up when I needed help and then she was gone." He made a swooshing sound, though. Though being a unicorn, he could not actually fly. "And she was gone! It was amazing, princess."

"I'm certain it was..." Luna considered the simple and thin frame of the stallion. A valid target for ne'er-do-wells. "What were you doing when you ran into trouble?"

"I was just walking." He made a walking in motion gesture with all his limbs. "I was taking a shortcut home and, bam! This guy comes out of nowhere and asks for my money. He didn't seem nice at all." The stallion was frowning at the memory. "I told him I wouldn't give it to him." More like he wailed helplessly. "But then she showed up." He clasps his hooves under his chin. "Out of nowhere, a princess rescue!"

Luna raised a brow at the pony. "Now we're getting somewhere. So this pony rescued you, you say?"

"She did! Pow, landed all dramatically." He struck an action pose with a silly grin. "And with a one-two, he was out like a light." He flailed the air wildly, as if delivering punches. "And she didn't ask for anything, like a princess. She just flew away."

"Huh..." Luna rubbed her chin thoughtfully. "And do you know where this princess went? I should thank her properly." Yes, a fine reason!

"No." He sagged dramatically. "She was gone by the time I thought to ask. She's probably helping other ponies. Oh! Is she related to you? You're both princesses of the night!" He was cantering in place with growing excitement. "You know her?!"

Luna pricked at that. "Does she only appear at night?"

"That's all I've heard." He put a hoof to his chin. "Savior of the night. You watch us sleep, but she has her eyes open for those of us that are still awake. It's so exciting I don't even have words." If one could ignore all the words he had already shared on the topic.

"I see. Well, if you hear more about this mare, do pass word to me." She pointed to the castle she came from. "I'm right there. The guards will pass reports to me obediently."

At least she had a ticket forward. It was a start!





Orchard Blossom landed on a roof's edge and peered around for trouble. She could hear no obvious signs of distress, or the night before. Had she calmed the town? That was good, she figured, mostly, maybe? What was her purpose if she wasn't doing battle with crime?

She hopped down lightly to the ground, her wings flapping twice before folding against her. She didn't have to think about the various parts involved in that. They just worked. It was like she was born with them, all the extra parts. "Hello." There was a mare smiling at her. "Do you have a moment?"

Orchard inclined her head. "I don't hear any trouble..." Which meant she had a moment. She allowed the mare to come closer. "How can I help?"

"I'm so excited to meet you." The mare giggled as she sat on her haunches. "You rescued a friend of mine and she's still going on and on about the time you saved her. She forgot her keys to her cart." She tapped at the side of her head. "And she was so panicked she forgot she had a horn, silly girl. You came in out of nowhere and yanked her keys out for her, then punched this other pony that was sneaking up on her. It was amazing!"

Orchard thought back and could remember that. "I was fetching her key when--"

"You kicked 'em!"

That was mostly an accident, but... It had worked out. "You saved her."

"And I wanted to meet you." The mare danced around Orchard Blossom with a big smile. "Were you a unicorn first, or did you follow Luna and Celestia?"

"Um... nope." She raised a hoof to her new horn. She was not born with that, no matter how skilled she was with it. "Are you in trouble?"

"Nah." She waved it off like it was nothing. "I just wanted to become friends with a real-life hero." She leaned and booped her nose against Orchard Blossom's without asking and with a big smile. "This is so exciting. So you're new to the unicorn thing?" Orchard nodded stiffly. "I'm glad to show you around, get you used to things. You try out the nightlife at all?"

Orchard took a step back, away from the excited mare. "I haven't. Should I?"

"Of course you should!" The mare threw her hooves up wide. "You saved everypony, you deserve a chance to enjoy what this town offers, and lemme tell ya, Canterlot has a lot to offer." She waggled her brows at Orchard Blossom. "Especially bona fide heroes."

Was she one of those? Well, she had saved a few ponies. "Ah don't wanna take advantage of nopony."

"You are too much!" She grabbed Orchard in a warm hug, unasked for. "I love you! Alright, you wanna shake your things, get something to eat, or watch someone else shake theirs?" She slid in alongside Orchard. "Tonight, I'm the one in charge and I'll get you everywhere you could ever want to go!"





It was the next morning that Big Mac learned a valuable lesson. Getting up to his hooves and cradling his head, he staggered towards work with even fewer words than normal.

"Ya alright?" But his sister could tell something was wrong, even with no words. "If yer not feelin' good, ah'll pick it up. Go rest. Yer always busting yer hump fer us."

But he could remember what he had spent the last night doing. Well, what Orchard Blossom had done, and left him with a wickedly pounding headache for the trouble. It was still something he got to enjoy, so he could use it as an excuse. "Nope." He pushed past her, but not without a little smooch on her cheek in wordless thanks.

He went out, headache and all, and learned a new lesson. Kicking apples with a big headache was an exceptionally bad idea. Every time he contacted a tree with his solid hooves, he wanted to pass out from the pain of the jarring impact and the loud crack of his hooves thumping against the wood grain. The apples fell, but he felt like he wanted to fall right along with them.

"Ya look rough." There was Granny, on the porch, rocking in her chair. "Like ya had a wild party or somethin'." She raised a hoof to her cheek. "But ya weren't at no parties."

"Nope." Big Mac fixed her with a bleary look, even as he did his best to stand up straight. "Ah'm workin'"

"Ah see ya tryin', Big Mac, but I also see ya hurtin' C'mere." She slid to her hooves and guided her grandson inside. "Ah got a fix for just such things, but ya have to promise me to not hit up the cider so hard next time." She hiked a brow at him. "Ah know ya think 'oh, I'm way too big to feel it. Nothin' can hurt me!' but look at ya! Yer a mess." She was busily putting something together. An egg was involved, oddly.

Big Mac settled down about in time for a cup to be shoved against him. He cradled it with both hooves and raised it up for a sniff. He could feel his nose hairs curling at the first whiff of it.

"Y'll drink it an' like it." Granny was watching him intently. "It smells bad. It tastes worse! But it'll put you on the path to recovery. That's jus' how it works. So drink!"

There was no room for arguments in her voice. He upended the cup into his reluctant mouth and chugged it down as quickly as he could. That did not help as much as he had hoped. With suddenly runny eye, he pawed desperately at his abused tongue.

"That'll teach you." She was putting away the supplies she got out. "But, fer real, ya should feel better soon. Drink plenty and it'll go away. Good on ya fer not takin' a day off fer your own foolishness. No more cider!" She suddenly smiled. "That's fer customers anyway, and they're welcome to spend their bits here. No need to join 'em."

Water? That sounded good! He casually attached himself to the faucet and guzzled down more water than he should have. Still, bit by bit, the headache was leaving him. "Thanks." There was no time like the present to get back out to work. He did his best to do well for the rest of the day, even if he had a mild headache for most of it.





"She mentioned Ponyville." The mare nodded at Luna. "You going to throw her a huge 'welcome to the club' party?"

Luna nodded at the cheerful mare that had once gone out with the mystery princess. "Yes, that exactly. She's been hiding, naughty princess. How can I thank her properly if she keeps ducking out of sight?"

"Bummer!" The mare pouted at the news. "Well, if I see her, I'll let her know you're looking for her."

"Neigh! I mean, no." Luna waved a hoof wildly. "Let me deal with this. I don't want the surprise ruined."

"Oh! Surprise, right." The mare nodded with understanding. "Be sure to invite me, though. I want to party with her again." She burst into fresh giggles. "She was cutting loose the other night. Lemme tell ya!"

"I can promise little." Luna raised a hoof. "It depends on how she reacts. Maybe she doesn't want a party at all."

"Oh!" The mare looked like she understood completely what was going on. "Gotcha. Alright, you ask her what she wants and remind her that the party mare she met wants to celebrate her proper princess-hood with her." She wiggled in place with a giggle. "She was so much fun!"

"Tons of fun." Luna had a more serious look on her face. "I'm certain of it. Thank you for your help, citizen." She had an idea of where to look. With firm strides away from the joyful mare, Luna headed to her next stop.

Ponyville.
> 3 - Where the Apple Splits
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Luna landed lightly with folding wings as she looked around the sleepy town of Ponyville. The heavy sun in the sky diminished her odds of finding anypony at that time of day. Many of the inhabitants of that town were preparing for sleep. 

It would not put her off. She had explored their dreams and not one of them had hinted Orchard Blossom so far. But the mention of Ponyville couldn't have been an accident! Luna approached one of the head ponies. "Mayor Mare, a moment of your time?"

Mayor Mare smiled brightly at Luna's sight. "Good to see you, princess. How can I help you? I'm happy to report no emergencies are needing royal help in the area."

"And if there were, Twilight is right there." Luna inclined her head at the great tower that housed the local princess. "What I seek is closer, but less immediately troubling."

"If I can help." Mayor Mare had a hoof on her chest. "What's the problem?"

"Orchard Blossom. Does the name bring anything to your recollection?" Luna leaned in on the local leader. "I am pursuing that mare."

"Orchard... Oh." Mayor Mare took off at a lively trot. "That name is familiar. This way." She ducked into the city hall, nodding at the workers on her way by. "This is Even Ledger." The stallion referred to nodded firmly. "He keeps track of everything! Even, we're looking for an Orchard Blossom anywhere on the books."

Even turned away from them both to begin hoofing through piles of papers. "Orchard, Ochard... Ah ha!" He pulls out a folder and twirled around. He slapped it down in front of them. "There was an Orchard Blossom registered for the Sisterhooves Social. Does that help, ma'am?"

Mayor Mare passed that question on with a raised a brow at Luna. Luna rubbed at her chin softly. "That is helpful. Is there more information?" Her horn glowed as she reached for the folder, only for it to be yanked back by Even. "Pardon?"

Even drew the paper back. "Sorry, princess, but there are governing rules about who may review that information."

Mayor Mare laughed nervously. "She is... This is Luna."

Even nodded. "Certainly is. If she wishes to pass a law changing that rule, she can." He tucked the folder away. "Until that time, I am acting under the rules as given to me."

Luna clopped a hoof down. "I am trying to locate an errant princess. I need to speak to her as quickly as possible."

"The Apples would be very irate with me if I--"

"--Thank you." Luna turned to leave on a determined march.

Mayor Mare looked between Even and Luna. "Thank you, Even. You may resume your duties."

"Ma'am." Even was already getting right back to sorting the papers in order.

Mayor Mare quickly caught up to Luna's side. "Princess, may I ask where you're going in such a hurry?"

"They said Apple." Luna hiked a brow at the mayor. "I will ask them. Surely they will have more information on Orchard Blossom."

"Perhaps, but it is becoming late." Mayor Mare gestured above as they walked. "Wouldn't it be wiser to stay the night and ask when they are awake and ready to receive you? I don't want you to go all that way just to find a sleeping farm."

"Perhaps not..." Luna slowed to a stop and turned to face Mayor Mare. "I will need to patrol dreams this night."

"Of course." Mayor Mare dipped low before Luna. "I won't impede that. We all fought for your right to do just that."

Luna colored with the memory of the town battling her dream demon. "Nothing so dramatic, I assure! We have complete control over that."

"Not that I doubted you for a second." Mayor Mare deviated from the path. "You can stay here for tonight." She led the way back to her house. It was large enough to tuck a princess into it, but... "I don't have any maids or butlers. Are you alright with that?"

Luna swerved around Mayor Mare into the house. "This will do for a night. It will be good of me to experience what life is like on my own for a day or night." She willed the door shut, clapping Mayor Mare on the bottom on the way. "In fact, I will prepare dinner!"

Mayor Mare reached a hoof back to rub her mildly sore back end. "That's very kind of you." There were no assurances that a princess over for a night would be easy.





Big Mac was hauling a heavy bit of machinery down the road towards town. A pity there was a pony in the way. "Ayup?"

Luna stood tall and straight before Big Mac. "I am seeking the Apples." She looked him over and took notice of his cutie mark. "You may be one of them? Big Mac! I have met you and your sister before, have I not?" Whatever confusion there had been, it had passed as she remembered who he was.

"Ayup." Big Mac nodded to the princess of the night that was about as big as he was.

"I was looking for an Orchard Blossom. Perhaps a cousin?" Luna didn't see as Big Mac tensed with worry. "Hard to miss, being an alicorn. They have not formally accepted being a princess, but are... I'm getting off track. Do you know where they are?"

Big Mac recoiled faintly. "Um... Nope." If there was a time that being a stallion of few words came in handy, that had to be one of them.

"But you've heard of them." Luna did not appear ready to back down. "I hear they were..." Luna hesitated and stopped. "Have you heard of them?"

"Ayup?" He licked over his dry lips. "Gotta go." He pulled at his, oh. It was suddenly not heavy. Luna was lifting it with her magic and walking back to where she came from, him along for the ride. "Ayup?"

"Yes. I will help you make this delivery." Luna glanced over her shoulder. "Tell me where this goes, then we can continue our conversation." Big Mac pointed the way, and she went straight for the shop. "Ah, is it to be repaired, then?" She set the cart, and the pony attached, down just in front of it. "Go ahead. I will wait here."

"Ayup." Big Mac scurried forward the instant he hit the ground and vanished inside with the cart wheeling wildly behind him.

Luna waited impatiently with a tapping hoof, only to spot Big Mac crawling out a window on the side. "There you are." She hurried up to him with a smile. "Let us continue." She casually plucked the stallion free and set him on the ground.

His attempt to flee thwarted, Big Mac nodded to the alicorn. "Ayup."

"So tell me all about this Orchard Blossom." Luna began walking towards the farm at a slow pace. "You know her well?"

Big Mac walked alongside her, fearing her reacting otherwise. "Yup." He knew her about as well as anypony could, no lie there!

"Lovely!" Luna clapped her hooves with joy. "Is she a good pony?"

"Ayup." He hoped so? He tried to be a good pony!

"Does she visit the farm often?"

Big Mac swallowed the answer to that. Did she?! Sorta... But she was Big Mac when she did, um... "Nope."

"Do you know how to--"

"Big Mac, Luna!" There was Applejack, waving at the two of them excitedly. "Didn't expect to see ya so soon, especially after that last kerfuffle." She came up with a big smile. "Still, good on ya! Not letting little things rattle ya like that. How can I help ya?"

Luna colored faintly. "You need not bring that up. I came to inquire about Orchard Blossom."

Applejack snorted out an aborted laugh. "Did nopony tell you?"

"Tell me what?" Luna raised a brow at Applejack. "Are you concealing a secret from me?"

"No, no, wouldn't dream of it." Even if Applejack looked like she was struggling not to laugh at the suggestion. "Just... Orchard Blossom's the name mah—"

Big Mac suddenly tackled her, hoof over her mouth and making a loud hissing noise of silence.

Despite that, she fought him off. "Tarnation. If she's willin' to share her dark secrets, then so should we. That's called bein' honest." She winked with a knowing smile. "As I was sayin', Orchard Blossom's the name Big Mac used." She waved at the big, blushing stallion.

Luna squinted at Big Mac, who was an earth pony. He had no wings. He had no horn. The odds of him doing any of the things the onlookers had said Orchard Blossom did were close to zero. "Is this true?" She loomed over Big Mac, daring him to lie. "Is what she says the truth?"

"Ayup." Every word she had said was true. Sure, it had grown more complicated with time, but she hadn't lied. "Ayup."

Luna raised a hoof to her cheek. "But..." She stomped a hoof down. "Is there no other Orchard Blossom? There must be!"

Big Mac looked to Applejack, who was all too happy to respond, "That's the only Orchard Blossom ah know! Ah know each an' every Apple relation." She nodded with complete confidence. "What fer? Did an Apple get into trouble we should be on the lookout fer?"

Luna pricked up. "Yes, exactly that. She has been working without permission. I need to speak to her as soon as possible." She wagged a hoof at Applejack. "So as soon as you see her, inform her to come to the castle immediately and surrender herself to Princess Luna for a conversation."

Big Mac swallowed. That didn't sound like the good kind of conversation!

Applejack was ignorant of any tension. "Ah'll be sure to do that." Her brows lowered. "Not that ah think we're likely to see any Orchard Blossom around." Her eyes glanced at Big Mac. "Unless my brother has somethin' he wants to share, and maybe a girlfriend he needs to have a serious conversation wit'."

Big Mac's blush redoubled in a vivid shade of shame. "Ah don't think she would want a pony like that!" More words than he typically said, but fer her, he was willing to go that extra mile. "Nope."

Applejack nodded, though her eyes were on Luna. "Sounds like we got our answer right there, then. No Orchard Blossoms here. But if I do see 'em, ah'll let you know."

Luna snorted as she turned away. "See that you do... She must exist." She stormed off with angry grumbling. The lack of Orchard Blossom may have aborted her search for the moment, but her will clearly hadn't been.

Applejack turned to her nervous brother. "Sorry fer throwin' ya under the movin' cart an' all, but that was the honest truth. Better to just tell her instead of havin' her chasing some past you around that doesn't even exist no more."

Big Mac considered his position and Applejack's place in it. "Thanks." He set a hoof on her shoulder without objection. "Ya did the right thing."

"I know I did." She pulled him in the rest of the way for a firm hug. "'Sides, not like Orchard Blossom did anything wrong she weren't already yelled at fer. All water under the bridge! Won't stand for 'her' bein' yelled at no more! You learned what you needed learnin' and ah'm right proud of ya."

Big Mac backed a step. "Um, thank ya..." How else could he reply to that? He was that mystery princess. But he was also the awkward brother trying to help his sister that time ago. That was a learning experience, as awkward as it all was. "Yer... ayup."

Applejack seemed to understand what he was saying, or at least assumed to the end. "Yer mighty welcome, Big Mac. Oh! What happened to that tractor? Ya get it fixed?" Big Mac pointed to where he dropped it off. "She'll let us know when it's ready, then. C'mon!"
> 4 - Soaring Apples
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Orchard Blossom swooped down on light wings. "Stop right there!" She landed against the back of a mare and sent her tumbling to the side even as Orchard bounced forward, eyes on her partner. "There ain't no escape!"

He wheeled on Orchard with a stick in his mouth. No, a wand, glowing with the same color as his horn. "Back!" The expanding blast threw Orchard Blossom back with a sudden pulse of magic in a sphere, sending her flying with a yelp. "That's better." With his partner rejoining him, both fled as quickly as their hooves carried them.

Orchard picked herself up from the pile of garbage. "Yuck." But there was her target! She scrambled free and shook off. "Ain't gettin' away from me!" She tried to wrap her magic around them, but they were too far away to do more than lightly tug at them from that distance.

They were still getting away. She charged after them, but they slipped in to a busy street and out of sight. "Consarnit..." She had lost them. It was her first failed apprehension. She danced in frustration at the idea. She could fly! But from above, they'd fade into the background all the more easily. Super strength wouldn't help, and she knew no fancy magic trick that'd get the job done. "Consarnit..."

She turned back the way she had come from and quickly trotted up to a jewelry store. "Everypony alright in here?"

One of the ponies in charge nodded at her. "Thank you for chasing them away. Oh, um." She noticed Orchard Blossom hadn't made it untouched. "Do... You should go home and wash up."

Orchard sagged in place. She had no place to do that! "Thank you, um, citizen?" She turned and marched away. At least she had made the site of the crime safe for the moment. That counted, right?

But she was dirty, and she had failed to capture the bad pony and she had no place to go to fix either of those things. A world away, a princess was hunting for her. The life of her alter-half felt removed. It was as if she were two ponies in a way.

But then, she was two ponies. She was the big and stoic Big Mac, and she did chores for the Apple Family with the determination they knew him for. Orchard was proud of that part of her, being a family stallion for both new and old family. She smiled she strode down the street, thinking of her other self. But she wasn't just him, not by a little.

She was also Orchard Blossom, a princess! She had big wings that were... They were normally quite nice, but running around without a proper place to clean up had taken their toll. She was grungy, to put it mildly, and showing the fact with every awkward step.

Perched atop her head was a long and curved line. She didn't know why most unicorns had that over their horn. Did it help magic flow? She was proud of it, anyway. It let ponies know at a glance she was a magical princess with arcane powers she'd use to help them to the best of her abilities.

And that is what she was. Both sides of her were ready to lend a hoof if it meant another pony would have an easier day. But she was still a mess, and that was working against her. To start, it meant she stank and was messy to herself. That counted, even if one wanted to forget the rest. She had to fix that right away, ah! There was one way.

The Apples she knew mostly lived in far-off corners, or in the big cities. They liked somewhere they could fit their orchards, given the choice. While fleeing to one of the other cities was an option... It wasn't one she wanted to do, just—"Pardon." She had almost crashed into a pony with her thoughts. "Didn't see you there."

"Not a problem." Fancy Pants adjusted his monocle with his magic. "Say..." He was examining her intently. "Are you a rogue princess?"

Orchard shied back a step. "Hold up a moment there, if you would." He sounded so calm and reassuring. "I didn't mean to startle you. I'm Fancy Pants and I don't think I've had the pleasure of hearing your name, miss?"

She glanced side to side at the ponies walking past them and ignoring them both. "Ah... try to help ponies. My name is Orchard Blossom, an' if you could not tell Luna you've seen me?"

Fancy's brows went up together. "How clandestine!" He clapped his hooves with a soft smile. "I love it. What could you have done to draw Princess Luna's ire? Are you also drawn to dreams? You're awake at quite the wrong time for that, one imagines." It was late at night. If Orchard wanted to explore dreams, she should have been in the dream world, looking.

Orchard considered that. "Ah ain't followin' the rules very well... Don't want to be no princess."

"But you do want to help ponies?" Fancy nodded along with Orchard. "You do realize, not every pony that helps another pony has to be a princess." His nose wrinkled, perhaps catching a whiff. "You..." A want to be polite held back his words. "You have your reasons, no doubt."

Orchard grabbed his shoulders suddenly. "Ah don't want to smell! Ah don't want to be dirty." She spread her soiled wings, dirt gathered from many days without a proper cleansing. "Ah just want to help ponies and be a princess they can count on. Is that so much to ask?"

Fancy Pants allowed her to grip him. "I see..." But did he see? "You like being called princess, but seek to avoid the responsibilities of the title."

Orchard inclined her head slowly. "Don't mind being responsible fer savin' ponies. Not so good at governin'..."

"Chap... Have you even met Twilight Sparkle?" He perked an ear when Orchard responded to the name. "You have then? She is a princess, but not very good at governing, as you say. She's getting better, have no doubt, but she isn't there, but is a princess while she works that out."

"Don't wanna work it out." Orchard danced from hoof to hoof. "Ah'd save you if you were bein' mugged."

"I have little reason to doubt that." Fancy inclined his head. "Will you follow me? Princess or not, seeing an alicorn in such a sorry state is almost maddening. Let's get you freshened up, then we can decide, together, what to do with you."

Orchard followed him to his home. He lived in a big manor with multiple butlers and maids. One butler took notice of Orchard right away and scurried off without a word. A maid returned in his place with several towers hovering next to her. When she saw Orchard, her brows went up. "He wasn't joking... Mister Pants, sir. May I?"

Fancy nodded at the maid with a jolly smile. "I was hoping you'd come. Please, see to her every need and bring her back to me when she feels ready."

"Of course, sir." The maid closed with Orchard with a bright smile. "Let's get you cleaned up and sparkling fresh!" She casually tossed one of her magically held towels over Orchard's withers. "This way!"

Orchard followed the maid through the fancy manor she kept looking at with wide eyes. "This sure is a fancy place."

"And you'll look the part soon enough." The maid escorted Orchard to a bathing room and started scrubbing at her with the towel she carried in. "Now I suggest we start with a brisk shower, then a longer bath. I'm here to help either way." The brushing didn't pause or slow as her magic worked the towel firmly. "We'll get you all cleaned up! What was your name?"

"Orchard Blossom." Her voice was a little tense. She wasn't used to such fancy living conditions. It was certainly a step up, oh! She lifted a wing to let the maid work under and around it. "Is that normal?" It felt good, too good? She flapped her wings slowly as she worked them over, one and the other and back again. The towel was damp. When did it become wetted?

She didn't care, letting out a happy and extended sigh as she melted into the attention. Whatever the maid was doing, she was doing it right. "Like that?" The maid draped the towel over Orchard's back. "I've had a few pegasus targets over the years." Her magic grabbed a new towel that she put to work on the primary pelt of Orchard. "And now for the main course. It's time we got you all the way wet."

Orchard allowed the maid to guide warm water as soon as it pelted her. It was cold at the first moment, making her shiver and tense, but it became warm quickly. The scrubbing never stopped, and the scent revealed some sort of fragrant shampoo joining it. "Noticed, did you? Some orchard blossoms, like your name." The maid looked quite pleased as she worked, even if it meant she got wet, too. "Nice and clean!"

She decided quietly that she rather enjoyed the presence of the maid. She twisted left and right to help the maid reach whatever she seemed to reach for and becoming cleaner quickly as a result. "Is this supposed ta be so pleasant...?"

"Exactly as nice as you let it." The maid worked where one limb met the barrel of the princess she was working on. "Never got to help a princess before." She gasped just as suddenly. "Are you a princess? There I go, assuming!"

"Y-yeah?" Orchard perked an ear towards her, but went back. She danced forward as the maid reached a sensitive point in her back. "Eee!"

"You have to be clean everywhere." The maid sounded like she was chastising as she moved to get a better view of things. "Front and back. It's still me, just relax."

Orchard Blossom did her best to relax as the touch returned. It was a friendly reminder that the maid was just doing her job, even if it felt mighty funny to be cleaned in some places. She colored despite going still. Female at the moment or not, she was not used to any touching back there. "Almost done?"

"All done." She whipped Orchard on one of her rumps. "You should clean more often. It isn't right for any mare to be in such a state." She pouted a bit as she guided Orchard towards the big bath. "Now, you're mostly clean. Step in and just relax. Come out when you feel all the way. I'll keep cleaning, but most of you is looking good now."

Orchard stepped into the bath with a soft splash and settled down into the warm water. That she knew how to enjoy and soon stretched out and let out a joyful noise as she stretched out in the tub. "This is mighty big an' nice." She couldn't normally stretch so far in her home bath, but she had no complaint about the one Fancy provided. "The one you use this big?"

The maid seemed perplexed by the statement. "I live here, ma'am. I have to, to be always available for Mister Pant's every need." She willed a bottle of thick stuff with a powerful but pleasing smell. "Let's make you smell nice."

Orchard Blossom allowed it to continue, to feel that cool gunk spread over her in a fragrant patch that was spread around. She was clean and she felt good, for lack of better word. "Is there a way for a crime-fighting mare to get a few bits to have her own house?"

"That's a better question." Her magic and hooves were working together to massage Orchard completely. "You should speak to Fancy Pants. He's an expert when it comes to that and he always does it the proper way."
> 5 - Shining Apple
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Big Mac sat up with a gasp. The bath had been so relaxing, and it was so late in the day, er, evening that she had fallen asleep, allowing him to awaken. "Drat..." He'd just have to hope that Fancy Pants and the maid treated her sleeping form well. They had given him little reason to doubt. 

"Do I hear somepony special?" He knew that voice, but it surprised him. He rushed down the stairs to see a smiling unicorn mare. Sugar Belle closed the distance to nuzzle gently at Big Mac. "I knew I heard you. Your family says something distracted you the last few days, so I came to help."

He moved to get around her, but she got right in the way. "Nuh-uh. I'm here so you can have a break." She held up a hoof. "I said I'd lend a hoof around here, and you look out of sorts."

"Nope?" He was all together, as Big Mac. He had a house, and family, and everything.

"Don't you nope me!" She leaned in, breath washing over him in her angry huffs. "I can see you look out of sorts. The best I can offer is for you to come out, sit down, and watch me work."

"Yup?" If that was the best... Big Mac followed her outside. "Ya don't have to."

"But I'm going to." She smiled over her shoulder. "As an Apple, this is one of my jobs. What I get for getting attached to a big lug like you?"

Big Mac colored but said nothing. Even though he was guilty of doing it, he settled down as she got to work. He had the strength. He could have been helping!

There were a few apples raining down after she kicked the tree. She had not the strength or the training to get them to come down properly. Sugar Belle raised a hoof to her chin in tapping before she began to will them down, a few at a time. She was no Twilight Sparkle, and a few at a time were at her speed.

It was hard to miss the sigh full of exasperation. She turned towards him. "You came out here. I'm going to get these apples down, or we can have a serious chat." She pointed to herself, then Big Mac. "Which do you prefer?"

Big Mac sat up in his chair. Was that an act, the whole thing? He smiled a little at his tricky partner as he reconsidered her place in things. "Ah'm here to talk if ya want to." More words than he usually spared, but for her, well worth it.

She strolled away from the tree with her magic releasing the few apples she held into a basket on the way. "Well, fine then. Now tell me, what has you in a knot? It's really obvious you're worked up about something!"

Big Mac tapped the front of the chair that soon had a unicorn sitting on it. "It's complicated..."

"It always is." She solved it with gentle a nuzzle, rubbing her snout to his. "But I'm here. Wanna share?"

"Ah... need you to be secret about it." He tapped his hooves together slowly. "Cause it's a secret."

"That goes without saying." She raised a brow at him suspiciously. "But I'll promise that. Unless you're hurting somepony, they won't hear a word from me." She crossed her heart in solemn gesture.

Big Mac looked around for other Apples lurking about, but it seemed to just be him and Sugar Belle. "Ah..." But how did he even start to approach it? "Ya remember... mah dream?"

"Ya had a few." She turned a hoof on herself. "One's sitting in front of you." She leaned in and kissed the end of his nose with a giggle. "So that's one down. Which are we talking?"

Big Mac reached out to draw her closer. Her scent and presence were enough to calm him down. "Lucky to have the one." He kissed her cheek and snuggled in firmer. "But ah got a second thrown at me."

"Which is good... right?" Sugar perked an ear at him. "Stop playing coy and just tell me what the second is to start."

"Right... 'magined myself doin' more than just bein' a farmer." He waved in broad sweeps. "Ah do a decent enough job, keepin' things running... But what if I could do more? What if I could... really put a hoof on other pony's lives and turn them for the better?" An odd smile spread across his face. "What if ah could be a princess?"

Sugar tilted her head left and right rapidly. "You know you're a stallion, right?" Step one of being a princess! "I like you as a stallion, not going to lie about that. You have some pleasant qualities, as a pony, but my heart flutters for a big powerful stallion." She lifted her shoulders with a gentle flick of her tail. "Now I feel like I'm being judgey. Sorry. I just never felt a thing for another mare before, so it confuses me just thinking about."

Big Mac sat up as he pointed to himself. "Well, good news! Still a stallion." He turned in place as if to show himself off. "100% stallion." She began to applause as he sat down. "But it ain't so simple." He considered how to approach it. "Ya have dreams, like actual dreams, at night, right?"

"Who doesn't?" She smiled in a goofy expression of many teeth. "I once dreamed I was in a pie-eating contest, but there was no finish line. I just had to keep eating, forever... That was rough."

"Like that... But 'magine yer dream self was... real?" That got an odd look from her. "Real, real!" Big Mac threw his hooves wide. "Big enough that ponies start asking questions 'bout it. All the way real. You weren't here... but we fought for Princess Luna."

Sugar put a hoof to her chin. "I heard a little. A rumor, really. Wanna tell me about it?" She flopped against him. “I like story time when you're the one telling them.”

He rest an arm around her as he flopped back. They were sharing the long chair, but it wasn't in a way he disliked. He had a mare, his mare. His beloved mare... "Um... Alright, so we... We fought a lot to keep Luna's dream demon from gettin' out... We did that."

"Yay." Sugar swirled a hoof. "Who's we?"

"We..." He glanced around, but saw no Apples. "We were the entire town. Quite a fuss... But we did it."

"Yay, but that can't be the end of it." She nuzzled under Big Mac's chin. "Unless that dream of yours was just to save a princess in a dream. You did that, and I knew you could." She had no evidence that Big Mac could defeat anything in a dream, but she looked the part.

He smiled at the compliment, however unearned it was. "In the dream, Ah was a princess, um, more a prince. Got a fancy horn." He pointed up to his lack of a horn. "Got big wings." He pointed to his complete lack of wings. "And could use both to help, to save the day."

She nestled closer. "It ain't fair a stallion don't have a chance at that, but that ain't the end of the story, I'm guessing. So what happened next?"

He sat up, partially nudging her out of the way. "When we were winning, I got thrown out of the dream. I woke up, but I wasn't me." He put his hooves on his chest. "I mean, I was. It was me, but 'me' was a lady, with a horn and wings." He didn't have them, but he tried to move the wings he didn't have. "I was Orchard Blossom, princess!"

Sugar Belle snorted instead of cheering. "Orchard Blossom?! That's the name... That's your fake name, isn't it?"

Big Mac colored swiftly at being called out. "It was, but she's real, all real."

"Look, alright." Sugar Belle raised her hooves placatingly. "Let's assume you're speaking the whole and complete truth. What does this have to do with you? So there's an Orchard Blossom out there, good for her. I'll cheer her on when she does something good, but you're still here." She set a hoof on his chest and felt that he was all there. "Yep, my Big Mac, so why would I care about her, or you care about her?"

Big Mac suddenly cupped Sugar Belle's cheeks. "She's out there right now! When Ah... When ah sleep, she wakes up."

Sugar hiked a brow from her imprisoned state. "You're kidding me."

"There are no jokes between us, not one." He released Sugar Belle carefully. "She's out there. I live through her... When she sleeps, I wake up. When I sleep, she wakes up..." But Sugar Belle was looking at him seriously. "You believe me?"

"Why wouldn't I believe you?" Sugar hopped to the ground smoothly. "You said there were no jokes. I said I was being serious. You are her, sometimes? That's crazy! Where is she?" She looked around as if she could spot Orchard Blossom if she searched hard enough. "Not here..."

"Not here." Big Mac quirked a smile at her as he pointed up at the mountain. "She's up in Canterlot."

"Well, bring her here." Sugar tapped at the chair. "Let me meet her. Who are you? Who is her?"

Big Mac colored at the idea. "But she's... She's her own pony."

"She's still you." Sugar snorted with a flick of her tail as she squinted at Big Mac. "Unless she forgets being you?"

"No! Thankfully..." That would make everything more and less complicated if they didn't know the other existed. "I know her and what she does. She knows me and what I do. We are the same pony."

"Great!" Sugar cantered in place. "Then she's in love with me the same way you are."

Big Mac's coloring only grew worse. "She's a mare, and ya just said ya ain't interested."

"I'm not interested in a random mare." She leaned forward. "This isn't a random mare. I want to be a part of what you are going through. At the least, I want to cheer you on. I want to know what she looks like. She is you, isn't she? So I'd cheer you on if you went off to Canterlot. Just sore you didn't bring me along."

Big Mac's arguments felt limp between his hooves. There was Sugar Belle, eager and raring to help him however she could. "You are just... too good to me..."

"One thing." She raised a brow. "Since you two are the same pony, ah'll get upset if she picks up a boyfriend."

Big Mac's cheeks found they could yet become a darker shade. He squeaked with a surprise he didn't even know was possible.

"I'm serious." She stomped a hoof down. "You two are one pony, so you get one pony, and you got one." She tapped her chest. "And she didn't kick you out for it, so respect me. I'll return the favor, promise."

Big Mac sat back with wide eyes. "She... knows me, but she is herself. She has thoughts I don't have. I have thoughts she doesn't. We think about each other, a lot. We think about each other's thoughts... But they ain't our thoughts. Ah don't want you bein' angry none! Yer an important pony."

"But she isn't entirely... you, huh?" Sugar Belle raised a brow. "Can you make her visit? I really want to meet this mare. Maybe we'll hit it off, maybe not. She's attached to you, clear-like."

He went for a nose rub and wasn't denied as they gazed into one another's eyes. "I can try, but she's meeting somepony and ah don't even know how that'll go... Ah... am real happy yer not lookin' at me like ah'm crazy."

"'Cause you're not." Sugar rolled her eyes. "You're my boyfriend, which is crazy enough! We'll get through this, promise."
> 6 - The Next Evening
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Orchard Blossom awoke on a bed. The bed was soft and large with a soft... everything on top and underneath her. They had tucked her in as comfortably as possible and left to enjoy the rest of her slumber without bother.

She nuzzled out from under the blankets and, reaching the edge, she half-threw herself to the ground with a set of clops. "Allo?" She was entirely rested, clean, and felt ready to go, but did not know what she was doing. Orchard could remember the conversations she, er, he had with his lady-friend. She had welcomed Orchard Blossom with open hooves and a brilliant smile. Visiting her was an option, but she had a life.

And it was very confusing. Orchard stepped to the door and willed it open. With the sound of it opening, she learned they hadn't locked it. "Allo?" she called out as she trotted through the open door into the well-appointed hallway that stretched left and right from there.

"There you are." A familiar maid was rushing towards her. "He'll be so happy you've woken up."

Orchard perked her ears at the familiar sight. "Ah, hey there, did you go an' clean me up and find a place to put me?"

"Sure did." She looked proud of her job as she nodded at Orchard. "And you look so much better. Fancy Pants has something he wants to talk to you about. I don't know what, so you'll have to ask him yourself." She turned away and got right to walking in the direction she came from. "But I will lead the way."

Orchard Blossom followed her through the house as she eyed the fancy furnishings on either side along the way. They pressed through just one more door to find Fancy Pants enjoying a tall glass of something dark. He looked up at their entry with a smile. "Ah, she awakens. Good, good, now we can finish that conversation I had hoped for yesterday."

The maid dipped low and fled with no reason to require her services any longer.

"Hey, uh, so thanks for all the help you gave me, even if ah didn't ask for all of it." She inclined her head left and right at her would-be savior. "But it makes me kinda nervous and wonderin' if you were hopin' for somethin' in return."

Fancy Pants adjusted the monocle on his face with a raised hoof. "I have nothing untoward planned for you, this I assure. If you'd rather just walk out, I certainly wouldn't stop you." That he had some other thing in mind seemed plain to figure out without him saying so. "I can appreciate a real go-getter that's making the town easier to live in." He sat down to clap both his forehooves properly.

Orchard Blossom smiled awkwardly at the praise from the rich pony. "Ah appreciate yer kind words, but ya didn't want me around just to say that, did ya?"

"Suspicious, aren't we? I suppose I can't entirely blame you." He clasped his hooves together. "You've already told me that Lady Luna is on the lookout for you, which is reason enough for many ponies to turn you directly over to her." Orchard tensed at the idea and looked ready to flee. "Which is not what I'm doing." He waved for her to relax instead.

"No, I'm many things, but a snitch is not one of those things, I should hope. I would prefer to be a sponsor for a good pony doing good things." He willed a bag to lift from his pocket into view. "This is yours, if you continue doing what you do best. That's it. Once the money is in your hooves, then I will have no control over you. You could take it and go to a wild party on my bits and there wouldn't be much I could do to stop you."

"But you're assumin' that I won't be doin' that or you wouldn't just be givin' away yer money." Sure, Orchard Blossom was doing some powerful assuming of her own, but she could think of no better options. "So yer still hopin' ah go along with yer idea even if you're not goin' to be breathin' down my withers about it?"

"Which is to keep right on helping the ponies of this city." He clapped softly with a wry smile. "I've been asking about you and you've already lent a hoof. I'd rather you helped around here rather than wander off to Baltimare or some other place." He rubbed his chin softly. "They'd probably love you in Baltimare, but forget that! They already favor you right here."

Baltimare? She hadn't considered that city, but suddenly had a reason to start. "Ah see... They like me here?"

"Oh, quite a bit, yes." Fancy got back to all fours and began pacing around Orchard Blossom at a sedate pace. "You're a princess that gets her hooves dirty, which they like. They could probably do with you being less, well, dirty at the end. It is my hope that getting a proper sponsor will assist with that." His tone of voice implied that he had performed as a sponsor a few times.

Orchard willed the money closer and found little resistance after Fancy Pants released it just a moment after she began pulling it. "Ah don't owe you anythin'."

"But it'd be nice if you could show some appreciation doing what you clearly favor doing." He straightened his coat despite it already being quite straight. "I will gladly give you a bag like that next moon if you continue the good work. Not a, hm, princess' fee, but enough to be comfortable at least."

Orchard Blossom shook the bag with its soft jingles. "Thank you, um... I'll do my best fer the ponies." She already had been, but a promise to keep up that work felt safe from her view. "It's alright if I take a break once in a while?"

"Of course." Fancy Pants set a hoof on her tense shoulder. "You are a princess, even if you're not favoring the rule-setting part of it. I should expect you to take breaks as needed."

Orchard backed away from the feeling hoof. "Well, alright then. I'm hopin' yer just as trustworthy as I heard..." Rarity had nothing but kind words for Fancy Pants, but it was Rarity. She was not Rarity, no matter how shiny her jewelry was. "Later."

"Travel safely." He tipped the hat he wasn't wearing as Orchard Blossom retreated. "If you need anything, do stop by. I may not be here, but I will inform the servants of this."

Orchard made good her escape on hasty hooves right out of the fancy house. The servants did not bar her movement and even opened a few doors as she approached them. They had been polite to her, all of them, from the top down. Some of them even wished her a good way on the way past.

So why was she so nervous about it? "Ain't used to it..." She had a bag of bits in her arcane grip and an itch in her ruffling wings. "An' this is mine..." The bag was hers. He had been clear. Whatever she did, she got to keep that bag and do whatever she wanted with it.

She had a city to protect, like before, and she'd gained a patron. As she walked down the street, she smiled and had a flutter in her chest. She wasn't poor no more! But she still had a Sugar Belle that wanted to see her down the mountain. She frowned suddenly at that thought and how to handle it.

Nothing stopped her from walking, and thinking at once, so she did that. Her thoughts were on Sugar Belle. Big Mac loved her a lot. But did she? She was Big Mac! Sorta... She had all his memories, present and past. He had all of hers in the same way. There were no gaps between them to speak of. She loved the Apple family, just like he did.

Thinking about Sugar Belle filled her with warm fuzzies from the top to the bottom. She liked that mare, but was it all the way or just as a friend? She could remember all the time she spent with Big Mac, both romantic and not. If nothing else, that was a mare that supported her, but was so far away. But was she really?

Orchard Blossom spread her wings wide and gave them a testing flap. She could sail down from Canterlot to Ponyville! The trip up didn't take all that long. A yelp reached a perked ear. Regardless of her thoughts on Sugar Belle, she had a mission to do.

She tucked away the bag of bits for later use and galloped towards the problem. "Stop right there!" There was a stallion trying to mug an older unicorn mare of her purse. "Ain't nopony gettin' away with things like that on my watch!"

The city's newest, and only princess that was also a vigilante, leaped into action with a roar of determination.





Luna touched down in the dream that felt right. "Orchard Blossom and Big Mac." Luna smiled softly as she prowled forward in the dream with her eyes sweeping. So far, that was the only dream that had held both scents for her to catch. "You must know something." Or they knew both of them? That was a small possibility that Luna couldn't entirely ignore.

She brushed aside some branches in the way and saw a pony working on a brick oven that had no business in the middle of the forest. Dreams were like this at times and Luna came closer without worrying about the illogical nature of it.

"I'm missing..." Sugar Belle didn't name an ingredient, nor was it terribly important. All that mattered was that it was missing, and she needed to get some of it as soon as possible. "Is it here or there?" She was willing her cupboards open and digging around with her hooves in a frantic search for whatever it was she was missing. "I knew I had some."

"Be at ease." Sugar Belle tensed and relaxed almost at once when Luna spoke. The fog of her dream abating quickly, leaving her sharp as she turned to gape at Luna. "I am here to speak with you, if I may?"

Sugar Belle perked an ear at the intruder in her dreams. "Well, hello there. Since you're here, maybe you know where I put my cinnamon?" The clarity had returned the specific name of a particular herb to her imagined lips. "I seem to have just lost it, and your sister will be quite mad if I don't have a fresh pie waiting for her."

Luna smiled at that. Sometimes dreamers were still a little sleepy when she tried to wake them up and she imagined that was exactly the case. "Right there." Her horn glowed with magic as she lifted a jar of cinnamon that hadn't been there into view. "Just what you need. Mind if we chat while you work?"

"Miracle worker!" Sugar Belle hugged her dear cinnamon close and got to cooking, even if the steps weren't quite in order. It didn't much matter in dream logic. "Do you like pie too? I owe you one for saving my flank like that."

"You can make up for it with a few questions instead. Have you heard of Orchard Blossom?" Luna leaned forward with a knowing smile. Maybe her answers would be even faster in coming than she had dared to dream.

"That's a secret." Sugar waved a hoof scoldingly but had no scowl on her face. "He'd get mad if I talked about her. Alright, pie! Something moon flavored... Moon... I bet I can think up a few things, so you just sit back and let the baker do her job."

Luna was watching Sugar Belle work, but curiosity was burning in her. "I have a reward for Orchard Blossom. They deserve that, hmm?"
> 7 - In Your Dreams
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

"And who is he?" A second pie was forming with the effort, but Luna was paying more attention to the mare involved. "That would be upset."

"Hm? Big Mac, obviously." She didn't see a thing wrong with that. She grabbed up the second pie and twirled to offer it to Luna despite never actually baking. "Here you are, for helping."

If she didn't know what she knew, that might have been an answer, but... Big Mac was... Oh. "I mean the princess, Sugar Belle, not the imitation." Luna took the horn in her magic, hovering it calmly next to herself. "You know them, don't you?"

Sugar perked an ear. She was holding the first pie in her outstretched arms. "Yeah? Think your sister will like this?" She lifted the pie into an easier view. "I don't want to upset anypony."

Luna sank to her haunches with a scowl. "Sugar Belle, I need to speak to you frankly."

"Yes?" Sugar wasn't holding the pie anymore. "What's wrong?"

Luna smiled at the sign that she had gotten closer to the real pony under the dream fog. "Big Mac knows about Princess Orchard Blossom, or did you make a mistake?"

"Hm? Yes, but it's a secret." She stuck out her tongue softly. "I said that. Are you here for a nightmare?" She looked around at her forest kitchen. "I don't see any nightmares, except the missing cinnamon. You fixed that. Huh, good job."

Luna nodded towards the previously missing container. "Glad to assist, but I need some help in return. I wish to find this princess and reward them for all the hard work they've done."

Sugar Belle considered this with a big frown. "Why don't you just ask Big Mac?"

That she woke up ended the interview without Luna getting to ask further. "Ask Big Mac?!" she fumed to the aether. How would that help?!





Orchard Blossom pinned the would-be mugger to the ground under a hoof. "Yer safe, ma'am."

"Thank you so much." The mare dipped her head and wandered away in the slow plod of an older pony. "So nice having a good princess around, and at this time of night!"

"I'll take that." A guard had arrived with a set of hoof cuffs dangling from his mouth. "And are you Orchard Blossom, ma'am?"

Orchard lifted the stallion up into easy cuffing range. "Ah am, why?"

"Princess Luna is looking for you." The guard poked the stallion into motion. "She'd be thrilled if you could stop by the castle and talk to her for a moment, ma'am. She should be awake at this time of night."

"Ah'll consider it." Orchard marched away from the guard and his captive. "Thanks fer tellin' me!"

"Always happy to be of service." The guard flipped a salute on his way. For whatever ABP had been put out, Orchard wasn't being jumped on and arrested.

Orchard turned her mind back to making the city better. This didn't always involve crime fighting. "I don't get it!" A unicorn stallion, as most of them were, unicorns, was glaring at a shop. "It should be lit up."

Orchard sat next to the upset stallion. "What should be lit up?" The window was dark, with only the reflection of the lit street visible in it. "Am I missin' somethin'?"

"You're not missing a thing, ma'am, which is the problem!" He clopped against the ground, glaring at the window while he did it. "I put up a neon sign that should be all sparkly and big and easy to see." He waved at the darkness. "Do you see a neon sign?!"

Orchard considered the dark pane for a moment. "No. Is it inside?" She set a hoof on the glass.

"Yes." He went towards the door that opened to his glowing door without delay. "Do you know how these things work?"

Well, no. But she didn't admit that. "Let me have a look." She went inside the dim store and slowly approached on flapping wings. There were too many things on the cluttered floor to climb over, so flying seemed the natural way to go. She reached for the sign and began feeling over it.

It was neon, as promised, and she could feel where it bent and turned in many ways. Ah, that's where it plugged into the wall. She felt over the spot with her magic and onwards with a thoughtful hum.

"Find the problem?"

"Just found the light." She had found no obvious issues yet. Not that this stopped Orchard Blossom from exploring onwards with her hooves and magic working together. "Ah ha!" A fine crack went through one of the many tubes. He felt gently over it as her magic focused on the spot, sealing the glass shut firmly.

She had an alicorn's expected magical accuracy! That was handy. "Alright, so..." She felt over it slowly. "Where's the power?"

"Right here." A loud click sounded and Orchard was suddenly holding a dazzling thing that was becoming warmer by the moment.

Orchard squeaked and almost fell backwards, frantically flapping away from the sign. "Uh, fixed, ah think?"

"You're a miracle worker!" The stallion was clapping his hooves eagerly with a big smile. "Now everypony will know where to get some gum."

The sign proudly declared that the store had over a dozen different flavors of gum available. It was impossible to miss with it lit up and waiting to be seen by any passing pony. The shop was clearly some kind of candy shop, specializing in things one chewed. "Here." The pony shoved a small bag against Orchard Blossom. "A thoughtful princess like you deserves at least something tasty to chew on."

She drew one blue thing free and popped it in her mouth. Mmm! It was like chewing a blueberry that one could keep right on chewing, being bubblegum. "Right nice! Ah'll be sure to tell other ponies about this place if they look like they need a snack."

"Even better." He backed out of the way and waved out the door. "You travel safe, ma'am."

"Orchard Blossom." She dipped out the door with a swoop of her wings and landed just outside. "Good luck!" They shared a parting wave, and she walked off with a new set of treats to enjoy. Being a princess paid sometimes.

She had a fine night of helping ponies in all kinds of ways. Being a helpful princess just felt nice, an' she enjoyed doing it. "Your mark." A mare was examining her from the side. "Reminds me... Are you an Apple?"

Orchard slowed to a stop. "I am? Can I help you?"

"Not directly." She smiled at Orchard gently. "But it reminds me of Big Mac's mark. It's like the other end of it. Like..." She turned the imagined apple in her hooves. "His showed the back half, with the cut open part facing the viewer. Yours is either the whole apple, or the same apple turned around. I can't tell which is which."

Orchard tensed at the good perception being employed. Where had she seen that mare before? Oh! She had visited Ponyville before, a few times. The last time... She had gotten some cider! "Ya visit a lot?"

"I sure do!" The mystery mare slapped Orchard on the shoulder. "And I know my Apples. They always have something tasty, and it's worth a visit. You work there too?"

"Sometimes?" Technically accurate! "Right now, I'm lookin' fer trouble to fix."

"Huh... most princesses don't do that, well, except sometimes Twilight." She put a hoof to her chin. "I'm Minuette!" She saluted sharply. "Are you like Twilight, fixing problems when your cutie mark buzzes?" She giggled at the image she had conjured for herself. "That'd be funny. Does it vibrate when that happens? That must feel so strange."

Orchard smiled at the would-be friend. "Nice to run into ya. Hey, since I have you, maybe you could help me?"

"Love to." Minuette got back to clapping. "How can I help a princess tonight?"

"After I finish looking around, I need a place to sleep." Orchard angled her head with her hooves serving as a pillow. "I have bits. Where do you suggest? Nice and simple, really."

"Oh, sleep time, gotcha." Minuette clicked her tongue and made a gun firing motion despite holding no firearms in her hooves. "Well, you could sleep with me, but you don't know me that well, so that's probably out." Despite that, she paused to see if Orchard would take up on it. No? Well, alright. "I know a hotel." She got to trotting vigorously. "Right over here." In a spirited jog, she lead the way to a four story tall building. "Any pony with bits can stay here a few days. How long are you going to be here?"

"Um..." Orchard didn't know. She kept that to herself. "Thanks, really. This is a big step up." She patted Minuette on the head, seemingly to the mare's pleasure. "You were an immense help."

"I love helping princesses. Don't tell her, but Twilight's still my fave." She laughed as she started walking away. "Call me anytime something comes up, promise!"

Left to her own devices, Orchard Blossom walked inside. There was a desk with a mare behind it. "Hey." Orchard veered towards the mare with a smile. "Want to rent a room. What're the rules and the prices?"

The mare looked Orchard over. "You get a stipend from Princess Celestia? You princesses gotta tell the truth."

Orchard had not heard that rule, but... "No. Not sure she even knows I'm here. Don't get no stipend from any other princess." Well, she got a 'stipend' from a rich pony, but that wasn't asked! "Does that change things?"

"Pity." She sat up in her chair. "Means you aren't rich. Alright." Her horn glowed as a key floated up from under the counter and settled on it. "Nice normal room. Just you, right?"

"Just me." Orchard pointed at herself. "How much and any rules?"

"I don't try to be complicated about this." The mare shook her head. "Five bits a day. Thirty gets you a week, but you pay upfront for that. Breakfast is not included. Dinner, also not included. Laundry? Guess what, not included. We clean the rooms, though. That's included."

"Well, that's nice." Orchard willed the bits into the air and in front of the mare that seemed in charge. "One week, please. Any other rules?"

The innkeeper took her coins in a smooth slide. "Don't make noise that'll bother the others once the sun sets, or when the sun's up, preferably, but definitely once the sun's down." She hiked a brow. "If you want something to eat, we got plenty of places for that nearby. You want me to point them out? I can do that." She dumped the coins away. "Please return the key before you wander away. I have to have them changed otherwise, and that's a pain. So, if you don't mind my asking, why is a princess just hanging out in my hotel?"

Orchard willed the key up to grab in her mouth. "I'm makin' this city safer, one night at a time."

"You don't say?" She hiked a brow at Orchard. "Nice thought. How are you doing that?"

"I stop crime." Orchard sat up, tall and proud. "And fix what I see that needs fixin'. What you'd, um, want a princess to do?"

"Not any princess I know of." She put a hoof on her chest. "Think I'll enjoy having you around. If anything breaks, I'll write it on a slip of paper and put it into your room. You'll take care of it, right?"

"I... will try, yeah..." Orchard perked up. "Oh! I'm usually up at night, not the day. That won't be a problem, will it?"

"Same as me." The innkeeper shrugged. "I mean, we are talking and all. If I was a day owl, we wouldn't be. Come in the day, you'll run into my assistant. Enjoy your room."
> 8 - Hierarchy of Needs
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

She had snacks. She had a comfortable place to rest her head. Orchard had a city full of wrongs just waiting to be righted one at a time. She had met all her basic needs!

Which left her to consider other issues. Sugar Belle still wanted to see her. The caring girlfriend was still at the Apple farm, wanting to help Big Mac. She was so nice. Orchard let out a soft sigh at the thought of her, but blushed quickly. She cared, perhaps too much! Thinking of Sugar made her tingle in much the same way Big Mac did when thinking about her.

"That ain't right." She was a princess! Princesses were nice and predictable that way. A girl and a boy got together and made kissy noises. Her cheeks blushed dark red hues as she imagined the scenario, but it refused to materialize quite the right way. She kept putting herself in the stallion's place. Perhaps that made sense, since she saw the stallion as 'herself' for so long, even if she was a mare. It meant that it was a mare playing smoochy times with a mare, and she wasn't sure how she felt about that.

"Dang..." Why did things have to be complicated?!

"Ah gotta visit her..." If nothing else, she had to sort her feelings out and set Sugar down gently. Yes, that was it. She trotted for the front door and spread her wings wide. "This can't be let to sit like this." And she was off in a blur. With just a touch of nightly magic, she put Rainbow Dash to the test in how quickly she arrived over Ponyville.

Orchard Blossom craned her neck in a slow surveying of the sleepy town. It looked so different in the night, from the sky, than it did from the ground and during the day. She could imagine all the ponies she knew taking naps in their various houses. "Oh!" There was one pony that'd be awake and she owed a word to.

She banked in to a smooth landing in front of the two-pony house. Was it always so... cut in half? Orchard raised a hoof to knock gently. "Miss scratch?"

But it wasn't Vinyl Scratch that opened the door. A sleepy other mare opened it and peered at Orchard guardedly. "Can I help you?" she asked with a thick accent of some kind. "It is terribly late, and I'm not expecting you."

Vinyl nudged her suddenly. "It's for me, Octi! Go get some rest." Vinyl slid into full view with a grin. "Hey! We meet again. How did things turn out?"

Orchard smiled at the mare she knew. "Hey there, um, ma'am."

"You're the princess." Vinyl tapped at her goggles. "Pretty sure you don't need any honorifics for me. Seriously, how'd it go?"

Orchard Blossom felt much safer speaking with a mare that knew her. "It went well, all things considered. You gave right good advice, and it led me right where I needed to be. So ah thought to come back and say thanks fer the good advice." She dipped her head at the night owl that was Vinyl. "Who was that other pony?"

"Hm? Octi?" Vinyl glanced off, though it was difficult at times to pick up such motions with her goggles blocking the easy view of her eyes. "She's great, but into the classic stuff. Which isn't bad or anything, but I usually prefer something with more of a beat you can dance to." She stepped into place as if dancing to some unheard rhythm. "That's alright, sometimes she lets me add some beat to her music and then things get really shaking. Either way, I stay out of her way and she stays out of mine and we don't drive each other crazy... usually."

Orchard rubbed at her cheek with wandering thoughts. "Pardon if this is a bad kinda question, but do you an'... Octi was it? Are you two special someponies?"

But instead of being offended, Vinyl broke into laughter as she sat back and put her hooves on her belly. "Oh wow, yeah, special someponies, that's exactly what we are not, big lady. Pretty sure if we were, we'd go right over that line and drive each other completely nuts."

Orchard joined in the laughter with nervous noises as she shuffled in place. "That's a right silly thought to have; A mare and a mare together an' everything."

Vinyl cocked a brow behind her thick goggles with an equine snort of indignation. "What? No. If two mares want to be together, there isn't a force in this world that'll keep them apart, and there really shouldn't ever be. It's just us two that aren't very compatible and that's alright. We don't get along that way, and that's all there is to it. I'm not making judgments on any other two ponies other than saying it's none of my business."

"What are you yelling about?" Octavia had returned with a stifled yawn. "You're making a lot of noise."

Vinyl waved her hooves wildly with a nervous look on her face. "No, no no. I was just telling this mare that it isn't up to me what two ponies get together."

Octi raised a fine brow. "I should certainly hope not. Now say goodnight to your friend and close that door already."

Vinyl nodded as Octavia wandered off back to her business. "And, as you can see, we'd drive each other nuts as special someponies, but I love her to death, as a roomie and a musical peer." She leaned out of the door. "Now I really should go before she gets super mad at me. Good luck, alright?"

Orchard made quick little shooing motions with her hooves. "You go on and get before she gets mad at both of us. Um, and thanks again. You've been nothin' but helpful fer me." She left Vinyl to her business and took flight back into the night sky of Ponyville, where there were only her own thoughts to keep her company. Pity they were so good at it.

She banked towards the Apple orchard. Orchard could see where she had worked in the daylight hours. Well, where Big Mac had worked, who was also her? Something complicated it at the best of times. She didn't bother landing until she applied herself to the side of the farmhouse and peeked inside. There, she could see Sugar Belle snoozing with one arm dangling off the bed. For her, it was night.

Technically, it was night for everyone, but she was actually sleeping. Orchard considered leaving a moment, but she had come so far... She had to at least try... She nudged the window open and slipped inside. Sugar sat up sharply, awoken by the noise instantly. "Who's there?!" A world away, a dream was interrupted. "Wait..." She got a look at who was in her room. "Big Mac?"

Orchard Blossom folded her wings in tight. "He's asleep in his room." Not even that far away, really. But they hadn't allowed him to sleep with Sugar Belle, that woulda been inappropriate. Not like they got married yet or anything... "You... wanted to meet me?"

Sugar rolled out of bed with a big smile. "Wow! Look at you." She cantered up to the princess in her borrowed room and circled her on almost dancing legs. "You're pretty, and you got wings." She reached out to casually touch them, rubbing along them slowly. "Look at you!"

Orchard smiled awkwardly as they inspected her. "I ain't Big Mac... But I am, in a way? It's confusing, and yer confusing!" Just being around her was confusing. She felt many things bubbling up in her in a confusing array of conflicting emotions, and pinned her ears back. "Do you even like me? Ah ain't Big Mac!"

"Well, fine then." Sugar sat in front of Orchard and crossed her arms. "Let's assume you aren't, even if you sound like him and move like him." Her nose twitched. "You don't smell like him. Did you get a fancy bath?"

Orchard found new colors to be as her fancy bath was revealed to the world. "Maybe..."

"Well it's nice." Sugar leaned all the closer with a little smile. "But stop saying you're not Big Mac. I mean, obviously not physically right now." She reached up to tap Orchard on the noggin aside her horn. "But he's all up here, getting bashful of me being this close. My boyfriend's a girl." She inclined her head. "And that's a bit confusing."

"It's confusing to me too!" Orchard snorted softly with a flick of her tail. "Before ya go thinkin' it's just you."

"But neither of us went and ran away." Sugar reached up her hooves to cup Orchard's cheeks gently. "Hello, Orchard Blossom."

Being held by her was a delightful thing. She could sit there and... wait... "I'm a mare, you know. You sure you want to be like this with another mare?" Despite the words, she was still being held.

Sugar danced back a step but with no shyness in it. "My boyfriend's involved. Anything I do with you, I'm doing with him. I said I wanted to be a part, and I do! So how can I make your lady life better?"

Orchard Blossom smiled at the mare she felt an attraction to but couldn't quite put a hoof on. "Well, if ya insist, you can start by showing me exactly how to mare."

Sugar Belle raised a brow at Orchard. "You seem to be doing an alright job of it so far. You even got some delightful scents somewhere. Where did you get that? Flowery, but not overpowering, very nice for a mare. Now if your guy self had that scent, I'd be worried! It's not a stallion scent at all."

Orchard sniffed at herself, but had been around the scent long enough that it was largely in the background at that point and hard to pick up even with specific snuffs. "You smell alright." She could pick up Sugar's smell. It was one she'd sniffed before, and it was a pleasant aroma. She had noticed it before, as Big Mac, but never really paid it much mind. She had a reason to do exactly that. "Where'd you get it from?"

"Tell me and I'll tell you," sang out Sugar Belle, dancing in place with a smile.

"Fine..." Orchard pointed up at the distant city that couldn't  be seen from inside the room. "Up in Canterlot, a nice pony had a maid give me a bath, and the scent came with it."

"Wow!" Sugar shook her head slowly. "They must have really liked you."

Orchard warmed quickly. "It wasn't like that! Fancy Pants just wanted to help a princess in need."

"Fancy Pants..." Sugar leaned in with a smirk. "I said I'd get angry, and I meant it. No dating this 'Fancy Pants', even if he offers really nice baths to princesses in need, alright?"

Orchard danced away with shame building rapidly. "Ah ain't! He's a patron, not a suitor. Um... So what I do counts?"

Sugar inclined her head. "Of course it counts. It's still you. Now how can I help you be the best... you possible?"

Orchard considered for a quiet moment before her ears pricked up. "I have a question, maybe a few of 'em now that ah think about it. First, if ya want me to not even think about that, that ain't much fair. I'm a pony." She pointed at herself. "Got needs and wants and all of that goin' up up here! So what're you going to do about that?"

Sugar colored slowly and quietly. "Well, I can't promise to always be there for both of you. You're awake basically... always, right? I'm not, not even close to always, but I'm here." She tapped her chest with a growing smile. "So if you're feeling lonely, I'm here to do what a girlfriend does.

"Even when I'm a mare?"
> 9 - Special Someponies
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Orchard huffed at... her girlfriend? By most measures, that is what Sugar was. "Why are you taking this so easily?"

"I am not." Sugar sank back to her haunches. "I'm actually super nervous, but also super excited. You are... a lot of things to me. I love you, boy or girl or anything else." She threw up her hooves. "You are you! If Twilight missed a spell and poof, you were a dragon, would I be a good pony if I decided I didn't like you anymore? I think not!"

Orchard turned one ear  back. "Ah wouldn't like that..." Becoming a dragon and losing Sugar Belle, both were horrible. "But ya wouldn't do that."

"I wouldn't." Sugar raised a hoof, dancing in the air. "Because I love all of you. Because you'd be Big Mac, the dragon. Jus' like right now you're Big Mac, the mare." She looked Orchard over discerningly. "A mare that thinks I'm something else."

Orchard colored quickly. "You keep sayin' things like that! Do you want me to... as a mare?"

"With anypony else, I would say no." Sugar leaned in with a slow smile. "You aren't anypony else. If you came up and kissed me, I'd be wondering if I liked it... not trying to run away..." She coughed softly, setting her hooves down. "May I admit something?"

"Ah course ya can." Orchard smiled at her girlfriend. "You always could."

"Because you're Big Mac, my boyfriend." Sugar seemed quite certain at that point. "Now... I think... you're kinda... pretty. Not the sort of pretty I'd normally chase, but... I don't have to chase you. You're already here, in my lap. I just have to... say yes, and we can kiss, like two mares aren't supposed to do." Which seemed to be an idea--"And I want to."

Orchard danced away from Sugar with an irritated snort. "Yer not thinkin' clearly! Sorry for wakin' you up so late at night. Ah'll go..."

"Wait!" Sugar thrust out a hoof to the already turning Orchard. "You'll be there in the morning. Can we talk more, during day hours if you want?"

"Don't promise anythin'." Orchard threw herself out the window and took off on unfolding wings. "Sleep safe." She vanished into the night without looking back.

Sugar Belle watched where Orchard vanished to. "Heading back to the city..." She had gone in the direction of Canterlot. "Don't forget me." She dusted herself off on the way to bed. "Because I'm not forgetting you, either of you, which is you." She rolled her eyes softly. "And it's really obvious!" At least, it was to her.

Sugar climbed up onto her bed and sank down. "We're going to have a chat when I wake up." Sleeping didn't come as easily as she hoped, but she sat still and waited for sleep to eventually find her.





Big Mac woke up and stretched out on his bed before he rolled up to his hooves. "Time fer a new day." He got to trotting down the stairs, but a mare was waiting for him down there. "Oh! Um... hi..." He smiled nervously at his girlfriend. He hadn't forgotten the night before. "S-should..."

"You're feeling better, good." She smooched his cheek and waved onwards. "Granny made us some tasty food, so it's time to eat and get to work!"

Big Mac advanced past her with stiff steps. "Right kind of her..." He went to the breakfast table and sank down next to it. "Shouldn't you get back to yer work?"

"That eager to see me gone?" She hopped up across from him, watching him intently. "I'm just fine, thanks. What'd you do after you ran off on me?" Sugar could see him tense up at the question. "Nevermind that. I'm still here today because you're not at 100% and, trying to be a good girlfriend, I'm here to help."

"Right kind of you." Sure, he was repeating bits of his words. He wasn't sure what to say! He chewed at the home fries and slathered on some applesauce on the next nibble. It was good, as Granny tended to make.  "What's the, uh, schedule?"

Sugar Belle leaned forward, head resting on her hooves. "Good question. I asked sister AJ before she wandered off. Seems we need to do some pruning on the west side. Are you up for that?"

"Ayup." Pruning! He could do pruning. There were no great big questions there. "Ah'll get the sheers." He licked off the last of the sweet mashed apples and hopped back to his hooves, only to find Sugar was right at his side. "Ya don't haveta."

"Yes I do." She loped along with him. "You're not all better. Besides... I think Luna may be shadowing me."

Big Mac blinked at that. "What fer?"

"Are you hiding from her?" Sugar thumped against Big Mac from the side. "Naughty! Go talk to her so she stops chasing me."

"Oh." He glanced away and back. "Ya know... If... If ah get involved with her, ah'll have even less time fer you."

"You are not dating Princess Luna." Sugar Belle rolled her eyes mightily at the idea. "Don't even dream it. You go say hi like a princess to a princess. I feel sure there will be zero kisses involved. After that, you come to me for smooches."

"Was... that a joke?" Dreaming of Princess Luna was exactly how most ponies dealt with her. "Um... Ya sure? She may want me to be a princess princess. Ya know, in charge of thin's."

"She may." Sugar grabbed the sheers on the extending pole before Big Mac could, getting it into position along her body. "But she probably won't. If I had to guess, which I do..." She tapped at her chin. "She wants to make sure you're not a random creep or bad pony running around on her watch."

"But ah ain't!"

"And she knows that?" Sugar advanced past Big Mac out of the barn. "Now this way." She headed towards the trees in need of love. "She doesn't know that, and you've been hiding, which just makes you even more mysterious, new princess."

Big Mac blushed as he followed her out into the fields. "Ah ain't tryin' to upset nopony."

"And I'm sure you weren't." She turned to catch his snout in a kiss. "I trust ya."

"You trust me a lot." He pointed to one proud apple tree. "Let's start there?"

"On it!" She advanced and raised her sheers up tall to snip eagerly with her extended tool at the raggedy edges of the tree. "Gonna make nice and round," she sang as she worked. "All neat and trim, like a pie we aren't baking, but you'll have some tasty apples!"

Big Mac raised a brow. "That didn't rhyme, not one bit."

"And it was still a song." Sugar bounced back, examining her work. "That looks better, right?"

"Right fine." He pointed to the next tree in need of care and they started towards it. "Are ya really fine, havin' a boyfriend who's also yer girlfriend? Ya... fine jus' havin' a girlfriend?"

"If that Girlfriend is Big Mac, yes." Sugar belle slipped the scissors from branch to branch in careful meticulousness. "Lucky me, she is. She also needs my help, which I want to give. Oh!" She paused to clap her hooves loudly. "Want to bring me with you, to see Princess Luna? I'll vouch for you being a great pony!"

Big Mac snatched the sheers from her, grabbing them in his mouth and yanking them free of Sugar Belle suddenly. The straps came loose with his great pull and soon he was wiggling into it himself. "Ah got the next one!"

"You could have just asked." She followed him with a pout as he trimmed at the trees far more quietly, but he was doing a good job of it. "I'm not joking. I love you, Big Mac. The form you're wearing doesn't change that, even if I think both of your shapes are pleasing in different ways."

Big Mac took a big slice off the wrong part of the tree. "Ayup! Wait..." He glanced aside at Sugar Belle. "Ya think she's pretty?"

"Didn't I say that." Sugar shrugged softly with a little snort. "Pretty sure I did! Wouldn't go up to her and ask her out, but we're already past that. She's you. You're her. I'm not kissing some random mare. I'm kissing Big Mac, who happens to be a mare."

Big Mac approached the next tree on stiff legs. "So, puttin' past... Ya know..." He kept glancing at her repeatedly. "Ya know..."

"What do I know?" Sugar trailed behind him. "Since when were you the one with big ideas?"

"Ah got ideas sometimes!" He puffed up defensively. "And ya sound like a pony what likes boys and girls, jus' happens to be shy about it."

Sugar slowed to a stop a bit before Big Mac did. "Huh... Huh! Huh... Wow..." She sank to her haunches. "Dang it, Big Mac! Why'd you go and get your idea all over me!" Still, she didn't fight the notion. "Huh... Um... No offense to you or nothin', but you're saying I would have been fine with a mare, if I was... more open about it and you weren't involved."

"Ayup." Big Mac took a careful snip at the next tree, slowly forming it up properly. "Guess ah'm lucky ah got ya first."

Sugar Belle set a hoof on her temple. "And you just called me a coward, maybe without even thinking about it!"

"If the horeseshoe fits." He was walking away in his trek to trim all the trees that needed his care. "Ain't nothin' to be sorry fer. Not like ah'm perfect."

"Like hay you are!" She hopped to her hooves and hurried after him. "You're the one running around as a mare half the time. And not sleeping? But still sleeping? I saw you! You were asleep! But you weren't... That's confusing!"

"Ayup." Big Mac was steadily cutting at the next tree despite how confusing his life had become. "Gonna go to bed and do the princess thing tonight. Each night is that. That's jus' how things are now."

"Wow." Sugar inclined her head. "If I became another pony like that, not sure I could just... roll with it. You're really showing off!" She shoved against him, not that it seemed to impress his dense mass of muscles. "I want to be a part! I'm still very set on that. Double! Triple! I want to be a part of you." She hugged Big Mac even as he worked on. "Take me with you to see Princess Luna. You'll be less nervous then."

Big Mac slowed in his work. "Huh." He looked over at her without turning. She would have been carried if he did anyway. "Ya sure ya wanna face Princess Luna? She might be mad."

"If she's mad at my Big Mac, I super want to be there!" She released him to scowl instead. "Nopony gets to be angry at my boyfriend without my say so. She'll have to get through me, and that'll give you enough time to fly away."

"Nope!" He shook his head and started towards the next tree. "Wouldn't ever want you gettin' hurt jus' for me."

"There isn't any 'just' in this." She trailed after him with an angry huff. "You're my boyfriend. If I can't get upset for you, who can I get upset for? No, no, and double no! Luna will have to explain to us both what she wants and we'll both decide if we like what she says." She pointed up at a tree. "Also, you missed a branch."

"Shoot. Thanks." With a loud snip, he corrected his mistake. "It's always better with a second set of eyes." He glanced over at her. "Guess that's true here too... If she likes yer--"

"Nope!" cried out Sugar Belle in a lyrical note. "She is you. You decide. Stop compartmentalizing so hard."
> 10 - Tell Me!
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

"There will be no interruptions!" Luna landed before Sugar Belle with a scowl. "No dream fog. No avoiding me. You will answer me."

"Alright." Sugar Belle didn't seem upset or bothered. "Hit me with your worst."

"Oh..." That was not the response Luna had been expecting. "I need to speak to the new princess. Orchard Blossom is her name, we are informed. Do you know who they are?" Her eyes darted. Sugar Belle was not very good at hiding her secrets, with Big Mac off to the left and a mystery princess to the right. What did it mean?!

Sugar inclined her head. "You're just saving us time. We're going to visit you, as soon as they're ready." Choosing a gender-neutral term was quite intentional. "Speaking of that, do you have any tricks for a pony that wants to stay up later?" She clapped her hooves. "Please?"

"A pony that wishes to remain healthy should get their rest." Luna set a hoof on Sugar's head aside her horn. "Using magic to stay up later will only work for a time before it all comes crashing down. Better wizards than you have tried."

Sugar didn't even qualify as a poor wizard, really. "What about you?"

"I drink a lot of coffee... and still get sleep." Luna glanced away. "Even the princess of the night needs her slumber. I just get most of it during the day. Does that answer your question?"

"Yes." Sugar sagged with defeat. She wouldn't be able to join Big Mac's world full time, from the sound of it. "You know, she wants to do her best for Equestria. She's not a threat to anypony."

"Then why does she hide from me?!" Luna cleared her throat, recontrolling herself from that outburst. "As a princess, we must know who and how. Who even oversaw her creation? All ascended unicorns have somepony who oversees that. To do it oneself is too difficult to even imagine!"

"Don't know anything about that." Sugar shrugged softly. "But I will ask them and give them a nudge towards you. Stop chasing them! They aren't doing anything wrong, even if you are curious. They didn't hurt anypony, and they won't!" She tapped at her chin. "Unless you're more mad that an earth pony got to do the princess thing."

Luna's eyes widened. "They were an earth pony?!" It was her surprise that broke the dream link, to her chagrin.





"An earth pony?!" Luna was seated at the breakfast table with her sister across from her. "They were an earth pony, with no overseeing pony, so far... I'm still digging into it..."

"But..." Celestia took a bite of her pancake, sinking her teeth into the fruity toppings. "We're looking at an earth pony princess. That's a first. Not technically impossible, you know that."

"I know that!" Luna threw a hoof wide. "Of course I know that!" With a flicking tail she slammed the same hoof against the table. "But that just makes this more mysterious. An earth pony self-ascending? An earth pony learning how to fly, and to use magic on their own? The very idea!"

"Sounds like we should speak to them." Celestia tipped her glass of morning juice at Luna. "What stories they may have to share."

"Stories, yes." Luna inclined her head. "So far... they have caused no harm."

"Good." Celestia looked only pleased at the news. "When you find them, invite them for some tea and cookies. I truly wish to hear their tale."

"For now," hissed out Luna with a frown. "They are a big question mark and you're treating it like a new flavor of your cake."

"Don't insult the cake." Celestia sat up to the affront on her tastes. "If they meant us harm, they likely would have acted by now. They have run into the palace guards before, and nothing came of it. They are not hiding, just not presenting themselves to us." She tapped at her chin in a moment of thought. "Are we scaring them? Maybe that's the problem."

"Hm... I should sleep." Luna rose from the table. "But I will try to approach more easily then, since you are so confident." She winkled her snout. "If she tears me limb from limb, it is entirely your fault."

"Fault accepted." Celestia waved in a shooing manner. "Go to bed. It's my turn to watch over our ponies." She smiled suddenly. "Oh, do you think she would come to me? That would be lovely."

"She shares my schedule." Luna cocked a brow. "Making that unlikely. Good or not, she is a princess of the night." Luna headed for the door at an even stride. "I will likely have to be the one to greet her."





"It's right that way." Orchard pointed the way down the road. "Right hand side, can't miss it."

"Thanks!" And off went the pleased stallion, knowing which way to go.

Ochard had saved the day! Er, night. She had saved the night. She hadn't solved a mystery or captured a bad pony, she had just pointed the way when needed. Sometimes that was good enough, right? "Ayup." She was talking to herself, but nopony around needed to hear it other than herself. She trotted with a big smile down the road, confident that she was helping in her little ways.

"Princess!" Orchard perked at the word and looked around. There was a unicorn, not odd for that town, but it was a unicorn she knew, Minuette. "Hey!" Minuette huried up to Orchard with a grin. "Wow, didn't think I'd run into you again."

"Ayup. Jus' patrollin' fer anythin' wrong." Orchard nodded at the unicorn and her big smile. "You?"

"I was gonna get something to eat, but then I saw you and you rate way higher than a midnight snack." Minuette danced in place. "How are you doing?! You're a princess, you know that, right? The guards can do that job. Do some, I don't know, princess stuff!"

Orchard inclined her head slowly. "What's princess stuff 'xactly?"

"Oh gosh, good question." She curled an arm to bring a hoof to her chin with a thoughtful squint. "Most of it is ruling over other ponies and helping them be happier by giving good commands, I guess."

Ochard danced away at the idea. "Nope! I don't wanna be in charge of nothin' 'sides myself. If that's what being a princess is about, no thanks."

"Don't shoot it down so fast." Minuette kept up with Orchard's slow retreat easily. "Twilight didn't know what was going on at first either, but she's coming around, step by step. I bet you'd be a great princess." She dipped her head. "I'd swear fealty to you."

Orchard blushed at the implications. "Ya barely know me."

"I barely know Princess Celestia, or Princess Luna." Minuette shrugged. "Royalty's like that. I know you better than either of them, so I'd say it's actually less odd that I'd toss my hat in your ring, given the choice."

It was a mark of Equestria that she could do that without being censured, grinning at the foreign princess as if it were a natural thing to do. "Give it a try! It's not so bad, I bet. You're just scared of something new."

"Ain't that!" she barked out, blushing at the accusation. "Bein' a princess comes with a lot of 'xpectations. Don't know how to do that, and don't really wanna! Ah jus'..."

"Wanna fight crime?" Minuette was peering at Ochard a bit skeptically.

"A little ah that, yeah..." But that wasn't really the truth. "Ah... just like havin'... Ah like bein' able to help. If a pony's in trouble, ah wanna fix it. That so bad? They're happy, and ah'm happy and... what's wron' with that?!"

Minuette waved her hooves wildly. "Nothing, nothing! You're doing a bang up job and I feel safer knowing you're out there, looking for trouble." Minuette suddenly jumped in place. "You use those wings yet? Are they fun? What's it like? Were you born with them? If not, what's it like to have them! Tell me!"

Orchard struggled to come up with an answer for that."Wasn't born with 'em, no." That only got the unicorn to bob harder. "So... why does that change anythin'? Ah'd have 'em just as good if I was born with 'em or not."

"Wrong!" Minuette crossed her arms in a big X of a signal. "If you were born with them, they'd feel like 'that thing I always had'." She pointed up at her horn. "If you asked me what it's like to have a horn, I couldn't tell you. I always had one. It'd be way super stranger to not have a horn. What's it like having four legs, huh?"

"Uh..."

"Don't know, do ya?" Minuette bounced closer. "But you weren't born with wings, so maybe you can answer that. C'mon! What are wings like?" She shrugged wildly as if trying to flap wings she didn't have. "What's flying like? Share!"

Orchard Blossom spread her wings wide in either direction. "Well... When ah'm not flyin' or thinkin' 'bout it much, it's real easy to forget they're there." She folded her left one in and left her right extended. "But now that ah'm thinkin' about it." Minuette's eyes went slowly wider with fascination. "Um... It's funny. Um, like another set of arms."

She bent that right wing, bringing the tip towards Minuette. "It can do things too. Right like it. Useful to have."

"Like what?" Minuette sniffed at the wing, but otherwise didn't bother its motions. "Is it as good as magic?"

"Um..." She backed a step at that. "Different kinda useful. Magic don't let me fly none." Maybe for some talented unicorns, which Orchard was not. "And ah suppose ah could grab things with either, but it feels right sometimes to just put a wing on it, or to reach with mah horn." She pointed up at that pointed bit. "Not sure what the difference is though."

"What about now?" Minuette pulled out a pack of gum and casually tossed it about a foot in front of Orchard. "Grab it!"

Orchard floated the gum up to about eye level, then wrapped the edge of her wing around it to hold it firmly. "Are ya givin' this to me, or jus' testin'? Ya can have it back."

"Huh..." Minuette did take it back with her glowing horn. "You use both without even thinking about it. Now I want wings!" She bounced up and down, but no wings appeared on her despite her cry. "You're so lucky! They're pretty wings too. How long do you spend daily with preening?"

Orchard blinked softly. "Preenin'?"

"Cleaning your wings." Minuette pointed at the still extended wings. "Keeping them clean and managed so they can provide lift, you know? Never saw a bird pecking at its own feathers before? It's not taking care of an itch! Well, maybe it is doing that too. Never been a bird, or had feathers." She leaned in towards Orchard. "Hook a mare up. What do I have to do to get some big feathery wings? I'll do the princess thing!"

"Nuh uh." Orchard Blossom began to grin at the enthusiastic unicorn. "Ya'd make Twilight sad if you did that."

"Oh, wow, yeah... Probably." Minuette pouted a moment. "But we could be royal buddies. Her and Me and... you too! Yeah, royal buddies" She began to dance in place. "That sounds super fun! So hook me up." She waggled her brows. "You weren't born a princess, right?"

Actually... "Not sure that's... Um..."

Minuette's dance slowed to a stop. "Wait... You were born a princess?" No denial came quickly. "Get out! Wait! You said you weren't born with the wings." She waved a hoof wildly at the feathery limbs. "Which means you're lying about one thing or the other and that's not nice. Fess up! Which is right and which is a big fat lie? I'll forgive you if you come clean right now." She crossed her arms, looking at Orchard Blossom expectantly.
> 11 - In a Quick Minuette(clop)
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Orchard shrank back a step from Minuette's peer. "Uh, it's complicated... Both are true in different ways, and lies in different ways. Ain't tryin' to doublespeak, just am that." She was a double pony! She had no history before Big Mac, so she couldn't say she was born as an alicorn properly... "I should get back ta lookin'. Nice chattin' with ya."

"Aw." But Minuette was letting her withdraw. "Have fun and be safe, alright? I want to run into my favorite night princess again."

Orchard came up short. "What about Princess Luna?"

"I know you better than her." Minuette shrugged with a giggle. "She's plenty nice and I do appreciate a dream guard, but I know you. It's hard to meet that with her bottled up in her castle most of the time."

Orchard allowed a nervous smile. She was someone's favorite princess! That was good, right? But also awful... "Ah'll do mah best to stay worth it then."

"You'll do fine." Minuette was shooing her away. "Go on and do what you like doing. That's all I'm asking."

Orchard made good her escape on quick hooves with her ears pricked for trouble. The city was quiet, well, not literally. The city always had noise going on with so many ponies in the space. But they were peaceful noises of ponies living side by side without fussing or arguing. She had helped make sure it was so! Was it her fault, or was she a small bit of that pie?

She shook away those big thoughts. "I..." She took flight, looking around. "I should visit..." She launched herself in a dart that was fast enough to reach Ponyville a moment later. She could see Vinyl Scratch's house and smile at it. But she didn't bother that mare again. Nope, she had a different mare to come a knockin' at.

Orchard hovered outside a window and willed it open carefully. "Ya awake?" She slipped inside, looking around in the gloom.She spotted a lump on the bed and smiled as she creeped towards it.

"What are you doing?" The question had not come from the lump. Orchard Blossom jumped into the air in surprise, coming down facing her girlfriend across the room. "I was getting a drink of water."

"Oh!" Orchard inclined her head slowly. "Was gonna surprise ya." She had failed at that, getting surprised instead. "How are ya feelin'?"

"A little sleepy, but happy you came by." She set her glass aside and hopped from her chair to her hooves. "Gonna have to head back soon. I can't lurk here forever." Orchard didn't stop her from coming in close. "So I'm really glad you came by. I didn't want to pressure you." Orchard wasn't stopped from leaning in, or touching. Nopony prevented her from planting a gentle kiss on Sugar's lips.

But that was all things that she was allowed to do, passive things at best. It was Orchard Blossom's choice to kiss her back, and to set a hoof on her, drawing her in. Their kiss deepened into one of active volition on both sides as they melted together with the warm passion of shared adoration that, for that moment, didn't have any limits drawn by the gender of either pony.

Orchard inclined her head for a better seal, feeling and rubbing with her hooves over Sugar's back and sides slowly. She drew back enough to whisper, "Don't you need ta sleep?"

"And miss this?" Sugar landed a quick peck on Orchard's cheek and nuzzled against the soft fur. "Mmm, you still smell nice." She began to groom the fur with slow nibbles. "I'm kissing a mare... and I think it's alright..."

[start clop]
Orchard chuckled softly. There she was, kissing a mare too, but that was normal for her. Shoot, it was her girlfriend! She just... happened to be a mare too, that part was new. She captured Sugar's closer ear and flicked her tongue into it, making it jump and dance at her teasing motions. "Love you."

"Love you too so much." Sugar Belle nudged Orchard back. "Think it's time to make use of this bed. Very comfy, let me tell you." With her help, she got Orchard onto it even as she snuggled in against the princess. "You were already the monarch of my heart, you know that, right?"

Orchard could feel her heart quickening as she rolled up on top of Sugar. She was usually the one on top, though she rapidly realized she didn't actually know what to do up there.

Sugar nuzzled under her, her horn poking and teasing on its trip down along Orchard's belly. "Silly girl, just... let me handle this." Her warm breath tickled at the fur of her belly and lower in its search for something. "I know what you need, so let me give it." What was it Orchard needed? She tried to get a peek, but couldn't easily without drawing away from Sugar. Her girlfriend's nuzzles starting hitting a different patch. It went from warmly close to sharply exciting in an instant. "Found it."

She leaned in and flicked her tongue in a slow caress over what she had found, drawing out a surprised gasp from Orchard. "Yeah, thought so." Sugar nuzzled slowly, teasing the sensitive flesh with the fur of her snout and enjoying the dancing wriggles of Orchard above her. "Welcome to being a mare. This is what makes you that, and it's a classy lady too. You have to approach it right." She licked gently in a circle around Orchard's quivering portal. "Have to woo it, just like the rest of a mare."

She didn't have a lot of experience with other mares, but she knew how that part worked. Shoot, she'd... had experience with exciting that part. "Ayup!" Orchard tensed and shuddered as something new happened. She was trembling and weak. For all her mighty princess powers, she was helpless before her girlfriend that had found the most sensitive button she had. "Oh..." Orchard's tail whipped about as she weakly tried for a position that got Sugar even closer and deeper.

Sugar wasn't letting Orchard move her any faster than she planned to go, sinking only slowly against her helpless girlfriend. "Just so... we're clear... I'm still your girlfriend." She kissed Orchard, but down there instead of anywhere up top. "And girlfriends do things like this." Was she convincing herself in part? Perhaps she was, but it was working as she attacked with renewed vigor. "Gonna play you like a big flute." Each twitch and cry from the big mare made her smile a little. "And I'm ready to try something new."

"Somethin' new?" That made Orchard twist enough to peek at her. "Ain't this new?" She was pretty sure these were entirely new sensations she was feeling! "Yer doin' jus' fine." More of that, please, more!"

"It'll get better." Sugar was a blunt horned unicorn. This was a source of mildest ribbing from other unicorns, being of a short rounded horn instead of a long and pointy one. Well, short and rounded was exactly what she wanted. She lowered her head and angled it as she glowed with a new light, warming up. "Right... now." She pushed upwards, slipping her horn right into that wet slippery tunnel. It went in without resistance and a gasp that sounded as much of shock as anything else.

With her girlfriend impaled, Sugar rhythmically pumped her neck up and down, driving it into the helpless princess. Her magic focused on that point, warming to skin temperature as she drove carefully into  Orchard Blossom with increasingly needy pushes. She felt like she was working towards something she couldn't put a hoof on, but it felt great, being with Orchard. The noises her girlfriend was making implied she was having just as much fun. "Don't get... too loud. We are in your family house." Both blushed at the reminder that other ponies weren't that far away and could hear them.

That didn't stop them. Sugar's eyes widened. "H-hey!" She had expected Orchard to relax and enjoy being lavished and ravished, but she began to feel a questing snout. Orchard was returning the favor with her snout and tongue in eager laps. No horn, but that was likely for the best. She was a princess! Princesses had long pointy horns that were ill-suited for the task. "Dang it!" It felt good and made her insides tremble with joy. Orchard knew how to tend a mare back there, having done it to her a few times. They were a healthy couple!

But she had a job to do, and she was going to do it. Sugar pressed her head up firmly, sinking her horn into that waiting hole as deep as it would go. A strange new trembling overtook her and she went stiff, twitching faintly as, unseen, her horn exploded in new sparks and lights from the inside of Orchard Blossom's quivering passage. "O-Oh... Wow..." She had experienced her first horn-gasm, which wasn't a thing she even knew was a possibility. "Wow..."

Not that this stopped Orchard Blossom. Even as Sugar Belle started to go slack with wonder and fatigue, Orchard was attacking all the more fiercely, and each touch felt more intense for her vulnerable position. Every touch of that tongue and caress of her fur was like an electric shock that ran through Sugar's body with muted yelps. She trembled and squeaked as she rode female high points like a small boat on a stormy sea.

She crashed against the rocky shores with a cry that was only muffled because she bit firmly into a pillow and screamed into it rather than wake up the entire household.

Orchard slowly stood up and clambered off Sugar Belle with a cocky smile. "Ayup."

"Don't look so happy." She poked the princess on the snout. "We already knew you were just fine at that... Uh... How'd I do?" Sugar felt dizzy and overwhelmed, and remained on the bed, watching Orchard Blossom. "Tell the truth."

"Ya did powerful fine." She shuddered softly at the words. "But... ya alright? Ya..."

"I get it." She set a hoof on Orchard's cheek. "I kissed a mare and I liked it. No hiding it anymore. I smooched her and it was nice... Now... What?" She looked up where a rag was approaching her horn.

"Cleanin' ya up." Orchard casually wiped off Sugar Belle's slick horn in slow rubs that made her shiver and kick at the bed. "Ya don't want to sleep like that, ah reckon."

[end clop]

"No... No..." She closed her eyes with a little sigh. "Thank you... That was amazing! My offer is still open though... When you go to see Princess Luna, I'll be there." She set a hoof on her chest. "Just come get me, even if it's midnight or whatever. Shake me awake if you have to."

"Don't want you gettin' tired an' stuff." Orchard shuffled in place. "Yer a day pony."

"So are you." She rolled her eyes. "And a night pony. You're both! Once in a while, visit. Let's go see Luna, first of all, alright? I'm with you!" They met, nose to nose in a gentle nuzzling rub. "I'm yours, silly pony, no matter what you are."

"Yer too kind." Orchard shied back a step. "Ah should get back... That was... That was fun! Ah'm right glad we're together."

"Don't go forgetting that again." Sugar stuck out her tongue at the princess. "We weren't ever not together, silly. You are my special somepony... I promise."

"I promise," Orchard said, not spelling out what the promise was, but both seemed to understand what it meant. She came back in and smooched Sugar's cheek. "Sleep well."

"I will now." She closed her eyes with a happy smile. "Knowing you're out there, but still with me. Just..." She yawned powerfully. "Remember to come get me, when you go to see her. Ain't letting you go alone!"
> 12 - I Kissed a Mare
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Big Mac pushed with a gentle nudge. "Ayup."

"I'm on it!" Apple Bloom saluted and charged off towards school.

She was a good filly, and a fine sister. Weren't nothing confusing about her... Unlike himself. He went out to start his day's work with a soft sigh. The thoughts of what had happened played in his head over and over. How could he forget it?! He had kissed her... That wasn't so odd. She was his girlfriend. Kissing was well within expectations...

Doing it while he was a mare was the new part. What followed followed that path right off the tracks and ran over a few towns in its rampage... Sugar Belle was... alright, no... Alright was too passive. She enjoyed... relished? She wanted to do things with Orchard Blossom. His cheeks darkened as he worked, thinking about the specifics they had done. It had felt... kinda good actually. Really good, dang good... He had done things as a mare and it was strange and new and very satisfying!

He stomped a hoof on the ground, pausing his work to get it out in an angry little fit. Was he not a stallion? Was he a mare? Stallions didn't... like that, right? But he was a stallion... he was pretty sure. He'd done stallion things, and those were quite enjoyable too! He wanted to be Sugar Belle's stallion. But he hadn't minded being her mare either... Was there a word for that?! There probably wasn't...

"Hey." Rainbow Dash landed just in front of him. "You see AJ around here? We're supposed to do a thing, and she's late."

Big Mac considered the sudden pegasus. Would she have the answer? The odds were against him... "Uh..." And talking to much anypony but Sugar Belle came slowly if at all. "Got a moment?"

Rainbow blinked in a recoil. "Woah... What's wrong?" She flew over him, hovering just ahead and above him. "That's more than I usually hear you say. You alright?!"

Was he that obvious?! "Hm..." But how to ask what he's wanted to ask? He sat down slowly and brought up his hooves. "Gotta question... Keep it a secret?"

Rainbow made a zippering motion as she settled to the ground. "You got it, big guy! You've always been there for me." Not that she needed him a lot, but he tried to be reliable. "What's on your mind?"

"Alright... Um... A word, for a stallion..." His words came slowly and with struggle as he fidgeted. "Stallion one day, um... mare the next night... What is that?"

Rainbow rubbed at her head with a hoof. "Like, forever a mare, or just for a little bit a mare? There's a difference!"

There was a difference? Maybe he had asked the right pony. He smiled with some relief that they had gotten that far. "Sometimes. Back an' forth."

"That would be gender fluid, Big Mac. Stallion sometimes, mare sometimes, whatever you're in the mood for. Some ponies switch often, or not very often, depends on the pony." She looked Big Mac over with sudden new suspicion. "Are you trying on mare's clothes again? I mean... if you like it, cool... But don't go sassing me again!"

He could feel his face heating up. "Sorry..." He had gotten a bit carried away that time... "An' thanks..."

"No biggie." She waved it away. "Seriously though, what's up? You made me all curious and I don't even know how to ask without being rude, which I'm not trying to be." She put a hoof over her mouth. "You already swore me to secrecy."

He had done that... But... How does one even approach that? "Uh... Learned a pony ah know, uh... swings both ways. They learned it too, didn't, um, know."

"Somepony came out as bi? Neat." Rainbow didn't look nearly as confused by the idea as Big Mac would have guessed, and she knew another strange word. "Anypony I know?"

"Uh..." He examined the rainbow-colored athlete. "Are you... one of those?"

"Bi?" She laughed softly as she sat back. "Could say that. Awful forward of you, asking that. If I didn't know you were so frazzled, I'd be pissed off." She darted in, cupping his cheeks in her hooves. "Good thing I know you better than that. I like it when ponies are paying attention to me, when I'm the top of their world... That applies there too... Mare or stallion matters less. Not like you can't have fun with either."

The heat became unbearable as he swooned, almost flopping with the news. "Oh! Um..." That was all educational... but he couldn't apply that to his situation much at all.  A sudden new thought cropped up in his shortcircuiting mind. "Wait! Um... No offense... But you... Are ya chasin' mah sister?"

Rainbow's laughs were powerful enough to shake the apples closest to them. "Wow! Way to just go straight for it, Big Mac. You must be... really out of it." She frowned softly. "Really out of it... Look, do you need help? Stop beating around the bush and just talk. I'm here for you."

That she cared brought a smile to his face, but he wasn't sure how to answer that exactly... "Yer used to magic, right?"

