C'est la vie

Chapters

Un
Deux
Trois
Quatre
Cinq
Six
Sept
Huit
Neuf

Un

Author's Note

Fair warning, I had two people look over all of the French in this story, but I myself can't speak a lick of the language. So, if you see any mistakes calm your tits and just pm me please.

Un

For the super model Fleur de Lis, mornings were always the same. She would wake up before Celestia’s sun had risen, lying on a bed that cost more than most ponies made in a year. Her hooves would be clenching a five thousand bit blanket, and her head would be resting on an eight hundred bit pillow. When she opened her eyes, she’d look up at the twenty thousand bit mural on her ceiling.

She’d stare at this masterpiece as best as she could in the darkness of the room, trying to discern what section she was looking at. That was when the sun would start to rise. Light and color would enter her mansion and all of her other items of opulence would make themselves known—rugs of the finest make, furniture that had once been owned by kings and queens, little knick-knacks made from gold and silver.

When one walked into her home, they were awestruck more often than not, dazzled by what she owned. But for her? These things were nothing more than tables, chairs, beds and sinks. As fine of items as they may be, they held no reverence to her.

A sigh escaped Fleur as she slowly opened her eyes. A quiet sigh, a bothered sigh.

She could already see light creeping into the room. As soon as it illuminated the mirror on the other end of the wall, she would hear a knocking on her bedroom door. Two knocks exactly, and a ten second pause before another two knocks. Just like always.

Fleur waited for the knocks patiently, as she did every morning. In a few minutes, her world would become a hectic whirlwind of activity. There were meetings to go to, shoots to attend, interviews to be present for, events to sponsor, and parties to visit. She wouldn’t stop until late in the night, and that was only if she was lucky.

But now, for these few minutes, there was silence and stillness. No appearances to keep, no politics to play. Nothing. There was just her, so she did her best to enjoy these brief few moments to their fullest.

She didn’t spend a second of these precious seconds thinking or worrying or planning. She simply laid there, looking up at the ceiling, doing nothing more than being. It was relaxing, invigorating, easily her favorite part of the day. But, as happened every day since she was old enough to walk down a runway, her peaceful silence was broken into a million pieces just as she was beginning to enjoy them.

A noise echoed through the room, harsh and foreboding. The two knocks on the door.

Without a second thought, she sat up. “Come in,” she called, throwing off her blankets and rolling out of bed.

There was a pause before Fleur could hear her door knob being turned. Looking over, she was able to watch as her door was thrown open, revealing her manager Mr. Svengallop, as well as her mane stylist, her makeup artist, and two of her maids.

She smiled, rubbing the tiredness out of her eyes. “Good morning, mes chers.”

Her greeting was met with bows as the ponies piled into her bedroom. The maids rushed over to her bed and began making it, while her stylist and makeup artist rushed over to their workplace and began to set up. Mr. Svengallop, meanwhile, made his way over to her with a stack of papers tucked under a hoof and a small cup of black coffee held in the other.

“We only have ten minutes to get you ready and out the door, hon,” he said, handing her the coffee. “So we need to put a pip in that step.”

“Merci,” Fleur said, taking the mug out of his hooves and taking a sip.

Svengallop grunted, adjusting his glasses as she made her way over to her stylist and makeup mare.

“In a few minutes we’ll need to go to the south district to start the spring fashion photoshoot,” he said, eyes scanning the papers in his hoof. “I tried to have it be later but Photo Finish insisted that you come in early.”

“That’s fine.”

“After that we need to be at the east end by eight. Hoity Toity’s new boutique is opening and he wants you to be there.”

Fleur, taking one last sip of her coffee, set it down before hopping into her chair. She was only able to lean back and close her eyes before her stylist and makeup artist were on her. The mares were experts, she knew. They’d have her fixed up and ready in less than five minutes.

“Lord Fancy Pants also invited me to attend a luncheon with him, yes?”

There was a shuffle of papers.

“Yes, but we’ll need to cut the trip to the foal’s hospital a little short if you want to be at the luncheon and conduct that interview with the Daily Horseshoe.”

A small frown came to Fleur’s face.

“Non, I won’t do that to the little ones,” she said firmly. “Send Fancy my apologies. Tell him that I am simply too busy to meet with him today.”
Svengallop, rolling his eyes, wrote something down on a notepad. “Fine, I’ll have somepony send him a message, but what are we going to do about your dinner? Sapphire Shores sent you an invitation to that new fusion place near the castle, but Rarity asked you the other…”

While she listened to her manager drone on about this and that, answering questions as needed, Fleur began to change. Her mane and fur were brushed to a sparkling sheen. Eyeliner was applied, as was foundation along with a dozen other things. Her hooves were filed and painted. Her makeup artist even made sure to brush her teeth in a way that would leave them sparkling white.

When the hooves and brushes were finally lifted away from her face she opened her eyes. Looking in the mirror hanging just a few feet from her, she was able to see Fleur de Lis: one of the most important ponies in the fashion world, the jewel of Canterlot, the mare that everypony wanted to know and see and be. The pony before her was powerful, beautiful, and wealthy beyond imagination. She was a giant, a queen, larger than life.

As she looked at her reflection, at this goddess that looked back at her, she couldn’t help but sigh explosively, disturbing her mane.

Their work done, The maids, the stylist, and her makeup artist made their way toward the door. Fleur knew that the maids would be back when she was gone to clean her bedroom until it was as perfect as it had been the night before.

“Thank you,” she called as the mares disappeared through the door.

Mr. Svengallop looked down at his watch. “Dear, I don’t mean to hurry you but we’re on a tight schedule.”

Fleur closed her eyes, counted to ten, then opened them.

“Yes,” she said with a slow nod, rising to her hooves. “Let us be off then.”

A pair of bodyguards were waiting for her and Svengallop as the two made their way out of her home. Fleur nodded to the two towering stallions, who nodded in return before they left her estate and made it out to Canterlot proper.

Even at this hour, the streets were filled with ponies, nobles and commoners alike. A mare and stallion were arguing next to a newsstand. An elderly fat mare was trying to entice a group of ponies with her bread. A group of schoolchildren were rushing down the street with books in hoof.

The heat hadn’t descended on the streets yet, so one could smell the flowers sitting in front of so many stores. A breeze also carried the smell of lavender and vanilla, telling all that walked the streets that the local perfumists were already hard at work.

Fleur and her group joined the crowds, trying to blend in as much as possible. But it was far easier said than done. All of Canterlot and most of Equestria knew her by face, and there were very few mares in even this city that could boast her size or grace.

It would start out subtly. Whispering, somepony would look at her with wide eyes only to quickly look away. Maybe somepony would quickly wave before galloping away. But then a stallion or mare would shout out her name. The clicking of cameras would fill the air. Love-struck fans would rush over to her to profess all sorts of things. After that it was only a matter of time before the paparazzi would appear from the shadows and other dark, damp places with their cameras and their questions.

“Fleur! Fleur! Snapshot from the Nightly Neigh! Are the rumors about your affair with Prince Blueblood true?”

“Fleur! What about the allegations that you use the blood of newborn foals to keep yourself looking so young?”

“Fleur! What’s your favorite color?”

“Why is your flank so big when your middle’s so skinny?”

“How do you get your mane like that? Is that even your natural color?”

“I love you Fleur! Please have my babies!”

“I love you Fleur! Please let me have your babies!”

Under this barrage of bodies and demands, Fleur carried herself like a princess. She held her head high, and each step was calm and measured. The questions she ignored, or had her manager answer or deflect. Her bodyguards made sure that nopony got too close or tried something that they shouldn’t.

Every once in awhile a young filly or colt, who had been no doubt rushing to make it to school, would push through the crowds and say something sweet or hand her a love letter. This would be the only time when the supermodel would stop, thanking the little one with a smile, some kind words, and maybe even a nuzzle if they had been adorable enough to prompt her to do so.

The walk to the south district to the city was a slow one, but eventually the crowds subsided and allowed Fleur and her group to walk at a faster pace. The plain yet sturdy shops of the east end gave way to towering studios and cathedral-like buildings. The ponies began to change as well, from tourists and nobles to artists.

Music, painting, clothing, sculpture—the east end welcomed all that saw the world in a different light than most, and unlike most of the city, news ponies and paparazzi were not welcome. Even her manager and bodyguards had left, promising to meet her in a few hours to take her to another part of the city.

This was one of the few places in Canterlot, the few places in Equestria, where Fleur could let her guard down just a hair. These were her ponies. They were friends, rivals, associates. She knew them and they knew her. But, out of any pony in this section of the city, there was only one pony that she treated like family.

“Mein kleines Mädchen! Come, come, let me zee you!”

Photo Finish trotted over to Fleur like an overly affectionate mother, wrapping her hooves around her neck and kissing both of her cheeks. The supermodel returned the affection, nuzzling the photographer.

“Good morning, mon amie.”

A snort escaped Photo.

“Good morning ze says. A good morning after ignoring me for half ze year,” she wailed, breaking her hug and grabbing Fleur’s face, making sure to shake her around. “Ze superstar has become too busy for her favorite earth pony, ja?”

“I’m sorry that I haven’t been able to come see you sooner,” Fleur said, nuzzling her friend again as best as she could. “I was in Labyrinthia for two months for a shoot.”

Photo’s face contorted into a look of disgust. “Bleh. A bunch of hacks and color-blind Feen,” she said dismissively, releasing her grip on her and turning around. “Zey wouldn’t know pink from white if it bit zem on ze Arsch.”

The mare suddenly spun around with a hop, a great big smile on her face. “But you are here now, Fräulein. And now we will make ze magics!”

Rising up onto her back legs, the older mare struck a pose. Fleur hid a giggle behind a hoof, happy that Photo had lost none of her flair since she had last saw her.

“Come, come. Let me show you what I have in store,” Photo said, grabbing Fleur and all but dragging her through the studio.

There were dozens of ponies walking around. Some were workers setting up scenes, while others were models like her, waiting for their shoots. The atmosphere was light and pleasant yet busy, as it always was in the spring season. Fleur looked at each set, wondering what her old friend had in store for her this time.

“Zis will be a photo shoot unlike any that you’ve ever seen, my girl. Canterlot, no, ze world, will be knocked off their hooves!” Photo said, loudly enough that a few of the ponies she walked past jumped in surprise.

“You say that before every shoot,” Fleur pointed out with a grin.

“And I have not lied yet!” Photo cried, throwing a hoof into the air. “Ah, yes. Here we are…”

Photo led Fleur into a quiet corner of the studio. Though seemingly no different than any other set, this was a good deal bigger than the ones surrounding it. A quick glance around also told Fleur that Photo’s little corner had a good deal more props and lights than most photographers would have wanted to deal with. Fortunately for her, and the fashion world at large, Photo Finish was a mare that enjoyed walking the path less traveled.

Fleur took a deep breath as she looked at where she would be spending a great deal of time for the foreseeable future. There were the dozens of dresses and outfits that she would be no doubt wearing today. She could also see Photo’s trusty stylist and assistant waiting patiently next to an overly large polka dot rubber duck. The photographer’s usual lighting ponies and agents and prop designers were also in attendance. But there was something missing, something that made Fleur raise an eyebrow.

“Photo, mon amie, where is your camera?”

Photo, who had been talking to a pair of set designers, turned around and looked at her. “What was zat, Fräulein?”

“Your camera. Where is your camera?” Fleur asked, quickly looking around to see if she had somehow missed it.

Photo blinked, before suddenly laughing. “Ah, you silly filly! Why would I need ze camera?”

“To take pictures?” Fleur said, her brow furrowing.

Once again, Photo let out a bark of laughter. “Oh no, I’m not taking ze pictures this time, my girl. I am ze producer.”

Though still thoroughly confused, Fleur couldn’t help but smile. “Congratulations, mon amie. I hadn’t heard that you had decided to move up in the industry.”

“Bah, those Würmer at Essence have been hounding me to stop being ze “simple” photographer,” Photo said, with a hint of distaste in her voice. “Zey wanted me to take ze magics to a whole other level.”

“I know that you’ll do far better than any other producer that I’ve worked with,” Fleur told her.

“Ja. Of course, of course. I will show zem how it’s done,” Photo said with a dismissive wave. “But zat doesn’t mean I have to be happy about it.”

“So if you’re not taking my pictures, then who is?” Fleur questioned, looking at the ponies gathered. “Is it Polaroid? Or maybe Nikon Flash?”

To the supermodel’s surprise, Photo shook her head.

“No, I decided to bring in a new blood,” she said with a flick of her mane. “Somepony that I’ve heard very good things about.”

Fleur raised an eyebrow. Though extravagant and more than a little silly at times, Photo wasn’t the kind of mare that let greenhorns in out of the blue like this.

“Really?”

Photo nodded. “Ja.”

She then looked past Fleur, a great big smile coming to her face. “And speak of ze devil.”

Fleur turned around, expecting some young mare or stallion trotting toward them with a camera in hoof. She did not get that. In fact, she didn’t even get a pony.

The being making his way toward the unicorn was massive, easily twice as tall as her. He was covered in clothing from head to foot, hiding his mostly hairless body. Fleur could hear his covered feet impacting the floor with each step he took, a testament to his weight and size. His face was flat, but not unpleasantly so, with a small, cute little nose in the center of his face.

Fleur couldn’t help but gawk, her eyes growing to the size of dinner plates. Walking toward her was a creature that she had only heard about since Princess Twilight Sparkle had accidently opened a portal to another world in the middle of Las Pegasus.

“A human…” she said, looking him over as he marched toward her.

“Ja, a human!” Photo chirped, still smiling.

Tearing her gaze away from the alien creature, Fleur looked over at her old friend. “How did you manage this? I thought that humans weren’t allowed across the portal.”

Photo’s smile grew. “Let’s just say zat I know a pony zat knows a pony.”

The human continued to close the distance between him and the mares. He ignored the obvious stares of the ponies around him, his bright blue eyes settling on Fleur herself. She could see curiosity in those eyes. For all she knew, this was the first time that he had seen a unicorn. Fleur could feel her stomach tighten in both excitement and nervousness.

Equus had been ablaze with talk about these strange, magicless creatures. She knew that the princesses had crossed over to speak with the humans leaders’ multiple times. She also knew that they were working toward a stable peace with whoever they were talking to. But that was it.

Most ponies, including herself, knew almost nothing about humans, their cultures, or what even they looked like. But here one was, in the middle of Canterlot, walking toward her like it was the most normal thing in the world.

Needless to say, this wasn’t what she had been expecting this morning.

Brushing past her, Photo Finish trotted toward the human, closing what little distance there was. “Guten Tag, Sam.”

The human nodded, offering one of his large, spindly hands. “Afternoon ma’am,” he said in an accent that Fleur couldn’t quite identify. “It’s very nice to be here.”

“Ja, it’s good to see zat you found your way here on your own,” Photo said, ignoring the hand and hopping up onto her back hooves to give him a hug.

She was nowhere near tall enough to get to the human’s cheeks, but she made do with kissing his side. Sam’s eyes widened in surprise. He looked down at the photographer turned producer for several before giving her a firm pat on the back.

“Yeah… It wasn’t too hard, ma’am,” he said with a cough, taking a quick step away from Photo as she dropped back on all fours. “The only pain was getting through the crowds.”

“What matters is zat you’re here,” Photo said, tugging at his pants. “Come, come, let me introduce you to ze model you will be working with!”

Sam allowed himself to be dragged along toward Fleur, who couldn’t help but smile at the sight. No matter how momentous the occasion, Photo Finish would be Photo Finish.

“Sam, zis is Fleur de Lis. Fleur, zis is Sam.”

Sam was about ready to offer his hand again but stopped himself. His eyes scanned her face.

Fleur could see that the stallion looked a little lost. He obviously had no idea whether to bend down and kiss her cheeks or try for another handshake.

Giggling, Fleur offered the poor man a hoof. “It is wonderful to meet you, Mr. Sam. Photo Finish hasn’t said much about you, but what little she has said had been nothing but good.”

Sam quickly took her hoof and gave it a shake, relief coming to his face.

“It’s very nice to meet you too, ma’am,” he said, with a smile. “She hasn’t told me much about you either, but I hope we learn a lot about each other from this experience.”

Fleur’s smile widened. This Sam had an honest smile, one that she found oddly pleasant to look at.

“I hope so too.”

Seeing that the introductions were finished, Photo clapped her hooves together. “Strudel! Guerlain!”

Two mares rushed over with a small table and promptly dropped it in front of the human.

“Zere you go dear,” Photo said with a smile before turning around and facing the rest of the crew. “Now prepare yourselves! We will begin ze magics! Go, go, go!”

As the crew began rushing around, putting the finishing touches on the set and getting whatever clothing was needed out and ready, Sam, releasing Fleur’s hoof, made his way over to the table. Lifting the small bag from his shoulder he began to unzip it.

Fleur, unable to help herself, made her way to his side and watched as he began pulling things out of it. “So is this your first shoot, cher?”

“Yes, it is. For this kind of stuff at least,” Sam replied, pulling out a small rectangular object and opening it up.

Once opened, Fleur saw that the top of it had a small screen, while the bottom had dozens of tiny buttons. Sam looked his device over for a few moments before pushing something. To the supermodel’s shock, the screen lit up.

“Huh, so it looks like this old piece of shit survived the trip,” Sam muttered to himself, tapping a few of the buttons to change the what was on the screen before pulling out one of the smallest cameras that Fleur had ever seen. “Good. That’s gonna make this a lot easier.”

Focusing his attention on the other object that he had pulled out of his bag. He pressed a small button on the corner of it. Several seconds later the device made a noise before it started to move. Fleur let out a gasp, moving forward so she could get a better look. Usually photographers hated when the models touched their equipment, but she couldn’t resist reaching out and poking one of the buttons of the little square machine.

Sam watched as she did this, pulling out a small collection of lenses. “That’s called a computer,” he said. “It’s going to help me store all of the pictures that I take of you.”

Fleur nodded, pressing a few more buttons. None of them did anything to change what was on the screen, to her mild disappointment, but she continued poking at the alien technology all the same.

“A com-pu-ter,” she said, rolling the word around on her tongue. “Computer…”

Sam tapped the other object with a finger. “This right here is a printer. It’ll let me print out your photos so that we all can look at them right away.”

“Stupéfiant,” Fleur murmured, looking up at him. “It’ll print them immediately?”

“It will,” Sam replied with a nod. “All I’ll need to do is put some special paper into that slot right there and I’ll be able to print as many pictures as we need.”

Running her hoof along the side of the printer, Fleur turned her attention back toward the computer. “And this... computer. Does it do anything else?”

Sam placed a lens on his camera, blowing on it before rubbing it with his sleeve. “Usually it can, but since I’m really not supposed to bring too much stuff over here right now this one’s got all of the good stuff ripped out of it.”

Fleur opened her mouth and sucked in a lungful of air. She had so many questions! Why had he come all the way to Canterlot? Why hadn’t she heard anything about a human coming? How did Photo know him? Why hadn’t Photo said anything to her about this beforehand?

The unicorn was filled to the brim with questions, but, before she could ask any of them, professionalism kicked in. Human or not, she shouldn’t have been gawking at Sam like some slack-jawed filly. He was no doubt a professional, and he was acting far more maturely about this than she was.

Embarrassment and just a bit of horror began to work its way into the supermodel’s gut, causing her to step away from the human’s equipment.

“Monsieur Sam, I am… sorry,” she said with a bow of the head. “Here you are trying to get ready while I stand here and poke at your things like some Pouliche.”

To Fleur’s surprise, Sam let out a laugh.

“You should have seen Princess Twilight,” he said, adjusting his lens. “She looked like she was going to have a panic attack when some government official gave her a tablet. It was the cutest thing that I’ve ever seen in my life.”

Though she had absolutely no idea what a “tablet” was, she nevertheless perked up. “So you’re not upset?”

“Upset? About you wanting to poke at my shitty computer?” Still focused on his camera, Sam slid his computer over to her. “If you want to play with it then play with it. Just make sure not to start slamming on those keys. The government might pay for the thing, but it’d take a month before I get the clearance to get another one brought from the other side.”

Fleur looked at the computer, taking a nervous, yet excited, step forward. “Merci,” she said, placing a hoof on a few of the buttons, listening as they made a very quiet clicking sound.

“Come on you piece of junk,” Sam said to himself, looking over his camera.

Rolling it in his hands a few times, he slammed the bottom of it against the table, causing Fleur to jump. The camera flickered to life, the lens expanding and receding. Sam looked it over once again, a toothy smile coming to his face.

“There we go, as good as new.”

The young man smiled at Fleur. “Alright, ma’am. Are you ready to make ze magics?”

@-@-@-@-@

Both Fleur and Photo watched in amazement as Sam’s printer did its work. Neither believed that something so small would be able to make a picture out of nothing, but like magic here it was. With each swipe of a rectangular, plastic bit on the printer more and more of the page appeared. In no time at all there was a finished, crisp photo setting on the table next to thirty others.

“Just a couple more and we’ll be all done for the day,” Sam said, giving the printer a quick once over as he took the lens off his camera and carefully put it away.

“Wunderbar, wunderbar,” Photo murmured, picking up one of the photos and inspecting it. “What usually takes hours is finished in seconds…”

“It is quiet erstaunlich, is it not?” Fleur asked, staring at the human’s computer.

In between shoots Fleur had badgered her new photographer about this amazing piece of technology in front of her. Oddly enough, Sam admitted that he knew far less than he should have about his computer. Still though, he had been more than happy to teach her what little he knew.

By the end of their shoot, Fleur had found herself sitting on a stool, carefully using the tip of her hoof to scroll through the dozens of photos now loaded up on Sam’s computer.

“Ja, ja. Zis one, and zis one, and zis one too!” Photo said, picking up photo’s and placing them in a pile. “Not as refined as ze master, but the rawness delights me!”

Sam jumped at the earth pony’s sudden rise in pitch. He gave her a wary look, one that would have had Fleur laughing if she would have been able to tear her gaze from the computer, before composing himself.

“Thank ya, ma’am,” he said. “I’m glad you like ‘em.”

“Zese must be taken to Essence right away! Ponies need to see these pictures!” Photo shouted, pointing to the ceiling.

Before anyone could stop her, she picked up the photos, spun around, and dashed off. “Ponies must see ze magics!”

“Ma’am, you need to let those dry a little more before you…” Sam trailed off as the mare disappeared from sight. He blinked owlishly before a sigh escaped him.

“That’s one funny lady,” he said, taking a seat next to Fleur.

Fleur smiled. “Yes she is, isn’t she?”

Looking in the direction that the earth pony had disappeared from for a few more moments, Sam then leaned toward his computer, looking at what was on the screen.

“So how did I do? Not too bad, huh?”

“Not bad at all,” Fleur replied, looking at him out of the corner of her eye. “This is your first shoot though, no?”

“It is,” Sam admitted with a small smile. “Before I came here I was doing work for a newspaper, so I’m not that used to taking pictures like this.”

“Well, you’re doing far better than most would for your first time,” Fleur quickly reassured, turning toward him. “But… Monsieur Sam? Would it be too forward to ask you a personal question?”

Sam sat up a little straighter. “Ask away.”

“May I ask why you decided to come to to our fair nation?”

Sam blinked. “You wanna know why I’m in Equestria?”

Fleur nodded. She should feel her tail swishing side-to-side in excitement, but she ignored it as best she could, staring into the human’s eyes.

“Yes. Why would you want to come here?”

A small smile came to Sam’s face.

“Well, it’s kind of a long story,” he said. “See, I got a fruit of a brother livin’ near where Princess Twilight opened that portal of hers.”

“Fruit?” Fleur said, cocking her head to the side.

“Yeah, fruit. He’s a hair stylist—likes to wear furry boots and dance at nightclubs that don’t serve Iron City beer. You know what I mean.”

Fleur didn’t, not even a little bit, but she found herself nodding anyway.

“Anyway, my brother is living next to the portal and starts to get real friendly with one of the senator’s sons that’re there. He finds out the government is looking for people to send over an’ live with the ponies for a couple of months.”

“And he told you?”

“Yeah,” Sam said, nodding. “He calls me up and tells me that they’re looking for someone to go to the Equestrian capital. He knew that my job paid shit, and said that I’d probably be able to get better work on this side.”

He leaned back in his chair, resting his elbows on the table.

“I don’t know how he did it, but Matthew was able to find me a job as a photographer. After puttin’ in my two weeks, I packed up some things, got my shots, and came over here. The rest is history.”

“Your brother must love you very much,” Fleur commented.

“He does,” Sam replied. “And I love him too, as funny as he gets sometimes.” His brow furrowed. “I have no idea how me managed to get me over here as easily as he did though. That senator’s son must have really liked him.”

“Well, I’m happy that you decided to come to our fair city, mon cher,” Fleur told him. “I hope that you come to love Canterlot as much as I have.”

“It’s a very nice city. What little I’ve seen anyway. Really clean,” Sam said. “Most ponies have been real nice. A bit funny, but nice.”

Fleur let out a hum, wiggling excitedly on her stool. “And where do you come from, Sam? I’ve never heard an accent like yours.”

“Well, I’m from a little city called Pittsburgh. It’s a pretty nice place. And what about you? You got kind of an accent goin’ on there too.”

Fleur leaned forward in her stool. “I come from a little town in Prance.”

“Prance?”

“Yes. It was a small fishing village…”

The two went on a back and forth for sometime. Sam told her about the strange and fantastical world that he hailed from. Fleur, meanwhile, told him about her old hometown and Canterlot. Though she loved the city dearly, she knew that some of its citizens were less than model ponies, so she took the time to warn him about a few of the nastier nobles.

The longer they talked the more the unicorn realized that her new photographer was out of his element. The city that he had come from was more like Manehattan than Canterlot—a lively yet hardworking place with honest, if a bit gruff, people. There were no nobles, and this Pittsburgh certainly didn’t seem to have the flair that Canterlot was famous for.

Despite all of that, however, she quickly found herself taking a liking to this strange alien. He had an unrefinement about him that she rather enjoyed. When he spoke of something he was passionate about, his accent would become thicker and his blue eyes would light up like sapphires. It was adorable, and she found herself smiling every time.

And to make matters even better, the young man seemed to be as interested in her as she was him. He was fascinated about her horn and her magic, and he hung onto her every word as she told him about the small village town that she had grown up in.

It felt… nice to talk like this. There was no pressure, Fleur didn’t have to keep up with appearances. The conversation wasn’t stale in the slightest, so there was no need to feign interest. All she needed to do was be herself.

“So you have pegasuses making the weather?”

“Pegasi, and yes, mon cher. There’s several weather teams in this very city, in fact.”

Sam let out a whistle. “Your princess should send a couple of them over our way. I swear to God it rains every single day near Squirrel Hill.”

Fleur let out a giggle. “And why do they call it Squirrel Hill?” she asked with a little bounce.

Sam shrugged. “I got no idea. That’s what they’ve been calling it for years. Maybe there were a bunch of the suckers living around there when my parents were kids.”

Suddenly and without warning, an image came to Fleur’s mind. It was of an army of squirrels sitting atop of a canopy of trees, nuts at the ready.

She let out a giggle-snort, covering her mouth with a hoof. “Maybe your grandparents had to fight off some squirrels for their land?”

A smile broke out across Sam’s face.

“They beat my pap and gram back with little army hats and nuts?” he suggested with a snort.

“Oui, and they gave such a good show that they named the hill after their fallen enemies.”

Both Fleur and Sam shared a giggle, a pair of silly smiles on their faces.

“Well, I’m sure that—”

“Excuse me, Ms. de Lis.”

Looking over, Fleur saw a stallion, an assistant by the look of him, standing a few feet away from her. She turned toward him, smiling despite the fact that she was mildly annoyed about there being an interruption in her conversation.

“Yes, cher? Was there something that you needed?”

The stallion nodded, adjusting his glasses. “A stallion by the name of Svengallop asked me to come and fetch you. He said that you were running very late for an appointment.”

The supermodel’s brow furrowed. “Non, you must be mistaken. It's only been—”

Fleur gasped and her eyes widened as she looked up at the clocktower. It was almost nine o'clock; she had missed her appointment with Hoity Toity by an hour.

“Seigneur...” she said, looking blankly over the crowd. Had she really been that distracted? She'd never been late before, not since she was a little filly.

Sam sat up. “Is there something wrong?”

Fleur shook her head. “Oh, um, it appears that I’ve let time get away from me. I’m very sorry Sam, but I must be off.”

Sam looked between Fleur and the assistant.

“Oh? Alright, I’m sorry to have kept cha’,” he said. “If I had known you had somewhere to be I would have kept an eye on the clock.”

“It wasn’t your fault, mon cher” she said, giving his leg a pat. “I should have kept an eye on the clock while we were talking.”

“Time flies when you’re having a good conversation, huh?” Sam mused.

Fleur smiled. “Yes, it does, doesn’t it?”

A part of Fleur had no desire leave the studio. She had been to a hundred boutique openings. No matter who was there or what food was served, it was the same dull thing. But here she had an interesting young stallion with an adorable accent and a magical little box that did all sorts of delightful things.

For a few moments, Fleur considered dismissing the stallion and going back to talking with her photographer about how the weather in the human world worked. But, like always, better sense won out in the end.

“Please go and tell Svengallop that I’ll be out in a few moments,” she said with a sigh.

The stallion inclined his head.

“Of course, ma’am,” he said, before turning around and walking away.

Fleur bit her lip as she watched him walk away. Sam, seeing this, gave her a pat on the back.

“We’ll be working together for a good while, ma’am,” he said with that bright smile of his. “You’ll have plenty of time to learn everything that you want.”

