Chapter 27 – Apologue Ft. Millarhoof

Becca knocked on the apartment door, Thatti's appearance still grafted onto her with the bracelet. The smell of cigarette smoke and old musk wafted in the air as she stood awry, taking in the sounds of trotting, alongside what sounded like pots and pans shuffling on the other side. An entire cacophony of whinnies and neighs turned into a riotous argument, breaking the peace with big stupid mighty shouts. "Stop being so disrespectful all this talk about life as a big shot is ridiculous. I haven't even gotten you a real diet, I have a real job and I don't have the money for that. Go out there and earn it for yourself! Just stop whining already, it's not as if you are ever useful..." A voice yelled as Becca tried to knock again. "I'm coming I'm coming." She stepped back from the door, the creak percolating her ears in a harsh way.

When it opened, the girl looked up at the horse of a lady on the other side. A literal horse, of the species Magorequius

Arcanius native to Xi. "Who the hell are you toots?" The lady asked. Her mane was wrapped in a turbanette and numerous rolling curlers. Her pointed ears perked up, the nostrils flaring and flickering away from any scents. Her eyes had rings of dark liner.

"I'm looking for that friend of yours. A celebrity, the child-star Mallory Millarhoof, are you, her maid?" Becca asked, taking a step into the apartment if only to peak her head around and observe the mess of clutter within.

"A child-star. Well lemee see if I can find anyone like that." The women snorted, shoving Becca back and slamming the door shut. A moment passed. She opened the door again. "Found'er. She's right here." The same horse said, her bath-towel robes still in tact. She waddled over to Becca, looking her up and down. "Hey. You one of them reporters? Make-a-Starwish foundation kids dying of cancer?" She looked around the inner-hallway of the building and leaned in. "If you a dealer I swear I suggest you move now, last one that tried to sell to me didn't last among the locals." Her teeth chewed one end of her cigarette as she talked.

"What?" Becca shook her head. "N-no. I'm here for- Are you Mallory?" She couldn't believe a curmudgeon like this could be the gem of Thatti's childhood affections.

"Silly girl. Come in." The horse said to herself as she walked into the living room and sat down. She opened a drawer of her dresser, revealing her own pouch and picked out a single large bottle filled with a brown liquid. She unscrewed the cap and drank it in one gulp. "Now then, who's this celebrity you speak of?”

“Mallory Millarhoof." The girl said, stifling a shudder at the mention of her name. "How do you know my name?" The horse asked.

"You were on a show that was famous once, a friend of mine watched it and I guess I found you." Becca stepped over some huge lump in the rug shuddering, the stench of alcoholic and garbage from the kitchen made her wrinkle her nose. She saw a bunch of candles burning down to the last 2 inches of wick, and an entire cabinet full of food spilling over with flies circling.

"S'was a long time ago kiddo." Mallory sighed. "Where are your parents?" She asked.

"They're dead. Atleast I think." Becca scratched her head. "You, live here alone? Like... this?" She said wrenching. "Does anyone else live here?"

Mallory shrugged, lighting another smoke. "Nobody. I don't got no family. Ain't nobody taken care of me

since I was little."

"But you're from the city, you must have someone, a group or at least a foster family."

"Kid's got no family. We were supposed to travel with the troupe. We were gonna do the same trick, the same act- " She shook her head as she remembered. "What'd I think, the world was magic and all like a youngling's tv-show. Now they're all dead. Ain't nobody got none that's left. Only me and my flat." The horse said in a hushed voice, turning away in a sulk. Becca watched as she lit another smoke, then another. Her eyes were like glass. She'd become a shell of her former self. The windows, blocked with plastic in the cracks and duct tape to hold in a small radiator.

She turned to Mallory Millarhoof putting some strange pills into a bottle, pouring in rose-tinted liquid and dropping a matchstick into it until it bubbled and smoked heavily with a strange gas. She inhaled it, whinnying as she did, the high causing her ears to stand straight up.

"Do you do this... often?" Becca asked, coughing and holding her breath.

"Daily." The horse said, lighting another smoke. "Alright then, whaddaya want. An autograph? Want me to show my boob?" She took another drag of her cig inbetween hits from the bottle.

