Movie Magic
*(~)*
Ephesians 6:10-18~
Finally, my brethren, be strong in the Lord and in the power of His might. Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil. For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this age, against spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places. Therefore take up the whole armor of God, that you may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand. Stand therefore, having girded your waist with truth, having put on the breastplate of righteousness, and having shod your feet with the preparation of the gospel of peace; above all, taking the shield of faith with which you will be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked one. And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God; praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, being watchful to this end with all perseverance and supplication for all the saints.
*(~)*
Movie Magic
Thunder and lightning crashed from behind the glass circular window with designs akin to that of a butterfly's wings. A shadowy figure stood in the center of the darkened room, the only source of light coming from the flashing lights that crashed down onto the earth from the darkened skies outside. An evil laugh echoed within the man's chambers.
"It is almost time." he said, the lightning creating shadows across his already disfigured face, his clenched hand gripping his cane tightly, stretching his leather gloves. "Once I have all the Marvelous gemstones, no one will be able to stop me, and all of Prance will fall! For I am…. Hawk Moth!"
"Whoa! Whoa! Whoa!"
The lights of the room shut on, revealing the supposed villain to be a fully grown, middle ages anthro unicorn stallion, wearing a full head silver colored mask with a butterfly motif, a sleek sophisticated blue and black tuxedo-like outfit with the shirt being longer in the back, resembling a cape while holding a cane in his right hand. He also wore a purple butterfly gemstone clip on his high collar. He blinked and Varrick, sitting in his director's chair, his wife Zhu Li standing right beside him, shaking her head while rubbing her forehead, a gesture her husband mimicked.
"Ugh! Cut!" Varrick exclaimed through the megaphone, narrowing his eyes at Chi the wisp.
"Sorry. But at this point in the story, Hawk Moth is still looking for the Ladybug and Black Cat Marvelous gemstones. He doesn't start looking for the others until episode fifteen of season 3." Chi smiled, feeling very satisfied, while Iris shook her head and finger in disapproval. 'What? You think he wants Lady-Mare fans to call him out for making a mistake like that?"
"Honey, could you make a few quick edits to the script?" Varrick asked.
"Already done." Zhu Li said, proudly showcasing the script with the already edited bits. She had flipped through the pages and made the changes all the while Chi was talking after her suggestion.
"Gosh darn it, I love ya!" he said proudly before kissing her on the cheek and spoke to the actor playing the film's villain through his megaphone. "Let's go again. And this time, stick to the new script, 'kay? And action!"
The lights went off again and the camera started rolling, all the while a very excitable wisp watched with gleeful anticipation.
(~)
A few weeks after their class trip to Phoenix Falls, the kids were given a personal tour of Varrick's new film project. While he still had his own shipping company, the man wool frequently work on creating new movers for the younger generation to enjoy.
"I can't believe we're really here!" Chi said, literally flipping in mid air as Varrick and Zhu Li led them across the set. The filming was taking place at Varrick's old film studio in Harmony City. The same one he used to film the Nuktuk films back in the day, only now it had expanded and grown into a full blown film studio, akin to those from Sunset's old home in the mirror world.
"Thank you so much for letting us come, Varrick." Iris said, her hands enclosed together, feeling just as excited about being here as the rest of her friends.
"We promise we won't get in the way." Akari said, smiling at Varrick… only to then narrow her eyes and speak through gritted teeth at the blue wisp. "Again."
Chi gave a nervous laugh, her blue body glowing a light green to show her embarrassment.
"Thank nothing of it, Princess." Varrick said, stopping hallway. "Since you're all such big fans of the source material, Zhu Li and I agreed it would be a crime not to let you visit the set of the very first, theatrical release of…"
"The Adventures of Lady-Mare and Stal-Noir!" both Chi and Varrick announced in unison, while both showcasing said poster that was, conveniently, placed right beside them.
The poster depicted two ponies, both in their anthro forms. One was a female pink pegasus mare with midnight blue hair, styled into two pintails with long ribbons, wearing a full body red jumpsuit with black pots and a matching mask, with the arms and boots being fully black and one portion of the collar. She wielded what appeared to be a ladybug styled yo-yo.
Beside her was a handsome, physically fit looking unicorn stallion with light aquamarine coloring and wearing a full body black suit with cat ears. His blond mane and tail were messy but in a rouged, charming sort of way. He wore a black mask that covered more of his cheek bones than his female counterpart, and his eyes were more cat-like. He wielded a staff in his hand.
The background was of a city and the evil villain from set stood in the back, his image manifesting in the sky, looking down at his enemies, with the film's name right in the center.
Chrysalis, on the other hoof, only scratched the back of her head, only to get startled when Chi suddenly just zipped on by, excitedly hovering beside her, a little too close for comfort.
"Isn't it the most exciting thing to ever happen in the history of forever?!"
Chrysalis gave a polite, yet nervous, smile and gently stepped back, feeling her personal space being violated. "I guess my first question would be…. who's Lady-Mare and Stal-Noir?"
Chi recoiled, her eyes as big as a soccer ball and she gasped dramatically. "How could you have never heard of literature's creates accomplishments?! Where have you been, lady?!"
The changeling blushed and fiddled with the ends of her long aquamarine hair, which faded to yellow green at the tips. "Heh, heh, conquering kingdoms with a changeling army, I guess."
Mai had to roughly clear her through, coughing very loudly just to get Chi's attention. She made a "cut it out" hand gesture, reminding the wisp to be a bit more sensitive about Chrysalis's situation.
"Oh, right. Sorry. Anyway, the story is about this simple pegasus pony named Mareinette Selle who lives in Prance and dreams of becoming a fashion designer."
"She and Rarity would get along great!" Nori said, poking her head from the side in front of Chi before zipping away, allowing the wisp to continue.
"Anyway, she's got this massive crush on the most popular pony in school named Adrien Augeron, who also happens to be the son of a wealthy fashion designer. Now, don't be fooled, it may sound like a generic love story, but what nobody knows is that Mareinette and Adrien were both chosen by these two magical stones known as the Marvelous Gems. With the Ladybug earrings, and the Black Cat ring respectively, they transform into the crime fighting duo; Lady-Mare and Stal-Noir! Together, they protect the city from the evil Hawk Moth and his army of brainwashed akuma victims. Innocent civilians who have been turned into twisted villainous versions of themselves! Now, even though Mareinette had a crush on Adrien, Stal-Noir has a crush on Lady-Mare, and neither of them knows who the other is! Leaving to a hilariously clever love square between two people! It's got comedy, mystery, romance, pretty much everything you need for a good story!"
"Nova warned me about showing you those comics." Iris said, folding her arms.
Chi then, somehow, managed to pull out a literally collection of comic books with the characters imprinted on the cover. "I own all 147 issues, the special 25 special edition for the first issue, all the action figures, and the limited edition Lady-Mare earrings!"
"Which you nearly tore someone's limbs off to get." Gallant said rather bluntly.
"I told you, she started it! I got the mask first and, hey, she dug up her own grave by calling me cute."
"You also got us kicked out of the convention." Hiro said, placing his index finger and thumb inches apart. "And I was this close to getting that vintage Nuktuk Junior Novel!"
"Doesn't your dad own like a million of those Nuktuk merchandises?" Akari asked.
"What's your point?"
"What's wrong with her being called "cute", anyway?" Chrysalis asked the Avatar.
"She had… issues with that word when we were younger."
"Issues?" Chrysalis asked, only to have Nori grip her shirt, warning her dramatically.
"Trust me, you do not want to know." she shuddered after releasing the changeling. "I couldn't sleep for days."
Gallant stroked his chin, looking at the female lead on the poster. "You know, Mareinette kind of reminds me a bit of Chi."
Hiro cocked his head, studying the image himself. "Now that you mention it, they do have something similar."
"Really?" Chi asked, looking at the image herself. "I don't see it."