"With Twilight as a bestie? Hard to not be." Rainbow snorted softly. "Look, you're overheating. How about we talk as you get to it? You're always calmer as you work."

That wasn't a bad idea! He got up to his hooves and approached a tree in need of his attention. "Right. Now 'magine... 'magine she made a mistake, poof, yer a stallion now."

"Twilight would do something like that." Rainbow rolled her eyes as she followed after Big Mac. "I'd be so annoyed with her."

"She says she'll work on it, but it'll take a day, and she needs alone time."

"That also sounds like Twilight." Rainbow snorted with a smile. "You listen to her more than I thought? Alright, so, stuck as Rainbow Blitz for a day, got it."

"Rainbow Blitz?" He turned an ear as the rest of him remained focused on his work.

"My guy name. Nevermind." She waved that notion away. "Then what?"

"Um... so then Applejack comes up to ya... an' she really likes the new you... An' things happen..."

Rainbow colored only faintly, though it was all through her face. "Woah! That's your sister you're fantasizing about.. Alright, so... things... happen... What's the question?"

"She likes both of you." He bucked a tree, making apples rain down into waiting buckets. "An' she wants to be with you, both of you. Does that makes you happy or not?"

Rainbow suddenly bounced off of him. He was sure she was standing a distance away, but suddenly she was crashing into him, pushing off with her hooves in a mighty bounce. "Big Mac! This is... a new side of you. Did she put you up to it?" She leaned forward, a sly smile spreading. "She's testing me, seeing how I feel through her brother. Tricky..."

"It ain't that!" The idea of being chased by his sister for making a mess loomed. "Please don't think that. Ah'll be quiet too." He put a hoof over his mouth as she had done. "Won't say a word."

She considered him quietly. "Well... fine... If we're both keeping quiet... It's a promise!"

"An oath." He nodded firmly. "So what would you do?"

"Sheesh." She rubbed at her warm cheek as she paced in a slow circle. "I mean... No offense or nothing but your sister is hot. Stubborn as all get out! I don't like that part, but the rest of her is A+. Now... I am not gender fluid." She pat herself on the chest. "All mare! Even if a spell went zap! I'd be a mare in the body of a stallion, not a stallion." She could see he was getting confused. "Just means I would want to spend most of my time as a mare. Maybe bust out the Blitz for special occasions or whatever."

Rainbow folded her arms. "If Applejack didn't get that, then we aren't getting along very well... Maybe it isn't working out. That'd make me sad, but it'd be way more sad to get with a pony that doesn't accept the real me. That isn't healthy, and it'd piss me off, a lot..." She leaned in with a cocky grin. "Not sure if I made it clear, but I like me, all of me. If you don't like me too, then we have a problem, so far as special someponies go."

"Huh..." Big Mac sped up into a proper trot towards the next tree. "Thanks."

Rainbow smiled, letting Big Mac wander off. She had helped! Or she decided she did. He seemed in a better place than when she first found him. "Later!" She zipped off in search of Applejack.

Big Mac was able to get to work with a clear head. Um, more clear? His mare liked him, all of him. Girl or guy, she wanted all of him. It was... He dropped a basket into his wagon and reached for the next. It was a compliment. He was great, all the time. No matter which body he was in at that moment, she was there with the same love in her eyes... "Lucky..." Yes, he was lucky. How many other ponies could say they had that!

"Hey." Applejack was coming closer without a Rainbow Dash in sight. "You alright." She was looking over Big Mac with a concerned look. "You look fine..."

Had Rainbow told on him?! "Ayup."

"Good." She patted him on the shoulder. "Look, we Apples can be a stubborn lot. If yer feelin' off, jus' tell me. We're sibs! Apples togther! Ah'm ready to help."

What had she shared with his sister?! He could feel the tension rising with the worry of what that could be. "Jus' fine." He stepped out of the harness that held the cart against him. "Found some apples needed buckin'."

Applejack leaned in over the baskets, sniffing gently. "Yep, jus' in time too. Good job! Ah'll get 'em off to market." She stepped right into the same harness he had just freed himself from. "Ah'm serious though! I'm your sister. You can rely on me."

The wondering was getting too much. "Did she say somethin'?"

Applejack raised a brow. "Who? Oh, Rainbow? She said you were a bit frazzled today is all." She looked him over from top to bottom. "She don't know you that well. You look mostly fine to me."

Big Mac relaxed with a smile. She hadn't squealed. "Jus' hot. She brought water."

"That's right good of her then." Applejack started away, the cart rolling behind her. "Ah'll be back!" And off she went towards town with his small harvest.

Big Mac nodded at her and turned back to the field. "Hm." He wandered out in search of work needing to get done. There was rarely a lack of things to do. Like that fence. It needed repair and he knew how to do it, so he got right to it without being asked and with no reward planned other than having a farm that was working properly. That was reward enough.

"Hm." But why did he have to be all that only at night? Did he have to? He clopped down on a fence post with a heavy hoof, driving it into the ground. Couldn't he, as Big Mac, work to save the day, right there in Ponyville? He suddenly went dark. Ponies would expect him to say things and interact with them. That sort of job wasn't one somepony could be silent with easily... But... Hm.

He worked the slats between the poles, getting it all firmly connected in a fine fence. "Ayup."

With the fence mended, he got to walking towards the town. He had a sister to visit. She'd tried the whole heroing thing. He felt silly on some levels for not asking her about it earlier. Maybe she'd have hints!
> 13 - Sister Knows Best
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

"Thanks." He sat down in her room, looking around a little. He didn't often have a reason to wander into Applejack's bedroom, except maybe to fetch Applejack. This time was not that... "This is... a bit sensitive."

"Figured." Applejack flopped on her belly, watching him. "Ain't many other reasons you'd pull me aside like this. Now, ah meant what ah said. We're Apples, together! So go on."

Big Mac pushed the door closed slowly as if even the click of its latching was too loud. "Now... ya... Ya know what it's like to be a mare."

Applejack hiked a brow at that. "Ah sure would hope so. Got a few years under mah belt... why?" She sat up slowly onto her haunches. "Is this why she was askin'?!"

"Huh? Um, who?" Big Mac looked around in surprise. "What?"

"Princess Luna, 'member? She was askin' 'bout yer alter ego. I didn't go an' forget! Now, how ya coulda caused trouble without me hearin' 'bout it, couldn't say... but..."

Big Mac proved that apple could be even redder than it started. "It ain't like that!" He calmed himself, forcing the issue with slow breaths. "Need a promise."

"What promise?" She assured nothing just yet.

"It's a secret." He waved between himself and Applejack. "What ah say stays wit' ya. Not fer sharin'."

"So long as you're not hurting nopony." She raised a brow even higher. "Ya ain't hurting nopony, are ya?"

"'Course not!" He looked around with fresh worry at his own outburst. "'Course not... Um... This ain't about hurtin' ponies. This is about love."

Applejack went from cautious and suspicious to confused instantly. "What?"

Big Mac shuffled slowly from hoof to hoof. "Uh... So... done learned somethin', 'bout me."

"And what's that?" she asked with uncertainty dripping from her words.

"Uh..." Her tone did not make him relax. "Ya see... Ah'm fluid."

"Yer what now?" She hopped down from the bed and went right up to deliver a single firm thump to his chest. "Nope, yer solid near as I can tell."

That wasn't what he meant! He tried to get his thoughts back in some kind of order. "Not that kinda fluid... Sometimes stallion, sometimes mare?"

Applejack's eyes widened slowly. "Ya mean more than makin' pretend to help out Applebloom? Uh... Good... on ya... fer figurin' this stuff out..." She worried her forehooves together fretfully. "Shoot... Ah ain't an expert on that..."

"Um... Not..." He fought for the right words. "Don't want no frilly dresses."

"Oh, um... Good... Ya look fine as ya are, if ya don't mind my sayin' so." Her eyes wandered up and down his form. "Havin'  a hard time 'magining you dudded up like a mare... Not tryin' to be harsh or nothin'! But yer 'bout the stallionest stallion ah ever knew, brother. Ah mean that as a compliment." She coiled a hoof on herself. "Ah ain't much a mare. There are way more girly mares out there. Shoot, look at Rarity, or Fluttershy, they got it way better than me fer being all mare all the time."

Big Mac blinked softly. "Yer plenty mare-like." At least, in his eyes, Applejack was a lovely example of a mare! Not one he'd chase, being his sister, but still a mare! "Not a frilly mare, but still a mare, all the way. Don't think less ah yerself."

Applejack colored faintly. "Aw, right kind of ya to say that... But we ain't here to comfort me. So.. About you. Still tryin' to wrap mah head 'round it, but, 'gain, not 'bout me. So... ya like... What part of a mare do ya like? Ah mean bein'."

Big Mac shook his head quickly. "Nothin'! Uh.. Ah mean... Ah like what ah am, right now." He offered his profile. "Like ya said, ah'm a stallion, and ain't upset 'bout that."

Applejack nodded with growing uncertainty. "Alright... Good... So what part of this wants to, or is, a mare?"

Big Mac could feel the conversation slipping between his big hooves. "It ain't about wantin', but... Sometimes it happens, and ah'm happy then too..."

"Alright..." That Applejack didn't entirely get it seemed clear on her face. "Like... ya get in a mood, and ya throw on some shiny horseshoes?" She showed off her shoes, not at all shiny. She was not a girly mare.

"It ain't a mood... just happens." He frowned with thought, but shook it away. "Just accept that."

"Accepted."

He blinked. "Ayup?"

"Ayup," she echoed right back at him. "I said ah'm here for ya, so alright, what next?"

"Alright, so... bein' a mare... Run into Sugar Belle." He moved his hooves as if pantomiming two trotting ponies, bumping into one another with surprise. "But she ain't upset." The Sugar hoof shook her head and instead went up to nuzzle at the other hoof. "She's alright wit' it, an' me... Uh... reckon... she likes mares... and she likes me... even when ah'm that..."

Applejack  had been trying to keep a straight face, but she couldn't resist the blush that was creeping up on her. "I see...." She was still trying, so very hard. "That sounds like... a good thin', ain't it?"

"Ayup... reckon it... is... but ah'm confused..."

Applejack set a hoof behind her head. "Well.... ah'd be confused too, so I'm with ya there!" In their confusion, the siblings found comradery. "But still... that's still you, bein' a mare, and she's happy with ya... She likes ya as a stallion still, right?"

"Ayup!" He nodded firmly at that. "Still likes old me, and new me. Likes all of me..."

"Then confusin', sure... but not bad, so far as I can see... Ya went and picked up a new hobby and yer mare not only approves but wants to play it with you. Sounds like a happy endin' to me!" Applejack cracked a smile. "Yer worrying fer nothin'. I'd hug that silly mare extra tight, 'cause she's a keeper fer sure."

Big Mac smiled awkwardly as he considered that. "Ayup..." Hugging her was surely the right thing to do... "Um... am I less a stallion fer not bein' upset 'bout it?"

Applejack recoiled. "Woah, that's a way different question... hm." She curled a hoof to her chin. "If ah was made a stallion somehow and liked it, but then was back like ya see me, well, that'd still be my choice. Don't reckon ah'd want to try bein' a stallion while I was a mare." She looked back at her female form and forward at Big Mac. "Shoot, yer askin' the tricky ones today! Still... hope that helps? It's up to you. I'll support you either way, but I will also call you out if you wear somethin' that makes you look real silly."

Big Mac rose to his hooves. "Thanks... Ya... really helped." He turned for the door, feeling a little lighter than when he had entered. "Yer a right fine sister."

"And yer a fine brother." She moved to his side and they hugged gently in familial love. "Now... would ya be mad if I had like a thousand questions for yer mare?"

"Ayup!" He glared at her with a frown.

"Alright alright." She put up her hooves wardingly. "I figured ah'd go and ask first. Shoot... ya can't rightly blame me, can ya? You get on with things. Just know we're all good." She thumped Big Mac and got thumped in return. They were on the same page, for that moment.

Even if he hadn't laid out exactly all the cards.

"One thin'." Applejack was behind him, exiting her bedroom. "Granny may lose her marbles... or may not. Not even sure. She surprises me sometimes... Still, she usually likes things how she understands 'em and this is somethin' new, get me?"

"Ayup..." His hesitation was clear. He had gotten the alright by his sister, but his grandma may not surrender it so easily. "Um... What about Apple Bloom?"

"That is between you two." Applejack wagged a hoof left and right. "She's a grown enough pony to make up her own mind, even when ah'd rather she didn't! 'Sides, not like yer talkin' 'bout doin' nothing that involves her, really. Still your choice. Still you, Big Mac. Reckon she'll still love ya." She put a hoof to her lips. "An' ah won't tell her 'less you ask me to. So if you do tell her, kindly tell her to tell me, so that's one less secret to keep, ya hear?"

"Ayup..." But did he even want to bring it up with the growing pony? Probably best to settle it himself before he worried about that. "Thanks..."

"Yer welcome. Now, there are still hours in the day, so ah'm gettin' back to it." She trotted down the stairs, out of sight.

He had work to do himself, but first... He detoured away from the orchard to stop by the post office. He grabbed a paper and scribbled a note with his mouth-held quill. A quick bit given, and Muffins promised it'd head out. "Today!" she chimed with a big smile. "You got here just in time." She lifted the letter with a wing as another pony flew over her, snatching the letter. "See?" The mail pony was already heading out the door with it. "We're on the case!"





Sugar Belle accepted the envelope from the mail pony offering it. "Thank you kindly." She slapped it down and ripped it open. "Now what could, oh!" It was Big Mac, the writing clear to her before she actually read it.



Hello Sugar Lumps,

It's time. Let me know when it's convenient and we can swing by the castle, together. Thank you for standing at my corner even before you knew exactly where that corner was. I really appreciate it.

Yours,
Big Macintosh



She giggled as she folded the letter up to hide away. "You're so much more eloquent when you write..." She got a quill of her own and with a glowing horn, she got to writing a quick reply.



Hello!

I'm ready any time you are. I don't have any huge orders coming up, so swing by, pick me up... wait, can you do that? Are you going to carry me to Canterlot?! That's a long way, hon! Want me to grab a train instead? Let me know, or just show up with a smile and I'll laugh. I trust you to get me there safely either way.

With Love,
Sugar Belle



She underlined carry a few times for emphasis, then folded it up smartly and got it over to her own post office to begin its trek back to Big Mac. "This is going to be exciting no matter which way you cut it!"

But first, she had cake to make, and likely cut. The work of a baker rarely had long breaks. Still, she had a whistle as she got to it. Her stallion was ready to advance, and he was taking her along for the ride. She couldn't be prouder, of him, and the chance to be there with him. Even if he was sometimes a she. They were both attractive ponies, especially with the brain in them being one she happened to like. "Be honest."

She chastised herself a little, still coming to terms with that. She kissed a mare and she liked it. That was a thing... Even if Big Mac left her life, which she hoped against, she was a mare that was alright with kissing mares. That was still an unknown part of herself, but one she wouldn't turn away from. "What an enormous selection..." Without warning, her potential dating pool had doubled!

Not that she had any need of a dating pool. Sugar Belle had a stallion. She loved him very much, all of him... She got to a furious work, just to be sure she'd have her plate clean, whenever he arrived, or a letter telling her to get on a train. Either way, she'd be ready to take off as fast as she could to help him.
> 14 - Let's All Fly to the Castle
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Orchard Blossom cut through the air smoothly on her wide wings. She didn't instantly transport herself, which was odd, come to think. Was it because of her lack of familiarity? She knew Ponyville quite well, so she could get to it nice and fast, but that didn't explain why the trip back to Canterlot was so speedy then... Not like she knew Canterlot all that well if one got down to it.

So what other reason could there be, that slowed her approach of Sugar Belle's town. She wobbled in the air with a new thought that tickled at her. Maybe she was just scared. She didn't want to get there so fast, so she didn't. The only thing stopping her, as was often the case, was herself. "Stop bein' silly!" Her chastising could reach nobody else in the rushing wind but herself, but that was exactly who needed to hear it.

She was over a little town with two even rows of buildings in a nice and neat set of lines. Our Town. What a name! Names aside, it held her mare, and it was gorgeous because of it. "Ayup." She made slow spirals down to land on the main road, folding her wings in tight on her back as she looked around. It was just a village, and it was late. There were no ponies out to greet her.

She walked along the still buildings that were decorated more than usual. A local holiday of some sort? Somepony had left a little cake out on a table, likely forgotten. She put it away casually, inside herself. Mmm, hm? Was it one of Sugar's? She wasn't an expert, but it tasted like one of hers. She knocked gently on the door she had come for.

"Big Mac?!" A rapid beat of hooves and the door glowed briefly as it swung open towards her, forcing her to jump back. "There you are!"

Blossom smiled awkwardly. "That ain't mah name, right now. Blossom Orchard."

"Right, right, sorry." Sugar waved away that mistake. "I'm still getting used to this... And you're still my... I won't if you don't want me to."

"The rest of Equestria knows me as Orchard Blossom. It'd confuse things if ya went and..."

"I get it!" She stepped out hurriedly, the door glowing as she closed it behind herself and clicked the lock casually. Cheating unicorn, she needed no key, just turning it from the outside like it was nothing. "So are we flying?"

"Ayup." Orchard looked left and right, then coiled to draw out a rather large blanket. "Get comfy." She laid it out flat on the ground.

Sugar Belle stepped onto the cloth of the blanket with unsure motions. "How's this going to help?"

Orchard willed the blanket up on the sides as she lifted into the air. It pulled against Sugar and soon both of them were aloft. "Alright?"

"Terrifying!" But they held her in the blanket's warmth, and with who was holding it, she decided, "It's alright. I'm ready!" She pointed off towards Canterlot. "Let's go!"

"Ayup!" Orchard Blossom took off at full speed, blending between Here and There and arriving in what felt like a moment to be over Canterlot instead. A glance down revealed that his cargo was still there, safe and sound.

"Woah..." Safe didn't mean she wasn't startled and amazed by what she could see from there. "It's Canterlot! At night! I never saw it like... oh!" She focused on a new thing. "Wow.... the castle! It's even prettier than they said it was... That's where we're going, right?

"Ayup." Orchard Blossom came in for a landing, headed towards the castle but also downwards until she could gently set Sugar Belle on the ground. As the mare hopped free, Orchard folded up her blanket quickly and stashed it away for later use. "We can walk from here."

"Not a thing wrong with a little hike." She leaned in against Orchard. "And I never got to do an evening city stroll with you, either of you." She may have enjoyed how that made Orchard Blossom blush, or just being with them, but they walked side by side.

Orchard Blossom's ears slowly rotated as they went. "We're lucky... ain't hearin' trouble."

"Do you check all the time?!" Sugar Belle shook her head slowly. "You got something to do today already, so let's focus on that. We got a moon princess to say hi to, and no excuses!"

"Yes'm." Mare or stallion, arguing with Sugar Belle never felt good, so Orchard let that be defeated easily. "Ya sure this won't be no big deal?"

"Nope, but we're doing it, anyway." They were just coming to the entrance to the castle grounds, a fine gate leading off the road. "So fancy!" She danced mid-step. "I'm not sure I could handle actually working or living in a place like this. Everything about it is so... everything!" She didn't seem bothered by her awkward phrasing of it. "Just look at it!"

"Been avoidin' it myself." Ochard Blossom kept even with Sugar as they went along the well-cobbled path towards the large doors that led inside. She could see two guards standing stoically outside. Did they wait there all night? Probably... She had never asked. Still... They were the next obstacle.

They stood there, unmoving and unblinking as the pair came up to them. It was only when they tried to walk past did they stir into action. "State your business," said the one one the left in almost a bark, though his expression remained flat.

Sugar advanced on him. "Princess Luna specifically requested us. Are you going to keep her waiting?!"

"Um, no, ma'am." He turned and pointed inside. "You'll want to take a left." He gave the rest of the considerable directions without delay. "Have a nice evening, ma'am."

Orchard Blossom went past the guards with a slow blink. "Did... Sugar?"

"I just said the truth." She giggled softly. "But did you see the look on his face?!" He hadn't changed the look on his face much at all. "I always wanted to try that, and it worked! Trotting with a princess has its advantages."

Orchard Blossom followed the directions, but that didn't stop her from nipping Sugar Belle's closer ear. "Don't go name droppin' famous ponies all willy nilly."

Sugar pouted at that. "But she did want to see you. We're here because of her, not our own random thought or nothing."

"Yeah..." Orchard went quiet as they passed by enormous stained glass windows. Each depicted some event in the past. Some she knew about, but others were a complete mystery. Equestria was over a thousand years old, and had a lot of events to remember, with fondness or sorrow. The windows seemed to focus on the brighter points. Perhaps that was what Celestia preferred to think about as she walked through her castle? Orchard decided that made enough sense.

A pair of guards stood in their way much like the main entryway, but they were different guards. Bat ponies, standing at attention. The bat mare on the left sniffed gently at the air as Orchard and Sugar came closer. "Odd... You smell familiar." She was looking at Orchard Blossom specifically. "Who are you?"

The bat guards were not the same as the others. This seemed immediately obvious. "Hello... ah'm Orchard Blossom, and Princess Luna wanted t' see me?"

The bat stallion coiled in a sharp turn. "I'll see if she's available. Wait here." He trotted off briskly, leaving them alone with the bat mare.

She was busy smirking at them. "Ochard Blossom... Not the name I would have guessed." Her vision flicked towards Sugar. "And you?"

"I'm with her." She leaned off against Orchard Blossom. "Name's Sugar Belle."

"Hm." She didn't seem nearly as interested, turning her attention back to the alicorn. "So... When--"

Luna arrived with the other guard trailing behind her. "That's quite enough. Orchard Blossom. Sugar Belle." She frowned a little at Sugar. "I thought you said you didn't know where to find her."

Sugar threw up a hoof. "I didn't, at first, but then I learned, and I nudged her towards you, like I said I would. You're welcome."

Luna hummed softly. "Thank you." Ultimately, Sugar had done exactly as she said she would. "I did not expect you to come with her... Still, it's good to finally set eyes on you." She was looking at Orchard Blossom. "We have much to discuss. This way." She advanced away from her room. "We will use a sitting room. It's not proper to chat business in a princess' bedroom."

Orchard and Sugar followed, with Orchard advancing a little behind Luna. "Are ya mad?"

Luna turned an ear back at Orchard. "I would prefer not to be. You have broken no laws, Miss Blossom. But there are so many questions unanswered, and that sets us ill at ease. Hopefully, we can set that all aside with a little conversation."

Sugar hurried in front of Orchard. "She's a wonderful pony that only wants to help ponies! There's no reason to be mad at her."

"Then there should be no issue." Luna stepped into a fair sized room with a table that filled most of it. "Have a seat, and let's talk. You've come at a fine time for me. Mine sister wished to speak to you as well, but she is retired for the evening and I would not wish to disturb her unless it was an emergency."

Orchard Blossom stepped up onto a chair and smiled as Sugar sat beside him. "Well, good. This ain't no emergency." That was a step in the right direction! "Nice to see you, Princess Luna."

"See me? Have we met before?" Luna willed a fine cup of tea to float to her lips, sipping gently. "I don't recall it... Ah, that brings to mind one thing that has troubled me. Why is it I can't find you in the dream? You're surely not up at all hours, are you? No matter when I checked, I could not find you, or we would have spoken so much sooner."

Orchard tensed at the question. "Well... actually..."

Sugar leaned in. "You got it in one, Luna. Orchard doesn't sleep."

Luna's brows went up as one. "Truly?! That is a remarkable talent. Even I, guardian of the dreamworld, require sleep. It is not optional." She set the tea down and instead grabbed a mug of steaming coffee. "There are days, or nights, I require this to keep going, but even its magical power has limits." She tipped the coffee mug at them. "But you have defeated it?"

"Not sure ah'd use a word like that..." Orchard shuffled in her seat as something sweet poked her in the snout. The most surprising part being that it was her own magic that had had done it, perhaps out of nervousness. She opened her lips just enough for it to slip inside and be chewed on. "Jus' the way it is. Ah..." She wasn't ready to lay out all the cards. "Think of it sort of like a meditation. Ah sleep, but not the usual way. If ya looked, ya'd see me in bed, all cozy and dozing."

Luna's brows fell. "Truly? Hm... In some ways, this is less strange. You do need to sleep, but you do not visit the dreaming world when you do it. Believe me when I say, you are not the first. Some ponies simply do not dream. Do not feel embarrassed about this." She had flipped from questioning to supporting and caring. "You are very much a pony despite this. Is this related to why you share my schedule?"

"Actually, yes." What a handy excuse. "Durin' the day, ah get powerful sleepy." She left off that she got up immediately after sleeping, but in another body entirely. "Um... don't mean this in no bad way, but yer a lot... less scary, in person, um, talkin'."

Luna flashed a smile at that. "You are also not the first to mention that. I'm glad that faded away then. I'm not your enemy, and I would prefer it to remain that way."
> 15 - Royal Interrogation
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

"Let us begin." Luna set her hooves together, eyes wandering between her two guests. "Tell me, Orchard Blossom, who you are and what you want, in your own words."

Orchard rubbed behind her head. "Wow... That's a big question right there, but also a small one. Um..." She could see no windows in that room. They were somewhere inside the castle, isolated in that little sitting room. "I'm just a pony that wants to lend a hoof where it's needed. I get right happy when I can do that, and that's all ah really want."

"Truly? With no recompense?" Luna sipped from the coffee she held. "Did you not have a calling before you ascended?"

Orchard immediately thought back to her farm, well, orchard really. She still did that! But how did she explain that without giving it all away? "I still have hobbies..."

"Hobbies and callings are not the same thing. But tell me of them. I would like to get to know you better. You already know about me, do you not?"

"To a point... Yer Luna, princess of the night, of dreams, and Celestia's little sister." Orchard worked her hooves in the air, trying to compress the oncept of Luna down to a small bitesized piece. "But I don't know much aside that. Like yer hobbies, or yer favorite color, or nothin'."

"'Tis only fair to be curious in kind." She put a hoof to her lips and blew a sharp whistle through it. "Tiberius!"

A scuttling scamper of claws could be heard, approaching rapidly. A thump, then a door swung open, allowing a small furry creature to invade the room. The opossum scrambled up to Luna and scaled her chair, then the side of her without pause to land on her head with a triumphant flop. "This is Tiberius, my pet."

Sugar burst into giggles. "Aw! Look at him! So cute. May I see?" She held out her hooves towards the little varmint. "Hello, Tiberius."

Tiberius inclined his head sharply at the new pony that was calling his name, whuffling into one of Luna's ears. "I think he would like that." Luna's horn glowed as she hefted her pet gently and floated him into range of Sugar Belle. A hug ensued, and the two seemed to get along famously. "Lovely. Do you have a pet, Orchard Blossom?"

Technically, she had a dog, but that was Big Mac's dog, not Orchard Blossom's... "I've had a dog before." Technically correct! "Right nice critter."

"They can be, I hear." Luna kept an eye on the interactions between her pet and the unicorn mare that held him, but they seemed to be getting along well, with hugs and nuzzles shared between the two. "A more traditional choice... Speaking of that, it is traditional that princesses, which you appear to be, and acting as, go through certain steps. You have avoided them all, so far. Are you aware of them?"

"Can't say I am." Orchard Blossom wasn't touching the snacks or the drinks, too nervous about the meat of the meeting. "What are they?"

"To start..." Luna set her mug of coffee down and brought up her hooves. "There's the announcement. We prefer the ponies of Equestria have some clue who the acting princesses are, whether they are acting in governance or not, so long as they are acting princesses. Now... To be fair, some alicorns are not acting princesses, but you seem to be."

Sugar Belle switched targets of attention in a snap. "What makes that difference?"

"An excellent question." Luna nodded at that extra mare. "Once in a while, a pony simply... is... They are so much themselves that they just... are. I'm not explaining this well... Such ponies have found such peace with their purpose and already exist in harmony with the other tribes that they simply become an alicorn, and continue as they were, as if nothing else had changed. They do their work as they had the day before, and nothing happens. They are not a princess, they just happen to be an alicorn."

Orchard slowly sat back, trying to digest that. "Never heard of that before."

"I thought you might be one, but you don't fit the profile at all." Luna waved a wing at Orchard. "You are out there, being a princess. You are not somepony who happens to be an alicorn. And that is the ... concerning part. Were you just a natural alicorn, a curiosity, but little more. You are a princess, and a natural princess? This we have not seen. There is more to being a princess, if you care to hear it?" She looked ready to go on, but gave that space to argue.

Orchard let out a sudden gust of air, as if relieved. "Actually... yer puttin' my heart at ease."

Luna raised a brow. "Am I? I'm not unhappy to hear that, but I am telling you that you're doing something wrong. Why does that relax you?" Her possum let out a little squeak, as if to play his part in the conversation.

Sugar leaned forward, possum in her arms. "I think it's because you're ready to fix it, without anypony getting hurt." Sugar snuggled the possum gently. "I'm glad to hear that too."

Luna snorted, nostrils flaring. "Hurting ponies is a last resort. You haven't earned that, and you are here, talking with me. That means we can try other things long before we arrive at that possibility. Now... Being a princess often involves a little... something extra. One clear way to tell one apart from an alicorn is their abilities, above and beyond the purpose they take up. I am guardian of dreams, and can move the moon without draining my magic. Two feats far beyond that of any normal unicorn." She nodded to Sugar Belle. "She could learn to do the same thing, mind, but it would deplete her in time, leaving her entirely without magic. A dire price..."

Sugar flinched at the idea. "I like my magic just fine! I don't do fancy spells or anything,  but..." She reached up a hoof to her horn defensively. Her magic was a part of herself. "Bi--Orchard Blossom, do you have any special gifts like that?"

Did she? Orchard frowned with thought. "Ah can fly real fast." She pointed to Sugar. "Picked her up and brought her here tonight."

"Truly?" Luna glanced between the two. "But so can Rainbow Dash, flying quickly that is."

"It's not fast." Sugar let Tiberius leap free of her grasp so she could more wildly gesture. "We were there, then we were here, but without any magic. She just... moved, and brought me with her. It felt so strange! It's hard to put into words, but it wasn't fast, not at all. We were just there, and here, like were were always here, and just remembered it."

"I would... hm... That is something..." Luna considered Orchard Blossom anew as she received her pet, leaping into her arms as the possum did. "Transportation over a long distance, and without magic... That is certainly a trick worth noting... Can you go anywhere? Anytime?"

"Uh... Only tried a few places..." Orchard's wings fidgeted on her back. "Pretty sure ah need to know where I'm goin', so bein' there at least once, ya know, the old fashioned way?"

"Still a useful talent... Hm..." Luna sat up tall. "And you are certain you are drawn, as a purpose, to combat crime?"

Orchard's ears went bolt upright. They had not discussed that. "Um, yeah? It feels good when I can make things a bit safer fer folks. Either helpin' 'em, or keepin' bad ponies from doin' bad things."

"Marvelous." Luna deposited her pet on her head where he got comfortable. "Then it seems to be it would be in everypony's interest to bring you to more places."

Orchard Blossom blinked at Luna without comprehension. "What do you mean by that?"

"I mean you should visit the other cities." Luna gestured boldly in different directions. "The train is the easiest method that comes to mind. Baltimare, Manehattan? The cities. We have a number, and if you could go between them, then you can do what you do so much more easily, since you can move between them with a thought."

Orchard let out a slow breath. "Does... that meany yer alright with me doin' what ah do?"

"I would like to learn more... but you seem sincere in helping. There remains the other parts you're missing, if you wish to proceed? If you were acting out of ignorance, that can be addressed. If it was active malice, that would be another story entirely."

"Ain't tryin' to make trouble!" Orchard went red, realizing she had said that a bit louder than she intended to. "Sorry... um, go on?"

"Both my sister and I are burning with curiosity. While a natural alicorn happens at times, practically an accident and easily ignored, a natural princess is unheard of. How did you navigate the astral realm on your own? Typically, a pony is disoriented in that moment of ascencion, and requires a guide to lead them those last few steps. Cadance and Twilight being the two examples I can provide. Do you know them?"

Sugar nodded swiftly. "I know Twilight! She's a real nice pony. Never met the other one though. She's... way up north, right?" Sugar pointed to where she guessed north to be. "With the crystal ponies?"

"That is correct. Miss Blossom?" Luna was quite fixed on Orchard at that moment. Sugar was just a distraction. "You know of them?"

"Um." Orchard frowned softly in thought. "Never been there, but ah know Twilight too. Who, uh, guided her then?" She had never heard the story of Twilight's actual ascencion, except from the outside. Applejack had a telling of it, but it left out bit portions of what it was like for Twilight in the end.

"Mine sister." Luna inclined her head towards a great hanging picture of Princess Celestia. "Twilight was carefully groomed from an early age for the task, and still has growing left to do. You had no such advantage. How did you... Make those last steps? Navigating that realm is no easy feat, especially for one who has never been there. Celestia knows the way, but how did you?"

Orchard Blossom looked to Sugar Belle, but neither of them knew of the place Luna spoke of. Sugar raised a hoof. "Correct me if I'm wrong, but I don't think Orchard has any clue about this." Orchard bobbed her head. "Is it... possible to become a princess without going there?"

"It has never occurred!" Luna frowned softly. "But that does not mean it's impossible... Tell me then, how did you become a princess? It was surely a process, was it not? You were not born a princess, that would be even less likely. At the least, somepony would have noticed, and word reached us long before now."

Orchard fidgeted with hooves and wings. "Um... Um..." But did she just come out and admit her origins? "Ya see... Um..."

"Is it embarrassing?" Luna sat up, calm and composed. "We are not here to judge that. You had little control over it. Or did you? Speak truthfully, one princess to another." Her eyes darted to Sugar Belle. "Would you be more comfortable if your friend waited outside?"

"No!" Orchard grabbed Sugar Belle from the side, yanking hard enough to slide their chairs against one another. "She stays, please..."

"As you would wish it." A slow smile spread across her face. "Then please, answer the question. How did you become a princess?"
> 16 - Comin' Clean
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

"Alright..." Orchard sagged with a relieved pressure. Telling and holding a lie was a pressure. Admitting she wouldn't hold it up any longer, it was like that boulder crashed down from her back to the ground with a great thump, making a divot there instead of trying to press her into the dirt.

"Do you remember that dream? You were in it." She was waving at Luna's significant form. "An' that big shadowy pony outline. The whole town of Ponyville was fightin' it. It was a big todo..."

Luna hissed in a slow inhale. "I do remember that. Not my proudest time... How is that related?"

"Ah was there." She sat up and cupped her chin with both hooves. "Ah was puttin' up a good fight with the rest, doing mah part."

"I thank you for that... But then?" How this lead to the formation of a princess, clearly escaping her.

"How come I never heard of this adventure." Sugar Belle crossed her arms. "Sounds exciting!"

"An' it was... Um... so we were fightin', and in it, I was closer to Orchard Blossom than my regular self.. That thing, that big thin', it ripped a hole to, um, escape through, I think?"

"Yes." Luna nodded slowly. "I thought the battle lost when that happened, but you all managed to prevent that."

"That's when ah got knocked through it," finished Orchard Blossom with a nervous laugh. "An' I woke up... as her, as this, as me." She curled a hoof at herself. "There ah was, right in the same room as mah original self, still sleepin'."

Luna sat up sharply, slapping down a hoof hard enough that Tiberius jumped in surprise. "I am the cause of this too?!"

"Um!" Orchard Blossom coughed into a hoof. "Ain't all a bad thin', is it?"

"No... No." Luna calmed herself down with slow and even pushes towards it. "You are not a 'mistake' in need of remedy. I apologize for implying it. But it would seem you did have a guide, and it was me. It was a most unconventional ascencion all around then... Will you tell me who your other side is then?" She gazed on Orchard Blossom with a gently curiosity, looking more embarrassed for the part she played in her creation.

"Well... We met before... Promise not to get angry or nothin'..." She worried her hooves together fretfully. "Please."

Luna peered at the worried gestures. "We are already this far, princess. Very well, I swear I will not be angry for actions already past. This is an evening of understanding."

Orchard glanced to Sugar Belle, who was already nodding at her. "Alright... You remember Big Macintosh?"

Luna's eyes went wide. "Is that why he was acting so strangely?! It was no coincedence you came up as related to that name!" She pointed an accusing hoof at Orchard Blossom. "I was so close to the answer!" But it struck her that she was doing exactly as she promised. She slowly lowered that pointing hoof. "But that is... in the past." Something seemed to click, her face becoming one of confusion. "You were a stallion?!"

"Was," echoed Sugar Belle. "And still is, from time to time. Right now, she is a mare, and I love her either way."

Luna looked between the two. "I see... Are you two... involved?"

Orchard wrapped a hoof around Sugar, holding her close without objection. "We've gone steady, ayup. We were a thin' long before this happened, but this didn't push us apart any."

"Only making us get closer together." Sugar giggled with a little blush. "Um... But that's probably off-topic, sorry."

"I am jealous." There, she admitted it, nice and flat with the world. "What is it with new princesses and finding that special pony? First Cadance and now this... You're making it clear how isolated we old guard didn't have to be... But this may be your mistake." She cleared her throat. "Nevermind that! I'm rambling. So you were a stallion, for most of your life, and now you stand as a mare. That must be concerning, or confusing. Be honest, we are here to support."

"Um... nope." Of all  her issues, being a mare didn't rate that high. "Was more worried 'bout related thin's, like if Sugar Belle would get mad an' leave me. But she stayed, with me, both of me." Her smile began to get a bit goofy. "So no problem there... Still learnin' it, how to be a proper mare, but it doesn't bother me." Her tail gave a lash at the air behind her. "Bein' Orchard Blossom is more about doin' things, helpin' ponies. That I'm a mare is a little ribbon on top."

"Quite a ribbon..." Luna shook her head softly. "Now, to be fair, being a princess of dreams, I have experienced the other sides. There are times when the only natural form to take in a given dream is that of a stallion, so I have also set my hoof across that aisle. In this, you are not alone."

Orchard sat up at that admission. "R-really?" Why did that feel so important. Oh... "Ah... thought I was the only one..."

Luna folded a wing across the table and rested Orchard's side. "You are not alone."

Orchard smiled at that, an unsure smile. "Right 'ppreciate that... Wait, ya said 'sides'?"

It was Luna's turn to color. "I was speaking out of turn!" She glanced between the two. "If you wish to know... Sexuality is an incredibly complicated topic, and you can't hide from it and still console ponies in their dreams. Most are pleased with two sexes and perhaps four or so genders, but there are countless variations of either. I have seen them, and held their hooves, and listened to their problems. No matter the case, they are still a pony, and I am still their princess."

Sugar sagged. "Wow!" She wiped her brow with a swipe of her fetlock across it. "I thought I was getting complicated when I realized I kinda liked mares and stallions."

"You are bisexual." It was a clear statement of fact. Luna nodded in certainty of that. "Perhaps even Pansexual, though that is yet to be determined."

"Panwhatnow?" Sugar squinted at Luna, guardian of obscure facts. "What would make me that, or not?"

"If you could be drawn to any pony of any sex, provided they had a complimenting personality, then you are that. Do remember that there are more than the two sexes out there. There are those who are alright with stallion or mare, and fewer who don't care what exotic blend you happen to be. That is the difference. Now, since we've gone down this direction, I may as well ask." Her eyes settled on Orchard Blossom. "You're a gender fluid, though you express it far more physically than most ever could manage it. To call you gay or straight would fail to apply, but I feel confident in saying you are attracted to mares, whatever your presenting sex happens to be. Have you felt any attraction to stallions?"

Orchard darkened at that, thinking back to Fancy Pants. "Um... Maybe once...?"

"Before or after you went steady with Sugar Belle?" Luna inclined her head towards Sugar.

Sugar thrust up a hoof. "Hold on! Why is this important?"

"She is one of my subjects." Luna rubbed her wing against Orchard's side. "So to comfort her and offer support is one of my jobs."

Orchard smiled at that. She had expected a... It was all supposed to be stressful and terrible and... bad... but Luna was just being so mercilessly supportive. Was that what she had been worried about all the time? She felt silly. She felt stupid. "Ah'm real sorry."

Luna brushed the forming tears away with a gently swipe of her wing. "There is nothing to be sorry for anymore. Let us look forward, hm? Ah, you didn't answer the question, however."

"Right." Ochard Blossom pointed to her girlfriend. "We were already a thin', so I put that right aside. Didn't feel right, cheatin' on mah mare like that!"

"But, just to pretend, if Sugar Belle was not in the picture, you might have?" She watched the growing blush, and the lack of a fast-enough denial. "Then you two may be bisexual together. Nothing wrong with that, or even unusual. You found each other, is the important part, and let's celebrate that." She willed a cookie up into nibbling distance. "No, back to being a princess. Now that we know who you are, we can arrange a proper ceremony! Now, sister usually plans these... But she usually makes these. You are mine. I made you, so, logically, I should be the one that handles it." She was at least partially convincing herself of that fact.

"Um, actually." Eyes turned on Orchard Blossom. "Yes, please, um... I'm Big Mac durin' the day, an' he don't need no announcin' that he's a princess, which he ain't!" She rubbed behind her head. "Which reminds me... Don't go walkin' up to him to talk 'bout princess stuff. Would wanna help, sure, but he's..." She found her throat full at that moment. "He's..."

"He's a perfectly wonderful pony," finished Sugar Belle. "But he can't teleport around, or cast magic, or fly... And I can't either! So don't call me to save the day, but if Ochard needs me, she knows how to find me, and I'll be there." She leaned against her slightly shivering companion, which she noticed. "You alright? Nopony's mad at you anymore."

"Yes they are..." She took a slow breath. "I'm mad at me. Don't that count? Y'see, bein'... this... I'm just reminded that Big Mac is still 'just an earth pony'. He can't save the day. He ain't the Bearers of the Elements. He ain't a princess. He's just a farmer, good fer farmin'...

Luna's smile faltered. "You are him." Orchard flinched away. "But you don't feel that, in here." She set a hoof on her own chest. "You only exist, as you are, because you wanted to be. Every pony you save is saved because Big Macintosh wanted them to be saved. He deserves all the credit, and he is you, even if you don't have that same power half the day." She wriggled her nose. "I also lack my powers for about half the day. A pony must slumber, as we went over!"

Orchard let out a forced laugh. "Yeah... that ain't... a lie..." But that she struggled to draw it in was plain. "Alright, so... what's next? No more chasin' me?"

"No more chasing you. If you have an address, please give that to me so I can just send a letter next time, and you are welcome to do the same." Her horn glowed as she brought over a quill in an inkpot along with a paper.

Orchard took the quill in her own magic and quickly scribbled down the hotel and room number she was staying at. "Oh, I did find myself a sponsor. Fancy Pants. He's payin' me so long as I keep doin' what ah do. Why I can afford this."

Luna clapped her hooves. "A good pony. They could have called him Noblesse Oblige. He loves spending his bits in a way to improve the life of ponies around him when he's not using his social power for the same. He has sponsored actions of mine before. A good stallion." She paused. "Wait, was he the pony you thought of?"

Orchard couldn't help but color. "Um..."

Sugar Belle slammed her hooves to the table. "No way!" She hopped up to all fours, glaring at Orchard. "No. Way. You can't have him. I called dibs ages ago! So unless you want to share, you just kiss that dream goodbye right now!" 

Ochard Blossom stared blankly at her girlfriend. "Ayup..." It was all she could think of.

It must have been the right answer, since Sugar squeezed her in a fierce frontal hug a moment later. "He's only the most eligible bachelor, new mare. You'd be on a long line with him."
> 17 - Fighting Evil by Moonlight
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

"Besides, we have a kinship." Luna was watching Orchard evenly. "We are both princesses of the night. I watch over their slumber, and you their waking time." She hummed with a new thought. "It is a modern thing, ponies being so active during the night. Still, a larger portion than it once was, by far. It is perhaps for the best that somepony rise to occupy that position. I cannot watch over both sides at once, as much as I may try."

Sugar whistled softly. "That'd be too much, even for you, um, ma'am."

"Verily." Luna reached a hoof to rest on Orchard's. "I am willing to share this time with a ready assistant. Together we can do more than either alone, hm?"

"Yeah... Yeah!" That Luna was becoming an ally instead of something to avoid was a strange thing, but not an unwelcome one as she began to smile. "Ah'll do mah part, promise."

"I feel this is without question." Luna drew her hoof back. "For now, remain close to Canterlot. Let's introduce you, to the nation. Only after that can we send you to other cities. This is... forgive my saying... exciting. I never created a princess before, a pupil at my hooves." She clapped slowly and firmly. "I am your teacher, and glad to lend a hoof. Now, have you any questions?"

Orchard sat up firmly. "If Ah'm a princess, does that come with certain... responsibilities? Expectations? Ya know? What will ponies think when they see me?"

Luna let out a weary laugh. "Funny thing about that... They keep track of the pony 'at the top' and the rest get forgotten easily. There are times they forget even me... I should imagine most will not recognize you right away. This is part of why my sister tries to make it as big a deal as possible, so ponies can see the new princess. Either way... I wouldn't expect too much. You may be a princess, but you are not mine sister, who wears the true crown."

Sugar nudged a hoof on her girlfriend's side. "Stop worrying. You're already out there, being an obvious princess, doing obvious princess stuff. The ponies didn't act strange so far, did they?"

"No..." Orchard thought back over it. "Reckon they didn't..."

She slumped to the side against a hoof propping her up. "Sorry. Ah should be happier..."

Sugar put her hooves on her hips. "Is this about you as Big Mac, who is still you? Because... You're amazing. If you went back to being a stallion all the time, you'd still be amazing, and I'd still be here."

Orchard smiled at that. "Thanks... But ah sure wouldn't be a princess, or help ponies like ah'm doin' now."

"No... You'd just be my special pony, and your family! They love you to pieces." Sugar leaned in closer. "Don't forget that!"

And it wasn't like she did, which just compounded the feelings. "Ah should be right grateful... Gettin' more than most ponies could dream of..." She worked her hooves together in slow motions, the movements unsure. "Given so much, but still wantin' more."

Luna raised a hoof to her chin. "If you can believe it, I understand. I have also felt at times as if I had more than I ever deserved, which only made me angry... As if I was sure I did deserve it, bad attitude and all, which only made it worse when I could see how petty I was being... A vicious cycle..."

Orchard perked up at Luna's confession. "An' how did you get past that?"

Luna chuckled softly. "I do not think that impostor syndrome ever entirely fades... Why... you were a part of how I dealt with it, but I do not recommend following me down that path... There are healthier ways. Know this. Deserved or not, you are helping ponies. That is you. None other can claim credit for it, even me, who played a part in enabling the situation. You could have done many things, selfish or vain, but instead you hurried out and tried to help as hard as you could."

"Yeah!" Sugar Belle bounced in place without leaving the cushion, rump raising and falling. "Because you're a great pony. It's... what drew me to you in the first place, silly... Remember? You actually paid attention, to me... And you lent a hoof where that other pony was too busy only hearing his own songs and wondering why I wasn't impressed."

Orchard let out an almost giggle of a laugh, much higher pitched than she was used to making. "I remember that.. Wonder what he's doin' these days?"

"Maybe he caught a clue?" Sugar shrugged. "Or he's enjoyin' the attention of mares shallow enough to dig that. Either way, don't care. Got myself you, and that's way better."

"Aw." They touched noses in a gentle nuzzle.

Luna nodded at the two. "Excellent. You seem to be in better spirits. I will inform Celestia what's happened tonight. Let's not plan further, right now. You've done a lot, coming to me... While I do wish you had come sooner, I understand now why you hesitated, and thank you for changing your mind. For now, let us adjust, hm? I will confer with her on how the announcement should be treated. I am in charge, but she has experience. I will not deny that."

Sugar clopped once and hopped to the ground. "That's good thinking. Sounds like you're off the hook, Orchard Blossom."

"Ah am?" Orchard looked to Luna. "I can just go?"

"You may." Luna inclined her head slowly. "I do have your address now, and you have mine, so we may communicate as we wish. Provided you obey the laws of the land, I have no reason to hold you." Luna stepped free, a motion involving less of a jump by far compared to Sugar Belle. "I suggest you take the remainder of the night off. You've been through much."

Orchard let out a strangled laugh as she joined the others on the ground. "Why are y'all bein' so nice to me?!"

Sugar wrinkled her nose. "Why wouldn't we be? Also takin one of these." She pointed to the door as her magic grabbed a soft muffin off the table and she took a quick chomp out of it. "Fuel for the road. I say we enjoy the city you've been working so hard to keep safe. You must have spotted some fun places around here, show me."

Luna gently shooed them away. "That sounds delightful. Go and enjoy this city. It is important for us princesses to remind ourselves what it is we're working so hard for. A lesson I have to remind myself of once in a while... Perhaps, one of these evenings, you can show me around. The modern city has much I do not understand."

Sugar moved between Luna and Orchard. "She's mine! But I guess I can let you borrow her, with a few ground rules." She turned away from the startled princess of the night. "Let's go!" The two headed out, chatting gently as they did so.

Luna shook her head slowly. "It is good to have ponies that care... Now, my work does not wait." She returned to her room to complete her dream patrols. Even a new princess was a poor excuse to miss that duty.





"Big Macintosh?" Celestia recoiled with obvious surprise. "And he is now..."

"Orchard Blossom," provided Luna slowly and purposefully. "And she has agreed to be a proper princess, which she is doing in action already. Speaking of that, since I helped create her, it is my responsibility to see she is greeted properly... But I would welcome advice, sister mine. I have not overseen a coronation before."

"I have." Celestia smiled gently. "I thought any future ones would be at my hoof. I am... pleased, actually, to see that this is not the case. You must be proud."

"I am." Luna crossed her arms. "And I want to get it right. Will you lend a hoof?"

"With pleasure... They are also a princess of the night?"

"Just like me!" she said with a little too much happiness. "We are both night ponies, awake and active after the sun has set. She gazes fondly on my moon and protects our ponies that move beneath it. A poor diplomat, if you were hoping for that, but most visit during the day."

"They visit during the day because I am awake during the day." Celestia raised and held a hoof up. "If they had been a talented negotiator, then perhaps a night court would have been in our future, but they are not. What is their specialty?"

"They are a vigilante. Fighting evil by moonlight, but also helping ponies that look in need of assistance." Luna strokes at her chin softly. "A do gooder of the night. I can think of worse things to have around."

"As could I," laughed out Celestia. "They sound like a nice pony. When do I get to meet them?"

"About that... They are a pony of the night, as I mentioned. They are most active when you are least active, sister mine. It is no slight meant against you, but..."

"But, we manage to talk." Celestia gestured between herself and Luna. "We are right now... Surely a little chat is possible, when our schedules gently brush one another at sundown or sun up? I would like to meet this mysterious new princess."

"I can promise nothing... I will inform her of your wishes. Now, about that coronation?"

"Of course." Celestia went on to discuss matters of crowns and the placing of them upon the heads of the worthy. "There will be less ponies present, most asleep, I should warn."

"But not all." Luna crossed her arms with a proud smile. "The ponies who are awake during my nights will be the ones attending."

"I see..." Her tone implied she didn't exactly see. "I will happily go over the basics of the matter. The specifics can change greatly, depending on who's being coronated and who's doing the coronating." She leveled a hoof at Luna. "And you never did one before, so time to show your personal touch."

Celestia let her hoof fall back to her seat. "I don't mean to be a wet blanket over this, but are you satisfied with your new princess? I know you feel somewhat tied, being the source, but even if Twilight turned out poorly, it would be just as much my responsibility to take care of that mess."

"I can't imagine you ever being cross at Twilight Sparkle." Luna raised a dubious brow. "She would have to do something truly beyond the pale."

"Let's not spend too much time thinking on that. Tonight we consider your princess, Orchard Blossom. Neither you nor I taught them what it is to be a princess before they were already in it."

"And already they are striving to be the best princess they can be." Luna puffed up with surging pride. "Did I mention their special power yet?"

Celestia blinked rapidly. "You did not. What is their unique ability?" She could raise and lower the sun and be charged by it. Luna could do the same for the moon. Their unique powers were quite well known. "Is it something encouraging?"

"I think it is... Have you ever had a dream where you simply 'went' somewhere. You don't remember the trip or how you did it, but you're just there, instantly. Being a dream, you likely pay it no mind, going right about what you were doing."

Celestia slowly nodded. "And...?"

"They can do that, while awake." Luna began to clap, pride swelling anew. "They can simply 'be' somewhere else, and reach it in a hurry. A useful talent, is it not?"

"I can't do that!"

"I can't raise the sun regularly like some princesses I know." Luna rolled her eyes dramatically. "That's what makes each princess' ability unique. Can you influence love and affection like Cadance? I should imagine not."
> 18 - Winning Love by Daylight
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

"Ayup!" Big Mac stood tall and proud in his stall, many apples lined ahead of him, all shiny and tasty, awaiting ponies to enjoy them. 

"Big Mac." Bon Bon trotted up, slowing to a walk and a stop. "I could use some of those. Apples only last so long and I need some fresh ones for some candies."

"Ayup." He grabbed a bag with his... He did not have magic. Recovering from that moment of dysphoria, he grabbed with teeth and mouth instead, filling up the bag with some nice apples. He accepted the offered bits, a trade complete.

"Have a nice day." Bon Bon walked off with her bag slung over her back and a pleased smile on her face.

He had done his part, selling some apples to help the farm keep open and secure. Why did he not feel as proud of that as he usually did?

"Hey." Applejack was coming closer with a bright smile. "Why are you lookin' down? Business slow?"

Big Mac reached down and hefted up the box of bits, setting it down with a satisfying jingle. "Nope."

"That's soundin' awful full." Applejack thrust her snout under the box and bounced it onto her back. "I'll take this on back and get it to ya empty and ready to fill again." She trotted towards the farm with a soft whistle on the way.

Big Mac watched her go, thinking heavy thoughts. He knew what it was to be a mare, not a bad feeling. It was nice being a stallion too. Both sides had it good, come to think... But he was 'just' an earth pony. He was big and tough and strong, and... he was standing there, selling apples. He wasn't rescuing ponies. He wasn't saving any days, other than a candymaker having the apples she wanted for the day.

He was a pony that had two lives, and most only needed one. Maybe that was the problem. He had too many of 'em! Applejack returned to his thoughts. Sugar Belle would probably be alright with it, a full time Blossom Orchard, but Applejack? He was her brother! She relied on him... And he loved her, and she loved him, and the rest of his family.

Apple Bloom and Granny Apple? Shoot, even Spike. They'd all be powerful upset if he just... stopped bein' there, and he rather liked being there! "Ayup!" He was Big Macintosh, and... Was that so bad?

It wasn't nearly as exciting as his night life, but that was... That was a chance to recharge! If he was being all exciting all day and all night, it'd be overwhelming. Same reason he didn't want Sugar Belle to stay up any longer than she had. A right good mare, that'd hurt herself if her special somepony let her. "Nope..." Which he would not allow! She deserved to be healthy and happy, which meant getting some sleep. All ponies needed downtime, even new princesses. Maybe especially new princesses?

"Hey." He waved at a pony just passing by and got a newspaper from them. "Thanks." He sat down with some light reading about the current events of the day. No wars or famines, Princess Celestia did a good job keeping those away. Rent was raising off in Baltimare, causing some trouble. Gang activity in the heart of Van Hoover was concerning the citizens and police forces there...

He didn't normally pay much mind to the news of places very far away from Ponyville. What did it matter what was going on out there? It didn't affect a local apple farmer much. Not like they did much in the way of exports to cities, like some farms did. But he wasn't just an apple farmer. He was also a crime fighter... Maybe visiting Van Hoover that evening would be wise...

"Here ya go." Applejack had returned. She put down the empty box, ready for more bits. "Anythin' interestin' goin' on in there?" Her eyes were on the paper he had been reading a moment before.

"Huh? Oh, nothin' involving apples... Some trouble down in Van Hoover, but we ain't police officers none."

"Reckon we ain't." She inclined her head. "Huh... Still, good to know. That map may send me over there to look at it. Wouldn't put it past. It's sent us to all kinds of places for all kinds of reasons."

Big Mac nodded, but a thought arrived that made him stiffen. "Say... Does that map ever send ya anywhere durin' the night?"

Applejack considered that with a hmm. "Usually, it don't give a time, just kinda 'now', really. But I ain't never been called at night..." Big Mac relaxed. "'Course, when I get somewhere on a train or whatever, could be day or night, depends." She shrugged, but noticed Big Mac growing tense again. "You worried fer me? Ah can take care of myself." She swatted at his shoulder with a bright smile. "Don't you fret on me any."

"Ayup." He put out a leg and got a one armed hug with his sister. "Yer Applejack."

"Darn tootin'! Ya need anythin' else from the farm?" She inclined her head towards the orchard. "I can grab it fer ya." She glanced left and right. "I didn't forget about your... situation... How's that goin'?"

Big Mac had almost forgot about that! "Um!" How was that going? He considered the ups and downs and slowly nodded. "Ayup."

"More good than bad? Good!" She took a step back. "But I weren't jokin'. Ya want anythin'? I'll be gettin' lunch at least."

"Mmm." Ah, there was an idea. "Lunch."

"I just said that." Applejack raised a brow at her brother. "Yer sure actin' a bit spaced today. Why don't I take over, after I get some lunch? Something tasty for us both to chew on." Instead of waiting for a reply, she trotted off in a spirited jog towards the orchard.

Big Mac sighed, he was not on his A game, for sure. "Nope..." But there was a pony in need of help. He smiled and played the part of salespony.

"Big Mac!" There was Spike, hurrying towards the stand. "I was hoping you'd be here today. You or Applejack, right?" He hopped up, clinging to the edge of the stand. "The game's tonight. You ready?!"

"A..." He was going to say yup, but stopped. Hm. "Spike..."

Spike slid to the ground. "That sounds serious. What's up?"

He waved for Spike to come around the back to speak more quietly. "Spike, is it... Can I make a new character?"

Spike blinked owlishly at that. "Uh, sure! Why not? Got something in mind?" His scaled brows fell suddenly with a smarmy grin. "Did you get an O&O extra book and didn't tell me? I'll need to glance at it first."

"Nope." Those rulebooks got awful complicated at times. He trusted in Spike to decipher them. "No fancy rules, just a different character is all... Wanna try somethin' different..."

"No harm there." Spike shrugged. "Want to try a spellcaster like me? We'll be two wizards fixing the day!" He pumped a fist excitedly.

"Not all that... That ain't the obvious... part."

"Obvious part?" Spike inclined his head at his large friend. "What's the obvious part?"

"Um..." He felt blood rushing into his face. "Um..." Spike didn't know about any of that. Would he make fun for it? "Would... you think it's funny if... ah wanted to try adventurin' as a mare?"

Spike lifted his shoulders in a shrug even as confusion crossed his face. "Sure... I mean, I wouldn't think it's funny. People who play O&O play as themselves, or not themselves, or whatever they want really. That's half the fun!" His brows fell. "Just don't expect me to flirt with you. My heart belongs to Schmarity!"

"Ayup." Big Mac was smiling at Spike's fidelity to the thin stand in for the pony he wanted. "See ya tonight."

"You won't even guess what's coming!" Spike rushed off, giggling with the joy that only a game master could have, dreaming of how their players would deal with the situation ahead.

Big Mac felt that pressure abate. It wasn't all doom and gloom... and Spike seemed ready to accept. In fact... every creature he'd told had, in the end, accepted him just the way he was. Maybe he was making a big deal out of nothing and getting all stressed out over what wasn't even a problem! He just had to relax... "Ayup." He got to fetching fresh apples for the next pony that looked ready to have some. 

Applejack waited her turn in the same line, but it wasn't a long one. "Here ya go." She dropped a basket, only to grab a smaller package out of it. "An' somethin' fer myself. Now git! Ya ain't good for nopony while your head's all comin' loose." She hopped over the bar of the counter and hugged her brother. "Love ya, which is why ya gotta go. I'll make you make up fer it later."

That was a promise. "Ayup." He took the basket in his teeth. "Thanks." And he walked away from the stand, dismissed. The food was good, prepared by Granny Smith, he guessed. It tasted of home cooking and love, and he wasn't against either.

He did not expect Twilight to sit at the same bench as him, across from him, and watching him. "Ayup?"

"Good afternoon." Twilight dipped hed hat at him. "I am to understand that  you have gained a second... everything." Big Mac tensed. "I'm not here to judge, just to... greet a fellow princess."

That was part of the problem! "Big Mac." He pointed at himself, then offered that hoof. "Nice to meetcha."

She touched the hoof gently. "A pleasure, but we've met before, Big Mac. It's still me, Twilight. And I'm sure you're still you... Which is part of what had me so excited."

Big Mac glanced to see if any other pony was listening. "Ah told her not to bother me fer princess stuff. Ah'm Big Mac..."

"That you are." Twilight seemed ignorant to any discomfort she was causing. "I'm not here to bother you with any royal duties, promise. I just want to chat, about your condition. Please?"

Big Mac sagged in place. His odds of escaping the wizard that was Twilight felt quite small. "Jus' eatin' lunch."

"Looks good." She admired his food, but didn't reach for any. "I already had some. Now, I wanted to ask, are you experiencing any gender dysphoria? It would be entirely understandable for you to be doing so. Not many have their gender flipped on them, with or without warning."
s
He colored, looking about all the more desperately. At least nopony else seemed to be paying them much mind. "Ah'm... still a stallion."

"Currently, yes." A floating quill took a note of this. "But not always. Are you comfortable during those times? This isn't a judgment. I'd just like to know, for posterity sake."

Posterity... "Yer writin' about this?!"

"Of course." As if that was just obvious. "Your experiences could be quite helpful to other ponies who are experiencing similar situations. They may not all be exactly the same, of course, but the topic of body dysphoria is one ripe with the need to investigate." She made another scribble. "For the betterment of others. Will you lend me a hoof, and a few words?"

A few words... Well... Wait. "It could really help a pony?"

"Quite a bit." Twilight nodded firmly. "Even without magic involved, there are ponies who do not feel comfortable in their body, who would like to change it quite a bit. A different tribe. A different gender. Even just bigger or smaller or skinnier or larger... There are many ways to be dissatisfied with your body, almost as many as the ways to be satisfied with it."

Big Mac directed a hoof at Twilight. "How don't you like yer body."

Twilight's ears went up, then back. "Um... Fair question... I was always jealous of unicorns with long horns. Becoming a princess addressed that, to my delight, and confusion... Another reason I'm asking. Did becoming a princess also fix something for you?" She reached across the table, resting a hoof on Big Mac's hoof. "It's alright if it did, or did not."
> 19 - Euphoric Dysphoria
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

"Ah..." He considered himself. "I like me."

"I like you too." She made a quick scribble in her floating pad. "Let's start there. Tell me what you like most about yourself, your current self."

"Hm." He flexed an arm, showing off the muscles under the fur as best he could with a grunt of effort.

"Very strong." She got the hint without words, scribbling. "You like being an earth pony?" He nodded swiftly. "But... I hear your alter ego is quite good at flying and magic." Her brows fell. "I would love to discuss your magic use in detail, but that's another topic... Do you feel... awkward, using those new facets?"

"Nope." He thought back to when he first got the powers. In the dream, right? Well, it was a dream, and everything made sense in that dreamy way. Still, he woke up, as a she. And... they just went right along with it. "Nope... Um..." He leaned in towards Twilight. "Can we... not talk here?" Chatting in public, especially about that, was getting to him.

"Hm?" Twilight hopped to her hooves. "Where would you prefer?"

Big Mac upended his carrying dish into his mouth, chomping the last of his lunch and closing it tight. With a great swallow, he pointed to Twilight's castle. "Ayup?"

"Marvelous!" She looked quite happy at his choice. Her horn glowed, then became bright, and the world vanished. Thankfully, it came back almost as quickly. They were in Twilight's castle, her seated on her throne. "There we are. Please, sit wherever you are comfortable." She waved about the friendship map and the many chairs of the other friends of hers."

Big Mac considered them, but taking any of those didn't feel right, so he just sat at the table on the floor. "Thanks..." He pointed up at her horn. "Magic?"

"Indeed." She was still scribbling busily. "Which I hear you can do."

"Not teleport... Um, actually..."

"I did hear about your special gift." She put a hoof to her chin. "I can only teleport so far, but you can cover great distances. I'd love to see that, but that's the other you. This you doesn't do that."

Big Mac felt a strange bit of relief, and he wasn't sure why. "Nope... I'm Big Mac."

"And a fine pony you are." She scribbled softly. "Now, this will sound odd, but it seems... to me that you have entirely separated your two identities. Is this accurate?"

"Hm. Nope." He inclined his head slowly. "We're the same person, in here." He tapped at his chest. "Two in one. One's waitin' fer the other to go to sleep. More like she's watchin' silent-like... I do the same when it's her turn. But we are the same. It's hard t' explain 'xactly... I am Big Mac... but I'm also Orchard Blossom. But not right now. Right now, Big Mac."

Twilight paused in her writing. "Fascinating... So if I commented on how ruggedly handsome you were?"

Big Mac began to color, becoming a darker red in a hurry.

"I am joking, slightly. You are a handsome pony, but I'm not interested, that way." She scribbled anew. "Not through any fault of your own. I'm not generally interested in that kind of thing."

"So ya wouldn't mind if you were a stallion then?" He looked at her with growing confusion.

"I didn't say that." She set her paper down in her magic. "I am a mare. I am very comfortable with that part of my identity. Becoming a stallion would be... undesirable, and probably very disorienting. What I don't care for is... being with other ponies, that way. I adore friendship, but feel no need to explore what most call 'the next step'." She rolled her eyes. "As if friendship was just the start, some prerequisite to something else. Silly."

It was a time in Big Mac's life to be exposed to many different views. The idea of just saying 'no' to the whole thing was a new concept. "Huh..." It was also a new way to look at Twilight. "Ya... Ahem." He cleared his throat nervously. "Sorry... now ah got questions."

"Today is a learning day." The quill leaped upright and resumed writing, though her eyes were on Big Mac. "Now, you have a girlfriend. This isn't a secret." Even if he did color a little. "Does your attraction change at all between your two identities?"

"How would that help nopony at all?" Sure sounded more like Twilight was just poking into his personal affairs!

"There are ponies who want to become more of their ideal self, but are worried that they may lose contact with cherished friends, or paramours. Either is a terrifying thought, and can paralyze a pony from action. Knowing how yours went would be a boon. Were their difficulties? An adjustment period? Or were all parties understanding from the start?" Twilight was leaning in slowly, her quill dancing. What was she writing? She was too far away and it was upside down, making reading it a challenge.

"Alright..." He tried to capture that image in his mind, of confused ponies that could be helped with his situation. Maybe a unicorn with big fake wings they wanted so bad to be what they were, enough to wear them all day every day. Would their friends accept that? "She was confused, an' so was I... But she recovered even faster than I did... She learned, um, about herself... Can't promise that'll always happen. Um... coulda not... Still, I'd say honesty is the best policy." He crossed his arms. "Just ask mah sister."

Twilight snorted at that. "She does have a few things to say about honesty... Princess Luna mentioned you two seem quite close. Are you sexually active in both identities?" Asked with all the fervor of asking if Big Mac would like lemon lime or cola flavored drinks for lunch.

Big Mac batted at the air as if he could swat the question away. "Ya sure that's..."

"Many ponies in this situation are grappling with similar questions." She tapped her quill on the paper. "Any stallion that becomes a mare may be interested in that, or not. The more we know, the more we can help them."

"Yer just curious..." About his private life!

"I can't argue that." Twilight inclined her head slowly. "I am a curious pony. Learning makes me happy. But this research really can help others, so everypony wins. You are a unique case, since you experience both sides, back and forth." She raised her hooves and juggled the male and female sides figuratively. "So, having a hoof on either side of the fence in a way most can't, have you experienced differences between the two at a societal level?"

Big Mac went rigid at the question. The big question. "Um." He hadn't even thought about it! Well, that weren't entirely true... "There's a difference 'tween a princess and a, not princess. Don't think it's all mare and stallion... Ponies expect me--" But Twilight was holding up a hoof. "What?"

"While fascinating, I doubt many other ponies will be crossing that line. We won't be helping much by detailing being a princess." Twilight inclined her head. "And I've crossed that line myself, as has Cadance. If I do a paper on that, I know exactly who to ask, you included." She reached for her paper, resting her hoof on it, her quill still, ready to write. "There are many more ponies standing on the edge of tribal or gender changes, experiencing dysphoria and gazing on the other side of the line they are pressed against, but wondering what awaits them. You've been across it, and back again. You have a unique perspective to offer them."

"Huh..." Big Mac fiddled with his hooves a moment. "Huh... Um... Now... I weren't 'pressed to that line' there, y'see... I was more interested in... the other part."

Twilight resumed her scribbles. "In being a princess?" He nodded. "The power?" He nodded with less certainty. "For yourself?"

"No!" he gusted out, a loud bark that made him shrink with shame. "Ah mean, yes, but no. Power to help other ponies. Ain't the same as wantin' power for yerself, is it?"

Twilight's smile was like a cool balm. "It isn't... That's one of the best reasons to want it, if you wanted it at all. I enjoy helping other ponies too, and other creatures beside. I had no idea what I was reaching for, until it was thrust on me... I thought I was just a curious unicorn..." Her writing had stopped. "And suddenly... princess. With wings I didn't know how to use." She spread them out wide. "Thankfully, that's changed. Oh!" Her writing resumed. "Your wings, how was your adjustment time?"

"Now... that ain't a fair thin'. I didn't just 'get' wings. I became somepony with wings. They felt real natural." He reached a hoof for the wings he didn't currently have. "Miss 'em. Nice to have. The, uh, other me still has her earth pony strong in her. Kinda large, 'specially fer a mare. But her wings work good."

"Fascinating." Twilight scribbled busily. "It seems to me that you, Big Mac, this version of you, actually has more data we can use than we could get from Blossom Orchard. She was born, from her perspective, as a princess. She had all three tribes from the start, and she is happy with that. Am I correct?"

"Ayup." He tried for a better peek at the paper and its growing notes, with very limited success. "She, um, bein' me, is still feelin' out some things, but not her body. We both like that."

"Which leaves you--" She pointed at Big Mac. "considering the other side, that being Blossom Orchard. You are exactly what I was talking about, right now. I didn't expect that." The notes only increased in intensity. "Do you find yourself desiring to be a mare?"

"Um..."

"Or a pegasus?" She flapped her wings softly. "Have you ever expected something to come to you before realizing you didn't have a horn?"

He went stiff, remembering that happening just earlier that afternoon.

Twilight had noticed, more notes happening quickly. "Fascinating... Big Mac, this is something only you can decide, but it appears you may be transtribal. Perhaps also transgender? If you could be you, but a mare, would that make you happier, or not?"

Big Mac slapped the table, using the force to push himself up to all four hooves. "Stop it!"

"I made you uncomfortable... Sorry." Twilight set down her quill, her glow leaving it entirely. "Big Mac, you're a friend. You've been a friend for a long time. I'm sorry if I asked insensitive questions."

Big Mac blinked quietly. He had not expected Twilight to be so reasonable so quickly. "What'd you do with the real Twilight?"

Twilight smiled gently as she stood up and stepped down from her throne. "I know I don't give off that 'feeling', but I've been there. From the other end... There are times when I wonder... Would life be simpler... better... if I didn't have these extra parts?" She curled a wing around to touch her nose to it. "If I was just a unicorn..."

Big Mac's anger fizzled entirely. "Oh... Ah'm sorry... That must be real... Sorry."

"You have nothing to be sorry about." Twilight pointed to the discarded paper. "I should be the one apologizing. I had a personal interest in the topic and I didn't say that. I was lying. A little lie, but still a lie." She sat in front of Big Mac. "But I get it, thinking about a different body that you don't have... Perhaps I sound hypocritical, considering I do fly, and even enjoy that ability."

"No!" He quickly put his hoof on her shoulder. "No, ya ain't that! Um... If ya got it... may as well, um, use it... doesn't mean ya gotta like it a bunch. Um... Fluttershy! She got wings, barely uses 'em. More an earth pony mare, if ya think about it... But she can fly, and she does fly."
> 20 - Never Runs From a Real Fight
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

The train shivered in steady thumps as it rolled down the track. They were headed east, a long ways to the east. So far they'd splash into the ocean if they went any further. She knew that much, but that was the limit of her geography. Baltimare just wasn't a city she had ever visited before. But she'd fix that! "Ayup."

She failed to resist the light chuckle from escaping. Once she'd been there and looked around, gotten a good look at things, she could just jump back without another train trip. But first she had to get there. Twilight had mentioned that. She couldn't hop long distances at all, so it came all the more naturally that she had hopped on a train in all her princess-ness.

As she had promised, ponies were not falling over themselves with a princess being there. "Unless you're Celestia or Luna, they probably won't notice you very much," Twilight had counseled. "If you don't give them a reason to pay you mind, they just won't. This is, ultimately, a blessing. We princesses aren't pop stars. Few of us want to be hounded whenever we leave our house."

There was no way, Orchard Blossom figured, that had just happened on its own. Hm. Maybe Celestia encouraged it, hoping it would make her travel easier. It hadn't worked very well for her. Ponies still noticed her and got excited easily. But the other princesses could... Oh.

Blossom saw a placard at the back of the seat/bench in front of her, faded with age. It showed a princess seated with a normal pony on either side. In hard to read, old, lettering it said, "They need to go places too." Blossom smiled at it. It seemed even more likely Celestia had tried, with mixed success, to sway the minds of her little ponies. Poor Celestia...

But it was to her benefit! The ponies were just going about their business, ignoring her entirely. Something poked her right rump. She looked over to see a small foal, barely a yearling or two, looking up at her with a big smile on his little face. "'scuse me!" How polite for a child. "Are you unicob or pegasues?" The little colt was neither of the things he pronounced wrong, gazing at Orchard Blossom with curiosity shining.

His mother was grabbing him up, blushing intensely. "Sorry, ma'am. Foals, right?"

"Right." Blossom lowered her head closer to the little colts. "He ain't botherin' me... I'm an 'alicorn'"

"Alicob? What's an alicob?" The colt clapped his hooves with obvious excitement. "Can I be an alicob?"

Orchard opened her mouth, ready to say something encouraging, but she realized that was a little colt. His odds of becoming a princess were small. Then again, she was a colt when she was young, and there she was! "Could happen, but only if you're a good pony. So listen to yer mom."

The mother laughed tensely, drawing the colt away. "Now stop bothering the other riders."

Things became mostly quiet, save for the chug chug of the train against the tracks. They approached the city properly as the view out the window shifted from wilderness to suburban sights, then to proper city scapes. "Oh..." Orchard was still impressed with the way cities flowed. She was born a farmer! They were so different from rural life.

The streets became busier as they pressed, becoming a dense network of carts and ponies. Even Canterlot felt.... empty compared to it. This was a city, a metropolis! "Wow..." And she was poked gently. "Hm?" There was that little colt. "Hey." She waved gently at the little one even as their mother was looking mortified. "Did you want a better look?" She was hogging up the window, she figured.

"Tanks! I live here." A pause. "You don't." Another pause. "New?"

"Very new." Orchard crouched down towards the colt. "You live in a very special city."

"Uh huh!" He was beaming with pride at his home. "Where from?" He pointed off into the distance. "Different city, or way on a farm?"

His mother looked like she was trying to compete with Orchard's red shade. Orchard Blossom, on the other hoof, looked only pleased at the foal's attention. "How did you know?"

His eyes widened a moment. "A farm?! I never saw farm... What's it like?"

"Hm. Lots of trees. We care for the trees." Orchard pointed at herself. "That's how ah got mah name!"

"What's your name?" He pointed at himself. "I'm Castaway!"

"A right nice name." Even if she was wondering at the meaning of it. "Orchard Blossom. An orchard is where they grow lots of trees."

"And a blossom issa flower. Tree flower!" Castaway looked awful proud of figuring that out. "Nice to meetcha!"

"And a right pleasure to meet you too." Orchard sat up properly, nodding at the mother. "Ya got a real nice son."

"He can test my patience." She drew him into a hug. "But I love him... Thank you for being patient with him."

"Ain't no problem... He's jus' curious. What foal ain't?" She offered a hoof, clopping gently against the mother's. "Looks like we're almost there."

The train chugged along a track that carried it right through the streets on its own path, pulling in on a thriving station with countless other ponies milling about or hurrying to other trains that were arriving just like theirs.

The doors of the train were thrown open by ponies that were shouting it out, "Baltimare! Everypony off." It was the end of the line. There was no reason for any pony to remain on the train.

Orchard stepped off with the crowd, looking around the terminal curiously. It was loud. Canterlot was louder than Ponyville, by quite a few steps, but Baltimare, just the station, felt like she had arrived at the same level higher all over again. She fled as best she could, weaving around ponies in her attempt to get to the exit.

Only to discover it was even louder outside. She had arrived at the city. A real city... She pinned her ears down, but walked forward. She had to get a good look at the place if she was to return to it. Maybe night would be quieter?

Speaking of that, she was tired, very tired. The trains ran a lot less often during the night. She had to throw off her entire schedule to get there. She was tired, and possible would be tired when she woke up? She wasn't exactly sure how daily rhythms worked when one had two of the things. Either way, she was in Baltimare! She smiled a little as she wandered down the street. It was a little exciting, even if it was all kind of alien.

A diner! It only had maybe six ponies in it, and the door was closed. She pressed into it and when it closed behind her, the noise lowered mercifully. She let out a slow sigh of relief. "New in town?" A shaggy pony was watching her from behind the counter. "Don't stress it none. Ponies new to th' city just kinda stand out." The earth pony filled a glass with water and set it on the bar. "Come on up. What kin ah get for ya?"

Orchard hopped onto the stool in front of the offered cup. "Thank you... Right kind. I am a touch new..."

"Figured." He nudged the glass towards her. "Drink up, you'll feel better." He grabbed a menu in his teeth and flipped it towards Orchard. "That's the menu. Find somethin' that looks tasty, let me know."

Orchard's eyes danced across the many dishes. Only apple on there was apple pie. "What do ya recommend?"

"Y'ain't just tryin' to imitate me, are ya?" He could see Orchard's confusion. "Sorry. Once in a while, get somepony on through thinks they can just do mah accent proper, an' usually mess it right up."

"Sorry t'hear. This is just the way I talk." She lifted the glass for a slow slurp of cold water that did seem to chase some of the funk away. "Mmm..." Water, it was good in the city or the country. "Still, what do ya recommend?"

"Got any fancy diets?"

Orchard tilted her head at that. "None that I know of any. Don't usually do fish, but... new place, maybe new thin's, ya know?"

"Sure sure." He slapped down the menu out of her hand, hoof down on a dish. "Real comfort food. Ain't met a country pony yet that ain't enjoyed it. Cook it like mom used to." He chuckled in a gravely tone, though he had a warm enough smile. "Want me to get on that?" When she nodded, he snatched the menu away. "On it. You jus' relax now."

Orchard Blossom worked her hooves together, a smile slowly forming. She was in Baltimare! And the ponies there didn't seem to be aliens. At least one came across as nice enough. "Chili and Mac an' Cheese?"

"Two great thin's that go even greater together." He was busy making the dish. "Once you try it, you'll be back for second! If that ain't true, won't charge ya, but ya gotta be honest. Ain't met a pony that could honestly deny it, 'specially from the country."

Orchard chuckled at the thought. "I'm already ready fer it! You'll get an honest appraisal, promise."

Orchard relaxed in her seat. Maybe Baltimare wasn't nearly as scary at the first impression had suggested. "Hey, since ah gotcha here... crime."

"What about it?" He stirred at his creation with a soft humming. "Ain't gonna find much of it in here, don't allow it."

"Good to hear." Orchard leaned forward on her stool, watching the concoction slowly come to life. "But it happens, yeah?"

"'Course." He tapped his ladel against the side of his pot. "It's a city. Gonna have crime in it."

Orchard relaxed in a way she just noticed. "So if you had somepony to help with it, that'd be good... right?"

"Hm?" He got to serving up a bowl of the tasty smelling stuff. "Ain't that why we have cops?" He set the bowl in front of Ochard. "Here ya are! Enjoy."

"Thanks kindly." Her horn began to glow as she took a fork and quickly shoveled a bit into, eee! It was hot, just coming out of the pot. She breathed heavily until she could chew it properly. "Mmm." As promised, it was tasty! Even if she had a mildly burned tongue through no fault but her own. "Now, 'course ya do... but if somepony wanted to help them?"

"Well, good for 'em." He put his hooves together and rested his chin on that meeting point. "So, like it?"

"Reckon ah do." Orchard went for a new forkful, blowing it off first that time. "Yer a fine chef. So... name's Orchard Blossom. When ah hear a pony in trouble, ah like to help. Can't say ah'll always be there, but if I hear it, I'm a comin'."

"Right nice of you. Ah take care of mahself." He nodded, returning to cleaning the bartop instead of watching her. "Still, plenty of other ponies, softer ponies. They'll be right happy. Don't run over the cops though."

"Run over?" She hadn't heard that phrased used that way. "Whattaya mean?"

"They take care of things mostly alright. Don't make their life harder tryin' to show off, even if ya got good intentions an' all." He slapped up the wash cloth. "They got enough on their plates, have to worry 'bout some new pony makin' trouble without meanin' it."

"Hm..." She curled a hoof to her chin, chomping a new bit of that delightful food. "Hm..." Maybe talking with the police would be a good idea, to avoid tripping over their hooves? Ponyville had basically no policing force. Canterlot had a smaller one, at least compared to Baltimare. She didn't want to cause no trouble! Asking before she did seemed like the wise choice.
> 21 - She Is the One Named Orchard Blossom
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

"Howdy." Finding the police station wasn't as hard as she feared. It was labeled, she just had to wander until she found it, which she had. "I--" She paused to let out a thunderous yawn. It was so far outside her usual time to be awake. "Hopin' to talk to whoever's in charge?"

The police mare squinted at the sudden pony asking to see the boss. "And who would I be saying is asking for him?"

"Blossom. Orchard Blossom." She grinned at the desk-bound officer. "A princess that wants to offer a hoof."

"He's already married, ma'am." She said it as if she were noting that the day was slightly overcast.

Blossom blinked rapidly. "Ain't mean that kinda hoof... Ah fight crime."

"Most vigilantes don't turn themselves in." She curled on herself and pulled out a set of hoofcuffs. "Very polite of you."

Blossom took a quick step back. "Ah just got here! Ain't done nothin' yet. I wanna help an' not be a problem, so ah came here."

The officer considered, letting the hoofcuffs fall from her grip to her desk. "Well... if you haven't performed any crimes... yet... allow me to remind you that it is not legal in this city for random ponies to arrest other ponies." She pointed at Orchard Blossom. "You aren't a police officer. You shouldn't be arresting anypony. That's our job."

"Right..." But... "Ah'm a princess. That change anythin'?"

She sighed with the force of suddenly getting a leak. "Yes and no. Princesses are permitted to place ponies under arrest." She hiked a brow just an inch. "But you shouldn't. Look, where are you from, exactly? Not from around here, obviously."

"Nope." She saw no point in arguing that. "Out on a farm, literal-like. I just wanna help without causin' no trouble."

"Well, glad you came in here and asked instead of marching out to do just that." She twirled in place and pointed to a map of the city, festooned with many colored overlays, each a bright shade. "Do you see that?"

"Right pretty?" Blossom inclined her head at it. "What about it?"

"Each color is a team of ponies, of us, out watching over it." She stepped up and tapped a red portion. "Each team knows their area. They know who belongs there, who doesn't. They know who causes trouble, the kind they tolerate, or don't. Now, we'll assume you know how to fight crime just fine. You still don't know that. You can't know that." She threw a hoof wide over the map. "It's a big city! You don't know all these ponies. You don't know what they live with. You hear shouting, but they could just be a married couple that have been yelling for years. Or it may be a pony that actually does need help. Would you know the difference?"

Blossom considered the map and its many hues. "Huh..." Did Canterlot have a map like that? Ponyville sure wouldn't, but she knew everypony in Ponyville. Ponyville was just one of those colors, in the end... "Alright... That just means ya should talk first."

"Pardon?" The officer turned back towards Orchard Blossom. "Talk first?"

Blossom nodded firmly. "Talk. Find out what's wrong, an' only after that do ya do somethin' 'bout it. Don't assume."

She smiled a little. "Good start. Now, let's be frank." Another pony at a desk perked up. "Not you, Frank. As I was saying... You're going to lose time. Not much for it. You have to find out what's going on first, and the situation won't just wait for you to do that."

Orchard Blossom danced in place, a little frown on her face. "I've helped ponies in Ponyville--"

"That patch on the map?" cut in the officer.

"Y-yeah, but Canterlot too! That ain't no small nothin'." Her worried expression gave way to annnoyance. "Ain't the first time I've been in no city!"

"Hold your horses." She held up her hooves placatingly. "Canterlot's a bit more like it. Look, if the guards there didn't throw you out... Maybe there is a way." Blossom smiled wide enough to squeak. "If you're ready to become an officer."

Her expression fell. "Pardon?"

"If you're on the force, then there isn't a problem." She nodded as if this was obvious. "You'll know all the rules, and how to follow them. You'll just be another of our officers, doing their job. And you wouldn't be a vigilante, so we wouldn't have to arrest you. Everypony wins!"

"Yay." She did not sound as excited as the officer. "There a lot to learn 'bout being a police officer?"

"Oh... yes." She nodded slowly with thought. "I had to go through the academy. Not as long as a fancy school. Figure 5 moons or so? Full time. Worth it." She polished the badge on her chest. "You learn a lot of important things. Now, if you came here to sign up for the academy, I can point you in the right direction."

"Huh..." She was looking at another major investment. Still, if she wanted to help ponies, knowing how law enforcement actually worked might help? "Alright... That sounds kinda good... How do ah start?"

"Due!" A stallion perked. "Got a maybe recruit for you." She pointed to the other desk. "Good luck."

"Thanks kindly." Orchard Blossom left the mare to return to her original work. The stallion was watching her curiously. Appraisingly? "Mornin'."

"Good morning to you!" He leaned left and right, looking her over all the more thoroughly. "So you want to join the police force?! An exciting path, but also a boring one. We manage to get both done at the same time! Tell me what attracts you to the force?"

"Name's Orchard Blossom." That wasn't the question asked. "Ah like helpin' ponies out. Done helped out in Canterlot, with all kinds of things, but ah don't want to be no trouble here if I lend a hoof."

"All kinds of things?" He was looking her over with a new energy. "What kind of things?"

"Well... When a pony gets lost, or forgot somethin' at home, or some bad pony's makin' trouble, I'm right there to help." Orchard stood with pride. "If they need some reach, or muscle, or speed, or rescuin', ah'm ready to help."

"You're a regular handymare." He nodded slowly. "But a police officer isn't that. We are peacekeepers, first. Now, if a pony's in danger, that we do, unless it's more a firepony's thing." He curled a hoof to his chin. "You got wings and a horn. Both work?"

"Um, yes?" Orchard pulled an unused pen off a desk and brought it to hover in front of the officer as she flapped her wings, both ready to go. "See?"

"Huh. Now, problem is, you're asking to be 'everything' when officers are 'some things'." He brought his hooves closer together with the narrowing of scope. "Ponies don't expect us to be everything, and we can't be. I saw you on television, didn't I? In Canterlot, naming a new princess... Oh! Weren't you a night princess? Why are you here now?"

Orchard sank to her haunches. "Well, actually, ah'm real beat... but I had to come when the trains were rollin'."

"Let's shelve this." He patted Orchard on the shoulder. "If you're serious, come tomorrow, at night. We police? We don't sleep. Alright, that's a lie. Of course we sleep, but the station here is always open, just with different ponies. Tell them Due Process told you to swing by to talk about maybe joining. For now, go sleep. That's an order."

Orchard blinked. She had not expected an order, and he was not a princess! "Um..."

"If you're an officer," he reminded, wagging a hoof, "Then you'll have a rank, which'll start lower than me. You being a princess doesn't change that. If you sign up, you're signing up to respect the rank you're given. So, consider this the first test, and follow my order. Go sleep. Do you already have a place picked out?"

Her pensive face was answer enough. "Tourists, alright... Here." He snapped up a map in his mouth and brought down a hoof to pin it to his desk, drawing a line. "Just go... this way... And here." He drew a circle. "Lots of places there. You can get a hotel if you're still thinking about it, or go for an apartment if you plan on staying a while. Either way, go get some sleep. Be back tomorrow, after you're rested."

"Thanks kindly." She glanced away and back at him. "If I can ask... has anypony else wanted to do this?"

"Hm? What? Be an officer? Of course!" He pointed to his badge. "I'm one of them! Happy to say there are ponies ready to protect their fellow ponies."

"Yes, 'course... I more meant to just go out an' get involved, like I am." Orchard fluffed up her mane gently. "Oh, ain't gonna go there, sorry." A thought had arrived in her sleepy brain. "Now that I've been around here, ah can go home, to Canterlot. Ah'll be back tomorrow though, fer sure."

That got a squint out of Due Process. "Canterlot's more than a day's ride away, miss. If you headed there right now, you wouldn't be back in time."

"Princess trick." She winked emphatically, maybe a bit too much so. "I'll be back, promise that. Even if it's just to say nah."

"Appreciate that." He tipped his police hat at Orchard. "Now, what you were asking. Do ponies come in here all the time thinking they can save the world? Happens. Ponies with big dreams, and bigger ambitions, as if they could somehow fix it all!" He drew his hooves back from their exploded toss to land in front of him. "We have to break them of that notion in the academy. We're just ponies, like anypony else. There's only so much any one of us can do, and learning where that line is? That's important."

But before Orchard could turn away, he put a hoof in front of her. "Doesn't mean that feelin's not important. A good officer wants to make the world a little better. That's what we're here for, so other ponies in this grand city can do their own part without fear. That answer your question?"

Other ponies gave out noises of approval, but they were busy with their own paperwork.

"It does..." Orchard was still a quiet moment, just the sounds of ponies working hard in their office. "I'll be back, promise." She trotted out of the building.

Due Process shook his head at where Orchard had been. "I give it fifty fifty odds she'll even show up again."

"Don't be harsh on her." The original mare was sorting papers and putting them away. "She seemed nice, and eager."

"Nice and eager does not a police officer make." Due shook his head. "She'd probably snap in half trying to get through the academy."

"Let her decide if she wants to try." She hopped up into her seat. "For now, we got our own work."

"No arguing that." The station forgot about its strange police applicant for the time being.





Outside, Orchard took flight. The city had fewer pegasi than other ponies. It was, mostly, an earth pony city, so she didn't have much competition going straight up. It was funny in a way. She had expected flying in that metropolis to be even harder than Canterlot, but nope... "Time to go." She imagined a top down view of the hotel she was staying at. "Blink once..." It was dream logic. She was, Orchard Blossom, born of a dream and a little fragment of it followed her back. 

She was over Canterlot, looking down at the hotel just as she imagined it. She was there. That it should have taken longer to get there meant nothing in dream logic. She arrived, and that's all there was to it. She landed in front, folding her wings. "I'm home!"
> 22 - She will never turn her back on a friend
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

"Psst."

Sugar Belle woke with a blinking, looking around the gloom. "Huh?"

"Psst." Blossom knocked on her window. "Is this a bad time?"

Sugar half-fell from her bed. "Oh! You surprised me something fierce." Not that this stopped her from throwing open the window for the alicorn to come in and sit in front of her. "Why are you here? Not that I'm mad to see you."

"Well..." Blossom brought her hooves together. "For one, just wanted to see you, and it's way easier to do that at night, as Blossom, 'less ah'm bringin' a shipment or somethin'."

"True..." She leaned up to smooch Orchard Blossom on the nose. "Well, I'm awake now. What's going on, or are you really just here to say hi?"

Blossom hugged her girlfriend gently. "Ah was just wonderin' if you might wanna visit a real city some time. Done visited one the other day, which means ah can go back whenever ah want, so..."

Sugar began to fidget in place. "So, we can have a little daycation, er, nightcation whenever we want?! That's exciting! Which one? Manehattan?"

"Baltimare," Blossom corrected. "Nice place. Haven't seen too much of it, but ah'll get a chance. Yer lookin' at who'll be their first princess police officer!"

Sugar blinked slowly at that. "Come again?"

"Signed up fer their academy come the spring. If ah pass, then ah become an officer." She curled a hoof at herself. "An'! An'! If I'm an officer in one city, then the other cities'll accept me as somepony they can trust. Won't be so odd if an officer from Baltimare is arresting a bad pony in, say, Manehatten. But it would be if it was just a random pony, even if that random pony is a princess, 'less they were Celestia or somethin'."

"I never thought of that." Sugar Belle was not a crime fighter, or an alicorn, or a police officer. "Makes sense, I guess... We don't have any of that." Her little town was so little, everypony knew everypony else. The idea of needing a police officer was just foreign to their tiny community of under twenty ponies. "Will you be safe?"

"Thanks fer askin'." Blossom leaned in, gently rubbing the side of her snout against Sugar's. "Ah'll handle it, promise. But that offer's still open. Ya wanna go?"

"OOooo, hmmm....." She rubbed at her chin. "Not tonight. I had no warning! Let me get my things in order... Say... two weeks from now?"

"Two weeks." Blossom nodded firmly. "Ah'll be back, so be ready. We'll travel fast."

"Blink and you'll miss it," laughed out Sugar, gently nudging Blossom back towards the door. "I'll look forward to it!"

"Me too. Sleep well." Blossom climbed out the window, flopping with a lack of grace off the other side. "Ah'm alright!" She launched into the sky, vanishing suddenly. Where to, Sugar was helpless to do much but guess.

"Back to bed..." She had not expected a visit. Sleep would be difficult to capture. She flopped onto bed anyway. She needed her sleep!





"You have been nothing short of amazing." Twilight made a note with her floating quill. "I want to thank you, again, for coming back so regularly to discuss things with me. Is this more comfortable for you?"

Blossom nodded at Twilight. "Ah know it's kinda funny... but it's a lot easier to talk, as Blossom. Blossom likes talkin'. Big Mac, not so much... Ah know we're the same pony, but... shoot. Ya ever put on an outfit and felt different?"

"Ah ha! That's a well documented effect." Twilight made a new note. "Like a pony putting on a doctor or scientist outfit and feeling smarter. You 'put on' Orchard Blossom and feel more social. That is entirely valid. And far less likely to result in problems than ponies who think, incorrectly, that their intelligence and knowledge has somehow grown without effort." Twilight waved over Orchard Blossom. "Another part of your change, but not belonging to tribal lines."

"There's a lot of changes..."

"Is he here?" Spike came rushing down the stairs. "There you are!"

Blossom blinked at Spike. "Who do you mean? Jus' us mares here."

Spike waved that off. "You are not that subtle... You switched characters, remember? Wow, you really are playing the role." He glanced between Blossom and Twilight. "But why are you chatting with Twilight? She doesn't even play."

Twilight snorted at that. "I've played Ogres and Obliouettes before, Spike. I'm the one that introduced you to it."

"Yeah yeah." Spike waved it off, way too busy studying his friend. "Wow... You are... When did you get so good at cosplay? Um.... Could you do one for me?" He smiled hopefully. "You know, all wizardy? I'd thank you forever!"

Blossom let out a slow sigh. "Really, Spike, this is what ah am. An' what are you doin' up so late at night? Go to bed, young drake."

"That isn't happening." Instead he advanced to poke at Blossom, feeling her casually. "Huh..."

"Spike," more firmly uttered Twilight. "We're in the middle of talking. You're being rude."

"Oh, uh..." He backed a few steps. "But... Big Mac?"

"Orchard Blossom," corrected Blossom.

"But we aren't playing the game!" Spike threw up his hands in confusion.

Twilight shook her head. "It's not a game. The mare in front of you is Orchard Blossom. She has come at my request. Please stop harassing her."

"But..." Spike rubbed at the side of his head, trying to figure through it. "I know Big Mac... Even if... Dude... I know it's you, and it's still you, mare or not. So if--" He didn't get to finish, suddenly being crushed against Blossom in a great hug. "Mmmf!"

"Ah didn't know how much ah needed to hear that." She gently released Spike. "Sorry."

Spike wobbled, dizzy from the attack. "No... problem! Um, so can I ask what's going on? Can I help!?"

Twilight's featured became a gentle smile on seeing things working out between them. "That is up to Orchard Blossom. I won't speak for her."

"Thank ya." She put a large hoof on Spike's head just next to his fins. "Ah went and became two ponies."

"Two ponies?"

"If you went up to the orchard, ya'd find Big Mac nice and safe an' sleepin'. Don't wake him up." She tapped her chin. "Wonder what would happen... Don't do it! While he's asleep, ah wake up." She pointed at herself emphatically. "But we're the same pony, up here." She tapped at her head gently. 

Spike was still a moment, processing that. "So you are Big Mac, but you're also a mare, who's called Orchard Blossom... neat!"

