The New Pony in Town

by Captain Literal

Rating: teen
Tags: Slice of Life, Sad, Comedy
Length: 4313

An aspiring artist takes a huge fall, and pieces her life bakc together in her new home, Ponyville.

Vova Lights used to be the rising star of Canterlot's art world. She was going to have it all. However, one day things take a turn for the worse, and now she's at the bottom. With nowhere else to go, she moves to a small town known as "Ponyville". Follow her as she tries to piece her life back together bit by bit. But who knows, with the help of her best friend, Vinyl Scratch, and the rest of the residents of Ponyville, she just might gain something a bit more valuable than fame or fortune.

This is fic is made in honor of someone who gave me a meaningful gift. AcrylicDawn.

Published 1970-01-01 00:00:00 UTC
Last updated 2012-09-30 00:02:53 UTC

1. Welcome to Ponyville

The New Pony in Town.

Chapter one

Welcome to Ponyville.

Vova Lights, the ex-premier painter of Canterlot's art world, stared out of the window of the train towards her new home.

Ponyville.

She wore a troubled look as thoughts of the one responsible for her fall ran through her mind.

Curse him. Why did he do it?

She had been on her rise of fame, until her manager turned on her, and took everything while she was left with nothing.

Fortunately for her, one of her best friends, Vinyl Scratch, and her marefriend, Octavia, offered to let her stay with them in Ponyville.

She packed everything she had, her easel, her paint, and her toothbrush.

That was it. She had nothing else. Except, well, for the pink, star-shaped, hair clip that she always had pinned on the right side of her head. The clip rested in her pink, with streaks of far lighter pink, mane. Her mane was fairly short, and messy. Her tail was messy as well, and normal length. Also it had the same coloring as her mane. Her coat was the same color as her eyes.

"You okay?" a voice asked from behind her. She turned her head to the right to find her best friend giving her a small smile.

The light blue unicorn didn't reply, instead she just returned to staring out the window. The DJ sat down next to her, then told her, "I know it hurts. But that's Canterlot for ya. You think you are in bad shape? You should've seen Tavi when I first met her. SHE had it bad."

Silence.

"Come on, at least talk to me. I can't help if you don't talk." She had a worried look on her face.

Vova sighed, then turned to face the alabaster unicorn, with her light blue eyes.

"I just don't want to talk about it." Vinyl stared into her close friend's eyes.

"Your eyes say differently." The DJ finally said after a whole minute of silent staring.

Vova looked away, "Whatever." she replied.

The white unicorn nudged her best friend on the side, "Hey, cheer up! Why don't we go talk to Tavi, okay?"

"I don't know...."

"Come on, you can't stay sad foreveeerrrr..." She began nudging her some more, causing her to giggle a little.

"Okay fine," She replied. "I'll go." She then gave Vinyl a weak smile. "Thanks Vinyl, you have always known what to say."

"No problem, "The other mare replied, as she returned the expression, " Now let's go!"

Octavia sat at the table in the lounge, listening to Behoofteen's fifth symphony using a pair of headphones her marefriend got her for Hearth's Warming Eve.

She glanced up at the clock.

Twelve-thirty PM.

Vinyl left to go comfort her friend thirty minutes ago.

I hope she is doing okay. What was her name again? I believe it was Vova. Ma-

"HEY TAVI!!" The DJ shouted in the cellist's ear, interrupting her thoughts and making her jump ten feet into the air as well. Vova giggled at the scene.

"Well I see you are in a better mood." Said the grey mare as she recovered her composure quickly, due to her being used to her marefriend's antics.

Vinyl, being back in her usual self, replied with a big grin, "She sure is! Now we are both here to give you TWICE the fun!"

"We are basically going to bother you." The artist explained, with a smile.

Octavia chuckled.

"Oh is that all?"

The two unicorns nodded happily.

At least she is in a better mood.

The rest of the thirty minutes was full of fun, and served as an excellent distraction from the sadness and anger the cyan unicorn was feeling.

The trio disembarked the train, carrying their baggage with them.

"So this is Ponyville....." Vova said. Vinyl put a fore leg around the cyan unicorn, as she held a hoof out for dramatic effect.

"Yup! Home sweet home! Glad to be back," She nudged her best friend's side, "and you're gonna love it here." She told her with a big grin.

"Yes it is quite the comfortable town." Octavia added, with a smile.

Bursting from between the two mares, the obnoxious alabaster mare shouted, "Oh Yeah! Let's go say hi to the neighbors!!"

"Should not we leave our baggage at home?" The musician asked, arching an eyebrow.

