2805 A.P.
The world was quiet, but not silent. Winds carried dust and smog, rustling the trash and plastic that littered the world. Breezies, the only living things that survived the wasteland the world had become, scurried and added their own quiet sounds to the world.
The only other sound was the metallic clang of a robot’s steps.
BERR-E trotted casually down the old transit station, her hooves clanking against the metal floors. Playing from her chest’s speaker system was a tinny recording of an old song, something about working together as friends.
We got this,
You got this,
We got this together
Her head bobbed to the beat as she came up to her work site. She took a moment to look around at all the trash before starting her horn and picking up a pile. In a few seconds, it was neatly compressed into a cube and stacked to the side.
BERR-E picked up another pile and started to work.
~~
BERR-E glanced over at the setting sun and stacked her current pile before letting out a soft, buzzing sigh. There was a scurrying to her side and she tilted her head at the sound.
She blinked as a breezie stuck its head out, wiggling at her excitedly. She held out a hoof and the breezie scampered up it to her head before settling by her horn. She started walking home, her only company the breezie, her song, and the wind.
The walk was short enough, and soon she opened the door to the trailer she called home. It was small and filled with rotating shelves of treasures found when working. BERR-E paused to let the breezie float down to a shelf and unwrapped a Twinkle, the only food to have survived this long.
The breezie immediately dug into the cream filled sponge cake and BERR-E moved on, lifting the tab on a toaster and taking out an old VHS tape. She put it in the player and the movie that she recorded her working song from filled the trailer.
She mechanically hummed along, turning her head to open the compartment on her back and take out the newest treasures from today.
~~
“CUT!”
Tempest blinked and looked up at Grubber, the director. “Cut? That wasn’t the end of that scene.”
“I know sweetheart, but it just wasn’t working. I know you are supposed to be a robot but this movie is a robot love story! Your character is the only working Equestrian clean up unit left, and while she does her job, she also loves equinity and all they left behind.”
Tempest sighed and resisted the urge to run a hoof down her face, if only to avoid smudging the makeup. “I know that and I’m trying, but this role isn’t exactly what I’m used to.”
“Then why are you here?”
Tempest’s ear flicked. “Because I want to do more than cheesy horror.”
“Then you gotta give me something to work with! Here, uh,” Grubber grabbed his megaphone, “Where’s Autumn Blaze? Can I please get Autumn over here, thank you.”
He turned back to Tempest, “Just, go take 5, get a sip of water and come back. I want to try the scene where AUT takes the plant and enters her, her shutdown ‘directive achieved’ mode, okay. Maybe that’ll help get some emotion.”
Tempest shrugged, “If you say so boss.”
~~
BERR-E watched as AUT held the lighter, staring longingly into the flame. Her sensors shifted to look at AUT and she hesitantly reached a hoof up, to try the ‘hoof hold’ the movie had shown.
AUT flicked the lighter off and glanced at her and BERR-E let out a buzzing yelp and stepped back, now looking to the side. AUT let out an inquisitive chirp and BERR-E looked around again before letting out an ‘ah ha!’
She pushed past AUT and to a shelving unit, rotating through until she found the little boot she came across earlier. She gently lifted it, buzzing at the tiny green stalk growing out of it.
She skipped back to AUT and held it out proudly. AUT hummed with power for a moment before a light green field came out of her chest, grabbed the plant, and inserted it into her open chest cavity. Almost immediately after, AUT seemed to shut down, her eye screen going dark and her legs folding up into her body.
BERR-E blinked and let out a soft, “Whoa.”
She reached forward, shaking, “AUT-A?”
~~
“Cut!”
Tempest pulled her hoof back and raised an eyebrow at Grubber. “Well?”
Grubber shrugged, his hands going back and forth in a scale gesture. “Well, that was a little better, but I still don’t think we quite have it here.”
At Tempest’s glare he put his hands up and quickly added, “B-but that’s okay. I’ve been working you hard today, you’re right, it's a new role and new set of motivations for you,” He glanced at his wrist, “Tell you what, why won’t we go ahead and take lunch. Get the makeup scrubbed off and be back here in two hours.”