Blossom blinked softly. "Neat? Ah reckon ah expected more of a response than 'neat'."

"But it's pretty neat," argued Spike with a sagacious nod. "You're still my friend, but you got extra stuff." He waved over Blossom's entire form. "So... does it all work?" He pointed up at his own fin. "Can you do magic? Can you fly? Are you a princess?!"

"Yes, yes, and yes," cut in Twilight. "But only while she is a she. As Big Mac, he is comfortable just being an apple farmer."

"Ayup," she let out with her trademark style. "Don't treat me any different when ah'm Big Mac. Ain't not a thing changed."

"Except your character."

"Except that..."

Spike danced back. "Still, thanks. This is obviously, like, a huge huge deal. So thanks, for trusting me. If I can help at all, let me know! That's what friends are for."

He retreated up the stairs and Orchard Blossom was not looking at him. Twilight could see her face though. "Is something wrong?"

"Nope." She wiped her face gently with an arm. "Jus' didn't realize ah had such a good friend." She shook herself out without standing. "Now, as we were?"

"Now, as a fellow transtribal pony, I have found my new parts to be quite useful." She extended her left wing wide. "Useful enough to use any time it would help. I'm curious, since you've been both ways, how do you feel about these new parts when you don't have them?" Twilight glanced to her paper, filling with notes. "Leave out no details."

"Hm." Blossom thought of her Big Mac time, who had none of the extra parts. "Ah miss 'em... Ah know I don't need 'em. Shoot, Big Mac never had 'em! Ah know how to get around, even a long ways. Ah know how to make do, an' ah do!  I still get work done..."

"Fascinating, but you do feel some amount of dysphoria?" She made a little note. "This is... interesting. Perhaps if I got my wish and set these wings aside, I'd feel bad about it afterwards. That is a worrying angle to take. I know I'm a unicorn. You know you're an earth pony. Is it a natural inclination that ponies, if provided the option, would all be alicorns?"

Blossom blinked at the heavy idea being presented. "Huh... That ain't somethin' that's easy to show either way." Not like they had any but one example of Orchard Blossom to work with. "Ah don't... think it's that."

"What do you think it is then?" Twilight waved away one paper to grab another and begin scrawling on it. "Please, share your hypothesis."

"Um... Look..." She worried her hooves slowly. "Ah think... Ah think maybe ah always wanted this, a little... Ah... wanted to be a pony that could help, help a lot of ponies." She waved over herself. "And now ah am! Ah wanted to be big an' important, and who's the biggest an' most important pony ya know of?"

It was Twilight's turn to consider that. "Oh! You were jealous of Celestia?"

"Y-yeah, not like hostile or nothin'. She's a good pony." Blossom nodded with certainty at that. "But ah wanted a little... to help ponies... Ah wanted to be mah own little sun..."

"And... you got it," finished Twilight, considering Orchard Blossom. "But more of an evening star. An alicorn ready to help ponies."

"Yeah!" She hopped to her hooves. "An' ah'm doin' good at it!"

"I'm certain you are. I'd be hearing otherwise, which I am glad to say I have not."

Blossom colored at that. "Why would you hear about it?"

Twilight turned both hooves on herself. "They know I know you, both of you. If they wanted to reach you, I would be the easiest point of contact. They could send Spike a letter, and it would reach my hooves almost instantly. When they didn't know who you were, it was a much trickier task, but this is no longer the case." One could almost hear her mental gears clicking. "Speaking of that!"

"Hm?"

"What happens if the two of you interact?" Twilight danced two hooves close together. "Can they?"

"Um, one part of me is sleepin' at the time, all the time. Always some part of me sleepin'. What would I do? Ain't much to do with a sleepin' pony."

"Poke them." Twilight poked at the air. "See if you can wake yourself up. Would that cause your other self to spontaneously lose conciousness, or would there be any time where both are awake, and what would that be like?"

Blossom recoiled at the idea. "Not sure ah'd even want to see that."

"They're both you." Twilight frowned, working through that. "Which would mean you'd be in two places at once... I could see why that might be daunting. I'd do it myself but..." She was one pony, not two. "Up to you. I can't force you." She probably could force Blossom, but she wouldn't. "But, if you do, take notes, or invite me over. I feel sure it would be very interesting!"

"If ah do, ah'll be sure to call you... Um, I'd want somepony around to help, if it went badly." She took a step forwards the exit. "You'd need to be quiet, if we did. Granny still don't know 'bout this. An' still not tellin'her."
> 23 - She Is Always There to Defend
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

"So, what's it like?"

Big Mac looked over to Spike, question unasked, just a look.

"Bein' a, you know, mare."

"Here we go." Discord was there, smirking viciously. "I thought this was a testosterone filled party."

Spike waved him away. "We've had mares play before. Probably not the last time. Um, but you're the only pony I could ask, so... asking."

Big Mac gave a lone clop, fidgeting in place without words.

"You're not going to get a lot of answers out of him," half-taunted Discord. "But we could ask Orchard Blossom." He fluttered his lashes with a half-giggle. "Bet she'd say."

Spike hopped up onto the table, putting himself between Big Mac and Discord. "They can answer, or not. Up to them."

Discord arched a brow at the young dragon. "Look at you, being all brave and whatnot." He flicked one of Spike's fins. "It's adorable."

Big Mac had a thought. Did Discord know--"Yes," Discord answered without being asked. "I just thought it'd be polite to not bring it up. We are friends and all."

Spike looked between the two, rubbing the flicked fin. "Wait, you know about Orchard Blossom?"

"Newest princess of the lands?" Discord leaned in, chin on his balled fists. "It'd be hard to miss. That she has a certain resemblance to a pony I know wasn't missed either."

Spike held his defensive position. "Don't poke fun at him."

"Who? Me? I would never." He gasped with shock at the very idea of it. "That would be entirely unlike me. If he likes the feeling of a skirt, it wouldn't even be the first time." He waggled his brows, looking far too amused at the whole thing. "Now, if you're asking me, not my type."

Spike hiked a brow. "Dare I ask what your 'type' is?"

"No." Discord reached across the table without needing to stretch very hard, reaching as far as needed on a whim to shove Spike back into his seat. "I suggest against it. Besides, Big Mac here has a special somepony. Does she know about this hullabaloo? That could get prickly."

Big Mac perked his ears up. "Wait. Ya don't know?"

"I don't spy on everything." Discord rolled his eyes into his waiting right hand, to pop back into his skull. "I keep half an eye on friends, which she isn't. So, does she know? Spill the 'hot deets' for us. We wanna know."

Spike fidgeted. "Um, I am a little curious, but you don't have to."

"No... No it's alright." Big Mac sat up with a slow cleaning breath. "It's alright... Ah'm still me."

Spike raised a brow. "Nocreature said you weren't. Where did that come from?"

Big Mac cracked a smile at that. "Me. Um... Jus'... Tryin' to grow a little... Don't mind me... bein' a little slow. Now, uh... Since ya both know..." He looked between his two guy friends. "And ain't upset?"

Discord shrugged softly. "I don't show her off much around here, but Eris knows how to make a mess. I've been either at times. Chaos spirit, remember?"

Big Mac blinked at that. "Eris?"

Discord clapped his hands in front of his face before pulling them apart to reveal her face. "Eris," she noted with a new softer voice. "It's not very chaotic to be hung up on these things. I was gender fluid before that rabbit even hatched from his egg."

Spike blinked softly at the altered Dis--Eris. "Huh... You know rabbits don't come from eggs, right?"

"As if." She plunked down an egg that split in half, revealing a suspiciously trademarked rabbit that winked and hopped away, laughing. "You're not a rabbit expert, Spike. Now, admittedly..." She shrugged softly. "He was actually a hare."

Big Mac rubbed the side of his head. "Huh... So you don't think it's odd, um, what ah'm doin'?"

"On my ruler?" She pulled out a ruler and slid a finger along it. "You have a long way to go. But I'm still waiting to hear what your girlfriend thinks of it. She's no chaos spirit. She panic or what?"

Big Mac's tension ebbed a little. At least his friends there seemed alright with it. "She's a great pony, um... And she didn't get upset none... Ah... think she might even like it."

Spike colored at that. "Wow. Um... Wow..." He flopped bonelessly back. "You two, um... do... anything?"

Eris howled with laughter. "Twilight might try to petrify me if this conversation goes the way you're making it sound. In the interest of that not happening, kindly don't answer that in the presence of our young dragon, hm?" She leaned forward, tail wagging behind her sinously. "Instead, I will safely assume you two have things worked out. Good for both of you. I didn't expect she had it in her. Now... Spike."

Spike perked at his name. "Yeah?"

"You've been showing a sudden interest." Eris wagged a finger between Spike and Big Mac. "Are you jealous of being the only all-guy here?"

"I thought I had company..." Spike peered at the one-guy that was Eris. "Uh... So... could you answer the question then?"

"Nope!" She fanned herself gently. "One downside of being what I am, I'm everything, which actually makes me awful for explaining what one thing is like compared to the next. I prefer guy-me." And Discord returned with a snap. "Just got used to it, a bad habit really. Still, sometimes I like to let the hair down." He fluffed at the long hair he only had for that instant.

"Ah can try..." Big Mac quietly considered. "It's softer, on the inside, an' the outside. Not a whole lot. Orchard Blossom's still a tough earth pony, mare or not. Got muscles like I do, plenty hard, but still softer than ah am right now... Hard to explain, right? Still, it's a feelin'."

"Softer," echoed Spike. "Weaker?"

"Nope!" Big Mac rocked his head with a grunt. "Don't let the girls hear you say that, or they'll be real mad."

Spike squeaked in fear at that situation. "You have a point!" The mares he knew weren't generally weak as a word.

Spike fiddled with his fingers a little. "Still, uh... Are creatures happy to see you?"

"Ayup." Big Mac inclined his head. "They're happy to see either ah me, really. Can't say they're happier, though Blossom's a princess and a super hero, so that makes ponies happy, but not jus' bein' a mare."

Spike rubbed his hands together nervously. "So..."

"Out with it," cut in Discord. "If we wait for you, we'll be here all night without any adventure. Go on."

"I'm getting to it!" Spike shoved a hand in his pocket and drew out a paper, slapping it down. "I drew this a while ago."

Big Mac leaned over to get a look. It was a dragon, like Spike, but also not. Their shape was clearly different, more like... Smolder or Ember. Dragon differences in gender were not his specialty at all, but he could see some differences in the Spike-like but not quite Spike drawing. "Huh..."

"It's dumb." Spike covered the picture with both hands as if to conceal it from the world. "Sorry, it was stupid to bring up."

Big Mac clopped his hoof down between Spike's hands. "Nope!"

"Uh..." Spike edged his hands away from that heavy hoof. "No what?"

"Ain't gonna." He leaned in at Spike, snorting in a great gust of air. "Been learnin' from Twilight."

Spike blinked softly. "Learning what?"

"What it means." He tapped at the drawing trapped under his hoof. "To want what ain't yers. To want to be what ya ain't, on the outside."

Discord blew his nose with a tissue in a great honk. "So touching! Sorry to interrupt, but are we going to play at all tonight?"

Big Mac drew his hoof back. "Oh, yeah, sure... But ah'm serious, Spike. If... that's somethin' ya want to talk about, let's talk, when it ain't game time."

Discord drew out his many sided die. "It's time for adventure!" He would be held back no more. It was game time, not exploring one's feelings time.





"And so our heroes crept down the hallway, the heavy breathing of what could be doom just ahead. Would they survive?" Spike made a closing motion in the air. "We'll find out next time."

Big Mac applauded with a merry clip-clop.

Discord let out a spirited whoop. "I'll be there. Captain Wuzz isn't going to let things end like that if he can help it." With a puff of smoke, he was gone.

Big Mac stood to leave, but felt a small hand against his side. "Hm?" Spike was touching him, holding him really. Big Mac could have easily dislodged Spike, he wasn't that strong, but... "Ayup?"

"Is now a bad time?" Spike fidgeted with his free hand. "It's alright if it is."

Big Mac sat right back down. "It ain't a bad time. Say, have you spoke to Twilight?"

Spike paled at that. "N-no! Why would I? That would freak her out! She freaks out really easily, if you didn't notice."

"Ayup." Big Mac nodded slowly. It wasn't hard to remember that. "But she's studyin' this right now. That's why she's talkin' to me. So... Anyway, this ain't 'bout her. How can I help?"

"It's... embarassing." Spike released Big Mac, unfurling his fingers from the large pony's fur. "I've been a big macho kinda dragon a lot... But a lot of it is trying to... make up for things." He fiddled his fingers together fitfully. "I'm not really that big, or strong."

"Yer still a little thin'." Big Mac inclined his head slowly at the small dragon. "Might grow up to be big an' strong."

Spike laughed, a strained noise. "Maybe, but I don't really want most of... those things. I want to be admired, sure, who doesn't? but I don't want to be loud. I don't want to shout at ponies or most of the... guy stuff. Even when I was a big dragon, fueled by greed, I just wanted to collect stuff I liked and be left alone mostly."

Big Mac rubbed behind his head softly. "Ah'd be a real somethin' or other if ah shot ya down. I used to dream of bein' a princess, bein' powerful and savin' the day..."

Spike fired a sudden thumbs up. "And you got that! Congratulations, by the way."

"Thank ya... It's complicated. Lot more to it than I ever thought..." Big Mac leaned in. "You got an advantage."

Spike blinked, slit eyes contracting briefly. "I do?!"

"Ayup. You got some she-dragons to talk to. So talk to 'em. Ask 'em. Bet they know a few things most don't about being one of 'em. The things we don't even think about. Normal for 'em, but if ya ask polite like, maybe they'll share. Maybe not."

"Huh..." Spike rubbed his hands together a moment. "Not a bad idea, but how do I bring that up without sounding like a weirdo?"

"Ya don't." Big Mac sat up with a little smile. "Just do it polite-like. Sometimes, we got weird questions. Ain't a crime last ah checked. The dragon, at Twilight's school. She's about yer age, ain't she?"

"Older, a little... I think? She already had wings." Simple logic there! "Unless she-dragons get their wings earlier..." Logic, defeated. "Guess I could ask her... Um... But isn't it... It's kind of sissy--" He cringed at the word. "--for any guy to think about this?"

Big Mac snorted softly, curling a hoof at himself. "Now, let me ask, am I a manly pony er not?"

"One of the most I know!" Spike's eyes sparkled, hands clapped together. "You're great! Why?"

"'Cause I had the same thoughts. Don't see nopony callin' me sissy."

Spike considered that with a slow nod. "Yeah... but you're also keeping it a secret."

Big Mac's ears flopped, realizing that was true. "It's... complicated, with there bein' two of me. It confuses me, let alone anypony else. Either way, ya ain't a 'sissy'. Yer a brave dragon, Spike." He thumped Spike on the chest. "Don't let nopony tell ya otherwise."
> 24 - She Is the One on Whom We Can Depend
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

"Have your views on the various tribes changed?" Twilight was taking notes, as was her habit. "Since your transition."

"Um." He was about to spout an off-the-cuff answer, but it hit him that it may be a decent question. "Unicorns ain't as mysterious as ah thought they were." He rubbed his cheek slowly. "Even the ones ah knew real well, like Rarity, always had an air of... the unknown to me before. Not, like... Not a bad thin'! Rarity an' you were always alright ponies, even if it took you a while tah open up."

Twilight hovered her quill over the page a moment. "True..." She coughed into the hoof at the same side as the quill. "Sorry if I came across as--"

"Ain't nothin'," cut off Big Mac. "We all got growin' ta do. We're friends now, ain't we?"

Twilight slowly smiled at that. "This is true. Relatedly... Is this why you didn't consider me?"

"Hm?"

Twilight waved a hoof over Big Mac as a whole. "You were having thoughts about being a princess, and a neighbor just... does it. But you didn't ask about it, or even seem at all interested."

Big Mac proved that being red did not protect against blushing. "Oh, um... Well, to start, ah was still in denial. Wouldn'ta admitted it, even if ya had jus' walked up an' asked me. Even if it was me doin' the askin'."

"Even... ah, yes." A new note was quickly made. "Self denial is a very real factor. Well, you're past that." She slowly lowered the paper to the ground, resting the quill across it. "Do you have questions?"

"Actually... yes, but not fer me." He leaned in. "Fer Spike actually."

"Mm? What about Spike." She glanced towards the stairs furtively. "Does he... wish he was a pony?"

Big Mac blinked rapidly. "Not that ah know... He's mighty proud ah bein' a dragon. Um... First, gotta promise."

"Promise... what?" She pawed at the air. "I need a little more specifics there."

"Ya ain't gonna be mad, or start actin' weird none 'round Spike. It'd hurt his feelin's real bad if ya did, and he don't deserve it none." Big Mac set a heavy hoof down on the matter. "So promise."

Twilight inclined an ear. "I don't know what I'm agreeing to... If he's in trouble, I will be upset, and try to help. If he got into... mischief--"

"Ain't that." He started. "Shouldn't be looked at that way. Ya promise?"

Twilight put an imaginary cupcake in her eye. "I promise, but I am still his sister, and I will worry for him if that's alright."

"Can't rightly say no to that... Spike's havin' his own thoughts about bein' somethin' else. Must run in the family."

Twilight scrunched her nose. "Not funny! What is he thinking about? You already said it's not a pony, so... What other kind of dragon then? Big?" She spread her hooves a foot apart. "Really big?" Further, until her arms were stretched.

Big Mac gently pressed down on one of her hooves, getting them to lower. "Nope. Ain't about the size. More the shape."

Twilight considered a moment. "More muscular then?"

"Y'ain't listenin'."

Twilight darkened at that. "Sorry! Please, continue."

Big Mac let out a breath with relief. "Right... He's not lookin' at big tough dragons. In fact... bein' big an' tough is 'xactly what he don't want none." He produced a picture and set it on the table.

Twilight inclined her head at it with a squint. "Why do you have a photograph of Smolder?"

"Y'aint very shy about keepin' photos of yer students. Right proud of 'em, ah reckon. Ain't nothin' wrong about that."

Twilight tapped a hoof on the photo. "Alright, but why were you carrying it, and why did you just put it down?"

"Thinkin' 'bout Spike." Big Mac nudged the photo closer to Twilight. "Who's also thinkin' 'bout it."

Twilight colored swiftly. "He's found a new crush?!"

"N-no! Didn't mean that." He brought his over hoof to the picture. "More that he's lookin' across that fence, jus' like us, jus' a different kinda fence is all."

"Which... fence?" She squinted at the image. "Her confidence?"

"Ain't that..." Big Mac sat back with a tired chuckle. "'xplainin' this real bad, so ah'll be blunt. Spike's wonderin' what it'd be like to be a lady Spike."

"A lady..." One could almost see the error screen flash in her eyes. She went still, staring off into the middle distance.

"Uh... Twilight?" Big Mac waved slowly in front of her face, but no response came. "Ya alright?"

"I messed up, as a sister." Twilight suddenly thunked to the table between them bonelessly. "I've done nothing but grind in his face how much better it is to be a mare. I should have let him hang out with Shining more!"

Big Mac rubbed behind his head at the sudden motion and awkward words. "Uh... Well..."

"And one of his best friends." Twilight waved weakly at Big Mac. "He already hopped that fence, and Spike knows it! No wonder he was so accepting..."

"Uh... maybe in part..." The conversation was running off without him. He considered how to get a hold of it. "Ain't nothin' wrong with thinkin' about it, and that's what he's doing. He needs our help, not our pity. Keep bein' a wonderful sister."

"How can..." She sat up with an angry scowl, but it was easing away. "I don't know what to do! There has to be a book on this." She vanished with a puff, appearing by a bookshelf that she began flying along, peering at the many spines. "Wrong section! I need sexuality and development."

Big Mac slid to his hooves. "Would a pony one even be proper for a dragon?"

Twilight slid to a halt in the air. "You're right... I don't have any books on dragon sexuality! I have to ask Ember, she'd know..." She twirled in the air to face Big Mac. "Tell Spike I've gone to visit her, alright?" She vanished with a puff of smoke and a complete lack of forethought.

Big Mac buried his face in his hooves. Had he done the right thing? Honesty was the best policy, his sister had always said, and he generally agreed. Still... Doubt gnawed at him viciously. He couldn't take it back, though. "Better tell Sis." He slipped from the castle to inform Applejack where he'd be the next few days until Twilight returned.





A sharp whistle sent the herd of ponies charging with grunts of effort as they scrambled over, slid under, and did their best to get through an obstacle course. The pegasi of them, including Orchard Blossom, had a band around their middle that ruled out flight as an option.

It was part of learning. Sure, most days, or nights, a police officer wasn't called on to make such a run, but to be fit and able to do so was part of the job, and Orchard heaved as she climbed up and half-fell off the other side of the sharp hill of a barrier in the way. "Ayup..." She didn't have breath left for fancy words, just determination to get to the end.

A stallion was watching the class do their best, blowing that whistle in little tweets. "Chin up! Crawl like your tail's on fire and the water's just in front of you! Go go go!" His barking was the background of their struggles, following along after them as he offered a shout at each one of them. "You can't fly everywhere, not in a city." He was shouting at Orchard Blossom. "Things get too narrow. Ponies are inside sometimes. Things happen, and you want us to rely on you? Prove we should consider it. Move move move!"

Blossom wasn't the first to the finish line, but she wasn't the last either. She sank down just after the finish line, heaving for breath with the others that had completed the course. The teacher was still hollering at those who hadn't finished the course yet.

"You'd think his voice would quit," joked another police cadet, a stallion. "The way he just keeps right on shouting..."

"Ayup..." Orchard Blossom forced a deep inhale, recovery starting. "That was a real workout."

"You did good." The cadet tipped his hat. "We passed."

Orchard perked her ears. "Passed?"

"You didn't know?" He waved at the crowd. "The last, uh, one fifth of that crowd? They're being sent home. We made it." He thumped himself on the chest. "they do that, to winnow out the ones at the bottom and focus on the ones left behind. They'll do it again, and again, until just a few of us graduate in the end."

The shouting voice was suddenly way closer. "You have enough in you to talk like that, cadet, maybe you could do a few laps for us?"

The cadet squeaked and went quiet, allowing the instructor to go back to shouting at those trying to get through the course.

Orchard Blossom watched them intently in their struggles and saw something different than what she had been told. They weren't being kicked out, not exactly. They were kicking themselves out. Ponies who just gave up, crying, cussin', or thrashing. They could quit any time, being shouted at the whole time. A few of them got mad enough at being yelled at, they launched anew at the course, and some of those even made it.

In the end, as the cadet had said, they were missing about 20% of their numbers, but none of them had to be fired to do it.

"Noticed?" The instructor sat beside Blossom. "Your friend was talking out of the wrong end. We don't just fire cadets. We want you to pass, but that's up to you, not us. You think we don't want more police ponies on the street? We do, but they gotta be trained for the job ahead of them." He stood right back up. "Alright, form up!" He led them all off to the next part of their pain, er, instruction.

On some level, she took solace in that. If it was just the bottom 20% each time, her performance meant she'd be cut eventually just for not being close enough to the top. She just had to be stubborn, and she had practice with that before she became a princess! There werne't nopony that'd get her to give up before she was good and ready. "Nope!"

Another night, they had her standing on a simulated street corner. "Help!" came a shout from down the road and its fake wagons in its road.

Blossom snapped her wings wide and zipped down the street, swerving around the cardboard cutouts of ponies to arrive at the one living pony. "Ma'am, what's wrong?"

The mare pointed down the road. "They stole my purse!"

"Ayup." Blossom tipped her hat and zoomed after the would-be thief. She had practice with that, landing atop the rogue suddenly.  He barely had time to yelp before she was already tying him up securely. "Ya got the right to keep yer mouth shut, but if ya got a good reason why you stole that mare's bag, ah'm listenin'."

"Hey, lemme go!" But she wasn't about to do that. "Look... Ah need the bits! My mudder's sick. Ain't nopony else to look out for her."

Blossom's ears twitched. That wasn't part of the lesson, or was it? "Give me her address and we'll send somepony to check in on her, since you probably ain't gonna for a while." Her horn glowed as she lifted the pony into the air in one direction, and the bag in the other. She returned the bag to the thankful mare, ending the excercise."

"Hm. Nice." Her testrunning police pony made notes. "You promised. It'll look bad for the rest of us if you go making promises just to break them. Are you ready to accept that additional work?"

"'Course, Sir." Blossom saluted sharply. "Not like she did nothin' wrong, 'side raise a colt that thought this was the right thing to do. Ah'll check on her after work."

"I see." New notes were made. "Next!" There were other cadets to administer the test to.
> 25 - How to Hop a Fence
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

"One thing ah was wonderin'." Big Mac was knocking apples out of trees. It was a good job, a return to tradition. It felt nice to be getting back to it. "First, if ya thought it through all the way."

"Sounds like two things already." Spike was perched on a fence, watching Big Mac work. "I... talked with Smolder."

Big Mac paused in his work, looking at Spike with new surprise. "Oh! How'd that turn out?" He rubbed behind his head, imagining all the ways that coulda gone wrong. "She understandin'?"

"Not at first," he admitted with a wry smile. "She thought I was joking, at first, then she thought it was... kinda silly..." He rubbed his hands together fretfully. "But I got through I was serious, and... we talked."

Big Mac let out the breath he had been holding. "Was it a good chat?"

"It was..." Spike leaned back on the fence that served as his chair. "And I learned some things... Um... some things I woulda never thought to even ask..." His cheeks darkened with this new, forbidden knowledge. "Girl dragons have a lot going on, and they don't even show it!"

Big Mac stepped towards the fence instead of the next tree. "And this...um... Ya ready to run towards it, or away from it? Not gonna think less of ya either way."

Spike put his hand on Big Mac's nose, holding his friend's face. "As if you would. You're way too good for that..." He smiled wistfully as he pulled the hand away. "Sorry."

"Ain't nothin' to be sorry fer." Big Mac sat, facing Spike. "It's a confusin' time... Um... Been there?"

"How do you do it?!" Spike threw his hands to the side, eyes wide. "Just keep going back and forth like that? You're a guy, and a girl! At the same time, almost. You just keep bouncing around, and you're alright either way. That's so..."

"So..." Big Mac rolled a hoof. "Is that bad?"

"I'm super jealous, actually." Spike flopped his face down between his hands, grinning at Big Mac. "I don't think I could manage that..."

"Ain't a race." Big Mac waved at himself. "Bit of an odd 'xample. Right now, ah'm a fella, a stallion, all the way. Ya called me a mare, ah'd be offended."

Spike held up his flat palms and forced a smile. "I get it, I get it. You're one of a kind." He waved his words away in a forceful dismissal. "But you know what both sides are like, and the ponies you deal with are interesting. I'm not insulting! It's amazing."

Big Mac considered with a soft hum of thought. "Can't argue that..."

"Besides, you've changed!"

Big Mac recoiled at that. "What?"

"Not in a bad way." Spike hurriedly raised his hands flat towards him. "You talk more these days... I like it, actually. We can... you know... talk." He waved between himself and Big Mac. "And here we are... But, um, back to the matter at hand... I don't think I can bounce around like you do. I need to be on one side of the fence... but I'm pretty sure..." He hopped down to join Big Mac, looking up at him. "I want to be on the girl side, um..." He worried his fingers together. "And maybe I always was, just... It's hard to explain. I like a lot of girl things, always have... Probably always will..."

Big Mac set a hoof on Spike's shoulder. "Then yer a girl."

Spike blinked softly. "Um..."

"Jus' like that. If a friend asks for somethin' so small, gonna give it. What a friend would do." Big Mac inclined his head. "But the outside don't match the inside none... We could ask Rarity fer help. Bet she'd set you up proper."

Spike blushed at the idea of a frilly dress. "Smolder doesn't wear any frilly dresses, and nocreature doubts she's a girl."

"True..." Big Mac considered that quietly a moment. "But yer inside and outside don't match. We can't rightly argue that."

Spike patted... her? sides. "Is it really that simple though? Really? I'm a girl now?"

Big Mac smirked faintly. "Ya just said ya always were, so we're just catchin' up, not changin' nothin' there. So my storyteller's a lady dragon. Ain't not a thin' wrong wit' that!"

Spike clapped her hands together. "Now, uh... You're a, uh, magic unicorn princess, like Twilight, sometimes, right?"

Big Mac inclined his head. "Sometimes, at night. Why? Um, technically, alicorn, but ain't no difference right now. Why?"

"Well..." Spike rocked on her feet forward and backwards, almost enough to tip over. "You could maybe help with the outside parts?"

"Oh!" That was, technically, in his magical abilities... technically. "Don't know that spell! 'Sides, we got a friend that'd help, who's probably already waitin' fer you to ask him. In fact, he's probably right annoyed it's taking so long fer you to do it."

Spike looked around furtively, but she didn't see any chaos spirits about. That was no assurance. "Do you think he would? I was getting the idea he was upset when we brought a lady to game night. You know, a guy's thing..."

"Now that's just insulting." Discord stepped out from behind Spike casually. "You're still you, Spike. As if I stopped being Discord while I was showing off Eris. You started the game, and dream up the world we get to visit." He put both hands on his own chest. "And you think I'm going to get all huffy because you're a lady dragon?!"

Spike jumped away from Discord's sudden presence with a squeak of surprised dismay. "When'd you get here?!"

"A magician never gives away his secrets." Discord waggled his brows meaningfully. "So, what do we call you?"

"Huh?" Spike pointed at herself. "I'm Spike?"

"Are you really?" Discord looked like he was enjoying things far too much. "Spike was the old you. The new you is a lady dragon. Spike the lady dragon doesn't work quite as well. Pick one that really works for you. Come on, it's half the fun." His tail lashed behind him as he leaned forward. "Just like I'm Eris in my other self, hm? And Big Mac is Orchard Blossom. We all have lady names, so get with the program."

"Um..." But Spike wasn't certain, shuffling. "We were talking about, you now... the outside and the inside matching?"

"Your name's the easiest part of your outside to change." Discord pointed to the nametag Spike hadn't been wearing, but there it was on her chest. 

It was blank, just reading, "Hello, My name is" Discord offered a marker with a big grin.

Spike took the marker with an angry grunt. "Right! Right... I like having a short name..." One syllable was good! "But should sound... girlier... Without being super girly... A balance."

"Good call." Discord nodded, puffing a cigar he was holding. "You're not much of a 'Fluttershy', even on your best days. Something closer to an Applejack."

"Hey!" Big Mac snorted at the bringing up of his sister into things. "She's plenty girly when she wants to be."

Discord tapped Big Mac's nose with that cigar. "Which isn't often. "

"I read something." Spike pressed her marker to the tag she wore. "A dragon that made a big splash with ponies, and dragons... She was kinda awesome, um... She wasn't girly, taking charge and getting things done, but she was, for sure, a lady dragon. Her name was kinda long though."

Big Mac raised a brow at that. "How long are we talkin'?"

"Barbara the Living Inferno, Bringer of Flames." Spike announced each syllable purposefully. "Oh! But I can take a bit of it." And so she wrote 'Barb' on the nametag that had been given to her. "There! How's that?"

Big Mac and Discord both applauded in approval. Discord nodded firmly. "A fine name, Barb. And we have a secret, since only us know the full thing, hm?" He waggled his brows. "What is it with you and collecting really long fancy names for not liking them?"

"Is Spike here?" Twilight appeared with a puff of smoke. "I'm re--" And she saw the dragon, with a nametag. "Is... that a new character in your O&O game?"

Big Mac gestured at Barb. "Say hello to Barb, yer little sister."

Twilight fell from the air, her wings failing entirely in that moment. Fortunately, it wasn't a long drop, and Discord caught her in her plummet. "Oopsie-Daisy!" He set her on her hooves, wobbling but upright. "Welcome back!"

Barb waved timidly at Twilight. "Um, hi..."

"Hello," she fired back, sinking to her haunches. "Barb... Are you... Are you certain this is what you want? I'm sorry if I haven't been a good older sister. I'll fix it!"

Barb grabbed one of her wobbling hoofs and hugged it close. "You're the best older sister I ever had... I hope I can be a good little sister."

Twilight pulled Barb closer, hugging them with both arms tightly. "As if you aren't already! Um... So... Are there other things I should know, besides the name?"

Big Mac inclined his head towards Discord. "Ah reckon she's still workin' up the bravery tah ask Discord to make her as much a lady dragon on the outside as they are on the inside."

Twilight cringed, despite her best efforts. "Can that wait? Please... I'm not saying no... That would not be a supportive action, but... Let's try the new name, and being known as a lady dragon for now. Maybe you'll like it, a lot, and maybe not..."

Discord huffed at the objection. "As if I couldn't snap her either way whenever I wanted." With a sharp snap, Twilight became Dusk Shine, much to her surprise. 

Dusk glared at Discord. "You turn me right back!" But she was speaking with a stallion's voice and she blushed vividly. "This... Turn me back!"

"You sure? We could just try the name first. Maybe you'll like it, or not," taunted Discord without a scrap of mercy. "Let's find out for sure first."

"There is no doubt." Dusk stomped in place in a growing fit. "I am a mare and I demand I go back to being one right now!"

"As you wish." He snapped his fingers, but two puffs of smoke happened instead of one. "Everyone is now the gender they want to be. You're welcome."

"Thank you." Twilight floated a mirror out to admire her female face, just the way she left it. "Please don't ever do that again."

"Woah..." Barb was looking in a smaller mirror. "Woah..." A lone tear ran down her face. "... Wow..."

Discord bent in close. "I can undo that if you don't like it."

"N-no!" Barb pushed Discord away, only to color. "Sorry! No! It's... It's perfect." She turned from pushing to hugging, squeezing Discord tight. "Thank you so much!" She laughed a little hysterically. "Will it... stay like this?" She spread her wings to look over her shoulder at each, as if every part of her body was worth admiring and studying. "Or will it wear off?"

"Only changes are temporary," noted Discord with a smirk. "I didn't change anything, just put things in order. Ugh, Harmony would tease me for years... They may anyway... There I am, being all orderly on their watch. You think I don't know you're watching?!" He glared at... nothing...

Twilight considered the dragon formerly known as Spike. Still Spike, in appearance, but rounded and changed. Female Spike? No, that was unfair. They were Barb. She was Barb. "Hello... Barb."

Barb abandoned Discord to hurry to her sister's side, grabbing her up tightly. "Hey!"

Big Mac sat with a little smile. "Ayup."

Discord elbowed the stoic stallion. "Oh, sure, now you go back to bein' quiet. Leave all the talking to me! I see how it is." He crossed his arms with a huff, but a smile followed after it. "Still... Seems we're a bunch of kooks in this game."

"Ayup." Big Mac back turned back towards his trees. "Got work ta do."
> 26 - Graduation
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Orchard Blossom stood in proud attention. She wasn't alone, one of about six graduating ponies in sharp police attired. The chief of police standing at a podium to address the crowd. "We have a fine batch of graduates today. Each has shown in their own way their readiness to support the community and protect our ponies from dangers." The crowd clapped and stomped eagerly. "If you should see them, know they are a safe pony to call on." He winked suddenly. "But if they're not dressed properly, they're probably off duty, so let them have a moment off, hm?"

Polite chuckles did the round, the clapping continue. "Just Cause! Step forward." The chief handed each graduate their diploma in kind. With Ochard Blossom, things deviated a little. "Our first princess police officer. This comes with other... adjustments. Our recruit intends to serve Equestria at large, not just our fair city."

Blossom saluted the cheering crowd, stance stiff and upright.

"One of her talents is getting from place to place in a hurry, but she's a night pony, like Princess Luna. So, troublemakers that think they can hide in the dark, watch out! She'll be coming for you, and she doesn't care if it's Baltimare or Las Pegasus!" The crowd only cheered louder. A princess that was protecting them, directly? How delightful!

The new policeponies were officially welcomed to the force by the ponies they would protect and a selection of other officers clapping politely along with them. The afterparty began, with ponies sipping from fancy glasses and chatting amiably about how things had gone.

"Hm." The mare that was, in some ways, Blossom's boss, the leader of her squad, peered at her suspiciously. "The brass says I can't give you a patrol. What exactly do you plan to do that'll help any of us?"

Blossom turned to the officious and irate mare. "Good evening, ma'am. Ah reckon they didn't see the purpose since ah'll be wanderin' 'round as much as ah will be."

"About that!" She glared at Blossom with renewed fury. "A police officer is supposed to protect this city. What kind of officer is off somewhere else?"

"The kind that serves Equestria," Blossom replied without a quiver in her voice. "If it helps, ya trained an agent of Celestia an' Luna and they right appreciate it."

"Is that so...?" She paced left and came back to where she began. "I'll be double checking that! If they don't agree with you, you are getting tossed off the force so hard, they'll have to repave where your butt slaps the sidewalk!"

Blossom watched her stalk off in a huff. "Don't mind her." Another officer, a stallion, was smiling at her. "She likes things by the books, and you're busy re-writing them, so of course she's upset."

"Anything ah aughta do?" Blossom turned to face the new stallion. "Not tryin' to cause no trouble."

He tipped his hat towards Blossom. "Just do your job. Not much more to it than that. She respects results. Now, me? I'm quite curious how this'll turn out." He patted Blossom on the shoulder. "You cut a nice figure in the uniform. More princesses should try it. Do right by it and we won't have any poblems at all."

Blossom saluted sharply. "Oh! Ah'll need to visit the other cities afore ah can visit 'em whenever. Can't just go anywhere ah think of. It's gotta be someplace ah been to 'least once."

He whistled softly at that. "I'd ask how you plan to watch so much at once, but Princess Luna manages it with her dream patrol, so I'll write that up to a princess thing and stop worrying about it. Either way, unless you have your own funds, you'll need to get in better with your captain before you ask for money for field trips."

"Hm. Jus' as well. Ah wanna help out 'round this city. 'Least ah can do for showin' me so many things!"

"That's the spirit!" He slapped her on the side and started off. "Look forward to hearing about how that goes."





Blossom trotted alongside her girlfriend. "And this is where ah work!"

"With that fancy outfit." Sugar Belle leaned against her police-suit wearing girlfriend. "You arrest anypony just yet?"

"Not yet. Oh! Ah'm on duty." She pointed to her chest, where she wore her outfit and badge. "Or ah wouldn't be wearin' this. That'd be against the rules, 'less it was a special occasion or somethin', and meetin' yer special somepony don't count, no matter how special they are."

"Tease." She pawed at Blossom with a giggle. "So am I here to watch you patrol? I thought we were going to have fun."

"Can't be both?" With a toss of her head, Blossom lifted Sugar Belle into the air and started down the road. "Two sets of eyes an' ears means we'll be twice as good at noticin' trouble, and you'll get to see me work."

"Lead on." Sugar walked in the air, her hooves having no ground to find purchase in. "I can walk though..."

"Right." Blossom set her down gently to take care of her own locomotion.

A sudden hurry of clip-clops announced the arrival of a panting pony. "Ma'am!"

Blossom twirled on them. "Somethin' the matter?"

"West Wind." He pointed off frantically. "She was on her fire escape, and the whole thing came loose! She's dangling off the side!"

Blossom's eyes widened at the report, taking to the air with a strong flap. "Show me the way." She soared back the way the pony came from, though shouts and gasps of other ponies guided the way as a crowd had gathered to see the entire side of fire escapes on a building coming loose, with a pony desperately clinging to the rails of one of them. "Shoot... Back off!" She waved desperately for the crowd to disperse. They were in immediate danger of the fire escape falling on them, to say nothing of the poor mare caught on it directly. "Make some space."

Fortunately, she was not the only police officer in the city. Others were starting to show up and got to crowd control without her needing to ask them. That one worry put to the side, Blossom zipped in close to the mare as she tilted an inch at a time, each with a groan of metal as it gave way. "Ain't even the first mare tonight." She wrapped the mare in her magic and picked her up, or tried. The mare was clutching to the fire escape desparetely. "Ah gotcha! Leggo! That won't save ya none."

And it gave, the fire escape falling free of the building with a metallic screech. Her magic wasn't enough to pry the desperate mare, and there wasn't time to be clever. Blossom surged forward, crashing into the mare as they both fell with the metal. Orchard hugged the falling pony, and they landed in front of the train station to the mild surprise of the ponies there.

The mare shoved Blossom away violently, but realized a moment later that she hadn't smashed into the ground. She wasn't falling. She wasn't anywhere more dangerous than a sidewalk. "What?"

Back at the building, the fire escape crashed to the ground in a cloud of raising dust and strobing lights. The fire fighting team had just arrived, helping to keep ponies out of the dangerous places and start cleaning up And then there was Sugar Belle, looking around with some confusion. "Where'd he get off to?" Sure, her 'he' was a 'she' at the moment, but that didn't much matter to her in that confusing moment.

"Ya alright?" Blossom looked the rescued mare over for injuries, but didn't spot any obvious ones.

"I am not alright!" The mare stomped the sidewalk. "There I was, jus' enjoyin' a nice summer night, bang! Whole things fallin 'round my ears!" She threw up her hooves. "Jus' like that! Thought Ah was gonna..." She flopped back to her haunches. "Thanks for the save or whatever..."

Orchard Blossom nodded softly. "Pleasure to serve, ma'am. You be careful." The mare was safe. Getting more of a thanks was not the priority. "Need a lift back to yer place?"

"I got hooves!" she snapped, marching in place just to demonstrate that. "Don't need no foaling, eesh." She marched away with her nose turned up high.

Orchard hurried back to the scene of the accident. He spotted Sugar Belle and hurried over to her. "Yer alright."

"Yep." She crossed her arms. "Don't feel like I did much..."

"Not that time... But a mare coulda got hurt real bad."

"And she didn't?" Sugar hugged Blossom firmly, if briefly. "Glad to hear that at least, but I want an evening of us enjoying the town instead of protecting it."

"Promise." Blossom touched noses before hurrying along to report in with the other officers on the scene. She only returned once everything was confirmed to be in oder. "It's mostly out of our hooves now. Ain't much more fer a police pony to do that the fire ponies ain't already doin'. Wanna move on?"

"With pleasure!" Sugar started away from the scene. "How'd that mare do? How'd you save her? You just... kinda vanished."

"Ah did. Ya been there before. I grabbed 'er and we were in front of the train station."

Sugar's brows went up. "Oh! You teleported or whatever, neat! I didn't know you could do that with a pony you were holding." She curled a hoof to her chin. "I'm going to want that, later."

"Want what?" Blossom arched a curious brow. "To teleport?"

"Yep, in your arms." Sugar leaned against Blossom. "How you'll be taking me home later, so be ready for it."

"Wit' pleasure." They exchanged a fond rubbing of their cheeks, but Orchard Blossom was still on duty and they got back to patrolling the city, together.





"That was real dumb of you." A villain that looked like a mafia member tipped his hat with one hoof, the other on a gun he was pointing at Sugar Belle. "Bringing a helpless civvie with you? It's like you want me to win." He turned back to the frozen Orchard Blossom. "Got you where I want you. So put up--" His words stopped when Sugar Belle jumped on him, bashing at his head and shoulders with wild thumps of her hooves.

The distracted was enough for Blossom to surge into action, wrenching the pony's gun away with a glowing horn and sending it flying far away from the fight. "Stop right there!"

"Ah ain't the one fighting!" The poor mafia pony was being beaten mercilessly by Sugar Belle into the ground, trying desperately to cover their head from further abuse. "Call off your dame!"

Chuckling, Blossom nudged Sugar with her magic, one hoof on the back of the baddie. "Yer under arrest fer pointin' a gun at a pony."

"She attacked me!" he wailed, still on the ground. "Why ain't ya arrestin' her?"

"Ya pointed the gun at her first. It's self defense now, and her hooves don't count as a more lethal weapon last ah checked, so..." Blossom half-yanked the stallion to his hooves. "Now get movin'!" She took him to the nearest wagon to be carted off to face justice for his crimes.

Sugar was still breathing hard when Blossom got back. "That was... exciting... but also kinda dangerous... This really isn't the kind of job you should be taking your plus ones to, I think... You're welcome to join me in the bakery anytime! I'll keep you safe from the oven and all that sugar, promise..." She shuffled from hoof to hoof, looking around the darkened alleyway. "But this is a bit much."

Arguments came to Orchard Blossom's mind, but died about as fast. "Sorry fer gettin' you in trouble." She rubbed at one arm with the other hoof. "But ya defended yerself right good. Ah'm really proud of ya."

Sugar peered at Blossom a moment before she laughed. "I did do that, didn't I? Never thought I'd take down a thug like that..." She karate chopped the air with a keyaa! "That'll show them for thinking I was an easy mark."
> 27 - Morning Muffins
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

"This is so nice!" Sugar peeked into her oven. "And they're almost ready."

"Ayup." Big Mac leaned against her in barely a touch. He knew better than to get in her way as she cooked. "Nice to be wit' you with the sun up."

"That too!" She smooched Big Mac's closer cheek. "I love both of you to absolute pieces, but there are things each of you can do that the other just can't." She flicked an ear as she got her mitts over her hooves and reached in to fetch the pan of muffins from the heat of the oven. "And I don't want to wander the city each time we get together. Prefer that being a special event."

Big Mac peered at the steaming muffins, but his mind whirred. "What can ah do that she can't?"

Sugar crossed her arms. "Are ya losin' faith in bein' a stallion? Ya can do somethin' right there that she ain't ever gonna do the same."

Big Mac colored at that idea. "Yup..." Couldn't rightly argue that... "But 'sides that. Ah mean... any stallion could do that."

Sugar hiked a brow at him. "I don't want any stallion, thank you. I want this one right here." She cupped Big Mac's cheeks, ruffling and squeezing with her hooves. "And as soon as those cool down, want a muffin?"

"Ayup." Big Mac smiled fondly at his girlfriend. "Yer muffins always were the best."

"Flattery will get you everywhere." She touched noses with him, gazing into his eyes. "And there's plenty of you to like. Ah like how strong you are, but gentle. Not with magic." She pointed at her horn. "But right here." She rubbed along one of his powerful legs. "It's not the same. Even when you carried me back home... It was nice, don't get me wrong, but not the sa--" She squeaked, interrupted by being plucked right off the ground into Big Mac's arms in a way Orchard Blossom couldn't quite match. "Like this," she sighed out, nestling with him.

He set her down on her favorite chair and went over to poke a muffin. Determining it was cool enough, he carefully extracted them out onto a plate and put the pan away for later cleaning. "All done."

"See, that right there." Sugar Belle sighed with a happy smile. "The princess ain't got time to do some baking with me."

Big Mac brought one of those muffins back to Sugar Belle, an offering that she accepted with a slow chomp of her teeth. He brushed her snout, cleaning off the crumbs as she giggled.

"Goof... My lovable, wonderful, goof." She took the muffin away from him just to return the favor in holding it in front of his snout in her magic. "Say ah."

"Ah." He opened his mouth wide and got a muffin put right in it for him to chomp down on, chewing with content noises. "Ya ain't lost it."

"I would hope not!" She put the muffin aside for the time. "Now, with the cooking done... How about we work on another oven?"

"Another oven?"

Sugar rolled her eyes. "Goof." She slid down from her chair and got to pushing him directly. "This is a recipe only you can get just right."

Some recipes only worked properly with the help of a stallion and a mare. That it was fun was a nice side benefit she didn't much mind.





"Greedy." Discord stepped out from behind Big Mac just in time to avoid being kicked in what caused a rainfall of apples. "But I am impressed."

Big Mac began nudging the filled buckets of apples around to more of a pile. "What fer?"

"So many ponies can barely even fill one of their miserable little lives." He floated over Big Mac with a big smile. "And here you are, two of them, all spoken for. But there's something you're not doing."

"Nope?" Big Mac lifted an ear at Discord as he got around his pile of buckets and started pushing them towards the barn. "What's that?"

"You aren't taking any 'me time'." Discord snapped his fingers, though reality didn't change, at least visibly. "Even Celestia gets a day off once in a while to just... get away. In fact, now that her little sister's back, those happen more often. Good for her! But that doesn't help you." He looped around Big Mac's large torso. "I know you and your snookie-kins have fun together. Why not grab her up and take her away for a while? No chores, just fun."

Big Mac shook his head. "That ain't how that works. She got work too. How she gonna keep her store open?" He curled a hoof on himself. "How's the farm gonna pay its bills? Apples still up in trees ain't doin' nopony any good."

Discord unwound from Big Mac. "Oh, those are serious things, hmm... If only you had some friends who could help with that... If only..."

Big Mac paused in his pushing to peer at Discord instead. "Are ya--"

"Nope, all busy." He flipped out a calender from nowhere with one hand, the other adjusting the glasses he hadn't been wearing. "Booked solid for the next week." He tsked with a pitiable face. "Dreadfully sorry."

Big Mac's face fell into annoyance. "Then why'd ya ask?" He returned to shoving the buckets towards their destination with the top of his head. "Makin' it sound like ya had an answer."

"Silly boy, as if I'm your only friend." He floated along Big Mac at a casual pace. "In fact, last I checked, you're better at collecting them than I am. You're just awful at asking them for anything. Like your sister, really. Runs in the family, I suppose." He shrugged dramatically. "Needing a hoof once in a while isn't that bad a thing. Not like you don't help other ponies out all the time."

Big Mac got the apples tucked in the barn safely and clapped his hooves as if dusting them off. "Right... Most of mah friends ain't farmers, is the thing. It's a lot of hard work. Don't begrudge it none, but it ain't easy. That'd be a big ask."

"No it isn't. It's not an ask at all." Discord zipped in, snout to snout. "Because you won't ask."

Big Mac brushed Discord back. "Ha ha... Who should I ask then? The Ponytones? 'Magine them trying to do mah job." He snorted at the mental image of the musical group trying so hard, but comically poorly, at knocking apples from trees or carrying the results back.

"You're selling your friends short." Discord shrugged with an eh. "Hey, I get it. I didn't think much of you and Barb at first either. But you did what I thought wasn't possible, so... maybe give your friends a shot, hm? And be happy you have those."

"Ah ain't tired." Big Mac set out for the next tree. "Ain't bein' stubborn like mah sis. Got thin's worked out. Time fer all the thin's I  want to do." He balanced a new set of empty buckets on his head and arranged them around a tree full of apples. "Tell ya what."

"What?" Discord perched on a branch in that same tree. "Lay it on me."

"When I do want a break, I will trust mah friends." Big Mac nodded slowly. "Y'ain't wrong 'bout that."

"Well, good!" Discord crossed his hooves. "Now tell me why you get more action than me, lord of chaos? Ponies should be climbing over themselves for a little of this, but no, the apple farmer's doing better."

Big Mac aborted his lining off of his attack, staring at Discord instead. "Eh... what? Do... Do you want that?"

"How flattering." Discord batted his lashes at Big Mac. "But our relationship doesn't run that way. Let's not make it strange by dating our O&O friends, hm?"

"Not with me!" Big Mac snorted at that misunderstanding, intentional or not. Not that he could tell with Discord. "Gotta girlfriend an' all already anyway. Still, didn't know you even had a care 'bout that."

"I don't, mostly." Discord waggled his brows. "It's more the principle. I should have to say 'no' more often because ponies at least ask, but... here I am. Most eligible bachelor in the lands, and nothing? How is that even remotely fair!"

Big Mac kicked the tree, knocking a new rain of apples free of it to fill the buckets he had set up. "If ya don't rightly care, maybe ponies notice. If they think yer not interested, less of 'em dare to ask. Um..." He considered a moment. "Like Celestia."

"Celestia?" Discord hopped down to Big Mac's side. "What about miss sun butt?"

"She's right popular." Big Mac nodded. "And very well liked. By those measures, she'd have a line 'round the corner of ponies makin' their wishes to her."

"But she doesn't. Not fair either." Discord crossed his arms, but perked. "Hey, think she'd want to form a club with me about it? That could be fun!"

Big Mac chuckled as he gathered the buckets together. He had a job to do, Discord or not. "Not what ah meant. More that she ain't interested. She don't make that subtle, and neither do you, ah reckon. Yer both busy bein' big and important and--"

"--and they're intimidated!" He slapped a fist against an open palm. "Of course! Poor things, they just  don't dare to walk up to either of us. We're too imposing! This makes perfect sense." He stroked along his beard with a thoughtful look. "Maybe if I dressed down a little?"

"Don't think that'd work." Big Mac considered a brief moment. "Ya'd still be Discord, and everypony knows you too well. Ya have a big footprint."

"Hm, true..." He lifted a foot with a huge boot on it. "Thousands of moons worth. Well! What if I lay low?" With a puff, a new pony joined them, with a golden apple on his rump. "Call me Golden Apple, 'cous! How can I help?"

Big Mac considered his new relative. "Well... if yer bein' serious, why don't ya take these--" He pointed to the filled buckets. "Over to the farm." He pointed to the farm. "And come back with a new set of empties so ah can get on the task. We can get this done faster if yer up fer it."

"'Course ah am," promised the Golden Apple of Discord that was also a pony. "Watch!" And he got right to work. Sure, he made the buckets float along with him towards the barn, but he was doing the job and not entirely cheating.

Applejack came loping up with a basket on her back. "Hey bro! Brought ya some lunch. Who was that?" She let the basket slide to the ground near Big Mac. "With the apples? Somepony just wanted to help out?"

"Ya could say that." Big Mac decided against telling Applejack who that was right away. "Thanks fer the treat." He reached into the basket and produced some morsels to chase away the hunger of a day of work. "Right on schedule. We'll get it done on time."

"Right good to hear." Apple Jack nodded. "Mind if ah ask a question?"

"Sure?" Big Mac raised a brow at his sister. "What's on yer mind?"

"Just mighty curious, is all... Ah been good! Didn't tell Grannny, or nopony else. Been respectin' yer privacy an' what not... But ya got yer sister all burnin' with curiosity. When do I get to pester ya for details?"

Big Mac slowly tilted his head. "Ain't nothin' you already know 'bout. Ya been a mare for longer than ah have by quite a bit."

"True." She nodded at that with a little chuckle. "But ah ain't been a princess, or a police officer."

"Ya heard about that?!"

Apple Jack put a hoof to Big Mac's surprised face as the other produced a paper. "Princess Joins Force!" read the title, with a big picture of the graduating class, Orchard Blossom standing prominantly. 

"It didn't take no big diggin' to notice."
> 28 - Family Traditions
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

"Ya think ah didn't notice?" Granny rocked slowly in her chair, eyes on Big Mac squarely. "Ya ain't as clever as ya think."

Big Mac took a slow step back, just one hoof. "Um... Nope?"

"Ya ain't been talkin' since ya were a teen colt." Granna spat to the ground. "Suddenly yer all yakkin' a storm. Hard to miss that..."

"Ya see..."

"An' another thing!" She wagged a wrinkled leg at Big Mac. "Yer sister's actin' mighty funny. Reminds me... Reminds me of just before ya went quiet. You two are up to somethin', together. Somethin' she don't wanna talk about. Somethin' you don't wanna talk 'bout neither."

Big Mac flipped his ears back. "Ain't... Ain't nothin' big..."

"But it is something," sliced Granny. "An' it's big 'nough ya don't wanna share it with me." She sat back with a flump, as if her bones couldn't hold her up anymore. "Is it that bad?"

"Nope!" Big Mac surged to her side. "Ya ain't done no thing wrong!"

Granny Smith smiled at his comforting words. "But yer still not sharin'. Is it a surprise party? Ain't mah birthday notime soon, silly thing."

"Nope... Ain't that..." Big Mac rubbed at one leg with the opposing hoof. "Jus'..." What was the right words fer it. "Discoverin' mahself."

Granny Smith sat up, ears going upright. "Is... What... ya figured ya liked chasin' fellow stallions or somethin'? Ya wanna run off to a monastery?"

Big Mac blinked, devoid of thought a moment. "Um... nope?"

"Well..." She brought her hooves together. "If it was either a those... ya'd still be mah precious colt, ya know that right?"

Big Mac crashed to his haunches. "Ya mean that?" Who had kidnapped his granny and replaced her with somepony else?! "Really?"

"'Course really!" She swatted at him, though not near close enough to actually strike him. "Whattaya take me fer! Been your granny for how long now? Neither of those thin's would change not a thing! Though yer girlfriend would be mighty upset in either case. But it ain't that, ya just said... so what is it?"

Big Mac rubbed at his cheek. "It's a... bit complicated."

"Try me." Granny folded her arms across her front. "May not know everythin'. Ya young ponies are makin' up new things faster than ah can keep up wit', but ah learned thin's ya probably never heard of before."

Big Mac dared a little smile. "Gonna 'pologize first."

"What for?" Granny raised a brow high. "Ya ain't said nothin' yet to apologize fer."

"Fer assumin' the worst... Yer family... Shoulda had more faith... Yer mah grandma, always had mah back." Big Mac rose to get up next to her. "Love ya." Without resistance, he hugged her firmly, getting one of her arms wrapped back around him in a quiet moment of solidarity.

Granny sat back with a happier smile on her face. "Glad we got that part sorted. Now ya gonna fess up or do I have to tan that hide a yers? Don't think I can't do it! Ya mighta got more hide to work on, but that jus' means ah got a bigger target for paddlin'!"

Big Mac laughed without fear of Granny actually attacking him. "Alright... This is gonna sound mighty odd... Ya rememember back when Luna had that funny dream and we were all in it?"

"Ah huh?" And so Granny listened to the tale of Orchard Blossom's creation. "Lansake!" She slapped at Big Mac, not in an attack, but in amazement. "Ya been hidin' that?! Mah grandson's also a granddaughter? Well shoot... Ah don't even know how to think about that..." She stomped the arm of her chair. "You know I need to meet that 'other you', right? Ain't gonna have no granddaughter ah ain't set my eyes on!"

Big Mac slowly blinked. It was all going so differently than he had dared to imagine! "Ya know she's only up when ah'm sleepin', and ah sleep when yer asleep, usually." He glanced away. "Yer really not upset?"

"Plenty upset ya waited so long to tell me." She huffed with proper indignation. "Now, ah'm a grown pony, if ya haven't missed it. Ah can stay up a night if it means meetin' her." She scowled suddenly at Big Mac. "Ya don't know a thing about a mare's personals. Are ya even takin' care ah yerself?! Bring her by right away. Let your granny fix you up."

"Takin' care ah myself?"

Granny could put together from Big Mac's clueless face the answer there. "Tarnation! Ya get yer mare self over here! Poor thin', left in the hooves of a stallion with no mother figure to learn from."

Big Mac squirmed embarassedly. "Um... 'Bout Sugar Belle."

Granny perked an ear. "Does she know?"

"Oh, yes." Big Mac bobbed his head quickly. "She knows, um... An' she likes it, an' me, all of me."

Granny colored at the implications. "Oh! Well... That's good... ah guess... Considerin' she was yer marefriend already, woulda been more a shame if she didn't like it, or you 'cause of it." Granna placed a hoof under her chin. "Wouldn'ta figured that, but I don't know her that well. If she's happy and yer happy... good. Ah'm still expectin' a great grandchild out of her though!"

"Granny!" Big Mac pushed at the unrepentant elder. Still, he smiled. Things were going in a positive direction. "Yer really alright with... it?"

"No," she replied flatly. "Still a mighty big idea. Gonna take me time to get used to it... But that don't mean ah'm angry at you, 'sides the not tellin' me part. Really... Bring her by! Tell me when ah should stay up."

Big Mac gave a firm single nod at that. "Ayup. Um..."

"What? Is there more?! Ain't that enough?" Granny fell forward to all fours. "Gonna give yer poor granny a heart attack. Alright, what else are ya hidin' from me?"

"Still related..." He followed her as they descended onto the front lawn. "Ain't been idle, as Orchard Blossom. Um, she's a police officer now."

Granny took her turn to blink. "Really now? Ah'll have to congratulate her when ah meet her." She prodded Big Mac firmly. "Which better be soon! She got any other honors ah aughta know 'bout?"

"Well..." Big Mac considered a moment. "She is an official princess, like Twilight."

"Ah have a princess fer a granddaughter?!" Granny laughed at the whole thing. "Well shoot! The girls are never gonna believe me when I rub their faces in this little bit..." Oh, the cruel smile on her face. "They won't even believe me, but ah got proof... But first, gotta meet her, the other half-ah-ya! Stop keepin' me in suspense." She raised a brow. "By the way, yer a grown pony... Ya lookin' fer a stallion as the, uh, lady half?"

Big Mac began to color swiftly. "Ah already said Sugar Belle knows, an' she likes it. Wouldn't be right to go cheatin' on her. We're both, um, me." He pointed to himself. "So we both got a girlfriend."

"Well, shoot... Suppose ya got a point there..." Granny's dreams of extracting a grandfoalf from her new granddaughter, injured. "Cheatin' on our special someponies ain't much the Apple way. That means she's right special, ya see? Ain't many ponies that'd just take that as it is. If mah stallion was suddenly a mare, not sure how ah'd go an' react to that..."

Big Mac struggled for words. Speaking of him was generally a taboo topic. Big Mac decided to just leave that right where it started. "Ah'm just happy yer takin' it alright."

"Yer still Big Mac." She turned to face him. "Well, 'xcept when yer Orchard Blossom. Who is an Apple, hm?"

"Hm? Oh! Yes." He nodded quickly. "She sure is. Ah'm an apple, to the core!"

"Apples, forever," gently echoed Granny Smith with a pleased smile. "Good. If ya got that, then I'm sure I'll love her least half as much as ah love you, an' that's a lot of love, lemme tell ya."

"Got it all put away!" There was Golden Apple with a big smile. "Granny! Oh, hey, you're my granny too now, right?"

Granny squinted at the new pony. They had an apple on their rump... "Who are ya related to? I don't remember you at no reunion."

Big Mac hurriedly got between Granny and Golden Apple. "Golden Apple's from far away, but came to help with the harvest. Right neighborly. Welcome Golden Apple. Golden Apple, this is Granny Smith."

Golden Apple made a hat tipping motion despite having no hat. "Pleased to meet you." He flashed a grin that was perhaps a little too wide. "I heard so many good things about your dinner. Can't wait to try some later."

Granny smiled at the compliment. "Well, if yer helpin', then ya get to try some of that. Dinner'll be ready 'round sundown." She looked Golden Apple with an intensity. "Ya don't look very strong."

Golden Apple whistled out a laugh. "I may not look it, granny, but I can pull my weight just fine, promise. What's next, Big Mac?"

"This way." He led his new relation back into the orchard. There were apples awaiting to be harvested, with or without a chaos spirit's help. "Oh... You were right."

Golden Apple smirked victoriously. "I usually am... But what am I right about, specifically, this time?"

Big Mac tossed his head back towards the family home. "I went an' told Granny Smith about... um... everythin'... And she... She wasn't even mad, 'xept the part where I waited to tell her."

Golden Apple laughed in joyous victory. "I told you! You have a fine collection of friends, related or not. It's enough to make me jealous..."

"Jealous enough to join the family a little while..." Big Mac shook his head before approaching a heavily laden tree. "Let's earn that dinner she's makin' right now."

"She's nice enough, but she's no Fluttershy." Despite his snapback, Golden Apple was moving baskets into position. He would earn his seat at that evening's dinner table.





"I know you have to go." Sugar Belle nuzzled her boyfriend fondly. "Take care, alright?"

"Not just yet." Big Mac reached into a pocket and pulled out a strange flat contraption. "This is fer you."

Sugar took the thing and turned it slowly in her hooves. "What is it? Shiny."

"It gets shinier." He pressed the botton on its side, causing it to flicker to life. "They call it a phone. I got one too. Press this here." He showed the contacts button. "See, got my face an' everythin'!"

"Ooo!" Sugar began to clap giddily. "What happens if I press your face?" Which she did.

Big Mac's side began to buzz as the theme song to some show began to play from within him. He dug out his own phone and answered it. "Yallo."

Sugar's eyes widened, hearing Big Mac speak in front of her, but also from the phone she held. "Is it magic?! Oh, this is the best present!" She set the phone aside in favor of tackling Big Mac in a big hug. "I'll love it forever, but what made you think of it?"

Big Mac returned the hug with a smile. "So you can reach me. If ya check, there's me, and also me. Ya can call either of me if ya wanna reach me. I'm always open fer a call from ya, okay?"

Sugar bounced back with a step with a cheerful laugh. "I love it! I love you! You thoughtful pony you... Now I have to think up something to get you... Oh! You can call me too, 'course. Um..." She poked at the phone. "How... do you... use this?"

So Big Mac had to show her how to hang up, a valuable part of the experience, "An' if ah call." He did just that, causing her phone to jump and play a different melody about ushering the winter times away. "Press that big green one."

"Right here?" She pressed her hoof to the answer button on the screen. "Did it work?"

"Ayup," Big Mac replied, audible twice at once. "Now yer a pro."
> 29 - Face to Face
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

"Look at you..." Granny circled around the mare curiously. "Ah swear... Look at you!"

Orchard colored faintly. "Look at me?"

"S'what ah said!" Grandma Smith swatted at her sudden new grand daughter. "Yer a big mare, ain'tcha? Still Big Mac in there..." She rubbed her hooves together with a low cackle. "Wait right here a moment." She raced off, well, comparatively. She walked energetically if one were being generous.

She came back with a bulky camera she began setting up the tripod for. "The girls're gonna lose their minds when they see this."

Blossom kept an eye on her, tail giving a flick behind her. "Are ya... really alright with this? With... me?"

Granny eyed the camera a moment. Satisfied, she went in to press her eye to the viewfinder, aiming it at her new child carefully. "Ah'll be alright if ya show me a cheerful smile, like ya want to be here."

Orchard Blossom gave her best smile, forced as it was a little. The bright flash that came made her stagger and blink against it. "Is... that better?"

"Better? Ain't the word I'd use." Granny studied the resulting picture a moment before tucking it away. "Now, 'bout you." She came in closer to Orchard from the front head on. "Ya live way up there?" She waved in Canterlot's direction.

"Ayup." Orchard inclined her head at Granny. "But ah work there an' other places too... Princess magic, my magic."

"What kinda magic is that?" She looked up at the horn on her child. "Ain't much used to havin' relations with one of those... So what's it like?"

Orchard perked at the question. "It's... fun. It's like havin' arms as long as ya want 'em." She spread her wings. "It's like ya can go anywhere ya want. Gravity's a suggestion, not a thing more. " She sighed happily as she sank to her haunches. "The worst part may be bouncin' back an' forth."

"Whattaya mean by that?" Granny gently brushed and prodded at her new filly, grown or not. "Ah'm listenin'."

"Ain't nothin' wrong with bein' an earth pony." She sank entirely to her belly, allowing Granny to continue her inspections. "But ah keep flippin' between havin' it all and havin' it taken away."

"Pardon? Don't rightly get it." That didn't stop her from casually feeling Blossom's wings with light touches of her hoof. "Oh... That ya can fly sometimes, but not others?"

"Yeah! Yeah..." Blossom fidgeted her wings under the examination. "It ain't the havin' em, or the not havin' em, but goin' back an' forth... Ah keep tryin' to do things ah can't while I'm Big Mac."

"Yer always Big Mac." Granny bopped her daughter on the head gently. "But I get what yer sayin'... Ah got old mare hips." She reached back for the old testy thing. "But if I had young hips fer a day, it'd probably be even worse the day faster that." She looked Blossom up and down. "Ya look mighty big an' strong still, so ya ain't missin' that part when yer like this."

"Nope... Just the other parts, which ah got sometimes." She sat up, hooves in the air. "Am ah bein' silly?"

"Ya ain't bein' silly," Granny huffed out. "Ah could see how that'd bother any pony. Shoot... not sure how ah'd fix it..." She frowned with fresh thought. "But ya ain't broke. Don't much matter how cold or hot ya like it when yer being tossed from the tropics to th' arctics by the day. Ya poor thin'." She placed the flat of her hoof on Blossom's cheek. "Ain't much fair. Now, don't know if this is even possible... But what if we..." She put her hooves together just to pull them apart. "Split the one of ya into two of ya?"

Blossom reared back, almost going over backwards. "That doesn't sound fun."

"Don't mean literal-like." Granny smirked at her child. "Don't want you hurt, promise that. But up here." She tapped at her head. "If ya were two ponies instead of one, no more bein' tossed back an' forth. Problem solved? Is that possible?"

Blossom considered that with a growing scowl. "Ah... don't know... But ah do know who could find out!" She got up to her hooves. "Twilight Sparkle!"

Granny perked, but shook her head an instant later. "Be careful with her. A right nice mare, but her head is stuck in the clouds more often than Rainbow Dash, and that's an accomplishment. Don't want her hurtin' a hair on yer back. Still... If she can put things to right, then ya go an ask. Now, just... to be clear." She threw an arm over Blossom. "Yer mah daughter, two ponies or one up there."

She suddenly burst into a snicker. "And the Apples have a princess! They never saw that comin', now did they?"

"What the..."

Both looked up to see Applejack staring at them with her jaw slack. Blossom waved timidly. "Howdy... Sis."

"Howdy," Applejack replied in uncertain tones. "Is..." She glanced between Blossom and Granny. "Everythin' alright?"

Granny advanced on Applejack. "Ah'm annoyed! Ya kept this a secret from me... Still, ya made a promise, and a promise to kin ain't no small thin'. And they weren't bein' hurt... So ah understand." She poked Applejack gently. "Still, means ya were sure ah'd be in the way. Have a little more faith in yer granny."

Applejack flipped her ears back, stepping away. "S-Sorry... They were real scared... Ah didn't want to abandon them."

It was Granny's turn to look a bit sheepish. "Oh... The both of ya!" She stomped at the ground, not as strong a sign as one could hope with her old legs. "Ah may be old, but that don't make me a monster! That there's still the child of mah daughter and mah son." She waved at Blossom wildly. "And ah want her to be happy, like mah other children. Now, no more secrets."

Applejack inclined her hat on her head. "Does that mean we're tellin' Apple Bloom?"

Granny recoiled at that. "Oh, uh..." All her assurance evaporated on the breeze. "Let's not be that hasty..."

Blossom gathered up her grandmother and sister, one wing around each as she drew them close. "Ah'm just... Just so happy this ain't a secret..."

Applejack wrinkled her nose. "'Least 'tween the few of us." She nodded at Granny. "Twilight and the princesses are in the know."

"Ah was the only one out?" Granny pouted, but didn't try to escape the warm wing embrace. "Now, Celestia's too...in charge. And Twilight's too small, so... reckon ya owe me. So when can ah expect mah ride?"

Orchard Blossom blinked at that. "Ride?"

Granny waved a hoof in a slow circle above her. "I wanna see Ponyville from way up high. Don't trust most pegasi that much, but yer my blood. Who else would ah trust more? So take me up nice and gentle and let me see what it looks like up there."

Applejack hiked a brow. "Are ya sure? They got hot air balloons." She pointed to one, only the top was barely visible from where they were. "Could take you up more comfy than riding the back of Orchard Blossom here."

Granny stepped free of her feathery blanket to swat at Applejack. "Ain't the same thin'! Don't trust them things... But ah do trust Big Mac." She turned back to Blossom. "Even if she's goin' by a different name right now."

Blossom met her gaze, the two smiling at one another. Applejack laughed at the exchange. "Well... Guess I can't stand in the way of that. Ah'd trust 'em too. But Ah won't make her carry me up with ya. That's a bit much to ask."

Orchard lifted herself on powerful flaps, hovering a few inches into the air. "Ah ain't no slight thing. If ya both wanna see, then hop on."

Granny shook her head with a rueful snort. "Ah ain't jumpin' nowhere."

"Ah gotcha." Applejack was quick to help her elder up carefully onto Orchard Blossom's back and climbed up herself behind Granny. "All comfy?"

"Woo-ee... Ah don't know how to feel..." She set her hooves on Orchard blossom's back. "But this is excitin'! Like one of them airships, but one that cares aboutcha. Better, ah say."

"Hold on." Orchard Blossom lifted higher and higher, carrying her family with her. "Ah gotcha." Her horn glowed as she squeezed the two mares on top of her, hugging either of them to keep them secure. "If ya want me to go back down, jus' say so."

"Higher!" bade Granny with a big grin. "Higher!" She pointed off to some point in the sky they were approaching. "Go on, flap them wings!" She swatted at those batting wings. "Woo!"

Applejack hugged Granny from behind. "Well, ya sure sound like yer havin' a time." Her eyes wandered a bit more fitfully, perhaps not enjoying herself as fully, though she was smiling. "How ya holdin' up, Big--Blossom?"

"Ain't not a thin'." She still had her earth pony strength, which translated to flying under some extra weight, it seemed. "Wanna look at the orchard, or the town first?"

"Ah can already see the orchard. Look at that!" She turned her waving to below them, to the countless apple trees in the dark light of the evening. "It'd be even better in the day, but ah get it."

"Yeah..." A day trip would be harder to manage, though she considered how she might do that for Granny. "The orchard has a special prettiness in the dark." She swooped in around the tops of the trees. "All the trees we work so hard fer."

Applejack thrust a hoof up with a mighty cry. Whatever hesitation she had was banished in the face of all her apple trees. "A mighty fine sight! Lookin' mighty healthy, full of apples waiting to get in mouths."

Orchard Blossom came to a smooth halt before a proud apple Tree. With a glow of her horn, she plucked two to offer to her riders. "What we're working' so hard fer."

Granny grasped the apple between her hooves. "Now that ain't true. Mighty proud of these apples, mighty proud." She took a loud crunch out of the apple. "But it ain't the apples. If, Celestia forbid, we lost all the trees, we'd still be Apples. We'd find a new way... Apples are about family! Or the ones livin' in the city wouldn't be Apples, and that ain't true, now is it?"

Applejack tapped at her Apple mount. "You live in the city, and yer an Apple, so guess ah can't argue that any."

Orchard Blossom resumed her forward flight, rising as she banked towards Ponyville proper. "The town looks... magic..." To see the town from so high in so late of the day was different than walking through it during the day. "Don't think pegasi know what they got." She perked an ear back at them. "'Cause they never not had it."

Granny gently rubbed the thick neck of Blossom. "Go an' see that Twilight when it ain't the middle of the night. Maybe she can help. Jus' be careful. Ah just met the new you! Ain't ready to say bye yet."

Applejack started. "What's this about Twilight?"

"Oh, just wonderin' if it's even possible to split me into two ponies, instead of one pony with two bodies." Orchard tilted down, coming in for a landing in the center of things with a final trot to a stop. "Ain't even sure if... ah'd want it... but it's worth knowing if I could do that... It's a big thought."

"Mighty big!" burst out Applejack. "Real big... Shoot... not sure ah could make a call like that..." She patted the side of Blossom as she slid down to the ground and offered her hooves up to help Granny off. "But ya got our backup either way, alright? Yer one of us! If... um, ya did split, then both of ya would be my sib."
> 30 - Split Attention
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Blossom dove from the top of a roof, her wings snapping out as she fell. "Stop right there!"

The mare she was pouncing jumped out of the way with a rapid twirl, sending sharp daggers bouncing off Blossom's swatting hooves. Was that why the princesses wore metal shoes? That thought faded quickly as she charged after the outlaw. "Yer under arrest!"

"Ain't caught me, so that isn't true." The mare jumped around the corner, lost to sight.

Blossom slid around the same corner to come to a sharp halt. There were no ponies there, just a hole. Someone had left a sewer entrance without its lid. Where the mare had gone felt obvious, if irritating. "Dang nabbit..." She trotted quickly over to the hole and peeked down into the darkness. "Get out of there! It ain't safe."

"Safer than where I was a moment ago," came an echoing shout from within. Distantly, Blossom could hear hoofsteps rapidly receding away. They were running, galloping at full speed in the dark sewers.

"That really ain't safe..." But she wasn't sure what to do about that. She instead looked around. There. The lid to the sewer entrance was sitting there. She grabbed it between both hooves and hefted it up. Those things were real heavy! She slammed it down, not out of any desire to accelerate it, but simply as a side effect of its impressive bulk. "There." At least nopony else would end up down there on accident, or purpose unless they had the proper tools to pry it open.

What about the crook? "They got somewhere to be..." They wouldn't have hopped down there if they didn't have someplace to run to... right? Shaking off the annoyance of letting a baddie get away, Blossom resumed her patrol.





"Very interesting." Twilight considered her fellow princess. "We should start with the first question."

Big Mac raised a brow. "What's the first question?"

Twilight hopped up onto her seat instead of sitting in it. "I was hoping you'd ask! The first question is if this isn't already the case. You and Orchard Blossom are clearly in mental contact, and agreement, but we have no proof that this isn't already two different ponies in close contact, as opposed to one pony."

Big Mac's brow fell along with the other to form a frown. "Don't get it... Ah'm still 'me'."

"Of course you are." Twilight willed a book to approach, glowing gently. "But that 'you' is subtly different between the two 'yous', and the two have been influencing one another. For the positive, I hope." She set down the book and began flipping through it with her magic. "We can start with the obvious. You're far more talkative lately. That isn't a complaint. It's actually nice to be able to share words with you other than 'yes' and 'no'.

"Ayup." Big Mac colored, realizing he had stepped right in that one. "Ah... Do ponies even wanna hear what ah say?"

Twilight perked up at that. "Of course they do! Why would you even ask that?"

Big Mac rubbed behind his head with an awkward look. "Mah big mouth done got us in trouble before... Ah... just figured listenin' more and talkin' less was better... Worked fer years!"

Twilight placed a hoof next to one of her long ears. "Listening is a fine activity. Sometimes I need to be reminded to do more of it."

"Tell me about it." Barb flipped the next page of her comic. "But that doesn't mean you can't talk."

Big Mac hopped down to the floor and stomped around, pacing agitatedly. "A lot of things... They changed. Ah changed! Maybe ah ain't the same pony no more..."

Twilight curled a hoof at herself. "You're talking to who was a student, then librarian, then princess. I've been through a fair few changes..." She extended her wings. "Some of them we share! But I'm still Twilight Sparkle, and you are Big Macintosh."

"And I'm Barb." She flipped to the next page.

Big Mac chuckled softly at the role call going on. "Sure... But yer sayin' maybe ah ain't Orchard Blossom?"

"Maybe not." Twilight inclined her head. "That you don't get tired hints towards the possibility. Anypony else would be exhausted trying to live up to your daily routine."

Big Mac scrunched his nose. "Don't feel tired."

"Which is the point." Twilight circled around Big Mac, though couldn't and didn't try to hop on the table to finish the circuit, just ending up on the other side of him. "You are entirely refreshed. Which is why my theory, and this is just a theory, barely a hypothesis if we're being honest, is that Orchard Blossom remembers everything you've done, and you remember everything she's done. When you sleep, you sleep. Then she wakes up. When she sleeps, you awaken, new memories in your head." She pointed at her own head. "Which blurs the line quite a bit on who is who and if this counts as one pony or two..."

Big Mac blinked slowly, trying to absorb that. "How... do we even start to, you know... prove that?"

"Now there is the challenge." Twilight moved her hoof to her chin. "We would need to interrupt the process. Make it so not all the memories made it from one to the other. Then, with a clear difference, it would become clear there are two ponies. We just need one of you to know one little thing the other does not."

Barb looked up form her book. "How do you suggest we do that, Twi?" She waved in a casual motion at Big Mac. "You got a spell for that?"

"Not off the top of my head." She willed the book she had pulled out back to the shelf. "But I'll start looking. The first thing that comes to mind is trying to learn how the memories get from one pony--" She pointed at Big Mac. "To the other--" She pointed in a Canterlot-y direction.

Barb set her comic aside. "Because Twilight is focused, I'll go ahead and say it." She hopped up on the table. "Two or one, you're both awesome ponies that I'm happy to call a friend."

Big Mac smiled at Barb's words. "We're, uh... both happy to be friends with you too." He rubbed the side of his head. "But if this is true, does that mean her things ain't things ah done?"

Twilight flicked her ears back. "That... is complicated... You still have that knowledge. Do you have her muscle memory too?" An idea came and she pointed at Barb. "Hoofcuff them."

"I don't even have hoo--" She didn't get to finish, being pinned to the ground with a squeak as Big Mac subdued and restrained her with ease. "Lemme go!"

Twilight inspected the work critically. "Hm, very good. It appears you have, as Big Mac, learned how to do that. Do let her go though."

"Ayup." Big Mac released Barb back to their feet. "Sorry 'bout that."

Barb rubbed at her wrists with a scowl. "Ask before you start horsing around. Alright, so Big Mac learned what Orchard Blossom learned, neat! Does that mean you know how to do magic?"

"Uh... Technically? But ah ain't got a horn." He pointed to that complete lack of a horn. "So that don't do me much good. Ah know how to fly too." But he had no wings either, no matter how much he tried to wriggle his shoulders and back.

Twilight folded her wings even tighter, perhaps out of sympathy. "I see... Fascinating! But before we take one step further, an important question needs to be asked."

Barb picked up what Twilight was setting down. "Do you want this? I mean, if you're happy, why mess with it?"

"Hm." Big Mac rubbed at his chin in quiet consideration. "Ain't fair."

"What isn't?" Twilight leaned forward towards him.

"She don't get no vote." Big Mac shrugged helplessly. "Doin' this assumes we're not 'xactly the same, jus' really close. Somepony should ask her for her thoughts. Ah can't do that."

Barb raised a scaled brow. "Guess not... You could write her a letter! Postage works even if one of you is asleep."

Big Mac brightened at that. "Now that's a good idea! Gotta--" He didn't get to finish, a quill, ink pot, and a paper being pushed against him, all glowing with Twilight's magic. "Thanks..." He took the paper in his mouth and put it on the table, setting himself up. "Ah'll write a letter. Feels funny, knowin' 'I' will be readin' it letter. But maybe it ain't me? Still, worth askin' before we go doin' anythin'!"

He wrote with the quill in his mouth.



Dear Orchard Blossom,

It's me, Big Mac! I know this must feel really funny. You're probably reading this, knowing I wrote it, which is maybe you? But I still wanted your opinion. If we could be pulled apart, would that make you happy? Or would that make you sad? Um... If it did happen, you'd be welcome to stop by for a hoof shake and to share a mug of cider anytime. As the others said, yer an Apple! Does that make you a sister?

Just wanna be clear, I'm not voting. Which ain't exactly fair. You know what I was thinking. You were in here, with me. But 
I really want your opinion, not mine, if there's a difference. Please write back to me when you can, and good luck with the super heroing business.



"Super heroing?" Barb was on top of Big Mac, watching him write. "What's this about super heroing?"

Big Mac jerked his head up and turned it about to see Barb. "Oh." He had been so focused he hadn't even felt Barb climb up there. "Ah didn't say before? When I'm Orchard Blossom, ah'm a police officer, and a princess, an' ah go around helpin' ponies and takin' care of bad ponies."

Barb clapped her hands together firmly, eyes sparkling. "That sounds amazing! Why haven't you invited me along? I wanna see this?" She stuck out her tongue mildly. "Keeping all the fun stuff to yourself."

"Ya know that ain't it." He got a hoof on Barb and pulled her around for a proper hug. "She's up an' about when yer asleep. Shoot, when ah'm asleep, technically... Ah didn't even think about it, and I don't 'magine none yer sister wants me scoopin' you up out of bed to go wanderin' with me."

"No she does not," agreed Twilight, giving Barb a critical eye. "A young dragon needs hi--her rest!"

Barb crossed her arms over chest. "Yeah yeah... I'm friends with a for real superhero!"

Big Mac inclined his head at Twilight. "An' she ain't? She's rescued us no few times."

Barb squeaked at that. "Oh, um... yeah, sorry..." She rubbed behind her head. "Wasn't thinking there."

"Forgiven," allowed Twilight with a smile. "You happen to be friends with a lot of creatures I could call a superhero if you think about it. Besides me, there's Celestia! She should definitely qualify." She nodded with confidence in the splender of her former mentor. "All of the girls are amazing in different ways, and they've all fought at least one monster, if not several... And would do it again if the need was there. How can they not be superheroes?"

Big Mac was still looking over his shoulder at Barb. "There's somethin' that bothers me."

"Hm?"

"More a curiosity, and feel free to not answer... but... ya still got feelin's fer Rarity, or not?"

Twilight stiffened with wide eyes. "Big Mac! Spike, um, Barb. You do not have to answer that. In fact, please don't. That's your business."

Barb shuffled awkwardly. "Oh, um... alright... Tell me what Blossom says. I mean when she writes back. Which may be you? Maybe? This is kinda confusing."

Big Mac nodded at that. "Ayup." He couldn't think of another way to phrase that. "Gotta be done." He folded the letter neatly and offered it to Twilight. "Please."

"I'll mail this immediately." She took the letter in her magic and promptly vanished in a puff of magic.
> 31 - You've Got Mail
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Orchard awakened with a big yawn and a stretch of her arms into the air, hooves wobbling. "Wonder if it got..." There it was, slipped under her door. "here...?" She slipped to her hooves and trotted over to the letter. "The letter from me..." She took it in her mouth and wandered back over to her little writing desk, transferring it to her glowing magic and then to the desk to lay flat. "Ain't fair..."

She knew what Big Mac was thinking. He said he wasn't voting, but that wasn't really true. He couldn't not vote, because everything he thought, she knew. Though that worked both ways. They were two ponies made one. "And we're greedy..." She liked being a stallion. He liked being a mare. Sometimes, either way. She didn't want to stop being a mare, and she knew he didn't want to stop being a stallion." She set both her hooves on the letter, not opening. There wasn't a word written on it that she didn't already know.

"Ain't fair..." They also only had one girlfriend between them. Splitting her up just... wouldn't be possible in any practical fashion. And not fair to her! She didn't ask for any of what was going on, even if she was alright with it, so far...

But also she was Big Mac. He was Orchard Blossom. Separating the two was easy to think about, but not so easy to be. She pushed away from the desk and clopped softly to the mirror instead, where she could peer at herself. She was a big pretty red mare. With a stallion's eyes, she could pick out the pretty parts. When she looked at Big Mac, she could pick out the handsome parts that a mare might noticed first.

She had won that lotto, twice! "Maybe..." Her thoughts took a sharp pivot. Maybe it wasn't fair to her, dragging her around when she should be fast asleep... But she said she wants it. She smiled... Oh, Sugar Belle's smile... She was enjoying herself, even if it wasn't the most healthy thing for her to be doing.

"Which makes it mah problem." As her loving girlfriend, it was her job to care! But... What was the proper avenue?  How did she fix it?

Most of the ponies she would consider talking to were quite asleep. She could go to Princess Luna? No... It was a small thing, a little pony thing, not a princess thing. Bothering her about that felt like way too much...

But there was one other pony that seemed up at random times, and was close at hoof.  She pushed open a window with her magic and launched out into the night sky. Wings unfurled, she took off with strong flaps, taking a nice, deep breath. The night sky was so nice. Cool, fresh, and it held her nicely. "Ayup." She banked towards her target... and was there. "Oh." She came in for a landing with a little frown.

There were disadvantages to skipping the space between here and there. The journey could be part of the fun... She'd have to get better about choosing when to do that, or not. Skipping for such a small journey when she wasn't in a hurry was just a bit silly.

With a toss of her mane, she reached up to clop at the gate she was in front of. "Allo?"

The door to the manor swung open and a familiar butler stepped out into the evening. "Ah. M'lady. A pleasure to see you again." He descended the steps and started towards her. "Are you here for the master? He's out on the town. If I recall his schedule... He's overseeing the opening of a nightclub."

Blossom smiled, imagining the thumping beats of a nightclub, and the high-class countenance of Fancy Pants. Not an exact fit, so far she could see. "That's right kind of him. Uh... Was hopin' to chat with him. But it ain't no emergency."

The butler raised a hoof for quiet. "He wouldn't forgive me if I let you walk away, ma'am. If you have time, you are more than welcome to come inside and wait for his return. It shouldn't be more than an hour. I know he would wish to share words with you, ma'am."

Blossom blushed faintly. "He would?" Well, he was financing her, that was one reason she could think of. She was past time to give him an update on how that was working out... "Alright, sure! Ah'll wait fer him."

"Very good!" The butler turned back for the house, leading Blossom inside. "You are our guest, ma'am. If you have any need at all, we will do out utmost to see it fulfilled. Have you eaten?"

Confusing question. She could remember the dinner she had, but that was Big Mac's belly. She had to feel for her body, her belly, her needs. "Hm... Actually, a little food would be delightful." She followed him to a modest sitting room and claimed a chair for herself sitting on its soft cushion supporting her haunches. "Ya don't owe me nothin'."

"On the contrary." He inclined his head. "You've pleased the master quite a bit from what he's heard, and his delight is mine, so I owe you quite a bit, ma'am. Or should I say officer?"

Blossom colored anew. "Oh, yep, I am one of those..." She rubbed her forehooves together. "But ah ain't on duty today, so don't want any special treatment fer it. Just here as me."

"Just you is more than enough." He dipped his head as he started back out. "I'll be back with some appetizers to begin things."

Begin things? She was getting no snack. It would be a full meal, with multiple courses. Each was crafted lovingly and delightfully, making her tongue sing with pleasure. "Mmm... Fancy is lucky to  have such talented cooks around."

The butler shook his head. "As much as I would love to claim this effort, it was a maid that prepared this one. You know her."

Blossom's brows went up together. "Oh! Her?!" The maid that had helped clean Blossom so long ago. "How'd she doin'?!"

"She will be pleased to know you wish to know. Allow me a moment." He scurried from the room without a single clop, walking smoothly.

A  new smiling face appeared, a familiar mare. "Ma'am." She dipped her head low. "I heard you wanted to speak to me?"

That wasn't exactly what Blossom had said. "Uh, ya made this?" She pointed at her half-devoured food with a hoof. "'Cause it's really good!"

The maid curtsied low. "I'm delighted to hear that, ma'am. You look better than last I saw you."

Blossom sat up at that. "In what way?"

"You're more..." She searched for words with a delicate frown. "Excuse me, ma'am. I'm speaking out of turn... It's a subtle thing, but like you're more comfortable and settled. It's a good thing, I assure! Like you were new to the city, and now you're not. The look suits you nicely, ma'am."

Blossom waved at a chair across from her. "If yer allowed, come eat with me? Ya made enough fer two ponies easy."

She shied away. "I shouldn't..."

But Blossom heard the unspoken context there. "Ah insist. Fancy Pants can yell at me if he disagrees."

"If you insist, ma'am." And the maid came right up to the chair, smoothly sliding up onto it and sinking to her haunches. With a glowing horn, she took a little morsel to sample. "Hm, those beets were in season, as promised... Now, ma'am... If you would share a meal with me, it would seem proper that we divest ourselves of our titles and positions. I won't be able to enjoy this if I remain a maid and you, a guest."

Blossom cracked a bright smile. "'Course!" she blurted. "Ah'm Orchard Blossom." She offered a hoof. "Just a mare enjoyin' some fine food."

The maid returned the gesture, hooves meeting in a crisp clop of solidarity. "Neat Fold, a pleasure to meet you properly." She smiled with a gentler sort of happiness. "What's your favorite?"

"That's hard to pick." Blossom considered the food with a tapping of her chin. "Gonna go..." She wobbled a hoof over one, but changed her mind and pointed at a pie with a quarter missing. "This sheppards pie is a real comfort food, and ah feel right comforted tryin' it."

Neat Fold clapped her hooves together in a rapid but soft series of strikes. "That's my grandmother's recipe. Not fancy cuisine, but the master enjoys it, and I'm glad to hear you do too... She would be so happy, to know ponies feel right at home when they try it." She cut out a slice and took a floating bit of the pie for herself to enjoy. "It reminds me of her..."

Blossom saw between the lines. "Right sorry fer draggin' her up."

"No." Neat sat up firmly. "You take that back. Any excuse to think of a loved one is a good one. Don't want to go forgetting her." She sampled the pie gently, sighing with a growing smile. "Just how she made it... Keeping the memories of our loved ones alive is one last thing we can do for them. She was a real fiery mare! She hated that I was becoming a maid... 'Too soft for our family!' she'd screech. I loved her, even when we didn't agree... You have anypony you're holding tight?"

Blossom flipped her ears back. "Mah parents..." Were they her parents, or Big Macs, or both of them, which might be the same pony? Why did that have to be so complicated. "They were right good ponies, left us with so much..."

"I can hear the love in your words." She took a second bite, reducing her share of pie to a little sliver. "A pony that doesn't know that pain isn't fully an adult, the way I see it. Only a child, if they're lucky, manages to miss that loss entirely... Now, you didn't come here to think such heavy things." She willed a glass up to sip from the dark red drink within. "Tell me about things that are going well."

"Hard to count." Blossom met her hooves together. "Ah became a police officer, ya heard that right? Doin' my part, and feelin' good doin' it. Ah like helpin' ponies! Keepin' 'em safe and catchin' bad ponies that're hurtin' 'em. Mah friend discovered herself in a whole new way and ah'm cheerin' 'em on." She considered other things to be thankful for. "Ain't nervous 'bout Celestia and Luna no more, an' feel a bit silly fer bein' so to start..."

"I was terrified," gently agreed Neat. "To apply for this... Fancy Pants is known as one of the top ponies. He is a mover and shaker. Where he moves or shakes, other ponies rush to behind him and imitate what he does. Working for him is a very prestigous position. Me? Get that? I couldn't even envision it at first... A friend dared me to, and there I was, shaking like a leaf in front of him..."

"And ya got it?" Blossom reasoned out loud, considering Neat was right there, doing the job.

"I got it," she laughed out, sipping from the drink. "And haven't regretted it for even a moment. So... I understand what you mean. It was terribly frightening, and now I feel quite foalish for having been afraid before. If I could gently calm my past self, I would, but such tricks are beyond us little ponies." She leaned forward on the table. "The master will be home soon. You are too kind as to share with me, but I really should be working. He is paying for this time."

"It's been nothin' but ah pleasure talkin' with you." Blossom took a fresh slice of the pie. "And ah'll try this again."

"Then she isn't all gone." Neat hopped down and trotted off with a happy smile.
> 32 - Fancy Arrivals
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

He entered with that smile of his. It was like he understood it all, and how to take charge of it. He was in his element, as he usually was. "Officer Orchard Blossom, a pleasure." He dipped his head only faintly towards her. "You have been quite busy."

Blossom smiled in kind, but hers was less self-certain. "Nice to see you again. Felt ah should visit... Thanks to yer kindness, been able to settle in real good, and get to work."

"And you've met with the princesses, and become one yourself." This all sounded like it was good news to him. "Marvelous. But you didn't stop there, hm."

Blossom colored faintly. "Ah like helping ponies, and ah couldn't help city ponies as a, uh, vigilante. So ah joined the force, learned the rules, and do it right." She reared up to clop her hooves in a firm strike. "So ah don't make no trouble fer other ponies while I'm at it."

"Delightful. I couldn't ask for better." With a glowing horn, he selected a bottle and poured out two even glasses, tall and narrow. "A toast, to good acts performed the good way." He floated one glass towards her, keeping the other by himself.

Blossom took the glass, the color around it shifting as she took over holding it in her own magic. "Ah'll drink to that." She tinked her glass against his. "Heard you were openin' a night club?"

Fancy took a soft pull from his tall glass, letting out a sigh of contentment at the flavor. "Yes. Not my place, I will fully admit, but it brings such delight to others. Better a pony spend the evening dancing with others than many other things they could be doing." He chuckled softly. "They can't all be battling crime."

"Suppose not..." She had come for a reason. That reason was hard to think of with Fancy right there. Dang stallion! Why did he have to... be kinda great at being? "Um... Ah wanna admit somethin'. It ain't nothin' bad or nothin'. Ain't nopony gettin' hurt, promise."

Fancy raised a well-kept brow. "I struggle to imagine anything you would care to confess to would result in that, Miss Blossom. But whatever you say will be held in the utmost confidence, if you desire it."

So good! "Right. So... Ah didn't come from nowhere." She turned and pointed towards Ponyville. "Ah was a pony, just a pony, an earth pony."

Fancy hummed softly, but his hooves remain firmly planted on t he ground. He took a little pull from his glass. "That explains why the princesses took so long to find you. There's nothing wrong with earth ponies. I say, that must be a first, however. We've had unicorn ascended, and pegasi..." Even as Blossom colored, he went right on ahead. "Something to be proud of."

Blossom rubbed at a too-warm cheek. "Y-yeah... but ah wasn't this." She waved over herself. "Not even just this, but not a princess. Ah... Ya been there, to Ponyville. We even met before..."

That put a little thinking frown on his face. "Have we? I feel certain I would remember that... Such a lovely mare does not pass from my mind so quickly."

Blossom felt her pulse quicken. "T-thanks." No, that wasn't the right response! "Uh... You were with that mare, right pretty one... Flower?"

"Fleur," corrected Fancy with no annoyance on his face. "Lovely mare, yes. She keeps others away."

Blossom blinked softly. "Others?"

