//------------------------------//
// Act III, Scene 17: Golden Goose 
// Story: If You Give a Little Love... 
// by Quillamore 
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What have I been fighting for all this time?  Is this love, or am I taking advantage of an innocent foal?

At this point, Coco couldn’t even will herself to move forward with the plan or to come up with ways to refute Midsweet’s tactics.  Scenes moved through her mind of every moment she had shared with her daughter, both good and bad, but every one with the same hidden message.  That, however harsh the Oranges might be on their foals and everypony they came into contact with, they were still Babs’ family.  All along, all she had done was try to make the filly into somepony she wasn’t.

Just like Mosely tried to do to me.

She was slowly regaining awareness, now realizing that her prized barrette was trampled on the floor.  But a single look at it told that such a small thing could be mended.  The years she’d taken away from Babs, on the other hoof, couldn’t.

Her brain had completely shut down, and the only thing her body willed her to do was to keep looking at the floor.  Keep thinking about what she’d done, and how she could’ve changed everything if she hadn’t interfered quite so much.  After a while, maybe she could even forget she was in the present to begin with.

Midsweet stood in front of her for a few quick heartbeats, making sure she’d finished the job, and promptly trotted over to the force field, effortlessly gliding through it as if she’d planned it all this way.  It only took a few seconds for the shield to come back up, but Coco could still faintly hear a pounding on the door and a few words cried out.

“Don’t listen—“

She was so trapped inside herself that the voice barely registered to her, but what did were the words themselves.  “Don’t listen?”  Everything had been blocked out, the entire scene was a blur.  What was there to listen to?

Coco took the voice’s advice anyway, closing her eyes to those few things she was still focusing on around her.  If she really wanted to keep herself from listening, all her other senses would have to be blocked out, too.  Every once in a while throughout these few moments, her legs felt the need to canter out of the building.  Then, at least, maybe the world would forgive her.

Yet somehow, there was something inside her that kept her from moving.  Almost like a chain had formed around her when Midsweet spoke those awful, fearsome words.

The clamor of hooves quickly broke her focus and brought her back to whatever reality was left for her.  Applejack, Cameo, and Valencia had finally found their way in.  It was the least Coco could do to fill them in about how the plan was about to be scrapped, because they’d gone about it the wrong way all along.

“What happened here?” Applejack asked, seeing Coco at the foot of the staircase, staring at nothing in particular.  “You’re alright, aren’t ya, sugarcube?”

To anypony else, it might have seemed that way.  After all, the tears weren’t coming, and her face was nothing but blankness.  Yet somehow, she still managed to croak out some sort of explanation.

“And then she trotted off after that,” she muttered just after telling the three mares everything.  “I—I didn’t see where she went.  I’m just too focused on, well, everything else.”

“We all saw somethin’ going on from a window in the passageway,” Applejack replied.  “At least, enough for us to know where she went.  But that ain’t what you’re worryin’ yourself about, is it?”

All the other mares seemed to have the same determined look on their faces that they always had, and Coco couldn’t help but turn away.  She’d told them everything, and yet none of them seemed willing to turn back.  Instead, they just crowded closer to her, as if they never even heard what she’d told them to begin with.

“We should go,” she spoke.  “As far as I can tell, everything’s how it should be.  We’re not needed here.  In fact, it’d almost be better if I wasn’t around to mess things up more.”

She knew they would oppose her decision about as soon as she said it, but even that didn’t matter.  Her hooves started to go down the other flight of steps and towards the door, but she was only able to take a few steps before she could feel somepony grab her tail.

As much as she felt Midsweet had every right to Babs now, the idea of her tugging Coco into another one of her emotional torture sessions still terrified the costume designer, and her fur began to stand on end.  However, when she whipped her head around, the figure by her side wasn’t the Orange matriarch, but rather Cameo.

“Careful!” she shouted, seeing that Coco’s fearful outburst had caused both her front hooves to slide off the stairs.  