“Oui,” Fleur said, blowing a bit of mane out of her face.

If she would have been a younger mare, she would have began pouting. Since she was far too old to do such a thing, however, she settled with looking mildly unhappy.

Sam made a sympathetic sound, giving her back another pat before he rose to his feet. “If you’re leaving I should probably be getting home too. I need to organize the pictures for the day and see if I have a different lens for this piece of shit camera.”

Fleur grunted. She was about to bid him a good day and leave when an idea came to mind. A mischievous idea.

“Sam, cher, kneel down,” she said, giving his knee a tap.

Sam grimaced. “Are you going to make me do that kissing thing?”

Biting back a giggle, the supermodel nodded. “It’s how most ponies greet each other in Canterlot.”

“...I have no idea how to do it,” Sam said.

Fleur gave his knee another poke.

“Which is why you need learn,” she said. “Now come on, stop being a bébé.”

Though he didn’t look very enthusiastic about it, Sam did as she asked, getting down on one knee so that he was eye level with her.

“Très bien. Now all you need to do is lean forward and kiss the mare or stallion you’re greeting twice.”

“Alright,” Sam said cautiously.

Wiping his lips with a sleeve, he leaned forward. Fleur could see him scanning her face with a puzzled expression, She stood there, her lips puckered, waiting to see what he’d do.

Would he kiss her cheeks? Perhaps he’d go for a peck on the forehead? Maybe a kiss on the nose? To both her delight and amusement, he did none of those things. Instead, he leaned forward and planted two quick pecks right on her lips.

No matter how hard she tried, she shouldn’t hold back the laughter.

“Oh my, how forward,” she said, tittering.

Sam reddened.

“What? Did I do it wrong?” he demanded.

“Kissing a mare you just met? What will ponies say?”

Sam, now as red as a tomato, flinched. “Hey, I told you that I wouldn’t know how to do it right!”

This only caused Fleur to laugh harder, a pleasant warmth filling her. “Oh, I’m sure you don’t~”

Deux

After she left Sam in the studio, the rest of Fleur’s day went smoothly. She had gone to Hoity’s home personally to apologize for her absence. Hoity had, of course, dismissed her regret with a wave of the hoof, even offering to have both the mare and her manager for tea. She politely declined, wanting to stick to her schedule, and allowed Svengallop to drag her to her next appointment.

She had a meeting with a group of business stallions to discuss the newest perfume that she was releasing in the spring. Then she had to make a public appearance at a noble’s speech. After that she had to go to the foal’s hospital on the east end to talk and play with the little ones. This was, as always, the highlight of her day, but as usual it had to be cut short so she could get to another appointment on time.

Back and forth she ran around the city, talking and discussing and signing papers with a quick meal or two between. It was hectic, and for most ponies it would have knocked them off of their hooves by lunch time, but Fleur knew this dance well. Every meeting they arrived punctually, every event she dazzled everypony with her wit and beauty. It was just another day for the supermodel Fleur de Lis.

Still though, by the end of the day even she was beginning to feel weariness creeping up on her. Today, it seemed, was one of her busier days, and no matter how well-versed one was in a life such as this, even the most hardened veteran’s hooves would grow heavy after marching up and down the city half a dozen times.

So, gathering what was left of her poise and grace, she decided to end the day by politely rejecting Ms. Rarity’s invitation and instead going to Sapphire Shore’s dinner party.

“Fleur, honey! How the hay are you?”

“Sapphire, ma chère.”

Both mares made their way over to each other. They shared a hug, then greeted each other with kisses to the cheek. It was a standard greeting, one that she must have done a hundred times today, but for some reason or another Fleur thought about what had happened with Sam a few hours prior.

The thought brought a smile to her face and nearly had her giggling. He had turned such a delightful shade of red, one that matched perfectly with those blue eyes of his. His embarrassment and innocence at what he had done at first had also tickled her in ways that she hadn’t been tickled in a very long time.

“So, how’s my favorite supermodel?” Sapphire asked, breaking the hug and holding Fleur at hooves length so she could get a good look at her.

“I’m doing very well, thank you for asking,” Fleur replied. “And yourself?”

Sapphire opened her mouth to answer when something gave her pause. Gently frowning, she leaned forward with a furrowed brow, her eyes carefully scanning Fleur’s face.

“Look at you filly, all smilin’ and whatnot,” she said, frown morphing into a grin. “It looks like somepony had a good day. What, did you find yourself some cute stallion?”

Fleur quickly schooled her expression, giving Sapphire a nuzzle before taking a step away. Though the singer didn’t look it, she was one of the biggest gossips in the city, and while Fleur considered her a friend, she knew not to open herself up too much without the risk of half the city knowing by morning.

“Oh, it’s nothing like that, dear,” she said. “I’m just in a good mood after spending a few hours at the foal’s hospital. The little ones were very happy to see me.”

“Are you sure?” the singer asked, a twinkle in her eye. “‘Cause a little birdy told me that you got yourself a new photographer. An alien photographer.”

Fleur very nearly frowned. “Oh? And who told you such a thing?”

The smile on Sapphire’s face grew. “Oh, I was just sitting in a cafe and I heard a few ponies talking about it while I was enjoying my decaf. You know how it is,” she said, wrapping a hoof around the taller mare. “Now, why don’t I get you out in the garden and something in that stomach of yours?”

Fleur’s stomach, the traitor it was, decided at that exact moment to let out a loud grumble. Both mares looked down, Sapphire letting out a giggle while Fleur let out a resigned sigh.

“Oui, some food would be nice,” she admitted.

Sapphire let out a happy hum, a victorious glint in her eyes as she led Fleur into her mansion, toward the back where the singer’s expansive garden sat.

The usual ponies were in attendance. Sapphire paraded her around to each and every one. Greetings and small talk were exchanged. A pony or two spoke about a business enterprise that they were about to begin or a new fashion line.

It was the same old uneventfulness that Fleur had come to know all of her life. She went through the motions, nodded her head or said something witty when she needed to, all the while trying her hardest not to yawn. Thankfully, Sapphire wasn’t a mare to dilly-dally, so all of that nonsense was finished within half an hour.

It was then that Fleur was guided to a table full of food. Sapphire piled little edibles and cookies onto two plates along with a chilled bottle of wine and a pair of glasses. With that finished, she led Fleur to a secluded part of the gardens and sat her down so that the singer could extract all of the information she wanted.

“So, I heard that this hyoo-man took Photo Finish’s spot as your usual photographer,” she began, uncorking the wine and pouring a glass for the both of them.

Fleur quickly snatched hers up and took a healthy gulp, quietly wishing that she had taken up Rarity’s offer. That mare might not have been able to pick a good caterer to save her life, but at least she wasn’t particularly nosy.

“Oui, Essence asked Photo to be a producer for this shoot,” Fleur said, leaning back into her chair so that she could get comfortable. She had a feeling that she was going to be here for a while. “Since she didn’t trust any of the usual photographers, she somehow managed to get her hooves on Sam.”

“Sam…” Sapphire muttered, rolling the name around on her tongue. “Sam…”

Her eyes narrowed, and Fleur could practically see the gears turning in the mare’s head. “That name’s a bit… funny, isn’t it?”

Fleur shrugged. “You and I have been all around this world. I’m sure we’ve both heard stranger.”

Sapphire let out a laugh.

“Yeah, I think you’re right,” she said popping a cookie into her mouth. “Hey, Hoity and I are having a little get together at Fantaisie cul resto. We wanted to know if you’d like to join us.”

Fleur smiled. “My schedule is going to be quite light for the next few days, so I’d be happy to go with the two of you.”

Sapphire popped another cookie into her mouth, noisily chewing. “You should also see if you can get that hyoo-man of yours to come along as well.”

Fleur could feel the fur on the back of her neck stand on end. She knew where this was going.

“Human,” Fleur corrected. “And I don’t know if I should, mon chère. I’ve only met Sam this morning and don’t want to come on as pushy.”

“Oh, come on, it’s just lunch,” Sapphire said, waving a hoof dismissively. “I’m sure he’d appreciate the free food, especially the food where we’re going.”

“Perhaps another time, Sapphire,” Fleur said, frowning. “When Sam has acquainted himself with Canterlot, or at least when I know the stallion a little better..”

“He’s not gonna get acquainted with anything if ponies don’t take him around and show him the sights,” Sapphire retorted. “He’ll love it, we’ll love it, you’ll love it, everypony will win. And besides, you owe Hoity for standing him up.”

Fleur bit her lip to keep an angry retort from escaping her mouth. She didn’t know why she was being so difficult. Of course Hoity and Sapphire wanted to meet Sam. Everypony that had heard about the humans wanted to meet one.

They had nothing nefarious in mind. All they wanted was the fame and recognition that would most likely come along with being seen walking around with Sam, and to flaunt it in the faces of everypony else in the city. As a mare who had lived in Canterlot for the majority of her adult life, she understood this completely. Still though, she felt oddly protective of her photographer.

Blowing a bit of mane out of her face, she forced herself to nod. “Bien, I’ll ask him in the morning if you truly want to meet him.”

Sapphire tried to hide her smile behind her wine glass, but it was so wide that Fleur could see the edges of it. The sight of it made her stomach twist.

“Thank you very much,” the singer said. “I’ll make sure to tell Hoity.”

@-@-@-@-@-@-@

When Fleur made her way into the studio, she found Sam sitting at his table tinkering with his computer. The sight of him tied her stomach into knots. She had spent a sleepless night thinking of all of the ways that asking him to lunch could go wrong.

What if she seemed too pushy? Perhaps such a thing was a faux pas in human culture. He could be upset, or worse, insulted. Or maybe he’d think she was taking advantage of his uniqueness by parading him around the city like some new breed of dog.

He could blow up on her or storm out of the studio. He could refuse to work with her and go back to his world having nothing but bad things to say about her and ponykind in general. Maybe he’d be so upset that he’d report to the leaders of his world about what had happened. She could start a war that would kill millions, all because she said one wrong thing.

Fleur dryly swallowed, resisting a very foreign urge to spin around and leave the studio. She couldn’t turn around and run away with her tail between her legs! She was Fleur de Lis, supermodel extraordinaire! She had promised to ask him for Sapphire, and she was going to do just that!

And besides, he could just say no and that’d be the end of it. Hopefully.

Taking a deep breath, she marched toward her photographer with her head held high, still managing to look graceful despite the jerkiness in her step. When she was just a few feet from him she loudly cleared her throat.

“Good morning, cher. I hope you slept well.”

Perking up, Sam turned around. Seeing her, a small smile came to his face, the sight of which lessened the tension in her stomach somewhat.

“How’s it going, ma’am?” he asked, his smile disappearing as his eyes scanned her face. “Hey… are you alright there? You kinda look… not that great.”

“You know just what to say to a mare, Sam,” she dryly replied. “And I’m fine, thank you for asking.”

Sam rose from his stool. “Are you sure? You look like you didn’t get any sleep last night.”

“I’m fine,” Fleur insisted, taking a step toward him. “Yesterday I had the pleasure of going to the local foal’s hospital to play with the little ones, so I’m just a bit tired. But enough about moi, what about you? How’s my photographer this morning?”

Sam stared her for a few more moments, clearly not believing her, before letting out a sigh. “Well, I was fiddling with your photos last night. Changed some stuff with the lighting, sharpened some stuff up.”

Fleur perked up, looking past the human and at that wondrous computer of his.

“Really? Would it be alright if I saw them?” she asked.

Sam nodding, patting the stool beside him before turning around and sitting down. Fleur let out a excited hum, her anxiety forgotten for the moment, and trotted over to the stool. Hopping up into it, she leaned toward the computer, her tail swishing side-to-side. Sam, giving her a smile, quickly pulled up her photos.

“You see how I dampened the colors in this one?” Sam asked, pointing out a picture. “I noticed that you were wearing a lot of bright-colored dresses yesterday, so I thought it’d be a good idea to do that to give ‘em a bit more focus.”

“Oh… Look at that,” Fleur breathed, scrolling through the rows of pictures. “I’ve never seen pictures like this…”

“There’s a lot of neat stuff you can do to a picture when you have photoshop,” Sam said. “I can change colors, put things in a picture, take ‘em out, anything you can think of.”

“Incroyable… and could you make me look different if you wanted to?”

“I could, but I really don’t like to do that.”

“Why?”

Gently pushing Fleur’s hoof away, Sam minimized the photo album and clicked on one of the icons on the screen. It took a few moments, but it eventually loaded up an entirely new program.

“It’s really hard to make someone look good by photoshopping them,” he said, loading up a picture. “If you do one little thing wrong you can make the person look unnatural.”

He showed her this by making her head in the picture three sizes too big, then three sizes too small. He then changed her fur color from white to pink, and even put a pair of small, cartoonish wings on her back.

Fleur giggled at the sight of her transformed self. “Oh, I look ridicule,” she said, looking up at Sam. “May I try?”

“Go ahead, knock yourself out,” Sam replied. “But you see how easy it is to mess someone up. That’s why I like not to mess with the people in the picture unless I have to, since I’m not one of the people that’s specially trained to do that sort of thing.”

“Hmm,” Fleur grunted, only half listening, her focus on the screen in front of her.

While her hooves didn’t come close to the dexterity of her photographer’s fingers, she nevertheless was able to replicate what he had done. With a few clicks, she managed to change the color of her fur back to its original white. She then put another set of wings on her back, and enlarged her horn to three times its size. The supermodel let out a giggle, and was about to turn her mane into a plethora of colors, when she stopped herself.

Clearing her throat, she looked up at the human. “Sam, mon cher?”

“Yeah?” Sam asked, his eyes glued to the computer screen.

Fleur licked her lips, steeling herself for any possible backlash. Not that she was expecting any of course, she was being silly worrying about this like she was, but there was still that possibility. That terrible, world-destroying possibility.

“I was wondering if you would like to come with me and a few of my… associates to lunch,” she asked, taking a sudden interest in the table as she pawed at her mane with a hoof.

She tensed when she saw him turn around and see her shrinking into her stool. “N-Now, if you have other engagements I won’t pressure you! I’d never[ do that! I was just asked to see if you might want to come out and have a nice meal with us.”

Her eyes snapped up to his for half a second before she quickly looked back down.

“But, if you had something to do, there’s nothing wrong with refusing. In fact, I’m sorry for asking you like—”

“Easy there, sister,” Sam interrupted, placing a hand on her shoulder. “I’m not going to bite your head off.”

A nervous laugh escaped Fleur’s lips. “I’m sorry, Sam. I’m sorry,” she said, placing a hoof over his hand and forcing herself to look up at him. “I don’t know why I’m being so… finicky.”

“It’s probably because you look like you got an hour’s worth of sleep max,” Sam replied, leaning forward to get a better look at her. “Is lunch really that big of a deal around here?”

Fleur cringed. “Non. In Canterlot, things like this are very common.”

“It’s pretty common where I come from too,” Sam told her. “People go out to eat with each other all the time.”

Fleur looked away from the human, feeling both embarrassed and silly. Of course he wouldn’t be offended by her asking him to come to lunch! Why on earth would she think something silly like that, much less worry over it like she had been doing?

Seeing the unicorn sink down in the chair, Sam gave her shoulder a squeeze. “Hey, it isn’t that big of a deal. I’d be more than happy to go out to some little diner with you and get some grub.”

Fleur perked up, her eyes snapping back up to look at him. “Vraiment?”

“I have no idea what you just said but sure,” Sam replied. “Other than looking over the pictures I take today, I’m not really doing anything interesting. I could use an excuse to get out and walk around the city for a little bit.”

The fear and anxiety that had been turning Fleur’s stomach since last night disappeared in the blink of an eye. The unicorn released the breath that she hadn’t known she was holding, a smile coming to her face.

“Then I will be sure to tell my associates that you’ll be coming with me to lunch,” she said with a nod, feeling her usual confidence swelling inside of her once again.

Sam nodded with a smile, before looking down at her in suspicion. “Just don’t be tryin’ any of that kissing shit this time,” he warned.

Fleur’s smile widened. “Oh, I think I’ll be the one that needs to watch herself around you, my Briseur de coeur,” she said, giving his stomach a poke. “We wouldn’t want you stealing mares’ hearts now, would we?”

Sam rolled his eyes, lifting his hand from her shoulder.

“Yeah, you laugh it up, funny lady,” he said. “Now why don’t you go be funny in the dressing room while I get ready? Photo’s going to be over here any second wondering why the heck we haven’t started shooting yet.”

“Oh course. I’ll be right back, mon cher,” Fleur said, making a kissy face at him as she hopped out of her stool and trotted toward the dressing room.

Sam watched her leave, annoyance and amusement on his face as he changed his camera’s lens. He had just about clipped a new lens on when a look of realization came to his face.

“…Hang on. We’re just going to some mom and pop place, right? It’s not going to be anything fancy or anything, right?”

@-@-@-@-@-@-@

Fantaisie cul restau was one of the newer restaurants in the northern district of the city. Built by the world-famous Chef Ram-see, it was boasted as having some of the finest decor, the best chefs, and the best food in all of Canterlot, which already boasted the best food in Equus. It was also one of the most exclusive places to book a table.

For most ponies, they would have had to wait for months before they could find seats in the place. Luckily for Fleur and her party, two of which had helped supply the funds for Ram-see to build his restaurant, it was only a matter of speaking to the chef himself and they were able to acquire a table.

This wasn’t the first time that Fleur had been in this restaurant. Sapphire and Hoity had taken her here a number of times, as had her manager and even a fellow model or two. She had been here so many times that she hadn’t even felt the need to dress up. Sapphire and Hoity, just as desensitized of the glamor and exclusivity, had come just as casually. The same couldn’t be said for Sam, however.

The young man seemed ill at ease in such finery and opulence. He sat in his far too small chair with his knees pressed against his stomach and his hands in his lap. Fleur could see in his eyes that he was nervous, that he didn’t want to touch anything for fear that he might break something incredibly expensive.

Sapphire and Hoity had, of course, failed to notice their guest’s unease, so the unicorn had taken it upon herself to ease her photographer’s obvious anxiety. She sat as close to him as the table would allow, a hoof on his leg.

“There’s no need to be nervous, mon ami,” she assured. “It’s just lunch.”

“It’s just lunch to you,” Sam murmured, leaning over toward her so that he didn’t disturb Sapphire or Hoity, who were busy chatting about this and that. “This is the nicest restaurant that I’ve ever been in.”

“You’ll be fine.”

“Why are there so many forks and spoons? Why the hell is there a bowl of water in the middle of the table?” Sam’s eyes narrowed as he carefully picked up a spoon and looked at her. “What does this spoon do and why is it so big?”

“That’s a salad spoon.”

“A salad spoon? Why do ya need a spoon for a salad? What, are ya gonna use it to scoop up the croutons?”

Fleur bit back a giggle. “You use it for chopped salads.”

“And that spoon?”

“It’s for sugar.”

“What about that knife?”

“It’s a luncheon knife.”

Sam covered his face with a hand, looking exasperated. “This rich people stuff is nonsense,” he said. “I don’t know how you do it.”

A giggle escaped Fleur, despite her best efforts. “One learns to live with it, mon cher,” she said, leaning over and nuzzling his side. “And thanks again for coming. I’m sure that Sapphire and Hoity are just as grateful as I am.”

Sapphire perked up at the mention of her name. She turned away from Hoity and looked over at Sam, a smile that Fleur didn’t care for coming to her face.

“Sam, honey, Hoity and I just want to thank you for coming to this little lunch party of ours.”

Hoity turned to face Sam as well. “Yes, it’s very nice to finally see a human after hearing so much about them from the princesses,” he said, quaffing his mane with a hoof.

Sam’s eyes snapped up to the two ponies. He did his best to smile but couldn’t quite manage it. Looking down at his lap, Fleur could see him opening and closing his hands.

“It’s very nice to meet yinz—” Eyes widening in alarm, Sam coughed into a hand. “—you. It’s very nice to meet you. Both of you I mean.”

If the two ponies noticed the slip-up they didn’t comment on it. Instead they leaned forward in their seats, their expressions turning predatory.

“So how do ya like our fair little city?” Sapphire asked, resting her hooves on the table.

“It’s very nice, ma’am,” Sam replied, resting his arms on the table, only to set them back in his lap a moment later. “It’s real nice. Real pretty.”

Both Hoity and Sapphire chuckled, as if what Sam had said was the funniest thing in the world. Fleur found her stomach tightening at the sound, causing her to reach over and grab Sam’s hand with her hoof. Her photographer looked at her out of the corner of his eye but said nothing, giving her hoof a squeeze.

“So how has your photo shoot been going, my dear boy?” Hoity asked. “From what I’ve heard you’ve been doing some very spectacular work.”

“It’s been good. Photo Finish has been helping me a lot, and so has Fleur.”

“Sam here is a very gifted photographer,” Fleur said, giving his hand a squeeze of her own. “This is his first time in this line of work and he’s doing better than some of the veterans that I’ve worked with.”

Sam gave her a grateful smile. She returned it with a wink.

“Oh really?” Hoity said, an eyebrow raised at the little display. “And what kind of work were you doing before this, Sam? If I may be so bold as to ask?”

“I was a photographer for a newspaper,” Sam said, looking just a bit less tense. “I usually went around with a reporter and took some pictures of this or that.”

“That sounds real interesin’, hon,” Sapphire commented.

Sam shrugged. “It was alright. Most of the time we did a lot of driving around. Not all that exciting if you ask me.”

Hoity and Sapphire nodded, making interested noises as they continued to look him up and down. Fleur knew for a fact that neither cared what Sam was saying, they might not have been listening to a single word that he said. All they were concerned about were the mares and stallions eyeing their table and whispering amongst themselves.

She was certain that the whole town would be gossiping about this tomorrow, if not the nobles and the other well-to-do’s of the city than the newspapers. By the time that Celestia’s sun rose tomorrow, Sam would be the only thing ponies talked about.

The thought made her stomach sink.

“And why did you decide to leave the hyoo-man world to come all the way over here?” Hoity asked, flashing a stallion—who happened to be pulling out a camera—a winning smile.

“Well, they were looking for people on the other side to come over here, and I heard that Photo Finish was going to pay well, so I decided to come on over to see this brand-new world,” Sam replied with a smile.

Out of the corner of her eye, Fleur could see a group of mares making their way toward them with their food and drinks in hoof.

Taking a deep breath, she released Sam’s hand, quietly hoping that Hoity and Sapphire would pause their interrogation so they could all eat.

“It looks like our food is about to arrive,” she said, grabbing her napkin and unfolding it.

Sapphire and Hoity, not looking away from Sam, did the same. The tip of Fleur’s horn glowed, and with a spell she unfolded her photographer’s napkin and sat it in his lap.

“I might not come to many fancy places like this but I know how to use a napkin, thank you very much,” he said, leaning over and whispering into her ear. “But thank you.”

“You’re very welcome.”

“Good afternoon everypony. My name is Blank Check and I’ll be your waiter this afternoon,” a cherry red mare said, setting wine glasses in front of them all as another waiter sat plates of fish in front of this. “We have something special for you all today. A very fine cut of Spindler fish on top of a bed of lettuce and topped with a vinegar dressing. The wine is a ten-year-old Bon vin d'âne that’s been chilled overnight using the ice found atop the peaks of a few of the larger mountains on the Unicorn Range. I hope that you’ll all enjoy.”

“Thank you very much,” Sam said politely, before once more leaning over to Fleur. “Why didn’t they let us order before bringing this stuff out?”

“This isn’t that kind of restaurant,” she replied, picking up a knife and a fork.

“Not that kind of restaurant? What kind of jagoff place doesn’t let their customers order their food?”

“The very finest ones. And that’s not the fork you use, nor is that the right knife.”

“...Which ones do I use then?”

“That one. No, the one below that. Yes, but not that knife either. The one above that.”

“This is stupid.”

Fleur smiled, giving Sam a pat on the leg. “You aren’t wrong.”

Sam explosively exhaled through his nose, looking down at the food sat before him, biting his lip.

The waiters left their table after pouring each of them a glass of wine. With them gone, Fleur, Hoity, and Sapphire began to dig into their meals. Sam looked at each pony for a moment before cutting a small piece of fish and popping it into his mouth.

“Oh my goodness. It looks like the chefs have outdone themselves yet again,” Hoity said, wiping his muzzle with his other napkin. “This is delectable. The vinegar really brings out the natural flavors of the fish.”

“The wine’s not half bad either,” Sapphire said. “I usually like my wine to be a bit older but this isn’t half bad. What about you Fleur?”

“Oui. It’s delicious,” Fleur said, dabbing her mouth with her napkin before taking a small sip of her wine. “The lettuce is—”

A sound unlike any that Fleur had ever heard filled the air, making her pause. All around their table, ponies lifted their heads from their meals and looked around for the source. Their heads slowly turned to Sam’s direction.

The young man had a bottle of some kind of red substance in his hands. He was pouring this substance onto his fish, humming a little tune to himself. Seconds passed before Sam noticed the silence that had swept the restaurant. He lifted his gaze from his plate, confusion coloring his features.

“…What?” he asked no one in particular. “The fish tastes a little dry.”

There was a pause. Ponies looked at each other, some of them murmuring in confusion and just a hint of concern.

Hoity awkwardly cleaned his throat. “My dear boy… Why did you bring your own condiment?”

Sam looked down at the bottle in his hand. “I always bring a spare bottle of ketchup with me when I go out to eat,” he replied matter-of-factly.

Fleur’s gaze snapped from Sam’s face back down to his plate. He was still squeezing out his ketchup. There was so much on the plate that she couldn’t even see the fish. The unicorn’s mouth twitched at the sight, her lips curling into a smile.

Several more seconds passed before Sam stopped the flow of ketchup and spun the bottle around, offering it to the other ponies at the table.

“Do yin—I mean, do you guys want some? There should just be enough for the four of us.” He shook the bottle at Hoity and Sapphire’s flabbergasted faces. “Come on, don’t be shy. I got plenty back at my place.”

A feeling began to form in Fleur’s stomach. At first it was hardly noticeable, but as time passed it began to build and build. She soon found herself shaking as she tried to hold back this feeling, but eventually she couldn’t help herself.

Throwing her head back, Fleur started laughing. Hard.

Trois

“Come on, mon cher. Put a pep in that step.”

“I’m coming, I’m coming.”

“It doesn’t seem like it to me.”

“I’m moving as fast as I can, woman. It’s not my fault I have two legs and you have four!”

“Four shorter legs.”

“It’s not my fault that you’re walking like you have ants in your pants.”

“I’m not wearing any pants, cher.”

It had been a week since the fiasco at the restaurant, and the news had spread like wildfire. Every mare and stallion, from the princesses themselves to the garbage collectors, had heard what had happened, and each of them reacted differently to the news.

The upper-crust of Canterlot society had been horrified of the news. Many sent their condolences to Hoity and Sapphire, both whom had hidden from the public eye to try and save face. There were mutters that the human should have known better, alien or not, and should have gotten far more than a lifetime ban from the restaurant.

The lower-class mares and stallions, meanwhile, had gotten a kick out of the story. Many shook their heads and chuckled good-naturedly at Sam’s ignorance and the noble’s overaction over something so insignificant.

This, in many ways, helped calm some of the city’s fears of these aliens. Instead of them being something bigger than life or other, they were no different from any pony. In fact, they might have even been a little sillier.

For Fleur, that afternoon in the restaurant had been one of the better meals of her entire life.

Hoity and Sapphire desperately trying to compose themselves as Sam shoveled his ketchup-drowned fish into his mouth. Sam trying his hardest to eat with dignity and grace and failing at it spectacularly. Fleur herself trying to nudge her photographer in the right direction wherever she could while trying to keep herself from laughing every few moments. It had been wonderful for the unicorn—far more interesting than what things like these usually were. She hadn’t even minded when their group had been thrown out when one of the chefs came out to see what Sam was doing to her food.

Many of her colleagues had urged her to drop the human to save some face as well. Her manager in particular was insistent upon this idea, badgering her about it whenever he could, but Fleur wouldn’t hear any of it. She was going to keep this giant, adorable, quirky stallion until the season was over. In fact, if he kept it up, she had a mind of hiring him onto her staff permanently.

She enjoyed listening to him talk about himself. She liked hearing that accent of his every single time he got too excited and let it slip. She loved learning about his technology and seeing him smile or his eyes lighting up always put her in a good mood. He was the thing that helped make her busy, glamor-filled days more enjoyable, and there were no words she could convey that could describe how much that meant to her.

Her photographer was so talented in making her giggle and smile in fact, that she wanted to see if his talents could brighten somepony else’s day. And now, after doing her best to work around her hectic schedule and finishing all of the world needed to see to today, she was going to do just that.

“Just a few more blocks, mon cher,” she said, weaving in and out of crowds of ponies.

Usually, all eyes would be on her, but today she may as well have been invisible. Everypony within eyeshot was staring at Sam’s towering figure. Some of them were openly gawking, while others were a bit stealthier in their approach, but no matter where they went, eyes were upon him.

Sam, not used to the attention, did his best to keep his head low and navigate through the crowds as quietly as possible. Fleur made sure to stick close to his side, chatting with him to keep his mind off the eyes and gossip.

“You said that like five blocks ago,” Sam said, staring at group of giggling mares out of the corner of his eye.

“Oh, I’m sure you’ll last for a little while longer, mon bébé,” Fleur replied, sticking her tongue out at him.

Sam, ever the adult, stuck his tongue out right back at her. Fleur giggled, giving his hip a playful bump.

“So, what is this place called again? This kid’s hospital?”

“It’s called Lionheart’s Foals’ Hospital.”

“Lionheart’s Foals’ Hospital? That’s kind of a weird name, ain’t it?

