If You Give a Little Love...

by Quillamore

Act II, Scene 9: Shattered Dreams

Suri Polomare had resigned herself to the fact that, for most ponies in the world or even in her life, she could never be number one. However, that didn't mean she hadn’t wasted so many years of her life trying. Her reasoning for this wasn’t even about winning, something that she had honestly never really strove for to begin with, but rather about knowing that somewhere, no matter how corrupted she might become, there would always be somepony out there who would value her above everything. Before that fateful night, she could’ve said with all certainty that there were two ponies in Equestria who viewed her that way.

Now there was only one. All this effort, and still next to nothing in repayment.

Nothing. Even after an hour of sobbing uncharacteristically and pathetically in an art museum bathroom, the word still cut her deeper than anything else. Not that she’d ever let anypony who hadn’t heard about the incident know about it. Having worn the mask of a confident criminal for so long, the habit of hiding weakness would never quite fade, no matter how much she would’ve wanted it to.

But then again, who did she really have to confide in?

The one pony who saw her as number one in her life, the one Suri could say would stick with her through anything, was the one she envied the most: the sister she left back in Ponyville, the simpleton who would’ve waited back there until her death had other forces not intervened. Up until a few months ago, the most she had known about her family was that the remaining Polomares had heard the whispers that culminated into waves, packed their saddlebags, and left Ponyville for good. Never once thinking to confirm the allegations with a neutral party at the news of their eldest daughter tearing up Manehattan, her parents had opted to shut themselves away from the rumors and roamed from city to city, aiming above all to find a place so remote not even the shallowest of breaths could reach. Once they found it, they’d thought that the only remaining step from there would be to convince their beloved remaining filly that she had been, for all intents and purposes, an only child. There would be no more talk of Suri, for fear that news could spread even in their secluded commune.

But even they could not predict the magic that would invade their village, opening it up once and for all to the rest of Equestria. And so, as soon as the spell of sameness was broken, the first thing Sugar Belle, the strange baker mare who believed in a sister whom everypony else denied, had thought was to extend that same reconciliation to another.

At the time, the prouder, rougher Suri had received her sister’s letters with the utmost annoyance. But in the midst of all this loss, for once she was grateful that somepony still looked at her with starry eyes, even if it was stupidly saccharine Sugar.

And yet, her sister still knew how to hurt her better than anypony else. Not that she would ever know; Suri would make sure of that. She couldn’t let the news that was divulged in the last letter come to pass. For once, she’d managed to do something right that could impress both Sugar and her family. For once, she’d found everything she needed to show to prove to them that she really was worth something more than just the shadow of a precocious unicorn who could excel at anything.

But that chance came at a price, one that she couldn’t pay anymore, no matter how much she may have wanted to. It had started off as an off-the-hoof mention to fill up space on paper that she really didn’t want to taint with secrets Sugar all too easily could have shown to her parents in town. Somehow, she’d figured that having a rich coltfriend in Manehattan merited a mention in her self-censored story, and sure enough, her sister only grew increasingly curious. Eventually, the other mare, smothered with happiness, pushed her to divulge a name and from there, it was the talk of the village. Sure, quite a bit of the town was still focused on its original principles of equality, but that didn’t mean that fame had been thrown out the window completely. Just as they could still recognize a princess when they saw one, they still had some idea of celebrity.

Mosely Orange was the type of pony whose name could reach to all of Equestria. And the more Suri thought about it, that wasn’t necessarily always in a good way.

Then again, she was about as far away from condemning him as possible. Oh, how she wanted to. Even if the other stallion who’d caught her eye hated her with all his being, it would’ve been so much easier if she could have just forgotten Mosely the way he’d forgotten her, move straight on to obsessing over Scene in much the same way. That way, she could really let Coco have it; she could all too easily trump her rival of so many years for taking her coltfriend by doing the same to the pony most interested in her.

