Tricks of the Genetic Tree
Ch.1
Apple Bloom was strolling towards the town square. Since she left the farm, the little filly went walking every day, probably due to the lack of chores. She had to do something.
It had been a few weeks since she had learned the truth. That her brother was really her uncle and that her big sister, the one who always took care of her, was really her mom. A big liar. They hadn't spoken since.
Given the size of Ponyville, avoiding the places where Applejack and her friends hung out wasn't the easiest thing to do. Even when she took special care on her walks, Apple Bloom still caught glimpses of her not-sister or one of the others from time to time. She always ducked out of sight right away and because of that, she doubted they had even noticed her.
Applejack being sent to all the different corners of Equestria helped a bit, when it came to keeping the separation going. But she was kind of lonely. Scootaloo's mom didn't tuck her in, or read her any stories. Maybe-.
Something was going on in the middle of the square! A crowd had formed, surrounding a big wagon. They didn't seem happy.
"How can you even think you'd be welcome here?" A stallion shouted.
"Yeah! Why don't you just leave!" A mare this time. More voices joined in as Apple Bloom squeezed to the front. Then she saw who the mob was jeering.
"The Great and Powerful Trixie wouldn't waste her time trying to put one a show in Ponyville." The notorious unicorn proclaimed. "Especially not for the likes of you."
Some grumbling followed that. Apple Bloom shook her head, a bit of a smile on her face. Trixie sure wasn't winning any fans saying something like that.
One of the grumblers spoke up. "Then why are you here?"
Trixie's gaze swept the crowd, showponyship dripping from her every movement. Every crowd's an audience, and she couldn't help but play to them. "If you plebes must know, Trixie has come to your quaint little village in search of her sister." Her eyes landed on Apple Bloom and she smiled. "And it looks like Trixie has found her."
Apple Bloom's eyes widened.
"But- I-." Apple Bloom sputtered as she followed Trixie away from the dispersing crowd. "How could you be my sister?"
Trixie kept walking, her every step as haughty as could be managed. But there was something in her voice that seemed to be pleading with Apple Bloom as she replied with, "The Great and Powerful Trixie desires refreshment. All will be explained once we obtain smoothies!"
Before long, they were at a back table in Sugar Cube Corner and smoothies were served. Trixie took a huge slurp of hers. "Ahh..." She sighed, "I had one of these the first time I came to Ponyville, and I've been craving one ever since."
Apple Bloom was surprised to see Trixie drop her act when they were alone, a condition ensured by the large sack of bits Trixie had given the owners. Even as she sipped her own smoothie, a pair of earth ponies were politely turned away, with the excuse that the store was reserved for a private party.
Trixie sat back, temporarily sated. "Now, I think you have some questions for me?"
Apple Bloom wiped her muzzle. "Yeah, I do. The big one being, how the hay are you my sister? You're a-"
"A unicorn?" Trixie interrupted, smiling. "And you're an earth pony." She waved a hoof. "It's not so strange. The owners of Sugar Cube are earth ponies, and their kids are a unicorn and a pegasus. One of each."
Apple Bloom thought on that. "I guess that makes sense... So I'm part unicorn?"
That got a head shake. "No. No, you're all earth pony. My mom was the unicorn."
Apple Bloom looked down. "Oh," she said. She wasn't disappointed, not really. It wasn't like she could do magic, anyway. And besides, she really liked being an earth pony. Plus it made her friendship with Sweetie Belle and Scootaloo better in a way. More symbolic, at least.
Trixie pushed back her empty glass and hopped out of her seat. She laid a hoof on Apple Bloom's shoulder. "Well, we finished our smoothies, so let's get out of here. I feel like taking a stroll."
With that, she led the way out of the store, half pulling Apple Bloom along. "But what about all that money?" Apple Bloom protested. It had been a fairly large sack.
"Oh, never mind that." Trixie replied. "It's fine, I have a lot more where that came from. I've been pretty lucky lately."
A question had been nagging Apple Bloom from the moment she first saw that Trixie was back, so she asked it. "What have you been doing since the last time you were here?"
"The Great and Powerful Trixie won't lie," she answered, slipping back into stage mode now that they were in public. "At first-"
Trixie stopped talking as two ponies, a pegasus and an earth pony, saw her coming and bolted. The earth pony ducked behind a building while the pegasus shot straight up and hid in the the clouds. Trixie hung her head. "They don't seem too happy to see Trixie..."
Apple Bloom winced and tried to be as delicate as possible. "Well... last time you were here, you did kinda enslave the town." Some things couldn't be said delicately.
Trixie said nothing for a while, and Apple Bloom made an effort to look anywhere but as they walked in silence. When Trixie finally cleared her throat, Apple Bloom almost jumped in joy. "Yes... yes, Trixie did." The unicorn said, breaking the horribly awkward silence. "But to anwer your question, Trixie has started performing again."
Apple Bloom was surprised and, surprisingly, pleased at that. But... "I thought you said last time that you couldn't get any work as a magician."
"Trixie won't lie." Was the response, Trixie returning to what she was going to say before the run-in with those two ponies, "At first, it really was impossible. The thing with the Ursa Minor had made the Great and Powerful Trixie a laughingstock, and when word got around that Trixie had enslaved an entire town, that was it. Evil magic amulet or not, absolutely no one would hire Trixie." She smiled a little, mostly at herself. "That couldn't stop Trixie. Not at all."
They reached the edge of town and Trixie dropped the third person, "I couldn't tell you how many shows I put on in completely empty squares and marketplaces. But it paid off! Eventually one pony got curious about my act, then another, then three more, and after a while there were crowds again." She kicked at the dirt sheepishly. "I didn't realize just how much I had missed the applause." She bowed like she was finishing a performance. "The roar of the crowd. My life was great, until..."