“Doctor Lionheart was a very sweet, caring stallion, but he wasn’t the type that had an ear for names.” Fleur smiled as she recalled the old stallion, who had passed some years ago. “His hospital is a jewel in this city, however—one of the best facilities of its kind in the world.”

“Really?” Sam asked, scratching his chin. “We got the same kind of thing back home.”

“Oh?”

“Yep. We just call ours Children’s Hospital, since we seem to be a lot better at naming things than you ponies.”

Sam’s remarked earned him another playful bump, which had him chuckling.

Though ponies continued to whisper and stare at them, they made their way toward the foals’ hospital without much of a hassle. A tourist or two came up to Sam asking for a picture, and one of Fleur’s die-hard fans rushed up to her professing his love, but mostly they were left alone.

Apparently, one had no need of bodyguards when one’s companion towered over even minotaurs.

All in all, the two made remarkably good time, arriving at the hospital earlier than expected. The moment Fleur saw the giant, white, multistory building, a smile came to her face. For many years, she had been coming here to play with the foals, and each time she looked upon this hospital, all of the memories, both good and bad, but mostly good, would come flooding back to her.

“See? I told you that the walk wasn’t that bad,” the unicorn said.

Sam ignored the jab, instead letting out a low whistle. “Well, that’s a big ‘un, huh?”

Fleur nodded. “Yes. A few years ago the hospital was renovated and enlarged. Now it not only has an in-house laboratory, but a care center and rehabilitation center.”

Grabbing Sam’s hand with her magic, Fleur began leading him toward the entrance, eager to show her photographer one of her most beloved places. “Come, the receptionist is no doubt waiting for us.”

The main lobby of the hospital was, as always, neat and tidy. A few ponies were walking around, some doctors and staff, others parents and their children. A young stallion sat behind a service desk at the end of the lobby, his glasses hanging down on his nose as he looked through a stack of papers.

“Good afternoon, Monsieur Notepad!” Fleur called, trotting toward him.

The stallion looked up from his papers. Seeing Fleur, a small, tired smile came to his face.

“Hello Fleur. Are you here for another play date with the kids?” he asked.

“Oui. Is there a floor that needs some help watching the little ones?”

“Well, give me a second and let me see,” Notepad murmured, grabbing a file and opening it. “Hmm… It looks like B Wing is running a little short on staff. They could probably use some help.”

Looking up from the file, Notepad’s gaze flicked to Sam for the first time. The stallion twitched in startlement, just now noticing him.

“Sweet Sun above are you a big one,” he said, pushing his glasses up his nose and leaning forward. “Wait… Are you that hyoo-man that everypony’s been talking about?”

“I am, sir,” Sam said, taking a step forward and offering a hand. “My name’s Sam. It’s very nice to meet you.”

“I heard that you’ve caused a bit of a ruckus at some fancy restaurant,” Notepad said, taking his hand and giving it a shake.

Sam flinched. “Hey… I heard something like that too.”

“Sam here was kind enough to offer his services in helping keep the little ones entertained, so I decided to bring him with me today,” Fleur said. “I hope it’s alright.”

Notepad looked between the unicorn and human for a moment before looking back down at his papers. “I trust you enough to know that you’re not going to bring in somepony that will hurt the foals, Fleur. He’ll be fine.”

“Merci, Notepad, Merci,” Fleur said with a happy little hop, once again grabbing Sam’s hand with her magic. “Come on, Sam. I’ll take you B Wing.”

The hospital, though state of the art and groundbreaking in numerous ways, was a bit of a labyrinth. But Fleur had been coming to this place for years. She knew every floor and every hall nearly by heart. If she had wanted, she and Sam could have gotten there in ten minutes, but the supermodel made a few side trips to say hello to a few of the foals.

There was Cherry Pie on the third floor, who had come in because of a bad case of pneumonia. There was also Cream Puff, who been brought in last week because of a pair of broken legs. And she couldn’t forget little Pork Pie, who was having a bit of trouble with his intestinal tract.

Each child had squealed in delight when they saw her walk into their room, and even the foal’s parents, if they were there, would perk up at the sight of her. She’d talk to a filly or colt, ask them how they were doing and if they missed her. She’d talk to them and the parents for a few minutes, give the filly or colt a nuzzle and the parents a hug, and make her way out the door, happy to see that the foal was doing better.

Sam, of course, was roped into coming into each room. The foals seemed in awe about meeting with a real life human, staring up at him with wide eyes and opened mouths. The parents were usually a bit leery about having him in the room at first, but reassurances by Fleur and Sam’s natural politeness eventually warmed them to the giant of a stallion, so by the time that they left the room, Sam and the parents were more often than not joking and laughing with each other.

Each time Fleur left a room, she found herself smiling more and more. This was the best part of her week: to come here and bring a bit of joy to ponies that truly needed it. What made it even better was that she had someone else to share the joy, satisfaction, and contentment that she felt coming here and doing this.

Eventually, the human and unicorn made their way to B Wing. This was one of the smaller wings of the hospital, only housing fifty beds. It was the wing where foals recovering from surgeries would more often than not find themselves, and as such was usually one of the more active places in the hospital.

“Here we are!” Fleur chirped, looking around. “Nice, isn’t it?”

“It looks like every other hall we’ve walked down,” Sam replied, eyeing a few of the paper flowers that had been taped to the walls. “Those are a change though. Real nice lookin’.”

“The foals and I made them a few weeks ago,” Fleur said, giving his hand a tug to help lead him down the hall.

“So, you helped make all of these then?”

“Yes. A young filly named Star Strip was complaining that the walls were too white, so I went out a got some craft paper and we all sat down and made these.”

A smile came to Sam’s face. “Really?

Fleur nodded. “Yes, and we all had a blast doing it.”

Sam’s smile widened just a hair.“You must really love these kids then, huh?”

Fleur’s smile diminished somewhat.

“When I was young I spent a few years in and out of places like this,” she said, looking over her shoulder at him. “I know what it feels like to be in a place like this every day. So I come here once a week to try and make the endless hours of lying in a bed a little more bearable.”

She shrugged.

“I may be only one mare, but I hope that it helps, even if it’s just by making somepony smile.”

“That’s real sweet of you, Fleur. Not a lot of people wanna come here and do stuff like this.”

Fleur flashed her photographer a warm smile before turning back around. “The nurses probably have most of the foals in the play area. Let’s see if we can give them a bit, d’accord?”

Sam nodded. “Yes ma’am.”

As always, Fleur heard the foals before she could see them. Colts and fillies, laughing, playing, yelling, with a stern voice breaking through the endless tide of chaos to call a warning or encouragement. The voices caused her to pick up the pace, eager to begin.

She and Sam had made it halfway down the hall when a stallion wearing a nurse’s cap shuffled out of a room. His eyes were half-lidded and his head was hung low. If one looked closely enough they would have been able to see the dark rings under his bloodshot, tired eyes.

“Bonjour, Coffee Cream,” Fleur called.

The stallion jumped, his head snapping over to stare at her. When he saw that it was just her however, he visibly relaxed. In fact, he seemed relieved to see her.

“Fleur? Oh thank Celestia that Notepad sent you up here,” he said, trotting toward her. “Band Aid called off, so we’ve been short all morning.”

“I’ll be happy to help where I can,” Fleur replied. “The foals are in the play area, yes?”

“Yes, and they’re antsy. Somepony was stupid enough to give them chocolate cake and ice cream for lunch and now they’re jumping off the walls.”

Smiling, Fleur placed a hoof on the stallion’s shoulder. “Don’t worry, mon chere. I’ll keep the little ones entertained for a few hours. Why don’t you go and get some rest?”

The stallion answered her smile with a smile of his own. “I was just about to go and get some coffee. Apple Balm and Moon Skipper are sitting with the kids now. If you want to go into the play area, I’m sure they’d love the help.”

Nodding, Fleur took a step to the side and allowed Coffee Cream to brush past, making his way down the hall.

“I don’t think he even saw me,” Sam commented after the stallion had disappeared around a corner.

“He has a very difficult job, as do the rest of the ponies working here,” Fleur replied. “I don’t doubt that he has been working double shifts for the last few days.”

“I can see why I never wanted to get into medicine. I’d be tearing my hair out if I was that guy.”

“Oui. Now let’s get down to the play area then,” Fleur said, bumping Sam’s side.

She was able to make it three steps before Sam loudly cleared his throat. The sound made her stop and look at him with an eyebrow raise. To her confusion, she saw Sam standing there uncomfortably, his hands behind his back.

“Hey… Fleur,” he began. “Before we go in there, is there anything that I should or shouldn’t be doin’?”

“Just listen to the nursing staff. They’ll tell you what you’re able to do and not do. I’m sure the foals themselves will also be very helpful. They always are.”

Sam bit his lip, rocking back and forth on his heels. “Is that it? Because I don’t want to get kicked out of this place like that restaurant.”

“You won’t, mon chere. The foals are going to love you.”

“Are you sure?”

“I’m positive.”

“When I’m five times their size and all big and scary?”

Fleur couldn’t help but laugh. “Oh, I don’t think you have anything to worry about, you big, scary man.”

A flash of indignation crossed Sam’s face, causing him to puff up like a pigeon. This only caused Fleur to laugh again as she grabbed his hand with her magic and nudged him toward her.

“You have nothing to worry about. I’ll be right next to you the whole time. Now come along chéri”

It took a bit of coaxing, but Fleur eventually managed to get her photographer moving again. With each step they took, the foals became louder and louder until they turned a corner and saw a large, sun-lit room.

The room was crowded with fillies and colts, in various states of healing, playing and laughing and having a good time. What space that wasn’t filled with foals was occupied with toys or a watchful adult. Fleur looked around—at the kids making hoof paintings, at the group of fillies playing with blocks, and at the colts that were rough housing just a little too much.

Out of the corner of her eye, she could also see her photographer scanning the room. She could still see a bit of reservation and caution on his face, but with each passing second, she could see a smile forming. Not able to help herself, her rump gave a little happy wiggle in anticipation.

“Look! It’s Ms. Fleur!”

All around the room, fillies and colts stopped what they were doing. They all perked up, looking over toward Fleur herself, who was wearing a smile a mile wide. For a few moments, there was silence as they looked at her, a silence that was only disturbed by the relieved sounds of the nurses and caretakers. And with that, all Tartarus broke loose.

“Ms. Fleur! Ms. Fleur!”

“It’s Ms. Fleur!”

“Hiya, Ms. Fleur!”

“Bon… bon…. bonj… hiya, Ms. Fleur!”

The foals rushed over toward her as quickly as they were able, their eyes bright and their smiles wide. Fleur helped some of the little ones by closing the distance between her and them with a few quick steps.

As the foals descended, she was given hugs, nuzzles, and greetings in both Equish and adorable, awkward Prench. Fleur acclimated to the chaos quickly, hugging and nuzzling each and every filly and colt that was within hooves length. She said hello to every single one, asked how they were doing, asked if they had missed her as she had with the other foals that she had seen. Sam did his best to stick to the background, leaning against a wall with his arms crossed, but it was only inevitable that one of the kids saw him.

“What the heck is that?” A colt said, pointing at the man.

The foals stopped bombarding Fleur with affection, questions, and chatter to look over.

“Wow! Look how big it is!”

“Did you bring somepony else for us to play with, Ms. Fleur?”

“Is that some kind of monkey?”

Sam tensed as a group of foals broke off from the main group and made their way over toward him. His gaze flicked over to Fleur, who gave him an encouraging nod even as a filly made herself comfortable on her lap the moment the supermodel sat down onto the floor.

One of the foals, a tiny earth pony missing her two front teeth, trotted over so that she was just standing a few feet from him.

“Are you a misther, mishter? Are or you some kind of manial?”

“It’s animal, you dummy,” another filly said.

The filly, without missing a beat, turned around and stuck her tongue out before turning back toward the human, looking up at him expectantly.

Sam, clearing his throat, squatted down. “I’m a mister, little girl.”

The filly cocked her head to the side. “What’s a girl, mister?”

Sam blinked. “It’s what you are.”

The filly’s nose scrunched up. “Naha! I’m not a girl! I’m an earhth pony!”

Sam, looking just a bit thrown off balance, tried to rally. “No, I know that you’re an earth pony, but you’re also a girl.”

“Naha!” the filly said stomping her hoof.

The photographer frowned. “How do you know? You don’t even know what a girl is!” He made some vague hand motions that had Fleur and a few of the other adults chuckling to themselves. “There’s boys and there’s girls, and you’re a girl.”

“No, I’m not!” the little filly insisted, staring up at the giant of a man with all of the fury in her tiny little body. “You’re a girl!”

Sam opened his mouth as the filly stared up at him fiercely. He was silent for several seconds before his mouth slowly closed shut. He then lifted his gaze back up to the supermodel, staring over at her in bafflement.

Fleur had to beat back her laughter with a cough. “I believe he’s calling you a filly, little one,” she said.

The filly looked back at her, then back up at Sam. She let out a thoughtful hum, her eyes narrowing slightly before a great big smile came to her face.

“Well, why didn’t ya just say that, misther?” she asked.

“Because you were being too ornery,” Sam dryly replied.

The filly cocked her head to the side once again. “What’s ornery mean?”

One of the nurses guffawed, and even Fleur couldn’t quite hold back a chuckle or two. Still though, she decided to save her poor, outmatched photographer.

“The stallion behind me is Sam, my garçons et filles. He was kind enough to come here with me so that we might spent a few hours with you all.”

The colts and fillies perked up, more and more of them breaking off and trotting over to Sam. Fleur could see a foal’s curiosity in their eyes, and could practically see the questions forming in their little heads. When more than half of the foals were now surrounding Sam, they began an interrogation that would have made a Royal Guard green with envy.

“What the heck are you, mister?”

“How come you’re so tall?”

“What’s wrong with your hooves? Why are they all split up like that?”

“Why’s your muzzle so flat?”

“Are you Ms. Fleur’s pet? Can my mommy and daddy buy one of you at the store?”

“Are you some kind of minotaur? ‘Cause my pappy doesn’t like minotaurs. He says that they’re tryin’ to steal all of our gems and mares.”

As Fleur watched the barrage of questions, one of the nurses trotted over with a book in hoof. “Fleur, we were just about to read a story to the foals before we took them to dinner. If you’d want to do the honors we’d be more than happy to let you.”

“Merci,” Fleur said, taking the book out with her magic before looking at the remanding foals sitting around her. “How about it, little ones? Would you like me to read you a story?”

“Yeah!” the foals cried, nodding their heads.

Fleur giggled in delight. She was about to open the book and start reading when an idea came to mind.

“Sam? How about you come sit next to me so that we can read to the foals?”

A quick glance over showed that the foals had wasted little time in climbing up Sam’s frame. A pair of pegasi were perched on his shoulders, giggling to themselves. A young unicorn was helping an earth pony climb up onto his back. Even the little ornery little earth pony filly was doing her best to climb up his shirt, looking absolutely thrilled with herself.

Sam himself seemed a little more at ease, doing his very best to make sure that none of the foals fell off, so focused on this task that he didn’t seem to hear Fleur. He was as gentle as could be, making sure that none of them hurt themselves while talking to each and every one of them.

Seeing all of this, the warmth in Fleur’s stomach nearly boiled over. For a minute or two she didn’t have the heart to call out to him again, afraid that doing so would ruin what she was witnessing.

“Sam? Sam, mon chere? Sam?”

Sam finally perked up, looking up from a colt in his arms. “Yeah? Whatcha need?”

“I was wondering if you’d like to come over here and help me do a bit of reading?” the supermodel asked, waving the book about.

“Oh yeah, sure,” Sam replied, reaching around his back to grab the colt that was trying to climb onto his head. “Come on you little munchkins. Let me get up so I can go over and do some readin’.”

The foals loudly awwed at this, but relented, allowing the photographer to grab each one of them and set them down. He then stood to his fully height and walked over to Fleur, who patted the space right beside her. With some shuffling, he sat next to the supermodel, his legs neatly folding together.

The moment he sat down a group of foals rushed over and sat in his lap. Fleur let out a laugh at his surprised expression, leaning over and pressing her side against his. To her pleasant surprise, there was a pleasant warmth emanating from her photographer. Without realizing it, her nostrils flared, taking in his scent.

The filly with the missing teeth, who was now making herself comfortable in the middle of Sam’s lap, snatched the book from Fleur’s magic and gave it to the human.

“Read the one about the dragon and the parasprite!” she chirped.

“Read the one about the dragon and the parasprite, please,” Fleur corrected, gently booping the filly on the nose.

The filly nodded. “Yeah! What she said!”

Chuckling to herself, Fleur leaned over and whispered in her photographer’s ear. “It’s on page fifty. I’ll trade off with you if you need a break, mon chere.”

“Alright. Thanks,” Sam said, clearing his throat as he opened the book and flipped through its pages until he found the story. “Let’s see… Aw, there ya are, ‘The Parasprite and the Drake’, by Noteworthy.”

A small colt crawled into Fleur’s lap with the young filly. Fleur, not taking her eyes off Sam, leaned down and gave him a nuzzle.

“Once upon a time, there was a dragon. He was a mighty beast, whose wings could eclipse the very sun itself…”

~_~_~_~_~_~_~

In the end, a single story wasn’t nearly enough to satisfy the children. Each time either Sam or Fleur tried to put the book down, one of the foals would snatch it right back up and put it back in their hands or hooves. This would always be accompanied by begging and such adorable, pleading looks that neither the unicorn or human could say no. It wasn’t until the fourth or fifth story, when half of the colts and fillies couldn’t keep their eyes open anymore, when the nurses and caretakers had stepped in and carted them off to see if they could get something in their bellies before bedtime.

By the time that Fleur and Sam left the hospital Luna’s moon hung high in the sky. Both of them were tired, their throats were sore, and they were a bit stiff from sitting as long as they had. Nevertheless, both of them looked like they wanted nothing more than to go back in there and read just a few more stories.

“You know, I don’t think I’ve ever seen the foals warm up to somepony like that before,” Fleur said.

Sam shrugged. “Kids like to be around weird stuff,” he replied.

“Absurde!” Fleur said, bumping his side. “They loved you because you, mon amie, are wonderful with foals.”

“I don’t think so,” Sam said, with a snort and a roll of his eyes.

“You might not think so, but I know so,” Fleur replied, giving his ribs a poke. “You’re going to make some lucky mare very happy someday.”

Sam rolled his eyes again, reaching over and flicking Fleur’s ear. Fleur responded by messing up his hair with her magic.

“Quit it,” Sam said, waving his arms around his head to try to slap away her magical aura.

“Non, Fleur smartly replied, getting a boop for her troubles.

As they walked, the back and forth escalated to pokes and tugs and mussing up fur. Somewhere during the silly little battle, there was even an ear tug or two. But the roughhouse unfortunately had to come to an end as the two reached the point where they’d have to make their separate ways.

“Well, I guess this is goodnight then, huh?” Sam asked.

“Yes, I suppose it is,” Fleur said, booping his nose with her magic.

Sam’s face scrunched up, causing the supermodel to grin. Turning to face him, she gestured for him to kneel down. He did so and was immediately hugged.

“Thank you very much for coming today, Sam,” Fleur said, rubbing her cheek against his. “It meant a lot to both myself and the foals.”

Sam tensed at the unicorn’s touch for a few moments, before he returned the hug. Fleur let out a sigh, tightening her grip on him while wiggling closer.

“You’re welcome,” he said. “It was actually pretty fun. We’ll need to do it again sometime.”

Fleur nodded, rubbing the side of Sam’s face in the process. “I’m sure that the little ones would love to see you again.”

“It’s a date then.”

Minutes ticked by as the human and pony continued to hug each other. Eventually, Sam was the one to break it, much to Fleur’s disappointment.

Alright, I’ll see you in the morning then.”

“Oui. I’ll see you then.”

Fleur was about to turn around, when an idea came to mind. Just as Sam was about to climb to his feet, she darted forward, planting two quick pecks on his cheek. Sam, surprised, nearly fell over as she jumped back with a giggle.

“We also kiss cheeks when we’re about to part in Canterlot, mon chere.”

Sam reddened as she, laughing to herself, turned around and trotted down the road. “That’s not how you’re supposed to do it though!”

“It’s how we’ll do it until you stop blushing like that!” Fleur called over her shoulder.

Quatre

“I had your eleven o’clock pushed to two, and your appointment at one needed to be moved to tomorrow, but I managed to squeeze in the eight o’clock meeting for then.”

Fleur blew a bit of mane out of her face, adjusting herself as she leaned forward at the small work table that she had set up in her living room. Though the chair was made out of artificial cloud, the finest pony could buy, she could never get comfortable, no matter what she did.

“Hmm,” she said, only half paying attention.

“Fancy sent a messenger again with another invitation for a dinner party. If the meeting at seven is quick, we should make an appearance.”

“Aha.”

“Those stallions from Moneycorp also came this morning. They brought a few papers that you’ll need to sign by the end of the day. One of the stallions also gave me an invitation to give to you, some silly luncheon, but I took the liberty of refusing for you.”

The supermodel took a big gulp of her coffee. This was her fifth this morning, and she could already tell that she was going to need at least two or three more.

“I hope that you at least made sure to apologize for my absence,” she said, leaning back into her chair.

Svengallop, handing her a stack of papers, nodded. “Of course. I made sure to tell him that you were simply far too busy to go today, but you appreciated the gesture.”

Fleur did her best to run a hoof through her mane. Though her stylist had done her best, it was the closest to being a rats nest that it had been in a very long time. Split ends, knots—she was even sure that she had seen a gray hair or two this morning.

“Well, you aren’t wrong about me being too busy,” Fleur said with a yawn, taking the papers while dipping a quill into an inkpot. “This had been the busiest that I’ve been since I was a teenager.”

She arched her back, letting out a grunt as her spine popped.

“Meetings, parties, events.” Her shoulders slumped as the exhaustion that had been nipping at her heels for weeks made itself known. “It’s been a maison de fous!”

“And it’s only going to get busier I’m afraid,” Svengallop said, dropping another bundle of papers onto her desk. “You have half a dozen interviews over the next three days, and there’s the event the bakers guild is having that we need to be seen at—”

“And I need to cut the ribbon at that newly built boutique, and I need to be travel to Dodge City for a day, and I must dine with two counts, five barons, a duke, and that infernal Prince Blueblood,” Fleur said, resting her head against the table and closing her eyes even as she continued to sign the documents in front of her.

“You should be happy. Most ponies would kill to be as busy as you are.”

“Most ponies would run away screaming if they spent a week like this.”

Though she didn’t see it, Svengallop smirked. “But you’re not most ponies, my girl. You’re Fleur de Lis.”

Fleur let out another groan. “Oui, you’re right, I’m not like other ponies. Most of them have far more sense.”

A quick glance up showed the unicorn that she only had half a stack to go. She quickly looked over at her manager, half fearing that he had another stack to torment her with, but to her relief his hooves were empty. That meant as soon as she was done with this she could race out of her stuffy mansion and go to the studio.

Her manager might make a bit of a fuss at her disheveled appearance, but Sam would no doubt have something funny to say to her when he saw just how exhausted she looked. The thought put a bit of a pip in her step and a small smile on her face.

Svengallop reached into his coat pocket and pulled out a small notebook. Humming to himself, he began flipping through it.

“Essence has also sent another request about that photographer of yours.”

The quiet scratching of quill on paper ceased.

“Oh?” Fleur said, picking her head up.

Svengallop flipped through a few pages in his notebook. “Yes. They were offering to pair you up with Polaroid this time.”

Picking her head up, Fleur covered her face with a hoof. “Again?”

“The pony I talked to yesterday was adamant.”

“Did you tell them once again that I’d like to stay with the photographer that I have?”

“I did, which is why I spent three and a half hours talking to the representative,” Svengallop said, annoyance in his voice as he pushed his glasses up his nose. “Like I’ve said before, they’re concerned about you associating yourself with somepony like him.”

“They’re concerned, yet they’re more than happy to pair him off with another model?”

“You’re the covermare of the entire shoot, hon,” Svengallop said with a shrug. “When ponies hear about the dresses and see the pictures, they’re not going to care about mares like Catwalk and Style Savvy.”

“I’ve never dropped a photographer, and I won’t drop this one,” Fleur said, perhaps a bit more sharply than she intended. “Sam has been nothing but a professional and a sweetheart the entire time that I’ve known him, and unlike half of this fichue city, it doesn’t matter to me what one does in ignorance.”

“You already know how I feel about the young stallion, dear,” Svengallop said as gently as he could, though a small frown made itself known on his face. “I thought he would be a good match for you, have ponies talking, but now they’re talking in a way that’ll only hurt you.”

Fleur scoffed. “All ponies do is talk, Svengallop,” she said dismissively, finishing the last signature and gently blowing on the ink to help it dry.

“I wouldn’t be so sure of that, dear. If it were just simple gossip Essence wouldn’t be harassing you about this.”

“Bah, they’ve done this before. You know how they get when the world doesn’t fall into their laps.”

Sighing again, Svengallop trotted over and picked up all of the documents. Making sure that each of them was signed, he neatly piled them together before tucking them under a leg.

“You’ve also seen what they can do to a mare or stallion that doesn’t listen to them. Cancelled shoots, ruined reputations.”

Fleur opened her mouth to retort but immediately closed it. He was right; she had seen what had happened to ponies in the industry that went against Essence’s wishes. Photo Finish made it her business to stick a hoof in their eye whenever she could, but that was Photo Finish. Models, set designers, and photographers had been ruined because of their wrath.

Once or twice she had gone against the company herself, but Essence had only grumbled at her actions. Never, in all of her years of modeling, had they been this upset or insistent.

Svengallop, sensing her hesitation, decided to press the attack. “Sam is a… nice young stallion, I’ll be the first to admit that, but he’s not one of us, hon. He doesn’t understand how things work here, and because of that, every little thing he does reflects on you.”

Fleur’s stomach tightened. She knew this industry better than anypony. At the moment she was the queen of the mountain, but she was only so because of that almighty “R” word. Reputation. That was what lifted you through the ranks in this city. Without it, you were nothing more than a beggar, a nobody.

She knew for a fact that Hoity and Sapphire still hadn’t left their estates since what had happened at that restaurant. Though it would have seemed absolutely silly to the common pony, she knew that they had done this to save face. Because if they didn’t, ponies would begin talking.

When talking began, rumor spread. When rumors spread, the truth became twisted and distorted. When that happened, it was only a matter of time before ponies were talking behind one’s back and all who you thought were your friends had abandoned you. Fleur had seen it happen a thousand times.

Giving her head a little shake, the unicorn cleared her throat. “Sam is a wonderful photographer, and I’m not ashamed to say that I’ve grown very fond of him.”

She looked over at Svengallop. The stallion said nothing, simply looking over at her with a helpless expression. Fleur flinched. In the silence she could hear his argument perfectly.

It doesn’t matter what you want, what matters is what Essence wants. You need to think about your reputation. If you keep telling them no, they might do something drastic. You can still be Sam’s friend, but it might be best to distance yourself from him, for a little while at least. She batted each one away with her own counterargument, but more and more reasons to dump Sam reared their ugly heads until her mind was overwhelmed and her stomach was in knots.

Sighing, Fleur pushed herself away from her desk and rose to her hooves. “I will… I will think on it.”

For the first time since she had seen him this morning, Svengallop smiled. “That’s all I ask. Now, why don’t we get you in the studio? Make sure to grab an umbrella. I heard that it’s supposed to rain all day.”

@-@-@-@-@-@-@

“Alrighty, now lift your leg.”

Fleur did as she was asked, lifting her leg as a half dozen clicks from Sam’s camera filled the air.

“Good, good, now lift your head up a bit. Give me a look of surprise.”

Fleur did her best to look surprised, but she felt that she couldn’t quite manage it. Her facial features felt far too tight for anything to feel natural. She desperately hoped that her lack of enthusiasm wouldn’t be noticed, but it was a futile hope.

All around her she could see the ponies on her set staring at her in both confusion and worry. Quiet discussion could be heard along with the clicking of the of the camera. Even Sam was staring at her with an eyebrow raised as he moved to get a better angle.

“Alright, turn around and look over your shoulder,” he said, slowly getting down onto one knee. “You can make whatever face you want this time.”

Fleur did as she was asked. In this pose she knew that she needed a fierce expression, or perhaps even a kissy face, but yet all she could manage was a slight upturn of her lips that might have looked like a smile in the right light.

Sam paused mid step, lifting his face away from his camera to look at her carefully. Fleur flinched under his gaze her body stiffening. The whispers grew louder, and the knot in the unicorn’s stomach grew tighter still.

A smile suddenly came to Sam’s face. Bringing his camera up to his face, he began to take pictures at a rapid fire pace.

“Now look like you’re hungry, now sassy, now like you’ve got a stick up where the sun don’t shine. No, the other hole. There we go. Come on, give me a smile. Now frown. Now stick your tongue out at that makeup artist over there. Not that one, the other one with the stupid scarf.”

He began to move his camera in theatrical angles, something that would have had Fleur on the floor laughing any other day. Still though, the human’s antics were enough to put a small smile on her face.

“There’s that smile! Now start rolling around on the ground.”

One of the designers, who was standing just off step, perked up. “No, don’t roll around with that on!” she cried.

“Don’t listen to her, Fleur. It’ll make a great shot, I promise.”

“No, don’t listen to him, for Celestia’s sake!”

That got a giggle out of Fleur for the first time that day, and as her photographer continued to take her pictures she rolled onto her back and began kicking her legs like a little filly. She was very careful mind you. She didn’t want to ruin the dress.

