"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.

Author's Note

We finish the story of the mare with two lives, and it didn't end well. But she isn't Big Mac, now is she? How would the table call for either Big Mac or Orchard Blossom?

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