//------------------------------// // Act I, Scene 8: ...Burning the Bridge // Story: If You Give a Little Love... // by Quillamore //------------------------------// In the moments that followed, Coco knew just what to say for once in her life. It wasn't something that she would've ever admitted under low states. Just forming the words in her mind was enough to make any pride she had left completely disappear. “Suri’s right,” she interrupted. “I didn’t know anything about what was going on behind the scenes when I applied for the position. By the time I found out, I was too scared to tell anypony. Maybe, through doing that, through doing nothing, I did hurt your sister in some way. I contributed to the system as much as Suri did by being cowardly enough to allow it to continue. But if you’d give me a chance, maybe I can begin to redeem myself for that.” “You haven’t said anything the whole time,” Bambi observed, for once intrigued rather than angered. “So I suppose you’re—“ “Coco Pommel. I know it’s a bit awkward, suddenly finding out you’re related to somepony you’ve never even met, and you probably don’t want to hear this, but…” Her voice cracked slightly as she continued. “I really don’t want to fight you. That’s why I stayed silent this whole time. I feel like if Babs chose you over me, I ought to respect her wishes. You love her just as much, if not more, than I do. I don’t know how this is going to end, if it’s just a misunderstanding or if she really does resent me for what I did. But I at least want closure, and that means getting the chance to apologize to her, and also to make sure her sister doesn’t harbor any hard feelings against me. Point is, if she ends up coming back home with me, I don’t want to leave you out of it. Babs is family, and really…I just want you to be family, too.” “Look, I’m beginning to understand that you might’ve been a victim of your circumstances and all, but—“ Bambi suddenly trailed off, at a loss for words for once. “I’ve had enough issues with my family already. The last thing I need is for anypony else to join it. And if you’re really as good a pony as you say you are…you really ought to stay far away from us. Babs and I might be decent ponies, but the rest of us over in Manehattan aren’t quite so kind as you might be used to from the Ponyville Apples. You either end up corrupted or ridiculed until the day you die. That’s how it was with Babs’ father. They may not have directly killed him, but they might as well have.” “Babs’ father?” Coco asked in concern. “Not yours?” “We don’t talk about my father,” the other mare answered, half in anger and half in resignation. “I still see him once in a while, but I try to avoid him. He betrayed us, so I try my best to abandon him. If he wasn’t around to mess things up, Babs wouldn’t be the only pony left in the world I can reasonably call family. She’s the only one I can rely on. I used to be able to rely on my mother, our mother, but then…” As Bambi’s voice turned increasingly vulnerable and raw, and in spite of how much effort it took for her to form the words, a hundred questions and realizations rushed through Coco’s mind. Babs’ mother, her real mother, was still alive somehow, and yet a mysterious something was keeping her from being able to care for her herself. What was this strange mare like? If the two of them met, would it be just as hostile as the encounter with Bambi started out as? Or would she even still care about her daughter? “By the time Babs was kidnapped, my mother and my father had already separated,” Bambi backtracked. “My stepfather was dead, and the two of us lived in different places. I lived with Dad, but sometimes Babs would come over from Mom’s to see us. That’s where she was when it happened. When Dad found out, he didn’t want to take responsibility for not paying enough attention to her. He could’ve prevented it, but instead of owning up to it when Mom found out…he just blamed it all on me. And she believed it. I haven’t seen her since. “Now do you realize why I can’t just allow you to be with her? Even if you were as pure as some royal guard out there, I still couldn’t. I’ve spent too much time apart from her, wondering where she was, unable to sleep at night because deep down, I blamed myself, too. The last time I let down my guard around her, she suffered more than anypony ever should. Even if it means keeping her from everypony and anypony else, there’s no way I’ll ever let her out of my sight again. That would mean tragedy…for both of us.” “I understand, I really do,” Coco finally replied, “but shouldn’t you trust yourself a little more? I know I didn’t have very much confidence when I first started off in the world, but the more I grow in that regard, the more I feel like I’m able to open up to ponies. Sure, you might not have had a good family life up until now, but can’t you at least believe that what happened to Babs was a coincidence that you couldn’t have stopped?” “Look, I just don’t feel like talking about this much more, okay? Not that I hate you; if anything, you seem a lot better than the terrible pony I made you out to be. It’s just that I’ve already gave you my answer, and I will stand by it as if my life depended on it. You can come over once in a while if you’d like to check up on my sister, but I don’t have room in my heart for any more family, and that’s that.” Observing the conversation between the two mares, Scene and Rarity couldn’t help but feel a little defeated in more ways than one. Not only was Bambi’s decision to allow Coco visitation rights only an iota better than