The designer let out a shriek that sounded awfully playful. Looking at her out of the corner of her eye, Fleur saw that the mare’s lips were curled into a smile.

Sam laid flat on his back and began taking pictures upside down. “Wonderful, darling, wonderful,” he said, in a shockingly close impersonation of Photo’s voice. “Zhe camera loves you!”

Minutes ticked by as her photographer continued to shouting his silly instructions. To amusement of everypony watching and herself, Fleur did her best to follow each and every one.

She crawled along the ground like a guard at bootcamp. She skipped back and forth along the set while she hummed Prench foal’s songs to herself. She pretended to be a bear, a dog, and even a butterfly.

Not a single one of these shots was going to be used, she knew, but the longer she kept doing all of these silly things a change overcame her. Her movements became more fluid, smiles came easier and more often. The knot in her stomach began to loosen, and even the worries that had been plaguing her the whole morning were momentarily forgotten.

Finally, after half of the ponies on her set were laughing so hard that they couldn’t stand, Sam lifted his face from his camera one last time.

“Alright, I think that’s enough for today,” he said, standing up and dusting himself off. “Great job today everybody.”

An “aw” erupted from the ponies watching, but nevertheless they surged forward to clean up. Laughter and excited chatter filled the air as props were cleared. A group of mares made their way over to Fleur and helped her to her hooves so that they could begin peeling off the monstrosity that she was wearing.

The supermodel chatted and giggled along with them, feeling better than she had all week. She looked over at Sam to see him smiling. The sight filled her chest with a pleasant warmth.

Skillful hooves and magic soon had her out of her dress. The moment she was out of the thing, she trotted over to her photographer as quickly as she could without running. To the surprise of everypony watching, herself included, she hopped up onto her back legs and pulled him into a hug.

“Merci, Sam, Merci,” she said, nuzzling both of his cheeks.

Sam tensed in surprise at the sudden and unexpected contact, but soon he was hugging her right back. “Gesundheit.”

Fleur let out another giggle. She could feel a dozen eyes upon the two of them, but she couldn’t find herself caring. Instead, she held into him all the tighter.

“So are you feeling a little better?” Sam asked, giving her a few pats on the back.

“Oui,” she replied, resting her head on his shoulder.

Though she didn’t see it, her photographer’s smile widened. “Good. I’m glad that I could help.”

Their hug lasted a bit longer than was perhaps professional, but Fleur eventually broke it. Falling back onto all fours, she looked over at the clock. Time had almost gotten away from her. She needed to hurry to get to her next appointment.

“Thank you, Sam. Really,” she said warmly.

“We’ve all been working really hard. We should have a bit of fun every once in awhile to keep from going bonkers,” Sam said, looking down at his camera. “And besides, I think I got some pretty good shots...”

“Oh, don’t you dare give those to Photo Finish!” she said giving him a playful shove. “She’d never let me hear the end of it!”

Sam laughed. “She’d get a kick out of a couple of these, wouldn’t she?”

He looked down at his camera, fiddling with it. After only a few moments of this however, he looked up, his smile diminished.

“So what was wrong today anyway?” he asked.

Fleur opened her mouth to reply but quickly paused. Those pesky concerns and worries came back in full force, causing her to shy away.

“Well, actually… I’d like to keep that to myself for now, if you don’t mind,” she said, looking down at the ground. “It’s something that I must wrestle with myself.”

Sam’s brow furrowed. “Alrighty, just know if you need anything I’d be happy to help.”

“Merci,” Fleur said, doing her best to ignore the tightening in her stomach.

“Do you have a bit of time before you need to be anywhere? Because, if you want, we could look over today’s pictures to see if there’s actually anything we could use.”

“Thank you… but no. I must be off.”

Fleur could feel Sam’s gaze on her. She continued to look at the ground. Finally, after several agonizing seconds, she heard Sam turn away.

“Okay. Have a good day then.”

“You as well,” Fleur said with a nod of her head.

She wanted to stay, wanted to play with Sam’s computer and chat with the human for a while longer, but perhaps just distancing herself a bit would get the company off of her back. It wouldn’t have to be forever, just a little while.

Sighing, she made her way over to the ponies cleaning up the set. She thanked each one, hugging and kissing cheeks before saying her goodbyes for that day. It was then, with a heavy heart, she made her way to the exit, throwing open the doors to empty streets.

She paused, poking her head out of the studio. The streets were deserted. Carts and stands had been abandoned. Doors were locked, and blinds had been closed. Everything was silence, save for the howling of wind and the rain hitting the houses and streets.

“...What’s going on? I thought it was just supposed to be a light shower today,” she murmured, stopping in her tracks.

A bolt of lightning suddenly streaked through the air. But this wasn’t the controlled, hoof-crafted ones that Cloudsdale made. This lightning bolt was wild, powerful, thunderous. When it struck a chimney a few blocks away, the whole world seemed to shake under its boom.

“Pommes de route Fleur shouted, jumping in fright, staring at the now decimated chimney with wide eyes. “What in Celestia’s name is…”

That was when she saw it. The clouds were no ordinary clouds. No pegasus created them. They were too big, too black to be pony made.

Her nostrils flared. The water on the street wasn’t clear but a murky color with a foul stench. The air itself was frigid—far too cold for this time of the year.

Fleur’s mind raced, wondering what was going on and why the rain was acting like this. Usually the weather team was spot on when it came to this sort of things. After a few moments of thought, the realization of what she was looking at came to mind.

These were Everfree clouds, and somehow, someway, a cluster of them had found their way to Canterlot.

“…Oh no.”

Ears folding against her skull, Fleur took a step back into the studio, keeping her gaze fixed on the sky above. She was able to take three or four steps back, closing the door and locking it behind her, when she bumped into something. Whipping around, she saw that she had bumped into Sam, who was holding the umbrella that she had forgotten.

“Whoo, that sure was a loud ‘un, huh?” he asked. “It almost felt like that had the whole building shaking.”

“Sam, we need to get everypony away from the windows,” Fleur said, trying to keep herself calm.

Another clap of thunder tore through the air outside. All around them, models and photographers and agents stopped whatever they were doing, looking around nervously.

“I don’t know what happened, but somehow Everfree clouds made their way into the city,” Fleur continued, grabbing his hand with her magic and leading him away from the door.

“So? They’re just rain clouds, aren’t they?” Sam questioned.

The supermodel shook her head. “Non, these clouds are very, very dangerous,” she told him. “The thunder can knock a pegasus out of the sky and the rain burns away flesh and skin to the touch.”

Sam’s eyes widened. “No kiddin’?”

“I truly wish I was, but this is very serious. Usually the weather team keeps a sharp eye out of them, but this cluster must have proven too much.”

The photographer looked back at the door. “...Is it bad that I think that’s actually really neat?”

Another bolt of lightning flashed through the sky. The various lights in the room flickered. Ponies, sensing that something was wrong, began converging to the center of the studio. Fleur quickened her pace, tugging Sam right along with her.

“Nopony can leave until the clouds are destroyed,” she said. “And it would be best if we all went into the back.”

She looked up at her photographer, chewing on her lip. “Will you please help me, mon cher?”

There was no hesitation on Sam’s face as he nodded. “I’d be happy to help,” he said, placing a hand on her shoulder and giving it a squeeze.

This time, when thunder shook the building, Fleur didn’t jump. Instead, she smiled.

“Then let’s begin.”

@-@-@-@-@-@-@

It was a simple thing to get everypony together and quieted down. It was another thing entirely calming them down after Fleur had explained what was going on outside. The studio did have more than a few windows, and the acid rain from the clouds had been known to melt through even stone in some cases. But ponies of fashion were, if nothing else, an adaptable sort.

After Fleur had explained the situation, everyone got to work. Sets were cleared and neatly put away. All of the doors were locked and barricaded from the wind. What few pegasi that were amongst them covered the windows with fabric and bits of wood. It was only then, after everything had been squared away, that every mare and stallion retreated to the back of the studio, where windowless rooms lined the halls. Luckily, the studio had been relatively empty today, so there was more than enough room for every mare, stallion, and human.

One of the dress designers, after rooting around in a few of the rooms, had managed to find blankets and pillows. These were all passed around, so that everypony could be at least a little comfortable while they all weathered out the storm.

Both Sam and Fleur found themselves in one of the bigger rooms, sitting on an old, ratty couch and wrapped up tightly in blankets. The only light was provided by Sam’s computer, which sat on a small table in front of the two.

“Well, this isn’t how I thought my day was going to go,” Sam grumbled. “I thought I was going to go home and eat that last bit of stir fry I had, but instead I’m hiding away from some killer storm while it tries to tear down the building.”

“At least you’re not outside, chèr,” Fleur pointed out, nuzzling herself deeper into her blanket.

Sam nodded, looking over at her. “Yeah, I guess you’re right.”

Another clap of thunder tore through the building, causing it to shake. Both Fleur and Sam tensed.

“Sweet Christ is that something…”

The unicorn couldn’t help but smile. “That is the power of the Everfree.”

Sam looked up at the ceiling in concern. “Remind me to never visit there then.”

The room lulled into a comfortable silence. Fleur could hear Sam shuffling around on his side of the couch but she kept her gaze straight ahead, staring at his computer.

After her worry and excitement had gone down, all that there was left to do was sit here and think in the darkness. And, of course, the only thing that she could think about was the human sitting next to her, what Svengallop had said, and her reputation.

What should she do? What could she do?

Was there a way out of this that would make both Essence and herself happy? Should she go and speak to Photo about this?

Maybe she could go to the higher ups and speak to them herself. Perhaps, if she were to explain why she wanted to keep her photographer, maybe have Sam himself speak to them, then they’d stop.

Or maybe she just needed to do what she was told, just maintained a bit of a distance from her friend. The “scandal” would die down soon enough. In a month or two, she could go back to enjoying his company like she had these past few weeks.

“You know we have a couple of pillows right over there if you want to lie down,” Sam said, interrupting her thoughts .

Fleur looked over at him then at the couch. Seeing that she had more than enough to to lay down she did so, levitating over a pillow and resting it under her head.

“Merci,” she said with a sigh.

“Do you want another blanket? You can have mine if you want.”

“No, thank you.”

“Do you want me to turn down the light on the computer?”

“No, thank you.”

There was another pause. Fleur rolled onto her side, burrowing her face into her pillow, and closed her eyes. Sam, kicking up his feet on the table, leaned back. Rain and thunder could be heard off in the distance.

In a flash, Fleur found herself sitting up. “Sam?”

Sam looked over at her, eyebrow raised. “Yeah?”

The supermodel opened her mouth to speak but quickly closed it, biting her lip. “I know that I told you that I wanted to keep my problem to myself, but…”

She trailed off. Taking a few deep breath, and gathering up her courage, she forced herself to continue.

“But, since the problem concerns you, I feel like you should know.”

She risked a glance over in the human’s direction. He was staring at her intently, his blue eyes almost shining in the light of the computer. The sight eased some of the tension that was forming in Fleur’s shoulders, as well cause her to wiggle closer to her photographer.

“Are you sure you want to tell me?” he asked. “If you really want to keep it to yourself, I don’t mind. I’m not nebby.”

“Non. You need to hear this,” Fleur said, taking a deep breath. “For the last few weeks, I have been asked to replace you with another photographer.” A small, frustrated frown came to her face. “Time and again, I’ve told them that you’ve been working wonderfully, but they’ve been becoming more and more insistent about it.”

A spark of realization came to Sam’s eyes. “Oh?”

Fleur nodded. “Oui. This morning my manager came to me saying that Essence itself might stop asking and start demanding. I don’t know what to do.”

She sighed explosively, her cheeks puffing out. “I enjoy working with you, mon ami, perhaps as much as I do with Photo, but I also have to consider my position, as much as I hate to say it.”

To her surprise, Sam nodded.

“I understand,” he said, placing a hand on her leg.

“Vraiment?” she asked.

“If that means what I think it means, then sure,” he replied. “I might not wanna get dumped into another shoot, but I have no problem with it if it’ll keep your bosses off your back.”

“They’re not my bosses per se, but thank you, Sam,” Fleur said, leaning over and giving him a nuzzle. “I’d thought you’d be upset…”

“Hey, I might not have any experience in this kind of shit, but I’ve heard rumors back home, and if what happens here is half of that, I get you wanting to cover your ass. And it’s not like we can’t still be buddies, right?”

A weight that Fleur hadn’t even known she was carrying was lifted from her shoulders. She let out a relieved sigh, pressing herself against her photographer. She had a thousand things that she wanted to say to him, but instead of any of it, she just nuzzled his jaw.

“I was thinking about going to speak with a few ponies on the matter myself,” she said. “Maybe we could do something that would let Essence see that you’re a proper gentlecolt.”

Sam chuckled. “Gentleman.”

“Gentleman then,” Fleur said, giving his cheek a pat. “Don’t give up on us yet, mon ami. I may have a few tricks up my sleeve yet.”

“Yes ma’am,” Sam said, mussing up her mane. “It’ll be an honor to serve you till the end.”

Fleur let out an indignant squawk. Batting his hand away, she gave his side a hard poke. In retaliation, Sam gave her nose a boop. This, in turn, forced her to give his belly a jab. The two went back and forth for a while, the two of them giggling, before Sam leaned forward toward his computer.

“Since we’re probably going to be here for a while why don’t I show you a couple of movies?” he offered, clicking on a file that he had never touched before.

In an instant, Fleur was staring at his computer. “Movies?”

“Yeah, movies. They’re like moving picture shows.”

“I know what a movie is, mon cher.”

“…Really?”

“Oui. They have theaters all over the city.”

“Huh, I just thought those were all Broadway show thingies…” Sam muttered, before shaking his head. “Anyway, even though this laptop is kinda trash, I was still able to get some movies on this thing. Not a lot, but the couple I have are good ‘uns.”

He clicked on an icon. After a second of two pause, a black screen popped up. Fleur, pressing as much of herself against her photographer as she could, rested her head on his shoulder.

“Well… All of my meetings today are no doubt going to be cancelled by this storm,” she murmured, before looking up at him and smiling. “So, I’d love to watch a few movies with you.”

Sam gave her head a pat, looking pleased. “Alright, so whatcha want to watch first? The Adventures of Robin Hood? Aliens? Terminator?”

“What’s this ‘Adventures of Robin Hood’ about?”

“It’s about a bunch of weird men in tights that like to hang around in the woods.”

“Oh?”

“Yeah, they sometimes shoot bows and arrows, but they mostly…”

@-@-@-@-@-@-@

“John Connor gave me a picture of you once. I didn't know why at the time. It was very old - torn, faded. You were young like you are now. You seemed just a little sad. I used to always wonder what you were thinking at that moment. I memorized every line, every curve. I came across time for you, Sarah. I love you. I always have…”

Slowly, Fleur’s eyes fluttered open. She was in a mostly dark room that was only illuminated by a bright light sitting on a table. The unicorn was only able to look at this light for a few moments before she let out a grumble and hid her face in her pillow.

The cloud around her mind slowly began to lift. She was in a backroom in the studio. She was here because of a dangerous storm raging outside. That light on the table was a computer—the very same computer that she had been watching movies on with her dear friend.

Fleur’s brow furrowed as she rubbed the tip of her muzzle against her pillow. There seemed to be something wrong with the thing. It wasn’t as soft as it should be, and it didn’t have the scent that a pillow should have had. She nuzzled a little more forcefully, trying to figure out what was the problem.

The answer came from a sigh that was not her own.

Perking up, Fleur lifted her head and looked right into the sleeping face of her photographer. She blinked owlishly, trying to process just what she was looking at.

“What in Celestia’s name…?” she murmured, tearing her gaze away from his face to look around. “Why is… What am I…?”

Upon closer inspection, she realized that, somehow, she found herself lying on top of the human. A quick wiggle told her that both of Sam’s hands were wrapped around her barrel, holding her close to him. His blanket also appeared to be wrapped around her shoulders, keeping her warm despite the sudden chill in the room.

A blush exploded across her face. She tried to wiggle out of Sam’s grasp, but she only managed to move an inch or two before the human’s grip on her tightened, forcing her right back where she had been. She let out a quiet, embarrassed “Eep!”.

“Sam, Sam,” she hissed, nudging him with a hoof. “Sam!”

Sam let out a quiet murmur, but otherwise was dead to the world. Fleur continued to wiggle around, embarrassed about the position that she was in but not so much that she wanted to get too loud or rowdy and wake her photographer. Eventually she simply conceded defeat, letting out a sigh before resting her head on his chest.

“Sacre bleu,” she said to herself, going limp against the human. “This is going to be… interesting to explain when you wake up…”

After a few moments of pouting, she lifted her head to look at him once again. He looked so peaceful, almost happy with as he laid there. The sight made her smile.

“You are very cute when you sleep, chèr,” she said, nuzzling one cheek then the other.

She didn’t feel all that uncomfortable lying on top of him, she found. In fact, his large frame was rather nice to lie upon. That, coupled with his scent and the heat radiating off of him, was beginning to make it difficult for her to keep her eyes open.

Nevertheless, Fleur continued to nuzzle his face, working her way up from his cheeks to his forehead, chin, and neck. She found herself closing her eyes. With each nuzzle, she could smell their scents mixing, and the more they mingled, the more a particular feeling began to well in her chest.

It was an ancient feeling, one that her ancestors who struggled for survival no doubt felt. She was marking a stallion with her scent, telling everypony that had a nose whose photographer this was and to stay away. The thought made her hum in contentment as she rubbed her nose against his.

In the back of her mind, a part of her was screaming for her to stop. This was inappropriate, extremely unprofessional. Sam was sleeping. Celestia knows what he’d do if he just suddenly woke up and saw what she was doing.

But she couldn’t stop. Something deep inside of her wouldn’t let her.

“Yes… very cute…”

Her breath caught in her throat as her lips brushed his. She froze, not daring to open her eyes. Her ears perked up, listening to Sam’s gentle breaths, trying to see if he was indeed still asleep.

Fleur slowly shifted her weight forward. Puckering her lips, she gave her photographer a quick kiss, then another, then another.

“Fleur, darling! The weather team managed to finally beat those blasted clouds out of the city! We can finally—”

The door to the room was thrown open just as Fleur leaned down for another kiss. The supermodel froze, her puckered lips mashed up against her photographer’s. One of the newer markup artists was standing right in the hallway. From the look of utter surprise, she had no doubt seen what had just happened.

Eyeing the mare, Fleur slowly broke the kiss and sat up. “Horse apples...”

Cinq

When Fleur had been a young foal, and the world had been a much bigger place, there wasn’t anything that she loved more than to pile a mountain of blankets on top of her bed and hide under them all. It had always calmed her after a stressful day. The warmth, the gentle weight of the blankets, the darkness that they could provide. It helped make the big, scary world a little smaller and more controllable.

Her bed might have been much bigger now than it had been when she was small and her blankets might have been better made and far more expensive, but it seemed like what she had felt as a filly still held true. There was something comforting lying under the blankets, something that spoke to her on a subconscious level.

The world wasn’t bad in this bed. There were no cameras or news reporters. Her manager wasn’t who-knows-where losing his marbles. She didn’t have to do damage control under twenty blankets, and she also didn’t have to explain her inappropriate behavior to her employers. All she needed to do was lay here, stare at the blanket in front of her, and do her best to ignore anyone but herself. As she had for the last two days.

Underneath her blanket pile, she let out a groan. “Putain de merde…”

Sinking as deep into her bed as she could, the supermodel closed her eyes, looking forward to another day of warmth and anxiety. Before she could properly begin wallowing however, the door to her balcony opened.

“Fräulein!”

Blankets flew everywhere as Fleur quickly sat up, only to become tangled. “Fichu! Damné! Imbécile!”

The more the supermodel struggled against her blankets, the more tangled she became. Cursing loudly and often, she thrashed and rolled around her bed as hard as she could, determined to free herself. Unfortunately for her, she was a little too determined and found herself rolling out of her bed for her troubles.

“Oomph! Stupid couvertures!”

Her intruder tsked. Trotting over, she began to free her from the silk prison that she had made herself.

“Meine Celestia, Fleur. To zink that only after two days I’d find you in such a state!”

“Fous le camp!”

“Watch zat mouth. You might not be my daughter, but I’ll bend you over mein knee and beat you all the same.”

Eventually, after even more cursing and ineffectual wiggling, a red-faced, thoroughly humiliated, and panting Fleur found herself staring up into the bemused face of Photo Finish.

The unicorn’s brow furrowed at the sight of her old friend. “…Photo? What are you doing here?”

Photo, bending down, picked her up like a foal and lifted her onto her back. “I heard zat you were hiding in your room like ze little filly that was caught with her hoof in ze cookie jar, so I decided to come see you.”

Fleur tried to roll off the older mare’s back, but with the strength that only an earth pony could have, Photo held her in place. “Non, I meant how did you get in here? I told my security not to let anypony on the premises.”

Tossing her onto her makeup chair, Photo scoffed. “Zose Dummköpfe couldn’t keep a pony out of here if zey walked through ze front door.”

“All of the doors were locked!”

“Which is why I climbed to ze balcony, my dear.”

Fleur tried to push herself out of her chair, only to be pushed right back in it. Grumbling in Prench, she glared at her old friend. Photo ignored the glare, humming a tune to herself as she pulled out a comb from somewhere in her dress and began working on the supermodel’s mane.

“Look at zis, look at zis… You look like ze crazy mare,” she said with a shake of her head.

Fleur winced as Photo yanked apart a knot in her mane. “Could I at least do this myself please? You’re going to tear half of my mane out!”

“Nein,” Photo said, lightly tapping her horn with the comb before going back to brushing.

The supermodel let out an explosive sigh, sinking into her chair. A pause settled onto the room, which was only interrupted by the occasional grunt and yelp of pain.

“…So, how is everything outside?”

“It’s a mad house,” Photo said, clicking her tongue. “Ponies are talking, Essence is yapping like ze little dog. When I jumped your fence—”

“You did wha—OW!”

“Hush. When I jumped your fence, I saw zat the streets were crowded with paparazzi and news ponies.”

Fleur closed her eyes. She had a feeling this was going to happen.

She sighed again, moving her head to the side to give Photo better access to her mane. “…And how is Sam doing? Has anypony been bothering him? Is he alright? Is he safe?”

“I told Sam to stay in his apartment for ze time being,” Photo said, giving Fleur’s head another little tap with the comb before tossing it across the room. “Zere we go! Good as new!”

Fleur’s gaze flicked up to her mirror. Though her mane looked nothing like it would have if her stylist was here, it was much better than it had been a few minutes ago.

“Merci, Photo,” she said.

Nodding her head, Photo yanked Fleur out of the chair and dropped her onto her back, much to the supermodel’s displeasure. She kicked and wiggled, but it was no use as Photo trotted toward her bedroom door.

“Come! We must be off!”

“Photo! Put me down!

“Nein You must get out of ze house. I will take you to a café and we will drink coffee and talk.”

“What?! Non!”

“Ja! Now stop squirming, you Kind!”

Thankfully, Photo had put Fleur down before the two of them went outside. Fleur had, of course, tried to make a break for her bedroom, but ended up being dragged to the front door by her tail for her troubles.

“This is ridiculous.”

“Hush, before I give ze cameras something to take ze pictures of.”

The moment that her front door was open, Fleur could hear the sounds of cameras clicking. When she was forced outside by a hard bump to the rump, that was when the questioning started.

“Fleur! Colt Corban here! Are the accusations that you were caught stealing kisses true?”

“Fleur! Is this just a publicity stunt or something more?”

“Fleur! What does your new alien lover’s penis look like? Does it have four heads? Does it shoot out eggs instead of semen? Do you have some of those eggs inside of you right now? What color are they?”

“Did he put it in your butt? Is that how his kind birth their young?”

Fleur shied away from the questions and camera clicks. She looked at the ground, trying to appear as small as possible.

“Photo, why don’t we go back inside?” she suggested. “I can have some coffee made and we can talk—”

“Nonsense!” Photo cried, marching toward the gate that separated them from the mob. “Just let me deal with zese leeches, and we’ll be on our way.”

She turned toward the security guards standing by the gate. Both stallions looked baffled as to how the mare had gotten past them, but Photo ignored it, throwing a hoof into the air.

“Open ze door!”

The guards looked at each other before looking over at Fleur. Fleur, of course, shook her head.

“Open ze door, you ninnies!” Photo demanded, pointing a hoof at them while looking up at the sky. “Hurry now! Daylight is burning!”

The guards twitched at the older mare’s shout before leaping to action. The crowd, seeing them unlocking the gate, pressed in with camera’s ready. Seeing this, Fleur took a step back, ready to run back to her house if the mob surged forward.

Clearing her throat and fixing her dress, Photo looked back at the unicorn and smiled. “Don’t go anywhere, mein Mädchen. I’ll be right back.”

As the gates creaked open, Photo trotted toward the group of ponies with her head held high. Paparazzi and news ponies alike pressed themselves against the gate, trying to open it faster. A stallion, his notebook at the ready, managed to push through the mob and stand before the photographer-turned-producer.

“Photo Finish, Newscast here! What do you have to say about the allegations surrounding Ms. de Lis’—”

Photo reached into the sleeve of her dress and pulled out a newspaper. Rolling it up into a tight bundle, she looked up at the stallion, frowned, and smacked him on the head with it as hard as she could. The stallion, who had been looking down at his notebook, was taken completely by surprise. His questions turned into a yelp as he jumped back, rubbing the top of his head.

Photo continued forward, her weapon at the ready. “Begone with you!” she barked, swinging the newspaper like a bat. “Go! Shoo! Before I give you ze business, you Hund!”

She forced the poor stallion to retreat back into the mob, but she didn’t stop there. Letting out a mighty battle cry in Germaneic, the earth pony leapt into the crowd and began hitting everything within hooves’ length.

“Argh!”

“Ow!”

“Somepony stop that mare!”

“Stop! Get away!”

“She just booped that mare’s snoot! The monster!”

Through savagery alone, Photo drove back the dozens of ponies, much to the amazement of Fleur and her guards. The older mare cursed, spat, and hissed like an angry lioness. Every time the mob tried to lead a counterattack it was beaten back with ruthless efficiency, and every time they tried to swarm her it ended with ponies running away holding their heads.

“Ja, ja, take your pictures! Where do you zink you’re going? Come back here you Ungeziefer!”

Eventually the mob found themselves fleeing for their lives, dropping notebooks and whatever else they were holding so they could run faster. The ponies that were standing on the edges of the battlefield, the shopkeepers and regular joes could be heard laughing hysterically as the streets emptied until only Photo remained.

The mare’s hair was wild. Her glasses were crooked and she was panting hard. Her trusty newspaper was torn and tattered, a testament to its use.

Baring her teeth, Photo looked around to see if there were any more foes to defeat. Seeing none, she took a deep breath and cleared her throat.

She slipped her newspaper back into her dress, fixing her glasses and running a hoof through her mane. She then adjusted her dress, looked to her left and right to see if she was presentable, and looked over at Fleur.

“See? All fixed,” she said with a smile. “Now come along, Fräulein. Zat was thirsty work.”

@-@-@-@-@-@

As luck would have it, one of the ponies that had been watching the massacre was the owner of a very nice little café not that far from Fleur’s home. The old stallion had insisted that they come down for a cup off coffee—free of charge, of course; he hadn’t laughed that hard in ages—and was even nice enough to put the two in a secluded booth so that they could talk in relative peace.

“So, what happened, Mädchen?” Photo asked. “I’ve heard a dozen different things from a dozen different ponies. Now I want to hear it from you.”

Fleur sighed, bringing her cup to her lips and taking a sip of her drink while she thought on how to begin. “I don’t know, mon chère, I truly don’t,” she admitted, her shoulders sagging. “We were sitting in one of the back rooms, he showed me a few movies that he had on his computer, I somehow fell asleep on top of him…”

“Did you mount him zen?” Photo asked, leaning forward.

Fleur flinched as if slapped. “What? No!” she shouted. “I’d never do that in the studio!”

“And why not? Zere are worse places to buck,” Photo said, taking a sip of her coffee. “Ponies used to rut in those rooms all the time when ze studio first opened. You couldn’t open a door without seeing a mare splayed out spread ea—”

“Will you keep your voice down? There’re other ponies in here!”

“What? It’s just a little bit of sex.”

“It’s inappropriate!”

“Says ze mare that was caught on top of her photographer.”

“T-That was a misunderstanding!”

Photo smiled around the edges of her coffee cup. “You need to learn to live a little, Liebes. All work and no play tends to burn ponies out.”

Fleur quickly looked around to see if anyone was staring at their booth. When she saw that no eyes were glancing in their direction, she leaned forward toward her old friend.

“I shouldn’t have done what I did, even if it’s not what ponies think,” she said, looking down onto the table. “It was terribly unprofessional and in poor taste.”

“Blah! Zere was nothing wrong with what you did,” Photo said with a dismissive wave of the hoof. “If I had been in your position, I would have taken zat colt somewhere private to make ze magics weeks ago. Zere’s nothing better for a shoot zen for a few ponies on set to rut. It always helps blow off a little steam.”

Despite herself, Fleur found her cheeks reddening. Disgust, not unlike the feeling of a child walking in on their parents going at it, welled up in her stomach. Fleur swallowed the bile that was making its way up her throat before taking another sip of her coffee.

“Yes… well, be that as it may, I shouldn’t have done what I did, and now I’m paying the price for it.”

Photo snorted. “Nein, ze only thing that you did wrong was act like ze silly filly and hide away in your room after everypony found out about it.”

Leaning forward, she bopped Fleur on the nose.

“If you would have just come out and admitted it, ponies would have been talking for a day or two at most, but because you hide now zey have ze ants in their pants and your manager has to do ze damage control.”