"I'm-" Becca stopped short, seeing the tattoo on her arms shaped like the Plumlord from her show. "Becky."

"Whadda staring at? Seriously, too many assholes riding my dick these days." Mallory said. "What happened to you?" She asked.

"Can't say no more about it." The horse replied, throwing the cigarette onto the ground.

"Okay, fuck it whatever. I don't know what I was thinking coming here." Becca got up and started to tiptoe over the cluttered ground, she was unable to even see an inch of carpet.

"Why did you come here?" Mallory asked, observing the girl and crossing her hooves forward.

"Forget it, it's stupid." Becca pulled open the door, when suddenly the floor exploded. A huge explosion rocked the walls, knocking the girl back to the ground.

"Bomb!" Mallory said.

"WHAT THE FUCK." Becca leapt to the ground and hid around some trashbags. After the rumble and tumble of the shockwave, she got up slowly. The two looked out in the hallway, a hole where a wall on the opposite side was. "WHAT WAS THAT?!" She yelled.

"I told you. Dealers here keep tabs on whose buying from what." She examined the damage to the apartment, someone smoked inside. "If a gang finds you tryin to stiff them by moving onto someone else or refusing to pay loans for your supply, they blow up your apartment, car, family whatever." She sighed. "Serious shit. Looks like they got Ms. Whinnery over there. Those guys are bad news." She pointed to the charred body under the rubble.

Becca felt like tearing at her hair. "AND YOU LIVE LIKE THIS?!" She yelled in agony.

"Easy hot-head." Mallory said. Becca shuddered. "I cannot believe Thatti looked up to you, how does a star of a stupid show like that end up like THIS-"

"Woah there." The horse turned towards her. "Did you say Thatti."

Becca paused. The once child-actress walked back to her apartment and began throwing out contents of her drawers until she found a single wooden box. Eventually She sat on her futon chair, looking at the contents within. A simple, yet odd letter. There were a couple dozen beneath, she opened the one. "I got letters from fans all the time, most I use for firewood. This one in particular I got so many, I kept’em in box.."

She held the letter up and cleared her throat.

"Dear Ms. Millarhoof, I know who you are. You were my hero once, a beautiful young woman that starred in dozens of television shows, I also would like to say that as someone of your caliber that should have every bit of respect and admiration you deserve. Remember the time you and the Plumlord worked your differences for Kiwi Holiday and fed the entire town 120 bags of Berryloaf, then road the Duck of everlasting kindness together? That moment stayed in my heart forever. I would like to ask a favor from you. I do not want to bother you, but I need your help. I have a brother who loves your show, I got him to watch it together with me and now he's hooked. But we have issues with our mom and she keeps him trapped there. It makes me very sad and I'm worried he'll have to run away someday so he'll never be sad again. Can you come out and visit us, visit him? It could really give Nathan some hope. Your 1# Fan, Thatti."

The horse smiled, looking at the note. "That's one of my biggest fans. Brat must've sent me a million letters over the years. So many that I yelled at my mailman to stop delivering them to me. She's abit rabid, but... I could do her a favor and say hi. I could bring some candy I reckon." She walked over to her closet and threw on some clothes, getting ready to go outside. "Oh... I know her. She's my friend. Or, was." Becca said, looking at her reflection in the mirror, seeing Thatti's face. "Sure sounds like Thatti." The locals started to storm the outside.

"Woah. This is big. Wanna sneak out?" The horse asked. "Ride on my shoulders kid, this is gonna get rough." She stepped outside to find a small mob gathering at the apartment. She put on dark shades, a cowboy hat and stepped forward, everyone yelling about the explosion, many throwing bottles and trash at her. "Alright, calm down! I got business to take care of, I ain't goin' nowhere." She said, the entire crowd calming down.

Among the crowd, a little girl with snow-white curls stepped forward, doing a curtesy.

"Hiii, I'm Thatti-kitty." The girl giggled, putting out delicate gloved hands. "Are wu Millarhoofie?" She asked. Becca almost shuddered, who the hell was this runt? Another girl naming herself Thatti, she felt sickened.

"You're.. Thatti? The one wo sent me those letters?" Mallory asked taking a moment to look over at Becca, who looked confused. "UHHH.."