Tempest nodded, “Alright, thank you.”
Grubber gave her a half salute, “Oh and Autumn? Great job, I’m loving it, I love you, keep up the great work.”
Tempest had already turned away and started to trudge towards the makeup department. After a moment, she realized she was not alone.
“Hey Tempest, wanna go get lunch at Sugarcube Corner with me?”
Tempest turned to face her co-star for the production, an up and coming kirin actress named Autumn Blaze. Tempest shrugged, “Sure, I didn’t really have any plans.”
Autumn beamed, the equineness of it at odds against the smooth, streamlined ‘robot’ makeup covering her.
The mares finished the quiet walk to makeup and after a quick scrubbing were off to lunch.
Tempest led Autumn on a detour to her dressing room to grab a ‘disguise hoodie’. The kirin raised an eyebrow at the large garment, “What? Is it supposed to rain today?”
Tempest grunted as she pulled on the hoodie, “No, but there’ll be plenty of lightning.”
It took Autumn a moment to understand the joke, but then she laughed. “Ohh lightning, like the paparazzi flashes! Oh that's clever.”
Tempest chuckled softly with Autumn and the pair left the movie lot and into the sunny streets of Applewood.
Sugarcube Corner was, as expected, bustling with actors, directors, screenwriters and assistants (and a few paparazzi hoping to get lucky). As Tempest and Autumn entered, there was a buzz of excitement that followed.
Tempest grumbled and pulled the hoodie tighter around her while Autumn was doing a very bad job of looking around inconspicuously. The kirin leaned into the unicorn and whispered, “I don’t think the hoodie worked…”
Tempest snorted, “What gave you that idea?”
The bitter tone bounced off of Autumn and she shrugged, “Well, we don’t have to eat here, we can go back to the lot or even try and find a park for some privacy.”
Tempest shrugged, “Maybe someone else famous will walk in and they’ll forget all about it.”
Despite the business of the place, the line moved pretty quickly, and soon they made it to the counter. Surprisingly, they were greeted by the pink mare of confection herself, Pinkie Pie.
“Oh hey you two, I had a feeling you would be coming in. Your orders are almost ready, but go ahead to the VIP door on the left and enter the super secret stars only lounge. I’ll bring your food and drinks soon.”
The mares shared a look and Autumn squeed before grabbing Tempest’s hoof, “Well come on slowpoke! Let’s go.”
Tempest let herself be led, sparing a moment to ponder the mysterious ways of Pinkie Pie and how she could already have their order almost ready. She decided it was too much to try and figure out with everything else on her mind and settled into a booth with Autumn.
The ‘super secret stars only lounge’ was spacious and quiet. Soft music, different from the energetic pop songs of the front, seemed to be acoustic only back here. It was still full of ponies back here, various actors and actresses milling about or enjoying a private lunch, but overall the atmosphere was casual. It reminded Tempest of before she ‘made it big’, back when she was a no name extra and could walk the streets without getting mobbed.
“It’s so… Peaceful in here.”
Tempest nodded, “Yeah, it's really nice,” she hesitated for a moment, “Uh, so, Autumn, can I ask why you asked me to lunch exactly?”
Autumn blushed, “Well, I just wanted to get to know my co-lead a bit better.”
Tempest sensed there was more to that sentence, an unspoken ‘and’. “Is that really it?”
Autumn winced at the hard edge of accusation in Tempest’s tone and tapped her hooves on the table nervously. “No. I wanted to talk to you about your experience as a star.”
Tempest raised an eyebrow, “My experience?”
“Yeah. This is my first big role, but I’ve been acting for years now, just in small extra and background scenes. I wanted to see if you think I could really make it, or if I’ll be a one hit wonder with this movie.”
Tempest hummed in thought, “Well, I can’t really say for sure, but you are probably on a good start at least. I started in horror movies and while I enjoy them, I like to do other stuff too,” She rubbed her neck, a tinge of pink warming her cheeks, “I practically begged my agent to try and get me a role on this script, but I didn’t think I would be the lead. Much less an optimistic robot that ‘falls in love’.”