"Oh yea, we probably should." The alabaster unicorn replied rubbing the back of her head with a hoof.

And so they began venturing through the town's square towards their home.

The artist was clearly enjoying the sights of the small town, which drew a smile for the DJ and musician.

There were various ponies doing various things. Like there was a mint colored unicorn mare and cream colored earth pony having lunch in front of a restaurant.

Also, there was always something interesting going on. One example being the cross-eyed light grey pegasus mare, with a mail bag, who somehow was flying straight while upside down.

The most interesting sight of all, was the completely pink earth pony mare, moving at complete inpony speeds. Mostly because the pony was headed straight towards the group. More specifically, Vova Lights.

While the other two mares had the sense to jump out of the way, the cyan mare was completely dumbstruck just by the SPEED the pony was traveling. The pony smashed directly into the unicorn mare, tackling her to the ground.

"Opps, sorry!" A bubbly cheerful voice said, as somepony helped up the still recovering artist. Her vision cleared to spy a completely pink earth pony mare with a mane and tail whose shape reminded her of cotton candy.

The pink mare gasped as she realized she had never seen this pony before, which meant one thing.

She was new in town.

"Ohmygosh! Youmustbeanewpony,youknowhowIknowyou'reanewpony? BecauseIknoweveryponyinthistownsoifIdon'tknowyou,youmustbeanew!WhichmeansIhavetothrowyouaparty!" With that, the energetic mare zoomed away.

"What was that?" The confused mare asked.

"That was Pinkie Pie. The most random pony I know." Vinyl replied with a small laugh.

"Is she always like this?"

"Pretty much." Octavia responded, with an amused smile.

"Onward!" The DJ yelled obnoxiously, dragging the other two mares along with her.

"Why are we doing this again?"

"Shh!!"

"Bu-"

"Quiet! We can't get caught!" Vinyl hissed at her best friend in a whisper.

"But why are we hiding?" Vova asked.

The alabaster mare rolled her eyes. "We are helping Sweetie Bell and her friends get their cutie marks in finding ponies."

"Ohh...."

The duo peered out of the bush they were hiding in to spy the three fillies, accompanied by Octavia.

"Oh no! They got Tavi!" The DJ said just barely loud enough for their hunters to hear.

The grey mare watched in amusement as the three fillies hushed each other as they crept up the bush that had a blue tail and a pink tail sticking out of it.

Not the best at hiding.

The musician began counting down in her head until the "surprise" would happen.

Three.

Two.

One.

"CUTIE MARK CRUSADER PONY FINDERS!!! YAY!"

The two unicorns burst from hiding, laughing their flanks off as they did, and were tackled by the trio.

Then they quickly got up and checked their flanks. After finding that they still lacked a cutie mark, a downcast look came over them.

Vinyl popped up in the middle of the three with a huge grin.

"No time for sadness, time for tag!" She announced loudly. A cheer rose from the two unicorns and three fillies. However this was cut off by a loud "AHEM" coming from Octavia.

They all stopped and looked at the grey mare, who, with a stern look, pointed towards their baggage.

"Forgetting something?"

A sheepish grin appeared on the DJ's and the artist face.

"Oh yeah. Sorry you three, but we gotta get the baggage home." She told the trio. A series of sounds of disappointment emanated from the three.

Then themiddle one, an earth pony with a yellow coat, and red mane, brightened up as she got an idea.

"How bout' we git our cutie marks in bag carrin'!!" The other two grew excited at that, and rushed over to the trio's baggage yelling, "CUTIE MARK CRUSADER BAG CARRIERS!! YAY!"

Vova, and Vinyl, began to laugh, as Octavia tried to convince the excited fillies that they didn't need help. She was, however, unsuccessful and the three very energetic young ponies accompanied the mares home.

"SURPRISE!!! Do you like it? I threw this party just for you! I'm Pinkie Pie, and I'm your new friend!"

The musician jumped five feet in the air, as the pink party pony yelled the greeting. The other two unicorns laughed at the sight. The light blue unicorn tried to calmly shake hands with the party pony, but got an energetic handshake instead.

"Umm... hi I'm Vova Lights."

"It's soooo nice to meet you Vova!! Wait, can I call you VL? Pleeeaasse?" Pinkie replied, it was hard to keep up with what she was saying.

"Um sure." The unicorn replied. The pink mare smiled broadly, then shouted, as she dragged a surprised Vova into the crowd, "ALRIGHT! TIME TO PARTY!!!"

She was joined by Vinyl yelling, "OH YEAH!!"

