"Are you sure you want to do this?" Applejack asked, looking down at the filly by her side. "Nopony will make fun of you if you show up alone."
"Two ponies will..." Apple Bloom muttered, probably thinking her mother wouldn't be able to hear it. Applejack could guess who she was referring to, but before she could say anything Apple Bloom continued. "I'm sure. They're gonna find out sooner or later, might as well be from us."
Despite her bold words, Apple Bloom's voice betrayed her nervousness. Though, to be fair, Applejack wasn't a pony who could throw stones. Her own nerves were acting up. "Okay..."
As one, mother and daughter pushed open the doors they were whispering in front of.
And stepped into a room stuffed full of streamers and young ponies. There was a small table for punch and cookies, surrounded by adults who chatted with each other while they watched their fillies and colts play as energetically as they could in the medium-sized room. A banner hung above the blackboard (for they were in the schoolhouse, the chairs and desks removed and mats laid out to accommodate all the ponies squeezing into the room) and it read "Happy Mothers' Day".
"Oh dear."
Applejack turned and saw Cheerilee moving towards her. The kindly teacher probably wasn't aware she'd spoken out loud. "Howdy, Cheerilee."
The pained expression Applejack had noticed on Cheerilee's face wasn't fading. "Applejack, it was very nice of you to accompany Apple Bloom here to our Mothers' Day celebration..." She clearly hated having to spit the words out, but if Cheerilee was anything, she was a responsible teacher. So she marched on. "But I'm afraid that only the mothers of the students are allowed."
"Maybe she didn't understand the invitation." The one Apple Bloom had called Silver Spoon whispered, loud enough to be heard by everypony. More of her classmates chuckled at that than Applejack would've liked.
But the farm-mare knew what to do with ponies like that. She ignored the little brat and clapped a hoof on Cheerilee's shoulder. "Well then there's no problem." Applejack smiled. "I'm Apple Bloom's mother."
All the chatter stopped as her words sunk in. Most of the ponies wore stunned expressions, except for Scootaloo and Sweetie Belle. They had been told beforehoof and were now enjoying their classmates' (and to a lesser extent, their classmates' parents') reactions.
"What?!"
Though she was a bit more subdued than Diamond Tiara, Cheerilee also wanted to know more. "M-maybe you should explain, Applejack. I think we'd all like to hear this story."
A chorus of agreement sounded. Applejack, who'd been prepared for this possibility, nodded. She doffed her hat, hung it on a nearby rack, and sat down in front of the blackboard. "Well..." She began. "It all started when a traveling magician came to town."
Lulamoon the Magnificent considered himself a very clever pony. Certainly the cleverest pony he'd ever met, and he'd traveled all across the country. Being a clever pony, he loved small towns like this one.
There were so many easy marks.
"Welcome to Ponyville!" An elderly pony called out to him as his cart rumbled past. He took the time to take a second look. Not at the green pony who'd spoken, she was far too old for his tastes. No, his gaze was directed at the mare (barely, he thought with a smile) standing beside her. She was quite fetching. He flashed a wink and saw her turn away with a blush. So easy.
"Who are you winking at this time, Dad?"
"I wasn't winking at anypony." The lie came quickly. He'd had a lot of practice with it.
"Yes you were, I saw you!" His teenage daughter whined from the seat next to him. "Who was it?"
"Trixie, focus on memorizing the act!" He snapped. He could've sworn he found her adorable just a few years ago, but now? Lulamoon wondered what had happened. The thought that his daughter was only a couple years younger than the pony who's flank he'd just been admiring never crossed his mind.
"So?" Diamond Tiara interrupted. "What's the big deal with some magician showing up? You weren't so impressed when the Great and Powerful Trixie first showed up."
Applejack figured her story had some connection to her embarrassing conduct on that day. But before she could think about it too deeply, Scootaloo spoke up. "Maybe Applejack will explain if you can keep your mouth shut long enough."