Zhu Li's geo-phone rang. When she answered it she turned to her husband with a worried look in her eyes. "Um, honey, that was the prop department. They can't find the outfit Mareinette's supposed to wear for the nightclub scene."
Varrick face palmed himself. "Not this again." he muttered lowly to himself. He then forced a smile when she addressed the kids. "You kids have fun. Just remember, no touching anything that might break, don't distract the actors while they're working, and also, if you by any chance see a sparkly lady-bug themed night club outfit laying around anywhere just let me know, okay? Okay, come on, Zhu Li!"
In a flash, both were gone from sight, leaving the children rather perplexed at his request. But, no point in standing around asking why, there was an entire film set to explore.
Iris pulled out a piece of paper from her pocket. "According to our visitor schedules, they won't start shooting the next scene for a while, which means we have time to—"
"Get my picture taken with Camellia Spring, the actress playing Lady-Mare!" Mai exclaimed, squealing at the name. She earned a few surprised looks from everyone else. "What? A girl can't have other interests aside from building stuff?"
Noti excitedly pulled out a piece of paper from her pocket. "Oh, and since she's an avid supporter of a foundations that helps protecting endangered sea-life, I can get her to sign my petition for building shelters for injured Eel Hounds!"
"Oh, okay." Iris said, "But I was thinking that we could—"
"Check out all the sets?" Akari asked excitedly, eager to look at the place where there would be an epic battle between the heroine and villain.
"I'd really like to get a closer look at that tower thing." Chrysalis said, pointing her thumb to said tower not too far from them.
"Actually, I thought we'd—" Iris was interrupted when her cousin Hiro intervened.
"Find the buffet! I Pinkie Promised Pinkie Pie I'd find a her a cupcake fountain."
Gallant blinked, "I don't know what a cupcake fountain is, but I'm pretty sure they don't have one."
"Of course they do. I read it in my 100 Things You Didn't Know About This Movie Studio: Insider's Tour Guide." Hiro said, pulling out said guide from the inside of his pocket.
"Is the number-one thing we didn't know that the guy who founded this studio was an eccentric oddball with a sweet tooth?" Mai asked, folding her arms and smiling knowingly.
"Yeah, but pretty much everybody knows that already."
Iris decided to just toss the paper back into her pocket, seeing as everybody already had their own ideas on what to do for fun around the studio, and with how large it was, they might cover more ground this way in order to take in everything this place had to offer.
"I guess we're splitting up?" she asked. Everyone eagerly agreed and dashed on ahead to do what they said they would. Hiro grabbed Gallant by the arm, dragging him along on his quest to find the buffet and, along with it, the cupcake fountain.
The only ones who stayed were Iris and Chi. "I don't suppose you want to—"
"Check out the props that Astruc Zagtoon designed specially for the movie?" Chi said excitedly, not even bothering to restrain herself from squealing.
"You read my mind!"
(~)
Nori and Mai stopped in front of a trailer just outside the studio, complete with a lounge chair and an empty lemonade glass next to it. The star on the door had the actress's name written on its surface.
"You sure now's a good time?" Mai asked, "I mean, I want to meet her too but probably best we don't bother her while she's in her trailer."
"Starfish, please. Actresses love interacting with their fans." Nori said, only to get a healthy heaping of metal to the face when the door swooshed open. Mai gasped but thankfully the merpony was unharmed. Standing in the entrance of the doorframe was a young anthro pegasus, around nineteen-years-old or so, wearing a modest pair of blue jeans, a white shirt with lotus-flower prints and a green lotus flower cutie mark on her cheek. Her hair, much like her character, was black with blue tips, but unlike her character, her coat/skin and wings were white like snow and her eyes were emerald green. She would were contacts during filming.
Nori quickly recollected herself and tried introducing herself, "Oh, Miss Spring! I—" she was cut off, seeing that the actress was currently speaking with someone on the phone, and from the looks of it, she wasn't too happy.
"Look, I don't know how many times I have to tell you this! I don't care if I'm under contract, this is a joke, and I want this thing shut down! Do you hear me?!" she grunted once she slammed the phone closed, only to gasp at the sight of the young merpony and human girl. The actress blushed and lowered her ears in embarrassment.
"Oh, I am so sorry! I didn't see you there!" she said, stepping out of her trailer and inspecting Nori to see if she had caused any unintentional injuries. "Are you okay? I fell awful about this."
"No, don't worry about it, I'm okay." Nori said, rearranging her hair a bit, which had gotten a bit messed up. "It takes a lot more than a door to the face to knock me down."
The actress sighed in relief. "Oh, thank goodness. I swear, that agent of mine makes my feathers ruffle!" she growled, her wings literally ruffling as result. She took in a deep breath before introducing herself. "Nothing to be concerned about, though. Anyways, let's start over. What's are your names sweetie."
"I'm Nori, and this is my friend Mai." she said, introducing the Sato heiress, who squealed excitedly.
"Oh, you're the kids Varrick said would be visiting the set today, aren't you? I was hoping I'd get a chance to talk to you."
Mai squealed again, gripping Nori's arm. "Camellia Springs wanted to talk to us!" she said between her teeth, blanketed by her squealing.
"Hey, I was just about to get something from the buffet before shooting. You guys want to join?"
The two girls couldn't nod their heads fast enough.
(~)
Chrysali's wings flapped as she and Akari flew up the literally high tower set where the actors would need wires and a forklift to get them up there. Or wings for that matter. Her translucent wings shimmers as they flapped, making her look iridescent.
She zipped left and right like a fly, mesmerized by a shinning light. Speaking of which, there were a few lovely lights that adorned the side of the tower of Prance, which at the moment had a darkened night time background behind it.
"Wow! Wonder how long it takes to build something like this." she said, marveling in awe at the tower.
"Several weeks, I'd bet." Akari replied, flying right beside her.
Chrysalis zoomed lower, studying the lower structure. "They sure go all out making it look realistic, don't they?"
Akari landed beside her once they hit the ground, followed by the crushing sound of something beneath her feet. She pulled out something that got stuck to the bottom of her shoe, seeing it was an empty chocolate bar wrapper.
"Yeah, even right down to the trash on the street."
Chrysalis read the label, "Bon Mot peanut butter praline crunch bars?"
"Oh, thanks, you found another one." said a new voice. The voice belonged to a young girl, the same age as Iris, with light skin with freckles sprinkling the bridge of her nose, blue eyes and long dark brown hair with strong cerulean and arctic blue streaks spread downwards from the top of her head and even her sideways bangs. Her hair was styled into two long pintails, one of which went over her shoulder.
She wore a pair of purple cat-glasses, a blue lilac shirt with a purple jacket over it, black skirt with purple spots and simple flat purple shows with white socks that reached up a few inches bellow her knees. She took the empty chocolate bar wrapper and placed it into her pocket.
"I hate it when people drop their garbage on set. It ruins the shot." she muttered to herself in annoyance.
Akari studied the girl's appearance. "Don't I know you from somewhere?"
"I sure hope so. I was at VJ's birthday party last year while my family was visiting Harmony City. I made him that ice sculpture."
Akari slapped herself on the face, "Oh, of course! Juniper!"
"Hey, Akari."
"Wow, I almost didn't recognize you. I'm loving the streaks!"
"Thanks." said the girl, Juniper, smudgy slipping her hair off of her shoulder.
"I'm sorry, who's Juniper?" Chrysalis asked.
"Oh, right, I'm sorry. Chrysalis, this is Juniper Moon. Zhu Li's niece."
The changeling smiled and offered the human girl her hand. "Hi, it's a pleasure to meet you."
Juniper, at first hesitant, eventually shook the reformed changeling's hand. "So, how you guys enjoying your visit?"
"It's amazing!" Akari exclaimed, beaming.
"Astruc Zagtoon is very hands-on when it comes to the sets and props for the movie.
"Have you met him?"
"Just once when he came to check out the Marvelous Gemstones. I did get him to sign a copy of the latest Lady-Mare comic, though." Juniper squealed alongside Akari, while Chrysalis only stood idly by.
