The Flicker of a Film
by The Princess Rarity
"You're a filthy gold digger," he hissed. "You never loved me, did you?"
She kept staring at herself in the vanity mirror, refusing to turn around and look at him. However, her reflection gave away the truth, as it showed her broken expression.
He stepped forward, making himself so close that he was literally breathing down her neck. He smashed his cigarette against the side of the dresser, and took her hoof in his. For a moment, she was convinced that his anger was gone...
...but she was a fool to believe such a thing.
He whipped her around so they were face-to-face, and he looked awfully stern.
"All you really love is money," he muttered.
She trembled, with crocodile tears in her eyes, and winced as he threw a bag of bits on the floor. The money spilled out, pooling around her hooves and she let out a gasp as she looked up and saw the pain in his gaze.
"Go on, then!" he demanded. "Buy diamonds, carriages, exquisite furs, whatever you wish! Purchase Canterlot Castle if you want, I don't give a damn!"
"And cut!"
A bell went off, the cameras shut off and spotlights turned on, allowing the cast of the movie to take a break. A collection of relieved sighs echoed throughout the filming arena.
The director let out a squeal, rushing towards the stars of the show. "Fleur, you were fantastique, dah-ling, and Fancy, zee pain in your eyes!" A gasp left the director and she placed a hoof on her chest dramatically. "Zere is a reason I cast you two. You work so perfect."
"Thank you, Ms. Finish," Fancy Pants grinned, as he let out a cough. "Ugh, I despise those cigarettes. Could somepony get me a breath mint?"
An intern rushed over, tending to his needs almost immediately as a makeup artist worked on Fleur's mane, prepping the actress for the next scene. Trying not to whine as the brush was violently tugged through her pink locks, Fleur looked to her costar, and gave him a sweet smile.
"You did a wonderful job," she murmured.
"You as well," he replied, letting out a chuckle. "For a minute, I almost thought those tears of yours were real. Then I remembered how good of an actress you really are."
She blushed. "You are not so bad yourself," she teased.
"Oi! You two!" a random cast member called. "Can I get a photo shoot?"
"Pardonnez-moi?" Fleur spoke up, with a raised eyebrow.
Fancy just shrugged, and the two were suddenly bombarded by a lanky young mare who was levitating up a camera and holding a notepad in her hooves.
"Photo shoot," she repeated. "And if you got time, what about an interview?"
"I suppose that could be arranged," Fancy mused, looking to his costar, who nodded.
"Great!" the paparazzo beamed. "So, I'm working for Cosmarepolitan, and the buzz is that this new movie you two are currently filming right now has a very steamy scene between your characters. Can you confirm or deny this?"
Fleur let out a nervous laugh, and cleared her throat. "Well, it's not false," she said sheepishly.
"I haven't gotten that far in the script," Fancy admitted. "When does that occur?"
"You'll have to find out on your own," Fleur giggled.
The photographer nodded, and looked down to her notepad, using another bit of her magic to scribble down some notes. She nodded. "Uh-huh, cute behavior between you both, good, we like that," she mused.
"Now hold on, are you filming this?" Fancy asked.
"Yeah," the reporter said, with a nonchalant shrug. "It helps. The audiences love you two, on and off-screen! Every little bit counts. Now, Fleur, rumor has it you've been flirting with the director's husband, yes or no?"
"Definitely not!" Fleur blurted out.
"Oh, I'm playing with ya, there's no rumor!" A laugh escaped the reporter. "Besides, when you're working with a hunk like this guy here-" She pointed to Fancy Pants and she smirked. "-why would you want anypony else?"
A stammer escaped Fleur and she looked over to her costar. "You misunderstand, Fancy and I work together, nothing more," she explained. "When the cameras are off, we are close friends, but other than that, I do not- I mean, well-" No makeup was needed for her blush. "He is good-looking, I would not deny him that. But my career is flying by far too fast, I can barely keep up with it, when would I find time for a relationship?"
Fancy nodded. "I agree with Fleur," he said. "She is a wonderful mare, she makes acting seem so natural, but the only sparks between us are when we have a scene together."
The reporter pouted. "Well, that's a shame," she said.
"Alas, we are not our characters," Fleur defended.
"Anyway, what about the movie? What kind of spoilers can you give us?"
"We do not allow interviews!" the director shrieked, as she suddenly ran over and yanked the camera away. "Security! Dispose of zis!"