And yet, out of all the issues surrounding her emotional state, Coco was at the bottom of them. Quite simply, there had been something in Mosely’s voice back there that almost felt like he was urging her to erupt in jealousy, as if he wasn’t just taunting her to break her heart. It was like he wanted her to ignore the fact that he was the one at fault and take everything out on somepony she had never liked in the first place. In spite of this, one thing was clear: while Suri certainly resented Coco for quitting on her, she sure didn’t feel the same way for her new romantic interest.

“Coco can just do whatever the hay she wants,” she muttered bitterly, taking for granted that there was nopony around to hear her. “She wants to get her heart broken, she will, okay? If she’s grown a spine and wants to get back at me, she’ll only get her own flank bitten in the end. Not like I have any right to stop her, me of all ponies.”

As she came out of the stall to examine her makeup-stained face in the mirror once more, Suri almost didn’t see the other mare that had entered.

“Though it’d certainly be nice to see the look on Mosely’s face if I broke those two lovebirds up. More I think about it, the more I can't stand that stallion. He's worse than Coco, even.”

The watching figure slowly and gracefully cantered ever closer to the mirror, her steps like a dance in and of themselves. A moment’s pause. A flicker of reversion away from the change of heart.

“But somehow, I still love him,” Suri whispered, choking back the tears. “More than Scene, even if I shouldn’t. There are hordes of other stallions in Equestria, and yet I’m still crying over this worthless piece of space…”

A slender hoof crossed her neck, but rather than the strangulation that the now-jaded Suri had been expecting, it instead formed in a warm embrace.

“I understand how you are feeling, young gentlemare,” the dignified and sincere voice replied. “A romantic rejection is always difficult on an inexperienced heart, and you just so happened to choose a terrible choice for what I presume is one of your first loves.”

Regaining her footing and taking the time to fully absorb the mysterious mare’s presence, Suri could barely describe her as anything other than radiant. Everything about her appeared to have an elegant yet unexplainable sort of sparkle: her golden mane immaculately tied up, her eyes a velvety blue, everything about her was perfectly kept, even to the tiny mole crossing just underneath her chin. In short, she was the sort of mare that Suri had always dreamed of being but knew she could never actually become. Utterly stunned at having such company come to join her, she could only form three barely coherent words.

“Gentlemare? You’re mistaken…”

“Who says that I am?” the other figure answered with a smile. “With enough primping, anypony can look like one, Miss Polomare. It only takes a little bit more to become a real pony of rank. The first step, of course, would be to rid yourself of influences who would be all too willing to dim that inner shine within you. But I won’t fault you for that, after all, I once made the same mistake. That of consorting with Mosely Orange, that is.”

“That wasn’t even my worst mistake,” Suri murmured, still a far cry from her usual self.

“I figured it wasn’t. I have heard the rumors about you, you know. That’s how I was able to find out your name. I figured that maybe what you needed all along was guidance, considering you believed that sludge about how you can only succeed here through evildoings. I won’t try to force you into anything you don’t want to do, however. I’m not like that ruffian who caught you before. All I want is to help.”

“Isn’t that…suspicious?”

“Not the way I live. See, we’re total opposites, Mosely and I. He shapes ponies for the worse, and so my goal is to take all those led astray and refine them into even better ponies than they once were. Nothing more to it than that. I promise it with all my heart. What you need is support, and I can give it to you, no costs asked.”

Lured in ever more by the mare’s deal and becoming less and less aware of what was going on around her, Suri found herself focusing her wearied eyes on the string of jewels around her companion’s neck. Perfectly cut, just like her, shining brighter than her black opal could ever hope to in streams of color. Maybe that was the reason why the decision came so easily after all, simply as a result of the simple story that’d imprinted itself in her mind.