As the younger mare slowly regained her composure, she placed them back onto the nearest stair and turned her head straight towards Cameo, who gestured for her to go back up the stairs with the other two ponies.  

“You thought I was somepony else, didn’t you?” said Cameo once the two caught up with the others.  

Coco nodded in response, but otherwise said nothing else.  While Applejack and Valencia looked like they wanted to get a word in this conversation, they continued to let Cameo speak, almost as if the same thought was going through all of their minds at once.

“May I ask you a question of my own?  I promise it won’t be like the last few you’ve heard.”

Normally, in a situation like this, Cameo could have the worst of faces, ones that Coco had seen when she confronted Mosely.  A few times today, even.  But instead, all that was replaced by the same sort of nurturing look that had drawn Coco to her to begin with.  The one that had made her realize that underneath that anger and indignation, there really was an understanding pony all along.

Coco was still wordless, but somehow, just looking at the pony who had been a fellow mother to Babs gave her at least some hope.

“Would you really want a mare like that as a mother?”

More than any that Midsweet had asked, this question floored Coco to no end.  It sounded sincere enough, but seemed more like a rhetorical insult than anything else.  It was so barbed and loaded that it almost didn’t come across as serious.  More importantly, she didn’t see what point it could possibly serve.

“I was pretty scared of her,” Coco finally conceded.  “She was in my face before I even did anything.”

“So, if that’s the case, then how do you think Babs feels about everything going on here?  What if you found out that Midsweet had done the same things to her as she did to you?”

That was where the biggest contradiction seemed to come in.  From what Coco could tell, she had at least some reason to fear Midsweet, and yet the mare had never told her anything but the truth.  Logically, she should have only feared the darkness within herself, and not the mare who’d brought it to light.  Yet imagining her doing the same to her daughter—or the pony she’d come to think of as hers—filled every part of her with dread.

“She couldn’t have done anything wrong if she told me the truth.  I needed to hear the things that she told me, so there’s no way she could—“

“She would,” Valencia interrupted.  “Trust me, I’m the one who had to live with her for as long as I have.  If she feels the need to tear somepony down, it doesn’t matter if it’s true or not.  I saw your foal back there, and Cameo’s right.  Midsweet might not be doing anything to her right now, but the room confinement is the first step.  Sooner or later, she’s not going to be the kind mother you think she is anymore.”

Valencia’s voice took on the same sort of high-pitched, desperate tone that Coco had grown all too used to over the past few days, the one that could never be worthy of a calm and composed Orange mare.  That in itself was enough to convince her for a few split seconds, but then she realized that they’d never answered the real question.

“Do you really think that I’m like him?” Coco asked, fearing the answer more than anything.  “Will I ever really be able to escape him?”

“Those aren’t the questions that need to be answered today,” replied Cameo.  “They’re something you’ll need to overcome yourself, and I know from experience that it won’t end overnight.  He’ll stay in your life and in your thoughts for as long as he wants to.  But I’ll let you in on a secret: every once in a while, he still comes into mine.”

The blank look on Coco’s face was replaced with complete shock.  Being Pink Lady, or at least the first one, meant opposing Mosely with everything you had.  That night, Cameo seemed to have closed him away forever, banishing him to his prison like Celestia herself.  It was the kind of strength Coco knew she might never have.

“Don’t be that way,” the older mare said with a tiny chuckle.  “I may have recovered, but I’m not completely emotionless.  I’m still a divorced mare who sometimes regrets her decision.  Sure, I flush those thoughts right out of my mind after five seconds, but that’s the key.  I’ve had years to realize what a terrible decision I made, and to get over it.  That’s how long it might end up taking for you.”

Just before Cameo was about to voice them, the thoughts already went through Coco’s mind.  Could she ever call the other mare purely Mosely’s creation, when she’d grown to be so unlike him?  Yet he’d pulled the reins in Cameo’s life every bit as much as he had in hers, if not more.  No matter how long it’d taken her to get past it, at least she was still learning to love again every bit as much as Coco was.