Maybe RD's personality was rubbing off on the little pony, she thought to herself. It would probably be a good idea to get some of her other friends to spend some time with Scootaloo. Applejack didn't know if she could handle two Rainbow Dashes.
"You have to understand, I had never even heard of an earth pony magician." Applejack told them, focusing their attention back on her before an argument could break out. "Nopony had. When Lulamoon the Magnificent rolled into town, it was all Ponyville could talk about. Everypony went to the show, even Granny and Big Mac! But they left halfway through, saying something about having to get up early to harvest the newest crop of apples." She smirked a bit, knowing the fillies and colts probably thought she was staring out the window at nothing. Truth was she was watching the performance again, remembering the giddiness she'd felt. "I think they were just bored, Big Mac especially. I didn't care, though. It was the most amazing thing I'd ever seen."
The show was perfect, just like always. The escapes, the illusions. Trixie had even managed to get through her part without screwing anything up. Lulamoon the Magnificent had done it.
The only thing ruining his performer's high was the knowledge that he was now going to have to spend the next few hours signing autographs. The extra bits about to come his way helped, but only so much. So with Trixie by his side collecting the money, and with all the fake gratitude he could manage, Lulamoon moved the line along as quickly as he could. The monotony was just barely bearable.
"Mr. Lulamoon, sir, that was just incredible. I've never seen anything like it before, even from the unicorns in town."
"Yes, yes, than-" He cut himself off when he looked up at who was speaking. It was that mare from earlier! "I mean, of course I'm going to put on the best show I can when I have a crowd like the one here. I mean it! I've been to a lot of towns, but none of them measure up to the audience in Ponyville." Trixie groaned at that, but the pretty mare didn't seem to hear.
The mare, who Lulamoon just realized was wearing some sort of ridiculous hat, nodded enthusiastically. "Oh, I could tell! The... the passion you showed- I could just tell you were loving it."
"You have a good eye. Tell me, are you the local art critic?" She shook her head shyly and Lulamoon smiled. Easy, so easy! He pointed to an extra chair nearby. "You should be. Why don't you pull up a chair, so we can talk while I sign autographs?"
Trixie slammed the bit-box shut and stood. "It's after two. The signing's over." She stalked off in a huff.
"Even better." Lulamoon said, redirecting the mare's attention away from his moody daughter and back to him. Sleight-of-hoof was one of his many specialties. "How about you and I go back to my dressing room? I'd love to hear your thoughts on my act. Maybe you could help me make it even better..."
"We actually did end up talking for a while, and then..." Applejack trailed off as she remembered the age range of her listeners.
Diamond Tiara wasn't having it. "'Then...' what? What happened next?"
"Uh... we did, um, adult things. Never you mind." Applejack wondered how anypony could handle extended contact with the pushy little pony. Her dad was okay, but... the filly was living proof that, while the apple may not fall far from the tree, it could certainly roll a ways.
With the exception of Diamond Tiara, however, the ponies in the classroom were appreciating her story. She'd even noticed a few of the adults nodding, no doubt remembering times when their own inexperience got them into trouble. Which was good, because the 'trouble' part was next. "Anyway..."
His tour was over, at least for this year, so Lulamoon chose to stick around. Everything was cheaper in Ponyville, which meant he could reserve his hotel room for a month and it would cost as much as a room in Canterlot did for a few days. He would never admit it to other ponies, but he didn't always make enough to swallow the inflated price. That was one reason to stay.
The other was walking towards him right now. There had been several mares in town who'd been more than happy to... entertain him. But despite their greater experience, the mare from the show outclassed them all by virtue of being younger and prettier than they were. She wasn't uptight like others her age (like that purple-maned one who'd slapped him), and she was so eager to please.
She also wasn't as happy as she normally was to meet with him. He'd never been one for cold reading, and had never associated with anypony who was proficient at it, so he had no idea what was wrong with her.
Not that it mattered, for she wasted no time telling him. "Lulamoon, I'm... well, I'm pregnant."
