A Trip to Luna's Moon, or the Equestrian Dream Factory

The doors swung open with more enthusiasm than Flicker Light had intended as he strode into the theatre, a cheque held above his head in his magic. He could feel his smile growing on his face with each and every step.

They had said yes! He finally had the bits required to make the film he had always dreamed of making. Oh, today simply could not get any better. He was so happy he felt like nothing in the world could ruin his day!

“I’m taking it from that goofy face of yours that your meeting with the Bit siblings went well,” Swindle said, looking up at Flicker from the concession stand as he waltzed in.

Flicker nodded, his face practically lighting up like a heartwarming tree. “Ten thousand bits to make the film!” Flicker elaborated, his whole body giddy with excitement.

“That’s wonderful!” Flicker heard the voice of Shadow Silhouette say. He looked up just in time to see the small pegasus flutter into the room from the balcony above. She came to a somewhat shaky landing beside him and gave him an excited look.

Swindle climbed over the top of the concession stand booth and trotted over, looking up at the cheque with a greedy expression. “Dare I ask how much they want us to pay them back for that?”

“Double what was given,” Flicker said quickly, refusing to let the implication of how high of a price that was lower his enjoyment of the moment.

Swindle Gyp grimaced. “They want twenty thousand bits?” he thought that over for a second before letting his shoulder relax somewhat. “I suppose that’s doable. The premier was rather successful, and we are all booked out for today's show. I suppose that really won’t be all that hard.”

Flicker’s grin grew tenfold and did a quick twirl on his hooves. “I know! Oh, this is turning out perfectly! I can’t wait to get started!”

“The film about the moon?” Shadow’s voice piped up. Both Flicker and Swindle turned and gave her a strange look. Shadow took a small step back. “Oh… um… I heard you talking about it a few days ago. I hope that’s okay...?”

Flicker shook his head to shake away the oddity of somepony knowing about his film ideas before he had told them. “It’s fine, and yes. ‘A Trip to Luna’s Moon’. I’ve wanted to make it my whole life.”

The doors leading into the amphitheater swung open and a yellow mare with a red mane skipped in, humming a small little tune, a couple of bags of popcorn floating in her horns magical glow. Flicker whirled around in surprise to face her, having not expected another pony to be present. The mare stopped in her tracks under Flickers surprised glare, clearly not having expected such shock at her appearance.

The mare raised a hoof awkwardly and gave a small wave. “Um… hi…”

Flicker blinked before raising his own hoof out of instinct and waving back. “Uh… hi… who are you?”

The yellow and red mare cast Swindle Gype a confused look. “Did… um… Did Swindle not tell you?”

Flicker Light cast his own confused look towards Swindle who gave him a sheepish smile. “Wait, tell me what?”

Swindle’s sheepish smile grew into his normal charismatic grin. He gestured over to Shadow Silhouette, who was still standing beside Flicker. “Well, when we agreed to hire Shadow here last night to help us out, it got me thinking…”

Claiming that they had both agreed to hire Shadow was a bit of an understatement. Flicker had made it very clear from the moment he suggested the idea that there were no if, ands or buts in the matter. He refused to even consider the option of kicking Shadow out of the theatre, despite having no real idea who Shadow was, or how she came to be living in the theatre in the first place. Swindle had been less than thrilled at the idea of needing to pay more ponies, but Flicker quickly pointing out they had to expand the business somehow had quickly changed his mind.

“...Well it got me thinking that we needed employees,” Swindle Gyp continued lamely. He gestured over to the yellow mare. “This here is Popcorn. She saw the show last night and jumped on the idea of helping us out.”

Flicker cast a glance at Popcorn, before raising his hoof to her. She quickly extended her own hoof for a quick shake. “Welcome to the crew, Popcorn, I guess. My name's Flicker Light… which I guess you know already…” He paused and thought for a second. “You were sure quick to join up with us?”

Popcorn gave a small blush. “Well, I enjoyed the show, how could I not want to join up?” She placed the bags of popcorn down on the concession Stand and quickly turned back to face everypony. “Besides, I’ve always had a talent for illusion and projection magic. I figured this was a good opportunity for me.”