The party then fully began. Several ponies were in attendance. Streamers hung from the walls, and confetti coated the floor. Various party snacks where located on a table that sat in the middle of the living room, and loud music began to play.

The party was pretty chaotic, and continued well into the night, mostly due to the fact that both Pinkie and Vinyl were in attendance. Vova had a pretty fun time, and Octavia had a pleasant time.

The artist tried her best not to get involved in the festivities, as in the drinking, but found it impossible.

"DRINK! DRINK! DRINK! WHOO!!! Everypony shouted, as Vova downed the hard cider.

It was the forth pint, her vision was blurry and her world was sideways. She felt like she had four left hooves, as she lost her balance and crashed into the table, knocking it over. Her world slowly faded to black, as the sounds of the party disappeared.

(Author's note: Thanks for reading!! Also thanks to Acrylic Dawn, A.K.A VovaLights, for giving me such a nice gift, so I hope you enjoyed it most of all. At any rate, I hope you enjoyed this, and have an amazing day!)

2. Adjusting

The New Pony in Town Chapter two Adjusting

"Time to wake up Vova..."

Vova Lights, the unicorn to set a record for most alcohol consumed at a party, groaned, muttered some barely audible words, then simply shifted a little. She had no desire to wake up, on account of the head-shattering headache she was experiencing.

The worst part was that the cyan mare never had alcohol before, evidenced by the vomit currently in the toilet.

Which also means she had never experienced a hangover before.

"You must get up, you still need to pack your things." A familiar voice insisted to the miserable artist.

"I don wanna...." The unicorn whined.

"Ugh. You are worse than Vinyl." The mare's voice replied in frustration.

"Hey I'm not THAT bad!" Another mare's voice argued. One that Vova presumed to be a certain DJ she knew.

"Yes you are, now help me get her up."

"I don't wanna."

The cyan unicorn could hear the audible face-hoof, as she attempted to resist the urge to kill herself due to the massive hangover she was experiencing.

"Oh! I just got an idea!" The alabaster unicorn said.

"What?"

"We should do it, right on top of her."

"WHAT!?"

She can't be serious! The artist thought to herself.

"You cannot be serious Vinyl!" The first voice, that Vova was now certain to be the DJ's marefriend.

"Oh come on! You know you want to." Vinyl said in a sultry tone.

This was a losing battle, and there was only one way to win.

Before the grey mare could defend herself, the cyan unicorn's hoof shot into the air between the two.

"I'm up, I'm up! Please have your sex somewhere else, just not ON me." The artist groaned, as her vision slowly focused to reveal two mares blushing furiously.

The grey one shook her head clear, and returned to her usual self.

"Good," She then told the groggy, hungover unicorn. "You still need to find a job."

Vova stared at the musician for a full minute, before looking towards the DJ, who only gave a sheepish smile.

At that moment Twilight Sparkle was doing her morning reading, when a loud cry of misery made her jump ten feet into the air and knock over a pile of books.

After she recovered, she scanned her surroundings to find that she couldn't locate the source of the disturbance.

"I wonder where that came from..." She asked aloud.

Back at the home of the various types of artist, Vova was sobbing loudly into her hooves.

It had just all came crashing down on her. Before, she just hoped that it was all a dream. That she would just wake up at HER easel in HER house, and HER faithful servant would greet HER with HER favorite drink. Chocolate milk.

But now, now it was clear. The cyan unicorn couldn't hide from it anymore, it was no dream.

SHE had nothing. And HE had everything.

The emotions just burst free, washing her away in their tide.

Her two best friends exchanged worried looks, as they watched her fall apart right there on the floor.

"I-I have n-nothing!!" She managed to stammer out as she poured forth her tears of sorrow.

Vinyl was the first to act, sitting next to the broken mare, stroking her mane with a sad expression on her face.

Octavia quickly pulled a blanket over her marefriend's best friend. It wasn't the blanket's warmth that was comforting, but the fact that it made the hurting unicorn feel safe.

The alabaster mare had seen this coming. The artist was way too calm the day it happened.

She, in a way, reminded the DJ of Octavia when the two  started to get to know each other.  But that story is for another time.

"I-I just can't b-believe it! W-Why the heck d-did he do it?!?" The cyan mare cried out between sobs.

She missed it all, the art shows, the safe feeling of knowing you don't have to worry, her faithful servant's kindness, all of it.

Never before, had she felt so...

Lost.

She felt the hoof stroking her mane, as a warm feeling washed over her. She turned her gaze up and tried to search through her blurred vision. Slowly the caring expressions of her best friends, came into view.

Lost. But not alone.

