Act IV, Scene 3: Out of the Woods
In the midst of the carnival booths, Coco could still sense that her speech hadn’t completely convinced Babs, who spent an entire half hour just staring at anypony who went past. The street festival was crowded with far more ponies than anypony could have expected, and while it still paled in comparison to the droves she usually saw at Manehattan events, the effect was still overwhelming. Suspicion would cloud the brown filly’s eyes for a moment at a time, watching everypony around to ensure they were just normal passersby. Considering that ponies would occasionally stop in their paths just to see her, though, this was easier said than done.
The simple idea of not overwhelming a filly who’d just escaped a foalnapping seemed to be lost on many of the surrounding ponies, but even then, much of their interference was limited to whispers in the background. After a while, Coco came to plan for this, quickly retreating away from the carnival rides and towards the booths, telling her daughter that they would come back when the tide of ponies had calmed down. And yet, even then, the foal still said nothing.
Sometimes, in these moments, Coco swore Babs hadn’t been anywhere near as affected by the foalnapping as she had been. As much as it was probably an act, the filly’s smiles came closer and closer to being genuine, and her mother could only hope that this was a sign of recovery. Even though the last few days had been quiet, with the types of ponies they’d been attracting recently, she still couldn’t be quite sure of that. If something else was following them with hushed hooves, it’d do both of them well to put the foalnapping in the past.
And like it or not, it’d probably have to start with her realizing that she was secretly eying the crowd in much the same way as her daughter was. In much the same way, it seemed, that everypony else was doing to them.
The vendor booths were no refuge, seeing as crowds had already began to cluster around them as well. While there were a few out there who didn’t notice them or who still had no clue why everypony else was so taken by them, they were becoming increasingly rare as the days flowed by. It was Coco’s foalhood fantasy of being famous in a crowd, amplified by ten.
Just when the two were finally beginning to tune everypony else out and had gotten around to actually looking at the goods for sale, the voices grew ever closer. For once, the gossipers had managed to pinpoint their location to an exact booth.
Or rather, they had fallen straight into their trap.
A well-dressed mare was sitting behind the counter, surrounded by scarves and other accessories. Not many ponies had stopped by her booth throughout the day, and at the back of her mind, Coco suspected that she might have been a knockoff artist not so different from how she used to be. Nevertheless, the patterns were pretty enough, and she figured she deserved to treat herself after everything. Expertly scanning through the fabrics for warning signs of a cheaply made product, she barely noticed the cashier looking straight back to her from the newspaper she was holding.
“Ooh, didn’t expect to see you here,” the mare finally spoke, a gleam already forming in her eyes. She made an odd sort of gesture to the back of the booth, only for a stallion to come out of some sort of storage area.
“Look,” she whispered to her partner. “It’s really them. The ponies from the Orange conspiracy.”
She seemed to be so starstruck by the sight that she barely even looked them in the eye, or any of the other customers stopping by. Instead, after she’d finished practically chewing her coworker’s ear off with gossip, she ran off to look at fabric for some inexplicable reason. In fact, Coco and Babs wouldn’t have noticed her at all if she hadn’t practically shouted one of her remarks.
“She even has the fake cutie mark still on! See, I told you I wasn’t lying about that. You thought it was all just some hooey the papers put on.”
The stallion shot her a blank stare, and judging both from the argument that was about to ensue and the position of her daughter’s tail, Coco figured it was time to leave that particular stand. However, the vendor mare would have none of that.
Without warning, Babs felt a strangling sensation on her neck, which running away only seemed to further exemplify. The shopkeeper was only trying to tie a scarf around it, but she’d sneaked up on the still-cautious filly so suddenly that all sorts of memories were starting to flash through her head. She struggled to take it off or at least get out from under it, but the other mare’s grip was surprisingly strong. However, within a few seconds, a passerby noticed the scene and released the filly from the persistent salespony’s grip.
As it turned out, the one way this scene would end was with another scene.
The blue unicorn had been in quite a rush to get there and had been stopped by local traffic quite a few times, but it seemed that Scene Stealer had stopped at the right booth at the right time. Instead of his usual saddlebag, though, he had tied a megaphone to his back, looking from the cashier to his flank as fast as he could.
“I highly suggest you leave that filly alone, madam,” he spoke softly, his megaphone still on his back. “Or I have ways of making your acts known.”
