Photo Finish's Beginnings

Chapter 5

The road to Fame

It was a day after Mr. and Mrs. Orange invited Photo Finish to come with them on a fashion tour around Equestria, Photo Finish packed up all of the things she needed for her big trip and met up with the Oranges at the train station. Photo Finish's grandpa and mother came with her to the train station in order to say their goodbyes because it would be almost a year until they'd see each other again. "Make sure you make a good first impression in the towns and cities you visit Photo Finish" Photo Lenses said as she was making sure her daughter's luggage was all ready.

"Make sure if you stop in Las Pegasus to visit your daddy, I'm sure he'd love to see you" Video Feed said to his granddaughter as he was looking at a poll but Photo Lenses turned him around to face Photo Finish.

"I....I....I'm going to really miss you both, I Photo Finish never left Manehattan before...and what I know of the rest of Equestria is based on what I've learned at school and...." Photo Finish wasn't sure what to say, she was extremely nervous and at the same time excited to go out on a travel outside of the city she came to call home.

"Just keep your chin up and don't worry about a thing. Mr. and Mrs. Orange are good ponies and they'll take good care of you while you see the rest of Equestria" Photo Lenses said with a smile to her daughter.

Shortly after that Mr. and Mrs. Orange arrived with assistant ponies carrying their luggage for them, "good day Photo Finish, it's nice to see you and your family again" Mrs. Orange said with a smile.

"I'm....very excited to be here....I Photo Finish have never left Manehattan before" Photo Finish said as she held her ears back.

"Which is exactly why we think you have to come with us out on tour" Mr. Orange said. "You see darling the president of one of the big names in fashion invited us and a friend to go out to all the locations of the fashion tour he's holding. And with your skills we were sure somepony like you would have to go to other cities if you plan to become quite a talented fashion photographer" Mrs. Orange said.

After a short while the conductor said "all aboard!" with that Photo Finish gave her grandpa and mother a big hug before she took off on to the train with Mr. and Mrs. Orange, her luggage was brought on board for her by the assistants of Mr. and Mrs. Orange. Photo Finish waved goodbye to Photo Lenses and Video Feed as the train left the station, this was going to be quite an adventure for Photo Finish because this tour would make her somepony big.

As hours went by and Photo Finish got comfy being on the train the first stop of the fashion tour was in Filly Delphia, while Mr. and Mrs. Orange were busy taking care of things so Photo Finish could take photos at the fashion show, Photo Finish was busy making sure everything in her room was to her liking. A couple of Mr. and Mrs. Orange's assistants were asked to help out Photo Finish while she was getting comfortable in her hotel room.

"The photo isn't on the right side of the night stand" Photo Finish said as one of the assistants was putting her family photo down on a night stand, the photo was moved to the far right and when that happened Photo Finish said "to much on the right" the assistant then moved the photo a little to far on the left and then Photo Finish said "to much on the left" this went on until the assistant little by little inched the photo until Photo Finish said "perfect!" and with this she dismissed the assistant.

She remembered on the way to Filly Delphia what Mr. and Mrs. Orange said in regards to the assistants "you see Photo Finish when you're a busy pony like us you simply don't always have time to tidy up and arrange things" Mr. Orange said.

"So we have assistants help us with things like carrying our luggage and placing objects. These assistants will do whatever you ask them to do in regards to helping you" Mrs. Orange said as she pointed to three assistant earth-ponies.

"Hi" they said to Photo Finish.

"Please be kind to our assistants dear" Mr. Orange said.

Photo Finish wasn't sure how the three assistant ponies felt about the fashion tour and she asked the three young assistants "you three......um......what I Photo Finish mean is....how do you girls feel about the fashion tour?" she asked the trio.

"Well.....I'm not really sure, this is my first time out on my new job" an earth-pony with an orange mane, greenish fur and bluish eyes said to Photo Finish, she was wearing an unusual outfit with white and purple colors in it.

"I've been excited for weeks now even since Mr. and Mrs. Orange told me that I'd be helping them out on the tour" an earth-pony assistant with a pinkish mane, light blue fur and greenish eyes said, she was wearing an outfit that looked like a fancy uniform with red, yellow and white colors on it.

