Showstoppers

“Come one, come all!” A voice boomed from one of the few wagons parked in Hoofington’s town square. Ponies were starting to gather around, muttering to each other about the presence of the caravan. The semi-circle the wagons made began to fill up.
“Come and witness amazing feats of magic!” shouted a purple mare who hid behind a wagon. Like the ponies surrounding her, she was decked out in gaudy costume jewelry and brightly colored clothes. The purple mare looked down to her left, where a little unicorn pouted up at her. “Now, sweetie, you have to put on that cape.”
“But mom, I don’t wanna go out there!” the filly whined. She fought her mother off, refusing to be dressed. The other ponies eyed the young one with something between exasperation and acceptance. This was obviously not a rare occurrence.
“Magic to boggle the mind and dazzle the eye!” the mare called over her shoulder, then returned her attention to her daughter. “Look here, young lady. Those ponies out there are expecting a show.”
“But I’m tired! We travelled all week!”
“I know, sweetie, but you love performing! Once you get out there I promise you won’t be tired.” The filly grumbled, unconvinced. “And if you do extra well, I’ll see if I can buy you some sugar cubes.” The little unicorn’s eyes lit up, and her mother smiled back.
“Prepare to be amazed, transported, and bewildered by the single greatest travelling show in Equestria!” shouted the older mare as she quickly fixed the cape on to her daughter.
“Glad you got that thesaurus, eh, Lola?” whispered a smiling stallion who looked a few years younger than her. He poked her with the bow that accompanied the violin attached to his neck.
She winked at him and continued announcing. “Presenting: The Marvelous, Magical Mares of Mustangia!”
The stallion who had spoken to Lola rose up on his hind legs and began playing a jovial tune on his instrument. A dozen mares, including the filly and her mother, processed out from behind caravan, jumping and dancing gleefully. They smiled, waved, blew kisses and bowed to the audience, who were on a whole unimpressed.
Lola raised one hoof gratefully to the smattering of polite applause. “Silence, I pray you, ladies and gentlecolts.”The audience glanced awkwardly at each other, as there hadn’t been much noise. The stallion with the violin emerged and took his place beside Lola, who continued to talk. “We have travelled very far to perform for such a wonderful crowd as here in,” she paused for a tiny moment, “Hoofington. Life on the road is hard for us Mustangians.” The stallion struck up a more wistful tune; the other mares feigned dramatic swoons over their lot, while the filly pretended to sob. “Food is scarce, strangers are rude. We are chased out of many villages.”
“Get on with it!” called a brave stallion in the audience.
Lola’s eyes narrowed. “You, sir. Betrayal is close at hand. The one you love best has no love for you.” A shiver ran over the audience. Lola’s words had been cold, direct; they might not have bought any of the introduction, but something in that moment was foreboding. The stallion glanced at his companion, a blue-coated pegasus. She avoided his gaze, instead staring at the ground. The whole audience seemed to turn their eyes to the pair. With a sob, the mare turned tail and bolted from the crowd.
Before the audience could even compose themselves, Lola continued on. “But we are strong. We carry on to entertain the world, to show you our magic.” With a nod, the stallion changed tempo to another lively piece. “I am Lola, queen of the Mustangians. Here are my sisters, daughters, nieces, here to show you that we are alive and well in this world. May I introduce: Jaga, the fire dancer!” A red pegasus stepped forward and gave a little dance, flaring up her wings to show the flame pattern drawn on to her feathers. “Shoni, daughter of the long-lost princess!” A pure white earth pony bowed demurely.” Mari, Jade, and Gina, the triplet violinists! Abela, the sweetest singer to ever grace Equestria!” Lola’s claims grew bolder and bolder, but the audience was transfixed as each mare demonstrated her title for a brief moment.
“And last, but certainly not least: The Great and Powerful Lulamoon!”
The tiny blue unicorn leapt on a crate set in the middle of the semi-circle. She raised her forelegs in triumph, grinning widely. She looked as if she was waiting for a roar of applause.
The audience stood silent for a moment, then burst out laughing at the sight of the “great and powerful” filly. The smile faded only slightly from the unicorn’s face.
Lola smiled at them knowingly. “Yes, I know what you’re thinking. How could such a tiny little pony be great at anything? But let me tell you, this filly has more magic in that horn than most full grown adult unicorns do!” The unicorns in the audience grumbled amongst themselves. “Don’t believe me? Just watch.”
Jaga, the fiery pegasus, stepped forward and lit a flame. She used her wings to fan the fire, making it larger and larger. Lulamoon watched it grow, then closed her eyes in concentration. A spark of blue magic formed at the tip of her horn, and then exploded into the flames. The audience gasped as the glow consumed the fire, changing its shape. It first turned into a pony, then a dragon, and finally a monstrous bear. The crowd “ooh”ed and “ahh”ed as if on cue. As the bear lunged towards the audience, Lulamoon released the magic with a labored breath. After a beat of stunned silence, the audience broke into applause. Lulamoon gave a fatigued bow as Lola stepped forward.
“Yes, thank you, thank you!” She ushered the filly off and the crowd gave a collective groan of disappointment. “She’s such a young thing; she needs her rest!” The rest of the performing ponies gathered around. “My other daughters will be more than happy to entertain you. And Lulamoon will perform again tomorrow! Don’t forget to spare some bits when we pass the basket around, or the poor dear won’t be able to rest tonight.” The crowd immediately began to search their saddlebags for extra change as Lola’s “daughters” began a less awe-inspiring routine. The stallions of the group carried baskets around, shaking them as if to beg for more bits. The crowd was happy to provide.