"Oh, yes." Fancy partially turned away, eyes on a window and the dark beyond it. "I will sound ungrateful, but being a known pony has its prices. An eligible bachelor spotted alone is a target. And there are plenty of mares willing to take that shot." He raised a brow. "Which they are entitled to do, but having Fleur around lowers that quite a bit."

Blossom's blush abated, replaced with a building confusion. "Now... don't take this the wrong way... but what is she, to you?"

"A very good friend." He nodded. "A precious dear, but not that way. Still, she is very tactile, and allowing her to drape over me is like a worn cloak to keep off the rain of other mares' attention. Quite effective, I've found." 

Blossom turned an ear flat and to the side. "Oh, um... So, Ponyville!" She raised her hoof to point. "Ah'm from there. Like ah said... we met before, and this is gonna sound strange. Real strange! Ah don't want you gettin' upset."

But he just smiled, as if everything was alright. "That makes two ponies from Ponyville that I have a fond relationship with. Something clearly blessed the town to keep producing such fine ponies to share with the world. Do you know a Rarity?"

Blossom finished her drink and hurriedly set the glass aside on a counter. "Yeah, know her plenty well."

"Quite the up and comer." Fancy raised a hoof to his chin. "She has her eyes set on the upper crust, but that isn't really what she is, dear thing. Not to speak ill of her, because she is wonderful, but she is an everymare that doesn't realize it. She's passable at pretending to walk in those circles, but that isn't where she shines, and she does shine. The masses need her, of many economical strata." He moved that same hoof up and down as if to show the different levels one could be at. "From country ponies to city dwellers with bits to spare. She can find what they need as others fail to do."

Blossom smiled, thinking of the fancy-speaking Rarity. "She'll get what she's after. She ain't one to leave a plan unfinished."

"Oh, mercy no. Quite a diligent pony." His eyes refocused on Blossom. "But I've drawn away from the topic. As you were saying?"

"Right." Oops, that had been a nice moment of distraction. "Do you remember a pony, not unlike me? Coulda said he was mah brother. On some levels, ya wouldn't even be wrong." She could feel sweat beading. The fear of rejection was spiking and she forced a smile despite it. "Apple farmer."

His monocle fell free, dangling from its chain. "Now, I've made no claim to be the swiftest pony in the lands, but you... are you implying you were Big Macintosh?" His eyes wandered over her anew. "This is quite the change."

Blossom felt the intense desire for the ground to swallow her up and leave nothing behind. "It... ain't quite that, but it is... that..." She shuffled on her hooves that felt so heavy they may as well have been forged of lead and possibly glued to the ground. "Big Mac's still there, helpin' the family... but..."

Her words stopped with a touch. Fancy Pants put a hoof on her chest. "This is clearly upsetting you, ma'am. I will share none of this, and will listen. Know that I will do that. So, please, continue."

"Right..." Blossom rubbed behind her head. "Right... So... Ah'm still the same pony, up here." She tapped at her head. "There's two of me. One set of memories, two different, um, personalities... even if we're getting closer together... Still not the same." She shuffled from hoof to hoof, struggling for the right words. "But right now, right this very moment, ah'm Orchard Blossom. Nice to meet ya."

"A pleasure." Fancy's magic glowed around his monocle, setting it back where it belonged on his face. "But this does raise some questions, which can wait until you are done. Please, continue."

"Um..." She looked away. "Not sure there's much more to say... Just really confused, is all... Bein' two ponies, an' one... Ah... Blossom really likes Big Mac, and he really likes her, like brother and sister, but also the pony ah see in the mirror, lookin' out at me!"

"I can only barely imagine..." But it seemed he was trying at least. "Well, I will accept you as you are, not what you were, or what you may be." He inclined his head. "Is this... Can you plan it? That must make things quite awkward."

"Oh, no!" Blossom blurted. "It ain't random. When ah go to bed, then he wakes up, and the other way 'round. Ain't no suddenly switchin'. That'd be somethin' awful!" As if her situation was fine other than that. She pointed at herself. "Ah'll be Blossom until ah go to sleep. Big Mac'll get his sleep. He deserves it, workin' so hard for the family as he's been." She smirked at that. "That feels silly to say. I was there, doin' the work. Like I'm talkin' mahself up. Ain't that vain... Sorry, getting--"

She was silenced with a hoof at her lips. Fancy was watching her, matching eyes. "That's quite enough. You're in a tenous situation and quite stressful besides. I would have to be a monster to hold your lashing out against you, in this case. I understand, I think. You were Big Mac, and you will be again. Right now." He brought up his other hoof as the first slid, cupping Blossom's cheeks between them. "Right now you are Orchard Blossom, a princess of justice and the night, friend of Luna and Celestia. Friend of Equestria." He leaned in a little closer. "Hopefully friend of me too?"

Blossom felt blood rush almost violently into her face. "A-yup!" she got out in her classic fashion, any other words lost in that moment. All she could do was stare at that stallion, her heart pounding.

And she realized she was doing something awful. Something terrible. She stepped back away from him. "Ah shouldn't!"

"Shouldn't what?"

She took slow breaths, calming herself. "Ah... Ah got a special somepony. It ain't that I don't 'ppreciate..."

One ear wilted, the other remaining perked. "Oh, I had no idea. What a cad I've been, making the moves on a taken mare. Please, do forgive me. Who should I congratulate on their good fortune?"

Blossom reached for the glass, but it was empty. Without asking, Fancy refilled it, but only to about a quarter. "Thanks." She drank it down too quickly. Had Fancy predicted that? With only a quarter in there, her mistake was minimized. "She's a mare ah know, and love, as Big Mac... Ah told her about this." She waved a hoof at herself. "An' she... She still loves me. In some ways, ah think she loves me even more!"

Fancy inclined his head slowly. "Does she prefer--"

"--No! She, uh, likes both. Ah made her realize that, without even tryin'... And now here she is, with a special somepony who presses both of them buttons at once." She smiled awkwardly. "Lucky day for her, or night... Um, either way, ain't right to go cheatin' on her. We're steady together, ain't right..."

"I should imagine not... I would like to meet her." He willed the bottle onto its place on the rack it came from, a cork wriggling into place. "She sounds like a wonderful pony, accepting such a trying situation. You are clearly harried." He nudged her on the way past. "Come by again, and know that I am an ally."

"Y-yeah, thanks." She broke into a trot, jogging from the room. "Have a nice night." She was soon out on the street, not remembering actually walking there. Had she teleported? "Stupid," she berated herself. She had just teleported in front of Fancy Pants. That was rude... right?

Who had just admitted something! Something big! She got brighter and brighter as she walked along the road. He had said he was chasing her. He admitted it! No disguises, no hiding. He had just said it, like it was nothing... And she almost missed it. It was an invitation, and a request. If she never replied to it, he'd put it down and never look again.

But if she replied...

"Ah need to talk to her..." She accelerated into a trot. "Ah need to talk to her now!"

Blossom had a thousand questions, and only one pony she knew could give the proper answers.
> 33 - Clearing the Air
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Sugar Belle was quite a distance away, but that didn't matter, not even a little. Orchard Blossom descended from the sky, thumping against Sugar's wall before she could get her hooves on the window. "Are ya awake?!"

Sugar thumped to the ground. "Am now!" she half-shouted, fighting her way to her hooves. "What's goin' on?!"

Blossom pulled up the window with her hooves, opening it and hurrying inside, heaving for breath. It wasn't a gasping of exertion. More of a stress thing. "Sugar!"

"What's wrong?" She was on Orchard Blossom in a hurry. "Go ahead and tell me, I'm listening."

Blossom nuzzled her cheek gently. "Ah'm surrounded by wonderful ponies, an' that's half the problem!"

Sugar hiked a brow. "Last I checked, having good ponies around was a good thing."

"Not like this." Blossom sank to her haunches in the dark bedroom, her magic sliding the window shut behind her. "Ah met with Fancy Pants just before."

Sugar Belle's other brow joined the first. "The way you're talking, is there a confession I need to be listening to?"

Orchard Blossom colored dark. "We didn't do nothin'! Had some wine, talked, then ah left... That was it..."

"Then why are you ready to panic?" Sugar pawed gently at Blossom. "Tell me already."

"Right... Right..." Blossom forced  herself to take a nice deep breath. "Right... Ah think he likes me... Worst part is a lot of me, Orchard Blossom, was likin' bein' liked! He was pressin' buttons ah didn't even know I had! An ah felt awful, knowin' you were here. You don't deserve no pony thinkin' cheatin' thoughts." Blossom sagged. "So ah got out of there, an' ah came here!"

Sugar Belle stomped the floor. "This isn't fair."

"It ain't," miserably agreed Blossom. "You deserve better."

"That isn't it." She tapped Blossom on the nose. "You're living two lives, as literally as possible, but you're shackled to a boring single mare... That isn't fair."

Orchard Blossom blinked rapidly. "Don't think like that! Fer one, y'aint borin'! Yer an amazin' mare and ah love ya." She cracked a lopsided smile. "Yer so good ah turned down Fancy Pants to get back to yer side."

Sugar rubbed at a cheek. "Good enough to compete with Fancy pants, huh? That's a big compliment." She glanced away and back. "I'm jealous."

"Sorry!"

"No, not of what you did." Sugar pawed at Orchard Blossom's side. "If it were me, I would have been tempted too. This is the Fancy Pants, and he was putting the moves on you?! That is a feather in your mare cap that can't be taken away."

Blossom recoiled at the news. "But... Aren't you mad?"

"Very," Sugar replied bluntly. "But not at you. This whole... thing. I wish there was more of me, to give you all the pony you deserve. I'm barely awake right now! And you need me..." She shook herself out violently. "Which is why I'm staying up. But, still... There's two of you, and one of me..."

She sank to her haunches, a hoof at the side of her head. "Making me feel really... not enough."

"No!" Blossom hugged Sugar from the side, nestling in with her. "Yer a right lovely mare. You didn't ask for this, an' ain't nopony could expect it."

Sugar Belle stood up and got to pacing instead, circling the room with nervous energy. "That's really nice of you, but I'm not perfect. Part of me really is mad, somepony else makin' moves on my pony... Did he even know you were taken?"

"Ah told him right after it started." Blossom colored at the memory. "And he stopped. He wants to meet you, actually."

Sugar paused in her fidgets. "He does?!"

"He does." Blossom grabbed a cup off Sugar's dresser with her magic and trotted off quickly to get it filled with water with a brief sound of the tap running. "Here."

Sugar raised her hooves to cup the glass between them. "Thank you. Alright, that's... good! Good... At least he's ready to make up for what he did to us." She smiled at Blossom. "Really, rattling two nice ponies like that."

"The nerve," joined Blossom, returning that smile. "So, you wanna see him?"

"I really do." Sugar worked her hooves together. "Even if I'm not sure what I want to do with him. Would he be upset if I kicked him?" Blossom gave her a look. "Yeah... probably shouldn't do that. Still, for sure! I want to meet him, face to face." She waved a hoof between her eyes and Blossom's. "We're competition!"

"Nope." Blossom snorted in an equine way. "Ain't no competition. If it is, he already lost. Done promised myself to you, an' we ain't had no breakup last ah checked, so he's outta luck!"

Sugar inclined her head. "You do realize... you have had a few complaints, but him being a him hasn't been one of them. I think we both swing both ways." She raised a hoof to her chin. "I didn't figure it, if we're being honest."

"Honest is a good thing to be." Not that this made it any easier to accept. She had been attracted to Fancy's appeal. She couldn't deny that... "Wow..." Did that... It kinda had to. As a mare, that was pretty normal, but she was also a stallion, half the time, and he never looked at another stallion that way before.

"Not expecting that, huh?" Sugar Belle went off, fetching a second glass of water to offer right back to her girl/boyfriend. "I felt that way too when I... When it became real obvious I was alright with you either way."

Blossom took the cup in her magic, sipping gently. "We're findin' out all sorta things... Been thinkin'"

"What about?" Sugar sat next to Blossom. "I'm listening."

"Two ponies wit' the same memories is almost one pony." She rubbed at her cheek. "'Specially when they only got the one growin' up they both did, as a little Big Mac. Still... There's a difference. Ah ain't 'xactly the same when I'm either." She pointed at herself. "Ah'm Orchard Blossom."

"Hello, Orchard Blossom." But she pinned her ears back. "Nice to meet you." Her voice was far from certain.

Blossom leaned against Sugar. "Got the wires all tangled up an' what not. Neither side wants to upset the other. The idea of makin' you sad? Don't want that. Not even a little. He made the promise, but it feels just as real to me." She smiled at that. "An' why shouldn't it?! Ah was there... I remember that..." She frowned, going slack. "It's complicated... There ain't no way to share you fair 'tween us."

Sugar considered trying to cultivate a night schedule, but that would leave Big Mac without company. She needed sleep, like most ponies in Equestria! Even Orchard Blossom needed sleep, but she got to skip over to being Big Mac while she did it. "It. Is. Not. Fair."

"No, it ain't. But it's what we got." Blossom smiled, going in for a smooch at Sugar's closer cheek. "But if yer up for it, I'm ready to work through it, with you. Yer worth it."

"Aw..." Her cheeks warmed with a smile accompanying it. "You're too good. Let's tackle what we can get our hooves on." She lashed at the air as if pouncing with her forehooves. "You got hit on by a stallion... and liked it." She smirked viciously at Blossom's blushing face. "So I need to meet this pony. But not tonight. I am exhausted. Thankfully, you can fix that. Just swing by when I'm expecting it and let's go visiting." She inclined her head. "Does he know about your other half?"

"Uh, I did tell him..."

Sugar's brows went up together. "Before or after he made a move on you?"

Blossom struggled to remember the order of things. "Hm... uh... don't... remember 'xactly... Does that make a difference?"

"A little." Sugar shrugged softly. "Just wondering if he likes all of you, or just the part he had right in front of him, is all. This isn't fair, I guess. We should ask him. Another reason to go talk to him." She rose up to her hooves slowly. "But I'm tired. So you take yourself home, with a kiss." She smooched Blossom on either cheek before going in for lips to lips. They shared a moment of quiet intimacy before she pulled back with a joyful smile. "See you in a few days?"

"Ayup..." Blossom got back up, feeling relaxed. Whatever else was going on, she hadn't blown things with Sugar Belle. The rest could be worked out, right? "Sleep well."

"You too." Sugar slipped right back into bed, cuddling under the sheets. "Close the window on your way, Miss Princess."

"Ayup." Blossom willed the window open and squeezed through out into the colder air outside. The same glow gently closed it behind her. She waved at the already fading Sugar Belle, then vanished without preamble.





It was not the end of her evening! She had other things to do! She fetched a kitten from a tree and brought it down to a happy elderly mare. "Here ya go."

"Thank you so much." She hugged her returned cat gently. "Now don't you go running up any trees again, you silly thing."

"10-49 handled," spoke Blossom into a floating radio received. "10-68" She was announcing herself as ready and idle. There were odds the dispatch had something for her.

"10-76," came the mare on the line. "About five blocks east of you.  No 10-81. Investigate and report in, over."

Smoke, but no alarm. "On it, out." Blossom hung the receiver on the breast pocket of her suit and took to the air on spread wings. "Smoke, smoke..." She took off towards the east. "Could be nothin'. Probably better if it is." Big fires in a city could be all kindsa trouble! Better it not be, or they catch it before it becomes one. Yup. She'd be perfectly happy with that.

The traffic of the night city was perfectly normal. Not asleep, still, less than the day traffic, but the city wasn't asleep. Big cities often didn't go to sleep. Like her, they just had different personalities at different parts of the day or night. Smoke! She saw it curling up from a highrise from a window on.. about the tenth floor. That could get bad! She flew directly for it, swerving to avoid running into a pegasus that wasn't following protocols. She didn't have time to bust them on that. "Watch where yer goin'!" She shouted instead. That would have to do.

"10-6," she reported as she flew up to the window and gave a clop-clop on the glass. "Anypony home?"

The window flew upwards, hooves pulling it up and allowing a great billow of fresh smoke to escape and a pony to flop out, coughing. "Hey," gasped out the new stallion, still coughing. "Give me... a moment..."

Blossom peered at the recovering stallion. "Do you need a lift to the ground? Do you know what's on fire in there?"

"Nothing's on fire, just... messing up a recipe." He sat up, breathing the fresher air allowed with the window open and his face half stuffed through it. "Let me turn down the heat."

"Allow me." Blossom flew in over the stallion into the smoke. She held her breath as best she could, eyes stinging as she fought her way through it. She arrived at the kitchen and hurriedly flapped to the angrily smoking stovetop. With a glowing horn, she clicked the heat off. Part of her wanted to grab and move the pot, but throwing it into the sink could cause even more problems. Just letting it cool down felt like the right course of action. "Stay outside!" she shouted. There was way too much smoke in there to be healthy.

She returned to floating in front of him, hovering on flapping wings. "Whatever you were cooking, it's a lost cause. Please be more careful in the future. You could have hurt yourself, and a lot of ponies around you."

"I was just trying to make dinnner." He was slack with defeat. "Sorry... Thanks for the help."

"You're very welcome." She patted the defeated stallion gently. "I'm glad you're alright." She picked up her receiver with her magic to call in that the situation was resolved.
> 34 - North Migration
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Having never been there before, she had little choice but to go there the hard way. Either a train or her wings, and she had selected her wings. Blossom flew high over Equestria, watching it pastorally scroll past her. It was a magic sight, being able to see so far and from such a different vantage. "Really makes ya feel small." There was nocreature about to hear her thoughts, but she still said them for herself.

The further she flew, the chillier it got. It was a subtle and slow thing, but she could feel it, the cold creeping in on her. Maybe she should have taken the train? She was going over the mountains that separated the main portion of Equestria from the north. Snow was covering everything in higher and higher piles. She was entering the true winter lands.

"Hello," called a happy if a little dopey voice. There was Muffins, flying aside her. "Are you going to the Crystal Empire too?"

When had they come in? "Ayup." Blossom looked over Muffin curiously. They were flying steadily, ignoring the chill, and with a postal cap on her head. "Makin' a delivery?"

"Several!" Muffins flipped upside down a moment before righting herself. "Even to the north, the mail must flow." She made swooshy motions with her hooves. "Are you delivering something?"

Blossom considered that. "If ya look at it right, yup!" She pointed to herself. "Ah'm the delivery."

"Ooo." Muffins did a slow circle up and around Blossom. "Delivering that would cost extra bits. Somepony must have wanted it sent real bad." She flew in close to Blossom's belly, then around to her back. "You don't have any stamps or stampmarks."

Blossom was quiet a moment. "Huh... ain't wrong. That's why ah ain't being delivered by no mailpony."

"That makes sense." Muffin tapped at her chin thoughtfully. "But the mail is safer! Usually... We try our best, promise!" She swooped in close to Blossom. "Yer a princess, right?"

"Ayup?"

Muffin clip-clopped cheerfully. "I don't get to make deliveries with princesses! That makes this a royal delivery." She burst into giggles, clearly self-amused at her pun. "I was at your coronation! You looked nice in that dress."

Blossom colored gently as the wind blew through her fur. "Ayup..." She could remember that dress, quite ornate and showy, as was proper for a new noble pony being shown off. "Ah... bet you'd look real nice in a proper dress too."

Muffin gasped dramatically. "You think?! Wow! That would be so fun." Her eyes shined with the thought of being all fancy dressed. "What color do you think they'd go with?" She rolled her eyes. "Would they make it muffin themed?"

"If ya want? Sounds like you don't want that." Blossom considered her flying partner.

"No way." Muffin crossed her arms with a pouty snort. "Just 'cause it's my name and just 'cause muffins are delicious, doesn't mean everything about me is muffins! What about a postal dress?" She smiled brightly at that, eyes not focused on the same place as if dreaming of two things at once. "I'll be the princess of mail delivery!"

"That sounds right nice." Orchard flew in a little closer. "Ah'll be at your fancy party when it happens."

"Yay! You're really nice for a princess." She colored suddenly. "Sorry! Most princesses are kinda nice. I meant you're extra nice! Oh, look." Their talking had distracted them, with Muffin pointing the way to the city below, glittering with the crystals that made them up. "Let's make our deliveries!" She banked sharply, descending towards the city.

Blossom made her own circling descent for a different target. The great big palace was right there, and, oops. She was suddenly in front of it, right at the steps. A guard squawked in surprise, lowering a spear, though he raised it a moment later. "Sorry, ma'am. You startled me."

Orchard Blossom nodded at the guard. "Ain't nothin'. Sorry fer poppin' in like that. Is Cadance around?"

The guard curled a hoof to his chin. "Head inside. I'll put out the word that you're here and seeking her audience."

Blossom trotted up the stairs to find a new pony, a mare, smiling at her. She wore a maid's outfit. "Ayup?"

"Hello," greeted the maid. "I'm here to see to your service, ma'am."

Not the first maid Blossom had interacted with. "Right neighborly." Part of her wanted to gently brush the maid off, but that'd probably hurt her feelings. She was hired to be helpful. "Can ah get a little snack?" All that flying had worked up some apptetite.

"Certainly, this way." She led the way out of the main foyer to smaller hallways, and in them, a sitting room big enough for maybe four ponies comfortably. "Please have a seat. I'll be right back with refreshments for you, ma'am."

Blossom sank to her haunches as the maid dashed off to see that done.  "The Crystal Empire..." She could add that to her growing Quick Travel menu. Being able to teleport was kinda great! She just had to get better at not teleporting at times.

She saw a clock hanging there and blinked. "Whew..." She had flown much of the night. No wonder her wings were feeling sore. And she was cold, and... Being reminded of the time spent, all the aches that she had built up from the travel crashed on her.

"You look beat." Coming in from across the way came Cadance with a gentle smile. "Which is curious. I was told you teleported in, with magic. Was it a difficult spell?"

Blossom sat up as proper as she could in a hurry. "Cadance! Right nice to see ya."

"A pleasure to see and be seen." She sank across from Blosom. "It looks like we both had a full day, or night as the case may be." She yawned into a hoof dramatically. "They woke me up with wild news of a princess suddenly appearing. Why didn't you warn me?"

"Uh..." Blossom tucked a hoof behind her head. "Ah didn't think of it? Sorry..."

"It's alright." Cadance inclined her head. "Third member of the new princess club, second of the self-made, hm." She offered a hoof. "Here's to finding our own way."

Blossom met the hoof with her own in a firm clop. "Oh right! You weren't planned for neither."

"No Celestia tutor for me," agreed Cadance with a gentle smile. "Like you, I had to figure things for myself. She was there when I took that last step, but not for the first." She curled a hoof at herself. "Princess of love and family." She turned the hoof on Blossom. "Do you have a specialty just yet? It's alright if you don't. These things take time."

"Ah, hm. Well..." Blossom's horn glowed as she pulled out the police officer's cap, glowing softly, and popped it on her head. "Ah'm a watcher of the night. Unlike Luna, in the, uh, physical, you know? Keep ponies safe, and their stuff if ah can. Night watcher, that's me."

"How delightful, and fast... It took Twilight quite some time to... She's still working on that." Cadance winked. "Don't rub it in her face that you're so confident just yet. Now..." She paused, watching the maid from before come in. The maid quietly set out snacks and drinks between them and scooted out without a word. "Did you ask for that?"

Blossom reached for a tidbit, her magic reaching the rest of the distance to claim it. "Ah did. Right nice mare."

"Quite dutiful indeed. Now, you didn't come here just to talk, at least not aimlessly, I imagine." She steepled her hooves under her chin. "So what is it? Share your question and I may have the answer, maybe."

"Right..." Blossom crossed her arms, still chewing at the sweet tidbit. "Let's start at the start. Ah'm a stallion half the time."

Cadance blinked at that, looking Blossom over intently. "You appear... to be a large mare. Heavyset and strong, certaintly, but still a mare."

"Ah'm Big Mac during the day," Blossom tried more pointedly. "An' he's a stallion. Ah'm Orchard Blossom at night. Switch back an' forth."

"Ah... Ah. Hm." Cadance's eyes seemed to unfocus as she peeked in a new direction. "What a tangled web you have... Alright, I will accept this. You, Princess Orchard Blossom, are also Big Macintosh, a friend of Twilight. An apple farmer, if I recall?"

"Ayup," agreed Blossom with a proud smile. "Awful good at that too, but that ain't what ah'm here for! Ya see... a right handsome stallion made some moves on me... and ah kinda liked it."

Cadance colored just faintly. "Were you... a mare or a stallion at the time?"

"Um..." Blossom frowned with new thought. "If ah was Big Mac at the time, woulda been real confused and kinda upset likely... Ah was this." She pointed at herself, the princess. "But ah'm still him! I could remember what ah felt like, when I was back in that body... It was all... An' ah got a ladyfriend already!"

Cadance's smile deepened, eyes half lidding. "Do you now? Does she know about all this?" She waved gently at Blossom.

"Y-yeah... Does that help?"

"It does... brave mare." Cadance crossed her arms. "Brave, and open. Does she like you, even right now?"

"Huh?" At first, Blossom didn't get it, but it clicked. "Oh! Yeah, she likes me as Big Mac  an' Orchard Blossom. And ah like her both ways. She's a right fine mare!"

"I'm not arguing that, I promise. In fact, that she's rolling with this is a credit towards her. Now... I can't say if you started this way... or if it was the influence of your girlfriend, but it's not that unusual."

"What ain't?" Blossom took a sip of a colorful fruit drink. "Mmm, berries, but kinda sour."

"Crystal berries," helpfully offered Cadance. "And I was saying, it's not that unusual for bisexual ponies to gather together. It's not common for one of them to be physically bisexual, but here we are."

Blossom colored at the implications. "She's all mare!"

"But you are not." Cadance smiled at her visitor, looking far more amused than anything else. "I love it. Now, let me guess a little. You woke up as Big Mac, remembering those warm happy thoughts you had as Orchard Blossom, and now, even though you couldn't before, you're thinking of all the nice parts this stallion had, as a stallion, and that's making you really nervous."

"Yes!" Blossom burst out far louder than she had planned. "Ah'm stuck thinkin' 'bout him, and it ain't right. It ain't loyal... Sugar Belle deserves to have a partner that's only thinkin' of her... Please help."

"I see.... You have picked the right princess." Her eyes half-lidded. "This is exactly my ball of wax, as they say... Now, me, I'm pretty standard. I am a mare, and I loved a stallion enough to put a ring on it. The end, happy times forever." She sighed with a happy and distant look. "But that's just one way ponies can get together, not the end, not by far. Now... I want to hear about Sugar Belle. Have you told her about this, or are you keeping it a secret?"

"She's the first ah told," snapped Blossom a bit defensively.

"Good." Cadance leaned back, a floating cup allowing her to sip from some tea. "Open communication is the most important thing, in any relationship, simple or complicated. Speaking honestly and listening thoroughly can get ponies through a lot of trouble, or even let them break things up when they have to. I'm thrilled to hear you're already doing that. Now, what did she say?"

"W-well..." Blossom took a fresh bite of a bit of cake, as if the soft sugar would calm her, which it seemed to do. "She's upset she can't be enough pony to be wit' me all day an' night, but that ain't fair! Ah don't 'spect her to do that! What pony could, um, other than me? Ah made her feel bad... an' that makes me feel bad... Some partner ah am..."
> 35 - Meeting of Minds
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

"Oh, an' one more thing." Blossom sat up, tail lashing. "She wants to meet Fancy Pants."

Cadance recoiled. "How did she ask that?" That potential trouble lurked there did not elude her.

"She weren't angry." Blossom sagged a little. "She's too good fer that... She just wants to meet 'em, talk to 'em. Um, ah did say he backed off the moment I told them about havin' a special somepony."

Cadance relaxed with a sigh. "Good good. Now... this opens a possibility. I'm going to need you to describe a few things for me, seeing as I wasn't there." A fact that clearly annoyed her. "What is her opinion of Fancy Pants?"

"Huh? Well..." Orchard Blossom barely touched her hooves together in faint taps. "Ah think she thinks highly of 'em, but from a distance. Like most ponies think ah Celestia, ya know?"

"I do know." Cadance's sly grin returned. "So, from her view, you were solicited by a Big Deal, but you were loyal."

"Ah don't feel loyal." Blossom flopped to the table, the plates shaking with the thump of impact. "She deserves better."

"And she wants to meet them, and she isn't angry at you." Cadance sat back with a little chuckle. "I may be leaping ahead of myself, only Sugar Belle could say for certain... But I do think you should give her exactly what she's asking for."

"Hm?" Blossom pushed back to a sit. "What is she askin' for?"

"To meet him." Cadance waved off in no specific direction. "Fancy Pants. In fact, with your permission... I'd like to be there. Think of me as a moderator! A pony to be calm and collected in the middle." Also a gossiper that wanted to see the juicy details from a front row seat, but she didn't mention that. "Now! One thing. I remember Celestia's letter. Auntie said you could teleport, and you did. Poor guard. But that's aside the point. Can you get us back to Canterlot faster than the train could?"

Blossom dared a little smile. "That ah can do, um..." She looked Cadance up and down. "Don't get me wrong, really appreciate the helpin' hoof... But ah'm curious. Celestia can raise the sun. Luna does the moon." She made grand sweeping motion with each. "An' she watches dreams. What's yer... thing?"

"And you teleport through the night, it seems," added Cadance with an easy smile. "I did mention, I am the princess of love. I can see connections between ponies. That's why I said you have a tangled web, and that makes sense. You have two ponies worth of connections dangling off of you, going in every direction." She reached out to brush an unseen thread. "This is the strongest. I bet it leads to your Sugar Belle." She came up short. "Oh, sorry. Strongest passion line. You have some thick ones that I'd bet go to family members."

Blossom eased at that. "Ah'd be right upset if you couldn't see 'em. Love 'em terrible! Um..." Blossom tried to see the lines that Cadance was speaking of, but she saw nothing there in the air, even as Cadance openly ran her hooves over them. She had given permission, neigh, even encouragement for Cadance to focus on that. "Ah can teleport you... Can you share your gift with me?"

Cadance perked at that. "Oh, I'm being rude." She drew her hooves back. "Indirectly. It's what I'm doing right now, serving as a helpful voice. I can't make you see what I see, but I could strengthen one of those lines, or weaken one, temporarily." She curled her tongue with a faint frown. "Let me put it this way, to be more fair. Can you make me able to teleport around?"

"Ah... could teleport you?" But she could not make Cadance able to teleport. Celestia rose the sun for them all, but she couldn't easily just pass sun-rising as a giftbox to somepony... "Ah get it... Sorry, weren't meanin' to imply nothin'. Been nothin' but kind to me."

Cadance patted her fellow princess on the shoulder. "No offense taken, I promise. Now! Since you can teleport, with me, let's arrange a little meeting, hm? Go and ask Sugar Belle and Fancy Pants if they're up to meeting. Bring me to it with them, and we can have a little chat." She steepled her hooves with that calculating look. "I will also get to see them, and their networks may reveal quite a bit more on this topic."

"Huh?" Blossom rolled her ears back. "Ah'm the one being unloyal. Sugar Belle's a good pony! One of the best! Um, and Fancy Pants ain't with nopony right now." She labored to consider. "He has his rich friends and his servants, but ain't nothin' romantic there, ah think."

"I can verify that," sang Cadance. "There's a reason Chrysalis chose to get rid of me. If she had replaced Shining Armor, I would have noticed straight away. The game would have been over before she made barely her first move." She set her hooves on the table. "But I don't imagine this will happen tonight, and I'm tired, anyway. Feel free to rest here, or head home. I suppose home's a thought away?"

She smiled at that. "What a power... I wouldn't trade mine for it. Still... what a power... To be anywhere? Hold that close and dearly, new princess." Cadance slid down to her hooves. "Feel free to enjoy the snacks remaining. My castle is your castle. I feel like we're newly introduced sisters... I'd love to learn more about you." She giggled on the way to the door. "But your sister needs her sleep."

Blossom scrambled to her hooves, rushing after Cadance. "Wait! Um... at the least, how should ah come knockin'. Just flyin' in and demandin' it is kinda rude, ain't it?"

"So polite." She captured Blossom's cheeks in her hooves, mashing those round bits with a smile. "Don't teleport right in front of them before they can even see who you are. Walk towards them like anypony else, and they'll be happy to see you. I'll tell them you are a welcome guest." She yawned thunderously into a hoof. "But, for now..." She left without further word, eyes mostly closed and ready for slumber.

Blossom didn't stop her that time, the door closing with a soft click in front of her. "Right neighborly..." She still had so many questions, but not many of them could be addressed by Cadance right that moment. "First..." She peeked out of the room. "Could ya--" She waved down a passing butler. "Could ya tell the maid that filled this room." She pointed back to the room she was coming from. "Tell her the snacks were delicious, and thank you."

"With pleasure." The crystal stallion bowed his front towards Blossom. "It is our job, but a good word is always appreciated, ma'am."

Blossom reached up to tip the hat... Oh, she was still wearing her police cap, which was fine for tipping. With a smile, she trotted in a jog for the front and slipped down the stairs to the streets of the Crystal Empire. Part of her wanted to look around, but it was late in the night. "Ain't the time to be startin' no new adventures." And she wasn't there anymore. She was in front of her home, the motel she had a room in. Not as grand as the crystal palace, but it was hers, at least the room she was renting.

"Good enough fer a princess."

She flopped and went to bed.





He woke up, stretching out his legs and clopping to the floor. "Glad that's sorted." At least, the next step was clear. He had no way to approach either of them right that moment, so he descended towards the kitchen for breakfast.

But there were boxes, a lot of them. They had bright and colorful wrappers, most with equally ornate ribbons. "What the?"

Grandma Smith was there, arms crossed. "Was gonna ask the same thin'. Only you could answer that."

Big Mac wove around the piles of boxes to reach her. "How could ah help?"

She reached and knocked a box off its pile, right onto Big Mac's snoot in a fit of good timing. "They're all addressed to you! So open 'em up so we can stop wonderin', and maybe get some space back."

Big Mac sat, bringing up two hooves to hold the box and bring it down just in front of himself. The label seemed clear.



To: Big Macintosh/Orchard Blossom
From: Fancy Pants



Big Mac began to color swiftly, eyes going wide. He looked to Grandma, who was just watching him evenly. "D-did you.. um... Did you read it?"

Grandma rolled her eyes. "Who's this Fancy Pants? And they know who you are, both of you! Is it trouble?"

Big Mac started peeling away the wrapper of the box he was holding. "Don't think so... We ain't quarralin' or nothin'... He's a wealthy pony, up in Canterlot." He pointed the way before leaning in to bite lose a stubborn part of the wrapping. With a pop, a box was revealed. He had to get some scissors to finish that job, slicing it open to reveal a felt smaller box.

His heart began to thump. There was also a bit of paper in there. Maybe that'd help!? He got the letter out and read it swiftly.



Hail and salutations,

I was nothing but a bore, and it weighs on me terribly. I don't know what order you will open these in, so expect many letters repeating this, but it's equally true, this I assure. This is not a gift for you, not precisely. This is for your ladyfriend. You are welcome to claim all the credit for it. I owe at least this much for putting you in such a terrible position! Maybe you could use it to ask a particular question? I'm wishing you the very best of fortunes!

Hoping We Are Still Friends,
Fancy Pants



Big Mac opened the felt box carefully, as if it may have a bomb. Inside glinted the explosive. It as a ring, topped by a diamond that was too large. He gasped in sync with Grandma's sharp whistle. "Lookie that!" Granny raised a brow. "Ain't many reasons fer a stallion to send one of those... There somethin' you need to share wit' me?"

"Ain't like that!" hotly denied Big Mac, face somehow managing to be more red than it already was. "He's sendin' this so ah can give it to Sugar Belle." He waved the letter defensively. "Says so right here."

Granny took the letter from Big Mac's flailing hoof. "Let me see that..." She popped on her reading glasses, eyes sweeping left and right. "Huh... Sorry fer thinkin' you were tryin' to get somethin' past me. It does say that." She leaned to the side for a better look at the ring. "This..." Her eyes wandered to the other boxes as she took off her glasses. "He sent this many gifts?! What did he do that he thinks you're that angry wit' 'em?"

Big Mac clopped a hoof to his face with a miserable grunt.

"Figure--" Applejack came in, already glistening from the morning work she'd started. "--Whoever sent these either hates you, or loves you, so which..." She saw the ring too. "Oh..." Not many ponies would send a ring like that to who they hated. "Um.... Shoot... Now I feel real like a heel..."

Big Mac covered his face with his other hoof, both working in concert to hide from the world. "He made a pass at me, when ah was Orchard Blossom! Done told him afterwards ah'm a taken pony! Backed off real quick... But guess he still feels powerful bad about it."

Applejack reached for the box, pressing it gently closed. "Shoot... when ah got an admirerer, they didn't give any such nice gifts... They figured they were gift enough." She rolled her eyes. "Don't make yer sister jealous of you!"
> 36 - Do Ya Wanna?
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

There was a matter of gifts. A lot of them. Part of him wanted to just give them back, but that might be taken the wrong way. Once a gift was given, it was rude to shove it back, and these gifts surely had been given...

"'Least ah can do is open 'em." The family deserved their space, so he got busily to opening boxes, at least so the boxes could be gotten rid of. The boxes ranged in size from little gifts to big mystery things. He went for the biggest, figuring that'd open up the most space.

He didn't expect a jeweled plow.

The letter inside started the same.



This is for your daytime activities. I hope it helps you and your family in your farming activities. Do orchards make use of plows? I confess, my knowledge of agriculture is somewhat limited. Perhaps you'd like to enlighten me at some point.



"Huh..." Clearly, Fancy wanted to talk, not just throw presents and make a problem go away. Still, that was a right fancy plow! He pulled it free with a grunt, kicking away the empty box. "Could use it fer wrappin' up winter."

Applejack whistled softly at the fancy thing. "Ya keepin' that fer yerself?"

Big Mac heard the question in there, the real one. "'Course not. If it's made well, figure anypony that can use it, should. If it's more glitz than function... we'll find out right soon enough. Ain't keepin' as an art piece."

Applejack casually picked it up, tossing it on her back precariously. "I'll put it in the barn fer now then." And off she trotted with the new toy, looking happy about it.

Big Mac smiled after his sister. Coulda had worse gifts... He reached for the next biggest to find a Yoke, like the one he wore around his neck.



Now this one, I confess, is for you specifically. I'm not aware of anypony else in your family or friends who wears one of these. I'd like to see it, if it suits you.



Big Mac couldn't pick it up. He could feel too much confusion swelling in him. "Does..."

Granny was still there, watching this. "Does he know yer taken?"

And she went and asked what he was trying to get out. "Y-yes! Ah told him... and he said alright an' backed off..." But why would that translate to a new fancy yoke? Big Mac lifted it slowly, turning it around. On one side, not very large, was a little sewn picture of three little crowns. Fancy Pants' cutie mark...

Big Mac dropped the yoke like it was on fire, squawking in surprise.

Granny stepped down from her chair. "What'd you see?"

Big Mac just pointed, words driven from him for the moment. She came up and followed his trembling hoof to see the picture. "No." She crossed her arms over her chest, sitting with a huff. "Ain't happening! He's gettin' 'head of himself, thinkin' he can send gifts like that to a taken pony." She curled a leg over the top of the box, tugging it towards herself. "Ah'll be holdin' onta this."

He could feel his breath returning with the removal of that gift. "Let's... get this over with." Thankfully, most of the other boxes had all kinds of things that could be directed at others, or just shared. Those were a lot easier to accept. A tin of fancy cookies, a new butter tray, a new lamp, that sort of thing that'd just end up being in the house, not for him specifically.

With a little extra effort, he got all the boxes out of the way and out to the trash properly. The house was back to being walkable! "There." Big Mac wiped his brow. "All done.

Granny nodded approvingly. "Nice t'be able to walk a step without bumpin' into somethin'." She walked past Big Mac, almost as if to prove that. "Now, yer chores didn't get cancelled just for yer trouble."

"Right! On it." Doing field work felt like a wonderful distraction from other things going on.





Orchard Blossom woke to a banging on her door. "Wha?" That was the first time that happened. It was like the noise had awoken her, but she had gone to bed like normal. How could that work? Still, she was awake, and the door was being rapped against. "Comin'!" She hopped to her hooves and hurried to the door, willing it open with a toss of her head and a glowing horn. This revealed the landmare. "Hey..." She trailed off, seeing the landmare had not come alone.

Boxes.

She had a lot of boxes.

Blossom sank to her haunches, guessing what the boxes were. "Did they have Fancy Pants written on 'em?"

The landmare was already moving boxes into Blossom's room and out of the hallway. "Didn't look." Still, since it was asked, she grabbed one of the labels. "Yep." And on she went with clearing the hallway. "Don't know why he's littering the place, but it has your name on it too, so it's at least as much your fault." She shoved the last box into Blossom's room. "Don't make a mess, thanks."

"R-right." She closed the door without touching it and sighed as she looked over the boxes. "Dangunnit... The pile at the farm was more than enough..." Still, curiosity gnawed at her. Perhaps some small part of her... She deserved a gift or two, right?

But she was also Big Mac, who had gotten a lot of gifts. She could remember opening them all up. Still... Maybe the gifts sent to a mare were different? She wasn't sure, but she knew one way to find out really quickly.

She pulled a box over in her magic and gently peeled it open.



Good evening, Miss Blossom,

If I timed this properly, you should awake to find these after you've already received what I sent to your other half. That is a curious thought, having another half that isn't a separate pony. Like the others, I can't know which you'll open first, so expect this at the start of many of these letters. This is a sign of my apologies for being so thoughtlessly rude. I wish you and yours a delightful day. Please enjoy these. This particular gift is a delightfully refined and tasty tongue teaser, though it struggles to be even half as delightful as the one who receives it.

Still friends?
Fancy Pants



"Ya dang fool..." She hadn't even considered him not a friend at any point... She reached into the box with her magic and pulled free some paper she shredded to reveal a bottle. It was a bottle of fine drink. "Oh..." She turned it slowly about and set it down. "Ah ha!" She saw a cork opener in the box. "Thoughtful." She considered using it, but instead put both aside. No reason to start with that.

The gifts for her were a lot more... edible. But there was a piece of clothing. Big Mac had gotten the yoke. She... "Wow..." She held it up in her magic, eyes traveling over its lines and her cheeks on fire. "Right pretty..." It was a dress, dangling from her magic. She reached up to brush along it gently. "Soft..." Soft, fancy, bright, but matching with her pelt. The maid! The maid had given him her measurements.

Talented of her to figure it out without being noticed, but if... If it fit.

There was only one way to be sure of that. Blossom made room around herself, setting her tiara aside. She was naked. This was not an unusual state for a pony to be in, though less common in a city. But she was in her room, no shame there. She pulled the dress down over her head and reared up to wriggle her arms up into the clothing. She pulled down the dress as she worked up into it, popping her head through and coming back down to all fours.

Blossom was wearing the dress. She turned to the mirror in the room and hurried over for a peek. "Oh."

A strange mare was looking back at her, all fancied up. No... She could use a little touch here, and maybe there? But she was fancy... "Oh." Blossom sank to her haunches, overwhelmed by how pretty she looked to herself, a strange dual thoughtway there in a blending of 'I'm pretty' and 'That mare is pretty'.

But she was pretty, and that was a right nice dress. "Ah... owe him a thanks." She rose up to turn left and right, getting a better look at herself from various angles. Her magic worked dutfilly to get her mane and pelt in order. "Ah'd..." Wearing it for the rest of the night was tempting, but she had to go to work. And no police officer shows up wearing a fancy dress. That'd be kinda funny. She chuckled at the idea, swooping in on a bad guy, her dress fluttering. "Stop right there, fashion police!" She began to wriggle free of her dress, smiling at the absurd idea.

"Still... this is too much." She had an invitation to make, and matters to discuss... after work. She stopped being in her room. With her police attire donned, she casually appeared in a city, and got to work making it a little safer. It was a good night. She stopped a robbery of a jewelry store, helped a lost colt get home, and helped a whole family of tourists not get lost in the first place. A fine night.

But it wasn't time to retire, at least not entirely. She hung up her hat and wiggled free of her work attire, considering the dress that dangled on its hook. Should she wear that? "Um..." She weren't super well trained on such things, but a mare wearing what a stallion bought for her, looking as pretty as that? Could send the wrong signals...

So it was that Blossom showed up at Fancy's manor wearing nothing but her tiara. That wasn't that unusual for her, outside of work hours, but she felt more exposed then usual. "Stop overthinkin'," she mumbled to herself, knocking on the gate.

The door to the house swung open, the butler stepping into view. "Ah, Miss Blossom, your highness. A pleasure to see you." He accelerated at a mild pace to the gate to will it open. "I'm afraid you've caught him indisposed." He turned back to the house, raising a hoof. "He's having his mane done."

Orchard Blossom hummed gently. "How long does that take... an' shouldn't he be at a salon or somethin'?"

"Oh, perish that thought." The butler waved a hoof at the idea. "He has very specific needs for that, and only trusts one pony with the job. He was good enough to pay a visit tonight, so it is getting done." He leaned in a little. "They're very busy, you must see. Seeing them during the day? Impossible without about half a year of reservation. But they are good friends." He smiled gently at that. "So an exception was made. A little night visit to freshen up Fancy's look. I'm afraid I can't disclose who this pony is. That they are giving this opportunity would upset other ponies. We can't have that."

Blossom imagined Fancy Pants being dutifully clipped at to get that proper style renewed. "Ah..." When was the last time she really took time for herself? She had just freshened herself quickly to try to match the dress given to her. "Is the maid in? Ah think ah'd like to talk to her."

"Neat Fold?" asked the butler, getting a quick nod. "She should be in. Please, follow me." It was with that, she was allowed into Fancy Pant's house, looking for Neat Fold. The maid was dusting busily in a living room. "Here she is. Neat, Miss Orchard Blossom wanted to speak to you.

Neat Fold looked up with a bright smile. "Miss Blossom! It's nice to see you again." She willed her duster to a rest and walked over energetically. "What brings you by?"
> 37 - Dominoes in a Row
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

"Jus' wanted to say thanks, uh, and ask a question." Blossom looked about the room, tidy and well upkept, in part due to Neat Fold's attention.

"You have nothing to thank me for that you haven't already." Still, Neat Fold sat with a kind expression. "What are you thinking of?"

"Oh, well, you were a right nice pony, to start." Blossom played her hooves off one another. "Enjoyed our conversation an' what not... But ah wanted to ask... is it normal for ya to give a pony's measurements to yer boss?"

Neat colored swiftly. "Ma'am! I gave no such thing, I assure." She pointed off somewhere and back at herself. "However, Mister Fancy Pants did request I secure some clothing for you, and I did know your sizes."

Oh... "Oh," she repeated out loud, the mystery dissolved harmlessly. "That was a right nice dress then. Um... Thanks fer pickin' it. You were the one that got it then?"

Her momentary stunned expression brightened. "I'm glad to hear you liked it. You're not wearing it."

"N-no... Didn't feel right comin' in it. Um..." She rubbed at her cheek awkwardly. "Sends messages showin' up at a fellas house, wearing the pretty dress he got ya."

Neat Fold picked up her duster in her magic, setting it in a more longterm position. "You have a point. Fortunately, you don't need a dress to look great."

Blossom felt the blood rushing to her face. "R-really?"

"I judge things fairly, ma'am," assured Neat. "If I thought negatively, I just wouldn't speak my opinion, to be polite. But if I say something is attractive, it is because I believe it is." She inclined her head faintly. "You have a strong matronly feeling, and I can appreciate that..." Her smile relaxed with past thoughts. "It was just right to share mother's recipe with, for example."

Blossom's ears danced, considering that angle. "Hadn't really thought of it that way... Um... Also wanted t' chat with Fancy Pants, but ah hear he's gettin' his mane done up." She considered the well-to-do pony. "He does have a fancy look."

"Right from the name," joked Neat gently. "He knows his appearance is his first hoof forward, and endeavors that be a good one. They say you shouldn't judge a book on its cover, but we all do. If a book doesn't make you want to pick it up, the brilliant words within don't mean much, do they?"

Blossom considered a shelf full of books, waiting to be read. "Huh... But y'ain't gonna be happy with a book with a pretty cover what got nothin' inside."

"Aren't you?" Neat Fold leaned forward, a sly smile on her face. "That sounds like a picture. Ponies pay plenty for one of those."

"Huh... Um, so about when do ya think Fancy'll be done?" Blossom looked to a clock ticking quietly.

Neat turned her eyes in the same direction. "It isn't always easy to guess, but sometime soon." She gestured at a chair. "Please, relax. I feel certain Fancy Pants would want you to be comfortable."

Blossom accepted the seat, curling on it. "And why is that 'xactly? Is it 'cause I'm a princess?"

"That doesn't hurt." Neat lifted her shoulders. "But he had taken a shine to you, madame, before that was true. Putting that aside, what other princesses have you seen in your visits here?"

Blossom struggled to think of even one... "He visits with Celestia right often, don't he?"

"At her functions," corrected Neat. "She is the princess of the land. It would not be a good look for him to not be there, and lend his hoof to her however he could. He takes his noble duties quite seriously, ma'am."

"Noble duties, right." She flipped an ear back. "As a, uh, princess, ain't be doin' much of those."

"A princess would have royal duties," corrected Neat Fold with a serene smile. "And you accomplish them quite well, I am told. You don't do them as Princess Celestia does them, but very well regardless."

"Ah do?" She thought back to her activities. "Bein' a police officer? That can't be no royal duty. Plenty of not-royal ponies doin' it wit' me! Brave mares and stallions, the lot of 'em, but they ain't got the wings and horn."

"And, to them, you are their princess." Neat Fold inclined her head slowly. "And I'm sure they look up to you with wide, appreciative, eyes. Princess Celestia is a fine princess to guard and serve, but you're the princess that they work beside, and I feel certain they enjoy that."

Blossom got a lopsided grin, laughing at a sudden idea. "An' if there was a princess of maids?"

"Then I'd have to, as they say, 'up my game.'" She drew her duster over, glowing with her magic. "It wouldn't do to look poorly on her. Perhaps she would have some tips for the trade? I wouldn't mind exchanging them. Alas, no such princess has emerged." She sighed with perhaps more drama than she needed. "I will have to make do with a princess of the sun, and a princess of protection. Not a bad pair of princesses to have, if you ask me."

"An' the princess of the night?" suggested Blossom. "Can't go forgettin' Luna."

"Perish the thought." But it wasn't Neat. Fancy emerged from one of many hallways. "Ladies. I hope I am not intruding."

Neat Fold went right back to her duties without delay. "Of course not, sir. She was hoping to see you." Their conversation, ended.

Blossom scrambled up to her hooves. "Sir. Um, nice to see ya." She looked over his mane. "They did a right nice job."

"Thank you." He fluffed  his mane but only once. "Oh, look at me. You didn't come here just to see me preen, did you?" Blossom shook her head quickly. "Did the gifts find you well?"

"Oh, yeah, um..." Blossom shuffled on her hooves, forgetting half the words she had worked up. "Actually, related to that! Kinda need to talk."

"With pleasure." He sat there in front of her. "Please, do proceed."

"Uh..." She glanced away and back. "That was... a lot. Ain't used to so many gifts from any pony... Ya sure ya meant to send quite so many?"

"It hardly encompasses the totality of my feelings on the matter." He adjusted his monocle. "I was quite the rude pony that evening, really. If I had known... But that is my error, not yours. One should check where they will land before they take a leap, hm?"

"It ain't like that!" She waved both hooves at him. "Ain't mad... weren't mad in the first place. Um... Ya just caught me off guard, an' ah ain't no disloyal pony..."

"I should imagine not, officer. You are a proud and valiant guardian of the laws, ma'am, and we are safer for your presence."

Blossom could hear hear heart in her ears. Why was he so flattering? "Um, so... ah brought it up with mah ladyfriend."

"Did you now?"  He brought up a hoof as if to whisper, but didn't whisper. "Was she upset with me? She has every right to be."

"Um..."

"You don't need to be shy, Miss Blossom." He offered a hoof. "I was the one in the wrong. If anything, I'm the one that should feel out of place, and I do! I owe you more apologies, and you, none at all."

"It's fine," she squeaked. "Forgiven. Um... So, she wants to talk to ya, and, um, ya know Princess Cadance?"

His brows raised together. "Ruler of the Crystal Empire? I would hardly be doing my job if I didn't know of her. What about her?"

"That's the one." She smiled, if briefly. "She wants to be there, when we talk. All three of us." Blossom pointed at Fancy, herself, then at two other points for Sugar and Cadance. "Um, if... that's alright?"

"I say." He polished his monocle in his magic. "I have had a surplus of royal attention of late. If she wishes to speak with me,  have no objection, and I do owe your paramour a proper apology. Did she enjoy the gifts?"

"Oh! Um... Ah didn't get word from her 'bout that yet..." She reached into her side and pulled out the velvet box. "Yer puttin' pressure on me, givin' a pony somethin' like this to give! 'Sides! Then she'd feel right guilty. She don't have no fancy ring like this to give back. Ain't tryin' to put that on her, and ah didn't even buy it! That'd not be a nice thing t'do."

The box glowed with Fancy's magic as he lifted it into the air. "My apologies. Even my..." He sighed softly. "I must seem like quite the incompetent."

"N-no! It ain't like that." Her magic met his, the box glowing in combination of their colors, neither letting go, or pulling very hard, just both resting on it. "Just, um... workin' out how to do that..."

"A duty I did not mean to burden you with." The box wrenched a precious inch towards him. "It was a gift given in poor taste."

"Ain't nothin' to be sad fer." The box lurched back where it began. "It's a right pretty ring, just ain't sure yet exactly how to, um, show it."

He brought in his forehooves, grabbing the box gently and dipping low before Blossom. "If I may, I would do it like this." He popped open the box with deliberate slowness, revealing the glittering jewel. "For a mare who shines brighter than it ever could."

Blossom's magic fizzled out as she fell back to her haunches, face and neck burning hot with the moment. "Ah!"

He closed the box and set it down in front of  her. "It is your decision, of course. If you feel you wish, present it to her, or give it back." He held up a hoof. "No hard feelings in either event, though I won't hide that I hope she enjoys it." He gestured up at Blossom's head, no, her horn. "You could keep it yourself. I admit, I'm surprised to see this half of you holding it. I thought that had been sent to your day side?"

Blossom only felt the heat increasing. "He put it out, knowin' ah'd grab it. We both wanted you to get it, and hear what we were thinkin'."

"Understandable." He studied her, gaze even, but not intense. "Are you two related ponies, or one pony? The way you say that makes me think two closely related ponies."

"Oh!" It was a good evening to lose ones words. "Ah... We're one pony, ah think... Sorta... We got different personalities a bit, but they're brushin' up on each other. Hard to be two seperate, um... bein' this close togetha..."

"Do you know how he received my gifts then? He didn't send a letter about them. Nor did you, but you came personally, which certainly does count."

Oh shoot, was she, he, they? Were they supposed to do that?! "No offense!"

"None taken." He had that gentle smile. "I figured this may be new. And with the two of you being so enmeshed, I can count your visit as his own as well. It seems fair. Now, why did Princess Cadance want to be involved?"

A fine question she struggled to find words for. "Ah... Ah asked her... and she wants to... She wants to be in the middle, make sure there ain't more misunderstandings, from any of us."

Fancy skewed an ear forward. "That is very kind of her. I owe her a thank you for taking the time for little ponies like me." As if he wasn't a big deal. "I would be delighted, to speak to both of them. Just tell me when... Actually. Neat?" Neat Fold looked over. "You are familiar with Miss Orchard Blossom. Please work with her and consult my schedule for when would be a good day for all ponies involved."

Neat nodded crisply. "Of course, Sir. At your leisure, ma'am."
> 38 - Knock Knock
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Sugar Bell looked up at her window. It was late, bed was being considered, but then a knocking... There were only a few possibilities. "Either that's a big mare I want to come in, or somepony else who needs to go to bed!" she shouted at it.

The window slid open. Blossom wriggled through the space into the room. "Um, howdy."

"Howdy yourself." She quickly closed for some gentle nuzzles. "You didn't tell me you were coming." She bopped Blossom gently on the head. "Get in that habit."

Blossom snorted at the bonk. "Sorry... Um, got news though."

"You sound right excited about that." She sat to listen. "Go on."

"So, talked to some ponies... Cadance fer one." She pointed northerly. "Crystal Empire?"

"I'm not that sheltered!" Well, she was pretty sheltered. "Cadance? What for?"

"She wants to help." Blossom tapped her hooves together. "She's a princess of love, an' she wants to be there, when we all talk."

"We all? Who's the we in this all?" She leaned in,  head tilted. She took a little sniff of Blossom while she was in there. Her boyfriend smelled nice, even when he was a girlfriend.

Blossom pinned her ears back. "She knows, about us. Um, ah kinda asked her about it."

Sugar blinked, knocked dumb a moment. "You did what? She's a princess!"

Blossom curled a hoof back at herself. "So am ah, these days... Um... So ah asked."

Sugar flopped down. "What'd she say? Did she yell at you for wasting her time?"

Ochard Blossom smiled awkwardly at that. "Ain't nothin' like that. Right nice mare she is. She wants to be there, when we all talk." She waved her hoof about. "An' Fancy Pants wants to talk. Yer the only one left who hasn't said alright. Now, uh, to be fair..."

"To be fair," she echoed dubiously, but rolled a hoof for Blossom to continue.

"The day ponies in this got me outnumbered." He pointed at Sugar, then off. "There's you an' Cadance, to start. Fancy's up at all times, but he's more day than not. It'd be rude of me to insist we do it during this time." She turned that waving to be up at the sky. "So, ah'm thinkin' Big Mac aughta be there, in the day."

"Well, alright." She poked Blossom gently. "I love you both, and you can both hear when I talk to either of you, so what's the harm in that? Just..." She shrugged softly. "He's interested in this you, not the other you... right?"

Blossom shuffled in place. "Ya reckon... But if he's not happy talkin' wit' Big Mac, then that settles it right nicely, don't it?"

Sugar folded her arms. "Reckon it does, when you put it like that. Anypony that wants either of you has to take both of you or it's not really going to work out. So where, and how? If it's during the day, we can't ask you to teleport around much..."

Blossom considered that with a soft hum. "What if ah brought 'em here?" She pointed outside. "They can stay the night. Ah'll bring, uh, mahself too... He can sleep wit' you. Then, when everypony's nice an' awake, we chat."

"Clever..." Sugar planted a smooch on Blossom's nose. "I'll get a place for them."

With the larger details worked out, there was little in the way of the plan. Blossom conferred with Neat Fold and Cadance what day worked for them. The night before, she visited each to whisk them away to the small town Sugar Belle lived in. They'd stay in the same house, but there was room for either of them. "Thanks fer comin'." she assured both of them. "Now, tomorrow, it'll be Big Mac that's here, but we're the same pony."

Fancy Pants dipped his front. "Of course. Thank you for arranging this so quickly."

"I must say." Cadance was looking out a dark window at the street outside. "It's been quite a while since I was in such a small town. I think I'll do a little touristing tomorrow, see the sights, as it were."

Blossom smiled at that. "They'd be right happy to make a princess feel at home the best they can. Now, let me get mah other self." She spread her wings to take off, but a hoof touched her shoulder. "Hm?"

There was Fancy Pants, withdrawing his hoof. "I just want to be clear that you're quite welcome in either fashion. Don't feel awkward about it."

Blossom took an unsure step back. She brought down her wings in a great flap, vanishing from sight.

Cadance smiled knowingly at Fancy Pants.

"Did I speak poorly?" he asked of the princess.

"Not at all," she quickly assured. "Very gentleponly of you. Now, it's late, and this town does sleep." Easily proved by the still and quiet outside. "So, I suggest we take after them. It's a fine excuse to get a good night's sleep."

"A full night's slumber. They've brought us a rare gift indeed." The two upper crust ponies nodded with complete understanding, going to get those valuable Zs while they could.

The next day, Big Mac stretched awake, but he wasn't in his bed. Right. He had, as a she, brought him there, to Sugar Belle's house. There was Sugar Belle, sleeping next to him. He slowly slipped an arm around her and drew her close. It was quiet and still, but he was cuddled up with his mare, so it was time well spent, he decided.

"You gonna relax all day?" She hadn't opened her eyes, but that she was awake was hard to argue. "As comfortable as this is..."

Big Mac smooched her cheek and slid up to his hooves. "Mornin'!"

"Good morning to you too." She slid from bed to join him. "And you're all rested?"

"Why wouldn't ah be?"

She inclined her head at him. "Well, ya just spent all night Orchard Blossoming everywhere. Must be such a funny thing, finishing one day just to hop into another."

"It ain't quite like that..." Big Mac frowned with thought. "Think of it this way. When ya go to sleep, do ya even know how much time goes by afore ya wake up? Ya just wake up. Same thin' fer me. I jus' wake up, and ah don't feel tired no more, so there ain't no big deal."

"Guess that makes sense." Sugar trotted into the front and got to making breakfast. "Now, since I have you here, you're going to come, sit down and..." She trailed off. There was another pony there, in her house. "Princess?"

Cadance nodded. "Good morning. Did I hear you mention breakfast?" She licked over her lips. "That sounds wonderful. Am I invited?"

Sugar Belle resumed her preparations. "I thought you and Fancy Pants were coming later today?"

"That was the plan," she half-sang. "But I wanted to see you, specifically, spend some time, so I had some idea of you before we began. I already had a lovely chat with Fancy Pants, and I've talken to your +1."

"Who's that?" Big Mac came out to find Cadance sitting there in the dining room. "Oh... Hey..."

"Hey yourself." She gestured to an empty seat. "Come, join me."

"Sure..." Big Mac hopped up into the offered seat. "So... what's up?"

"You, just barely." She looked to Sugar Belle. "But you, more pressingly." Her vision unfocused faintly, looking at the connections between ponies. "Oh..." Nice and bright. Their connection was hard to argue. "Such a lovely couple you two are." She cupped her head in her hooves, smiling at the two lovebugs. "I am sorry if I'm getting in the way."

"A little," admitted Sugar Belle, but she got breakfast together for them all, joining them at the table. "But you came so far to help us, even if Blossom gave you a lift." She gestured towards Big Mac with her head. "I'm sure you have important princess duties."

"It never stops," grunted out Cadance. "But Shining, lovely boy he is, stood up and is taking charge while I'm away, allowing me to see to this. Now... I wanted to ask, if you don't mind, but what do you think of Fancy Pants, as a pony?" Her vision was still nudged gently into the field of relationships and love, so she could see Sugar's reaction to even the name.

The connection between Cadance and Sugar flared, an angry pulse, an unwanting. But she had asked a personal question. She ignored that, instead on the thread that became easier to see, with Sugar thinking of that rich noble. Hm. "Interesting." She didn't share what she had seen. Her eyes went to Big Mac, but not focused on him, exactly, but the many threads that dangled from him, one fading. That was probably Fancy Pant's, poked with his mention. The color and quality told her much. "I see..."

Big Mac nudged a plate towards Cadance. "Eat up. Won't have no guests starvin' on our watch."

Sugar Belle smiled brightly, proud of her stallion's words. "Exactly so. If you're hungry, we're fixing that." She tapped the same serving plate. "You too, honey bun. Time to eat. Talking comes later."

Big Mac decided to answer the unasked question, "Cadance can see how ponies feel about each other."

Sugar's hooves fell at her side, eyes wide, staring at Cadance. "You... can?"

Cadance raised a metal-clad hoof. "I promise to only use my powers for good. What I see is for my eyes only. A helpful hint for how I proceed, but not gossip to be share." Oh no, she'd get plenty of that the old fashioned way... "And emotions can be very complicated. I wouldn't want somepony arrested for what I see. It's hardly foalproof."

"I see..." About a six out of ten on the seeing table. "So!" She forced a smile and resumed eating. "You already talked to Fancy Pants?"

"I knew him a long time." She waved off into the distance. "Met him in Canterlot, before I moved to run the Crystal Empire.  You're the only new pony I'm meeting today." She smiled at sugar Belle gently. "But no less important."

Sugar chomped lightly, taking the chewing time to just be quiet a moment. She glanced between Big Mac and Cadance, trying to find the right words. "Feeling..." Cadance was focused on her. "I'm feeling... really small right now."

Cadance shook her head. "You're the largest pony here. Everything hinges on what you decide." She smiled a little viciously. "Enjoy that power. If you tell Big Mac to never see  Fancy Pants again, pretty sure he just, wouldn't, in either form."

Big Mac squirmed at that, unsure of how to respond. "Um...breakfast's mighty good."

"Thank you." But Sugar's attention wasn't on that. "What's the other option? We're a thing." She gestured between Big Mac and herself. "He's the extra one. What would the other option be?"

"Quite a few," assured Cadance with that smile of hers. "This is why we're talking, to put this on the table and consider it like the grown ponies we all are. Now, me?" She turns a hoof on herself. "I'm just the pony in the middle. I have no bits in this race. Whatever you do, it won't hurt me. Well, unless you decide I need a good kick. Don't do that."

Sugar blushed at the idea. "I'd never! You're going out of your way to lend a hoof... That'd be very rude..." She pushed away the plate and hopped to her hooves. "Alright. Let's talk. Like reasonable adults, was it? Look... I know he backed off the moment he knew... I'm not even mad..."

Cadance could see what emotions were brewing, but she kept that to herself. "Let's have that little discussion." She looked over her shoulder, going with Sugar Belle. "You too! You're the prize of the day, hm?"

Big Mac hit the floor, his face redder than usual as he staggered after the mares. "Don't gotta put it that way..."
> 39 - Meeting of Minds
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

"Well met." Fancy dipped his head at Sugar Belle. "It is lovely to finally place eyes on you, ma'am."

"H-hello." Sugar raised a hoof to wave, seated across from him, beside Big Mac. "I've heard about you." What she got for getting those magazines from Canterlot.

"Good things, I do hope." But he looked to Cadance instead. "As the mediator, do you have a proposed itinerary?"

Cadance brought her hooves together silently. "Thank you for asking. I do. Now, this situation has a few possible routes. I'm tempted to just throw the cards on the table for you all to gape at..." But she wasn't doing that. "Let's start with more basic steps than that." She looked to Fancy Pants, gesturing at Big Mac. "You see before you a simple apple farmer. He works hard for his family and friends and lives a completely pedestrian, but laudable, life. I would hear, and would like the others to hear, your opinion of this pony. Speak only the truth. This is hardly the time for anything else."

Fancy Pants adjusted his monocle, horn glowing. "Were I asked a few moons ago, I would have barely given it a thought... They come from a different world than I live in." Big Mac shrank away at that. "But I would have... in the back of my mind, considered. Canterlot has many sights worth seeing, and ponies worth knowing." He was one of those. "But few of them are, shall we say, physically built. And the one that comes to mind doesn't have a personality to go with it, no insult meant on that pony."

Sugar Belle slapped a hoof on the table, eyes wide. "You like his muscles?!"

Fancy coughed into a hoof softly. "Among other things, ma'am. Strength alone has no interest to me, but strength with a large heart, and a kind soul? It's a heady mixture, as I'm sure you agree."

It was Sugar's turn to darken. "Y-yes... Hm. Do you know how we... became a thing?" She waved between herself and Big Mac.

"I would be thrilled to hear it." Fancy took a sip of a floating cup of tea. "Please, regale us."

"Please, share," joined Cadance. "Nothing like the start of romance." She sighed with happiness and half-lidded eyes.

Big Mac gave a loud ahem as he sat up. "Ah was visitin'... an' ah couldn't take mah eyes off her. She was... captivatin'... But she was also bein' chased by another pony."

Cadance raised a brow. "Really? This is important. Please go on."

So Big Mac told the story of how he won Sugar's heart away from the pop singing pony. "Weren't mah strength that won the day."

Sugar leaned against him. "It was showing he cared, and giving the gift of time and love, instead of bits or just showing off."

Fancy deflated visibly. "I see..."

Big Mac perked at that. "W-wait! This ain't a knock on you, Fancy Pants. Yer gifts were right thoughtful."

Sugar blinked with confusion. "Gifts?"

Cadance thrust out a hoof. "Stop!" Her cheerfully going mediation had taken a sharp turn towards dangerous areas. "Let's not jump to any conclusions. We're here to dispel such misconceptions, hm? Now, Fancy Pants. Tell us about these gifts."

Fancy Pants raised a hoof behind his head. "I felt like a complete fool, realizing how terribly I had mis-stepped with Miss Orchard Blossom, Mister Big Mac, and Miss Sugar Belle. I had come between them without even realizing, and the guilt was too much to simply wave away."

Cadance smiled gently. "So you...?" She rolled a hoof with purposeful slowness, prompting him onwards.

"So I thought of what would bring the most smiles to their faces." He set his hooves down with an ahem. "And, to make it clear I wouldn't get in the way in the future, I presented a ring to him." He pointed to him. "To present to her." He swung the hoof on Sugar Belle. "And it would make it clear to all ponies."

Sugar blinked slowly. "What ring?"

Big Mac sighed dramatically, reaching into his pocket and retrieving the fuzzy box it lived in. "Ah didn't know what to do with it... It's... Ah didn't want you ta feel bad not havin' one like it to give back. " He set it on the table, still hidden in its small box. "Not that ah'd care. Any ring ya gave would mean the world t'me..." He cocked a little smile. "Even if it was just a few flowers in a circle."

"Aw." But, curiosity was a thing. She reached for the box and pulled it over. "It can't be that bad." She popped it open, reflected light shining over her face as her eyes went wide. "Fancy Pants!" She pointed at the box and the ring inside it. "This is a ring for royalty, not me!" She shoved the box away, cheeks bright red. "I'm flattered you think I'm worthy."

Cadance inclined her head. She had seen the ring, eyes dilating a moment, but she kept her expression under control. "Fancy, you knew that was a bit over the top. Why?"

Fancy's magic took hold of the box, lifting it up towards himself. "I... Perhaps... I was not completely honest with myself." He set the box between his hooves to hold it gently. "Miss Sugar Belle, please forgive me."

Sugar Belle swallowed thickly. "Ain't... How do I forgive that? You weren't attacking me, just going a bit overboard with a gesture... Now..." She swallowed thickly. "About why?"

"Yes, why..." He pushed the box left and right with his hooves. "When I first encountered Orchard Blossom... I was fascinated, entranced... There was a mare I wanted to know more about, but she had no interest in me. That is... I speak not with false bravado, a rarity in itself, and only enhanced the allure. She had her eyes set on justice, and helping other ponies. I could only lend a few bits and give a few encouraging words. I was won over before I even fully realized."

Big Mac was busy trying desperately to raise the temperature of the room with his burning blush. "Ah didn't... know."

Sugar joined Big Mac in awkward coloring. "But you gave that ring to be given to me."

"I was thinking... It was all I could do." Fancy let out a small breath. "What kind of mare could win the heart of such a creature? What sort of paragon must they be? The more I thought on this, the more I became convinced..." He batted the box. "They must be something amazing... Something truly remarkable... Everything I saw in Miss Blossom? It had to be at least echoed, if not better. I had to get her something worthy of such a pony..." He batted the box back to the first hoof.

Cadance waved at Sugar Belle. "Well, here she is." Her eyes followed the line between the fancy pony and the simple mare. "What do you think of the real mare, instead of the dream of one you had?" She surely had a hint.

He sat up, standing on his chair. "I would be delighted to learn more, Miss Belle. Have you even heard of me? Canterlot is some distance from here..." He looked to the tall mountain off in the distance that hid his home.

Sugar recoiled at that. "Have I heard of you?" She clopped a hoof down. "I may be a simple country mare, but even we've heard things about the Fancy Pants. The pony one has to know..." She sagged back in her seat. "You're different in person."

He smiled gently. "As are you from my thoughts, ma'am." He looked instead to Big Mac. "But this is hardly fair. You--"

Cadance raised a hoof in quiet. "Big Mac."

"Yes, ma'am?" He smiled as best he could.

"Your girlfriend knows him." She inclined her head at Fancy Pants. "Favorably, it would seem."

"Uh huh."

"Does that bother you?" Cadance leaned in a little, calculating eyes on the red apple farmer.

"N-no... Um... He's a right nice pony. The, uh, gifts were a bit much..." He dared to look Fancy Pants in the eyes. "Why'd you get me that one?"

"That one?" He raised a brow finely. "Which one do you refer to, sir?"

Big Mac reached behind his back. He had brought it, in case it came up. It felt like a day it might. With a thud, he placed the yoke on the table with Fancy Pants' embroidered cutie mark on display. "This."

Sugar could feel the heat rushing into her head, heart thumping in her ears. "Fancy Pants!" she got out in a startled yelp.

Cadance smirked softly. "What an... interesting choice of present." She angled her head towards Big Mac. "You're wearing something quite like it, though lacking that... extra detail." Or being made of excessively ornate parts.

Fancy Pants let out a strained laugh. "Ah, yes... Yes..." He brought his hooves together silently. "I suppose I should be more... honest. This entire affair isn't the only time I've seen you, sir. But I brushed it off. Different worlds, as I mentioned. Still..."

Sugar fanned herself rapidly. "You were hot for my boyfriend before this even started!"

Fancy folded his ears back. "It was not meant with any untoward gestures. The one you have." He pointed to Big Mac's worn yoke. "It shows sign of wear and use, from the hard work you put it through daily. I just thought it would be a welcome token..."

Sugar thumped the top of the yoke, where Fancy Pant's cutie mark rested. "Why is this here?!"

Fancy Pants sagged with a tired little laugh. "Would you believe it was entirely on accident? I had ordered the yoke and they thought to personalize it, for my greater satisfaction. I never asked for it to be placed there..."

Big Mac sat up. "Oh... Oh!" He clonked his forehead with his own hoof. "Well, now ah feel silly. Jus' a mistake?"

"Just a dreadful mistake," agreed Fancy Pants. "It would be... improper... in this situation..." He reached for the yoke. "I can have that removed, or just be rid of--"

Cadance's hoof landed on Fancy Pants'. "Not so fast. I have a question."

"Yes, Your Highness?" He didn't move his hoof, pinned gently under hers.

"How did you know Big Mac's yoke was in need of replacement?" She leaned in, the answer clear in her eyes, but she didn't say it.

Fancy Pants coughed into his free hoof. "Well! You see... I do visit Ponyville once in a while."

Cadance pressed gently. "And, without speaking to him, you took notice of his yoke. You determined its quality and upkeep... enough to remember to act on it, some time later?"

Fancy began to darken as vividly as the others had done. "Well, you see..."

Big Mac's jaw hung in the air. "Were you... um..."

Sugar was less shy about it, thumping against Big Mac. "You liked him before! This whole time... Did you know they were the same in the first place? Did you know the entire time?!"

"N-no." Fancy Pants willed his cup over for a fresh sip. "When I first met her, she was, to put it bluntly, a mess. But she was already trying her best to do right by the world, and she... had his physique. Perhaps that is part of what attracted me? That powerful build, with a kind smile and a large heart." He set his free hoof down, the other still pinned. "This isn't fair, madame. I have only just met you. As I said, anypony that can get their attention must be worth the time. And I would gladly give it."

Cadance released his hoof, her own steepling. "How does that make you feel, Sugar Belle? Fancy Pants would like to get to know you better." Her smile became even more impish. "And he already liked your boyfriend, and he likes your girlfriend."

All eyes were on Sugar Belle, the most pressing opinion in the room.
> 40 - Big Decisions
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Sugar bobbed in her chair, rubbing her hooves together and humming fretfully. "This is a big decision you're dropping on me..."

Cadance reached across to gently pat the mare. "Deep breaths. No judgement here. We are all adults that want each other to leave this meeting happy, which means you should tell the truth, not what you think others want you to say."

"Right, not that..." Sugar Belle leaned back. "What we have here..." She gestured wildly between Fancy and Big Mac. "Done read about this before! This here's a love triangle... with four sides. A love rectangle? That a thing?"

Big Mac shrugged helplessly. Fancy adjusted his monocle with a glowing horn. "I say, my life reduced to a romance novel... but there are roots, long ago, and in the modern day." He glanced towards Cadance. "Polyarmory."

Cadance nodded, barely restraining the giggle rising up in her. "That is exactly the word. One example of that is the classic, and outdated, 'herd'. Funny thing, a lot of ponies think herds had one stallion and a gathering of mares around them." She rose her brows together. "Whimsical, but unlikely. Herds were any mix of ponies, really. When they were popular, they ranged from two, to a dozen."

Big Mac's eyes widened. "A dozen?!"

"Or more," allowed Cadance with a sly grin. "It was, at that point, a family. It couldn't operate entirely on a one to one lust, it was too complex to survive on that alone. You had a social order, you had agreements worked out between them. They'd often have a pony or two that became the 'parents' of the group, the ones in charge. They'd still be members of it, but if disagreement broke out, they'd be the ones you'd turn to to settle it."

Sugar sagged with a groan. "This was your idea the entire time, wasn't it?"

Cadance did her best to look innocent.

Sugar thumped the table suddenly, hoof sharply slapping against it. "Well, I can't agree with this none! I... only know him second hoof, at best." She waved at Fancy wildly. "That is hardly enough. That and Big Mac's family's kinda big on 'tradition', and 'tradition' right now is one mare and one stallion. We come to them with a different arrangement and that's going to be a lot of friction."

"Yeah..." Big Mac could imagine that going down. "But..." Sugar looked to him curiously. "But... Ah was wrong last time."

Fancy inclined his head. "What were you wrong about?"

"'Bout my family... Ah thought... Ah didn't trust 'em, and they showed me. Ah was bein' a foal! Mah granny... She wants me to be happy... And if she gets great grandfoals out of it, doubt she'd be all upset in the end..." Big Mac sat up, clearing his throat. "They'd be surprised, but ah don't think they'd disown me or nothin'. Ain't gonna make that mistake again."

Sugar Belle gave an emphatic, "Aw..." She rested a hoof on him. "That's really sweet. But you just took my excuse away from me." It had all been thrown right back at her. She was the one. Either she went with it, and a new potential family could emerge, or she wasn't... "Fine! Fine." She looped an arm around Big Mac, wrenching him closer. "I call dibs! I saw him first. And I trust him to be a lovely pony that's full of wonder, but not to make big decisions. So I'm the one in charge of this family, so there." She scowled at the table as if inviting them to challenge her.

Cadance made no such move, backing away a little with her hooves up, surrendering that battle without a fight.

Fancy Pants raised one brow. "I can, and do, make many decisions on a daily basis. One does not achieve my level of standing with a deficiency in that regard... Not long or well, at least. Still, you did 'see' him first. It would be churlish of me to argue your seniority in this affair." It could have been argued that Fancy saw Big Mac first, but that wasn't a romantic connection, and he didn't bring it up.

Big Mac inclined his head left and right slowly. "So... uh... that mean... he's in?" Big Mac pointed at Fancy curiously.

"No." Sugar shook her head to make that extra clear. "Just means we're a thing. You should know that. But now, as the... parent... of this group." She tapped at her own chest. "It falls on me to interview and consider a new applicant." She turned that hoof on Fancy. "That's him." In case there was any confusion there.

Cadance clapped her hooves in eager applause. "Lovely! Well, I hate to miss how this goes, but... technically... I don't think you need me anymore. Talk, get to know one another, and decide." She looked to Big Mac. "And drop by to tell me which way you go. I want to know... Oh, and invite me, if you wish, to the wedding." All three ponies besides her blushed brightly. "Don't look like that. Ponies fall in love, wedding follows. Don't think polyamorous groups don't do it if there's no rule saying they can't, and Auntie has no such law on the books."

Big Mac coughed softly, rubbing behind his head. "Well... We ain't ready fer that, or even very close. Um... Just found out today he even has feelin's fer me!"

Fancy nodded in solidarity. "Far too early to consider." He tossed his mane, a trick ponies with well kept manes seemed to have. "Sugar Belle, ma'am, if you'd allow, I'd like to get to know you better. If you find me of agreeable temperament and circumstance, perhaps more can come of it, but that is not what I'm asking today."

"R-right..." She saw Cadance departing with poorly held giggles. That princess was enjoying things way too much... "I'd like to get to know you too." She offered a hoof towards him. "Here's to a new hopeful friendship."

They pressed their hooves together in a motion soft enough to not produce a clop. Fancy's horn glowed as he took hold of her hoof and drew it closer as his own moved to cradle it. He kissed the back of it gently. "Fair madame, I do hope I meet your requirements."

Sugar Belle sat back, hoof reclaimed, and cheeks on fire. "Y-yeah..." Wait, no, that wasn't the right response. "Um! So... You don't live here." She waved around the small room, now princess-less. "You have to get back to Canterlot, right?"

Big Mac inclined an ear. "I'll help him and Cadance get back tonight. But they both planned to be here today."

"Too right." Fancy nodded at Big Mac. "Thank you, for lending a hoof. That is quite the useful talent you have there."

"Ain't it though?" easily agreed Sugar Belle with a smile. "Speaking of that... I'd like to see your place, but first, you should see mine." She hopped to her hooves. "This meeting is officially over." She clomped a hoof on the floor. Neither stallion argued that motion, and thus is passed. They instead followed her  out onto the street, where Sugar Belle wheeled around. "Big Mac, honeybunch, go distract yourself."

Big Mac blinked owlishly at that command. "Uh?"

"Can't get to know him with company, now can I? He has feelings. I may ask questions he doesn't want to answer for a crowd." She raised a hoof under Big Mac's chin. "Let your mother mare do her sudden new job."

Big Mac felt heat raising. Mother mare? "Uh... Okay..." He took a step back. "But if ya need anythin', ah won't be too far away."

Fancy turned to Big Mac. "You have my solemn vow, stallion to stallion, that I will answer questions, and nothing further. It would be a grave breach of etiquette to take a single step beyond that." He raised a hoof to his chest. "And certainly would cost me my place here, besides being of repugnant nature I would not tolerate."

Big Mac began to smile at that. "Good." He could trust Fancy to be a proper pony. It was basically his talent. "Ah hope ya enjoy the visit then. Be sure to try one of her cookies. She makes 'em real good."

Sugar burst into giggles. "I am a baker. Cookies are a thing I do, often... This way!" She led Fancy off towards her house, leaving Big Mac behind.

He sank to his haunches. "Hm." How had that gone?  It certainly could have gone worse... They hadn't resolved the whole thing... but they had taken a step forward. Cadance seemed to think that was good enough, the way she dashed off. Was it? And was he happy with it?

What would such a strange family look like?

Realization crashed into him. "Oh!" It seemed so obvious looking back on it...

Orchard Blossom would get a stallion. Big Mac would keep his mare. That the two of them were basically the same pony didn't change it. They would all, all of them, all three? four? They'd all be a family, like siblings that got married and were really tight. Really really tight. They'd never kiss each other, no, ew. Also impossible, in Blossom/Big Mac's case. But they were close enough to want their plus ones to be a part of that family...

Big Mac rest a hoof against his head. It was painful that it sorta made sense and was completely bonkers...

"Uh..."

"Hey." A new pony approached. "You're Big Mac, right? Sugar Belle's main squeeze?"

Big Mac looked at them, a white earth pony with snowflakes on his rump. "Um... Double Diamond, right?"

"Yep!" He seemed pleased to be remembered. "How're you doing?"

"Confused... but alright ah think." He offered a hoof, getting a friendly clop in return. "How're thin's?"

"Oh, this place?" He waved over the town. "It doesn't change much. Shoot, you were the newest thing to happen since the whole... Starlight thing... Suddenly we got a visiting princess and super rich pony. Phew! Intense..."

Big Mac took a step back. "Oh! Sorry 'bout that. They don't mean no trouble, honest."

"Don't think they do." Double inclined his head slowly. "Now what are you doing, here, alone? You and Sugar are usually pretty close together if you aren't in the middle of leaving."

"She's meetin' with another pony. Ah'm givin'  her space."

"Good on you." He turned and pointed. "Want to get something to eat while we wait?" Double led Big Mac along to the town's only eatery. "You farm apples, right?"

"Ayup!" His announcement was full of joyful pride. Apple farmer, that was him! "Don't got any on me though, sorry 'bout that."

"No big deal." He hopped up onto a chair and sank. "They have some of your apples right here if you want one. Apple apples are the only apples we get here."

Big Mac smiled at that. "Oh! Well..." He would be the one delivering those apples... gladly. "Right glad to hear that. Um, 'ssumin' you like 'em?"

"Sure! Apples aren't my favorite food, but they're good, and great for a snack, you know?"

"Yeah... But ya can cook 'em up into all kindsa thin's! Um, sorry. Y'ain't here to listen to a bunch of apple tricks."

Double laughed at Mac's discomfort. "Don't be like that, we all have our specialties, what we love talking about. Now, snowboarding? Oooo, I could talk about that for hours, don't even get me started." He waved that away. "But I would... So, yeah, if you want to share your passion for apples, the least I can do is listen, and maybe you'll do the same when it's my turn."

"Huh... Well... If yer invitin'." With official permission given, Big Mac shared some tasty ways to make apples more than just a casual treat.

This meant he got to hear about snowboarding in return. Fair was fair. Double Diamond did make it sound kinda fun.
> 41 - Fancy Sugars
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Fancy was looking about Sugar Belle's bakery curiously. "Hm."

"Not as... fancy as the places you're from, I bet." Sugar smiled nervously at her upper crust guest. "Sorry."

"There is nothing to be sorry for." He sniffed gently at the air. "There's a little something extra that places like this have."

"Something extra?" She cocked an ear. "Like what?"

Fancy rolled a hoof in the air. "At a 'fancy' bakery, they go through much effort cleaning the smell, and, I dare say, not entirely for the better. Baked goods have a pleasing aroma, and they hide much of them in pursuit of cleanliness. A missed opportunity, I dare say."

Sugar Belle smiled at that. She was better than a fancy bakery, at least in that way. "Why would anypony want to hide that? One of the best parts of visiting a bakery."

"I'm inclined to agree." His eyes fell to a basket of goods. "What are these? They're not protected like most of the others."

Sugar shook her head. "They're the day olds. Half off if anypony wants them. Sometimes somepony does, sometimes not. Adds to that smell, them being exposed and all. If they don't sell today, out they go." She pointed to a nearby trashcan to make their potential fate clear.

"I see." He wandered past that basket. "Now, pardon me for asking, but this is a time for such questions. You seemed to have some thoughts of me already formed. Would it be improper to ask of them?"

Sugar lit up and turned away, trying to hide that fact. "Oh! Well... You are the Fancy Pants. Funny thing, being famous enough to be a 'the' anything... You do know that, right?"

Fancy leaned to the side a little, but that angle mostly let him see Sugar's back end and little more. "You've tickled my curiosity. I had thought my prestige was largely confined to Canterlot. Have you visited?"

"Once or twice..." She turned back to face Fancy, her blush under control. "But I get a magazine from there." She reached off and snatched a copy that had been laying there. "Here."

"Who's Who and What's What," read the title. A news and gossip rag for who was doing what in Canterlot. Fancy took it in his magic, floating it closer. "Ah, yes. I've been in this... publication a few times. I hope it has left a positive impression?"

Sugar turned an ear back. "Are there ones where you're not? Oh, sorry. Of course." She shook her head as she reached, taking back the magazine. "Why wouldn't there be? Writing 'bout famous ponies, of course they said something unkind a time or two... I remember that scandalous article about Celestia."

Fancy let out a hmm. "I struggle to imagine much wrong with her. A fine pony has she ever been."

"Right!? But this one." She set the magazine aside. "They were going on and on about her 'cake addiction'." Sugar snorted powerfully. "As if there's anything wrong with enjoying a cake!"

Fancy's confusion faded to a smile. "Celestia has a renowned sweet tooth, but I would not say this qualifies as a negative quality. It usually means there's a tasty treat at any of her functions. The lack of one is a clear hint that the matter is of the utmost severity. Either way, a useful barometer. I can think of so many worse habits for a ruler to have."

"For real," gusted Sugar Belle in agreement. "She's spent so many years keeping Equestria safe for us all."

"Too right." Fancy strode past Sugar, peeking into the back of the bakery. "Are these your living areas?"

Sugar colored, turning swiftly to follow Fancy on nervous hooves. "Y-yep! And the storage room." She pointed the way. "What'll become tomorrow's treats needs to be stored somewhere."

"Of course." And he went right into that storage room, looking about. "Hm."

"That a... good or bad hm?" She arrived at his side, trying to follow his gaze and figure out what he was thinking.

"It's orderly." He nodded, as if his words should make complete sense. "It speaks well of you."

Oh! Sugar smiled brightly at that. "Keeping the back clean is how you run a place properly," she gladly sang out. "I'm glad you can see that."

"It's true of all ventures." He nodded firmly. "Now... We should move on to more pressing arrangements." He turned to Sugar. "We share an interest in that pony."

Sugar's coloring was quick to return. That day was proving to be a rollercoaster. "Oh! Yes... Yes we do. I called dibs!" She raised a hoof, as if to emphasize that dibs had been claimed.

"And I acknowledged it," easily accepted Fancy. "So I would join this family. But some questions remain. You live here." He waved a hoof slowly about the store room, and, one assumed, the store in general. "I live there." He pointed up through the roof at Canterlot. "Can a family exist harmoniously when so far removed?"

"Normally... I'd lean on a hard no." Sugar shook her head to emphasize that. "But our mutual plus one doesn't care how far apart we are. We may as well be neighbors, as far as he and she are concerned."

"A fine deal, for them." He pointed at Sugar, then turned it on himself. "But what of us? Should I enjoy our rapport, I would wish to spend additional time with my family member. Hardly an unreasonable thought, I should imagine."

Sugar opened her mouth, just to close it again. "Shoot... That's a real good question." She swatted at her potential romantic partner. "Who gave you permission to have good ideas?" She was smiling despite her words. "Alright... alright... Let's put them out of this." She made a motion of putting something in a box to the left. "No more Big Mac. No more Orchard Blossom. They don't exist. It's just you. It's just me." She pointed to the two remaining ponies. "If we can get along, then it doesn't matter about them, they already like us both."

"Actually... Um, nevermind." He cleared his throat. "My relationship with them is... unclear, but your point is entirely valid. For now, let's put them aside."

Sugar's brows went up. "Were you not paying attention? They were flattered, not horrified, when you came clean today. If I threw them to you, they'd probably go right along with it, but that isn't happening."

"You have dibs," assured Fancy with a nod. "Of course. Now, about us." He leaned in. "Would you be upset if I invited you to attend a formal event? I would expect you to dress the part, and behave with some composure."

Sugar sat down. "Wow, um...  I'd be really flattered." She suddenly scrambled to her hooves, rushing to a closet and throwing it open to reveal her best dresses, all two of them. "I'm ready!"

Fancy moved in next to her, eyes on the dresses. "Hm. I'm impressed you appear to be equipped... Would you take offense were I to take you to some of my favored boutiques? A friend of mine, you may have met her, Rarity? She owns a shop in Canterlot. A reliable source of prized garments. We could get one that fits the theme of the soiree. Would this please you?"

"W-would you do that?" She closed one eye, the one not facing him. "I'm not trying to mooch off anypony!"

"Of course not." He dipped his head. "We can go half and half, hm?  The event was my idea, but the final dress, yours, and yours to keep. That's fair, is it not?"

She prodded at the well-mannered stallion. "So you'll put me in something new. What about you?" She waved over him. "I see you dressed in the same thing all the time!"

He colored, called out! "Well... You have a point. I should shop for a fitting attire with you, something that matches. But, you haven't answered, does this sound appealing, or offputting?"

Sugar tapped her hooves. "That sounds like a dream," she let out breathlessly. "Would I be your--"

"High class guest, of course." He smiled, not facing her. "To be wined and dined. To be introduced and socalized with others there."

"I'd be the pony they had to know..." She shook herself free of the daydream. "I won't romance a pony for that, however... interesting. I need more."

"Good." He nodded shortly. "But I also wanted to know if it interested you, which it does. Also good. I won't lie, that is the sort of thing I do fairly often. Any relation of mine? I will want to bring them along. I don't care how far away they live. Now... we promised to set them aside, but I can't, not entirely. They make this easier." He pointed up towards Canterlot. "I have a fine dwelling, as do you." The scope of them were a bit... different. "When we wish to make an appearance, together, our lovely plus two can fetch either of us and bring us to the other, where the other can play host for a day or two."

Sugar lifted an ear. "That's good for visits to you." She went to the window, waving out at the one pony wandering past. "My town doesn't have the excitement of any big city. I can't promise that.."

"So, you're saying, when I visit, I get a day or two to properly unwind. There will be no ponies that have any care of what I normally concern myself with?" He sat next to her. "Sounds like a fine vacation."

The pony waved at returned the wave. "Hey Sugar, um, whoever you are." And they continued on their way.

Fancy inclined his head at the departing pony. "Proof. Being not the pony every pony must know sounds quite relaxing. Good. Good good. It seems like we can both draw some fashion of satisfaction from our visits to one another."

Sugar drew the blinds shut. "But what about each other? What do I have, as a pony, that remotely interests you? And don't say either of their names! They don't count."

"I would ask the same question, madame, but you've already revealed that answer." Fancy curled a hoof to his chin. "I admire your genuine and honest work ethic. If we're being frank, which  I feel we are, that is something that appealed about that friend I mentioned, Rarity. Now, she is married to her labor of love, and I would hardly stand betwixt her and her dream... You don't seem to have that particular condition, which is all well and good. You are passionate about your creations--" He waved across the shop. "But not consumed by it. There's room for a stallion or two, hm?"

"Or two." She burst into giggles, almost choked, haphazard and unusual. "That is not what I ever imagined..." She clapped both hooves to her snout. "You must think... I'm not that way! I was perfectly happy with just one, I swear!" She pointed out at the closed window. "Big Mac had everything I wanted..."

"For the longest time, I was convinced I'd never find the right pony." Fancy inclined an ear. "And for it to be a stallion? I fought against my own feelings on that... I understand that feelings change, and the way we view them? They will always change."

"You are a smooth talker." Sugar started towards her sizable kitchen. "But let's see how well you can get your hooves a little dirty. Today you are my helper, so strap in and get ready to touch the flour."

"As you command." He followed her with a gentle smile. He would do nothing fancy that day. No courtly etiquettes, just cooking with a mare he wanted to be closer to.

It was a fine day, by his estimation.
> 42 - Fer Now
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Big Mac hopped up onto the bed, sinking on it. "Have a nice chat?"

Sugar sat next to him, pony-loafed comfortably. "A right nice one... He'll need some practice before he gets much good at baking though, not his talent."

Big Mac chuckled,  imagining Fancy trying their best to cook. "That don't sound like his specialty none."

"No... But he tried." She sat up. "It isn't your specialty either... But you try, and that counts. What he made was tasty enough, just... kinda strange looking. Welcome to baking!" She thrust a hoof up. "He'll get better."

Big Mac's ears shot up. "Better? Yer plannin' to cook more then?"

Sugar tapped her hooves. "Well... I'm willing to try. We--" She pointed to Big Mac and herself. "We're steady. Him, we can... date. See how things go. How does that sound?"

Big Mac flipped his ears back. "Would it be bad if ah said it scared me a little?"

Sugar blinked, hooves settling on the bed. "Not the answer I was expecting..."

"Well, um..." He went quiet, shuffling in place. "Well... Alright. Ah'm two ponies. This made me sure of it..." He pointed at himself. "As Blossom, ah'm all excited. Ah wanna do mare stuff at him. As Big Mac, it's, uh... a little scary... Not like ah'm runnin' or nothin'... but it's... Change is scary."

"Ayup," she said, perhaps imitating his old stoic words. "That it is... I'm nervous too... but I think he likes us, so just say when you're scared, and double that if either of us manage to hurt you... and we'll all take it slow."

"Slow... Yeah." He leaned against Sugar. "Nice an' slow..."

With that promise made, they fell against one another, eyes closing. They fell asleep, comfortable in each other's presence.





Blossom awoke, scrambling out of her bed. "Gotta get ponies home." With a glowing horn, Blossom willed the window open and hopped free of it, vanishing before gravity could get much of a say in her arc. She appeared next to... himself? She willed Big Mac up carefully, avoiding bothering Sugar on the way.

There was time for a quick peck on Sugar's cheek. That she smiled at it was a bonus.

Blossom vanished, dropping Big Mac back in his proper bed. The next spot she appeared, there was a pony waiting for her, awake.

Cadance perked at Blossom's appearance. "There you are."

"Howdy." She reached a hoof back to close the door, but it was already closed. She had teleported past it. "Um, sorry fer just... appearin' in yer room."

Cadance waved that concern away. "I was waiting for you, and not doing anything untoward." She slipped to her hooves. "But I do want an update." She let her vision slide, looking at Blossom's strange connections. "Hmm... Something changed. Share!"

Blossom moved in next to Cadance. She was too large to heft up easily. "Sugar said we could 'date' him. We're a thin', ain't no question there, but we'll give him a try... nice an' slow."

"Aw, lovely." Cadance danced in place. "Alright, we can go. But do keep me up to date.  I'm just a skip away for you, so stop by any time."

