Colorful Sound, after recieving Ashley Dusk's surprised reaction regarding her early arrival at the train station, said, "Yup. It's nice to see you again!"
Ashley Dusk and Colorful Sound gave each other a warm hug, and when Ashley pulled away, she gestured toward her friends with her horn and said, "These are my friends, Fawnette, Windi, and Flora."
"I see..."
Colorful studied the three mares in front of her. The first one, Fawnette, had a pink coat and a blonde mane with some red streaks here and there. Her soft blue eyes and warm smile made her seem like a motherly figure, so assumed Colorful. Judging from her cutie mark, she assumed that Fawnette was skilled in medicine and other medical affairs.
The one in the middle, Flora, was light green in color, had a straight-cut black mane, and possesed gold eyes. Also, she seemed to be a little taller than the other two mares. Perhaps she is of the sporty type, thought Colorful. Overall, she had an edgy appearance and seemed to be of the feisty type like the well-known Rainbow Dash.
Windi, the last mare, was a little smaller than the rest of them, and seemed a little childish at first glance. Her coat was cream in color, and her mane was mostly white with a random green streak in it. However, what completely contrasted the childish image she had was her eyes. They were blue like Fawnette's, only icier in color and more...open. It's as if she were staring right into her soul.
"Well it's nice to meet you three!" said Colorful. "I hope I get to know you guys well!"
"Nice to meet you, Colorful Sound," Fawnette said. "I'm Fawnette, and I work as a vet in Canterlot, though before I studied medicine I lived in Cloudsdale."
Flora walked up to Colorful Sound and started to introduce herself.
"Hi, I'm Flora. I also work at Fawnette's hospital as a receptionist, and as a filly I was a farmgirl, so I know a lot about plants and...um, what do you call it again, Windi?"
Windi answered, "Bontany."
"Yeah, what she said. So let's be super great friends!"
"Okay, Fawnette and Flora, thanks for introducing yourselves!" said Colorful.
Soon, Windi walked up to Colorful and held out her hoof.
"Hello, I am Windi. I hail from Canterlot, and I give flight instruction for those pegasi who have trouble with flight in general. I take my job very seriously. Now, let's shake our hooves," she said in a cold monotone.
Colorful looked at her hoof for a second and then shook hooves with Windi.
"Uhh...okay Windi," Colorful said, with a hint of reluctance in her tone.
"Thankies," said Windi.
"Uhh...yeah. So anyway, I need to show Ashley here to her temporary residence. I'm pretty sure the apartment buildings are on the west side of Ponyville, but watch out for the gang there. They call themselves the Jets," said Colorful.
"Okay..." said Fawnette, who was being skeptical about the idea of gangsters in Ponyville. "C'mon, Flora and Windi. We need to find a place to stay."
Fawnette, Flora, and Windi took their leave, and they left Ashley and Colorful at the train station.
"Shall we?" asked Colorful, pointing towards the station's exit.
Ashley Dusk replied, "Yes, we shall."
The two mares walked out of the crowded station and walked down a dirt road that led to the center of town. It was very busy that afternoon, with much construction going on. Several stallions were setting up the performance stage for the Ponyville Music Festival, and several more ponies were hanging up ribbons, balloons, and the like. Some ponies were on break, recieving apples from an orange earth pony with a blonde mane.
"Watch out!"
Ashley shifted to the side as a large hailstone as big as a small house fell from the sky, which almost crushed her.
"Uhh...sorry miss," said a grey colored pegasus, who was swaying in midair.
"Uggh," complained a blue pegasus with a rainbow colored mane. "Derpy! You have to be more careful! Don't you see that you almost killed that unicorn?!"
"Uh-huh. I'm sorry. It won't happen again...I think..."
"Whatever, just watch it, Derpy, and don't screw things up again!"
After watching the two pegasi talk for a while, Ashley and Colorful continued towards their destination, a house that was owned by Colorful's agency.
"So Ash...how have been things going for you in Canterlot?" asked Colorful, who had started flying because she didn't feel like walking anymore.