"Yup! I love your show." The girl said, walking over to the horse. "I was watching it when it started, I have every episode on my shelf. I sent all dose letters cuz I wuv you, Millarhoofy!"

"Is that so. Why you here then?" Mallory asked, walking over to her. "I have an incurable disease, Temporal Cellite Anomaly. It's incurable, so I was hoping wu could my dweam come twuu and come out to the Merryland Esort, or the Equestrian Paradise, or the Unicornia or whatever that dumb place is." The girl said, hugging her doll. "Is dis okay?" She looked around at the people before her.

"That's not-" Becca was brimming inside angry.

"Kid's sick." The horse said. "I get it, I get it." She took out a cigarette, lit in and calmed her nerves. "But no way I'm going to that park, you'd have to drag me hoof-to-hoof." She laughed, taking another hit. "I'm about to head over to the Cinder club bar to have a few drinks and get my dick blown the fuck off." She lit another cigarette, coughing profusely. "Anyway beat it kid. And stop sending me letters." She kicked the little girl aside and nearly trampled over her. Becca hopped off her shoulders. "W-what was that about?"

She shrieked.

"Don't care. She your friend? They're the same every damn time. They're a bunch of sick kids who want to waste my time for nothing." She said, watching Fake Thatti get bullied in the crowd by the mob. "C'mon now, we gotta get going. Authorities are going to be here to check out the damage to the apartment within the hour. I had some bad run ins with the law, cannot be seen hanging out here." The two started strolling off from the ravenous scene.

In a jazzy bar with a stage, an aged woman in a latex halter-top and mini-skirt sang some blues notes. There were 4 people in the room including the singer, bartender, and the two of them sitting around round tables. The waiter arrived, holding a single bottle of hard-liquor, they dropped a few pills by the table next to it. "Ya'usual Mallory." "Thanks Edmond!" She shouted back, before dropping the pills into the bottle, letting it bubble and smoke up then inhaling the vapors. She neighed and shivered with delight before calming her nerves. "So, why didn't you want to go to that dumbass park? I mean I wouldn't either, but.." Becca started. "Because I told ya. It's got too many assholes trying to ride me. That apartment alone is like.. a hotbed of criminals." The woman shrugged. "How 'bout you? You that girl’s friend from back there, Thatti right? Said ya know her."

Becca shrugged. "I g-guess.” Better to just lie, she figured. Why start with the truth now?

“She was a big fan of your show, which you already know." Mallory smiled and nodded. "She was obsessed with it, would get excited at the sight of you on TV and would throw tantrums for no reason when she couldn't watch your show. Got mad at her mom alot. She was a big kid."

Becca scratched her head, trying to pick her words carefully, raising to a precise pitch of

clarity. "When something happened between her and her brother, she started suppressing alot of her emotions. I had, a big fight sorta involving her, some lies, some hurt feelings. I don't know, I messed up!" Stupid caleb, spoiling everything for her. She leaned back on her seat, looking at the singer slurring her lyrics, looking rather drunk and dazed. "I was trying to make it all better, but she never really spoke with me again after a... fight we got in. A fight I lost. Bad fight, steel cage deathmatch really. The entire Thatti- community hates me now, and her best friend says I'm some awful girl with bad blood. I don't know what I was thinking coming here." "Hell.." The girl paused. “Sorry this was dumb, I’m just gonna go-“

"Nah, I understand Becky." Mallory clopped her hooves abit. "She looked to me as a moral foundation growing up, some kind of role-model. You felt lost on the track, and needed a shoulder to talk to?

Someone to turn to, look for hope in? You ain't alone kiddo, I see how much that hurts. Thattie might be a dumb kid, but I'm sure if ya tell her straight to her face that she'll understand." She looked at the bottle, her eyes narrowed. "And tell her how much it hurts. You're worth more than some stupid old-fashioned show, right?" She smiled, drinking the bottle down. "Course, with her and that terminal disease, guess you wanted to patch things up fast. Gotta mulch those issues."

