C'est la vie

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.