"I was hoping I could get some pictures for my little sister....I've been a bit nervous because I don't want to mess anything up" an earth-pony assistant with brown fur, a yellow mane and dark green eyes said. She had on an outfit with mostly green colors in it and a little bit of red on the top.

"I Photo Finish am surprised that Mr. and Mrs. Orange would bring a pony like me with them, their so important and business savvy. Why bring a photographer like I Photo Finish with them?" Photo Finish said as she sat on her bed.

"Well.....after Mr. and Mrs. Orange saw your work they thought that it wasn't fair you were denied so many jobs" the light blue assistant said.

"They've been talking about how all the ponies who turned you down as a fashion photographer were pretty well......not thinking right because they rejected you" the greenish colored assistant said.

"I think it's wonderful they found you Photo Finish" the brown colored assistant said.

"Hmm......what are your names?" Photo Finish asked the assistants.

"I'm Stella" the greenish colored assistant said.

"I'm Soigne Folio" the light bluish assistant said.

"I'm Pretty Vision, and I'm glad to be your assistant" Pretty Vision said to Photo Finish with a bow.

"I Photo Finish shall make a promise to you three, no matter what. When I become a great fashion photographer I'm going to have you three at my sides" Photo Finish said.

Photo Finish's assistants were a bit speechless that she made such a radical promise to them especially since they were but mere assistants, but before anything else could be said a pony came knocked on Photo Finish's door and told her that the fashion show was about to start. Shortly after that Photo Finish and the assistants left the room and went to watch the fashion show, Photo Finish was excited that she was able to take photos of the various fashion models who had such style, such grace, it was amazing for Photo Finish. She just aimed her camera and captured the magic of the moments, as the hours went by she enjoyed herself very much and knew when she got the right amount of photos before her camera even ran out of film.

A day later the various ponies who witnessed Photo Finish started to wondered who the mysterious mare was who took so many fabulous photos. When they heard a rumor that she was Mr. and Mrs. Orange's personal fashion photographer, they became very interested in the young mare. But Photo Finish's time in Filly Delphia was short because the tour was moving on, she got her things packed up by her assistants and went to the train station. There were a few ponies Photo Finish had never seen before who wondered who she was and wanted to ask her questions, but some guards escorted Photo Finish and her assistants along with Mr. and Mrs. Orange and their assistants to the train and kept the other ponies away.

Once everypony was on board the train took off for Baltimare the next city on the tours stop, days later the train arrived at Baltimare and things went by much the same as they did in Filly Delphia, but Photo Finish got more followers in Baltimare then she did in Filly Delphia. The next train ride seemed like it was very calming but when Photo Finish learned that it was heading for Canterlot she got excited because that's where Sapphire Shores currently was while out on her first music tour of Equestria, and Hoity Toity was there as well. The one place that had both of her childhood friends was the next stop of all places in Equestria, this made Photo Finish excited and she hoped she had time to see her friends before moving on with Mr. and Mrs. Orange.

Once the the ponies arrived in Canterlot, Photo Finish talked with Mr. and Mrs. Orange and asked them if she could see Sapphire Shores and Hoity Toity because their her friends. The Oranges almost felt surprised when they heard Photo Finish's claims, but when she explained how she met the two famous ponies the Oranges talked over the matter and agreed to let Photo Finish see her two friends so long as she made it back in time for the fashion show and wasn't late for when it was time to leave. Photo Finish understood and she asked her assistants to come with her "when do you want to leave?" Pretty Vision asked Photo Finish.

"........we go!" Photo Finish said after a moment of pause, as soon as she took off her assistants were right behind her.

Within an hour, Photo Finish arrive at the show where Sapphire Shores was signing her new song. When Photo Finish and her assistants arrived they got to listen to half of the song before it was over, Photo Finish cheered loudly for her friend Sapphire Shores and the earth-pony recognized Photo Finish by her sunglasses, and her mane style as well as her coat color and somewhat found her outfit familiar. After the show was over Photo Finish was able to meet up with Sapphire Shores "Photo Finish! It's been a long time since we last met girl! How have you been?" Sapphire Shores asked her childhood friend.

