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!"

Author's Note

Ugh, I felt things in this chapter.

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