Lights, Camera...

by Smoking Gun

Chapter 14: Jumping The Shark

Chapter 14: Jumping the Shark

---

"I swear, does anypony know how to knock?!" Cut still couldn't let his smile go, despite his understandable frustration with all the ponies who had been eavesdropping on his moment with Twilight. Pinkie ran up and hugged Cut, squeezing him as hard as she could. Cut's eyes started to bulge out his head.

"Ohmygoshohmygoshohmygoshohmygosh, you guys are so cute! Let's party!"

"Pinkie! No!" Cut's pleas didn't reach Pinkie in time. She pulled out her party cannon (from where remains unknown), and fired. All the ponies in the hospital, including Pinkie grabbed hold of their ears in pain. They were all still suffering from Rarity's screech.

"Or... maybe we'll wait till everypony is feeling better." Pinkie kicked the cannon out the door. Attention returned to the new couple, Fluttershy gently hugging Twilight and Rainbow giving Cut a noogie.

"Come here, you dog!"

"A noogie? You sure a weggie wouldn't be more appropriate?"

Rainbow, still with a hoof around Cut, took a spot between him and Twilight. "So, if you're mounting the director, does that mean you're getting paid more then me?" Twilight's face turned red, Cut's turned an even brighter shade. "Or are you getting paid 'under the table'?" Rainbow raised an eyebrow towards Twilight with an elbow nudge for good measure.

Cut pusher her off him. "You won't be getting paid at all if you don't get out of here. All of you." One-by-one, the ponies left until Soarin' was the last one left.

Soarin' looked back with a smile. "I-"

"If you say you're 'proud' of us, I'll have you begging for your invulnerability back!" Soarin' slowly stepped out of the room, trying not to let his fear show. Cut looked back over at Twilight, his smile fully restored.

"So... now what?"

"I think we still have a movie to make."

"Oh yeah... remember when we used to just be doing that?" Twilight giggled. "This whole thing got messed up, didn't it? I just wanted to make a movie about a pony in tights and I nearly burn this town to the ground."

Twilight hopped out of her bed and placed a hoof on Cut's face. "It worked out, didn't it?" Cut had an expression that Twilight had never seen before. He was smiling, but not with a hint of sarcasm and didn't come from making a movie. He was just... happy. His eyes watered as he looked into her beautiful eyes. As ironic as it was, Cut thought love was just something that happened in the movies.

"I reckon I broke even."

---

"Who's next? Fluttershy and Refined Taste?" Pinkie had entered fully shipping mode after seeing two of her best friends find stallions of their own. "RefinedShy? FlutterTaste? Give me a minute and I'll come up with something." Fluttershy increased speed to get away from the pink cupid, only for her to chase her down the hall.

"Whatever happened to Refined?" Rainbow didn't recall seeing her after the train arrived in Ponyville. But then again, she was preoccupied. "I figured she would have at least stopped by for a visit."

Soarin' knew that Refined wasn't the sort of pony that would visit them, but he had become to nice to say something like that out loud. "I'm sure she's just busy. She's a very important pony."

"Then why am I here?" The two pegasi were shocked to find Celestia coming around the corner. The two bowed quickly. Celestia raised a hoof with a smile. "No. You bow to no one." Soarin rose up, looking his Princess in her eyes. Rainbow rose after him. "Umm, I wasn't talking to you Rainbow."

...

"Gotcha!" Rainbow nervously laughed off the Princess's joke, not letting on that she was scared for a minute.

"What can we do for you Princess?" asked Soarin'.

"Nothing. I was just here to check on Rainbow and Twilight... but it looks like you and Cut have that covered." Celestia's 'yeah boy' smile drew blood to Soarin's cheecks.

"What about the rest of the Ponyville?" asked Rainbow.

"I already have my men repairing the damage." Outside the hospital, several ponies from Canterlot were attending to the buildings as well as the ponies who were left without homes as a result of the battle. "Rainbow, I want you and Twilight to know that no one blames you. It's been made public that Trixie is going on trial for poisoning you."

"She going where?"