Blossom hummed. "Sure, but usually at night. Are ya up most nights?"

"No... But you can let me know, and I'll make it a date." Cadance spread a wing to fold over Blossom. "Ready."

"Ready." And they were in front of the palace. "And here we are." She pointed to Cadance's home.

Cadance drew her wing back. "So fast! I checked a map." Her horn glowed as she willed a map of Equestria into being, showing where they started and ended with a dotted line. "To each princess, a unique gift."

That got Blossom thinking. "Hey, um, what's Twilight's gift? She don't do much special, um, no offense to her or nothin'."

"That's my sister you speak of." Cadance booped Blossom on the nose. "She is the princess of friendship. She encourages and spreads friendship, even outside of ponies. It's quite a talent, if you were to ask me, which you just did. Not as immediately obvious as your own ability, but not one I would scoff at."

Blossom rubbed at her bopped nose. "Mighty subtle that..."

"Did you forget?" Cadance took a few steps towards her palace. "Friendship is magic, and she knows magic very well. When push comes to shove, she can friendship a problem into the ground. Fortunately for the rest of us, she prefers not to reach for that particular use of her tool. Probably for the best, really."

Blossom cringed. She's heard of the few times Twilight had blasted something, usually finishing the confrontation right then and there... There was only one creature that had stood up to that... "Tirek."

Cadance perked an ear, but didn't turn. "He was quite the enemy... Safely secured until such time as we can find a friendlier solution, whenever that is. Now, I should get back to ruling this city. Good luck in your patrols."

"Got one more pony to bring back." And she was gone, like an editing mistake in the universe.

"One more?" Cadance looked back, and there was nopony there. "Oh... Hm." She pressed onwards to resume her princess duties.





Blossom appeared before a door she knocked on gently with a sigh of breath. "Stay calm..."

"Hm?" came from inside. "Miss Blossom?"

"Yup. Um, here to get ya home."

Fancy opened the door inwards. "Jolly good." His eyes rolled slowly up and down Blossom's form. "Ever the sight, but I get the impression we've made you get up early."

Blossom squeaked, running her hooves through her mane to get it into shape a bit better. "Ain't tired. All the time Big Mac's awake, ah'm gettin' mah sleep. Um, oh! We made a decision. Ya really should hear it."

"By 'we'..." Fancy wobbled a hoof in the air. "Do you mean you and Big Mac?"

"Oh, no..." Oops... "Me an' Sugar Belle, um... all three of us..." Blossom pointed in Sugar's direction. "We're solid, goin' straight. Ya know that."

"I do." Fancy showed not a scrap of hesitation there. "Was that in question?"

"No. But you were." She put a hoof on his chest. "An' we decided to give datin' ya a try... See how it feels, ya know?"

"I am..." He sank to his haunches. "Forgive me, I'm a little overwhelmed, but in entirely positive ways, I assure. With great pleasure do I accept this." He forced his way back to all fours. "Am I permitted to speak of you as my girlfriend then? I would not wish to overstep propriety. I confess, I have not been part of a 'polycule.'" He made quotes with his hooves at that last word. "Please inform me when I go astray, it will not be intentionally, this I assure."

Blossom's horn began to glow as she hefted him up. He wasn't as heavy as Cadance, making it possible to place the stallion on her back. Fortunately for them both, Blossom was a strong mare. Ran in the family, if one were to ask her about it. "Ready to head on home?"

"Oh, yes, both our homes."

Blossom blinked at that. "We ain't moved in togetha."

"Quite improper." Fancy pointed up towards Canterlot. "But that is our shared city, to which we both slumber, and admire."

"Huh, can't argue that none." And they were in front of Fancy's manor. "Here ya are."

Fancy slid off her to the ground. "Forgive me, but you didn't answer my question."

Question? Oh! Blossom started, remembering it. "Yeah, um... sure... no reason to lie to nopony..." She rolled a hoof in the air. "Which means ya shouldn't go talkin' 'bout it 'less yer ready to go into the whole... lotta ponies involved."

"Excellent point." He grabbed Blossom's hoof in his magic, drawing it over for a gentle kiss. "It may be worth the price, that I can share this joyous event with others, even were I forced to explain this."

Blossom darkened at the smooch. "Um..." She should reciprocate, somehow. They were dating! But... how? She did what she did with Sugar, moving in for a kiss on the cheek. There, perfect, nailed it.

Fancy's monocle slid free, hanging in the air.

"Um..." Blossom inclined her head. "Did ah do somethin' wrong?"

Fancy raised a hoof to his cheek, rubbing gently over the spot the kiss had been placed. "No... Nothing wrong at all." He cleared his throat. "Look at me, acting like a foal... No, you did everything quite right, I assure you." He smiled gently. "I am just strongly affected by your presence, but gladly welcome a repeat, should that be in our future."

This was... confusing. She was supposed to be intimidated and bedazzled by him. But there he was, doing it to her. "Um, well, we're special somepones now... so expect little thin's like that. Ah... should get patrollin'." She turned away, wings spreading. "Can't make thin's safe from here."

"I imagine now..." He stepped in place. "Would it... Feel free to deny me summarily... but can I ask you... give me this evening? I would like to speak to you, as a special somepony, a little longer."

Blossom could feel the warmth growing. "Um..." She glanced left and right. "Well... ah don't have no regular schedule, just gotta check in afore ah get to patrollin'."

"And a proud duty you accept for yourself." Fancy jumped. "Oh! How dreadful of me. To make it clear, my patronage of you continues whether our relationship does or not. I believe in what you are doing, and royal patronage. Two fine reasons to continue as we are, even if, some day, the other... falls through."

Blossom's ears turned to him fully. "Hm? Royal patronage?"

"Did you not know?" He pointed off to Celestia's castle. "I support her, and Cadance. The royalty have the right to rule, but it is the noble and merchant classes that pays for it. Now, don't get me wrong, I rather enjoy that arrangement. I have no desire to be the pony to enact laws, and Celestia does a marvelous job of it."

"Yeah! Um, an' Luna too, right?" Blossom thought of the ruler of the night. "She's right nice, once ya get to know her."

"A tricky one... but she doesn't enact many laws, or really involve herself in governance." Fancy started for the house, Blossom trailing behind him in silent acceptance of his offer. "A fine pony, who works in her own way to safeguard Equestria."

"Yeah!" Blossom reached the top of the stairs, standing there. "Do ya support her too?"

"I support Celestia." He shook his head. "And she manages Luna's fund. There is no direct sponsorship between us. I could not say how much, or little, Celestia has informed Luna of our relationships, and I am hardly the only pony throwing my bits behind her. A prosperous Equestria is a boon to no small number of us."

"Too right." Blossom opened the door with a toss of her head.

"Sir." There was his butler, stepping up. "Good to have you back, sir, ma'am." He nodded to each pony. "Would you care for anything?"

Fancy hummed thoughtfully. "Prepare the drawing room, and bring fizzy drinks. I think a little soft beverage is appropriate for the conversation. Thank you."

"Of course, sir." The butler dipped his head low and scurried away to make that happen.

"Ah think ah know where that is." So Blossom led the way for a change, finding the sitting room where she's enjoyed a snack before. "Yup! Here it is."

"Here it is," echoed Fancy with a kind smile. "It is a strange pleasure to know you are learning my residence." He raised a hoof towards Blossom's darkening cheeks. "I mean nothing untowards about it! I hope to visit your residence at some point, hm? I would like to learn all of them."

"R-right.. Um..." Oh, right. "What kinda drink is he fetchin' fer us?"

"I didn't specify, other than fizzy, and soft. He knows me well, I expect at least one to be berry flavored." Fancy went to claim a seat. "But you have to tell him what you prefer. He has a mind like an iron trap. It won't escape him. Now... let's speak of the future."
> 43 - Rendevous
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

So it was that they talked. A lot of it was nothing specific, just feeling one another out. "I must know." Fancy regarded his new girlfriend intently. "What do you see, when you look at me?"

Shoot. Blossom stammered a moment. "Goin' right fer the throat."

"I don't mean any harm by it, I assure." He took a sip from his bubbling red glass. "It's just you two... three? You have a strong opinion of me, I feel."

"And ya don't have no opinion ah me?" Blossom smirked as she asked it, knowing that wasn't true. "Ain't foolin' nopony."

Fancy colored lightly. "Point... I have spoken how I feel about you. Would you return the favor?"

"Well... alright." She stood up and approached, touching her nose to his mane. "Yer jus' so perfect! Always well upkept. Ya even smell nice." She took a sniff of his mane, done up so... perfectly. "But it ain't just that. Ain't that hard to find a pretty pony. But ya walk the walk, as they say. Kind, generous, and caring. Ya got bits, sure, but ya don't hold them over other ponies to stand over 'em. Ya treat it like a responsibility, ta make the world a better place. Ah can respect that!"

Fancy sat up proudly at the description. "How flattering... I do try, though even I don't always reach that mark..." He coughed into a hoof. "This aside... Thank you. Now, this may sound... curious... but what do you see that attracts you, on a... shall we say, personal level? Fine enough to see a good pony, but you aren't smitten with all fine ponies, are you?"

"N-no! Ain't like that fer sure." Visions of many ponies that she could rate as fine flitted through her mind. "Um, like Princess Twilight."

Fancy inclined his head. "Since you named her, I am curious. What are your thoughts of one of our newer princesses?"

"Right smart." Blossom thought of the bookish alicorn. "Real clever, but focused. Real focused." She brought her hooves together close. "When she gets somethin' in her sights, ain't nothin' else matters. A bit overfocused fer my tastes, but a good pony."

"That sounds like an accurate review. She was like that from her foal days onwards." He chuckled softly at the memory of it, though a new thought came to it. "I will ask a sensitive question. Let's whisper the answer to one another." He leaned in and whispered a number to Blossom. "My age."

She brightened swiftly. "Oh!" She returned the favor. "Yer older than me."

"I am." He gathered himself, perhaps readying for denial. "Not too broadly as to be an impropriety, thankfully. You and Sugar appear to be of similar age. Does this bother you?"

Blossom took a moment to consider that. "Um... Ya know... it ain't that big a difference..." As Fancy had said, a seperation, but a mild one. "Actually... makes me feel relaxed. Like ah can trust ya to know which way is up." She leaned in, touching her nose to his cheek. "Will ya help me learn that?"

Fancy chuckled softly, smiling and pleased with the contact. "As if you haven't already figured that out, m'lady. I dare say you've learned more about 'up' as a direction than I ever will." He reached out, stroking along one of her wings gently. "But I will be a steadfast companion, this I can and will promise."

Blossom colored, but it felt like she was blushing in more places than usual, warm on the inside and out. Oh! Oh.... Oh. "Um..." How a lady felt when she was attracted was not the same as a stallion, and she was soaking in it. "Ah should go. We just took this step."

He withdrew his hoof, not stopping her. "We did... but what are you avoiding?" He looked around the sitting room. "I thought we were just enjoying the conversation."

Blossom squirmed at being asked so bluntly. "Um... Sorry, it ain't you. Mah mind's gone off wanderin' to other thin's."

"Are they things proper to share, or shall we avoid them?" He put a hoof on his chest. "I will not force you in either event. I am the pony on trial, not you."

"R-right..." Fancy was the one they were 'dating', the one that could become part of things, maybe... "Right." But how did she even express what she was feeling? "Have ya... ever dated a mare afore?"

"This isn't my first time," he admitted. "Usually one to one, I admit." He could see Blossom's reaction. "Oh... Am  I your first? I thought that... impossible, seeing as you have Sugar Belle as a paramour."

Blossom awkwardly rubbed at her cheek. "Right, sure... Big Mac, now he's been on a few dates... and he went and gotta girlfriend even!" She pointed at herself. "But Orchard Blossom's a bit newer at this..." Sure, there was that one time she got naughty with her inherited girlfriend, but she casually left that out. "Ain't never been with a stallion in either case! Um, that ain't to say..." She nervously paced in place. "Ain't sayin' that's a bad thing, ya bein' a stallion... Yer, um, right handsome! Um..."

"But you are, to... put it simply... a virgin as a mare. I see." He sat gently. "Then I can but promise that, should we ever advance to where that becomes relevant, I will proceed only as I am permitted, and with your safety and comfort at the top of my mind."

Blossom gaped at him a moment. Why did he have to be so gosh darn perfect?! "Y-yeah..." But there was another part. "Um, Big Mac ain't been with a stallion either. This is a whole new idea... Stallion and a mare..."

"The usual fitting," agreed Fancy with a heavy sigh. "Why I shoved the thought thoroughly to the side... I was... I was ashamed, if we're being honest, which I hope we are. A stallion should save their eyes for a mare! At least, that was the thought I held close..." He inclined his head at Blossom. "But then this stallion happens on me that is a mare. What confusion you brought to me when I learned the truth of it. That is no mark against you. Your affairs are your concern. My reaction to them is mine."

Blossom perked, picking up something. "So... yer a virgin, um, that way. We both are."

"So it would seem." Fancy offered a hoof. "We'll take that gently then?"

Blossom met the hoof in a firm clop. "Gently then. Um... But let's put that aside. Ya can chat Big Mac thin's wit' Big Mac. He's a grown pony, can handle his own business."

"Absolutely," agreed Fancy without reservation. "Today is between the mare, Orchard Blossom, and myself. That she has a 'brother' in a sense, is outside the scope of this conversation."

Blossom caught in place a moment. Brother? Well... in a way... "We're awful intimite sibs. Applejack don't know half of what Big Mac does. Ain't lettin' her into here." She tapped at her head. "Generally private."

"But you do invite ponies in, sometimes." He spread his hooves over the room. "Is that not what we're doing right now? Sharing a peek into the private area, to see what others they would forbid from."

"Ya... got a point." They were sharing, allowing the other to see secrets. "Um... Becomin' a mare's been a strange journey. Wouldn'ta thought much 'bout a stallion 'xcept bein' a friend or what not. Got a few of those. Um... But..." She brought up her hooves to worry on each other. "But... When ah saw you, as me." She turned the hoof on herself, the mare. "Other thoughts startin' comin' right up... Didn't know what to do with it. It was kinda scary actually..."

"If it helps, I was just as alarmed... but I feel that fading. You are not just some faceless target of fascination anymore." He offered a hoof. "We are becoming closer, and I welcome that change." It seemed to click, something else. "Oh... That is a specifically... You are feeling things only a mare would understand." He coughed into that hoof gently, aborting the offer. "I could speak of the stallion view of attraction, but you are already familiar with that."

"Y-yeah... We both know what that's like. Fer a mare, it's different." She glanced away and back. "Wanna hear?"

Fancy's ears quivered at this invitation. "Hm? I usually presume a mare's thoughts, especially in matters like this, to be a secret held only for, at most, other mares to hear."

"Well, lucky fer you, ah know what it's like." She moved in closer to him. "And ah'd know, been there. Get mighty curious, what's runnin' through a mare's mind. If we're tryin' to be a thin', ah'd rather you know what's goin' on up here. Ain't nothin' gained keepin' it quiet."

"Your trust is... I appreciate it." He dipped his head towards her and drained the last of his magically held glass. "I will do my best to use it responsibly." A slow smile spread. "Does that mean you'll be informing Miss Sugar Belle of our stallion secrets?"

Blossom raised a hoof limply in the air. "Huh..." She let the hoof fall to the ground with a clop. "Ya got a point... If ah ain't comfortable tellin' her that, ain't much fair fer me to go tellin' you 'bout mare thin's..."

"Curious as I am." Fancy willed his glass aside to rest on a table. "Fair is fair. Propriety wins out in this case, unless you decide to treat us equally. Now, if you wish to whisper to my maid, she is a mare, and she will not inform me of mare secrets, this I promise. She is at least a step seperate of this... And can be trusted. A maid who can't keep a secret is of limited use, I dare say."

"Huh." Blossom thought of that nice mare. "We got alon' just fine... might take you up on that. Still... Um... Well, we're datin'... Guess it ain't entire improper to jus' out an' say... Ah like ya." Blossom waved over Fancy. "Physically... Ya know? Not even countin' how nice a pony you are. Ah... Kinda want to..." Well, they were dating, in theory. It was entirely legit! Right?

"Want..." She grabbed him suddenly, fiercely hugging him close. This was not the way Fancy was wired, and he went still as she just cuddled him agressively, enjoying his presence and scent. "That was just as good as ah was thinkin' it would be...Better maybe." She released him, dark in her cheeks, not that he was much better. "We should... do that again."

"As often as you wish," he got out through tense lips. "I admit, my prior lady friends were not so... physical."

Blossom froze, minus a mild trembling. "Did ah do that wrong? Are ya mad?!"

"No, no, heavens no." He shook a hoof at that thought. "I am, if we are blunt, thrilled. You are permitted to embrace me whenever the fancy comes." He coughed into a hoof. "In privacy. In public, propriety prevents either of us from leaping on the other. Improper. Much as I would like to show off to the world what a lovely mare has decided to keep me company. Let's keep that to civil levels."

Blossom only looked more fascinated. "Alright, so, let's pretend we are in public. How would ya show you were my girlfriend?"

Fancy gave that due consideration. "It depends on the sorroundings, but let's assume we are at a proper ball setting." He backed away, just to come back in closer. "M'lady, I had a feeling you were here. The room felt too bright for any other reason." His magic wrapped around her hoof, gently lifting it, only as fast as Blossom allowed. "As if I could tolerate being anywhere without you." He placed the gentlest kiss on the back of her hoof.

Why did it feel like her entire hoof was on fire? And her face, for that matter. Oh, she was dying. But at least she'd die happy. Blossom sank back onto her haunches. "That'll do..." A thought came to her though. "Do ya go kissin' any other hooves?"

"If the circumstances demand it, certainly." He nodded as if that were obvious. "But to approach a mare and begin that way, with those words? The meanings are quite clear. I doubt any pony could mistake it."
> 44 - Responsibilities
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

"This has been fun." She turned for the nearest window. "But ah really should go..."

"I thought I had secured the evening." But he didn't move to stop her.

She was quiet and still for a time. He had asked that... "A little part of me's worried thin's are happenin' an' ah ain't there to help it..."

Fancy nodded briefly. "Ah. You are truly a princess now. Your work has risen to the front of your mind. Princess of night guardianship, to not guard at night has become an alien thing."

Blossom chuckled softly at the idea, but didn't flee, or sit, looking ready to do either, but doing neither. "Am ah doin' it wrong?"

"That's a personal question, but I can tell you this." Fancy raised a hoof towards Celestia's distant castle. "Even she takes a break. Cadance takes a break, why, that's how she mediated for us." He leaned in closer. "I feel certain doing that was quite entertaining for her. Have no fear, we provided a fine brief vacation for her. Even Twilight, focused as she is, takes a day for herself to simply... be. It is not sloth to care for oneself."

Blossom's nose wrinkled and she burst into laughter. "Oh no! Ah'm becomin' mah sister!" Fancy inclined his head quietly at her. "Oh, ya see. Ah, um, Big Mac me... done yelled at her afore fer not takin' a helpin' hoof when she felt she could take it all on herself. Ran herself ragged fer no good reason." She flumped down to her haunches. "Yer right. Ah deserve one night off. Ah'll fight fer justice soon enough."

"Marvelous." His horn glowed as he drew the window shut. Blossom didn't even remember willing it open in her readiness to flee, but he certainly remembered to close it properly. "Now, we could dovetail a little. Shall we go and visit the city?" He waved out through the window, towards Canterlot as a whole. "A social visit, you and I?"

"That sounds... great!" She hopped back to her hooves, following him out for a night of fun and luxury.

He gladly offered her various libations and snacks, and a chance for some high class entertainment. Wherever he took her, they welcomed the two with glad faces and directed to an important pony portion of things.

"Fancy!" A well dressed stallion trotted up to get to his side. "And with a lovely lady friend, how delightful." He spoke as if he was quite used to being around money. An uppercrust pony.

"Did you say Fancy?" A mare caught up with him. "Don't take off like that, really. Oh, there he is." She nodded at Fancy. "Did we catch you on a date, or some other affair?" She glanced between Fancy and Blossom.

Fancy raised his hovering glass at the both of them. "As always, a delight to see you two. This is Princess Orchard Blossom, whom I am courting." Right out in front, bluntly stated in a proper way. "Please treat her well." He turned to Blossom. "These two are Jet Set--" He indicated the stallion. "And his wife, Upper Crust." She nodded as she was mentioned. "Friends and associates."

Blossom scrambled to her hooves. "Nice to meetcha both." It weren't a hoof kiss, but that was clear enough an announcement of their relationship that didn't involve fireworks and the royal voice to make it clear. "Longtime friends?"

Upper fanned at herself with a hoof. "It feels like forever, and only in good ways. Fancy Pants is the pony everypony must know, and for good reason! Why, if you've fallen in with him, I should imagine you already know this. Quite a character, and always where one needs to be."

Jet Set threw an arm over Fancy, invading personal space casually. "Now see here! You were cultivating a romance on the side and not even a whisper to us? I'm unsure if I should be impressed at your ability to keep a secret or gravely offended." He laughed despite his words, jostling Fancy on the way. "Good show!" He leaned in closer, whispering, "And she's quite a looker, isn't she?"

Upper scowled, but pretended she didn't hear. A familial shouting match wasn't how one did things. "That was quite the nice coronation Princess Celestia ran for you. She must have high hopes for you. Hm, have you discovered what you are the princess of just yet?"

Blossom reached into her side, drawing out a police hat. "Ah'm a defender of the night." She raised it into clear view. "Got mah badge in another city, but they got a deal worked out so ah can work anywhere."

Upper Crust inclined her head. "But you live here... don't you? Or did you travel all this way just for Fancy? Oh! How delightfully romantic." She tittered at the imagined scenario. "How wonderful."

Fancy coughed into a hoof. "Not precisely, Upper. To each princess, a talent. A special gift that even other princesses struggle to match, often failing entirely."

Jet Set released Fancy, his attention on Blossom. "Well, don't keep us in suspense a moment longer, Fancy. What's this talent?"

Blossom smiled as best she could. "Ain't nothin' special. Ah can go to places ah've been before."

Upper inclined her head. "I can do that too."

Jet curled a hoof to his chin. "You're being coy. What's the trick?"

Blossom chuckled softly. "Right, well... it don't take no time. Could be in Manehatten right now." And she vanished.

Fancy blinked at the spot that used to hold his girlfriend. "I... trust she will be right back... But, yes. She has a knack of teleportation that goes beyond anything I've heard or read about before I met her. Any place she's at least seen before, she can simply be there. No build up, no travel time. She simply is there. Quite the breathtaking talent. Not as kingdom reaching as controlling the sun or moon, no doubt, but still, quite a thing."

Upper took a soft bite of an equally soft biscuit. "Mmm, I do hope we didn't scare her away. We had barely had the chance to meet."

Blossom appeared, the same editing mistake that had removed her casually placing her next to them. Her wings were spread, a carrot dog balanced on each, one last floating in her magic. "Brought some treats."

Jet laughed in rich chortles. "I say! You went and brought us some genuine Manehatten carrotdogs? A bit provincial, but well renown for their quality." Which was all a fancy way of saying he wasn't turning it down. His horn glowed as he lifted one dog by the bun free of Blossom's right wing. "Still warm!" he noted with amazement. "Truly, instant movement. It's hard to argue with the considerable nature of such a talent." He sank his teeth in, getting only a little smudge on his snout, quickly dabbed up. "Hm, yes, this is the genuine article. I confess, I thought you might have tried to slip some local fare."

Upper burst into merry laughter. "You remember what Manehattan carrotdogs taste like?" She took her own from Blossom's other wing, relieving the princess of that burden. "I've only ever tried them once. I wouldn't--" She took her bite. "Oh..."

"See?" He thumped against her gently. "There's no mistaking the real thing. I do hereby declare our new friend to be genuine."

Fancy adjusted his monocle in his magic. "I'm glad to hear she has your approval. Not that she strictly required your verification."

Jet waved that off. "All in jest, all in jest! Now, we have an exotic taste. This is a fine time to enjoy the show we came to see." He turned towards the stage where the show would begin. "Have you seen this one before, Miss Blossom?"

Blossom sank onto a bench. They had a number of well cushioned benches for the viewers to use. "Ah haven't." She floated last carrotdog over towards Fancy. "Here ya go."

The glow around it shifted to Fancy Pant's color as he accepted control over it. "My thanks. You didn't have to."

"But I wanted to."

"Another reason," Fancy sing-songed, taking a bite with not a drop spilled. "Now, this production." He waved down at the stage. "A classic. About a turbulent time long before any of us walked these verdant lands. When Celestia struggled to keep the nation in one piece, instead of a thousand warring factions. Not an easy time. I confess, you may already know the ending." He winked at that, a resident of that happy ending. "But it's still stirring to know how we reached this point. A reminder, perhaps of the mistakes that could lead us right back to such dire straights. Let's avoid them, hm?"

Upper Crust and Jet Set shared a longer bench, settling in for the show. Upper willed his glass of drink higher. Wine? Likely. "A classic indeed! It should be mandatory viewing for the foals at least once, if not once a year. A holiday perhaps. Do you think Princess Celestia would be up for such an idea?"

Jet pawed at him gently. "Don't say it like that. We're not foals, and here we are to enjoy it. It's hardly foal material, anyway. I wouldn't want any foal of mine gazing with wide eyes at the more... grizzly scenes."

Oh, it was that kind of show. Blossom nodded with rising understanding. "Um, we do have holidays about the foundin' of 'Questria! Right happy events those are."

Fancy considered with a soft hum. "Still, perhaps we could elevate the arts... Try to encourage her to make them more central to the festivities. I will whisper it in her ear, but I can promise no further than that."

Jet nodded at Fancy. "Jolly good then! All I can reasonably ask. Besides, it could just be making it available for grown ponies. That would satisfy me entirely." He leaned forward, looking down into the commoner seats below. "So many vacant seats. That is the true crime being committed. Ponies these days, so detached."

Somepony dimmed the lights and ponies began to clop and stomp with applause for the show starting. That too quieted as the first actor strolled into view. "A fine day. A pity I may not see the end of it." He struck a forlone look at the horizon that wasn't there. "But there's work to do."

Blossom shuffled over closer to Fancy at a later scene. "That don't look like Celestia none." She pointed to the mare that was clearly trying to play the part. Even if one ignored the dress and fake anatomy. "Hard to 'magine her without the billowin' mane."

"Ah, yes," he whispered. "She didn't always have that. In such distant past times, she had the colors, but they were as static as yours or mine. I actually don't know what made her and Luna's mane and tails such a display. If you are feeling bold, perhaps they would share with another princess. I haven't dared to broach the question directly. There are limits to association." Properties, a step he wasn't willing to take over that line. "It could be a princess thing, but neither Cadance nor Twilight have shown a hint. Yet."

"Yet," echoed Blossom, imagining herself with that self-moving mane and tail. What pattern would it show? Celestia was the first rays of sunrise or the last rays of sunset. Luna was a night sky, made manifest. What would she be? A yelp dragged her attention back to the stage where the faux-Celestia rushed to the side of several injured ponies, speaking to them urgently.

Blossom waved at the scene. "That's the kind of thin' ah try to stop. Nopony should have to live in a land like that."

"Hear hear." Fancy raised an ornate glass, matched without further prompting by Fancy and Jet to clink together with a ring of a toast to happier times ahead, and miserable times left far behind.
> 45 - Happy Mare, Not a Care
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Big Mac let the die tumble from his hoof. "Yup!" It landed on the highest side.

"With a valiant strike." Barb knocked a piece over. "You put the skeleton back to rest, shattered in pieces. Nice shot."

Discord clapped politely. "Nicely done, but we have so much more before us." He waved to the field full of monstrous varmints arrayed before them. "Let's keep our head in the game, literally, in this case."

Big Mac perked an ear at that. "We goin' inside?"

"Nah." Discord waved that away. "Besides, it'd confuse poor Barb, shoving her back into her character right now."

Barb colored, eyeing her still male playing piece. "It's just pretend," she weakly noted.

"But it wouldn't be if we were in there, now would it?" Discord winked at the uncomfortable Barb. "Now, Big Mac, you have to tell us. What happened? You've been smiles tonight long before that lucky strike."

Big Mac nudged his own piece forward, ending his turn. "Well, everythin's workin' out! All the mares in mah life are... darn happy. An' that makes me happy!"

Discord extended a finger. "Sugar Belle?"

"Ayup, but not just her." Big Mac swung his hoof off towards Barb. "There's another right there."

Barb colored brightly. "T-thanks! I'm not, you know, technically... a mare.  I'm a lady dragon." She puffed her chest with a grin. "Which is a term I do not know." She said that admission of ignorance with the greatest of pride. "Still, I'm not your lady dragon."

Big Mac caught on that. "Ain't mean like that!" It didn't help that Discord was laughing in an uproar. "Ain't claimin' ya or nothin'. But yer a friend, a good friend. So ya bein' happy still a nice thin', ya know?"

"Oh, right, yeah." Barb flopped back onto her stool. "Speaking of which, how are both of you?"

Big Mac turned the hoof on himself. Barb nodded, so he continued. "Actually, she's the last mare ah was thinkin' of! An' she's all happy too."

Discord poked Big Mac in the side. "Not to be a doubter, but isn't she you? Hardly counts if it's just you with a different hat."

"It ain't like that..." Big Mac tapped his hooves. "The more we got, the more ah'm sure we're not the same pony. Mighty close... More like sibs that tell each other every darn thin'. But, um..." He tapped at his figure. "Shouldn't we be playin'?"

Discord leaned in, a smile on his face. "Oh no,  I'm a little curious now... Do go on."

"You don't have to." Barb waved it away with a nervous little laugh. "Not if you don't want to."

And yet... "You want to hear too... When I'm Big Mac, fer one, ah like mares. When ah'm Blossom, ah... like two specific ponies and don't even think 'bout most others. Um, that way? Ya know?"

Discord was wearing a lab outfit and puffing a large pipe. "It sounds like you--" He pointed at Big Mac. "Are heterosexual, while Orchard Blossom is a demisexual bisexual." He blew a few bubbles from his pipe. "If we want to be technical about it. But that brings up a question." He pointed with both hands at Big Mac. "You do know that Fancy Pants has the hots for you. Both of you. How does that make you--" He pointed all the harder. "--feel?"

Big Mac rubbed his warm cheeks between his hooves. "Um... Still ain't sure... Ain't even understand how two stallions... do that..."

Barb hummed, mind clearly trying to imagine the possibilities. "Well... did you figure out how two mares do it?" That only made Big Mac look more awkward. "What?! I'm one of those, kinda. I'd want to know."

Discord snickered softly. "Oh my! Barb, I didn't know you pitched for that team." At Barb's clueless expression, Discord shrugged. "To be perfectly honest, I don't know which you are. You were pretty 'het' as the foals put it. But then you flipped the script. So, go ahead and tell us if you know. Do you want a mare or a stallion?"

"Um!" Barb grabbed a monster and pushed it towards Discord's brave ranger. "You have more important things to worry about."

Discord set a tail down between the monster and his own piece. "Come on now... We're all friends here, aren't we?"

Barb sagged backwards with a suffering groan. "Not fair... Um, so... If Big Mac popped the question." That got Big Mac to perk up, confusion shown. "I'd be really confused. I don't even know how I'd... deal with that..." She worried her fingers together, enmeshing and twining. "But if Rarity changed her mind all of a sudden... Um... I'd probably be alright with that... But that isn't happening." She huffed. "Anyway, seriously! We're here to adventure!" She waved over the board. "Are we getting back to that?"

Big Mac shook his head. "You'll find somecreature else aside Rarity. Better even!"

Barb smiled at the encouragement. "Better than Rarity, huh? That's a high bar you're setting." She tapped the last monster she had moved. "But, really."

So talk of romance was put aside, and adventurous tales resumed. They had stopped trying to save Princess Schmarity, but there was plenty of other things needing doing.





Big Mac was at his stand, selling apples. It was good for the family! And he right enjoyed offering up all those tasty apples to whoever was needing them. "Here ya go." He sent off a smiling pony with their bag of goodies, and he had bits in return. A fair trade!

Berry Punch walked past, and he couldn't help but watch. Not because the mare was especially comely. Nice enough, sure, but she was walking just a little off, and it tickled at something in Big Mac's head. "Ma'am?"

Berry Punch turned her head, confusion on her expression. "Hm? What's wrong, Big Mac?"

He smiled at her. Of course they knew each other, being residents of the small town of Ponyville. "Mornin'! Sorry if ah'm... pryin'... but it looks like ya might got an ache. Can ah help?"

Berry started with confusion, but that turned to embarrassed shocked. "Big Mac! When..." She glanced around nervously, but was turning to face him entirely. "When did you...? A stallion shouldn't know a mare so well! To be honest, I wouldn't even expect a ladyfriend to notice with me just walking past. Um! But it's just some cramps." She gently rubbed at the side of her torso. "No big deal, I promise." Ponies didn't have the dramatic cycles of humans, but they did have their own cycle to deal with. "It's... real nice that you care, even if it's a bit offputting... If I didn't know you already had a marefriend, I'd be so..." She closed and grabbed an apple, dropping a bit in the same motion. "I'll take this though."

Big Mac swatted the coin down, but didn't pull it. "Don't feel like ya haveta. Ah was just worried, fer a friend."

"Aw, you're the best." She casually smooched his nose and trotted off, giggling.

Big Mac rubbed his smooched nose. He hadn't been aiming for that! Still... at least his friend was alright. That was the important thing. "Ayup... Now if we could get her to lighten up on the drinks a little."  Still, he had apples to sell, and he got back to doing that. 

He gladly exchanged apples for bits for half the day. "Howdy." There was Applejack, with lunch held in her teeth, dangling from a bag. "Break time!"

"Jus' in time!" He gladly accepted the package and moved to slip out of the stall, so Applejack could take his place. "Got a powerful hunger."

Applejack whistled, eyeing the collection of bits gathered. "A good day, so far! Ya right earned this break, so go on. Got yerself an hour to do whatever."

"Thanks." He leaned in and they touched nose in sibling affection. "Ah'll be back. Oh!" He pointed off where Berry had gone, not that this was much help. "Ah gotta tricky question. Ya mind?"

"Sure don't." Applejack settled herself  into position to sell. "What's on yer mind?"

"Well, alright." He pointed to his torso where Berry had done to herself. "When a mare says she feels cramps here, what's that mean? Ah felt it once er twice, er, as Blossom. Ain't no fun, but it didn't kill me or nothin'."

Applejack's eyes widened. "Big Mac!" She glanced around nervously. "Sorry... Ah know yer kinda a special case there... But most mares would find talkin' 'bout that kinda... uncomfortable. A mare has cycles. It has ups, it has downs." She raised and lowered a hoof as she did that. "When we're on the downswing, we can feel down, and cramps can be a part of that. Like ya said, won't kill ya, just a bit... uncomfortable."

Big Mac inclined his head. "Never saw Sugar Belle have none of those, or you."

Applejack burst into sudden laughter. "Because neither of us are tryin' to share! Well... since my brother knows what it's like, ah suppose it is a bit silly to worry 'bout that. Ya know what it's like from both sides. Oh. Also a fine time to treat a mare extra special. Jus' sayin'."

Big Mac patted his sister on the shoulder. "Every day's a fine time to treat ya special."

"Aw! Stop that!" She batted at him with a big smile. "Ya big lug. Now, seriously, don't go rubbin' this in random mare's snouts. Likely to get them real upset."

"Gotcha..." He inclined his head slowly. "But I can be mindful, ya know? "

"That's all a mare could hope for." Applejack nodded slowly. "That sounds like the perfect response. You'd do the same for any pony that's feelin' a little under the weather, wouldn't ya?"

"'Course." He started off. "Be back after lunch!"

"Enjoy!" She waved as he left, then returned her attention to the next potential customer. "Come right on up!"

Big Mac wandered off to a table to unwrap his lunch and enjoy it, mmm, sugared slices of apples to start.  He pondered the body he had been born in. It felt... simpler in a lot of ways.  It didn't have any cycles, at least ones he was aware of? 

"You're looking more thoughtful than usual." Lyra casually sat across from Big Mac without being invited, a big smile on her face. "Wanna share?"

Big Mac crunched on some nuts, an excuse to consider that a moment. "Um... Ya don't usually talk with me much."

"You don't usually talk much," she retorted. "But that changed, and I'm not compaining. Hi!"

"Howdy." He pushed his plate away, only half finished. "Lyra, ain't it? Ya did a right nice show at Barb's big party."

"Only doing my best." She looked pretty proud of that. "Glad it was noticed. You weren't thinking about that... or were you?" She leaned in suspiciously.

"No..." Was she safe to talk about that with? "It... was actually a mare thing."

She recoiled with surprise. "Big Mac, I hate to bring this up." She pointed at him firmly. "You are not a mare." Her hooves suddenly crashed against the sides of her face, smooshing her round cheeks. "Are you taking after Barb?! Are we going to have a new naming party!? What does Applejack think of this?"

"Uh... Nope..." He shook his head firmly. "Ah'm right happy the way ah am." He waved over his stallion form. There was no ambiguity there. "Was jus' thinkin' 'bout a mares cycles."

Lyra blinked numbly a moment. "W--why? I mean... I have a pretty good excuse, being a mare and all. I have to deal with that. You don't. Be glad! One less pain in the rump for you to think about." Something clicked. "Oh! Oh! You sweet thing! Is Sugar Belle going through it? You're worried about her! That is so adorable!" She swatted at him. "Sorry for doubting you for even a second."

Big Mac took a fresh hoof of nuts to chew on. "Thanks." That wasn't quite right, but how did he explain further? "Any tips?"
> 46 - Two-Timing
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

"Tons!" Lyra clopped her hooves softly. "But most of them break down to taking the day to focus on what makes you happy. So if your ladyfriend's down, get her what she loves to do, not for work, for fun, for herself." With a twinkle of her horn, a lyre sprang into being over her head. "Now that's tricky. We ponies sometimes get the two mixed up. That lyre there is my job." She pointed up at it.

"But it's also my passion. When I can just play it and not worry about anything but the next note? Mmm, just the thing to feel better when I'm down. I call those days 'practice days'. I get something out of it, and I feel way better. Friends who aren't jerks understand, and the ones that are jerks at least admit a practiced musician is a good thing. Sugar's a baker, right?"

"Ayup." Big Mac inclined his head. There were days he just wanted to... But he couldn't take that option often. The orchard had no pause button, and they didn't have so many workers they could rotate them in and out. He thought back to Blossom's night off, that had been... kinda nice. Maybe... "Ah should talk to Applejack."

Lyra blinked at that coming out of nowhere. "Why? Oh! I'm an idiot!" She clopped a hoof to her forehead. "This is Applejack? You are the best brother!" She laughed merrily. "Whatever, doesn't matter. There's a mare you care about that's looking down, so get her what usually puts a smile on her face and make enough room around her for her to wallow in it. That'll help. At least, it helps me every time."

Big Mac reached for her shoulder. "Thanks. That helps."

Lyra stuck out her tongue as she played a few notes on her lyre. "If it makes the world a happier place, than this conversation was entirely worth it, right?" She winked. "If you see me looking mopey, just remind me that it's practice day."

"Ain't today." He waved over her. "Yer lookin' ready to go."

"Aw, thanks." Lyra hopped to her hooves, playing lyre floating overhead. "I do feel great.  And I got a show later! Speaking of that, I should get going." She lifted a hoof in a wave. "So you take care, and good luck taking care of the ponies around you, you sweetheart."

Big Mac's lunch was done, as was the time they had agreed on. He had work to return to. "Sis," he asked, returning to his post behind the counter. "What do ya like to do? Not what yer good at, but could be the same, ah suppose, but what ya like to do?"

Applejack hummed. "Didn't expect that question none... Hm, well... Ah like movin'!" She trotted in place. "Ah like playin' a mean tune where ponies can dance! Um... Once in a while, bakin' somethin' tasty. What brings that up of all thin's?"

Big Mac nodded. "Alright. Ya should get a chance to do some of that."

Applejack blinked. "What? Now, that sounds nice, but we're both mighty busy ponies. Ah take 'em when ah can get 'em. Speakin' ah which, ah better be off. ain't gettin' much done standin' here, ya know?"

"Ayup." He waved at the departing form of Applejack. The next time she looked down, he promised, he'd step in, big brother it up, and send her off to a 'practice' day. She would have fun, instead of working through it. That'd be nice...

"Hm?" He spotted a small dragon scurrying from Twilight's castle. Barb wasn't that odd a sight, but she was holding a bag of dice and a bunch of books of obvious source. "Where ya goin'?" Big Mac called to her. "Today ain't game day."

Barb slid to a stop, coloring. "Oh, um... It's not our game day..."

Big Mac blinked owlishly at that announcement. "Who's game day is it?"

Barb pointed in the direction she had been going. "The crusaders are waiting for me. We have another game, uh, going... Don't be mad!"

"Why would ah be mad?" Big Mac smiled at his little game master. "That sounds right nice. How're they doin' at it?"

"Super high energy." Barb burst into giggles. "It's fun, in a different way. They don't think nearly as hard about what might happen, so they get into all kinds of trouble. It's fun helping them get in and back out again."

"Shucks, that does sound right nice." Big Mac felt no urge to try running O&O on his own. That was way too much talking and taking social charge, even for his new talkative self. "Nice yer makin' some friends 'round yer own age too. Not that ah mind yer company none."

"Oh, um..." Barb raised a hand burdened with a bag of dice against her cheek. "It is kind of nice... In a different way, I mean! Um... By the way." She glanced left and right. "Dragons have their own... things... but ours ends with an egg, like it or not. Pretty obvious when that's happening. Since you asked before."

Big Mac colored faintly, perhaps missed with his already red cheeks. "Oh! Um... Ayup." That word worked so nicely when he lacked for others in that moment. "Well, if ya need a friend, always got one right here." He curled a hoof to point at himself. "Ya know that, right?"

"'Course I do!" She bounced up, balled fist against hoof in a quick hoofbump. "Now, I better get going. Nocreature else is going to run that game."

They waved at one another as Barb scurried off towards her other game. "Right nice..." Big Mac turned his attention on a pony approaching, back to serving up apples with a big smile. All his mares were happy, even the ones that weren't his. Every single one of them.

"She's not as sneaky as she thinks she is."

Big Mac jumped in surprise. "When'd you get there?" He scowled at the sudden Discord.

"When I wanted to be." Discord tapped Big Mac on the nose. "Barb was trying to be so sneaky about it, but now we've both seen through her wicked lies."

Big mac huffed. "She didn't lie. She just didn't tell us."

"And that's better?" Discord vanished before the counter in front of Big Mac, just to pop up as a little filly, with his classic beard still worn. "Maybe I wanted to join that game too!" It didn't help that he still sounded like Discord, with the body of a filly or not. "I could be an adventuring crusader!"

Big Mac snorted at the strange form of the filly with Discord's beard and eyebrows, and voice on top of that. "Ah don't think the girls were lookin' fer that."

"How would they know?" He sprung up into his usual self. "Not like Barb asked them. A high energy game? That sounds kinda fun... Oh the trouble we could get into..." He rubbed his hooves together schemingly. "Not that I don't like the other game, of course."

Big Mac rolled a hoof in the air. "Well, instead ah complainin' ta me, why not try askin' the girls, and not scarin' them while ya do it? If they say yes, well, then yer in. Ain't much else to it, the way ah see it."

Discord blinked, looking to the complex web of lines and circles he had drawn up at some point. "Can it be that simple?!"

Big Mac chuckled softly, amused by Discord's antics for the moment. "It sure can be. Give it a try. Worst they'll do is say no."

"I don't want them to do that..." Discord stroked at his beard, plotting. "Oh, there's one." He casually vanished, giving room for a stallion to come up with an apple-related question. He snapped back into being with a pop when they were gone. "As I was saying,  I don't want that. How do I get them to say yes?"

Big Mac hiked a brow. "Be polite, to start." A thought clicked. "Now, ah may not want to do it too often, but the crusaders? They may get a real kick out of hoppin' in the game. Just don't get in the way of Barb's story and they could all have a real good time. Young thin's, a chance to run around as their fantasy selves may be real fun fer everypony."

Discord clapped his hands together with the force to drive away the clouds above, making the weather pegasi quite confused. "Now you're thinking! Alright, so... I have to do the 'friendship'--" He rolled his eyes, still not 100% sold on the concept. "--thing, then show them what hanging out with me can bring." He hiked his thumbs at himself. "and, you know, that includes a lot!"

"Good an' the bad," chuckled out Big Mac. "It's a big package. Don't scare 'em."

"Nice and easy." He rolled up like a scroll and vanished in a puff of chaos, off to get what he wanted, or at least try, a lot, possibly to the annoyance of others.

Big Mac finished out his day, pulled the resulting bits into a bag out of the register, and flipped the sign from open to closed. A technicality, that sign. If there was a pony standing there, they were open. If not, they were closed. It was hard to be unsure with a stand like that.

But he didn't go home. He packed his saddlebags and went up to the castle, where Barb sure wasn't, but a certain princess was.

She was waiting for him in her throne room. "Evenin', Twilight."

She spotted his heavy bag. "Need any help?"

"It's the good kinda weight." He settled at the stable, sitting on the floor. Perching on one of the thrones felt wrong. "Result of a hard day's work sellin' apples."

"A good day." She smiled, looking him over. "That you look happy about."

"Oh, ah am. Every mare in mah life's happy, and it's reflectin' on me." He thought about that. "Wait a second... Yer a mare."

Twilight blinked. "Thank you for noticing. I am one of those." She smirked a little. "But I am happy, so you can put me among the mares in your life that are pleased."

Big Mac clapped gently. "Good! Was just gonna ask. Um... related to what we were talkin' 'bout, ah'm more and more sure Blossom ain't me, and ah ain't Blossom. We're sibling souls, hooked together. Closer than any two ponies could ever get, but stuck further apart than a pony could 'magine. Only way to talk is by letter."

Twilight hmmed. "Well, you're not the first pony to have a pen pal. Still, I gather what you mean. Even a pen pal, one could, in theory, arrange a visit. It would be... difficult for you to even entertain the notion when only one of you can be conscious at a time. Still, with your memories perfectly shared as you've described, how can you so certainly declare you and her are different ponies?"

"It ain't just memories." He pointed to himself. "When ah think of the time ah spent with Fancy Pants, ah think of it different than when she thinks about the same thing. We both got that same memory, all of it, but we come out of it different... It was fuzzier before. When we think of Sugar Belle, we feel 'bout the same thin'! We love her, a lot, physical an' not."

"I see." Twilight brought her hooves together. "So... Even with the same memories, how you respond to them varies... Hm..." A quill held in her magic dutifully scribbled her thoughts on it. "Have you tried other things? Romantic questions are the most obvious and immediate, but favorite color? Favorite kind of music? Maybe there are other things that vary, despite your shared memories."

Big Mac clopped once. "That's some clever thinkin' right there! Ah'll make a list ah things, then Blossom'll fill out the same sheet and we can compare. Actually... Would you make a list?"

Twilight sat up. "Me? Make a list? Well, if you insist..." She was only doing a middling job of hiding her general desire to make lists. "I'll have it ready by tomorrow."
> 47 - Check the Checklist
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Blossom awoke with a yawn, stretching her hooves up in the air. "A good night fer doin' right!" She hopped to the ground. "But first." She was in another dark room. With a glowing horn, she snatched the paper she knew was waiting for her. "Thanks, bro." Not that Big Mac's form responded, nor did she expect him to.

If he did, she'd fall over asleep. That woulda been awkward... Still, she had the letter. She hopped back home and dropped it on her end-table. "Fill you out later." She could remember some of the questions, when Big Mac filled them out, but it was a lot of questions, and not all of the answers were fresh on her mind. "It'll be interestin'."

She wanted to know where they matched and, perhaps more importantly, where they did not.

Blossom reached back and poked herself in the side. Nope. She felt just fine. She was ready to work and make the world a better place! She casually ceased to be there, joining the streets of Baltimare that night to hunt for ponies in need of her particular skills. She fished out her microphone and announced she was going on duty. That was an important part.

The local police had to know, and with them knowing, other departments could call them, and then they could reach out to her if her help was desperately needed in another city besides the one she had appeared in.

"Agent PB Jump." That was one of many codenames she responded to. "Come in."

She floated her receiver up beside her head. "PB Jump here. Status?"

"10-34, Cloudsdale. Can you handle?"

Cloudsdale?! She'd never been... On the other hoof, she'd seen it plenty of times. It was hard not to see that big floating city. "10-76!" En Route. She lifted into the air and wasn't by Baltimare anymore. She was beneath Cloudsdale, at an angle she'd seen many times, as Big Mac. On those same wings, she lifted towards it urgently. "Ah'm comin'!" What had happened? A 10-34 was a riot of all things! That wasn't a common call by any measure.

Ponies don't riot! Well... that wasn't entirely true. She, as Big Mac, was part of at least one of those, chasing after Twilight's doll...

Good thing nopony got hurt in that mess.

She punched up through the clouds, emerging into Cloudsdale proper.  "Princess Orchard Blossom, 10-23!" She got into her microphone. "Where's the trouble?"

"Weather Factory," came the dispatch. "Thanks for coming. Wasn't sure they weren't pulling a leg or two."

Blossom perked an ear, but didn't argue it. It was time to get to work, not argue with dispatch. She hung up the receiver on her breast pocket and took off with a fwoosh of feathers and will upwards. "Weather factory..." It wasn't hard to spot, being so large, and on fire. Curls of smoke rose up from it towards the night sky as fires and electricity cractled through it. Ponies were pouring free of it in all directions.

She had no idea what was going on there, but she had to help, and she was in front of it, landing just in front of the door where ponies were rushing out of. "Ah'm here to help!"

One of the fleeing ponies came to an uneasy stop, perhaps noticing Blossom's police attire. "Oh! Thank Celestia! The winter breaking machines are out of control!"

Blossom imagined what a winter breaking machine would look like... That could explain the fires at least. "Don't ponies wrap up winters on their own?"

The pony, a stallion, danced in place. "They were trying to make a machine to help. Didn't work!" Unable to hold himself any further, he fled away with a panicked yelp, leaving Blossom behind.

"Not sure ah'd count this as a 'riot'." Still, she didn't think it was a good time to go back to Baltimare and argue the specifics with dispatch. Machines gone wild at the weather factory probably didn't have a code. She burst through the front doors, kicking them open as she barged into the scene. "Woah..." There was fire and electricity in equally dangerous amounts. "If yer stuck, shout!"

Alas, there was plenty of shouting to go around. Ponies were caling for help in all directions. She hop-ported past a line of crackling electricity. "Ah'm comin'!" She shied back as flames rushed out, trying to kiss her snout. "Dangunnit... Comin'!" Part of being what she was, she had to charge towards danger instead of away from it. "Keep shoutin'!"

She found the first pony pinned beneath a whole pillar that had fallen on them.  They had gotten so close to the exit. If not for the pillar, they probably would have burst free with the others. "Ah'm here." Blossom shoved herself under the pillar as her horn glowed with sparks and power, helping in the task of heaving upwards, lessening the pressure on the pinned pony. "Can ya stand?"

The stallion scrambled to his hooves, but it was no quick action, each part slow and obviously pained. "H-how do I get out?"

Blossom let the pillar slide free with a heavy thump of stone. "Hold on!" She wrapped a wing around the pony. "We're gettin' out!"

"B-but h--" He didn't get to finish asking. They were outside. Blossom was already charging back inside, leaving him. "Thanks..." He crashed to his belly, then his side, grunting in pain. "Ow..."

Blossom skipped forward to where she had left off, dancing around the then-flaming pillar. "Who's here?" She followed the calls towards a door that was hot to the touch. "Dangunnit.." She flipped around and lashed out her hooves, sending the door off to flop to the ground in several ragged pieces. "Who's in there?!"

"Help!" came the shrill cry of a mare, caught behind an electrical line of crackling fury. "Oh, please, help!"

Blossom wanted to hop next to the mare, but it felt off. The heat haze and billowing smoke was hard enough to make her, what, perception of it unreliable. She couldn't skip next to the mare. "Comin'!" Squinting into the obscured room. There was a chair, she could... no, that wouldn't work. The chair would probably just catch on fire, or become electric if it was metal. She didn't bother checking.

She advanced into the room despite the heat, imagining how bad it had to feel for the mare trapped in it. "Comin'!"

"Please." The mare reached out, but yanked the hoof back. Scared by electricity or fire, one couldn't easily guess.

Blossom heard a crash behind her. A window had exploded, but also a door thrown open. Other ponies were hurrying onto the scene, dressed in fire proof coats. Actual fire fighters! "Oh, thank Celestia..." she sighed out, but there was still a mare in front of her. She jumped, soaring over the electric line. Her wings sung with pain, feathers catching alit in the heat and flames, but she landed next to the mare. "C'mon."

"Come on where?!" demanded the Mare with wide eyes. "Are you even alright?" She could easily see Blossom's singed wings. "We're all going to cook in here..."

"No we ain't." She thumped in next to the mare. "We're get---" They appeared outside, next to the flopped stallion. "--ting out." Blossom staggered back, panting for breath.

"Thank you!" The mare looked ready to flee, but the smoke she inhaled and the heat she endured caught up with her and she crashed to the ground an in ungainly pile. Fortunately, paramedic ponies were already there, quickly rushing to treat her, and already working on the stallion.

"Ma'am." A nurse mare was looking at Blossom pointedly. "I am releiving you of duty."

"What?" Blossom pointed at the burning building. "There're still ponies in there."

"Ma'am. I am relieving you of duty," repeated the nurse without much room in the tone of her voice. "You are injured. You're just risking another pony needing rescuing. Thank you for your service. Sit down." She pointed at the ground firmly. She was a pegasus, like most of the ponies there. The ground was a fluffy cloud, which did just fine by them. "Let me do my part, ma'am."

As Blossom sank in defeat, she advanced to begin administering the princess. "That was very brave, but I think you're forgetting something."

"What's that?" Blossom kept glancing at the inferno she wasn't helping with.

"You're a police officer." She plucked off Blossom's uniform cap and got to bandaging Blossom's head. "Not a fire fighter. The ponies you rescued will be forever grateful, but if you got in over your head, the firefighters would never be able to forgive themselves, ma'am."

The nurse sat back. "Besides, you're a princess too. You'll make the whole country sad if you go getting hurt in a fire. Thank you for putting other ponies first, but you deserve some consideration, ma'am."

Blossom spread her wings slowly, wincing at the charred feathers displayed on either, electric bands of damage showing along with the heat charring. "Will... this get better?"

"You'll be fine," assured the nurse in a far friendlier tone. Blossom had become a patient, not a resisting officer. "I know it looks bad, but pegasi regrow their feathers all the time. You'll have to wait before you're back at full flight, but it'll happen if you take care of yourself." She slid in, getting patting at Blossom's wings. "Tell me if it hurts."

"Jus' a little..." It looked far worse than it felt as the nurse patted the whole set of wings down.

"What I hoped." The nurse sat back. "Mostly superficial pinion damage. Nothing time won't put right. Now, I want you to take a few deep breaths for me, as deep as you can." She popped a stethoscope in her ears and pressed the cup against Blossom's chest. "Nice and long."

Blossom drew in breath with a slow woosh, deeper and deeper. She was overwhelmed with a sudden itch that erupted in a  coughing fit.

The nurse drew her stethoscope away. "I was worried about that. You inhaled some smoke. You'll be short of breath a while. Your body's doing its best to fix that, promise. I can't really help with that, but you can breathe, so you'll be alright."

Blossom smiled at the kindly nurse. "Thanks... How're they doin' in there?" She turned to fully face the fire. "Ah wanna help..."

The nurse bonked Blossom on the head. "Help by comforting the ponies out here. They could use a few kind words from a princess right about now."

Blossom perked her ears. She looked around slowly and saw the stallion she had dug out. They had a crude splint on his busted leg  and he looked properly miserable. The mare was up on a table, looking worse with some kind of breathing mask on. "Oh..." She had rescued their bodies, but their minds could still use a hoof.

She went for the stallion first, leaving the nurse behind. "Hey. How ya feelin'?"

"Been better..." He looked to his treated leg, stiff and secure. "But I could be a lot worse. Thanks..."

"Yer quite welcome." She patted his shoulder. "Just glad yer out an' alright."

"Yeah... Yeah, could be worse." He patted her touching arm. "Thanks, really."

She flashed a smile and went to the mare, struggling to get in air. "Howdy... Sorry ah couldn't rescue you any faster."

The pegasus mare grabbed Blossom with a firm hoof. "Don't you... say that." Her speech was a lot slower, not worked up in the moment. "If you hadn't been... there, I mighta... I might not be here." She took a moment to just breathe, the rasping wheeze of her efforts against the mask. "Wish you got there faster, but I wouldn't trade you not being there... You saved me."

Blossom flipped her ears back and down. "Ah share that wish... They say ah got hurt." She lifted her singed wings into view. "Burns me up, literal like, not goin' back in there."

"Hero." She swatted at Blossom. "On with ya..."
> 48 - Shoot
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

She made it home, that part was easy. Deciding to go home was the tricky part. With her mind settled, she just was home, standing in front of her apartment building. The pegasi had arrived on the scene with their own fire fighters and rescue crews. She had helped, a little... She had saved a few lives.

Could more be asked?

She staggered into her room to find something she had forgotten entirely; the list! She grabbed it in her magic, a quill a moment after. "Ah should fill this." One benefit of an exciting day, she had forgotten completely about the list, which meant she didn't remember what Big Mac had filled. "Good." The test would be as clean as possible.

She sat down and got to jotting down her answers to each question, scribbling busily. Favorite color, favorite treat. What did she think of Princess Celestia? The questions were many and varied, Twilight loved herself a good survey. If she could have any pet ever, what pet would that be?

She thought about that last one. She couldn't have Winona, that lovely dog belonged at the farm. Well. Any pet. Any pet at all... What pet would be comfortable with her skipping around, possibly even joining the fun? She didn't know what critter that'd be, but she'd want one of those. She scribbled that down, thinking of the adorable fluffy, or scaley? Maybe feathery? Whatever they'd had, they'd have fun with her!

Favorite pony in the world. Hum. Did that mean romantically? She supposed not. Favorite... Unfair question. How did one decide which pony was best? A lot of them rated pretty high in her book, and she wanted to protect them all. She scribbled that undecided answer down and went on.

Favorite time of the day? Well, it wasn't when she was asleep. She didn't even have dreams, being in Big Mac mode. Nope, night is best. Hail Luna!

Most embarrassing thing she ever did... She colored just thinking of the things that could qualify for that, but... "No, you win this one." She jotted down the time Big Mac made a big todo over Twilight's doll. The won out over any of her times.

"Greatest fear?" What had Big Mac put there? She couldn't remember. Excitement and injury had driven it from her mind. What was her greatest fear? "Hm..." She tapped at her chin. "Ah'm afraid of... dissapointin' ponies." She scribbled it down. "They're lookin' up at me an' ah gotta live up t'that!"

She had her answers and folded up the paper neatly in her magic. "Now." She wasn't in her room. She was in front of Twilight's castle. "Ah turn in the test!" She trotted up to the door, jogging up the steps to clop a hoof on the door firmly. "Anypony awake?" It was night, they--

"Hey?" Oh, there was Barb, looking a bit tired, but clearly awake. "Hey!" Her sleep faded, realizing who she was talking to. "Blossom! Great to see you. What's up?"

Blossom offered a hoof and soon had a Barb to hug. "Great to see ya too. Ah finished a thin' fer Twilight." She waggled the folded paper held in her magic. "Jus' wanted to turn it in."

Barb jumped up with a flap of her wings, snatching the paper. "I'll check if she's awake." She landed facing the door. "Come on in! Not like you're a stranger." She led the way inside and dashed for the stairs heading upward into the tower.

Blossom kicked a hoof back to close the door and looked around. It was dimmer than usual, with no light coming from outside. Well, a little light, but a lot less of it! She did not know the night for being a bright time. She advanced towards the map room, where she often met with Twilight. "Huh." But it was different at night. "Wait." She focused on her magic and directed it at the lanterns around. They got brighter and brighter in a smooth transition, just as she hoped.

"Perfect." She sat at the well lit table, tail swishing behind her like a pleased dog. "Now to wait."

Not that she had to wait for long, Twilight appearing seated on her throne with a pop. Sure, Blossom could teleport across the world, but Twilight could jump from one part of her castle to the other without too much fuss. "Welcome back!" The letter was floating over her head, grasped in her magic. "You filled that right out. I thought you might let it sit a few days to be less fresh."

"About that." Blossom spread her injured wings, singed as they were. "Tonight's been a busy night. Forgot most of that by the time I went fer it."

Twilight's eyes widened at the sight. "Oh dear... Are you alright?" Her magic gently poked and felt at the injured feathers. "Does that hurt?"

"Not so much." Blossom smirked though. If that had hurt, poking them would be doing nopony any favors. "They said it's mostly just ugly. It'll get better. They had a fire up in Cloudsdale."

"A fire?!" Twilight raised a hoof to her mouth. "In the night. Poor fire ponies were probably asleep, or at least tired."

Blossom blinked at that. "Oh... Maybe that's why they were delayed a few minutes..." A pity every minute counted in that situation. "Ah did what ah could." She pointed to the questions. "An' ah wanted to get this to ya."

Twilight set the letter down on the map/table. "Of course, thank you.  I'll analyze that as soon as possible. But, more pressingly, how do you feel? It sounds like you've just come back from an adventure."

"She'd know." Barb came into the room at a jog, hopping up into the throne nearest Blossom. "She's been on a few."

Blossom rubbed behind her head. "Reckon she has. S've you, last ah checked."

Barb hiked a thumb at herself. "Sure, but I get where Twi's coming from. After a big adventure, you need to... what, unwind? Decompress... It's a big thing, takes a little to just... take that in."

Twilight folded both hooves to her chest. "Precisely. Beside any investigation, you are our friend, and we're here if you just want to talk. You were part of a fire fighting force. That can be stressful even for the ponies trained in doing exactly that, and I don't think you were."

Barb shrugged. "Not that fighting random monsters is, you know, relaxing or anything."

Twilight swatted at her, but the distance was far too great. "Stop that. A monster may be terrible, but it isn't personal. I... understand what you do is very personal."

Blossom considered that. She had taken up the mantel of a police officer. "Yeah... 'bout as personal as it gets 'sides from runnin' weddings or funerals, 'magine..." She could remember the look of frantic relief on that mare's face, the thankful smile of the stallion. "Don't write yerself off too quick. Ya two done saved plenty ah lives!"

Twilight smiled at that. "We've all done our parts. All three of us." She pointed a hoof at Barb and Blossom. "Bunch of heroes, the lot of us, even if that feels odd to say."

Barb tipped the hat she wasn't wearing. "Aw shucks, just doin' what we can."

Blossom gently bopped the dragon for faking her accent. "Right 'ppreciate ya two carin' so much. It's good ta have friends..." She yawned suddenly and checked the time, no, not sleep time yet. "Just a hectic night."

"I hear that." Twilight looked to the kitchen where a gathering of filled glasses hovered in quickly, one settling before each of them. "Let's drink to that." The drink proved to be iced tea, nothing stronger than that. But they raised them and drank in good company. "I'll go over that soon, promise."

"Ain't no hurry." Blossom waved that away and looked to Barb. "How's the game goin'?"

"Oh! Right. It was good. Discord mighta showed up..."

Blossom swatted a hoof to her own face. "Done told him to be more graceful than that!"

"Yeah... but it's Discord. Hard to be surprised."

Twilight looked between the two with confusion. "What's Discord doing?"

Barb hiked a thumb over her shoulder. "Showed up at the O&O game I'm running with the crusaders, seeing if he could join."

Twilight blinked softly. "I hate to ask... but did he join?"

Barb curled her fingers. "Imagine it, game night. The fillies have their dice, their eyes shining with possibilities! I began weaving a tale of adventure for them..." Blossom nodded along, a familiar experience. "And suddenly, I'm on a cloud." She sits down in place, wings lifting her sitting form  up. "I can see the fillies way below me. We're inside the world  I was describing."

Barb chuckled softly. "To my credit! I realized what was happening pretty fast and tried continuing my description, and the world reacted to it. I was their god." She threw out her hands wide. "And we played the game."

Twilight hummed softly. "That doesn't sound too awful if everypony had a good time..."

"It wasn't all bad." Barb shrugged. "When we finished, that's when Discord actually showed up and said he'd love to actually play with them next time."

Blossom pawed at the ground. "What'd they say? Ya can't leave that part out!"

"Yes and no." Barb tapped Blossom on the snout. "Yes, he could join. No, they didn't want to be inside the game every time. 'Save that for special occasions,' Sweetie had said."

Twilight inclined her head. "Really? That easy?"

Barb shrugged. "Sometimes, it really is that easy. He took off, all giggles and smiles, and now there are four players at that table. It's way better that Discord isn't going to try to show up as a filly." She rolled her eyes. "He needs to be honest with himself."

Blossom curled a hoof at herself. "Wouldn'ta thought ah was a mare a little while back, or you were one neither. Um, jus' sayin', let's not be too judgmental, ya know?"

Barb waved that away. "No no no, he was just being jealous,  I'm pretty sure of it. Discord is Discord. He likes being a guy, even if he can be a girl." But the thought did jostle around. "Um, but if he wanted to be a she, seriously... Then I'd be with 'her'. I'd look really funny if I wasn't, considering."

"I wasn't going to say anything." Discord was perched on Pinkie's throne, just there where he hadn't been before. "So, yes, I got to join." He clapped his hands. "Barb was right! The fillies really have a different energy about it. I love it."

Twilight blinked at the sudden chaos spirit. "Does this mean you're changing which game you're doing?"

Discord pointed at Barb. "Is she?"

"What? No!" She threw up her hands defensively. "I love both games for different things."

"Exactly." Discord nodded confidently. "Now, what's this I hear about a fire fighting expedition?" He drew out a water hose form nowhere, dressed in a fire fighting helmet and jacket. "I'm ready!"

Blossom pushed the nozzle down with her magic. "The fire's been battled. Ah was a part."

"Is that why?" Discord popped up next to Blossom, magnifying glass to her burnt wings. "Not sure if this style's going to be in, but if somepony is going to make it happen, it may be you."

Blossom folded her wings back and away, though folding them entirely was out for the moment. "Cut that out... Not a style ah'd want to spread around."

Twilight stood up and hopped down from her chair. "This has been very enlightening, and valuable. Blossom, get some rest. You deserve it."

Blossom snorted. "A nice but insistent nurse already took me off duty."

Twilight nodded as she came around the table. "And I agree. We should all get some rest."

Discord waved between Blossom and himself. "Some of us aren't tired! Not all of us are early birds, I remind."

Blossom waved Discord towards the door. "Come on. We'll let them get some shut eye."
> 49 - Chaotic Friends
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

"You kept me waiting so long." Discord was darting about the room, looking at every portion of Blossom's area. She had teleported there, and he had followed. Moving from place to place was well within his skill set. "Ooo." He pushed on either side, spreading out Blossom's collection of clothes wide. "This you is so much more fashionable!" Dressed in a tux and top hat, he tapped the new cane on the ground. "Love it."

Blossom snorted at that. "Well, got a few friends that like dressin' me up."

Discord snickered. "Sure, sure... But if you didn't want to dress up, then they'd be out of luck, I imagine." He threw the cane aside, zipping up to Blossom. "You've tried on a frilly dress before all this, I remind."

Blossom colored at the memory of the origin of her name. "It was fer Apple Bloom..."

"Sure sure." He tossed that notion right over his shoulder. "You do know, most of the mares there were naked, right?"

Blossom's blush only grew in amplitude. "Well, yeah... but ah had to sell it. Ah was... As was just pretendin' an' ah was nervous!"

"So you overdid it." Discord tapped the quivering nose of his newest princess victim. "But you liked it, at least a little... And when you had the chance to do it without looking or feeling odd about it, you took it. Just be honest with yourself."

"Yer bein' mean."

"Is that it?" Discord floated away with a smirk. "Your big comeback?"

"Well, it's true." Blossom reared up to cross her arms. "Y'are. Don't plan on wearin' a dress as Big Mac again."

"Never said you were," he taunted. "But here you are, with a fine excuse, so no reason not to enjoy it." Discord drifted closer. "Nothing wrong with that. You're a mare, enjoy mare's clothes. You look quite sporting in that police getup, for that matter." With a wave of his hand, Blossom was back in her uniform. "So official! Hm, to think..."

Blossom raised a doubting brow, falling back to all fours."To think what 'xactly?"

"Well, if the mighty police officer Blossom caught me back in my wilder days." He giggled to himself, rocking in the air. "That'd be quite the feather in your cap. A pity I have no wanted posters anymore. They never did get my good side."

"'magine not." Blossom cocked a brow at her chaotic ally. "I'll just come out an' ask. Do ya see me different?"

"'Course I do!" He grabbed Blossom's cheeks, squeezing and ruffling them. "This you is an avatar of law! This you is a keeper of peace. This you wears a dress whenever she can get away with it." He waggled his brows. "We all have our 'phases', and treating you the same through them all would be just silly, I say."

Blossom swatted one of his hands away. "Cut that out. It ain't a 'phase.'"

"Oh, of course it isn't." He puffed from his cigar. "I understand..."

Blossom squinted at the one that pretended to be his father. "That ain't funny."

"Mmm, I suppose not." Not that he was apologizing. "Still, a little bare in here, isn't it?" He twirled a finger around. "I expected a little more... glitz. What I do see doesn't even look like you picked it."

"Oh, um..." Blossom slid in front of a fancy little mirror perched on her desk. "There's a reason."

"I imagine there is." He curled his hands under his chin, smiling at his uncomfortable friend. "Share?"

"Nnn..." There was little way to escape it... "I... mighta got a boyfriend."

Discord's monocle dropped free of his face, even if he hadn't been wearing one before. "Come again?" He curled an arm around Blossom's snout, finger on the far side. "Tell me more!"

She groaned sufferingly, but did just that, going over how their family was expanding with Sugar Belle as the lead pony of it all.

"And all of this--" He waved about with both hands. "That's Fancy Pants' way of saying, 'I like what I'm looking at.'" He leaned in with a great smirk. "And he liked it back when you were a stallion. His tastes, at least, are consistent. Give 'em big and strong!"

Blossom shrank in defeat. "Basically... Um..."

"And you're alright with that." He tapped Blossom anew. "Good on you, both of you."

This brought something to Blossom's mind. "Hey! Can you tell me if ah'm one pony or two?"

"I could." Discord shrugged softly. "But what's the fun in that? What you find is probably more important, anyway."

Blossom snorted at the denial. "Just wanna know the truth."

"My truth?" He pulled down a screen with Twilight's smiling face. "Her truth? Nah." He let the screen flip up and away. "Way more interested in what your--" He jabbed his finger at Blossom. "--truth is. So keep looking! You'll know it when you find it, then you can share with me."

Blossom smiled a strange little gesture. "That's... nice an' all... but what if I get to the wrong answer?"

Discord lifted his shoulders and hands high. "Then maybe it isn't as wrong as you're scared of. Only you have to live with the result." He clapped his hands together. "So one pony or two? That's up to you, really." He meshed his fingers. "Be one. Be two. Up to you. Now, really, I'm rooting for you either way. We are friends and all."

Blossom curled a hoof at herself. "Are ya friends with me? We barely met."

"Please." Discord rolled his eyes. "You think you can get one over on me that easily? Whether Blossom takes off on her own or not, she was there, with me, for quite some time. We'll be friends either way. That goes for Big Mac, or Big Blossom, whatever the result is in the end. If you're worried for me, don't be. I'll get one combo pack friend or two fine pony friends. Not a bad deal either way."

Blossom went to her closet, horn glowing as she plucked out the tiara she had gained in her coronation. "Ya won't be bothered by this?"

"Please." Discord waved the idea way. "I already have two pals that wear one of those. What's one more?" He plonked a crown on his head. "A little royal jewelry really brings out the best in a creature, hm?"

Blossom snorted out a chuckle at the sight. "Y'ain't the royal of anythin'."

"Now that's just not true." He set his hands, balled, on his hips. "I'm the High Lord of Chaos! There are none that can stand beside me. Well, except you, but that's because I like you."

"An' Barb?"

Discord huffed. "Fine, her too, I guess... Before you ask, Fluttershy's already included. The bride of the king can stand next to them, that'd be odd if they couldn't."

Blossom blinked softly. "Wait, when did--"

"--I said nothing." He tucked his crown away quickly. "Anyway, you're on vacation! Enjoy that. Why don't you visit those lovers of yours? I bet they'll be happy to kiss your booboos better."

As if prompted, Blossom's radio, attached to her chest, buzzed with static and a voice a moment later, "Officer Princess Blossom, are you listening?"

"That sounds urgent." Discord sidestepped to a door that hadn't been there. "I should go. Good luck with that." He slipped through the door that vanished in a puff on closing.

Blossom floated the receiver to a raised hoof. "Blossom here."

"Oh, good. We were trying all the cities. You're a slippery one, officer." The dispatch sounded amused, not annoyed. "Report from Cloudsdale, they appreciate the helping wing. Word's being passed down that you are releived of duty until you're all better. Rough, huh?" He didn't wait to get the answer. "Rest and come back better. Over."

"Roger that." She released the button to sigh to herself. "Officer Blossom, signing out." She floated the receiver and its unit over to rest on her desk. She had no use for it for the time. "Now... which one?" It was the night. Sugar hadn't been warned, so popping in on her felt rude. Fancy may be awake, or may not be. But there was a chance! Better than assuredly bein' a pain.

"Decision made." She took a step forward, landing in front of Fancy's, at his gate. "Huh... Gettin' better at that." It was nice, being in proper control of her ability, to skip from place to place. She clopped a hoof on the gate in a rapping of metal and hoof colliding. "Anypony home?"

"Coming," came a male voice from a speaker, the door to the house opening a moment later. "Ah, lady Blossom." It was his butler, approaching with a smile. "Are you seeking the master, or is there something I can assist with?"

"Nice to see ya." She tipped a hat she wasn't wearing. "Is Fancy in, and is he awake? Ah'll understand if either of those is a no."

"He is attending a function." He pointed to the castle in the distance. "It would seem Princess Luna is trying her hoof at it, and invited him."

"And there ain't no way he'd say no to her," reasoned Blossom out loud. "Shoot."

"Apologies, ma'am." He dipped his head at Blossom. "You could join him? Being a princess, I feel certain they would allow it."

Blossom perked at the idea, but it was short-lived. "With these?" She spread her burnt wings. "Not the kinda impression ah'm tryin' to make."

"Oh dear." He circled her, examining the wings. "In the course of duty?" She nodded and he closed. "Then, I insist. Please, come inside. I feel certain the master would be beside himself if I allowed you to leave in this state."

"Ya sure?" But she wasn't resisting very hard, going inside along with the butler. "It's part of the job..."

"All the more reason we should be thankful. Would you care to share the tale, or would you prefer to keep that quiet, ma'am?" He led her into one of the front rooms to sit in a cushy couch. "I'll fetch some refreshments for you in either event." And off he went to do just that.

Blossom sat up and reached her hoof, magic doing the rest to bring a bottle over. She poured herself a little drink, feeling certain Fancy wouldn't mind. "Mm." Fancy did have good taste in drinks. Or was that his servants? It would be impossible to guess...

"Here we are." The butler returned, pushing a cart with his magic. "A little meal for you." He popped the lid off, revealing a three course offering that he waved over. "I trust it will meet your expectations."

Blossom didn't touch it at first. "Wow... I wasn't expectin' all this." She reached only then for a fork with her magic. "This leftovers?"

"Perish the thought." He folded the lid in under the cart. "We prepared it freshly today, I assure! But... since you asked..." He winked. "We do a lot of the prep in the morning, so we can quickly have food at the ready whenever the need comes up. Still, every day, a new wave of prep. to serve day old food? No, that simple won't do."

Blossom pinned an ear back. "That sounds right nice, but a little wasteful, ain't it?"

"These are the prices we pay." He casually refilled Blossom's glass with the same drink without asking which it was. "We want Fancy Pants to look forward to his time at home as a relaxing break from all the stress he must endure on a daily basis. So, if it helps, consider your presence a reason for less food to be lost. Eat as much as you wish, ma'am, but not a bite further."

"Huh." Blossom savored the savory bits dancing across her tongue. "Mmm, compliments to the chef... Um, say, ever consider givin' the extra to ponies what ain't got the means for themselves?"

The butler inclined his head. "Would they want such fancy things, already prepared and approaching the end of their lives?"

Blossom considered that, but brightened with an idea. "Let me talk to a pony er two. If they say yes, you can give it to me, and ah'll get it over to them in a snap." She clopped her hooves together. "No delay. Everypony wins."

"Well... I have no objection." He shrugged. "It was planned for the trash. If it can find an agreeable home in another pony, all the better, hm? Such a good spirit you have." He wandered off, leaving the cart behind. "For now, enjoy yourself. Call if you need anything."
> 50 - The Way I See It
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

"You both have the same cutie mark." Barb pointed at Big Mac's back end. "Not 'sorta the same', but exactly the same. No other two ponies have exactly the same cutie mark, at least that I met. Close, sure. Same thing in a different color? Happened. But exactly the same, with the same fur color on top?"

Big Mac peeked back at the big green apple that was his mark. "What's the tell ya?"

Barb shrugged. "Well, I guess it doesn't say anything, except these two ponies are super connected. If you wanted to be one pony, I doubt a single pony around would argue the idea. Just point back to that, wiggle it around, and who could even argue it?"

"Huh. So... is Twilight in? Really wanna hear what that test came up with." He looked past Barb, but no Twilight was spotted. "Sorry, not tryin' to brush ya aside."

"Please." Barb stepped out of the way. "Like you're close to the first to want Twilight over my opinion."

Big Mac hesitated. "Don't take it like that. Right 'ppreciate yer thoughts." He reached for Barb and placed  her on his back, advancing with her. "Yer one ah my best friends, ya know that, right?"

Barb considered her perch. "You know... This feels less... innocent."

"Hm?"

"I mean... I'm a girl now." Barb hiked a thumb at herself. "Giving random girls rides has... meanings, right? Sorry, just a passing dirty thought."

Big Mac swiveled an ear to the litttle she-dragon. "Stop that. Yer still a young thin', last ah checked. Ain't gonna be doin' any of that. 'sides, already got a girlfriend."

"And a boyfriend," sang Barb with a giggle. "I didn't forget."

"And a boyfriend," admitted Big Mac with a growing coloring. "We're jus' friend friends, an' there ain't not a thin' wrong with that!"

"Not a thing," she agreed, petting the top of Big Mac. "Sorry for making it odd."

Big Mac clip-clopped into the tower. "Now a good time?" he called out into its cavernous depths. "Ya know... Twilight really should fill out this place a bit more."

Barb shrugged from atop Big Mac. "With what? She's putting books everywhere, promise, but what else? She doesn't want guards or fancy-dancy servants or anything."

Big Mac considered, tapping his chin. "Maybe some fellow big-brain ponies, tryin' to figure out other things? A little company wouldn't hurt, and she's got the room fer it."

Barb poked Big Mac on the back of the head. "She may be the princess of friendship, but she prefers her friends be at arm's length. Me and Starlight are the only ones allowed to get that close on a day to day basis."

"Well, that makes ya special." Big Mac nodded, seemingly satisfied with that. "Twi?"

"Right here." She descended the stairs, winding down towards them. "Good to see you. That eager to see the results?"

"Yes'm!" Big Mac bobbed his head up and down with a big grin. "What'd ya find?"

"It was fascinating." She reached the bottom and led the way towards the map room, a set of papers bobbing in her magic above her with her steps. "Where it matches, and where it does not. I would love to do some more control examinations, but--"

"--pass," concluded Barb.

"Getting willing test subjects is not as easy as one might think." She sat on her throne, setting the papers down ahead of herself. "Still... First,  I need to ask, did you answer these are you are or as you saw the world wanted you to be? Those are not the same thing at times."

Big Mac took a seat himself, humming with thought. Barb jumped free of him onto the table. "Don't be nervous. We're not judging."

Twilight coughed into a hoof. "I was asked to judge."

Big Mac chuckled at that. "Sure were... Ah tried to be honest. There were a few questions I mighta steered a little different 'cause I couldn't do that. Like me an' Blossom sure can't both have Winona."

"Logical." She tapped at the papers with a hoof. "But I'm more interested in the more personality-based questions than that." Her magic glowed as she pulled one sheet free. "There are noticeable differences between the two, even ignoring the situational questions. I expected differences there. You two are, quite literally, in different situations."

Big Mac nodded along slowly as Twilight broke down exactly how the differences shook out. Blossom was a social pony, an extrovert even. She recharged being around other ponies and ran down when she had to be alone for too long. Big Mac was an introvert, recharging with his alone time and drained when he had to be social. Both were friendly, of course, but that was a difference, a big one.

Big Mac was looking forward to raising a family, to having a foal and marrying and all that.

Blossom was curious about physical parts of that. to put it more bluntly, Blossom was hornier. She had a more powerful sex drive. Both were equally faithful, but Big Mac's thoughts were more about the relationship and connections, and Blossom was curious and eager to actually be physically with her +1s. Both loving, just in different ways.

"That... explains a lot." Big Mac colored, remembering the time Blossom had turned Sugar Belle's world upside down. "Ayup..." He glanced to Barb, sitting there, grinning and listening. "This is hardly a conversation fit fer a foal."

"Hey." Barb waved a finger at Big Mac. "I'm not a little foal! I'm old enough to lay eggs."

Twilight colored sharply. "Be that as it may... Big Mac is correct. Go on." She waved Barb away.

"Aw..." But she did slide to the floor and went running off, leaving the adults to their chat.

Twilight inclined an ear. "I admit... part of me is... curious, on a personal level."

"Personal level?"

Twilight leveled a hoof at Big Mac. "You are fairly average, and Blossom is elevated." She turned the hoof on herself. "I'm very low. I... wonder what it would be like, to be higher on that scale. Would I enjoy it? Would it be distracting? Would it help, or hinder, my attempts to understand the magic of friendship?"

Big Mac considered that, fighting the warmth in his cheeks. "Well... Um, not sure how to check that. Y'ain't gonna get a double of yerself, now are ya? We ain't even sure how ah went and got one."

"Princess Luna..." Twilight's eyes turned towards the sky. "Is unlikely to assist in such experiments, not that I think even she understands exactly what happened. Still, we're getting off topic." She cleared her throat softly. "The more pressing matter is that there are differences. Now, I can't confirm if they are a result of your position or not. Blossom lives in a much more populated place, with a more social position, and with her paramor closer at hoof. These would have to all be considered potential confounding factors. Even if you two are the same pony, just that could lead to you deviating just from your environment, to some extent. How much? Nopony knows the pony mind well enough to guess that."

"Ah see... Well, did ya find anythin' that can't be so easily 'xplained? Somethin' that ain't just 'well that's where she lives' or somethin'?"

Twilight shuffled through her papers, not touching them but with her magic. "Favorite color shifted. I can't explain that by surroundings very easily, and you have the same general body, so... Curious, but not telling?"

"Curious," echoed Big Mac. "Oh, Blossom's braver, ah 'magine."

"Bravery is a complicated topic." She set the papers down. "But she is more willing to accept risks. But, she is also a police officer and princess, two risky positions to be in. I can't say that's not, in part, due to her circumstances. You--" She pointed at Big Mac. "--are an apple farmer. A less, by the day, risky position. 'Bravery' is when that risk suddenly increases, and how you react to it."

"That makes sense..." He considered a moment. "That's how... Oh. This makes sense suddenly."

"Do share," she encouraged with a smile. "I'd love to hear."

"Well, we were in Luna's nightmare." He pantomimed awkwardly. "It was very dangerous, fer all of us. Blossom was, at the time, me tryin' to be at my bravest." More seemed to click. "She was... everythin' ah I wanted to be. A princess, bold, out there..."

"But she was still you," noted Twilight. "Just a specific vision of you. A dream of Big Mac, about Big Mac."

"Yeah..." He sat up, rubbing his hooves together. "We are the same, but we are two different ponies. If ya had a dream, the dream Twilight wouldn't be the same as awake Twilight, no... But yer powerful related..."

Twilight inclined her head. "So which is it?"

"Discord put it best, without givin' away answers, like he does... He said ah'd find the answer, and what ah found would be right fer me. He also said I'd know it when ah found it."

Twilight burst into laughter. "Did he say you'd keep it a secret?"

"No. Oh!" He chuckled, rubbing behind his head. "Sorry. Blossom is her own pony, fer me. Fer another pony, maybe it'd be different. But fer me, we're two ponies. She's like a dear sister."

Twilight nodded slowly. "I don't mean to make this awkward... but does this mean you're effectively marrying your sister?"

Big Mac stared, unmoving a moment. "Um... It ain't like that. We can't even shake hooves, let 'lone nothin' else. Um... but ya ain't wrong, 'xactly... Fancy pants is hitchin' his wagon to both of us, and so's Sugar Belle. So... Like... twins with an open relationship?" He frowned, trying to puzzle through it. "That's awful complicated, and a little weird..."

Twilight hopped down to come in and pat Big Mac on the shoulder. "I can imagine. Still, all involved are free-thinking adults, and all have agreed, so... I don't see any ponies being harmed here. While I'm still curious, perhaps it'd be better if I didn't have a second-Twilight around. I'm not sure I could handle it."

"Still." Big Mac sat up, a smile growing. "This is good news. Ah feel better, really. If we're seperate, we can act like it."

"You weren't already?"

"Nope." Big Mac tapped at his head. "It was always rattlin' 'round in there, wonderin' if I was embarassin' the other side. But that's just silly. Blossom's mah sister. Ah can't go through life worried about how much she may giggle or scoff at what ah'm doin'. And it ain't my business to go hasslin' her 'bout what she's doin', 'less ah'm worried fer her."

Twilight inclined her head. "I'd be careful how I brought that up. Shining will send me packing if I bring up my complaints inconsiderately, even with the best of intentions." She could remember how the wedding had gone. "But, that sounds like a  healthy resolution." She made a sudden scratched note. "Very good."

"Um, are ya takin' notes 'bout me?"

Twilight stacked the papers into a neat pile and tucked them away. "Of course. Are you surprised?"

"Ah... suppose not." Twilight does what Twilight will do. It wasn't out of her character at all. "Well, since you have that... You'll share if you notice anythin' else worth noticin', ah hope?"

"Well." Twilight considered that with a soft humming. "Well... Oh! You should stop being upset about that. That you--" She pointed at Big Mac. "Feel heterosexual, and Blossom is bisexual? If you're separate ponies, this is entirely understandable."

Big Mac recoiled. "Oh! Ah... hadn't even thought 'bout it like that... Ah... just gotta tell the two of 'em 'bout it... an' hope they're alright wit' that." He grabbed Twilight in a firm hug. "Ah knew ya's have some great ideas. Thanks fer takin' the time."

Twilight wobbled back, recovering from the sudden squeeze. "Glad to help. I'll call on you if I have sudden need for police action." She vanished, appearing back on her throne with a magic pop. "Now, go on. You have a full day ahead of you."
> 51 - A Girl Worth Fighting For
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

"Huh." Applejack was coming up, studying Big Mac as she closed in. "Yer... Bro, yer lookin' awful distracted. Ya got Sugar Belle on the mind?"

Big Mac jerked upright, bonking his head on the top part of their stall's sign. "Oof, what? Oh, hey sis." He reached out a hoof and met with hers in a firm clop. "Is it break time already?"

"Reckon it's break time fer you a little longer." She moved around to the back of the stall and casually pushed him out with her hooves. "What's got yer head all in a fog?"

"Twilight."

Applejack blinked at that. "Ah... Now, gonna stop myself right there. What about Twilight?"

"She helped me sort some thin's out, and now ah'm stuck thinkin' 'bout them. Um..." He pointed up at Canterlot. "Ya remember Orchard Blossom, right?"

Applejack peered up at the city in the sky, er, mountain. "Hard to forget. Mah brother's better at bein' pretty than me." She swatted at him, but didn't actually touch him. "Ain't even a little fair."

"Now, that ain't true." Big Mac sat on the customer side of the stall, facing Applejack. "We got pictures. When ya want to be pretty, yer dang good at it."

That brought a fierce blush to her cheeks. "Aw... Yer jus' sayin' that, not that ah'm complainin' none. So, what about her?" She kicked a hind hoof back at Canterlot. "She upta somethin'?"

"Every day, er, night." He turned a hoof on himself. "Mind if ah admit somethin'?"

"Sure?" Applejack inclined her head, adjusting an apple idly. "This somethin' ah should keep quiet?"

"If ya could..." Big Mac cleared his throat. "After a lot a thinkin', worked out somethin'. Blossom's what ah wanted to be. She's a livin' dream. Mah dream."

Applejack was quiet a moment, just cycling a hoof in the air before words found her again. "Ya know she's a mare, right?"

"Ferget that part." He pantomimed shoving that topic out of view. "The part that's loud. The part that speaks her mind. The part that wants to lock eyes with ponies and do stuff with 'em. The part that's cheered for at least half the time... She's a hero..."

Applejack was ready to insist Big Mac was a hero, but it failed. She realized she was... literally that. Her words would come out hollow at best. "Big Mac... Ah know it don't feel like it sometimes, but yer my hero. Yer Apple Bloom's hero."

He raised a brow at that. "Yer Apple Bloom's hero. If she had to pick one pony, we both know that. Don't get me wrong, she loves me, as a brother, but in a hero contest, it's barely a start." He coughed into a hoof. "This, um... ya can tell me to hush up... But even in private, she... What she wants, she reaches fer. That ain't a skill ah got."

"So get it." Applejack crossed her arms. "If she's showin' you things you like, decide if you really do like it or not, then get to it. A pony ain't no statue. If ya wanna grow, then grow! Ya think ah ain't changed?" She pointed up at Twilight's castle. "Been through a lot since she came like a tornado in alla our lives. Bein' alive means that can happen. Best part, if ya think about it. So don't be scared of it."

Big Mac chuckled softly. "Well, who's gonna--"

"--You cut that short." She popped a hoof in his mouth, leaning over the counter to reach it. "Ah've taken plenty of time out 'cause somethin' called me away. Sure, there were important, but ah still did it. Now, if ya got somethin' important, well, then it falls on me to return the favor." She sat back with a huff. "So get to it. We both got friends to help out."

"Um." He didn't have words, so he didn't offer any. Several ponies came and went to get their produce, with Applejack serving them up with a smile. "Um... So."

"So?" Applejack propped an elbow on the counter. "Whatcha got in mind?"

Big Mac lifted his shoulders slowly. "Is it alright if ah ain't sure?"

"Sure it is." She pushed an apple towards a pony, chatting with them a moment before sending them off with an apple, and a bit less. "Look... Ya been real good. Rock solid... Ya... used to be a real loudmouth, then ya went quiet, fer years." She leaned forward on her elbows. "An' part of that was mah fault, for not sayin' nothin'."

Big Mac sighed, a slow release of a noise. "Ah caused a lot of trouble, back then..."

"But goin' silent weren't the best answer. It was an answer, sure. An easy one, and ah took it... But ah shouldn't have." She waved Big Mac closer. "Ah like that ya started talkin' 'gain. Ah missed yer voice. Ah missed yer thoughts... Mac, yer my brother. Even when ya drive me crazy, ah still love ya."

Big Mac was still a moment. "But... Ah almost lost everythin'..."

"Almost." Applejack shrugged. "Ah almost lost the whole dang world, the things ah been doin'... We both learned from our mistakes, ah hope, but the answer ain't to shut that mouth a yers." She swatted gently at his shoulder. "And ah gotta keep up with that crazy unicorn we know."

"Good luck wit' that." Big Mac offered a heavy hoof, clopping it against Applejack's smaller one. "Ah... think ah need some time."

"And I thought that'd be the case." She shooed Big Mac Gently. "Already called up a couple ah couses. They'll be by to help keep things in one piece. So don't even worry 'bout it. Go find yerself."

Big Mac patted himself down. "Found it."

Applejack rolled her eyes. "As if it were that easy. Ya know what I mean!"

"But... they ain't here." Surely he would have seen them around the house earlier. "Ah gotta take my turn after lunch."

"Ya gotta go take care of yerself." She made more vigorous shooing motion. "Go on, get. Yer on leave."

Big Mac shrank back, ears flopping. "Shoot... That makes two ah me done been sent home..."

"Nuh uh." Applejack pointed off into town. "Ah don't think yer gonna do any findin' there. Get out there."

"Yes, mom." He huffed and walked away from her, though she was watching with a smarmy smile.





Big Mac had a whole day to himself, and a night, he knew was coming, where he'd have as much to do... Even if he set aside 'her' time as her own, it still held no promises of excitement ahead of either of them. "Shoot..."

"Hey." A mare waved at Big Mac, an easy smile on her face. "If it isn't the biggest mac I know!" she took a sip from her mug of potent-smelling libation. "What're you up to?"

Big Mac turned to her. "How ya doin'?" He nodded at Berry Punch. "A bit early fer that, ain't it?" He inclined his head at the mug cradled around her hoof.

"This? Nah." She took another little pull. "Always time for that. Looking at you, you could use one too." She stood up on three of her hooves. "Wanna go to my favorite spot? I know some good ones! You look like you could use a..." She paused suddenly, as if forgotting what she was saying. "I know some spots."

Big Mac considered Berry Punch. "Tryin' to find myself, not forget nothin'."

"Oh, silly colt!" She thwapped him with the mug, splashing some of it on him. "You drink to forget, sometimes, yeah, sometimes... Sometimes... But also! You drink to remember things." She tapped at her head. "Works both ways, either way, all the time. Been there, I know..."

"Silly question."

She perked at that, though the perked ears sagged as if that just too much effort. "Hit me. Not literally... I can't take a swing very well." She rocked backwards, almost falling over. "Now this!" She pointed at her mug with her free hoof. "This I can take. I'm really even pretty good at it."

"You're Berry Punch," started Big Mac, though he couldn't finish the question.

"--Sure am!" She threw an arm over his withers, holding him close. Her breath smelled of alcohol and deep berry hints. Not as bad as some drunk humans, but still quite potent. "How'd you know?"

"We're friends?" tried Big Mac, unsure.

"Oh right! Well. We can't be friends. If we were friends, we'd be goin' someplace fun to get a drink." She tugged at him with her wrapped arm, pulling him onwards. "I know the best place!"

And so Big Mac got drawn along by the sloshed mare, unsure how to escape her grasp until they were well inside a bar. The moment she stepped inside, cheers erupted. "Berry!" was the communal cry, with mugs and glasses raised high to greet her.

The bartender plunked down a bottle with a strawberry and some grapes. "Your favorite."

"You are the best." Berry waved a hoof at the tender before grabbing the bottle by the lip in her mouth. With some motions, she got the cork off with just her tongue and lips, spitting out the cork and twisting the whole bottle to refill her mug with it. "Just in time. A dry Berry is a sad... sad berry. We don't want that." Cries went up in agreement.

Big Mac turned for the door, ready to make his escape. "Ah really--" But then the bottle was shoved against him, half full after refilling Berry's mug. She was pushing it against him with a big smile.

The tender tipped his hat. "I've seen that look. A little sip at least, or you'll go and break her heart."

"Don't do that," she wailed as if he entire family of puppies were slain in front of her. "That's just the worst. You're a friend, you said so... Try it."

"Just a sip." Big Mac closed his hooves around the bottle, holding it from both sides. "But then ah should go." Berry wasn't arguing, just watching him intently. "Here goes." He upended the bottle to get a drink. Bottles were not mugs. He was used to mugs, not so much drinking from bottles. What should have been a sip was a mouthful that he half swallowed and half spat out, sputtering.

"Tastes good, right?" She was already swatting his back, helping him get his breath back. "So good..."

"It ain't bad." He wasn't drunk, far from it, but the edges were being worn down with each moment he took to regain his composure. What was the hurry? He could handle himself just fine! The crowd was cheering him on, smiles and lifted drinks. They were a lot of friendly ponies, and... maybe he wanted some company right then.

Berry thrust a hoof up. "This stallion just popped his first berry!" The bar exploded in cheers and stomps as more libations vanished down throats. "But it won't be the last," she assured, snuggling in against his side. "Let's drink until we remember, or forget, or forget what we wanna remember! Or maybe remember what, no, that'd be bad..." Ignoring the fact that this was a thing that happened sometimes, Berry lifted her mug for a fresh swig. "To living!"

"To living!" roared the crowd. A mug came in, tapping against the bottle Big Mac still held. The pony that did it was grinning and cheering, turning back their mug for a fresh drink.

Big Mac could handle cider. The bottle had no fear from him. He took a second big swig, joining the cheering.

It was a pity that the stuff Berry Punch used was a fair bit more potent than apple cider was made to be. But that was a problem for later.