“Besides,” Cameo continued, seeing that Coco was lightening up, “do you really think I would’ve let you anywhere near my foal if you were just Mosely’s double?  Celestia knows I would’ve fought you with everything I had, but I knew from the moment you went against him that you were your own mare.  A mare with understandable insecurities that somepony’s used against her just to achieve her own ends.”

Coco’s face turned back towards the force field, still ever unsure about what she would find in there.  What if Babs was happier with this life?  What if Midsweet really was a better mare than her?

For once, though, she broke straight through those questions.  Those didn’t matter, because as long as Cameo, Applejack, and everypony else recognized Coco and Babs as family, then what had Midsweet really done?  And if she was willing to go that far, who knew what could happen in there?

“What do you even think she’s doing with her?” Coco whispered, unsure if she would get a real response.

“If Valencia’s any indication, probably somethin’ more selfish than anythin’ you could do,” Applejack replied.

Suddenly, the gears in Coco’s mind finally began to move again, and she realized what she had seen just after Midsweet had confronted her.  Babs had heard everything, and tried her hardest to make sure her mother ignored it.  Even if Coco still wavered as to whether or not she truly deserved to call the filly family, Babs certainly knew who she belonged with.

“If we can find a way past that field, we can all see for ourselves,” Cameo said.  “Once you see what sorts of things are probably going on in there, you’ll see just how much of a hypocrite that mare is.”

All four mares braced themselves, trying to figure out the best way to make it through the field without their magic.  And yet somehow, they were filled with more hope than they’d had all day.

Just before she trotted up the stairs, Cameo gave Coco one final encouragement  as the two entered enemy territory.

“You know who you are,” she whispered.  “Whatever happens in there, don’t let Midsweet tell you otherwise.”


****


Accomplishment ran through Midsweet’s very veins at how easily she was able to dispel that other mare from her home.  Yet Babs, the filly who had been her constant companion for the last several days, had very different thoughts.

Midsweet couldn’t stop herself from going off about how weak Coco really was and how she couldn’t defend her so-called child from even the smallest of troubles, but Babs knew different.  Presumably, the other mare had reversed the soundproof spell so she could hear just how little her mother cared for her, but all she heard was brutality.  Everything that had unfolded just reminded her of how merciless Midsweet had been at the family meeting, and how easily that could be turned on her.

Babs had given up on trying to reach Coco, and even moreso on trying to escape.  Midsweet had insisted that the filly had not revealed the truth about her living with the Oranges on her own free will, but took precautions nonetheless.  She wasn’t even able to bump into the shield or try to crack it before it would teleport her straight back onto the bed every time.

Right now, all she could do was curl herself up under the covers and refuse to answer Midsweet’s worries about how she’d gotten this way.  After what she’d done to Valencia, any merciful pony ought to have known why Babs was reacting like this.  Therefore, Midsweet merited no such answers.

When the mare finally pulled the sheets out as fast as she could and stared her straight in the eye, though, Babs couldn’t exactly stick to that point of view.

“You haven’t been yourself since the meeting, have you,” Midsweet finally spoke.  “I know it’s hard to take in, but you have to eventually.  It’s an essential part of being an Orange, after all.”

She almost seemed understanding, but after what she’d heard her say to Coco, Babs knew better now.  There’d been a few flickering moments when she almost wanted to give into the mare, but deep down, she’d always known something like this would happen.

You don’t know the real me, she wanted to say.  But even then, she heard the warning in her head, telling her that whatever she could do to Coco, she could do to her, too.  Midsweet may have thought that Babs was too good for the sorts of things Mosely had done to her, but that could surely change if she said the wrong thing.

So instead, she kept silent.  Partially out of fear, and partially out of rebellion.  Midsweet, surprisingly enough, complied, stroking Babs’ fur as softly as she could.  After everything the mare had done to keep her there, and everything she’d done to others, the sensation was anything but comforting.

“You won’t get rid of me like you did to Valencia, will you?” 

“Of course not, my dear.  You’re perfect, no matter what you do.”