“Oh!” the mare exclaimed, tracing where Suri’s gaze was directed. “I guess you could say I have a passion for designing items like you do. I make most of my bits these days making these. My pieces tend to attract the sort of attention you’re feeling, and I can make you a deal. Nothing you have to do to other than get out of this place and I can take you somewhere you can vent. Just my house, nothing suspicious. Considering you worked for him, you might end up being in a bind with your job anyway. I could even give you some of my older jewelry pieces to sell so you wouldn’t have to worry about bits should he fire you tomorrow.”

Suspicion should have filled Suri’s mind by now, considering how much she knew about how little was real in Manehattan. But somehow, a little glimmer of her wanted to believe there were still ponies out there who would be there for her, even if they were total strangers to her. It was that shriveled naiveté that she’d tried so hard to destroy that now had control of her, if only for a moment.

“Who are you, even?” Suri questioned, no hint of skepticism to be found in her voice.

“You can call me Pink Lady,” the other mare answered. “And I am the other side of this production, Miss Polomare.”

Pink Lady, the mare who was never really pink after all, just as Mosely was never truly orange.

****

For most ponies gazing at Bridleway’s newest couple at the art museum gala, it was a question only of why such a big-time producer like Mosely Orange would possibly be attracted to an up-and-coming costume designer. Discussion reigned throughout the evening regardless of the strange pairing, but there was one guest who couldn’t help but wonder the opposite: why on Equestria would she consort with such an unworthy stallion? As idle whispers surrounded the room and nearly everypony around was chattering about the unexpected encounter, Bambi was reduced only to silence. Sure, it couldn’t all be chalked up to mere shock, she told herself; a part of her was just trying to calculate her next move in this increasingly complex game. But no matter how hard she could’ve convinced herself, there was no denying that, out of all the ponies she’d thought the secret sender of the invitation could be, there was no way she’d expected her father to enter into this whole mess.

But then again, that way of thinking was all too naïve of her. She should’ve known above all how Mosely had a way of complicating things. Or at least, that was what she hoped. That this was all just one of his schemes and that Coco didn’t really love him for who he was. That would make it a lot easier when Bambi ended up having to drop the bomb on her. Ideally, that would have to occur as soon as possible, so any growing links between the two of them could be broken before they could develop into anything more. If that were to happen, then maybe Coco had a chance of getting back up from the places Mosely was about to drag her down to.

That is, Bambi thought to herself, assuming he hasn’t done that to her already…

Keeping in mind that the Manehattan elite had long given up on inviting the opinionated and often reclusive would-be heiress, Bambi then formulated that success was a matter of finding out just where Coco had went off to while simultaneously slipping past any potential security. Then again, she corrected herself, that was assuming these places really had that much of it to begin with and that her life really was shaping up to be some sort of weird movie plot. No, that step at the very least couldn’t be simpler. The real challenge would be coming up with an excuse to pull Coco aside, especially considering the fact that Mosely would have no idea how she even knew his new girlfriend. For once, Bambi’s stubborn tendency to keep her life as far apart from her father’s as possible would come to bite her in the flank.

Especially should he come to find out that for once she was actually speaking out against him, openly sabotaging his plans. Sure, she’d thought of doing something to put him in his place for quite some time; as she accumulated fame as one of Manehattan’s premier reporters, it would have been as easy as writing up her next exposé. No research needed, all the proof was already too lodged within her memory for that. She had always explained her hesitation at doing so by claiming that such a move could just as easily be a death blow to her career; it could be all too easy for somepony to spin it as a spoiled daughter throwing a mass media tantrum, especially considering her place in society. But deep down inside, she knew the truth. Bambi was scared of a mysterious something else out there, and it sure wasn’t her reputation.

It was Mosely himself.

Granted, his brand of inducing pain onto other ponies was never physical by nature, a fact that she’d divined through years of observation. He would never lift a hoof against anypony, especially not the daughter he’d spent years refining to meet his standards. But that didn’t mean he would simply let her off with a warning. Bambi had already done so much to break free of the mold she’d been crammed into, she was already being called the black sheep of the family. What he’d done to Babs, he could just as easily do to her. And no matter how much she resented him, she still couldn’t face that.