the status quo, but the way the newsmare had holed herself up to her small condo had clearly taken its toll already. It seemed as though she had forgotten how to trust anypony, even herself. But, as somber as the situation already was, neither could help but wonder how much worse things might’ve been before Babs had run off, when Bambi had lived here completely alone with only her potential interviewees or maybe a few friends to keep her company. Perhaps, both thought to themselves, it was not so much guilt that kept Bambi from letting go of Babs as it was loneliness. “If only there was a way she could live with both of them,” Rarity whispered, not fully intending for anypony else to hear. “I mean, both of them appear to be lost without her. I’d certainly be the same way if I were in the same situation with Sweetie Belle. At the same time, though, I wouldn’t want her to be taken away from somepony who loved her as much as Coco clearly loves Babs. I’d still want her by my side, but…” “I know,” Scene answered, keeping his voice low so the other mares could continue talking. Suri stared idly at the situation, perhaps because out of voyeurism at seeing her former assistant in a bind, but perhaps also because she knew that she could do nothing at this point without aggravating almost everypony there. “It makes me almost wish there was a true villain in this struggle, because even though I like Coco, I can’t help but sympathize with the other side, too.” As the ponies settled into their small groups to discuss the incident at length, they barely noticed the door beginning to creak slightly. Voices were raised, not in anger, but nevertheless in passion, and even if they wouldn’t have been, it still would’ve seemed rather unusual for somepony to suddenly come out of the condo at this point in time. After all, one of the residents was already outside, and the other was sleeping soundly in her bed upstairs. Such an occurrence, therefore, was so unlikely that any signs of it could be easily waved off and ignored. Several minutes passed before anypony noticed that anything had changed, and it was in those moments that a familiar small voice piped into the conversation: “I know a way.” Standing by the door was a brown earth filly, slightly drowsy-eyed but nevertheless cognizant of the situation. Despite being still being in a deep conversation with Bambi, her presence distracted Coco for long enough for her to utter a little gasp of delight. “Babs,” Bambi spoke, “how long have you been standing there? I thought you were still asleep.” “Long enough,” she answered curtly. “You said you were going to wake me up in an hour. You weren’t coming and I heard voices, so I assume something was goin’ on down there. Still is, apparently.” “Suri,” Scene whispered upon seeing Babs, “can you please—“ He nudged his head in the direction of the building’s exit sign and pointed to the unaware filly. “You don’t have to tell me twice,” Suri muttered upon leaving. “I’ve seen how she reacts to me, and I definitely don’t want a repeat of that incident if I can help it. Besides, I’ve got a date to catch in an hour, so I guess I’ll be catching you at work tomorrow, ‘kay?” “Anyway,” continued Bambi after ensuring her nemesis was out of sight, “perhaps what I should be asking is this: how much did you hear?” “Enough to know that I might’ve made a really bad decision by coming here,” Babs admitted. “I was already starting to have some regrets, but after I heard you talking to Coco, I realized something. I love you more than anything, but I don’t want to end up like you, closin’ yourself off and all because you’re still afraid of the past. Coco’s taught me that not everypony in my past necessarily meant to hurt me, and that dwelling on it too much can keep you from living your life. If I hadn’t met her, I don’t know what I’d do. And even though I’ve still got a lot of progress left to make, I shouldn’t let my fear keep me from anypony who loves me...and that doesn’t just mean Coco. That means you, too.” “So, does this mean you’re leaving now?” Bambi asked. In spite of the fact that her sister had only stayed with her for a short amount of time, tears were already starting to cloud her face. “That you’re leaving me, that I’m going to be alone again?” “You said a few months ago that you had a spare room you wanted to rent out so you could have another mare to stay with,” spoke Babs, a detail that at first seemed completely extraneous. “Well, Coco’s been going through some rough times at her job, and might even end up being fired soon.” “Um, she’s exaggerating a bit on that,” Coco corrected. “I haven’t been fired yet, but I’ve had to take up another costume design job, and—“ “Go on,” the newsmare interrupted. “How’d she end up in such a state?” “The producer guy isn’t very good. They say he wants to get rid of a lot of the cast because they aren’t making as much progress as he’d like. I don’t know much about it, but I’ve heard some of the ponies have already had to sell their apartments.” “It has been a little harder for me to make my payments,” added Coco. “They didn’t cut my salary much, but enough to make matters difficult, to say the least. You really don’t have to go that far, though; I can do just fine on my own.” “I know that, but I was thinking that maybe you’d be better off living here. It’s not so much about the bits as it is that I really love both of you and I don’t want to have to choose between you. I may have to one day, but for now, I feel like it’d be better if my sister has somepony else around to keep her company, and if you had