Big Mac sat up with a slow yawn, but it became a smile a moment later. "Ah..." She slid to the floor with a clop of her new hooves. "Ah..." She rushed down the stairs into the dining room. "Ah remember!"

Granny Smith looked behind her from the kitchen. "That's nice... What are ya rememberin'?"

Joanamac grabbed Applejack instead in a firm hug before going to answer Granny. "Ah remember Blossom. Ah remember everythin' she did last night. It's workin' 'gain! Ah... Ah guess..." She curled a hoof to her chin. "That means ah'm not all scrambled no more."

Granny Smith nudged a big serving platter of food to bring towards the dining room. "Funny thing, that. Havin' two lives is less scrambled now?" She slid the platter off herself to where ponies could reach it. "But ah am happy to hear it. How ya feelin'?"

"Yeah, that's the important part." Applejack speared some eggs and got to chewing. "How're ya feelin'?"

"New... Better." She nodded, going through it even as she said it. "Good! Ah'm still Big Mac, just feel better about who Big Mac is, ya know? Speakin' ah that, Joanamac's gonna get all the work Big Mac'd do, so let's eat up so we can get to it!"

"Mornin'!" Apple Bloom hurried to her spot at the table, eagerly devouring her share. "Mmm, good! Thanks!" She paused, as if taking in Joanamac for the first time of the day. "Hey, Big Mac! How're ya feelin'? Better?"

Big Mac reached to gently muss the top of Apple Bloom. "Way better," she assured with a sincere smile. "Way better. Thanks, for bein' there fer me. Yer a mature little filly, but that was still... a lot... Ya really came through fer me, so, uh... thanks?"

Apple Bloom nuzzled the ruffling hoof. "Ain't no than'! What kinda sister would ah be if ah wasn't helpin' out mah sister?" She clopped her hooves with a giggle. "Which ah got two of now. Oh, wait..." She frowned with fresh thought. "Which of ya do I run with at the social now? Ain't never had two options afore..."

Applejack inclined an ear. "Huh, true... But, ah'll bow out to Big Mac, next time. She deserves a shot when she ain't tryin' to fool ponies." She snickered softly in memory. "Though ah'm told ya fooled 'bout nopony at all."

Joanamac colored at that memory. "Yeah... Not my proudest moment... But it was worth it, gettin' to spend time with you." She curled an arm around Apple Bloom, hugging firmly. "This time, we'll do it right!"

"Yeah!" Apple Bloom hopped to the floor. "But it's time to get to work. Later, let's practice a bit. Ah'll show ya how it's done."

"Ayup," thundered Joanamac with all the meaning of her old, quiet, self. "Go on to school." She waved as the filly dashed off to do that. "And ah'll get to farmin'. You want west or east side?"

Applejack tapped her chin. "I'll go fer east. Today should be mostly trimmin' and lookin'. No harvestin' or nothin' heavy like that."

"Ayup." Breakfast complete, Joanamac slid to her own hooves. "See ya out there." She strode from the house, ready for the day.

Granny took a bite of breakfast, in the least hurry of them all. "So... You look like yer thinkin'."

Applejack nodded at that. "Jus' amazed, is all. Apple Bloom really is just... acceptin' it, the whole thin'."

Granny chuckled softly. "Part of the wonders ah youth right there. Big Mac's still Big Mac, and still loves her. That's all she needed ta know! It's us 'dults that make it all complicated. Now..." She pointed at Applejack. "How're you feelin' 'bout it? Be honest, just the two of us left."

Applejack took a sip of some apple juice, a fine reason to delay an answer. "Well... It's a funny thin'. Still gettin' used to it... Most ponies are happy with what they are."

"Most." Granny leaned in. "You an' I are happy the way we're put together, though ah wouldn't say no to a few switcheroos if ah could."

Applejack blinked dumbly. "Wait, ya would!? What?!"

Granny pointed back at her hips. "These gave out on me, or did ya forget? Wouldn't mind a whole new set. While we're dreamin', just replace all of 'em! Ah right 'ppreciate the years ah experience, but I'd swap out the parts that ache and creak and not even think twice, given the choice. Can those unicorns do that?"

"Ah don't... think so?" Applejack inclined her head. "Now ah'm curious... Reckon they can't, or they'd..." She trailed off with a little frown. "Ya know, gonna take that back. They get a little distracted at times. Maybe ah should just ask and let 'em figure if they can or not instead ah guessin'."

"What ah was thinkin'." Granny saw Applejack off to start her day of labor. "Silly mare."

So she went to find out. Those unicorns had fixed things for her new sister. Maybe they could help an old pony not feel so old? She clopped lightly at the door to Twilight's castle. "Anypony home?"

The door opened, revealing not Twilight, but Starlight. Still a magic pony. "Hey! AJ!" She opened the door the rest of the way with a bright smile. "What brings you around?"

Applejack tipped her hat. "Howdy! Sorry, ain't much a social call, so much as a question ah had, if ya got a moment?"

"Alright." She paused a moment. "There, answered. That was easy." Starlight rolled her eyes. "Don't tell pinkie I told that joke. She would... have feelings. Most of them would involve giggles."

Applejack swatted at Starlight with her hat. "Ha Ha. The question's this: Can you or Twilight make an old pony young again? Either fer real or just makin' their old bones not act so old. Ya know?"