He gave another knowing glance to the amplification device and raised his eyebrows before going silent. As it turned out, the sight was so utterly strange that the shopkeepers were also at a loss for words.
“I only wanted her to model it,” the mare finally whispered to her boss. “Nopony’s been coming to the stand today, and I thought—“
“Don’t worry,” Scene answered, “I’m pretty sure using a foalnapped filly in your marketing campaign wouldn’t have gotten you any more customers. If you want to know what ponies really value in a business, it’s authenticity. So have fun and be yourselves!”
He flashed the two shopkeepers an exaggerated smile, trying to make himself look as much like some charming movie star as possible as he scooted Coco and Babs out of the booth as fast as he could.
“So,” he finally said after a minute of silent shock, “you know anywhere we won’t be recognized here?”
Even after that, though, both of the others just gave him blank glances, still trying to take in everything that had happened.
“I’m taking that as a no, then?”
Coco shook her head, suddenly coming back to reality after the strange encounter she’d just had.
“Yes, but…that wasn’t what I meant,” she finally replied. “It’s been a while since you did something like that, that’s all.”
“Like what?”
“Like, you know, actually being you. You’ve been so serious about everything lately…I mean, not to say that we all haven’t, because we really have. And not to say that you can’t be a serious pony, or that what you did over there was wrong, or…”
With that, Coco seemed to be digging herself further and further into a verbal hole, blushing even more with each clarification she made. She’d barely even realized that she’d stopped moving, or that she was obstructing traffic. All she could do was hit herself over what she was saying, both internally and externally.
“It’s fine,” Scene replied. “I get what you meant, and honestly, it’s a bit of a change for me, too. A spur-of-the-moment thing, really. I’d heard how ponies were heckling you and I might as well go back and get my megaphone before coming here. Guess I picked the right day to pack it, right?”
He tapped at it with a certain sense of pride, as if it were a weapon he could deploy again at any moment. Knowing how Scene could get in these moods, neither of the two would be surprised if he actually did know how to use it in such a way.
“I guess you did,” answered Babs with a smile, not quite realizing that Scene was trying to impress Coco.
As usual for that day, her gaze was directed at neither Scene nor Coco. However, when the two noticed that she wasn’t looking at anypony in particular, their attention was piqued. Instead, the object of her attention was an empty booth in the process of being decorated.
“Ain’t it a bit late for one of those things to come up?” the filly asked in confusion. “Wonder what took it so long.”
“I guess that’s a mystery we’ll just have to find out,” Scene whispered, excitedly pumping one of his hooves into the air. “Let’s go over and look at it together, okay?”
As the three walked over to the vacant space, Coco couldn’t help but notice that Scene really had changed from the pony he’d been over the past month—or even the past morning, for that matter. He was doing everything in his power to cheer the filly up and make walking to the stand into a sort of game, both sharing speculations about what the booth could be selling and who could be behind it.
“If my friend was here, she’d say aliens put it up,” said Babs. “But they’re not usin’ magic or lasers or anythin’. That rules out alien and unicorn.”
The filly laughed at her joke for a few seconds, and in those moments, it looked like she’d genuinely recovered. Coco wasn’t quite sure how long it would last, but treasured it regardless. Then she saw Babs look back to her cutie mark again, the one that was supposed to wash off but wouldn’t.
“As long as they don’t say any of that weird stuff about me, I’m fine with anything,” she finally whispered, almost too low for either of the older ponies to hear.
This was a conversation that shouldn’t have been happening. Even though Babs had gone back to the same state she’d been at over the past couple of days, Scene showed no sign of the shock he’d had when Coco had finally told him about the family reunion incident. When they’d left the diner, things had been as somber as they ever had, and yet the stallion just seemed to have gained an even stronger new drive.
She’d seen Scene try to fake happiness, and this wasn’t it. And while on any other day, she would have shoved it off to have fun with her daughter, she couldn’t help but be drawn to it. It was something that she wanted, admired, even.
“You can’t let any of that get to you,” Scene continued. “It’s a new story ponies are taken with, and they don’t have all the facts. Once they figure out everything that happened to you, most of the decent ones will know not to remind you about it.”
“Right,” Coco added, still trying to get herself back to reality. “The two of us will just have to stick up for you more and make sure ponies don’t mention it. And we’ll keep helping you through every step of the way, just like we always have.”