A frown made it's way across the young paparazzi's expression. "Hey, c'mon, what gives?" she argued, running after the guard who was walking off with her beloved camera. "Dude! Give it back, I got a job to keep here!"
The protests echoed throughout the studio as the two actors turned to one another, both of them now completely bashful of what had just happened.
Fancy was the first to speak up, as he cleared his throat and gave a charming smile.
"Well, that was certainly entertaining," he chuckled.
"Indeed it was," Fleur replied, as she brushed her now frizzy mane out of her vision.
An awkward silence formed between the two, only before she hesitated, levitating over the thick book that was the script for their film. "Should we practice the next scene?" she offered.
He brightened up, and gave a nod.
Even if it was for just a little while, the awkward off-screen moment had disappeared as they were both lost in their own world of the dramatic arts. No longer were they amateur actors who were just trying to make it in the biz, they were now both enraptured in the universe of drama and heart-tugging moments as their characters.
Together, for now, they were scandalous marefia members, forbidden to be in love...
"We fight, and we make love," she crooned. "That's all we've ever done, and it's been keeping us together. We have riches, fame, a nice life, why try to ruin it?"
He scowled. "How is it love if all you ever do is scream in my face about how I never bring home enough money?" he spat. "And how is asking for your hoof in marriage going to ruin anything? For all you know, it could help this trainwreck of a relationship we have."
She let out a snort. "If we were to wed, the chaos that the city would erupt into would be insane."
"We could run away," he said.
"You're the boss of the gang," she pointed out. "Can't leave behind an entire army, can you?" She batted her eyes, perhaps in an attempt to distract him. "Really, darling, just let things be. It will all fall into place, it always does."
But she was a sneaky vixen - or rather, her character was, anyway - and he wouldn't fall for it.
"I know what your trick is," he muttered.
"Oh?" she said softly, raising an eyebrow.
"You want my money and power. When you get that, you'll leave me," he snapped.
"Maybe," she whispered. "Or maybe not."
Their eyes met, her radiant violet against his deep ocean blue ones, and the world stopped for a moment. It was cascading back and forth between real life and pretend. The pendulum of suspense swung back and forth.
Continue on with the scene or quit while ahead was the question in the air.
Clearing her throat and closing the script book, Fleur found herself back on the ground again.
"Well, we're going to do just fine," she said.
Fancy Pants nodded, giving her a smile.
"With all due respect, your Manehatten accent is terrible," he mused.
She laughed. "They told me that it was supposed to be Neigh Jersey," she argued, happy to no longer be stuck in that raspy voice for her character. Her wonderful Prance accent rang out like a bell as she spoke normally.
He shrugged. "Goes to show what I know," he said, with a chuckle.
The two performers shared a smile, and then, everything froze again.
No longer were they actors. Characters were not plaguing their minds. There was no screaming director or persistent agents telling them what to do and what not to do. Fame was not crucial right now. In this minute, they were just Fleur de Lis and Fancy Pants. Coworkers. Stardom didn't really matter right now, as they shared a gaze and the smiles never left their expressions.
It had always been like this - everypony said they had chemistry, no matter what.
"Alright, alright, back to work!" a voice called.
That yell was enough to snap Fleur and Fancy out of their trance, and they simply watched as the workers moved the set and cameras around to get ready for the filming of the next scene.
"By the way, Fleur?"
"Yes?"
Her smile was sweet, her gaze inviting and her appearance, though disheveled for the role, was perfect nonetheless. Fancy's smile didn't fade in the slightest.
"We should spend more time together off-screen," he said.
"I suppose that could be arranged," she murmured.
"You're sure you're not too busy with your career?" he replied, in a bit of teasing manner.
She took his hoof in hers, and playfully winked. "I think, for you, I could make time," she said.
~ la fin ~
Author's Note
So I had my followers do a poll and a handful of people wanted something with Fleur de Lis. Romance just so happened to also be a popular choice, so I paired her up with the only pony I ship her with. This is what happened. Y'all might wanna keep your eyes peeled for more of these experimental oneshots. No idea if they'll be any good or not, but there's no harm in trying!
p.s. - my original plan for this was a multi-chapter with drama and shiz, but I have enough of those on my plate and I really didn't wanna let this idea slip through the cracks, so yeah.