Realization hit Fleur in the stomach like a punch, causing her ears to fold against her skull. “I… I might have overreacted,” she said after a pause.

Photo nodded, setting her now empty coffee cup onto the table. “Ja, you did.”

“If I would have just came out the next day and explained what actually happened, the paparazzi wouldn’t have been hounding me for the last few days,” Fleur continued, feeling sillier and sillier by the second. “Even if they wouldn’t have believed me there would have only been whispers…”

“And ze occasional mare zat would ask you how he was,” Photo said, making a shockingly lewd gesture with a hoof. “Or if his cock had more zan one head or whatever silly things fillies fantasize about these days.”

Fleur’s blush crept down to her neck. “Why didn’t I just do that?” she muttered to herself. “Why didn’t I…?”

Her thoughts drifted toward Sam, causing her stomach to tighten. How was he doing in the midst of all of this? Did he feel angry about what she had done? Betrayed? Would he refuse to work with her anymore, or even go back to his own world and leave her?

Her shoulders sagged. “I should go to Sam and apologize for putting him through this, as well as… taking advantage of him.”

“Taking advantage? Quatsch!” Photo said, hopping onto her chair. “Zere is no shame in showing a stallion ze affection!”

“Photo, sit down,” Fleur hissed, sinking into her chair in horror. “Ponies are—”

“You are ze model Fleur de Lis! Alien or not, Sam should thank his lucky stars zat you want to make ze foals with him!”

“What?! I wasn’t trying to—Will you stop—”

Before Fleur could finish her sentence, Photo leapt up onto the table, nearly knocking both of their cups to the floor. The patrons of the café, curious as to what all of the fuss was about, began glancing in her direction. The owner of the café, who was standing behind his little wooden counter, immediately brightened, leaning over his counter to get a better look.

“I found you and raised you as mein own foal! You are ze pinnacle of grace and class! You own the stage! Ze camera loves you! Your rump is something ze youth of Equestria drift off to sleep dreaming about!”

Fleur sunk a bit more into her chair. “This is why I don’t let you take me to places anymore!”

“To not be ashamed, mein little Liebiling! Stand tall!”

The unicorn tried to pull Photo off the table with a spell. Photo dodged it by leaping into the air. When her hooves hit the table, a bang that could have been heard down the street thundered throughout the café, causing what little ponies weren’t watching the two to look over.

“Do as you like, my dear! Let no pony stop you!” Photo continued, striking a pose. “Ze world is your stage!”

This was the final straw for Fleur. With a silent cry, she hopped up from her chair and grabbed her old mentor. Using both her physical strength and her magic, she managed to pull the earth pony off of the table and set her back into her chair.

“Hey! I wasn’t done with ze speaking,” Photo complained, trying to wiggle out of the supermodel’s grasp, only for Fleur to magically glue her backside to her chair.

“I know, which is why I’m stopping you, you Jument folle.”

“Is zat how I raised you? To speak to your elders like zat?”

“If you’re my elder than act like it!”

Laughter rang out throughout the café as Fleur sat back down with as much dignity as she could muster. “Now behave yourself. I’d rather not be in the papers for anything else, thank you.”

“Every model needs ze scandal or two in her career,” Photo said, fixing her glasses. “Und zis is barely one. Ponies are going to be more upset when zey find out zat you weren’t ze first filly to vögeln a human.”

“I’d never make love to Sam just to boost my reputation!” Fleur said, puffing up in indignation.

Photo raised an eyebrow. “Make love?”

Fleur deflated a bit when she realized what she had just said. “I… you know what I mean! Rutting, bucking, making love—it’s all the same thing!”

“Weren’t you ze one that spoke to me about yelling,” Photo asked, and was promptly ignored.

“Not that I’m implying that I wouldn’t because I find him unattractive! I actually find him very pleasing to look at, but that doesn’t mean that I’d ruin what we have just to have my name in the papers! That stallion deserves much, much better than that!”

“Oh really, Mädchen?”

“Of course! You know that I’m not that kind of mare! If Sam and I were ever to take our relationship to the next level, I’d make sure to—”

Mid-rant, Fleur noticed that she had somehow found her face uncomfortably close to Photo’s. Moving away from the smirking mare, she found that she was standing on her chair, using the edges of the table as support so she could lean across it. More chuckles and even an “aww” or two reached her ears, causing her to jump back to her seat with an “eep!”

“Is zere anything else zat you want to tell ze public?” Photo asked, leaning back into her chair. “Perhaps you’d like to sing songs of love for your soon to be Lebenspartner?”

Fleur took a sudden and overwhelming interest in the table, fidgeting in her seat. More good-natured chuckles filled the air.

A waiter, carrying two steaming cups of coffee, trotted over to the unicorn and earth pony, grabbing their empty cups and setting the new ones in front of them.

“There you two go. It’s on the house again,” he said, obviously trying to hold back a smile.

“Danke,” Photo said, picking up her coffee and blowing on it.

“Merci,” Fleur muttered, refusing to look at anypony.

The waiter nodded and was about to turn around to go back to the counter, but stopped. “Ms. Fleur? I know that everypony might be havin’ a bit of fun at your expense, but I hope you know we’re not being mean about it,” he said. “Out of all of those fancy ponies near the castle and on the east end, none of them do as much as you for this city. So, if you want to get an alien coltfriend, just know we’ll be happy to support you.”

Fleur’s nose scrunched up. “Non, chere, he’s not my—”

Before she could finish her sentence, she petered out, letting out a defeated sigh.

“…Thank you very much.”

The stallion, satisfied with her answer, nodded his head. “Great! If you two need anything else just let me know.”

Both Fleur and Photo watched as he made his way back to the counter. Photo was biting her lip, obviously trying to keep herself from laughing. Fleur, meanwhile, looked like she was ready to beat her head against the table until one of them broke.

“If I were you, I’d go and speak to Sam, Mädchen,” Photo said, taking a sip of her coffee. “Otherwise, he’s going to be very confused when ze papers begin printing stories that you and him are Liebhaber.”

Fleur, too emotionally exhausted to react to the little jab, sighed. “I should go and speak to him anyway. To check and see how he is doing...”

“Ja, but make sure to have ze blinds closed when ze two of you are about to ‘apologize’,” Photo advised, setting down her cup. “We wouldn’t want to give any papers any more stories, yes?”

The tip of Fleur’s horn glowed as she picked up her coffee cup and took a lady like sip. The newspaper hidden in the bowels of Photo’s dress slid out of the mare’s sleeve, and before she could so much as blink, it smacked her right on the head. Hard.

@-@-@-@-@-@-@

“…Are you sure this is the place, Photo?”

“Ja. Zis is ze address that Sam give me.”

Fleur looked at the large, worn apartment complex in front of her. Immediately, she could see that it had seen better days. The once white walls had been stained by mud and smoke. Not a single window was clean, and the majority of them were cracked or replaced with wood. Even the front door was a little worse for wear, its metal frame bent, rusted, and hanging at an odd angle.

“Why in Celestia’s name would Sam want to live here?” Fleur asked, a twinge of horror in her voice. “Wouldn’t the princesses have offered him a room at the castle?”

“Zey did, as did I, but Sam told us no,” Photo said with a shrug. “Ze stallion said zat he didn’t want to be a bother.”

“There’s not wanting to be a bother and living in a place where he could get hurt!”

“Oh, zis is the south side. Ze only thing he has to worry about is ponies knocking on his door all hours of the day so zey can come in and talk his ear off.”

Fleur looked at her old mentor, then at the looming building once more. Photo was, of course, right. Even if the south side was the poorer section of the city, the ponies here weren’t known for anything nefarious or vile. In fact, she knew them as some of the most generous mares and stallions that she had ever met. Still though, that knowledge didn’t make her feel any less worried.

“This is almost an hour away from the studio,” she said. “If he really wanted to get a place of his own, he should have found one a little closer…”

“He said zat he wanted ze cheapest place in the city, since he wanted to save his bits.”

“He wouldn’t have to spend any money at all if he’d have just stayed with the princesses or you!”

“Yes, well, after you proclaim your love, I’m sure you could offer him a room in your mansion. Perhaps in your own bedroom,” Photo said, giving Fleur a pat on the back, which was immediately slapped away. “He’ll be on ze third floor, room fifteen.”

“Merci,” Fleur replied, taking a half-step toward the building.

“You can do it, my girl. I believe in you,” Photo said with a smile. “Now I must be off. Zere are other places that I must be.”

Looking up onto the sky, the earth pony clapped her hooves. “Strudel! Guerlain!”

Two mares rushed out of the alley next to the building. Heads held high, they trotted over and picked up Photo, who struck a pose. They then proceeded carry her down the street while Photo began humming the Germaney national anthem.

“…What?” Fleur murmured, before shaking her head. “Wait! Why don’t you come in with me, ma amie? You could—”

The supermodel’s call came just a few moments too late as Photo and her assistants disappeared around a corner, leaving her all alone in front of this rundown building.

“Pomme de route…”

Dryly swallowing, Fleur looked back up at the building. She took another half-step forward, only to take a nervous step back. She tried to take another step, only for similar results.

“Come on now, fille. You need to go see him,” she said. “You’re going to see him.”

Gathering up her courage, she took a step forward, then another, then another. She made her way up the steps to the building’s front door, opening it up and stepping inside. After that, it was just a matter of navigating the halls and finding the steps.

She made her way to her photographer’s apartment slowly, carefully pondering what she was going to say to him. An apology was obviously in order, but what kind of apology? Was a simple sorry going to cut it, or was she going to need to really show him just how bad she felt putting him through all of this? She didn’t know, but she knew that when she knocked on his door and he opened it, she was going to say something. Hopefully something that would get her out of the mess that she found herself in.

Though the urge to run back to her house so she could hide in her bedroom made the fur on the back of her neck stand on edge more than once, Fleur eventually found herself on the third floor standing in front of room fifteen.

The hallway was silent. Not a single pony could be seen. While the carpet looked like it had been cleaned recently, half of the lights were broken or flickering, giving the hall a slightly menacing feeling, which did absolutely nothing to calm the unicorn’s nerves.

Fleur found herself breathing in and out deeply, trying to steady her pounding heart. She ran a hoof through her hair, making sure that it was somewhat presentable. After that, she checked to make sure that her breath wasn’t overly strong or foul.

“Fantastique,” she said with a cough, reaching up to knock on the door. Just as she was about to tap her hoof against it, however, she stopped.

Her gaze snapped to her hoof, her brow furrowing in frustration. “ Flute .”

Setting her hoof down, she tried again, this time with a little more force. Again, her hoof was just about to touch the door when she froze.

“ Frappe la porte idiote de pleutre !”

With an angry wiggle, she tried again and failed.

“Knock. On. The. Door.”

Taking a few steps back, she charged the door, hoof extended. Just as her hoof was about to touch the door, her body froze, despite her best efforts. Growling, she then tried her other hoof, then both of her hooves, then her horn, then her whole body, but none of it worked. No matter how hard she tried or what she did, she couldn’t bring herself to knock on the door. In the end, she found herself panting and red-faced from both embarrassment and shame.

“I’ll… I’ll come back tomorrow,” she said with a nod, wiping a bead of sweat from her forehead. “Maybe I’ll—”

The rest of the supermodel’s sentence caught in her throat as she watched the doorknob in front of her turn. There was a sharp click, and with a creak, the door began to open.

Fleur’s heart leapt to her throat. She wanted to take off down the hall, teleport away, hide in the laundry chute behind her, do everything and anything in her power not to see the person on the other end of that door, but she couldn’t move. Her body was frozen in place. She could only stand there wide-eyed as the door fully opened, revealing her photographer carrying a garbage bag.

Sam’s eyes were half-lidded and his hair was messy, as if he had just woken up from a nap. He was wearing a pair of black and gold pajama bottoms and a sweatshirt that was three sizes too big for him. Yawning hugely, the young man took a step out of his apartment before stopping. His eyes snapped down to her and he perked up.

“Oh… hey Fleur, how are you—”

“Bonjour, Sam!” Fleur said, a little too loudly. “It’s very nice to see you! You’re looking very comfortable this evening! Nice weather, isn’t it? Those pajama bottoms look wonderful on you and—”

Fleur watched as the carefully constructed apology that she had been crafting since she entered his building blew to pieces. She tried to stop herself from talking, or at the very least take a breath, but the flow of words wouldn’t be stopped. She rambled like she had never rambled before, her face getting redder and redder the deeper that she dug herself.

“—have you been well? You look well! And élégant as well—”

Sam just stood there, letting her talk. He looked thoroughly confused as he listened to her, though he made no move to close his door or brush past her.

“—I’m sorry that I wasn’t able to come see you sooner! I was just busy hid—I mean, I was thinking about a great many things while under my blank— What I mean to say is—”

Biting back a scream, Fleur eventually managed to silence herself by sticking a hoof into her mouth. Her face was cherry red, and if it weren’t for the fact that her stomach was doing backflips, she would have teleported out of the building and into her house through sheer force alone.

An unsure, awkward silence filled the hallway as the two stared at each other. Sam, shifting his weight from one foot to the other, cleared his throat.

“…Hello, Fleur.”

Fleur slowly pulled her hoof from her mouth. “…Hello, Sam.”

Sam poked his head out of his room. He looked around a bit, and seeing that the halls were empty he placed his garbage outside next to the door.

“A pony comes around and takes the trash out for us,” he explained after he saw the expression on Fleur’s face.

“Ah… interesting,” the unicorn lamely replied.

Sam’s lips twitched, and he very nearly smiled. “Hey, would you like to come in for a little while? You look like you could use a chair and something to drink.”

“I—” Fleur stopped herself, feeling the flow of words threatening to boil over once again. “I’d like that please.”

Six

Sam’s apartment had seen better days. The walls were water damaged, and its paint was peeling. Its carpeted floors were worn and bare in some places. There was a tiny bathroom right next to the front door that had a shower two sizes too small for the stallion, and as far as Fleur could tell, the only other room was a small living room with a couch that was far too big to have been able to fit through the front door without the assistance of magic.

Still though, through the wear and tear, Fleur could see that her photographer had done his best to make this place into a home. A small wooden table sat in front of the couch, piled high with empty cups and knick-knacks. A makeshift clothes rack sat next to one of the walls. Posters and an overly large foam finger lined the walls, and a brand new set of curtains sat above the apartment’s one dimmed window. Right next to that window was a tiny stove and the smallest refrigerator that the supermodel had ever seen.

“Sorry about the mess. If I had known that anyone was coming, I would have cleaned up a little bit,” Sam said.

“Oh, there’s no need to worry about that, mon cher,” Fleur said, looking around. “Your home looks… comfortable.”

“It’s not the best place I’ve ever lived, but it’s not that bad,” Sam said, gesturing for her to sit down on the couch as he made his way over to his fridge. “The neighbors are real nice, and the view’s pretty in the mornings if you open up the window.”

“It’s a little chilly in here, no?” Fleur muttered, hopping up onto the couch.

“Yeah, a bit. When I asked the landlady about it, she said that the ventilation in this place is a bit funny. If you’re cold though, you’re more than welcome to use a blanket or two.”

“Merci.”

Reaching behind her, Fleur grabbed the black and gold blanket that was sitting neatly folded on top of the couch. Unfolding it, she wrapped it around herself.

She immediately wiggled into the blanket, her nostrils flaring. Sam’s scent clung to the blanket, as it did with the rest of the room. It was so potent, in fact, that she was surprised that she hadn’t smelled it outside.

“So, what brings you all the way to my little neck of the woods?” Sam asked as he opened up his fridge and reached inside. “Did something bad happen?”

Fleur let out a hum, wiggling around. With every passing moment, she could smell her scent mixing with his. If she continued to do with for a little longer, Sam would be smelling her every time he closed his eyes to sleep.

“Fleur. Hey Fleur. You alright there?” Sam called, breaking the supermodel out of her stupor.

“What? What did you say, Sam?” she asked, blushing.

“I asked why you came all the way down here to see me,” Sam said, looking over his shoulder at her. “Not that I don’t mind. It’s great to see you. Hey… are you alright there? You’re looking a bit red.”

“Red? I’m not red!” Fleur said with a laugh that sounded forced even to her ears. “I’m just a little tired from the walk is all. Nothing to worry about.”

“You sure?”

“Yes. I’m absolutely sure, cher.”

Though Sam obviously didn’t believe her, he turned back toward the fridge. “So, about you being here…”

Discreetly wiggling her hoof out of her blanket, Fleur used it to fan her face. “Well, since the last few days have been no doubt as chaotic for you as they’ve been for me, I decided to come and see if you were alright. As well as… apologize, since all of this is my fault.”

Grabbing something from his fridge, Sam stood up and kicked it closed. He turned around, showing Fleur that he was holding two metal cans in his hands.

“Sorry that I don’t have wine or anything like that,” he said. “The ol’ fridge isn’t big enough for anything other than beer.”

“That’s fine, thank you,” Fleur said, using her magic to levitate the can out of his hands.

She had absolutely no idea what beer was, but she wasn’t going to pass up a drink. Especially if it had some kind of alcohol in it.

“Make sure to use a coaster,” Sam urged. “I don’t want that table gettin’ any watermarks on it.”

“Of course,” Fleur replied, giving the can a once over before taking a ladylike sip.

It was unlike any brew that she had ever tasted. It was almost as if someone had watered hard cider down and filtered it so many times that you could only taste fizzy water. It wasn’t exactly bad, but it was different.
Sam took a great gulp from his can, grimacing as he did so. “The only thing that it has going for it is that it’s not warm,” he said, wiping his mouth with the back of his hand. “After five or six of ‘em they’ll get better. Promise.”

Marching over to his couch, Sam sat down right next to Fleur with a grunt. A bolt of nervousness and want raced up the model’s spine. She tried to wiggle away from the human toward the edge of the couch, only to wiggle back toward him until their sides were touching.

Sam looked over at her, causing her to freeze in place. “So… I’ve been hearing a lot of stuff the last couple of days.”

“I’m guessing you would,” Fleur replied, wishing that she had taken more than a small sip of her drink.

“I almost haven’t been able to go outside because ponies keep running up to me screaming about a whole bunch of nonsense that I don’t have any idea about,” her photographer continued, leaning toward her. “I tried asking what the heck had everybody so riled up about, but no two people’s stories are the same.”

Fleur twitched, her ears folding against her skull. “I apologize for that,” she said, bowing her head. “I shouldn’t have left you like I did. It was lâche.”

“Don’t get me wrong. I’m not mad about it, just a bit confused,” Sam said, taking another sip of his drink. “I mean, when I woke up that day, you were gone, and I really didn’t think it was that big of a deal until I started getting pestered.”

A frown came to the human’s face. “It wasn’t like you took my pants off while I was sleeping, right?”

“Of course not!” Fleur said, reddening further. “I’d never do anything like that in the studio!”

Sam raised an eyebrow. “Oh? So you’d do it other places then?” he asked with a smile. “I better keep an eye on you then, since we’re alone and all.”

Squawking in outrage, Fleur nudged him in the ribs. “You know what I mean, you cul!”

“I know, I know, I’m just teasing,” Sam replied with a chuckle. “But what really did happen then. If you don’t mind me askin’?”

A shiver that had nothing to do with the cold ran up the length of Fleur’s spine. She nuzzled back into her blanket, feeling the anxiety in her belly turning into butterflies.

For a brief moment, she wanted to lie to him, to make up some outlandish story. But, looking into her photographer’s eyes, Fleur found that she couldn’t. Sam deserved to hear the truth, and she was going to tell it to him.

“When the two of us were asleep on that couch I somehow found myself lying on top of you,” she confessed after a brief pause. “And I might have started… nuzzling your face.”

Fleur braced herself for outrage and yelling, looking at her photographer out of the corner of her eye. To her surprise however, she didn’t get either. Instead, a great big smile broke out across Sam’s face.

“Really? Aw, that’s really cute,” he said, almost to himself.

The genuine warmth in his voice caught Fleur off guard. Her butterflies made their way up to the base of her throat, and along with them came the overwhelming urge to hop into her photographer’s lap and do her best to make that smile grow. She resisted the urge though, if only just barely.

“You’re not... upset?” she asked.

“Upset? Why would I be upset about that?” Sam asked. “In fact, why the heck would anyone around here be upset about that? I may not know all that much about pony culture but I know for a fact that you all love your nuzzling and touching.”

Squirming deeper into her blanket, Fleur bit her lip. “I maybe have also given you a kiss or two…”

There was a pause. Not a terribly long one, but it was long enough to be noticeable.

“Kiss?” Sam asked, brow furrowing.

“Oui,” Fleur replied with a nod. “I gave you a few pecks, and while I was doing so, a makeup mare came in and…” She trailed off, letting her confession hang in the air.

Sam took another sip from his can. “So you were smooching me while I was asleep?”

“I was,” Fleur said, forcing herself to look at him. “And I’m sorry. What I did was extremely unprofessional. And if...”

She sighed, looking down at the table. A thousand thoughts buzzed around her skull like angry insects, none of them very reassuring. Taking a deep breath, she looked back up at him with her head held high.

“If you wish to complain to Essence or leave me to shoot with somepony else, don’t hesitate to do so. I won’t hold it against you. What I did was inappropriate, and I should be punished for it.”

Feeling her courage failing her, Fleur looked down at the floor.

“And… If you’d like anything from me, don’t hesitate to ask. I’ll do everything in my power to get it for you.”

For almost a solid minute, Sam was silent, his blue eyes looking her up and down. This felt like an eternity to the supermodel, who had to use every bit of her self-control to keep from leaping off of the couch and racing toward the door. Finally, still eyeing her, Sam took another sip of his drink.

“If I ask you for something, you’ll do everything in your power to make sure that I get it huh?” he asked.

Fleur flinched. “Oui. Anything that you want.”

Nodding, Sam leaned forward, resting his arms on his knees and looking at the can of beer in his hands. “Well, I brought a bunch of this shitty beer from my world, and no matter how much I want to chuck the stuff out the window I was always taught not to waste perfectly good alcohol.”

He lifted the can above his head as if inspecting it. “And unfortunately for me, I must have brought a hundred cans with me, so drinking all of it is gonna take a while.

Pressing the lip of the can to his lips, Sam tilted it all the way back and began chugging. Fleur watched as his throat contract again and again while some of the beer escaped the edges of his mouth and dripped down his chin. The sight made her lick her very dry lips.

Finishing his beer, Sam crushed the can and tossed it in the direction of a small garbage can that was sitting near the window. The crushed can missed, hitting the wall with a dull thud before dropping to the ground.

“Damn, off by a mile…” he said, before looking over at her with a small grin. “I’ll tell you what, Fleur. Photo gave me the next couple days off to let this whole thing blow over. If you sit here with me and finish all of the beer in the fridge, I’ll call us even.”

Fleur’s gaze snapped up to him. “Really?” she asked.

“Wee wee,” Sam replied, reaching over and grabbing her beer. “We can sit here for the next couple of days, order a couple of pizzas, and sit back and relax for a little bit.”

“That’s it? That’s all you want?”

“Well… If you want to fill my fridge up with some better drinks I won’t stop you, but other than that not really.”

Sam offered Fleur her drink. Freeing both hooves from the blanket, she grabbed it, too stunned to do anything other than stare at the can.

She must have looked particularly silly, because Sam let out a chuckle. “Now, how about we go ahead and pick a movie to watch? I know that we didn’t get to finish Wall-E last time, but if you want we could…”

@-@-@-@-@-@-@

“Je suis Sam.”

“Jesus… Sam…”

“No, no, no. Je suis Sam.”

“Je… ses?”

“Suis.”

“Suis. Je suis Sam?”

A smile came to Fleur’s face. “Yes, very… very good! Very good!”

Sam answered her smile with a smile of his own. “Merci.”

Fleur had no idea how many hours had passed since she had finished her first can of beer. She also hadn’t the foggiest idea how much of the drink had passed her lips. All that she knew was the sun had gone down long ago and the garbage can near the wall was half-full of crushed cans. She had also gone from sitting beside Sam to sitting in his lap. Not that she had any qualms with this.

“Fantastique. I’ll have you parlant... speak—speaking fluent Prench in no time, mon cher!” the supermodel said with a giggle.

She nuzzled her cheek into the nape of Sam’s neck. Sam let out a sigh, the hand that he had wrapped around her middle giving her side a scratch. Fleur squirmed at the foreign, yet pleasant, feeling of his fingers dancing across her coat.

“I think I’ll need a couple more dranks… drinks before I can be a French master,” Sam said, the hint of a slur in his voice.

“Then we’ll get you all the beer you need, mon ami!” Fleur said, nearly knocking Sam over as her nuzzles became before more forceful and needy. “Give me… Give me but a moment and I shall get you more!”

Sticking out her tongue in concentration, Fleur let magic flow through the tip of her horn. As carefully as she could, she tried to open Sam’s fridge with a spell. Three times she missed, twice grabbing the window frame and once nearly tearing out a section of the wall, but on the fourth time she managed to grab it.

“Aha! Got you!” she said, grabbing one of Sam’s hands and pushing it toward her stomach.

“Yeah, you… get—got it, Fleur,” the human said with a drunken giggle, giving her belly a scratch.

Fleur’s eyes crossed at the sensation, very nearly causing her magic to dissipate. Her back legs crossed and her grip on his hand tightened as a rush of heat to her extremities made her squirm. Somehow, despite the pleasure, she was able to open the fridge with only a bit of trouble.

“Sweet Celestia above. Your fingers… Your fingers feel wonderful, Sam,” she murmured.

Sam smiled. “Yeah? Well, your coat feels really... really nice. It’s really pretty and soft an’… pretty.”

“You already said pretty, you silly filly.”

“Then it’s double pretty! You’re dribbble—double pretty! And I’m not a silly filly, mon chair! I’m a man! A… A manly man!”

Fleur couldn’t help but laugh. “Oui, you’re a manly… manly man,” she said, using her magic to reach into the fridge. “And a manly man needs a drink, no?”

Sam nodded, an act which would have caused him to fall off the couch if Fleur wasn’t practically pinning him to the couch. “Yeah, I could go for another beer! In fact, bring… bring ‘em all out so we can make a big ol’ pyramid!”

Fleur searched the inside of the fridge, but to her surprise, her magic didn’t come into contact with any of the cans. Frowning, she leaned forward, her brow scrunched in concentration. This time, she carefully searched the fridge, touching every inch of it, but again she didn’t touch anything that resembled a can.

“Sam… I don’t think there’s any beer left,” she said.

Sam blinked. “What? Of course there... there is! I had like a… a billion cans in that fridge! We couldn’t have drank ‘em all!”

“You’re right, there should be plus,” she said.

Letting more magic flow into her horn, Fleur picked up the whole fridge. With a flick of her head, she pulled the power cord out of the wall and floated it over to the two of them. She accidently let it drop to the floor once, as well as use a little too much magic that had it flying to the ceiling, but eventually she managed to levitate it over.

“There! Now we can drink… all of the beer in… in the world!” she said, pushing aside Sam’s long powered down computer and the half-finished cans of beer so she could put the little fridge on the table.

“You’re a gen…. genius, Fleur!” Sam said, leaning forward and throwing open the fridge.

Both the human and unicorn, as drunk as they were, expected the inside of the fridge to be stuffed with beer cans. To their surprise, however, they found that it was completely empty. It took a few moments for this to process for the both of them, but when it did they frowned.

“Hey… Where did all the beer go?” Sam demanded.

“Je ne… I don’t know,” Fleur said, once again searching the inside of the fridge with her magic. “We had so much left…”

“Yeah we did! Like a zillion! We couldn’t have drunk—drank them all!”

The two stared into the empty fridge for a few moments longer. Their minds chugged along, trying to think of the best possible reaction to this travesty.

“Do… Do you want me to jeter it out the... the window, mon amour?” Fleur asked, lifting the fridge from the table.

Sam’s frown deepened. “Just… Just put it back,” he said with a wave of his free hand. “We’ll get more later.”

Fleur nodded. Closing her eyes, she levitated the fridge a few feet away before letting it drop to the floor. A bang echoed throughout the room, but neither the human nor the unicorn seemed to even notice, the two of them staring at the window in front of them.

“Sam?”

“Yeah?”

“I think… I think we drank all of your beer.”

Sam was silent for a few moments before he slowly nodded. “Yeah… I think you’re right.”

The realization that all of the beer was gone hit Fleur much harder than she expected. Now that they were out of the fantastical alien brew, she couldn’t teach Sam to speak Prench, and if he couldn’t do that then he wouldn’t be able to understand anything that she said. He wouldn’t even be able to tell her hello in the mornings.

A sniffle escaped the supermodel. “Je suis désolé… I’m sorry we drunk... drank all of your beer, Sam.”

Before she could break down, tears welling up in her eyes, she felt Sam’s hand untangle itself from her hooves, reaching up and touching her cheek.

“Hey, hey, hey, hey. There’s no need to be sat—sad,” Sam said. “We were supposed… supposed to drink all of that anyway. So don’t cry. There’s no need to be sad. Don’t be sat—sad please.”

“But what are… what are we going to do now?” Fleur asked, rubbing her muzzle against his Adam’s apple.

Sam stared off into space for a second or two, before a proverbial lightbulb lit up above his head. “Hey, did I never tell you how I… how I became a photographer?”

Sniffling again, Fleur shook her head.

A drunken smile worked its way onto the human’s face. “I’ll tell that do—to you then! It’s a really, really okay story. You’ll really get a… a chuckle out of it.”