As soon as she said this, Coco cursed herself again. Up until now, ‘the two of us’ had been her and Babs, and nopony else. Later, it’d extended to Bambi, and then to Cameo. But somehow, the idea of ‘the two of us’ being her and Scene had just flown out of her head.
He’d helped her so much already, and had protected Babs almost as much as she had. So why was it such a surprise to her when she voiced these feelings? When she barely even felt anything for this stallion beyond friendship?
“Thanks for everything, you guys,” Babs finally piped in. “It’ll take a lot of gettin’ used to, and I might be a burden on you for a bit longer—Coco, you’re blushing.”
The remark was a double-edged sword: on the one hoof, the smile on her daughter’s face seemed to linger longer than it had all day. On the other, it made Coco too embarrassed to look at Scene for the next minute or so.
“Um,” she finally explained in the tiniest voice she could, “when I said ‘the two of us,’ I didn’t mean it like, you know, because I haven’t really decided on that, and—“
Even without her daughter pointing it out, she could still feel her body getting hotter and tenser as she said this, and yet again, she wished she could take it back. When she finally turned her head Scene’s way, however, she didn’t see a hint of malice on his face.
“Actually, even if this whole thing doesn’t work out,” he admitted, “I’d still like it to be ‘the two of us.’ Even if it’s just looking over her on set. I’ve decided that’s what I really want, even if we can’t be together. So I’m flattered you’re including me in the family now.”
“Well,” Coco spoke, gaining a bit of confidence, “you were the first one who found out about it, after all. But still, you seem to be taking all this pretty well.”
In response, Scene burst out into laughter, almost loud enough to light up the entire festival.
“Trust me, I’m not. I still have my problems. Expecting anything else just isn’t right. But I’ve been thinking about something for a while, and what you told me today just confirms it more.”
Coco looked at him curiously, but didn’t say anything else. Babs had already raced past them onto the next booth, and as they galloped to catch up, Scene told her his thoughts in rushed breaths.
“It’s been almost a month since you got that scar, and I didn’t know about it until today. And all I could think then was about what I could have done if I had been there for you.”
“You couldn’t have,” Coco said blankly. “You weren’t invited to the reunion. And nopony could have predicted that.”
“It doesn’t stop it from feeling like back then, though. Last time, I wasn’t able to help you either. And whenever I feel weak like that, I always know something worse is happening. That somepony worse has come back into your life.”
His voice grew both determined and fearful as it cracked in several places along the way.
“Months ago, you’d have no idea how much going against him would scare me. Even today, when I got the letter, there was a part of me that still didn’t want to do it. But after I heard just how far everything went, and how much he’d really hurt you this time, I knew I couldn’t stay like that anymore.”
Just when Coco was about to ask him about it, he whispered, “They want me to testify against Mosely. And this time, I don’t care what anypony says, or what he’ll try to do to me. He could blackmail me again, for all I care, because here’s the thing. The day I heard about you going against Suri was the day I realized everything that’d been happening to me in the theatre. When I realized I could stop it.”
As Babs watched in approval, the two ponies fell into an unexpected embrace, barely seeing who was at the other booth, not even sure about their own feelings.
“If I go testify, there’s a chance they might not ask you. You’ll never have to see him again.
“You saved me once. Now it’s my turn to save you.”
****
Just after the Orange family meeting, Cameo had rushed over to the festival. She’d had her professional reasons for doing so—as an accessory maker, she was just the sort of pony who benefited most from these events. But deep down, there was something else, something that could ruin the moment.
She’d waited for Coco to reach her booth all day, and by the time she finally found her, she knew she couldn’t tell her then. Things were just now getting romantic, and she knew more than anypony else how fragile those moments really were.
Still, somehow, she couldn’t stop herself from clinging to the letter she’d found the night before, wanting to wish it out of existence more than anything else.
It’d have to wait until the next day, the announcement that involved the last pony Coco wanted to hear about. At least then, Cameo reasoned, she’d have some shelter before the storm.
As customers started to stream in, she gave the parcel one last glance.
Dearest Suri Polomare,
I understand that we did not end on the best note, but this appears to be the time for recruiting unlikely allies. I suspect my grandmother knows these feelings quite well, and sincerely hope this effort goes much better than hers.
To get to the point, though: I’ve known about your attraction to Scene Stealer for quite some time. Now that we’ve cut off respective ties with one another, however, I take no offense towards it. If anything, I endorse it. My former director has been far too soft for far too long, and I feel a mare like you could do much to change that. More importantly, it also gives us a shared purpose.