Unlike the rest of her friends, she didn't know much about movies, or comic books, or any of that sort of thing. She had been so out of the time during her time as an evil queen that she felt like a fish out of Temporal water. As much as she appreciated her new friends inviting her to their activities, because of how behind she was, and the fact that it was a constant reminder of her past actions, always made it hard for her to fully enjoy herself.
"So what do you do here?" Akari asked Juniper, Chrysalis politely stayed and listened, not saying a word unless addressed.
"Mostly, I bring my aunt and uncle coffee and help get everything ready for shooting. I've been on the set for all the movies Varrick's shot here. Pretty much know every inch of this place like the back of my hand." Juniper giggled, making a snorting sound. "I tried to convince Varrick to cast me as Lady-Mare, but... he really didn't go for that." she muttered the last bit in a bitter tone, which caught both Akari and Chrysalis off guard.
Juniper switched back to her cheerful self in the time it took to, literally, flip a switch. "Hey! Have you guys seen the set for Hawk Moth's secret lair?"
Both girls shook their heads. Chrysalis looked indifferent while Akari looked as excited as a four-year-old on a sugar high.
"They usually lock the door to that set, but I've got keys that open just about every door in this place." Juniper said, pulling out said keys from her pocket, "Come on. I'll show you."
(~)
Chi and Iris walked onto the set of a city, with a cute bakery and a collection of movie props set and ready for the next shooting. Chi gasped and turned Iris's head towards a table where seven animal themed accessories shimmered in the studio lights.
"Wow! These are the five Marvelous Gemstones!"
Both girls eagerly zipped on closer to the stones. Each accessory carried a single gemstone embedded in them. Two of those accessories were absent, a pair of ladybug earrings and a black ring with a green cat paw print adorned with a green topaz jewel.
"The Fox Pendant!" Iris exclaimed, her fingers hovering over said pendant.
"The Ladybug Earrings!" Chi said in awe.
"Don't forget the Black Cat ring, pretty much the best one of the bunch."
The two girl turned around to see a twenty-year-old unicorn stallion with light yellow colored coat/skin and bright brown eyes and what appeared to be star shaped cutie mark on his left shoulder. His hair was mint green. In short, his color scheme was literally a reveres of his character. It was no wonder he was chosen to play the part. He wore a sleeveless shirt with a ying-yang symbol on the center and gray colored pants with a wrist watch and his ears were pierced with an earring. He was showing off said Black Cat ring to them, which was already on his hand.
"You're the Avatar's kid, right?" he asked, gesturing to Iris. She opened her mouth to speak, but was silenced when Chi floated up towards the male unicorn, her entire body glowing from the rising excitement.
"Oh. My. CELESTIA!! You're Neon-Streak! The actor playing Adrien! I'm a huge fan! I'm Chi, this is Iris!"
The unicorn, Neon-Streak, good-heartedly shook Chi's hand, making her tremble with excitement. "It's very nice to meet you both. Varrick said you kids would be visiting the set. I'm a big fan of your mother, Iris."
"So, how does it feel to be playing a staring role in this movie? Was it amazing for you? I'm sure it's amazing, why wouldn't it be amazing, I mean-- OMG! I'm actually talking to Neon-Streak, who is-- without question--the only pony to ever pull of an authentic Adrien! Oh my gosh, I think I'm going to explode!"
Iris quickly grabbed hold of her friend, lowering her back to earth. Literally.
"Chi, Chi, remember, self control. Breath in, breath out."
The wisp did as she instructed. At first, she hyperventilated, only for Iris to take in deep slow breaths herself so Chi could follow her. In now time, the wisp's adrenaline diminished and she calmed down. "Right, right. Sorry."
Neon-Streak only chuckled, not at all phased by her reaction. "Don't worry about it. That was pretty much had the same reaction when I heard I got the part. Camellia and I have been big fans of the comic series when it first came out, so this is a dream come true for both of us."
"Is it true you guys knew each other since you were foals?" Iris asked.
"Yep. We met in the same acting class and have been inseparable ever since."
Chi sighed dreamingly, "Wow. How lucky are you to be in a movie like this, and to share it with your best friend?"
"Pretty lucky." Neon-Streak leaned in closer, lowering his voice as if in a whisper. Really, he was just getting them excited. One of the perks of his job was interacting with fans, and Neon always loved kids. "And, if you think those Marvelous gemstones are cool, wait until you see the Black Cat ring in action."
"Do you have the staff with you?" Chi asked almost completely out of nowhere.
"It's back on set. You girls want to get an up close look?"
"Does Lady-Mare have approximately fifteen spots on her costume?"
Neon-Streak laughed once more, patting the wisp on the head and leading the girls to show them the staff.
"I like you, kid. You've got spunk."
(~)
After what felt like hours--when really, it was just an hour and a half--Hiro sat down on an empty set chair, sighing sadly while Gallant Steed leaned against a box of costumed beside him, chewing on a candy bar. Several more of the same empty wrappers were spread out on the chair's arms and on the floor.
Hiro sighed, leaning against the chair. "Okay, so far we've seen to three lunch buffets, six different kinds of fondue, two rooms with nothing but candy, and still no cupcake fountain!" he exclaimed in frustration at the last part right before pausing and taking the last bite out of the candy bar and smiled contently. He swallowed before speaking again. "Oh, well. At least we found those peanut butter praline crunch bars! They weren't in my guidebook, but they sure were delicious!"
"I'll say." Gallant Steed swallowed the last bit he was chewing on and crumpled the now empty wrapped in his hand, using his levitation to throw it and the rest of the empty wrappers in a nearby trashcan.
"Maybe Pinkie won't mind if we bring her a few of these."
"Ahh! One more month, Mr. HoofWood! That's all we need!"
The two boys flinched when they heard Varrick's loud, booming voice coming from the other end of the building. The two poked their heads from behind a cardboard tree and saw him speaking to someone on his geo-phone.
"I'm doing everything I can to keep us on schedule! But with all the setbacks we've had, I don't think we can do it! If you could just agree to let Camellia stay on for one more month…!" Varrick had to remove the phone from his ear, a loud irritated and, rather screechy voice boomed form the other side it literally made his hair and the collar of his shirt billow. "Okay, okay, you don't have to yell, I'm right here!" Varrick exclaimed right back at the person. He sighed, rubbing his temples to try and prevent the already growing migraine. "I don't know if we got her imported butter praline crunch bars, I haven't seen any since our last phone call! Yes, I know they're Camellia's favorite snacks, you don't have to keep reminding me!"
Both Hiro and Gallant backed away from the scene, their eyes wide in guilt. "Now would probably be a good time to resume the search for that cupcake fountain." Gallant suggested. Hiro nodded and the two scooted away from the scene. The last thing they heard was Varrick's angrily slamming his phone onto the table beside him.
(~)
Chi and Iris watched in awe as Neon showed off his many years of martial arts skills with the way he spun his prop bow staff with ease. It really was like watching Stal-Noir in the flesh. Both girls squealed after he struck the final suppose, just for good measure.
"That was amazing!" Chi squealed, literally trembling. Neon happily handed her the staff for her to see the details herself.
"Thanks. I was a bit rusty though during rehearsal. It's been a while since I worked with one of these."
"I'll say. We needed a glacier for that bump you gave yourself." a female voice was heard. Behind her were Nori and Mai, each one with a smoothie in hand.
Neon chuckled, and Chi's eyes widened, her pupils increasing in size, shimmering like stars. "C-C-C-Ca-Ca-Ca-Camellia Springs!" she stuttered, her body literally rising up from the ground. "Y-Y-Y-You-You-You-You! You're playing Lady-Mare! In the movie! With Neon-Streak! You-She-Him-They--" her entire body started to glow and Iris, Mai and Nori had to literally tackle her to the floor.
"NO!!"
"Oh. Sorry."