Swindle trotted over and threw a hoof around Popcorn’s neck, making her wince slightly. “Popcorn here is one of the best of the best when it comes to illusion magic. Studied out in Celestia’s school for gifted unicorns a few years back before comin’ out to Coltifornia. Figured it would be good to have some pony helpin’ you out with that projector of yours, instead of always you always needing to check up on it. You might finally get the rest you need now that there are four of us running this joint,” he pulled away from Popcorn and clapped his fore hooves together. “Now, onto more important matters. Tell us about this big film of yours. I Simply cannot wait for this big vision of ours to come together.”

Shadow Silhouette quickly fluttered around Flicker and sat down, as if awaiting story time. Flicker gestured to Swindle quickly before beginning. “I’ve already told you most of it, but I can probably give you all a quick rundown…” He tapped his chin for a second as he tried to figure out how to start. “Well, it begins with princess Celestia. She, and a bunch of her closest friends decided to build a rocket to go to the moon and meet Princess Luna. To reconnect with each other and overcome their differences through tolerance.”

Shadow raised her hoof into the air slowly. Flicker looks over at her for a second in confusion before realizing she is trying to ask a question, with a shake of his head and a small chuckle, he gestures for her to speak her mind.

“How… um… if you’re okay with me asking… how are you going to film on the moon?” Shadow asked, her voice filled with nervous curiosity.

Flicker’s muzzle split into a wide grin, happy to get to explain his ideas. “We won’t actually need to go anywhere. We can film it all here. We just need to build a set. Since no pony knows what the moon looks like, our imagination’s the limit with what we can do!” His thoughts quickly got away from him and he began to ramble about all the things he had always wanted to do. “In fact, I was thinking we could even try to add colour to the film! By painting the film images made by the magic lantern frame by frame. It would be a lot of work, but I think the effect could be…”

Crash!

They all jumped as a loud crash sounded from above them. Shadow leaped to her hooves with fright, both her mane and tail shooting straight up in surprise.

“What in Tartarus was that?” Swindle groaned, his eyes flickering up to look at the general direction the sound had come from. He gave Shadow a suspicious glare. “There aren’t more ponies living in here… are there?”

Shadow shook her head, her eyes still looking up at the roof. “Not unless they’re really sneaky. I haven’t seen anypony up there before.”

Popcorn shrugged. “It’s probably rats. This place was abandoned before you moved in right?” She gave Shadow an apologetic look. “Well, Kinda abandoned.”

Flicker furrowed his brow. “I don’t think so. I made sure to deal with all the rats before the premier. There’s no way there are more!”

There was a small yelp, muffled and slightly distant, but still very much audible. “Watch it. Don’t break it,” A voice scolded. It was too quiet to make out anything about the voice and who it belonged to, but the words were still distinct enough for everypony to hear.

Everypony froze again and looked around at each other. There was somepony, or from the sounds of it, two ponies up in the rafters that weren't supposed to be there. From the direction of the noise, it sounded like they were in the lighting booth.

Swindle cast Shadow yet another look. “Well, whether they were there before or not. Somepony is up there.”

At the sound of another small crash, Flicker couldn’t wait any longer in suspense. He spun around and rushed towards the double doors to the amphitheater. Shadow quickly took to the air and rushed after him, followed swiftly by both Swindle and Popcorn

Flicker and Shadow burst into the theater first, the doors banging open as they charged in. Flicker’s gaze immediately turned towards the trap door leading towards the lighting booth.

He froze as his eyes landed on the ladder.

Two ponies were quickly descending the ladder. They were clad in dark cloaks, hiding their faces and hides, and one of them was carrying his magic lantern camera in their magical grasp.

“Hey! What do you think you’re doing!” Flicker shouted at them, drawing both of the mystery ponies attention to the doorway of the theatre.

The pony not carrying the camera made a startled eep sound as they realized they had been spotted. They tugged on the other ponies cloak hastily, signalling for them to do something. There was a quick flash of light, and both of the ponies disappeared, taking the camera with them.

Swindle and Popcorn stumbled through the door, their heads darting around to spot the intruders. “What’s going on? Who’s here?” Swindle asked, his own gaze shifting to where the intruders had just been moments before.