"I Photo Finish have had some ups and downs......but now I Photo Finish have arrived in Canterlot! I Photo Finish am with Mr. and Mrs. Orange and we're going out on tour to see a fashion show on tour!" Photo finish explained in her unique way.

"Fascinating! I've been having the time of my life out on tour but to see you brings back so many memories, who are these three lovely ponies with you?" Sapphire Shores asked her friend.

"Sapphire Shores, meet Stella! Soigne Folio! And Pretty Vision! They are assistants hired by Mr. and Mrs. Orange to be my assistants" Photo Finish explained as she introduced her assistants.

"Looks like you've got a good crew to help you out, I bet you're taking some nice photos on the fashion tour?" Sapphire Shores said.

"I am, and strangely......there are some ponies adoring me and I don't even know them as we go out on tour" Photo Finish said.

"Photo Finish my friend, those are fans girl. Fans are ponies you don't really know who like you a lot, it seems like your fashion photography career might launch with this tour you're on and I'll be sure to help you out if I can" Sapphire Shores said.

After a few hours Photo Finish and her assistants left Sapphire Shores in order to get to the fashion show, once at the fashion show they saw Hoity Toity as he was observing the fashion show. Photo Finish was focused on her work and didn't bother to talk to Hoity Toity for a moment because she needed to capture the magics of the moments, she did great getting so many photos she actually ran out of film in her camera because of how excited she was. Later on Photo Finish met up with Hoity Toity, he was talking with a unicorn who had a blue mane and a little blue mustache, a white coat of fur, blue eyes and a black fancy suit. The unicorn was Fancy Pants, he was one of the most important of all ponies in Canterlot, he was pretty much second only to the royal family in terms of how important he is.

The fact Hoity Toity was talking with him was very important, however Photo Finish came up to Hoity Toity and introduced herself to him and reminded him of how they met, Hoity Toity was excited to meet his old friend again. If not for her accent he might've never recognized her at all, "I say who is this friend of your's Hoity Toity?" Fancy Pants asked.

"Mr. Fancy Pants allow me to introduce Photo Finish, when I was an exchange student in Manehattan she along with Sapphire Shores were among my only true friends way back when we were just foals. She's really grown since last met" Hoity Toity explained to Fancy Pants.

"Nice to meet you miss Finish, how did you end up all the way here in Canterlot" Fancy Pants asked.

"I Photo Finish arrived on a train with Mr. and Mrs. Orange of the Orange company in Manehattan. We are here with assistants and to see the fashion show that's on tour so I Photo Finish can capture the magicks of the moments on da runway!" Photo Finish explained.

"You're with Mr. and Mrs. Orange? As in the same one's who are part of the Apple Family and the ones I buy my oranges from?" Fancy Pants asked as he used his magic to lift up his eye-piece.

"Yeah! My mother works an orange stand for them" Photo Finish said. And shortly after that Fancy Pants and Hoity Toity decided to help Photo Finish out with her career as a fashion photographer. But she wanted to finish the tour and see her family in Manehattan again before starting up her career for real, and so afterwards Photo Finish and her assistants moved on with the tour on got on the train when it was time to go.

As the tour moved on Photo Finish became more and more popular and when she arrived in Las Pegasus she was happy to see her father Mobius Lenses again, after they explained to each other what had been going on since they last met Mobius Lenses encouraged his daughter to get her career launched. She also got to go to Vanhoover, Seattle, and many other small towns. However among the places Photo Finish went to none of them seemed to feel like the place to start up her career until the tour ended in the small town of Ponyville.

It was here that Photo Finish found a special deep bond with a town far away from everything, the town was calm and slow paced next to Manehattan. Photo Finish got to enjoy time in Ponyville with Mr. and Mrs. Orange and their assistants, it was in the mind of Photo Finish the perfect place to have her business and to start her career. After the tour was over and Photo Finish went home to Manehattan she spent about a month taking a break before she explained to her friends and family either through talking or writing letters where she wanted to start her business. And with the fan following Photo Finish got especially once a lot of ponies learned about her having connections with Fancy Pants, Hoity Toity, Sapphire Shores and the Oranges of the Apple Family. She was able to get the support needed in order to start her fashion photography career in Ponyville!

That story for the then 15 year old Photo Finish is close to coming to a close.....