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

“Wait… Flim and Flam? As in the owners of the Casino in Los Pegasus?” I gaped as our taxi wagon continued to drive down the street.

Director Horsehooves nodded. “The very same. Those two have had quite the successful last few years as of late I've heard, though I admit to having not paid as much attention to them as I probably should be.”

I blinked, trying to piece a few things together. “So… If those two con artists working with the Nightmare gang is common knowledge, why haven't they been arrested yet?”

Horsehooves gave a small smile. “Quite a few reasons, honestly. Firstly, news of their affiliation with the Nightmare gang didn’t come out till many years after they had broken all ties with the crime family altogether. Furthermore, they were far too young at the time for any real prison time, and Flicker decided to never press any charges when questioned.”

I felt my eyebrows furrow. “Wait, why wouldn’t he push charges? It sounds like they caused him a lot of trouble…”

“Oh, you don’t even know the half of the trouble that they caused. Had Flicker known what awaited him, perhaps he would have been more assertive with the Nightmare gang in regards to possession of his father's invention,” Horsehooves chuckled, though there was some heaviness to his mirth. “Perhaps if you would let me finish the story, you will have a better understanding on how things came to be the way they are, and why Flicker Light chose to do what he did in regard to those rapscallions.”

I raised a hoof for him to continue, only for the taxi wagon to pull to an abrupt stop. “Alright. We’ve reached your destination,” The cabbie driver announced, unhooking himself from the front of the taxi and moving to open up the door for us.

Horsehooves gave me a sympathetic smile and pulled himself out of the taxi wagon, quickly passing the driver a few bits in payment for his services. I noticed that he added a surprisingly large tip. He quickly checked a watch around his hoof. “We still have quite a few hours before the premier. If you are interested, I can finish the story once inside.”

I gave a small nod and climbed out of the wagon myself. “I would love to hear the rest of it. I feel like a story like this is one that I should have heard a long time ago, and I find myself itching to hear what the future has in store for Flicker.”

The director's smile looked somewhat forced as he began trotting away from the taxi and towards the theatre. The place looked much like how Horsehooves had described it in the story, though there were a few additions that I was sure had been added on later in life.

“It really is a story to remember, and the ending is perhaps one of the most important moments in film history to date,” Horsehooves agreed, pushing open the door and holding for me. I gave him a gratuitous nod as I trotted in.

“Unfortunately though, the future of Flicker Light’s story that you are so interested in is not as happy as you might expect. Until this point in the tale, he has seen a lot of success, but as they say, what goes up, must come down. Flicker Light had no way of knowing at the time, but something terrible had been set in motion. Things were beginning to take a terrible turn for the worst and he was soon to find himself on the edge of a knife, a discarded pawn in a dangerous game of chess and the unwilling participant in a twisted game of political power,” Horsehooves forced a cough and gave me a sheepish look. “Excuse me, my love for metaphors and wordplay tend to get the better of me while I tell stories.”

I gave him a smile before turning my attention to the theatre's opening room. “Don’t feel sorry for anything, as a columnist, I myself am quite a fan of metaphors and fancy wordplay,” a framed picture against the far wall caught my eye and I trotted over to look at it. The photo was in black and white, making guessing the ponies coat and mane colour impossible, but quickly reading the name on the small plaque below it quickly answered my question as to who the picture was of. “This is a picture of Swindle gyp? Yes?”

Horsehooves trotted over and looked up at the picture. He gave a quick nod. “It is. I believe there is one of Flicker and Shadow inside the amphitheater as well, but you will need to wait till the screening begins to see those.”

I nodded before turning back to face the famous director. “Well, as much as I figure that I should probably stay focused on our interview about your new film, you have fully engrossed me in this historical tale and I do wish for you to continue it.”

Horsehooves gave another chuckle and directed me over to a bench against one wall of the room. “I cannot say I expected to be recounting the life story of Flicker Light today, but it’s always my pleasure to tell this story. It is one of my favorites,” He sat down on the bench and tapped one of his hooves against his chin thoughtfully. “Now where was I…”

“Their camera was temporarily stolen and they were preparing to make a movie,” I said, only somewhat helpfully.

Horsehooves nodded, his eyebrows knotting together as he tried to remember the next part of the story. “Yes. Not a bad place for us to have taken a short intermission actually, as I feel a quick leap forward in time will do this story wonders. The next few months of Flicker's life were somewhat lacking in the events and drama that one might consider interesting substance to add to a story. True to the mob bosses word, their magical lamp camera was returned the following day, and with it, the tail end of pre production and production itself began. They had no lack of ponies interested in working on the film, and within the week had assembled a rather capable cast and crew. Of course, as the looming election day grew closer on the horizon, so too came Flicker Lights apotheosis. Little did he know what was awaiting him in the coming hours… Or the tragedy that was soon to befall all of them. As I think of the next act of our tale, I am reminded of what Golden Bits told Flicker Light many, many moons ago. Dreams do not make money, only fools out of the ponies that pursue them...”