Both Flicker and Shadow spun around, already charging for the exit of the theater. “They took it! They stole our camera!” Flicker shouted, his mind filling with fear.

He only had one magic lantern camera. It was the one his father and uncle had made so long ago. While he did have a basic understanding of how the camera worked, he doubted he would be able to build a new one from memory and scratch alone and with nothing to go off of.

“Quick, they couldn’t have gotten far!” Shadow Silhouette said, flying out the door of the theatre and looking around the street. Flicker was surprised to see much of her nervous behaviour and mannerisms melt away under the seriousness of the situation.

Swindle, Popcorn! You check that way!” Flicker ordered, turning and rushing around the left side of the theater. Shadow continued to dart after him, rising higher into the air with a flap of her wings to try and get a better look at the area around them. Without question, Swindle and Popcorn began searching the direction Flicker had directed, moving to the right and searching for the thieves.

“Flicker! Over here!” Shadow shouted, drawing his attention up to the skies. He saw her pointing towards an alley a few feet away just in time to see the edge of a cloak dart behind the brick building and out of sight.

Changing his direction, Flicker Light began racing towards the alley, his heart racing as he tried to pick up speed. He could already feel his hooves tiring as he continued to power forwards. He was not the most fit of ponies.

Flicker galloped into the alleyway, Shadow swooping in behind him and looking around. They saw one of the cloaked ponies clamber over a fence at the far end of the alley, their cloak snagging on the top and ripping a little, giving them both a quick flash of yellow hide beneath.

“Come on! We can’t let them get away!” Flicker shouted, taking a deep breath before continuing to run forwards. Shadow swooped over the top of the fence, pausing only a second to help Flicker over. He quickly waved her off. “Keep going, don’t wait for me.”

Shadow nodded and darted off, flying after the intruders.

Flicker grunted and hauled himself up onto the fence. He huffed as he came to a quick stop at the top, already feeling out of breath. He had no idea how that other pony had made it look so easy.

With another grunt, he pulled himself the rest of the way over the fence and continued running. He could see the last bits of Shadows tail as she darted around yet another corner in the alley.

He sighed, his lungs feeling like they were on fire. “I need to get more in shape,” He grumbled to himself as he pulled himself around the corner to see that they had come to a dead end.

The alley was abruptly stopped by a large brick face of an apartment building. Shadow was hovering in the centre of the alley, her face a mix between a scowl and worry as she faced off against the two cloaked ponies who had skidded to a stop against the far wall.

Now a little closer and not in as much of a rush, Flicker could see that the two thieves were a lot shorter than he had expected. Not quite the height of a full grown pony, but still taller than your average foal. He raised an eyebrow at them as he slowly trotted towards them.

“Well, Brother of mine, it looks like we’re in a bit of a sticky situation,” One of the cloaked thieves squeaked, trying to back up more as Flicker and Shadow drew closer to them.

Flicker pulled up short. That voice? How could he forget a voice as memorable as that? “Flim and Flam?” Flicker panted, still trying to catch his breath. He reached out and pulled the two thieves hoods off with his magic, revealing two identical heads of yellow and red.

Shadow gave Flicker a confused look. “Wait, you know these ponies?”

Flicker nodded, taking another step forward. “Yeah, they’re my advertising team…” he returned his attention to the two young con ponies. “What are you doing? Stealing out stuff?”

Flim and Flam gave each other worried looks. “Well my brother and I were quite interested in this little film business of yours you see, and we decided to take things into our own hooves a little,” One of them said, whether it was Flim or Flam that spoke, no pony could tell. “We thought that what you’d set up was the opportunity of a lifetime. That was of course, until we found an even bigger opportunity!”

Flicker’s eyes narrowed. “So you thought you could just steal my stuff and make your own films?”

The Flim Flam brothers gave each other confused looks. After a second, they both broke out into childish laughter. “Make our own films?” The brother that had not yet spoken began, wiping a tear from his eye. He waved his hoof to dismiss the idea. “Oh no! My brother and I happened upon another business partner. One who we simply could not refuse!”

Flicker and Shadow exchanged worried looks. “Another partner?” Shadow asked, her gaze returning to the two young ponies. “What other partner?”

“Well now, that would be us,” A gravelly voice announced from behind them.