"S-sure." Becca looked at the bottle, watching it as it burned her insides. She felt dizzy, her mind

spinning fast. The imagery of the past came to life in her mind, Goliath in his armor swinging his sword down at her. The Domina's head spinning away from its body, the assassins pursuing him relentless. 'You have to remember!' She recalled shouting, seeing the world turn all around her. 'You have to remember! You have to remember!' The pain of her limb being shattered, the biting words of Caleb as he designated her a persona non grata, the feelings of disappointment and failure within her. It all pulled heavy until it sunk her soul. The sounds of weapons and war banged in her skull until she curled up. The images flashed through her mind like a storm, every moment that she went through, raising her heartbeat, flipping her world upside down. Becca couldn't breathe, the only thing she knew was panic. All her darkest fears serenaded her.

Becca looked at her legs, they pranced around without control. She clamped her hand to Mallory's shoulder, clenching her fists. The sensation on her legs and lower body was tingling, warm. She had her eyes closed in panic. The colors and the lights felt like they were moving, like she had moved to the stars. She felt dizzy. She was losing her mind, the things she saw before were gone. She fell to the ground.

Dreams felt like memories.

"Huh?" Mallory picked her up and ran her hoof through Becca's hair, seeing her shaking and hiding her head on the table, struggling to breathe. "I'm sorry." She whispered, the words tumbling out of her mouth. "For all the pain I caused, all the death, for all the things I did. For the person I used to be. Goliath, the boy I knew, you're gone. You're something else now. Why do I feel like everything's my fault?" Her body was slow to calm.

"Easy there." Mallory looked over, leaning over to the table. “You were shaking just now. Take a deep breath.”

She looked her up and down with a slight glance, then picked her up off the floor. She picked her up like a little girl, supporting her on her back. "Ya want a drink? Wanna be honest? I'll listen, I know you're hurting inside." She signaled to the waiter. "I know ya probably think I'm some washed up haz-bin in need of a good fix, and maybe I am. But I've been through the works. I... didn't exactly come from a good home myself. Had a hard life, like, I went through a lot of bad stuff. I overdosed on set once, almost died. Got into a few lawsuits, lost my job mid-way thru the second-to-last season. But ya know, you never know the people who look at you, or the people who are actually lookin at you. Ain't nothin like this, kiddo." She put the bottle to her lips, the alcohol and drugs giving her a warm fuzzy feeling. "But letting my emotions out, was encouragable. Ain't that right?" She took a few more inhales, her ears pricking up as the alcohol wooed her mind into oblivion. "I can be whoever I want in here. The whole damn place's my stage! You know what I mean?"

"I-I'm sorry." The girl looked up from her lap, her legs twitching abit, her pupils dilating. Becca was slowly calming her nerves, the aged drug-addled horse a strange comfort. "Y- yeah.." She watched the waiter come back and place a bottle by her side. She'd drank plenty in her previous life, but not once since her revival. "Take a sip girl, it'll make the hurt soften and have ya singing." Mallory Millarhoof held the bottle and slowly poured it into Becca's mouth. "Serenity, thy name is liquor."

Becca felt the alcohol rush through her nerves and ache in her side. She watched the scene around her, the faces of the other patrons, the bar, the dancers. She remembered Goliath. She had a single idea in her head. Finding him and proving, something she couldn't explain but proving it beyond a doubt. She had to find him, to know for herself. She closed her eyes, taking a drink.

"Mallorrrreee!" A squeaky voice said, Mallory seeing 'Thatti' coming over. Becca eyed the little girl from earlier, already wanting to bail. "Your lil mate's here huh? If you two had a fight, makes sense you'd want

to avoid her." The horse got up, preparing to leave when little girl in her purple frilly dress and sneakers leapt forward. "W-wait! You have to take me to park, pweeease! I'm ill!" She ran behind Millarhoof, tugging on her tail.

"Will you beat it kid? I told ya, I don't go to that dumb park!" The horse said.

"Nuh uh!" Little Thatti ran behind her, jumping on the horse's back. "C'mon, pllease? Pleeeaseee?" Suddenly the door swung open. Mallory panicked.

The horse held both girls trying to get out and be stealthy, she peaked over the corner. Becca was gathering her bearings and burped abruptly. "What's goin on hoofs?" She asked.