Camellia and Neon only laughed at their antics and kindly helped them back up. "It's okay. You must be, Chi. Your friends have told me a lot about you." Camellia said, before folding her arms and flashing her co-star a teasing smile. "Hogging my fans again, are we Neon?"
"Oh, come on, don't be like that, hon."
"Hon?!" The girl all exclaimed in surprise.
Neon Streak then blushed, "Oh. Right. They don't know."
"Don't know what?" Iris asked. Chi, on the other hand, was already gleefully giggling.
"We, haven't exactly told the press since, we wanted it to be private." Camellia said, taking a step closer to Neon, who then wrapped his arm around her.
"Camellia and I have been dating for a year now."
"What!?" the girls exclaimed, yet again, but were all grinning from ear to ear, more so Chi than the rest. Nori was so wonderfully surprised that she spilled her smoothie all over the floor, yet nobody really cared much.
"Yeah. We've been pretty good at keeping it secret." Camellia said. "Last thing we need is a bunch of reporters making up dramatic retellings just to "spice things up." she said, using air quotes while rolling her eyes.
Chi squealed once more. "That is so awesome! No wonder you two were picked for the roles! Nobody can be able to replicate the kind of chemistry Mareinette and Adrien have!"
Neon looked at his wrist watch. "Oh, speaking of which, we should get into costume. They're going to start shooting in the next thirty minutes. Come on."
(~)
Both actors were already in costumes and makeup, their coats and hair now resembling their respected characters. Chi was hyperventilating at seeing the two up close. She took a quick selfie of herself and the two, which they were more than happy to take before walking up onto the set.
Once the lights dimmed Varrick sat on his director's chair and looked around, "Where are the Marvelous Gemstones? We need them for the next shot!"
"I'll got get them!" Chi volunteered, "Be back in a flash!" she said, using her supper speed to go and retrieve the stones herself.
"Alright, while she gets them, let's shoot the first half of the scene. And action!"
Camellia and Neon positioned themselves, facing against the masked villain. Camellia twirled her yo-yo, which for some unknown reasons, snapped in two, much to her and everyone's shock and the bit struck the side of the fake building, which somehow, got loose, broke apart and crumbled on the set. Neon shielded Camellia and both them and the actor platy Hawk Moth sprang right out of there before they could get crushed.
Iris and Akari acted quickly and levitated the rubble, landing it gently so as to not harm anybody else. Varrick didn't even bother yelling out "cut!", the camera man stopped filming the moment the danger began and everyone stepped away from the wreckage. Both Neon and Camellia inspected their older co-star, who removed his villain mask, his hands trembling from the experience and Varrick literally pulling his hair.
"Somebody please explain to me what just happened here! We filmed on this set just yesterday and it was fine! This could set us back weeks!"
"They're gone! They're all gone!" Chi cried out once she arrived.
Varrick's left eye began to twitch. "What's gone?"
Juniper Moon ran up to Chi, "The Marvelous gemstones!"
(~)
"What exactly happened?" Camellia asked, placing a hand on Chi's shoulder. The poor wisp as feeling just as antsy as the director himself. She explained everything in as much detail as she possibly could, but there really wasn't that much to say.
"I came back to get the Marvelous, but when I came back they weren't there! Gone! Nada! Zilch!"
Varrick started pacing back and forth, while his wife looked on in concern, with one hand wrapped around her niece's shoulder. Now that the two were side by side, the rest of the Guardians could definitely see the resemblance between the two. Juniper really did resemble a younger looking Zhu Li with multicolored hair.
"This can't be happening! This can't be happening!" Varrick repeated, "What are we gonna do?!"
"Couldn't you just get the prop department to make new ones?" Akari asked.
"The Marvelous were personally approved by Astruc Zagtoon." Zhu Li said, while equally worried, she did a better job are remaining the level-headed one in this situation. "We could have new ones made, but we can't use them until Mister Zagtoon has given them his official stamp of approval."
"You think it'd be easy to reach someone who is always holed up in his office making comics, but this Zagtoon is a very difficult fella to track down." Varrick said with a huff and a childish pout.
"I-It'll be okay, though, right?" Chi asked, her voice trembling.
"I don't know! With the Tower collapsing, and now this, I fear we'll have to stop production altogether!"
"But-but you have to finish this movie! Think of all the Lady-Mare and Stal-Noir fans who'll be so disappointed if you don't!"
"Are you sure there's nothing you can do to—" Iris's sentence was cut short when a loud crash was head from the other side of the large room. Varrick's left eye started to twitch again.
"I'm so sorry. Please excuse me." Varrick was normally a very high energized man, extremely passionate about anything he did. But today, every minute he was hanging at the end of his rope and felt he wanted to bang his head against a wall. Repeatedly. For eight hours straight.
"Juniper, sweetie, could you get me and your uncle some herbal tea?"
"You got it." Juniper nodded before leaving the other way and Zhu Li walked out with her husband.
Chi turned to Neon and Camellia, her hands clapped together plead-fully. "You guys aren't gonna let this happen, right?"
"Chi, I--" Camellia began, only to be cut short, much like Iris a few short moments ago, and pulled out her geo-phone from her pocket. "Oh, great." she muttered bitterly. "I'm sorry, I have to take this. A little unfinished business."
Camellia regretfully turned from the kids to answer her phone call. Seeing the distress in the poor wisp's face. Neon placed a sympathetic hand on her shoulder and smiled hunching slightly to meet her at her level. "Don't worry about it, Chi. Believe me, we can't this movie to happen as much as you do. We'll do whatever we can to save this film, I promise."
He said, right before another ring was heard. This time, it was Neon's phone. He sighed sadly and walked away, replying with an empty, "Hello?"
Once he was gone, Chi began to hyperventilate. Hiro slowly approached her, keeping a cautious distance. "It's okay, Bubbles. Calm Down."
"Calm down?" Chi repeated, her voice slowly rising more and more with each word, along with her size. "Calm down!? The film production of my all time favorite comic book series is on the brink of being canceled and you're telling me to CALM DOWN!?"
Chi's entire body turned a demonic shade of red, added with flowing pupil-less glowing red eyes, her now larger body towered over Hiro, her voice booming and echoing in a way that even the wicked Vaatu himself would be terrified of her.
Hiro gulped and zipped away, only for Nori to sternly cross her arms. "Chi…"
The wisp's reddish glow started to fade and her color returned to its original blue shade. She sighed, her body shrinking back to normal. "I'm sorry guys. I was so excited to see this and now everything's falling apart. So much for the "best day ever"."
Chi floated down on the floor, her head in her hands while Gallant and Chrysalis comforted her.
Iris approached the area from which the Marvelous gemstones once stood. All that remained was an empty black foam case, the shapes of the stones completely dried of any small remands. Not even glitter from the Peacock Broach could be seen.
Iris stroke her chin in thought. "There was trouble with one of the costumes when we first arrived. A set that was fine yesterday just collapsed. And now, the most important props in the movie have been stolen. I don't think these are just coincidences."
"Me, neither." Akari agreed, "All the things that have gone wrong on set have put production on hold. It seems to me like someone is going to a lot of trouble to make sure this movie doesn't get made."
"Who would want to—?" Gallant asked, only to get cut short when Mai gasped. She turned towards Nori.
"You don't think…"
"Oh, no-no-no-no. Definitely not!" Nori shook her head in defiance.
"What?" Chi asked. Both merpony and Sato girl were now the center of everyone's attention. Akari rotated her wrist, motioning at them to spill out whatever it was they knew. Mai sighed, answering her friend's question, though she knew she wouldn't like the sound of it.
"When Nori and I first met Camellia at her trailer, we overheard her saying she wanted something shut down…"
Chi rose upwards, her fists clenching on both sides. "You're not suspecting Camellia of doing this, are you?!"
"I said she wanted something shut down, I didn't say it was the movie."