Startled, Flicker and Shadow spun around, to find their path blocked by three ponies in dark blue suits. Flickers eyes widened in surprise, his eyes catching on a specific dark red stallion with a thin scar on the clip of his eye. He had met this pony before, in an alley right after he had been kicked out of his apartment. Flicker still had a few bruises to prove it too.

Out of the corner of his eye, Flicker saw Shadow take a nervous step back. “No… oh no, not t-them…” She breathed, her voice coming out in a terrified whisper. “P-please anypony but them…”

The pony with the thin scar took an intimidating step towards them. “Flicker... I didn’t realize it was you,” His mouth twisted into a menacing smile. “You’re looking better than you were last time we met.”

Flicker felt his legs growing weak. What had Swindle called these ponies? The Nightmare Gang? The biggest Crime family in all of Coltifornia if not all of Equestrian? Flicker took a nervous step backwards, only to find that he was now pressed up against the back of the alley, cornered. He spotted the flim flam brothers quickly skirting out from behind him to join up with the well dressed gang ponies.

Shadow shuffled her wings nervously at her side as the three gang ponies began trotting towards them. “F-f-flicker… we need to get out of here… r-right now…”

The scarred gang pony tisked and shook his head. “I’m afraid you two are going to be coming with us. We’ve got a lot to talk about,” He stomped his hoof on the ground twice. Immediately, the two ponies at his side rushed forwards, making Shadow leep back with a startled eep. Flicker spun around, preparing to buck and fight it he had too.

It didn’t matter. The two gang ponies flashed forwards faster than they could react, burlap sacks already in their hooves and snapping shut around Flicker and Shadows heads, sending their vision into darkness.

The sack around Flickers head was ripped off violently, jerking his head back slightly in an uncomfortable manner. He squinted as the light of the room flooded his vision, momentarily blinding him as he tried to orientate himself. He saw Shadow sitting beside him, her muzzle scrunched up and her eyes narrowed as she tried to adjust her eyes to the light as well.

Flicker had tried to resist as the Nightmare Gang ponies had escorted him away, but it had done him no good. They were a lot stronger than he was, and there were a lot more of them. He had felt the gang ponies load him and Shadow into and eventually off of a wagon, but the trip had taken a few hours and he had no clue where that wagon had taken them. They could be anywhere in Coltifornia by now for all he knew.

As his eyes finally began to take in the rest of the room, he spotted a large ornate desk before him. Behind it sat a grey earth pony buck with a dark black mane that had been combed back in a very suave looking fashion. Like the rest of the nightmare gang ponies, he was dressed in a classy, dark blue suit, though his was completed with a black vest and bowtie that seemed to go well with his mane.

The pony behind the desk looked Flicker and Shadow over for a second before silently opening a drawer in his desk and pulling out a small box. “Cigar?” The pony asked, his voice sounding strangely casual while still having a strong sense of superiority that demanded respect.

Flicker shook his head quickly. He had never been much for smoking, and the last thing he wanted to do was take anything from a pony who had for all intents and purposes, ponynapped him.

The pony raised an eyebrow at Flicker for a second before shifting his sights to Shadow. “Cigar?” He offered again. Shadow took a few minutes to respond, her whole body trembling as she stared at the pony, before finally giving a small, timid shake of her head. The stallion sighed. “Oh well, suit yourselves,” He pulled a cigar out slowly and placed it in his mouth before lighting it with a lighter. He puffed the cigar for a moment, taking in the taste before removing it from his mouth and looking back at his captives. “I’d imagine you are very confused right now.”

Flicker couldn’t help it. He scoffed, and rolled his eyes. “No really? What gave you that idea?” Shadow gave him a rough nudge, telling him to be quiet. Flicker quickly silenced himself, realizing that insulting this pony before him probably wasn’t going to get him anywhere.

The pony simply gave Flicker an amused look before taking another puff of their cigar. “You see Flicker Light, this film business of yours has made quite an uproar in Coltifornia. It hasn’t even been a full twenty four hours since your opening premier and already news of this new upcoming artform has spread across the city. And things that cause uproars and make bits are my business you see. I simply had to invest a little of my own time into this whole ordeal.”

Flicker raised an eyebrow at that. “So… what exactly do you want here?”

