Decided to upload this story on here as well. You can find this fic on fimfiction under the same name and same author's name. Will update this story daily, but if you're curious and can't wait that long, you can find the finished story on the aforementioned site. ^^ Enjoy~
For Fleur-de-lis, the day couldn't have started off worse. First off, a recent feud the supermodel had with the executive producer of a shoot had him cancelling all production for the day. He had declared it an embarrassment to work with Fleur, and refused to do anything with her anymore until she stopped acting so passé.
Fleur didn't mind it that much. Quick Flash was a jerk who had a stick up his rear more often than not. Still, she knew the shoot was important, and that was something Quick Flash knew too. Fleur grumbled when she realized she had to apologize to him sooner or later; it was in her best interest to do so. Swallowing her pride was something Fleur didn't like, but it was necessary. After all, she wasn't doing so hot lately.
Secondly, an interview she would be giving about her recent charity events at the end of the morning quickly turned south. While the cancellation of her shoot gave her all the time to prepare for the important interview—as it was a big publicity stunt to gain some of her reputation back—fate would have it that the interview quickly shifted subject to the rumors that had been spreading all throughout Canterlot about her.
''Fleur, is it true that you have a horn extension?''
''What is your reaction to the allegations that you use growing hormones to make yourself taller and slimmer?''
''Fleur, ponies are wondering whether you really slept with your manager Fancy Pants. Your thoughts?''
She had blown off the interview prematurely, cursing under her breath as she did so. This interview was supposed to be a boost to her falling publicity that had been steadily progressing the last few months, but all she got was more negative attention.
Lastly, and the biggest shock by far today, the massive cherry on top that had Fleur so desperate she was standing in front of The Weapon—a local bar in Canterlot—in the afternoon of a regular, rainy Tuesday, was a letter she had received from Royal Ponies, the company that hired her. That letter, quite frankly, spelled the end of Fleur's entire reputation when tomorrow came by.
'It doesn't matter anymore,' she thought—wet and miserable as she was—as she looked at the wooden sign of the bar, which depicted a spear and a shield. It creaked as the cold autumn wind played with it, and Fleur shivered a little. She'd only wrapped a scarf around her neck, thinking it'd be enough protection against the weather for the time of the year. Apparently, she was mistaken, and the desire to be warm and dry was the final encouragement she needed to step inside The Weapon.
An old bell at the top of the door jingled when she opened it with her magic. The bar was pretty gloomy, with little light coming inside of it and most of the furniture being made of wood. The place smelled like sawdust and alcohol, and a gramophone in the back was playing a tune Fleur couldn't quite identify. Rarity would've called the place tacky, but Fleur—in her time of desperation—saw it as something inviting. It was like this place was made to forget your sorrow, and it was exactly what she needed.
She sighed; her eyes closed and her face turned low as she approached the general direction of the bar, trotting slowly. However, when she opened her eyes, she scrunched up her muzzle, halting in her tracks when she spotted the only other customer of The Weapon sitting by the bar on a stool. He wasn't a pony—he wasn't even from the same world! He was a human, a rare species from earth that had made contact with Equestria about a year ago. The customs to get here were strict, so much so that only a handful of humans lived and worked in Equestria.
Fleur had seen a couple of humans before, but she had never interacted with any of them or seen one up-close. They were a lot bigger than she could remember, easily standing a head taller than a Minotaur. The human gave her a glance as she looked at him, smiled, and raised his drink in good cheers before turning back to stare across the bar table. She wasn't the only one who had it rough, apparently.
Fleur trotted towards the bartender, her anxiety growing a bit as she took a seat on a stool herself; she was now only a couple of meters away from the human. ''I'll have a white wine,'' she ordered tiredly.
''Certainly, ma'am,'' the bartender said.
''A whole bottle,'' Fleur added quickly. She was going to be here for a while anyway.
The bartender perked a brow for a second, but didn't say anything as Fleur passed him the bits necessary to pay for it. He grabbed a clean glass and the chilliest bottle he could find and took the bits from the supermodel.