She peaked with the actress, seeing a bunch of sharks- literal walking sharks with suits and suitcases, a gun in their holster interrogating the bartender. "The Reef Gang, I may have racked up some debts." Mallory looked up, seeing the girl in purple climb down her back. "Fuck." The horse said in anguish, looking down on her. "Brat, if you knew who I am and what my life is like, you'd know ordinarily I ain't goin to that fucking amusement park, much less take a stroll through a mall with ya." She sighed. "But, parks the safest place I can think of now. If you wanna go there, I guess it's karma for me." She looked at the little girl's face, then at Becca. "Let's go." She got up and left the bar in a rush, dragging the little girl behind her, Becca trailing after her.

The sounds of the city hit her as they left. The little girl clung to Mallory's neck.

The horse was breathing fast, trying to calm her nerves. The crowd was aching to fight. She pushed on to the streets with all her might, before riding a public elevator and reaching a skyline railway across the city.

Soon the three got off the railway and hopped down below. They arrived in the park. They walked up to the park, the girl was looking at all the rides, the food stands, the little shops. Mallory looked at the girl as she walked past a man in the streets, the scent of the little girl's perfume in the air. Mallory felt nauseous. "You enjoy this, kid." Mallory said. "I'll just leave ya to it. I got a lot of demons to deal with, got a lot of stuff to ditch." She walked around the park, looking at the rides, the games, the crowds. It was all too much for her. She took a deep breath. She was in a rut. "Ahh! Just-" She sighed, watching a bunch of colorful balloons float in the sky. It reminded her of the balloons on the set.

Why was she here, she asked herself. She sat on a park bench and put on her sunglasses.

Becca sat next to her. Mallory turned to her and sighed. "You have fun, you hear? You have fun today. Don't worry about me." She said, taking a drag from her cigarette.

The smell of the park was pleasant. The sound of the children and the parents, walking around with their arms holding hands, walking the streets. Becca reminded herself to forget a part of her was still freightened. "So, why are you afraid of coming to the park again?"

"I lost something here. I lost my future." The horse replied. "I lost my son at one point, I lost the trust of everyone I know. I lost my career, I lost my image, I lost a bunch of people I know. I got out of a badass situation for once in my life and I just.. couldn't get that one thing back." She sighed. "I'm afraid it'll get stolen again."

Becca clenched her fists, she remembered Goliath in his armor. All she wanted to do was scream and beat her fists to the ground. Instead she looked over at the little girl and smiled. Behind girl, a large crowd of parents had gathered, smiling behind her. "Mallory, Mallory millarhoof!" Said a woman with a

marefairy T-shirt and smooth rubber leggings. "It's you, the fliers were true! I called off work to come here!" "Sign my poster." "Sign my son!"

"Who the hell are you lot?!" Mallory shouted back, shrieking in fear. "Mallory in ep 314, did you and Princess Sugartail have a thing?"

The crowd went crazy. "It's her!" "She's here!" "Can we hug her?" "Can we hug her?" "Can I take a picture with you?"

"Ughhhhhhh. What? Oh my god, whatever. Get off my you quacks." Mallory tried to back away. The little girl clambered on to Mallory's back and jumped, holding her up in the air. 'Thatti' helped up a big pinup flier. "She's here, she's here everyone! Mallory's going to do the big show, a reenactment of The Phantom of Glittergulch Run!" She shouted to an obsessively enthusiastic audience. "I didn't agree to shit!"

The park manager stepped up and placed a loudspeaker in her ear.

"A reminder that today, the actress Mallory Millarhoof herself will be putting on a live- performance! You don't want to miss this show!"

Becca gasped, watching everyone cheer. "That's-"

"No!" The horse said, she turned around. "No, I ain't doin' it! I ain't going through all that stuff to do a play!

The crowd went abuzz. "MALLORY!" "SIGN MY STUFF!" "THIS IS THE BEST DAY OF MY LIFE!"

The mob chased Mallory, Thatti and Becca into a corner of the park, everyone trying to grab on to the actress. They surrounded her, Mallory nearly crying with fear. The mob tried to pick her up and drag her around like some doll, the girl with the poster trying to get autographs on everything. "I cannot believe they arranged a live-show!" "Okay okay I'll do it, just leave me-" Mallory couldn't get a word in. Becca put her hands up and with all her concentration, shouted "FREEZE." Blood went spurting out her mouth and she fell onto the ground. Everyone in the crowd went motionless.