"Tomorrow, she'll be standing before the Canterlot court for treason. Poisoning the wielders of harmony is a very serious offense." Rainbow and Soarin's hearts sank. They weren't fans of Trixie, but they knew if Celstia was handling her punishment personally, it wasn't going to end well. "Before I go, Soarin', you're going to be awarded Equestria's highest honor. You saved a lot of lives last night. You really are a hero."

Soarin' smiled with humility. "Please, Princess, I was only do..." Soarin' dropped his humble expression. "You were expecting me to say that, weren't you?"

Celestia giggled as she headed to the front door. "See you two at the premier!" After stepping through the doors, Celestia took to the air. Rainbow kissed Soarin' on the cheeck before following her out. "I'll be back tomorrow. I'm pretty sure most of my scenes are done anyway."

"Wait, Rainbow. Where are you doing?"

"I've got a court date." Rainbow flew off, following Celstia into the sky. Soarin' gulped as he watched his mare disappear from sight, not entirely sure what she was planning.

"You better hope your costume wasn't torn up in the battle." Cut and Twilight reared up behind Soarin'.

"Cut? What's happening now?"

"What we're getting paid to do. Let's hope some of the sets are still usable."

---

"Order! Order!" The next day, the court was packed with ponies, ready to see the defendant punished. Trixie sat in her chair, doing her best not to let the chants against her break her cocky exterior. Celstia returned her attention to the blue unicorn. "Trixie, you have been charged with treason again Equestria. You poisoned two wielders of the elements of harmony in the hopes of causing discord between the them. How do you plead?"

Trixie rose, clearing her throat. "Not guilty!"

...

"No, seriously. How do you plead?"

Rainbow facehoofed as she watched Trixie strut the court floor. "You see, Trixie has exposed a flaw in Equestria's element wielders. She has shown their flaws that can be exploited against this land and it's ponies. Therefore, Trixie submits to this court that she has done Equestria a service and should release from custody immediately."

...

"No, seriously. How do you plead?"

---

"You'll just have to pretend the tornadoes are there." Cut and his film crew, had returned to work. Soarin' was floating above a city set that had been assembled from the remains of the sets that hadn't been destroyed.

"Isn't that kind of... wierd?" Soarin' may have adjusted to the role, but acting as a whole was a concept he still had yet to grasp to its fullest.

"Look at that! An actor being asked to act! So how about you just look pretty for the camera and say your lines?" Next to Cut was Twilight, who brought him his favorite breakfast.

"You know, Cut, you don't have to be a jackass to everypony." Twilight turned to a donkey that was opperating the lighting equipment. "No offense."

"None taken."

Cut chuckled as he leaned away from the camera. "Sparkle, I don't have to be anypony. That's why it's so fun when I get to do it." Cut searched the room, "now where's my camera mare?"

"Ah'm here, Cut!" Applebloom ran up to the director, wearing a home made badge that said 'Camira Mare'. Cut lifted her up with is magic so she could look through the view finder of the camera.

"Whenever your ready, Applebloom."

"And Action!"

"And cut!" The whole crew went silence as they turned their heads to Refined Taste, who was glaring directly at Cut. "That'll be it for the day."

Cut lowered Applebloom, passed Twilight and trotted over to Refined, staring straight into his eyes. "What are you doing here, Taste?"

"You tried to quit."

"Yes and as it turns out I'm not aloud to. Plus, I changed my mind." Cut glanced back at Twilight with a warm smile, the unicorn winked back.

"You're not capable of running this. You can't even keep your employees from fighting. I'm here to assume your responsibilities as director until this is all over. You'll still get credit, but you duties fall to me."

...

"No, seriously. What are you doing here?"

---

"Thank you, very much, Ms Trixie," said Celestia with a sigh as Trixie put her props back into her cart. "Your defense speech was most... enlightening. But, for future reference; the puppet show wasn't necessarily."

Trixie bowed towards Celestia. "Thank you, Princess. I'll gladly receive your verdict now."

"I'll gladly deliver it," murmured the Princess. She rose from her pedestal. "Does anypony have anything to say before I deliver the verdict?" The room echoed. Nopony stepped forward (they weren't that stupid). Trixie began to sweat, the fear rolling down her face.