The mob boss waved Flicker’s question off with a hoof. “This film thing seems to have a fair amount of potential. I’d be a fool to not at least be a little interested,” He tapped his chin thoughtfully, mulling something over in his mind. “There is a new election coming up in a few months, perhaps you’ve heard of it. My political stances are of little concern to you, and in all fairness of little concern to myself, but if a pony like me wishes to stay where he is in this city, he needs to make sure the ruling bodies stay in line with his needs, regardless of personal political desires and feelings. This camera of yours is just the thing I need to keep my head in the game.”

“But… okay… um… I kinda need it though…” Flicker mumbled, knowing that that rather lame sounding argument probably wasn’t going to hold much water when faced by a mob boss and a sudden central role in a game of politics and intrigue.

“Oh, of course!” The mob boss said, clapping his fore hooves together. “Perish the idea of me stealing anything from you. I have no desire to put a stop to your little business. In fact, a successful new industry in Coltifornia would be quite beneficial to me. You will have your magic lamp camera returned to you in time. I will have it delivered right back to your theatre by tomorrow evening at the latest. Right after I have made a few copies of my own of course.”

Flicker looked over to Shadow Silhouette, hoping to get some backup in the conversation. As soon as his eyes landed on her, he realized he was going to be on his own in this talk. She was shivering so much, Flicker was surprised her wings and hooves didn’t fall off and her eyes were wide as if she had seen a ghost.

Turning back to the mob boss, Flicker asked, “So, what exactly are you going to do with the camera?”

The mob boss gave him a smug grin. “I intend to make a film of course. One that might sway the general populous into my mindset for the coming election. I have an associate that is quite interested in getting his hooves on it as well. My interests at the moment currently lie in his success.”

Flicker gave a small growl, but quickly silenced himself when he realized that wouldn’t accomplish anything. “I can’t let you do that! Film isn’t about forcing ponies to think a certain way! It’s about…”

The mob boss slammed his hoof down on his desk, pulling Flicker up short. The mob boss's muzzle twisted into a growl and for the first time since this conversation had started, Flicker Light suddenly felt very afraid of the pony sitting in front of him.

After a second of glaring at Flicker, the mob boss straightened his bowtie and took a quick puff of his cigar, putting on a friendlier expression. “Why should it not be used for political gain? All other forms of media are? Besides, this is not exactly a matter that you have any say in. I will be taking your camera, and I will be making a film. You will not interfere,” The mob boss leaned back in his seat and took a final drag of his cigar before finally putting it out in an elegant looking ashtray on his desk. He looked Flicker and Shadow over for yet another moment before letting an uncomfortably warm smile spread across his face. “I’ll tell you what, why don’t we make a little deal. There’s no reason there needs to be a losing party here.”

“No!” Shadow suddenly blurted, bolting out of her seat and hovering in the air above them. Two ponies guarding the door that Flicker hadn’t previously noticed moved to restrain her, but the mob boss put a hoof up to stop them. Shadow looked around, suddenly looking very embarrassed by her outburst. She slowly fluttered back to her seat. “Oh… um… sorry…”

The mob boss shook his head with a chuckle. “Think nothing of it. In fact, you, Shadow Silhouette, are part of this deal I was wishing to propose.”

Flicker cast Shadow a worried glance. “How did he know your na… Wait! Do you know these ponies!”

Shadow gave him a look that was somewhere between an apology and a cry for help. “Um… Maybe… I’ll tell you later...”

The mob boss chuckled. “Now about that deal. You see, I have no interest in fighting with you. Not over silly matters such as these. Instead, how about I offer you ponies protection. Clearly your theatre is an easy target for thieves as two foals managed to sneak in and steal your most valuable possession. Furthermore, with all the hubbub about this new potential world of cinema, I feel there will be more ponies looking to get in on some of that action. If you allow us to make a copy of your camera, and do not interfere with my plans, no pony will bother you again,” He leaned a little closer and put his hooves together atop his desk. “And I never forget ponies who have helped me. Perhaps once all this election stuff is over and my own film endeavors are no longer consuming my time, I can give you a few bits here and there to keep your company afloat. You would never need to fight to attain funding again.”

