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.

Author's Note

So, which is it? Which does she say?!

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