Letting his fingers wander up to the top of Fleur’s head to play with her scalp, Sam loudly cleared his throat. “A couple years ago it was pretty… pretty bad around my neighborhood. No matter what you did you couldn’t find a job in anything. Fast food, with Penndot, construction, nothin’. Especially if you weren’t going to… to school for medicine or somethin’ like that. See, I saw how… how miserable most people were working at the hospitals and I wasn’t smart enough for college, so after high school I went out and tried to get myself some work.”

A frown came to Fleur’s face, her nostrils flaring. “Connerie. You’re smart. Very smart. And… And you smell good too.”

Sam chuckled. “A lot of other peepers—people didn’t think so, ‘cause no matter where I went no one would hire me.” He threw up a hand, almost accidentally slapping Fleur in the face. “And I went everywhere. I must have gone out fifty miles lookin’ for stuff. But nothing!”

He looked down at her, his smile widening. “For almost a year, I just… just sat around my folk’s house an’ did nothin’. But then I heard that they were lookin’ for a photographer at some… some tiny news place. The help wanted thing said that the place wanted someone with a fancy, smancy degree, but I saw what they were payin’ and I was… was desperate enough to try an’ apply.”

Fleur picked her head off her Sam’s shoulder to look at him. “Did they say yes?”

“They did.”

The supermodel’s nose scrunched up. “But why? I thought you said that they wanted... wanted somepony with a degree and you didn’t go… go to school.”

“I didn’t,” Sam said, lightly flicking her ear. “But some buddies of mine were… really, really, really good at making online websites. So, what I did was put on my application that I had a… a master’s degree in photography to some fake college and had them whip up a website for it.”

The human giggled. “The news place made a couple phone calls, and my buddies made up a bunch of shit, and I somehow managed… do—to land myself the job.”

“So… You got a photographer job without having any experience?” Fleur asked, disbelief working its way into her tone.

“Yep! I didn’t even have a… a camera until the day before I had to go into for work,” Sam said, resting his head on the top of the couch and closing his eyes.

“They didn’t ask for a portfolio?”

“Nope. All they wanted was a… a piece of paper that said I graduated.”

“And you had no expérience… um, experience?”

“Nope. I had to teach myself every… everythin’. Didn’t even know how to work with photoshop.”

“Really?”

“Yep. Really.”

Silence crept into the room as the unicorn and the human looked at each other. The smallest of smiles found its way onto Fleur’s face. Sam let out another giggle, which caused Fleur to giggle as well. These giggles turned into chuckles, which turned into laughter. Soon, before they knew it, both Fleur and Sam had broken into full-fledged belly laughs, holding each other to keep themselves from falling over.

Somehow, in the midst of this laughter, Sam found himself lying on the couch with Fleur on top of him, her muzzle buried in his chest with tears streaming down her face. Their laughter continued for many minutes, before turning back into giggles, then into heavy breathing and smiles, until the two were just lying there in comfortable silence.

“That’s… that’s absolutely incroyable, Sam,” Fleur said, picking her head up to look at him.

“It is pretty… pretty neat huh?” Sam asked with a chuckle as he stared up at the ceiling. “There I was, a jobless bum livin’ with his parents. But now look at me; I’m livin’ in a whole other world takin’ crappy pictures of the… the prettiest pony that I’ve ever seen.”

“Oh, you flatteur,” Fleur said, booping his nose with a hoof even as her blush worked its way down her neck.

“Flatter nothin’,” Sam said, pointing a hand toward the ceiling. “You got all… all of the ponies back home beat by a mile, a lot of the girls too!”

He let his hand flop down onto the small of Fleur’s back. Fleur let out a hum, wiggling herself on top of him.

While she liked to think that she was a humble mare, a bit of vanity couldn’t help but well up inside her at her photographer’s words. “Oh? So, joli... pretty then?” she asked.

“Of course! Pretty eyes, pretty mane and tail, a body that even this…this alien can appreciate! I don’t care what people would say back home; you’re… beautiful!” Sam continued, giving her back a pat. “And I’ll fight any jagoff that says otherwise!”

“Flatteur,” Fleur said again, leaning up and giving him a kiss on the cheek. “And don’t let anypony tell you that your work is “crappy”. You’re a fin… fine photographer, degree or not.”

“Yeah, but I don’t know how… how much longer my luck will… will hold out after I’m done here and I go back home,” Sam murmured, his smile diminishing. “My brother might have managed to get me some… some work over here, but they already got a replacement back at my old job, and nobody else is gonna get fooled by my fake website and fuckin’… degree.”

“Then you don’t… don’t need to go back,” Fleur said without hesitation. “You can stay here with us.”

Sam picked his head up to look at her. “Stay here?”

“Oui,” Fleur replied, nodding. “They always… always need photographers in Canterlot, and since Photo is a… a producer I’m sure she’d be happy to keep you on for as long as you’d like.”

The unicorn wiggled up her photographer’s body until their noses were touching. A small, primeval part of Fleur couldn’t help but enjoy the sight of a male underneath her, but she put aside the feeling to frown.

“And even if she doesn’t, I’d be more than heureux... happy to bring you into my staff.”

“Your staff?”

“Oui! Of course! I wouldn’t want my favorite photographe... photographer to be snatched up by some lucky mare, would I?” Fleur picked her head up and looked around the room, her nose crinkling in disgust. “But before we can have that conversation, we’ll need to get you out of this… this les déchets.”

“The who-what now?” Sam asked.

“There are plenty of empty… empty rooms in my mansion,” Fleur continued with a nod, ignoring her photographer’s question. “Any one of them will be far better for you than this apartment, and we’ll be able to marche… to walk together to the shoots. AND I’ll be there whenever you need me if there’s something… something that you would like to show me or we’d need to reshoot something.”

She looked back down at him, her face as red as an apple. Sam was looking up at her in confusion, his cheeks pinkish.

“B-But what about your… your bosses? Aren’t they already pissy with you about keepin’ me as your photographer?”

“Au Tartare avec eux!” Fleur shouted, pointing a hoof into the air. “They will have to accept my decision!”

Fleur pointed her muzzle to the ceiling as if to drive her words home. This action proved to be less than wise because the moment she did it, the world began spinning and a wave of nausea tore through the supermodel. She groaned, closing her eyes and letting her head drop onto Sam’s chest.

“By morning everypony is going… going to think that we’re a couple anyway,” she mumbled to herself, rubbing her cheek against his chest. “It wouldn’t hurt anything if we were to go along with it…”

Sam was silent for a few moments, staring up at the ceiling with a thoughtful expression. “Well… It’d be a heck of a lot better than... than going back home and working for McDonalds or something like that.”

He lifted both hands up and brought them to Fleur’s head, running his fingers through her mane. Fleur let out a groan, wiggling on top of him. The noise brought a smile to Sam’s face.

“I also couldn’t think of someone… someone better for work for than you, and even though I like the neighbors here it this place is kind of out of the way.”

“Then it’s decided then. When we wake up... up tomorrow, I’ll make the preparations to have your things moved to my estate,” Fleur said with a nod.

Eyes still closed, she picked up her head and leaned forward, lips puckered. Her first kiss was way off the mark, landing on Sam’s cheek. The second and third were on the nose and chin respectively. On the fourth attempt however, she found her intended target.

She hummed as she felt her lips brush against his. Fleur held it for a few seconds before pulling away, only to lean back down and do it again. Sam tensed under her, which made her giggle, pulling away just enough so she could rub her nose against his before wiggling back down and dropping her head onto his shoulder.

“…What was that for?” A now clearly embarrassed Sam asked.

“It was a goodnight kiss,” Fleur replied.

“Oh… Is that something ponies around here do?”

Fleur smiled, making herself comfortable on top of her photographer. “Nope.”

Sept

Fleur, for the first time in years, had the privilege of experiencing such a restful sleep. The unicorn, for the three hours since she had passed out, had slept like the dead. No amount of shouting or shaking would have made her open her eyes. Even if someone were to pick the mare up and drop her, she wouldn’t have so much as twitched.

But where one would have failed, nature would find a way. Celestia’s sun, warm and bright, slowly peeked over the Unicorn Range, and with it came light. This light swept through the land, chasing away the darkness and bringing forth the day.

A band of this golden light found its way through the window and curtains of Sam’s apartment to bathe the human’s room in light. Unfortunately for Fleur, this light shined directly onto her face. At first it was almost unnoticeable, but as the sun rose higher and higher into the sky, the ray became more and more powerful until it was blinding.

Sleep slipped through Fleur’s hooves like sand, and slowly but surely, she found herself waking up. And in her consciousness, she found only pain.

“Celestia doux au-dessus” the supermodel said with a groan, covering her face with both hooves.

She had a splitting headache and her stomach hurt. The sun was far too bright and the pungent scent of stale booze was making her nauseous. Every miniscule sound in the apartment was amplified by a thousand percent.

“No, no, no, no,” she whimpered. “Go away soleil. Go away...”

The sun, being a giant ball of super-hot gas that only listened to one mare, of course ignored her pleas. Fleur let out a pitiful whine, shutting her eyes as tightly as she could and wiggling for all she was forth, trying to find a place away from that horrible, painful light.

The wiggling, while it did nothing to get her out of the sun, helped a good deal in settling her upset stomach. This caused her to wiggle harder, hoping that it would also help keep her skull from exploding. Unfortunately for her, the wiggling did nothing to help her headache, but the longer she did it, the more she noticed that she was rubbing against something.

It was about level with her groin. Not hard enough to poke her painfully, but not soft enough that she was able to push it any way that she liked. Fleur, curious as to what this thing even was through the haze of pain that she was experiencing, took steps to investigate.

Her wiggles turned into slow, thoughtful grinds. She stopped her whimpering and listened. She even pressed more of her weight against it. Whatever it was, the thing had a plush feel to it, much like that of a soft blanket. It also seemed to have no rough edges whatsoever. Grinding against it, she could feel the thing pulse against her fur.

Fleur, nuzzling deeper into her bed, frowned. No matter how hard she pondered, she couldn’t think of what it could be. As far as she remembered, she hadn’t brought anything into bed with her.

So focused on puzzling out the answer, Fleur miscalculated a grind. Instead of rubbing up against her inner thigh, the object grazed the lips of her marehood.

The supermodel tensed, letting out a gasp as a wave of unexpected pleasure made her back legs twitch. “Oh my goodness…”

She lifted her backside up into the air, feeling the heat rush to her face. Svengallop would no doubt be knocking on her bedroom door at any moment, and as nice as it would have been to relieve herself, she had no desire for her manager to walk into her bedroom and smell her shame.

A sigh escaped the unicorn’s lips as she nuzzled her cheek a bit more forcefully against her bed. She was just about to roll onto her side and try to get a few more minutes of sleep before a recollection came to mind.

She didn’t need to be in the studio in the morning. In fact, her appointments had been cancelled for the last couple of days. That meant that Svengallop wouldn’t be knocking on her door anytime soon.

Fleur’s ears perked up at the realization. She tried to crack open an eye and look around, only for the sun to force her to close it with a groan.

“Bête sun,” she grumbled, waiting for the pain to subside.

As she did this, she slowly lowered her backside against whatever she had been rubbing on. It had somehow gotten bigger and just a bit harder.

Fleur’s face reddened, but she nevertheless lowered herself down onto the object so that it was in direct contact with her marehood. She sat still for a few moments, listening to see if anyone was about to knock on her door. When she realized that the coast was clear, she took a deep breath, savoring the potent, mouth-watering scent in the air, and began grinding.

“Oui. This... this is what I needed…”

At first, she grinded against the object lightly, with slow, even strokes. She wanted to feel every inch of its softness sliding against her cunny. Every little grind sent a little shiver of pleasure up her spine and caused her breath to catch in her throat.

But, as time went on and her marehood became slick with her arousal, the unicorn’s grinding became quicker, needier. She pressed herself against the thing so that it parted her lips, tickling the pink, sensitive flesh tucked inside.

“Hmmm…”

Her pounding headache began to subside, allowing her to focus on her own pleasure.
Fleur let out a groan, her hips bucking. Her breaths were becoming shallow. The ticklish feeling that had been building up in her lower belly began to spread upward.

“Oh yes… just a little more...”

The ticklish sensation began to build. Her movements became sloppy and unfocused, so much so that she was more humping than grinding.

“Just a… little…” the unicorn mumbled, leaning forward, making sure that the item rubbed up against her sensitive little nub.

She let out a whine, gritting her teeth. “Oh merde oui~”

With one last good grind, the heat exploded outside. Fleur let out another groan as she came, soaking the item, her lower body, and the bed. She nipped at her bed as she rode the waves of pleasure until the tension left her body and she collapsed.

Sweaty, panting, and reeking of sex, the supermodel couldn’t help but smile. “It’s been… awhile since I’ve… had such a… finish.”

She giggled breathlessly to herself, ready to fall back to sleep, when a thought came to mind.

There was a reason why she had woken up with a hangover. She had gone to Sam’s apartment to speak with him. She remembered that the two of them had been drinking, they had talked, and she had fallen asleep on top of him.

Fleur’s eyes snapped open as her afterglow was forgotten and panic set in. Picking her head up, she opened her eyes and looked right up into the sleeping face of her photographer. Staring at him for a few moments, she stood up and looked down between her legs.

What she had been grinding on wasn’t some bunched up blanket or pillow. No, she had been rubbing against a very particular part of Sam. A part of him that was making a tent in his soaked shorts, twitching every few seconds.

Cold, hard realization hit Fleur like a punch. “Oh no…”

A blush exploded across the horrified mare’s face as she scrambled off her photographer, doing her best to keep from waking him up. She had almost managed to get all four hooves off of the couch when her back legs caught on Sam’s leg, sending her tumbling to the floor.

“Merde!” she swore, before hopping to her hooves.

Luckily for her, Sam seemed to be out cold, quietly snoring without a care in the world.

Fleur bit her lip and began trotting in place. “What should I do? What should I do?” she asked, her stomach tightening.

She reached over with a hoof and poked at Sam’s pajamas. They were absolutely soaked with her cum.

“I need… I need to get these off!”

The tip of her horn glowed, and with a spell she managed to lift Sam up into the air. Pain exploded outward from the back of Fleur’s skull as she did this, which nearly caused her to drop her photographer, but she gritted her teeth and forced herself to continue.

Sam let out a sleepy snort in protest, but was otherwise still as she pulled his pants off. Seeing that the human was wearing even smaller pants underneath his pajamas, she touched them. To her relief, they were still relatively dry.

“I’ll… I’ll just need to have them washed,” she mumbled to herself, neatly folding the pajamas and setting them onto the table as she rubbed a throbbing temple. “Sam hopefully won’t remember that he was wearing these…”

Hiding the pajamas under the table, Fleur rushed over to the window and threw it open, frantically waving her hooves around to try and get the smell of sex out of the room. She then raced back over to the couch and, seeing a blanket on the floor, picked it up and tossed it over her photographer.

“Bien, bien, now I just need to…” she looked around, her mind racing, trying to see if there was anything else she could do to hide her crime.

She was about to take a step toward Sam, to rearrange the blanket so he would be a little more comfortable, when she was reminded that her backside was still soaked with her own cum when her cheeks wetly rubbed together. Grimacing, she looked back at her rump.

“I need... shower! I need to use the shower!” she said, feeling her headache coming back with a vengeance. “That’ll clean me up!”

Giving one last glance at Sam, Fleur could feel her stomach tightening. Using a spell, she pulled the blanket up her photographer’s body so that it was tucked under his chin.

“Je suis désolé, mon ami…”

She trotted over to him, leaned down and kissed his cheek. Her blush crept down her neck when she noticed that she could still smell her arousal on him. Waving her hooves around his body for a minute or two, trying to get rid of the smell, she trotted out of the living room and toward the bathroom.

Upon entering it, she saw that it was a tiny thing, so small that she had trouble moving around in it, but there was a shower. Like the bathroom itself, it was half the size of a regular shower, with a clear shower curtain and a rusty shower head, but even so, Fleur could feel her panic lessen just a hair at the sight of it.

“I may not be able to get rid of the smell from the room entirely, but at least I can get it off myself,” she said to herself, hopping into the shower and turning it on.

A sharp hiss that came from the old shower head before a stream of cold water erupted from it. Fleur tensed under this hail of fridge water but held her ground, adjusting the showers knobs.

“Please let there be warm water…”

Though it took what felt like an eternity, the water did eventually warm up, allowing the supermodel to somewhat relax. Not wasting any time, she grabbed a bottle of body wash that was sitting at the other end of the shower, along with a sponge. Pouring the soap onto the sponge, she began to lather herself up, paying special attention to her backside and lower belly.

When she had given her body a thorough scrubbing, she tossed the sponge behind her and grabbed a bottle of shampoo. Opening the top, she took a cautious sniff.

“Hmm… It’ll have to do,” she said, squeezing a generous amount onto a hoof before working it into her tail and mane.

Fleur, so focused on cleaning herself, didn’t notice that she had left the bathroom door opened. This meant that, between the sound of the water pitter-pattering against the shower’s laminated floors and her working on her mane, she didn’t hear the gentle tapping on the bathroom door. What she did hear, however, was the door opening.

“Stupid freakin’ shower…”

Fleur froze as Sam stepped into the bathroom and shuffled toward the toilet, his bloodshot eyes half-lidded and his hair messy.

“I thought the landlady fixed that stupid thing and here it’s probably been running since last fuckin’ night… Wasting all of that good water...”

Rubbing his face, Sam reached a hand into his smaller, thinner pants. Fleur’s heart leapt to her throat when she saw him fish out his cock.

It was remarkably like a stallion’s member. The head was shaped differently, and she couldn’t see a sheath, but there wasn’t much difference. None that she could see anyway.

Despite the embarrassment and horror that she felt about invading her photographer’s privacy, she found herself pushing the shower curtain aside so she could lean out of the shower and get a better look at the thing she had used to pleasure herself just a few minutes ago.

“There we go,” Sam said with a sigh, aiming his cock toward the toilet bowel. “Now let’s empty the—”

The human perked up. Penis still in his hands, he looked over to his left to stare right into a red-faced Fleur’s eyes.

“—water dragon…”

For a full minute the two just stared into each other. Neither spoke, neither moved, neither took a breath. Finally, slowly putting his dick back into his underwear, Sam coughed.

“Oh, hey Fleur,” he said. “I um… I guess I found where you went off to, huh?”

Fleur’s eyes snapped down to Sam’s groin before snapping back up to his face. “O-Oui. I… just wanted to clean myself.”

“I can see that,” Sam replied, taking a step back. “Did, um… did you hear me knocking on the door?”

Fleur’s gaze snapped back down to Sam’s groin. She could see the outline of his member through the thin fabric covering it. The sight made her clench her back legs even as she poked her head back into the shower.

“No. No I did not,” she said. “I was washing my hair and I did…”

“No, no, no! That’s fine! It’s my fault, not yours. I should have knocked a little louder.”

“And I should have locked the door,” Fleur said insistently. “After all that we drank last night, I should have known that you’d need to rut—pee! That you’d need to pee!”

Both the unicorn and human cringed as Sam took another step back toward the door. To Fleur’s delight, embarrassment, and amusement, she saw that her photographer was trying very hard not to stare at her wet, soapy body.

“Hey… do you remember anything that we talked about last night?” Sam asked, fidgeting with his hands.

“Yes,” Fleur responded with a nod. “Do you?”

“I do. Most of it anyways.”

Sam grunted as he collided with the bathroom door. Giving Fleur a smile that did nothing to hide the panic and embarrassment in his eyes, he hastily reached behind him and grabbed the doorknob.

“Were you serious about all of that stuff? The giving me a job and letting me stay with you thing? Proposition, deal, whatever you want to call it?”

“Of course!” Fleur jumped when she heard her voice echo off the walls. “Oh course. If you’d like to stay with me.”

“I would!” Sam’s gaze settled onto her rump for a second before he coughed and turned away. “I mean, I’d be happy to go if you’d have me.”

“I would.”

“Great! Awesome!” Fiddling with the door, Sam managed to throw it open. “After the two of us, um, get everything situated I’ll go talk to my landlady, and we’ll get that all figured out.”

He took a step back and accidently hit the door again. He cursed, staring back at it with a frown before smacking it with the back of his hand. The moment his hand connected with the wooden frame his eyes widened in pain. Fleur couldn’t help but smile as he cursed again as he shook the pain out of it.

“Alright, mon ami. Just let me finish and I’d be happy to help you,” she said.

Not able to help herself, she gave her flank a little wiggle. Sam’s gaze immediately snapped toward it. His blush deepened, and he almost ran into the door again.

“Alright! I’ll leave you to your shower then. The towels are in the closet behind me when you’re all done, and I have a spare toothbrush underneath the sink if you want to brush your teeth.”

With that, Sam stepped out of the bathroom and closed the door. Now alone, Fleur let out a sigh, leaning against the shower wall.

“Caillé séché…”

She was about to start washing the shampoo out of her mane when she heard a soft knock at the door. “Hey Fleur? You wouldn’t happen to know where my pants are would ya?”

@-@-@-@-@-@-@-@

“Lift your end up more.”

“I am lifting it.”

“No, you’re not. You’re dragging it on the ground. I can hear it.”

“I am not. I can see that it’s up in the air.”

“No it ain’t. Now pick it up a bit more.”

“Je l'ai fait!”

“I have no idea what that means.”

It had been an easy thing speaking to the landlady about Sam leaving. The old earth pony, though sad to see him go, was nonetheless happy that he was moving to bigger and better places. It had also been a breeze to get everything in the human’s apartment packed and ready for moving. What was difficult, both the human and unicorn were finding out, was getting everything from his apartment to Fleur’s mansion.

“We can put it down for a minute if you want.”

“If I put it down it’ll take all day for us to get this to my estate.”

“It’ll take us like twenty minutes even if we take a few breaks. It’s not like you’re a million miles away or anything.”

Fleur let out a sigh, looking over her shoulder at the couch that she was helping carry with the help of her magic. Clothes, shoes, and blankets were stacked high upon the it, making it far heavier than it should have been. The only thing that made it just a little more manageable was the fact that Sam had somehow managed to attach straps to his fridge so that he could carry it like a backpack. Otherwise, the couch was unwieldy, awkward to hold even with her magic, and an eyesore to everyone that looked at it.

“You should have just left this couch at the apartment, mon ami,” she said, forcing more magic into her horn, thus lifting the couch a bit higher. A sharp spike of pain tore through her skull as she did this, causing her to grit her teeth.

Sam, who looked as awful as she felt, frowned. “Why the hell would I just give away a perfectly good couch that I paid for?”

“Because it’s not a perfectly good couch?”

“Whatcha mean? This is a great couch!”

Fleur snorted. “Oui. A great couch that has springs sticking out of it.”

“It’s... good for the price that I got it for.”.

Despite her pounding headache, and the fact the sun was still trying to burn a hole right through her skull, Fleur couldn’t help but smile. “If you bought this for more than twenty bits you were robbed, petit ami.”

“I got it for fifteen.”

Fleur grunted, tripping over an uneven piece of cobblestone. She stumbled a few steps, but managed to catch herself before she fell. A half dozen gasps erupted from the eerie silence of the street. Cursing under her breath in Prench, the supermodel looked up at the dozens of ponies watching both her and Sam.

Since the two had left the apartment with Sam’s worldly possessions in tow, they had been garnering such attention, and for good reason. It wasn’t every day that ponies got to see one of the most famous, sophisticated mares in the world carrying a couch through the streets of Canterlot like some savage. The thought, for some reason or another, made the smile on her face widen.

“You sure you don’t want to put it down for a second?” Sam offered.

Groaning to herself, Fleur let her end of the couch drop onto the cobblestone below. “Fine. But just for a few moments. I’d like to get home before the sun goes down.”

“We’re already halfway there, you big girl,” Sam said, dropping his end of the couch and pulling the fridge from his back and carefully setting it onto the ground.

Fleur made a rude gesture with a hoof, leaping onto the couch. Clothes and everything else on it shifted to accommodate her, and with a few wiggles she was able to make herself quite comfortable. Sam soon plopped down right next to her, closing his eyes and leaning back while half the street watched.

If she had been in a better state of mind, the supermodel might have been worried about just how shattered her image would be after the tabloids got their hooves on this. But, as tired and hungover as she was, she could only marvel at just how nice it felt to sit down.

“I should have just sent ponies to come pick your things up later today,” Fleur muttered, leaning against her photographer.

“Blah,” Sam said with a half-hearted wave. “This way we don’t have to pay anyone.”

“We should have paid someone, then we wouldn’t be out here making fools of ourselves.”

“Fools? We’re just carrying a couch down the street.”

“A couch, a mountain of clothes, a refrigerator.” Fleur found herself grinning even as she shook her head. “Ponies are going to be in an uproar. Again.”

“Oh my goodness.”

Cracking open an eye, Fleur saw an older mare and two stallions standing just a few feet from the couch with looks of concern. The older mare in particular looked worried, walking over and placing a hoof on Sam’s leg.

“You poor dears look like you’ve seen better days.”

“We’ve had a rough night, ma’am,” Sam said, keeping his eyes closed.

One of the stallion’s smirked. “You two have too much to drink?”

Fleur slowly shook her head. “Oui. Far, far too much.”

Around them, a few ponies chuckled.

“I guess it happens to the best of us, huh?”

“Aw, look at how they’re pressed up together…”

“I don’t care what the papers say. They look adorable…”

“I wonder what his dick looks like…”

“Do you think he lays eggs like ponies say he does?”

Slowly, ponies began to encircle the couch, whispering amongst themselves. Fleur eyed the ponies, ready to spring into action if the need arose. Sam, meanwhile, found himself wilting at the stares and the increasingly inappropriate conversation.

“You know, we might have been at my mansion already if you had left the couch,” Fleur whispered in his ear.

“This is a good couch, so stop pestering me about getting rid of it,” Sam whispered back, just loud enough for the ponies around them to hear.

Another wave of chuckles broke out as the older mare gave Sam’s leg another pat. “Would you dearies like some help?” she asked. “I’m sure a few of the strapping stallions here would be more than happy to carry this for you.”

Fleur and Sam exchanged glances.

“Thank you very much for the offer, ma chere, but we wouldn’t want to be any trouble,” Fleur said.

“Nonsense! It wouldn’t be any trouble at all!” the mare insisted. “We might not be the high rollers that you’re used to, hon, but we know that there’s nothing better than to help a pony in need!”

All around them, ponies echoed their agreement. Stallions, mares, even the odd filly or two stepped out of the crowd.

“Yeah!”

“We’d be happy to help!”

“We’ll get this thing over to your house in a jiffy, Ms. Fleur!”

Fleur looked around at the crowd, feeling oddly touched. Canterlot might have had its share of ne’er do wells, bullies, and paparazzi, but it was times like this when the city showed its true colors. Noble, commoner, rich or poor, princess or beggar, the ponies of this city all came together when one of its own needed help without exception.

“Merci, everypony,” she said, bowing her head humbly. “Sometimes, I forget that this city is only as great as it is because of the ponies living here.”

She pushed herself off of the couch and stood up. Grabbing Sam’s hand, she helped him up as well, giving the crowd her very best smile.

“And we’d be honored if you helped us. Isn’t that right Sam?”

Sam, who was still nervously eyeing the crowd, twitched as she gave his leg a jab. “Yes. Yes! We’d really appreciate the help.”

“Then why don’t we get going then?” another stallion asked, picking up one side of the couch. “Come on everypony, grab an edge. We’ll get it there in a jiffy!”

Mares, stallions, and foals alike let out a cheer. Some grabbed the couch, picking it up with both magic and teeth, while another group grabbed Sam’s small fridge. A few foals, excited and giggling, leapt up onto the couch for an impromptu ride.

“…Are we going to get robbed or something?” Sam quietly asked as the crowd talked excitedly amongst themselves. “It feels like they’re gonna lead us to some alley and rob us.”

Fleur couldn’t help but laugh. “Rob us? Of course not,” she said, leaning down to nuzzle a little filly as she trotted by. “This is just how the ponies of Canterlot are, mon ami.”

“I’ll have to take your word for it I guess,” Sam muttered, eyeing the ponies carrying his things cautiously. “But if we do get robbed you owe me a new fridge and couch.”

With that the procession began to make their way down the street. Ponies surrounded the supermodel and human around on all sides. There was laughter, there were questions, and when they all turned a corner Fleur somehow found herself carrying two foals on her back. Sam took a bit of time to warm up to the crowd, but soon enough he was surrounded by a group of mares, young and old, answering their questions.

Fleur found herself laughing and chatting with the ponies around her even though her head continued to throb. Every once in awhile, she could hear the clicking of the camera or see a news reporter furiously scribbling on a notepad, but she paid them no mind. Something wonderful was happening, something that she wouldn’t, and couldn’t, let such petty things ruin.

“Ms. Fleur! Ms. Fleur! Can I have a piggyback ride too?”

“Sweet Celestia… Even hungover you look beautiful. What kind of foundation do you use? Do you even use any makeup?”

“Holy hay are you one big stallion. What do they feed you guys over in hyoo-man land?”

“Why are your claws so funny lookin’?”

“Mister? Can I ride on your shoulders please?”

It was through the special, magical haze that Fleur and Sam made their way through the streets of Canterlot. The walk was almost a two-mile trek, but in no time at all the group found themselves standing at the gate of Fleur’s estate.

“Yeah! We made it!” one of the foals on Fleur’s back chirped, giving her mane a tug.

“We’re here!” Another said, giving her back a pat.

“We did it!” a third one cried, bouncing in place.

Fleur chuckled. “Oui, and I couldn’t have done it without your help,” she said carefully lifting each foal off of her back and setting them in front of her.

She nuzzled each of them, which had them giggling, as the ponies carrying Sam’s couch and fridge sat them right in front of the gate.