The events of the reunion have not left my mind since. By inciting Coco to sacrifice herself for a filly hardly deserving of such an act, my enemies have crossed an unforgivable line. I now feel that the only way to truly free her of their influence is to take her as far away as possible—and should I be declared innocent, there will be a costume designer position in Trottingham with her name on it.
I, too, intend to leave Manehattan after the trial, and if you still have hard feelings about me, rest assured that both of your biggest enemies will be out of your mane for good. More importantly, you will become head costumer of Spellshock by default in Coco’s absence. The power, and the stallion, you’ve always wanted, and all it’ll take is a simple confession. Tell him how you feel the next chance you get, separate him from Coco, and the rest should go from there.
The best of luck on your dream.
--Mosely Orange
“Oh, Suri,” Cameo muttered to herself, “I do hope you make the right decision.”
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Well shit... Mosley and Suri are gonna be causing trouble again..
8074609
The only hope we have is that we don't know if Suri's accepted, or even seen the offer (considering Cameo just took it from her mail during one of their meetings). If Suri rejects, Mosely basically has no power.
8074640
I'd wager Suri is going to reject this, all of this scheme is dependent on Mosely getting off. Which based on these latest circumstances is getting less and less likely and Suri doesn't strike me as basing everything on such a gamble she has little control over.
However I do believe it's time for Mosely to start losing some of the privileges he has while awaiting trial... Time to cut him off from the outside world save his lawyer, we must maintain the law after all, and make sure that he lawyer doesn't do anything beyond helping with the case and nothing else.
8074804
This is probably the last tie he has with the outside world--why write up your harshly rejected ex-girlfriend anyway? (Laugh at my bad joke!)
But in all seriousness, he probably did it because they outright stopped him from doing it to Coco or Scene.
Glad someone has faith in Suri. Don't take this one way or another.
8074824 And if I said its more I have faith that Suri is not that stupid rather than no that evil or that she in fact possesses some hidden bravery? No Suri is an opportunists and this alleged opportunity more closely resembles a gamble and a big one at that. Unless Suri had a severe crisis in her mind this simply will strike her as the ramblings of a desperate fool. Heck even if he got off his notoriety will probably do enough damage to the show to screw it over anyway if he returns to it, all he's promising her is a leaky ship.
8074850
Not necessarily saying that she could be "nice" about this. More of "should I take this dubious offer or make my terrible ex suffer now that he really needs me."
And I'm highly against shady lawyer shenanigans in this story. A.) because that ranks up there with "birth mom hates adoptive mom" for these sorts of fic cliches and B.) a morally conflicted "why am I even working for this guy" lawyer would be even more interesting.
Also, it would not surprise me at all if Mosely's reasoning for this was "there's always some outside interference in romantic comedies, and it works there." Then everypony would immediately ask what a rich, morally despicable Manehattanite stallion was doing watching romantic comedies.
8074867 I suspected as much on both counts...
8074870
Also, since Big Mac and Sugar Belle might be dating in S7, all I can think is "Suri's going to be an Apple?!?
Even Sugar Belle being her little sister wouldn't make the Apples take her in.
Ugh. Even in jail, Mosley's still acting to ruin Coco's life. The last thing she needs is to get involved in a love triangle. Plus, it looks like she's starting to reciprocate Scene's feelings, and I just want Coco to be happy for once in this story.
8074882
Don't worry. This plot detail will be one or two parts, and then more slice-of-life. The new arc is more of a "can I trust Suri as my employee" thing than an actual love triangle.
8081437
One of the next things I want to do is edit the first chapter a bit more. Have fun reading the rest of it! Let me warn you--it's a wild ride.
Fucking Mosely!
My god how is he this fucking braindead? What he thinks forcing coco away will make her want him again? Also is he stupid? He has no fucking power of Spellshock. It isn't his! He can't make any decisions for it AT ALL!
And he honestly thinks he'll be proven innocent? SERIOUSLY?!
God I can't wait for the look on his face when he's found guilty!
8074609 only if suri's stupid enough to not realize that mosely has no power in Spellshock thus his promises are empty
8083850
You cannot believe how hard I'm laughing at this. This feels like it could be a summary of everything that's happened up until this point.
Doubt she will
.