"What's going on?" The little girl asked, seeing that the crowd was frozen.

"C'mon." Mallory said, dragging both girls on her back away from the crowd. "Let's get this over with. In a public pavilion stage with arched bleachers, Mallory and Becca stood behind the curtain. The latter's body still felt weak and wobbly, the thick Bovine Braxas costume she slipped on had to be aided up by the horse. Mallory wore a pink skirt, a blouse, big poofy shoulderpads and a crown, yellow gloves and finally a flowing turquoise cape around her neck - the signature outfit she wore on the show. Mallory took a deep breath, then took another. "Uhhh... I'm not sure about this kiddo. Thatti, Becky, are you sure we can do this?" She asked.

"All your fans are counting on you Mallory!" Fake-Thatti said.

"I'm trying to figure something out, but how's my voice gonna work? My character didn't sound like a chainsmoker when I played her."

The horse said, the people in the crowd staring at the curtain intently.

"I-" Becca swallowed her anxiety. "I-I'm sorry. I'll get you out of here, I promise." The girl said.

"Well." Mallory looked up. "I guess there's not much I can do. I'm doomed either way. Might as well finish this damn play." She looked at the big neon sign behind her.

"THE PHOENIX OF THE LOST TURRET."

"You can do it!" Thatti said, a bunch of applause and cheering behind her.

Thatti pulled on the lever backstage. The lights and music began to play, a loud horn blared out on stage. The stage lights changed to the color of magenta and an excited crowd watched as the curtain pulled back. Mallory, the seasoned actress turned down-and-out cynic, stood center stage. Her voice, a mix of whiskey, cigarettes, and pure panic, boomed through the speakers.

"Princess Bumblebelle Sugartail at your service! Fear not, for I shall vanquish the dreaded Phantom, Braxas and restore peace to Glitter Gulch!"

Her voice was gruff, the opposite of the sweet, girlish tones of her character. But the crowd, fueled by childlike nostalgia, ate it up. They roared in laughter, mistaking the actress's genuine distress for impeccable comedic timing. Becca, meanwhile, stumbled around inside the giant Bovine Braxas costume. The cardboard horns kept poking her in the eye. She could barely breathe in the stuffy, sweat- soaked suit. Her vision was limited to tiny mesh eye-holes, which meant every step was a potential pratfall. She was reminded of Thatti in her big clunky horse suit, the Mallory Millar cosplay she recalled her wearing months back.

"Uh... moo?" Becca squeaked from within. "Prepare to uhhh, meet your doom, Princess!" She cried, but tripped and fell into the stage set, knocking over a glittery cardboard cactus.

Mallory froze. This wasn't in the script. "Ah, Phantom! So clumsy, so… phantomy!" She stepped over the fallen villain, her oversized heels clacking comedically. "Prepare to be banished by my…" She read her lines. "Jellybean blast? Wait a sec kid." She looked angrily at Thatti and whispered. "I did this show for 16 seasons, Mallory ain't never used a Jellybean blast."

"It was copyrighted, we had to make some liberties. Shsh keep going!" Not-Thatti said back from the corner.

She spun in a ridiculous pirouette and held her hand to her chest. Nothing happened for a suspenseful moment. Then, with a well-timed flick behind the scenes, Thatti set off a string of firecrackers.

Becca, caught by surprise, let out a genuine yelp. But then, Mallory's survival instincts kicked in. With a mighty heave, she flung her cape over the Phantom's head, blinding them. Becca stumbled forward and tumbled off, landing in a heap onto the stage, stubbing their forehead painfully.

"Why you ASSHOLE." Becca tactlessly climbed back up and charged forward at Mallory.

Bovine Braxas, steered mostly by accidental flailing, punched Mallory off the stage and into the laps of the front row audience. "Hey this is MY show you little twat." Millarhoof climbed back up and the two abandoned the script, hitting and wrestling each other on stage.