"I do!" Rainbow Dash flew over to the pedestal, standing between Celestia and Trixie. Celestia stared blankly at Rainbow.

"No, seriously, does anypony have anything to say?"

Rainbow chuckled nervously. "I swear I do, your highness."

Celestia searched the room, nervously. "Very well... it does make sense that one of the victims should speak. Say what's on your mind, Rainbow."

Rainbow cleared her throat. "I erg you to be lenient with the defendant."

...

"Come again?"

---

"I'm said I'm taking over." Refined stood her ground as she store straight into Cut's eyes. He stared back. Slowly, the corners of his mouth turned up. His teeth shined through and he exploded with laughter. "And what is so funny?"

"You... you have no idea how stupid what you just said is. Do you?" Cut's laughter began to spread around the set, other members of the crew joining in with chuckles.

"And just what is so stupid about it?"

Cut struggled to stop himself from laughing. "The fact that anypony would want to follow you. Hell, you probably would have let Trixie po-" Cut and Twilight's hearts sank.

...

"You bitch!"

"I didn't let Trixie do anything. I did what you did, Cut."

"And what was that?"

"I chose to ignore the problem."

---

"I said I'd like you to go easy on Trixie." Celestia, along with the rest of the court, stood in confusion at Rainbow's proposal, even Trixie was flabbergasted.

"Rainbow Dash... you do understand that Trixie poisoned you and your friend and endangered the lives of lives of Ponyville's inhabitants?"

"Better then you do." Rainbow knew that if she wasn't an element wielder, that last comment may have won her an all expenses paid trip to the dark side of the moon. "But we need to give Trixie a chance to prove that she's better then this." Rainbow stared straight at Trixie. The blue unicorn wasn't certain, but she saw what looked like sympathy in her wine colored eyes. "I don't know if you're going to send her to the moon, trap her in ice or what. All I know is that despite the fact she acts like a grade A jerk, I know she can do better. Soarin' said it himself." Celestia leaned back, absorbing the bizarreness of Rainbow's plea. "I don't like her. Let's face it, nopony does. But it's her job to change that. It's her responsibility to make herself something more then what she is now. And tossing her into space isn't going to the job."

...

"So, yeah. That's it for me." Rainbow stepped back, so she was standing next to Trixie. The unicorn was couldn't comprehend what just happened and neither could Celestia, but that didn't stop her from speaking.

"After Rainbow Dash's... words. I feel that I will need more time to determine a proper punishment for Trixie. Perhaps something more suited to rehabilitation would be better suited for this case."

Not contempt with Rainbow's defense, Trixie stepped forward. "And what punishment did you originally have planned for The Great and Powerful Trixie?"

"It may help you sleep better if you didn't know," said Celestia with a straight face. "Take her to my office. I will speak with her there." Two gaurds took Trixie past Rainbow Dash. The unicorn stopped in front of the pegasus and glared.

"You think you're better than me, Rainbow Crash?"

"That's not up to me, Trixie." Without another word, Rainbow flew out of the court via a sky light, dissapearing into the sun.

---

"I thought-"

"No, you didn't." Cut was starting to feel the guilt he felt at the hospital come back. As much as he hated to admit it, Taste was right. He ignored the problem. "The only difference between you and me is that I saw an opportunity. You were just distant and lazy. This film is going to be the biggest thing ever and it's thanks to that little cat fight your employees had. I saw a chance for us take advantage of those internet losers, but I never thought it would be this big!" Cut wasn't sure how to describe what he was feeling, until he looked over at Soarin', who was watching with the look of a dissapointed Father. "You and your girlfriend should be thanking me."

Cut's face was turning red, but not with a blush. "You... arrogent... self-absorbed... selfish-"

"Hello Pot. I'm kettle."

"I am this close to-"

"I forgive you." Cut and Refined shot around to see Twilight standing right behind them. She had a small smile that didn't disguise her pain... but it was still a smile.

"You forgive me? You think I owe you an apology?"

Twilight shed a small tear. "You don't owe me anything. You betrayed ponies who trusted you. You caused a lot of damage and scared a lot innocents. You owe it to yourself to be-"

"Oh shut the buck up!" said Refined with an exhausted eye roll. "Don't give me any of that 'be-a-better-pony' crap. You think you're better then me?"

