“I can’t believe you kept that thing.”

Firefly and Candy stood face-to-face with each other, Candy clutching the photograph to her chest. Neither mare thought they’d ever have to bring this topic up again—of the mare who’d hurt them both—but after a long day of revelation and questioning, here they were. And now that they’d finally gotten the kids to bed, they had some hard feelings to address.

“It wasn’t for anybody but me, Ma! They weren’t supposed to find it!” Candy pleaded.

“But why did you have it in the first place? Why are you still holding on to that bitch?”

“She’s still my mom! She wasn’t the nicest, but I still want to remember the good times!”

“Good times? Are you blind?” Firefly scoffed. “All she did was treat us like shit! Control everything we did! Do you think you’d be with Holly and have the kids if she was still here?”

“No, and I’m glad she isn’t! But she’s still the mare who raised me, Ma. I know it’s not right, but I still can’t help but miss her.”

“You miss her because you still have that thing to remind you of her!” Firefly grabbed the photo and started tugging on it. “And now the kids are trying to dig shit up because you couldn’t hide it well enough! Because you couldn’t bother to get rid of it!”

“They have a right to know who she was!” Candy tugged the photo back.

“And go through all that pain knowing their grandmother is such a cunt? Or worse, end up like her? You’re only hurting us all by holding on to the past!”

“I’m not trying to hurt anybody!” Candy cried, tears welling up in her eyes. “It’ll hurt less if we tell the truth and move forward together, as a family!”

“YOU SHOULD’VE MOVED ON FROM YOUR BITCH OF A MOMMY YEARS AGO, PARASITE!” Firefly screamed and reared back, as a horrible tearing sound pierced the air.

And then, silence, as Candy collapsed to the floor in tears, the two halves of the photograph falling to the floor around her.

Firefly’s heart dropped as she realized what she’d just done. “Candy, I-“

“No,” she lifted her head, tears streaming down her cheeks. “Don’t.”

“Look, I didn’t mean to-“

“You’ve done enough, okay?” The mare lifted herself to her hooves, walking towards the door without making eye contact. “I’m sorry I can’t change how I feel.”