The audience gasped in awe. "Amazing!" a parent shouted, their kid extremely bored and playing on their phone. "Look at the choreography!!" Everyone watched as Becca fought a scantily-dressed horse,

dressed like a fat bull. Eventually the horse picked Becca up and tossed her back into the audience, the girl falling on her back and unable to get up.

"Thaaaat's it!" Mallory shouted, the audience clapping as she posed. "Phantom vanquished, Bumblebee kingdom restored! The gulch is saved, go home."

She turned around to leave the stage and bumped into something.

A huge, over-sized figure with a goatee and a black suit and hat walked out, looking very serious. A shark-man, pistol in his hand. "Plestan Robinson." Mallory squinted her eyes. "Look, I was going to pay you those debts, but-" He pointed at her, wagging his finger, then raising his gun at Mallory. "You ain't payin' me, you ain't gettin' a second chance. I'm taking you, my way. Ain't you heard?" He said, cocking his revolver. "The Reef Gang's comin' to take ya."

"Whatever. I'll give you the money, just leave me alone." Mallory said, looking at the crowd. Suddenly another figure climbed up onstage from the corner, passing Thatti as they did. "Shhhh." Another horse said, holding up a large metal rolling pin. "We're in the middle of something nice here, don't interrupt us." She brought the pin and smacked the gun out of Plestan's hand, then struck across his head until he bled and fell sideways.

"Oh." The crowd clapped, abit confused but still very smitten. As the final curtain fell, Becca stumbled out of the Bovine Braxas costume, gasping for air. The roar of the crowd, the nonsensical joy of it all, had ignited something in her. Embarrassing, but warm nonetheless. She turned to the other horse, who looked like she could've been Mallory herself wearing a suit and tie.

Becca walked over to the girl, hopping over the unconscious Reef Gang thug. "Can someone please explain to me what the hell is going on? What's any of this about?" Park security came and slowly dragged Plestan away. Milli and Mallory stood in the backstage, giving each other glares like daggers.

"I'd like to know that myself." Mallory Millarhoof asked. "Milli."

"Milli?" Becca turned to the two horses, the resemblance uncanny. She felt the revelation was the sort Thatti would chastise her for as far as basic information went.

"Mom is sick, Mallory. Did you know?" The other horse asked.

"No, I didn't know that. But why are you here, sister?" She asked. "If you needed money or a check, I've got none. I got nothing left in my life after all."

"Nono. Well." Milli said, folding her arms and turning her head around. "Our mom was the show's manager. Naturally I was Mallory's stunt-double, being your twin sister and all. After the last season you were in ended, our show got cancelled a season later without you. I tried carrying the show but it didn't really work. People stopped watching, you left for greener pastures in showbiz, and I just stayed behind." She brought out a cane, pointing it at a rollercoaster. "Taking care of the family business. Unlike you, deserter."

"Family business, what!?" Becca turned to Mallory.

"Yeah, hate to be reminded kid but.." She picked up one of the fliers. "My family kinda owns this park. This, loathsome failing excuse for a park. Have ever since I was born. I worked hard as an actress in Xi to pay off alot of mom’s debts, but I never wanted to join this park shitshow, I'm trying to get away from it.

It's seriously embarrassing." She turned around and looked beyond the curtains at the bleachers of the audience, packed full with people enjoying her.

"Oh, WE'RE embarrassing? That's rich for a horse that lost her job and career over drugs and alcohol and who the hell knows what else." She snapped at her. "Do you know how much I had to pay that little girl over there, little Riley Stevenson, to trick you into coming here?" She pointed at not-Thatti. "I got fanatic letters sent for months, from one of your FANs all just to be reminded you blew both our shots. Figured, if this girl saw you as such an idol, I'd have someone pretend to be little miss 1# fan and get'cha to come out!"

Becca slipped over to Riley. “Psst, trust me kid. Pretending to be Thatti, never works out. I should know.”

"This is so stupid." The actress said. "Manipulating me by manipulating children? Was it worth it? For what?" Her hoof stomped.

Milli Millarhoof took a deep breath. "You're right, you could be dead for all I know. Just... this whole thing's been weighing on me all this time. It ain't nothing to me if you don't believe me, I just.. wanted to help my sister. Do something that could help her."

"And you thought bringing me to a park I hated with a family ashamed of me would be the help I need? From the likes of you." She pressed her hooves to Milli's chest.