Later problems were a thing Big Mac was rapidly losing space for. Only the current mattered, and the current had cheering crowds and a good friend that had brought him there.
> 52 - Passed Out
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Drinks of that sort can do funny things to a pony's mind. Especially when one has no sense of control and tries to keep up with Berry Punch. So it was that he stood in a packed field. Every inch of space, had a pony, an Apple. They watched him with concerned, judging, looks.

"Ya almost took a step too far." Applejack was there, among the infinite Apples. "Glad ya managed to 'void that."

"Sis?" He stepped towards her, but she was gone, lost to that sea of Apples.

"This ain't supposed to happen." A mare stepped from the crowd, confused.

Big Mac knew her instantly. "Orchard Blossom!"

"Y-yup..." She rubbed at the side of her face. "What'd you do? We're not supposed to be lookin' at each other."

Big Mac closed with her, the crowd flowing around him to reach her. "How...  Um... I mighta had a few drinks?"

"A few?" challenged Blossom with a raised brow. "Gonna guess more than a sip."

Big Mac wasn't thinking about the impossibility of it all, not when there was a Blossom to inspect and touch. "Cut that out," she squeaked. "Ah thought we were siblings."

"Sorry." He shrank at  her accusing words. "Just curious... Um..."

"Well, don't think 'bout it." She snorted and cracked a smile. "Thought ah was the randy one. Um, still... We ain't supposed to be awake at the same time, but here we are."

"Here we are." Big Mac looked around at the countless Apples. "Wit' company."

"Even more reason fer not gettin' strange," argued Blossom. "Well, here we are. Whattaya want to do?"

Big Mac sat down and offered a hoof. "Ah wanna talk, face to face."

Blossom sank across from him with a little smile. "Now there's a thought ah can agree with. Huh, does this mean you were right?"

"Can't rightly say." Big Mac tapped at his chin. "Ah had the thought, and this is mah head, ah think... Maybe if I was thinkin' different, we'd be one pony right now."

"Well, then I'll be glad ya didn't go an' have that thought then." She poked him in the chest. "Ah like bein' mah own pony, thank ya kindly."

Big Mac inclined his head left, looking over Blossom from the new angle. "Still powerful odd, ya knowin' everythin' ah know an' all."

"But ah ain't you," concluded Blossom. "Is this gonna throw off mah sleep? Got kinda used to that bein' pretty steady. You bein' awake means ah was gettin' plenty ah shut eye. Ya don't see me messin' up yer naps."

Big Mac colored in his cheeks, rubbing one of them. "Sorry..." He looked off at the infinite Apples. "This is... Can we go somewhere else?"

"Sure." And they were, floating on a cloud that Big Mac fell through. "Oops." They were on a mountain top, Big Mac falling into the snow with a thump. "There we go. Better?"

Big Mac sat up in the snow, shaking it off with a scowl at his dream sister. "A little warnin' woulda been nice!" He climbed up out of the snow and found a better place to sit on a rock. "But it is better... thanks." He puffed out some steam into the air. "Still, now that we're 'lone, but together, gotta question."

"Shoot." Blossom smirked at the mild discomfort her brother was having. "What's on yer mind? Fer once, I don't know already."

"Ya got questions 'bout me?" He curled a hoof on himself. "Ah got a dozen and a half 'bout you."

"Um... Not specific." Blossom shrugged softly. "Ah remember all of ya. Ah grew up as ya, remember? I know what it's like to be an awkward colt, then a stallion... then a mare, then a princess. What a trip. You were there." She poked him gently. "Silly pony."

"Yeah... So... If ya know all that." Big Mac waved and a new pony appeared, falling an inch into the snow. "Why are ya so happy 'bout him?"

"I say?" Fancy Pants was there, but just a figment, barely present, mostly just standing there.

Unlike Orchard Blossom, who turned an ear on her would-be lover. "Is it that hard to 'magine? Ah... Ah got the parts, brother! He's a handsome stallion, and nice, and also rich. Kinda got it all if ya think 'bout it. An', to finish it off, he likes me, an' he likes Sugar Belle."

"None of that means... That don't 'xplain it!" He huffed, stomping in place. "The idea of lettin' another stallion hop up on me ain't something ah'm used to."

"Because you ain't a mare," taunted Blossom. "But y'are. You've felt it."

"N-no... No ah ain't... You... didn't do that yet."

"Lies." Blossom crossed her arms with a huff. "Played with Sugar Belle."

"That ain't the same!" He stood up, frowning at Blossom. "I've played with Sugar Belle too, ain't no complaints there. I have not played with any stallions." He waved at the false Fancy Pants. 

Blossom shrugged. "So, maybe it's time to give it a try? Ya won't know if it's good er not 'till ya do."

Big Mac fell back into the snow, which melted with how hot his dream blushes were. "W-what?! That... Look, fer one, that... That'd hurt!"

Blossom arched a brow at her brother. "Huh, bet most mares think that, at first."

"Yer a mare!" He huffed, crossing his arms.

"Sure are, but did ya forget Sugar Belle's first time?"

Big Mac went still, thinking back to that special time. "She... was awful nervous."

"So were you, that first time." That it hadn't been Sugar Belle, Blossom didn't bother to grind in. "So what'd you do?" As if she didn't already know. "How'd you handle it?"

"Um, well." He wriggled a bit, thinking back on it. "We took it slow... careful like... Both times. We, um..."

"Ah'll be doin' the same thin'." Blossom draped over Fancy Pants as Fleur had done many times. "Nice an' slow, learn what works and what don't. Now, lemme put it another way."

"Why're ya so confident!" Big Mac shouted at her with a frown. "Like nothin' scares ya."

"That ain't true." She folded her arms, still propped on Fancy Pants. "But ah'm willin' to keep goin' even when ah am. As ah was sayin', another way."

Big Mac sank to his haunches. "Another way?"

"If it hurt so bad, why would so many ponies bother with it?" There was nothing but quiet. "Wouldn't be logical much, now would it?" But still, quiet. "What? Don't agree?" Blossom slipped down to her own hooves. "Ponies do things 'cause they like it, or they gotta. Ain't no pony got to do that. So it's gotta be somethin' they like. Why else would they do it?"

Big Mac considered that with a hum, breaking his quiet on the matter. "I hate that ya might have a little point there."

"Ah usually do." She went up to her brother Big Mac, smiling at him. "Now, if we're stuck together, ah'd rather ya got along with mah boyfriend." She pointed to Fancy Pants. "So... when you're ready, you come and tell him yer scared. Jus' be honest 'bout it. You think he won't take it easy?" She looped back to Fancy's side, patting it. "Look at 'em! Ya know he's a proper pony. He would hate the idea of hurting somepony. If he offers to do that, it means he don't plan on it hurtin', or he wouldn't do it."

"Ain't 'proper' to go hurtin' yer +1s..." mused Big Mac, rubbing his hooves together. "What if he's hopin' ah'll be the one on top?"

"Well, then y'ain't gonna be hurt! Pretty sure you like it when that goes inside a pony."

Big Mac's blush grew uncomfortably. "Never had it in a pony like that!"

"Then you'll take it slow. Pretty sure he'd appreciate it, 'till ya both got it figured out." Blossom reached out to tap him on the head. "By the way, how ya feelin'? Ya gonna have a big headache after this? What were ya thinkin', drinkin' like that?"

"Maybe." Big Mac put a hoof to his head. It wasn't pounding, but he also wasn't awake. How it'd feel after that changed, he couldn't say for sure. "That was dumb..."

"Ayup." Blossom smirked faintly. "But ya had some fun, eh?"

"Guess so." Big Mac stood up fully. "Ain't gonna make that a habit... Sis, uh, other sis. Applejack, she said ah aughta find myself."

"Well, ya done found me." She curled a hoof at herself. "That count?"

"You always count." He closed with Blossom and they embraced in a moment of sibling solidarity. "Sorry... Ah gotta be pullin' ya down. You got most of yer thin's sorted, but here ah am."

"Don't be like that." Blossom put a hoof on his nose, rubbing gently. "You take the time and figure it out." She angled her head at the still Fancy Pants. "An' come visit! That's an order. He was in love with you before he ever met me."

Big Mac circled Blossom on the rocky mountain top. The snow that had been there, melted in the exchange between them. "I can't go visitin' you, 'least not while yer awake. We got this." He waved his hooves away, just to snort. "Thought just hit me... makes sense in a way this came out."

"What way's that?" Blossom turned to keep Big Mac in front of her. "Share."

"We were introduced in a dream." Big Mac waved out over the mountains. "You were born from one. And we meet... at last, inside one. Luna's been involved at every step of the way, if ya think 'bout it."

"Brother, you just came up with a great idea." She rubbed her hooves together. "Since we know it's possible, ah bet if we asked Luna real nice, we could meet again, when you weren't too drunk to be awake."

"We should be powerful careful wit' that idea." Big Mac strolled to the edge of the cliff to peer out over the long wide of Equestria. "We both need our sleep. We both got days, or nights, to live."

"Once in a while though," she sang, coming up aside Big Mac. "It's nice to know we can do it. Powerful sad havin' a sib ah can't ever say hi to!"

"True... True." He put an arm over Blossom, drawing her closer. "It's nice... talkin' to ya proper. Even if ah do have a powerful bad headache, ya made it worthwhile."

"Aw." She returned the squeeze. "Right back atcha! Though I shouldn't be lookin' forward to any pains after this is done." A new thought came to her. "Hey! Ah was sleepin'... Do I wake up... How's this gonna work?!"

"I don't rightly know..." Big Mag let go of Blossom to turn in place. "Don't even know how to wake up." He looked back to Blossom. "Ya came from a dream. Ya know how to wake up?"

"No..." She curled a wing over Big Mac and they were somewhere else, in a dark room. "There ah am." She pointed to her slumbering form on the bed. "Doin' what ah'm supposed to be doin', unlike my brother!"

Big Mac inclined his head. "Huh! I saw the other way around..." He could remember Blossom looking at his sleeping form, but he never had the chance to return the favor, really. He orbited her bed curiously. "Well, we need to get to where ah'm sleepin' an wake me up, since ah should be awake. That's the problem."

"Well that ain't easy." Blossom reared up to thrust her hooves at her hips. "Yer all drunk! May I repeat that you shouldn't ever be drinkin' nothing more strong than some apple cider ever 'gain?!"

Having a sister was a blessing... and a curse. "Right... Can ya find me? Um, literal like? If we can find where ah'm passed out, maybe we can do somethin'."

"Ah can try... Do ya..." She trailed off there. "That's a dumb question. If you remembered, ah'd remember." They were having seperate experiences there, in the dream world, but the time before it and, one assumed, the time after it would return to a shared place. "Right, hm..."
> 53 - Finding Yourself
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

"Well." Blossom waved slowly through the air. "Ah can be anywhere, so let's try a few somewheres." With Big Mac's nod of a consent, she lifted him in her magic and they casually ceased to be on a mountain. They were in Ponyville, right in front of the bar Berry had taken Big Mac. "Scene of the crime."

Big Mac hit the ground with a soft clop. "Are we really here?"

"'course not," scoffed Blossom. "We're still sleepin' an' all. Still, worth a shot, right? Let's look around."

Big Mac trotted in a jog into the bar. Ponies were all over, still having a good time with their libations and partying. "Huh..."

"They're doin' good." Blossom was next to him, also looking around slowly. "If they're like this... reckon ya ain't makin' that big ah deal. Where were you sittin' when things went dark?"

"Ah can't remember that!" So he went to spots he did remember being, and looked for a berry-themed mare while he was at it. "If ya see her, she might know... if we can ask her."

"No promises there." Still, she spotted Berry, crashing mugs with somepony else. "How do dreams ask a pony a question?"

Big Mac hurried over to look at her. "Don't rightly know... Wait. Wait! If this is a dream, then so's she."

"Hey." Just like that, Berry took notice of Big Mac, smiling brightly at him. "Feel better now? A few drinks can put a pony straight, like I told you."

Blossom poked the tipsy mare. "We were hopin' you might know where he passed out?"

"Oh, well, I took ya home." And they were in her home, just like that, darkened. There was Berry slumped over Big Mac's body, sleeping herself, and yet still talking to them despite that. "Drinker's code. You don't leave a pony behind! You drank with me, so you were my responsibility until you stopped feeling the drink."

Big Mac sank next to them both, even if he was one of those both. "Thank ya kindly... Now how do I wake up?"

"I wouldn't rush it." Berry waved that idea off. "You got hit hard. You wake up now, you'll probably regret it. Sleeping is nice and pain free, so enjoy that for as long as you can and maybe you can skip the rough part."

Blossom patted the tipsy mare. "You're awful helpful. Thanks for the advice."

"Aw, ain't nothing." She flopped over with a giggle. "Say... why is there a pretty mare in my house? Not complaining, but I don't remember drinking with you." She started with a snort. "I forget lots... lots and lots... but who I drink with? Never..."

Big Mac rubbed at his head. "Are you a part of my dream, or are we visitin' yours right now?"

Berry's eyes widened, but only for a moment. "Woah, heavy... I couldn't... I couldn't say." She patted herself down carefully. "I don't feel like I'm dreaming, but when... When do we ever feel that?"

Blossom patted along Berry's cheek, not that she was doing much to stop it. "Think she's real. 'Member Fancy?"

"Didn't move much. Was just kinda there..." Big Mac nodded at the memory. Berry was drunk, but seemed entirely there. She was responding and doing things on her own. "Hey, just got an idea."

Blossom turned to her brother. "What kinda idea? A good one?"

"Hope so." He smirked at the comment. "Don't be like that. If we're three ponies in a dream, bein' worried, that's like a big signal fer a pony ah know."

Berry began clopping, but the cadance was entirely off. Only sometimes did her hooves reach each other, often clapping at the air silently. "Woah, yes! Bring on Luna! I remember the last time she showed up. That was awesome! So cool..."

"What is going on here?" Descending from above on stately wings, Luna descended towards them. "Never have I seen a dream like this.... save for that one time." She colored, thinking of that one other time. "I didn't cause this."

Berry whistled, though it was a poor whistle, stuttering, but her best.

Blossom nodded at her fellow princess. "Sorry to bother ya. We got a little mixed up."

"A 'little?'" Luna touched down in the darkened room. "Big Mac, Berry Punch... You shouldn't be here." She fixed her eyes on Blossom. "You have no body to dream with here. Which pony does this belong to?"

Blossom pointed at Big Mac. "Started as his, ah think."

"Then ah found her." Big Mac pointed at Blossom.

Blossom turned her pointing hoof at Berry. "Then we found her. Can ya help?"

Luna sighed with a chuckle. "What a mess. Very well, if this is Big Mac's dream, I can at least start to unwind this tangle. You belong here least, may I send you home?"

"Please." Blossom spread her wings wide. "Ready."

"You're a princess." Berry just noticed this fact of Blossom. "Two princesses, neat..."

Luna ignored the drunken ramblings, banishing Blossom back to her own dreams. She wasn't even supposed to have those, but there was no conciousness of Big Mac to keep them at bay. "One less thread. Already this dream feels less cluttered." She turned to Big Mac, to find Blossom at his side. "W... I just..." Luna frowned at the stubborn princess. "Very well..."

She waved at Berry, finding her easier to send off to her proper rest. "That leaves us with you two. You--" She pointed at Big Mac. "You're not dreaming."

Big Mac blinked at that. "Ah'm not? This ain't a dream?"

"This is. Hers." She pointed at Blossom. "You are passed out. There is a difference. You should be seeing nothing. It is your tie to her that has allowed you to share her dreamspace like this... Hm." Luna considered the puzzle, tapping at her chin. "I'm uncertain if I can seperate you two. I can try to banish you, Big Mac, but you have no dream to land in. If it works, you will simply cease to exist until you awaken."

"Not sure ah like the sound of that..." Few were the ponies that wanted to try not existing, given the chance.

"Sleep is a little death." She rested a metal-clad hoof on Big Mac's head. "With dreams or not. If you don't like it, I recommend you drink less."

"Agree with that," gruffed out Blossom. "Lay off the booze, brother, and stop botherin' mah sleep!"

Big Mac sagged with regret. "Well, don't mean to bother her none... if sendin' me back lets her get her sleep, go 'head."

"Thank you." Luna examined the ties between the two, that complex web. "And... here..." She reached out both hooves for the vital part. "Sleep well." With a gentle tug, Big Mac vanished with a pop. "There we are. Now, I will take my leave, and then your dreams should resume."

"Wait." Blossom twisted left and right. "Ah don't normally dream. What kinda dream will I have?"

Luna shrugged at that. "Well, what a pony normally dreams of. Things that occupied your thoughts, or events of the day, or even flights of fancy as you sift through ancient and unconnected memories, making sense of them all."

Blossom waved at where Big Mac had been. "I was him until recently, that mean ah may dream of that?"

"Maybe?" Luna inclined her head. "That is a part of you. Would that upset you?"

Blossom rubbed at her cheek. "Ah... suppose not, just a little... odd... Ah mighta been that afore, but ah ain't that no more."

"I am not the pony I was yesterday." Luna curled a wing gently around Blossom. "But I may dream of that yesterday me. That is the nature of dreams, to see and sort all the things we are, or have been, or even could be. It is not a judgement made by anypony, even yourself."

"Ah won't take up yer night bein' a foal about this." Blossom stood up. "'sides, can't have my brother showin' me up! If he can take just not 'xistin' fer a while, ah can take a few dreams ah don't even haveta think 'bout."

Luna nodded, returning her wings to her back. "Very well. If you need speak of them further, you know where to find me, and I know you can reach it easily." She flashed a smile. "Use your talent, so I may use mine. That feels fair." She ascended, wings flapping gently as she lifted into the air. "Dream well."

"Good luck with yer patrol." Blossom waved until Luna was gone, and her dreams took hold, casually pushing her into a game of golf with some random pony that she felt she had to beat at any cost. Why? She had no idea, but dream logic demanded she didn't question that too intently.





Big Mac awoke with a suffering groan. He kept his eyes closed, as even the barest peek sent knives into his skull. "Ayup..." He fought his way slowly to his hooves, realizing he wasn't in his bed, or his home. "Berry?"

"Mm?" The mare sat up in her bed, the same bed. "Hey" Her eyes seemed sharper. Had she slept off her drunkenness? "Feeling better?" She stopped. "That's a no." She'd seen how he winced at her words. "I got a cure for that." She jumped to the ground, clearly not experiencing that pain herself. She rushed out of sight with a rapid clip-clop.

Big Mac slid to the ground with slow and deliberate motions. "Thanks," he mumbled out, barely a whisper. He tried to follow her, but every step was an effort that felt far too much. He barely got a few down the hallway, heaving and aching against a wall.

Berry Punch came back to him with a tall glass. "One more drink. This one won't get you a buzz, just help chase away the stabbing."

That sounded good. Big Mac grabbed the glass with both hooves and chugged it down without a pause, swigging every last gulp he could get from it. "Thanks..."

"You partied hard." She took the glass and casually flipped it onto her back to rest for the moment. "Thanks for joining me. Feel better?"

"No." He rubbed at his still aching head.

"Right, yeah... Rest. When that isn't happening, you're free to go, or hang out."

Something about the way she said that. "What do most ponies do?"

"Huh?" She inclined her head. "Stagger home, most of 'em before they even have their head on right. Nopony hangs out with Berry after they're done being drunk. She's the mare you hang out with to get drunk. How it goes."

Big Mac sat up slowly. The cure wasn't really making it go away, but time was slowly wearing it down. He'd have to wait, like anypony else that drank too much. "Bet yer a fine pony. Wanna talk?"

Berry perked an ear at that. "Don't have no drinks here at home... Want me to get some?"

Big Mac grabbed for her shoulder. "Wanna talk?" he repeated, emphasizing the last. "Just you and me. No drinks, just talkin'."

Berry swatted at him gently, just to stop when she saw how much pain that caused. "Sorry... You serious?"

"Just a quiet chat." He sank to his belly, eyes closed. "Shouldn'ta drank so much... You drink like that all the time?"

"Every day." She threw a hoof wide, clearly not hung over at all. "Party mare, that's me. Like Pinkie, but with way more booze and way less party favors."

"Well, um..." He tried to sort his thoughts. "She parties 'cause they wanna be wit' ponies, to learn 'em and get real close... You lookin' for the same thin'?"

Berry glared at him, but that softened. "Wow... Most ponies get real quiet when the headache comes. You get insightful... I'm not sure how I feel about it." But she sank next to him. "We can talk a little while... Maybe I'll learn something."
> 54 - Aborted Motion (clop)
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Blossom spread one wing wide, looking it over critically. She spread the other for a turn, nodding with approval. "Finally." All her flight feathers were back and ready to get to work. And so was the rest of her! She grabbed a phone with her magic and got to swirling the rotary dial around with a hoof. "Hey, Officer Blossom here. Wings are all sorted out. Ready fer work."

"Good to hear from you." Papers shuffled around the dispatch. "But you're off the schedule for another night. Enjoy some relaxation. That's an order. See you tomorrow." Without even waiting for a reply, the line went cold.

Blossom huffed, restored wings fidgeting with annoyance. Someone gave her the order, so she remained silent. So much for royal opinions on the matter, not that she'd built a habit of trying to browbeat ponies with her princess title. Mostly the opposite, thinking about it. Well, at least it meant she was succeeding at that. She was just an officer who had scheduled time off after getting hurt.

But she still had an evening! "Ain't sittin' here." She willed the window open and leaped free of it onto restored wings, hovering easily. "Nice to have these workin'." She closed the door with a nod and a glow of magic. "First..." She was no longer in front of her window, instead standing in front of a gate. "Let's see if he's in."

She knocked on the gate. Quiet was her reply, at least for what felt like forever. The door to the manor opened and the butler stepped out. "Ah, Lady Blossom. You're looking better, this evening."

"Feelin' better too." His presence meant she could open the gate without feeling guilty, so she did that, willing it open and closed behind herself. "Is Fancy in?"

"He is." He turned back towards the house. "Follow me. I'll inform him of your arrival, madame." So he led her right inside to the sitting room she had become quite familiar with. "Can I get you a drink while you wait?"

"Somethin' fizzy, not bein' picky." She sat up in the chair, enjoying its push material. "Thanks kindly."

"Certainly." He placed a brightly colored glass within her reach and hurried off.

Blossom discovered the fizzy drink had some mild touch of something alcoholic in it. Not a lot, but there, among the fizz. Rich ponies...

Fancy emerged from the halls with a bright smile. "Orchard Blossom! And looking whole once more." He closed with her even as she stood up, and they met in a mutual hug. He kissed each of her cheeks. "Even more radiant as you begin to move. To what do I owe this delight?"

Blossom returned the kisses with fond nuzzles and an almost purr. "I was ready to return to work, but they said that'd have to wait for tomorrow."

"Criminal," he crooned sympathetically. "Well, far be it from me to savor your defeat, but it does mean I get to enjoy your company for the evening. Have you eaten?"

"Had a little snack," she weakly defended, knowing it was nothing compared to what Fancy was used to.

"We can hardly accept that." He moved around her towards another chair. "Shall I summon us something significant?"

"Ain't here for that." She gently waved it off with a smile, not angry. "Ah'm here for somethin' even tastier." She colored at her phrasing, but didn't take it back either. "Fancy, ah'd like... to have a private conversation."

"I say..." A mare being that blunt was not a usual circumstance for him. "Have we reached that level? I thought I was still being measured on my worth?"

"An' how am ah supposed to measure that worth if I never put my hooves on it?" She fluttered her lashes. "A test run's in order, I do think. Um... Fer both of us."

"Both of us?" Fancy inclined his head. "You have nothing to prove, I assure."

"Yes, ah do!" She hopped from her seat. "Ah'm... scared, Fancy. Never done this before. But ah want to. Can ya help?"

Fancy slid to his hooves in less of a jump. "Gentle breaths." He took a few of those as if to show it. "I am not reprimanding you." He tapped his chin thoughtfully. "This conversation cannot continue... here..." He walked off.

Blossom trailed after him. "W-where?" They went up a flight of stairs to a room she hadn't been in before. "What's--" She trailed off when he opened it. The purpose of the room seemed clear enough. It was a bedroom. It was a room with a bed. That bed was enormous and well made, in all terms of the word.

Fancy stepped inside and turned back towards her. "Madame... You do not have to follow me." But the option was there, and being extended.

Blossom licked her lips with her thick tongue. "Ayup..." She stepped past that last line, into the room. Her glowing horn closed the door behind her. "Um... So we're alone... Ah was sayin'..."

"This is your first time." Fancy sat on his haunches, not near the bed, or much of anything else. "At all? I confess, I struggle to imagine the... other half of you struggling to find a willing partner, had you the wish."

Blossom darkened at that. "He's only recently come out of his shell... But no, he was with one mare before Sugar Belle... So..." She shook her head. "That ain't helpful. Ah ain't a stallion." She pointed at herself. "Ah'm a mare! Never did it as a mare before. If that don't count as a virgin, what does?"

"My aplogies." Fancy dipped his head. "That was inconsiderate of me. Still... that does count. It means you are not unfamiliar with the intimacy involved, just the... particulars elude you." He waved for her to come closer. We can explore those together, slowly, at a comfortable pace. There is no need for urgency at this time, I assure."

Blossom came in and sat right next to him, leaning over to rest her considerable frame against his. "That sounds right nice... Fancy... ah wanna be with you. Ah'm hopin' it'll be, um, fun for both of us."

"Ideally," he got out in a little chuckle. "But, I insist, you will tell me if ever it is not. The comfort and delight of our partner is of the utmost importance." His glowing horn gave a little pull at the shoulder of her dress. "Shall I remove this?"

"Only if ah can return the favor." She willed his monocle free gently, setting it on the nightstand in the room. "It's, um.. time fer just two ponies, and no accessories."

"Excellently stated." He touched noses with her, magic pulling her free carefully of her garb. He gestured at his bow tie.

She took the hint, tugging it free with hooves and magic in concert. "Um, let me know if ah mess up either..." What did a mare do, as part of the act? She knew what a stallion did. That felt like the more active part of things. Surely they did things too! Fancy expected her to do those parts.

Fancy set his hoof on her shoulder. "Soft breaths. We are, I remind, fond ponies. I want you to be happy. You are no servant of mine."

"No..." She kicked off her horseshoes, entirely bared to the world. "That don't mean ah'm not worried 'bout messin' up." She grabbed his shirt, not with her magic or hooves, but her teeth, pulling it right over Fancy's surprised face. She spat it out to the side with a cocky smirk that turned into horror. "Was that too much?!"

Fancy chuckled warmly. "I would say not. As a mare with a stallion's perspective, you should be able to see that it had the correct response."

Blossom dared to look down. Yep! Turned out Fancy was male. He was showing off that fact with a length of twitching pony virility that advertised clearly that he was quite interested in what was going on. "Ah..." She rubbed her cheek. "Ah never saw one that wasn't  mah own." She reached for it, running her hooves slowly along that turgid spear. "Different from the other side..."

Fancy let out a sigh, even as he tensed, caught in the conflicting contentment and excitement of the situation. "Take your time..." he got out slowly. "There is no rush..."

Blossom could hear an unspoken few words there. He wasn't rushing, but he'd like to go faster... if she let him. But how did she feel about the matter? Examining him felt safe... and good. He was so firm under her hooves. The way he squirmed made her smile. She knew the spots. She teased that thick ring of flesh, the medial ring, making him jump with every slow tease.

He was leaking in brief spurts from her motions, so very ready for the next step of things, but was she? She wanted... to see what came next. She liked the pony she was playing with. Only fear held her back. "Nope."

"No?" Fancy was leaning back, surrendered to Blossom's explorations. "Is something wrong?"

"Yup, but nope. Ain't gonna accept that." Blossom released him and stood up. She turned away from him, presenting her round bottom towards him with her tail flagging up and out of the way. "Ah want you to do what ya wanna do... Time to be a grown pony 'bout it."

She couldn't see him, but she could hear him standing up and getting closer. Any moment... She expected that weight, that presence and warmth. It thrilled part of her with the idea, despite any amount of fear.

But  it didn't come. Instead, he nuzzled one of her rumps, breath washing over her fur. "Since you've invited me..." And he did what he wanted, which wasn't to mount her, but to worship her with slow nuzzles and nips that made her jump and shiver. She felt warm in a whole new way and intensity. He was working her up so easily. "Lovely mare... Thank you for accepting me."

"Y-yeah..." She felt some strange new flex from back there. What had happened? She peeked back over herself, trying to see, but all that came into view was Fancy praising her back end.

Fancy noticed her look, smiling gently. "My lady, you've given the most genuine motion a mare can give that she is ready for the next step." He kissed her on the lips, the wrong lips, or perhaps exactly the right ones. "I accept your invitation. But, before I do, do I have permission from the other end of you?"

Blossom burst into laughter. "Y-yes! Ya got that permission already. Done ordered you, silly stallion." She squared her stance firmly. "Show me what it's like, bein' a mare in this..."

But the weight wasn't coming. He nipped at the base of her tail instead, prompting it to jump. "Being a mare is all of this." He ran his nose across the base of her tail onwards. "It's being worshipped by the stallions that know they are fortunate to be in your presence, and every loving touch they made on your divine body. It's knowing you could cast me aside and deny me any further, should you wish it, but also knowing that I am here because of my fierce passion, and wish to see you pleased."

She felt... warm, ready... "Ah'm ready! Stop teasin' me!"

"As you command." He slid up, not thumping on her, but sliding over her like a warm blanket of love. He hugged her gently from above, wriggling himself into proper position. "Just... to be clear, madame... This doesn't make you a mare. You were that long before tonight. This is a celebration of what already was."

Blossom burst into giggles, swatting at him with her magic. "Ah'm ready," she repeated all the more firmly. "No more words."

"No more words." And he pressed gently against her, not battering her gates, but asking permission to enter, sliding into her depths like the proper lover he was. He showed her how to dance from the other side, and they enjoyed their waltz together.
> 55 - Comfortable Mare
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Blossom let out a slow sigh of breath, glistening with the sweat of the event. "Gonna have to take notes on that."

"Hm?" He nuzzled along one of her ears. "It was to your liking, I hope?"

"Oh, yeah! Um, I meant for the other me. He could use a few tips on how to treat a mare." She had a clear mental image of those times as Big Mac. They had been different from how Fancy had worked her over. "That was magic..."

"Now, much as I don't want to deny your praise." He gently rubbed his snout against her shoulder. "Big Mac and I are different ponies. There is no one perfect way for a stallion and a mare to become one thing. I recommend speaking to Sugar Belle first. She may enjoy your way more than mine, I dare to suggest."

"Now yer just jokin'!" She swatted at him gently, chuckling softly as she rolled over. "Mmm... No, that was good."

"Pleased to hear it." He stood up and offered a hoof. "If you'd like, we can retire to the baths. We both worked up a considerable sweat."

Blossom considered the offer, taking his hoof and standing up with a stretch in the motion. "Mmm... You make a mare feel real good."

With darkened cheeks, he turned away. "Pleased to hear it..."

"Hey." She scurried to his side. "Why ya lookin' like that? Ah ain't your first, am I?"

"No..." He glanced away and back. "But the mares I have shared company with tend to be of... a different nature, and are slower to speak of these things. Their lack of complaint, often the highest praise one can expect. They will inform you of your aesthetic failings or successes. Good fortune to the pony that thinks they can prevent that. But... intimacy? They keep that for quiet whispers among themselves."

Blossom inclined her head. "Um... never learned ta gossip, um... like a proper mare..." She inclined her head towards the door. "Let's--" She slipped, dragging them both with a sudden transition to the bathroom, standing on the tiles instead of the clean wooden floor of his room. "Oh, oops."

"This is the sort of 'oops' I will accept." He glanced about. "I have a spare set of clothing here." He went to the door and cracked it open with a glowing horn. "Please fetch Miss Blossom's attire for us." He closed the door gently. "There. They'll bring it to us. For now, let's enjoy a little bath."

Without delay, already as stripped as he was going to get, Fancy descended into the enormous tub one could mistake for a pool. "Ah, refreshing." He went in deep enough for the water to raise to his neck easily and lounged comfortably.

Blossom followed curiously, down the steps into the water. "Ah never saw you take a bath before."

"Hm?" He turned towards her. "I should imagine it's not much different from any other pony taking a bath."

"Now that ain't true." She raised a hoof from the water. "Fer one, ya ain't actually doin' no washin'!" She grabbed a bottle of shampoo with her magic and brought it over. "Just sittin' in the water won't get ya clean."

"Hm, I typically--" His words died as Blossom got to work cleaning him. "I say! That... is normally a job for the maid..." He watched her with bewildered eyes, but he wasn't fighting her off.

"Most of us don't have no maid." She began lathering  up his mane with the shampoo, getting it lost in suds. "Which means we gotta clean ourselves. Bein' cleaned by other ponies, now that feels weird."

"But you're cleaning me." He tapped her, hoof underwater, but so was she. "Is that not strange?"

"Ya done just finished... doin' things..." She squirmed in place. "Washin' up's a step or two down from that... Um." She took half a step back. "But if ya don't want me to?"

He followed her with a soft swish of displaced water. "No! No, this is... Please, continue." He closed his eyes as suds threatened them. "This is new, but not a bad thing."

Blossom touched noses as she came in to meet him, her magic working the shampoo through his mane gently. "Then ah'll get back to it... Um..." She turned herself slightly. "Ya could return the favor."

"Oh!" As if this just hadn't occured to him. It was something he'd trust the maid to handle, but they had aported into the baths without letting her know, so she wasn't there doing it. "I'll do my best..." He took hold of the bottle from her magic, his own mane thoroughly soaped. "Do forgive me if I err."

Blossom sank, the bottom of her snout touching the water as she went to her haunches. "Funny thin'... But this ain't new to me. It's a return to earlier days, really... When I was a little thin', me an Applejack would help each out all the time." She weakly splashed water at Fancy with a thrust of a hoof. "It's a nice way to relax after... that."

"A fine evening." He used more shampoo than was strictly required, making sure he got all of her mane throughly sudsed up. "Since we are being... candid... May I inquire as to my own performance?"

Blossom quirked an ear. "Yer not sure?" That was a surprising idea. "Ya did... fine, more than fine! Ain't gotta single complaint." She considered the event. "Hm, since ya went an' asked... Ah think, next time, we--"

"--So there will be a next time?" The part that caught his attention, he did not conceal.

Blossom splashed at him. "'Course there will be! Ah'm likin' ya... And ya like me, right?"

"Without a doubt." He grabbed a bucket in his magic, filling it with the hot water and spilling it over the both of them, washing the soap free in a great shower.

Blossom squeaked, her thrash muffled by the water they were in. "Ya scamp." She grabbed the bucket from his magic and returned fire in a great deluge of water over Fancy's head. "How do ya like that?"

Fancy shook himself, most of the motion lost to swishing the water, but he got his mane down from sopping to kind wet, an upgrade. "That was quite enjoyable." The anger of the event, lost on him. "Do you want a turn?"

"No, thanks." Blossom set the bucket aside. "Hm?" She turned with him to the door as it opened, allowing the maid to enter with a smile.

"You two look like you're having a fine time. Do you even need my help?" She placed Blossom's clothing in a neat pile. "I can get out of your manes if you'd prefer."

Fancy raised a hoof from the water. "Let's not be hasty. Let me egress. The lady deserves another mare's touch, which I cannot provide." He began to climb free of the bath. "She has already graciously aided me."

"I can see that." She brought over towels and got to drying Fancy dutifully. "If you'd like any finishing touches, you just have to tell me." But she wasn't rushing to do that, and Fancy didn't request it. "I wouldn't either, if my special somepony took the time to help." She patted Fancy gently and nodded. "You know where your clothes are, sir. I'll see to the lady."

"Thank you." He nodded properly and set off to a dresser that had plenty of options to resume being clothed with. "You are, as always, a treat."

The maid lowered towards Blossom. "I can help you finish washing, ma'am. Nice to see you again."

"Nice to see ya too." Blossom made for the steps, ascending as water sluiced from her in sheets. "Would ya beleive ah didn't mean to skip to the baths like this?"

"You didn't?" She was on Blossom, attacking her with scrubbing towels and glowing magic as she dutifully got her care nice and dry. "What were you trying to do then?"

"I was thinkin' 'bout it, the bath." She pointed to the vacated tub. "But then we were here. It was... like a slip, fer me. Sorry."

"Some trip." The maid grabbed a bottle in her magic, spritzing at Blossom with a mild perfume. "You got where you wanted to be, so I can't rightly say that was a bad way to go. Still, if you had informed me, I would have been ready to assist." She set the bottle aside to snatch some brushes, attacking Blossom's tail and mane with equal vigor. "It is my job, ma'am."

"Don't mean to take that from you." Blossom did her best to relax under the care, even if a few knots were found and tugged free along the way. "Ya take it serious."

"Quite serious." She patted Blossom with the soft end of a brush and ran it down across her flank and rump. "And you'll look, and feel, better for it. Sir, did you want a brushing?"

"I'm just fine, I assure." Standing, dressed and proper, Fancy adjusted his tie as he turned towards them. "I had plans, as you know. Can you see they're informed I won't be making it?"

Blossom twisted in his direction with a squeak of a few hooves on the tiles. "What? You never cancel appointments! That's... not proper."

Fancy closed with her, barely touching noses. "There are a few thing worth taking the time for. Spending the evening with you? Worth it, my dear. This is a special evening, and I won't hear a word of ruining it. We will spend every mintue of it, luxuriating in the luxury of one another's company. How does that sound?"

Blossom flipped her ears back, but they perked a moment later. "Sounds... right nice..."

"Then we are in agreement. Kindly." The maid dashed off to see his will done. "The only question is how we will spend this evening, together. You are my guest. Shall we sample something delicious, or see something worth seeing, or perhaps... you would prefer we simply spend the time together, with not another pony in sight?"

Blossom gave that some proper consideration. "Hm." She inclined her head left and right. "Ah feel guilty askin' so quick, and after you just got all clean..."

Fancy pinned his ears back. "Madame..." He coughed into a hoof. "It is my job, my duty, I dare say... Let us enjoy the evening, and that can be a fine sending off, as it were. Now, you were going to speak on the 'next time'. Do you wish to share that now, seeing as it may come sooner than I first imagined it."

"Oh, well..." She rubbed behind her head. "Well, ya see... When ah was with Sugar Belle, ah was the big pony, had to be careful on top. Didn't want to hurt her none... Um... ya ain't got that problem. Um, Ah... wanted to be belly to belly, so ah could look in yer eyes." She rubbed at one of her burning cheeks. "If that don't bother ya too--" But she faltered, allowing him to grab her hoof in his magic.

"Speak plainly, m'lady. I am listening." He released  her hoof to bow his entire front down. "The worst answer you can expect from me is a cordial denial."

"R-right! Yeah... Um... So... face to face... Don't much mind top or bottom there... Ah'm still kinda bigger, so probably bottom? Ain't a funny place fer a mare to be, but..."

Fancy brushed Blossom's mane free of her face. "Either way sounds enchanting. Something to look forward to, later. For now." He kissed the end of her nose. "Let's get that dinner I was offering earlier. Just the two of us. Let's discuss the future, and ourselves. We have quite the interesting family."

"One more thing!" she blurted out with a bad blush. "Big Mac... Ah mean... Ah ain't never been with no stallion... as a stallion... I'm... Ah'm scared, alright? Not sure... Just kinda scared..." She shuffled in place. "Me an' him. We're both kinda nervous."

"Well... I put tonight's fears to rest, I hope." He guided her towards the dining hallway. "We'll put that to a gentle test as well."
> 56 - Delivery
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Big Mac moved along at a steady pace, taking pleasure in the soft breeze that greeted him. The warmth of the sun felt good on his fur as he walked, and the fragrant aroma of flowers filled the air. Those deliveries needed doing, but they could depend on Big Mac to get the job done, with a nod and a, "Ayup".

He crested the next rise, and the feeling of anticipation grew as he saw his target in the distance. The view was a vast expanse of flat land with no obstructions. With nothing hindering the view of Sugar Belle's town, he increased his speed and was now heading towards the small town situated in the middle of a vast flat landscape. Even though they could practically see their destination, He predicted it would still take a few more hours before they could actually arrive. Since he was unable to teleport like his sister, he had to resort to the only solution he could think of, which was walking.

He arrived at what felt like a little after noon, maybe noon and change? It wasn't like they had any gigantic clocks to check in that town. "Howdy." He nodded at a pony he was walking past.

"Hey." Double Diamond waved with a smile. "Nice to see you again." He tossed his head at the cart Big Mac was pulling along. "What're you delivering? Apples?"

Big Mac was caught off guard when he realized he was engaging with the person he was. "Oh, hey there!" They met, hoof to hoof. "What're the odds?" Pretty good, in that small town. "Yup, apples. Ain't gonna have no treats if ah don't get 'em where they're needed."

"Ah ha, so you're heading to Sugar Belle's." He turned to point at her bakery. "Right?"

"Ayup." Big Mac pulled his wagon with a creak to get the wheels turning. "Sooner the better."

"Good luck!" Double wandered off with a smile, not getting in the way of Big Mac's progress.

Big Mac nudged open the door. The bakery was open, so he didn't need to knock. "Sugar?"

She cautiously looked out from the back, only to hastily rush out when she recognized who was coming. "Big!" She crashed into him in a firm hug, squeezing him tight. "And a big order of apples, just on time! How do you get that right, every order? I swear... I just used the last set of apples this morning!"

With a "huh" he began to pull the cart inside, maneuvering it past Sugar Belle. With a quick jostle and a bit of effort, he was able to free himself from the harness of the cart and then proceeded to circle around it to pop open the top and reveal the apples inside. "Just felt like th' right time to come, so ah came. Ain't nothin' more complicated than that."

"'Nothing more complicated,' he says." She grabbed a basket with her magic and walked towards the back with it. "You're just as magic as that other half. Yours is just subtler, but not a bit less impressive." With the aid of his help she was able to restock her pantry with apples so she could bake her scrumptious goods. "You brought extra?" After rummaging through her bag of coins, she pulled out the correct amount and paid for her purchase.

Big Mac reached a hoof back to tap the cart. "Y'ain't the only pony in town that can use these, just my favorite stop."

She closed her eyes and let out an "aw" as she leaned in for some gentle nose rubbing. "Sweet talker. Well, you're still on duty then, so I won't be in your way."

Big Mac tilted the cap he wasn't wearing and turned to go, to find a hoof in his way. "Hm?"

"There's something about you today." Sugar circled in front of him with a curious smile. "Did something nice happen?"

Big Mac colored, the most recent thing coming fresh on his mind. "Well... Um..."

"Talking like that is just making me more curious." She danced in place, an energetic canter. "Tell me! Unless it's a secret for me? Oh, I'm messing this up..."

"Ain't that!" He sank to his haunches with a sigh. "Alright, alright... It weren't even me. It was mah sister, Orchard."

"Sis... Oh." She glanced off a moment. "That's hard to... accept. You both see things, and act a lot like each other, but seperate. Right! Right... That's me being silly again..." She leaned forward. "What happened to her?"

"Nothin' happened to her, 'xactly..." He rubbed at his cheek nervously. "Um. She visited Fancy Pants."

"A nice visit, I hope?" Sugar extended her arm past Big, feeling over the cart which was right behind him. "Why would that makes you..." Suddenly, it all made sense to her and her eyes widened as she connected the dots. With a gasp of surprise, she quickly joined in with the same coloration as his. "Oh! You didn't? You did!" With each statement she made, Big Mac's response revealed the truth, causing her to take a gasp of surprise. "Wow... Well... Hm." She coughed into a hoof. 

"It isn't polite to kiss and tell... I just want to know, was he a gentlepony? Did he treat you right?"

Big Mac increased his efforts to try and copy the red apples he was holding. "It was Orchard!"

"Did he treat her right," she tried again, rolling a hoof. "Tell me that."

"Y-yeah!  Um... Don't think Fancy knows how not to be a proper gentlepony." He looked up and away. "He was right careful an' nice, from the start... on through..." He cracked a smile, locking eyes with Sugar. "You knew that."

She chuckled softly, realizing he was right on that count. "Yeah... But it's still nice to hear." She touched noses. "Especially from a pony I trust."

He drew her closer, the two hugging in shared affection. "Ah really..."

"So."

Big Mac froze in surprise. "So?"

"So." She swayed left and right. "So... We really aughta make a decision."

"Oh! Oh. Yeah." He pointed back at his cart. "Let me get this finished, then ah'll come right back, promise."

"I trust you." She waved as he left, a bit stiff-legged in the process. Whispering to herself, "Silly pony...", she knew that she needed to make a choice and so she went to the kitchen to think it through. It was the best place possible. Taking her mind off things by working on the day's baked goods was a great way for her to have some space and consider the things that needed to be thought about.

The dynamic between them was great when it had been just the two of them, however, one of them had been replaced by two ponies and the other pony was involved with another pony. She should not be overlooked. She took a liking to this new pony, feeling joy and admiration for it. She was fond of the additional pony that the new pony had grown close to. The other pony was quite fond of both Big Mac and her. Everypony had a great relationship and enjoyed the company of each other! So... Is a joyous resolution in the works for this story?

The decision was solely in her hooves. If she agreed to take part in it, all the other ponies would be so relieved that they would end up celebrating. If she went against it and voted against it, the whole thing would be ruined and there would be no chance of it being put back together. What were her true feelings when it came to that particular question? She considered a warm morning, with Big Mac on one side and Fancy on the other. Her cheeks burned at the naughty vision, but how naughty was it? She could actually have that. She just had to say yes, but it was an agreement to a large package. Yes to Fancy Pants and Yes to Orchard Blossom. Yes to those two doing things that didn't involve her. Yes to Big Mac and Fancy Pants also maybe getting naughty, or just having a nice day out. Yes to her being with any of those ponies!

It was a big yes. Tremendous and girthy... It scared her a little. "Yes or no," she sighed out to herself. She had to make a choice, so simple it was one word, but it meant so much. She dreamt of the future, when they were all old ponies, rocking in their chairs and enjoying the world going past.

But there was Orchard Blossom, as young as ever. She was a princess. She might not age. There was no real way to know without waiting to find out. They only had Celestia to guess with, and that was hardly a good size of ponies to be sure. Maybe only she didn't age, and Luna would get old, then the other princesses. Who could know? Not her! Maybe Orchard Blossom would outlive them all, or not.

If one were to assume she lived forever, it would be... It would just not be fair to cling to her like that, knowing she'd eventually be out of the picture. Sugar sniffed at the very thought of it. "That would be... sad." She didn't like that vision of the future, but... Still... Still! It wouldn't be fair to cling to an unaging pony, demanding that, just to die anyway.

On the other hoof, she lives a normal pony length of time. They're all old, eventually, together. Fancy Pants would keep right on attending events. Sugar had a hard time imagining him stopping for much any other reason than becoming physically unable to do so. If he had to show up in a stately wheel chair, he would do that. The mental image shifted to all of them in matching chairs, going with him to some fancy event. "That'd... be nice, and adorable." She didn't want to rush to being old, but that wasn't a bad way for things to go, in the end, she decided.

She jumped mental tracks, envisioning Fancy Pants on a snowy track, coming down a sharp hill, his hooves held in skis as he tried to keep up with other ponies. "I say!" would echo down the slopes. Maybe he'd crash, or not... She'd like to see that, either way...

"You're getting off track." She slid a tray of little cakes into the oven and emerged out towards the closest mirror to glare at herself. "You have all the facts. Make a choice! The others are ready for you, either way. You just have to decide. Be a grown pony!" She pointed accusingly at her reflection, which was herself. "Nopony else can decide this for you."

Orchard Blossom was a separate pony. Big Mac had decided that. As a separate pony... Sugar had no inherent right to tell her what to do. If she said no, she'd be cutting off not one pony, but two. She'd lose Orchard Blossom and Fancy, and the two would likely fall into each other's arms and smooch a lot and... other things.

That image prompted a shudder down her spine. But if she said yes... She'd have to deal with a big family. But it'd be a family that already liked each other. It'd be a family that already agreed to put her at the top of it even. "This is a dumb question..." But it was a question. One that demanded an answer from her. Yes or no.

"Fine! Fine." She threw up her hooves at her reflection. "I'll tell them all! Put this whole thing to rest."

Yes, or no. She would declare it, and then they could all step forward, knowing which way was up.
> 57 - An Answer
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

"Ya mean it?" Big Mac shook loose his emptied cart with the rattle of metal from the vigorous motion. "Really?". 

"I'll need Orchard's help." She smiled, in part thanks to getting that part right. "It's time for a new meeting."

"Ya got it." He snapped a salute. "But first... ah gotta get home." He pointed out the door. "Ya don't live so close."

Sugar leaned left to look out the door past Big Mac. "Well. If it takes you long enough you have to sleep outside, why don't you, um, Orchard can pick you up and get you home in a hurry, right?"

Big Mac's ear twitched. "Huh... I shoulda thoughta that. If she feels like it, that'd be real nice."

"If she..." Sugar trailed off, flopping to her haunches. "Wow... You two really are separate..."

"Ayup." Big Mac began climbing into his harness step by step. "What changed yer mind?"

"It's easier when the left hoof of a pony won't help the right hoof." Sugar tapped her hooves together. "Harder to say the two are the same pony then, way I see it."

Big Mac uttered a "huh" of surprise as he prepared to leave, pulling his cart along behind him. "Ya got a point there. But we ain't the same pony. She can see me though. So, if she feels like it, she can lend a hoof, but she ain't gotta. She's gotta life too, an' that means she won't always drop what she's doin' to help out her silly brother."

Sugar Belle waved Big Mac off, then closed the door behind him. "That has to be..." She imagined having a twin that she knew everything about, every step of every day, and knowing that ran both ways. "Not sure I could..." Her admiration for Big Mac swelled with the thought that he was handling it, without even a fuss. "You are such a... good pony." She sat behind her counter and smiled at the door. She was ready to greet the day!





Orchard hopped to her hooves in the dark of the night. That was pretty normal for her. "Yeah yeah." Though there was no voice speaking to her, she had seen it. "'Course ah'll help ya, dummy." She casually stopped being there, appearing where Big Mac was curled beside his cart by the side of the path. "Look atcha..." 

Big Mac was quite knocked out, slumbering peacefully. "Let's get ya home." She eased the cart with brushes of her considerable bulk so she could get one wing over it and the other over Big Mac. "And..." They weren't there anymore. She dropped Big Mac off in his room, floating him up through the house... until she ran into somepony.

The small form scrambled back out of the way, sleep banished from her eyes. "Woah! Um..." Apple Bloom looked between Big Mac and the princess, carrying him in her magic. "Did ah miss somethin'? Where ya goin' wit' mah brother?"

That was the moment Blossom thought to herself. Had she ever had the conversation with Apple Bloom about what was going on? "Ah'll explain. Let me put him t'bed first." Under Apple Bloom's careful watch, Blossom made her way into her brother's room and tucked him in on his bed, pulling up his blanket. "There ya go..."

She fled the room, door closing silently behind her with her magic. "Alright. Now." She looked to Apple Bloom, who hadn't left on her own. "Ya deserve an' explination."

"Ah'm waitin'." Apple Bloom crossed her arms. "Why is my brother's mare OC standin' in fronta me?!"

Blossom reacted to that by slightly raising her ear in a questioning manner. "OC?"

"OC." Apple Bloom made a quick exit before rapidly returning to the scene with a comic book clasped in her jaws. She spat it out, revealing a super hero comic. "If a fan of a thin' like this makes their own take on it, that imaginary pony's an OC." She pointed at Blossom. "An' you sure look like Orchard Blossom, Big Mac's OC."

"He weren't tryin' to copy no comic book." Orchard Blossom inclined her head at the book. "He was just tryin' to help you."

"Ah know that! Ain't got a better word fer it." She crossed her arms and fixed her gaze upon them with an expression of deep scrutiny. "So who are you and what are ya?"

Blossom considered what she was. "You remember that dream? The one wit' Luna an' that big monster?"

"How could ah forget it. What's that got to do with nothin'?" She waved her hoof in dismissal, unable to make the association right away. "No use distractin' me."

Blossom reached to pat Apple Bloom, but the filly danced away from her hooves, denying that option. "Ah'm his sister. Shoot, Ah'm yer sister."

Apple Bloom proved she could hike a brow with the skill of her other sister, Applejack. "Yeah... Ah may not be an' expert ah--"

"What's all--" Applejack slowed to a stop, seeing who was walking to who. "Oh..."

Apple Bloom darted up onto her back. "This strange mare was carryin' Big Mac around!"

"Awful funny thing to do." Not that Applejack looked worried for Orchard Blossom's presence. "Sorry fer not bringin' you in on this."

Apple Bloom waved a hoof at Orchard wildly. "You heard her... Wait, what? Bring me in? Were you lying to me?!"

"Just didn't mention it." She gathered her little sister in her arms, ruffling her with one hoof and hugging with the other. "Big Mac went and became two ponies on us. That there's one of those ponies."

"Howdy." Blossom inclined her tiara. "Nice to meetcha 'gain."

Apple Bloom hummed with new thought. "Ya kiddin' me." She rubbed at her ribbon in a fidget. "Really? Wait! Ah got a sister that's a princess?! Why didn't nopony tell me!?"

Blossom relaxed at that reaction. "Here ah am, tellin' ya."

"That don't hardly count!" She bounced down and trotted up and around Blossom to inspect her. "Wow... All mare. All princess... So..." She reached up to bat at one of Blossom's wings. "Do these work? Does yer horn?! Can ya do magic? Can ya fly?!"

Blossom brought down her wings in a powerful gust of wind that propelled her a few inches into the air. "Ayup. Ain't learned many fancy spells, um... but ah got one built in that's pretty great."

Applejack snickered at that. "Wooee, that one is quite enough if ya ask me. She can teleport anywhere she's ever been before."

Apple Bloom's eyes went as wide as saucers. "Anywhere?! No matter how far away?" She waved as if trying to grab some distant point far beyond her. "Anywhere?!"

"Ain't found a place ah can't go yet. If ah been there, ah can go back, whenever ah want." She tapped at her chin in a moment of thought, bobbing in the air as she was. "Wanna visit someplace?"

"Yes!" Apple Bloom bounced left and right, excitement growing. "Wow, that's amazin'! So... Where ya been hidin'? Ya ain't no small pony. Don't figure you were under no rock."

"No." Blossom went to the nearest window and threw it open with her glowing horn. "Up there." She pointed to the distant Canterlot up in the distance. "Live up there, in an apartment."

"What? What?!" Apple Bloom twirled to Applejack. "Ya know what that means, right?"

Applejack slowly tilted her head. "What's that mean?"

"Big Mac can handle city life, an' you couldn't." Apple Bloom extended her tongue in defiance.

Applejack laughed tensely. "Well... guess he did beat me there... but this ain't Big Mac." She waved at Blossom. "This here's Orchard Blossom, a sister of ours."

Not that the praise didn't work on Orchard Blossom, her smile growing by the moment. She actually had beaten Applejack. It weren't no big thing... But she'd done it. Big Mac would be so happy when he woke up and learned that... "We're Apples. We win togetha."

"Ah'll drink to that." She and Blossom met with firm clops. "Now, it's late. Little ponies aughta be in bed!"

"Aw!" Apple Bloom hopped up, grabbing one of Blossom's legs. "But I have so many questions!"

Blossom gently patted Apple Bloom. "There there. Alright, one more question afore ya head off to bed."

"Hmmm!" She had a hoof to her chin, holding extra tight with her other arm. "When can ah see ya when ah ain't gotta go to bed? I want the other girls to meetcha too!"

"Shoot." She had to go and ask a difficult question. "Ah'm a night pony. Ah tend to be up when you ain't. Hm..." She landed carefully, making sure Apple Bloom was safely placed on t he ground. "But that's a fair question. It ain't like ah don't like spendin' time wit' my favorite little sister."

Applejack rolled her eyes. "Hey."

Blossom realized the mess she had just stepped in. "Oh, um... Shoot... Applejack, ya know ah always saw you an' I... more of equals."

"Not always." Applejack frowned, but it turned into a snicker. "There was a time when ya thought you were the big brother and weren't shy 'bout tellin' me to give you the respect that came wit' it." She patted Blossom on the shoudler. "Ah'm just ribbin'. Ah'm jus' fine bein' equal. We're Apples first. Siblings. Ain't make no difference if it's bigger or smaller. 'Sides, we're both heroes now! Ain't nothin' keeping us apart."

Blossom's vision blurred and she reached up an arm to try to clear out the problem. Oh, she had started crying without warning. "Shoot, um... Shoot... Sorry..."

Applejack smiled so gently. "Take all the time ya need."

Apple Bloom looked between her two siblings, unsure of the emotions at work there. "Ah should get to bed... You two alright?" When they nodded, she fled off to the bathroom, leaving them to their chat.

Blossom rocked back as something crashed into her. "Wha?" She focused on what it was, realizing Applejack was hugging her tightly. "Um..."

"Jus' hush up and hug me back, ya lug." She nestled in and the hug became two directional, the siblings holding firmly to one another. "Ah know ah messed up afore." Applejack slipped back a step. "But that ain't bein' repeat. Ya got a problem, jus' come on over an' talk. Ah know that mouth a yers likes to flap these days, so take advantage of it."

"So which is it." Blossom smirked as she folded her wings properly. "Should I hush up or get to talkin'?"

Applejack pawed at her, bapping with her hooves with a wry smile. "Ya know what ah meant. Now... ah know you two went an' decided yer two ponies, an' that's fine... but if ya need to talk, it ain't like Big Mac ain't right there. Doubt he'd mind if ya wanted to ask me somethin', even if was through him. Not like he won't already know what's goin' on anyway..." She rubbed behind her head awkwardly. "So jus'... you know, do that. Ya wanna talk, talk. 'Bout Blossom or 'bout Big Mac. Yer both my sib, so it ain't like ah don't wanna help."

"G'night." Apple Bloom scooted past, on her way towards her own room. "See you soon!" With a gentle click, she closed her door, leaving them alone again.

Blossom took a step back, bumping into the wall that had the window she was actually aiming for. "I should go... But thanks, sis. Ah'll remember that, honest. It's, um... good, knowin' ya got my back like that."

"Go on wit' ya." she waved Blossom off as the princess vanished with barely a pop, more of an editing mistake. "Ah'll never get used to that..." She went over to the window and drew it shut against the chill of the night. "G'luck..." What was Blossom off to? Policing? Fancy Pants? Some fancy Canterlot shindig?

Maybe she'd ask Big Mac the next day? "Nah." Bothering him about his sister's exploits? He probably got enough of that with her. No, Applejack would let that lie, and get some sleep.
> 58 - A Public Decision
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Fancy used his magical abilities to adjust his monocle with ease. "I wasn't expecting this call, but I'm pleased to answer it."

Blossom nodded quickly, ears bobbing with the motion. "We're all here, um, didn't bring Big Mac jus' to be sleepin'."

Sugar Belle looked to the empty chair, that symbol of Big Mac's presence, even if he was at home, sleeping. "Well, I know he's listening." She turned her gaze on Blossom. "Which is part of my point... I have decided." She hopped down from her chair, nervous energy preventing her from sitting still. "I don't think we're a herd."

Fancy sat up, carefully keeping his expression neutral. "As is your choice... May I ask what brought this decision about?"

Sugar turned in her pacing. "Because we're not. We're two lovely pairs that get along great. I already had Big Mac... I want to keep him. You two are getting along so well... You two should be a thing." She waves her hooves at Fancy and Blossom, sitting to do so. "I'm a day pony." She pointed at Blossom. "She's a night pony." And onwards to Fancy. "And you... got a hoof in either side."

Blossom wriggled with clear discomfort and a little stuttering stop. "W-well... ah thought... Ah thought ya loved me." She curled a hoof on herself.

"And I do," Sugar firmly assured, each word emphasized. "But I don't think this will work. Not... for marriage. You--" She pointed at Blossom. "Have a special somepony right there." She moved that hoof to direct at Fancy instead. "We all got special someponies. Ain't nopony being left out here. Now..." She faced them directly, ceasing her nervous pacing. "The question becomes what sort of relationship our two couples have."

Blossom warmed in her cheeks. "Um..."

Gently, Fancy coughed and tapped his hoof. "I've seen this manner of connection before. Are you proposing an open relationship?"

Sugar colored sharply. "Not open! If I spot one of you with somepony new, I'll be upset..." She hopped up into her original chair. "But nopony here is 'new'. I'm saying we can... We can leave that door open for us. But we should know where our loyalties lie. I am Big Mac's Mare. He is my stallion. But if Fancy Pants comes by for a visit, then I'll be happy to greet him." She rolled her eyes with a thought. "As if I could keep Blossom away. But you know who my number one is, and always will be."

"I'm glad to hear that." Fancy's tension ratcheted down several steps with a soft breath. "I have no desire to take part in such a relationship."

"That's another thing!" Sugar leaned forward. "If you don't like what I'm saying, don't feel tied down. You have her." She pointed to Blossom. "You two can and will exist even if I wander off. You don't need my approval."

"But that ain't fair!" Blossom tapped a hoof down, resisting the urge to make more noise and possibly damage something.

"Maybe... If you were still one pony." Sugar hiked a brow. "But I seem to remember somepony made a pretty big deal about being two. So, there is nothing unfair about two ponies with two special someponies. Even if they keep kissing and telling with their sib." She huffed at that, looking far more amused than annoyed. "Two couples. They share sometimes, if they get in the mood... but two couples. Not a herd."

Fancy slid to his hooves, only to fall further to his knees, facing Orchard Blossom. "Ma'am."

"Hm?" She inclined her head at the bowing stallion. "What're ya doin' that fer?"

"It is traditional." He raised one hoof towards her. "When a stallion proposes."

Blossom's face went hot, and she wobbled. "W-wait! We ain't even--"

"--That is what I wish to address. M'lady, will you accept me as your boyfriend?" It was, perhaps, far too formal for such a step, but that was Fancy Pants.

"Oh. Oh! Um..." She glanced towards Sugar Belle, who was nodding fiercely. "Um... Ah'd be... delighted." She rubbed at her cheek. "Thought we were already involved."

"Perhaps." Fancy sat there. "But that relationship was different. I was an outsider petitioning to join a herd. That herd has been dissolved, and with it, it rendered us free agents. At no point were you my marefriend, nor did you have a specific claim to me. We have addressed this." He nodded, clearly satisfied with how things had been resolved.

"Yeah..." Blossom quirked an ear at Sugar, tail curling behind her. "Um, so, is that it?"

"That's... kinda it." Sugar strolled forward and hopped up, forehooves on the chair as she leaned in to steal a quick kiss from Blossom. "I hope you two get along famously..."

Blossom went for a return nuzzle and wasn't denied, the two sharing a moment of gentle affection. "Ya know ah still love ya, right?"

Sugar snorted softly. "Goes both ways. But we're officially a fling our +1s are alright with." She slid down to the floor with a clop. "It's different..." She let out a slow breath. "And I feel... I feel better. This feels right." She nodded, gaining confidence in her place in the world. "Fancy?"

"You are a mature and lovely pony." He dipped his head towards Sugar. "Thank you. It is only at your hooves that this all could have happened with such grace. There were countless ways you could have... That we could have... This is a fine way for it to be." He offered a hoof. "If ever you should be in Canterlot, you are quite welcome at my abode. I'd be delighted to show you around."

She went for broke, smooching his cheek as well. "You're a peach. I know you have fancy things waiting for you..." She hurried off to grab a platter and bring it. "But... if you like, take one."

Fancy lifted the lid with his magic, revealing a tray of cookies. He took two, and set the lid back down. Without pausing, he offered one to Blossom. "Thank you. Your baked goods have a charm that's difficult to reproduce in the city, believe it or not."

Sugar colored faintly. "You're just saying that!"

"Empty praises are not my usual pattern, ma'am." He took a moderate chomp of his cookie. "Were you positioned closer, you would have another client. It would be uncouth to request it of Blossom."

Blossom perked an ear. "Not hardly. Could always grab some either at the start or end of mah 'day'. Whichever works better for ya two."

Fancy shook a hoof. "I would not be the one to personally accept it, so time of day is of little concern to me."

"That's true..." Sugar clopped her hooves with realization. "If you can, end of your shift. I'll be getting up. You can get them nice and fresh. Fancy deserves fresh goods!" She frowned just as suddenly. "But that puts money in this. Makes it awkard--"

Blossom prodded Sugar in the chest. "Ya pay m--Big Mac fer those apples every time he comes 'round. It ain't different. It's just easier to pay somepony ya happen ta like."

Fancy nodded softly at the idea. "I say it's a pleasure to see some of my bits going to a quality place, and a quality pony. There will be no regrets here."

"You two are too much." She put the tray down on her counter. "Well... As much as I love having you two around, that really is that. I need some sleep. Maybe you too?"

Fancy rubbed his chin softly. "I do have a morning engagement. It will be a pleasure when next we converse." He turned to Blossom. "If you would? Oh, don't hesitate to pen some correspondence. The Equestria mail service is quite dependable."

Sugar inclined her head as the other two vanished with nary a pop. "It is..." she finished to herself. "Shoulda thought of that." If nothing else, she had gained a new pen pal, and customer. "Shoot..." But she had lost some special someponies. "Shoot..." But it was the right course of action... "For the best." She let out a slow breath. "I should get some sleep too..."

She cleaned up the bakery first, working off the energy of the moment before she felt ready to try sleeping.





"Yer lookin' chipper this morning." Granny Apple pushed a tray of butter over towards Big Mac. "Somethin' happen?"

"Got a lot figured out." Big Mac accepted the tray and applied it to his toast gently. "A lot less questions, and a lot more answers. Feelin' powerful good, all an' all."

Applejack leaned her head slightly to the side, her expression one of puzzlement. "So who do we have to tackle to figure out what it was?"

"Oh!" As if he had just entirely spaced on that part. "It's mah... relations." He waved off towards Canterlot. "Since me an' Orchard Blossom are different ponies, we decided to handle it like that."

Granny sat up, arms crossed. "Which meant?"

"Which meant... She has a boyfriend, his name's Fancy Pants. Ah--" She pointed at himself emphatically. "Got a girlfriend, you know her plenty. Sugar Belle!"

Letting out a surprised 'huh', Applejack lifted an apple and bit into it with a loud crunch. "So... All separated now? No you an' Fancy? No Fancy n' Sugar? Sugar n' Blossom?" She colored at that last one. "You were givin' hints that all those thin's were thin's."

Granny tapped at the table. "That's all well an' good, but how long do ah gotta wait afore ah meet mah grandfoal's +1! Really now, keepin' me waitin' so long. Ain't right... This Fancy Pants, awful generous, but how's he act? He put on all those airs just caus' he has bits? Ah know the type!"

Big Mac waved wildly. "It ain't like that! He's a right nice pony. Um... If ya tell me when you'll be up, I'll have Blossom bring him by to say hi. Ya know she ain't awake 'til ah'm sleepin'."

Granny Smith leaned in. "Now, ah gotta question. I'd ask her direct, quiet like... but that ain't easy, and you know why. I'll ask you, since ah know you could answer it, and you'd hear even if ah did ask her to her face. Ya ready?"

Applejack turned an ear back. "This somethin' ah should get out of here for?"

"You're her sister," squawked out Granny. "Ain't nothing ah'm askin' that you shouldn't want to know too."

Big Mac looked between the two mares with confusion mounting. "Alright... What's the question then? Ah'll do mah best."

"That's all I can ask." Granny sat back, relaxing. "Now... Ya done went and became a thin'. Did you... Did you... Ah ain't dumb! Ponies these days... Sometimes they do things afore they go an' get married... did ya?"

Big Mac's face darkened from the tip backwards, thoughts pulled to that time. "Ayup," he got out weakly, as if he could barely breathe. "What... 'bout it?"

Granny rolled a hoof in the air. "Was he a gentlepony 'bout it? Did ya like it?! Ain't no reason to be with a pony ya don't... get alon' with that way. Don't feel bad callin' it off if ya two ain't compatible."

Applejack looked ready for the ground to engulf her and be done with it, but she coughed. "Granny ain't... wrong. Even if he did get ya some mighty fine gifts, ya don't owe him that, So, um... be honest, with us, and yerself... Was it... good?"

Big Mac worried his hooves fretfully. "Ah ain't her... but ah remember... and he was... He was perfect. He made Blossom feel so comfortable and wonderful an'..." He shrank in place. "Even ah was thinkin' maybe it'd be alright if he was mah first stallion.. Um.... Ah said too much."

Granny reached across the table, resting a hoof on Big Mac's arm. "You said exactly what ah was hopin' to hear... Don't want no pony ain't worth a child of mine to get wit' em."
> 59 - Cosmic Balance
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

"Stop right there!" Not that Blossom gave much of a choice there, landing on the pony's back and driving her to the ground. "Yer under arrest!" With her glowing horn, she slapped a cuffs on either of the pony's arms, then her back legs, securing them in place. "Now, why'd ya go an' do that?"

The law-breaking mare wriggled in her binding. "I ain't tellin' you nothin', copper!"

Blossom snatched a bag free of the mare. "This is goin' back where it belongs." With her glowing horn, she grabbed her walkie talkie and pressed the button. "Caught the perp. I'll bring 'em by the station."

"Roger that, over."

Blossom hauled the wriggling mare onto her shoulder. "And off--" She planned to hop directly there. She'd been to the station no few times. Teleporting there was a fine way to avoid trouble.

But she hadn't planned on a sudden bolt of magic scorching the ground by her left hoof. She danced back away from the attack. "Hey!" She looked for the source and found a mare with a haughty expression and an even more outlandish outfit. "Who're you?"

"Your worst nightmare." The unicorn brushed her cape back, flapping in the breeze. "A villian that you can't catch so easily. Put down that--" Blossom was gone. "--mare... down?" The unicorn stomped in place. "That was rude! Really... I go through all that effort..."

Blossom appeared in the precinct, beside a startled officer.

"Watch it," they cautioned, shivering for some reason. "It... feels really strange when you try to hop where somepony already's standing." That was when he noticed the second pony, slung over Blossom's back. "Is that...?"

"A criminal." Blossom tossed down her package carefully to the ground. "Can ya get her to the cells? Ah left somethin' unfinished."

"S-sure." The officer set a hoof on the still wriggling pony. "I got it. What'd you..." But there was no Blossom anymore. "Huh..."

"Where we we?" Blossom looked up at the caped mare. "An' that ain't safe."

The mare jumped in surprise at Blossom's return. "Oh, there you are! What isn't safe? Challenging me? I should think not!"

"Ah didn't challenge you." Blossom slowly tilted her head. "But that ain't safe. Magic blasts or standin' up on that buildin' with that cape like that. It could get caught in somethin' or just blow away and carry you away with it."

The mare glared down at Blossom. "Is that really where your mind's at right now? Seriously?" She rolled her eyes dramatically. "Here I am, making my dramatic reveal and you're worried I'll hurt myself?"

"'Course." Blossom lifted on her wings, ascending to the mare's height. "Don't want nopony gettin' hurt."

"What about the other one?" She pointed at Blossom's empty back. "Where'd she go?!"

"To jail, 'course. She won't be gettin' out till they answer a few questions, maybe spend some time chillin' out. They were a naughty pony."

"Naughty?" The mare barely stifled her laughter. "That's one word for it. She's doing what she has to! Welcome to city life. You wouldn't understand that. You sound and act like a country bumpkin."

"Now that ain't..." It was time to get a taste of her own medicine, the mare vanishing in a bright flash of magic. "Where'd ya go?"

"Right here." As Blossom twirled and spun through the air, she saw the mare standing on the other side of the alley, on the roof of the building across from her. "Not every pony you'll run into is helpless. I'm a protector too, you know."

Blossom's face was filled with doubt as she asked "Yeah? What are ya protectin' then?"

"Outlaws, outcasts, the downtrodden, and the unaccepted," counted out the mystery mare, clopping her hooves with each one. "They need somepony that cares about them, and it isn't police officers like you, princess."

"Hey!" Blossom swooped in closer, wings flapping. "Ah care about all ponies!"

"Right." The mare contorted her nose in a gesture of scornful derision. "So when's the last time you helped any of the ponies I just counted? I can see that look in your eyes. You're counting the seconds until you have me in one of those cuffs." She snorted into a cruel smile. "Do you enjoy that sort of thing? I hear some ponies love the idea of a little bondage."

"That ain't funny." Blossom landed on the roof just in time for the other mare to pop out of being in a flash of magic. "That... really is annoyin'... Am I that annoyin'?"

"Yes," called out the mare, a few rooves away. "I'll be watching you!" With a final flash, she vanished, leaving an annoyed Blossom behind.

Blossom rubbed at her chin softly. "How can ah be less annoyin'..." There was also the matter of that mystery mare. She hadn't done anything, technically, illegal. She had startled Blossom with that magic blast, but nopony had been hurt, and no property either. It was, at best, an act in poor taste. A pony couldn't be arrested for just that, usually.

Technically, Blossom could get her for doing that to a police officer specifically, but that felt petty...

"Shoot..." A guardian of the downtrodden? It sounded... almost nice, sorta, except the whole maybe defending a criminal part. She was pretty sure that part wasn't so great. "Ah better report this in." She ceased to be on that roof. Instead of hopping into the station, she appeared in the alleyway just next to it and walked out with the other ponies to reach the station.

"Gotta be more careful with that..." Just 'cause she could teleport didn't mean it had no consequences or polite, or impolite, ways to use it. If nothing else, she could thank that mystery mare for that, at least. "Ah good lesson."

She pressed inside to the noise and bustle of the station. One of the many secretaries looked up, then perked on recognizing her. "Officer Blossom."

"Howdy." She tipped her cap. "Ran into somepony that could cause problems later. Oh, and did they get the one ah dropped off?"

She flipped through some papers. "Right... here!" She slapped a hoof down on the right paper. "Booked, stolen goods returned. Out of our hooves now."

"Yeah..." Once she got things where they needed to be, it wasn't up to her. "Glad to hear it."

"Solid work." The secretary was quiet  a moment. "Oh! Did you need to talk with the sergeant?"

"Kindly."

"I'll check." She grabbed the phone and pressed a large button. "Sarge? Officer Blossom's here with a report. Yeah? Yeah. Alright." She set the receiver down with a click. "He says to go right in."

"Thanks kindly." Blossom tipped her officer's cap and trotted to the door she knew. She knocked gently and pressed in. "Sorry ta bother."

"Blossom." The heavyset sarge pointed to a seat across from him. "Have a seat. I hear you just brought in a new perp. A quality night!" His voice was booming, but friendly. "Is this about that?"

Blossom slid into the available seat. "Nah, ain't that. She was jus' another pony up to no good. Ain't nothin' even worth talkin' 'bout."

"I appreciate you knowing the difference." He turned up a mug to swig the contents. "But you are here, talking. What's it about?"

"'Nother pony, showed up just as ah cuffed the perp. She said she was the 'guardian' of ponies down on their luck, includin' criminals. She didn't stop me, or do much but annoy me... But ah thought ah should bring her up."

"Sounds like trouble." He slammed the mug down. "What's she look like?"

Blossom folded an ear back at the slam, but it perked back up. "Unicorn, wore a cape, all big and billowin' like. Ya know? Mare. Reddish-purple coat. Didn't see her mane, she had somethin' over it, and her tail wasn't in sight neither, come to think. Reckon she wasn't tryin' to advertise herself."

"Huh..." The sarge made notes with a pen in his mouth. "Huh... Sounds like trouble... Capes aren't... What was she doing, other than spewin' nonsense?"

"She was up on the rooves." Blossom pointed  up. "And she could teleport. Not as good as ah can, hardly fair to compare, but she could hop around pretty good."

"Mmm," he grunted out with a fresh scowl, jotting more notes. "Unicorns that can do that are rare. You said purple? She didn't have wings, right?"

Blossom shook her head quickly. "No wings!"

"That rules out Princess Twilight. For the best..." He tapped at the desk a moment. "But... what about her student? She's purple, unicorn, can teleport, isn't she?"

Blossom imagined Starlight's smiling face. "Redder than that. An' she ain't a bad pony... How'd you even hear about her?"

"It pays to be in the know." The sarge folded his arms. "Alright not her. The way you reacted says you know her personally, so you'd recognize her color at least. You did say you could see her pelt, right?"

"Ayup." He nodded firmly with thought. "Really ain't sure who it is, but don't think that was Starlight. Didn't sound or look like her, 'sides being kinda purple and a unicorn. Different purple."

"Reddish, you said." He set the pen down, releasing it from his mouth. "I'll put out the word so we can keep an eye on that. To be perfectly honest, this may not be your problem at all. You're here as much as you're anywhere else." He chuckled at the thought. "Princess of police, you're there for all of us across Equestria." He reached out to pat Blossom on the shoulder. "We have to manage our own city, you here or not."

Blossom offered a proper salute. "Ah 'course. The way she talked made it sound like... she knew about me, personal like. Like she might want to bother me personal-like in the future? Ain't sure."

"Well..." The sarge rolled a hoof. "That may be a good thing. Means she won't bother anypony else, until you're around to be a pest to. I'm confident you can keep a handle on it. However, you should call in if she shows up. Let's keep an eye on this."

"Yes, sir." Blossom slid to her hooves. "Aside that, all's under control. Gonna check out a little early today."

"You did warn us. It's in the schedule." He pulled over a thick book. "Thanks for the heads up. I've fired ponies for forgetting that."

Blossom cringed at that thought. "Y-yeah... That'd be rude anywho.. Um... Gotta date an'..." She trailed off, realizing what she had said. "Um..."

The sarge leaned in with a low chuckle. "It's none of my business, Your Highness, but, since you asked, it's nice to know there's a step between celibate and married for princesses. Do I know them? That a secret?"

She hadn't asked! But she had surrendered that information anyway. "Well... Um... Don't go tellin' everypony!"

He crossed his lips with a hoof. "Not a word."

"Right... Do ya know Fancy Pants? Canterlot?" She worried her hooves, perhaps hoping he'd just not know Fancy Pants.

"Fancy Pants?! I would never have guessed in a thousand years..." Unfortunately, he did know Fancy Pants, at least by reputation. "Still, I guess... You've heard me go on long enough. Enjoy your time off, and I'll see you tomorrow evenin' to keep Equestria safe."

"Sir, yes, sir!" She saluted sharply. "With pleasure!" With dismissal secured, she scurried free of the office with a big smile. She had a date to attend, and that she was looking forward to it was no secret to any pony she passed on the way out of the building. She stepped out of traffic once she was outside and casually ceased existing.

Just as suddenly, she appeared in front of Fancy's house, just in front and to the side of his gate, where she'd never seen a pony lingering. Fortunately, she saw no pony being startled by her appearance. She hurried to the gate and knocked on it. It was time for a date!
> 60 - Day and Night
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Big Mac trotted at a light jog down the road with a little smile on his face. It was a fine day, and he was feeling it.

"What has you all smilin'?" asked his sister as she slid in next to him, moving at the same light trot. "Somethin' good?"

"'Course." Would a pony smile at something bad? "Um." Though the specifics... "How ya doin', sis?"

"Ready to tackle the day." She punched the air to keep it in line. Couldn't let the zephyrs get airs about things. "So what has ya smilin' like that? Must be somethin' nice."

"It's, uh..."

Applejack could easily see the cagey look in her brother's eyes. "What're you lookin' so bashful 'bout? Ya didn't visit yer ladyfriend the last day er two. Oh, how's she doin', since she came up. All good?"

"All good." That felt easy enough to agree with. "It ain't that mare."

Applejack cocked a brow. "Wait, ya got another?!" It clicked. "Oh, right. You are another. She get up ta somethin' worth talkin' 'bout?"

Big Mac darkened as it was homed in on. "She's... livin' a good life fer herself. Um... Right good relationship with her special somepony."

"Aw." She thumped in from the side against Big Mac. "Awful nice to hear, though the way you're goin' on makes me think it ain't just goin' out tah nice places." She chuckled, drawing down her hat. "Ah won't pry into that. Ain't polite. So long as everypony involved's happy 'bout it, that's good news! Now, what about you?"

"Me?" He looked aside at Applejack, smiling just as happily as he had been. "What 'bout me?"

"Well! Hearin' my sister's doing so good makes me a little jealous, ain't gonna deny. Ya feelin' the same?" She swerved in front of Big Mac, swapping what side she was on. "Not like yer the only one that knows what that's like."

This caught Big Mac by surprise, his steps becoming uneven a moment. "W-wait. What are you jealous of?"

"Oh, a heap'ah things! Ya done saw it before." She swatted at him lightly. "Like that time I tried to be as fancy as Rarity." She chuckled at the memory of it. "That was somethin'..."

"You were twice as fancy as she was," he assured with a matching chuckle. "What else? If ya don't mind my askin'."

Applejack waved up at the towering castle-tower. "There's her, right there. Little bookworm unicorn rolls into town, not knowin' a thin' 'bout gettin' 'long with other ponies, and what's she get? Princess of friendship! Ain't hardly fair, or so ah feel sometimes. Jealous, won't even argue it none, but ah feel it sometimes."

Big Mac curled a hoof to his chin. "Huh... Ah get that actually."

"Ya do?" She leaned in, squinting. "Well, not no more ya don't. Ya got it! Um, at least sorta? It's confusin'... But ya got the princess life, even if yer keepin' it separate from the rest." She coughed into one of her hooves. "Shoot... now ah'm a little jealous ah my brother. Ya got a good thin' going!"

"Um..." He was quiet, just the two jogging side by side. "Well... suppose ya ain't wrong entirely... Will ya get mad if ah say I'm still kinda jealous?"

"Mad? No. Confused? Yeah, kinda?" She looped in front of him, cutting off his progress. "Whattaya got left to be jealous of?"

"Well... Ya see..." Big Mac waved over himself. "Ah'm still me. Ah ain't a princess. Orchard Blossom is. Sure, ah get to live those parts... but that's like a... Um... It's like havin' a really good, um..." He struggled to describe it. Would that televisions were a common device to use as an analogy. "Ah know it all, but it ain't me. Big Mac ain't a princess. Big Mac ain't all that important. Big Mac ain't livin' the high life."

"Now that's a lie..." Applejack let the air free in a wooshing breath. "But... ah think ah get it, 'least a little. The pony in the mirror's the one judgin' ya, an' having a second life ain't makin' them shut up any. Fer what it's worth..." She circled to his side, allowing them to resume their journey at a walk. "Yer mighty important. Yer the only brother ah got! And a mighty good one, if ya ask me."

"Thanks." But the word felt a bit flat. "Ah mean it... Right 'ppreciate ya, Applejack. Ya been nothin' but supportive through all this. Shoot, an' here ah am makin' you jealous. Ain't meant to do that!"

She patted his shoulder. "Ain't takin' no offense. Where are we goin' anyway?"

Big Mac slowed to a stop. "Huh..."

"Ya ain't got a clue, do ya?" teased Applejack with a smirk. "We're just walkin' to walk? Well, heard worse reasons ta walk afore in mah life.  Lead the way."

Big Mac circled though, heading back towards the farm. "As fun as strollin' is, we should get some work done. Farm won't be runnin' itself."

"That's true, but it ain't the whole truth of it." She accelerated a little ahead of him. "We gotta take care of ourselves, or who'll be runnin' that farm? Who'll keep an eye on Apple Bloom?"

He cringed at the idea. "Alright... alright... So, what're you suggestin' then?"

"Ah say we need some fun!" She hopped ahead. "An' ah know the right pony to handle that."

"Me?"

Applejack jumped, fur going up. "Pinkie! Ah swear." There was the pink mare, walking with them as if she had been there the entire time. "Ah ain't got a clue how you pull that off... Still, since yer here, yes, you." She reached to boop Pinkie on the snoot. "Havin' fun's yer specialty, last ah checked. Ah'd like to order exactly one party."

Pinkie smiled so wide her cheeks squeaked in the effort. "With pleasure! What kinda party? Is it a birthday party?" She looked between Applejack and Big Mac. "Nope, neither of your birthdays are that close. Oh! Is it some other pony? I need details!"

Big Mac circled around, placing Pinkie between himself and Applejack. "Ah think she wants a party fer... us?"

"Us," agreed Applejack, pointing at herself. "An Apple party. Invite all the Apples ya can, and some friends of the family while yer at it. Ah want a mighty fine time! Can ya make that happen?"

"I'm a friend of the family," boasted Pinkie, chest puffed and a proud smile worn.

"Pinkie, you are an Apple, 'member?" A fine time for a boop. "'Course yer invited! 'sides, yer the one plannin' the party, would be kinda awkward not to invite ya. Now, ya up to it?"

"You got it." Pinkie saluted sharply. "One old country hootenanny!" She bounced, with joy, or maybe because pronking was her preferred mode of travel. "Ooo, I can't even wait! When do you want it? Today?! Tomorrow? A week from now? Yesterday?"

Big Mac rubbed behind his head. "Can't be yesterday, or we'd already did it. Ah don't remember no party yesterday."

Pinkie hummed with thought. "Well, I guess that's true enough..." As if it could be wrong with the right perspective. "So when's it gonna be?!"

Applejack caught Pinkie, arm blocking her bounce to hold her to the ground. "It ain't no emergency. Let's say... start of the new moon?"

"I'm on the case!" Even with Applejack's holding arm, Pinkie was gone, leaving Applejack holding a Pinkie-shaped cloud of smoke.

Applejack lowered her arm, dispersing the cloud on the way. "She's a mysterious mare. Now, of all the super powered mares ah know of? Ain't jealous of that. It's a mighty potent power she has, but ain't worth the price, ta me. Ah'd rather make sense."

"Makin' sense is a fine thing to do." Big Mac pointed out into the fields. "Ah'll take the east side."

"Then I'll tackle the west," agreed Applejack, the two separating to take care of their share of the apple duties.





"I've been studying this." Twilight pointed to a hovering book, glowing with her magic. "It happened once before."

"It did?!" Big Mac leaned forward, eyes wide. "When? Who?!"

"Long ago... A thousand years ago--"

Big Mac cut right in with a scowl. "Nope. No way it happened just as all them other thin's were goin' on."

Twilight stopped, confused a moment. "Oh! A thousand years ago is short-hoof for 'a long time ago'. Once you're past a thousand, the precise number of years isn't important. And we're not so far we're going to another aeon." She wobbled her hooves closer and further as she tried to explain the timeline. "So sometime between a six hundred and ten thousand? 'A thousand years ago.' It's not precise, but it gets you to the right place, broadly speaking."

"Oh..." One mystery, explained. Big Mac nodded with understanding. "Alright, so, way back when... What happened?"

"As I was saying." Twilight smiled, not looking upset at the interruption. "There was a pony, a mare. A fancy mare, noble, descendant of Princess Platinum. Her lineage still held importance, back then. She was doing her royal part to keep Equestria running. It kept her quite busy. She would, according to the stories I read--" She pointed at that floating book. "She would stare longingly from her window at times, musing that the commoners were so much more free to do as they pleased than ever she would be, shackled by the demands of her position."

Big Mac, one of those commoners, rubbed his cheek awkwardly. "Huh..." An odd thought and feeling, having a pony gazing right back at him and feeling just as jealous. "But she was rich, weren't she? Couldn't she do whatever she wanted? Rich an' powerful at that."

"She was both of those things." She lowered the book to the table, flipping to an illustration of ponies looking up at this noble mare. "But that made a lot of ponies expect things of her, and she was unwilling to let them down. Now... Both you, the other you, and I, have felt this. We are princesses! Ponies expect things of us... and letting them down feels pretty bad, doesn't it?"

Big Mac hummed softly. "Yeah, ya got a point..."

Twilight smiled gently. "She was a good princess, and so too do we try to be. So, she did her part, but she wondered about those common ponies, looking so free, at least from her perspective. She mused, but she kept at her task, unable, unwilling, to let that go."

"Right, so... How did she get involved in this?" He waved at himself.

"Getting to that." She flipped a few pages forward. "They say it was Starswirl's fault, but there's little evidence of that. He was a famed unicorn. A lot of things old powerful unicorns did a thousand years ago got assigned to him by default. It'd be nice to know the truth, but it may be a lost fact at this point."

"Huh..." Big Mac rubbed his chin thoughtfully, considering the picture on the page of Starswirl glowing with power. "So what'd they do? The mare or maybe Starswirl?"

Twilight turned a hoof flatside up, her frog on display. "She was feeling overwhelmed and consulted a powerful sorcerer to help address that. 'I feel, at times, there's so much to be done I wish there were two of me,' she is quoted as saying. She asked the sorcerer to banish sleep from her, so she had a full day to get her duties completed, instead of sleeping through so many hours."

Big Mac perked in place. "Uh oh..."

"You can see this coming," joked Twilight gently with a smile to match. "But she didn't know better, and she had the bits to try. The wizard weaved a spell, banishing sleep from her entirely. Never again would she know the rest of the night. Never again would she dream. In trying to make time, she removed the one time she had to herself. A lamentable curse she brought on herself... Still, she gained a second life that stirred at night. I imagine you know precisely how that worked."
> 61 - Two Lives
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

"Unlike in your case," read Twilight, eyes moving along with the words as she refreshed herself, "This copy was the same tribe of pony. They were both unicorns. But they were not perfect copies. "'Oh, I can't like this,' she gasped to herself. 'Ponies will know it's not me.' Her plan to have all the time she needed to finish her duties, ruined. But she didn't feel crushed."

"She hardly even felt disappointed. She had a whole slice of her life where she would not be expected to be a princess. She had no responsibilities. She was free." Twilight coughed into a hoof. "You likely understand how she felt."

Big Mac colored faintly, remembering those first few nights, that... "Yeah... So many possibilities. The maybe problems ain't even come up yet. Ah was excited, an' ah bit of a mess."

"Exactly." Twilight nodded. "She excitedly grabbed for this new life, and the ponies around her gained this mysteriously smiling common mare that only came out in the night. Now, you have to imagine something. Back then, being active at night was far more rare. Even Ponyville tends to get sleepy and quiet during the night. Only cities, like Canterlot, persist at all hours, and this far back? Even Canterlot tucked itself in and got drowsy."

Big Mac set a hoof on her shoulder. "Fer good or bad, ah know how that part works. Done lived it an' all."

"Right, of course." Twilight inclined her head. "I just meant that her other side swiftly became a curiosity. Who was this mare that only appeared at night? Rumors and grand stories spread like wildfire. Was she a good thing, or a very bad thing? Unlike you. Your princess other side was welcomed by and large, even before she got a crown."

"True..." Most ponies didn't ask questions about why they were being saved, even if the saver was still learning how to be a good saver... "They didn't hurt her, did they?"

"They caught her." Twilight grabbed the air in front of herself with her hooves in a firm motion. "They put her in a cage and took her to the town square. 'We know who can figure this out!' they cried, and they left her there to pout and cry."

Big Mac fell against a hoof. "Oh... What happened?"

"They brought the pony in charge." Twilight flipped back to the picture of the original mare, the princess. "They demanded she take action against this strange pony, the mare that cavorted at night. It was in the middle of the day, and this mystery mare was asleep in her cage when they brought their waking half to see them."

Big Mac swallowed at the thought. "Oh, um... So... She explained?"

"She did not." Twilight closed the book. "These were different times and very different ponies. She took an answer that would be unconscionable to us. Let's not look on her too poorly. Different times."

Big Mac sat up sharply. "Ya can't jus' go an' end it like that. What'd she do?!"

Twilight let out a slow breath. "She let them act in fear. They killed her other half."

Big Mac went stiff, a tremble building. "W-wait... Then... Then what happened? Did she... start sleepin' 'gain?"

"No... No. That proved to be a very costly mistake." She brought the book down to rest her hooves on. "They had banished her sleep, and without the other half, she just couldn't rest. She was still without sleep. They say she tried her best to live with the worst case of insomnia a pony ever could have, until the end of her days."

Big Mac swallowed thickly. "Wow... Did... does it say how lon' that was?"

Twilight shook her head slowly. "It doesn't go into details about that, but I... don't imagine it was a long and happy life." She coughed into a hoof softly. "On the bright side, you were not created the precisely same way. Sleep wasn't banished from you, but your dreams were given life, the princess. I'm not rushing to test this. May you both live a long and happy life."

"Yeah... But if one of us did have an accident...?"

Twilight shrugged without answers. "The other may be very negatively impacted, or not. We won't know until it happens. I'm in no hurry to test that."

"Shoot..." He swallowed thickly, but began to smile despite it. "Thanks."

"You're quite welcome." Her magic grabbed the book to put away. "You're looking more cheerful than I thought you'd be."

"It's a little thin'... but it does mean ah'm important. Gotta take care ah myself, fer two ponies!" He stood up with a flick of his tail. "Keep myself fit an' happy, and ah'm helpin' her out at the same time. It's good ta know."

"That's a good attitude." Twilight stood up to join him. "But, I want to be clear, my door is always open. If you have questions, stop by." She angled an ear to the side. "Be that about princess things, or mare things, or... anything else."

Big Mac could see her blushing with the ideas. "Ah... got other mares to pester wit' that..." It was his turn to join her in their shares embarassment. "But thanks... 'ppreciate it, really. Feels like cheatin'... Um... shame she met such... That it ended like that. Ain't much there fer me to learn."

Twilight stomped in place, eyes widening a moment. "Right! I forgot the part I wanted to bring up. Though that specific story doesn't get into the details, if we could learn more, there's so much more to gain from the past. If she, even if she become intensely insonmiac, still could feel the presence of her other half. Did they communicate? Was that severed? When you forced yourself into a state of unconciousness, you were able to reach Blossom's dreams, correct?"

"Yeah?" He could remember that time, muddled as it was. "Luna was there..."

"That means something," assured Twilight. "It means your sleep is not banished. And neither is Blossom's. You share the symptom, but not the cause. If your sleep was banished, neither of you would know sleep again, even if one of you happened to pass out." She heaved, finally getting out what she had forgotten until a moment before then. "So... You should still take care of each other, for your own and the other's sake, but I'm not sure that insomnia would be the result, in your case."

Big Mac nodded numbly at that. "Huh... that makes sense... yeah... Thanks." He grabbed Twilight with one curled arm, hugging her. "Thanks fer thinkin' that through. Wouldn't ah got to the end on mah own, feel sure."

Twilight squeaked as she was grabbed. "Y-you're welcome." She won her freedom and dusted herself off. "Now! Really, if you have other questions, the door remains open. However, I have a question you may be in the situation to answer."

"If ah can help?" He lifted an ear at her. "What's gettin' ya?"

"It's about Barb." Twilight inclined her head towards the stairs heading up into the castle. "She's... This is a confusing time, for me. Mostly for me. She seems to be enjoying herself in a way I would not have predicted... I don't want to be in the way. I want to support them! They're my little bro---sister. I want to be a good older sister. Sure, she stumbles at times, but her attitude is... Well, she was always good at getting up again, even before this. That hasn't changed."

"'Magine it wouldn't. Barb is still herself. She's jus' being true to that." Big Mac sat up with a smile, not looking worried for that topic. "Did they do somethin' confusin'?"

Twilight rubbed at her round equine cheek with confusion on her face, chuckling nervously. "She has more outfits than I do... It makes me feel like I'm messing something up, as a mare... While her romantic relationship with Rarity has ended, those two see each other a lot. She's become one of her local favorite clients, eager to get as many shiny and delicate things as her allowance allows for decorative purposes. I... asked Smolder...She said dragons, typically, enjoy their pretty things near them, or under them. Hoarding instincts... Not self-decorational."

Big Mac snorted into a smile. "But she ain't just a dragon. She's at least an honorary pony. Ain't much fair judgin' her as jus' a dragon or jus' as a pony. She's her own thin'. And that thin's pretty nice, if ya ask me."

"Which I did."

"Which you did," Big Mac agreed, curling an arm around Twilight far more gently than the first time. "Barb's not dressin' up to hide nothin', don't think. She's dressin' up to show it off. She's right proud of what she has an' she wants everypony 'round her to see it. That ain't, um, unhealthy. It's good! Let anycreature be happy with who's lookin' back at 'em in the mirror. Ah... Ah like the way she smiles these days." He winked. "It makes her games even better. Wouldn'ta saw that comin', but it really does. She works out her fantasies less, and is happy to focus on the rest of ours'."

Twilight looked ready to start something, but it faltered. "Wait... Rest of yours'? What... fantasies does Discord have, dare I ask?"

"Rude." There he was, glaring at Twilight with his hands on his hips. "Really. If you want to know so badly, you could attend a game or two."

Twilight jumped in surprise. "Oh! Discord... Speak of--"

"Don't finish that thought." He went to Big Mac instead. "Hey."

"Howdy." He raised a hoof for a high hoof. "We were jus' talkin' 'bout Barb."

"So I heard." He ruffled the top of Big Mac's head. "She's doing fabulously, except the last time she tried on lipstick." He glared at Twilight anew. "Why don't you show her how to do that?"