Twilight shed anther tear. "That's not up to me, Refined. But on the topic of taking over, Celestia herself told Cut to come back, so I think you're just wasting your time here, when you could be out there, doing something nice. Giving back to the community that needs as much help as they can get." Soarin' looked on, with the look of a proud Father this time. "Good luck, Refined. I hope we'll still see you at the premier." Without another word, Twilight turned around and trotted to the break room. Refined slowly backed out the way she came in.

---

"Sparkle! I can't believe you... Sparkle?" Cut's words were cut off when he saw Twilight, openly weeping in the corner of the green room.

"Do you have any idea how hard that was? Too look at... her and just forgive her? I felt horrible the whole time I did it."

Cut lent down to her level, brushing away her tears. "Then why did you do it?"

"Because it was the right thing to do, I guess. I never thought doing a good thing could hurt so much."

Cut smiled as he lifter her up onto her feet. "If the right thing were easy, things would be a lot brighter then they are now."

Twilight smiled at Cut. "I think Soarin's starting to rub off on us."

"And I think I know who's been rubbing off on him." The two shared a small laugh. "I'm proud of you, Twilight."

"You called me Twilight."

"Don't get used to it." Cut leaned in and kissed her, pulling her in as close as he could. From the open door, Soarin' smiled as he walked away.

WHOOSH! Rainbow Dash touched down in front of Soarin' giving him a quick kiss. "Sup, handsome."

"Nothing special. How was your court date?"

"Nothing special." Rainbow walked over to the crafts services table to stuff her face.

---

"Hey guys, there's something I want to show you." Soarin', Twilight and Rainbow joined Cut in the green room, who had a large monitor set up for them. The only thing lighting the room was the moonlight. "I finished one of the scenes from the movie today, I figured you three should be the first to see it."

"What is it?" asked Twilight with a yawn.

"It's when Mild Mannered finds the recording his father left for him. I thought it would be fun if we all saw it."

Rainbow extended her forelegs with a yawn even louder then Twilight's. "Cut, we've had a big day, I honestly don't know if I can stay awake for another minute."

Cut put on his best puppy dog eyes. "Please?" drawing out the 'e' as long as he could. Rainbow roller her eyes as the four of them took a seat on the couch in front of the TV. "OK, now there are still a couple of background effects I haven't- Guys?"

Soarin' and Cut found their mares, fast asleep, "I think they've both earned a rest," said Soarin'.

"In that case..." Cut hopped off the couch and brought over two mugs of cider. He gave one to Soarin' as he sat back down on the couch. Before Cut could hit play on the remote, Twilight and Rainbow snuggled up to stallions, nuzzling them as they drifted away into their dreams. "Sometimes I can't tell if we're lucky or if they are."

Soarin' wrapped his hoof around Rainbow. "Us. Definitely us." The two raise their mugs and Cut hit play.

On the screen, a holographic projection of Mild Mannered's biological Father appeared. "My son, listen well, for this is the reason you are here. Our world may have no hope, but Equestria does. The planet is populated by those who wish to be better. To be greater. You will be their example. You will give them something to strive towards. You are not perfect my son, but nopony truly is. Your powers will make you a beacon of hope for the future. You will lead by example. You will make them the best ponies they can be."

Cut turned to Soarin', smiling. "Thank you."

"Thank you." The two turned back to the screen, watching the rest of the scene play out as they slowly joined their mares in a well deserved rest.

"Take flight, my little Pon-E."

---

Next: Some Days You Can't Get Rid of a Bomb!

---

Don't forget to check out the actual Man of Steel Trailer!

Comments

[Path_of_cloud]

I erg you. urge

I'm with Cut. We need more room on the moon it seems.

Look at all the happiness. Which usually means shit is about to hit the fan.

I'm still deeply lost about Rarity and Spikes scene last chapter. I feel there's more to it. She's not gonna walk around looking like a ghost after all, probably.

[Delusional Brony]

Nice chapter.

[Smoking Gun]

967890 Nice comment