somepony around to split the chores with, especially now that you’re working twice as hard.” Everypony went silent for a while, some considering the arrangement and others standing by in anticipation of what the decision might be. Pros and cons were weighed and hesitancies were overcome. Bambi in particular was ambivalent: after all, she was the one who’d always said that she didn’t want any more family. But, she thought to herself, wasn’t it also true that sometimes the things you end up cherishing the most start out as the things you didn’t even want in the first place? If everything went well from here, maybe she could even mend ties with her mother or some of the saner Manehattan Apples. It may not be the most normal living arrangement, but it just might be the most hopeful option she’d had in a long time. “I’ll still be keeping tabs on you,” Bambi finally replied with a mischievous smile. “But it’d be a lot easier to do that if we lived together.” “Is that a yes or are you still mad at me?” Coco wondered, not quite reading the humor in the other mare’s response. “Relax, I’m kidding you! If you say you aren’t up to anything, we’ve talked for long enough that I’ll take you at your word. You seem too darn innocent to put up a good lie, anyway. I get off work right about when school ends, so I can pick Babs up, she won’t have to run into Suri, and you can keep working. Don’t think that means you can slack off with your mom duties, though. The only way this weird setup can work is if we both pull our weight.” “I won’t, I promise. I’ll work twice as hard now so I can balance both.” “So I guess that means a yes for you too?” Bambi questioned, only now realizing that Coco hadn’t given a concrete response. “Yes, and I have you both to thank for helping me get out of the hole I’ve had at work these days. But then again, that’s what family’s for, isn’t it?” The three crowded closer together and, after some slight moments of hesitation, slowly took each other into their arms in a gentle group hug. Even Bambi was touched by the situation, knowing that she’d never have to lose her sister again. Even as everypony began to leave, chattering still reigned, with Rarity and Scene agreeing to help Coco move into the condo in a week and with Bambi reassuring her that she’d make sure the pay was as manageable as possible. For once, all finally seemed to be at peace. A peace that, as it always seems to turn out, would not last. **** An hour or so later, a sharply dressed couple spoke in hushed whispers along the Manehattan streets, behind the cover of a swanky sidewalk café. At first, it looked as though the two could’ve come from any part of the city’s richer districts, but from the chatter that could be heard, it became immediately clear: they weren’t just run-of-the-mill socialites. They were the Bridleway elite. “I’ve been telling you for fifteen minutes, Mosely,” one, a pink-and-purple mare, muttered in annoyance. “That’s all I saw, okay? They told me to get lost, so excuse me if I don’t know more about the situation.” “It’s all right,” the other replied. “You did well today, Suri. I’d been wondering where half my workers had gone off to today, and it was so kind of you to cooperate. Not all the mares I’ve dated would have.” “Thank you, but can we just stop talking about this?” Suri sighed. “I can’t stand it when stallions talk about their jobs at a time like this. We’re on a date, and I certainly didn’t start seeing you just so I could talk about Coco all the time.” With a slight scoff, she muttered, “If I would’ve wanted that, I would’ve asked Scene out instead.” “What was that you just said, dear?” “Oh, nothing, nothing. Just a little inside joke we theatre workers have.” The assistant costume designer let out a string of laughter, only barely hiding just how nervous she was at her lover having noticed her unintentional outburst. “About my director?” Mosely asked skeptically. “Yeah, he says he sees Coco as just a friend, but really, everypony can see it. There was a good reason that pony didn’t stay an actor, I tell you. Can’t hide the truth if his life depended on it.” “I figured there was something about that mare that was holding up production. Didn’t expect this, though. I thought that being in my service for so long, somepony like Scene Stealer would know better than to squander his career for somepony he barely even knows. Guess I was wrong to think he was above it all. Nopony really is over on Bridleway; we just like to pretend we are. “And as for those who can’t? Well, there are consequences for that, and I’ll be sure to refresh Scene’s memory about those. But you’re right, Suri. Enough about work, except for this: you may be the one pony on this set who’s actually thinking ahead. I really was right about you after all.” For the next hour or so, nothing of worth was heard from the two, nothing that could satisfy the steady Manehattan gossip stream. But the scandalmongers of the city say that, even as the restaurant was about to close, even when her coltfriend had been gone for hours, Suri Polomare stayed at her table, watching the wind blow through her mane. It was perfectly coiffed that night, so it wasn’t as if any stray strands could flow away, but at least that would’ve given her an excuse to do anything other than hide the sobs flowing down. Suri Polomare, they say, was just as bad at hiding things as Scene was in that moment. They say that she only spoke a few audible words as she stared at the star-studded skyline of eleven ‘o clock. And those words were: “What have I done?” CURTAIN ~end of Act One~