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.

Author's Note

The story, it continues! What's going on with Big Mac/Orchard Blossom? Want me to slow down for a bit? Lemme know!

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