"I... never had much practice," admitted Twilight, shrinking a bit. "Rarity is, by far, a superior pony for lipstick advice." She let out a tired huff. "Fluttershy would be a better source than me. She's been a model before! For that matter, why not you?"

Discord waved a hand in front of his face, going from completely pagaent ready to normal back and forth with each wag. "I cheat. That isn't going to be very helpful to Barb, now is it? No, she needs to learn it the boring way."

Twilight looked to Big Mac. "Note to self, ask Rarity or Fluttershy about this..." She shuffled in place. "But I'm her big sister. I should be the pony she can turn to for things like this... It's not like Shining Armor's going to do it!"

Discord chuckled softly. "Oh, I could imagine that... Lipstick advice, featuring Shining Armor... Come to think of it, Cadance would do something like that, leaving little lipstick kisses all over him. 'And this is how you know you did it right!' She'd gesture at the dizzy Shining Armor."

Big Mac snorted at that. "Could see that... Uh, Discord, since yer hear an' all... What do you think ah... this." He waved at himself. "Me an Blossom, ah mean."

"You asked that already, and you answered it already." He poked Big Mac on the nose. "A fine answer. I really should meet this Blossom character. She up for a visit?"

Big Mac considered that. "Not this evenin', but tomorrow evenin'. Stop by, say hi. She'll be ready fer it. Or ah'll be hurryin' to tell you why not tomorrow."

"Deal." He vanished with a pop.

Twilight let out the rest of her breath. "He can show up at any time, it feels... Which, oddly enough, reminds me." She pointed to the table they were next to. "Being a princess of considerable mobility, it wouldn't surprise me if you were called by the table at some point. Are you ready for that?"

Big Mac considered the table. "Uh... what's that mean?"

"It means somewhere, somepony, or ponies, need your help. Your cutie mark will appear over the spot you need to go." She sat up to all four hooves on her throne. "The only problem is that both you and Blossom have the same mark. How would we know which of you is being called?"

"Huh..." But it wasn't a question Big Mac had an immediate answer to.
> 62 - A Touch of Chaos
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Blossom considered the floating column before her. "A simple thin'..." She wasn't a baby dragon. She was a grown mare! How hard... could lipstick be to use? She was a fine adult mare, and lipstick wasn't going to be a big deal to use.

She twisted it as she brought it closer, causing the actual lipstick to emerge, glistening with the promise of pigment. "Just pucker up..." She made a kissy face at the mirror, but kept her eyes open as she applied slowly. She figured if she went slow and focused on keeping her drawing in the lines, things would work out. Better to be a little paltry than to look like she went wild with it and more like a clown.

She'd seen mares smack their lips, so she did that, trying to spread what she applied. It was a strange and mysterious magic, but that helped spread things around a bit more evenly. It was far from perfect, but she didn't look like a foal who got lipstick for the first time. "This'll... do. Ah like the color." A deep pinkish/purple that contrasted with her pelt just right.

She wasn't perfect... But she wasn't a mess. It'd do. "Wonder what he'll think of it."

"What who will think of it?"

Blossom jumped, coming down facing Discord. "Right! Done fergot you were stoppin' by. Um, hiya."

"Hey yourself." He coiled around Blossom. "Look at you! All big boss mare here." He reached to plink her tiara. "Have we met? I don't think we have."

Blossom squinted mildly at Discord. "'Course we..." But she trailed off, realizing... "Oh... guess not. Not... now. Ah'm Blossom Orchard. Nice to meet you, Discord."

Discord gasped dramatically. "But we're just meeting! How do you know my name already?"

Blossom chuckled at that. "You are the Discord. Most ponies know who you are."

"True." He went in to touch nose to nose. "My reputation precedes me. Now, I was not expecting to find you trying on that. Not bad... Not good, but not bad. You should have seen Barb when she tried."

"Ah heard... Didn't want to repeat that mistake." Blossom turned to the mirror and herself, and the Discord adornment she was wearing, asked for or not. "I've seen you make goo-goo eyes at a mare afore... Do you... actually care about that?"

"When I feel like it." Discord shrugged, uncoiling from Blossom. "Which I don't always. What's the term the foals are using... Genderfluid, that's me. And I mean that as literally as I can. Guy most of the time, but the gender? Anycreature could guess, but'd probably be wrong. Now, if you're asking what I think of you..." He looked Blossom up and down. "You look like Big Mac, which doesn't work for me. On the other hand, you're perfectly lovely, objectively speaking. Nice color, by the way. Who'd you put that on for? Is that who you were mentioning?"

"Um... Didn't put it on for him. Ah put it on fer me, to see what ah'd look like." She pouted her lips a little at her reflection. "Lookin' nice kinda... feels nice."

"Pass the word to Big Mac." Discord waggled his brows full of meaning. "Stallions can look good too, and it can feel nice for them too. Less lipstick, usually... but not always. Now spill the deets on who you were talking about."

"But yer jus' lookin' yerself most of the time." Yep, she couldn't see any clothes or touchups. Just Discord.

"Are you implying I'm not already nice looking?" He batted his lashes with the biggest grin. "I'm one of a kind! You can't improve on perfection." He buffed at his chest. "Or that's what I tell myself sometimes. Enough dancing around the bush. Who were you talking about?"

"Fine fine." Blossom stepped away from her mirror. "Didn't ah mention him afore? Fancy Pants, um... We're a thin'... He's mah... stallion." She colored, admitting it, some old part of her still catching up on that being an alright thing to have. "Ah'm his mare." That made them color harder. "We're gettin' alon' pretty good."

"Glad to hear it." Discord did a little clap, three soft sounds. "So, are you wearing that for him, or for you?"

"Can't be both?" She turned her head back to the mirror. "Ah like the look... But ah hope he does too."

"A fine answer." He grabbed Blossom by her round cheeks. "One of the best, from my view. You're growing so fast!" He pinched and rubbed those captive cheeks. "I'm so proud."

Blossom swatted his grabbing hands away. "Ah'm due in at work in two hours."

Discord shrugged at that. "And? I know your trick. You can be there whenever you want, so two hours may as well be forever from now." He zipped to the window and peeked out. "You ever patrol Canterlot? It's where you started and all."

"Huh." Blossom joined Discord at the window. "Reckon ah don't much... Ya may have a point."

"I had a point?! I was just asking." He waved over the unicorn city. "I imagine they get up to trouble as much as the other cities. So, tell me! What's the difference between one city and the next, or are they all about the same when you get down to it? They are all ponies."

"They are... But they ain't the same." Blossom leaned out, arms on the sill of her window. "Each city has a different taste to it, an' the ponies inside 'em, but each pony is their own pony. Canterlot's a bit more refined than the others. The ponies you find here usually got refined problems. But it ain't always that. A refined fire is still a fire. Somepony snatch yer thin's, it's just as snatched, refined or not. There ain't such a thin' as a refined punch to the face... But it can happen here same as anywhere else."

"I imagine..." Discord looked down at Discord on the street, Discord approaching and making a menacing gesture.  A punch, delivered with a fresh set of tea and a hat tip. "Refined punches are still punches..."

Blossom swatted at Discord. "Stop bein' silly!" She may as well requested the sun stop being so darn warm. "Still, ya got a point, meant or not... Ah should patrol Canterlot sometimes." She reached for her walkie talkie. "Blossom checkin' in. It alright if ah check Canterlot tonight?"

A soft hiss of static, then a pony spoke, "Roger that, Officer. Canterlot's lucky to have ya! Over."

Discord rolled a hand. "I hate to ask... But that thing can't reach all the way to the other cities. How did they respond?"

"They didn't." Blossom tucked the receiver away on her outfit for later wearing. "Local dispatch hears it, calls over, gets an answer, tells me. Works wherever ah happen to be. 'Less ah happen to be in the middle of nowhere, but why would ah be policin' that?"

"No clue... but it was your idea." Discord snorted with a little smile. "Still looking forward to when you catch me being naughty. Be sure to cuff me gently, alright? I'm a delicate creature." He batted his eyelashes, putting on his best innocent look.

Blossom lifted Discord with her magic. "Yer teasin'. 'Sides, ya shouldn't be breakin' no laws'd need me to cuff ya anyway. Ah'd be powerful upset if ya did! Be good." She shook him in her magic as she waved a hoof at him. "No friend wants to arrest a friend... but ah will, if ya make me."

"The fire." He batted his lashes with a new meaning. "I like it. Such a little warrior you are."

"Somepony's gotta... To keep 'em all safe..." She released him and trotted in a jog over to the door. "Gonna go for a little walk, then get ready fer work. Comin'?"

"Bold!" He landed next to her, ready to follow. "Yes, let's show all of Canterlot your new look. They'll be so glad to have you on the case."

Blossom swatted at him, but they went out for that walk anyway.





"Twi."

Twilight started, caught mid-walk. "Hello, Big Mac. Can I help you?" She smiled brightly, recovering from her surprise. "I don't often see you around here on this day of the week."

"No, jus' a little thing... a thought..." He tapped his hooves together. "Ah wanna try somethin', and yer 'bout the only ponly aside Starlight ah can think of, an' ah trust you a lot more, if we're bein' honest about it."

Twilight waved Big Mac off of the direct path of the road other ponies were using. "What's on your mind? If I can help, I want to."

"'xactly what ah was hopin'... Now... This'll be funny, or confusin'... But, ah realy wanna try it."

Twilight angled her head left and right, nose wriggling. "The way you say that... Do you want to be a princess? That's beyond my abilities, I'm afraid."

Big Mac waved that away. "No! No... not 'xactly... But Ah wanna try the other side." He motioned as if stepping over a fence. "Jus' to try it, as me, this." He pointed to himself firmly. "Ah know ah've felt it... But that weren't me. They ain't me. They ain't livin' mah life. It ain't the same."

Twilight considered Big Mac's form. "But not princess... You want to be a unicorn? That's quite a--" She was cut off, Big Mac's hoof on her lips, though drawn away a moment later. "Not that... Pegasus?" He shook his head. "The only thing left... Is what Barb tried." She took a shuddering breath. "But you want to... try it?"

"If ah can?" He sat back, looking releived with some understanding acheived. "Ah wanna... As me! Not as somepony else... Big Mac, not Orchard Blossom. Right fine mare she is, but she got her own life."

"That she does..." Twilight let out a slow breath. "Such a spell is possible... A temporary version is far simpler than a permanent treatment would be. That doesn't make it easy... Have you spoken to your family? They've shown... remarkable resilience, but this is you, not some pony far away in Canterlot."

"Ain't the same," he agreed with a nod. "But ah wanted to talk to you first. If ya said no, then there ain't nothin' left to talk about. If ya say yes, then ah can talk to them. Won't go nowhere until after that, promise that much." He rose to his considerable height. "Will ya do it? Please?"

"Forgive me for asking... But you seem fairly content, as you are. Why?" She angled an ear at him. "Don't take that the wrong way. Only you can know you. But you can share? I'd like to know, if you care to tell me."

"It can be hard to pit to words proper..." But he tried to do that. "It's different... Done felt it, through Blossom... But she's a princess, in another place." He threw his head up towards Canterlot. "She ain't Big Mac, here, in Ponyville, workin' the farm... Ah wanna be me, but maybe me... ain't who ah assumed they were. You got that power." He smiled awkwardly at Twilight. "Unicorn wizard, you can work magic that's... like miracles. Can ah have one? Just to try..."

Twilight rubbed her cheek gently. "Not to offend... But you already have a girlfriend. If you decide you like this... How do you plan to bring it up to her?"

"Twilight."  He leaned in with a knowing smile. "She swings both ways. We'll find new ways to show we love each other, but Ah'd still love her, and... darn well hope she'd still love me..."

Twilight cycled her hooves. "You couldn't... love her as you do now... Sorry, this is awkward to go over, but... Don't you enjoy that?" She hiked a brow. "I... imagine you do?"

"Sure." Big Mac lowered to his belly. "But ah'd enjoy findin' me even more. Ah'll still be Big Mac. Jus' a question of what Mac stands for."
> 63 - Apples Together, Apples Forever
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

"Ya what?" Applejack knocked the apples free of the tree, raining them down into the prepared baskets. She didn't move to harvest them afterwards, instead climbing the tree to tend to it. Trees needed more than  good kick at times. "Are ya serious?"

"Ah ain't a joker..."

"Yes ya are, ya big goof." She smiled as she leaned in, angling the trimmer attached to her to take a careful snip. "Ya know, we're bein' honest, and ah know ya know what ahm talkin' bout. There are actual advantages, bein' on the stallion side ah thin's, fer apple tendin'."

Big Mac perked an ear at that. "Ya do mighty well. 'Least, that ah see..."

"Ah do mah best, 'cause what choice have ah got?" She pulled herself up higher for a new snip. "'Sides, ah like the body ah got. Ain't in no hurry to trade it in." But no reply came. She looked over her shoulder to see Big Mac looking awkward and chastised. "Ah didn't mean it that way! Look..." She hopped down, shaking her tools free. "Yer my brother. Ah'm on yer side, no matter what. Even if ya went through with it. That ain't the question."

"Maybe ah ain't as good a pony as you are, Sis..."

Applejack swatted at him in several quick swipes. "Cut that out! This ain't a contest." She took a breath deep enough to swell visibly a moment. "Look... Some ponies ain't happy in their skins. Ah get that. Shoot... Ah'm actually kinda glad you wanna try it out afore you do anythin' permanent. I'm just surprised, is all... Maybe ah aughtn't be. That's my fault." She grabbed him by the cheeks. "You're the handsomest stallion in this entire town, ya know that, right? Gonna break no few hearts with this."

Big Mac let out an unsure laugh at that. "Yer teasin' me."

Applejack hiked a brow. "Even that fancy unicorn knew it." She waved up towards Canterlot. "Reckon that's why he gave so many gifts. As stallions go, you're one of the top models. Be proud ah that... If you wanna try somethin' else, 'least be sure that ain't the reason yer thinkin'."

Big Mac sat back on his haunches, tail curling almost defensively. "Ah jus'... wanna try. Twilight said she'd let me try... if ah talked to everypony here at home. Planned to do that anyway, mind."

"Good." Applejack set a hoof on his nose. "If you just came home as somepony new, Ah'd... Wait, we did that once already, an' it was confusin'! Let's not do that again." She went for a basket to start pushing it along and stacking it on the next, creating a mighty stack of baskets. "Ya got my permission, fer what it--" She didn't get to finished, being hugged firmly by her brother, or maybe sister? "It's worth..." She took the time to return the embrace and they got back to the work of tending the orchard.





"But... Why?" Little Apple Bloom looked quite perplexed.

Big Mac awkwardly shuffled in place. "It's... hard to say, but would ya be mad?"

"Why?" She shrugged widely. "You'd still be you. I'd still be yer sister." That much seemed clear and simple to the little filly. She suddenly burst into giggles. "Would ya wear a bow like me?! Or a hat like AJ? Maybe a tail ribbon?" She danced, getting excited about the fashion choices. "Tell me!"

Big Mac's worry lifted into a smile. "So, wouldn't be mad?"

"Why would I be mad?" She hopped up right onto Big Mac's back. "You'd still give rides an' play, right?"

"'Course." He began walking, carrying her along. "Ah'd still be your sib, stallion or mare."

"Then what do ah gotta be mad about?" She hugged him from above. "Don't rightly understand it all, but you'd still be you."

"From the mouth ah foals." He descended the stairs with her, confident she was on his side.





"Huh..." Granny peered at him critically.

"Are ya... mad?"

She shook her head. "Ah don't get it. Yer already livin' a mare's life. Who ah never get to see!" She huffed in continued annoyance at that part.  "You dun got both already. What's left to do?" She shrugged. "Ain't what ah'd be aimin' fer, but if ah was both, ah'd live it up."

Big Mac shuddered. One did not want to think about their grandmother in that fashion! "It... ain't the same, an' even you know that. She's not me. You can see me, but ya can't see her. She ain't helpin' 'round the farm, now is she?"

"Reckon she ain't..." Granny leaned in, eyes sweeping over Big Mac. "But yer such a fine stallion, don't take it the wrong way..."

"That's two..." Why did his lady relations seem to all agree he was... He wasn't that handsome! He was pretty sure? "Maybe ah'll be jus' as pretty... Um, we won't know 'till we try... It'll just be fer a little while. She said a week on the outside. Enough to get a taste, nothin' more."

"Not sure ah can 'magine that..." She rubbed at her chin thoughtfully. "But... it ain't all 'bout bein' pretty or handsome." she let out a slow sigh. "Yer my grandchild... Ah want ya to be happy an' healthy. It's the last thin' ah can do fer my children..."

Big Mac flinched back a step. "W-would... they be mad?"

"Ah ain't gonna speak for them." She slid to the ground and stepped towards him. "But if ah had to guess, if you were bein' a good pony, and a solid Apple, don't 'magine they'd turn you away any, an ah won't neither! Silly colt, go on, try on a dress if it makes ya feel better."

Big Mac went for a new shade of red. "It ain't like that..."

"Now yer lyin'... Done tried one on afore... Ah hear ya wore it well even." She pointed past Big Mac. "But ya got my permission, so what're you waitin' for? Ah was the last one, wasn't I?"

"How'd ya... know?"

She rolled her eyes with a grunt. "You ain't that clever. Wish you'd stop bein' so scared ah me, but that you are ain't a secret."

Big Mac shuffled awkwardly a moment. "Ya know ah love ya..."

"And I love you." She said each syllable slowly and purposefully. "Silly thin'. Ya think yer grandmother never did nothin' scandalous... Go on, think yer the first pony ever to color outside the lines!"

He grabbed her in a returned hug and set off. "Then ah will. Um, thanks." He marched off with renewed vigor.

With the blessings of his family behind him, he powered right through Ponyville, nodding to a few familiar faces on the way.

"Look at you!" Lyra grinned from her bench, aside Bon Bon in the morning sun. "A pony with a mission."

Big Mac faltered at the callout. "Ayup." He turned to the two mares, considering a moment. "Um... 'bout to try somethin'... may be dumb, may not be."

Bon Bon hiked a brow at that. "Well, now you have to tell us what it is. You can't just tell a pony that and not say what it is."

"Those are the rules," joyfully called out Lyra. "Spill it, Big M! What insanity have you got in mind?"

Big Mac sat and brought up his hooves to rub on one another. "Well..." It couldn't just stay a secret, could it? He'd be a walking sign of what happened. "Ah'm gonna get Twilight to cast a spell on me."

Bon Bon leaned forward with sudden intense interest. "A dumb spell?"

"The spell ain't dumb..." Big Mac kicked a rock a few feet away. "Askin' her to make me a mare."

The two went still and quiet. Lyra was the first to recover, bubbling into howling laughter. "Wow! Wow! Seriously? Wow..."

Bon Bon gently swatted at her. "Be nice. Um... Did you... lose a bet?"

Big Mac shook his head quickly. "Ain't like that! Um... Ah... just wanna..."

Lyra hopped to the ground in a smooth arc. "Wow... Sorry, said that a lot today." She started. "Is that why you asked... Nevermind." She waved it off. "Are you serious? You really wanna know?"

"I want to try the, uh... mare side... Um..." He glanced away and back at the staring mares. "Are ya mad?"

Lyra shook her head slowly. "Mad? No. Curious? Yes. Now, I don't blame you. Mares are where it's at, if you ask me, which you just did without trying. Still, most stallions I know are pretty happy where they're at."

Bon Bon applied a hoof to her face. "Lyra..."

"What? It's true! They're soft in all the right places, and--"

Bon Bon grabbed her, arm around Lyra's neck and drawing her back. "Forgive her, she likes to talk."

Big Mac looked between the two, new understanding dawning. "Is... Oh... Oh! Oh..." He waggled a hoof between the two. "You two?"

Bon Bon laughed nervously. "Best friends!"

Lyra waggled her brows with meaning. "With benefits."

Big Mac coughed into a hoof. "Ah... see. Um... Gotta question then."

Lyra hiked a brow. "To be honest, this is usually the part where the stallion runs off. Oh! Unless you plan to ask if you can watch and/or join in. The answer is no."

"Ain't either of those." He colored with the implications presented there. "Ah already got a girlfriend... Right nice mare. Ya met her?"

Bon Bon clopped her hooves. "I know her! Does she... know you're doing this?"

"Ah'm only tryin'... But she..." Was it safe to tell them? "Um... She likes all ponies, if ya get what ah mean?"

Lyra nodded sagely at that. "Oh, yep. Not me. I like mares." She looked across at Bon Bon. "You?"

"Dummy." She pushed Lyra away. "Obviously... I like mares..."

Lyra nodded. "Obviously, but do you like stallions too or not? No offense, Mac, but stallions creep me out, that way. Fine friends, but let's keep it to that."

"Um..."

Bon Bon patted Big Mac on the chest. "She likes to talk. We know you aren't here to make awkward advances." When he relaxed a bit, she smiled. "As for me, since everypony's so curious... I'm Lyrasexual."

Big Mac blinked at that. "What?"

Bon Bon tossed her head towards Lyra. "She gets my motor humming, and nopony else does. Not interested in anypony else. Simple as that. Other mares? Don't care. Other stallions? They aren't Lyra."

Lyra gasped and recoiled. "No way! Wow, now I feel like a real heel... Here I am... You are so loyal!" She pounced Bon Bon, the two sharing a warm hug for a moment.

"Don't." Bon Bon pushed Lyra back a few inches. "Getting the hots for a pony isn't a breach of trust. It's acting on it. I dare say, in a way, you're more loyal, since you want to do something, but you don't. I just don't even want to. It's easier, if you think about it."

"Deep." But Lyra's attention had returned to Big Mac. "Alright, so you have this ladyfriend, and you're pretty sure she's alright with a ladyfriend. So... what's the problem? You just want to show off?"

"No, ain't like that!" He waved his hooves in frantic negation. "It's... More... Ah don't know what to do... If we're both mares, what do we do?" The one time he'd tried, he'd used unicorn parts in a very male fashion. A female earth pony wouldn't have that option to fall back on. "Sorry if this is... Sorry..."

Lyra pressed a hoof to one of her cheeks. "Wow... I really need to stop saying that, but this is really a 'wow' kind of day if you think about it. A stallion asking how mares love mares, and not in a creepy kind of way. I have to hoof it to you, congratulations on being the first pony I've seen to manage that."

Bon Bon shook her head slowly. "Big Mac, you're a reliable pony. I know you didn't ask for anything but the best of reasons... But that's a question I'm just not comfortable answering for a stallion. My fault, not yours... but no. If you come back as a mare, somewhere not literally the side of the road, I might feel different. Go on. We're rooting for you."
> 64 - Transition
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Big Mac marched towards Twilight's castle, his head full of thoughts along the way. What if he didn't know a powerful unicorn wizard? What if there was no magical solution to his thoughts? Well... "Um..." Such heavy thoughts didn't have a quick answer. But it did distract him thoroughly until it almost ran into her door. "Oops." He came to a smooth stop and clopped lightly on the door. "Twilight? Barb? Um, Star?"

"Got it on the third." Starlight opened the door with smirk. "Hey, Big. What brings you by?"

Big Mac tensed, just to relax a moment later. Starlight lived with Barb. The idea of... that... couldn't be entirely new... "Hey, Starlight. Um, is Twilight busy?"

"Always is." She tossed her head towards the inside. "What's up?"

"She... said she could help me with a little magic."

Starlight perked at that. "Well, you  have another magical expert right here. What was she going to help with? Maybe I can lend a hoof! Or a horn."

Big Mac took an unsure step back. "Well, ya see... It's a bit complicated."

"My favorite kind of magic." She advanced with him. "Is it a mane spell?" She inspected his mane. "No, that looks fine. What's on your mind?"

Big Mac sagged with defeat. "Ya know Barb, right?"

"Sure?" She inclined her head. "Little dragon, adorable. Hard to miss her. What about her?"

"Me an' Twi were talkin' bout doin' that, to me."

Starlight hiked a brow high. "You aren't a dragon... or..." It took a moment for it to click. "Oh! Wow, look at me, being slow." she clopped a hoof to her own forehead. "Color me surprised. Really?" She circled around him, looking him over intensely. "Not trying to make this weirder than it already is, but you're already a well-assembled pony from where I'm standing. Why would you want to change that?"

"Ah swear..." Where were all those complimenting mares when he was single and looking?! "It ain't 'bout that! Ah got a special somepony..."

"Right... what's her name...? The baker, right?" Starlight dredged the memory free. "She's nice. Well, if you wanna--"

He held up a hoof. "Wait! Afore you go gallopin' in, ah don't want it permanent. Jus' a try."

Starlight nodded with an ah. "Shoulda started with that. That's way easier. You should have seen some of the things Twilight has turned herself into. Never a stallion though." She leaned in, brows wagging. "Coward."

Big Mac darkened at the thought. "Um... have you?"

Starlight recoiled. "Oh, um... no, now that you brought it up." She tapped at her chin. "Not because I'm scared, just never really thought about it? Shoot... Now you're tempting me." She waved it off with a hoof. "Nevermind that. You're here for you, not me." She circled behind him and got to nudging him towards the castle. "Come on in."

Big Mac took the guidance, walking up the steps into the castle. "No, um, offense... but ah came to talk to Twilight."

"There's a meteor shower tonight." Starlight closed the door. "You can come back tomorrow after that's done, storm in on her and mess up her big night, or let me take care of it."

What choices... "Um... Don't wanna be a pain." He turned towards Starlight, glancing around as he did. "You sure you can do that spell proper?"

"Please." She grabbed a pillow and brought it over. "Have a seat."

Big Mac stepped up and sank onto his haunches on the cushion. It was soft and supported him nicely. "Um, alright?"

"Big changes like these can make a pony dizzy. We don't want you to fall over, do we?" Her horn glowed with the promise of powerful magic. "Now, you wait a moment." She vanished with a bright flash.

"I thought I heard you." Barb was bouncing down the steps with a smile. "What're you doing here?"

"Hey." Big Mac nodded at his draconic buddy. "Um, actually... Yer not a bad creature to talk to right now."

"Yeah?" She hopped down the last step. "I like to think I'm a good creature to talk to all the time, but what's up?" She skipped closer at a light jog. "And why are you sitting in the middle of the foyer like that?"

"Starlight left me here." He shuffled awkwardly. "Look..." Was there a subtle way to approach it? He couldn't think of one. "Ah wanna try what you did."

"O-oh, um, warning." She raised a finger. "It..." she trailed off awkwardly. "Wait, you've been a mare before. I know you've split the two, but you still know that. You've been there. You don't need me explaining the thousand little differences in your day when you're a ladycreature instead of a guycreature."

"Yeah..." He pawed at the cushion he was on. "Ain't the same. Still a pony, but plenty of differences too."

"Exactly." Barb stopped a foot or two away, rocking on her feet. "But here's the thing... You've already put a hoof in both. What's left to try? Pick the one that's you. I'll be your friend, either way. Not like you are going away. I'd be pretty awful to get upset at somecreature doing what I just did."

"Ain't the same." He reached out, hoof to Barb's chest. "Ah ain't been a mare. Not one that works the farm. Not one that sells apples. Not one that has a ladyfriend... Big Mac's not been a mare. Orchard Blossom has been. Ah know what it's like to be Blossom, but not what it is to be a mare Big Mac. Ain't the same."

"Huh..." Barb danced from foot to foot, thinking about that. "I guess... I want you to be happy, big guy!" She hopped forward with a smile. "Can I help?"

Big Mac offered an arm and soon had a Barb to hug lightly with it. "Yer already doin' yer part. Starlight went off to do... somethin'... Um, she said Twi was busy with some fallin' stars?"

"Oh, yeah, thanks for the reminder." Barb hopped back. "I said I'd get some tea and got distracted."

Big Mac didn't stop her from hurrying off to the kitchen to do their thing.

With a loud pop, Starlight returned to the place she left. "Still here, good." She set a book aside. "I just wanted to brush up on the spell."

Big Mac flipped an ear back. "Um... you don't know it?"

Starlight barked out a laugh at that. "What? No. Do you think I make stallions into mares everyday?" She paused a moment. "That took too long for you to answer." She swatted at Big Mac. "I do not! But I know how to read a spell. I can cast it, I just don't use this often enough to memorize it."

"Alright..." Big Mac tapped his hooves. "Um, never really learned much magic, um, as Blossom. She jus' uses what comes natural. Sorry, weren't tryin' to imply nothin'."

"No?" Starlight inclined an ear towards Big Mac. "Getting off topic here, but magic isn't an every-corn thing. I do suggest at least learning to read the basics, though. Even Rarity can do some basic magic, if you shove a book under her nose."

"Huh..." He pointed to the book Starlight had placed there. "But we ain't here for that. Ah'll still be an earth pony."

"And they don't cast spells like that, right." Starlight set boundaries for herself with a sigh. "By the way... There is a chance you'll just be Orchard Blossom, minus wings and horn. Would that be good, or a let down?"

"Huh, good question." And one he hadn't actually really thought about. "She ain't a bad pony. Could think ah worse ways it could end up."

"Or you may look like a red Applejack..." Starlight rolled a hoof in the air. "Or a young Granny Smith, or something else entirely! We won't know until we do it, I suppose... Would those be good?"

"Ain't no way ta know." Big Mac pointed at the book. "'Less you get to castin'! It'll just be fer a little while... If ah don't like it, then ah won't do it 'gain. Please..."

"Alright, alright." She drew the book into view, reviewing the spell quickly with a soft muttering as she worked through the steps. "This isn't... too bad. Alright. Ready. Ready?"

"Been ready." He sat up as firmly as he could. "Do it."

"Doing it!" she sang, horn glowing as she weaved the intricate magic around Big Mac, covering him in a field of her power. "This may tickle." It did not tickle. It was more of a pinching squeeze. Extra bits of himself flowed into voids he never knew he had. His body reconfigured under her power as he squirmed and fidgeted uncomfortably.

"Almost done?" He... she? asked, voice lifting even as she asked, breaking in a hicupping jump. "Woah..." She hoofed at her throat as things adjusted in there. "Ah..." She quieted herself, allowing the magic to complete, lest she mess the whole thing up.

"Won't be needing that." Starlight banished the last of Big Mac's maleness away, at least for the time being. "And... Hello." She inclined her head at the result. "... Nice, if you don't mind my saying. This is not Orchard Blossom." She floated out a mirror to hover in front of Big Mac so they could see themself.

"Wow." There weren't better words ready for her lips. Sitting there, gaping, was a startled mare. She wasn't the big heavy shape of Big Mac or Blossom Orchard. Well, she was still big, tall. Closer to Fleur de Lis, but not quite that skinny. She still had muscle on those legs. She was a farmer!

She turned her head left and right, puffing up her slightly curly mane. "This got longer... That normal?"

Starlight shrugged with a smile. "Some mares wear them long, some don't. That's between you and the salon ponies. Ask Rarity, she will die of joy, but not before dragging you over there."

Big Mac sat. "Is this why?"

"Why what?"

Big Mac pointed at her reflection. "That don't look like a Big Mac. Is this what Barb felt? Why she changed her name like she did?"

"I.. don't know." Starlight pointed at herself. "Never turned into anything that I wasn't comfortable still calling Starlight, but I'm no big transformation expert. Oh, that should last a few days, then you'll be back to normal, just so you know. The permanent version's harder and more complicated."

"She could have just asked me." Discord casually leaned against the new female Big Mac. "Temporary changes are my specialty, don't you know?"

Starlight snorted at the sudden Discord. "Hey."

"Hey." He nudged against Big Mac. "So, how's it feel?"

"Different." She rose to all fours, forcing Discord to float on his own power. "In a lot of little kinda ways." She turned in place, looking herself over. "Different than even Blossom. She was a heavy mare. Ah'm... not."

"Heavy is not the word I'd use." He looked the new Big Mac over. "You better watch out. If ponies don't know better, and they don't, no few stallions will approach you." He hiked a thumb at Starlight. "That wasn't a bad idea, talking to Rarity. Bet she knows how to take care of that."

"Reckon they don't... Um, so..." She did one more twirl. "Gotta good name?"

"You asked me? How flattering... Well..." He looked to Starlight and back to Big Mac. "Jerseymac," he said with a thick Jersey accent. "Macoun! A fine Mac... Or, how about, Joanamac?" 

Starlight wobbled an indecisive hoof. "All fine apple macs. You don't have to have an apple name."

Big Mac hiked a brow at her.

Starlight held up her hooves. "Alright, alright, bad idea... Well, I don't know what a 'Jersey' is, or a macoun... Joanamac wins for me, for what that's worth."

Big Mac juggled the names with a motion of her hooves as if she were actually juggling them as physical choices. "Hmm... Thanks fer the ideas... A good place to start from. Jus'... Mmmm..." She had to actually pick one, was all.
> 65 - A Fresh Apple
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Big Mac, still considering her name, headed home with a little smile. While navigating the streets of Ponyville, she considered the possibility of not being a Mac, but ultimately decided against it and shook her head. Although she enjoyed being referred to as Mac, she was aware that the name could have several interpretations and meanings. Even though she was still herself, she was just trying to find the right angle to present herself in the best way possible.

"She did it! Well, he did it, and now... she?" Lyra was where Big Mac had left her, now gaping at the transformed pony. "Or this is another Apple and I will look really silly."

Bon Bon snorted softly. "You're good at that without them to help you," she teased good-naturedly. "Hello. Are you a new Apple, or a new flavor of the Apple we already knew?"

Mac smiled at the two mares. "Nice t' see ya both 'gain." She went over to talk more comfortably. "It's me. Mac'll still work. Jus' tryin' to work out what Mac stands fer. Gotta be an apple."

"Duh." Lyra hopped to her hooves to inspect the new mare. "Look at you. Now... You aren't just doing this for fun, right?" She gave Mac's rump a poke. "For one, being a mare isn't 'fun' once you get into it. But, then, neither is being a stallion. Being a pony is... complicated, just a different kind of complicated..."

Bon Bon hiked a brow at the exchange. "Are you having serious thoughts, Lyra? That's not like you."

Big Mac turned her head to keep Lyra in view, but otherwise was still for her wandering. "Ah know..." That she hadn't told either about her adventures as Blossom. "It's complicated, but ah know. So... how do ah look?" She struck a pose, trying to present herself to the mares.

Lyra whistled at the display. "If I weren't taken,  I'd consider. You make a nice slice of mare, not gonna lie."

Bon Bon considered with lowered brows. "Hmm... No, not Lyra, sorry." She shrugged with a little chuckle. "But you seem to be a healthy mare in good physical shape. I can say that."

Lyra waved grandly at Mac. "C'mon! I mean, not trying to outsell myself, but check out this big hunk of mare." She gestured like someone trying to show off a car more than a pony. "She's got the looks and she looks strong enough to snap you in half in all the right ways. And she's about as big as the princess!"

"But she still isn't Lyra." Bon Bon hopped down to the ground. "We went over this." She fixed her eyes with Mac's eyes. "If you still have that question, stop by the candy shop, after closing."

Lyra went pink abruptly. "You're... Wow, you are." She burst into giggles of joy. "I'll be there!"

Mac darkened, but shared waves with the two friendly mares. She had places to go, and she went, walking down a new road that'd wind its way towards the farmhouse. At least until something thudded on her back, a familiar presence draping over her with a giggle. "AB?"

"Hi!" She squeezed at Mac from above. "Wow. You really did it. Still not sure why... But ya did it."

Mac turned both ears back at her little sister. "Um, ah did warn."

"Ya did!" She sat up on the changed Big Mac. "Ain't no expert, but ah don't think it came out bad. How ya feelin'?"

Mac walked along with his new companion. "Well, hm. Good, ah think." She lashed her tail as if to work out a kink. "Still gettin' used to it. Ah didn't think ah'd be this kinda mare."

"What kinda mare did ya think you'd be?" Apple Bloom crossed her arms. "Ah'm happy with the mare ah am!"

"Glad ta hear it." The thought of somehow helping the dominoes fall and impacting her little sister felt... awkward... at best. "It's a personal thin', not tryin' to convince nopony else to worry 'bout it."

"Well, ya didn't." She tapped her new sister on the head with a giggle. "But what kinda mare did ya have in mind?" She gasped sharply. "Like that big mare that visited the other night?! She looked like you did when you were signin' up fer the Sisterhooves Social!"

Big Mac chuckled, as much to buy time as anything else. "Yeah, that was an option... But ah got this." She stopped to circle in place, looking herself over anew. "An'... it ain't a bad thing. Ah think... ah like it. Um, whattaya think?"

Apple Bloom clapped rapidly. "You were fine afore, and yer fine now." She rolled her eyes. "Ain't gonna say much more 'bout my sib. Maybe if  ya put on a fancy dress or somethin', ah can rate that."

Big Mac colored, called out and having little defense. "Sorry... Ah'm just curious is all. Let's get home." The two went along, Big Mac accelerating into a trot to get them to the door at a light jog. "We're home."

"Who's home?" Granny sat up in her chair as Big Mac and Apple Bloom slipped in. "My stars..."

"Did ah hear somepony?" came Applejack's voice from within the kitchen, the noises of her work drifting free as she labored on something.

"It's... yer sister." Granny waved both said sisters closer. "Look at that... Now, not to be tribalist or nothin', but this is why pony's got nervous 'bout hangin' around unicorns. Them horns go both ways, poke 'em right in the head, give 'em big ideas they don't always think through."

Big Mac let Apple Bloom down to run off. "Ya don't mean that... It was mah idea anyway."

"So, what's yer excuse?" She slid from her chair to her hooves. "Look at you..." She did as others had, circling around Big Mac's new form. "Look at that..."

Big Mac pinned her ears back. "Are ya mad? Ya said you wouldn't be."

"Ah'm not mad!" she snapped. "But this is a lot to take in. Give me a moment..." She reached up, grabbing both of Mac's cheeks between her hooves. "Ah ain't tossin' out the old pictures."

"Ah didn't ask you to." She didn't fight being held. "But we're gonna take some new ones, ah 'magine..."

"That's fine..." She released Big Mac. "That's jus' fine... Now, the only other creature ah know who did this wanted to be called somethin' new. You doin' that too?"

"Sorta?" She waved at herself, taking a moment to fluff up her new, longer, mane. "Ah'm still Big Mac. Jus' decidin' what Mac means. Kinda partial fer Joanamac. Big Joanamac! Ah seen one of those, ain't too far from what ah look like. Red, splash of green." She shook her rump and the green apple cutie mark it displayed.

"Well..." Granny sat back. "Glad to hear that. Not sure ah'm ready to call ya somethin' new. Yer still Big Mac from where ah'm sittin'! And yer still Big... Joanamac, huh?" She swatted at Joanamac gently. "Done makin' me proud, not even considerin' not an apple."

"Ah'm not technically..." Applejack strayed off, spotting the new pony sitting there. "What the?"

"Hey, sis." Joanamac waved gently at her as Applejack closed quickly. "Um..."

"You... actually went and did it." She hiked a brow up. "Is this fer keeps or not?"

Granny jumped. "Oh! I went an' fergot that was even an option. Ya gotta tell us. Are ya stayin' like this or not?"

Mac considered, just to shake her head. "Ah'm still... gettin' a feel for it. Also, the end's just as important. When ah go back, if it feels bad, ah'll know fer sure."

Applejack raised her other brow to go with the first. "That ain't 'xactly how it works. 'Sides, ya already dipped a hoof on both sides. Jus' a matter of which is... uh... Which horseshoe fits better."

Granny held up a hoof. "Which may take more than an hour to figure out, ah get that. So, take yer time, figure yerself out. Jus' let us know right after ya do, alright?" She crossed her arms as she sank to her haunches. "It'll take me longer than that to get used to this, so don't say ah don't know the feelin'!"

Joanamac grabbed both of them in a firm hug. "Thanks... Ah'll let ya know the moment ah figure it out."

Applejack tapped at Joanamac's harness. "Ya keepin' this? Or findin' some new fashion?"

Joanamac jumped back in surprise, eyes dropping to the weighty ornament around her neck. "Huh... Didn't even think 'bout it..." Her eyes lifted to Applejack. "Ya wear yer hat most of the time, just gettin' fancy fer special occasions."

"Guilty as charged." Applejack curled one leg before the other with a grin. "Ah keep it simple. But that's me. You're you. That's why ah'm askin'. There ain't no 'right' answer. A pony's fashion's a right personal thin'. Now, if yer huntin' for advice, you should know who I'd go an' suggest. She's both of our friends, and Rarity would be delighted to help."

Granny chuckled at that. "Jus' watch out. Them horns..." She returned to her chair and slid up onto it. "Still, she knows her thing when it comes to that kinda thing."

Mac snorted at Granny. "Ya know Blossom has one of them horns."

"An' ah love her anyway. Shame I don't get to see her often..." She gave Mac a glare as the clear pony that was at fault for that.

"She's her own pony. Ah'll let her know yer lookin' fer her though." Joanamac turned instead for Applejack. "What were ya sayin', when you were comin' out?"

"Huh? Oh!" She clopped her hooves. "Ah was sayin', technically, An applejack ain't an apple. It's somethin' wit' some apples in it. Ain't 'xactly the same thing."

Mac shrugged at that. "Apple Fritter ain't an apple, but it counts don't it?"

"Sure it counts!" Applejack snorted at her brother turned sister. "Ain't nothing wrong with Apple Fritter. Was jus' sayin', not all of us are named fer an apple 'xactly. We can be much anythin' what got an apple in it, includin' an apple." She nodded, looking self-satisfied. "Now... 'bout you... How can ya go an' turn into a mare like that! Shoot... Makin' yer sister right jealous is what yer doin'! Look at you!"

Joanamac looked herself over anew, but it was so much harder to find appeal in oneself... "Am ah that pretty?"

"Are ya that pretty?!" Applejack swatted Joana on the shoulder. "Yes! An' a pox on ya fer makin' me say it! Ya done went from a handsome stallion to a right pretty mare. Ain't fair a'tall!"

"Now you stop that." Joana set a hoof on Applejack's shoulder. "Actin' like you ain't a pretty mare. Y'are! They don't make ugly mares in this family."

Granny Smith nodded in sage agreement. "It's true. No such thing as a bruised apple 'round this family. We only come in pretty with our mares."

Applejack colored deep with the praise being heaped on her. "Yer jus' sayin' that..." But she didn't argue it too vigorously. "Anywho! We're farmers. Ah hope yer ready to put that new mare form of yers to work! We got plenty of chores to do tomorrow, an' ah don't care which ya are, yer doin' yer part!"

Joana snapped a salute. "Ah'll be ready! Ain't needin' no fancy clothes fer that." She marched off, ready to get to work the following day.

Granny nodded once at her departing form. "Now... What's this ah hear?" She looked to Applejack. "Only mare ah know that could compete with you is me, when ah was a young thing." She batted her lashes, lacking the effect on her aged face. "Yer mom put you together right! Don't go sassin' her an' sayin' otherwise!"

"Woah, easy there." Applejack backed up, hooves up protectively. "Weren't tryin' to say nothin' 'bout her. A pony's allowed to have their hangups."

"An' a granny gets to call them out fer it." She nodded firmly to emphasize that. "Now what'd you make in there? Smelled good."
> 66 - On the Town
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

It was a funny thing. She thought she understood what it was to walk down a road as a mare. She'd done it as Blossom no few times! And yet, there, in Ponyville, it was all different. She wasn't some new mare. She was Big Mac, and all those eyes belonged to ponies she knew.

There were friendly smiles, curious waves, and the occasional called greeting. There were jealous squints and wanting leers, most of either hidden, but, feeling especially sensitive, she felt like she could detect each and every one.

"Well, hello there." A mare had stopped in front of Big Mac, smiling at her. "I don't think I recognize you..." Her eyes fell to Big Mac's harness. "Are you related to Big Mac?"

Big Mac smiled at the middle-aged mare. "Howdy! It's me."

Even if her voice had changed, and her form quite a bit, her words were more than enough.

Missus Cake gasped with shock. "Oh!" She glanced left and back at the new mare. "Pardon my saying this... but is this some... kind of new sick going around? Am I going to end up a stallion, or my husband a mare? We have a family! That would be very awkward..."

Big Mac rubbed behind her head awkwardly. "It ain't a sick, promise... Nopony's gonna catch it." She shrank a little. "Jus' me makin' up mah mind. That's... a little hurtful, sayin' that."

Missus Cake flinched backwards. "I shoved that hoof right in there. Please forgive me. Big Mac is a dear friend, mare or stallion. I'm just... used to one. Give me a moment." Not that she was the first pony to need a bit to adjust to the idea. "Did you... change in any other ways?"

"Still Big Mac." She shook her body a little with a smile. "Big Joanamac. Nice to meetcha, 'gain."

"A pleasure. You know, I changed my name before too." She waggled her brows. "It was quite the big event. I tripped over that for weeks. I know how that can feel. Chifon Swirl... That feels like a long lost pony now. I suppose she is, in a way... Sorry, getting distracted. You know, Pinkie will want to throw a party for you and announce you to the town."

"Ain't changed mah name... and ah gotta make up mah mind first." She shuffled in place. "So don't go tellin' her just yet."

"I won't... But she has a way of knowing." She started past Big Mac. "So, be on the lookout. You know she is."

Big Mac waved as Missus Cake went on her way, recovering from the surprise. She turned to come face to face with a grinning pony. "Woah!" She scrambled back in surprise, having almost crashed into the new pony. "Pinkie! Watch where yer goin'."

"Hiya!" She pronked around Big Mac, looking her over curiously. "Love the new look. So when should I plan the announcement?"

"About that... Ain't decided if ah'm..." She grunted. Her plan to keep it a secret, ruined so quickly. "Still considerin'."

"Well, we can start with the name." She landed right in front of Big Mac, all smiles. "I gotta know what to call ya!"

"Still Big Mac." Big Mac considered a moment, wrinkling her nose. "Ah'll tell ya the moment ah'm sure."

"Oki doki!" She jumped right over Big Mac, landing behind them. "I'll hold you to that!" With the questions answered, for the moment, she bounced off to other activities.

Big Mac considered a moment, turning her attention to the ponies wandering past instead of being something to watch herself for a moment. "Ayup." She made  up her mind, speeding to a particular candy shoppe. Inside was a specific candy maker.

Bon Bon waved gently. "I told you to come after I close, unless you're here for a treat? We have plenty of those."

"Temptin'." She kicked the door behind her closed. "Ah know ah'm early... but ah had a moment. Ah was powerful busy yesterday, and ah don't know fer sure how long this'll last... Ah wanted to ask, if ya had time."

Bon Bon waved Big Mac closer. "First, who did this? Twilight?" Big Mac shook her head. "Then who?"

"Starlight." She sat in front of the counter. "Does it make much a difference?"

"I suppose not... I was just curious." She leaned forward on her counter, watching Big Mac. "Now, let's be honest. Are you just a stallion curious about how mares work?"

"No! Ah mean... maybe? Kinda? No!" She rubbed at her burning cheek. "Ain't askin' jus' to ask. Ah really wanna know. Really got to know... Don't wanna let her down by havin' no clue. Um, sorry to ask, but did ya know, at first? When ya met  Lyra that is."

"I will... assume you're being honest." She pointed past Big Mac. "Close that door and lock it."

Big Mac bounced up and sprinted for the door, shutting it with a dull thunk of its deadbolt. "There."

"Great." She folded her arms on that counter. "Now, you've been with a pony, possibly two if I'm counting properly."

Big Mac thought back to the two smiling mares that had caught her eyes at different times. "Ayup?"

"Did you know what to do with them, at first?"

"Um..." She shuffled in place, thinking about that. "Reckon... ah didn't."

"Many ponies don't." She leaned forward. "But when you're with somepony you care about a lot, things start to come natural... You want them to feel good. You hope they'll make you feel good. You start to... do things to make both of those things happen. It's not even a thought."

Big Mac squirmed, feeling warmer by the moment just thinking about it. "Y-yeah... ah get that... but ah can't do some of the things ah did afore. Mares don't have them parts!"

"They sure don't." Bon Bon reached out to tap Big Mac on the nose. "But we do have a lot of the same parts. We have a lot of the same needs. Top, bottom, sandwhiched... If you're making her feel good, she'll return the favor, and you can have a nice time. There's no greater secret than that." A thought came with a perking of her ears. "You good at kissing?"

Big Mac started at that. "Sure? Think so." She rubbed a hoof along a longer leg. "Ain't never had nopony complain about it afore."

"Kiss me."

Big Mac blinked numbly at Bon Bon.

"Kiss me," she firmly repeated. "Only way to know for sure. Go on. This isn't romantic. You asked for this kind of help. Kiss me."

Big Mac took a step forward. "Ah don't normally kiss ponies ah ain't attached ta, um... You know? The ones ah really like that way, or family."

"Good pony." She beckoned towards her face. "Go on. I'm giving you permission. Kiss me."

Joanamac considered the offering mare. "Is Lyra alright with this?"

"She'll be jealous she didn't get to see it." Bon Bon slid free of the counter. "But I told her this'd happen, so she knows. You're not helping me cheat. Besides, I told you, not attracted to ponies who aren't Lyra, which you're not. Let's get educational. Kiss me."

Enough talking. She decided to try it. "No cheatin' here either. My heart belongs to another mare." She went in and pressed her lips to Bon Bon, inclining her head as she did it for a better match. Bon Bon smelled... nice. Her lips were soft. The soft felt of her snout was gentle to the touch.

It was a kiss, and it was a good one. Joana lost track of time a moment before a gentle smack sounded as Bon Bon stepped back. "Um..."

"You can kiss." She nodded with confirmation. "You don't need my help with that. Kiss a mare like that and you've done half the work. After that, you have to learn what parts of her she likes you kissing the most. It isn't always the lips, free advice."

"Oh..." She felt... Joana felt warm, tingly, and.... "Oh..." She felt sensitive in places Big Mac didn't have, but Blossom did. "Ah think... ah get it... So two mares... They kiss, a lot... In a lotta places, they keep right on kissin' until the other pony knows fer sure they love 'em."

Bon Bon clapped slowly, pointedly. "You got it. There are other things two mares can do... We have hooves, they work. Some of us have horns." She paused, seeing Joana color so sharply. "Which you know about? How do you... Nevermind, cancel that question, none of my business." She muttered something about lecherous unicorns. "Be careful with those. They're very proud of those things, but they can be sharp! You don't want to get jabbed with that, especially in... delicate places. Just warning."

Joana could imagine, but her lady friend also had one of those... "What if she wants to try?"

"Why..." It seemed to register. "Right! You have a unicorn lady-friend, don't you? You know... They'll use it on you as a stallion if you let them, at least some of them. They love using that thing... Now, me? We're riding the same boat. Earth pony." She held up a hoof, waiting a moment without it being met. "No horns, no wings. If you trust them, and you want, let them, just be careful. Expect mistakes... If they care about you, it'll never happen more than once, but expect them. You don't learn by not making mistakes."

Joanamac shrank back, imagining what could go wrong. But she had done exactly that, given half a chance... "Yeah... Yeah, ah get that. Um... thanks."

"You're very welcome." Bon Bon sat behind her counter. "Now, do you have any other questions? I think you're ready to have a wonderful evening with your special somepony. Just to be clear, these lips were a one-time offer. They belong to Lyra, so take it up with her."

"Right. Um, ain't nice to do that... ya two are a thin', ain't ya?"

"We are." Bon Bon hiked a brow. "Which was a thing I thought you might have a problem with, since we're being honest. You always struck me as a straight laced sort of stallion. The sort that wouldn't get why two mares would find each other attractive that way. Probably hide Apple Bloom's eyes from seeing it if you could."

"Ah ain't like that!" She felt her defenses burst. "Shoot... Is that what I looked like to Granny?"

"What does Granny Smith have to do with this?" Bon Bon switched which brow was up.

Joanamac lifted a long arm to direct a hoof. "Ah thought fer sure she'd be... That she'd be real angry 'bout all this, but she's been nothin' but supportive. She don't understand it all, but she's still mah Granny... An' she loves me... an ah love her..." She sniffed with building emotions. "Ah was a dang fool fer thinkin' this little thing could change that."

Bon Bon came around to pat Joana gently on the shoulder. "That sounds like a real moment... I'm glad it turned out that way. It doesn't always, but I'm really glad it did... Apples, you're good ponies."

Joana chuckled at that. "Thanks kindly. Um... Fer everythin'." She stood up, shaking herself out. "Really. Ah learned somethin' powerful important. Whether ah... stay or go... Not sorry, not even fer a second... Thank you so much."

Bon Bon considered Joanamac carefully. "Huh... Today's a good day for surprises." A knock reached them from the door. "Coming!" She trotted past Joana and let the new pony in to buy sweets. "Welcome!"

Joanamac nodded at the pony, Peppermint Twist, on the way out. She left the business mare and the foal customer to discuss less sensitive things. "Not sorry a'tall..."

But, perhaps, she reasoned, that might be answer enough to the question that was bouncing around in her. She didn't regret it, not even a little. None of it, not even a little bit of it.
> 67 - Awakening
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Big Mac stirred with a yawn, and it sounded wrong. She flopped from bed and her legs felt wrong. Had she slept on the wrong side of the bed? "Mmm," she groaned and made her way to the restroom to take care of morning problems.

Which is when it became quite crystal clear. She was back to being a he, at least physically. "Oh..." It felt... strange, which was a funny thing. She had been used to that for years! A few days off and then it was odd? She felt torn on if that was silly or not.

He? Big Mac looked in a mirror. There was a male pony. He was a he. He.

They frowned at their reflection. "Yer bein' silly..."

Big Mac descended the stairs to have breakfast with the family. That hadn't changed a bit. "Welcome back." Applejack swatted him on the shoulder. "Lost a sister, got a brother back. Fair trade."

"Yeah." Big Mac smiled awkwardly, shuffling in their seat. "Yea..."

Granny cocked a brow at the exchange. "So, gonna tell us?"

"Hm?"

Granny rolled a hoof slowly. "Time to make the decision. An' ah can guess which way yer thinkin'."

"Oh." Big Mac leaned back in their chair. "Ah didn't... expect it to feel this way. Ah had... this is what ah was fer so long! Why does it feel odd now?"

Applejack sighed, her burst of cheer popped. "Huh, really?" Big Mac nodded softly. "Huh... Well... Ah meant what ah said! Sister or brother, yer still my sib. Only pony in this room that gets to decide which is that one right there." She nodded at Big Mac. "Jus' one question."

Big Mac inclined their head. "What's that?"

"If you an' yer ladyfriend are both ladies... How do ya get on with the foal thing?" One could see the thought working through Applejack, running the numbers on how to make it work.

Granny applied a hoof to her face. "Even ah know there are ways fer 'em to do that if they wanna."

"Like what?!" demanded Applejack. "That ain't how that works."

Granny  chuckled at Applejack with the amusement of wisdom. "Much as we'd rather it never be the case, there are foals that don't got a parent. You put them with a pony that ain't havin' a foal, and you gotta family. Jus' like that."

"Oh..." Applejack sat up properly. "That makes sense... But then ya got a foal wit' two moms and no dads. How's that gonna work?"

Granny put a hoof on her hip. "Wit' love. How else is it gonna work! You two got raised by one granny, last ah checked, and ya didn't turn inside out alon' the way."

"True... Sorry, that was unkind ah me. Yer great, Granny. Didn't mean other."

Big Mac looked between the two. "Glad that's settled." They munched on a bit of oat toast thoughtfully. "Hm..."

Applejack lowered her brows with a smirk. "So, when're we gonna talk about how this pony gets to be so dan' pretty either way! Still ain't fair."

Big Mac swatted at her with a sudden blush. "Stop that! Ain't like yer not pretty. A right pretty mare y'are."

"Then how did you end up with a special somepony!" The room became quiet, all eyes on Applejack. "What? Sorry..." She shrank, deflating with the looks. "Jus' bothers me is all..."

Granny flashed a smile. "You know, the firs' step ah findin' somethin'? Usually... gotta look first."

Applejack darkened at the implication. "But there's so much ta do 'round here."

Granny nodded. "That's true... But that don't mean you can't be lookin' fer that too. Ya know plenty ah ponies. You'll know plenty more. Start lookin' and maybe you'll start findin'."

Big Mac tapped their hooves hesitantly. "Remember when the girls hooked me up? It didn't... work out longterm... But ah ain't sorry fer it. Hope Cheerilee finds her special somepony. Um... Ah had a point..."

Applejack smirked at Big Mac's verbal flailing, taking a moment to sip some juice. "Which was? Go on."

"Maybe ya need an impartial hookup."

Granny hooted with sudden laughter. "He ain't wrong! That may be a good idea, and ah can think of who to call fer the job if yer serious."

"Anywho!" Applejack fixed Big Mac with a look. "Innie, or outtie. Pick one. Ya already know we love ya, just gotta decide which pony we're lovin'."

Big Mac shook themself out. "Ah... Ah'm arguin' with mahself... Ah think ah know the answer."

"Do ya?" Granny leaned in. "Share?"

"Every time you say he, I get uncomfortable." They tapped their hooves slowly. "Ah think a big part ah me already knew the truth all alon'... ah was just fussin' 'bout it."

Applejack hopped to the ground. "Well, then I want to walk ya over."

"To?" Big Mac slid to the floor to join her. "Didn't figure ah was goin' nowhere."

"Pfft." She tossed her head. "C'mon. If I was suddenly a stallion, ya couldn't pay me to wait to fix that. We're headed to Twilight's, ain't we?"

"Won't she busy?" But Big Mac followed Applejack out anyway. "We don't have no appointment wit' her."

Applejack waved that off. "If she ain't around, we can ask Starlight. The two of 'em are both plenty good, ain't they?"

"Where ya goin'?" Apple Bloom tackled Big Mac, circling around on top of them. "Can ah come!?"

"Um..." Big Mac reached up to grab her and put her down carefully. "This ain't a foal thin'. Um..." Well, they had told her once already... "Ah'm gonna be a mare, full time."

"Oh." She inclined her head left and right. "If that's what ya want... I'll still get rides, right?"

"'Course ya will." They ruffled Apple Bloom's mane gently. "Apples Forever."

"Apples together," completed Apple Bloom with a bounce. "Have fun!" She paused. "Is that fun? G'luck either way."

Applejack gave a parting hug. "We'll do our best. C'mon." She waved the way forward and led Big Mac away. "She's a big pony. She understands."

"Right proud of her." They gently tapped against Applejack. "Right proud of you too... We're a good family."

"We are..." She glanced away and back. "You're 100% on this, right?"

"110%," they flatly assured.

"Jus' checkin'..." Applejack had no more objections, taking Big Mac to Twilight's castle. "Let's see who's home." She went up and rapped on the door. "Is today a school day?"

"Yep." Barb had opened the door. "Looking for Twilight?"

Big Mac waved at her. "Um... Actually yer not a bad dragon to see."

"Glad to hear it." Barb fired finger guns at the two Apples. "What brings you by?"

Applejack inclined her head at Big Mac. "Seems he's decided that 'she' is the desired way to be, so we're here to fix that." She shook her head slowly. "You can't do that... can ya?"

"Nope." she crossed her arms into an X. "Twilight, Starlight, or Discord. Discord did it for me."

"I'm not making that a habit." Discord stepped out from behind Barb as if he'd been there the whole time. "You have two perfectly able ponies to take care of it."

Applejack snorted at Discord. "Figures. You're the one that got this whole ball runnin', ain't ya."

"No." He gestured to Big Mac. "Poor thing's been playing with the idea for years now. You helped."

Applejack hopped in place. "Me?! How did ah help?"

Discord snickered at the thought. "No few times... We'll skip the Blossom thing at the Sisterhoove Social, too low hanging a fruit... Remember when Twilight was facing Trixie?  You two..." He waved a finger between Applejack and Big Mac. "You did a little gender flip, and Big Mac was already thinking things. Things he wasn't ready to face."

Big Mac remembered that time. They were painted to look like Applejack, and to look embarrassed But they really were, embarrassed that is... "Oh..." They hadn't thought about the event much. "An' the dream."

"I said I wouldn't bring up Blossom." Discord waved it off. "But, yes, even discounting the result, you were dreaming of being a princess, and you were busy being fabulous. You were wearing mare's clothing for your sister, and it was working out well for you then too... You've had a lot of thought, while not thinking."

Applejack listed to the side. "Shoot... An' there ah was, not noticin' a thing..."

Barb shrugged with a wide spread of her hands. "If it helps, I didn't notice either... Only a pony can know what's in their head, and even--"

"--they rarely do," finished Discord with a chortle. "Well, if you want to find those two, you're in the wrong place." He pointed the way towards the school. "So you'll want to come back later, or head over there. The choice is yours."

Applejack pulled at Big Mac. "Let's head on over. Thanks fer the tip."

Big Mac managed a wave while being pulled along. "Why are ya in such a rush?"

"Why are you not in a rush?" She hiked a brow as she walked along with Big Mac. "Ya made up yer mind."

"Sure did." Big Mac smiled. "That was the hard part. Now ah'm jus' makin' the inside match the outside. Ah'll be Joanamac whether we go or not."

Applejack came up short, stopping in her tracks. "Huh..." She took an unsure step forward. "Settled, huh..."

"What's wrong?" Big Mac threw an arm over Applejack, squeezing her gently. "Ya don't look like that 'less something's powerful botherin' you. Is it me?"

"A little," she admitted. "But mostly me... This is... a lot. Ah kinda feel like... Ah feel like Big Mac's dyin', and ah'm walkin' him to his funeral." A tear welled in her eye despite her efforts. "But ah know! Ah know... Ah know yer fine... That yer still my siblin'. Ah'll keep right on bein' yer sister..."

"But knowin' an' feelin' ain't always the same." She raised a leg to wipe her eyes clear. "It ain't the same..."

Big Mac didn't push her forward, instead rocking with her as she felt things. Sometimes that was all they could think to do, to be there and let a pony feel things. They weren't going anywhere until Applejack was ready.

Applejack leaned against Big Mac with a shuddering sigh. "Sorry. Real sorry. This is a big day fer you. Ah should be supportin' ya."

"You are." They turned Applejack to face them. "You are so much. That this is hard makes it mean even more... You'd rather be anywhere else right now, but here ya are... Supportin' me." They tapped their forehead to Applejack's. "Can't think of many ways a sib could show she cares."

"The whole world," she choked out, overwhelmed a moment before she could regain control. "Yer... Look, let's go, afore I say somethin' stupid." She twirled in place to face the school. "Ah have a class scheduled in the late afternoon. Ah never keep track of when everypony else has theirs."

"It's a lot of ponies." Big Mac pressed forward, but only at the rate Applejack seemed ready to go. "Ah'd lose track too. Hard enough trackin' what ah need to get done."

"Ya do that just fine." She thumped on them and charged forward at a more lively trot. "Now, let's be quiet. There're plenty of creatures tryin' to learn in here."

"Right." They pressed through the hallways, largely abandoned. They could see students inside, doing their best to learn the lessons being offered to them. A school of friendship, doling out valuable lessons on fraternity. They went to Twilight's office, but there was no pony there.

Applejack frowned at the closed door. "She must have a class... Well, Starlight then. She don't do classes. So long as she isn't in the middle of counselin', we're in."

Big Mac nodded and... realized they had no idea where Starlight's office was. "Where's that?"

"This way." Applejack took the lead, trotting at a light jog to Starlight's office and knocking on it. "Any wizards in there?" she called through the closed door. "We need a powerful spell, stat!"
> 68 - Hopping Over a Fence
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

They could hear somepony talking inside after going quiet themselves. Two ponies, neither sounded young, like a student. Two adults, from the sound of it. Big Mac perked. "Wait, is that?" He hurried to the door and opened it in a grand sweet. "Sugar Belle?!"

There was Sugar Belle and some odd stallion. The stallion, purple, shrank back at the suddenly open door. Sugar Belle looked annoyed, not embarrassed. "Did you forget?"

"Forget... what?" Big Mac inclined his head. "Seems clear ah went an' forgot somethin'."

"You really are out of sorts." She closed with Big Mac and gave him a swat. "Silly thing. Last night? Picked up a pony?"

Big Mac's eyes widened. "How did I forget that?!" They had, as Blossom, snatched up Sugar Belle. It was... What had she been thinking? She remembered, but also didn't. Her frazzled nature had put a little distance between the two halves in that growing sense of dread.

Their worry had driven a wedge between them. "Gotta fix that... later... Um... Hi."

"Howdy." Sugar looked past Big Mac to the quiet Applejack. "You look... uncomfortable."

Applejack rubbed at her cheek. "Am I the only one? Yer special somepony's all set up fer a major change. Ah'd expect some... reaction out of ya. Also who's that?" She looked to the stallion in the room. "Don't recognize you."

The stallion chuckled nervously. "Y-yeah... We've met. Sorry. Did I not make that sign large enough?"

"Sign?" Applejack took a step back, looking around. There it was, above the door. "Ah didn't even think to look up." It clearly advertised Starlight's office as being closed. "Huh... So where's Starlight?"

"You're looking at her." He rolled his eyes. "I was just... trying a thing."

Applejack squinted at the genderbent unicorn. "You too?!"

Starlight waved their hooves wildly. "Relax! I was just trying. Not a permanent thing for me. I'm pretty done. Stallions, neat, but nah."

Applejack raised a brow. "So, what, is bein' a mare just that much better? Seems everycreature's rushin' fer one side. Can't work like that."

Sugar Belle inclined her head slowly. "It isn't a contest. Are you alright, Applejack."

"Yes!" She stomped, just for her facade to crack. "No... Sorry. This is a big day, fer me, alright? Starlight, if that's still yer name? Can ya help or not?"

Starlight snorted at that. "Still Starlight. I just said, I'm not sticking with this. I am a mare, still am. You were a breezie, did you feel like that was your 'true self'?"

"No..." Applejack thought to that brief experience. "That was somethin', but happy jus' the way ah am..." She took a slow breath. "An' ah want mah sib to be just as happy, so can ya help?"

Starlight waved the two of them in. "Close that, thanks. I'm not trying to advertise this little experiment." They relaxed when they were all inside and their form was properly hidden. "Alright, so, wanna go mare fulltime? We can do that... But this isn't as simple as the first spell I did. I have to properly prepare. It'd be even better if we had support, so! I'm going to bother Twilight, as soon as I finish inverting. I am not walking the halls like this."

Sugar nodded at Starlight. "We were talking about that before you got here."

Big Mac started back. "Ya were?!"

Sugar blinked softly. "You... are really out of it." She rest a hoof on his head. "Poor thing. What do you remember, from the last couple of nights as Blossom?"

Big Mac thought back on it, but it was... "Huh... Don't remember clearly... Ah was... distracted." That hadn't happened before. They could remember their time with Blossom just as clearly as anything else before. "I must be... powerful upset."

"Powerful!" Sugar blurted in agreement. "Poor thing." She hugged her special somepony close. "We're going to get this taken care of, so relax. Now, one thing."

"Yeah?" Mac nuzzled Sugar gently with a shy smile. "What's that?"

"Why didn't you take a picture?!" Sugar pouted. "I'm the only one here that has no idea what lovely mare I'll be attached to."

Applejack burst into fresh laughter, filling the room with it. "Ah... needed that. Um, if it helps, Big Mac cut a fine shape as a mare. Assumin' they're goin' back to that, yer in fer a treat... assumin' yer alright with a mare fer a special somepony?"

Sugar colored at that. "Y-yeah... So long as it's Big Mac inside... That they'll be pretty makes it even better. I'm pretty normal as ponies go."

"Ya stop that!" Big Mac gave Sugar and Applejack a glare. "What's with the mares around me not knowin' how pretty they are? Yer both such lovely ponies. Stop puttin' yerself down."

Applejack swatted at the air towards Big Mac. "Yer my brother. Yer vote only goes so far on that particular line. Don't mean ah don't 'ppreciate it, still..."

Sugar colored, looking Applejack over. "He's not wrong." She caught herself a moment after that. "Oh! Sorry. She's not wrong."

Starlight sank behind their desk. "Anywho! I'll go back to being my usual self in not too long. I do not feel confident working big magic while I'm out of whack, which I am. You three--" They waved a hoof at Mac, Sugar, and Applejack. "Go entertain yourselves. I'll swing by when I'm ready to start. And stop crowing about how pretty you are."

Applejack drew her hat down to cover her darkening face. "Sorry... Wasn't tryin'." She fled before more awkward words could happen.

Sugar drew Mac along with her. "See you later, Starlight."

"'Bout that." Big Mac walked alongside her. "Why were ya here?"

"She's where..." Sugar trailed off, frowning as they walked through the school. "You really are lost right now. You did that. Or the other you, at least." Sugar raised a hoof to her chin. "Which isn't you right now. Let's get you sorted." She leaned in against Mac. "You have friends, don't forget. We all want to see you happy."

They all met outside where Applejack was pointing the way. "Look, um... Sorry, but we really should try to put in a day's work if nopony's recoverin' from any powerful magic."

Big Mac nodded at that. "Ayup." He started for the orchard. "Comin, Sugar?"

"Couldn't keep me away." Sugar hastened to their side. "One thing. You know, Blossom can still see you just fine."

"Huh..." Big Mac seemed to consider that as they hiked through the town. "Maybe that's 'cause she's already in a good place? There ain't no big questions over her head."

"Maybe." Applejack thumped in a sudden side jump against Big Mac. "Let's clear your thoughts up then. Ah can appreciate a goal. When you start rememberin' her side, then it's all fixed. Until then, you still need our help." She offered a hoof towards Sugar. "Wit' me?"

"With you." She clopped her hoof to the offered one. "Let's fix this. I want both of these lovely ponies to be happy, and this one's my special somepony, so they especially need to be in a good place." She went in to deliver a quick smooch to Big Mac's face. "Just to be clear, I love you. I loved you, and will keep right on loving you. Big stallion or big mare. You're Big Mac either way... Joanamac, huh?"

Applejack snickered suddenly at the name. "Ya heard then?"

"'Course I did! I need to know my special pony's name."

Big Mac blushed at the conversation. "Sorry fer not havin' you more involved... are ya mad?"

"A little." She squinted at Big Mac. "You should have told me... I would have come a galloping the moment you mentioned it."

"Which is why I didn't." Big Mac leaned against her. "I didn't want to worry you."

"Aw... But, as a special pony, this is exactly what you should be worrying me about! I'd rather worry than just not know when you're going through a big thing, alone, without me." Sugar rubbed her side to Mac's. "I'm serious, about us, together, which means I want to be involved."

Applejack nodded from Mac's other side. "Ya got two mares that care powerful fer ya, and the rest of yer family back home. Y'ain't alone, all we're sayin'. Stop pretendin'. Even if we ain't going' through what you are. Ah got my own problems." She coughed softly into a hoof. "And you shove your nose right on in. So expect us to do the same. Partta what love's all about."

Sugar waved at some ponies they were going by.

"Hi." One of those ponies waved back. Lyra was grinning at them. "Decided mare life wasn't for you, BM?"

Sugar colored and almost stumbled. "They know?! Um..."

Big Mac veered off towards Lyra and Bon Bon. "Jus' the opposite, actually... Um, just they're busy." They pointed back at the school. "So we gotta wait afore the big magic's done."

Bon Bon gave a thoughtful hum at the idea. "That makes sense." Her eyes slid from Big Mac to Sugar. "You're their mare, right?"

Sugar darkened but nodded quickly. "That's me. I didn't think... anyone aside of an Apple would really hear about it... Maybe Barb?"

Bon Bon smirked a little. "They had some questions, and we had some--"

"--answers," cut in Lyra suddenly. "Poor pony didn't even know how what they wanted to be worked."

Sugar inclined her head left and right. "But they..." She trailed off. "Do they know?" she asked Big Mac suddenly.

"No... No, they don't."

Bon Bon's brows went up together. "Don't know what? Care to share? We're already in this deep."

Lyra clapped her hooves in a merry clipclop. "We're experts at keeping secrets. Pros!"

"Lyra..."

"What?" She stuck out her tongue at Bon Bon and smiled at Big Mac. "Go on."

Big Mac looked between the mares with them and the curious mares ahead. "Well..." Was it safe? "This is... a secret, a big one... Ya helped me out. Only... fair... ah guess..." Lyra was looking more excited by the moment.

Applejack walked between them. "Hold up here. Big Mac's a little overwhelmed and this ain't the right time to press them for things, especially secret. Can ya wait at least a week afore askin'?"

Bon Bon held up her hooves. "No offense intended. We were just asking."

"No harm, no foul." A lyre popped into being, strumming gently. "We love Big Mac, as a friend. We want the best for him."

"Her," corrected Sugar Belle. "That is something to get used to... I... I heard you're a big lady mare."

"Still big." Big Mac smiled, thinking of their mare form. "Still Big Mac, just a different Mac. Still love you." The two touched noses and rubbed in fond exchange.

Lyra clasped her hooves together. "Aw! Too precious... Well, when you're ready, come and chat! I love hearing secrets."

Big Mac cocked a brow at her. "Even ones you especially can't go sayin'?"

"Especially those ones." Lyra winked at Big Mac. "I feel so special knowing those. Like the... And the... Oooo, that's a good one." She didn't say any of those secrets, but even noting they existed seemed to please her quite a bit. "One more? Yes, please. Ready for it."

Sugar nudged Big Mac along. "We'll send Big Mac along when they have their hooves under them."

Bon Bon put out an arm ahead of Lyra. "Let them go. Hope you feel better soon. We're rooting you on."

Lyra took this as a direct challenge, cheering and clopping for the group as they left.

Sugar shook their head once they had made their escape. "They're a bit... nosey. What were you asking them about? You already know what being a mare is like."

Big Mac's coloring drew darker by the moment. Not saying would be a lack of faith. They couldn't do that. "Ah was wonderin' how a mare and a mare show they love each other."
> 69 - Celestial Events
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

A good day's work was grand for putting the mind straight. Big Mac and Sugar were winded, but smiling in the farmhouse, all the chores completed for the day. Granny was rocking in her chair, watching them with some thought working its way through her head. "One thin'... A little awkard... But worth bringin' up... ah think..."

Sugar perked her ears up at Granny. "What's that?"

Granny pointed to Big Mac, then Sugar. "I know you done made up yer mind, and ah ain't gonna try to get in the way of that. But... Y'ain't done it yet. You." She pointed to Big Mac all the more pointedely. "Are a stallion. You are a mare." She pointed at Sugar. "And you two love each other a lot..."

Big Mac inclined their head. "Got most of that right... Where ya goin' wit' this?"

Granny brought her hooves together slowly. "As the matron of this family, it's mah  right to bring this up." She spoke with dread importance. "A chance is slippin' us right by. If we ever want to see a foal 'tween the two of you... There's a thin' you two should be doing, even if's the last time."

Sugar went dark so quickly she almost swooned with the rushing of her blood to a new place. "Granny!"

"You know ah ain't wrong." She folded her arms. "I will support mah grandchild whatever path they walk, but ah'd never be able to look in the mirror if ah didn't say nothin'. Today ain't yesterday... If a foal's gonna have two moms and no pa, better than no foal at all."

Big Mac squirmed at the subject. "We ain't... even engaged..."

Sugar curled on herself and her horn glowed, a small felt box floating from her. "About that..."

Big Mac's eyes widened, world shrinking to that box, following it and it alone as it came closer.

"Big Mac... I wanted to make this a whole... thing..." She nervously paced as she pressed it against them, her magic popping it open to reveal the small jeweled ring inside. "Will you marry me?"

Big Mac suddenly tensed. "No! Uh, Ah mean... I don't got yer ring!"

Sugar put a hoof at their trembling nose. "When a pony proposes, sometimes that happens. We can trade fair when we tie the knot proper." A certain smile spread over her face. "You're a fine gift just by yourself..."

Big Mac colored in a cheery smile, hugging her close. "Yes.... Yes then! Ayup!"

Granny clapped sedately with a smile. "Congratulations, the both of ya... Now... as ah was sayin'..."

Sugar seemed to quiet in thought. Slow and steady would be nice, but they also just... literally didn't have the time. Starlight and Twilight, those celestial events, would slam the book shut on that topic quite permanently. "I'm... not against it..."

Big Mac touched their snout to Sugar's. "Ya know... ain't even sure it'll work."

Sugar colored gently. "Not like trying's an awful thing... I happen to like every part of you, even the parts we're about to say goodbye to. So..."

Granny pointed to the stairs heading upstairs. "Off with ya. All the help ah can give on this." Following after them certainly felt like a step too far.

So they went, ascending together towards Big Mac's room. Sugar curled a hoof to her chin. "One thing, still curious... What did you learn from those two mares? We... already played once... as mares... What was left to know?"

Big Mac nervously laughed. "Yeah... but ah was sittin' in unicorn shoes, and we did thin's only a unicorn could do. Ah won't be one... Ah was powerful nervous I wouldn't know what ta do... so ah asked... Are ya mad?"

Sugar lened against them. "I'm not mad... but I do want to know what you did. Spill it."

"Ah... kissed her, Bon Bon. Just once! She wanted to be sure ah know how to do that. Um..." They rubbed behind their head. "She said ah passed, and that was all ah needed to know. Mares kiss a lot, she said, and not always on the lips. Hug and kiss, just in new ways..."

"She isn't wrong..." Sugar mused over that and how kisses and hugs could be used. "But you are a silly pony. I would have told you. I will show you. We'll be mares, so I can step you through that, one bit at a time." She closed the door behind them as they entered the rooom. "But... I want to ask you something."

"Anythin'." They shook free their heavy harness and set it aside. "What's up?"

"This." Sugar pointed at Big Mac and herself. "This is The Stallion Thing. The most stallionest thing a pony can do. I know you don't want to be that, that you aren't that... Are you alright with this? If you aren't, Granny can take a hike. I won't be mad. If you want to, then we will. If you don't, then we won't. Simple as that."

Big Mac sat on their haunches. "Ah... Ah ain't angry at it. Ready to put it behind, but ah ain't angry with it... Yer a pony ah'm alright bein' a stallion fer..." They couldn't know the complex social issues that could sorround a pony in a more complicated and less forgiving society. "Let's... try one last time... A fine farewell to the whole thin'."

They met, snout to snout, rubbing slowly side by side.  Little kisses became big hugs, and they came together in a way that could be the last time they ever did such a thing. Big Mac did their best, feeling energized in a strange way. Knowing it was the tail end, and what it might bring, with the mare they had accepted a proposal from...

It wasn't a sure thing, but it could be a thing... And welcoming a foal? They were nervous, but so very excited at the idea.





Applejack inclined her head. "So... Is this why Mac'd run off?"

Granny snickered softly. "Reckon so." They could both hear the newly engaged ponies performing the ancient dance of foal making up above them. "Here's ta hopin' it works out."

Applejack inclined her head the other way. "Did you put them up ta this?"

"Guilty." She didn't look very guilty. "Destiny can be a tricky thin', Applejack. We're 'bout to test it. If they get a foal or not, 'least they took the shot. Ah'll be happy either way." She sank back with a smile. "'Bout that... When are you gonna start lookin'?"

"Granny!" Applejack pulled her hat down to cover her face. "Ah swear... How'd you find yer special pony?"

Granny flicked her ears back. "Tit fer tat, huh... He was a fine pony..." Her eyes went distant, to the past where she had that pony. "A nice slice, as they say... Ran into him at a fair, of all places... Powerful good at games, and was powerful eager to show off ta me. Silly thin'... It was the only way he knew to say he liked me."

Applejack imagined being at a fair, having some stallion following her around, loudly crowing about their skills at each game and showing off. "That'd drive me crazy..."

"It did!" Granny snorted. "But ah sat him down and asked why he was goin' on an on, and he confessed his heart was all a flutter fer me... Told him to take it down a notch, and we tried a date... an' it worked out." She smiled with the old memories. "Didn't regret it."

Applejack took off her hat to hold to her chest. "He was a good one..." She'd met him, a long time ago. "Sorry fer bringin' him up."

"Don't be." Granny slid to her hooves. "It's good to remember th' good times. Even if they're right next to the bad ones. Some advice, the older you get, the more the two get crowded on each other." She raised a hoof to point upwards, at the sounds of the two young ponies working to make younger ponies. "This is a mixed one, fer sure. Ah'm losin' a grandson. Gaining a granddaughter... Maybe ah'll put mah eyes on a great grandfoal in a while... What a powerful mixed time..." She headed into the kitchen.

Applejack trailed after her. "If it... works, they're gonna need our help. Ah don't think either of them has much a clue."

"As if you do." Granny swatted at Applejack with a smirk. "But we'll be there. Apples Together."

"Apples Forever," continued Applejack with a genuine smile. "No arguments there. They won't be doin' this alone, either way, foal er not."

Granny got to fixing a light snack for the both of them. "Don't sound.... upset. Good. Maybe her proposin' was just the right thin' at the right time... Now, jus' to be clear, ah didn't put her up to that. That was all her idea."

"Not that you're upset." Applejack took her portion between her hooves to chomp. "It's all workin' out in its strange way." She quirked an ear at a sudden knocking. "Now, who's that?" She set her food down and went to find out. She opened the door to find two unicorns. "Oh!"

Twilight nodded at Applejack. "Hello. You know why we're here, right?"

Applejack nodded. "Yup. Yer gonna have to wait just a little... Big Mac's saying g'bye to 'Little Mac' fer the last time."

Twilight did not seem to get it. Fortunately, Starlight did, pressing past her. "Tell them to head up to the castle." She pointed at Twilight's castle, as if anypony in the entire town could miss the thing. "We're ready when they are, alright?"

Applejack nodded firmly. "Ya got it. We'll likely all head up ther with 'em. It's... kind of a big moment, ya know?"

Starlight smiled gently at that. "They're lucky to have a family like this. See you all there." They shared fond waves, the unicorns retreating to the castle to be ready for when things were to begin.

Applejack closed the door with a light click. "They're lucky, havin' friends like that."

"Lucky on a number of fronts." Granny nodded slowly. "But then, they're an Apple. We got luck runnin' like that at times."

The two shared a nod, and the rest of the snack. The Apple family would change, and maybe grow, but, either way, would be the Apple family. And that was a fine thing.
> 70 - To Destiny
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Big Mac and Sugar Belle descended the stairs. Sugar moved ahead of them. "I'll meet you there." She raced out of the house in a streak.

Applejack and Granny met Big Mac with raised brows on the both of them. "What was that 'bout?" asked Applejack, inclining her head at the departed Sugar. "Figured she'd walk wit' ya."

Mac shook their head. "No idea, um, are we goin'?"

Granny nodded. "They stopped by, said they were ready. Jus' waiting fer us." She looked at Big Mac curiously, but what she wanted to know had no answer that'd come quickly. "If ya wanna go, we're ready."

"One thin'... Apple Bloom?"

Scrambling hooves came down behind him. Apple Bloom was there with a curious expression. "What's up?"

They turned to the little filly. "Gonna go do it fer real now."

"You..." She colored a bit. "Just did it for real."

Big Mac blinked dumbly at that retort. "Wait... Ya know?"

Apple Bloom rolled her eyes. "You were either doin' that, or some ponies jus' took up wrestlin'! Maybe both?" She swatted at the large form of Big Mac. "Ah ain't dumb!"

"Right..." They inclined their head at the small pony. "Who taught you... Nevermind... Um.. Ah love ya."

"Love you too." She grabbed his leg firmly, then bounced back. "Now go! Be all the pony ya wanna be."

Applejack shook her head slowly. "We're gonna have a chat later..." Who taught that filly such... things? "But that sounds like a blessin' to me. Let's catch up with that mare ah yers."

As a family, minus their smallest, they headed out.





Sugar closed the door behind herself, standing in the castle. "Are you here?" she called out, hoof to the side of her mouth. "I want to talk."

Twilight peeked her head up from the basement. "Sugar Belle? I thought Big Mac would be the first here, but hello."

"Howdy." She accelerated into a trot towards Twilight. "Good to see you. You'll be doing the magic, right?"

"Me and a friend." She stepped out of the way for Starlight to emerge, the two side by side on the ground floor. "Permanent physical transformations are not easy. I'm glad I have the backup."

Starlight looked at Sugar suspiciously. "Are you getting cold hooves at the last second?"

"No!" She waved her hooves wildly. "No, promise. That ain't it... I just wanted to know if somethin' were possible or not. If it ain't, well, then it ain't. We can forget I ever brought it up."

Twilight sat down, sinking to her haunches. "Sounds serious. I won't tell any other pony, if it doesn't hurt any of them?"

"It doesn't." Sugar let out a slow breath. "I just wanted to know... Call it curiosity... But Big Mac's already hopping over that fence, as they like to put it... Is it possible for them to land closer to the middle?"

Starlight hiked a brow as high as it could go. "A thousand images just landed in my head and I have no idea which one is the one you're thinking of. Expand on that?"

Twilight waved to Star. "Going to have to agree with her. What do you mean, exactly?"

Sugar tapped her hooves together, fretting them nervously. "They aren't mad at their stallion parts, but they want to be a mare. I want them to have it all, if that's possible? Is it? I don't know." She slumped with a tired huff. "I really don't, so I figured I'd ask... You can tell me it's a dumb idea, or not..."

Twilight took a step back. "I... see?"

"No you don't." Starlight pushed past her firmly. "There are a few issues there. Shall we start with the physical and most mundane?"

Sugar rolled a hoof. "Please. If it just doesn't work, it doesn't work. Thank you for humoring me."

"Right." Starlight turned to Twilight. "Pony anatomical model, grownup model?"

Twilight colored, but summoned the chart with a flash of magic, showing a pony's innards as clearly as their pelt would normally be seen. The drawn model had wings and a horn, allowing all anatomy of a pony to be visible, including both male and female parts back where that was appropriate. "Ready."

Starlight slapped the chart right back between the legs, trailing along the male part displayed. "Behold, the stallion bit." She trailed along to where it connected to the rest of the body. "And the anchor, what keeps it in place. Now, you may notice, there's a lot going on here." She drew a circle with her hoof. "And that's for a good reason. This is where a mare is getting a lot done too. It's the same place. Why redesign when you can re-use things, right?"

"Right!" blurted out Twilight. "So a mare develops internally at the exact same place a stallion develops externally, using much of the same designs... Just inverted." She was colored darkly, but explaining things clinically seemed to be helping. "Which is why..." She trailed off, looking to Starlight hopefully.

Starlight applied a hoof to her face. "Which is why, a pony that had both would be hard to figure out. Each part involved needs to be going in two directions. Where does this--" She trailed the male tool. "Connect to this." She tapped at the mare part. "If this." She tapped harder at the mare part. "Isn't really made to anchor anything. With me?"

Twilight raised a hoof. "Um, before you ask, designing around that would take years."

"A pony's entire life, possibly. Figuring that out is about as hard as figuring out an entire new pony tribe." Starlight shrugged at the idea. "Worthy of prizes, but also way out of our reach. That's not turning into something that exists. That's making a new way of life." She willed the chart to flip into a folded, rolled, position. "And that would be the most boring reason this is a lot you're asking for."

Sugar tapped at her chin. "I... I'm trying to see. I understand the basics..." She looked over her shoulder, curling for a better look at  her own parts. "If..." She envisioned her fantasy. "Hm..." She uncurled. "You can make a pony stronger."

Starlight perked an ear. "Sure?"

"You can make a pony taller."

Starlight nodded at Sugar. "Sure? Harder, but sure. Why?"

"Well... Instead of looking at it like a... trans... figuration? Is that the word?" The unicorns nodded and Sugar continued, "Alright, those. Instead of that, if you were enhancing a mare?" She rolled a hoof. "Would that... work?"

Starlight burst into laughter, getting confused looks from the others. "Sorry! Sorry..." She calmed herself, forcing herself with heaving breaths and aborted laughs. "Really... sorry... C'mon! That's... some enhancement..." She hiked a brow. "Still... Technically possible. Such spells exist for stallions feeling a bit... inadequate." She snorted into a little giggling fit, unable to restrain herself. "Aim that at a mare and it might work."

Twilight pulled the model back down with her magic, muttering to herself as she looked it over. "Grow the... Connect..." She kept mouthing undecipherably dense babble, seemingly stuck on the problem so much she forgot to blush about it. "Yes. That should be possible." But then the blush returned. "Is this something you want?"

Sugar backed away quickly. "No! I'm very happy just the way I am, thank you. But Big Mac is coming to change that, what they are... I want to make sure they go to the way that'll make them happiest."

"Onwards!" Starlight slapped the chart. "Since we're past the boring part, mostly. Let's get to the interesting bit." With a twinkle of her magic, the image shifted, showing strange channels running through the pony. "Welcome to the aetheric network of a pony! It's how magic gets around us. All tribes have one. All tribes have magic, it's just not always as obvious as unicorns." She pointed up at her horn.

Sugar looked up at her own horn, source of her magic. Unicorns had it pretty straight forward that way. "What magic do they have?"

Starlight hiked a brow. "Really? Stronger than a unicorn is likely to hope of, tougher too. Better with plants too. That's how Apples are so good at what they do. I've heard it theorized animals are in that bucket too, but not seen too much proof of that... Now... A stallion has simpler channels." Her magic shifted, forcing the model to display the male channels. "But they're big. Like a stallion, they're built for singular feats of strength. See Starswirl. When he decided to get something magic done, it got done, pow!" She clopped the floor. "Singular stallion focus."

Twilight brightened, her horn glowing as she shifted the graphic to display the female lines, intricate and winding all through the pony. "A female's network is far more intricate. This allows us greater dexterity, magically speaking, but less direct strength, on average. Fluttershy's magic, tribal or not, is a great example of this. Every part of her is involved, not focused. She lives her magic. It only focuses when she uses her staring ability, and she doesn't do that often. It leaves her tired. Female channels aren't as good at that kind of thing."

Sugar inclined her head. "Sorry, I don't mean to argue... But both of you have done some incredible feats of magic. You can do some pretty impressive direct blasts of magic."

Twilight coughed into a hoof. "We're speaking averages. Every pony is their own creature. A given unicorn may be stronger. a given earth pony may be weaker. On average, an earth pony is stronger than a unicorn. Individuals can throw this off. Starlight and I are hardly good examples of anything. We're... I don't mean to brag..." She shuffled awkwardly. "We're..."

"We're wizards, and good ones," finished Starlight with a nod. "Arcane strength and dexterity in a sexy package." She waggled her brows with a laugh. "What more could anypony ask for? But you're not here for that... And we're getting off topic." She turned to the display, willing the male lines back. "Male. Notice some of those lines..." She trailed downwards to the male tool, largely hidden, but with great lines running to it and the testes. "A lot of power runs right here, for a good reason. Foals are like a little bonfire. Mares can feed and keep that fire going. It's a big part of what they do. We can bathe it in the power it needs from all directions. That's why female networks are so everywhere."

Sugar inclined her head the other way. "Alright... So..." But it hit her. "Oh... Oh! Oh... Why do stallions need it focused like that?"

Starlight shook her head. "I just said. Foals are a little bonfire. Something has to give a spark, a nice big spark to get that fire going." She slapped a hoof at where the lines fed into the male biology. "And here it is. When a stallion's enjoying themself, that magic pools up and they do their best to start that fire. That's why they're so tired afterwards. Poor things."

Sugar colored with the image that conjured. "I see... So... A theoretical pony with both would..."

"Need to be sterile in one, or both." Starlight inclined her head with either option. "There's not a lot of ways you can flip between the two that radically, unless you were a changeling. But they break those rules. Good for them!"

Sugar tapped her hooves slowly. "Either a spread out network, ready to be a mother, or a focused network, ready to sire a foal... But not both..." She let out a breath. "I see... I really see now. Thank you, for taking the time."

Starlight patted the fellow unicorn on the shoulder. "Thank you for actually listening. It's nice giving an arcane sermon to an eager audience, really. Right, Twi?"

"Huh? Oh, yes!" She nodded swiftly. "That was very interesting. It brought up ideas I never considered before. One thing." She willed the image to change, showing the both-pony. "In theory, if this pony had the distributed network, they could still sire a child... But they would need an enchantment before they tried."

Starlight hiked a brow. "Wow... I mean... Not exactly wrong... But that's a big ask, to poke a unicorn to cast that considerable spell each time you tried."

A door opened above them. The Apples had arrived.
> 71 - What Do You Want?
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Big Mac smiled at the sight of Sugar Belle there. "There ya are." They closed in and threw a hoof over her, hugging tight. "Why'd ya go runnin' off?"

"Ah had an awkward question or two for them." She angled her head at the unicorns. "And they filled me in. I learned a lot today. May I share some of it with you?"

Big Mac inclined his head. "Huh? Um, no offense or nothin', but ain't we in the middle ah somethin'?"

"It's involved!" She threw up both hooves wardingly. "Promise." She spotted Granny and Applejack looking equally confused. "Um... Don't be mad, and this is entirely your choice... If you don't want it, forget it even came up. There is zero pressure here. I love you this way, that way, or any other way. You'll still be that wonderful pony I fell in love with."

Big Mac rolled a hoof, taking the other off Sugar Belle. "Alright... But ya didn't say what yer talkin' 'bout."

"Working on it." She took a steadying breath. "You want to be a mare, nice soft curves, gentle voice, pretty to look at. Sounding right?"

"Ayup?" He nodded along with the conjured image. "All good thin's."

"But, what if... What if you could have that and still be a stallion in the one place a stallion has to stallion?"

Applejack took a sudden step forward. "Where ya goin' wit' that? Do ya want Big Mac to be a stallion or a mare?"

Sugar shrugged with a nervous chuckle. "Why not... both? If they want."

Granny burst into outright laughter at the whole idea. "That's just a fancy old mare's tale. Ah should know, bein' one ah those. A mare with a big ole stallion bit, just the kind of story to scare a pony with, or excite 'em, dependin' on how ya spin it. Ain't no real thin'."

Starlight coughed into a hoof. "A stallion doesn't become a mare, normally."

Twilight let out a sigh, though she smiled. "We are gathered here today to make something different. Sugar Belle was asking us if it's possible, and it is. If you'd like, we can give you your female body, but leave you male in that specific place... Your atheric network would be female, meaning you would be sterile, as a stallion, barring specific enhancements before you attempted to conceive a child."

Starlight cocked a brow. "Huh, figured you'd trip over that a few times."

"I'm just explaining the options." Twilight patted herself on the chest. "This is important." That she could be clinical about that part also helped.

Applejack rubbed at her hat a moment before her hoof fell to the ground. "Huh... Mighty interestin' proposal... Not what ah'd want... But it ain't mah body, now is it?" She looked to Big Mac pointedly.

Big Mac colored, their thoughts on this new option put before them. "Ah'd still look like how ah looked afore?"

Starlight nodded swiftly. "Should. No changes, minus what's between your legs.We'd leave these." She pointed at Big Mac's current set. "You'll... Let's not get stuck in the weeds." She waved off her thoughts. "Does that sound interesting or shall we continue as we started the plan?"

"Shoot..." Big Mac paced in place. "Now that ain't hardly fair... Jus' figured out ah'd turn one in fer the other, but now both's an option?! Ah'd feel powerful greedy... Ain't a thin' most ponies can consider."

Sugar smooched their cheek. "You are worth it. I came to see if it was something we could do... If it is something you want, we take it. It won't deprive any other pony."

"That was an option?" Barb was peering at them from the stairs leading upwards. "Weird."

Big Mac turned swiftly to Barb. "Was that somethin' ya woulda wanted?"

"Nope." She crossed her arms in an X. "Nope! Female, 100%. That is where I want to be, and where I am. All good." She snickered as she sank onto the stair step. "But is that what you want? You're not me."

"Nope..." Big Mac rubbed at their chin. "Ah ain't... Um... If it's an option, ah ain't 'gainst it none." They colored a darker red. "It'll let me make Sugar happier, but we can still do special kisses. But ah'd be a mare outside that. That'd be... That'd be mighty fine, if we can."

Starlight snickered suddenly. "Every pony is their own thing. Well, what's magic for if not bending a few rules. Twilight?" Twilight focused her attention on Starlight. "Let's put our heads together." The two went off to think strange unicorn thoughts.

Granny shook her head with a sigh. "Figures."

"You upset?" Big Mac turned to her. "Sorry..."

"Hm? No... Not like that." She chuckled softly. "Upset the younger generation's tryin' something so wild.  Where was mah chance?" She snorted softly. "Not that ah'm rushin' fer this one. Happy bein' a mare, thank ya kindly. The girls are going to get quite a hoot out of this story..."

Applejack sank to her haunches. "This is all a bit much... But if it makes mah bro--sister happy, then ah'm here for it. Don't entirely get it... But it ain't fer me to get." She reached for Joanamac, who was kind enough to move close enough to reach. "You do what ya gotta. Yer still an Apple."

"Thanks." They touched noses, sharing a quiet moment of sibling bond.

Starlight emerged from the kitchen she had dragged Twilight to. "Alright! We feel ready. All settled out here?"

With nods all around, they all headed down into the basement. "Now, Big Mac. Or is that Joanamac?"