The shield was only made to last four hours, just enough time for a rebellious foal to see just how helpless they really were.  Therefore, it slowly began to break, nowhere near enough for Coco and the others to pass through, but still enough to hear every last word coming from the other room.

“I sure as hay don’t believe that,” Applejack muttered under her breath, standing just outside the sealed door.  “If that hogwash were true, 	Midsweet would’ve let her go already.”

Midsweet herself failed to respond, but the others could faintly hear hooves heading their way.

“I think you’re on to something,” Cameo replied, speaking so quietly that nopony except the other three could hear.  “Coco said that she saw Midsweet pass into it a while back.  While she’s clearly having somepony else control the barrier, it still recognizes her as a non-threatening presence.”

Valencia nodded in agreement, admitting that she’d been locked inside these more than a few times when she was first getting used to the Orange life.

“So if we get Midsweet to come out and then come back in, we can make an opening, confront her, and from there, the police officers Valencia’s husband talked to should be able to do the rest.”

As much as Coco wanted to ask Cameo why they didn’t just wait for the police to come in the first place, there was still a part of her that wanted to confront Midsweet.  To see just what the mare wanted to hide so much that she would bring out Coco’s worst fears to do so.  Instead, she brought herself to speak the first words, ones that she actually meant from her heart this time.

“You’re one to talk about being selfish!” she said as loud as she could.  While she still feared what Midsweet could do to her for saying such things, Coco had to admit that telling her off felt better than it should have.

Just as expected from a rich mare concerned about her reputation, Midsweet came out from the first indication of somepony trying to defy her.  Instead of anger, though, all Coco saw on her face was a condescending sort of astonishment.

“You’re still here?” she replied with a dark chuckle.  “I thought I made it clear that your kind weren’t welcome here.  And that goes double for you.”

To Coco’s surprise, Midsweet’s hoof was pointed not at her, but rather at Valencia.

“I thought you knew more than anypony else what being expelled from the Oranges really meant,” she continued.

Valencia was about to open her mouth to reply, but instead, Applejack stepped just in front of her, placing herself directly between the former Orange and Midsweet herself.

“Could you enlighten me ‘bout she’d know so much about that?” the Apple said in a deceptively level tone.  “Maybe ‘cause you think you have the right to rule over everypony you see?  Or is it ‘cause you wouldn’t know what a real family was if it hit ya over the head and buried ya?”

As good as Applejack’s intentions were, the other three ponies accompanying her couldn’t help but shake their heads in annoyance.  This was getting to be far more than just a distraction to get in, and far more about actually provoking the mare who could severely hurt the foal they were trying to save.

Even then, however, Midsweet kept an almost creepy amount of composure, giving Applejack the same look she had given Coco only an hour before.  It was the one she would make when she would contemplate how to turn an argument back in her favor, and more importantly, back onto her opponent.

“If you want to continue your family’s alliance with us,” she threatened in an even tone, “I’d say you should end this at once.”

“I agree,” Coco replied, even though the statement wasn’t aimed at her.  

Watching the small group of ponies she’d formed just over the last few days be threatened by the family that’d plagued her for all too long gave her a sudden surge of power, it seemed.  As soon as she could feel the courageous streak pouring out over again once more, she knew that Midsweet had told her worst lie yet.

“You were right,” she continued.  “This shouldn’t be a competition, because as far as I can tell, the Apples and the Oranges stopped being allies when you stole one of our own away from us.”

“I thought I’d made this clear,” replied Midsweet.  “You were the one who stole her away from us.  Weren’t you listening to anything I said back there at all?”

“Believe me, I wanted to.  And if I hadn’t heard it then, I feel like I would’ve stayed there forever.  But when everypony gathered around me, I was finally able to hear it.  I finally knew something that you don’t seem to understand.”

For the first time in the whole conversation, Midsweet seemed to be growing tired of the struggle.  Her face was now filled with nothing but disapproval, and Coco knew she’d fight with everything she had to keep Babs with the Oranges.

Yet she said it anyway, because otherwise, if she feared the consequences, far worse things could happen to her foal.  In that moment, that was all that mattered.