Ashley Dusk sighed. "Buisness has been really slow...I thought that if I moved to Canterlot, then I would meet so many rich art collectors and museum owners that I would make easy buisness. However, it's been three years since I've been there, and so far nobody has taken much notice of me!"
"Well, it's not easy to get noticed among the public, especially if you come from very humble roots," started Colorful Sound, "and can't get support from even your parents. "
"Your parents? Why?"
Colorful Sound cleared her throat and said, "Well, when I was just a young filly in Cloudsdale, I was trained really hard in the art of making rainbows. In fact, my teachers said I was one of their best students in class."
"However, my dear Ashley, I found the life of creating rainbows dull and boring. You are always stuck with making the same seven colors in the same seven color order on all seven days of the week. There was no creativity or fun in it. It was just the same thing, over and over again. What I wanted was a new life: something fun, creative, and appealing to the senses. As I am a very avid music listener and enthusiast, I knew I wanted to join the ranks of well-known musicians such as Octavia and Vinyl Scratch."
"Sadly, I had what was probably the biggest obstacle for me: my parents. They always wanted me to pursue the art of making rainbows, since I was so good at it at the time. Every time I tried to make music, my parents would tell me 'no', and that I should 'be like your classmates and make rainbows'. Finally, I got fed up with the constant put-downs and left my home, and headed to Canterlot temporarily, which is where I found and befriended you."
"Oh..." remarked Ashley Dusk, realizing now that Colorful could've been stuck making rainbows for all of her life, instead of being a popular musician like she is now. "I see...my parents support me, but not financially."
The two mares stopped at a small, pink-colored house with small, foggy, and blue tinted windows. Old flower gardens were on display in front, with a cement birdbath next to the porch. It had a cramped feel about it, and the gardens were overgrown with weeds. Overall, the house was dilapidated and uncomfortable looking.
Ashley frowned and asked, "Uh...wouldn't your agency own better houses than this?"
Shaking her head, Colorful Sound said, "They do...but even though you're my friend, they put you on low priority. My manager told me that performers and famous ponies are of the highest priority...it's why I could only get housing arrangements for you and not for your friends."
A sigh came from Ashley Dusk's mouth. "Hnnn...I guess I could deal with this for now..."
"Don't worry, Ash," reassured Colorful. "This isn't the worst arrangement—just be glad you have indoor plumbing and heating!"
The pegasus looked at her watch and said, "Well, Ash, I must go, since I'm really busy this week. Just give me a call if you need anything!"
With that final statement, Colorful Sound spread her wings and flew off to the center of Ponyville, leaving behind her unicorn friend. As Ashley watched her friend fly off, she thought about her current situation in life. She was a poor, working class artist with no fame to her name, and her family wasn't very siginificant either. While she didn't come from poor roots, her parents were still humble, so she couldn't just recieve large sums of cash from them so easily.
Ashley Dusk turned around to enter the old house, and walked inside, carrying her luggage with her. It was actually quite cozy in there, despite being a little cramped. The room consisted of a couch, tv, and a work desk. A pathway led to a room that she assumed was the washroom, and a set of stairs were in the corner.
Opening her luggage bags, Ashley started to put away her things. Objects that she thought that she would need were unceremoniously shoved into drawers for later, including her VIP tickets. Suddenly, she started to hear chirping from McDuff's kennel.
"Sorry McDuff, almost forgot about you."
The unicorn opened up her pet bird's kennel and let McDuff free to roam the house. While he was exploring the alien surroundings, Ashley started to absent-mindedly talk to him.
"McDuff, do you think I'm naïve?"
McDuff ignored her and sniffed the brown couch.
"You know...lately I've been jumping into things, using false assumptions, thinking that if I do action X, I'll get Y?"
Ashley's pet chirped loudly, but then settled down into the couch's quilt to sleep.
"Because it's been like that for a while. I think, 'go to Canterlot, and get rich', but I'm still poor. And now I'm stuck in a musty old house!"
Ashley Dusk sighed and laid down on the couch. "Maybe I'm just tired from the trip...maybe if I take a nap, things will look shiny and new again."
She shifted around on the couch so she could hug McDuff. Using her telekinesis, Ashley picked up the quilt and put it over her body.
"Yeah...I just need a nap..."