Her sister nodded. "Mallory.. mom's dyin. That child doesn't have Temporal Cellite Anomaly, mum does. It’s terminal Mal. We've been bleeding the park dry with her medical bills and declining numbers, soon both her and this park will be gone. All the while I couldn't even get you to show up or call me! Do you know how frustrating that is?"

"Mum's almost dead?" Mallory flicked away her cig. "Good riddens, I hope drops soon."

"If mom dies without you here and the park collapses, you'll lose everything! Your family, all your fans, your legacy, I'll lose my job- And I don't want to lose the one sister I have left!"

"Fuck this. I'm not-" She started off, turning around to leave through the front curtain.

The moment she did, Mallory was greeted outside by thunderous applause. The cheers of countless overgrown fans, the adoration and glee, all the warmth from the audience melted her heart. How long had it been since she'd heard a laughtrack, seen a dozen children lining up to get her hoof signature? These people were kids when they saw her, the same kids who grew up on her show. Mallory, the most bitter, cynical, alcoholic has-been. Mallory Millarhoof, herself. The actress stared back at the audience and started to tear up a little. Milli came behind her and put a hoof on her shoulder.

"I wanted, to give the park one last show. Listen- I know you didn't want to come here, if you've given up on us that's fine. But it seemed like you hadn't been in the spotlight for decades, as if you'd give up on 'you.' Responsibility to yourself is a thing y'know. You can run from past, your family, your career all you want. But the one thing you cannot run from is ya'self, I'm sorry if this corny park is so embarrassing, or making you uncomfortable, but I still love you Mallory." She pulled her head close to Mallory's. The stage lights pulsed like a distant heartbeat. Mallory stood center stage, the applause crashing over her in waves, not of sound, but of feeling. The warmth, the boundless adoration, pried open the hardened shell around her heart. She wasn't the sleek young childstar of yesterday, but someone more raw, more vulnerable. Decades of disillusionment etched on her face shone under the lights, the wrinkles and tired

eyes feeling less weary the more she basked in them.

The crowd started to fade away, like in a dream. Faces of the guests melted and warped. "Pulling this shit. You're dead. You're d-dead." Mallory Millarhoof whispered to Milli, the tears glistening and falling from her face. "Kiddo, reach into my poke and give me a ciggy." Becca pulled out her cigarette and lighter, burning up a cigarette in the horse's mouth.

"Milli, I'm sorry. I don't need to hug you, nor me Milli, I don't need any more hugs than you've already given me. I'm sorry. I-I'm sorry I was so distant from you and mom, I'm sorry I was so hurtful, mean. The fights, the drugs, quitting the show, getting it cancelled. I'm sorry I was a disappointment to you. I'm sorry I was such an insufferable pile of shit and didn't even give you guys thanks at that one award ceremony. Which, was totally RIGGED by the way, don't let them tell you otherwise. I know mom tried so hard to manage the show with those catty Orchid producers and put up with it just for us. But, I'm so sorry. For everything." She took a drag of the cigarette. "I'm so sorry I let you down." She blew out the smoke. "Guess this park will be go out with a whimper because of me."

"No way." Milli leaned further into her, taking Mallory's cigarette and smoking it herself. The whole park was packed, crowded with more people than it had been for years, a bustling comeback on its final setting weeks. "It'll go out with a bang." She took a deep drag. "C'mon, we can do one more show for mom. She's in the manager's trailer, your son too."

"Mason…" The name surfaced from a place Mallory had sealed shut. "Right... forgot."

Becca looked at the two as they started to leave the backstage. "I thought your son was dead." She shouted.

"Y-yeah, I meant dead to me. He works at this park as a mascot." Mallory told her with a loud laugh, wiping damp eyes and smiling with serenity. "Later Becca. Ol’ Mallory’s got some catching up to do." The two horses walked off with the audience soothing behind them.

Becca climbed offstage. She picked up her phone, dialing a number and walking away from the crowd slowly. “Hey Hyde? Yeah I’m ready. Come pick me up.” She’d resigned herself to whatever fate through at her next. “If you and that harpy girlfriend of yours have a plan, then I goddamn wanna hear it.”