“You may have been right about another thing.  Most ponies can’t choose their families.  Most are destined to spend their entire lives with them.  But they can choose what ‘family’ means for themselves.  Maybe the circumstances that brought us together weren’t the best, but even when Babs and I learned the truth about them, we never looked back.”

“Would you be able to say the same about the way you treated her?” Cameo finished.  “You told Coco that my daughter meant more to you than anything because she was your family.  Yet, since I’ve been around, you’ve expelled more Oranges than I can count.”

Midsweet, genuinely shocked, found herself on the defensive side.  Those other four would never understand the way she ran things, but all she could do was to make them know.

“It’s the way things have always been done,” she said, retreating into the traditional Orange reply.

“You told me you’d never let me go,” Valencia answered, ignoring the trite slogan she’d heard so many times throughout her life.  “And yet you say you really mean it with this foal when thirty years from now, you’ll leave her with nothing, no way to have a life outside you.”

“Unlike her, you actually committed a crime,” Midsweet responded.  “And so did all those others!  You don’t understand the things they could have done to jeopardize us.  But I do.  And now that I’ve figured out the failures I’ve made with you and your brother, I can make sure my next charge never fails like you two did.”

As all four started to lose their patience, they began to voice the questions they had been wanting to know all along.

“Why her, though?” asked Coco.  “Why not one of the other Oranges who were already ready to follow you?”

With a grin, Midsweet replied, “Because she’s like me.  Born to somepony outside the Orange family, somepony who really knows what suffering is.  We’ve both had to live through the hateful glances everypony else gave us, and so to this date, she’s the only pony I’ve seen who wouldn’t take the Orange heir position lightly.  Together, we’ll be able to outlast all the other Oranges who’d doubt us and—“

“Did you ever ask her opinions on this, even once?”

To everypony’s surprise, Babs had actually tried to make it off her bed for once, even though she knew the shield would end up catching her.  The words she spoke, however, floored Midsweet and Coco even more than her actions.  Or rather, the ones she repeated.

“Of course I couldn’t have asked you, dear,” Midsweet answered, everything about her suddenly softening to ensure the filly wouldn’t be suspicious.  “You’ve spent so long with them that you wouldn’t dare oppose them.  I understand that, but I see a far greater destiny for you.”

“One where I’d have to hurt ponies who didn’t deserve it?” Babs spoke bitterly.

A flicker of something else went into Midsweet’s eyes, looking as though she couldn’t control herself anymore.  Or rather, that she’d been trying to do so for too long.

“I really was wrong to think you were ready for the meeting.  Now it’s just filled you with all these false ideas that I’ll just have to take twice as long to correct.”

“If you want me to turn into another version of yourself and give up everythin’ I’ve known, that ain’t kindness, no matter how much ya doll it up like that.  And Valencia didn’t force the info out of me…I told her.”

She should’ve seen the way Midsweet’s eyes changed, the same way she should’ve seen her come towards her to begin with.  But after everything she’d been through over these past few days, she had to nail it in somehow.

“Because I never wanted any of this,” she continued, her breaking voice betraying the toughness she was trying to show.  “You think it’s different from when I was foalnapped the other time, but it felt just like then.  I would’ve done anything to get out…I just want out of here!”

By the time the police arrived, they would already have all the information they would need about the case of the elderly mare who sought to create her own clone.  

Everything the Oranges had once been in a single mare, with an Apple mare’s tail freezing her in place.  Only inches away from kicking the filly she said she’d loved with every part of her heart.

That ended everything Midsweet Orange had been, or had claimed to be.  With the three highest-ranking Oranges either expelled from the family or outright jailed within only two months, reparations would have to start soon.  Nopony knew quite how to put the family back together again that night, or if they were broken beyond repair.  

But, for the time being, what mattered wasn’t that a family had been splintered.  In that night, the brightest sight anypony could see was the costume designer mare and her filly, one family who decided that they were unbreakable.


CURTAIN
~end of Act Three~