Starlight rolled a hoof. "Gonna be honest... If we could do that, especially permanently, why would Star Swirl not be a young pony in his prime?"

Applejack blinked at the retort. "Huh... Ya got a point there. On the other hoof, even if he is kinda old, he don't act it much. He gets around jus' fine, little ah saw of the stallion."

Starlight tapped her chin with a hoof. "Point... I'll ask Twilight to ask him. Maybe he has some kind of awesome cure to arthritis, or maybe he just never got it." She shrugged helplessly. "Some ponies just don't. Luck of the draw."

"She does." Applejack settled her hat back in place. "Please, check. If we could get that cured for her, would be powerful great. No slight on Big Mac, but ah'd rate this pretty high, so... if ya can?"

Starlight put a hoof on Applejack's shoulder. "You don't have to convince me. You're a good pony, caring for your grandma like that. I will check, promise. And helping Joanamac isn't going to slow us down!" She stood up tall. "I'm ready for at least another few big spells, promise! Don't count me out so fast."

"You're hardly an old pony." Applejack smiled at Starlight. "But don't overdo it neither. Heard unicorns ran themselves dry, back afore Celestia. You heard those tales?"

Starlight shuddered at the thought. "Ooof... Not many unicorns haven't... Can you..." She trailed, peering at Applejack. "Uh... Okay, this may be... May sound odd... But being a unicorn that can't use even basic magic? Ugh... the worst..." She shivered with renewed revulsion. "No thanks."

"Hey..." Applejack huffed. "Ah live without magic just fine."

"Right right." Starlight rolled a hoof. "So... imagine you kicked a tree, and no apples came down. And no apples ever would. No matter how much you tried, you just couldn't do it, ever again. Ever."

Applejack sank to her haunches with a haunted expression. "That would be bad... Alright! You done sold me. That ain't a fate nopony should have to suffer, so let's say a new thanks for Celestia."

Starlight turned to the city in the sky. "Thanks, Celly!" She waved at the sun pony that likely had no idea she was there, waving. "Keeping the rest of us safe. Good job. Now, about that arthritis, I'll check on it, promise. Expect me to stop by when I have an actual answer."

She waved as Applejack headed back into town. "Arcane research? Well, if you insist." She chuckled on the way into the castle, kicking the door shut behind herself.

"Who was that?" Barb emerged with a curious expression. "Sounded familiar."

"Applejack." Starlight tossed her head that way. "Shoulda come say hi."

"What was she looking for?" Barb closed, hands swaying at her sides. "Was it about Big Mac?"

"Nah." Starlight adopted a shaking form. "More about her granny," she finished with a fake old voice. "Was wondering if I could help her. I promised I'd check."

"Neat..." Barb frowned with thought, but it faded shortly. "Good luck with that." She clapped her hands together. "Granny deserves all the help we can give! If I can help, lemme know."

"I doubt dragon's blood is involved... But if it is, you'll be next to know." She took a moment to get a hug from Barb. "Thanks. Right now, time to read."

Barb cocked a brow. "Excuse me? You're going to study and you're just ignoring the #1 assistant, right here?!" She waved at herself grandly. "Twilight approved."

Starlight stopped at that. "Huh... You have a point, Barb. If you don't mind being my assistant a bit, I shouldn't say no to that. Come, assistant. We ride, to knowledge!"

With a triumphant cry, Barb followed Starlight on their journey into research.

With a heavy thump of her hooves to the tree, no apples fell free. The tree wasn't ready for harvesting, but Big Mac could feel a lot about the tree from the kick. "Hm." She turned back to it and ran her hooves along it in careful caresses. "Mmm..." She grabbed a hose and watered the base of the tree for a few moments. "Better..."

Tapping at the hoof, she homes in on a specific branch and used a long cutter to snip it. "Perfect." Each tree needed an inspection, and some of them needed extra steps. That tree felt good, and Joanamac felt sure it would yield plenty of fruits, restored to working order as it was. "Ayup." She went to the next down the line. "If apple farmin' was easy, everypony would do it." And since there wasn't any huge line of such farmers, it wasn't that.

She gave each tree a kick as she went down them, getting a feel for what tree had a need for. Some she went on past, others needed water, or pruning. Some needed even more, but she was quite set on it. "Huh..." She had been worried, on some level, that being a mare, for real, would change how she did things.

But a mare was a pony, just like a stallion was. "Feel stupid..." Wasn't like Applejack had any problems getting it done, and she didn't do it any differently than Big Mac had already been doing it.

"'Sides..." She was still a big pony! Just a big lady pony instead of a big fella pony. She burst into sudden giggles, a new thought coming to her. The old Big Mac, before she even met Sugar Belle? Joanamac mighta been quite a thing to gawk at, or awkwardly try to approach. "Ah woulda liked me." She kicked the next tree.

"Which is jus' fine... Ah still like me." And the next tree after that. "The way a pony should be... If ya can't like yerself, hard to get others in on it." She shook her head. "But maybe ah should stop talkin' to mahself." Not that the trees seemed to complain as she worked through them.

She clapped her hooves against one another as she reached the end of the row. "Ayup..." She just had to work back along the next one. The job was far from complete, but she felt ready to press on.

Author's Note

Joanamac is happy with their new self, and getting work done. Ever take a moment to just appreciate what you have?

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