As embarrassing as it was, that image had been the one that stayed in Diamond Tiara’s head the whole night, and even into the morning. Every time she closed her eyes in her restless sleep, all she could see was Coco, and all she could feel was her embrace. Broken, misunderstood, miserable, suffering, beautiful, motherly Coco.
Among all the tragedies this family had withstood, Diamond thought Coco’s social status had to be the worst. Even with her heartfelt confession the night before, something told the filly that few in Manehattan were likely to believe it like she did, considering the way she’d sold knockoffs and lied to just about everypony in the city before. Surely the costume designer deserved the attention and glory far more than her own mother did.
That, at least, was better than thinking the most humiliating thought she could possibly muster. Yet somehow, that was still on her mind. Everything else was just an easy way of ignoring the obvious.
As dawn broke all across Equestria, Diamond felt Coco gently tuck her in before leaving for work, something that might as well have been leaving for war. And yet, as Diamond felt herself easing back into the tendrils of sleep, the idea still invaded her mind.
I barely know the mare, she thought to herself, but I can’t help but wish I’d been born into this family for real.
****
Hours later, she eased herself out of bed and went through the drill Coco had coached her on after they’d left the boutique. If she needed to talk to anypony, Bambi knew as much about Mosely as Coco did. Even more, in fact, since she was his daughter and surely had to face just about everything Diamond had faced with Spoiled. Once that thought entered her head, she told herself that even if Mosely didn’t trouble her throughout the day, she’d still have to seek Bambi out and hope the older mare could give her advice nopony in Ponyville could.
But the most important thing of all, Diamond realized as she forced herself through her daily routine, was the masquerade. From what Coco had told her, the costume designer was going to quit Mosely’s troupe as soon as the play hit theatres tomorrow night, and nopony was to know why. Though Diamond could hardly tell from looking at her, supposedly Babs was in such a fragile mental state that knowing about Mosely could break her for good. The sweet lie she lived in, the one where he’d loved and defended her until the end, had to be maintained at all costs.
If somepony would’ve told her that before, she would’ve thought for sure Babs would’ve been able to handle it. But as Diamond trotted through the morning, she realized that not even she herself could. It was a revelation that unraveled the more she thought about it, and one that seemed to stick its talons into her even when she tried to take her mind off of it.
Babs should have been like her. She should have been the Orange heir, or at least the closest thing to it. She and Diamond should have been equals, but instead, she was little more than a recovering street urchin seeking answers. Answers that, no matter how much she wanted them, Diamond would have to ensure she never received. To save her friend, she’d have to lie and hide secrets from her all over again.
Being a reformed villain really was the worst.
“So,” Bambi finally spoke, “what were you thinking about doing today?”
As soon as she realized her real predicament, all Diamond could do was curse herself. She’d been zoned out for so long, figuring out the real implications of everything, that she barely even touched the pancakes that’d been meticulously laid out for her. Judging from the look on Babs’ eyes, even she had noticed the strange shift in Diamond’s behavior. Thankfully, however, the other filly said nothing in response, and she was safe for the moment. She wasn’t sure if her natural skill towards lying would get her through the rest of the day, though.
“I really don’t know,” she replied. “Coco and I did a lot last night, and I’m still a bit tired from everything. Plus, I feel like I’ve seen a lot of what I wanted to see here.”
Way more than I wanted to see, even, Diamond added to herself.
“Well, I feel like we should do something extra special today since we’re going to spend most of tomorrow getting ready for the play. So when the two of you think of something, get back to me right away, okay?”
With a sigh of relief, Diamond shoveled the pancakes into her mouth and whispered a few words Bambi’s way. She claimed they were about a potential cutecenera present when Babs asked, but the filly still appeared suspicious. Even then, Bambi gave Diamond a nod of understanding and agreed to talk about the situation later, but not before giving her more than a few shocked looks.
In any case, she knew she’d have to get Mosely out of her mind before she could pretend to be anywhere near normal, and so she excused herself for an hour or so to read her spring break novel. She hadn’t had much time to read it with how hectic things could be at Coco’s condo, but she’d already finished half of it anyway. It had a way of sucking her in like no book of its genre could or should, especially since it took place on a farm of all places. A year ago, she would’ve died before reading such a thing, and yet somehow, she found herself enjoying it.
Hopefully, hearing more about the pig and the spider could keep her mind off things no foal deserved to think about. After checking the last few pages to make sure she didn’t forget anything, she eased herself into a comfortable reading spot and prepared to hone her speed reading skills. Just before she could do so, however, she heard a knock at the door, and once she opened it, Bambi practically burst through.
“Babs is getting ready right now,” she explained. “But I have a feeling I know what Coco told you about, and I also have a feeling you need somepony to talk to.”
In that moment, Diamond almost wished the ponies in this house were as uncaring as the ones in hers--or in her father’s case, barely present at all. At least with them, she’d never have to humiliate herself with talk about her feelings. But somehow, the slightest glimmer in her almost appreciated Bambi’s calmness towards the situation and her willingness to lend an ear.
All it took was a few more seconds for that first one to come flying out the window. Even though Bambi had probably known the secret for Celestia knows how long, she still seemed to have a panicked look in her eyes that Diamond couldn’t quite decipher. The older mare slammed the door shut and shifted her gaze from left to right, ensuring that nopony could hear the conversation or enter the room. After she’d been sufficiently ensured of that fact, her eyes regained their normal color, and she continued on as usual.
Still, Diamond decided to wait a few minutes to fess up just in case. She’d barely known the mare for a week, and in all honesty, the situation was freaking her out a little. Once she knew for sure that Bambi’s frantic state was temporary, she decided to tell her everything she knew.
“Coco took me out to explain everything last night. Even though I’d heard similar stories before from the company my parents keep, it was still a lot to take in.”