"Besides, she was supper nice and she couldn't stop talking about how much she wanted to be in the movie." Nori said. It really didn't make any sense. Why would Camellia, an incredibly sweet and generous pony, want a movie to be shut down when she was nothing short of excited for it. They probably heard wrong, after all, they only heard one half of the conversation.
"Maybe she was just ticked off because they ran out of her imported butter praline crunch bars." Hiro said.
Chrysalis and Akari turned to one another, their eyes widening in realization. "Bon Mot butter praline crunch bars?" Chrysalis asked, remembering the name on the label.
"Those are the ones!" Hiro said, giving them a finger pointing gesture. Gallant Steed blushed, scratching the back of his neck.
"We, uh... may have tried a few ourselves. Heh." he gave a light nervous chuckle. He wasn't one to just eat whatever sweets he found, but there was no way he could resist the alluring smell once Hiro had opened up the first bar.
"We found one of the wrappers on the Prance City Tower set right before it collapsed." Akari said.
"We also overheard Varrick talking to someone on the phone, begging to let Camellia remain on the movie." Gallant said, remembering what happened afterwards.
"She was talking to her agent when we saw her." Nori said.
"I don't know who's behind this or what's going on, but the first thing we need to do is find those Marvelous." Chi said, pounding her right fist onto her left palm in determination.
"I agree." Iris said. "The Marvelous were here earlier, and if the one responsible is someone working on the set then they must still be around her somewhere."
"Why don't Gallant Steed, Hiro, Chrysalis, and I follow Camellia and see if we can find anything out?" Akari suggested.
"I'm telling you, she didn't do it!" Chi said in protest, poking a finger at Akari's chest. She gently lowered her hand.
"I'm not accusing her, but maybe whoever is doing this is trying to make sure that Camellia's contract with the movie expires so that the movie won't get made. It's a theory but it's what we have so far."
"Then what are we waiting for, let's get going!" Hiro said as he, Akari, Gallant and Chrysalis walked out of the set in the same direction they saw Camellia left earlier.
"In the meantime, we should look for the Marvelous." Iris said.
"Where do we even start?" Mai asked, "It's not like there's some mysterious, cloaked figure we can chase after and say, "Hey, tell us where you're keeping the Marvelous!"
"You mean like that one?" Nori pointed towards said mysterious cloaked figure, tiptoeing onto set, away from the teen's sight. The figure's entire face was covered by a black hood, tied together with a golden colored rope, adorned with a matching diamond shaped pendant.
"Well, that was freakishly convenient." Mai said, rather dumbfounded at the fact that her incredibly detailed description of the thief just magically came true. She was only kidding before, she didn't legitimately assume there was a literal cloaked figure causing mischief.
"Hey! Stop right there!" Chi exclaimed, causing the figure to high tail it out of there. Using her super speed, Chi zoomed past her friends, leaving their hair an unkept mess, and chased after the cloaked figure across the set. Chi folioed her into at least three different rooms and movie sets, even outside where Camellia's trailer was. One minute she had her in her sights, and the next she made a turn in another direction, even Chi herself found it hard to keep up.
She stopped at one last set, but this time there was no cloaked figure in sight. Iris, Mai and Nori finally managed to keep up with their friend, all four of them panting from running all around the movie studio.
Chi growled in frustration. "I can't believe I lost them! I guess being awesomely fast doesn't help when the person you're chasing knows their way around better than you do."
Coincidentally, Akari, Gallant, Hiro and Chrysalis appeared from behind a wooden set piece.
"Hey, guys." Akari greeted them.
"Any luck finding Camellia?" Mai asked.
We couldn't find her."
"But we did find that cupcake fountain!" Hiro said, pulling out said cupcake and taking a huge bite out of it, his face now smudged in blue frosting.
"Then we got lost and somehow ended up here." Chrysalis said, "What have you guys been doing?"
"We spotted this super-suspicious cloaked figure, but they got away." Chi sighed, folding her arms and gritting her teeth, still furious that she couldn't catch the culprit and save the film production. "They're here somewhere."
"There you are!" A man wearing a headpiece suddenly appeared from behind them, " W-Where are your costumes? We've got to hurry! I-I-I'm so gonna be fired if you aren't ready. The director wants to shoot in three minutes!"
Without warning, the man gathered the kids to a room where they were immediately changed into costumes and were pushed onto the set of what appeared to be the interior some kind of futuristic space ship with a silver to white colored structure and neon blue lights adorning the side of a faux window with an image of a black void with millions of stars.
Iris was dressed in a blue, white, pink and gold colored dress, complete with fake pointed ears, which she quickly removed due to how annoying uncomfortable they were, while Akari, Nori, Hiro, Gallant and Mai were all dressed in matching black jumpsuits under white colored futuristic armor, each one with a helmet and a V symbol on their chests, and blue neon lights on the side of the boots and high collars.
The only things that distinguished them were that each armor had different colored outlines on their chests, helmets and shoulder pads. Akari's outlines were black, Nori's were pink, Hiro's were blue, Mai's were green, Chi's was red and Gallant's were yellow.
Chrysalis, on the other hand, wore what appeared to be a very dreary looking long purple cloak and dress with yellow outlines. It looked more like the kind of thing a mysterious villain would wear.
The kids saw the cameras pointed at them. "Uh, I think there's been some kind of mistake." Mai said, removing the helmet from her head and snatching the country hat the costume designer had taken from her hand.
"Wait, wait. Who are these kids?" The Director asked his P.A.
"They're the Paladins!" he said, droplets of sweat streaming down his brows.
"Look again." the Director said, narrowing his eyes. The P.A. looked at the kids again, this time taking full notice of the wings behind the oldest girl's back. He lowered his head, his poster hunched.
"I'm fired, aren't I?"
"So fired." the Director rubbed his temples, "I'm sorry, you're highness!"
"No problem!" said back.
Chrysalis piled up the helm of her sinister looking cloak, cringing at the sight. She spent hundreds of years in a hive that was devoid of any beauty and happiness, the last thing she needed was to be seen in something equally as depressing.
Chrysalis's eyes caught something on her left side and spotted the cloaked figure leaving the set. "Hey! There she is!"
The kids removed their helmets and Chrysalis removed at least the hood of her villainess costume, leaving behind only the long purple, ragged dress and they chased after the cloaked figure into various movie sets.
They chased her across a nighttime alleyway with a bat-themed car, a set that looked like a medieval kingdom with a sun symbol on one of the flags and a stuffed chameleon on one of the fake fountains. They chased her into a dungeon set, an enchanted forest set with multicolored trees, even the old set from where they once field the Nuktuk films. Hiro screeched to a halt once he saw the set, taking a quick selfie with his geo-phone before getting dragged away by his sister.
They bursted through the door, all simultaneously out of breath. Not even Chi's own supper speed could catch up with the culprit, which astonished even herself. Apparently, knowing her way around the studio was a great advantage she had on the team.
While the whole time they were running, Akari couldn't help but notice how well the cloaked figure manage to seamlessly make her way through every set without question. She didn't get lost, not even once.
Mai leaned against a fake tree, noticing the jungle theme of the set. "Uh, what's this place supposed to be?"
"Hey, this is the set for the upcoming Daring Do Spin-off movie for next year!" Gallant Steed said, marveling at the jungle atmosphere. "The one where her daughter, Bold Wing, goes on a quest to find her missing mother after she disappears for twelve years, while uncovering an ancient secret involving the mystical tomb of the Monkey King!" he explained the plot of the film, all the while geeking out over it. Akari couldn't help but smile at how cute he was when he got excited.
"I know what your thinking, "Next Generation" stories from a long running series tend to carry a lot of expectations given its legacy and can be very hit and miss, but if done right, they can actually open up new doors for world building and--"
"As fun as that sounds, Gallant, now's not the time to be geeking over Daring Do's sequel!" Chi said, reminding him of their mission. "We're supposed to be hunting down the missing Marvelous and catching the bad guy!"
"We're trying." Iris said, "Maybe we should make our way back to the Lady-Mare set. There might have been some clues we missed."
