"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."

Author's Note

And so she steps free of that closet, blinking at the light.

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