Flicker had to admit, that offer was really tempting. But he still didn’t like the idea of a pony like this having control over his life and property, especially since he had so rudely stolen it. “And if I refuse this deal of yours?” Flicker pushed, trying not to sound too rude.

The mob boss gave him a flat look. “Then I’ll still make my film, as I already have your camera. However, I simply won’t return it. You will be camera-less and receive no protection or funding from me in the future...” he lowered his head slightly, his eyes becoming shrouded in shadows as his brow blocked them off from the overhead light above him. “...And there might be a few unfortunate... accidents. I hear film is very flammable. I’d hate if your theatre caught fire, and the fire ponies were unable to get there in time. Such a shame that you and your friends couldn't make it out in time before the fire consumed you…”

Flicker gulped, the image that the mob boss was painting terribly vivid in his mind. He gave a terrified nod, unable to meet the mob bosses shadow shrouded eyes. “D-deal…”

The mob boss's face brightened and he put a large smile back onto his face. “Wonderful! I assure you that you will not regret making such a gracious choice,” his gaze shifted back to Shadow. “Your friend here just saved your hide. Consider your debt to me paid in full,” He gave them one more smile before gesturing to the two guard ponies. “That is all that I need. Take them away.”

As the two ponies approached, they pulled burlap sacks out and held them out. Flicker groaned. Darn it, he really didn’t want to put his head back into one of those.

It had started raining. Because life simply couldn’t give him a break. So much for his previous sentiment about nothing being able to ruin his day.

The Nightmare gang ponies had dropped them off in a seemingly random back alley. By the time Flicker and Shadow had managed to remove the sacks over their heads, the gang ponies had disappeared, as if never having been there at all.

Flicker sighed, looking up at the overcast sky as they slowly walked back to the theatre. They could have at least dropped them off closer. It looked like it was going to be an annoyingly long walk in the rain. A freezing breeze seemed to blow down the near empty streets, making an ice cold chill race through their bodies and drenched coats.

Flicker glanced over at Shadow Silhouette, who had taken to staring silently at her hooves as they trudged onwards. After a few moments of walking in awkward silence, he cleared his throat. “So, uh… what’s your story with the Nightmare Gang?”

Shadow winced. “I...I don’t really want to talk about it,” She turned her head away, refusing to make eye contact.

Flicker Light raised an eyebrow suspiciously. “Shadow, you need to tell me these kinds of things? If we’re going to work together, I need to know who I’m working with, and honestly, I don’t think I know the first thing about you.”

Sighing, Shadow returned her gaze to her hooves. She scuffed her hoof on the ground nervously for a second before responding. “W-what exactly do y-you want to know?”

“What your history with the Nightmare gang is to start. I don’t know much about them, but they seem like bad ponies...” Flicker answered truthfully. “And… Well, I guess a bit more about you as well. Your interests, hobbies… I don’t know… cutie mark story… I want to get to know you,” He blushed and glanced away himself. “If that’s not too much to ask.”

Shadow shook her head. “N-no, that’s… that’s fine. You let me stick around, so I suppose I owe you that much…”

“You don’t owe me anything,” Flicker argued, returning his gaze to her. She didn’t meet his eye. “I wasn’t simply going to kick you out of your home… even if you were just living in the roof of my theatre.”

“But I do owe you!” she burst, finally looking up and meeting Flickers gaze. “You let me stay when any other pony, even your business partner would have thrown me out! You gave me a job in a city where I was simply struggling to survive! I mean, you settled my debt with the Nightmare gang! Do you know how much that means!?”

Flicker shook his head, but he imagined that being in trouble with the Nightmare gang was pretty bad. “Is the Nightmare gang the reason you were sleeping in an abandoned theatre?”

Shadow reverted her gaze to the ground, and sighed. The heavy rain had soaked her mane, making the wet strands of hair sag into her face. “A few years ago, I moved to Coltifornia to start up my acting career. Stage shows mind you, film wasn’t really a thing.”

Flicker chuckled lightly at the specification. “Of that I am well aware.”