Autumn giggled, “Yeah, it is certainly an interesting story. I was expecting another background part, maybe a couple speaking lines, but then I got that call and all of a sudden I was in a lead role! I still can’t believe it.”
“Well, from what I’ve seen, you are a natural. It’s a surprise it's taken you this long to get a bigger role.”
Autumn’s smile froze and Tempest got the feeling she had said something wrong. The kirin’s lips twitched downward, pulling into a neutral line. “So you, you don’t know the history of cinema and kirin then, huh.”
Tempest shifted in her seat, “I guess I don’t, since I haven’t heard of that.”
“Well-“
Autumn was interrupted by Pinkie Pie’s arrival, the chipper mare placing tea cups, a kettle and a small basket of sugar, honey, and teabags on the table. Next was Tempest’s favored mushroom burger, with spicy barbecue sauce and crispy fried onions and Autumn’s fresh summer salad, topped with strawberries, apples, and flaky salmon.
“Okey-dokey-lokey you two, enjoy your lunch! Oh, and Autumn, all seats are fireproof so as long as the fire is small you don’t have to worry about setting off any alarms. Okay bye!”
Tempest watched as Pinkie zipped off, her brows furrowed. “Well that was odd, even for Pinkie. I wonder what she meant…”
Tempest trailed off when she glanced back at Autumn. She wasn’t sure what the expression on the kirin’s face was, but it sure wasn't ‘happy’.
Finally, Autumn scoffed and a low, bitter chuckle rumbled from her as she picked up her fork and stabbed her salad. Feeling Tempest’s gaze but refusing to meet it, she gestured at the burger with a salad laden fork. “Go ahead and eat while it’s hot, I need a minute to get my thoughts together.”
Tempest hesitated a little longer before shrugging. She poured the hot water from the kettle into their tea cups and grabbed raspberry tea for hers while Autumn chose a ginger-lemon blend.
The mares ate in silence as their tea steeped, pausing only to stir in the desired sugar and honey.
It was almost half an hour later when Autumn cleared her throat and looked at Tempest. “Well, do you want the long or the short story?”
“I think we have time for the long one, if you are okay telling me.”
“It’s not a fun story, especially considering our profession, but I’d rather you hear it from me than someone else.”
Tempest nodded, perking her ears to show her attention. Autumn sighed and stirred a spoon absentmindedly in her mostly empty tea, just to be doing something. “Back in the early days of Applewood, when film was new and originality still prevalent, there was a kirin actress. She was,” Autumn let out another sigh, this one soft and longing, “beautiful. Smart. Talented. She was the total package, actress, singer, and even penned a few scripts herself.”
Tempest shifted in her seat as the unsaid ‘but’ hung in the air between them.
“Everyone has problems. Issues. Vices. Call it what you will, but everyone has them. Fern Flare’s was passion.”
Tempest furrowed her brows but didn’t voice her confusion. She didn’t want to interrupt Autumn on what was obviously a heavy topic for the kirin.
“You might think passion is a good thing, and in small doses it is wonderful. It’s what takes words on a page to a scene in a movie, it can make or break a single line of dialogue. But it can also be dangerous, well, at least for ponies like me.”
Both of Autumn’s hooves were on the table now, firmly pressed into the wood as if she needed to ground herself. Tempest reached across and placed a hoof on one of hers. Autumn smiled softly and squeezed Tempest’s hoof before continuing.
“Kirin are taught from foalhood to always be level headed, calm, collected. We can express joy as much as we wish, but we must exercise restraint with any other emotion. Recall that Pinkie said the seats here are fireproof so I don’t need to worry as long as it’s a small flame.”
Tempest nodded, and, sensing Autumn expected an answer, ventured out with, “Yeah, which I thought was weird. I mean, I’m a unicorn and can cast fire spells if I want. You have a horn and magic too.”
Autumn nodded and released Tempest’s hoof, her smile downturning again. “Yes I do, but I don’t need to cast a spell to set things on fire. Kirin have a dark side, a sort of...other self that takes over when our emotions run rampant. We turn into nirik; fiery demons who burn everything.”