There was a small part of him, the part that still thought Trixie was the cutest thing ever, that started dancing in an old-fashioned and embarrassing way. The other, larger part felt the blood drain from his face. How was this fair? He was already a dad, and it was hard enough taking care of one kid on the road. Was he supposed to give up his dream, the one thing he cared about (besides Trixie, the little part of him reminded, still dancing), and stay here? In Ponyville? What would he even do, grow pears?
Maybe it was a mistake. "Are you sure?" He asked. "It's not, like, cramps or anything?"
She shook her head, and what little body language he could read told him she was annoyed by his doubt in her. "No, it's not cramps. I haven't been feeling great for a while, so I went to the doctor. He's the one who told me."
"Are you sure it's mine?" He asked next, covering all his bases. He only received a glare in response. It was his. "Are you going to... you know, take care of it?"
"I had never even thought of it." She growled, making it clear he had not opened up a new possibility for her.
That was it, he was out of options. "So... what do you want me to do about it?"
For some reason, the question floored her. "What do I want? I want you to do the right thing! I want you to be responsible!"
"Like you were? Why didn't you tell me you were in season?" A new thought occurred to him. "Look, if this is some sort of scheme to grab some bits I'll let you in on something. I don't make enough for this plan to get you much."
He didn't see her hoof blur towards his face, but by Celestia he felt it. Of course that was only after he was already on the ground. "How dare you!" She screamed.
Ignoring the stares of the bystanders, he picked himself up. "Be glad I'm stallion enough to not press charges."
With that, he turned and walked away. He hoped he never saw her again.
"What a jerk!" Scootaloo hadn't heard that part of the story yet.
"That's true enough, but I can't say his time here was all negative. I got something pretty precious out of it." Applejack patted her daughter's head.
"But why the deception, Applejack?" Cheerilee wanted to know. "Why'd you think you needed to hide the truth?"
Applejack drew Apple Bloom closer to her. "It was the worst mistake I ever made, but at the time..."
Most days, Granny Smith was somewhat amused when ponies called her 'Granny'. All of the ponies in town seemed to have forgotten that she had an actual name. Most days, she smiled when she heard the word.
This was not one of those days.
"G-Granny?" The voice of her real granddaughter was quiet, which alarmed her. Applejack was pretty boisterous.
She turned and saw that Applejack was crying. "Applejack, what's wrong?"
Applejack sniffled. "I'm p-pregnant, Granny."
Had she not gone through a similar experience with her daughter, it was entirely possible that Granny's heart could've failed right there. Instead, it kept on ticking and Granny pulled Applejack into hug. "Oh, Honey, it's okay. Everything's going to be fine. Do you know who the father is?"
"It's that magician, Granny." Applejack sobbed into her shoulder. "B-but he's gone. He says it's not his problem."
A bit of pain shot through her. She and Big Mac could've stayed for the rest of the show. It had been obvious how entranced Applejack had been by all the fancy tricks.
But the bygones were gone, and Applejack needed her now. "I feel like such a tramp." The filly mumbled. "What's everypony gonna say?"
"They're not gonna say anything."
Applejack pushed back from the hug and cocked her head, tears still on her cheeks. "What do you mean, Granny?"
Granny knew how cruel ponies could be. She had to protect her granddaughter from that. "You're going to Manehattan. When you have the foal, you'll come back."
"But how does that-"
"We'll tell everypony the foal is your sister." The only ponies who knew what had happened to Applejack's parents were herself, Applejack, and Big Mac. "This'll work, I promise."
It did Granny's heart some good to see the relief wash over Applejack's face.
The bell rang, reminding everypony that they were, in fact, in a school. Which was fine with Applejack. Her story was over and, while she wasn't as laconic as Big Mac, she wasn't used to talking for that long. She needed a glass of water.
Cheerilee rose and dismissed the class (and their parents). They all filed out of the room, some of them shooting various looks at Applejack. She was glad to see none of the glances were condemning. For her part, Apple Bloom just leaned against her. They both stayed like that for a while.
The glass of water could wait.