Apple Bloom could guess what had happened. "Until your dad died."
Trixie nodded, closing her eyes as she thought back. "At the funeral, one of my aunts told me he'd had another kid. See, I never knew my mom. After I was born my dad left her, taking me with him. My aunt told me he'd done the same with your mom, but he'd left you here. She gave me your picture."
"Then you came to find me."
"Yeah." Trixie sniffed.
Apple Bloom nudged her. "You know, there's a place nearby where I like to skip stones. Would you like to see it?"
"That sounds nice." Trixie let Apple Bloom lead her away.
Tricks of the Genetic Tree
Ch. 2
"Wait, Applejack is your mom?" Trixie exclaimed, pausing mid-skip. "Not your sister, your mom."
Apple Bloom stared at the pile of stones, trying to pretend like she was picking out one to throw. "Yeah."
Trixie threw the stone she was holding. It only skipped once before sinking. "She's just a few years older than me." She said, slightly over her breath. "Kinda gross, Dad."
Apple Bloom had her stone picked out. She lifted it, took aim, and chucked it. The rock made it five skips, not her best. But it was enough to impress Trixie.
"How do you do that?" She inquired, poking at the pile of stones.
The little pony shrugged. "It's just in how you throw."
"Like this?" Trixie threw again. She got two skips this time.
"Yeah, that's better."
Trixie started gathering another bunch of rocks to throw, not taking much care in the quality of her choices. "Trixie?" Apple Bloom asked.
"Yeah?"
Apple Bloom sat down on a hillock. "Can... can you tell me about him? About our dad?"
Trixie regarded Apple Bloom for a while, weighing what she should say. "My dad- wow, I've got to get used to saying 'our'. Our dad was a show pony, like me. But he didn't use magic. He couldn't, he was an earth pony." She sat down next to her sister and put a foreleg around her. "He was a juggler and escape artist. He could untie any knot and pick any lock with just his teeth." The memories brought a happy smile to her face. "It was amazing! That's what first got me interested in going on the stage."
"He sounds so cool. Not like my sis- mom."
Trixie squeezed the little filly. "Don't think he didn't have his problems, 'cause he definitely did. Leaving you and your mom was one of them."
"You still love him, though."
"Oh, I do. I really do." Trixie confirmed. "I'd give almost anything to have him back, even for just a day. But there was a time, back when he told me about what he did after I was born, that I couldn't stand him. I hated him for what he did to my mom, and I took every opportunity to remind him of that. But that's just what you do when you're a teenager, I guess."
Apple Bloom wriggled her way out of the hug and walked to the edge of the stream. "I don't think I actually-"
"Apple Bloom! There you are."
Apple Bloom turned and saw Applejack heading along the riverbank, towards her. "What do you want?" She demanded.
Applejack stopped just a bit away from her daughter, giving the filly a little space. "I know you've had a hard time since you learned the truth about... our relationship. And I know you're still angry with me." She took a step forward, just a step. "But it's time to come home, sugar cube. Granny and Big Mac miss you, and so do I."
Apple Bloom turned away, refusing to look at the pony she once called her sister. "I don't care."
"Sure you do. You just- what's she doing here?" Applejack asked crossly, noticing Trixie for the first time.
"She came to tell me we're related. She's my sister. My real sister." Apple Bloom explained, rushing to Trixie's defense.
Applejack stomped over to Trixie, who respectfully stood as she approached. "Yeah, I heard about that from the Cakes when I got back to Ponyville. I'll thank you to stay away from my daughter."
"Look," Trixie began, "I just wanted to meet-"
Apple Bloom got between her sister and her real sister. "No! You don't get to dictate who I spend time with!"
"I absolutely do. I'm your mother." Applejack retorted, face to face with her child.
Apple Bloom slammed a hoof down. "You lost that right the second I found out the truth!"
"Just because I'm not really your sister doesn't mean I don't care about you!"
The little filly scoffed. "You didn't care enough to not lie to me for years."
"What about her?" Applejack pointed at Trixie. "Last time she was here, she enslaved the entire town. Just to get back at Twilight!"
Trixie hung her head. "Yeah, I-"
"Oh, for Pete's sake!" Apple Bloom exploded. "You and the rest of the town are never going to let go of that, are you? Look at her. She's sorry! She made a mistake, but it wasn't just her fault! She'd take it back if she could. She..." Apple Bloom ran out of steam as her own words hit home.
Trixie put a hoof on her shoulder. "Sounds like you're not just yelling at Applejack, are you?"
"I-" Apple Bloom sighed. "No, I'm not. I'm sorry... Mom."
Applejack hugged her kid. "I'm sorry, too. I should've told the truth from day one. Darn foolish of me to keep it from you."
"I didn't react too good, did I?" Apple Bloom asked, returning the hug. Tears stung her eyes.
"You reacted as best you could, given what you found out."
The embrace lasted for several long minutes. Then, reluctantly, Applejack pulled back. She faced Trixie. "I guess I owe you an apology as well."
Trixie blushed. "No, there's no need to apologize. You weren't wrong to say I've done horrible things."
"Don't mean it was right to hold it against you." Applejack stubbornly insisted. "Tell you what, why don't you come with us back to Sweet Apple Acres? I'll cook up a big dinner and you can get re-introduced to the rest of the family."
It was Trixie's turn for tears to come. "That sounds nice."
"Well come on, then." The three of them started toward the orchard, Applejack leading the way.
"So, Applejack." Trixie said.
"Yeah?"
"If me and Apple Bloom are sisters, does that make you my step-mom?" She asked, voice full of mischief.
Applejack groaned. "Let's just get through dinner first, ok? We'll see where it goes from there."
Apple Bloom couldn't help but laugh.