As Autumn spoke, her voice took on a deeper tone, almost to a growl at the end. Tempest watched as her cream coat turned black, almost crawling up her body. When it reached her mane, the hairs caught fire.
Tempest leaned back a bit as the intense heat washed over her, Autumn’s mane turning blue with purple and red on the edges. The thing that shocked Tempest the most, though, was her eyes. Gone were the pools of warm honey, replaced with white hot fires that burned with emotion.
Autumn took a deep breath and exhaled a gust of hot air, the flames extinguishing in the same fashion as they had appeared. Autumn waved away the wisps of smoke that curled from her nostrils and smiled thinly at Tempest. “It’s not always anger, contrary to popular belief. Many ponies compare passion to a flame and with kirin well…”
Tempest let out a shaky breath, feeling slightly unnerved by the display, but with compassion and understanding slowly overriding it. “It takes on a more literal meaning.”
Autumn nodded. “Fern Flare was, among everything I said earlier, very passionate about everything, particularly her work. She threw herself into every role she was cast in and the end results were nothing short of magical. But, as I’m sure you know, the more perfect the results, usually the worse the process.”
Tempest grimaced, “Yeah. I’ve worked with some real see-you-next-Tuesdays, but they still get work because in the end, the movies make money and are well received.”
Autumn snorted, “Exactly. Fern quickly built up a reputation of being near impossible to work with, to the point where firefighters were required to be on standby for any meeting or interaction with the star. What started off as a quirk being laughed off - ‘oh you know how stars are’- became an annoyance tolerated for the sake of making money, and finally turned to blacklisting. Doors started shutting, directors stopped calling, and eventually even her agent quit. At this point in her career, Fern wasn’t too worried. She had made her money and had royalty contracts big enough to keep her living very comfortably.”
Once again, there was the unspoken ‘but’, and Tempest was equal parts worried and curious to see how this story ended.
“Even though Fern’s professional bridges had burned, she still had plenty of friends in the business. One night, she tried to go to a movie premiere, one for a movie her best friend had starred in. The bouncers at the front refused her, saying it, she, was a fire hazard.”
Tempest shifted in her seat, now sure of where things were headed.
Autumn shifted as well, chewing on her lip as she seemed to debate confirming Tempest’s suspicions. “I, I think you know how that ended.”
Tempest nodded solemnly, opening and closing her mouth a couple times as she tried to think of something to say. “So, does that really, I mean, I had never heard of that story before, do other ponies still remember it?”
Autumn deadpanned her as she quoted Pinkie’s words from earlier again. “Oh, and Autumn, all seats are fireproof so as long as the fire is small you don’t have to worry about setting off any alarms.”
Tempest opened her mouth to respond but Autumn lifted a hoof to interrupt her, “I don’t think Pinkie meant any offense by it, I don’t think that mare could intentionally offend someone, but it’s still something I have to deal with simply because of my species,” Autumn shrugged, “I have a thick skin so it doesn’t bother me much.”
Tempest frowned, “That doesn’t make it right. But, I hope you don’t mind me asking, why bother trying to be an actress at all if everyone thinks you are just a ticking time bomb?”
Autumn chuckled, “Isn’t it obvious? I love to act. I have wanted to be an actress since I was a foal.”
At Tempest’s unconvinced expression Autumn continued, “I’m not doing this to ‘erase the sins’ of a kirin who came before me, nor am I doing this to leave some kind of legacy as ‘the kirin who made it’. There’s only one reason I’m doing this Tempest, and that’s for me. I don’t care if no one remembers my name after I’m gone, cause I will have lived my life the way I wanted.”
Tempest sat back in awe, turning Autumn’s words over and over in her head. “Do it for yourself… Do it… That’s it!”
Autumn blinked as Tempest suddenly stood with her hooves on the table, their plates and tea cups rattling with the movement. Tempest didn’t notice this at all though as she excitedly rambled, “That’s what I’ve been missing! A reason, a, a purpose for my work! I never thought of it that way, ‘just do it for myself’. Of course, it all makes sense now.”