''Rough day, huh?'' the human spoke idly to Fleur. His voice was heavy and his accent thick while he looked at his drink. Fleur was startled for a moment, but recomposed herself quickly and gave him a small smile.
''You could say that again,'' she responded, not unkindly. She poured herself a glass of the wine she had ordered and drank it down in one go. ''I assume you're in the same boat as I am?''
The human looked up from his drink. For the first time, Fleur could see how tired he was. Dark rings underlined his blue eyes. His black hair was messy and he had stubble that needed to be shaven badly. Yet underneath this, she saw the kindness that twinkled in his eyes. ''Let's just say that I'll be leaving your boat tomorrow,'' he replied in that same, thick accent. Fleur was certain he wasn't a native English speaker, and while she spoke French fluently herself, she was raised bilingual.
''What do you mean?'' she inquired, her curiosity melting away her nervousness a bit.
The human sipped some from his drink, and then sighed while rubbing his eyes. ''My permit to stay in Equestria expires tomorrow,'' he responded. ''I'm not a citizen, merely an immigrant, so they're going to deport me back to earth.''
''Oh, you poor thing,'' she sympathized. ''I'm so sorry to hear that.'' Fleur gave him a look of pity, which he waved off dismissively.
''Don't be, miss. I'm sure you have your own reasons why you're here on this afternoon, sharing a drink with me.''
Fleur nodded her head sadly. She fidgeted with her hooves and poured herself another glass of wine. ''You could say that today was a bit… hectic for me, yes.''
The human gave her a bittersweet smile. ''Well, I can't assure you it'll get any better, but I'm not one to turn down some company. It's better than drinking alone, right?''
Fleur gave him a bittersweet smile in return, and held out her hoof to him in greeting. ''My name's Fleur-de-lis, by the way,'' she said sweetly.
The human extended his hand and shook it firmly, his dexterous fingers feeling alien but not unpleasant around her hoof. ''Fleur-de-lis?'' he questioned pleasantly. ''Parlez-vous Français, mademoiselle?''
Fleur looked surprised, but her smile widened significantly. ''Oui, monsieur. Tu t'appelle comment?''
''The name's Jeroen. It's a pleasure to meet you, Fleur-de-lis,'' he responded kindly. ''I had no idea that you ponies could speak French.''
Fleur took a gulp of her drink as she let go of Jeroen's hand, her anxiety for this human now completely melting away. ''Please, call me Fleur,'' she said, ''and I'm honestly surprised that humans speak French too. Also, can I add how exotic your name sounds? Jeroen, I've never heard anypony with that name before. Is it common where you're from?''
Jeroen chuckled at Fleur's curiosity and nodded his head. ''It's a Dutch name. Where I come from, it's pretty common, yes. I imagine your name is not very common around here either,'' he guessed.
''It isn't,'' Fleur revealed. ''I'm originally from Prance, but moved here ever since I started my career.''
''Oh? What kind of work do you do?'' Jeroen asked. He had turned towards Fleur to give her his full attention, and she had done the same to him.
''I'm actually a pretty famous model around these parts,'' Fleur said genuinely, gauging the human's reaction.
''You are?'' he said in amazement. ''I should've guessed. You certainly are pretty,'' Jeroen responded. ''So why are you here then, Fleur?''
The supermodel's eyes fell and her shoulders sagged. It wasn't like Fleur to show weakness, not even in the face of adversity. But the harsh reality of the letter she received kept knocking on her door. ''Desperation,'' she said finally as she poured another drink. ''Just like you, I'll leave the boat we're in tomorrow.''
''What happened?'' Jeroen asked genuinely.
''Demand and supply happened. I'm not the popular mare anymore that I used to be. There are a lot of rumors going around at the moment that give me a bad name. So I received a letter today from the company that's hiring me, stating that my contract will not be renewed. Tomorrow, my reputation will go completely down the drain. Any model that's been dropped by Royal Ponies had their career destroyed in some way or the other.'' Fleur knew the tales all too well and reminisced about them bitterly, knowing she was going to be added to that list.