By nightfall, the caravan of wagon was gathered in a circle outside the city limits. Fires were lit within the perimeter of the circle, and laughing voices came from around the campfires.
“Lulamoon, you were wonderful!” Lola cried. Lulamoon, smiled meekly, still exhausted from her performance.
“Thanks mom.”
“You know what the show needs?” Jaga asked through a mouthful of stew paid for by the charitable citizens of Hoofington.
“Don’t talk with your mouth full, Jaga,” hissed one of the triplets.
“Let me guess,” said another.
“Explosions?” finished the third, causing the whole troupe to giggle. Jaga crossed her forelegs and huffed.
“I just think we need to be more showstopping! No one pays attention until Lulamoon!”
“Now that’s not true!”
“Yeah, they loved your dancing.”
Jaga sighed again. “They thought it was okay. Everypony knows that Lulamoon is the only reason that ponies show up again and again.” The others didn’t say anything, but all threw furtive glances at the tiny unicorn. It was obvious that they all agreed.
Lola wouldn’t have it. “Now girls, what one pony does benefits us all. That’s the Mustangian way!” The girls offered up grunts of general agreement, but didn’t seem altogether convinced.
Lulamoon yawned sleepily, oblivious to the whole exchange.
“I think that it’s bed time for the Great and Powerful one,” the violinist stallion laughed. He nuzzled Lola and Lulamoon affectionately. “Not to mention the Lowly and Musical Amati.” Lulamoon clambered on to his back and the family trotted off to a more secluded spot to lie for the night.
The Mustangians seemed to be in agreement; the fires were put out and the ponies brought out pillows and blankets, making their bed beneath the stars. A few more conversations carried across the circle, but within a few minutes, it was virtually silent save for the crickets and a few restless whispers.
“Daddy,” hissed Lulamoon.
“What, sweetie?” Amati mumbled sleepily.
“Something’s wrong. I feel like something’s wrong.”
“That’s nice,” her father mumbled, obviously half asleep already. Lulamoon’s efforts to rouse him were for naught as he snored gently beside Lola.
The tiny unicorn shivered slightly, not due to any cold, and looked up at the large, foreboding moon. The evil Mare in the Moon shone down on her, warning her against some close danger. Sighing, she closed her eyes.
“I hope I’m wrong,” she whispered before drifting off to sleep.

“LULAMOON!”
Lulamoon’s eyes snapped open in terror.
“Mommy?!” she cried, knowing that it was her voice that had roused her. Lola was before her, motioning her to follow.
“Come on sweetie, we have to go!” Lulamoon immediately obeyed, all fatigue forgotten as she raced forward beside her mother.
Chaos filled the campsite. Everypony within the circle was running about, grabbing what they could. Odd, moving light surrounded the perimeter, and with a jolt Lulamoon realized that some of the wagons were on fire. But what terrified her most were the shouts of the angry citizens of Hoofington:
“Get out of here gypsies!”
“Thieves!”
“We don’t want your kind around here!”
“Mommy, where’s daddy?” Lulamoon asked, trying to keep pace with her mother. Lola didn’t answer as they galloped forward, trying to escape the burning ring of wagons.
“Lola, here!” came a shout. Two stallions had hitched up to a wagon quickly, and were pulling it away from the fray. Lola tossed Lulamoon up into the wagon. Jaga and one of the triplets caught her. With a grunt, Lola managed to hoist herself in after her daughter. The wagon sped off, leaving behind the chaos. The ponies looked at each other with wide eyes, in shock and fear. Lulamoon suddenly gasped and began crying.
“Daddy, daddy.” Lulamoon sobbed as Lola patted her head and stroked her mane.
“Shhh… it’s okay. We’ll find your daddy in the morning. It’ll all be better in the morning.”
Lulamoon watched the fires through her tears. Her vision slowly faded as the shock took over and she went to sleep.