Tempest sat back down, a wide smile on her face as she continued. “I only started in the movie business because someone I was training in martial arts thought I would make a good stunt trainer. It paid well, I got to meet lots of interesting ponies and I got to travel a bit; it just seemed like a good idea. Then I got promoted to a stunt director and suddenly I was making decisions. Then, I got a background role in a movie. Then another, and another, until eventually I got a small, recurring role in the ‘Nightmare on Elk Street’ series. Being an actress was fun and I really enjoyed the work so I just kept taking jobs and eventually worked my way to lead roles.”
Autumn wasn’t quite sure where Tempest was going with this, but she had to admit the unicorn’s joy was infectious and she found herself grinning. Tempest fixed her with an intense stare, suddenly serious again, “Autumn, I didn’t expect myself to become a famous actress. I never thought I would be more than an instructor in downtown Las Pegasus, so I never had a reason for doing this. But you, you always knew this was wanted, despite whatever odds you have faced and will continue to face. You are doing it because you love it and buck what everyone else thinks. That's beautiful. You are beautiful and -”
Tempest stopped short when she realized what she just said and an intense blush exploded across her face. “Uh, well, that is, I mean…”
Autumn couldn’t help herself, the look on Tempest’s face and her stammering was so adorable, she burst out in laughter. “Oh, oh goodness Tempest that’s so sweet. I think you are rather fetching yourself.”
Autumn winked, which only served to make Tempest’s blush even more intense. The unicorn buried her face in her hooves, muttering a ‘oh just kill me now’.
Autumn snickered and poked one of the hooves Tempest was hiding behind. “Hey now, no dying before filming is over, I don’t want to have to tell Grubber he needs a new lead.”
Tempest groaned and slowly revealed her face, cheeks still bright red. “I guess so, but you could probably play both parts without much trouble.”
“I’m not that talented an actor yet. Plus, it would be kind of hard to kiss myself.”
“Kiss? Oh, right the uh, the kissing scenes.”
The thought of disappearing into a deep and dark hole was becoming very appealing again to Tempest.
“Besides,” Tempest glanced up as Autumn spoke, “you can’t die in the middle of an epiphany.”
Tempest grumbled but nodded her agreement. “I guess I can’t argue with that. Look, the point of all that was to say that I have worked in this industry just because it seemed like what I should do. I do enjoy the work, don’t get me wrong, but I didn’t have any aspirations, I didn’t go to school or spend months going to audition after audition and waiting for a callback. I just sort of...fell into this, taking chances and opportunities as they came.”
“You never felt like you had any real reason to do it other than ‘it paid’ and you were around, right?”
“Exactly. But, listening to you, I realized that I want to keep doing this, just for me. I don’t care what kind of movies I do, because I like acting. I don’t even need to break my image as a horror star unless I want to.”
Autumn tilted her head, “You don’t? Earlier you told Grubber you did.”
Tempest shrugged, “It’s mostly my agent. He feels I have way more potential than cheesy slashers but I don’t know. I do think I am going to continue expanding my horizons a bit after BERR-E, but I don’t know where yet.”
Autumn nodded. “I’m glad I could help you come to that conclusion. I do hope we work together again in the future though.”
“I’m sure we will. Just you wait, as soon as BERR-E is released, you are going to be hounded with calls.”
Autumn chuckled and glanced at a nearby clock, “Well, it won’t be releasing anytime soon unless we get back to set. You think you have enough emotion for a robot who falls in love?”
Tempest chuckled, “Yeah, I think so. And, Autumn?”
“Yes?”
“Thank you.”
Autumn smiled and stood from the booth, “You’re welcome Tempest.”
~~
“Engaging in hyper jump in 10, 9, 8…”
AUT barely heard the droning of the ship’s computer, focusing intensely on the broken form of BERR-E in her hooves. The quirky robot had thrust herself directly into danger to try and keep the hatch for the plant open and had suffered severe damage as a result.
“...5, 4, 3, 2, 1.”
Everything blurred around her as the ship jumped back towards Equestria, the overweight cruise ponies all stumbling to the ground under the pressure.
With a shuddering halt, the ship exited the hyper jump and rapidly descended, bursting through the thick layer of dust and space junk before landing in the centuries old ship dock.