''That's terrible. I'm so sorry to hear that,'' Jeroen responded softly. ''I wish I could do something for you.''
Fleur smiled, actually getting off her stool to sit next to the human. ''That's very sweet of you, Jeroen. I appreciate your concern even though you're in quite the predicament yourself. You'll be deported out of Equestria tomorrow. Isn't there anyway to stop that from happening?''
Jeroen shook his head. ''Unfortunately, there isn't. The deal was to get a stable job in three months, but the municipality of Canterlot insisted there were no jobs available for me. Bunch of crap, that's what I call it. I've been able to work here and there, but nothing stable enough to give me a renewal on my permit. I've already asked multiple times if there was some other way to get a renewal, but the answer I got was still the same: get a stable job and that's it.'' Jeroen snorted. ''If only it were that easy.'' He took another gulp from his drink. ''Anyway, what about you, Fleur? Isn't there some way to do a publicity stunt to gain back your reputation or something? You seem like a smart mare who could come up with something like that and make it work.''
The supermodel bit her lower lip. ''I actually tried doing that today, and it blew up in my face. The plan was to do an interview about how I supported all the minorities that live in Equestria, like the donkeys, the mules, the gryphons and even humans. I was going to gift them with my newest line of fashion and raise money and awareness to make the life of these species easier. While Equestria is very peaceful, I think ponies in general are still biased towards a lot of them. But the press was much rather interested to talk about the little gossips that have been going around about me lately.'' Fleur sighed, ''I guess I've to accept there isn't any other way out.''
She looked at Jeroen, who looked as helpless as she was. They both were drowning, and no matter how much they tried to find support from each other, it looked like they were going to sink together. ''So, what will you do once you're back at earth?'' she asked.
The human shrugged his shoulders and finished his drink before ordering a new one. ''I guess I'm going to look for a job again. The recession has been really bad, so that's why I was forced to go to Equestria to find a job in the first place. I'm going to miss it, though. You ponies are adorable and a very curious bunch, albeit a bit shy to make conversation at first.'' Jeroen grinned as Fleur's cheeks turned a pretty pink.
''Sorry,'' she squeaked, ''it's just that I never met a human before. I hope I didn't offend you in anyway.''
''Nah, don't worry about it. To be honest, it was kinda awkward to socialize with ponies for me too, especially since most citizens of Canterlot are from the upper echelon of society. Also, my accent doesn't help either,'' he joked.
Fleur giggled. ''I think your accent is pretty cute. Though your hair could go for a bit of wax to smooth it out,'' she teased. ''I think you'll be delighted to see ponies will flock to you if you do.''
''Oh really?'' He said back playfully. ''Maybe if the Canterlot ponies wouldn't turn their heads and walk like they've got a massive vibrator up their ass whenever they see me, they'd be much more inclined to make conversation with me as well.''
Fleur giggle-snorted and spit out her wine at Jeroen's response, spilling some of it over her coat as she laughed. ''Oh my, how indecent of me,'' she responded, thoroughly enjoying the human's company.
''Excusez-moi.'' Jeroen grinned jovially as he protruded a clean handkerchief from his pocket. ''Here, use this to clean yourself,'' he offered the supermodel kindly.
''merci beaucoup.''
She levitated it over and pressed it into the fur of her pristine belly, humming along the tune of the gramophone as she did so.
''You know, I can't believe your company is going to drop you. You're such a nice mare,'' Jeroen said.
''It's business, Jeroen, they only care about their income,'' she replied sadly as she kept on humming. This song was one of her favourites. It was called 'Don't give up now' and was performed by a good acquaintance of her, Songbird Serenade. ''No amount of personality is going to save me,'' she added, ''But it's very sweet of you to think I'm nice. You know how to flatter a lady,'' she teased with a giggle.