Just as they were about to make their leave, the leafs beneath their feet began to shake and rise up. A net hidden beneath the leafs sprung upwards and trapped the group in its next, save for Chi, who was pushed back by Chrysalis in time. Chi saw the cloaked figure making her leave.
"Don't worry! I've got this!" she said, speeding her way to catch the culprit. Using her magic, Iris managed to easily release them from their bindings and hurried after their friend.
(~)
Chi followed the figure inside another room. "I saw you come in here. Where are you?" she said, trying to see if she could spot that cloaked figure from before. She felt a gust of wind and saw the same figure make her way into a closet. Chi followed her inside, seeing it was a prop closet, filled with an assortment of items for all kinds of films. The room was minimal lighting, save for a single lantern on the veiling. Chi saw a locker in the far side of the room and saw some sparkly red and black fabric inside.
Opening it, she saw a lovely red and black party dress with a lady bug theme. "Hey! This is just like the outfit Mareinette wears in the nightclub scene. What's it doing in here?" she also noticed something else in the corner of her eye. A piece of black fabric attacked to the side of a prop spear.
Chi picked it out, feeling like she had seen it from somewhere before. She heard a creek from the doors and saw the hooded figure close the door behind Chi before she could make her way out. The wisp slammed face first into the door, her face becoming, literally, flat like a pancake, before she blew on her thumb and it inflated back to its normal proportion.
Chi tried to open the door, but quickly found that the knob was stuck. From outside, the cloaked figure moved her arms in swift motions, commanding the water from nearby water bottles to transform into ice, which trapped the wisp inside the closet by freezing the doors from top to bottom with lares, upon thick lares of ice. It would take a while for the ice to melt. A while was all the time she needed. the cloaked figure smiled underneath her hood before making her leave.
Chi kept on trying to break out, using her supper speed to break the door down, but whatever she tried she kept only getting boomeranged back into the room, zipping up and down and all around like a pinpong ball before landing on a pile of stuffed animals and a boa now on her head. Her eyes rolled around in their sockets and she hit her own head, getting them back in place.
She turned herself into a key to try and unlock herself, but sadly it didn't work. She peeked through the keyhole and saw nothing but ice. "Oh, great! Not only is she a thief, she's a waterbender too. Fantastic! Well, no ice is gonna hold me in!"
Chi changed herself into a sledgehammer, continuously hitting the door repeatedly. Specks of ice managed to fall off, but the solidity was too intense, even for the wisp. Her banging slowed down, mainly due to Chi feeling a terrible migraine coming on.
Star spiraled around her head and she fell on her back. "Oh, right… now I know why I never do that." she said disoriented, pointing her finger upwards. She got herself back up, dusting her costume. Knowing there was not other way out, she resulted to desert measures.
"Hello? Anybody out there?" she called out, banging hard against the door with her fists. "I said, HELOOOOOOOOOOOO!!! Wisp trapped inside here!!" when no one responded to her cries, Chi leaned against a pile of boxes before snapping her fingers. "No problem! I'll just call my friends and let them know—" she then groaned impatiently, "Except I can't because security took all our phones when we got here." Chi sighed. "Well, back to business." she said, once again hitting the door.
"Help! I'm trapped in here! Can anybody hear me?! Somebody! Help!"
"Chi? Is that you?" A voice came from outside and the wisp gasped.
"Neon Streak?"
"Yeah. Stand back!"
Chi complied and before long she heard the sound of ice chattering into a million shards. The door jiggled and Neon Streak, along with Camellia, opened the door. The wisp jumped out, hugging them both. Neon had used a sledgehammer to break the ice apart to free their friend.
"Boy, am I happy to see you!"
"How did you get stuck in there?" Camellia asked with concern, petting her wisp's head.
"My friends and I were chasing after the person who stole the Marvelous gemstones and he tricked me into getting stuck in that closet. I also found this." she revealed to Camellia the sparkly outfit she had found.
"That's the outfit I was supposed to wear for the nightclub scene." Camellia said, taking the dress in her hands.
"Yeah. But, how did you guys find me?"
"After I had a talk with my agent, Varrick couldn't find you kids, and with everything going on he thought of the worst and believed you went missing."
"To calm him down we volunteered to look for you while the crew members worked on rebuilding the damaged set."
"Did you see the person who locked you in?" Camellia asked.
Chi sighed, shaking her head. "No, and there's still no sign of the Marvelous." she sighed sadly. "I guess Lady-Mare and Stal-Noir were never really meant to be on the big screen after all."
"I wouldn't say that." Camellia said, smiling warmly while removing strands of Chi's bangs from her face. "I admit, I wasn't being complete honest with you kids before. You see, aside from this movie, my agent got me a deal with this other project, but honestly, when they approached me I thought they wanted to do a documentary about my organization for protecting endangered sea life." Camellia narrowed her eyes in anger, "But, as it turns out, their description was very misleading and it was just a documentary about various nests around the world. I tried to get out of it, but I had to deal with a bunch of complex nonsense that only now I managed to resolve."
"So, does that mean?"
"I can extend my contract and finish filming the movie. I didn't tell you kids because I didn't want you to worry. Neon and I want to make this movie happen just as much as our fans do. I'm sorry I kept that from you guys."
Chi only smiled in relief. "It's okay. I understand."
"But, even with her extended contract, if we don't solve this whole issue the movie will miss it's deadline and we'll never be able to finish it either way."
"Wait!" Chi pulled out the piece of fabric from her pocket. The memory of the fabric finally clicked in her mind. "Guys, I think I know someone who can solve this whole mystery."
(~)
The kids managed to exit from the jungle set and into what appeared to be some kind of factory film set. Nori groaned impatiently. "Great! Now we lost her. Again."
"She really knows her way around this place, doesn't she?" Akari asked in a skeptical tone.
Iris turned a corner, with the others in tow, only to collide with another human being. The princess heard an annoyed growl from the stranger, only to see who it was.
"Juniper?"
"Oh, hey, Iris."
"What are you doing here?"
"I was looking around to see if I could find the Marvelous. So far, no luck."
"Oh, Starfish, your jacket got ripped." Nori said, pointing at the torn up piece on Juniper's jacket. The younger human girl flinched at the sight.
"Oh! Must have happened with one of the prods from that Gladiator movie set." she said, trying to casually cover it with her hand. Iris noticed how jumpy she was, she subtly arched an eyebrow. "Well, I'm gonna try and see if I can find anything else. I'll see you back on set." Juniper waved goodbye and sped walk out of the scene. She sure looked to be in quite the hurry.
"Guys!"
The rest of the team turned around to see their wisp friend, accompanied by Camellia and Neon.
"Chi!" they all rushed to embrace their friend, despite the bulky costumed armor they were still wearing.
"We were so worried! Where were you?" Hiro asked.
"I was tricked by that cloaked figure and was locked in a closet. I managed to get out thanks to my new friends." Chi then pulled something from her pocket, handing it to Iris. "And, I found this. It was stuck on one of those prop spears in the closet. Also, it turns out the cloaked figure is a waterbender."
"Yeah. She locked Chi in that supply closet with ice so thick it was almost like a glacier." Neon said.
"That thick, huh?" Iris asked, studying the fabric in her hand. Both she and Akari stroked their chins in thought, putting the pieces together. Both nodded in agreement.
"I think we've got a pretty good idea who our thief is." Iris said, "But we're gonna need Varrick's help to catch her."
(~)
After getting out of those costumes, they got Varrick, Zhu Li, Camellia, Neon and Juniper together back at the scene of the crime, where the Marvelous stones were stolen. Varrick held the missing costume outfit in his hands.
"You found this in a supply closet?" Varrick asked, still surprised the costume was stored away in there.
"We didn't find the Marvelous." Iris said, "But we don't think the thief has had a chance to take them off the lot yet. We wanted your permission to search the city block set from top to bottom. Maybe we'll find a clue that would lead us to where they're hidden."