Airlocks hissed as the bay doors opened and the cruise ponies waddled out into the sunlight, eyes wide and mouths open in wonder as they gazed upon the land of their ancestors; a land that was theirs once again.
AUT didn’t process any of this as she activated her thrusters and rushed out with BERR-E in her hooves, headed towards the trailer BERR-E called home.
Once inside, she gently lay down BERR-E’s broken body, quickly assessing the exact damage before beginning to look for spare parts.
She searched through all the shelves, rotating them until she found what she needed. A new eye lense, horn, and hoof, a computer chip, solar panel and all the necessary wiring.
AUT returned to BERR-E and worked quickly, her hooves a blur but she pushed herself faster. Every second that passed was another too long. Finally, AUT powered up her weapon and aimed it at the roof, opening a hole and letting the sun in.
The only sound was a quiet, steady beep as BERR-E’s battery charged up. AUT watched intently, hoping that she would be okay. Finally, a startup sound came from BERR-E and she booted up.
AUT gasped happily, “BERR-E!”
But BERR-E didn’t respond. AUT tried again, softer, “BERR-E?”
A series of whirring noises came from BERR-E as her eyes adjusted themselves. She stared blankly ahead before turning and walking out of the trailer.
AUT followed in confusion, watching as BERR-E continued her steady march towards a trash pile and picked it up in her magic, compacting the pile and stacking it to the side before picking up another one. AUT trotted over in front of her, waving her hoof in front of BERR-E’s eyes. “BERR-E?”
BERR-E stood still and AUT made a warbling, crying sound as she tenderly pressed their foreheads together. Gently, she picked up BERR-E’s hoof and held it. AUT looked down at their hooves, BERR-E’s limp in her grasp, and looked back at her.
AUT pecked BERR-E’s lips and sighed before starting to pull away. She stopped though when she felt BERR-E’s hoof start to move and squeeze hers. There was another series of whirring noises as BERR-E’s eyes adjusted themselves again.
She blinked, “A. AUT-A?”
AUT gasped happily, “BERR-E!”
BERR-E smiled and then looked down, noticing their entangled hooves. She glanced between them and AUT, letting out excited, “AUT-A, AUT-A!”
AUT nodded and giggled, BERR-E joined in with a laugh and they embraced each other.
~~
“CUT! Beautiful, amazing, love it! Let’s get that over to editing, we are done here!”
A series of whoops and cheers rose from the crew and cast at Gruber's words. It had been a long year of filming but they had made it.
Autumn and Tempest remained close together for another few moments, reluctant to leave the embrace. Finally though, it was Tempest who pulled away with a longing sigh. “Well, we did it.”
Autumn nodded, “That we did.”
Tempest smiled and glanced around before venturing out with a, “Soooo, you have any plans after this?”
Autumn grinned and replied in a teasing tone, “Hmm, I actually think I do.”
Tempest raised an eyebrow, “Oh? Seeing anyone...special?”
“As a matter of fact I am!”
Tempest half pouted, “Aww, lucky pony. Anyone I know?”
Autumn snickered behind her hoof, “Oh, I think you two have met before. She’s strong and beautiful, knows how to show a mare a good time.”
Tempest’s pout turned into a smirk, “She sounds wonderful. Well, I hope you have fun. It’s too bad you already have plans, you are going to miss the big reveal.”
“Big reveal? What, is Grubber going to announce we are already greenlit for a sequel?”
“Mmm, nothing quite like that, no. Tonight, I’m going to ask the most amazing mare I know to be my marefriend.”
Autumn gasped, all the teasing gone as she stared at Tempest. “Wait, really?”
Tempest nodded, “Yes. I know we’ve grown close working together on this but I feel a deeper connection to you. I want to take this further, so would you like to go on an official date and be my marefriend?”
Autumn squeed, a ‘yes’ hidden somewhere in the high pitched noise of excitement, and pulled Tempest close in a tight hug, burying her muzzle in Tempest’s neck to hide her happy tears.
Another cheer broke out, with knowing glances and ‘about time’s muttered between the crew, but Autumn and Tempest didn’t care. No matter where life took them from here, whatever roles and movies they acted in; they would have each other’s back and support.