“There you go, Ms. Fleur,” a stallion said. “We got everything here all safe and sound!”

“You did. And I can’t thank you enough,” Fleur said, giving him a smile before looking around the crowd. “Thank you everypony. You’ve made this model’s day.”

“Oh, it was no problem, ma’am, all of us were happy to help,” the stallion said, winking. “Now why don’t the two of you get in there and get some shuteye? You two lovebirds look like you could use it.”

Some playful jeering came from the crowd, causing Fleur to redden. She stuck her tongue out at them in retaliation, which had everyone laughing.

The next few minutes consisted of more chatter, hugs, promises to make an appearance at a birthday party and a slew of dinner invitations. Eventually, however, the crowd eventually dispersed, leaving Sam and Fleur –as well as two very confused guards standing on the other side of the gate— alone.

“Well, that was… somethin’,” Sam said, a smile on his face.

“Oui,” Fleur replied with a nod, so filled with emotion that she couldn’t stand still. “It was, wasn’t it?”

The two drifted off into a comfortable silence, thinking on what had just transpired.

“…So, do you want to get all of this stuff into your house? I don’t know about you, but I could use—”

Leaping up onto her back legs, Fleur wrapped her forehooves around his neck and pulled him into a kiss. Sam’s eyes bulged out of his skull, and in his shock he tried to step away, but the unicorn held him firm. She deepened the kiss, savoring the sensation of their bodies pressed together, the feeling of her lips against his, his scent, the color of his eyes.

After a few moments of weakly struggling, Sam began returning the kiss. His arms wrapped around her middle, pulling her as close to him as physically possible. Fleur giggled, breaking the kiss before it escalated any further. While she wouldn’t have said no if Sam had been willing, they were in public.

“Come, let’s get everything inside, mon cher,” she said, rubbing her nose against his before wiggling out of his grasp and dropping into all fours.

Sam, red-faced and disheveled, watched as she made her way toward his couch. Slowly, frustration began to creep onto his face, causing his nose to scrunch.

“What the hell was that?” he demanded, throwing his hands up into the air. “You can’t just go kiss a guy like that and walk away! That’s some bullshit! Bullshit!

Huit

“Are you sure that there are none of these ‘aliens’ on your world, mon cher?”

“Yep. I’m pretty sure.”

“Positive?”

“Aha. I’m ninety percent sure.”

Fleur opened her mouth to ask another question when something flashed across Sam’s computer. A tall, lanky, black alien with a pair of terrifying mouths. It was racing down a dark, metallic hallway, chasing a poor bloodied human female.

The alien let out a roar, causing the unicorn to flinch. She burrowed her muzzle into the crook of her photographer’s neck. A shiver ran down her spine as she watched the alien close in on the poor woman.

“So, you don’t have to deal with those monstres then?” she asked, gesturing toward the screen.

Feeling the supermodel tense as the movie actress let out a scream, Sam gave her side a reassuring pat.

“We don’t have those suckers running around, no. But that don’t mean there aren’t aliens,” he said. “A couple years ago, people back home would have called me crazy if I told them that a purple pony with a horn and a set of wings would tear open a hole through reality. Now look at me.”

Fleur couldn’t help but jump as the alien let out another roar, reaching out and grabbing the screaming woman. She whimpered, crawling into Sam’s lap.

“You alright there, Fleur?” the photographer asked, wrapping his arms around her middle as she pressed her back against her chest.

“I thought I felt s-someone breathing down the back of my neck,” the supermodel responded, not taking her eyes off the computer screen.

Sam cracked a smile. “You know it’s not real, right? That’s just a guy in a rubber suit.”

“You don’t know that. You don’t even know if there are monsters like this running around on your world!”

“If the movie’s too scary I could put something else on.”

Fleur quickly shook her head. “Non. If you do that then I won’t know what happens in the end!”

“But—”

“Shush!”

The alien began to drag the screaming woman into a pitch-black room. The woman kicked and clawed at the beast, trying to get away, but it was no use. It dragged her into the room, pulling her away from the door frame that she was so desperately holding onto. One last scream echoed throughout the hallway before there was silence.

The tip of Fleur’s horn sparked to life, and with a spell she wrapped Sam’s arms a little tighter around herself.

“You know, you’re gonna have nightmares because of this, right?” Sam said, amusement clear as day in his tone.

“I w-will not. Like y-you said it’s just a movie. Now be a dear and get me a s-slice of pizza please.”

“Will you let me have one of my hands back?”

“…If you p-promise to be quick, mon ami.”

This time, Sam couldn’t help but chuckle. Reaching over, he grabbed one of the many, many pizza boxes that sat around his couch and opened it. Grabbing a slice of pizza, he lifted it in front of Fleur’s face. Fleur, keeping her attention glued to the screen sitting on the table in front of her, plucked it out of his hand with a spell.

“Merci,” she said, before taking a big bite out of the slice.

“De rien,” Sam answered, tickling the side of her neck.

The unicorn couldn’t help but smile even as she began to chew. She wiggled herself deeper into her photographer’s lap, anxious to see if the team of scientists were finally going to destroy the alien. She had just about made herself comfortable when there was a sudden, and very loud, knock on the door.

Fleur, ever the picture of grace and charm, nearly jumped to the ceiling, throwing her half eaten slice of pizza across the room. “Non! Ne me recevez pas! Je dégusterais horriblement!”

Sam let out a quiet laugh, keeping a tight grip on her so she didn’t fall off the couch. “That’s just someone outside, you big baby.”

Fleur’s head snapped to and fro, scanning the room. She searched for a moving shadow, listened for any growling or hissing, looked for any signs that her and Sam were not alone in the room. When she realized that they weren’t being stalked, and that she had nearly jumped out of her fur because of a knock at the door, she found herself reddening.

“I… yes, you’re right,” she said, clearing her throat. “I knew that.”

“Ms. Fleur? Ms. Fleur? May I come in?” someone on the other side of the door asked, knocking once again.

“You better not let ‘em in,” Sam whispered in her ear. “They might be one of those skin-changer aliens.”

“Oh bordel,” Fleur said, giving him a slap on the thigh before hopping off of his lap.

Giving him a glare—which had Sam laughing—she ran a hoof through her mane. “Oui, you may come in.”

There was a pause, before the sound of the doorknob turning could be heard. The door was thrown open, revealing one of Fleur’s servants.

“Ms. Fleur,” the young unicorn said stepping into the room. “There’s—wait a minute…”

The tip of the stallion’s horn glowed, and with a flick of the switch light flooded the room. Both Sam and Fleur, who had spent the last two days in near darkness, watching movies and eating their body weights in pizza, immediately covered their eyes.

“Oh Dieu du ciel!”

“Jesus!”

Ignoring the two’s cries, the servant trotted into the room, nervously looking around. “Ms. Fleur, I’m sorry to disturb you, but Ms. Photo Finish and Mr. Svengallop are at the front gate. They wish to speak with you immediately.”

Squinting, Fleur looked over at the mare. “Photo and Svengallop are here?”

The servant nodded, biting his lip. “Yes ma’am, but they’re not alone. Another pony is with them. A very important mare.”

The servant looked to his left, then to his right, before leaning toward the supermodel. “It’s one of the executives of Essence I think.”

The second her servant’s words registered, Fleur’s heart skipped a beat.

The executives of Essence were some of the most powerful ponies in the fashion industry. It was because of them that trends rose and fell. They put ponies in the spotlight and took that spotlight away. But what they rarely did was dirty their hooves by speaking to models personally.

Only twice in her career she had heard about an executive personally coming to see one of their models. The first time it had happened she had just started out in the business. One of the older models had been getting rowdy, mouthing off to photographers, making a fool of herself out in public, missing shoots. That mare, though a hoofful, had been one of the best of her time, but after the executive was through with her she wasn’t able to find work in one of the local fast food restaurants.

The second time happened to Fleur herself, and she’d never forget it. The hush that came over the studio after the stallion had entered the room, the aura that the he gave off as he slowly and calmly made his way toward her, the words of encouragement and approval he gave her before turning around and disappearing, she remembered all of it. The two sentences that the executive had spoken to her had helped skyrocket her career almost overnight.

And now another one was coming to speak with her. Unfortunately, Fleur had a feeling that she wasn’t going to receive any praise for her work this time.

“What?! Are you sure, mon cher?”

“I think so, ma’am,” the servant replied with a nod of his head. “They certainly looked like one of them.

“They just came here? Without warning?”

“Yes. The guards came and told me about them just a few minutes ago. I did my best to look for you, but I didn’t know you were still in your photographer’s room.”

Fleur bit her lip hard, her mind racing. “Invite them in,” she said. “Try to buy me a few minutes so that I can make myself somewhat presentable.”

The servant saluted. “Yes, ma’am. Right away, ma’am.”

With that, the unicorn trotted out of the room, leaving Fleur and Sam alone once again.

The moment that he was gone, Fleur spun around and scanned the now illuminated room. Pizza boxes and bottles of soda littered the floor. The couch was stained with tomato sauce and a big, greenish stain of something that she couldn’t quite identify. Taking a deep whiff of the air, she took in the scent of cheese, sweat, and old couch.

Hyperventilating, she looked down at herself to see dirty, messy fur and a wild mane and tail.

“I look hideuse!” she cried, trotting in place as panic made her fur stand on end. “I need to shower and… and I need to brush this rat’s nest!”

Her gaze snapped over to Sam. Just like her, the human looked more than a little worse for wear after their two day movie marathon.

There was a noticeable stubble on his face, and his shirt was absolutely covered in sauce. Just like her, his hair had seen far better days, and his eyes were as bloodshot as she’d ever seen them.

Sam, for his part, was looking around the room carefully, letting out a whistle as he did so. “We can really fuck a room up in two days, huh?”

He looked down at his feet, kicking one of the empty pizza boxes. “It really goes to show you just how much—”

Fleur’s head snapped toward the door. The tip of her horn glowed, and before Sam could finish his thought he was yanked to his feet.

“We both need a shower! There’s no way we can be seen by that exécutif like this!” The unicorn let out a whine, trotting in a circle. “I’ll need some eyeliner and foundation, and you’ll need a shave mon ami!”

With a flick of her horn, she levitated Sam over toward her. Sam, naturally, began to squirm, trying to free himself.

“Hey now, easy there. There’s no need to freak out,” he said, batting at the magical aura wrapped around him. “I’m sure it’s not that big of a—”

“Big? Of course it’s big. It wouldn’t be big if an executive of the company was here to see me. Who am I kidding, they're bound to be here for the both of us!” Fleur said, chewing on the inside of her cheek. “She’s no doubt here to speak to us about what’s been happening for the last few days.”

Taking a few deep breaths, she placed Sam right next to her.

“C'est d'accord, c'est d'accord. There might be nothing to worry about! Photo is with her, so I doubt they’ve come here to chastise me,” she muttered, before a small, worried frown came to her face. “Though… Photo might just be here to soften the blow. Or perhaps she’s here to give us the bad news personally. Whatever that may be...”

Theories and fears began forming in her mind by the dozen, but she just shook her head. “Non, non. We can’t go to that mare frazzled. We need to be calm and collected. We need to be calm and collected!”

“I’m perfectly calm. You’re the one freaking out,” Sam said, and was ignored.

“First, shower,” Fleur said to herself with a nod. “A quick one.”

Sam sighed. “Let me go then. I’ll shower here while you—”

Fleur looked over at the clock hanging on the wall. To her horror, she saw that far too much time had passed since her servant had left. Photo, Svengallop, and the executive were no doubt inside and waiting for her and Sam to make their appearance. The thought made her stomach tighten.

“No. There’s not enough time. We’ll need to shower together!” she said without thinking.

Sam paused, blinking. “Wait. What did you just—”

There’s no time, mon cher! Give me a moment and I’ll teleport us into my room. The shower there will be large enough for the two of us!”

Sam, reddening, opened his mouth to protest, but Fleur was already charging up the spell. With a pop, the two teleported out of the room, reappearing a moment later in the supermodel’s personal bathroom.

The second that her hooves touched the bathroom’s marble tiling, Fleur was a whirlwind of action. Using her magic, she grabbed bottles of liquid soap and shampoo, a jar of foundation and some eyeliner. The shower was turned on, and with another pop, a new set of clothes for Sam appeared on the sink.

“Come, come, chèr, we don’t have much time,” the supermodel said, nudging his stomach with a hoof. “Clothes off.”

“Whoa, whoa, whoa, hang on a second!” Sam said, his blush creeping down his neck. “You gotta take me on a date or two before gettin’ me outta my clothes, sister!”

“You see me naked all the time!”.

“Yeah, but your junk isn’t out for everyone to see!”

The supermodel reddened, her gaze drifting down to her photographer’s groin, recalling that he had no sheath whatsoever.

“I… I understand that, mon ami, and I’d usually never ask you to do something like this, but the two of us need to look presentable, and the mare of Essence no doubt knows you’re here andIcan’tdothiswithoutyoupleasepleaseplease—”

“Fine. I’ll do it,” Sam said, clamping a hand on Fleur’s muzzle. “Just… stop that. Please.”

“Really?” Fleur asked.

Sam grimaced, his blush deepening as he released his hold on the unicorn’s mouth. “Yeah, if this is that important to ya, then I’ll do it. But we’re not gonna dilly-dally.”

“Of course. We'll be in and out as quick as we can be,” Fleur promised, placing a hoof over her heart. “

“And if there’s any… movement downstairs I better not hear about it.”

Fleur’s brow furrowed in confusion. Sam, looking away from her, motioned at his groin. It took a moment or two, but she quickly realized what he was getting at.

“Ohhhh…”

While she couldn’t help but be more than a little flattered with what Sam was insinuating, she knew better than to say anything about it. Instead, she just smiled.

“Bien sûr,” she said with a nod of her head.

Sam’s gaze flicked from Fleur to the shower. Taking a deep, shaky breath, he began to pull his shirt off.

“Alright, let’s hurry up then.”

As he lifted his shirt above his head, Fleur’s gaze snapped back down to his crotch. It lingered there for a few moments before, shaking her head, Fleur turned around and trotted into the shower.

“Professionnelle,” she whispered. “Vous devez être professionnelle!”

Knowing that time was not on their side, Fleur got to work as soon as water hit her coat. She made sure that her body was completely soaked from horn to tail. When that was finished, she opened up a bottle of liquid soap and poured it down the length of her back, grabbing a loofa. She was just about ready to pour of healthy dollop of shampoo into her mane when she heard Sam stepping into the shower with her.

“Scooch over and let me get r-rinsed off,” he said, not quite able to keep the nervousness from his voice.

“Alright,” Fleur replied, keeping her gaze glued to the floor as she levitated the soap in his general direction. “And here’s s-some soap if you’d like to use it.”

She took a few hasty steps backward, lifting her gaze just enough to see Sam’s bare legs. She continued scrubbing herself as quickly as she could. After a few moments of fiddling with the bottle of soap, Sam could be heard doing the same.

“Could you pass me the shampoo p-please?”

“Here you go.”

“Thanks.”

Fleur tensed when she saw Sam turn around. The urge to look up surfaced, but she was able to beat it down, if only barely.

An uneasy silence descended upon the bathroom, broken only by the sounds of water hitting the tiled floor. Fleur managed to scrub her entire body to what she hoped was some semblance of cleanliness. Sam, meanwhile, was able to clean himself completely.

“O-Okay. Go ahead and rinse yourself off,” Sam said, stepping around the supermodel, his bare flesh lightly rubbing against her side.

Fleur tensed at the contact, dragging her tail against his bare leg despite her best efforts. “S-Sam?”

“Yeah?”

“Would it be too much to ask if... you to help rinse off my tail?”

There was a noticeable pause before Sam cleared his throat. “Rinse off your tail?”

“O-Oui. “It’s usually v-very hard for a pony to clean their tail, magic or n-not, and because of that it usually takes the most time, but if you were to…”

She trailed off, feeling her blush creeping down her chest. Seconds ticked by as she waited for her photographer’s answer. She was about to apologize for asking him to do such a thing when she heard him kneel down behind her.

“I-Is—” Sam cleared his throat. “Is there anything special that I need to do with it?”

“Non!” Fleur replied, just a little too loudly. “Just make sure that there’s no soap in my tail p-please.”

“Alright.”

“And thank you f-for helping me.”

“Don’t m-mention it.”

“Oui…”

“Okay… I’m going to grab your tail now alright? If I pull on it too hard or anything like that, just tell me.”

Fleur opened her mouth to answer when she felt Sam’s fingers wrap around her tail dock. Her entire body went ramrod stiff, and her eyes widened to the size of dinner plates as a bolt of unexpected pleasure nearly made her back legs give out.

“Shit. A little too high,” Sam muttered, letting go of her dock and grabbing a handful of her tail. “Sorry.”

“I-It’s alright, mon cher,” Fleur said with a breathless little laugh. “It’s alright. I’m fine. You just caught me off guard.”

“Are you sure?”

“Yes, yes. Please, continue.”

Closing her eyes and taking a deep breath to steady herself, she let magic flow into her horn. With a spell, she adjusted her shower head so that its spray of water hit the middle of her back. She thoroughly rinsed her mane and her body, doing her best to keep her mind focused on the task at hand.

She did all that she could to ignore Sam holding her tail with one hand while he used the other to push the shampoo in it downward. She did her best not to notice how good it felt and how each time he gave it a little tug her backside would wiggle. She especially ignored the heat that was building up in her lower belly and the wetness trickling down her leg that wasn’t from the shower. And she succeeded. Mostly.

Just like the rest of the shower, Fleur was quick. Rinsing herself off may have taken under a minute. But it had been a very long, very trying minute, and by the end of it, both the human and unicorn were redder than they had been in their entire lives, shaky, and more than a little breathless.

“B-Bien, we’re a-almost done,” Fleur said, hopping stiff-legged from the shower, her tail flagging far higher than she wanted it to.

She used her magic to levitate a pair of towels for her and her photographer. Sam quickly turned the shower off and stepped out of it, wrapping his towel around his lower body. Looking over her shoulder, Fleur could clearly see the outline of the human’s not-so-soft manhood through the towel. She quickly turned away, coughing.

“Thank you very much for doing this, Sam,” she said, trying to regain some composure. “I can’t imagine how uncomfortable that much have been for you.”

“Yeah,” Sam muttered, trying to discreetly adjust his junk so that it wasn’t as noticeable. “Uncomfortable.”

@-@-@-@-@-@-@

Like Fleur had been expecting, Photo, Svengallop, and a mare in a very fine suit were all sitting around a small table with drinks in their hooves. Photo and Svengallop were chatting excitedly with each other, while the executive was swirling her drink with a bored expression on her face.

Fleur’s stomach tightened at the sight of the mare. She stopped in her tracks, stopping Sam with a hoof. “Do I look presentable, mon cher?”

“You look fine,” Sam assured, running his fingers through his still wet hair.

“Just fine?” Fleur asked, biting her lip.

Her photographer rolled his eyes. “There’s nothing to worry about. You look great.”

“Are you sure?”

“I’m positive.”

“My mane looks fine? There’s nothing wrong with my coat?”

“Yes.”

“And what about my eyes? Are they clear?”

“Yep. You look like a million buc—er bits.”

Fleur’s eyes darted back to the executive. Trotting in place, she motioned for Sam to kneel. When he did so she darted forward, straightening his shirt, fixing his hair, and wiping the nonexistent dirt from his face. She then pulled into a quick hug and gave him a kiss on both cheeks.

“Everything’s going to be fine, mon ami. Everything’s going to work out swimmingly. There’s absolutely nothing to worry about. Nothing at all.”

Giving him a peck on the nose, she took a deep breath and forced herself to smile. Sam, rolling his eyes, stood back up as Fleur trotted over to the group.

“Good afternoon, mes amies! I’m sorry to have kept you waiting.”

Photo, Svengallop, and executive turned toward her.

“Zere you are,” Photo said, taking a sip of her drink. “We were getting worried, Mädchen.”

“Yes, I was just about to go and look for you,” Svengallop added, setting down his cup.

Fleur forced out a laugh. “Mes excuses. I would have come down much sooner but I needed to freshen up a bit.”

Photo smiled behind her glass, her eyes flicking from Fleur to Sam. “Ja, I’m sure both you and your amoureux needed quite a bit of freshening.”

Fleur very nearly stumbled, but she managed to catch herself at the last moment. The tip of her horn glowed, and with a spell she grabbed Sam—who had been content to stand out in the hallway— by his hand and yanked him forward.

“So, I heard that you wanted to see me?” the supermodel asked, ignoring the dirty look Sam gave her and taking a seat right next to Svengallop.

Looking back over at the executive, her heart skipped a beat. “It’s nothing bad I hope.”

The executive, setting her mug down, leaned toward Fleur, an unreadable expression on her face. “Good afternoon Ms. de Lis, Mr. Thompson. My name is Silver Dollar, and I’m from the company.”

“Bonjour, Ms. Dollar,” Fleur said with a curtsy.

“It’s very nice to meet you ma’am,” Sam said with his best smile.

The executive inclined her head. “Yes, very good. Now, since I’m not one of beat around the bush, I’ve come down here to say that myself and a few of the high-up’s have been… concerned with some of your recent activities, Ms. de Lis.”

The smile on Fleur’s face diminished. “Oh?”

Silver Dollar nodded. “Yes. As I’m sure you know, everypony that works with Essence has to conduct themselves a certain way, be they model or custodian.”

Photo snorted. “One should not worry about what the common ponies thing in ze face of fashion.”

“That may be well and good for you, Ms. Finish, but unfortunately the rest of us must think of Essence as a business,” the executive coolly replied. “But as I was saying. Our employees need to carry themselves a certain way, especially those ponies that are in the limelight. And, unfortunately for you, many of us have felt that you’ve been acting in a way that would affect the Essence brand.”

The mare’s eyes drifted toward Sam as she sat down with a grunt.

“Mr. Thompson here has an excuse. He’s from a completely different world. You, however, should know better.”

Fleur felt herself shrinking down with each word the mare said, her heart sinking. “I… I understand.”

She looked over at her manager, expecting a look of anger or despair. To her surprise, however, the stallion looked so excited that he could barely sit still. Frowning gently, she looked over at Photo, who had a small smile on her face.

“That being said,” Silver continued, reaching into her suit. “Essence, no matter how large it becomes, is nothing without the ponies that support it. And, for some reason or another, a lot of ponies seem to be reacting positively to your antics.”

Pulling out a newspaper, the mare dropped it on the table. Fleur quickly unfolded it to see both her and Sam, surrounded by ponies and that ratty old couch that they had carried through the streets.

“Your actions the other day are ringing well with many blue-collar ponies across Equestria,” Silver said, the barest of smiles coming to her face. “They also seem very… captivated with your relationship to your photographer here. It has many ponies curious about the hyoo-man world, which is what a lot of very powerful ponies want.”

“Human,” Sam corrected, only to be nudged in the ribs by Fleur.

Svengallop, no longer able to contain his excitement any longer, spoke. “I’ve been speaking to Ms. Dollar and a few of her associates, and it seems like they want you to go over to the other side of the portal!”

Fleur blinked, slowly processing what her manager had just said. “… Excusez-moi?”

“Princess Celestia herself has been looking for ponies to visit the human world. Some of us thought, her highness included, that you’d be a perfect candidate.”

“The princess is already speaking to the leaders of the human world. She’s attempting to get you into a hyoo-man fashion show!” Svengallop gleefully said, clapping his hooves together.

Fleur looked between her manager and the executive, trying to form words. “Really?”

Photo laughed. “Now you can show a whole other world ze magicks, my girl!” she said, wrapping a hoof around her shoulder.

“But what about the shoot?” Fleur asked, excitement quickly replacing fear and anxiety. “We’re still not halfway done with that.”

“Blah! You’ll finish ze shoot and zen go,” Photo said with a wave of the hoof, looking over at Sam and winking. “When you’re finished, you’ll go zere and show zose hyoo-man mares the meaning of beauty!”

A very quiet, very excited sound escaped Fleur’s throat. She had come down here expecting that her career was going to come to the end, and here she was, in a prime position to make history. She’d be Fleur de Lis: a model famous in not one but two worlds.

“I… I don’t know what to say,” she said. “It’s an… an honor, and I’d be happy to accept.”

“Then it’s decided then,” Silver Dollar said with a nod, grabbing the newspaper and slipping it back into her suit. “We’ll make the arrangements. Now, I apologize for coming and going so quickly, but I really must be leaving. There’s quite a few matters that I must see to today.”

“Give me a moment, and I’d be happy to take you to the door, ma’am,” Svengallop said, before leaping out of his seat, trotting around the table, and pulling Fleur into a hug.

“I’d love to stay and celebrate with you, hon, but I need to go as well,” he said, giving her cheeks a kiss. “But I’d just like you to know that I’m glad you didn’t get rid of your photographer. If it wasn’t for him, we wouldn’t be here now.”

Giggling, Fleur hugged her photographer back. “I wouldn’t be where I am today without you, mon cher.”

“I’ll make sure to come in a few days to tell you the finer details about this.”

“Merci. I’m looking forward to it.”

Svengallop let out a giggle of his own, though he quickly regained control of himself, coughing into a hoof. “Ms. Dollar? If you’d come right this way…”

As her manager and executive exited the room, one using collected, measured steps and the other practically skipping, Fleur looked over at Photo. The mare had her hooves kicked up on the table, her cup in hoof.

“I’m very glad zat you took my advice, meine Liebste,” she said, smiling.

Taking one last sip of her drink, she set her cup down and hopped out of her chair. Walking over to Fleur, she pulled the unicorn into a hug nuzzling her. “I hope he doesn’t wear you out too much. He looks like such a big boy, my girl.”

As Fleur reddened, Photo broke their hug, trotting over to Sam and sniffing the air around him.

“Hmm… Ze two of you are using ze same shampoo?” she said to herself, tapping a hoof against her chin.

A blushed worked its way onto Sam’s cheeks. “We had to hurry up and get down here so we shared a shower, ma’am.”

The older mare chuckled. “Oh, I’m sure, my boy. I’m sure,” she said patting his leg. “Did you pull her tail while you were showering? I’ve been told zat she really enjoys zat.”

Fleur stiffened. “A-And how do you know that?!” she demanded.

“I didn’t,” Photo replied. “But now I do, and so does Sam.”

She looked over at a red-faced Sam. “I hope you use zat information wisely, my boy. Now, although I’d like nothing more zan to stay and celebrate with you, I must be off. Herzliche Glückwünsche to the both of you.”

Looking up at the ceiling, she clapped her hooves together. “Strudel! Guerlain!”

A mare rolled out from underneath a rug, while another popped out from behind a set of curtains. Both mares rushed over and hopped onto Photo’s back. With a cry, the earth pony raced out of the room with a happy yell.

Sam, watching her go, scratched his head. “What the fuck is wrong with that pony…?”

The human turned to look at Fleur, only to find that she was no longer sitting next to him. Frowning, he looked around for the unicorn.

“Fleur? Where the heck did you run—”

The only warning that Sam was given was a high-pitched squeal before he was teleported out of the room. For half a second he saw nothing, then a kaleidoscope of colors, then a blindingly bright light. He had just about let out a curse when the light disappeared and he realized that he was sitting on something lumpy.

“Yes, yes, yes, yes, yes, yes!”

Cautiously opening an eye, he saw that he was once again in his “room”, sitting on his old, ratty couch. He also saw Fleur, looking as happy as he had ever seen her, skipping around the room like a parade horse.

“I can’t believe this! This is fantastic! Better than fantastic! This is changement mondial!”

The tip of the unicorn’s horn glowed, and before Sam knew it he was floating in the air.

“Hey!” he shouted, flailing. “Will you quit with the floating and teleporting for five sec—thmp!”

Fleur, racing over to the human, wrapped her hooves around his neck and kissed him. Before he could process that happening, she began peppering his face with kisses.

“I thought that they were going to run me out of town, or send you away, mon cher,” she said between smooches. “But no! They reward me with the opportunity of a lifetime!”

Fleur released her magical hold on her photographer, dropping him the two inches he was floating to the floor. Before he could so much as blink the supermodel was on top of him, chattering in excited Prench as she kissed and rolled the two of them around.

“I get to go over to your world to model. I’ll see dress designs that nopony’s ever seen! I’ll feel new fabrics! OhI’msoexcited!”

Sam though, he wanted to be annoyed about the unicorn manhandling him like she had, couldn’t help but laugh at how she was acting. “Easy there. You’re gonna hurt yourself, or blow a gasket or something.”

“We’re going to go down in the history books, mon ami! Our names will be carved in the foundations of a whole new world of fashion!”

“You think so?”

“Oh, I know so! Now I can go see everything that you’ve told me about!”

“What? You get an offer to go over to my world and the first thing you want to do is go see my crappy town?”

“Oh course! I can see all of those bridges, and the stadiums! You can take me to your old house to see your family and we could see a football game together!

The two rolled around for a minute or two more, playfully tickling and poking and laughing with each other. Fleur continued to kiss her photographer, enjoying each time he shied away when her lips touched his, even as her face grew redder and her heartbeat quickened.

Eventually, heart pounding in her chest and panting like she had just ran a marathon, the supermodel found herself pinning Sam to the floor. Just like her, the human was as red as an apple, breathing hard and smiling like a fool. The sight brought a warmth to her chest, causing her to lean down and kiss him right on the nose.

“It’s going to be wonderful,” she murmured, resting her head against his chest and sighing.

“I knew he didn’t have to do that shit in the shower,” Sam grumbled

“Oh, was it really that bad?” Fleur teased, rubbing a cheek against his sternum.

