Zecora's a Big Help

Big Mac faced the rest of his family, flanked on either side by Sugar Belle and Zecora. His ears tucked themselves down as he sheepishly explained, "So, things kind of got out of control..."

Applejack was so riled up she nearly threw her hat on the ground. Her face had gotten so red that it looked as if steam was going to come out of her ears at any moment. Loud enough that birds flew scared from the trees in the orchard, Applejack vented her fury.

"You knocked up both of 'em? Dang it, Big Mac! Now everypony's gonna think the Apple clan's a buncha' bigamist hillbillies!"

Sugar Belle and Zecora tried not to meet Applejack's gaze as she chewed out her brother. Granny Smith had a few choice words of her own for her grandson.

"You just HAD to double dip, didn't ya? You dang apple stallions, always thinkin' with yer peckers and not yer heads. First yer pa marries a Pear, and now this."

The elderly mare shook her head, the universal sign for "I'm not angry, I'm just disappointed." Apple Bloom, however, seemed to only see the bright side of her brother's soon-to-be bastard.

"I'm gonna get to be an aunt!" She pranced in a circle around Big Mac and the two mares that were carrying his foals. Bubbling with excitement, she asked, "What are y'all gonna name 'em! Ooh, I know! Sugar Belle's should be named Sugar Apple, and Zecora's should be named Striped Apple!"

Applejack directed a measure of her scolding at Apple Bloom. "Sis, don't encourage 'em while I'm yellin' at 'em!"

But the little filly was undeterred. "Does this mean Zecora is gonna come live with us from now on?" she asked, bouncing on her hoof-tips.

Zecora shook her head. "No, Apple Bloom, I'm not moving here. But I might --" She gave Big Mac and Sugar Belle a meaningful look, "-- drop by for a visit now and then...and stay overnight?"

As Big Mac and Sugar Belle looked at each other and blushed, Applejack and Granny Smith exchanged a look of their own. Granny Smith turned to her eldest granddaughter and groaned.

"We're gonna need to give their room thicker walls."