Her fear didn’t come from love. It came from knowledge. It came from seeing Cameo’s fragile mask unraveling, taking bits of her true face along with it before anypony could do much of anything to prevent it. It came from still being a teenager back then and having to simultaneously care for her half-sister and mother with nopony around to pick up the pieces. It came from knowing that, no matter how hard Bambi could reach out, no matter how close she was to finally saving the one pony who’d saved her from everything else, Mosely could never have just satisfied himself with seeing his ex-wife transformed into somepony else’s widow. From knowing that should she ever get the chance to meet Cameo once more, she would only end up pushing her away, still clinging to the belief that her oldest daughter was out to destroy the family she’d made with her sadly deceased husband.

But there was another knowledge that struck her when she was at her most panicked state. It wasn’t anything that had come from the past, but rather from the future that could unfold if she stood by and let this happen. She knew Mosely all too well to doubt that he saw anything in Coco other than another Cameo. And, no matter what the consequences might be, there was no way she’d let him win by any means. Not this time.

With that, Bambi spent the next five minutes or so frantically navigating the multiple floors of the museum, or at least as frantically as a pony can do so without drawing attention to herself. Sure enough, for all the attention they attracted at the party’s beginning, Coco and Mosely had inexplicably hidden themselves out of sight as the festivities continued into their second hour. She’d almost been hoping for a crowd to make it harder to be seen and easier to slip her roommate aside, but the lack thereof as she ascended flight after flight of stairs would have to do just as well. At least less ponies could hear them that way should Coco be anywhere nearby; she may have wanted to ruin Mosely’s reputation, but even she could tell that now was not the time.

On the third floor, however, Bambi had found herself cantering straight into the last sort of complication she needed at the moment. Overcome by desperation and speed, she lost her balance on one of the highest stairs, which she was able to deduce in her panic-ridden imagination would lead to a fall of approximately thirty feet. Her final thoughts were somewhere along the lines of how she would even know how tall an average museum stairwell would be, and thankfully she would never have to answer that question. Somepony else had rushed over almost out of nowhere and was currently focused on steadying her.

One of the last ponies she wanted to see. Sure, it wasn’t Mosely, but it was just as bad in her eyes. Namely, his next-highest-up, yet another pony she held little respect or patience for.

“Didn’t expect to see you here,” Scene admitted with a nervous smile. “It’s been a while.”

“Not long enough, apparently, Ditchy McDitcherson,” Bambi scoffed, brushing off her fall and remembering all too well what the director had put them through on their moving day. “’Bout time you finally made an effort to show up for once. I assume you’ve found a new friend you’re due to completely let down in a month or so?”

“Um, excuse me, but I think there’s been a misunderstanding…”

Seeing the audacity of this stallion, who dared to be so unacknowledging of the trouble he'd created, made Bambi only stiffen more. She swore she could almost feel her fur bristling on end like a griffon's the more she stared at him.

“Yeah, clearly Coco misunderstood your intentions. She actually thought she could trust you, and here you go up and leaving her without support during what was probably the time she needed you most. And it’s only gone straight to Tartarus from there. See, I don’t know if you’re aware of what the other side of your flashy theatre company is up to when you’re not looking, but that monster you call a producer just so happens to have stuck his claws into Coco exactly after you decided to throw her away. Either you’re really naïve or you planned this whole friendship thing so you could end up introducing my roommate to your Mosely and then—“

“I didn’t, trust me,” Scene whispered, clearly struck by the newsmare’s insinuation. “I didn’t know anything about what he was planning with Coco, honest. I’m on your side, and I can explain everything.”

“I doubt you can, but I really don’t have time to bicker around with you,” Bambi sighed in annoyance. “What I need is information. How these two ended up meeting, what he might be up to, and then I need to warn her what a huge mistake she’s making. None of this is likely anything that you’ll ever understand. And if your idea of help is standing idly by as your boss gets away with hurting her like this, then frankly you don’t deserve to understand what we’re going through.”