The thought echoed through her mind.

More tears arose from her cyan eyes, as she buried her face in the white unicorn's coat. Her body continued to tremble and shake, as she just let it all out.

A hour or so later, when she finally was able to calm down; Vova proceeded to clean herself up, after which they were on their way.

The trio stood in front of their home; which was located right next to the town's library. Which was good, due to the fact that they needed the help of it's librarian.

It was still early in the morning, so the sun was halfway revealed on the horizon, blanketing the town in an orange light. Long shadows arced from various objects and buildings. The air was cool, and clean. It was completly silent, save for the soft hoofsteps of the three mares venturing towards the library.

Inside, the bookish mare was humming to herself, as she placed various books on their correct places on the shelves.

The DJ burst in, causing the bookish mare to jump in surprise releasing all the books she currently held in her magic.

"Hey Twilight!" The alabaster unicorn shouted.

The other two mares flanked the boisterous DJ, wearing small smiles.

"Oh hello Vinyl," The librarian looked past Vinyl to spy Vova and Octavia standing behind her, "and friends. Who have you two brought? I don't recognize her."

The artistic mare stepped forward, semi confidently, as she was not very good at introductions, and answered "I'm Vova Lights, I just moved here."

"Oh! Well I'm Twilight Sparkle, it is nice to meet a new pony in town." The purple mare replied with a smile.

"Me too." The cyan mare replied with a smile.

"So, what do you need at this hour?" Twilight shifted her gaze towards the DJ, who was the most likely to reply.

The alabaster mare stepped forward, and with a smile, said, "This mare needs a job."

The bookish unicorn put a hoof to her chin, then told the trio, "Well Spike already does all the work around here, but I think Rarity has an opening in her boutique."

Vinyl's face lit up at the news, "Great lets go!" She began pushing the mares out the door, including Twilight for some strange reason.

"So why am I coming with you?" The Librarian asked, as the group approached the boutique.

"Three's a crowd, four's a party." The DJ answered with a grin. Octavia face-hoofed, while Vova just nickered. The purple unicorn just sighed, and muttered something about Pinkie.

The four mares opened the door to find it a mess, and to find a certain dress maker entangled in a multitude of fabrics. They hear her saying SOMETHING, but where unable to decipher it through the cloth covering her muzzle.

They all stood there wide-eyed. It wasn't normal for to find the alabaster unicorn like this, as she was always so uptight about the state of her home (except, well, her inspiration room).

A second later they moved to help her, one minute after that, the fashionista was free.

"Thank you so much, you won't believe how uncomfortable that was getting."

"Your welcome. How did you get stuck in the first place?" Twilight asked as she watched her friend shake off the rest of the fabric.

"Oh, I wa- who is this?" The white unicorn inquired at the sight of the artist. Immediately the fashionista got into a more presentable position. Namely standing up. Her whole demeanor reminded the cyan mare of the high society ponies that used to go to her art shows. There was something different about her though, and the artistic mare could quite put her hoof on.

"I'm Vova Lights, I just moved here." The cyan mare said with a smile.

"I am Rarity, it is such a pleasure to meet you. Now what brings you to my-" The dress maker began to say, before she was interrupted by Vinyl.

"Wait, first tell us how you got all tangled up." The DJ told her.

A sheepish look appeared on Rarity's face."Ah yes, that. Well I was just working on my latest design when..."

Twenty minutes ago...

The element of generosity happily hummed to herself as she sowed the multitude of fabrics together. She was in a hurry, so the sowing machine was set at full power, which wasn't very safe. The mare was focused on her work. So much that she didn't notice her cat, pulling on some of the cloth to make herself a bedding. Little did the pet know, that the fabrics were ALREADY delicately balanced. The amount of items on the table, was a strain on the old table, that had been weakened on one side from the Cutie Mark Crusaders attempt at being carpenters again. Not only that, the window was cracked open, as a constant source of fresh air. The two were unaware of the gust of wind that was building.

Meanwhile a certain loopy eyed mailmare was on her way towards her next destination, package in hoof. Her grip on the box slipped, and it began to drop towards a nearby boutique. She raced after the item. When the pegasus managed to finally catch the package, the strong gust of wind was released, throwing her off balance. The imbalance sent her into the slightly open window to the boutique, slamming it shut.

The noise made from the collision startled the mare and cat inside. The cat jumped causing the already poorly balanced pile of fabrics to fall on the mare. The weight of both the unicorn and the cloth, made the tables left side legs give away, launching the sowing machine that was still on an unsafe setting and covered on cloth. The device hit the wall, and exploded into multiple pieces, which sent fabric this way and that, en wrapping Rarity in a web of cloth.