''Anything to make you feel a bit better, Fleur. God knows we both deserve it after tomorrow.''
''Well, I think you're very sweet for doing that,'' Fleur replied while she continued to hum more cheerfully now.
Jeroen ordered another round, a big smile plastered on his face as he saw the unicorn get lost in the world of music. ''You know, every time I hear this song, this part reminds me of a couple about to be married,'' the human confessed. ''It sounds so similar to the Wedding March.''
''Huh,'' Fleur muttered in realization, ''you're right. It does sound like the Wedding March.'' She giggled and almost fell from her stool. ''The day that I'm going to marry, I want this to play in the background.''
''It's very fitting, yeah. I wouldn't mind this playing in the background of my wedding either,'' Jeroen agreed, laughing as he kept Fleur from falling down.
The two stopped their giggling, looked at each other, and promptly fell into another fit of giggles. Fleur gasped for breath, her belly aching as she imagined herself in a wedding dress. She thought that Jeroen probably wouldn't look bad in a suit either. Then, a thought occurred to her, one that was so ridiculous that she just had to share it with her human companion.
''Hey, Jeroen,'' she said as seriously as she could, though she had trouble keeping a straight face as she did so. ''What if we married each other?''
The human burst into laughter again while Fleur giggled with him. ''I'm not joking,'' she said while controlling her laughter, ''stop laughing, I'm serious here.'' She let another round of giggles escape her before she was able to get a hold of herself again. ''Think about it, if we married, you'd be a legit citizen of Equestria. You wouldn't need a permit to stay at all!''
Jeroen rubbed the tears out of his eyes as he looked at Fleur. ''Please tell me you're joking. What would you possibly gain if you married me?''
''A big publicity stunt,'' she whispered. ''I'd be the first mare to marry a human in all of Equestria. Imagine how revolutionary that'd be. Besides, interspecies marriages are immensely popular because they're so unique.''
Now, Jeroen's face turned serious as well. ''You really want to do this, don't you? How are we even going to marry in such a short time? This is just ridiculous,'' he said.
''It is,'' Fleur agreed, ''but I'm willing to give it a shot because I've nothing to lose. Also, you don't have to worry about all the paper work and the legal stuff, I've got some friends working in the Town Hall who'd eagerly help us out in exchange for a few extra bits.''
Fleur smiled and offered him a hoof. ''See it as a partnership, Jeroen. We'll help each other out. I'll get back my reputation and won't lose my career, and you can stay in Equestria permanently. Afterwards, we'll go our separate ways. So, what do you say?''
The human grumbled, not liking this idea at all, but after a while, he shook Fleur's hoof anyway. Like she said, what did he have to lose? ''Do I need to call you sweetie and baby and all of those other sappy names now? Because I'm not going to do that.''
Fleur giggled and shook her head. ''I don't think that'll be necessary, mon chéri,'' she teased.
Jeroen grinned and cleared his throat. ''I guess there's one more thing to do then.''
The human got on one knee while still holding Fleur's hoof. Even though she knew it wasn't genuine, she couldn't help but gasp and feel giddy inside as Jeroen proposed to her. ''Fleur-de-lis, we haven't known each other for long, and I don't have a ring on me to give to you, but I feel like you're the only mare in the world for me,'' he spoke passionately. ''My love soars for you like Celestia would soar in the sky when she raises the sun, so please, make me the happiest guy in Equestria. Fleur-de-lis, will you marry me?''
The unicorn was stunned for a moment; she hadn't expected Jeroen would propose to her so seriously, and her cheeks were getting flustered in embarrassment. Nonetheless, she replied excitedly. ''Yes, Jeroen, I will,'' she squeaked, and couldn't help but to hop up and down.
The human laughed. He scooped Fleur up in his arms and twirled her in the air. She let out a yelp of surprise, but then relaxed as she hugged her soon-to-be-stallion with a giggle.
''Bartender!'' Jeroen yelled jovially. ''A bottle of champagne for me and my fiancé!''