The human flinched. “I’m not saying that it was bad. All I’m saying is that it’s a little… difficult taking a shower with a supermodel.”

He lifted up both hands and waved them around vaguely.

“It’s hard to be a gentleman when you’re naked and there’s someone like you right next to him…”

Lifting her head up, Fleur gave her photographer a kiss on the jaw. “That’s very sweet of you to say, mon cher. It’s nice to see that you really do find me attractive.”

Sam opened his mouth to retort, but quickly closed it. “What jagoff wouldn’t think you were pretty?.” he demanded.

Fleur’s smile widened. She leaned down again, this time giving him a kiss on the cheek.

“Oh mon amoureux,” she said, playfully rubbing her nose against his. “Je pourrais juste te manger!

Sam wiggled in place, clearly embarrassed. This just caused the supermodel to laugh. Giving his cheek a nuzzle, she rested her head right next to his.

“There’s nothing to be embarrassed about, mon amour,” she said. “One should never be ashamed of their feelings. Especially if those feelings are returned.”

This time, when she leaned down to kiss him, Sam didn’t shy away. In fact, when her lips touched his, she felt him returning the kiss. Fleur held the kiss for a few moments, feeling her excitement give way to a familiar heat building in her lower belly, before breaking it.

“I also think that you’re very fetching, and I’m not too proud to admit that I had some difficulty keeping my gaze from wandering when you were in that shower with me.”

Pressing more of her weight against her photographer, she was pleasantly surprised to find that her kisses and wiggles hadn’t gone to waste. Sam grimaced, a look of shame coming to his face when her lower belly came into contact with something hard and twitching. He opened his mouth to say something, but his words turned into a gasp as Fleur began grinded herself against the bulge.

“I wanted nothing more than to look over and shoulder and see what you looked like in all of your glory, mon amour,” Fleur continued breathlessly, her back legs twitching. “And, if we didn’t have to speak with Photo and the others, I would have liked for you to see me in all of my glory.”

“Really?” Sam asked, his toes curling as she pressed her marehood directly against the outline of his cock.

“Oui, I would have liked that very much. I’d still like it very much,” Fleur said, biting her lip as a spark of pleasure made her hooves curl. “Among other things.”

She looked into Sam’s eyes. She saw nervousness, excitement, arousal, and more than a bit of joy in those blue eyes of his.

She waited for him to tell her to stop, to push her away, but he did neither of those things. Instead, he slowly reached up, cupped her face, and pulled her into a kiss.

This was no little innocent little peck. There was hunger in this kiss, a desire for intimacy that caused the warmth in Fleur’s belly to turn into an inferno. The unicorn moaned into the human’s mouth, grinding herself against him harder. Lips parted, tongues slipped from mouths, and the battle for dominance began.

Sam tried to roll the two of them over, but Fleur shifted her weight, preventing him from doing so. Both of her hooves found themselves running through his hair while she did everything that she could to beat the human’s smaller, thinner tongue into submission. As she did this Sam used his thumbs to stroke her cheeks, which caused the unicorn to giggle in between their moans.

Determined to win this little battle of theirs, the tip of Fleur’s horn glowed. Her magical aura surrounded Sam’s groin, and immediately began stroking. Sam’s whole body twitched at the foreign and unexpected sensation. His tongue-work faltered, and he let out a moan.

The second that she heard this, the supermodel attacked his tongue with everything that she had. She quickly forced it into his mouth, beating it down until it no longer resisted. Victory assured, she began exploring the inside of Sam’s mouth, letting her wet muscle tease the insides of his cheeks and his teeth.

She was so focused on her human’s taste, warmth, and the pleasure that she was getting from the kiss, she didn’t notice one of Sam’s hands leaving her face and traveling downward. Slowly, Sam’s fingers wrapped around her tail, and before Fleur could so much as blink he gave it a hard yank.

“Eep!”

Pleasure exploded up the supermodel’s body. Back arching, she broke the kiss, threw back her head, and moaned. The magic stroking Sam’s cock faltered, and Fleur’s eyes rolled into the back of her head.

Sam, grinning, gave the unicorn’s tail another tug. “Hah! I didn’t think—”

“Dordel!”

Fleur’s body tensed as the fire in her belly boiled over and she came hard, soaking her photographer’s dress pants. She buried her nuzzle into the nape of his neck with a whimper, grinding herself against him as wave after wave of pleasure wracked her body.

The orgasm, though intense, was far too brief for the supermodel’s liking. So, when she finally lifted her head up to look at a thoroughly confused Sam, she let out a huff.

“Why… did you pull… on it so… hard?” she demanded.

“I… didn’t think you’d be that sensitive?” Sam replied cautiously.

Huffing again, Fleur lifted herself onto shaky legs and looked down at her human’s groin. “You didn’t… cum yet?”

Sam’s brow furrowed. “No. No I didn’t. Why—thmp!”

With a growl, Fleur dropped herself back down onto him, grabbing him by the back of his head and forcing him into a kiss. Her horn sparked to life, and she began once again stroking him through his pants.

Sam let out a yelp as Fleur rubbed her soaked, still sensitive marehood against his hard length. His hips jerked, nearly bucking the unicorn off of him. This caused Fleur to hold onto him all the tighter, breaking their kiss with a gasp and forcing him to look at her.

“Vous allez finir. Vous allez m'en envoyer une grosse!”

“I don’t… I don’t understand what… you’re—fuck! Fucking saying,” Sam said, gritting his teeth.

Fleur snorted like a feral mare, pumping more magic into her horn while grinding harder and harder. Sam hissed in surprise, bucking his hips again.

“Jouis. Jouis. Je veux vous entendre crier mon nom comme vous le faites!

Mid-grind, Fleur found herself cumming again. She groaned, her marehood clenching at her human’s member, trying to coax him into orgasm.

As she rode the waves of pleasure once again, she poured as much magic into her horn as she could. She used this magic to stroke Sam’s length, play with his balls, mimic kissing, sucking, licking, all in an attempt to bring him to his finish.

“Fuck!” Sam yelled, his face contorting. “Fuck!”

His hips bucked again, and through his pants Fleur could feel him throbbing hard. She leaned, down, gently nipping his ear.

“Laisse toi allez pour moi. Laisse tout aller!

Sam, panting, shit his eyes tightly. “At least… let me take my… pants—FUCK!”

Beneath her, Fleur felt her human go ramrod stiff. His hips jerked and bucked uncontrollably. Through his pants, she could feel his cock pulsing again and again.

The model, sweaty and shaking, couldn’t help but smile triumphantly. This smile immediately left her face when she felt Sam give her tail another hard yank, sending her into her third orgasm.

“Douce Celestia!”

“Fuck!”

The two held each other, riding out their collective orgasms. Fleur continued rubbing herself again her lover until she felt him going soft through his pants. It was only then she let her body go limp and she closed her eyes, absolutely exhausted.

“Goddammit. Right… in the pants,” Sam said as he caught his breath, making a face. “Those were… my favorite… underwear too…”

Fleur giggled. “I’ll… have them washed… for you, my… étalon.”

“You better,” Sam replied, wrapping his arms around her as he gave her cheek a kiss.

The two laid there for a few moments, catching their breaths and basking in their afterglows.

“Je ne peux pas… attendre pour vraiment vous… monter, ” Fleur murmured, sighing to herself.

“What the heck… does that mean?” Sam asked.

The supermodel giggled, picking her head up and kissing his cheek. “You’ll find out soon enough, my love. Soon enough.”

Neuf

“Look up at the ceiling and lift up a hoof for me. Smile too.”

It was very late in the studio. Most ponies, both models, regular staff, and even the agents had left hours ago. The few ponies that were there were clearly exhausted. Some were leaning against one another for support, some would nod off every few moments, only for another equally exhausted pony to nudge them awake. There were even a few ponies that were curled up on the floor, snoozing away just a few feet from the shoot.

Fleur herself was feeling just as tired as the rest of her staff. It had been a hard few weeks. They had gone full tilt in trying to get their shoot finished, taking what was usually six months of work and condensing it into two. The hours had been long and relentless, and the breaks had been far and few in between. And it was beginning to show.

The supermodel’s head hurt, and her body ached from all of the posing. No matter how many cups of coffee she drank, she couldn’t quite keep her eyelids from drooping. It was only through the small miracles that her makeup staff performed twice a day that she didn’t look like a complete and total wreck.

But there was light at the end of the tunnel. After busting their flanks for so long, they were nearly done. Just a few more photos and they could call this season wrapped up.

“Good. Now turn toward the camera and smile. Not a happy one, but one of those unsure smiles. Yeah, good, just like that.”

Sam looked the most exhausted out of everyone. With his camera work, editing, and sending pictures to Photo and other producers, the human might have gotten ten hours of sleep this week. Fleur honestly had no idea how he was still on his feet, let alone taking pictures.

“Now turn. Look over your shoulder and give me a saucy look. Saucier. There you go.”

Fleur, humming to herself in an attempt to stay awake, held her pose as her photographer took a flurry of photos.

“Keep holding that pose, hon,” he said, slowly walking around her. “I just need to take a side shot and…”

With one last click of his camera, Sam let out a relieved sigh. Letting the camera fall from his face, he turned around and looked at the few ponies left conscious.

“Alright! I think that’s it,” he said with a smile. “We’re all done here!”

He let out an explosive sigh, his shoulders sagging. “Fucking finally…”

For several seconds, no one moved, many still processing what the human had just said. But eventually ponies began to smile. This smiling turned into excited chatter, and the excited chatter turned into cheering. The ponies that were out cold were woken up, and after a quick explanation, they began cheering as well.

“Whoo!”

“Bucking finally!”

“Now we can go to sleep!”

Fleur let her hoof fall to the floor. She then let out a tired giggle, watching as ponies threw hats and whatever else they could get their hooves into the air and danced around like a bunch of excited foals.

“Oh, Celestia merci,” she said, bowing her head. “We’re finally done…”

A gaggle of designers quickly trotted over to the mare and proceeded to help her out of her dress, chattering excitedly to themselves. Fleur hugged each and every one of them, whispering her thanks for all of the hard work that they had done. The mares usually giggled, a tease or joke on the tip of their tongues, which had her laughing along with them.

There were as many hugs as were words of encouragement and congratulations. If these mares and stallions hadn’t been as exhausted as they were, every single one of them, Fleur included, would have gone out to a restaurant or bar and celebrated. But, they were all far too tired for such silliness, and it was quickly decided that their party would need to be on another day, after they all had gotten a good night’s rest. Ponies slowly began to trickle out of the studio in pairs, then groups, until only Fleur and Sam were left.

“Welp, I got about a thousand pictures to look through when we get home,” Sam said, looking down at his camera.

“Non, when we get home, the two of us have a bed waiting for us, mon amour,” Fleur said, hopping up onto her back legs and giving her human’s cheek a kiss. “Congratulations on finishing your first photo shoot by the way, Sam.”

“I don’t think I’ve been this tired since I was in high school, and me and a couple of my buddies tried to stay up for ten whole days,” Sam said with a sigh, leaning up against the unicorn and resting his head on her shoulder.

Fleur let out a giggle, wrapping a hoof around his shoulder as she gave the top of his head a kiss. “Why would you do such a silly thing?”

“Some kid from our high school said that all of these people were doing it because if you stayed up long enough you had hallucinations,” Sam replied, closing his eyes and nuzzling his cheek against his marefriend’s silky soft fur. “We all wanted to see a Pokémon, so we decided to do it.”

“What the hay is a Pokémon?”

“Little cartoon monsters that you can catch and fight with.”

Though Fleur had no idea why anyone would want to see something as terrifying as a fighting monster, she found herself nodding anyway. “And did you see these monsters?”

“Nope. I do remember seeing this freaky clown though. That sucker was ten feet tall with the biggest shoes that I’ve even seen. He was also green… for some reason…”

Realizing that he was going to fall asleep if he didn’t start moving, Sam lifted his head from Fleur’s shoulder.

“And congratulations on gettin’ all of this shit finished,” he said, giving her a peck on the lips. “Now we can start packing for home.”

A shiver of excitement ran up the length of Fleur’s spine, and though her body wanted nothing more than to fall onto the floor and shut down, her backside wiggled.

“Oui. Are your parents ready for us?”

“Yeah,” Sam nodded rubbing his face. “Ol’ mom’s cleaning out the guest room as we speak.”

The smile on Fleur’s face widened. “Bien. I can’t wait to meet your parents.”

“They can’t wait to meet you either. Dad wrote that mom’s nearly bouncing off the walls. She’s so excited that I finally found someone.”

Scratching his chin, Sam made his way over to his table, where his computer and printer were sitting. Sitting down onto a stool, he put his camera down and started plugging it into his computer.

Fleur watched as he worked, wiggling again. In just a few days’ time, she’d be going over to a whole other world to represent her nation. But not only that, she’d meet her human’s family, see the streets he walked when he was younger, witness the city that he spoke so fondly of. All of that more than made up for these last few hectic weeks.

Giggling to herself, she trotted over and sat in the stool next to Sam. “Svengallop and a few officials are going to be coming to the estate in a day or so to go over a few things with us.”

“I’m sure they are. Before I came over here, we must have spent a month going to meetings and orientations and a bunch of other stuff. I’m sure if we hadn’t been so busy lately, they’d have been puttin’ us through all of that weeks ago.”

Wrapping her hooves around Sam’s free arm, Fleur pressed her side against his. “Do you think your family will like me?”

“My brother is gonna love you to bits, and my mom probably will too,” Sam replied with a yawn. “My dad might be a little iffy, and some of the neighbors are gonna to be confused, but it probably won’t be that bad.”

“Good. If they’re anything like you, I’m sure I’ll love them as well,” the unicorn said, giving his cheek a kiss.

Sam smiled as he flipped over his camera and opened up the bottom. Pressing a finger against a tiny compartment, he watched as a memory chip popped out.

“I’m gonna need to put this sucker in the computer, otherwise downloadin’ everythin’ that’s on it is gonna take forever. It’d also be a good idea to get this camera charged for a bit so it doesn’t up and die before we get home,” he said, carefully grabbing the chip with his pointer finger and thumb. “So we’re still gonna be here for a little while.”

“I thought I told you no working right now, mon amour,” Fleur said, poking his belly.

“If I don’t get it done now I’m gonna forget to do it when I wake up,” her photographer said, giving his cheek a couple of slaps. “If you wanna go home right now that’s fine. I’ll be right behind you when all of this is done.”

“Non, I won’t leave you,” Fleur said, shaking her head. “A mare is with her stallion ‘til the end.”

Sam’s smile widened just a hair. “I don’t think whoever said that meant the end to be the end of a photo shoot.”

“They didn’t say that it wasn’t either!” Fleur said, puffing her chest out.

Sam chuckled just as Fleur knew he would, turning his head to give her a peck on the lips. Before he could pull away, Fleur twisted around in her chair, wrapped her hooves around his neck, and pulled him into a proper kiss. Sam, though surprised, managed to push the memory chip into the correct slot of his computer before returning the kiss.

The unicorn let out a hum, parting her lips and letting her tongue slip out of her mouth. Her wet muscle prodded at her human’s lips, asking for admittance. Sam, with a throaty chuckle, opened his mouth, allowing her inside.

Tired as they were, there wasn’t much ferocity in the kiss. It was slow and careful. Their tongues didn’t so much battle each other as caress. There was still passion in the kiss however, and because of this passion, the two felt themselves waking up.

Sam’s hands slowly made their way down the length of Fleur’s body, teasing and touching every inch of his mare that he could, until he reached her rump. Fleur let out a muffled giggle when she felt those strong fingers of his digging into her cutie marks.

“Is my flank really that interesting, mon chéri?” she asked, breaking the kiss to give his nose a playful nip.

“If you had hands, you’d have trouble keeping yours off this thing too,” Sam replied, giving her cheeks a particularly rough squeeze.

Fleur let out a quiet groan as Sam, pressing his lips against hers once again, lifted her off her stool and plopped her into his lap.

“You know, more than a few of the other models think that—ah~! That my backside—Oh, just like that mon cher! Is too big,” she said, wiggling her rump as her human continued to lavish it with affection.

“Never tell me which ponies say that, because if I find out who’s tellin’ tales they’re gettin’ a bap on the nose,” Sam said, growling.

Fleur let out another giggle, though this one was far more breathless. She pressed more of her body against her human’s, savoring his warmth and scent. The unicorn could feel his cock slowly hardening as she grinded against it, but not quickly enough.

It had been a very long few weeks for the two of them, weeks so packed and hectic that they hadn’t gotten any time to themselves. No time for intimacy, no time to explore each other’s bodies. If they were lucky, they might have been able to get a bit grabby in the showers and share a quick kiss or two. And Fleur was sick of it.

Fleur let out a needy and almost frustrated groan, grinding herself against him with a little more fervor.

“I thought you said we had a date with a bed, hon,” Sam said.

“Is it wrong to want to play with my stallion after such a busy shoot?” the unicorn demanded, leaning down to suck on his neck.

“I’m not saying that. I’m just saying that maybe we should wait until we’re home to start gettin’ grabby.”

Picking her head up, Fleur was about to answer his question, when an idea came to mind. An idea that she was sure both of them would enjoy very much.

“Because there’s something we can do here that we can’t do at the mansion, mon amour,” she said, giving him one last quick kiss before wiggling out of his lap. “Come along, dear. Make sure to bring your camera.”

“The camera? What are we gonna use that for?”

“You’ll see.”

“This thing’s internal memory isn’t gonna hold all that much.”

“It’ll be fine. Now get your butt up and follow me.”

Sam, though puzzled, rose from his seat and unplugged his camera. He followed his mare toward a more secluded part of the studio, away from the front door and many of the windows.

“So, what are we doin’ back here?” he asked, looking around.

The tip of Fleur’s horn glowed. With a series of spells, she levitated over lights, backgrounds, props, and anything else she could get her hooves on. While she ran her hooves through her mane, changing it from prim and proper to messy and alluring, she began setting everything up.

Though she was nowhere near the level of the stage ponies and prop designers when it came to things like this, she was still able to set up a nice scene. It was nothing special, just a table and a few knick-knacks in front of a white background, but it would do well enough for what she had in mind.

“I thought that you’d like to take a few pictures for the road,” she said, making sure to put the lighting at its lowest setting.

Sauntering over to the table, she peered over her shoulder and gave her human a look that brought a blush to his cheeks. Propping herself up onto the table, she stuck her rump out and flicked her tail out of the way.

“Just a few for our personal use~”

To her delight, Sam nearly dropped his camera, his eyes widening in shock when she gave her flank a teasing wiggle. “You want to do that here?”

“Of course. Why not end our last session with a bit of fun?”

Sam opened his mouth to reply, but she rolled onto her back, exposing even more of herself to him. His mouth immediately shut, those blue eyes of his drinking in her form.

“I…” His nose scrunched up. “I think I should say something about us gettin’ caught by someone… Or somethin’ like that.”

Fleur let out an overly loud moan, savoring that special feeling that one only had when they were about to do something filthy at their place of work. She spread her legs as far as she could, reaching down with a hoof to tease her sex.

“There is no one else here, my love,” she said, her back legs twitching from pleasure. “And there won’t be for many hours. We’re all alone, and we can do whatever we want.”

She picked her head up and looked at her flustered, red-faced human, humming as she felt heat making its way into her lower belly. “So, mon humain. Why don’t you ask me to strike a few poses?”

Sam looked at the supermodel, tapping a closed fist against his bottom lip. His eyes narrowed thoughtfully, and he let out a hum of his own. Quietly, he thought over the ramifications and consequence of what he was about to do. After several seconds of this, he finally nodded, lifting his camera up to his face.

“Fuck it. I’d be a jagoff not to do somethin’ like this… Alright, back on your belly.”

Fleur did as she was asked, once again flicking her tail out of the way to expose her marehood.

Sam let out a whistle, giving his head a shake before snapping a few pictures. “Wew… Alright, now look over your shoulder and—yeah, just like that. Just like that…”

For the next ten minutes, the wet dream of every colt, stallion, and dirty magazine recruiter came to life. Fleur did every dirty thing that her photographer asked and then some. Pressing her cheek against the floor with her backside sticking high into the air, exposing her teats, playing with her marehood, opening her mouth nice and wide to show her warm, wet mouth and her long, thick tongue. She did it all.

As the poses became more and more erotic, Sam became more and more flustered. He began pausing in the middle of asking for a pose and just looked at her. He started squirming in place. The bulge in his pants became more noticeable, and his photography became sloppier and sloppier. Still, he managed to power through almost a hundred pictures before letting his camera drop from his face.

“A-Alright. I think that’s all I can put on this thing,” he said, wiping a bead of sweat from his brow.

Fleur awed, rolling onto her belly and resting her head in her hooves. “Are you sure, mon amour?” she asked, her back legs kicking. “There’s no room for one more photo?”

She blew a kiss at her human, who let out a groan.

“You’re killing me here, woman,” he said, covering a face with a hand.

The supermodel let out a giggle, rolling off of the table and standing up. “Aw, does my poor bébé need some relief?”

The tip of her horn glowed, and with a spell she unbuttoned and unzipped his pants.

“Why don’t you come over here for some close up shots?”

Sam perked up, eagerly taking a step toward her. He nearly took another one when he looked down at his camera and frowned. Whipping around, he looked for a place to put it. Thankfully for him, Fleur was already one step ahead. With a spell, his camera disappeared with a pop, teleported next to his computer and printer.

“Come my love. Venez et aimez votre jument~”

Not bothering to take his clothes off, Sam rushed over and lifted the unicorn bodily into the air.

Fleur laughed, wrapping her back legs around his middle as he laid her back on the table. With a spell, she pushed his pants and underwear down, allowing his cock to spring free.

“Yes. Yes. Rut your jument,” she said, biting her lip as she felt his member sliding against her inner thigh. “Fill me up!”

Sam smiled, kissing Fleur deeply. Placing his hands on her hips, he thrust his hips slowly, rubbing his mushroom-like head against the lips of her marehood. The table creaked as his hip connected against her rump with a meaty thud. Fleur whimpered, her back legs twitching.

Pulling back, Sam bucked his hips with a little more force once, then twice more, holding onto the unicorn tightly as she squirmed underneath him.

“Don’t tease me, you brute,” she demanded, tightening her grip around his middle.

Sam grinned. “I’m just makin’ sure you’re ready to go.”

“I am ready to go!” Fleur growled, grabbing his member with her magic and angling it downward for proper penetration. “Now fill me up, for Celestia’s sake!”

Taking a deep breath, Sam pressed his cock against Fleur’s cunny. Slowly, he began to push himself into his mare.

Fleur let out a squeak when she felt the first inch of him entering her. That squeak turned into a moan as he continued pushing, forcing her marehood to accommodate his length and girth.

Inch after hard, throbbing inch, he entered the mare, filling her up like she hadn’t been filled in a long time. Her human was as large as his size suggested. If she had been a regular-sized mare, she might not have been able to take him, and even with her size advantage it was proving to be a challenge.

“Merde. Celestia. Zut. Merde. Merde. Merde!” she whimpered into her lover’s mouth, her eyes crossing.

When his hips touched hers, she let her head fall back onto the table, her heart beating a mile a minute. Sam, released the breath that he was holding, a hazy, far-off look in his eyes.

“Are you… are you alright there, hon?” he asked, trying to catch his breath.

“Le foin saint il est grand!”

“…What?”

Fleur rolled her hips, causing her human to grit his teeth. “Buck me, please. Buck me!”

Slowly, Sam pulled his back, sliding his cock out of her. Fleur wiggled and moaned, both unhappy that he no longer filled her and pleasure-racked as he withdrew. When just his tip was left inside of her, he took a deep breath and pushed his hips forward once again.

“Yes. Just like that, mon amour,” Fleur said, cupping his face with her hooves. “Just l-like that.”

Sam was gentle at first. He took his time, testing just how much his mare could take. Soon, however, he began to pick up the pace. The table creaked and groaned as his thrusts increased tempo. Wet, meaty slaps filled the air, along with moans.

“Oui. Oui. Oui. OUI. OUI!” Fleur groaned, grinding her hips against her human’s as he bottomed out inside of her. “Harder, Sam, ha—buck~!”

Her back arched and her eyes snapped shut tightly. “Yesssss~”

Sam grunted and growled, slamming into her with more and more ferocity. His fingers groped and dug into her flank, giving him more leverage to thrust.

“Fucking hell…” he panted. “Fucking…”

His member throbbed, releasing a spurt of precum inside of Fleur. The unicorn’s marehood flexed around his cock, trying to coax more out of him even as she felt the heat in her belly building up.

Her eyes slowly opened and grew huge. “ Celestia. Que Celestia m'aide. Il va—BUCK!”

She let out a scream as her pleasure boiled over and she came. Her marehood clamped down onto her lover’s manhood, trying to bring him to orgasm as well, but Sam simply continued to thrust, not slowing down even as Fleur tensed and bucked underneath him, coating his groin in her cum.

“Enculer! Salope! Buck! BUCK!”

Sam let out a groan on his own, trying his hardest to weather the alien yet very pleasurable feeling of being milked for his seed. He buried himself to the hilt inside of Fleur, just staying there for a few moments, waiting for her orgasm to subside so that she just laid there limply on the table, panting and soaked with sweat.

“You… You holding up al—”

“Yes!” Fleur moaned.

Sam twitched, his cock firing off another spurt of pre. “Do you think you’ll be good to kee—”

“Buck me!” Fleur demanded, slapping his ass as hard as she could with her magic. “Buck me! Fill me up! Cum in me, you étalon!”

Letting out a noise that sounded suspiciously like a yelp, the human once again began thrusting, much to the unicorn’s delight. She reached up, wrapping her hooves around his neck and pulling him into another kiss.

A bolt of pleasure from her overly-sensitive marehood caused her to gasp. She quickly broke the kiss, her face contorting with pleasure as she felt that heat once again build.

“Quand vas-tu finalement cum? Peux-tu même cum ta grande bête?,” she said, biting her lip and arching her back. “Essaye-tu de me ruiner ou—BUCK!”

Another orgasm, just as strong as the first, slammed into Fleur. She let out another scream, while Sam’s thrusts became quicker and sloppier. One of the table’s legs cracked, under a particularly savage thrust, nearly sending it, Fleur, and him to the floor.

Sam groaned, grabbing the unicorn’s tail and yanking on it each time he hilted. He could feel that familiar ticklish sensation building up inside of him.

“Fleur… I’m gonna—fucking… I’m gonna cum soon,” he said, biting his lip. “Where do you want—?”

“If you do it anywhere—ah~! other than—BUCK! inside I’m never going to speak to you again!” Fleur cried, locking her back legs around him so that he had no hope of pulling out even if he wanted to. “Now cum inside me! Faites-moi votre jument!”

With a groan, Sam hilted one final time. His fingers dug into Fleur’s flank and his body tensed. “Fuck.”

Fleur moaned, pressed her backside against his hips as he felt the first load of the human’s cum fire out his tip. Just as that spurt finished, his cock twitched, sending another rope of sperm into her deepest depths.

“Yes… Just like… that,” she hissed, wiggling her backside to coax every drop out of him. “Just… like that, mon amour…”

On the fourth, spurt he had filled her up completely. On the sixth, cum was leaking out of her and onto the table. On the tenth, Fleur found herself cumming for the third time. Eventually, however, the flow of cum dissipated, and Sam’s cock ceased it’s twitching.

The human, panting hard, released his death grip on Fleur’s hips. He let out a sigh, pressing himself against her and going limp, his member beginning to soften. Fleur kept a tight grip on his middle, making sure that he didn’t pull out of her just yet. She laughed quietly to herself, nuzzling her human as he rested his head on her shoulder.

“Someone was a bit… backed… up, no?” she asked, letting her head flop back down onto the table.

“It’s been… a couple of weeks since… I jerked off,” Sam replied, sounding absolutely exhausted. “And you… weren’t making it any… easier on me… sister.”

“I didn’t make… it easy on… you?”

“It’s the… Prench. It made it… hard to focus…”

Fleur laughed, kissing the top of Sam’s head. “I’ll have to remember… that, Mon Coeur”

A shiver went up the photographer’s spine. Fleur felt his softening member twitch, struggling to reharden.

Laughing again, the unicorn leaned down and gave his ear a nibble. “Vous étiez incroyable, mon amour. Le meilleur étalon avec lequel j'ai déjà été~

Sam groaned, wiggling. “Give me ten… minutes, woman. I’m only… human.”

“My human,” Fleur corrected.

Slowly lifting his head, Sam looked up at the supermodel. He was smiling, she noticed. A tired, sweaty smile, but she could see the warmth and genuine affection in it.

“I guess… I am, huh?” he said, giving her a kiss on the nose before laying his head right back down.

“You are,” Fleur said with a nod, kissing him again. “Forever and ever.”

The two closed their eyes. They might have fallen asleep on that table, holding each other tightly, if a certain noise hadn’t cut through the silence of the studio. Though quiet, the noise was the unmistakable sound of a printer running.

Sam’s eyes shot open. Lifting his head up, he looked over his shoulder. “What the fuck…”

“Ze magicks!”, a very familiar voice yelled.

Fleur, her eyes still closed and basking in her afterglow, simply smiled. Grabbing her human’s head, she gently lowered it back down onto her chest.

“Non,” she said, shaking her head. “Non.

Author's Note

Alrighty, I'm all done. I'd like to thank everyone for little at this little story of mine. Hoped you liked it.

I'd also like to thank the people that have been pointing out french mistakes that were made. Now that this story is all done I'll make sure to fix all of it, so if you see anything in this chapter or earlier ones feel free to pm me.

Well, thanks it, upvote if you haven't, follow me if you want, etc.