Varrick nodded in agreement. "Of course." he said before turning to the two actors, while Zhu Li looked over her clip notes. "Camellia, Neon, I need you guys to get into hair and makeup. As soon as we get the Marvelous, we're gonna start shooting again."
"You got it." Camellia nodded and she and Neon went to get into their costumed and makeup.
"Juniper, can you do a smoothie run?" Zhu Li asked her niece, "I'm sure all this sleuthing is gonna make everyone thirsty."
Juniper gave a happy salute before dashing off, "Absolutely!"
(~)
The cloaked figure returned, silently running towards a crate behind the city block set, only a few steps away. Far enough so nobody could find them, but not far enough to keep them hidden for long. She pushed back the faux hay inside, finding a leather box. Opening it revealed the five of the Marvelous gemstones. At the same time, her hood slid off, revealing her face and long hair.
"Those really don't go with your outfit, sweetie."
The culprit spun around, seeing Nori smugly folding her arms and the rest of the Elements of Harmony all surrounding her. She clenched the box close to her chest.
"Look! I found the missing Marvelous!" she said coyly, but she wasn't fooling anyone.
"Because you're the one who stole them… Juniper!" Akari said, pointing an accusing finger at the thief. Chi forcibly took the box away from her.
Varrick and Zhu Li saw the whole thing, both looking devastated and confused. "No, she… she wouldn't." Zhu Li said, unwilling to believe her own sweet niece would do such a thing.
"She would. And she did." Iris said, walking towards Juniper, who hung her head in shame. Shame of getting caught that is. "What she didn't expect was for Chi to come and retrieve the Marvelous before she was able to sneak them off to a safer hiding place. So she was forced to hide them in the first place she could find. But she knew she couldn't leave them there, so the first chance she got, she tried to sneak them away. Unfortunately for her, we spotted her!"
Akari explained the second half next, having noticed this while they were chasing after her. "But since Juniper knows "every inch of this place like the back of her hand", she was able to trap us and lose Chi."
"For a while." Iris continued. "When Chi managed to figure out where she'd run off to, she locked her in a closet using her waterbending. Her ice had to be incredibly thick to keep that door locked up tight that even Chi couldn't break out. Juniper might not be a fighter, but she's the only waterbender I know who can create ice that thick."
"And if that wasn't the clincher, Chi found this attached to one of the spears." Iris pulled out the torn up piece of fabric "Not long after we saw the same torn on your sweater."
"With Chi locked up, it gave her the time she needed to hide the Marvelous here." Akari finished. Of course, we knew Juniper would never admit she was the one who had taken the relics."
"Unless, of course, she was caught in the act of trying to move them again." Iris said, turning to Varrick, "Which is why I told you to send her on that smoothie run. So she'd think she had the opportunity to get the relics off the lot where we'd never find them."
Chrysalis blinked, "Wow. You guys are good."
Akari shrugged, "Well, our fathers are in the detective business after all."
"But instead of searching the city block set, you all were secretly following me here." Juniper said, looking down in regret.
Zhu Li felt as if her own heart had been split in two. "Oh, Junie, why would you do this?"
"I'm sorry! Okay? I'm sorry. I just can't stand Camellia!" Juniper exclaimed in anger. Any trace of the once sweet and friendly girl was now completely gone, replaced by a spiteful young girl.
"Wow. What did you do to tick her off?" Hiro asked Camellia, who only looked at the young girl in confusion.
"Nothing. Juniper, whatever I did, I'm sorry."
"It's not what you did, it's just you're so pretty and talented, and you're always eating all the peanut butter praline crunch bars, which are the only candy bars I like." Juniper complained. From behind her, Hiro silently pulled out another said candy bar and started bitting into it. Gallant lowered it from his mouth, shaking his head. Now was really not the time for a snack.
"That's hardly a reason to go—" Varrcik was cut off when Juniper suddenly pointed at him, finally snapping.
"And I was mad at you for casting her as Lady-Mare! I mean, I have told you over and over again how it was my dream to play Lady-Mare and you just ignored me!"
Zhu Li stepped forward, trying to reason with her only niece. "Juniper, I know you're talented, but we've talked about this. You're too young, you have no profecional experience, you don't do much of your own stunts, and the role is supposed to be meant for a pony!"
"Not to mention, you're a little emotionally unstable." Varrick voiced out.
"That too." his wife agreed. Needless to say, Varrick wasn't the only one who's family was a bit… special, in a way.
"I know! But I thought if enough things went wrong, Camellia would maybe back out of the movie and then... you would give me a chance." Juniper held her hands close, smiling sweetly, hoping they'd go easy on her.
While it wasn't always common whenever Zhu Li would lose her temper and snap at someone, but when it did happen, the person on the other end of that conversation knew they were in a whole heap of trouble. Without question. Juniper reeled back as her aunt towered over her, who's voice rose, so much so nearly everyone in the entire studio heard her.
"Not only did you jeopardize the production, endanger the safety of the actors and the film crew, but you also lied to me and Varrick and took advantage of our trust!" Zhu Li placed her hand over her heart at the last part, looking visibly heartbroken.
Varrick huffed, having his arms folded the entire time his wife was yelling. "Yeah! Years ago I probably would have been impressed by a stunt like this, but I'm not that man anymore, so I'm far from impressed! We are very disappointed in you, Junie! People could have gotten seriously hurt!"
Juniper gripped her arm, "I know. A-And I'm sorry. I--I really never meant to hurt anyone, and I was going to return all the props, just as soon as Camellia quit. I hope you can forgive me."
Varrick and Zhu Li looked at one another, their expressions softening. Zhu Li sighed and cupped the young girl's face. "You're my niece, Juniper, so, of course, I can forgive you."
"Me too." Varrick said, placing his hand on her shoulder. It was a sweet family moment… only to be broken when Varrick rose his voice, making Juniper flinch. "But I never got off that easily, and neither are you!" he said, taking Juniper by her shoulders while Zhu Li snapped her fingers and security arrived, taking the child. "I'm sorry to say you're no longer welcome on the set, and it'll be a long time before I consider allowing you back here!"
Zhu Li extended her hand to Juniper. "Keys!" she demanded. Juniper complied and handed her the keys to the set she had been given. As the security guard led Juniper out, she turned her head to look back at the Guardians of Harmony.
Chrysalis, more than all of them, knew what the look in her eyes signified. That was the look of vengeance. As Juniper left the studio, Chrysalis had a hunch they wouldn't be seeing the last of her.
Varrick sighed and turned to the two actors. "Camellia, I know this is probably too much to ask and I know your contract with us is--"
"Actually, Varrick, there's some good news about that."
"There is?" Varrick asked, his spirits already feeling lifted.
"I finally resolved that whole issue with my agent so, I can stay and finish filming Lady-Mare and Stal-Noir. No need to worry about any scheduling conflict anymore."
Varrick, quite literally, leaped into he air and started shaking Camellia's hand very enthusiastically. "That's great to hear! We'll get started on the next scene right away! Oh, the movie is saved!"
"And it's thanks to the Guardians of Harmony." Neon said, motioning proudly to the kids. The girls blushed bashfully, while Chi only stood proud and satisfied. "First you save the world, now the Lady-Mare movie. Y'all are certainly on a roll."
"Especially you, Chi." Camellia said. "You never once gave up on the movie, or on us. You're a true friend, just like Lady-Mare."
Chi's entire body started to glow pink, looking bashful. "Thanks, Camellia. That means a lot coming from you."
Camellia them pulled out her bracelet and handed it to Chi. "It's a gift. A sign of our new friendship."
Chi gasped and hugged the actress. "Best! Day! Ever!"
"Only now, who's gonna get us coffee?" Varrick asked. He then noticed a very sad looking man walking by. It was the P.A who got fired from earlier. "You!"
The man looked around then pointed at himself. "Me?"
"How would you like a job?"
The P.A man smiled, "Would I!"