Shadow's face didn’t reflect the lightness of Flicker's laugh. “I didn’t have many bits at the time, so I was looking for a cheap place to stay. Surprisingly, I found a really high quality apartment in uptown that was selling for a shockingly low price. I bought the place in a heartbeat. It was a nice place, oddly cheap rent. I didn’t really think anything of it. I should have known that a place that nice wouldn’t have been selling for so cheap,” Shadow paused for a second to wipe some of the rain off her face with the back of her hoof. “It turns out the old owner of the apartment owed the Nightmare Gang some bits. A lot of bits actually. I don’t really know what for. As soon as I bought the place, they fled the city. The Nightmare gang came knocking on my door the next day…”

Flicker’s eyebrows furrowed together, a few raindrops dripping from his mane and rolling down his chin. “So? What did that have to do with you. You didn’t owe them any bits?”

“They didn’t see it that way,” Shadow sighed. “They expected me to pay what he owed. I couldn’t deliver that sort of thing. They threatened me. Or I thought they did. The Nightmare gang doesn’t make threats, only promises for ponies that fail to follow through with their demands.”

“So what? You fled and hid in the abandoned theatre?”

Shadow nodded. “I’ve always been a bit of a nervous pony. Making friends when I was in highschool was always hard. The only time I ever really felt confident was when I acted in school plays. It was why I wanted to become an actress in the first place. I felt it would be fitting to hide in the abandoned theater. No pony would look for me there. It worked for a while, of course, until you showed up.”

Flicker Light gave an apologetic grin. “Sorry…”

Shadow's eyes shot wide as she realized that her last statement sounded like she was accusing him. “No no! Don’t be! You’ve helped me so much and I’ve only known you for a day! Not to mention I’ve never really had friends before, so you’ve practically made all my dreams come true without even trying.”

Flicker felt himself blush again. “I don’t know about that, but I’m glad I could help out,” He looked Shadow over again for a second before continuing. “So, I guess that’s enough about those Nightmare gang jerks. What else is there to you? Obviously you like acting. What else?”

Shadow seemed to brighten up at that. “Oh… well, I like shadow puppets, that’s how I got my cutie mark actually!” she gestured to the image of the full moon on her rump. “I was on a camping trip when I was a filly. I entertained the rest of my class by making shadow puppets on the tent with the moonlight,” She sighed. “It was one of the few times ponies my age seemed to like me…” She looked back over at Flicker’s cutie mark. “What about yours? How did you get that cutie mark?”

Flicker glanced back at his own cutie mark, the image of a film projector stared back. “My dad and uncle were filming one of their short films,” Flicker started, his expression nostalgic as he remembered a better time a long time ago. “During the shoot, he showed me how to operate the camera. I wasn’t very good at it at first, but after a few tries, it practically became second nature. I was too engrossed in the filmmaking at the time and didn’t notice until I got home that I had gotten my cutie mark.”

They quickly crossed an empty street. It was a familiar street, one that Flicker had found himself on a couple of times in the past. To his right, Flicker could see the municipal government building, the very location that would soon hold the upcoming election. It was a fairly sparse street, only holding two other buildings. An apartment building that he knew his old landlord Rosemary lived in, and an abandoned skyscraper that had not seen use in far too many years.

A taxi wagon rushed past them. Flicker raised a hoof to try and catch the drivers attention, but the taxi just continued to speed away, leaving them behind in the torrential downpour. He sighed as the taxi turned a street corner and drove out of sight. “I guess we’re stuck walking back.”

Shadow stood straight up. “Oh, wait…” She stretched out her wing and raised it above Flicker’s head, using it to keeping him dry from the rain. “T-there. Now you wont get wet.”

Flicker gave her a flat look. “But you’re still stuck in the rain. You’ll catch a cold in this weather.”

Shadow shrugged, moving a little closer, pushing her side was up against Flicker’s own so that her wing was able to cover him properly. “Don’t worry about it. I’m a pegasus. We’re used to cold weather.”

Flicker gave her another look. He had never once in his life heard anything about Pegasi being immune to the cold. He was almost positive that she was making that up.

Giving a small grunt on, Flicker let his horn flare to life. After a second of concentration, a small shield of magic popped into existence above Shadow Silhouette’s head, keeping her away from the rain. Flicker was no expert with magic, but he was pretty sure he could hold up a simple spell like this for a bit. At least until they got back to the theatre.