“Just how much does your ‘everything’ entail?” Bambi asked, narrowing her eyes. “Is there anything else I need to set straight? Anything she could’ve missed?”
The room was as colorful and elegant as any in Coco’s residence, but somehow, it felt more like an interrogation area than anything else. While Diamond knew Bambi wouldn’t do anything to harm her and condemned just about everything her mother had done to her, the newsmare’s intense focus was still enough to catch her off guard. Instinctually, she turned her face away from Bambi’s and back toward the book.
“Sorry, that probably wasn’t the best way of asking it. You’re not in trouble at all. I just want to make sure you’re okay after hearing all that. From what I’ve seen of you today, you don’t really seem that way.”
Bambi gently lifted Diamond’s chin off her book and smiled at her, a strange gesture that still comforted her like nothing else. On top of that, the older mare took pains to lower her voice as much as she could, though it was still shrill in places. From all that, Diamond was able to deduce that however affected by the secret she had been, it had been ten times worse for Bambi, even years after the fact.
“Well,” the filly began, “she told me about where she used to work and how Babs came into that. She also said Mosely’s planning something with this family, and that he could’ve stopped Babs from being kidnapped.”
It took everything she’d had to keep a neutral tone at the confession, even as she mentally corrected herself every time her voice wanted to crack. Even in a situation like this, a true mare of wealth would never break down in front of her peers, no matter how much she wanted to. As soon as she looked Bambi in the eyes, though, she wondered if she’d seemed too distanced from the issue.
Her last statement had practically shoved an arrow into Bambi’s back, and the older mare zoned out for what seemed like hours. Just yesterday, Diamond would’ve never thought she’d see anypony go through as much pain as Coco had, and yet somehow, it looked like the rest of her Manehattan trip would turn out to be a string of these sorts of events. And, just like before, all she could do was to stand helpless before the traumatized mare, unable to cure her pain or to even come close to doing so.
The old Diamond would’ve laughed, or even gone back to her book during those moments. That thought, at least, was the only solace she had as she watched Bambi’s helpless face.
“I think he did a lot more than that,” Bambi finally spoke. “Nopony’s ever confirmed it, but I’ve always been convinced that he arranged the whole thing. Nopony dared to break into our place before that day. Even when I was just a student journalist, that all seemed fishy.”
She plopped onto a conveniently placed pillow and crossed her front legs. Diamond tried to look for some trace of misplaced affection in her eyes, but they appeared to burn with pure hatred. However Bambi had done it, that’d been one step Diamond hadn’t crossed yet, and yet another thing she found herself admiring about the mare.
Somehow or another, this outspoken, indignant newsmare had been a prim, perfect Orange heiress once, one who’d probably faced even more pressure than Diamond had. Yet nothing about her seemed to want to go back, and she fought for her new family with a fierceness the filly had never seen. She, like everything else in the condo, was nothing short of a mystery.
“So you’re saying you don’t feel anything towards him?” Diamond asked without thinking.
“Why should I?” Bambi replied with a scoff. “He never felt anything towards our family. My mother couldn’t function for years, all because of the way he treated her. She was never allowed to be her own pony, just some programmed Orange clone. He rejected his own flesh and blood because she wasn’t a good enough tool for him. And, as much as I hate to bring myself into this, he--”
The rest of the words faded away once Bambi forced herself to make eye contact with her sister’s new friend. Then, and only then, did she realize Diamond had never meant to be accusatory. She’d thought she didn’t understand--but she understood all too well.
“--probably treated me a lot like your mother treats you.”
Bambi was about to trot out of the room, utterly ashamed of herself for exploding at her guest, when Diamond suddenly stopped her in her tracks.
Bambi had never been as soft or comforting of a figure as Coco had, but somehow, the revelation had drawn Diamond closer to her than ever. She wasn’t sure if she’d ever find another pony who understood her situation ever again, and so this was the only chance she had of ever taking the next step. The one that’d bring her to the pony she wanted to be.
“What I meant to ask was--how did you get over it? I mean, no matter how much my mother keeps me away from the life I want to live, I still find myself loving her. Sometimes, I still want to go back to how she wanted me to be. But you don’t seem to have any of those problems.”
With a quick sigh, Bambi answered, “Watching ponies get hurt because of the ones you love can do that to you. All I can say is that it takes time, and if your mother doesn’t try any funny business, it might take longer for you. What I did then was what I had to do to survive, so there’s nothing wrong with going at your own pace. Any progress is still progress, I’d say.”
She smiled at the filly and continued, “And as much as I’d like to see more journalists out in Equestria, and as much experience as I know you have with that, you don’t have to copy me on everything. You can definitely keep going to me for advice, but I’d like you to forge your own path. After all, I think both of us would agree that we’re going in the direction we’re heading in to avoid having other ponies tell us how to live our lives, right?”
While it wasn’t the sort of advice Diamond had been expecting, she gave an appreciative nod all the same. She knew that she’d want to go out and explore the city more later, and Bambi had even arranged for the three of them to have a picnic in Equestria’s largest park. But for now, all she wanted to do was sit by Bambi’s side and listen to a pony who’d come across the same hardships as she had and made it through kicking.
Sooner or later, the moment would have to break, and sure enough, Babs knocked on the door about a half hour into their conversation. But even then, the three of them found a way to be together, and once Babs noticed the book Diamond was reading, she eagerly begged Bambi to read it to her.
As it turned out, the book with the spider and the pig had been one of the few good memories the sisters had gotten to share together before their lives had gone to Tartarus. And so, in a rare act of mercy, Diamond jumped onto the nearest pillow, looked out the window, and settled in for a long day of reading.
A single day where the best of memories could come back to life, and the worst could be forgotten.