"Yes, that's why I'm asking. Would you?"
"You bet I do!"
"Great! Go get me an expresso with extra foam and a decaf late for my wife here. Oh, and get us those cinnamon buns while you're at it."
"Sir, yes sir!" The now new coffee guy said eagerly and zipped away to retrieve what Varrick had requested. Hey, a job is still a job.
"Well, enough chit chat, let's get to filming!"
"Uh, honey." Zhu Li just received one of the props from the prop department guy and showed Varrick the broken yo-yo. After the set had collapsed.
Varrick gasped in horror, taking the broken yo-yo into his hand and got down on his knees. "NO!! Not the Marvelous Lady-Mare Yo-Yo! This was one of a kind with imported Saddle Arabian silk worm made string!"
"Why do you buy everything from Saddle Arabia now?" Akari asked.
"Have you felt their silk laced pillows? It's like sleeping on a cotton candy cloud that smells like cinnamon buns!" Varrick said, pleasantly thinking about said pillows before getting back to the situation at hand. "How are we going to do the action scenes now?!"
Chi gently tapped him on the shoulder. "Actually, I think I know a way we can fix it."
"You do?"
"Yep. Also, if it's alright, I don't supposed you've got any extra parts my friends and I could play? You know, heh, as a reward for saving the day?"
The wisp, and literally the rest of the kids all gave Varrick the big puppy eyes, while grinning ear to ear. Varrick made a camera with his hands and smiled, stroking his chin.
"I think we could figure something out."
(~)
Mareinette ran across the street corner, nearly bumping into two more ponies, who were played by Nori and Akari, with her covering her wings with a long jacket. Mareinette hurried into the hotel, bypassing a human and unicorn having a conversation. They were both played by Gallant and Hiro, who noticed the hurried pegasus anthro rush into the restroom. Gallant then pointed towards the window, where they saw Lady-Mare leaping from rooftop to rooftop, using her wings as a momentum.
Not too far behind, Adrien too was on his way to find a quiet place where he could transform. He bypassed a street dance performer, played by Iris, and her adorable little pup who danced along with her. The pup was actually Chrysalis, taking on the form of a puppy.
Adrien nearly bumped into a girl, played by Mai, carrying a few books from the nearby library. One fell from her tall pile and he kindly handed it back to her. She smiled in gratitude. After his transformation, Stal-Noir joined his partner in crime, Lady-Mare, winking flirtatiously, to which she rolled her eyes at.
In reality, Camellia found it charming, and knew that while it was part of Neon's character, she knew part of it was mainly true. She knew him so well, almost as well as they knew the characters they were playing.
They both landed on the same roof, only to see none other than Hawk Moth standing before them. "End of the line, heroes. You will give me the Marvelous gemstones!"
"Not on your life, Hawk Moth!" Lady-Mare exclaimed, fearlessly taking on a defensive stance, ready to fight him while Stal-Noir spoon his staff.
"Have it your way!" Hawk Moth laughed maniacally, and the clouds above them began to darken. An army of black butterflies, with purple glowing outlines on their wings, swarmed all over the city of Prance. Their very presence effect the weather as well, creating thunder and lightening in their wake. One by one, the butterflies zoomed downwards, infecting every citizen they encountered. Their eye glowed purple, their postured sluggard and they let out mindless moans from their mouths, continuously changing.
"Hawk Moth… Hawk Moth… Hawk Moth…."
Stal-Noir's eyes widened and taped his partner's shoulder. "His staff! He has the other Marvelous in his staff!" he shouted, pointing his clawed gloved hand towards the staff, where the other Marvelous gemstones circled inside the glowing orb, which manifests the glow of the Butterfly Marvelous on his collar.
"How will you be able to stop me? Without your precious yo-yo?" Hawk Moth taunted, showcasing the now broken yo-yo in his hand.
Lady-Mare, on the other hand, only smirked. She flashed a loving glance at Stal-Noir, a silent way of saying 'thank you' and pulled out a second version of her yo-yo, this one with a blue glowing string.
Hawk Moth's eyes widened. "No! How is that possible?!"
"You're not the only one with a trick up your sleeve. Time to end this!" she said, twirling her yo-yo, the blue string creating magical crystals as it spun and she flung it at Hawk Moth, wrapping it around his staff and yanking it away from him, all the while a voice cried out excitedly, seemingly out of nowhere.
"Best! Day! EVER!!"
"Cut!" Varrick cried out, leaving Hawk Mouth to pout in annoyance while the director shook his head, leaning against his chair. "Again?!"
The yo-yo Camellia used started to glow, revealing it to have been Chi the entire time, now holding onto the pro staff in her hand. All of her friends, including Chrysalis who changed back to her true form, narrowed their eyes at their wisp friend, who blushed pink in bashfulness.
"Uh, sorry." she said. Camellia and Neon could only chuckle.
(~)
After shooting that day, the entire staff gathered together for a little get together in the studio, complete with more food that Hiro could get his hands on, and stuffing a few of the sweet cinnamon rolls into his jacket, earning him a disapproving look from his sister and cousin.
"What? They want you to take the rolls!"
Chi floated over to Camellia and Neon, handing them a few more cupcakes. "Thanks for letting us stay a while longer, you guys. Especially after I kind of ruined the shot…. twice."
Neon casually flicked his wrist. "Eh, don't sweat it." Camellia then whispered something into his ear. "Really?" he asked. She nodded.
Chi cocked her head curiously, while the rest of her friends rallied behind her. "What's going on?"
"We have another confession to make." Camellia said, "And, we promise, this will be the last one."
"We just like keeping our private lives, well, private." Neon said. "The life of a celebrity can be very daunting at times."
"What is it?" Chi asked.
"Camellia haven't really been dating for a year…. it's actually been five."
The kids all dropped their jaws. "What!?"
"And, about a month ago…" Camellia pulled out her hand… revealing an adorable ladybug themed ring on her finger. "He proposed."
Chi was literally trembling, though she wasn't the only one. Chi, Iris, Mai, Nori, Chrysalis and Akari all squealed with delight, while the boys had to cover up their ears to try in futile to block out their high pitched screamed.
"We decided to tell you because, as a thank you for not giving up on the movie, we want you kids to be there at the wedding." Camellia said, "I could use some more brides maids."
"And best men." Neon said, pointing to Hiro and Gallant, who nodded in agreement.
Chi's body started to tremble again, and glow… really brightly.
"Oh, no. Wisp in the hole!" Hiro shouted, and everyone, including Varrick, Zhu Li, everyone working on the set, ducked in cover. Iris and Akari had to drag Camellia and Neon out of the way and the wisp spontaneously combusted into nothing but sparkly confetti.
"Still worth it!" her voice came from the confetti, which landed like gentle flakes of snow onto the floor. Camellia and Neon were concerned at first, but given the reactions from Chi's friends, it was evident that this was a natural occurrence.
Mai sighed and dragged herself towards the supply closet. "I'll go get the broom."
*(~)*
Ephesians 6:10-18~
Finally, my brethren, be strong in the Lord and in the power of His might. Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil. For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this age, against spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places. Therefore take up the whole armor of God, that you may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand. Stand therefore, having girded your waist with truth, having put on the breastplate of righteousness, and having shod your feet with the preparation of the gospel of peace; above all, taking the shield of faith with which you will be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked one. And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God; praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, being watchful to this end with all perseverance and supplication for all the saints.
*(~)*
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Definitely my favorite so far! And you probably know which scene is my favorite one ;) Right, Maggie?
From Miraculous Ladybug, to Voltron Legendary Defender, to a few other shows I kind rushed through while reading. But this chapter was so worth it. Also its good to have you back, me and Bluross1992 were worried sick.
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Believe me, I wanted to let you all know sooner that I was okay, but I was out of power for three days and it only came back today. I'm happy to be back too. I really missed you guys.
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We missed you too, Maggie!! 💜💙
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We missed you too 😄