"Either works. Ah'll still be big. Big Joanamac. Joanamac, or Big Mac, either works." They seemed pleased with their choice of name. "You were sayin'?"

Starlight burst into fresh giggles. "You knew, somewhere deep inside, this is what you wanted... Alright!" She pointed to a strange plate on the ground with four horseshoe indents on it. "Step on those for us and stay there until we're done."

They took their spot with a flick of their tail. "Alright." They did their best to calm themselves, to wait for the unicorns to do their thing. "Ah trust ya..."

"First mistake," muttered Starlight too quietly for Big Mac to easily hear. "Let's start." She lit up her horn and Twilight, across from her, did the same. They focused their power on Big Mac, working through the intricate steps of the spell that would rewrite who they were, physically, from the bottom up, and do it with an ink so deep and bright that it would stick around.

Big Mac could feel their body flow and shift under their combined power. They... no, she. She was gaining her lines, the ones she had with the temporary spell. "Oh," she sighed out, and the voice was lifting as she said it. She was becoming that mare. Her eyes were closed, so she couldn't see it happening, but she could feel things happening, fat sliding where it wanted to be stored, muscles adjusting subtly.

She wanted to kick a leg, but she didn't dare remove any of her hooves from the panel beneath her. That was an important part of things, right? But she trembled as the magic gave her things a mare had that a stallion did not. Teats formed on her lower belly, not very large, with no foal in sight, but existing at all was quite a step from not.

A wet splitting sound reached her ears, but no pain. It sounded like somepony had just been stabbed, that squelch, but there was no cry of pain. "Everythin' alright?" she asked with her gentler voice.

"Jus'... fine," came Applejacks unsure tone. "You relax and lett'em work."

Something grabbed her... stallion bits. It was being shoved somewhere that felt odd, but, strangest, she could feel the part it was being shoved through. It was all her. She cracked open her eyes, unable to resist, and coiled to take a peek. From above, everything looked mostly normal? She was becoming more of a mare by the moment, but her male bits were there, sheath holding tight to her belly. What had she just felt?

But she kept her hooves down on that panel. It wasn't time for any closer looks. She did try to have a glance behind her, but there was no angle to allow that. Things had changed back there, but she could only feel something was... off. Or maybe just right? She wanted to see!

A strange tingling overcame her, running from her snout through her body like she was shattering into a million pieces, tingling spiderwebs spreading through her. She couldn't know, but her network was being scattered across her body in the dizzying web that allowed a mare to work as a mare, magically speaking. The temporary spell hadn't bothered. Her network had been the same, a male one. She was becoming a mare, deep inside. "That feels... funny..."

"Almost," assured Twilight, her horn glowing with strange runes as she labored through the intricate spell. "Please try not to move."

Joanamac froze, suddenly scared any motion could interfere with the spell. She didn't need to be that still, but it didn't hurt to be careful. 

Starlight sank with a loud sigh. "Welcome Joanamac," she got out, breathing heavily. "Upgraded edition."

Big Mac lifted her ears. "All done?"

"All done," agreed Twilight, looking about as worn as Starlight. "When you feel up for it, inspect the work, make sure nothing obvious is out of place."

Big Mac stepped off the panel, just to nudge it with a hoof. "What was that fer?"

Twilight directed to it and Big Mac. "You are an earth pony. Your largest channels run through your hooves. We wanted to have easy access to them. Even mare earth ponies have a lot of magic around there, so having the panel to help with that felt like a good idea."

Starlight nodded in easy agreement. "Glad we did. May be an Apple thing, but you have a lot going on down there."

Applejack buffed her chest with a smile. "We Apples know how to use our hooves."

"Darn tootin'!" Granny went for Joanamac. "How are you feeling?"

"Funny." She coiled on herself, finally free to do so. "Huh..." She could finally see things. She could see a mare's teardrop portal to her innards. "'spected somethin' else."

Sugar Belle cocked a brow. "Pretty standard as those go. Maybe a big larger, but so's the rest of you." She swatted at her girlfriend. "Nothin' wrong with that!"

"No, 'course not. Ah just felt funny, back there..." She turned towards Granny and Applejack. "Sorry tah ask, but could ya take a look, jus' to be sure?"

Sugar circled to behind Big Mac. "Sure?" She didn't sound very sure, but she wasn't going to deny it either. Her glowing magic reached for Big Mac's new entrance. "This may feel funny." She carefully, gently, pulled them open for a peek, just to fall back on her haunches, flopping backwards. "Oh!"

"Oh?" Big Mac peeked over her shoulder, but couldn't see what was going on. "Somethin' wrong?"

"Those... They did what they could." Sugar stood up slowly. "Your..." She cycled her hooves wildly a moment. "How do I put this... Your guy parts are going through your ladyparts. If you were planning on being a mother, this... may prove challenging..."

Joanamac squinted, trying to imagine what Sugar Belle was describing. "Um... It don't hurt."

"Glad to hear that." She patted Joanamac's rump. "You're not bleeding or anything, just... wired oddly."

Applejack slowly inclined her head. "Yer kiddin'." She pantomimed the situation, running one hoof past the other. "Just right on through the middle?"

"Right through." Sugar shook her head. "It won't... matter much, if it's just the two of us. I figure that's why they went ahead and... this."

"Huh..." Joanamac shook herself out lightly. "Well... What ah get... Ya don't get to have everythin'... But it... It did work."
> 72 - Crime Fighter
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Blossom landed atop the roof, her wings folding as she scowled. It was night, as it often was during her waking hours, but it wasn't as dark as it could be. The city abhorred the dark, and its bright glimmers didn't allow even a rooftop to be more than dimmer than the street level, not really dark. "We meet again."

The figure, her self-titled nemesis, stood tall on her hooves. "You have some nerve, facing me."

"It's mah job." Blossom huffed, directing a hoof at the troublemaker. "You done committed any crimes 'sides botherin' me?"

"I've done a lot." She took a step towards Blossom. "I've liberated the captive minds of dozens of ponies. I've helped the ones you don't have time to even think about. Where there are ponies the system forgets, I'm there."

Blossom hiked a brow at that. "Um... Thanks?"

"Thank you?!" The mare recoiled back the step she had taken. "I'm showing the city, the world that you're useless!"

"Nuh-uh." Blossom raised a hoof at the curious mare. "When there's real trouble, ponies are gonna want help, an' ahm there for 'em. If ya wanna lend a hoof to ponies that need less urgent help, um... good?"

"You're supposed to be angry," flatly insisted the costumed mare. "I'm outshowing you."

"It ain't a contest."

The mare blinked dumbly at Orchard Blossom's complete lack of ire. "Then what is it?"

"It's about helpin' ponies. Only one ah me. Can't do it alone." Blossom nodded, confident in this basic fact. "Even teleportin' 'round don't let me do that. If  ya wanna help more ponies in a different kinda way, good. One thing though."

"What's that?" She was on guard, waiting for the other horseshoe to drop at any moment.

"Y'ain't a cop." Blossom curled a hoof at herself. "Don't be a vigalante. You'll get yerself hurt. Ya wanna lend a hoof to a pony in need, great. Don't go tryin' to stop a bad pony. That's our job."

She stomped on the rooftop. "You are kidding me!" She turned away from Blossom. "You know, I'm trying to get you fired, all of you. Each and every cop in every city!"

"Good luck." There was no anger there. "If ya talk the ponies into that bein' a good idea, maybe it is. If it ain't, they'll change their minds." Blossom shrugged with a little smile. "Just a cop, not a mayor or nothin'."

She looked over her shoulder, staring at Blossom for a quiet moment. It seemed to click into place as she aborted a chuckle. "I get it... Oh, I'm a moron." She turned back to Blossom. "You're not just a cop."

"Ah ain't?" Blossom looked herself over, dressed in police uniform. "Sure look like one?"

"Anyone can wear that." The mare waved it off. "You are a princess. If I get you fired, who cares? You're still a princess! The worst you have to worry about is what they make you princess of, big deal. Callous, not even thinking about any of the other pigs on the force. They don't have that option, royalty."

"What's a pig gotta do wit' this? We got pigs?" Visions of little pigs in police uniforms danced in Blossom's mind, confusing as the image was. "What'd they do, find criminal truffles fer us?"

"I'd pay to see that..." She strolled to the roof's edge. "Tonight's been fun, but I have ponies to rescue, and you have ponies to... hurt." She launched herself into the air, vanishing long before she reached the ground.

"Hmmph..." Blossom casually ceased to be on the roof, relocating herself to an alley facing a busy square, bustling with night life. She emerged with a smile. "Gotta job to do."

"Ma'am!" A pony hurried to her. "I hear somepony calling for help!" He waved wildly behind himself. "Down in a sewer cap!"

"On it." Blossom spread her wings wide, lifting into the air. "Show the way." She soared after the civilian to the sewer cap and landed next to it. "Anypony down there?"

A distant call echoed, far too much. Whoever was down there was in there a good way, and their words were little more than bouncing cris of distress. "Ah'm comin'!" She held up a hoof at the stallion that had led her. "You, make sure nopony else comes wanderin' in here. Can ya do that?"

"Um, sure, ma'am!" He saluted as well as a civilian could be expected to.

Blossom threw herself into the hole, straining her ears to get a better angle on where the sounds were coming from. "If ya can, keep shoutin'! Ah'm lookin' fer ya," she boomed back, hoping it'd encourage them. She darted down the wide tunnels, sharply turning left and right as she came to intersections. It smelled... Well, it was a sewer. It smelled of sewage, but she tried her best to focus on hearing and vision and tuning out smells.

It was a pity she could only teleport to places she'd already visited before, and she didn't even know where the pony was that was calling. She couldn't hop there. "Am ah closer?" A fresh cry, one of pain? Blossom put all her effort into powerful flaps to get closer. A pony, in pain? She wouldn't wait on that.

The sounds grew in volume abruptly as she burst into an intersection. Some of the pipes up ahead had fallen into an ungainly pile. A ladder leading upwards had collapsed with it, and under that mess, pained sobs. "Ah'm here!" Blossom landed in the putrid water with a splash. "Ah'm here!"

The echoes couldn't be entirely blamed for not hearing words. The pony, who could only be seen by their weakly twitching forehoof, was wailing in agony, not actually saying anything. Did they even know Blossom was there? She put aside those thoughts as her horn glowed, grabbing things off the top of the pile and throwing them aside as quickly as she could. "Ah'm comin'!"

With a hoof, she pressed the button of her walkie-talkie, her horn busy trying to free the pony. "11-80! Situation unclear."

There was some static. Had she spoken over somepony else? "Can you repeat that?" asked the dispatch.

"11-80." Blossom grunted as she hefted several large stones free slowly. "Citizen pinned. Underground. Sewers... Attempting rescue... Assistance requested..."

"Copy that. Location?"

Blossom looked around wildly. There weren't street sights in the sewers, were there?! "Ah dunno! Um... Let me..." She set down the large stones. "How ya holdin'?"

The cries had quited. The pony, a stallion in clearly rough shape, wasn't screaming, but also wasn't looking so well. Blossom had it on good word that their hindleg should not bend quite that way... "Can ya hear me?"

"Y-yes," they croaked out, eyes clenched shut. "Yes... Yes... Yes!"

"Civilian is awake. Not sure if ah should move 'em." Picking them up felt like a clear end to the problem... If it didn't hurt them more than they already were. "Please advise."

"Do they have any back injuries? Is the location safe?" The dispatch sounded like they were going down a list, as if that was far from the first time they had to give that advice.

"Sir?" Blossom leaned in over them. "Ah know it hurts, but can ya tell me where it hurts? How's yer back feelin'? Ah'm right here."

"Don't go." He reached towards Blossom, but it was a feeble attempt at best. "Feels like I was... I was crushed... Um..."

While the stallion tried to gather his words, Blossom took a fresh moment to look around. "Dispatch, looks like part of the ceiling collapsed with the ladder, what injured 'em. Can't say fer sure if more will come down or not." She was many things, an engineer was not one of them. "Also ain't sure how medical ponies will get down here 'less they're a pegasus." The ladder sure wasn't going to be carrying any of them.

"Alright. If they're conscious and not sounding like their back's been hit, moving them's the best we can do. We can't leave them in a dangerous position. Do you have a stretcher?"

Blossom frowned at that. A stretcher was not standard police gear! "Ah can pick 'em up nice and gentle. Ah got magic, ma'am."

"Then use it, nice and easy. Keep them steady."

Blossom nodded, turning her attention back to the stallion. "Did ya hear that? You alright with me pickin' ya up? Ah'll get ya somewhere safer. We'll go to the hospital."

"Please..." His hoof fell to the cement floor. "Please..."

Blossom wrapped her magic around the stallion entirely, but decided against picking him up at all. She instead wrapped a wing around him. He felt colder than a pony should be. "Ah think he may be in shock," she shouted into the walkie talkie. "Headin' to the hospital! Over." She ceased being there, and so did he. They appeared in the waiting room of a nearby hospital she'd visited before, startling some ponies, but... "Ah gotta 'mergency!"

Nurses swarmed the scene, after their own confusion. They hurried the stallion up onto a stretcher and wheeled him away for treatment. One stayed with Blossom. "We've got this from here, officer. Thank you for getting them to us." She coughed into a hoof. "Try to avoid teleporting in... Unless it's an emergency, which this qualifies as... Just...for the future. We have other ponies in delicate conditions and we don't want to give them any shocks."

Blossom nodded to the nurse. "Yes, ma'am." She pressed the button on her radio. "11-41, transport successful."

"Roger that. Were you injured?"

Blossom looked herself over. "Just a little rattled, but no, ah'm fine. Ah'll get back t'work." She nodded at the unseen voice, then smiled at the nurse. "Keep up the good work."

"You too." The nurse gently shooed Blossom away. The two guardians of the city had their different duties to fulfill.

Blossom walked out of the hospital, waiting until she was out of sight of too many ponies before she vanished, having to get back on patrol.





"And that's how my night went." Blossom sipped from the tall glass, enjoying the dark powerful libation within. "What a night."

"I do say." Fancy took a soft draw of his own glass. "It's a good thing you were there, Blossom. That poor stallion would have done... far less well without you." He set a hoof on her shoulder. "We're all a little luckier to have you around."

Blossom smiled at the kind words, leaning in for a little nose-rubbing against Fancy. "Stop that..." It turned into a brief kiss and she sat down, floating her glass to a small table. "How'd your night go?"

"Nowhere near as exciting." Fancy waved it away. "A little function about an anniversary."

"Which one?" Blossom pulled over a cookie to chew on. "Who?"

"What," corrected Fancy. "An opera house I happen to favor. It's older than I am, in fact. I was quite happy to be part of its celebratory function, but no ponies were saved tonight, unlike you." He chuckled softly. "Still... It helps bring in the bits to keep that place open for, hopefully, a generation or two longer."

"That's still helpin'," she assured with a smile. "Yer doin' yer part."

"We all have our place. Oh, your... brother?"

"Hm? Big Mac?"

"That's the one. Fancy leaned in a little. "Are they feeling better? You mentioned they were feeling out of sorts."

"'Bout that..." Blossom coughed into a hoof. "A few things have changed..."

"Do tell?" He raised a brow high. "I am listening, and interested."

"Alright, list." Blossom began tapping her hooves with each. "They're a 'she'. They go by Joanamac, Big Joanamac. Big Mac works fine."

"Huh." Fancy inclined his head slowly. "Well... That is their decision. Will you be upset if I say I was happy with them the way they were? It is their choice, of course."

Blossom lifted an ear. "Ah ain't done. She's a mare, an' looks it, but she's still big, an' she..." Blossom began to color darker by the moment. "She still had a bigger... You know... than either of us..."

Fancy blinked slowly. "Pardon?"

He would be unlikely to know how that worked unless he ran into Joanamac personally.
> 73 - Good Morning
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Big Mac sat  up with a slow yawn, but it became a smile a moment later. "Ah..." She slid to the floor with a clop of her new hooves. "Ah..." She rushed down the stairs into the dining room. "Ah remember!"

Granny Smith looked behind her from the kitchen. "That's nice... What are ya rememberin'?"

Joanamac grabbed Applejack instead in a firm hug before going to answer Granny. "Ah remember Blossom. Ah remember everythin' she did last night. It's workin' 'gain! Ah... Ah guess..." She curled a hoof to her chin. "That means ah'm not all scrambled no more."

Granny Smith nudged a big serving platter of food to bring towards the dining room. "Funny thing, that. Havin' two lives is less scrambled now?" She slid the platter off herself to where ponies could reach it. "But ah am happy to hear it. How ya feelin'?"

"Yeah, that's the important part." Applejack speared some eggs and got to chewing. "How're ya feelin'?"

"New... Better." She nodded, going through it even as she said it. "Good! Ah'm still Big Mac, just feel better about who Big Mac is, ya know? Speakin' ah that, Joanamac's gonna get all the work Big Mac'd do, so let's eat up so we can get to it!"

"Mornin'!" Apple Bloom hurried to her spot at the table, eagerly devouring her share. "Mmm, good! Thanks!" She paused, as if taking in Joanamac for the first time of the day. "Hey, Big Mac! How're ya feelin'? Better?"

Big Mac reached to gently muss the top of Apple Bloom. "Way better," she assured with a sincere smile. "Way better. Thanks, for bein' there fer me. Yer a mature little filly, but that was still... a lot... Ya really came through fer me, so, uh... thanks?"

Apple Bloom nuzzled the ruffling hoof. "Ain't no than'! What kinda sister would ah be if ah wasn't helpin' out mah sister?" She clopped her hooves with a giggle. "Which ah got two of now. Oh, wait..." She frowned with fresh thought. "Which of ya do I run with at the social now? Ain't never had two options afore..."

Applejack inclined an ear. "Huh, true... But, ah'll bow out to Big Mac, next time. She deserves a shot when she ain't tryin' to fool ponies." She snickered softly in memory. "Though ah'm told ya fooled 'bout nopony at all."

Joanamac colored at that memory. "Yeah... Not my proudest moment... But it was worth it, gettin' to spend time with you." She curled an arm around Apple Bloom, hugging firmly. "This time, we'll do it right!"

"Yeah!" Apple Bloom hopped to the floor. "But it's time to get to work. Later, let's practice a bit. Ah'll show ya how it's done."

"Ayup," thundered Joanamac with all the meaning of her old, quiet, self. "Go on to school." She waved as the filly dashed off to do that. "And ah'll get to farmin'. You want west or east side?"

Applejack tapped her chin. "I'll go fer east. Today should be mostly trimmin' and lookin'. No harvestin' or nothin' heavy like that."

"Ayup." Breakfast complete, Joanamac slid to her own hooves. "See ya out there." She strode from the house, ready for the day.

Granny took a bite of breakfast, in the least hurry of them all. "So... You look like yer thinkin'."

Applejack nodded at that. "Jus' amazed, is all. Apple Bloom really is just... acceptin' it, the whole thin'."

Granny chuckled softly. "Part of the wonders ah youth right there. Big Mac's still Big Mac, and still loves her. That's all she needed ta know! It's us 'dults that make it all complicated. Now..." She pointed at Applejack. "How're you feelin' 'bout it? Be honest, just the two of us left."

Applejack took a sip of some apple juice, a fine reason to delay an answer. "Well... It's a funny thin'. Still gettin' used to it... Most ponies are happy with what they are."

"Most." Granny leaned in. "You an' I are happy the way we're put together, though ah wouldn't say no to a few switcheroos if ah could."

Applejack blinked dumbly. "Wait, ya would!? What?!"

Granny pointed back at her hips. "These gave out on me, or did ya forget? Wouldn't mind a whole new set. While we're dreamin', just replace all of 'em! Ah right 'ppreciate the years ah experience, but I'd swap out the parts that ache and creak and not even think twice, given the choice. Can those unicorns do that?"

"Ah don't... think so?" Applejack inclined her head. "Now ah'm curious... Reckon they can't, or they'd..." She trailed off with a little frown. "Ya know, gonna take that back. They get a little distracted at times. Maybe ah should just ask and let 'em figure if they can or not instead ah guessin'."

"What ah was thinkin'." Granny saw Applejack off to start her day of labor. "Silly mare."





So she went to find out. Those unicorns had fixed things for her new sister. Maybe they could help an old pony not feel so old? She clopped lightly at the door to Twilight's castle. "Anypony home?"

The door opened, revealing not Twilight, but Starlight. Still a magic pony. "Hey! AJ!" She opened the door the rest of the way with a bright smile. "What brings you around?"

Applejack tipped her hat. "Howdy! Sorry, ain't much a social call, so much as a question ah had, if ya got a moment?"

"Alright." She paused a moment. "There, answered. That was easy." Starlight rolled her eyes. "Don't tell pinkie I told that joke. She would... have feelings. Most of them would involve giggles."

Applejack swatted at Starlight with her hat. "Ha Ha. The question's this: Can you or Twilight make an old pony young again? Either fer real or just makin' their old bones not act so old. Ya know?"

Starlight rolled a hoof. "Gonna be honest... If we could do that, especially permanently, why would Star Swirl not be a young pony in his prime?"

Applejack blinked at the retort. "Huh... Ya got a point there. On the other hoof, even if he is kinda old, he don't act it much. He gets around jus' fine, little ah saw of the stallion."

Starlight tapped her chin with a hoof. "Point... I'll ask Twilight to ask him. Maybe he has some kind of awesome cure to arthritis, or maybe he just never got it." She shrugged helplessly. "Some ponies just don't. Luck of the draw."

"She does." Applejack settled her hat back in place. "Please, check. If we could get that cured for her, would be powerful great. No slight on Big Mac, but ah'd rate this pretty high, so... if ya can?"

Starlight put a hoof on Applejack's shoulder. "You don't have to convince me. You're a good pony, caring for your grandma like that. I will check, promise. And helping Joanamac isn't going to slow us down!" She stood up tall. "I'm ready for at least another few big spells, promise! Don't count me out so fast."

"You're hardly an old pony." Applejack smiled at Starlight. "But don't overdo it neither. Heard unicorns ran themselves dry, back afore Celestia. You heard those tales?"

Starlight shuddered at the thought. "Ooof... Not many unicorns haven't... Can you..." She trailed, peering at Applejack. "Uh... Okay, this may be... May sound odd... But being a unicorn that can't use even basic magic? Ugh... the worst..." She shivered with renewed revulsion. "No thanks."

"Hey..." Applejack huffed. "Ah live without magic just fine."

"Right right." Starlight rolled a hoof. "So... imagine you kicked a tree, and no apples came down. And no apples ever would. No matter how much you tried, you just couldn't do it, ever again. Ever."

Applejack sank to her haunches with a haunted expression. "That would be bad... Alright! You done sold me. That ain't a fate nopony should have to suffer, so let's say a new thanks for Celestia."

Starlight turned to the city in the sky. "Thanks, Celly!" She waved at the sun pony that likely had no idea she was there, waving. "Keeping the rest of us safe. Good job. Now, about that arthritis, I'll check on it, promise. Expect me to stop by when I have an actual answer."

She waved as Applejack headed back into town. "Arcane research? Well, if you insist." She chuckled on the way into the castle, kicking the door shut behind herself.

"Who was that?" Barb emerged with a curious expression. "Sounded familiar."

"Applejack." Starlight tossed her head that way. "Shoulda come say hi."

"What was she looking for?" Barb closed, hands swaying at her sides. "Was it about Big Mac?"

"Nah." Starlight adopted a shaking form. "More about her granny," she finished with a fake old voice. "Was wondering if I could help her. I promised I'd check."

"Neat..." Barb frowned with thought, but it faded shortly. "Good luck with that." She clapped her hands together. "Granny deserves all the help we can give! If I can help, lemme know."

"I doubt dragon's blood is involved... But if it is, you'll be next to know." She took a moment to get a hug from Barb. "Thanks. Right now, time to read."

Barb cocked a brow. "Excuse me? You're going to study and you're just ignoring the #1 assistant, right here?!" She waved at herself grandly. "Twilight approved."

Starlight stopped at that. "Huh... You have a point, Barb. If you don't mind being my assistant a bit, I shouldn't say no to that. Come, assistant. We ride, to knowledge!"

With a triumphant cry, Barb followed Starlight on their journey into research.





With a heavy thump of her hooves to the tree, no apples fell free. The tree wasn't ready for harvesting, but Big Mac could feel a lot about the tree from the kick. "Hm." She turned back to it and ran her hooves along it in careful caresses. "Mmm..." She grabbed a hose and watered the base of the tree for a few moments. "Better..."

Tapping at the hoof, she homes in on a specific branch and used a long cutter to snip it. "Perfect." Each tree needed an inspection, and some of them needed extra steps. That tree felt good, and Joanamac felt sure it would yield plenty of fruits, restored to working order as it was. "Ayup." She went to the next down the line. "If apple farmin' was easy, everypony would do it." And since there wasn't any huge line of such farmers, it wasn't that.

She gave each tree a kick as she went down them, getting a feel for what tree had a need for. Some she went on past, others needed water, or pruning. Some needed even more, but she was quite set on it. "Huh..." She had been worried, on some level, that being a mare, for real, would change how she did things.

But a mare was a pony, just like a stallion was. "Feel stupid..." Wasn't like Applejack had any problems getting it done, and she didn't do it any differently than Big Mac had already been doing it.

"'Sides..." She was still a big pony! Just a big lady pony instead of a big fella pony. She burst into sudden giggles, a new thought coming to her. The old Big Mac, before she even met Sugar Belle? Joanamac mighta been quite a thing to gawk at, or awkwardly try to approach. "Ah woulda liked me." She kicked the next tree.

"Which is jus' fine... Ah still like me." And the next tree after that. "The way a pony should be... If ya can't like yerself, hard to get others in on it." She shook her head. "But maybe ah should stop talkin' to mahself." Not that the trees seemed to complain as she worked through them.

She clapped her hooves against one another as she reached the end of the row. "Ayup..." She just had to work back along the next one. The job was far from complete, but she felt ready to press on.
> 74 - Girls Gone Missin'
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Applejack slammed the door behind her. "Can't find her!"

Joanamac perked her ears. "Didja check... No, 'course ya did..."

Applejack hiked a brow. "Were you about to ask if ah checked their clubhouse?" The guilty look was enough of an answer. "'Course ah did! They ain't there or nowhere else. Where could they have run offta?!"

Joanamac tapped at her chin. "Only thin' that comes to mind was that place she an' the other fillies were askin' 'bout."

Applejack blinked. "They wouldn't... They would!" She stomped in place. "That ain't safe! They ain't got no supervision to be goin' that far away!"

Joanamac set a hoof on Applejack's shoulder. "Ah got faith in 'em, but if they ain't home when ah head to bed, we'll send a princess after 'em."

"That's..." Applejack blinked. "A mighty big promise. How, oh. Right!" She laughed with the realization. "Right! Ah'm talkin' to one, secondhoof, right now." She threw an arm over Joanamac, hugging her tightly. "Please. Ah can relax, a little... knowin' they can't run fer long. Um, wait... Can ya do that?"

"She can go wherever she wants, yes?"

Applejack cycled a hoof in the air. "Yeah, sure, but ya don't know where the fillies are, so where ya gonna go?"

Joanamac smiled gently. "We know where they said they wanted to go. She'd start there, work backwards. If they made it, should be easy t'find 'em."

"Ya make it sound easier than it might be... Or maybe ah'm just worried... This is Apple Bloom! Ah don't want nothin' happenin' to her..."

Joanamac leaned against Applejack. "Me neither... But we won't get nothin' panicking."

"Yeah..." AJ stepped back. "Yer not wrong. Um, don't the princess got work t'do?"

"Like chasin' a lost set of fillies? Pretty sure that'd count. Ah'll check if her friends are anywhere, but ah'm guessin' not." Big Mac trotted from the town at a light jog, off to doublecheck on the rest of the crusaders.

She checked in with Sweetie Belle's parents. She poked her head in with Scootaloo's aunts. "Hold on there." The larger of the two, a plump earth pony mare, was looking at Joanamac curiously. "You don't look like any of Apple Bloom's kin."

Joanamac colored faintly. "Been through some changes, but we've met afrore."

Aunt Holiday inclined an ear. "Ya got the accent..."

Maybe there had been a good reason Barb had a big party to announce their new name and appearance... "It's me, Big Mac."

The other, the lankier pegasus, shook her head. "Stop teasing them, Holiday. Scootaloo mentioned this."

"She did?" Holiday turned to face Lofty. "I don't remember that."

"She wasn't talking about it exactly, you silly thing." Lofty chuckled with a smirk. "But she mentioned a 'brother of her friend became a sister' in the middle of one of her rants. Remember that?"

Holiday whipped back to Joanamac. "That was you?! Oh, sorry... Sorry..." She leaned left and right, looking Joanamac over. "You were... Big Mac?! Wow..."

Joanamac put on her best, forced, smile. "That ain't a problem, ah hope?"

Holiday shook her head slowly. "Just surprising, is all... Come in." She waved towards the interior of the house. "I just have some cookies coming out of the oven."

Lofty chuckled softly. "She's offering cookies, that means all is well."

Joanamac stepped in, figuring it would be impolite to decline a kind invitation. "Oh, um... Thank ya kindly. Ah'm Joanamac, Big Mac's still jus' fine."

Holiday went for the kitchen. "I'll go with Big Mac then, already know that name if you're alright with it. Look at you." Not that she was facing Joanamac. "You went and became quite a mare."

Lofty hiked a brow. "You'll make the mare you already have jealous."

Holiday returned with a platter of frosted cookies. "Don't be like that. I'm faithful, but not blind. Look at her."

Lofty looked Joanamac over a moment. "Seen worse. I'm being mean." She swatted the new mare. "Did you get to pick what kind of mare you'd end up as?"

Joanamac shook her head quickly. "Nope. They just, uh... Guess this is me if ah'd just been a mare from the start?"

Lofty crossed her arms, sitting. "Huh... Then ya had this locked inside you the whole time? Fancy that... Now, eat a cookie before Holiday loses it."

Holiday huffed with puffed cheeks. "She can try a cookie when she's ready, or not, if she doesn't want to."

"'Course ah do." Joanamac took a cookie and took a modest bite from it. The still warm frosting was a splash of sharp sugary goodness on the milder baked bread of the cookie. "Mmm! Nice."

Holiday clopped her hooves appreciatively. "Glad to hear it. Now, unfortunately, Scootaloo's run off with her friends. She does that sometimes..."

Lofty sighed at that. "I blame her parents. They taught her to be very independent, because she hardly had a choice. Us moving in is nice and all, but doesn't undo that. So when she gets it in her mind she has to do something, she does it, and we get to hear about it afterwards."

Holiday raised a hoof to her cheek. "Is she in trouble?"

Big Mac shook her head. "Ah think they're all together... Ah was jus' makin' sure ah that. Um, don't panic... Ah'll be sure to have an eye on 'em."

Holiday took a bite of one of her own cookies, enjoying the flavor with a content expression that faded with renewed thought of Scootaloo. "Please, let us know. How will you watch them from here?"

"Uh..." The whole Blossom thing felt like a lot to run through. "Ah got friends in high places." Yes, perfect. "They'll make sure all the fillies are fine."

Lofty waved a hoof over Joanamac. "Sorry for sidetracking, but doesn't Big Mac, you, have a girlfriend?"

"Still do."

Lofty inclined her head. "I would be a powerful double-faced pony if I complained about that. I have a girlfriend too."

Holiday giggled, but didn't join the discussion just then.

Lofty tossed her head at the giggle. "There she is. But you met yours as a stallion, I would think? She alright with... this?"

Joanamac flicked her tail with mild tension. "Uh, she was there... wit' me..."

Holiday clopped both hooves to her cheeks. "That is absolutely precious! She must care about you so much. Even gender was no barrier... You better keep that one." She waved a thick hoof at Joanamac. "You just don't let a pony like that go."

Joanamac smiled at that, a genuine one. "Don't plan on it... Ah love her."

Lofty hiked a brow. "That's nice and all... So when is there going to be a ring on her?" Her eyes wandered as if she may spot something on Joanamac. "Nope, not one on you either."

Joanamac colored at the suggestion. "Um! Um... Ah want it to be special..."

Holiday set a hoof on Joanamac's shoulder. "She stood with you as you did this. Isn't that special enough? Just ask. You know she'll say yes. A pony doesn't go through that just to say no."

Lofty snorted at that. "Holiday, love you, but if I come home to find a stallion, not sure I'd be alright with that."

Holiday giggled gently. "See? You grab her and never let go. She's already doing the same. Now... I know you're a mare now... Maybe you're feeling it's a stallion's job to ask, but, first, that's silly." She waved at Lofty and herself. "If we followed that, we'd have never become a thing. Besides that! Equestria has come a long way, don't you know? A mare can ask just the same as a stallion."

Lofty stroked her chin. "Well, if it helps... Which of you tends to be in charge?"

Joanamac lifted her ears. "Come 'gain?"

Lofty shook her head with a smile. "Come on now. One of you is probably the one in charge. Put any two ponies together, it tends to work out." She waved at Lofty. "That softy there isn't it." She closed for a proper hug. "So I'm the one in charge, if it comes to it."

Joanamac sat, frowning with thought. "Huh... Well.... Ah think me?" She pointed to herself. "Pretty sure... Why?"

Lofty raised her brows. "Then you better get to asking! Because if you wait for the pony that likes to wait, you'll be waiting a long time, maybe. Or maybe she's gathering the strength to do it right now."

"But it should be special..."

"We went over that." Lofty swatted the unsure new mare. "You go up to her and you just ask."

"Ah need a ring at least!"

Lofty hiked a brow. "No, you don't need a ring, but if you want one, go ahead and get one. That's a weak excuse and you know it." She made shooing motions at the door. "Get out of here and don't come back until the question's been asked and answered."

"Alright, alright..." Joanamac retreated for the door, clearly being ejected. "Ah'll, um, let ya know."

Holiday came in for a hug on the departing mare. "You do that, and invite us... if you like." She rubbed her chin awkwardly. "It may sound odd, but it'd be nice to be at a wedding of another two mares. Those aren't as common as stallion and mare ones."

Lofty huffed at that. "Two stallions is still rarer, but she's not wrong." She raised her brows. "It isn't even that stallions that swing that way are rarer. They just get married less often. Funny thing..."

Joanamac thought about that. Why would that be? She was outside the home with the door closed. When did that happen? "Oh." Well, she had other things to do than ponder the demographics of equestrian sexualities. She headed back off on other business at hoof.

Night came soon enough, and there still wasn't an Apple Bloom. "Ah'll send Blossom after 'em," she promises both Granny and Applejack. "Been in that town afore, so shouldn't be a problem."

Big Mac flopped in bed and closed her eyes. Sleep came swiftly for her, as if she were being pulled from the other side as much as she were gently pushing in from the other. Another pony was ready to be awake.





Blossom hopped to her feet. With a glowing horn, she got herself dressed swiftly. She pressed the button on her walkie-talkie. "Officer Orchard Blossom checkin' in. Ah'll be followin' a missin' filly case."

"Roger that."

There, she had checked in and told them what she was up to. She vanished, appearing beside a large arena that'd become home to a big event in a day or two. "Let's have a look..." She circled around it at a light walk, searching for any clues of the fillies' presence.

She didn't spot any foals, but she did see a pony standing there next to a cart. "'Xcuse me," she called, coming closer. "Have ya seen three fillies come through here, all together like?"

The pony looked up as Blossom approached. "Hm? Nope. Don't expect too many ponies 'sides the workers, like me." He pointed at himself. "The real fun starts tomorrow!"

Blossom considered with a soft hum. "Alright... If a pony were to come from Ponyville, 'bout how long would it take to get here?"

The worker sat up. "Huh... Ponyville... Yeah, 'Least a day, probably by train?" He pointed towards the nearest station. "Why? Foals go missing?!" He stood up, alarmed at the idea.

"Checkin' out a report." She pointed to her officer's badge. "You jus' let us know if three fillies wander past. Don't panic."

"Alright." The pony nodded swoftly. "If I see them, you'll be the next to know, um, or whoever's at the station at the time."

"That'll be more than fine 'nough." Blossom lifted on her wings to get a better view of the town and that station. She had some backtracking to do to try to find those fillies.

But that was her job, as a big sister, and an officer.
> 75 - Caught!
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Orchard Blossom stopped at the train station. "'xcuse me." She tapped at the counter. "Could ah get a schedule of when the train mighta showed up today or tomorrow from Ponyville?"

"Hm?" The stallion inclined her head at Blossom. "Sure thing, officer. Trains don't come from there too often." He gave over a listing of a whole two times. "Once a day at best. That includes when they woulda left Ponyville. Hope that helps."

Blossom scanned over it with a frown. "The train they woulda got on... had to already come..." The next train would be after the show started they wanted to get to. No way they'd pick that one! "Did they get a room?" With what bits?! The girls were clever though. Maybe they had some saved for the trip?

There was only one way to know for sure. "Thanks kindly." She waved at the train station pony and set off to check the local hotels.

"Nope."

"Sorry."

"Three? No. No three fillies."

It seemed to not matter how many places Blossom checked, there were no signs of the crusaders. It was starting to get late, or maybe early depending on what pony one asked. Blossom counted it as late. Walking towards the station, she grunted. If she had to follow it all the way back, she would!

The town was waking up, ponies getting their days started. The arena the show would be at was in full swing, the festivities starting. Movement caught her eye, coming not from the town, but the edge of it, towards a forest. Emerging came three mares and two fillies. "What the?" The mares looked... awful familiar, and yet strange. "Ah'm settin' a bad example..."

She had changed herself, er, Big Mac had, and it was clearly rubbing off. All three had kept their gender, it seemed, but they were all mighty older than they started. They were smiling and talking as if nothing had gone wrong at all. As if nopony was worried about them!

Blossom was in front of them, skipping all the space between. "Apple Bloom!" she thundered, red with anger.

Apple Bloom jumped with surprise, hooves cycling in the air before she came back down. "O-oh! Don't do that!" She swatted at her teleporting relative. "What are you doing here?" She cocked a brow. "And aren't you usually asleep 'round now?"

"Usually," grunted Blossom. "But ah heard some fillies got lost, an' ah couldn't call it quits until ah knew they were safe." All three of them had the sense to look sheepish at that, at least. "Who're yer friends?" She looked to the two foals with them, a colt and a filly. "Did they run off too?"

"No, ma'am," assured the colt. "We're here for the show."

The filly pointed the way. "Our parents know we're here."

Blossom nodded at the two. "Good. Glad y'ain't worryin' nopony..."

Sweetie Belle, larger but just as awkward, rubbed at her cheek. "We didn't get hurt."

Blossom nodded at Sweets. "Glad to see that, but why didn't ya get on the train?! Did ya walk from Ponyville? That's..." She sank to her haunches. "Kinda impressive, actually. How'd ya make it so far so fast? Y'ain't me."

Scootaloo waved wildly. "I told my aunts."

Blossom hiked a brow. "Ya told 'em you were goin' and not much more than that. Still, 'least they didn't seem worried fer ya." She took a slow breath. "Look... We know yer clever."

"Excuse me." The colt was looking up at Blossom. "Sorry... Um. Why are you chastising grown mares like they're fillies?"

Blossom blinked softly. "Um." Saying just because they were fillies felt odd. "We need to talk, later..." She stood up. "But yer here now. May as well enjoy the day. Gonna go call this in." She casually ceased to be there.

Apple Bloom laughed nervously. "Police, right?" The rest nodded, accepting that as a fine excuse. "C'mon!" As a unit, the foals rushed for the stadium and the fair going on around it.





Blossom appeared in an abandoned alleyway, already reaching for her walkie talkie. "Fillies located. No injuries or nothin'."

"Who's this?"

Blossom clopped a hoof to her face. That town wasn't one of her usual stomping grounds. Of course they'd have no idea who she was. "Pardon. Officer Orchard Blossom. Ah was chasin' after some lost fillies."

"Officer... Oh! Welcome. Good to hear. We'll pass the word on."

Blossom made her way at a leisurely walk towards the fairground. Maybe she had time to at least see a little of it, since she was there already...? They had treats and games. They even gave her a discount for being an officer in uniform. 

"Big Mac?" She twirled to see Fluttershy looking just about as surprised to see Blossom as Blossom was feeling. "What are you doing here?"

Blossom trotted up to Fluttershy with a smile. "Right nice to see ya! Ah could ask the same. This ain't yer usual place."

"Certainly not... But Twilight and I heard the crusaders went missing. We came to look for them."

Blossom pointed off towards the arena. "Jus' that way." She yawned widely enough to pop her jaw. "It's... mighty late for me. Seein' you's actually a big relief. Can ah trust ya to get them home safe?"

"Of course." Fluttershy bobbed her head quickly. "Twilight?" She circled, but there was no unicorn there. "Maybe she went ahead..."

"She would do that." Blossom reached a wing to give Fluttershy a brief hug. "Thanks kindly. Oh, they're mares fer some reason? All grown up. Still them, just... bigger, is all."

"Oh..." She sighed, as if that made sense for some reason. "I see. We're on the case. You get some sleep."

Blossom nodded and casually ceased to be there. She was over her bed, no in the bed. Gravity insisted. She kicked off her shoes and magicked off the rest of her clothes. Soon she could curl up and let sleep take her away.





Joanamac was doing her job in the orchard. Every day needed her hooves in the dirt if one wanted all the apples they could get. "And..." She didn't get to finish speaking, falling over unconscious without a bit of warning.





Blossom sat up sharply in bed, almost crashing into somepony else on the way. "What?" She knew that pony. "What're you doin'?" She scowled at Fancy Pants.

Fancy sat back with a little sigh. "Ah, you're awake, good. I received a call from your employer. Seems there's some disturbance at the place you were at earlier today? I insisted you would be asleep, but they insisted in kind I at least try to contact you."

Blossom rubbed at her head and the throbbing pain coming from inside it. "Fluttershy an' Twilight are there. Doubt they'd let any..." She paused to yawn. "--thin' bad happen. 'Sides, Ah'm beat."

Fancy brought over a floating glass of water. "Dreadfully sorry to be part of that reason. I've delivered the message. They can ask no further from me."

Blossom took the glass in her own magic, sipping once before she flopped back in bed. "Hope Joanamac's okay."

Fancy pinned his ear back. "Oh my. Did I...?" He trotted from the room in a hurry.

Blossom didn't think too much on it, passing back through that velvet barrier between one life and the next.





Joanamac stirred, sprawled on the ground before she could gather herself up to her hooves. "Let's not... do that 'gain..." Being woken up unexpectedly was awkward, at best. Now where was ah?" She got back to work. A little narcoleptic fit was no excuse for slacking off!

She was busy in the fields for a few more hours before she had lunch with Granny Smith. "Oh, Jus' so ya know, don't wake me up 'less it's a real 'mergency. If ah get woke up, Blossom'll fall asleep whatever she was doin'. It ain't fun."

Granny rubbed at her cheek. "I would imagine now. A pony could get hurt... Ah'll be careful. Now..." She leaned in with a smile. "Ya went through all that trouble. How's the new you turnin' out? Ya likin' it?"

Joanamac colored with a little smile. "Ah'm likin' me."

"Sure sure, and that's powerul good, ain't no doubting it." Granny waved it off. "But are you liking it? Yer somethin' new. Don't go tellin' me y'ain't even curious. Couldn't keep my hooves off of things if--"

"--Granny!" boomed Joanamac, dark in the cheeks. "Watch yerself."

"Ah'm too old to be sayin' that to." She stuck out her tongue at her prudish grandchild. "Apple Bloom ain't here. Speakin' ah that. Ya did find her, right? Ya didn't mention, so ah've been assumin'."

"Yeah! Yeah... Twilight an' Fluttershy should be bringin' em home." The thought of that unknown emergency came to her mind. But, Blossom was exhausted. She couldn't bail everypony out of trouble, even if she wanted to. "Don't 'magine those two will let us down."

"That's good..." She leaned in consiprationally. "So, gonna tell me, or is it a secret?"

"Granny!" Her cackle implied that Granny felt no shame. "That the door?" Both perked ears to hear fresh clopping knocks. "Ah got it." She skipped to her hooves and power-walked over to open the door.. "A.... lo?" Of all the ponies that coulda been there, Fancy Pants was low on the list. "What're you doin' here?!"

Fancy Pants bowed his head. "I was told I might have caused you a terrible inconvenience. I came as quickly as I could to be sure you were alright, and to apologize for my part in any misfortune that resulted."

"Um, come on in..." Joanamac stepped out of the way for him. "Granny, Fancy's here."

"Who? Oh." She came from the dining room, spotting him. "Hello there. You come with a new set of gifts?"

"I'm afraid not, ma'am." He nodded at her, closing the door behind himself. "I was an unthinking cad earlier, and came to give my apologies."

Granny inclined her head. "Hard to imagine you doin' somethin' like that." Her eyes turned to Joanamac. "What'd he do?"

Joanamac rubbed behind her head. "Well, he woke Blossom up while ah was workin', which meant I just fell over in the field."

"Dreadfully sorry." Fancy dipped low. "How can I properly make amends?"

Joana grabbed for his front, forcing him upright. "Stop that! It was an honest mistake, an' ah didn't get hurt, just surprised mostly... Took a little nap on the dirt for a few moments..."

Fancy relaxed a little. "Glad to hear it came to no serious harm. Still, a dreadful thing. It was not my intention to send a mare to nap in such an undignified manner."

Granny lifted an ear. "You still got the hots for them?"

Fancy coughed into a hoof. "Ma'am?"

Granny inclined her head at Joanama. "I didn't stutter. Do ya, or don't ya."

Fancy turned to regard Joanamac fully. "Miss... I feel I barely know you, though that is something we could rectify." He bowed briefly, but smoothly. "I am Fancy Pants. Pleasure to meet you."

Joanamac's ears danced atop her head. "Ya know me! Ah'm still Big Mac. That's Big Joanamac. Ya can call me Big Mac or Joanamac, either's fine." She paced in place lightly. "Sorry... Ah know ah did change... Um... Like it?"

"You are still a vision of enchantment. You've changed the nature of things, but you are just as breathtaking as the first day I laid eyes on you, ma'am."

Granny snickered wildly, watching the two.

Joanamac colored at the praise. "Um, thanks... So... mare now." She turned left the right to show off her big mare form. "Still big!"

Fancy began to color. Granny's laughing increased in volume. "Methinks he just saw that you're still big in all the ways."

Joanamac's tail snapped down to cover herself. "Um... Um..." She backed several steps away. "Sorry..."

"Madame, there is nothing to apologize for." Fancy inclined his head. "Everything I said remains entirely as true."
> 76 - Admiring Changes
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Joanamac headed out to do her work, but she had company. Fancy trailed after her, unasked for. "You should have told me. I've been speaking with... your other half. They didn't mention this."

Big Mac flicked her ears back. "Sorry. We're different ponies, remember? Not tryin' to think too much 'bout the other. Love 'em, no doubt, but they got their life and ah got mine."

"Certainly... Certainly." Fancy kept at her side as she worked, watching her and her trees, perhaps more trees than Joanamac would have wanted. "Pardon my asking..."

Joanamac quirked up an ear. "This is about mah change, ain't it?"

"Well... yes..." Fancy sat on his haunches. "If it doesn't offend?"

If she said yes, she felt sure Fancy would drop it. He was proper like that... But she didn't want to shut him down, not like that... "Ah'm a lady. Ah got that, uh... one part..."

"I see, but not the... other part... Does that mean you're... functional, or not?" He tapped his forehooves together in nervous fretting. "Please don't take offense."

From what she had been told, she'd pieced together that 'other part' was part of how a stallion gathered the magic they needed to light a fire in a mare. She didn't have those. She was sterile. In theory, they had mentioned a temporary spell could be cast to fix that on a temporary basis? "Ah'm 'functional', um... but ain't no foals comin' 'less ah get help." She turned to Fancy. "Don't 'magine that affects you any."

"Certainly not." Fancy rubbed his darkened cheeks. "I am a stallion, and happy that way. Only magic most unnatural could cause me to have worries of that nature." He coughed into a hoof softly. "But a stallion can still enjoy things... the act, if you will... No foals will result." He cycled his hooves in the air. "Nothing preventing you from partaking, in theory, I gather? Perhaps?"

Completely distracted from her tree-tending duties, Joanamac came to a halt. "Uh..." She turned to Fancy slowly. "Ah still... never tried that... Ah don't... rightly know?" She rubbed at her cheek with the flat of a hoof. "Um... should be able ta? Got all... the parts?" She began to color softly. "But ah'm a mare! Why ya worried 'bout how ah would do stallion things?"

Fancy squirmed in place, words driven clear of him for a time. Joanamac hiked a brow at the quiet stallion. "Go on... Ah'm listenin'."

"You see..." He stood up slowly. "I like them... large. Big is another fine word." He waved over Joanamac's form. "Which you happen to be."

Joanamac's recovered face dipped rapidly into red. "Nope!" she barked with the skill of her old quiet days. "Um, sorry... Sorry... This is... Ya got Orchard Blossom. Ain't she enough?"

Fancy lowered his ears, looking properly ashamed. "I mean no disloyalty to Orchard Blossom. I was given to beleive that we, Ochard Blossom and you. Me and Sugar Belle, were in an open relationship, at least among us four. If you are not interested, consider it a resolved matter. I have no interest in pressing where I am not welcome, ma'am."

"Good..." She went back to walking down the row of apple trees, casting careful eyes over each one at a time. "Look. It's not that ah don't like ya... Um... I've.... I've..." She huffed, trying to marshall herself with mixed success. "Ah know you're a right gentle stallion... Um, mean that literal-like, not a 'polite' stallion, which ya are too! Um... Ah mean when yer with Orchard Blossom, ya always..." Joanamac went quiet, tending the trees that were so much less complicated.

Fancy followed sedately at a small distance, giving her space to think. "Am I making things... unpleasant? Perhaps I should go."

"No!" She whirled on him. "Don't be... Look, it's not that." She awkwardly squirmed a moment. "Yer not wrong. We did say that. So yer not cheatin'. Yer not doin' nothin' wrong. But ah'm a mare!" She huffed at Fancy. "An' ah want to be one. Which means ah don't wanna be thinkin' hard 'bout not mare things. Get it?"

Fancy nodded slowly. "I... understand, but... Please, forgive my questions... But was that... intentional?" He inclined his head at Joanamac's back end. "Or was that an accident?"

Joanamac sighed gently. "Weren't no accident..." She came closer to Fancy. "It was Sugar Belle's idea... She wanted to be able to... She wanted the world outta me, an' ah didn't turn her down. So she got a marefriend that can... do it all fer her. She's puttin' up with a lot out of me... Um... felt like a fair trade."

"I see..." Fancy nodded slowly, considering the idea. "But what of you? Are you happy? It is your body, in the end. The, uh... idea was to make you happier in it, was it not?"

Joanamac colored, but it was a gentle hue, not an angry thing. "Look..." She sighed gently. "Ah feel awkward sayin' it, but yes. Yes, ah'm... happy with it. Ah'm happy with what ah can do with it... Ah'm happy to be a mare." She stomped a hoof suddenly, the ground shaking with the force. "An' those two things are powerful awkward together. Am ah a mare or not? What kinda mare thinks these things?"

Fancy reached for her shoulder, resting a hoof on it. "This kind of mare." He smiled gently. "The kind that loves her girlfriend enough to do that. You. It isn't about what a 'mare' thinks. It's about what you think. Don't misunderstand me, I understand full well the pressures of societal expectations." He brought the hoof back to cough into it. "Dreadful thing, at times."

Joana inclined her head. Fancy, speaking poorly of social norms? "Ya alright?"

Fancy stood up stiff and tall. "Ma'am. Being proper, at times, is a matter purely of appearance." He rubbed his cheek slowly. "Even discussing what I've already discussed is not 'proper', but I feel confident our words will remain between us. We are still proper ponies for having this discussion, provided it remains our conversaion alone."

Joanamac nodded slowly. "Ah... sure... Yeah.  Ah won't tell nopony, promise. Um... 'cept Sugar Belle. She may hear."

Fancy chuckled softly at that. "I accept that possibility. It would be quite improper to insist you hold a secret from your partner. This is hardly a matter of national security. Now..." He began to circle Joanamac. "Before me I see a wondrous example of a mare. She's large in all the ways I would fancy. All the ways I might fancy... She is a mare, there can be no doubt. But she has extra, and that extra is a perk, not a defect, ma'am."

Joanamac felt a stirring. She was responding to his praise, physically. She colored as she felt a mixture of male and female things happening as her body agreed with the praise the stallion was heaping on her. It didn't help that she happened to think he was a handsome stallion she already liked. Shoot, another slice of her was already involved with him! "One thing."

He perked his ears at her sudden demand. "Yes? You have but to speak it, m'lady."

Big Mac shook her back end lightly. "Ah'm a mare... Um, if we... do anythin'... Ah'd want to be with you as a mare first. And that'll take some care."

"Some care?" He inclined his head. "I'm afraid you have me at a loss. If you mean being mindful, you know that's how I am already."

"More than that." She threw a hoof towards her rear half. "The boy parts go through the lady parts. Means you'll have to be extra careful if ya wanna... Do things."

One could see Fancy Pants working out the anatomy being described to him. Boy parts, through girl parts? He frowned with the thought, puzzling it through. "You... appear to be whole?"

"When ya look, you'll see." She walked away from him. "If ya got the guts fer it." She went back to minding the trees, one to the next, as if Fancy had never been there to start.

Fancy followed, but words failed him. He kept trying to speak up, but failing. Words were just refusing to get out of his mouth, so he followed her as she did her work, and he didn't get in the way of it.

"All done." Joanamac nodded with satisfaction. "Yer still here?" It wasn't like she was ever not aware of Fancy's presence. "Ya came all the way... right 'ppreciate the thought, but don't ya got other things ta do?"

Fancy stepped closer on timid hooves. "You are worth the time, m'lady. Is all your work of the day completed?"

"All done?" She flickered her tail. "Why ya ask?"

"They have informed me it is improper to ask a lady for this before she finishes her duties." He arrived behind her, where she couldn't see him. An equine's blind spot. Being there meant having the trust of the other pony, or risked a sudden response. A kick, or a bolt. Either could happen, but Fancy didn't seem worried. She knew he was there, which was a good start. "Joanamac."

"Yeah?" She flickered an ear. Was that the first time he said her new name? "What?"

"May I examine you?" She felt his teeth, not on her rump or side, but he caught her tail and gave the softest pull. "Kindly."

"Um..." She flicked that captured tail with limited effect. "We're in the middle of the open, ya frisky stallion!" Dark in the face, she started forward. "Let's get somewhere a bit more private at least..."

"Where ya been?!" Applejack and Apple Bloom were on the road leading into the orchard. The first was glaring at the latter. "Look, ah'm happy yer alright, but you do that 'gain and ah will tan that hide of yers!"

Fancy glanced at the exchange. "Oh my... Well, we shouldn't get in the way of that." He advanced faster than Joanamac, leading towards the barn. "Let's depart."

Soon, they were safely enclosed in the barn and the smell of hay and stored apples. There was some amount of privacy there, enough for Fancy to gently nuzzle along Joanamac's side, working towards her back slowly. "Will you forgive me if I say you are quite the enchanting figure of a mare?"

Joanamac peeked over her shoulder, watching him explore. It was a request, even if he was asking it indirectly. "I would..." She raised her tail, an answer more clear than any amount of other words she could have said. She was welcoming his continued attention. "But do ya mean it?"

"I am not one to speak falsely," he assured with a huff, then another, but the second was over her delicate portal, tickled by the fine whiskers of his snout. "Now, if I may..." But permission was already given, and he didn't really wait, nuzzling into her back end and opening her with care. It wasn't long before he could see the nature of things. "I see."

Joanamac's ears fell. "You, um... ah'll understand if..."

"Don't be hasty." Fancy raised his hooves to either of her rear cheeks. "You are you sized. You are a sizable mare, no offense. Large in all the right ways... While there is an impedement, I am no... sizable stallion..." He coughed softly. "I prefer to imagine it's more in the way it's used... In either event..." He took a moment to cough into a hoof. "There appears to be room enough."

Joanamac's ears danced on her head. "What? Ya..." She never actually stared at him, down there. She'd felt him though. "Ya felt plenty big to me!"

Fancy smiled with that, prideful in that moment. "It's in how it's used," he repeated with confidence. "Madame.... You are a mare. If you allow me, I will treat you exactly as one." He nuzzled the dock of her tail, nudging it higher. "But only if you would wish it."
> 77 - Tab A, Slot B
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

They withdrew further into the barn, as if a few hay bales could provide proper protection. Hiding in the house felt improper at best in the middle of the day, and neither felt like just waiting.

Fancy was ever the gentlestallion. He took his time and always allowed her to set the pace, but he did do as stallions did. As it turned out, Joanamac could perform that dance. The... odd part was that him doing that involved him rubbing against more sensitive areas than a pony even normally had. Each movement made her stallion parts sing as they were slid along, and her female parts picked up the second half of the choir.

All Joanamac could do, that first time was vocalize the chorus going on inside her. Never had she known such complete bliss. It was a shame it could only last so long before it came down to warm hugs and nuzzles. At least Fancy wasn't one of those stallions that just did it and was done, no, he was quite happy holding her close as the two stood side by side, both warmed with their exertions and pleasure. "Ma'am."

Joanamac perked an ear. "Yea?"

"I mean no ill-will towards Orchard." He sat on his haunches. "But you... Each different, but quite a mare. Don't let anypony tell you otherwise. Now... This is your home, you should clean up in your bath."

"Great advice." And there was Applejack, walking into view with the smarmiest grin on her face. "And kindly stop makin' a mess in mah barn, if ya will. Ah swear, take mah eyes off the two of you fer one moment!"

Joanamac's ears went flat against her head as she shrank down, embarrassed at being caught by Applejack. 

"Now hold on just a minute," Fancy said, stepping forward. "There's no need for recriminations here. Joanamac and I are both consenting adults, and what occurred between us was private." 

He moved to stand protectively in front of Joanamac. "I understand this may seem improper to you, and I apologize for that. But Joanamac deserves happiness as much as anypony. If I can provide her with comfort and affection, is that truly so wrong?"

Applejack considered his words, scuffing a hoof against the ground. "I ain't sayin' it's wrong, exactly. Just surprised is all. Big Mac - I mean Joanamac - they're my sibling. It's my job to look out for them." 

She sighed. "But yer right, they got a right to make their own choices. I shouldn't be bargin' in here and causin' a fuss. Just lookin' out for my own, is all." 

Joanamac lifted her head, peeking out from behind Fancy. "I'm real sorry, Applejack. Shoulda been more discreet-like. Didn't mean ta upset ya none."

Applejack waved a hoof. "It's alright. And like Fancy said, y'all are consentin' adults. I shouldn't be pokin' my nose in where it don't belong." 

She tipped her hat to them. "Y'all have fun, just maybe pick a better spot next time. Somewhere that ain't my barn." She flashed a grin to take any sting from her words.

"It won't happen again, you have my word," Fancy said. "Now, I believe I shall take my leave and allow you two to talk. Joanamac, perhaps I could invite you to dinner soon?"

Joanamac smiled shyly. "I'd like that real fine."

With a parting bow, Fancy headed out, leaving the two Apples alone. Applejack came over and gave Joanamac a gentle nuzzle. 

"I'm happy for ya, sis," she said. "Just wasn't expectin' to walk in on...all that. But anypony who makes ya smile like he does must be somethin' special."

"He is," Joanamac replied. "And Applejack...thanks for understandin'." 

The two siblings shared a warm embrace, tensions fading away. There were still adjustments to be made, but they'd handle it as Apples did - together.

It took Joanamac a moment to realize an issue. "Wait a sec..." She turned to the door heading out, where Fancy had gone a moment. "Ah can't do that!"

"Can't do what?" Applejack quirked an ear at Joanamac. "If ya mean... do things with Fancy, ya already did it..."

Joanamac shook her head quickly. "Jus' visit him like that. He's a rich pony, he can just throw things down. He can afford to grab a last minute train and come visit. Ah can't do that." She curled a hoof to point at herself. "That ain't really a thin' ah can do. How'm ah gonna go visitin' him one day fer dinner?"

Applejack chuckled instead of looking alarmed. "Ya silly pony. Did ya forget what yer sister kin do?" She pointed up, through the ceiling, at Canterlot. "Orchard Blossom can teleport, 'member? So, ya jus' have to make a day trip out of it. No bits involved. You two work it out, and make a whole day of it." She started for the exit. "Now, ya finish yer chores before you went and had fun?"

Joanamac jumped into movement, following after Applejack. "Even if ah did that, that'd mean a whole day of me not doin' the chores ah should be doin'."

"As if I never took a day away." Applejack thumped to the side against her sister. "Please. You've covered how many days while ah was off savin' the world an' whatnot?"

Joanamac considered Applejack's words and had to admit she had a point. With a small smile, she said, "Reckon yer right. Ain't like we never took time off afore. An' havin' Orchard Blossom around means the farm won't miss me too much for a day." 

She nudged Applejack playfully. "Maybe while I'm gone you can give Winona some extra belly rubs. She'd love that."

Applejack chuckled. "Now that's an idea I can get behind. That ol' girl deserves some pamperin'." 

Her expression turned serious for a moment. "But are ya sure about this thing with Fancy? I know he's a gentlepony an' all, but still..."

Joanamac nodded firmly. "I'm sure. He's always treated me right, even back when I was..." She trailed off, still getting used to referring to her old self.

"Back when you were you, just a different flavor," Applejack finished for her. "I get it. And I trust yer judgement." 

She gave Joanamac a playful shove. "Now get on with your chores afore I put ya to work in the south fields. I know how much ya hate pickin' in the prickle patches."

Joanamac stood up tall. "Actually, ah finished 'em afore ah went and got distracted. How's your side of the orchard lookin'?"

"All done." She gave a hoofs up. "Why ah wandered in the barn, an' found you bein'... busy in a different way." Her brows flattened. "Now... some part ah me thinks ya might be misunderstandin' me. Ah didn't mean you two gettin' 'long. Ya already know what pony he is. Yer his plus one as Orchard Blossom, ain'tcha?"

"Y-yeah." Joanamac reared up on a fence, leaning on it with her belly. "What of it?"

Applejack joined her, leaning on the fence next to Joanamac. "So, hate to bring this up, but when a stallion and a mare love each other very very much..."

Joanamac colored across her face quickly. "Ah know how foals are made!"

"Do ya?" Applejack adjusted her hat, tilting it across her eyes. "Then are ya tryin' to make one, or just not thinkin' 'bout it?"

Joanamac's eyes widened as Applejack's implication sunk in. She hadn't even considered the possibility of getting pregnant from her encounter with Fancy.

"I...I wasn't thinkin' about that at all," she admitted, cheeks flaming red. "Just got caught up in the moment is all."

Applejack nodded sympathetically. "I figured as much. And there ain't no shame in it - you're explorin' this new side of yourself. But you gotta be smart about it too."

She put a gentle hoof on Joanamac's shoulder. "I know you love Fancy, and he clearly cares a great deal about you too. But a foal is a big responsibility, and not somethin' to just stumble into. You should talk with him, make sure you're on the same page."  

Joanamac took a deep breath, letting it out slowly. "Yer right. I wasn't usin' my head. Ah'd need to talk to Sugar Belle too! We're the couple... Any foal ah went and suddenly had would be both of our problem, er, issue, er... It'd involve us both!" She stomped a hoof, sliding down from the fence to do so. "Shoot... ah really messed  up. What if a foal does happen?" Worry was building by the moment.

"How do ah even get them out of there?" Joanamac pointed to her posterior. "The door leadin' out's a bit cramped... Ah really didn't think this through. Ah didn't think at all." She pressed a hoof against either of her temples. "Jus' did what felt good... What am ah, an animal?! Jus' some critter?"

"Easy easy." Applejack patted her clearly upset sister. "Odds are, nothin' happened. We pony aren't that fertile, fer good or bad... Y'ain't in yer season, are ya?" She sniffed, not that she had any hope of telling much besides the fact that Joanamac had enjoyed herself recently. "Are ya?"

Joanamac sank to her haunches. "How do ya tell?"

Applejack blinked at her new sister. "Wait... Ya... 'Course ya don't know!" She threw her hat to the ground suddenly. "Of course not! Ya haven't been a mare fer long. Ya don't know what half the things ya feel are... This may be the body ya wanted, an' welcome to it, but ya don't got a dang clue what's goin' on in it. Y'ain't been taught, and yer barely just startin' to feel any of it."

Joanamac hung her head, cheeks burning with embarrassment. Applejack was right - this was all still so new to her. "I'm sorry," she mumbled. "I shoulda been more responsible. I just got caught up in everything."

Applejack tilted her chin up gently. "Hey now, no need for apologies. Ain't nopony's fault, just is what it is. But we can fix it."

She retrieved her hat and plopped it back on her head. "First thing's first, we gotta get ya educated. Bein' a mare's more complicated than just havin' the parts. There's cycles and such to understand."

Joanamac perked up a little. "You'll teach me?"

"Of course!" Applejack thumped her chest proudly. "May not be an expert, but I reckon I know my way around bein' a mare well enough. We'll cover the basics, get you on steady hooves."

She cocked a brow and grinned. "Then we'll have a little talk with Fancy and Sugar Belle, set some ground rules. Ain't no harm in havin' fun, but everypony's gotta be on the same page." 

Joanamac smiled, tension draining away. "Thanks, sis. Don't know what I'd do without you." 

"Hey, that's what family's for." Applejack pulled her into a one-armed hug. "We got this. Just take it one step at a time."

The two walked to the house, looking sure of their part in things again. "One thing."

Joanamac perked an ear. "What's that?"

Applejack bumped against her. "You should check in with Twi and Starlight. Bring up this... Don't gotta go into no specifics, but check with 'em, ask 'em what you should do, if things go down that road. Don't want you gettin' hurt, or no foal neither, for that matter."

"Yeah... Yeah, good idea." Joanamac rubbed at her cheek. "Nopony ever told me bein' a mare had so many ways... It's more complicated than ah gave credit for."

Applejack swatted at Joanamac with her hat. "Ya dan' fool." Her tone didn't sound angry. "Ya been one, um, as Orchard Blossom, and ya didn't even notice some of it? What..." She colored sharply. "Has she also been enjoyin' Fancy? She may be facin' the same issue dependin' on things. Ah'd bare that in mind... 'Least she has less, uh, complications. But bein' a mom's plenty of complications all on its own."

Joanamac looked up towards the distant city of Canterlot. What future had she signed herself for without even thinking about it?
> 78 - Considering Possibilities
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

"Thank you for trusting me." Twilight smiled, her floating quill scribbling in her equally floating pad. "Though I usually see JoanaMac, not..."

Orchard Blossom perked her ears. "Hey, good on ya. Got the name right on the first try."

Twilight laughed nervously at that. "Barb's been good practice. Now, how can I help a fellow princess? Have you been adjusting well to your responsibilities?"

Orchard tapped her hooves together. She was seated at the friendship map, close to Twilight. It was night, as it tended to be when she was up and about. "That ain't been a problem. Ah'm the princess of law enforcement." She smiled with a fond expression. "An' ah kinda like it. Nope, no problems there. Uh, there is this one mare that's out fer me, but she's mostly harmless."

Twilight leaned in, the scribbling picking up pace. "Did you want to talk about that?"

"Actually, no." Orchard Blossom pointed down to her haunches. "Much more personal than that."

Twilight inclined her head slowly. "I... don't understand? Please, expand on that?"

Orchard chuffed softly. Being subtle about that with Twilight felt like a losing route. "Ya helped Big Mac. She's a she, but still a little he, remember?"

"Oh, yes." Her eyes wandered over Ochard Blossom. They were entirely female, so far Twilight knew? "Is something wrong with that? Why didn't she come? I would have talked to them."

"Ah know ya woulda." Orchard's walkie talkie crackled with a faint voice, but she ignored that. "Ponyville." She chuckled softly. "Not 'xpecting much there. Um, but back to the point. We're both active mares. We, uh... done things... with a stallion..." She rubbed at her cheek awkwardly. "Ya know the kind."

"Do I?" Twilight looked to her notes as if the answer were lurking there. It must have been, seeing as she seemed to arrive at an answer. "Oh! Oh... Um..." She rubbed behind her head slowly. "Good?"

"No complaints." Orchard rubbed her hooves slowly. "Ain't here to gloat. Um, but doin' that kinda thin' can have... consequences." She pointed at Twilight. "Was hopin' you could give some advice, fer Joana. If she ends up with a foal in her, can she get it back out again? Or is she settin' herself up for a whole world ah pain? How's that gonna work?"

"I see...." Twilight made a fresh scribble. "Now it's making sense. On one hoof, I'm glad to hear Joana is settling into her new physical sexuality comfortably." She inclined her head in a sharp twist. "On the other, she rushed and did it before I ever got around to it." There was a bitter edge to that statement as she muttered, setting her notes aside a moment. "Not that I entirely understand the appeal." She raised a hoof to cough into it. "Putting that aside! Let's stick to the pure anatomy of the problem."

Orchard Blossom sighed, ears drooping. "Shoot, ah didn't even think 'bout how this could happen...too busy enjoyin' mahself." She scuffed a hoof against the floor. "Gotta take more responsibility. Ain't fair stickin' you with my mess."

Twilight gave her a sympathetic smile. "It's alright. I'm glad you came to me." She levitated a large book over, flipping through it. "Pregnancy will be risky, but not impossible. My main concern would be getting the foal out safely. Even with magic, it will be very tricky."

Orchard winced. "Don't that beat all. Maybe we shoulda left that part...well, can't change it now."

"There are options." Twilight turned a page. "We could try an infertility spell. It's not permanent, but it would give you time to think things over."

Orchard's ears perked up. "That could work! What's the catch?"

"It's powerful magic that can have side effects," Twilight cautioned. "I'd have to modify it for your unique situation. But I think I can make it safe."

Orchard stomped a hoof. "Better than no plan at all! Let's try it."

Twilight nodded. "I'll need to examine you first, to understand your anatomy. We'll go slow and you can stop any time. First, take deep breaths..."

Her horn glowed as she began gently probing with her magic. Orchard tensed, then relaxed as Twilight murmured reassurances... Twilight nodded with building confidence. "I was being overly cautious. Your network is entirely standard, for a female. It's the male side that carries complications."

She coughed, no hoof there to catch it. "This brings... up a question, if you don't mind? Did you... You had relations with a pony, as a female. Did you... male side react? Are you impotent, or just sterile?"

Orchard blinked, but also realized something. "Twi."

"Hm?"

Orchard pointed to herself. "Ah ain't Joanamac. Y'ain't gonna learn much lookin' me over. Ah wanted to talk. Ah can send Joanamac over later."

"Oh! Right, yes." Twilight gave a delirious laugh, rubbing at the side of her head. "You two are so related, I forgot... Forgive me, Ha... yes..." Her horn went out. "Now... If you want the spell done, it would be a simple task. I could even show it to you. You are a unicorn, at least in part. Magic is something you can do."

Orchard Blossom nodded slowly. "A spell could be good to know. But I ain't the one needin' it."

She scuffed a hoof on the floor. "Feel bad about all this. Like I made a big mess and now Joanamac's gotta clean it up."

Twilight put a reassuring hoof on her shoulder. "You didn't mean any harm. And you're doing the responsible thing by asking for help."

Orchard gave a small smile. "Still, I wanna make sure Joanamac's looked after proper."

She squared her shoulders. "When y'all examine her, tell her I got her back. We'll get through this together, as Apples do."

Twilight smiled back. "I'll pass that along. And the infertility spell isn't permanent - it just buys time."

She floated a book over. "Here, I can show you the basics. That way you'll understand what's involved."

Orchard's horn lit up as she peered at the pages. "Huh, ain't so bad. Almost looks fun, like bakin' a pie!"

The two unicorns chuckled together. Orchard's smile faded. "Wish we could have this talk direct. It's... a shame, havin' the rest ah mah family sleepin' while ah'm awake."

Twilight nodded sympathetically. "I can only imagine. But know you're not alone."

Orchard stood taller and grinned. "Yer right. Got a whole family watchin' my back, even if they feel so far away. That counts for a lot. Now, um... Thanks fer the spell. Ah didn't think learnin' one would be so simple..."

"That one, thankfully, is a simple one. A great spell for a beginner, and often taught to budding young mare unicorns as both an educational tool for magic crafting and a way for them to avoid trouble until they're ready." She wobbled a hoof. "Once a moon, cast this, and it stops being an issue. Fairly safe, as these things go. I... actually never really cast it that often. I don't engage in the sort of activities that would benefit from it."

She picked up her pad in her magic, scribbling anew. "Speaking of that, my question? How functional is Joanamac's male anatomy?"

"Oh, um." Orchard rubbed at her chin with the flat of a hoof. "She was mighty distracted at the time... but, um... It all felt... great." That much she was sure of. "Um, it all worked..."

"Did she ejaculate?"

The clinical way it was asked set Orchard back. "Huh?"

"Did she? Was there a release?" Twilight rolled a hoof, quill dancing in the air, ready to note the answer.

"Well..." Orchard focused on that moment, the peak of everything. "Y-yeah, Yeah. She did. Why?"

"Fascinating." Twilight dutifully took note of that fact. "Having had male experiences, would you say it was greater, smaller, or fairly equivalent to your past circumstances?"

"She weren't focused on that!" Orchard was a dark hue, squirming in place. "Um... Ah... Ah... wanna say smaller? She really wasn't paying it no mind..."

"Logical." Twilight made a fresh note. "Your--her system is female. It is not designed to build up nearly enough magic in the right place to perform that task as well. I'm surprised she managed it at all, though the odds of that succeeding at the task are vanishingly tiny. You'd have more luck successfully reproducing as a mare under the effects of the spell."

That brought a new question. "Wait. So there is a chance, even with the spell?"

"There exists exactly one way to be sure with that." Twilight leaned forward. "I've been practicing it. If a mare and a stallion never do 'that', then there is a 0% chance of a foal. If they do that, then there is not a 0% chance. The spell reduces it, quite severely, but saying there's no chance would be overselling it."

Orchard Blossom blushed, scuffing a hoof on the floor. "Right, guess that makes sense. Ain't no guarantees 'cept stayin' far apart." She squared her shoulders. "But I trust Joanamac. However she wants to handle this, I got her back. Um, best ah can, bein' a day apart."

Twilight smiled. "You're a good sister. And there's no shame in being intimate, as long as everypony is on the same page." She levitated a book over. "Here, I have some resources you both should look at. They explain pregnancy risks, fertility spells, and options if it does occur."

Orchard's horn lit up as she paged through. "Thanks Twi, this'll help a heap. We'll study up and figure things out." She rolled up the books. "And if anypony can untangle this knot, it's you and Starlight." Orchard waved a hoof. "Speakin' of which, mind if I send Joanamac by tomorrow? Sure she'll have questions of her own."

Twilight nodded. "I'll be ready for her. In the meantime, try not to worry too much. But, yes, do send her over. I still need to examine her."

Orchard smiled with a nod. "Thanks though... Um! Wait, one more thin'... Ah shouldn't have no problems, right?" She tossed her head towards her own back end. "Ah'm jus' a mare. Um, bein' a princess don't complicate nothin', does it?"

"It shouldn't." Twilight made fresh notes. "Cadance managed without difficulties or complications. Still, if you wanted, talking to her about that would yield the best results. She has first hoof experience, afterall." She pressed her hooves together. "Just one thing. Are you certain you're prepared to do this twice at the same time? I know you've decided to seperate Big Mac from Orchard Blossom... But it'd still be you, either of you, dealing with this at all times of the day. Something to consider."

"Ah'll think 'bout it, promise, and thanks!" Orchard vanished without a sound, as if an editing error had just casually removed her from there, at least until the air around where she had been rushed to occupy that space.

Twilight glanced at the pile of books and her own notes. "What a fascinating medical puzzle. I can't wait to research this further!"





Orchard appeared with the pop of displaced air. She put down her new book of fertility magic and tips. "Now wait a moment..." She flipped through it anew. "There's spells fer one way, what about..." Yep, there it was. There were spells to make a mare even more prepared. There were spells for use on stallions too, both diminishing and increasing. The book was thorough in family planning. Whether one really wanted a foal or really didn't want one, the spells and techniques were laid out to help sway the odds in one's favor.

"Wow..." She clopped a hoof to her cheek, skimming over the dense advice and arcane notes. Her cheeks colored, imagining casting some of those spells on Fancy Pants. But which one?

A new thought popped in her head. "Ah might be bein' silly..." The male fertility reduction was just as simple as the female one, easier even. It was barely a spell, being so simple. Maybe Fancy already knew it. Maybe he had already been using it, for both of them.

Maybe she had been worrying over nothing!
> 79 - A Sweet Proposal
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

"It's past due." Sugar Belle bounced a little on the wooden chair, smiling at Granny Smith. "But I wanted your permission."

Granny considered the perky unicorn that could become her daughter. "Ah 'ppreciate you stoppin' by me. Ah know some ponies yer age wouldn't have thoughta that. Their head in the clouds, their plus one's all their thinkin' 'bout."

Sugar colored a little. "Well, I am thinking of her. And I like what I'm thinking of." She tapped her hooves lightly together. "We've been through things, recently... And it made me realize there isn't a better time than now."

Granny leaned in over the table. "That so? No arguin'... But marriage is a ferever thin'. You sure you're ready?"

"Yes." Sugar clopped a hoof down, features set in determination. "Granny Smith, may I have your granddaughter?"

Granny burst into laughter. "That phrasin'! Silly things... Ah ain't gonna get in yer way none. You two clearly love each other very much..." She raised a hoof to cough into. "Now, if ya don't mind... ah got a question."

"Yeah?" Sugar inclined her head. "What?"

"Which of ya will be the mother?" She waved at Sugar and the theoretical Joanamac.

Sugar went dark quickly. "Well, me? I sure can't be the father." She waved over herself. "All mare, and happy with that, thank you." She sat up taller. "So, if any foals are in the future, it'll have to be Joanamac. She... could do that. If she wants, but that's for us to decide."

"And not me, ah get it." Granny waved her away. "Be that way, keep your secrets. But if there's a great grandfoal, I want to see 'em!"

She reached across the table to pat Sugar's hoof reassuringly. "I can see how much ya care for each other, and that's what matters. You have my blessin', and I know Joanamac'll be over the moon when ya pop the question."

Sugar's nerves settled at the grandmotherly affection. "Thank you, Granny. Your support means the world to us both." A thought occurred that made her smile slyly. "You know, you may want to warn Applejack she could have competition for 'Best Auntie' soon..."

Granny let out a hearty guffaw. "Now that'll get her feathers ruffled for sure! But she'll love every minute of it, mark my words." Her smile softened. "You're already part of the family, Sugar Belle. However ya decide to grow it, we got yer back."

Sugar had to blink sudden moisture from her eyes. This was everything she had hoped for when she came.

"I promise I'll take good care of Joanamac," she vowed. "You've raised a wonderful pony in her."

Granny patted her hoof again with a wink. "I have a feelin' you two are gonna take right fine care of each other."

Sugar Belle circled the table to hug Granny tight, getting a one-armed return before she trotted to the stairs and up them, giggling a bit foalishly along the way.

"Huh." Granny watched her go. "Didn't think she meant right now..." But she wasn't complaining.

Sugar went right up to Joanamac's door and inside without even knocking. She wasn't scared. Closing the door with another giggle, she picked a good spot to sit and wait. There wasn't anypony else there, and she knew that ahead of time. Joanamac had work to do, not time to loaf around.

Sugar Belle eagerly awaited Joanamac's return, planning out in her mind how she would propose. Though she was confident Joanamac would say yes, she still wanted the moment to be perfect.

As the minutes ticked by, Sugar Belle passed the time examining the simple, cozy room. It was easy to picture a young Big Macintosh growing up here - the lived-in furniture, posters on the wall, a well-loved teddy bear tucked into the corner. Though the room's occupant had changed, that warm, nostalgic feel remained.

At last, hoofsteps approached and the door opened. "Sugar Belle? What are ya doin' here?" Joanamac asked in happy surprise.

Sugar turned, heart overflowing at the sight of her love. "I wanted to ask you something important..." she began. "Something between the two of us." All of her bravery felt like it was falling apart suddenly. "It's, um..." She nervously paced in place, words failing it. "We've been..."

Joanamac closed the door with a soft click. "Whatever it is, ah'm here for it." She smiled at Sugar brightly. "Always and forever."

"Y-yes! Exactly, yes...." She curled on herself and willed a felt box to float into the air. "Exactly." Joanamac's eyes were glued on the sudden box Sugar was bringing closer in her magic. "Joanamac, Biggest, most wonderful, Mac I know... Will you take this?"

Joanamac crashed to her haunches, eyes wide and jaw going slack as the box just kept right on coming, shimmering with Sugar's magic. "Is that... what ah think it is?"

Sugar Belle took a firm grip of the box in her magic, making the motion with a hoof as the box popped open, revealing the ring inside. "I know you've been through some changes, but I'm still with you. I want to always be with you. Wherever you land, I'll be beside you."

"Sugar..." Joanamac sniffed loudly, tears coming without being asked. "Sugar..." She pounced forward, knocking the ring aside. Hugging Sugar Belle felt so much more important. Well, that and crying into her fur as Joanamac hugged her tight. "Sugar Belle!"

Sugar returned the hug with a little laugh. "Hon... as lovely as this is... You didn't answer the question."

Joanamac tried to sit back, but hugging Sugar Belle felt way too important at that moment. "Y-yeah, 'course... As if ah'd say no!" She buried her snout into Sugar's neck. "Yes! Yes! A thousand yesses!"

Sugar Belle pat the back of her joyfully sobbing girlfriend who had just become her betrothed.

Joanamac and Sugar Belle shared an emotional embrace, tears of joy flowing freely. In that moment, nothing else mattered but their love and the new future they would build together.

When the initial wave of emotion calmed, Sugar gently took Joanamac's hoof as her magic brought the ring to Joanamac's chest. She pulled out the chain that went through the ring to wrap around Big Mac's neck, allowing the ring to dangle there.

"I know there will be challenges ahead," Sugar said, meeting her fiancée's eyes. "But I meant what I said - wherever you are, that's where I want to be. We're in this for the long haul."

Joanamac kissed her tenderly. "I never imagined I could be this happy. Havin' you by my side means everything."

Resting their foreheads together, the newly engaged couple simply enjoyed being close. There would be much to discuss about their future, from wedding plans to the possibility of foals. But for that moment, they were content to bask in this moment and the strength of their bond. Their love had already overcome so much; they were ready to take the next step hoof-in-hoof.





"Howdy, sister."

Sugar blinked at that greeting. "Howdy, AJ." She nodded at the apple farmer, as all the ponies in that house were, beside herself at least. "You don't usually call me that."

"You weren't that, until jus' a moment ago." Applejack pointed to the closed door to Joanamac's room. "Seems, ah'm pickin' up sisters left an' right lately!"

Sugar laughed gently, closing with Applejack. "Well, you're a plenty fine sister to have." She offered an arm, hoof waggling.

AJ accepted it, hugging Sugar gently. "Now, may be gettin' 'head a things... But does this mean you'll be movin' onto the farm?"

Sugar Belle blushed as Applejack brought up her potentially moving to Sweet Apple Acres. "Oh gosh, Joanamac and I haven't discussed details yet. With the excitement of the engagement, I sorta forgot about the logistics!"

She scuffed a hoof awkwardly against the floorboards. "I suppose it makes sense for me to move here, since the farm is so important to your family..."

Applejack gave her a reassuring nudge. "Now don't go decidin' anything just yet. Ain't no rush."

She smiled slyly. " 'Sides, maybe Joanamac will wanna try small town life up in yer town for a spell. She's always been here - might do her good to spread her wings a bit."

Sugar nodded thoughtfully. "That's a good point... I'd miss my little store, and the town doesn't have any other bakers... But you need her. The whole family needs her. we should look at it from all angles." She tapped at her chin, thinking it through with a frown of concentration.

Applejack chuckled. "However ya slice it, we'll make it work. You're part of the family now, and family sticks together."

Sugar impulsively pulled AJ into another hug. "You Apples really are the best. I'm so happy to be joining you."

Applejack returned the embrace warmly. "And we're happy to have ya. Now c'mon, let's see if Granny's got any celebratory pie baking..."

"She said yes?!" A little form dropped onto Sugar's back as she tried to go down the stairs. "You said yes?! Everypony said yes?!" Apple Bloom's hooves were shaking with excitement. "Ah wish ah coulda seen it!"

Sugar took hold of the excited filly in her magic and brought Apple Bloom around for a little hug. "She said yes, and I did too." She winked at Apple Bloom. "Technically, I said that just by asking. It'd be a mighty strange day when somepony proposes, just to change their mind after getting a yes."

Apple Bloom giggled at the thought. "Wouldn't that be funny! Jus' 'magine it. 'Well, now that you said yes, ah could think it through properly. This ain't a good idea!'" She snickered as she finished the imagined scenario. "Glad that didn't happen. Now ah got a new sister!" She grabbed Sugar Belle, practically dangling from her in as tight a squeeze as she could manage.

Sugar Belle grinned and returned Apple Bloom's enthusiastic hug. "I'm so happy to officially join the family!"

She used her magic to lift the filly and give her an affectionate nuzzle. "Now, we were going to see what Granny had ready for us."

Apple Bloom cheered and kicked her little legs gleefully. "This is amazin'! We gotta start plannin' the weddin' party, an' your dress, an' the cake!"

She gasped, eyes going wide. "Can I be the flower filly?! I've always wanted to toss petals!"

Sugar chuckled at her eagerness. "Of course you can! We'll make sure you have a very special role."

Just then, Joanamac came down the stairs and lit up seeing the two important mares in her life bonding. Sugar set Apple Bloom down to go embrace her fiancée.

Granny cleared her throat. "Look at y'all." All eyes turned towards her grave expression. "Goin' on like that..." She leveled a hoof at Sugar Belle. "Y'ain't their sister, not yet. Ain't my daughter either." She smirked ruefully. "Ya see, that's what a weddin's fer."

Joanamac laughed on the way towards the kitchen. "Don't go scarin' us like that. Like we don't know what a weddin's fer!"

Granny thrust a hoof out, blocking  Joanamac's way. "There's somethin' important. A precious place ah've been... It's long past due ah brought ya there. Bring yer girl with ya. It involves ya both." She slid to the ground and got to walking out the door. She didn't stop until she arrived at a tree, two trees, intertwined together in the form of a heart. 

"There's a long story behind this tree." She gestured at it. "But the short of it is that yer parents, rest their souls, planted them together. It's a symbol of their undying love, and the merging of their families..." She turned to the two betrothed ponies. "An' ah couldn't think of much a finer place or way to continue that tradition."

Joanamac and Applejack gaped at the tree. It had always been there, a curious thing. But, suddenly, a reason behind it. Applejack set a hoof on Jaoanamac's shoulder. "Yer choice, but, um, sounds... good?"

"Sounds more than good." Joanamac smiled at the entwined trees. "It's like them here, givin' their blessin' to us. Thank ya, Granny. Yer the best." It was a fine time for a hug, and she grabbed Granny up for it. "Time to plan a weddin'!"
> 80 - Endings and Starts
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

The wedding was full of joyful tears and happy faces. Mayor Mare officiated the wedding, and half the ponies of the town, and even some from beyond it, attended. Mayor Mare officially tied the two mares together under that special tree. Equestria was a kinder place to such things, and few were the complaints of what Big Mac had been compared to what Big Mac had become.

They had found themselves, and love, and both were reasons to celebrate.

"Congratulations." Barb fired an emphatic thumbs up at Joanamac. "Think I'll find somecreature?"

Joanamac inclined her head. "Well, first question." She directed a hoof at Barb. "Do you want to find a special somecreature? Ain't gotta."

"No... don't have to." Barb frowned with proper thought on the matter. "But I wouldn't mind a little romance..." She colored as the thoughts went. "I miss being able to be all kissy face with Rarity, even if she never did it back..."

Joana ruffled Barb's head. "Then ya will. Ah feel confident."

Elsewhere, Sugar Belle introduced herself to everypony all over again. She wasn't just some visitor, she was part of the community. That was official with the wedding done. She was an Apple, and maybe eventual resident? That was still undetermined for the long haul. "I'm thinking about it," she demured with the latest pony to ask. "I think I might..."

"I say." Fancy Pants stood there, a small plate floating in his magic near him. "This is quite the lovely ceremony."

Joanamac smiled awkwardly. "Yeah, came out good."

"Very good." Fancy nodded. "And good to see you two properly bonded, now... Would it be improper to ask you--"

Joanamac shoved a hoof against Fancy's lips. "Don't finish that!" She held still until Fancy looked like they were ready to stop for the moment. "You ask her. You don't go askin' me. That ain't right. Don't take that from her."

Fancy chuckled softly. "But she will know I tried to ask you, will she not?"

Joanamac flashed a big smile. "So you better ask quick, or she may go insane waitin' for ya. "

The two shared a little laugh, each confident in the matter in their own way.

The reception was in full swing, ponies mingling and dancing joyously. Joanamac smiled watching Sugar Belle laugh with her friends. After everything they had endured, this happiness was well-deserved.

Applejack sidled up next to her sibling, playfully bumping their hips. "Not too late to make a break for it," she teased.

Joanamac chuckled. "And miss all this? Not a chance."

Applejack's expression grew serious. "You know we're all here for you. Both of you. This family's got your back, come what may."

Joanamac pulled her into a one-armed hug. "I know. Couldn't ask for better."

Across the way, Fluttershy was talking earnestly with Sugar Belle. "...so proud of you two! I'm sure you'll be very happy together."

"Thanks, Fluttershy." Sugar smiled warmly. "I feel like I'm living in a dream I don't want to wake up from."

Fluttershy giggled. "Oh, you're sweet. But remember, even good dreams have hard parts. The key is sticking together."

Sugar nodded. "Don't worry - we aren't going into this blind. But with my wife and our family beside us, I know we can weather any storm."

Fluttershy gave her a congratulatory nuzzle. Nearby, Pinkie was organizing party games with infectious enthusiasm. Rainbow Dash cheered the dancing couples while chugging cider.

It was a fine wedding, but weddings were barely the start, and not even that. Things had happened before, and things would follow. Still, as bookmarks went, it was a lovely one.





Orchard Blossom straightened her outfit. It was time for another day, er, night of work! But who was that knocking at her door with a gentle clop clop? "It's not locked," she called, turning to the door as it opened.

Fancy entered with his butler and a maid behind him. Orchard had met both before. "Ah, I caught you before you ran off. May I have a moment of your time." Fancy stood at rigid attention, his servants behind him. "I have a matter of utmost priority to discuss."

Orchard pinned an ear back. "That sounds real serious..."

Orchard Blossom regarded Fancy Pants curiously as he stood rigidly before her. His formal attire and the presence of his staff hinted this was no casual visit.

"Of course, I'm happy to talk," she said. "What's on yer mind?"

Fancy took a deep breath before speaking. "My dear Orchard, since the moment I met you, I have been enchanted by your kindness, integrity and strength."

He stepped closer, gazing into her eyes. "You fill my days with joy and give me hope that together we can build a future filled with love and meaning."

At a subtle nod from Fancy, his butler approached bearing a velvet box. Fancy carefully lifted out an exquisite diamond ring.

"Orchard Blossom, would you do me the profound honor of becoming my wife?"

Orchard's eyes misted over, joy welling up within her. "Oh Fancy...yes! A thousand times yes!"

She threw her forelegs around him in a warm embrace. As they held each other close, the staff discreetly excused themselves to give the couple privacy.

Eventually Orchard drew back, eyes shining. "I can't wait to start our lives together."

Fancy gently slid the ring onto her horn. "My darling, this is a dream come true." He kissed her tenderly. "I swear I will dedicate myself to your happiness."

Orchard nuzzled him affectionately. Though challenges awaited, in this perfect moment all she felt was love and promise. "Ya know," she whispered consiprationally. "Ah knew you were comin'... Ah couldn't wait..." She squeezed him close. "Ah'm so happy right now..."

She reached a hoof for her radio. "This is Orchard Blossom. Officer down. Proposal received."

A brief hiss of static issued forth before the operator replied, "Copy that. Send Fancy Pants our due congratulations. Say, which police force are you inviting to the big day? No way you can fit us all in any one place."

Orchard wobbled with the thought of so many officers. "That'd not be a good idea anyway. Somepony has to keep an' eye on things! We'll, uh, plan that out as the day gets closer. Orchard out." She tossed the receiver aside, that handled. "Whattaya think?"

Fancy chuckled warmly at Orchard's radio announcement. "I should have expected nothing less from my intrepid bride-to-be."

He gently stroked her cheek. "As for the wedding, might I suggest a small, intimate affair? Just close friends and family. We can have a celebration later with your colleagues, but I want the ceremony to be focused on what matters most - our love."

Orchard nodded, touched by his thoughtfulness. "That sounds perfect, darlin'. The only ponies I truly need there are standin' right here."

She kissed him tenderly. As she drew back, a sly smile spread across her face. "Course, that don't mean we'll skimp on the caterin'. Apple family receptions are the stuff o' legend!"

Fancy laughed merrily. "Say no more! I would expect nothing less." His expression turned serious. "Which reminds me...have you considered where we shall live after the wedding?"

Orchard's ears danced atop her head. "Oh, um. Well." She waved around her apartment. "No insults on this place, but ah got no attachments to it... if yer invitin'..."

"I am."

"Then..." Orchard shuffled a moment before her smile returned. "Ah accept. Ah'll be movin' in with you. Uh, not like it matters much in the end."

"I disagree." Fancy poked Orchard gently. "My lovely mare, I wish to know we share a bed. It means a lot, even if you could teleport across the world at any instant. We are of one home."

Orchard's heart swelled at Fancy's words. "You're absolutely right, darlin'. Wakin' up beside you each mornin' means more than any magic."

She nuzzled him tenderly. "I can't wait to make a home together. Just promise me one thing..." A playful smile teased her lips. "That we'll get a nice big bed fit for a princess and her prince."

Fancy let out a rich laugh. "My dear, nothing but the finest for you." His tone grew earnest. "In all seriousness, I want our home to be someplace you feel cherished and free to be yourself."

Orchard planted a kiss on his cheek. "With you, I already feel more myself than ever."

Her smile turned impish. "Speakin' of which, fair warnin' - ya may find yer kitchen reorganized if ya don't lock it down. And the linen closet. And the study..."

Fancy silenced her teasing with a kiss. "Rearrange to your heart's content, love. As long as at day's end I can hold you close, that's all I need." He elbowed Orchard lightly. "No offense, but you haven't done much here." It was a small apartment, a studio at best. There weren't many things about it that screamed Orchard. "Why are you so interested now?"

"Ah told you." She touched her nose to his cheek. "Ah didn't think about it much. If ah'm livin' with you, got plenty of reasons to think 'bout it, so ah'm gonna... It's our home, instead of jus' a place I pass out. There's a mighty big difference there."

"Hm." He curled a hoof to his chin. "Well put. A home should be more than where we park ourselves at night." He kissed Orchard, a real one, lips to lips.

In that tender exchange, his servants snuck back in. Both were clapping as the kiss ended. They were part of the family too, in their own way.

Orchard blushed as Fancy's staff applauded their kiss. But she smiled brightly, accepting their joyful congratulations.

"Thank y'all so much," she said warmly. "I'm so honored to be joinin' this little family."

The butler dipped his head. "The honor is ours, ma'am. Never have I seen the master so happy."

The maid winked. "We'll have the estate spotless for your arrival, miss."

Fancy cleared his throat, though his eyes shone with mirth. "Yes, well, we'll leave the domestic arrangements to you." He took Orchard's hoof. "For now, my bride and I have a wedding to plan."

Orchard planted one more kiss on his cheek before heading for the door. "Let's go tell my family the good news!" She glanced back, love swelling in her heart for her husband-to-be and their growing circle.

With a spring in her step, she set off, Fancy keeping pace beside her. The future brimmed with promise and she couldn't wait to share it with those she held most dear.





The mare tossed a dart with a throw of her hoof, sending it right into the forehead of the picture of Orchard Blossom. "You think getting married will get rid of me? I think not." She chortled with dark intentions. "This wicked system's going to get the shake up it deserves... That I deserve!"

She broke into wild laughter, getting thumps from the several walls and a roof from annoyed neighbors. "Sorry, sorry, fine." She grunted. "I swear, apartments are not very suited for social activists at times..." She let out a small sigh, but it turned into a scowl, facing the picture of Orchard Blossom. "We're not done! Don't think this is the ending." She slammed a hoof against the picture.

"I will get you to admit this whole thing is rotten. Stopping crime isn't enough, or rescuing kittens from trees. No no no..." She slid her hoof back to the ground. "We're barely getting started."

She broke into renewed laughter, though it was much quieter, lest she get complained at again by her neighbors. She lived in a society. She would see that society improved.

That was the whole point, right?