Present...

"Then I found myself tangled in as my supplies." The alabaster unicorn told her audience.

"Wow. Well anyways, Vova here needs a job." Vinyl stepped in.

"Oh I'm SO sorry, but I don't need any help right now. OH! But I do think you would make an excellent model." The fashionista, who had a certain glint in her eyes.

"RUN!" The other three mares yelled as they grabbed the artist and ran as fast as they could. Alas it wasn't enough, they were caught in the dress makers magical aura.

"Where do you think YOU'RE going?" Rarity asked playfully.

Half an hour later...

The four mares exited the boutique. They helped each other fix their manes.

"So now where?" Octavia asked. Arching an eyebrow.

"AJ always needs a helping hoof." Twilight suggested tapping her chin with a hoof.

"Then what are we waiting for? Lets go!" Vinyl shouted. And off they went.

They approached the farm, where the orange mare was busy applebucking.

"Hey AJ!" The librarian shouted to the farmer.

The stetson hat wearing mare turned and faced the group with a smile."Why hello!" She eyed the artistic mare, "Now who did ya'll bring?"

The cyan mare stepped forward, she was starting to get used to introducing herself.  "I'm Vova Lights, and I'm new around here."

The cowpony, took her hoof (much to the light blue mares surprise evidenced by the expression on her face) shook it. "Nice t' meetcha miss Vova. Ah'm Applejack."

Suddenly Vinyl (being her usual not very rude self) cut in saying, "You got a job for her?"

Octavia face hoofed and muttered something about manners. Twilight just shook her head.

After the surprise wore off,  the orange earth pony shook her head. "Aw shucks, We don't got th' extra bits t' pay ya. We could always use an extra hoof round here but we just don' got th' bits right now. Sorry." She replied.

A series of disappointed sighs emanated from the group.

"Oh well, thanks anyways AJ." Twilight told the farmer.

"Ah wish ah could help find you a job but ah gotta finish buckin these apples. Good luck!" Applejack waved a hoof then resumed her previous task.

"Don't worry, Vova there are plenty of shops in Ponyville. One of them is bound to have a job opening." The librarian said reassuringly. The other ponies nodded in agreement.

"Then what are we waiting for? Lets go!" Vinyl shouted.

And so the longest part of their morning began.

"I can't believe NOPONY had a job opening!!" The purple unicorn yelled in frustration.

It was noon, Celestia's sun was high in the sky, birds sung and a soft fresh cool breeze blew. All in all a beautiful day. Ponies went about their day around them, oblivious to their blight.

"What now?" The artist asked. In response, a loud growl sounded from their stomachs.

"Umm... Lunch? Sugarcube Corner?" The DJ suggested. The other three hastily agreed. They began their trek through the towns market place. Vendors lined the road. Their owners calling out for attention, and sales. Potential buyers busied about the area.

Straight ahead of the group was Sugarcube Corner. The towns premier confectionery shop. After a minute of sifting through the crowd the four mares made it to their destination.

They entered the confectionary shop and were greeted by one of the owners.

"Hi ,Mrs. Cake!" The bookish mare said. The one she was talking to was about to begin decorating a cake. One of those flat square ones.

"Who is this?" The baker asked.

Vova began to reply, but something caught her eye.

(Play this music now! While you read this. You might want to fast forward it about a minute or two, or three. Depends on your reading speed.)

The cake. It was white. Like a canvas. There were various tubes of frosting. Like paint brushes and paint.

"I'm Vova.." Her voice trailed off as she approached the table where it sat. Mrs. Cake began to say something but was cut off by Octavia and Vinyl. Both experienced in inspiration.

Vova approached the table and picked up one of the tubes in her magic. She drew a few lines on her canvas. The beginnings of a form. Now curves, then circles, squares. Her hoof was automatic. Controlled not by mind, but by heart.

The curves and shapes started to connect. To create the frame. Then another. And another. And another. Simple frames. Ready for the working.

Then more curves. More shapes. More circles and squares. It all flowed out of her. Straight to the surface of the cake.

The curves became features. Some became body parts. Soon after came the details. All coming together to make a single picture. One whole moment of pure heart and soul.

Then she pulled back and inspected her work.

Twilight, Vinyl, Octavia and her all with smiles.

The other three mares, came up behind her. She heard some gasp. She felt a tear flow down her cheek as a smile tugged at her muzzle.

"That was amazing. Miss Vova, would you like a job?" Mrs. Cake asked the artistic mare.