His horn was probably going to be burning for a week after this though.

Shadow’s eyes widened as she looked up at the magical shield. “Whoa… cool!” She looked back at Flicker. “Thank you.”

Flicker shrugged. “Don’t mention it. Anything to help,” He shuffled a little closer to her to try and keep from the rain under her wing. He could feel her warmth radiating from her, keeping his shivering, wet body warm. Her soft, warm breath breathed gently against the tip of his muzzle, sending strange tingles down his spine.

He suddenly realized their faces were extremely close, their muzzles almost touching. Flicker Light quickly turned his head the other way, blushing profusely, his heart beating a little faster than it should have been. That was weird…

Shadow seemed to have noticed the same thing and turned her own head away, her cheeks turning a bright red. “So, uh…” Shadow stammered, trying to move the conversation along. “What… What are you going to do about your film now? Now that the Nightmare gang has your camera…?”

“Oh… I didn’t even think about that!” Flicker said, thankful for the sudden change in topic to take his mind off of… whatever had just happened. “I mean, there is a lot of work to be done before we need the camera. I guess while we wait for them to return it, we’ll start getting the set and crew together. Put up auditions for actors. That sort of stuff. I’ve already written the script so that won’t be a problem. Finding crew and actors interested in the project will be the hard part.”

Shadow scuffed the tip of her hoof softly against the ground nervously. “Um… I could… I could act. You know… if you want me to…”

Flickers ears shot up, suddenly extremely excited. “Of course! You would make a perfect Luna!” He exclaimed. He excitedly pulled closer and wrapped Shadow in a tight hug, forgetting about the rain entirely as he moved out from under the protection of her wing to wrap his hooves around her fully. After a few seconds of hugging, he blushed again and quickly pulled back under her wing, his expression filled with embarrassment. “Uh… hehe… sorry… got a little excited there.”

Shadow Silhouette giggled, her own cheeks flushing, though not nearly as hard as Flickers were. “That’s okay,” She smiled, giving him a little bump on the shoulder. “Hugs are always nice…” She paused, thinking over what Flicker had said. “Do… Do you really think I’d make a good Luna? I mean, that’s a really big role, isn’t it?”

Flicker gave an enthusiastic nod of his head. “Yeah, it is a large role, but you’d be perfect for it. You’ve already got the dark blue coat and mane and moon cutie mark. Plus you're a pegasus, and a fake horn is a lot easier than fake wings. You said yourself you are a good actress, and acting for film is easier than stage since there's no dialogue. And you’re super pretty and beautiful, just like everypony says Luna is supposed to be, and, and… And I’m going to stop talking now…” Flicker could feel the blush that was already on his face growing. He really hoped Shadow hadn’t picked up on that last comment of his.

From her surprised expression, he figured she had, but she didn’t mention it. Instead she just looked back down at her hooves. “I… Okay. Yeah. I can play Luna. I’d love to actually! I’ve just never done a big role like that before though…”

Shaking off his embarrassment, Flicker shrugged. “You’d be great. I know you would. Besides, I’ll be there to help you the whole way through if you need anything.”

Shadow looked up towards the end of the street where the FlickerLight Theatre was beginning to come into view. “I suppose we need to tell Swindle that the Nightmare gang has our camera.”

Flicker Light grimaced. “I suppose so… he’ll probably be okay though… after he stops scolding me about some bit making opportunity that I'm sure I missed somehow that is,” They both chuckled at that for a moment.

The rain finally let up and a bit of moonlight managed to peak down at them through the cloud layer. Shadow slowly folded her wing back against her side, while Flicker let the spell his horn was casting drop. They smiled up at the sky for a second, glad the rain was finally gone before they turned their smiles down to each other.

“Thank you,” Shadow said softly, her words so quiet Flicker almost didn’t hear them, even while standing as close to her as he was.

He gave her a questioning look in response. “For what? What did I do this time?”

Shadow shrugged. “I don’t know. Doesn’t matter. Just, thank you…”

They walked the rest of the way to the theatre in silence, simply enjoying each others company. Flicker could feel his cheeks grow warm and his smile widening. Right now he had a movie to start making, and now because of Shadow Silhouette, he was more excited about it than ever before.