“What if I were to tell you that I did, though? Not only that, but what if I told you that I know how Coco got involved with him?”

“How can I be sure I can trust you this time?”

“Everypony has a fatal flaw, and I, for one, am a terrible liar,” answered Scene. “If you don’t believe me on that, and you probably don’t, then let me tell you something that only somepony in on production secrets would know.”

With a sigh of hesitation, knowing that there was no possible way she could get out of this, she muttered, “Go on.”

“When Babs was first living with you, you said you were born into a Bridleway family. At the time, I took it for granted and didn’t give it any thought. But going through what I’ve been through these past few weeks, I found something out: that there was a good reason you wanted to hide your parentage. Because, Bambi Byline, you happen to be the daughter of Mos—“

“Stop!”

Bambi whipped her head around from side to side in the same sort of panic that came over her earlier, this time fearing the inevitable audience that surrounded Manehattan, the same one that would never leave her alone. Not even to her own secrets. Nopony was there to hear, thank Celestia. But that didn’t stop her from being eaten by the paranoid fear that somepony somewhere had.

“That’s enough,” she murmured, barely loud enough to hear. “I—I believe you. Please don’t tell anypony here. Don’t say his name in connection to me.”

“But isn’t this the sort of high society you were raised in?” Scene questioned. “Wouldn’t at least somepony here recognize you?”

“Trust me, I took pains to make sure that wouldn’t happen. It’s like I said back then. We don’t talk about my father.”

“Maybe you don’t, but I can. Before you go and find Coco, you need to know that there’s more to this scheme than you think. Mosely’s about to go much farther than either of us could’ve predicted.”

“I wouldn’t put anything below him. Keep in mind, I lived with him for most of my life. It’ll take something huge to faze me about anything that stallion does.”

“I have a feeling it’ll meet those criteria. I won’t hold you up for long, I promise. Because, believe it or not, you could be my chance at getting through to her without sacrificing everything. So I can fill you in on everything in five minutes tops.”

Confession after confession, layered one on top of another, almost too much to take in such short time. Bambi tried her best to focus on what was really important, still maintaining some level of hesitancy towards the director who could be making up loads of excuses for all she knew. But when she heard the two last sentences out of his mouth, every bit of skepticism left her, but not because he was some sort of charismatic orator. She simply couldn’t afford to do otherwise. Her mind was thrown into a final panic, consuming every other piece of hesitation within her. Whatever remainder of a family member Mosely was to her shattered in only a few small words, ones that echoed in her brain throughout the night.

“He won’t stop until he ends up tricking Coco into abandoning Babs.”

Though that statement should’ve been enough to break her completely, it was nothing compared to what would come next. Something that Bambi was all too familiar with.

“And while I don’t understand what he means by this, it can’t be good. It might be the key to everything. Mosely wants to turn Coco into another Cameo.”

As she trotted away from the scene, everything else in her mind was blocked, replaced only with an angry sort of fear. While Scene didn't understand Mosely's wording, she understood it all too well, and just hearing it was enough to drive her frantic.

With each stairstep, the same thought and the same vow returned.

Not if I have anything to say about it.

Not if I can help it.

Not on my watch.

Comments

[Bast]

Oh luna that was a good chapter, it is getting exciting xD

[Golden Fang Ryu Shenron]

“When Babs was first living with you, you said you were born into a Bridleway family. At the time, I took it for granted and didn’t give it any thought. But going through what I’ve been through these past few weeks, I found something out: that there was a good reason you wanted to hide your parentage. Because, Bambi Byline, you happen to be the daughter of Mos—“

Whoa whoa whoa whoa whoa, back up, back up, back up...Bambi is Mosely’s Daughter?!

“He won’t stop until he ends up tricking Coco into abandoning Babs.”

Like Coco would ever do that!